Public health genomics research in Italy: an overview of ongoing projects

Public health genomics (PHG) aims to integrate advances in genomic sciences into healthcare for the benefit of the general population. As in many countries, there are various research initiatives in this field in Italy, but a clear picture of the national research portfolio has never been sketched. Thus, we aimed to provide an overview of current PHG research projects at the national or international level by consultation with Italian institutional and academic experts. We included 68 PHG projects: the majority were international projects in which Italian researchers participated (n = 43), mainly funded by the European Commission, while the remainder were national initiatives (N = 25), mainly funded by central government. Funding varied considerably, from € 50,000 to € 80,803,177. Three main research themes were identified: governance (N = 20); precision medicine (PM; N = 46); and precision public health (N = 2). We found that research activities are preferentially aimed at the clinical application of PM, while other efforts deal with the governance of the complex translation of genomic innovation into clinical and public health practice. To align such activities with national and international priorities, the development of an updated research agenda for PHG is needed

Multicriteria decision support system to delineate water resources planning and management regions

The lack of uniform and integrated water resources regions that support sustainable water management within river basins is a critical issue. Overlapping and redundant efforts in planning and management result from conflicting water resources regions, which hamper Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). In addition, the process of delineating these regions has often been executed without sufficient scientific support or a commonly agreed upon approach, usually resulting from political and historical circumstances. In spite of this, it is possible to improve the results by using knowledge gained from prior experiences, employing modern techniques, improving decision support systems (DSS), and also by taking into account multiple stakeholders' interests. In order to harmonize multiple objectives, promote good governance practices and reflect the linkages between environmental, socioeconomic, political and historical aspects, it is imperative to define appropriate territorial limits for water resources planning and management regions. Given the presented problem, this study introduces an approach to support the process of delineating water resources regions based upon recognition of more comprehensive aspects and incorporation of these aspects into a DSS. A harmonized division of water resources regions, agreed upon between stakeholders, is the first step to promoting IWRM, furthering cross-boundary cooperation and preventing conflicts. The proposed Water Resources Planning and Management Regions (WARPLAM) DSS is designed to be used by federal and state governments, international commissions and water councils. Although river basins are considered to be the most suitable boundaries to attain IWRM goals, the proposed DSS simulation model offers the option for decision makers to include socioeconomic, political and environmental aspects into the analysis. Its main goals are to promote a common approach relating to the reasoning used in this process and to reinforce the principles of IWRM. It is based upon the use of geographic information systems (GIS), knowledge-based systems (KBS) and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) combined with cluster analysis, dynamic programming (DP) and fuzzy analysis. WARPLAM DSS is also a flexible solution to support the delineation of regions in multiple levels of subsidiarity and to be adaptable to regional characteristics. The process of developing WARPLAM DSS can be summarized into the following three main phases: Phase (1) Evaluating the aspects related to the delineation of water resources planning and management regions through a comparative analysis in eleven different countries; Phase (2) Building the DSS through the definition of a suitable approach utilizing the aspects identified in Phase 1; and Phase (3) Demonstrating the capability of WARPLAM DSS through a case study in Brazil. The results of the study illustrate the potential for exploring different options for defining water resources regions depending upon the water resources management objectives and priorities. It is demonstrated that additional aspects, beyond solely river basin limits are being adopted in several countries. In addition, the results show that WARPLAM DSS provides a multifaceted and comprehensive solution to the complex issue of delineating water resources regions. The proposed DSS can also support multiple interests and multiple users; capacity building and access to knowledge from prior experiences; human judgment, intuition, experience and preferences; and flexibility. The building and operating of the DSS into an integrated system between ArcGIS and Excel is an adequate solution to address the user-end focus. Moreover, the combination of GIS with Cluster Analysis and DP in an adequate approach to address the presented needs. Finally, it is expected that WARPLAM DSS will improve the chances of successful IWRM practices, help lessen the boundary effects and promote cross-boundary cooperation, as well as support future decision-making processes and facilitate multiple stakeholders' involvement. Key Terms: water resources planning and management, institutional framework, IWRM, decision support systems, GIS, cluster analysis, dynamic programming

Participação Popular e Perversão do Direito: Estudo das Alterações do Conselho Nacional do Meio Ambiente

The creation of the National Environmental Council (CONAMA) within the National Environmental Policy system created a binding participatory space for the creation of environmental public policies, due to its composition and functioning. However, Decree 9.806/2019 reduced and modified the participating sectors seats, in addition to other changes. The objective is to verify if Decree was able to change the levels of popular participation and the format of citizen action in the Council and if the change can be classified as one of the figures of perversion of law. The methodology encompassed a literature review, a case study and documental and jurisprudential analysis. We concluded that the amendment to CONAMA promoted by Decree 9.806/2019 is significant and implied a change in the relationship between the government and society, which is no longer a partnership, becoming an informative relationship. In addition, there is perversion of the Law in the figure escape of law, implying the disfavor of environmental protection.A criação do Conselho Nacional do Meio Ambiente (CONAMA) dentro do sistema da Política Nacional do Meio Ambiente criou um espaço participativo vinculativo para a criação de políticas públicas ambientais, em razão do formato de sua composição e funcionamento. Contudo, o Decreto 9.806/2019 reduziu e modificou as cadeiras representativas dos setores participantes, além de implementar outras mudanças no órgão. O objetivo é verificar se este Decreto foi capaz de alterar os níveis de participação popular e o formato de atuação cidadã no Conselho e se essa modificação pode ser classificada como uma das figuras de perversão do direito. A metodologia engloba revisão bibliográfica, estudo de caso e análise documental e jurisprudencial. Conclui-se que a alteração do CONAMA promovida pelo Decreto 9.806/2019 é significativa e implicou na alteração da relação entre o poder público e a sociedade, que deixou de ser de parceria, passando a ser uma relação informativa. Além disso, verifica-se a hipótese de perversão do Direito na modalidade fuga do direito, implicando no desfavorecimento da proteção ambiental.A criação do Conselho Nacional do Meio Ambiente (CONAMA) dentro do sistema da Política Nacional do Meio Ambiente criou um espaço participativo vinculativo para a criação de políticas públicas ambientais, em razão do formato de sua composição e funcionamento. Contudo, o Decreto 9.806/2019 reduziu e modificou as cadeiras representativas dos setores participantes, além de implementar outras mudanças no órgão. O objetivo é verificar se este Decreto foi capaz de alterar os níveis de participação popular e o formato de atuação cidadã no Conselho e se essa modificação pode ser classificada como uma das figuras de perversão do direito. A metodologia engloba revisão bibliográfica, estudo de caso e análise documental e jurisprudencial. Conclui-se que a alteração do CONAMA promovida pelo Decreto 9.806/2019 é significativa e implicou na alteração da relação entre o poder público e a sociedade, que deixou de ser de parceria, passando a ser uma relação informativa. Além disso, verifica-se a hipótese de perversão do Direito na modalidade fuga do direito, implicando no desfavorecimento da proteção ambiental

AGU hydrology days 2010

2010 annual AGU hydrology days was held at Colorado State University on March 22 - March 24, 2010.Includes bibliographical references.The lack of uniform and integrated water resources regions is a critical issue, especially in transboundary water regions and federative countries. Overlaying levels of planning and management, as a result of uncoordinated water resources regions, hamper Integrated Water Resources Management. In order to harmonize multiple objectives and better represent the interaction between environmental, socio-economic, political and historical aspects, it becomes imperative to define appropriate territorial limits for water resources planning and management. The present study introduces an approach to support the process of delineating water resources regions. It is based both on recognition of more comprehensive aspects and incorporation of those aspects into a decision support system. This paper describes how cluster analysis is applied in the model design. Dynamic Programming is selected as the suitable method to be combined with Cluster Analysis to improve the algorithm efficiency

Flood Resilience of Critical Infrastructure: Approach and Method Applied to Fort Lauderdale, Florida

In order to increase the flood resilience of cities (i.e., the ability to cope with flood hazards), it is also crucial to make critical infrastructure functions resilient, since these are essential for urban society. Cities are complex systems with many actors of different disciplines and many interdependent critical infrastructure networks and functions. Common flood risk analysis techniques provide useful information but are not sufficient to obtain a complete overview of the effects of flooding and potential measures to increase flood resilience related to critical infrastructure networks. Therefore, a more comprehensive approach is needed which helps accessing knowledge of actors in a structured way. Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States has suffered from flood impacts, especially from disruptions in critical infrastructure. This paper shows how shared insight among different sectors and stakeholders into critical infrastructure resilience and potential resilience-enhancing measures was obtained using input from these actors. It also provides a first quantitative indication of resilience, indicated by the potential disruption due to floods and the effect of measures on resilience. The paper contributes to the existing literature on resilience specifically by considering the duration of disruption, the inclusion of critical infrastructure disruption in flood impact analysis, and the step from resilience quantification to measures

AÇÕES POPULARES NA AMAZÔNIA LEGAL, DEMOCRACIA PARTICIPATIVA E POPULAÇÕES TRADICIONAIS

The constitutional Popular Action has two objectives at the same time: The first is to ensure the protection of the public thing by the citizen before the Judiciary; and the second, is to provide the political participation of citizens. This action, when focused on the Legal Amazon region, would serve as a mechanism for the defense of diffuse interests inherent to traditional communities. However, when a study was conducted based on data and indicators collected from the Judiciary, it was noted that the popular action has not been extended to traditional populations. It is possible, therefore, to conclude that, despite the existence of an instrument for the exercise of democracy provided for in the Federal Constitution, its scope is limited.A Ação Popular constitucional tem, a um só tempo, dois objetivos: O primeiro é assegurar a tutela da coisa pública pelo cidadão junto ao Poder Judiciário; e o segundo, propiciar a participação política dos cidadãos. Essa ação, quando focalizada na região da Amazônia Legal, serviria de mecanismo de defesa de interesses difusos imanentes a comunidades tradicionais. Entretanto, ao se realizar uma pesquisa, embasada em dados e indicadores levantados junto ao Poder Judiciário, constatou-se que a ação popular não tem se estendido às populações tradicionais. É possível, assim, concluir que, apesar de existir um instrumento de exercício democrático disposto na Constituição Federal seu alcance é limitad

Experimental High-Resolution Winter Seasonal Climate Reforecasts for Florida

AbstractWe present here the analysis of 20 years of high-resolution experimental winter seasonal CLImate reForecasts for Florida (CLIFF). These winter seasonal reforecasts were dynamically downscaled by a regional atmospheric model at 10km grid spacing from a global model run at T62 spectral resolution (~210km grid spacing at the equator) forced with sea surface temperatures (SST) obtained from one of the global models in the North American Multimodel Ensemble (NMME). CLIFF was designed in consultation with water managers (in utilities and public water supply) in Florida targeting its five water management districts, including two smaller watersheds of two specific stakeholders in central Florida that manage public water supply. This enterprise was undertaken in an attempt to meet the climate forecast needs of water management in Florida.CLIFF has 30 ensemble members per season generated by changes to the physics and the lateral boundary conditions of the regional atmospheric model. Both deterministic and probabilistic skill measures of the seasonal precipitation at the zero-month lead for November-December-January (NDJ) and one-month lead for December-January-February (DJF) show that CLIFF has higher seasonal prediction skill than persistence. The results of the seasonal prediction skill of land surface temperature are more sobering than precipitation, although, in many instances, it is still better than the persistence skill