Design Thinking: Project Portfolio Management and Simulation – A Creative Mix for Research

This paper takes de Bono’s explanation of ‘design thinking’ as the starting point for a report on a doctoral research project that began with a conventional ‘why?’ question, and then, instead of looking for an ‘explanation’, chose to look forward in time to establish an understanding of ‘how to’ think differently about a recurring problem. The catalyst for this work was observation of otherwise competent managers making desperately wrong decisions when good decision making was crucial to their company’s future. The initial choice to ‘look forward’ when designing the research strategy was made well before there was a clear understanding of what was being observed. Given that trajectory, this paper explores the process by which a simulation was created and then used in conjunction with a comparatively new approach to data collection (Explanation looks backwards and design looks forward [1].)

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

Molecular and physiological basis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae tolerance to adverse lignocellulose-based process conditions

Lignocellulose-based biorefineries have been gaining increasing attention to substitute current petroleum-based refineries. Biomass processing requires a pretreatment step to break lignocellulosic biomass recalcitrant structure, which results in the release of a broad range of microbial inhibitors, mainly weak acids, furans, and phenolic compounds. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the most commonly used organism for ethanol production; however, it can be severely distressed by these lignocellulose-derived inhibitors, in addition to other challenging conditions, such as pentose sugar utilization and the high temperatures required for an efficient simultaneous saccharification and fermentation step. Therefore, a better understanding of the yeast response and adaptation towards the presence of these multiple stresses is of crucial importance to design strategies to improve yeast robustness and bioconversion capacity from lignocellulosic biomass. This review includes an overview of the main inhibitors derived from diverse raw material resultants from different biomass pretreatments, and describes the main mechanisms of yeast response to their presence, as well as to the presence of stresses imposed by xylose utilization and high-temperature conditions, with a special emphasis on the synergistic effect of multiple inhibitors/stressors. Furthermore, successful cases of tolerance improvement of S. cerevisiae are highlighted, in particular those associated with other process-related physiologically relevant conditions. Decoding the overall yeast response mechanisms will pave the way for the integrated development of sustainable yeast cell--based biorefineries.This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) by the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, MIT Portugal Program (Ph.D. grant PD/BD/128247/ 2016 to Joana T. Cunha), Ph.D. grant SFRH/BD/130739/2017 to Carlos E. Costa, COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684), BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004), YeasTempTation (ERA-IB-2-6/0001/2014), and MultiBiorefinery project (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016403). Funding by the Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences (IBB) from FCT (UID/BIO/04565/2013) and from Programa Operacional Regional de Lisboa 2020 (Project N. 007317) was also receiveinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Factors associated with readmission to a general hospital in Brazil Fatores associados às readmissões hospitalares em um hospital geral brasileiro

The objective of this study was to compare different modeling strategies to identify individual and admissions characteristics associated with readmission to a general hospital. Routine data recorded in the Hospital Information System on all admissions to the Regional Public Hospital of Betim, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, from July 1996 to June 2000 were analyzed. Cox proportional hazards model and variants designed to deal with multiple-events data, like Andersen-Gill (AG), Prentice, Williams and Peterson (PWP), and random effects models were fitted to time between hospital admissions or censoring. For comparison purposes, a Poisson model was fitted to the total number of readmissions, using the same covariates. We analyzed 31,648 admissions of 26,198 patients, including 17,096 adults and 9,102 children. Estimates for the PWP and frailty models were very similar, and both approaches should be fitted and compared. If clinical characteristics are available, the PWP model should be used. Otherwise the random effects model can account for unmeasured differences, particularly some related to severity of the disease. These methodologies can help focus on various related readmission aspects such as diagnostic groups or medical specialties.<br>O objetivo foi comparar diferentes métodos de análise de sobrevivência para identificação de características associadas a uma maior chance de reinternação em um grande hospital geral. Foram analisadas as internações do Hospital Público Regional de Betim, Minas Gerais, Brasil, de julho de 1996 a junho de 2000, excluindo internações apenas em obstetrícia e os óbitos na primeira internação. Foram utilizados os modelos de Cox; Andersen-Gill (AG); Prentice, Williams e Peterson (PWP) e de efeitos aleatórios, tendo o tempo entre as internações ou até o óbito ou até o final do período de observação como variável resposta. Um modelo de Poisson para o número de internações foi ajustado para efeitos comparativos. Considerando os resultados bastante próximos dos modelos PWP e de fragilidade, recomenda-se o ajuste dos dois e que, caso haja discrepância importante entre eles, o modelo PWP seja preferido apenas nos casos em que seja possível a incorporação de mais variáveis clínicas. Caso contrário, sugerimos o uso do modelo de fragilidade, pois ele leva em conta características individuais não mensuradas. A aplicação da metodologia proposta pode sugerir grupos de diagnósticos prioritários para uma investigação mais aprofundada

A integralidade da atenção em diabéticos com doença periodontal The integrality of the attention in diabetics with periodontal disease

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar como está organizado o atendimento aos indivíduos com diabetes melito, usuários do SUS, a partir dos dados das condições periodontais apresentadas por este grupo, em Belo Horizonte (MG). Para tanto, uma amostra representativa de trezentos indivíduos foi selecionada para avaliação clínica e entrevista. Foram realizadas entrevistas também com os gerentes de unidades de saúde. Dos avaliados, 55% apresentaram gengivite, 35,3%, periodontite e 9,7% eram saudáveis. Em relação à integralidade da atenção ao diabético no SUS, pôde-se observar que, apesar da maioria estar sob acompanhamento médico, somente 27,3% estavam sob tratamento odontológico na rede básica, 3,6% recebiam atendimento especializado em odontologia e apenas 3,4% eram atendidos por outros profissionais da saúde. O atendimento interdisciplinar e a atenção em todos os níveis do sistema são fatores essenciais para a integralidade das ações em saúde.<br>The aim of this study was to evaluate the periodontal conditions of individuals with diabetes and to analyze how SUS has contributed to the health attention of these people in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State. For that, a sample of 300 individuals was selected and interviews with diabetics and health unit managers were conducted. From those, 55% presented gingivitis, 35.3% periodontitis and 9.7% were healthy. As for the integral attention for diabetics in SUS, it was observed that despite the fact that most of them were under medical supervision, only 27.3% were under dental treatment in basic health care units, 3.6% had specialized dental care and only 3.4% were seen by other health workers. Interdisciplinary care and attention in all levels of the system are essential factors for the integrality of health actions