The use of alternative fuels to mitigate climate change impacts in the transportation sector in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

This paper assesses how increased use of alternative fuels (ethanol and electricity) contributes to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of light-duty vehicles in Rio Janeiro state (RJ), Brazil, a region of a developing country - most such analysis focus at the aggregate country level. Using an energy systems model (OSeMOSYS), we analyze scenarios that consider an improvement in the quality of the ethanol (in gCO2eq/MJ) consumed in RJ due to the development of the RenovaBio program, greater uptake of electric vehicles, carbon pricing, and a combination of these policies. We also analyze a scenario with the new RenovaBio targets, which the Brazilian government scaled down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that electric vehicles are the most cost-effective policy to reduce CO2emissions (by 1.9%) when no carbon pricing is considered. When it is, however, CO2emissions are reduced the most (between 47% and 56%), regardless of the vehicle technology being used, but it is the costlier policy (between 5.4% and 15.3%). In scenarios with carbon pricing, flex-fuel vehicles switch to ethanol, an important result for a region where this technology already dominates the vehicle fleet. Greater uptake of electric vehicles leads to lower overall transportation costs (by 2.5%), but when a CO2price is considered, because the electricity system still relies on fossil fuels, the reduction in CO2emissions is compromised. In such a setting, increased ethanol quality reduces carbon emissions more than electric vehicle adoption (by 16%). The RenovaBio targets' reduction due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, jeopardizes this result. Such findings convey important evidence to policymakers and the research community: decarbonization of transportation in a region of a developing country, where economic resources are scarcer, can start before electric vehicles become affordable by increasing and maintaining continued access to lower-carbon fuels. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.. All rights reserved.

Contingency plans for health surveillance in the COVID-19 pandemic: analysis of compliance in a network of public teaching hospitals

Introduction: In December 2019, China was plagued by coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a disease caused by the new coronavirus, SARV-CoV-2. Due to the high contagion power, the World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency of International Importance on January 30, 2020. In March of the same year, more than 100 countries had registered cases of the new disease;thus, due to geographical spread, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 pandemic. Objective: To evaluate the adherence of public teaching hospitals to a Contingency Plan Model for Human Infection by the New Coronavirus published by the central management of a public company. Method: Descriptive-analytical study, using the model developed and published as a guiding document for adapting the contingency plan of each of the hospitals in the study Results: After two evaluations of the plans, 36 (94.7%) hospitals showed compliance greater than 70.0%, with four (10.5%) of them showing 100% compliance with the model. Hospitals' average adherence to the model increased from 82.3% in the first evaluation, to 91.3% in the second evaluation, a percentage increase equal to 11.0%. All hospitals in the study maintained or increased their adherence percentages. Conclusions: The research demonstrated the potential of the model to guide institutions in preparing their plans. Considering the positive results of this experience and the historical scarcity of hospital beds, especially those with ventilatory support, it is recommended that Brazilian health authorities can invest time and resources in the preparation of guiding documents that assist managers in reorganizing hospitals and response in crisis situations.

Health surveillance in the COVID-19 pandemic: resumption of elective activities in the network of teaching hospitals

Introduction: The resumption of activities during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a topic of discussion in different countries so that it does not affect the continuity of assistance to urgencies and emergencies currently underway. Objective: To describe strategies for resuming elective activities in a network of public teaching hospitals in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: This is a descriptive study in the form of an experience report that includes a hospital health surveillance process carried out based on observation and discussion from a network perspective. Results: The guide for resuming elective activities was structured into four topics, the second topic being divided into 11 others to detail the recommendations to be followed. The strategies and actions presented in this guide were categorized into project management stages to better visualize the path to be taken: organization, planning, implementation and monitoring. The material was published in September 2020 by the network's central administration and is being implemented by hospitals. Conclusions: The experience report can help other organizations to define strategies for the safe resumption of their activities.