O que é uma gestão universitária eficiente? a construção de critérios objetivos que delimitam o princípio da eficiência em Universidades Federais Brasileiras / What is an efficient university management? the construction of objective criteria that delimit the principle of efficiency in Brazilian Federal Universities

O presente estudo visa identificar e analisar critérios objetivos que indicam uma gestão eficiente de uma Universidade Federal. A eficiência, além de ser um princípio da Administração Pública, previsto na Constituição Federal Brasileira, é relevante para otimizar recursos e gastos, sobretudo com a redução orçamentária disposta pela Emenda Constitucional n.º 95/2016. Para atender ao referido objetivo de pesquisa, foi empregada a análise por triangulação de métodos a partir de entrevistas abertas, questionários e pesquisa bibliográfica sistematizada. A partir do exposto, foram identificados vinte e cinco itens que indicam uma gestão universitária eficiente, organizados em cinco categorias. Os resultados indicaram que as Universidades Federais, embora adotem predominantemente o modelo burocrático de gestão pública, seus servidores e usuários desejam que seja implementado o modelo gerencial de administração pública que se assemelha a uma instituição privada, com produtividade e uma prestação rápida de serviços. Já o modelo de gestão social, com vista à participação democrática, não foi considerado como sinônimo de eficiência. Contudo, não se deve sobrelevar ao extremo a concepção gerencial de gestão pública, já que há outros valores relevantes na Universidade, por ser um espaço de convivência, de posição político-ideológica que não são facilmente mensuráveis por números

Expanding the phenotypic spectrum of CLCN2-related leucoencephalopathy and ataxia

Mutations in CLCN2 are a rare cause of autosomal recessive leucoencephalopathy with ataxia and specific imaging abnormalities. Very few cases have been reported to date. Here, we describe the clinical and imaging phenotype of 12 additional CLCN2 patients and expand the known phenotypic spectrum of this disorder. Informed consent was obtained for all patients. Patients underwent either whole-exome sequencing or focused/panel-based sequencing to identify variants. Twelve patients with biallelic CLCN2 variants are described. This includes three novel likely pathogenic missense variants. All patients demonstrated typical MRI changes, including hyperintensity on T2-weighted images in the posterior limbs of the internal capsules, midbrain cerebral peduncles, middle cerebellar peduncles and cerebral white matter. Clinical features included a variable combination of ataxia, headache, spasticity, seizures and other symptoms with a broad range of age of onset. This report is now the largest case series of patients with CLCN2-related leucoencephalopathy and reinforces the finding that, although the imaging appearance is uniform, the phenotypic expression of this disorder is highly heterogeneous. Our findings expand the phenotypic spectrum of CLCN2-related leucoencephalopathy by adding prominent seizures, severe spastic paraplegia and developmental delay

Intersetorialidade e política pública: os resíduos sólidos urbanos em Castanhal - PA / Intersectoriality and public policy: urban solid waste in Castanhal - PA

O objetivo desta pesquisa é analisar a intersetorialidade das secretariais vinculadas ao saneamento básico no município de Castanhal-PA e a problemática do vazadouro a céu aberto. A obtenção dos dados primários referentes intersetorialidade, necessários para a realização da pesquisa, ocorreu por meio de visitas às secretarias direta e indiretamente envolvidos no saneamento básico do município para a aplicação de formulários semiestruturados: Secretaria Municipal de Meio Ambiente (SEMMA), Secretaria Municipal de Obras (SEMOB), Vigilância Sanitária (VISA), Secretaria de Saúde  (SSA), Secretaria de Planejamento Urbano (SPU), para levantamento de informações quanto a gestão e gerenciamento de RS em Castanhal-PA. Os dados obtidos indicaram, dentre as secretarias amostradas, apenas a SEMOB tem conhecimento do tempo de funcionamento do vazadouro. Todas as secretarias estão cientes da ilegalidade na utilização da área, que se dá pela ausência de licenciamento e forma inadequada de disposição final dos RSU. Além disso, não há conhecimento por 100% da amostragem sobre a delimitação da área e nem esclarecimentos sobre a expansão e utilização de novas áreas, demostrando que este procedimento é aleatório e ausente de critérios técnicos, dificultando uma ação das secretarias. Um dos principais fatores que corrobora para este entrave é a ausência do Plano Municipal de Gestão Integrada dos RSU (PMGIRS). Os dados obtidos junto às secretarias amostradas indicaram que não existem cooperativas, empresas recicladoras ou organizações de catadores em parceria com as secretarias para atuação na área do vazadouro a céu aberto. Também não há elaboração, acompanhamento, avaliação e atualização do Plano Diretor municipal. A problemática inerente a intersetorialidade no município de Castanhal-PA, está diretamente relacionada a atuação específica de cada secretaria sem articulação em conjunto com as demais. Tal fato é justificado pela fragmentação e distanciamento entre as unidades amostradas, o que dificulta o processo intersetorial e atenua o problema relacionados aos RS no município, elevando os gatos públicos e promovendo entraves socioambientais sem controles.

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The European Reference Genome Atlas: piloting a decentralised approach to equitable biodiversity genomics.

ABSTRACT: A global genome database of all of Earth’s species diversity could be a treasure trove of scientific discoveries. However, regardless of the major advances in genome sequencing technologies, only a tiny fraction of species have genomic information available. To contribute to a more complete planetary genomic database, scientists and institutions across the world have united under the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), which plans to sequence and assemble high-quality reference genomes for all ∼1.5 million recognized eukaryotic species through a stepwise phased approach. As the initiative transitions into Phase II, where 150,000 species are to be sequenced in just four years, worldwide participation in the project will be fundamental to success. As the European node of the EBP, the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) seeks to implement a new decentralised, accessible, equitable and inclusive model for producing high-quality reference genomes, which will inform EBP as it scales. To embark on this mission, ERGA launched a Pilot Project to establish a network across Europe to develop and test the first infrastructure of its kind for the coordinated and distributed reference genome production on 98 European eukaryotic species from sample providers across 33 European countries. Here we outline the process and challenges faced during the development of a pilot infrastructure for the production of reference genome resources, and explore the effectiveness of this approach in terms of high-quality reference genome production, considering also equity and inclusion. The outcomes and lessons learned during this pilot provide a solid foundation for ERGA while offering key learnings to other transnational and national genomic resource projects.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The European Reference Genome Atlas: piloting a decentralised approach to equitable biodiversity genomics

A genomic database of all Earth’s eukaryotic species could contribute to many scientific discoveries; however, only a tiny fraction of species have genomic information available. In 2018, scientists across the world united under the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), aiming to produce a database of high-quality reference genomes containing all ~1.5 million recognized eukaryotic species. As the European node of the EBP, the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) sought to implement a new decentralised, equitable and inclusive model for producing reference genomes. For this, ERGA launched a Pilot Project establishing the first distributed reference genome production infrastructure and testing it on 98 eukaryotic species from 33 European countries. Here we outline the infrastructure and explore its effectiveness for scaling high-quality reference genome production, whilst considering equity and inclusion. The outcomes and lessons learned provide a solid foundation for ERGA while offering key learnings to other transnational, national genomic resource projects and the EBP.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Eficácia de intervenções imunomoduladoras para o tratamento da Esclerose Lateral Amiotrófica (ELA)

A esclerose lateral amiotrófica (ELA) é uma doença neurodegenerativa que afeta as células nervosas responsáveis pelo controle dos músculos voluntários, resultando em fraqueza muscular e atrofia. Nesse contexto, as intervenções imunomoduladoras têm como objetivo modular a resposta imune do organismo, ao reduzir a inflamação e possibilitar a neuroproteção, a partir do uso de anticorpos monoclonais, inibidores de citocinas e moduladores do sistema imunológico. No entanto, a eficácia de tais intervenções no tratamento da ELA ainda é incerta. Nesse sentido, o presente estudo tem como objetivo analisar a eficácia de intervenções imunomoduladoras para o tratamento da esclerose lateral amiotrófica. Para isso, foram selecionados cinco artigos que abordavam sobre a sua eficácia, por meio de uma estratégia de busca com recorte temporal entre 2017 e 2023, nas bases de dados PubMed (Medline), Cochrane Library e Embase. As intervenções imunomoduladoras, como o uso de inibidores de citocinas, têm demonstrado eficácia no tratamento da esclerose lateral amiotrófica (ELA). Além disso, há evidências de que a inflamação crônica pode estar envolvida em sua patogênese, o que sugere que a modulação do sistema imunológico pode ser uma abordagem terapêutica promissora. Em estudos clínicos recentes, a terapia com inibidores de citocinas mostrou-se capaz de reduzir a progressão da doença e melhorar a qualidade de vida dos pacientes com ELA. Ademais, há evidências que o uso de células-tronco pode melhorar o status funcional em pacientes com a doença. Entretanto, são necessários mais estudos, como ensaios clínicos randomizados e revisões sistemáticas com meta-análises, a fim de ratificar a eficácia das estratégias imunomoduladoras para a patologia

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to <90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], >300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection