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BackgroundChemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting are concerning adverse events resulting from cancer treatment, and current guidelines recommend the use of neurokinin-1-selective antagonists, such as fosaprepitant, in highly emetogenic schemes. However, the implementation of this strategy may be limited by the cost of treatment. GSTP1 c.313A>G genotype was recently described as a predictor of vomiting related to high-dose cisplatin. We hypothesized that the inclusion of routine GSTP1 c.313A>G screening may be promising in financial terms, in contrast to the wide-spread use of fosaprepitant.MethodsA cost-minimization analysis was planned to compare GSTP1 c.313A>G genotyping versus overall fosaprepitant implementation for patients with head and neck cancer under chemoradiation therapy with high-dose cisplatin. A decision analytic tree was designed, and conditional probabilities were calculated under Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations using the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm. The observed data included patients under treatment without fosaprepitant, while priors were derived from published studies.ResultsTo introduce screening with real-time polymerase chain reaction, an initial investment of U$ 39,379.97 would be required, with an amortization cost of U$ 7,272.97 per year. The mean cost of standard therapy with fosaprepitant is U$ 243.24 per patient, and although the initial cost of routine genotyping is higher, there is a tendency of progressive minimization at a threshold of 155 patients (Credible interval–CI: 119 to 216), provided more than one sample is incorporated for simultaneous analysis. A resulting reduction of 35.83% (CI: 30.31 to 41.74%) in fosaprepitant expenditures is then expected with the implementation of GSTP1 c.313A>G genotyping.ConclusionGSTP1 c.313A>G genotyping may reduce the use of preventive support for chemotherapy induced nausea and lower the overall cost of treatment. Despite the results of this simulation, randomized, interventional studies are required to control for known and unknown confounders as well as unexpected expenses.

A National Innovation System is an interconnected network of public and private institutions that aims at the development and diffusion of new technologies. We use the Derwent Innovations platform to study the patent applications in Brazil between 2010 and 2020, and to identify the main technological areas that have benefited from the research conducted in the country. Our main methodological contribution is to present indicators that measure the technological importance and international scope of Brazilian patents. The results show that private companies rarely resort to intellectual property protection mechanisms and that public universities are responsible for most patent applications. This study concludes that private companies innovate little, and, as a result, academic research tends to act as a substitute for business investments in research and development, especially in software development, pharmaceutical outputs, and scientific instrumentation. On the other hand, Brazilian universities and companies are both being excluded from the global race for the Internet of Things patents that has characterized the fourth industrial revolution.

A agricultura brasileira foi palco de inúmeras inovações nas últimas décadas. Dentre esses avanços, os organismos geneticamente modificados (OGMs) tem contribuído fortemente para os ganhos de produtividade no campo. No entanto, a relevância do Brasil no cultivo de OGMs contrasta com a sua dependência tecnológica. As principais biotecnologia de plantas foram patenteadas por empresas estrangeiras, o que implica na exigência de royalties pelo seu uso. Contudo, os agricultores brasileiros têm questionando na Justiça a validade das patentes da Monsanto, a principal fornecedora de OGMs. O principal objetivo deste artigo consiste em analisar as estratégias adotadas pela empresa para assegurar o seu direito à cobrança de royalties no Brasil. O estudo constatou que os OGMs são produtos complexos que mobilizam várias tecnologias protegidas por mais de uma patente. Consequentemente, por mais que os sojicultores consigam derrubar as patentes de genes questionadas na Justiça, ainda assim terão de pagar royalties sobre as demais ferramentas biotecnológicas que contribuíram para o desenvolvimento das sementes transgênicas. Assim, a Monsanto criou cercas de patentes praticamente invioláveis para proteger os seus principais produtos comercializados no Brasil.

This paper aims to discuss the main appropriability mechanisms used by biotech firms to avoid imitation and appropriate the economic benefits from crop innovations. To this end, we analyze the strategic links between the technological development of genetically modified organisms (GMO) and the ownership rights over plant transformation technologies. We also discuss a key case study - the legal battle between Monsanto and Syngenta by the control of the GMO crops derived from the GA21 gene. Our findings show that a system of blocking patents has been built basically through strategies relating to intellectual property mechanisms. As result, Monsanto's efforts to sue competitors for patent infringement have proved to be a successful barrier to entry in plant biotechnology industry.

Este estudo, de natureza teórica, visa promover uma reflexão sobre as contribuições da interdisciplinaridade nos estudos atinentes a sustentabilidade. O estudo parte da perspectiva de que a maioria dos estudos realizados sobre a sustentabilidade tratam as dimensões, conceitos ou práticas sustentáveis de forma disciplinar e isolada. Porém, a sustentabilidade é um fenômeno multifacetário. Para compreendê-lo em sua completude é necessário estudar o tema integrando conhecimentos oriundos de diversas áreas, promovendo a interdisciplinaridade na pesquisa. Numa vertente mais teórica, discutiu-se o que é interdisciplinaridade, sua importância e outros conceitos que orbitam esse termo. O estudo buscou mostrar a importância da interdisciplinaridade no estudo dos conceitos de desenvolvimento sustentável e sustentabilidade, uma vez que os mesmos são multifacetários e ainda se encontram em construção. Numa vertente mais empírica buscou-se demonstrar a importância da interdisciplinaridade, por exemplo, quando se trata da dimensão ambiental da sustentabilidade no âmbito da agricultura. Nesta discussão, muitos outros elementos apareceram de forma imbricada, revelando a necessidade de produções do conhecimento de formas mais abrangentes e unificadas. O estudo conclui que, quando analisamos a sustentabilidade apenas sob uma ou poucas facetas, podemos estar correndo o risco de produzir resultados unidimensionais e limitados. Portanto, ao estudar sobre questões atinentes a sustentabilidade, uma abordagem interdisciplinar do pesquisador permitirá uma compreensão mais ampla do ser humano em sua relação com a natureza e a sociedade, gerando resultados mais promissores.

This paper aims to analyze the research efforts carried out to develop new technological applications in the field of water and sanitation services. We use the Derwent Innovations platform to perform a search for global patent applications made between 2000 and 2020 that received the D15 technological classification ("treating water, industrial waste and sewage"). The survey identified 31,278 patent families, including 2,938 applications that were extended to Brazil. Our results suggest that General Electric (GE) owns the most technologically important water treatment patents. The company also stands out as the main holder of Brazilian patents, being closely followed by other multinationals such as Veolia and 3M. We conclude that large international companies are interested in spreading the main water treatment technologies to Brazil. Due to its large rivers and aquifers, Brazil poses as an attractive place for the development of new water treatment solutions. On the other hand, despite this favorable scenario, Brazilian organizations are staying out of the global race for patents in the field of water-related technologies.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the food price crises in 2007-2008 and 2011-2012 led to increases in the number of undernourished people worldwide. In this study, we address the issue of food insecurity by analyzing the main causes behind the food price shocks in the 2000s. Moreover, we also investigate whether the sub-Saharan countries are most vulnerable to these shocks, as often pointed out by specialized literature. To this end, we analyzed the correlation between the maize domestic prices—the most cultivated and consumed grain in this region—and the daily kilocalories consumption in African countries. Results show that the poorest nations, i.e. the ones with per capita income below $ 1,400, suffer most from food prices crisis. Most African countries have advanced in addressing food insecurity issues. However, in some nations, the maize price shock in 2007‒2008 was a throwback in this progress, causing daily kilocalorie consumption to fall by half in relation to levels of early-2000s.