LABORATORIES:
CLINICAL AND LABORATORY INFRASTRUCTURE:
The PPGMT has the laboratory infrastructure of both UEA and FMT-HVD. In addition, it uses laboratories from other partner institutions in the research projects developed by master’s and doctoral students, such as those of HEMOAM, FIOCRUZ, LACEN, INPA, among others.
1. Outpatient clinic for infectious diseases and dermatology, with 46 offices, for consultations in Infectious Diseases, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Travel Medicine, Hepatology, Dermatology and Psychology, with two surgical centers and a physiotherapy clinic, open from 7 am to 5 pm, from Monday to Friday; three of these offices are exclusively for the care of patients from clinical trials (PESCLIN II Unit);
2. Dr. Nelson Antunes Inpatient Unit, with 141 beds, distributed among ICU, Emergency Care, Isolation, Dermatology, Day Hospital, Men’s Ward, Women’s Ward, Pediatrics Ward and Clinical Research Ward with 8 beds exclusively for clinical trial patients (PESCLIN I Unit), with motorized respirators and exhaust fans with HEPA filter. The Clinical Research Unit (PESCLIN) is part of the National Network for Clinical Research in Teaching Hospitals, of the Secretariat of Science and Technology and Strategic Inputs (SCTIE) of the Ministry of Health;
3. HIV Research Laboratory (LaPHIV), inaugurated in 2019, with resources from the Interfederative Action of Amazonas (INTERFAM), of the Ministry of Health, measuring 623.12 m2, with the purpose of increasing research on HIV/AIDS and opportunistic diseases of people living with the HIV virus and intensifying the participation of civil society in the management of public policies in this area, in the Amazon. In this structure, highly relevant research projects will be developed, including studies of new drugs and high-tech diagnostics, improving the follow-up of diagnosed patients. In this area, new approaches will also be worked on and developed with researchers, psychologists, physicians and different civil society actors to better resolve the monitoring and control of the disease with effective survival of people living with HIV;
4. Biosafety Laboratory level III with vivarium for experimentation and space for manipulation and research with viral pathogens;
5. Laboratory of genotyping and viral load of HIV and viral hepatitis;
6. Multidisciplinary Laboratory with about 300 m2, with multiuser platform for molecular biology and flow cytometry techniques, with Benchtop Tube Shaker, 2 Magnetic Stirrers w/ Heating, Millipore Apparatus, 3 Autoclaves, 3 Digital Scales, 3 Water Baths, Dry Bath, Cold Room -20°C, Cold Room 4°C, Biological Safety Cabinets Class A1 and A2, Nixon DMX 1200 F Digital Camera Coupled to Immunofluorescence Microscope, 5417r Centrifuge, GMC Spin Centrifuge, Eppendorf 5702R Centrifuge, Eppendorf 5804R Centrifuge, 2 Eppendorf Mini Spin Centrifuges, Eppendorf 5804R Falcon Centrifuge, Macro 3 Centrifuge, EV04 Macro Centrifuge, Sigma Plate Centrifuge, Heraeus Megafuge 16R Refrigerated Centrifuge, Chef-DR III Biorad System, FACS Flow CytometerAntho II 8 parameters (FSC, SSC, FITC, PE, PE-Cy7, PErcP, APC and APC-Cy7), 5301 Eppendorf Concentrator, Biorad Cooling Module, 4 Electrophoresis Vats, CPUs and Monitors, Cell Biorad Electrophoresis, UV Spectrophotometer 1800, Fiocruz Sterilizer, Olidef C3 Oven, Ettan Ipgphor Ii, Pachan Laminar Flow, Veco Cflv Sterile Laminar Flow, Veco Laminar Flow, DNA and RNA Manipulation Flow, Freezer -35°C 504 L, 7 -80°C Freezers, Spectroline Fluorescence Analysis Cabinet, Glomax Explorer, Sixmex Automated Hematology Apparatus, Ap28 Phoenix Solution Homogenizer, GE III Imaging Scanner, Quimis Incubator, Cienlab Shaker Incubator, Thermo Incubator, 96-Well Microplate Washer (ELISA), 96-Well or 384-Well Microplate Reader (ELISA), Asys Multichannel Reader, 2 Leica Ez4 Magnifiers, Ice Maker, 2 Microwaves, Nikon Immunofluorescence Microscope, Termofisher Immunofluorescence Microscope, 4 Binocular Optical Microscopes, Realtime 7500 Applied PCR, Realtime 7500 Applied Multi PCR, ABI 3130 Sequencer/Genetic Analyzer, Electrophoresis System, Ultracleaner Sonicator, Thermoblock, Eppendorf Thermal Cycler, Kyratec Thermal Cycler, Veriti Applied Thermal Cycler, Tissuelyser Ii Qiagen, Vortex Neutec, Vortex Phoenix, Vortex Vision, 2 Vortex Vixar and UltraFreezer -86°C 740 L. for water treatment and purification;
7. Laboratory of Pathological Anatomy and Histotechnology for histological processing and archiving of biopsies and necropsies. The laboratory also has the support of an autopsy room with the capacity to perform two simultaneous necropsies and a cold chamber. It has a digital camera coupled to binocular microscopes, with a chip for 500 photos;
8. Venomous Animals Laboratory with proteomic platform and vivarium for the maintenance of mice, rats, hamsters and rabbits, and snake collection, with approximately 2000 specimens;
9. Clinical Analysis Laboratory with Hematology, Biochemistry, Urinalysis, Coproscopy and Immunology Sectors;
10. Automated Bacteriology Laboratory for clinical microbiology, which automatically reads a panel inoculated with a bacterial suspension (Autoscan-4), with the BactAlert system;
11. Leishmaniasis and Chagas Disease Laboratory, with spaces for culture, serology and molecular biology;
12. Malaria Laboratory, with in vitro plasmodium cultivation for in vitro drug testing, automated hematological tests, and molecular biology platform. It has ELISA readers, ELISA plate washers, Luminex Magpix, laminar flow chamber, class II B2 Vecco, BIORAD electrophoresis tank and source, BIORAD electroporator, agitators, thermal cyclers, 21 x 38 cm transluminator, four-head NIKON trinocular microscope, with equipment for image capture, equipment for real-time PCR, refrigerated centrifuges sp/ tubes, microtubes and plates, CO2 incubator, thermoblock for microtube with agitation, water bath, double door autoclave, microplate shaker, inverted microscope, immunofluorescence microscope coupled to an image capture system and microcomputer;
13. Mycology Laboratory, with space for direct examination and culture;
14. Parasitology Laboratory with classical parasitological examinations and molecular biology;
15. Entomology Center: follow-up in the development of studies involving the parasite-vector interaction through immunology, molecular biology and culture of Leishmania spp and Trypanosoma cruzi. It has insectariums for the creation of triatomines and culicids. The Anopheline insectarium has all the necessary structure to carry out experimental infections by Plasmodium, for the study of the biology of vector-parasite interaction and for drugs to block transmission. It has a Medical Entomology Collection of 150,000 insect vectors of diseases and scorpions and spiders of medical interest, stereoscopic microscopes with cameras attached, software for capturing images, TV for image projection and computers;
16. Virology Laboratory, with rooms for cell culture, viral culture and serological tests;
17. Mycobacteriosis Laboratory: it has GenXpert equipment with 4 modules, Bactec BD MGIT 960 TB system and 2 optical microscopes;
19. Bioinformatics Laboratory, consisting of two independent rooms. The first contains a vertical rack (36U) that accommodates a 3 Kva UPS, the server (x Intel® Xeon® Silver 5120 Processor 14-core 2.20GHz 19.25MB Cache (85W)), a monitor and a computer for the server’s firewall, as well as two air conditioners working alternatively and thus avoiding the increase in temperature in the room. The other room has three computers, three monitors and two 1.5 kva UPSs distributed on three tables for the analysis of bioinformatics data.
20. Serpentarium, located in the Museum of the Amazon (MUSA), where specimens of venomous snakes are kept, with a license from IBAMA, for didactic purposes and research on biology and toxinology;
21. Cryobank for storage of research samples. The cryobank has 12 freezers and a cold chamber for the preservation of biological samples to be collected, using the Sanyo VIP Series -86C Ultra-Low Temperature Freezer model, supported by the use of two power generators;
22. Hospital Epidemiology Center, with 10 computers for consolidating notifications and hospital statistics, which can be used in scientific research.
At UEA there are also several laboratories used for research purposes:
1. Multiuser Center for the Analysis of Biomedical Phenomena (CMABio): aims to meet the Brazilian demand, especially in the North region, with an emphasis on biological samples and materials applied to health. It has state-of-the-art transmission and scanning electron microscopes, and confocal and fluorescence optical microscopes, as well as a team of technicians specialized in the aforementioned equipment and a board of directors and a board of experienced researchers;
2. Amazonas Telehealth Center, headquartered at the School of Health Sciences – ESA/UEA, and has 68 Telehealth points, 63 in urban areas and 5 in indigenous areas, with the connectivity of all points maintained by the Center with resources from UEA, with approximately 3,580 professionals registered in the National Telehealth Platform in Amazonas;
3. Cytology/Histology Laboratory;
4. Human Genetics Laboratory;
5. Prosthesis and Dental Materials Laboratory;
6. Anatomy Laboratory;
7. Microbiology and Immunology Laboratory;
8. Nursing Laboratory;
9. Surgical Technique Laboratory;
10. Dentistry Laboratory;
11. Periodontics Laboratory;
12. Multidisciplinary Laboratory;
13. Biochemistry Laboratory;
14. Pharmacology Laboratory;
15. Physiology Laboratory;
16. Laboratory of Parasitology and Mycology;
17. Dental Polyclinic.
COMPUTER RESOURCES
In the libraries of FMT-HVD and UEA there are several computer terminals connected to the internet, as well as Wi-Fi for people to connect their laptops to a free wireless internet network, between 7 am and 5 pm. In this space, students can freely connect to the CAPES Journal Portal, in addition to the possibility of connecting to this portal from their homes, with an access password granted by the PPGMT. In the building where the PPGMT secretariat is located, there is a large study room for students, with capacity for about 50 people, and with internet access via Wi-Fi. In addition, each research lab has computers available for student use or connection via Wi-Fi.
PPGMT professors still explore online resources for didactic purposes. In addition to face-to-face classes, to create an online learning environment for the subjects, teachers can use UEA’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), a system that allows them to easily create diverse content and online courses, helping the teacher and students to have effective teaching and learning experiences supported by technologies.
Availability of REDcap (Research Electronic Data Capture, developed at Vanderbilt University). REDCap is a web-based platform developed to assist in the collection of data in studies, to then host them on servers in a secure location, monitored and with limited access, with daily backups. The main advantage of REDCap is, like any electronic questionnaire, that it allows data collection in a standardized way, increasing project efficiency and facilitating data analysis, particularly in multicenter projects. It is free to use for all PPGMT projects.
PPGMT provides a license for the Stata 12 software (StataCorp. 2011. Stata Statistical Software: Release 12. College Station, TX: StataCorp LP), for statistical analyses, and MAXQDA10 software, for qualitative study analysis.
LIBRARY
The Integrated Library System – SIB/UEA is structured in (01) one Central Library and 24 (twenty-four) Sectorial Libraries located in Higher Schools, Higher Studies Centers and Higher Studies Centers, all of them directly interconnected to the Central Library that promotes the integration, standardization of services and processes: cataloging, classification, registration, in addition to the on-site and on-line service of the bibliographic collection by the community through Pergamum, A system that allows the student to search and make reservations and renewals of titles via the internet. Pergamum is already used in about 48 higher education institutions in the country, which allows UEA students to consult the collection of these institutions. The bibliographic collection consists of 59,723 titles, 157,560 copies and 2,725 additional materials.
The Health Sciences Sector Library is located on the ground floor of the annex building in a built area of 800 m2, with 3,250 titles and 8,704 copies in its bibliographic collection, in addition to access to the UpToDate database, ClinicalKey, ClinicalSkills, Evolution, Pearson Virtual Library, institutional repository and the CAPES Journal Portal. Its physical structure consists of two reading rooms with capacity for 120 seats, a computer lab, 35 individual study booths, 36 places for group study, 8 stations for scientific production, wireless internet throughout the space, an environment of accessibility and interactivity, a collection, a cultural space, administration and user service. It has the support of three librarians and is open to the academic community from Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., uninterrupted, and on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The library receives an average monthly flow of more than 10,000 users enrolled in the institution, in addition to visitors. As for loans, more than 2,000 are made. In addition, the library has a computer lab with 16 computers and 30 tablets available for consultations and classes, with access to the CAPES Journal Portal.
Periodically, training is carried out related to the services available. In addition, the Library provides high-tech equipment that allows the user to make their self-loan, optimizing their time and reducing queues at the service desk, carried out in three electronic terminals distributed in the physical space of the library, including an exclusive terminal for accessibility. The self-service loan of the collection uses RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology composed of transponders (RF tags), readers with antennas connected to a controller computer. RFID is an identification technology that uses radio frequency to capture data, allowing a tag to be read without the need for a visual field, through barriers and objects such as wood, plastic, paper, etc. The system was implemented for the digital control of the loan from the identification of the work, tracking and management of the entire flow of entry and exit of the securities, contactless and without the need for a counter and staff for dispensing, thus streamlining transaction time, security of access to the collection and the quality of service to the academic community.
The PPGMT also has its own collection with more than 200 volumes of specific textbooks in the health area, acquired with specific resources transferred by SUFRAMA deposited in the FMT-HVD library, where there is a collection of more than 1000 copies including books on Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Pediatrics, Laboratory Diagnosis, Epidemiology and some other specialties, and journals concentrated in the area of Health Sciences, Infectious Diseases and about 10,000 copies among older national and international journals. In the FMT-HVD library there are two computer terminals connected to the internet, as well as space for up to 20 people to connect their laptops to a free wireless internet network between 7 am and 5 pm. In this space, students can freely connect to the CAPES Journal Portal, in addition to the possibility of connecting to this portal from their homes, with an access password granted by the PPGMT.