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Natural ecosystems are under severe threat worldwide and environmental policies are essential to minimize present and future impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem services and climate change. The New Forest Act in Brazil is the main policy to protect native vegetation in private lands, which comprise 54% of the remaining Brazilian native vegetation. However, conflicts between environmental and agricultural concerns in its implementation demand for balanced solutions based on scientific evidence. To face the challenge of applying science in environmental policy establishment, we developed a scientific project funded by the São Paulo State Research Foundation (FAPESP) to support the implementation of the New Forest Act in São Paulo State, as part of the Biota/FAPESP Program. The project was conducted differently from a regular research project: the broad objective was to provide scientific support to the State's implementation of the New Forest Act, based on a participatory interaction among stakeholders to build specific objectives, methods, and discussion of results, within an interdisciplinary and intersectoral research team. Here, we present the lessons learned during and after the four years of the research project development to evaluate how scientific knowledge can be produced and adopted in the implementation of a specific environmental policy. We present the main outcomes and the challenges faced in trying to include scientific data in the decision-making process. We also present current and future challenges in the New Forest Act implementation that could be solved with scientific evidence. The lessons learned showed that even designing the project in order to meet the needs to support the implementation of the environmental policy, avoiding difficulties normally pointed out by similar projects, there was a great difficulty for scientific contributions to be adopted in the decision-making process. Most of the scientific information and advice, even after discussion and common understanding among a diverse stakeholder group, were ignored or over-ruled in the final decision-making phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pioneer school of inclusion in education, started a Support Program for Gifted and Talented Students in 2017 so as to attend to the educational needs of this population, which are stated in the Decree Nr. 2837/2014 that sets provisions for the Law Nr. 5136/2013 on Inclusion in Education. This article evaluates the implementation of the Support Program for Gifted and Talented Students at the school from its conception in 2016, its inception in 2017, adjustments in 2018, and current situation in 2019, with all modifications that were put in place based on results of continual evaluations conducted within the program. The methodology is qualitative, using a practical action research design with a formative and process-based evaluation type. Results indicate that the program follows best practices according to scientific evidence in what constitutes working with gifted and talented students, focusing on their academic, social, and emotional development. Program procedures were modified throughout the years to optimize time and resources, seeking continuous improvement. For the future, it is fundamental that this knowledge be transmitted so that gifted and talented students all over the country can take advantage of optimal interventions to fulfill their educational needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mexico has an extensive history in the field of vaccine application and production, which resulted in a prestigious prevention program based on the development of effective, low-cost vaccines, applicable on a large scale and with lasting protective effects. However, along with the creation of vaccines, the opposition groups were born, who present a range of arguments ranging from religious, philosophical, economic, security and personal opinions against vaccination. Due to this problem, this article addresses the arguments most frequently used by the community reluctant to vaccinate and scientific evidence supporting child vaccination is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: It's analyzed the impact of the per capita expenditure in health and nursery coverage in the detection of diabetes in Mexico. Objective. To Identify the impact of the per capita expenditure and the coverage of the nursery services in the detection of diabetes in Mexico. METHODOLOGY: Quantitative, transversal, correlational study with official information from the National Health System and the "Mexico Evaluates" organization. Simple and relative frequencies were calculated in order to explore and quantify the relationship between the spending per capita, health and nursery coverage and the detection of diabetes in Mexico, using a linear regression. RESULTS: The nursery coverage ratio is 1.89 nurses per thousand inhabitants, which is considered low, also the coverage has up to three units variation, the biggest variations were found in the Mexico State with 1.24 and Mexico City with 3.97 nurses per thousand habitants. Multivariate analysis showed a change in R2 of 0.927 and a p value of 0.0000, which indicates that the nursery coverage along with the per capita expenditure are predictive variables of a better diabetes detection. CONCLUSIONS: This paper shows how the per capita spending in health and the nursery coverage, impact in the diabetes detection, therefore, these results represent a way of contributing in decision making to develop an evidence-based public policy, that make it more efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional magnetic resonance imaging is one of the most commonly used neuroimaging techniques in cognitive neuroscience. Its influence had a central role in establishing the experimental side of the field. Given this, we consider that its status as a source of evidence has not been sufficiently dealt within the philosophical literature. We focus on this issue from the standpoint of the classical problem of defining the scope of localizationist approaches in neuroscience. We attend to the way this tension unfolds today, considering some recent examples of neuroscientific approaches that tackle the dynamic character of the brain's large scale activity. We take into account a number of limitations that functional magnetic resonance imaging presents, distinguishing those of them whose treatment involves not merely technical issues. On the basis of an analysis of some ways researchers deal with them, we claim that there is a considerable extent in which this kind of neuroimaging studies can be oriented according to general assumptions and theoretical considerations. We conclude that this particular theoretical permeability is a main factor affecting the technique's status as neuroscientific evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quasi-experimental investigation is that one that has as aim test a causal hypothesis manipulating (at least) an independent variable where for logistic or ethical reasons it is not possible to assign the units of investi-gation at random to the groups. Due to the fact that many decisions at the social level take on the basis of the result of investigations with these char-acteristics, it is imperative that have an exquisite planning of the application of the treatment, of the control in the process of the investigation and of the analysis of the data. Last year 2013 the quasi-experimental designs ex-pired 50 years, and this work in an honoring to Campbell and to all the in-vestigators who day after day contribute ideas to improve the quasi-experimental method in someone of his aspects. From the hand of a re-view of the quasi-experimental investigations published in a period of 11 years in three journals of psychology we distinguish some aspects that refer to the care of the method. We finished work by proposing the concept of Structured Validity, which in summary, is the thread that must follow all re-search to test with guarantee the hypothesis that respond to the objectives it raised, in particular, in quasi-experimental investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this systematic review is to determine if the lipografts enriched with stem cells derived from adipose tissue are superior to the conventional fatty tissue grafts in the treatment of facial lipoatrophy. A systematic search was performed for publications in the databases: MEDLINE, SCOPUS, OVID SP, SCIELO and EMBASE. An evaluation was subsequently conducted based on current criteria of evidence-based medicine of the publications found by two independent reviewers and discrepancies in the analysis were resolved by agreement. The inclusion criteria were: randomized clinical trials, clinical series and case reports in humans; the reports in animals were excluded. We found 6 publications that meet the criteria previously mentioned. Between these, 2 randomized controlled clinical trials reported the superiority of the lipografts enriched with stem cells derived from adipose tissue in the treatment of facial lipoatrophy in terms of resistance to the reabsorption (volume preservation) and less need for new lipografts when compared with the conventional lipografts. We conclude that there are publications with good levels of evidence to suggest that the lipografts enriched with stem cells derived from adipose tissue are better than the conventional lipografts in the treatment of facial lipoatrophy. However, these are studies of recent publication and it is still necessary to have long-term follow-ups and with a greater number of patients to improve the already good levels of evidence available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report shows the level of scientific consensus on definition, characteristics and health benefits of probiotics. The content of the report has derived from the scientific meeting: Workshop on Probiotics and Health. Scientific evidence, that congregated several Spanish experts, including gastroenterologists, microbiologists, nutritionists, immunologists and food technologists, among others, who have agreed with the statements shown in this document. Each statement has been sustained with the most relevant scientific aspects that were discussed during the Workshop and the following evaluation of the report by all experts who approved and signed it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is an essay where an interpretation of applied research that is current in the System of Studies of Post grade of the University of Costa Rica (SEP) is exposed, for the final work of graduation in the professional masters' degrees. Some criteria of the author, academic discussions are discussed on the subject and other reasonings, based in contributions of different authors. The need is to update knowledge in agreement with the investigation and the possibilities to carry it out, and is based on the assumption that research is essential in the professional formation, since it generates new knowledge that feedback the disciplines and the professional exercise. The research itself, on one hand requires rigor and excellence; and in the other, it maintains the platform to propose and to develop new investigations. For that reason, the importance of active participation of students and teachers in the investigation processes cannot be ignored, to favor the taking of conscience of the reality that is investigated, as well as of the duties and rights of those who they investigate, which implies a new form to think the practice of research, so that solutions based on the context of people's actions and on philosophical, ontological, epistemological and methodological changes in investigation are offered. On that matter, research based on the knowledge and the understanding of how people perceive their reality and themselves; that is to say, that which focuses on the development of actions for the improvement of the reality that is investigated is analyzed throughout the essay as an operative necessity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work focuses on the so-called dual diagnosis (DD): bipolar disorder (BD) associated with substance use disorders (SUD). Although the psychiatrists who treat patients with BD and physicians in charge of patients with SUD frequently find this association with DD, unfortunately there are few scientific works that have studied this association. The Spanish Working Group on Bipolar Disorders in Dual Diagnosis reviewed the published material using a Medline search and selected the most relevant articles. Following this, the Work Group developed an expert consensus in DD and finally, a survey was performed among a group of experts in this disorder to cover the areas that were not fully addressed by the scientific evidence or in those areas in which the Work Group was unable to reach a consensus. We conclude that, in view of the above, establishment of a consensus is a valid tool to complement the current scientific evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mexico ratified the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control in 2004 and is obligated to move forward with implementing its provisions, including Article 8 (Protection from exposure to tobacco smoke). The country has already faced opposition from the tobacco industry. This paper addresses industry tactics against tobacco control, describing the general strategies that have been pursued and the evidence relevant to combating these strategies. The approaches taken by the industry in an effort to discredit the scientific foundation for promoting smokefree environments, the efforts by the industry to propose ventilation of indoor spaces and separation of smokers from nonsmokers as an effective alternative to smokefree places, and finally, the strategy of raising fear of economic losses on the part of the hospitality industry and thereby gaining this sector as an ally in campaigning against smokefree policies are considered. As reviewed in this article: 1) There is scientific consensus on the adverse effects of inhaling SHS; 2) Only smokefree places fully protect nonsmokers from inhaling SHS; and 3) Smokefree policies do not bring economic harm to the hospitality industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]