A relação entre a ajuda pública para o desenvolvimento voltada para o ensino e o índice de educação na Nigéria entre 2003 e 2022

Mestrado Bolonha em Desenvolvimento e Cooperação InternacionalEste trabalho analisa a importância do foco na melhoria da educação na Nigéria, tendo-se focado a análise na relação entre fluxos de APD para educação e o IE na Nigéria, para além dos objetivos específicos de analisar se a APD tem um impacto diferente na Nigéria e na restante região, analisar se a história da Nigéria afeta a relação entre a APD e o IE e analisar a relação dos indicadores sociais do país com a APD e o IE. Para esta análise adotou-se um método de pesquisa mista. O trabalho permitiu concluir que o valor investido na Nigéria tem um impacto maior do que em outros países da região, o IE subiu em média 0,00001254 pontos a cada milhão de dólares investido, 0,00001183 pontos a mais do que no restante da região da África Subsaariana. Também se verificou que com um menor gasto público em educação, a Nigéria obteve resultados melhores de IE, além de que quanto maior a ajuda relativamente ao PIB do país, mais positivo será o impacto. Sobre a história e indicadores, vemos claramente como a história do país afetou a sua organização política, estabilidade e desenvolvimento do sistema educacional, e como isso afeta a qualidade da educação do país. Os indicadores sociais são um exemplo disso, refletindo-se no nível de desenvolvimento do país e nalgumas das dificuldades que enfrenta.This work analyze the importance of focusing on improving education in Nigeria, focusing on the analysis of the relationship between ODA flows for education and EI in Nigeria, in addition to the specific objectives of analyzing whether ODA has a different impact on Nigeria and the rest of the region, analyze whether Nigeria's history affects the relationship between ODA and EI and analyze the relationship between the country's social indicators and ODA and EI. For this analysis, mixed research method was adopted. The work led to the conclusion that the amount invested in Nigeria has a greater impact than in other countries in the region, the EI rose on average 0.00001254 points for every million of dolars invested, 0.00001183 points more than in the rest of the African region Sub-Saharan. It was also found that with lower public spending on education, Nigeria obtained better EI results, in addition to the fact that the greater the aid in relation to the country's GDP, the more positive the impact will be. Regarding history and indicators, we clearly see how the country's history has affected its political organization, stability, and development of the educational system, and how this has affected the quality of education in the country. Social indicators are an example of this, reflecting on the country's level of development and some of the difficulties it faces.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Assessing observational studies of medical treatments

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have assessed the validity of the observational study design by comparing results of studies using this design to results from randomized controlled trials. The present study examined design features of observational studies that could have influenced these comparisons. METHODS: To find at least 4 observational studies that evaluated the same treatment, we reviewed meta-analyses comparing observational studies and randomized controlled trials for the assessment of medical treatments. Details critical for interpretation of these studies were abstracted and analyzed qualitatively. RESULTS: Individual articles reviewed included 61 observational studies that assessed 10 treatment comparisons evaluated in two studies comparing randomized controlled trials and observational studies. The majority of studies did not report the following information: details of primary and ancillary treatments, outcome definitions, length of follow-up, inclusion/exclusion criteria, patient characteristics relevant to prognosis or treatment response, or assessment of possible confounding. When information was reported, variations in treatment specifics, outcome definition or confounding were identified as possible causes of differences between observational studies and randomized controlled trials, and of heterogeneity in observational studies. CONCLUSION: Reporting of observational studies of medical treatments was often inadequate to compare study designs or allow other meaningful interpretation of results. All observational studies should report details of treatment, outcome assessment, patient characteristics, and confounding assessment

Research collaboration

AbstractThe complexity and cost of cardiovascular medical care dictate research to deliver high quality and cost-conscious cardiovascular care. This goal is aided by modeling medical decision making. To be useful, the modeling must be based on real data so that the results can serve as a guide to actual practice. It is suggested that a registry of randomized clinical trials and larger data bases in cardiovascular disease and health care delivery be established. The registry would be a resource for those desiring to model decision making. The registry would contain key words allowing retrieval by modelers accessing the registry and would contain contact information for consideration of possible collaborative work. The initiation of such a registry should contain plans for its evaluation to determine whether the registry itself is a cost-effective tool to encourage the needed research

Transcriptional Profiling of Human Brain Endothelial Cells Reveals Key Properties Crucial for Predictive In Vitro Blood-Brain Barrier Models

Brain microvascular endothelial cells (BEC) constitute the blood-brain barrier (BBB) which forms a dynamic interface between the blood and the central nervous system (CNS). This highly specialized interface restricts paracellular diffusion of fluids and solutes including chemicals, toxins and drugs from entering the brain. In this study we compared the transcriptome profiles of the human immortalized brain endothelial cell line hCMEC/D3 and human primary BEC. We identified transcriptional differences in immune response genes which are directly related to the immortalization procedure of the hCMEC/D3 cells. Interestingly, astrocytic co-culturing reduced cell adhesion and migration molecules in both BECs, which possibly could be related to regulation of immune surveillance of the CNS controlled by astrocytic cells within the neurovascular unit. By matching the transcriptome data from these two cell lines with published transcriptional data from freshly isolated mouse BECs, we discovered striking differences that could explain some of the limitations of using cultured BECs to study BBB properties. Key protein classes such as tight junction proteins, transporters and cell surface receptors show differing expression profiles. For example, the claudin-5, occludin and JAM2 expression is dramatically reduced in the two human BEC lines, which likely explains their low transcellular electric resistance and paracellular leakiness. In addition, the human BEC lines express low levels of unique brain endothelial transporters such as Glut1 and Pgp. Cell surface receptors such as LRP1, RAGE and the insulin receptor that are involved in receptor-mediated transport are also expressed at very low levels. Taken together, these data illustrate that BECs lose their unique protein expression pattern outside of their native environment and display a more generic endothelial cell phenotype. A collection of key genes that seems to be highly regulated by the local surroundings of BEC within the neurovascular unit are presented and discussed

Comparing hormone therapy effects in two RCTs and two large observational studies that used similar methods for comprehensive data collection and outcome assessment

Objectives Prospective observational studies (OSs) that collect adequate information about confounders can validly assess treatment consequences. However, what constitutes adequate information is unknown. This study investigated whether the extensive information collected by the Women\u27s Health Initiative (WHI) in two OSs and two randomised controlled trials (RCTs) was adequate. Design Secondary analysis of WHI data. Cox regression was used to select from all baseline risk factors those that best predicted outcome. Cox regression that included these risk factors was used for two types of analyses: (1) comparing RCT and OS assessments of the effects of hormone therapy on outcome for participants with specific characteristics and (2) evaluating whether adjustment for measured confounders could eliminate outcome differences among datasets. Setting The WHI included more than 800 baseline risk factors and outcomes during a median follow-up of 8 years. Participants 151 870 postmenopausal women ages 50–79. Primary and secondary outcome measures Myocardial infarction and stroke. Results RCT and OS results differed for the association of hormone therapy with outcome after adjusting for confounding factors and stratifying on factors that were hypothesised to modulate the effects of hormone therapy (eg, age and time since menopause) or that empirically modulated the effects of hormone therapy in this dataset (eg, blood pressure, previous coronary revascularisation and private medical insurance). Some of the four WHI datasets had significantly worse outcomes than others even after adjusting for risk and stratifying by type of hormone therapy, for example, the risk-adjusted HR for myocardial infarction was 1.37 (p\u3c0.0001) in an RCT placebo group compared with an OS group not taking hormone therapy. Conclusions Apparently the WHI did not collect sufficient information to give reliable assessments of treatment effects. If the WHI did not collect sufficient data, it is likely that few OSs collect sufficient information

Quantitative Analysis of the Exercise Tolerance Test for Determining the Severity of Coronary Artery Disease.

Results were compiled from the literature on the use of the exercise tolerance test to identify patients with severe coronary artery disease. Pooled estimates of sensitivity and specificity were derived for the ability of the exercise tolerance test to identify three-vessel or left main coronary artery disease. There was great variability among the studies examined in the estimated sensitivity and specificity of a given criterion for severe coronary artery disease. This variability could not be explained by reported variations in study design. The findings suggest that the accuracy of the exercise tolerance test and other tests cannot be properly interpreted without much greater detail presented in the literature on patient selection and test administration