Avaliação dos impactos socioeconômicos de projetos energéticos – eletrificação rural: área de concessão da ENERSUL – MS

This article evaluates the impacts of the Program of Rural Electrification called “Luz no Campo” on the energy profile of rural properties located in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The evaluation period comprehends three phases – ex-ante, intermediary and ex-post – of the field research and is based on the area of concession of the utility ENERSUL. It presents a panel of the local energy consumption and its relations with the family incomes. It also identifies some changes that occurred as a result of the access to electric energy. The results intend to help the decision makers in the formulation of public policies that aim at promoting the optimization of the use of energetic resources and atpromoting rural development.Key words: Energy, Rural electrification, Sustainable development.Este artigo busca avaliar os impactos no perfil energético das propriedades rurais, decorrentes da implementação do Programa de Eletrificação Rural “Luz no Campo” para a área de concessão da ENERSUL – Empresa Energética de Mato Grosso do Sul, durante três fases da pesquisa de campo: a fase ex-ante, a fase intermediária e a fase ex-post. Será apresentado um painel do perfil de consumo energético das comunidades e, além disso, as relações entre esse consumo e a renda familiar dessa população. Serão identificadas algumas transformações que o homem do campo sofre com a chegada da energia elétrica. Os resultados auxiliarão os tomadores de decisão na formulação de políticas públicas que promovam a otimização do uso de recursos energéticos, assim como na promoção do desenvolvimento rural.Palavras-chave: Energia, Eletrificação rural, Desenvolvimento sustentável

Avaliação dos impactos socioeconômicos de projetos energéticos – eletrificação rural: área de concessão da ENERSUL – MS

This article evaluates the impacts of the Program of Rural Electrification called “Luz no Campo” on the energy profile of rural properties located in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The evaluation period comprehends three phases – ex-ante, intermediary and ex-post – of the field research and is based on the area of concession of the utility ENERSUL. It presents a panel of the local energy consumption and its relations with the family incomes. It also identifies some changes that occurred as a result of the access to electric energy. The results intend to help the decision makers in the formulation of public policies that aim at promoting the optimization of the use of energetic resources and atpromoting rural development.Key words: Energy, Rural electrification, Sustainable development.Este artigo busca avaliar os impactos no perfil energético das propriedades rurais, decorrentes da implementação do Programa de Eletrificação Rural “Luz no Campo” para a área de concessão da ENERSUL – Empresa Energética de Mato Grosso do Sul, durante três fases da pesquisa de campo: a fase ex-ante, a fase intermediária e a fase ex-post. Será apresentado um painel do perfil de consumo energético das comunidades e, além disso, as relações entre esse consumo e a renda familiar dessa população. Serão identificadas algumas transformações que o homem do campo sofre com a chegada da energia elétrica. Os resultados auxiliarão os tomadores de decisão na formulação de políticas públicas que promovam a otimização do uso de recursos energéticos, assim como na promoção do desenvolvimento rural.Palavras-chave: Energia, Eletrificação rural, Desenvolvimento sustentável

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

Sustainable expansion of electricity sector: Sustainability indicators as an instrument to support decision making

The aim of this paper is to put forward a proposal for a methodology to analyze the sustainability of the expansion of electricity generation. To do so, an approach is needed that takes into account, in an integrated perspective, the technical, socioeconomic, environmental and technological factors of the various alternatives for sector expansion. In this regard, multicriteria analysis (MCA) is proposed as an evaluation tool. It will be applied to a situation that involves the selection of the following expansion alternatives: small hydropowers, wind energy, generation from sugarcane bagasse, biodiesel, urban solid wastes, natural gas and nuclear energy. The methodology involved the development of indicators encompassing technological, environmental social and economic dimensions, for each of the aforementioned expansion alternatives, and the results were very interesting, from a multicriteria point of view, in their capacity to internalize socioenvironmental, technological and economic aspects in the decision making process for electricity generation expansion. It may well prove to be a useful tool for supporting this decision, although efforts are required to standardize the methodology with regard to its evaluation procedures.Sustainability Multicriteria analysis Renewable sources of energy

"Immuni" and the National Health System: Lessons Learnt from the COVID-19 Digital Contact Tracing in Italy

Since the early stage of the current pandemic, digital contact tracing (DCT) through mobile phone apps, called "Immuni", has been introduced to complement manual contact tracing in Italy. Until 31 December 2021, Immuni identified 44,880 COVID-19 cases, which corresponds to less than 1% of total COVID-19 cases reported in Italy in the same period (5,886,411). Overall, Immuni generated 143,956 notifications. Although the initial download of the Immuni app represented an early interest in the new tool, Immuni has had little adoption across the Italian population, and the recent increase in its download is likely to be related to the mandatory Green Pass certification for conducting most daily activities that can be obtained via the application. Therefore, Immuni failed as a support tool for the contact tracing system. Other European experiences seem to show similar limitations in the use of DTC, leaving open questions about its effectiveness, although in theory, contact tracing could allow useful means of "proximity tracking"

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/‘proxy’ AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/‘proxy’ AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele