preserving subjectiveness in a large dataset of the «Babies Born Better» survey

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experiências significantes em tempos de desassossego

PTDC/SOC-SOC/29764/2017 UIDB/04647/2020 UIDP/04647/2020Neste artigo, pretendem-se discutir as trajetórias terapêuticas dos(as) beneficiários(as) de técnicas invasivas de procriação medicamente assistida (PMA), entendidas como travessias que envolvem tensões íntimas, momentos de desassossego, bem como fissuras identitárias e corporais. Essas experiências pessoais e significantes — que não se coadunam com os formatos convencionados e uniformizados dos protocolos biomédicos — são abordadas a partir das dimensões de “afeição”, “desapego”, “perda”, “luto”, “abandono” e “libertação” em relação aos embriões criados in vitro. A análise baseia-se nos dados recolhidos de 34 entrevistas semidiretivas em profundidade e 85 questionários validados (inquérito online) com beneficiários(as) de PMA, no âmbito de um projeto mais amplo de investigação sociológica em curso, sobre os significados atribuídos por especialistas e leigos aos embriões humanos criados in vitro, tanto na PMA quanto na pesquisa científica. Esta pesquisa, por ora, mostra como o embrião in vitro se reconfigura entre o “ente vivo” e o “ser humano”, numa relação dinâmica entre “proximidade” e “distanciamento” físicos e emocionais, remetendo para o conceito de liminaridade e para as relações humano-máquina. In this article, we intend to discuss the therapeutic trajectories of the beneficiaries of invasive medically assisted procreation techniques (MAP), understood as a journey that involves intimate tensions, moments of restlessness, as well as identity and body fissures. These personal and significant experiences — which are not consistent with the agreed and standardized formats of biomedical protocols — are discussed upon the dimensions of “affection”, “detachment”, “loss”, “grieving”, “abandonment” and “liberation” in relation to the embryos created in vitro. The analysis is based on the data collected from 34 in-depth semi-directive interviews and 85 validated questionnaires (online survey) with MAP beneficiaries, as part of a broader, ongoing sociology research project on the meanings attributed by specialists and lay people to human embryos created in vitro, both in the context of MAP and in scientific research. So far, this research shows how the embryo in vitro is reconfigured between a “living entity” and a “human being”, in a dynamic relationship between “proximity” and “distancing”, both physical and emotional, referring to the concept of liminality and to human-machine relationships.publishersversionpublishe

Moving beyond disrespect and abuse: addressing the structural dimensions of obstetric violence

AbstractDuring recent decades, a growing and preoccupying excess of medical interventions during childbirth, even in physiological and uncomplicated births, together with a concerning spread of abusive and disrespectful practices towards women during childbirth across the world, have been reported. Despite research and policy-making to address these problems, changing childbirth practices has proved to be difficult. We argue that the excessive rates of medical interventions and disrespect towards women during childbirth should be analysed as a consequence of structural violence, and that the concept of obstetric violence, as it is being used in Latin American childbirth activism and legal documents, might prove to be a useful tool for addressing structural violence in maternity care such as high intervention rates, non-consented care, disrespect and other abusive practices

Monitoring frequency influences the analysis of resting behaviour in a forest carnivore

Resting sites are key structures for many mammalian species, which can affect reproduction, survival, population density, and even species persistence in human-modified landscapes. As a consequence, an increasing number of studies has estimated patterns of resting site use by mammals, as well as the processes underlying these patterns, though the impact of sampling design on such estimates remain poorly understood. Here we address this issue empirically, based on data from 21 common genets radiotracked during 28 months in Mediterranean forest landscapes. Daily radiotracking data was thinned to simulate every other day and weekly monitoring frequencies, and then used to evaluate the impact of sampling regime on estimates of resting site use. Results showed that lower monitoring frequencies were associated with major underestimates of the average number of resting sites per animal, and of site reuse rates and sharing frequency, though no effect was detected on the percentage use of resting site types. Monitoring frequency also had a major impact on estimates of environmental effects on resting site selection, with decreasing monitoring frequencies resulting in higher model uncertainty and reduced power to identify significant explanatory variables. Our results suggest that variation in monitoring frequency may have had a strong impact on intra- and interspecific differences in resting site use patterns detected in previous studies. Given the errors and uncertainties associated with low monitoring frequencies, we recommend that daily or at least every other day monitoring should be used whenever possible in studies estimating resting site use patterns by mammals

Measles outbreak: preliminary report on a case series of the first 8,070 suspected cases, Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, February to November 2018

We report an ongoing measles outbreak in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil. As at 3 November 2018, 1,631 cases were confirmed corresponding to an incidence of 75.3 per 100,000 inhabitants; all five sanitary districts presented confirmed cases. Reintroduction of measles virus in Manaus is likely related to the current outbreak in Venezuela and due to recent decline in measles vaccine coverage. Given the current scenario, prevention and control measures should target individuals aged 15-29 years

Search for Ultra-high-energy Photons from Gravitational Wave Sources with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A search for time-directional coincidences of ultra-high-energy (UHE) photons above 10 EeV with gravitational wave (GW) events from the LIGO/Virgo runs O1 to O3 is conducted with the Pierre Auger Observatory. Due to the distinctive properties of photon interactions and to the background expected from hadronic showers, a subset of the most interesting GW events is selected based on their localization quality and distance. Time periods of 1000 s around and 1 day after the GW events are analyzed. No coincidences are observed. Upper limits on the UHE photon fluence from a GW event are derived that are typically at & SIM;7 MeV cm(-2) (time period 1000 s) and & SIM;35 MeV cm(-2) (time period 1 day). Due to the proximity of the binary neutron star merger GW170817, the energy of the source transferred into UHE photons above 40 EeV is constrained to be less than 20% of its total GW energy. These are the first limits on UHE photons from GW sources

Searches for Ultra-High-Energy Photons at the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Observatory, which is the largest air-shower experiment in the world, offers unprecedented exposure to neutral particles at the highest energies. Since the start of data collection more than 18 years ago, various searches for ultra-high-energy (UHE, E greater than or similar to 10^(17) eV) photons have been performed, either for a diffuse flux of UHE photons, for point sources of UHE photons or for UHE photons associated with transient events such as gravitational wave events. In the present paper, we summarize these searches and review the current results obtained using the wealth of data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory