Telegenetics: application of a tele-education program in genetic syndromes for Brazilian students

With the high occurrence of genetic anomalies in Brazil and the manifestations of communication disorders associated with these conditions, the development of educative actions that comprise these illnesses can bring unique benefits in the identification and appropriate treatment of these clinical pictures. Objective The aim of this study was to develop and analyze an educational program in genetic syndromes for elementary students applied in two Brazilian states, using an Interactive Tele-education model. Material and Methods The study was carried out in 4 schools: two in the state of São Paulo, Southeast Region, Brazil, and two in the state of Amazonas, North Region, Brazil. Forty-five students, both genders, aged between 13 and 14 years, of the 9th grade of the basic education of both public and private system, were divided into two groups: 21 of São Paulo Group (SPG) and 24 of Amazonas Group (AMG). The educational program lasted about 3 months and was divided into two stages including both classroom and distance activities on genetic syndromes. The classroom activity was carried out separately in each school, with expository lessons, graphs and audiovisual contents. In the activity at a distance the educational content was presented to students by means of the Interactive Tele-education model. In this stage, the students had access a Cybertutor, using the Young Doctor Project methodology. In order to measure the effectiveness of the educational program, the Problem Situation Questionnaire (PSQ) and the Web Site Motivational Analysis Checklist adapted (FPM) were used. Results The program developed was effective for knowledge acquisition in 80% of the groups. FPM showed a high satisfaction index from the participants in relation to the Interactive Tele-education, evaluating the program as "awesome course". No statistically significant differences between the groups regarding type of school or state were observed. Conclusion Thus, the Tele-Education Program can be used as a tool for educational purposes in genetic syndromes of other populations, in several regions of Brazil

Analysis of CcDREB1D promoter region from drought-tolerant and susceptible clones of Coffea canephora by homologous genetic transformation of Coffea arabica

In several plant species, the DREB genes play a key role in responses to abiotic stress. Since the development of molecular markers is one of the major goals for accelerating breeding programs, a study was done to evaluate the sequence variability of the DREBID gene in several Coffee genotypes. The promoter and coding regions of DREBID gene were cloned and sequenced from 16 coffee plants (10 from C. arabica and 4 from C. canephora), most of them characterized by different phenotypes (tolerance vs. susceptibility) regarding to drought. This showed a high conservation of DREB1 D proteins among the homologous sequences due to the low level of diversity and the high number of synonymous mutations and neutral changes which represents the majority of sequence variations. However, several nucleic polymorphisms ("single nucleotide polymorphism" and insertion/deletion [InDels]) were found in the coffee DREBID promoters. A comparison of predicted cis-acting elements for all the promoter sequences signaled the loss of some regulatory DNA elements. The sequence variation and the loss of some regulatory DNA elements could explain the differences of DREBID gene expression previously observed in leaves of drought tolerant (clone 14) and susceptible (clone 22) clones of C. canephora. In fact, both clones 14 and 22, have one same CcDREBID allelic sequence (hp15), and diverge at a second allele. Thus, the CcDREBID allele in the tolerant 14 (hp16) was considered to be the favorable/tolerant allele and the allele in 22 (hp17) was inferior/sensitive. The capacity of CcDREBID promoter to control the expression of the uidA reporter gene is under evaluation in transgenic plants of Coffee arabica cv. caturra stably transformed by Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated gene transfer procedure. Caturra transgenic embryos were placed on a clean bench and subjected to dehydration tests. Preliminary results of bioassays checking GUS (/3-glucuronidase) activities indicate that the observed sequence variations have a direct role in the regulation of CcDREBID expression. The proximal promoter of CcDREBID for the three alleles tested (hp15, hp16 and hp17) equally induced the uidA gene expression, however, expression of uidA under control of the complete CcDREBID promoter was significantly induced in the tolerant allele (hp16) in response to the osmotic stress, whereas, it was not significantly upregulated for the common (hp15) and sensitive alleles (hp17). These results also evidence that the sequence variation present at the first -700 by of CcDREBID promoter do not interfere the regulation activity of the promoter, probably due to the non-overlapping of SNPs and cis-regulatory elements. Though, the higher sequence variation and co-occurrence of SNPs and cis-regulatory elements observed between -700 and -1500 by seems to affect the regulation of CcDREBID promoter in response to drought stress.Support: CAPES COFECUB, INCT-Café, CNPq and ConsOrcio Pesquisa Café. (Texte intégral

Efeito da governança do país no desempenho da firma

O presente estudo objetiva examinar o efeito da qualidade da governança em âmbito nacional, moderada pela cultura, no desempenho das firmas. A amostra contou com dados de 2.511 empresas com ações negociadas em bolsas de valores, provenientes de nove países distintos no período de 2009 a 2018, os quais totalizaram 15.981 observações empresa-ano. Os dados para estimar o desempenho das firmas foram coletados da base Refinitiv, enquanto as métricas para a governança dos países e dimensões culturais foram obtidas do Banco Mundial e Hofstede Insights, respectivamente. Foram utilizados modelos de regressão linear múltipla para analisar a relação entre os indicadores de governança em nível nacional e o desempenho da firma, incluindo o efeito moderador da cultura. Os principais resultados mostraram que os indicadores de governança mantêm relação positiva e estatisticamente significativa com a performance das firmas analisadas. Em grande parte dos modelos estimados, a cultura demonstrou exercer efeito moderador positivo na relação governança dos países e desempenho. Esta pesquisa fornece evidências de que o ambiente de governança no qual as firmas estão inseridas influencia o seu desempenho, sugerindo que o conhecimento por parte dos gestores a respeito do ambiente organizacional específico de regiões ou países é importante no processo de decisões corporativas

Can Conditional Cash Transfer Programs Generate Equality of Opportunity in Higlye Unequal Societies? Evidence from Brazil

This article examines whether the state, through conditional cash transfer programs (CCT), can reduce the poverty and extremely poverty in societies marred by high levels of income concentration. We focus on one of the most unequal countries in the globe, Brazil, and analyze the extent to which this country’s CCT program – Bolsa Família (BF, Family Grant) program – is able to improve the life chances of extremely poor beneficiaries, through the three major goals of PBF: First, to immediately end hunger; second, to create basic social rights related to healthcare and education; finally, considering also complementary policies, to integrate adults into the job market. The analysis relies on a quantitative survey with 4,000 beneficiaries and a qualitative survey comprised of in-depth interviews with 38 program’s participants from all the regions of the country in 2008, it means that this study is about the five first years of the PBF. In order to answer the research questions, we ran four probit analyses related: a) the determinants of the realization of prenatal care; b) the determinants of food security among BF beneficiaries, c) the determinants that adult BF recipients will return to school, d) the determinants that a BF beneficiary will obtain a job. Important results from the study are: First, those who before their participation on PBF were at the margins have now been able to access healthcare services on a more regular basis. Thus, the women at the margins who were systematically excluded – black women, poorly educated and from the North – now, after their participation in the CCT program,  have more access to prenatal care  and can now count with more availability of public healthcare network. Second, before entering the Bolsa Família program, 50.3% of the participants faced severe food insecurity. This number went down to 36.8% in very five years. Men are more likely than women; non-blacks more likely than blacks; and South and Centre-West residents more likely than Brazilians from other regions; to become food secure while participating in BF. Third, instead, that moment in 2008, a small proportion of the adult participants indeed were able to return to school and to increase their educational qualifications. The lack of technical skills and the huge predominance of informal employment are central social problems in Brazil and that the PBF has failed to address such issues. This study confirms what other previous studies have reported on: BF has had a positive impact in reducing poverty in the country. Hence the main contribution of the present study is in identifying the main determinants of unequal results among individuals participating in the BF program: why some, but not others, are more easily able to access the healthcare or to overcome food insecurity while in the program?

Acompanhamento telefônico de pacientes pós-prostatectomia radical: revisão sistemática

OBJETIVO: avaliar e sintetizar as melhores evidências científicas de ensaios clínicos controlados randomizados sobre acompanhamento telefônico de pacientes pós-prostatectomia radical, a partir de informações sobre como as chamadas telefônicas são realizadas e os efeitos clínicos e psicológicos para os indivíduos que receberam essa intervenção. MÉTODO: a busca foi realizada nas bases eletrônicas MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, LILACS e Cochrane. Das 368 referências encontradas, cinco foram selecionadas. RESULTADOS: dois estudos testaram intervenções direcionadas ao apoio psicológico e três testaram intervenções direcionadas aos efeitos físicos do tratamento. A intervenção psicoeducativa para o gerenciamento da incerteza, referente à doença e ao tratamento, apresentou evidências estatisticamente significativas, reduziu o nível da incerteza e da angústia gerada por essa. CONCLUSÃO: foi possível determinar os efeitos benéficos do acompanhamento telefônico, sendo uma ferramenta útil para o acompanhamento de pacientes pós-prostatectomia.OBJETIVO: evaluar y sintetizar las mejores evidencias científicas de ensayos clínicos aleatorizados sobre acompañamiento telefónico de pacientes post prostatectomía radical, a partir de informaciones sobre las llamadas telefónicas son efectuadas y los efectos clínicos y psicológicos para los individuos que recibieron esa intervención. MÉTODO: la búsqueda fue efectuada en las bases electrónicas Medline, Web of Science, Embase, Cinahl, Lilacs y Cochrane. De las 368 referencias encontradas, cinco fueron seleccionadas. RESULTADOS: dos estudios testaron intervenciones dirigidas al apoyo psicológico y tres testaron intervenciones dirigidas a los efectos físicos del tratamiento. La intervención psicoeducativa para la gestión de la incertidumbre referente a la enfermedad y al tratamiento mostró evidencias estadísticamente significativas, redujo el nivel de la incertidumbre y de la angustia generada por esta. CONCLUSIÓN: fue posible determinar los efectos benéficos del acompañamiento telefónico, siendo una herramienta útil para el acompañamiento de pacientes post prostatectomía.OBJECTIVE: to assess and summarize the best scientific evidence from randomized controlled clinical trials about telephone follow-up of patients after radical prostatectomy, based on information about how the phone calls are made and the clinical and psychological effects for the individuals who received this intervention. METHOD: the search was undertaken in the electronic databases Medline, Web of Science, Embase, Cinahl, Lilacs and Cochrane. Among the 368 references found, five were selected. RESULTS: two studies tested interventions focused on psychological support and three tested interventions focused on the physical effects of treatment. The psychoeducative intervention to manage the uncertainty about the disease and the treatment revealed statistically significant evidences and reduced the level of uncertainty and anguish it causes. CONCLUSION: the beneficial effects of telephone follow-up could be determined, as a useful tool for the monitoring of post-prostatectomy patients

A GESTÃO DE CONHECIMENTO NA MODERNIZAÇÃO DA GESTÃO UNIVERSITÁRIA: O CASO DA UERN (RN)

As Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES) são organizações complexas que executam diversas tarefas, muitas vezes sem um objetivo definido e em muitos casos a gestão é caraterizada pela descontinuidade administrativa. A Gestão do Conhecimento relaciona-se com a melhoria do grau de inovação das organizações, com a rapidez na capacidade de resposta, com a geração de economia de escala e com o melhoramento da produtividade organizacional. Este trabalho tem como objetivos identificar quais as práticas de Gestão de Conhecimento utilizadas na Gestão Universitária. Para responder este problema foi utilizada a metodologia do estudo de caso para descrever as práticas de gestão do conhecimento presentes na Gestão Universitária da Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte. Os resultados encontrados evidenciam que as práticas adotadas pela IES analisada são incipientes no que tange a gestão das pessoas, contudo estão sendo desenvolvidos esforços para ampliar a pesquisa e a inovação de modo a contribuir com o desenvolvimento regional