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Background: As health systems struggle to tackle the spread of Covid-19, resilience becomes an especially relevant attribute and research topic. More than strength or preparedness, to perform resiliently to emerging shocks, health systems must develop specific abilities that aim to increase their potential to adapt to extraordinary situations while maintaining their regular functioning. Brazil has been one of the most affected countries during the pandemic. In January 2021, the Amazonas state's health system collapsed, especially in the city of Manaus, where acute Covid-19 patients died due to scarcity of medical supplies for respiratory therapy. Methods: This paper explores the case of the health system's collapse in Manaus to uncover the elements that prevented the system from performing resiliently to the pandemic, by carrying out a grounded-based systems analysis of the performance of health authorities in Brazil using the Functional Resonance Analysis Method. The major source of information for this study was the reports from the congressional investigation carried out to unveil the Brazilian response to the pandemic. Results: Poor cohesion between the different levels of government disrupted essential functions for managing the pandemic. Moreover, the political agenda interfered in the abilities of the system to monitor, respond, anticipate, and learn, essential aspects of resilient performance. Conclusions: Through a systems analysis approach, this study describes the implicit strategy of "living with Covid-19", and an in-depth view of the measures that hampered the resilience of the Brazilian health system to the spread of Covid-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants of the species Fridericia chica (Bonpl.) L. G. Lohmann (Bignoniaceae), which are widely distributed in Brazil and named crajiru in the state of Amazonas, are known in folk medicine as a traditional medicine in the form of a tea for the treatment of intestinal colic, diarrhea, and anemia, among other diseases. The chemical analysis of extracts of the leaves has identified phenolic compounds, a class of secondary metabolites that provide defense for plants and benefits to the health of humans. Several studies have shown the therapeutic efficacy of F. chica extracts, with antitumor, antiviral, wound healing, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities being among the therapeutic applications already proven. The healing action of F. chica leaf extract has been demonstrated in several experimental models, and shows the ability to favor the proliferation of fibroblasts, which is essential for tissue repair. The anti-inflammatory activity of F. chica has been clearly demonstrated by several authors, who suggest that it is related to the presence of 3-deoxyanthocyanidins, which is capable of inhibiting pro-inflammatory pathways such as the kappa B (NF-kB) nuclear transcription factor pathway. Another important effect attributed to this species is the antioxidant effect, attributed to phenolic compounds interrupting chain reactions caused by free radicals and donating hydrogen atoms or electrons. In conclusion, the species Fridericia chica has great therapeutic potential, which is detailed in this paper with the objective of encouraging new research and promoting the sum of efforts for the inclusion of herbal medicines in health systems around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reservoir characterization is extremely important for understanding and determining the behavior of hydrocarbon reservoirs. The geophysical well logging, widely applied in the oil industry, helps to obtain essential physical properties (acoustic, electrical, mechanical, radioactive and thermal) by deploying measurement devices in the drilled well. This project aims to carry out the geological characterization of hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Amazonas Basin through the analysis of well geophysical logs. Despite the oil-producing potential of the basin, there are few published papers that use geophysical well logging for reservoir characterization. For this study, composite log data publicly provided by ANP were used. Six exploratory wells drilled in AM-T-84 and AM-T-85 exploratory blocks in the Amazonas Basin were selected. By analyzing the geophysical logs of gamma ray, resistivity, density and neutron from these wells, it was possible to identify the hydrocarbon reservoir interval within the Monte Alegre formation and obtain estimates of thickness, shale volume and porosity. The identified reservoir is relatively thin, with an average thickness of 16 m. The obtained shale volume values were relatively high, due to the influence of shale layers present in the Monte Alegre formation. The effect of clay content affected the interpretation process of the well logs; however, it did not significantly impact the reservoir porosity estimation, which ranged between 10.4 and 23.4 %. • The analysis and interpretation of well logs can provide petrophysics properties of the petroleum reservoir. • The Amazonas Basin is one of the pioneering areas for hydrocarbon exploration in northern Brazil. • Despite the clay content present in the formation, relatively good porosity values were obtained for the reservoir. • The temperature values obtained range from 70 to 95 °C. They are contained in the oil generation range (65–165 °C). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The definition of priority areas for conservation and integrated management actions are essential for the effective maintenance and recovery of natural populations, especially for species overexploited by humans. Amazonian chelonians are a food resource historically used by people, resulting in the decline of species populations and worsening the risk of local extinctions. In this paper, we establish priority areas and define integrated conservation actions for populations of three Amazonian chelonians most threatened by human consumption in Brazil (Podocnemis expansa, P. unifilis and P. sextuberculata). To do so, we used 15 prioritization criteria (ecological, logistical and socioeconomic) estimated with 30 years monitoring data in 15 areas by the Amazon Chelonian Program (in portugues Projeto Quelonios da Amazonia, PQA). Each criterion presented four levels of priority with scores increasing according to the relevance for conservation of chelonian populations. The sum of the scores obtained in each area of the PQA allowed a ranking and four categories of importance for conservation to be defined. We also analyzed the similarity of scores among areas of the PQA and among the prioritization criteria to evaluate the application of integrated conservation action strategies. The areas of PQA were classified as Extremely Important for Conservation (Rebio Trombetas River, Middle Xingu River, Middle Araguaia River, Upper Guaporé River), Very Highly Important for Conservation (Middle Purus River, Middle Juruá River, Crixás-Açu River Mouth, Sub-middle Tapajós River); Highly Important for Conservation (Sub-Middle Araguaia River, Amazonas River Mouth, Middle Mortes River); and Important for Conservation (Middle Guaporé River, Lower Branco River, Flechal River, Afuá River). The prioritization and similarity analyses can support the development of a national integrated plan of conservation actions to reduce the overexploitation of Amazon chelonian populations, according to the ecological, logistical and socioeconomic needs of each PQA area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In regions of significant social, economic, and environmental vulnerability, such as the Amazon, managing municipal solid waste (MSW) is challenging because of limited infrastructure, climatic and demographic characteristics, and the need to preserve indigenous areas. This study analyzes the eco-efficiency transition of MSW management systems in the Amazon , considering both environmental and economic factors as an instrument to support decision-making. The database used was supported by a gravimetric evaluation of MSW in Humaitá, Amazonas State, Brazil, together with consideration of environmental, social, economic, and logistical aspects. We performed a life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis, integrated with economic performance, quantified the environmental impacts and evaluated the financial viability of the base scenario (Sbase) (100% of the waste sent to landfills) and four other scenarios with increasing levels of waste separation (metals, Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), paper, and cardboard), with subsequent shipment along the Madeira River to the recycling market in the city of Manaus, in addition to composting organic waste. The transition from Sbase to a scenario of 100% composting of organic waste generated in the urban area, together with 100% separation of PET and metals generated in urban, rural, and indigenous areas, led to the best eco-efficiency transition, shown by a reduction of 152.70 Mpt per US$ invested. The results demonstrate the potential of the eco-efficiency transition approach to assist decision-making in MSW management in the Amazon environment. The analysis performed enables the evaluation of the effects of implementing different scenarios in progressive stages, aiming to achieve continuous improvement in similar sectors of society. • The eco-efficiency in solid waste management (SWM) in the Amazon was studied. • The method applied Life Cycle Assessment associated with the economic performance. • The higher recyclables segregation increases, at most, 25% of the SWM current cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]