Ética na pesquisa com crianças: ausências e desafios

Valendo-se da sociologia da infância, o texto discute as questões da infância, da pesquisa e da ética que devem enformar todos os procedimentos desencadeados no processo de pesquisa com crianças. Será inicialmente apresentado o estado da arte acerca das discussões que têm caraterizado esse debate, que, sendo recente, conta com uma significativa reflexão. Apresentamos, ainda, alguns desafios que são fundamentais serem enfrentados para que se consiga uma ética viável na investigação com crianças, que passam pela indispensabilidade de se pensar as questões de poder que se estabelecem entre adultos e crianças; que passam também pelo enfrentamento do desafio que decorre das hierarquias protocolares e a maneira como estas podem contribuir para a invisibilidade epistemológica das crianças na pesquisa; que passam, finalmente, por um questionamento crítico relativamente à forma como é salvaguardada a autoria, quer de crianças, quer de adultos, na análise, interpretação e produção dos dados.This paper discusses, from the sociology of childhood, the issues of childhood, research and ethics which must shape the methodological procedures undertaken in the research processes with children. We, firstly, will present the state-of-the-art theoretical discussions that have been characterizing this debate, which, although recent, are already very significant. We also present some challenges, which are essential to face, in order to achieve a feasible ethic in research with children, which are related to the need to think about the power issues between adults and children. We also have to consider that the challenge stems from the protocol hierarchies and how sometimes these can contribute to the epistemological invisibility of children in research. Finally, a third challenge that mobilizes a critical analysis related to the way issues of authorship of children and adult, in the analysis, interpretation and production of scientific texts, are respected.Valiéndose de la sociología en la infancia, el texto discute las cuestiones de la infancia, de la investigación y la ética que deben conformar todos los procedimientos desencadenados en el proceso de investigación con niños y niñas. En primer lugar se presenta el estado de la arte acerca de las discusiones que vienen caracterizando a tal debate, que aun siendo reciente, ya cuenta con una significativa reflexión. Presentamos también algunos de los desafíos que resulta fundamental afrontar para alcanzar una ética viable en la investigación con niños y niñas, que pasan por la obligada necesidad de pensar las cuestiones de poder que se establecen entre adultos y niños; que pasan también por el afrontamiento al desafío que resulta de las jerarquías protocolarias y la forma cómo estas pueden contribuir para la invisibilidad epistemológica de los niños y niñas en la investigación. Que pasan, por fin, por un cuestionamiento crítico en cuanto a la forma como se salvaguarda la autoría, ya sea de niños o de adultos, en el análisis, interpretación y producción de datos.CIEC - Centro de Investigação em Estudos da Criança, IE, UMinho (UI 317 da FCT), PortugalFundos Nacionais através da FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) e cofinanciado pelo Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) através do COMPETE 2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) no âmbito do CIEC (Centro de Investigação em Estudos da Criança, da Universidade do Minho) com a referência POCI-01-0145-FEDER-00756

Evaluation of the genotoxic and antigenotoxic potential of Melissa officinalis in mice

Melissa officinalis (L.) (Lamiaceae), a plant known as the lemon balm, is native to the east Mediterranean region and west Asia. Also found in tropical countries, such as Brazil, where it is popularly known as “erva-cidreira” or “melissa”, it is widely used in aqueous- or alcoholic-extract form in the treatment of various disorders. The aim was to investigate in vivo its antigenotoxicity and antimutagenicity, as well as its genotoxic/mutagenic potential through comet and micronucleus assaying. CF-1 male mice were treated with ethanolic (Mo-EE) (250 or 500 mg/kg) or aqueous (Mo-AE) (100 mg/kg) solutions of an M. officinalis extract for 2 weeks, prior to treatment with saline or Methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) doses by intraperitoneal injection. Irrespective of the doses, no genotoxic or mutagenic effects were observed in blood and bone-marrow samples. Although Mo-EE exerted an antigenotoxic effect on the blood cells of mice treated with the alkylating agent (MMS) in all the doses, this was not so with Mo-AE. Micronucleus testing revealed the protector effect of Mo-EE, but only when administered at the highest dose. The implication that an ethanolic extract of M. officinalis has antigenotoxic/antimutagenic properties is an indication of its medicinal relevance

An estimate of the number of tropical tree species

The high species richness of tropical forests has long been recognized, yet there remains substantial uncertainty regarding the actual number of tropical tree species. Using a pantropical tree inventory database from closed canopy forests, consisting of 657,630 trees belonging to 11,371 species, we use a fitted value of Fisher’s alpha and an approximate pantropical stem total to estimate the minimum number of tropical forest tree species to fall between ∼40,000 and ∼53,000, i.e. at the high end of previous estimates. Contrary to common assumption, the Indo-Pacific region was found to be as species-rich as the Neotropics, with both regions having a minimum of ∼19,000–25,000 tree species. Continental Africa is relatively depauperate with a minimum of ∼4,500–6,000 tree species. Very few species are shared among the African, American, and the Indo-Pacific regions. We provide a methodological framework for estimating species richness in trees that may help refine species richness estimates of tree-dependent taxa

The global, regional, and national burden of adult lip, oral, and pharyngeal cancer in 204 countries and territories:A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Importance Lip, oral, and pharyngeal cancers are important contributors to cancer burden worldwide, and a comprehensive evaluation of their burden globally, regionally, and nationally is crucial for effective policy planning.Objective To analyze the total and risk-attributable burden of lip and oral cavity cancer (LOC) and other pharyngeal cancer (OPC) for 204 countries and territories and by Socio-demographic Index (SDI) using 2019 Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors (GBD) Study estimates.Evidence Review The incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to LOC and OPC from 1990 to 2019 were estimated using GBD 2019 methods. The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate the proportion of deaths and DALYs for LOC and OPC attributable to smoking, tobacco, and alcohol consumption in 2019.Findings In 2019, 370 000 (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 338 000-401 000) cases and 199 000 (95% UI, 181 000-217 000) deaths for LOC and 167 000 (95% UI, 153 000-180 000) cases and 114 000 (95% UI, 103 000-126 000) deaths for OPC were estimated to occur globally, contributing 5.5 million (95% UI, 5.0-6.0 million) and 3.2 million (95% UI, 2.9-3.6 million) DALYs, respectively. From 1990 to 2019, low-middle and low SDI regions consistently showed the highest age-standardized mortality rates due to LOC and OPC, while the high SDI strata exhibited age-standardized incidence rates decreasing for LOC and increasing for OPC. Globally in 2019, smoking had the greatest contribution to risk-attributable OPC deaths for both sexes (55.8% [95% UI, 49.2%-62.0%] of all OPC deaths in male individuals and 17.4% [95% UI, 13.8%-21.2%] of all OPC deaths in female individuals). Smoking and alcohol both contributed to substantial LOC deaths globally among male individuals (42.3% [95% UI, 35.2%-48.6%] and 40.2% [95% UI, 33.3%-46.8%] of all risk-attributable cancer deaths, respectively), while chewing tobacco contributed to the greatest attributable LOC deaths among female individuals (27.6% [95% UI, 21.5%-33.8%]), driven by high risk-attributable burden in South and Southeast Asia.Conclusions and Relevance In this systematic analysis, disparities in LOC and OPC burden existed across the SDI spectrum, and a considerable percentage of burden was attributable to tobacco and alcohol use. These estimates can contribute to an understanding of the distribution and disparities in LOC and OPC burden globally and support cancer control planning efforts