OCEAN LAW IN TIMES OF HEALTH EMERGENCY: DEEP SEABED MINING CONTRIBUTIONS AND ITS FEAR OF OVEREXPLOITATION

The deep seabed has one of the most enriched biodiverse places on Earth. Scientists have found some essential biomedical breakthroughs derived from hydrothermal vents involved in treating disease outbreaks among seabed minerals. Futuristic as it may sound, new pharmaceutical discoveries pressure the International Seabed Authority (ISA) into strengthening its global rules on mining exploitation beyond areas of national jurisdiction (ABNJ).  This paper presents a general evaluation of the existing legal system of deep seabed mining. It highlights that, increasingly, pharmaceutical companies are shifting to ABNJ seabed areas for exploitation, pressuring the international order for a more coherent and effective mining exploitation system for the next decade. The analysis of international legal frameworks for the Law of the Sea is notable. However, there are still substantial gaps in deep seabed mining’s global governance, expected to commence soon, as ISA rushes to approve a new international mining code. The result supports a transparent mining exploitation process in ABNJ, facilitating cooperation between sectors and between countries, fostering equitable sharing, and preserving the fragile ecosystem

DISPENSAÇÃO DE OPIÓIDES EM UMA DROGARIA NO SUL DE MINAS GERAIS

Opioid medications are analgesic medications. They are useful medications in pain relief, but they are also not risk-free. Codeine and tramadol are narcotic drugs called opioids. Codeine is used to treat mild to moderate pain and also to reduce cough, approved for use in adults. Problems such as COVID-19 can cause the use of these drugs for the treatment of pain and cough. The aim of this study is to evaluate the dispensation of opioid drugs through data analysis from a drugstore in southern Minas Gerais and classify opioid analgesics, describing the importance of monitoring users of these drugs. According to the results obtained in the present study, tramadol opioid was best-selling in May 2021 and in June had a significant increase in tramadol and codeine. Considering the importance of these drugs for the treatment of chronic pain and cough, the data obtained were associated with the increase in the dispensation of these drugs with the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the symptoms of COVID-19 caused an increase in the use of these drugs for palliative treatment.Los medicamentos opioides son medicamentos analgésicos. Son medicamentos útiles para aliviar el dolor, pero tampoco están libres de riesgos. La codeína y el tramadol son narcóticos llamados opioides. La codeína se usa para tratar el dolor leve a moderado y también para reducir la tos, aprobado para su uso en adultos. Problemas como el COVID-19 pueden causar el uso de estos medicamentos para el tratamiento del dolor y la tos. El objetivo de este estudio es evaluar la dispensación de medicamentos opioides a través del análisis de datos de una farmacia en el sur de Minas Gerais y clasificar los analgésicos opioides, describiendo la importancia de monitorear a los usuarios de estos medicamentos. Según los resultados obtenidos en el presente estudio, el opioide tramadol fue el más vendido en mayo de 2021 y en junio tuvo un aumento significativo en tramadol y codeína. Considerando la importancia de estos medicamentos para el tratamiento del dolor crónico y la tos, los datos obtenidos se asociaron con el aumento de la dispensación de estos medicamentos con la pandemia de COVID-19. Por lo tanto, los síntomas de COVID-19 causaron un aumento en el uso de estos medicamentos para el tratamiento paliativo.Os medicamentos opioides são medicamentos analgésicos. São medicamentos úteis no alívio de dor, mas também não são isentos de riscos. A codeína e o tramadol são medicamentos narcóticos chamados de opioides. A codeína é usada para tratar a dor leve a moderada e também para reduzir a tosse, aprovada para uso em adultos. Problemas como a COVID-19 podem ocasionar o uso dessas drogas para o tratamento da dor e tosse. O objetivo desse estudo é avaliar a dispensação de medicamentos opioides através da análises de dados de uma drogaria do Sul de Minas Gerais e classificar os analgésicos opioides, descrevendo a importância da monitorização de usuários dessas drogas. De acordo com os resultados obtidos no presente estudo, o opioide tramadol foi mais vendido no mês de maio de 2021 e no mês de junho teve um aumento significativo de tramadol e codeína. Considerando a importância dessas drogas para o tratamento de dor crônica e tosse, pelos dados obtidos, foi possível associar o aumento da dispensação desses medicamentos com a pandemia da COVID-19. Sendo assim, os sintomas da COVID-19 ocasionaram um aumento do uso desses medicamentos para o tratamento paliativo.Os medicamentos opioides são medicamentos analgésicos. São medicamentos úteis no alívio de dor, mas também não são isentos de riscos. A codeína e o tramadol são medicamentos narcóticos chamados de opioides. A codeína é usada para tratar a dor leve a moderada e também para reduzir a tosse, aprovada para uso em adultos. Problemas como a COVID-19 podem ocasionar o uso dessas drogas para o tratamento da dor e tosse. O objetivo desse estudo é avaliar a dispensação de medicamentos opioides através da análises de dados de uma drogaria do Sul de Minas Gerais e classificar os analgésicos opioides, descrevendo a importância da monitorização de usuários dessas drogas. De acordo com os resultados obtidos no presente estudo, o opioide tramadol foi mais vendido no mês de maio de 2021 e no mês de junho teve um aumento significativo de tramadol e codeína. Considerando a importância dessas drogas para o tratamento de dor crônica e tosse, pelos dados obtidos, foi possível associar o aumento da dispensação desses medicamentos com a pandemia da COVID-19. Sendo assim, os sintomas da COVID-19 ocasionaram um aumento do uso desses medicamentos para o tratamento paliativo

What is the impact of interventions that prevent fetal mortality on the increase of preterm live births in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil?

BACKGROUND: There is a global growing trend of preterm births and a decline trend of fetal deaths. Is there an impact of the decline of fetal mortality on the increase of preterm live births in State of Sao Paulo, Brazil? METHODS: The time trends were evaluated by gestational age through exponential regression analysis. Data analyzed included the fetal mortality ratio, proportion of preterm live births, fertility rate of women 35 years and over, prenatal care, mother's education, multiple births and cesarean section deliveries. A survival analysis was carried out for 2000 and 2010. RESULTS: Preterm births showed the highest annual increase (3.2%) in the less than 28 weeks of gestation group and fetal mortality ratio decreased (7.4%) in the same gestational age group. There was an increase of cesarean section births and it was higher in the < 28 weeks group (6.1%). There was a decreased annual trend of mothers with inadequate prenatal care (6.1%) and low education (8.8%) and an increased trend in multiple births and fertility rates of women of 35 years and over. The variables were highly correlated to which other over time. In 2000, 8.2% of all pregnancies resulted in preterm births (0.9% in fetal deaths and 7.3% in live births). In 2010, the preterm birth increased to 9.4% (0.8% were preterm fetal deaths and 8.6% preterm live births). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that 45.2% could be the maximum contribution of successful interventions to prevent a fetal death on the increase in preterm live births. This increasing trend is also related to changes of the women reproductive profile with the change of the women reproductive profile and access to prenatal care

O papel integrador do Ensino Superior com o Ensino Médio: ações e projetos no Norte do Estado do Espírito Santo (ES), Brasil

The INEP census of 2015 shows that 3 out of 20 schools in Espírito Santo have a science laboratory. The lack of interaction between the students and the applications of the science subjects they study in the books reflects in the grades obtained in exams (national and international) which evaluate their performance in this field of knowledge. A project that brings students from public schools and undergraduate students together in order to cultivate microalgae – from the construction of a photo bioreactor with recyclable materials to the extraction of the microalgae oil – can change this situation. Reviewing the studies on microalgae developed in the Laboratório de Engenharia do Trabalho and in the Laboratório de OperaçõeUnitárias at the Centro UniversitárioNorte do Espírito Santo (CEUNES) between 2012 and 2014, the benefits and challenges to implement such project were identified.En el estado de Espírito Santo el censo del INEP de 2015 informa que cada 20 escuelas, sólo 3 poseen laboratorio de ciencias. La falta de contacto de los alumnos con las aplicaciones de las ciencias que estudian en los libros se refleja en los exámenes (nacionales e internacionales) que evalúan el desempeño de los alumnos en esa área. Un proyecto que acerque a los alumnos de las escuelas públicas a los alumnos de la Universidad Federal de Espírito Santo con el objetivo de cultivar microalgas - yendo desde la construcción de una foto biorreactor con materiales reciclables hasta la extracción del aceite de la microalga -, puede cambiar esa realidad. En el estudio de microalgas ya desarrolladas en el Laboratorio de Ingeniería del Trabajo y en el Laboratorio de Operaciones Unitarias del Centro Universitario Norte de Espírito Santo (CEUNES) entre los años 2012 y 2014, se identificaron los beneficios y desafíos para implementar dicho proyecto.No estado do Espírito Santo o censo do INEP de 2015 informa que a cada 20 escolas, apenas 3 possuem laboratório de ciências. A falta de contato dos alunos com as aplicações das ciências que estudam nos livros reflete-se nos exames (nacionais e internacionais) que avaliam o desempenho dos alunos nessa área. Um projeto que aproxime os alunos das escolas públicas aos alunos da Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo com o objetivo de cultivar microalgas – indo desde a construção de um foto biorreator com materiais recicláveis até a extração do óleo da microalga –, pode mudar essa realidade. Revisando os estudos sobre microalgas já desenvolvidas no Laboratório de Engenharia do Trabalho e no Laboratório de Operações Unitárias do Centro Universitário Norte do Espírito Santo (CEUNES) entre os anos de 2012 e 2014, os benefícios e desafios para implementar tal projeto foram identificados

Ação moduladora da microbiota de portadores de síndrome de Down sobre bactérias cariogênicas

Carriers of Down Syndrome have low prevalence of tooth decay, despite the fact that they show precarious oral hygiene. This research was carried out with the intent of evaluating the possible action of strains that produce bacteriocins as regulators of the carrier of Down Syndrome cariogenic microbiota. Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus are the main acid producers in the oral cavity.Consequently, they were tested antagonistically with strains isolated from the individuals with Down Syndrome in order to verify if cariogenic bacteria were being inhibited by the by the carrier's strains. Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus were isolated with the utilization of agar saccharose bacitracin medium and identified through standard biochemical tests. Samples of carriers'supragingival plaques were collected, spread through dissemination in Agar Mitis Salivarius and after isolation were cultivated in BHI liquid medium.10 cultures from syndromics were seeded in the Muller Hinton medium. After the growth, the colonies in the Petri dishes were treated by chloroform. Then, one portion of the cariogenic bacterium cultures was mixed with soft brain-heart infusion medium and immediately transferred to the Petri dish with the test cultures. Two of the ten tested strains presented a zone of inhibition against Streptococcus mutans. The discovery of strains that produce antibacterial substances may be responsible for the low prevalence of tooth decay in individuals with Down Syndrome. These findings may help to understand the relationship between oral microbiota and pathological tooth decay.Os portadores da Síndrome de Down possuem baixa prevalência de cárie, apesar de apresentarem uma higiene oral deficiente. O estudo foi realizado para detectar cepas produtoras de bacteriocinas, com o intuito de avaliar a sua possível ação como moduladoras da microbiota cariogênica dos sindrômicos. Streptococcus mutans e Streptococcus sobrinus são os principais produtores de ácidos na cavidade oral. Em função disso, esses estreptococos foram testados antagonicamente com cepas isoladas dos indivíduos com Síndrome de Down, para que fosse avaliado se havia inibição das bactérias cariogênicas pelas cepas dos sindrômicos. Streptococcus mutans e Streptococcus sobrinus foram isolados utilizando o meio ágar sacarose bacitracina e identificados através de provas bioquímicas. Uma amostra de placa supragengival dos sindrômicos foi coletada e semeada por disseminação em Ágar Mitis-Salivarius, após o isolamento foram cultivados em caldo BHI. Dez culturas dos sindrômicos foram semeadas no Ágar Muller Hinton. Após o crescimento, as placas foram tratadas com clorofórmio. Sucessivamente, uma porção das culturas de bactérias cariogênicas foi transferida para meio semi-sólido BHI e vertidas nas placas com as culturas testes. Duas das dez cepas testadas apresentaram halo de inibição de crescimento contra cepas de Streptococcus mutans. A descoberta de cepas que produzem substâncias antimicrobianas pode ser responsável pela baixa prevalência de cárie em indivíduos com Síndrome de Down. Esse achado pode ajudar a entender a relação entre microbiota oral e patologia da cárie dentária

Line-based deep learning method for tree branch detection from digital images

The final publication is available at Elsevier via https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2022.102759. © 2021. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 licensePreventive maintenance of power lines, including cutting and pruning of tree branches, is essential to avoid interruptions in the energy supply. Automatic methods can support this risky task and also reduce time consuming. Here, we propose a method in which the orientation and the grasping positions of tree branches are estimated. The proposed method firstly predicts the straight line (representing the tree branch extension) based on a convolutional neural network (CNN). Secondly, a Hough transform is applied to estimate the direction and position of the line. Finally, we estimate the grip point as the pixel point with the highest probability of belonging to the line. We generated a dataset based on internet searches and annotated 1868 images considering challenging scenarios with different tree branch shapes, capture devices, and environmental conditions. Ten-fold cross-validation was adopted, considering 90% for training and 10% for testing. We also assessed the method under corruptions (gaussian and shot) with different severity levels. The experimental analysis showed the effectiveness of the proposed method reporting F1-score of 96.78%. Our method outperformed state-of-the-art Deep Hough Transform (DHT) and Fully Convolutional Line Parsing (F-Clip).This research was funded by CNPq (p: 433783/2018–4, 310517/2020–6, 314902/2018–0, 304052/2019–1 and 303559/2019–5), FUNDECT (p: 59/300. 066/2015, 071/2015) and CAPES PrInt (p: 88881.311850/2018–01). The authors acknowledge the support of the UFMS (Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul) and CAPES (Finance Code 001). This research was also partially supported by the Emerging Interdisciplinary Project of Central University of Finance and Economics

What is the impact of interventions that prevent fetal mortality on the increase of preterm live births in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil?

Abstract\ud \ud Background\ud There is a global growing trend of preterm births and a decline trend of fetal deaths. Is there an impact of the decline of fetal mortality on the increase of preterm live births in State of Sao Paulo, Brazil?\ud \ud \ud Methods\ud The time trends were evaluated by gestational age through exponential regression analysis. Data analyzed included the fetal mortality ratio, proportion of preterm live births, fertility rate of women 35 years and over, prenatal care, mother's education, multiple births and cesarean section deliveries. A survival analysis was carried out for 2000 and 2010.\ud \ud \ud Results\ud Preterm births showed the highest annual increase (3.2 %) in the less than 28 weeks of gestation group and fetal mortality ratio decreased (7.4 %) in the same gestational age group. There was an increase of cesarean section births and it was higher in the < 28 weeks group (6.1 %). There was a decreased annual trend of mothers with inadequate prenatal care (6.1 %) and low education (8.8 %) and an increased trend in multiple births and fertility rates of women of 35 years and over. The variables were highly correlated to which other over time. In 2000, 8.2 % of all pregnancies resulted in preterm births (0.9 % in fetal deaths and 7.3 % in live births). In 2010, the preterm birth increased to 9.4 % (0.8 % were preterm fetal deaths and 8.6 % preterm live births).\ud \ud \ud Conclusions\ud The results suggest that 45.2 % could be the maximum contribution of successful interventions to prevent a fetal death on the increase in preterm live births. This increasing trend is also related to changes of the women reproductive profile with the change of the women reproductive profile and access to prenatal care.State Secretary of Health of São PauloPan American Health Organizatio

Promoting Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) During Brazilian Activities of Genomic and Epidemiological Surveillance of Arboviruses

Zika infectio