1. |
- Fazey, Ioan, et al.
(author)
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Transforming knowledge systems for life on Earth : Visions of future systems and how to get there
- 2020
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In: Energy Research & Social Science. - : Elsevier. - 2214-6296 .- 2214-6326. ; 70
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Formalised knowledge systems, including universities and research institutes, are important for contemporary societies. They are, however, also arguably failing humanity when their impact is measured against the level of progress being made in stimulating the societal changes needed to address challenges like climate change. In this research we used a novel futures-oriented and participatory approach that asked what future envisioned knowledge systems might need to look like and how we might get there. Findings suggest that envisioned future systems will need to be much more collaborative, open, diverse, egalitarian, and able to work with values and systemic issues. They will also need to go beyond producing knowledge about our world to generating wisdom about how to act within it. To get to envisioned systems we will need to rapidly scale methodological innovations, connect innovators, and creatively accelerate learning about working with intractable challenges. We will also need to create new funding schemes, a global knowledge commons, and challenge deeply held assumptions. To genuinely be a creative force in supporting longevity of human and non-human life on our planet, the shift in knowledge systems will probably need to be at the scale of the enlightenment and speed of the scientific and technological revolution accompanying the second World War. This will require bold and strategic action from governments, scientists, civic society and sustained transformational intent.
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2. |
- Fontenelle, Ana Luiza, et al.
(author)
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Leading the Pathway : How Unicamp Is Implementing Sustainable Practices in the Energy Sector in Its Campuses?
- 2022
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In: World Sustainability Series. - Cham : Springer International Publishing. - 2199-7373 .- 2199-7381. ; , s. 249-266
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Universities are powerful drivers to create and advance knowledge on sustainable development. Furthermore, they can be used as a controlled environment to apply innovative technologies and approaches. This process also embraces industry and government, in the triple helix innovation model, as in the University of Campinas (Unicamp), Brazil—one of the best Latin American universities (3rd)—and immersed in a significant financial and technological region in Brazil. It has 6 Campuses in 3 different cities, almost 40,000 students (high school, technical education, undergraduate, graduate, residency, and extension courses), and almost 10,000 employees (professors, technicians, and others). Due to its relevance and excellence, Unicamp decides to lead the pathway in urban sustainable development through its Sustainable Campus Project launched out in 2017 in partnership with an energy company (CPFL Energia) and with the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL) through a Research and Development program. This chapter presents the Sustainable Campus Project’s main goals, practices, and current results, such as implementing electric buses, local solar generation, electrical efficiency improvement, and education. Through this case, we aim to show how universities, especially in developing countries, can lead the local pathway to a sustainable world.
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3. |
- Pereira, Carla, et al.
(author)
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Comparison of East‐Asia and West‐Europe cohorts explains disparities in survival outcomes and highlights predictive biomarkers of early gastric cancer aggressiveness
- 2021
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 150:5, s. 868-880
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Surgical resection with lymphadenectomy and perioperative chemotherapy is the universal mainstay for curative treatment of gastric cancer (GC) patients with locoregional disease. However, GC survival remains asymmetric in West- and East-world regions. We hypothesize that this asymmetry derives from differential clinical management. Therefore, we collected chemo-naïve GC patients from Portugal and South Korea to explore specific immunophenotypic profiles related to disease aggressiveness and clinicopathological factors potentially explaining associated overall survival (OS) differences. Clinicopathological and survival data were collected from chemo-naïve surgical cohorts from Portugal (West-Europe cohort [WE-C]; n = 170) and South Korea (East-Asia cohort [EA-C]; n = 367) and correlated with immunohistochemical expression profiles of E-cadherin and CD44v6 obtained from consecutive tissue microarrays sections. Survival analysis revealed a subset of 12.4% of WE-C patients, whose tumors concomitantly express E-cadherin_abnormal and CD44v6_very high, displaying extremely poor OS, even at TNM stages I and II. These WE-C stage-I and -II patients tumors were particularly aggressive compared to all others, invading deeper into the gastric wall (P = .032) and more often permeating the vasculature (P = .018) and nerves (P = .009). A similar immunophenotypic profile was found in 11.9% of EA-C patients, but unrelated to survival. Tumours, from stage-I and -II EA-C patients, that display both biomarkers, also permeated more lymphatic vessels (P = .003), promoting lymph node (LN) metastasis (P = .019), being diagnosed on average 8 years earlier and submitted to more extensive LN dissection than WE-C. Concomitant E-cadherin_abnormal/CD44v6_very-high expression predicts aggressiveness and poor survival of stage-I and -II GC submitted to conservative lymphadenectomy.
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4. |
- Solorzano, Leslie, 1989-, et al.
(author)
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Towards automatic protein co-expression quantification in immunohistochemical TMA slides
- 2021
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In: IEEE journal of biomedical and health informatics. - : Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). - 2168-2194 .- 2168-2208. ; 25:2, s. 393-402
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis of tissue biopsies is currently used for clinical screening of solid cancers to assess protein expression. The large amount of image data produced from these tissue samples requires specialized computational pathology methods to perform integrative analysis. Even though proteins are traditionally studied independently, the study of protein co-expression may offer new insights towards patients' clinical and therapeutic decisions. To explore protein co-expression, we constructed a modular image analysis pipeline to spatially align tissue microarray (TMA) image slides, evaluate alignment quality, define tumor regions, and ultimately quantify protein expression, before and after tumor segmentation. The pipeline was built with open-source tools that can manage gigapixel slides. To evaluate the consensus between pathologist and computer, we characterized a cohort of 142 gastric cancer (GC) cases regarding the extent of E-cadherin and CD44v6 expression. We performed IHC analysis in consecutive TMA slides and compared the automated quantification with the pathologists' manual assessment. Our results show that automated quantification within tumor regions improves agreement with the pathologists' classification. A co-expression map was created to identify the cores co-expressing both proteins. The proposed pipeline provides not only computational tools forwarding current pathology practices to explore co-expression, but also a framework for merging data and transferring information in learning-based approaches to pathology.
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5. |
- Abbafati, Cristiana, et al.
(author)
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- 2020
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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6. |
- Amaral, Rita, et al.
(author)
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Profiling Persistent Asthma Phenotypes in Adolescents : A Longitudinal Diagnostic Evaluation from the INSPIRERS Studies
- 2021
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In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 18:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We aimed to identify persistent asthma phenotypes among adolescents and to evaluate longitudinally asthma-related outcomes across phenotypes. Adolescents (13-17 years) from the prospective, observational, and multicenter INSPIRERS studies, conducted in Portugal and Spain, were included (n = 162). Latent class analysis was applied to demographic, environmental, and clinical variables, collected at a baseline medical visit. Longitudinal differences in clinical variables were assessed at a 4-month follow-up telephone contact (n = 128). Three classes/phenotypes of persistent asthma were identified. Adolescents in class 1 (n = 87) were highly symptomatic at baseline and presented the highest number of unscheduled healthcare visits per month and exacerbations per month, both at baseline and follow-up. Class 2 (n = 32) was characterized by female predominance, more frequent obesity, and uncontrolled upper/lower airways symptoms at baseline. At follow-up, there was a significant increase in the proportion of controlled lower airway symptoms (p < 0.001). Class 3 (n = 43) included mostly males with controlled lower airways symptoms; at follow-up, while keeping symptom control, there was a significant increase in exacerbations/month (p = 0.015). We have identified distinct phenotypes of persistent asthma in adolescents with different patterns in longitudinal asthma-related outcomes, supporting the importance of profiling asthma phenotypes in predicting disease outcomes that might inform targeted interventions and reduce future risk.
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7. |
- Cabral dos Santos, Alex, 1990, et al.
(author)
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Water masses seasonality and meteorological patterns drive the biogeochemical processes of a subtropical and urbanized watershed-bay-shelf continuum
- 2020
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In: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697. ; 749
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- © 2020 Elsevier B.V. Understanding the different scales of temporal variability is crucial to improve the knowledge of the biogeochemical processes in the land-ocean interface. In this study, we evaluated the role of continental runoff and intrusion of oceanic water masses in the trophic state of the Bay of Santa Catarina Island (BSCI) over the last three decades (1993–2019) by using multiple biogeochemical and eutrophication assessment tools. The sub-watersheds of BSCI showed high concentrations of nutrients, fecal coliform and chlorophyll-a, directly correlated to the number of inhabitants. Worst-case scenarios were found in summer and fall seasons due to sewage inputs caused by mass tourism and the inefficiency or even absence of treatment systems, boosted by strong rainfall. The intrusion of the South Atlantic Central Water and the Plata Plume Water into the BSCI favored autotrophy in the summer and heterotrophy in the winter, coupled with low and high residence time, respectively. El Niño events enhanced rainfall and continental runoff, exporting elevated nutrients and phytoplankton biomass loads from the eutrophic rivers to the continental shelf. The pattern reverses during La Niña, when chlorophyll and nutrient peaks were detected inside the bay. Eutrophication evaluation indicated that the trophic state oscillated from moderate to high and that these conditions tend to remain the same in future scenarios due to the moderate residence time of the water, anthropogenic pressures, periodic algal blooms and the intrusion of nutrient-rich oceanic water masses. Management actions, such as the improvement of the wastewater treatment system and wetlands restoration, are needed in order to mitigate eutrophication and the loss of ecosystem services and functions.
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8. |
- Cork, Steven, et al.
(author)
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Exploring Alternative Futures in the Anthropocene
- 2023
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In: Annual Review Environment and Resources. - 1543-5938 .- 1545-2050. ; 48, s. 25-54
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Many challenges posed by the current Anthropocene epoch require fundamental transformations to humanity's relationships with the rest of the planet. Achieving such transformations requires that humanity improve its understanding of the current situation and enhance its ability to imagine pathways toward alternative, preferable futures. We review advances in addressing these challenges that employ systematic and structured thinking about multiple possible futures (futures-thinking). Over seven decades, especially the past two, approaches to futures-thinking have helped people from diverse backgrounds reach a common understanding of important issues, underlying causes, and pathways toward optimistic futures. A recent focus has been the stimulation of imagination to produce new options. The roles of futures-thinking in breaking unhelpful social addictions and in conflict resolution are key emerging topics. We summarize cognitive, cultural, and institutional constraints on the societal uptake of futures-thinking, concluding that none are insurmountable once understood.
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9. |
- Davids, Peter R., et al.
(author)
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Multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary approaches to nature-based flood risk management
- 2024
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In: Current Opinion in Environmental Science and Health. - : Elsevier BV. - 2468-5844. ; 38
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Nature-based solutions (NBS) can act as a valuable complement to conventional ‘grey’ infrastructure for stormwater management (e.g. dams and dikes) in reducing flood risks as these ‘green’ solutions are perceived to be more flexible and multifunctional. However, to achieve effective NBS, a multi-actor approach in developing appropriate measures for specific sites is required as NBS occupy more space than ‘grey’ infrastructure and often overlap with private land. NBS also necessitate a multidisciplinary approach, to maximise environmental, social, and economic benefits. Thus, a transdisciplinary approach is needed for the effective implementation of NBS. Viewing NBS as a boundary concept, focusing on the common ground for different disciplines and actors, can facilitate communication and provide a first step towards effective flood risk mitigation.
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10. |
- de Oliveira Pereira, David Iubel, et al.
(author)
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Assessing challenges, barriers, practices and capability towards digitalization
- 2020
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In: Proceedings of the 2020 IISE Annual Conference. ; , s. 736-741
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Digitalization involves transformations of organizational structures, with the establishment of new practices and developing digital capabilities. However, many companies are struggling with the development of their digital strategy and many others’ digital strategies are failing. Due this reason, this paper aims to organize information regarding challenges, barriers, practices and capabilities towards digitalization. To support the objective, this research performs a case study in an automotive plant of an international company situated in Brazil. The data collected comes from interviews, technical documents and visits to the plant. The main results revealed a list of challenges and barriers: few people have the proper digital skills; lack of a common framework; misalignment with headquarters’ strategies and initiatives; higher cost to acquire technologies in Brazil; insufficient understanding of how to implement digital technologies in different contexts. Regarding the practices, the company listed the creation of innovation labs; regular meetings and visits to the shop floor; development of governance policies for processing, storage, management and presentation of data; increase collaboration with universities and research institutes; increasing investments in digital technologies. The processes for developing digital capabilities are based on trainings, workshops and pilot or conceptual projects focused on developing of a new service-based business model.
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