About half of the world's population remains without access to internet in an era of digital transformation. In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of implementing the use of logic and mathematics through digital literacy on a population of elementary school students in a town in Northeast Brazil. In a non-randomized experimental longitudinal intervention study, 5th-grade students were followed during one semester. They underwent observational testing during class with the use of scales to evaluate their activities in a digital environment, and they were evaluated with respect to their ability to use digital devices. A logic/math assessment was applied prior to and at the end of the course for intervention group and compared to a control group. Questionnaires were used to assess the educators', legal guardians' and students' perceptions on digital habits and their respective sociodemographic features. The intervention consisted of a 16-h long course developed consisting of 8 2-h long classes which focused on digital technology, digital culture, and computational thinking. The students had a strong interest in the classes. Although some students did not have prior contact with computers, their development was outstanding. Digital literacy competencies and technology-use behavior increased throughout the semester independent of family income and use of digital devices at home. Students progressively improved their interaction with the computer (e.g. touchpad and typing skills) and their confidence in the digital environment. Students' scores on the logic/math assessment showed significant improvement. This was not observed in the control group, demonstrating the importance of this type of intervention even with one provided by a 16-h course. Highlights• 16 hours of a digital literacy course can help improving math and logic skills • Digital confidence of 5th-grade students increased throughout the semester • Students' computer interaction improved independent of digital culture at home • Digital classes keep students motivated in a rural school of a developing country • We present a digital literacy course suitable to be applied to other digital exclusion locations

Here, we report the draft genome of the Enterobacter cloacae strain amazonensis, a bacterium highly resistant to mercury that was isolated from a metal- and sewage-contaminated stream in Amazonas, Brazil. The exploration of the 5.0-Mb genome revealed 104 genes encoding resistance to toxic compounds and heavy metals, highlighting the potential biotechnological applications of this strain.

IntroductionThe common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), a small New World monkey, has been widely used as a biological model in neuroscience to elucidate neural circuits involved in cognition and to understand brain dysfunction in neuropsychiatric disorders. In this regard, the availability of gene expression data derived from next‐generation sequencing (NGS) technologies represents an opportunity for a molecular contextualization. Sexual dimorphism account for differences in diseases prevalence and prognosis. Here, we explore sex differences on frontal cortex of gene expression in common marmoset's adults.MethodsGene expression profiles in six different tissues (cerebellum, frontal cortex, liver, heart, and kidney) were analyzed in male and female marmosets. To emphasize the translational value of this species for behavioral studies, we focused on sex‐biased gene expression from the frontal cortex of male and female in common marmosets and compared to humans (Homo sapiens).ResultsIn this study, we found that frontal cortex genes whose expression is male‐biased are conserved between marmosets and humans and enriched with “house‐keeping” functions. On the other hand, female‐biased genes are more related to neural plasticity functions involved in remodeling of synaptic circuits, stress cascades, and visual behavior. Additionally, we developed and made available an application—the CajaDB—to provide a friendly interface for genomic, expression, and alternative splicing data of marmosets together with a series of functionalities that allow the exploration of these data. CajaDB is available at cajadb.neuro.ufrn.br.ConclusionThe data point to differences in gene expression of male and female common marmosets in all tissues analyzed. In frontal cortex, female‐biased expression in synaptic plasticity, stress, and visual processing might be linked to biological and behavioral mechanisms of this sex. Due to the limited sample size, the data here analyzed are for exploratory purposes.

A desigualdade entre sexos na ciência perdura, especialmente na ascensão de carreira e nas ciências exatas. Esse relato de experiência explora as dificuldades e estratégias de enfrentamento na trajetória de pesquisadoras atuantes na área de exatas. Depoimentos foram coletados em formato de entrevista semiestruturada, seguido de uma avaliação do discurso. Focando nos pontos de interseção entre os depoimentos, encontrou-se: sentimento de rejeição no dia-a-dia; consequências na saúde mental; ausência de pesquisadoras como referência em institutos de pesquisa de computação; e como estratégia de enfrentamento tem-se redes femininas de apoio. Diante disso, conclui-se que, apesar do ambiente hostil vivenciado e aqui discutido com bases sociológicas e históricas, o espaço seguro de troca, de apoio emocional e de confiança desenvolvido nas redes de apoio femininas desempenham um papel essencial na permanência de mulheres na ciência. A função das redes se tornam ainda mais relevantes em meio a pandemia da COVID-19 de 2020.