Do Disquete às Nuvens: a saga da primeira revista eletrônica científica brasileira

Atualmente não se questiona mais a substituição do formato impresso pelo eletrônico. Entretanto, no final do século XX esse tema era fonte de debate acalorado entre os editores das revistas cientificas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi mostrar a evolução da primeira revista eletrônica científica brasileira, mantida e editada ininterruptamente desde 1995 pelo Centro de Estudos de Venenos e Animais Peçonhentos da Unesp (CEVAP). Denominada inicialmente The Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins (ISSN 0104-7930), a revista que sempre foi publicada em inglês era fasciculada e distribuída em disquetes de 3.5” em sua primeira fase. A partir de 2003, o escopo foi ampliado e recebeu novo ISSN (1678-9199) e seu título passou a ser The Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases (JVATiTD). A partir de 2013, estabeleceu parceria com a BioMed Central, um publisher internacional de acesso aberto, membro do grupo Springer-Nature, e sua homepage passou a ser: https://jvat.biomedcentral.com/. A história de sucesso dessa publicação se deve, principalmente, ao processo gradual de mudança de paradigma, ou seja, o primeiro suporte foi o disquete com possibilidade de impressão do fascículo, a seguir o CD-ROM enviado pelo correio permitindo a leitura na tela do computador e, por fim, a distribuição online através da homepage e a implantação da submissão eletrônica de manuscritos. Atualmente, além de ser publicada em fluxo contínuo, a revista também incentiva os autores a incluir áudios e vídeos como material suplementar

Como aumentar o fator de impacto nas bases Web of Science (WoS) e Scopus (Scimago): ações implementadas pelo The Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases

O The Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases (JVATiTD) foi indexado nas bases Web of Science (WoS) e Scopus (Scimago) em 2006. Entre 2007 e 2012 o fator de impacto (FI) estabilizou-se entre 0.30 e 0.55. Para aumentá-lo, em 2013 estabeleceu-se parceria com a BioMed Central-Springer-Nature e uma série de ações foram propostas e implementadas com vistas a alcançar o patamar de 2.0 em cinco anos. As ações foram as seguintes: publicar em fluxo contínuo, buscar novos indexadores estratégicos, reavaliar o corpo editorial, priorizar conteúdos de qualidade, cortar supérfluos, estimular publicação em multimídia, manter um banco de dados atualizado, e publicar séries temáticas e especiais. Para os editores associados foram feitas as seguintes sugestões: participar em eventos da área e em grupos consolidados de pesquisa, além de dar parecer científico para outras revistas. É possível concluir previamente que a nova parceria foi estratégica, pois em 2017 atingiu-se impacto de citações acima de 1.0 tanto no Web of Science (WoS), quanto no Scopus (Scimago). Isso certamente deverá atrair a submissão de bons manuscritos, aumentar o prestígio, a visibilidade mundial e o aumento do número de citações. Como consequência direta, o FI deverá aumentar nos anos vindouros

Impacto das correções das citações erradas na base Web of Science (WoS) sobre o Fator de Impacto - um case de sucesso

Em 2015 as revistas científicas impressas completaram 350 anos de existência. É fácil compreender que neste longo período de tempo as padronizações de citação (metadados) foram bem estabelecidas. A partir de 1991 Paul Ginsparg lançou nos EUA a primeira revista eletrônica que se tem notícia. Infelizmente até o momento não existe uma padronização definitiva de como citar os artigos científicos publicados por meio desta nova plataforma. Um dos desafios para esta padronização é a publicação em fluxo contínuo, modalidade nova que surgiu com as revistas digitais. Assim, as bases de dados muitas vezes cometem erros na citação das referências, uma vez que os autores por desconhecimento também citam errado. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram corrigir as referências citadas erroneamente do The Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases (JVATiTD) nos últimos cinco anos na base Web of Science (WoS) com vistas a avaliar o impacto desta ação. Os resultados publicados em 2018 pelo Journal Citation Reports da Clarivate Analytics foram os seguintes: o Fator de Impacto (FI) de dois anos cresceu de 1.44 para 1.78, e o de cinco de 1.12 para 1.74. Este case de sucesso mostra claramente que somente as citações completas e consideradas válidas são contabilizadas no cálculo do FI. Assim, torna-se imperativo que os Editores incluam o monitoramento dos indexadores nas atividades da equipe da revista, em especial na base WoS, de forma a evitar erros que possam comprometer o real valor do FI. Esta ação otimiza os indicadores bibliométricos e melhora o prestígio do periódico, culminando com aumento da visibilidade e da procura e submissão de manuscritos de impacto

XIPE: the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer

X-ray polarimetry, sometimes alone, and sometimes coupled to spectral and temporal variability measurements and to imaging, allows a wealth of physical phenomena in astrophysics to be studied. X-ray polarimetry investigates the acceleration process, for example, including those typical of magnetic reconnection in solar flares, but also emission in the strong magnetic fields of neutron stars and white dwarfs. It detects scattering in asymmetric structures such as accretion disks and columns, and in the so-called molecular torus and ionization cones. In addition, it allows fundamental physics in regimes of gravity and of magnetic field intensity not accessible to experiments on the Earth to be probed. Finally, models that describe fundamental interactions (e.g. quantum gravity and the extension of the Standard Model) can be tested. We describe in this paper the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer (XIPE), proposed in June 2012 to the first ESA call for a small mission with a launch in 2017 but not selected. XIPE is composed of two out of the three existing JET-X telescopes with two Gas Pixel Detectors (GPD) filled with a He-DME mixture at their focus and two additional GPDs filled with pressurized Ar-DME facing the sun. The Minimum Detectable Polarization is 14 % at 1 mCrab in 10E5 s (2-10 keV) and 0.6 % for an X10 class flare. The Half Energy Width, measured at PANTER X-ray test facility (MPE, Germany) with JET-X optics is 24 arcsec. XIPE takes advantage of a low-earth equatorial orbit with Malindi as down-link station and of a Mission Operation Center (MOC) at INPE (Brazil).Comment: 49 pages, 14 figures, 6 tables. Paper published in Experimental Astronomy http://link.springer.com/journal/1068

Spatial transcriptomics reveals discrete tumour microenvironments and autocrine loops within ovarian cancer subclones

High-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) is genetically unstable and characterised by the presence of subclones with distinct genotypes. Intratumoural heterogeneity is linked to recurrence, chemotherapy resistance, and poor prognosis. Here, we use spatial transcriptomics to identify HGSOC subclones and study their association with infiltrating cell populations. Visium spatial transcriptomics reveals multiple tumour subclones with different copy number alterations present within individual tumour sections. These subclones differentially express various ligands and receptors and are predicted to differentially associate with different stromal and immune cell populations. In one sample, CosMx single molecule imaging reveals subclones differentially associating with immune cell populations, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells. Cell-to-cell communication analysis identifies subclone-specific signalling to stromal and immune cells and multiple subclone-specific autocrine loops. Our study highlights the high degree of subclonal heterogeneity in HGSOC and suggests that subclone-specific ligand and receptor expression patterns likely modulate how HGSOC cells interact with their local microenvironment

A systematic review on the excess health risk of antibiotic-resistant bloodstream infections for six key pathogens in Europe

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is a global threat, which requires novel intervention strategies, for which priority pathogens and settings need to be determined. Objectives: We evaluated pathogen-specific excess health burden of drug-resistant bloodstream infections (BSIs) in Europe. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources: MEDLINE, Embase, and grey literature for the period January 1990 to May 2022. Study eligibility criteria: Studies that reported burden data for six key drug-resistant pathogens: carbapenem-resistant (CR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii, third-generation cephalosporin or CR Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium. Excess health outcomes compared with drug-susceptible BSIs or uninfected patients. For MRSA and third-generation cephalosporin E. coli and K. pneumoniae BSIs, five or more European studies were identified. For all others, the search was extended to high-income countries. Participants: Paediatric and adult patients diagnosed with drug-resistant BSI. Interventions: Not applicable. Assessment of risk of bias: An adapted version of the Joanna-Briggs Institute assessment tool. Methods of data synthesis: Random-effect models were used to pool pathogen-specific burden estimates. Results: We screened 7154 titles, 1078 full-texts and found 56 studies on BSIs. Most studies compared outcomes of drug-resistant to drug-susceptible BSIs (46/56, 82.1%), and reported mortality (55/56 studies, 98.6%). The pooled crude estimate for excess all-cause mortality of drug-resistant versus drug-susceptible BSIs ranged from OR 1.31 (95% CI 1.03–1.68) for CR P. aeruginosa to OR 3.44 (95% CI 1.62–7.32) for CR K. pneumoniae. Pooled crude estimates comparing mortality to uninfected patients were available for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus and MRSA BSIs (OR of 11.19 [95% CI 6.92–18.09] and OR 6.18 [95% CI 2.10–18.17], respectively). Conclusions: Drug-resistant BSIs are associated with increased mortality, with the magnitude of the effect influenced by pathogen type and comparator. Future research should address crucial knowledge gaps in pathogen- and infection-specific burdens to guide development of novel interventions

Age, Successive Waves, Immunization, and Mortality in Elderly COVID-19 Haematological Patients: EPICOVIDEHA Findings

Introduction: elderly patients with haematologic malignancies face the highest risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes. The infection impact in different age groups remains unstudied in detail. Methods: We analysed elderly patients (age groups: 65-70, 71-75, 76-80 and >80 years old) with hematologic malignancies included in the EPICOVIDEHA registry between January 2020 and July 2022. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression models were conducted to identify factors influencing death in COVID-19 patients with haematological malignancy. results: the study included data from 3,603 elderly patients (aged 65 or older) with haematological malignancy, with a majority being male (58.1%) and a significant proportion having comorbidities. The patients were divided into four age groups, and the analysis assessed COVID-19 outcomes, vaccination status, and other variables in relation to age and pandemic waves.tThe 90-day survival rate for patients with COVID-19 was 71.2%, with significant differences between groups. The pandemic waves had varying impacts, with the first wave affecting patients over 80 years old, the second being more severe in 65-70, and the third being the least severe in all age groups. factors contributing to 90-day mortality included age, comorbidities, lymphopenia, active malignancy, acute leukaemia, less than three vaccine doses, severe COVID-19, and using only corticosteroids as treatment. Conclusions: These data underscore the heterogeneity of elderly haematological patients, highlight the different impact of COVID waves and the pivotal importance of vaccination, and may help in planning future healthcare efforts

Twenty-three unsolved problems in hydrology (UPH) – a community perspective

This paper is the outcome of a community initiative to identify major unsolved scientific problems in hydrology motivated by a need for stronger harmonisation of research efforts. The procedure involved a public consultation through on-line media, followed by two workshops through which a large number of potential science questions were collated, prioritised, and synthesised. In spite of the diversity of the participants (230 scientists in total), the process revealed much about community priorities and the state of our science: a preference for continuity in research questions rather than radical departures or redirections from past and current work. Questions remain focussed on process-based understanding of hydrological variability and causality at all space and time scales. Increased attention to environmental change drives a new emphasis on understanding how change propagates across interfaces within the hydrological system and across disciplinary boundaries. In particular, the expansion of the human footprint raises a new set of questions related to human interactions with nature and water cycle feedbacks in the context of complex water management problems. We hope that this reflection and synthesis of the 23 unsolved problems in hydrology will help guide research efforts for some years to come

Large scale multifactorial likelihood quantitative analysis of BRCA1 and BRCA2 variants: An ENIGMA resource to support clinical variant classification

The multifactorial likelihood analysis method has demonstrated utility for quantitative assessment of variant pathogenicity for multiple cancer syndrome genes. Independent data types currently incorporated in the model for assessing BRCA1 and BRCA2 variants include clinically calibrated prior probability of pathogenicity based on variant location and bioinformatic prediction of variant effect, co-segregation, family cancer history profile, co-occurrence with a pathogenic variant in the same gene, breast tumor pathology, and case-control information. Research and clinical data for multifactorial likelihood analysis were collated for 1,395 BRCA1/2 predominantly intronic and missense variants, enabling classification based on posterior probability of pathogenicity for 734 variants: 447 variants were classified as (likely) benign, and 94 as (likely) pathogenic; and 248 classifications were new or considerably altered relative to ClinVar submissions. Classifications were compared with information not yet included in the likelihood model, and evidence strengths aligned to those recommended for ACMG/AMP classification codes. Altered mRNA splicing or function relative to known nonpathogenic variant controls were moderately to strongly predictive of variant pathogenicity. Variant absence in population datasets provided supporting evidence for variant pathogenicity. These findings have direct relevance for BRCA1 and BRCA2 variant evaluation, and justify the need for gene-specific calibration of evidence types used for variant classification

All-sky Medium Energy Gamma-ray Observatory: Exploring the Extreme Multimessenger Universe

The All-sky Medium Energy Gamma-ray Observatory (AMEGO) is a probe class mission concept that will provide essential contributions to multimessenger astrophysics in the late 2020s and beyond. AMEGO combines high sensitivity in the 200 keV to 10 GeV energy range with a wide field of view, good spectral resolution, and polarization sensitivity. Therefore, AMEGO is key in the study of multimessenger astrophysical objects that have unique signatures in the gamma-ray regime, such as neutron star mergers, supernovae, and flaring active galactic nuclei. The order-of-magnitude improvement compared to previous MeV missions also enables discoveries of a wide range of phenomena whose energy output peaks in the relatively unexplored medium-energy gamma-ray band