Agricultura urbana: alternativa para aliviar a fome e para a educação ambiental.

Este trabalho enfatiza a importância da Agricultura Urbana e Periurbana (AUP), uma iniciativa que tem crescido em muitas cidades do mundo e pode ser uma estratégia eficaz para auxiliar a combater a miséria, melhorar a segurança alimentar e nutricional de algumas comunidades urbanas e criar um habitat urbano melhor. As potencialidades da agricultura urbana são favoráveis à sua implementação e consolidação. A principal delas é a possibilidade de melhoria das condições de vida de parcela da população desprovida (pequenos sitiantes excluídos do processo de produção, e de pessoas que utilizam parte do quintal da casa para produzir algum tipo de alimento), como de consumidores, sobretudo em relação à saúde, já que muitas pessoas estão cada vez mais valorizando a ausência de agrotóxicos nos vegetais que consomem. Além disto, este tipo de atividade é representativo de um nicho de mercado, portanto, algo que represente uma fonte de renda, ainda que pequena, mas que pode significar também o fortalecimento da agricultura familiar no meio urbano. Os benefícios desta agricultura são múltiplos e envolvem notadamente questões como saúde, nutrição, combate à pobreza, saneamento, valorização da cultura local e, especialmente, educação ambiental e podem contribuir bastante para o desenvolvimento sustentável das cidades

Transferência de tecnologia de organizações públicas de pesquisa: uma análise das percepções de empresas agroindustriais no Brasil.

No Brasil, há uma evidente preocupação em relação ao crescente sub-investimento público em pesquisa agroindustrial. Tal tendência, decorrente da crise financeira da década de 80, tem obrigado as organizações públicas de pesquisa a reavaliar freqüentemente suas estratégias de financiamento. O objetivo deste trabalho exploratório foi analisar as percepções de empresas agroindustriais sobre a transferência de tecnologia como estratégia de financiamento de pesquisa. Foi realizado um levantamento de dados e informações por meio de um questionário enviado às 61 empresas que se beneficiaram de tecnologias e serviços gerados pela Embrapa Agroindústria de Alimentos nos dois anos anteriores ao início deste trabalho.Também publicado no Congresso ABIPTI, 2006, Campinas

Tecnologia do processamento de carne do dorso de rã desfiada em conserva.

A carne de rã se destaca pelo seu sabor suave e pela sua textura. Além disso, se apresenta como reserva proteica de elevado valor biológico e baixo teor de gorduras, uma característica diferencial desse produto que é valorizada pelos seus consumidores habituais. Os cortes explorados após o abate se resumem à coxa e ao dorso. A coxa é o corte mais valorizado no mercado, devido à sua quantidade de carne e o dorso apresenta baixo valor devido ao alto percentual de ossos e cartilagem. A atividade da cadeia produtiva da rã é na sua maioria desenvolvida por pequenos produtores que a têm como principal fonte de renda. Em um contexto econômico no qual se busca a eficiência na produção e agregação de valor, não há espaço para descarte dos dorsos que podem representar um passivo ambiental e de perda econômica aos abatedouros. Desta forma, este trabalho objetivou o desenvolvimento da carne do dorso de rã desfiada em conserva, com características sensoriais potencialmente adequadas ao consumo direto e à preparação de diferentes pratos/produtos.bitstream/item/171330/1/CT-224-final.pd

Personalised service? Changing the role of the government librarian

Investigates the feasibility of personalised information service in a government department. A qualitative methodology explored stakeholder opinions on the remit, marketing, resourcing and measurement of the service. A questionnaire and interviews gathered experiences of personalised provision across the government sector. Potential users were similarly surveyed to discuss how the service could meet their needs. Data were analysed using coding techniques to identify emerging theory. Lessons learned from government librarians centred on clarifying requirements, balancing workloads and selective marketing. The user survey showed low usage and awareness of existing specialist services, but high levels of need and interest in services repackaged as a tailored offering. Fieldwork confirmed findings from the literature on the scope for adding value through information management advice, information skills training and substantive research assistance and the need to understand business processes and develop effective partnerships. Concluding recommendations focus on service definition, strategic marketing, resource utilisation and performance measurement

The evolutionary ecology of complex lifecycle parasites: linking phenomena with mechanisms

Many parasitic infections, including those of humans, are caused by complex lifecycle parasites (CLPs): parasites that sequentially infect different hosts over the course of their lifecycle. CLPs come from a wide range of taxonomic groups-from single-celled bacteria to multicellular flatworms-yet share many common features in their life histories. Theory tells us when CLPs should be favoured by selection, but more empirical studies are required in order to quantify the costs and benefits of having a complex lifecycle, especially in parasites that facultatively vary their lifecycle complexity. In this article, we identify ecological conditions that favour CLPs over their simple lifecycle counterparts and highlight how a complex lifecycle can alter transmission rate and trade-offs between growth and reproduction. We show that CLPs participate in dynamic host-parasite coevolution, as more mobile hosts can fuel CLP adaptation to less mobile hosts. Then, we argue that a more general understanding of the evolutionary ecology of CLPs is essential for the development of effective frameworks to manage the many diseases they cause. More research is needed identifying the genetics of infection mechanisms used by CLPs, particularly into the role of gene duplication and neofunctionalisation in lifecycle evolution. We propose that testing for signatures of selection in infection genes will reveal much about how and when complex lifecycles evolved, and will help quantify complex patterns of coevolution between CLPs and their various hosts. Finally, we emphasise four key areas where new research approaches will provide fertile opportunities to advance this field

Elective Cancer Surgery in COVID-19-Free Surgical Pathways During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: An International, Multicenter, Comparative Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19-free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19-free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS: Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19-free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19-free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score-matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION: Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19-free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Elective cancer surgery in COVID-19-free surgical pathways during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: An international, multicenter, comparative cohort study

PURPOSE As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19–free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19–free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19–free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19–free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score–matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19–free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks