La bioprospección como un mecanismo de cooperación internacional para fortalecimiento de capacidades en ciencia y tecnología en Colombia

La bioprospección, definida como la exploración de la biodiversidad para fines comerciales, se ha convertido recientemente en una potencial estrategia mediante la cual los países ricos en biodiversidad pueden aumentar sus capacidades endógenas para realizar actividades de CyT, especialmente mediante la interacción con otros países de mayor desarrollo tecnológico. Es así, como este trabajo se concentra en analizar la mecánica de cooperación internacional de un país considerado megadiverso, Colombia, a través del análisis de coautoría de 342 artículos publicados en revistas indexadas en las redes ISI y SCOPUS, información que se complementa mediante entrevistas con 12 líderes de grupos colombianos. Los resultados evidencian que España es el país con mayor colaboración con Colombia; que la cooperación con países de América se sitúa en un tercer plano y ésta se intensifica cuando hay de por medio un país europeo; la escasa cooperación entre grupos colombianos origina una agenda de investigación dispersa y en temas muy variados sin orientación y prioridades estratégicas.

Solutions in radiology services management: a literature review

AbstractObjective:The present study was aimed at reviewing the literature to identify solutions for problems observed in radiology services.Materials and Methods:Basic, qualitative, exploratory literature review at Scopus and SciELO databases, utilizing the Mendeley and Illustrator CC Adobe softwares.Results:In the databases, 565 papers – 120 out of them, pdf free – were identified. Problems observed in the radiology sector are related to procedures scheduling, humanization, lack of training, poor knowledge and use of management techniques, and interaction with users. The design management provides the services with interesting solutions such as Benchmarking, CRM, Lean Approach, ServiceBlueprinting, continued education, among others.Conclusion:Literature review is an important tool to identify problems and respective solutions. However, considering the small number of studies approaching management of radiology services, this is a great field of research for the development of deeper studies.

Identifying reasons for failure in biomedical research and publishing

The regular assessment of Brazilian scientific output means that individual university departments need to constantly improve the quantity and quality of their scientific output. A significant proportion of this output involves the work of Master’s and Doctoral students, but getting this work published in a suitable journal can often prove to be a challenge. Although students’ lack of fluency in English is a contributing factor, many of the problems observed have an early origin in the formulation of the research problem and its relevance to current research trends in the international literature. In short, more time needs to be spent in the library and less in the laboratory, and more effort needs to be made in teaching students basic research skills such as the effective use of bibliographic databases like PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus.

Addressing conflicts of interest in the research paper: a societal demand in contemporary science?

In the last decade, dialogue between science and society has found a forum in an increasing number of publications on topics such as public engagement with science and public trust in science. Concerning the latter, issues that include cases of research misconduct, accountability in research, and conflicts of interest (COIs) have shaped global discussions on the communication of science. In the publication setting, the perception that hiding COIs and/or not managing them well may affect public trust in the research record has grown among editors. We conducted a search for editorials addressing COIs between 1989 and 2011, using four major databases: Medline/PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Knowledge. We explored the content of these editorials and the relationship they established between COIs and the public trust in science. Our results demonstrate that the relationship between disclosure of COIs and public trust in science has become a major concern among editors. We, thus, argue that COIs should be discussed more openly and frequently in graduate courses in the sciences, around the globe, not only in biomedical but also in non-biomedical areas. This is a critical issue in contemporary science, as graduate students are the future voices and decision-makers of the research community. Therefore, COIs, especially in the broader context of science and society, merit closer attention from policymakers, researchers, and educators. At times of great expectations for public engagement with science, mishandling of COIs may have undesirable consequences for public engagement with science and confidence in the scientific endeavor.

Cocos nucifera (L.) (Arecaceae): A phytochemical and pharmacological review

Cocos nucifera (L.) (Arecaceae) is commonly called the “coconut tree” and is the most naturally widespread fruit plant on Earth. Throughout history, humans have used medicinal plants therapeutically, and minerals, plants, and animals have traditionally been the main sources of drugs. The constituents of C. nucifera have some biological effects, such as antihelminthic, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, antioxidant, antifungal, antimicrobial, and antitumor activities. Our objective in the present study was to review the phytochemical profile, pharmacological activities, and toxicology of C. nucifera to guide future preclinical and clinical studies using this plant. This systematic review consisted of searches performed using scientific databases such as Scopus, Science Direct, PubMed, SciVerse, and Scientific Electronic Library Online. Some uses of the plant were partially confirmed by previous studies demonstrating analgesic, antiarthritic, antibacterial, antipyretic, antihelminthic, antidiarrheal, and hypoglycemic activities. In addition, other properties such as antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, cardioprotective, antiseizure, cytotoxicity, hepatoprotective, vasodilation, nephroprotective, and anti-osteoporosis effects were also reported. Because each part of C. nucifera has different constituents, the pharmacological effects of the plant vary according to the part of the plant evaluated.