Over a period of nearly one hundred years, Raul Lino da Silva (1879-1974) experienced the profound political, social and economic changes that marked the twentieth century in Portugal. Having been born during the Constitutional Monarchy (1822-1910), he lived through the First Republic (1910-1926), the Military Dictatorship (1926-1933) and the Second Republic, or Estado Novo (New State, 1933-1974), and died shortly after the Carnation Revolution of 25 April 1974, at the dawning of the Third Republic. Raul Lino was the architect who published the most in Portugal, having become known through his advocacy of the “Campanha da casa portuguesa” (“Portuguese house campaign”), which provoked a great deal of controversy among his peers. He is less known for the transversal quality of his synthesis between architecture, the decorative arts and territory, and its underlying affirmation of an idea of the city, which we conjecture from a diagonal reading of his theoretical and plastic narrative. We limit the analysis to the first half of the 20th century, concentrating on ten case studies, that encompass architectural projects, urbanistic plans and reports. The above expound the broad conception which he defended in the same year as was held the First National Architecture Congress (1948), whose proposals ratified in Portugal the orthodoxy established in 1933 by the International Congresses of Modern Architecture (CIAM). Quoting Aristotle Raul Lino conceived the city as the locus of happiness, shaping the possibilities of consensus between tradition and modernity by means of architecture, which is both envelope and stage for our collective existence. In fact, Raul Lino anticipated themes to be found in the narratives of authors like Aldo Rossi (1966), Paul Virilio (2004, 2009) or Peter Zumthor (2006), and his thought proves particularly relevant and timely in the present day.

This paper aims to analyze the effects of Covid-19 on financial markets from the perspective of Complexity. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused turmoil in financial markets and is already one of the most important financial crises in history, causing a fall in several stock markets as well as great volatility. Unlike past crises, which in most cases were caused either by problems of fiscal deficits or in the financial system, this crisis has its origin in an epidemic disease, which occurred in Wuhan, China, and quickly spread across the globe affecting transport networks, commerce and finance, and will affect the public debt of many countries. This is a systemic situation in which there is a need to consider several interconnected systems, financial instability and high financial risk, something that econophysics and some complexity theorists already do. Therefore, this paper intends to show, theoretically, the systemic and complex character of the recent financial crisis caused by Covid-19.

Then the purposes of this study were to compare and correlate the aerobic threshold (TH_aer) and anaerobic threshold (TH_anaer) measured during a new single judo specific incremental test and Treadmill Test for aerobic demand evaluation. Eight well-trained male competitive judo players (24.3±7.9 years; height of 169.3±6.7cm; fat mass of 12.7±3.9%) performed a maximal incremental specific test for judo mimicking the UchiKomi drills and on treadmill in different days. There was difference between specific and general TH_aer (P=0.0006) as well as weak correlation for TH_aer (r=0.32; R²=0.1; P=0.2) and TH_anaer (rs=-0.31; R²=0.1; P=0.12). When correlation was applied with normalized data (percentage of peak load) we observed moderate correlation for TH_aer (r=0.76; R²=0.58; P=0.027), but the same was not observed for TH_anaer. We conclude that there is a need of TH_aer and TH_anaer evaluation through a specific test for Judo.

In his best-selling book An Introduction to Probability Theory and its Applications, W. Feller established a way of ending the St. Petersburg Paradox by the introduction of an entrance fee, and provided it for the case in which the game is played with a fair coin. A natural generalization of his method is to establish the entrance fee for the case in which the probability of head is θ (0 < θ < 1/2). The deduction of those fees is the main result of Section 2. We then propose a Bayesian approach to the problem. When the probability of head is θ (1/2 < θ < 1) the expected gain of the St. Petersburg Game is finite, therefore there is no paradox. However, if one takes θ as a random variable assuming values in (1/2,1) the paradox may hold, what is counter-intuitive. On Section 3 we determine a necessary and sufficient condition for the absence of paradox on the Bayesian approach and on Section 4 we establish the entrance fee for the case in which θ is uniformly distributed in (1/2,1), for in this case there is paradox.

With the fintech industry growing at an unprecedented rate, it is critical to protect cybersecurity and ensure data privacy. The research presented here offers a thorough examination of the challenges faced by financial technology companies, highlighting the growing risks posed by malware, phishing, and network vulnerabilities. As essential components of a proactive defense plan, the report promotes strong cybersecurity measures like frequent security assessments, encryption, and stringent access controls. The findings highlight how important it is for fintech companies to give cybersecurity equal importance with open and honest data privacy policies in order to win over customers. In order to protect the industry from cybersecurity risks regulatory compliance, intrusion detection systems, and collaborative information sharing are considered essential components. The article advises businesses to include cybersecurity and data privacy into their core business operations and customer relations, highlighting the critical role these factors play in sustaining success in the rapidly evolving fintech industry.

In this paper, we introduce the application of Type-I fuzzy inference systems (FIS) as an alternative to improve the prioritization in the FMECA analysis applied in cyber-power grids. Classical FMECA assesses the risk level through the Risk Priority Number (RPN). The multiplication between three integer numbers computes this, called risk factors, representing the severity, occurrence, and detectability of each failure mode and are defined by a team of experts. The RPN does not consider any relative importance between the risk factors and may not necessarily represent the real risk perception of the FMECA team members, usually expressed by natural language; this is the main FMECA shortcoming criticized in the literature. Our approach considers fuzzy variables defined by FMECA experts to represent the uncertainty associated with the human language and a rule base consisting of 125 fuzzy rules to represent the risk perception of the experts. To test our approach, we select a cyber-power grid previously analyzed by the authors using the classical FMECA. The results reveal our proposed fuzzy approach as promissory to represent the uncertainty associated with expert knowledge and to perform an accurate prioritization of failure modes in the context of electrical power systems.

This study analyzes the evolution of Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) concepts in social media, specifically on Twitter, from 2007 to 2022. The research aims to understand how society perceives organizational practices related to these aspects. Twitter provides an authentic environment for capturing user perceptions. The methodology involved collecting Tweets using Python and analyzing them in English, Spanish, and Portuguese with RStudio. The study's main findings highlight significant contributions and concerns within the CSR and ESG debates. While CSR's popularity showed a downward trend from 2010 to 2019, ESG grew exponentially during the pandemic and post-pandemic periods. Word analysis revealed the impact of specific hashtags: RSC in Spanish, #CSR in English, and #ESG in Portuguese. Society's increasing concerns concern environmental issues for combating global warming and ensuring a better quality of life, alongside financial transparency and ethical practices in companies. However, the social aspect of ESG, represented by the letter "S," didn't garner the same attention as environmental and governance matters. This discrepancy might stem from a lack of awareness or lower priority in public discussions on social media, overshadowing the social dimension in the ESG framework.

This paper makes a theoretical contribution by exploring the integration of sustainability principles into project management. It compares two recent methodologies, PM² and PRiSM^TM, and provides a practical contribution by advocating for the adoption of these sustainability-driven practices among practitioners. Sustainability remains relatively unknown in the realm of project management, and this research aims to bridge that gap. The study follows an interpretivist philosophy and employs a combination of interviews and archival data analysis. PM², created by the European Commission, provides a project management methodology free to organizations and includes best practices from other bodies of knowledge. However, it doesn't include sustainability, because it aims to be generic. PRiSM^TM, based on the P5™, aims to make the project management process more sustainable. PRiSM^TM has P5 Impact Analysis and Sustainability Management Plan as the main differentiating deliverables and is an extension of the Triple Bottom Line, also including product and process. The PM² Alliance CEO believes that PM² aims to be generic, so a focus on sustainability would remove the methodology's "elasticity". However, users wishing to use PM² and consider sustainability can include it in the additional objectives and use PRiSM^TM differentiating deliverables.

Count data analysis presents unique challenges due to its discrete nature, often exhibiting excessive zeros and overdispersion. To address these complexities, count models, such as Poisson regression and Negative Binomial regression, have been developed, enabling modeling and prediction of count-based phenomena. Additionally, it’s important to notice that zero inflation, a phenomenon commonly observed in count data, requires specialized techniques for robust analysis. This article provides an overview of count data and count models, explores zero inflation, introduces Likelihood Ratio Tests, and explains how the Vuong Test can be used as a model selection criteria. Furthermore, we created a Vuong Test implementation from scratch using the Python programming language. This implementation enhances the accessibility and applicability of the Vuong Test in real-world scenarios, providing a valuable contribution to the academic community, since Python didn’t have an implementation of this statistical test.

Our aim was to determine the secondary antibody deficiency profiles of patients in a mesoregion of São Paulo state, Brazil, focusing on infectious diseases. Demographic characteristics, clinical and laboratory data were obtained from electronic files; infections were classified as organ-specific and graded as mild, moderate, life-threatening, and fatal. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) accounted for 30% of patients, nephrotic syndrome (NS) 25%; chronic lymphocyte leukemia 20%, and multiple myeloma 15%. Patients with NS were younger than those in other groups, and hypo-γ-globulinemia was detected in 94.1%, IgG <400 mg/dL in 60.0%, IgA <40 mg/dL in 55.0%, and CD19 <20 cells/mm³ in 30.0%. One hundred and one infections were found; 82.1% were classified as mild or moderate, 7.9% as life-threatening, and 1.9% as fatal. Respiratory tract infections were more prevalent (41.5%), and pneumonia accounted for 19.8%. Lower levels of infections were found in patients with NS compared with NHL (P=0.0001). Most patients progressed to hypo-γ-globulinemia and secondary antibody deficiency after treatment with immunosuppressants, and mild and moderate infections were predominant. These therapies are increasing in patients with different diseases, therefore monitoring hypo-γ-globulinemia and infections may help to identify patients at high risk for severe complications, antibiotic prophylaxis or treatment, and immunoglobulin replacement

With the increase in life expectancy and consequent aging of the world’s population, the prevalence of many neurodegenerative diseases is increasing, without concomitant improvement in diagnostics and therapeutics. These diseases share neuropathological hallmarks, including mitochondrial dysfunction. In fact, as mitochondrial alterations appear prior to neuronal cell death at an early phase of the disease onset, the study and modulation of mitochondrial alterations rise as promising strategies to predict and prevent neurotoxicity and neuronal cell death before the onset of cell viability alterations. In this work, differentiated SH-SY5Y cells were treated with the mitochondrial-targeted neurotoxicants 6-hydroxydopamine and rotenone. These compounds were used at different concentrations and for different time points to understand the similarities and differences in their mechanisms of action. To accomplishing this, data on mitochondrial parameters was acquired and analyzed using unsupervised (hierarchical clustering) and supervised (decision tree) machine learning methods. Both biochemical and computational analyses resulted in an evident distinction between the neurotoxic effects of 6-hydroxydopamine and rotenone, specifically for the highest concentrations of both compounds.

Background: Resistance to antimalarial drugs often used in emerging countries, including combination therapies, has forced scientists to search for and develop drugs with novel mechanisms of action, especially resistance to Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, which are highly prevalent in Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America. Objective: evaluate whether there is a relationship between urinalysis and resistance to in-hospital treatment of malaria in Angola. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional, prospective study with a quantitative approach. Results: of the 214 patients, the resistance rate was 24.1%, men (53.6%), between 21 and 40 years old (72.7%), employees (46.4%), from peri-urban regions (77.7%), treated with artemether (90.9), with high parasitemia (57.7%) and after 5 days of treatment, remained hospitalized (61.4%). Was a significant relationship between resistance in unemployed individuals [OR: 0.03 (95% CI: 0.01-0.29), p =0.003] and high levels of parasitemia [OR: 1.09 (95% CI: 1.09-3.95), p=0.040], remained hospitalized for more than 5 days [OR: 5.28 (95% CI: 0.65-43.1), p=0.121] and death [OR: 2.59 (95% CI: 0.32-20.9), p=0.371] when compared with other subgroups. Was a significant relationship between resistance to clear urine [OR: 5.55 (95% CI: 0.72-42.7), p =0.016], few urinary crystals [OR: 11.3 (95% CI: 5.07-25.3), p <0.001] and who presented some microorganisms that were not bacteria or fungi [OR: 3.02 (95% CI: 1 .32-6.90), p=0.009]. Conclusion: urine results, especially the appearance of cloudy urine, the presence of few crystals, and the presence of other microorganisms that are not bacteria or fungi, may be clear signs of resistance to hospital treatment with injectable antimalarials.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a notable arbovirus with maternal, sexual, and TORCH-related transmission capabilities. After 2015, Brazil had the highest number of ZIVK-infected pregnant women who lost their babies or delivered them with Congenital ZIKV Syndrome (CZS). ZIKV infection has been linked to variations in endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) and interleukins within the placenta. ERVs, remnants of ancient viral infections integrated into the genome, include syncytin receptors crucial for placental development. Interleukins, immune response regulators, aid immune tolerance and support syncytial structure development in the placenta, where syncytin receptors facilitate vital cell-to-cell fusion events. Since ZIKV can infect trophoblast cells, we investigated the relationship between ZIKV infections and ERV and interleukin modulations. Investigating the impact of ZIKV on trophoblast cells, we examined two cell types (BeWo and HTR8) infected with ZIKV-MR766 (African) and ZIKV-IEC-Paraíba (Asia-Brazilian) using Taqman and RT2 Profiler PCR Array assays. While early ZIKV infection (24-48 hours) did not induce differential ERV and interleukin expression, future studies involving additional trophoblastic cell lineages and extended infection timelines will illuminate the dynamic interplay between ZIKV, HERVs, interleukins, and cytokines essential for placental formation and function.

The study presented here, through the use of GIS and physical variables, generate a new meth-odology for the calculation of erosivity (Factor R) for the qualitative evaluation of soil loss po-tential (laminar erosion) in the Northwest margin of the municipality of São Francisco, mostly located in the Pardo-MG river basin. The results obtained were statistically correct when com-pared to the traditional R calculation and the laminar erosion methodology. It is worth noting that the new proposal presented here indicated sites of qualitative loss of soil in the same places where there are closed-loop satellite signals of degraded Cerrado, something not identified in the traditional model. As conclusion it can be said that the obtained results were extremely sat-isfactory, being advised more studies to verify this new method proposed here in more places beyond the study area elaborated here

The accumulation of brown algae from the genus Sargassum has been increasing over the years in coastal regions of the Caribbean, Africa, Brazil, and Mexico. This causes harmful effects to the ecosystem, health, economy, and climate due to gas emissions from its decomposition process. There is the possibility of this biomass being reused in civil construction, and few studies have been carried out on its application to common Portland cement mortar. As such, the objective of this study is to evaluate the potential of sargassum ash as a mineral addition to partial replacement of fine aggregates in Portland cement mortar. Characterizations of the raw materials were carried out through X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, loss on ignition, particle size distribution, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), real density, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and dispersion spectroscopy of electrons. The mortars were prepared by partially replacing the fine aggregate (sand) with sargassum ash, at 0%, 5%, 10% and 20%. Mortar performance was evaluated through water absorption, apparent porosity, apparent specific mass, compressive strength after 7, 28, and 63 days after curing. Lastly, a life cycle assessment in accordance with ISO standards 14040:2006 and 14044:2006. The results showed that replacing sand with sargassum ash increases water absorption, apparent porosity, and decreases the apparent specific mass and compressive strength as replacement increases. Nevertheless, the compressive strength results after 63 days, for 5 and 10% replacement did not differ statistically from reference values. The life cycle assessment indicates that mortars with partial replacement of sand by sargassum ash showed positive environmental impacts when compared to reference values for most categories regardless of the scenario analyzed, especially for mortar with 10% replacement. As such, the use of sargassum ash at 10% does not alter compressive strength values after 63 days while reducing its environmental impact. The application of this biomass in civil construction materials provides a destination for this algae that has been causing several social, environmental, and economic problems.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a stealthy and progressive neurological disorder that is a leading cause of dementia in the global elderly population, imposing a significant burden on both the elderly and society. Currently, the condition is treated with medications that alleviate symptoms. Nonetheless, these drugs may not consistently produce the desired results and can cause serious side effects. Hence, there is a vigorous pursuit of alternative options to enhance the quality of life for patients. Ginkgo biloba (GB), an herb with historical use in traditional medicine, contains bioactive compounds such as terpenoids (Ginkgolides A, B, and C), polyphenols, organic acids, and flavonoids (quercetin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin). These compounds are associated with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and neuroprotective properties, making them valuable for cognitive health. A systematic search across three databases using specific keywords GB in AD and dementia yielded 1702 documents, leading to the selection of 15 clinical trials for synthesis. In eleven studies, GB extract/EGb 761® was shown to improve cognitive function, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and functional abilities in both dementia types. In four studies, however, there were no significant differences between the GB-treated and placebo groups. Significant improvements were observed in scores obtained from the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Short Cognitive Performance Test (SKT), and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). While the majority of synthesized clinical trials show Ginkgo biloba has promising potential in these conditions, more research is needed to determine optimal dosages, effective delivery methods, and appropriate pharmaceutical formulations. Furthermore, a thorough assessment of adverse effects, exploration of long-term use implications, and investigation into potential drug interactions are critical aspects that must be carefully evaluated in future studies.

Subnational governments play a key role responding to climate change risks in terms of policy strategies and instruments. This article analyzes how Brazilian municipal and state governments have developed and implemented public policies to mitigate and to adapt to climate change risks. We surveyed all cities’ and states’ climate policies within the country. The methodological approach includes five main points of analysis: 1. mitigation targets and intentions; 2. adaptation actions; 3. stakeholders’ participation; 4. policy implementation; 5. participation in networks related to climate change. Our results suggest that even though subnational climate policies in Brazil are isolated initiatives within the national context, they play an important role responding to climate change risks in different scales and levels. The strongest Brazilian policies with both mitigation and adaptation actions counted on previous mobilization for the climate issue involving different stakeholders from several segments of the society. These governments have also participated in transnational cooperation networks related to climate change.

The disastrous 2017 fire season in Portugal lead to widespread recognition of the need for a paradigm shift in forest and fire management. We focused our study on Alvares, a parish in central Portugal which had 60% of its area burned in 2017, with a large record of historical. We evaluated how different fuel treatment strategies can reduce wildfire hazard in Alvares, through i) a fuel break network with different priorities and ii) random fuel treatments resulting from stand-level management intensification. To assess this, we developed a stochastic fire simulation system (FUNC-SIM) that integrates uncertainties in fuel distribution over the landscape. If the landscape remains unchanged, Alvares will have large burn probabilities in the north, northeast, and center-east areas of the parish that are very often associated with high fire line intensities. The different fuel treatment scenarios decreased burned area between 12.1-31.2%, resulting from 1%-4.6% increases in annual treatment area, and reduced 10%-40% the likelihood of wildfires larger than 5000 ha. On average, simulated burned area decreased 0.22% per each ha treated, and effectiveness decreased with increasing area treated. Overall, both fuel treatment strategies effectively reduced wildfire hazard and should be part of a larger, holistic and integrated plan to reduce the vulnerability of the Alvares parish to wildfires.

Dietary protein quality plays a key role in maintaining intestinal mucosal integrity, but also modulates the growth of luminal microorganisms. This work assessed the effect of dietary protein sources on the performance, gut morphology, and microbiome in Nile tilapia. Four isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets comprising equivalent amounts of the protein supply derived from either PLANT, ANIMAL, INSECT, or MICROBIAL (bacterial biomass) sources were fed to triplicate groups of fish (IBW: 12 g) during 46 days. Fish fed ANIMAL and MICROBIAL diets showed significantly higher growth than those fed the PLANT and INSECT diets (P < 0.05). Relative abundance at the phylum level shows Bacteroidetes, Fusobacteria and Proteobacteria as more abundant phyla in tilapia’s intestine, while Cetobacterium is the most representative genera in all treatments. Interesting patterns were observed in the correlation between amino acid intake and genus and species abundance. Metabolism prediction analysis showed that microbial amine and polyamine degradation pathways are modulated depending on diets. In conclusion, different protein sources interfere directly with the cross-talk of bacteria pathways and amino acid intake.

The glucose-insulin regulatory system and its glucose oscillations is a recurring theme in the literature because of its impact on human lives, mostly the ones affected by diabetes mellitus. Several approaches were proposed, from mathematical to data-based models, with the aim of modeling the glucose oscillation curve. Having such a curve, it is possible to predict, when injecting insulin in type 1 diabetes (T1D) individuals. However, the literature presents prediction horizons no longer than 6 hours, which could be a problem considering their sleeping time. This work presents Tesseratus, a model that adopts a multi-agent approach to combine machine learning and mathematical modeling to predict the glucose oscillation up to 8 hours. Tesseratus uses the pharmacokinetics of insulins and data collected from T1D individuals. Its outcome can support endocrinologists while prescripting daily treatment for T1D individuals, and provide personalized recommendations for such individuals, to keep their glucose concentration in the ideal range. Tesseratus brings pioneering results for prediction horizons of 8 hours for nighttime, in an experiment with seven real T1D individuals. It is our claim that Tesseratus will be a reference for classification of glucose prediction model, supporting the mitigation of short- and long-term complications in the T1D individuals.

Piperine, an active plant alkaloid from black pepper (Piper nigrum), has several pharmacological effects: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory, which involves inhibiting molec-ular events associated with various stages of cancer development. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanisms of action of piperine in relation to its potential anticancer effect on head and neck cancer cells. Parameters related to neoplastic potential, analysis of cyto-kine, protein and gene expression were investigated in the head and neck cancer cell lines (HEp-2 and SCC-25) treated with piperine. The results of the tests indicated that piperine modified mor-phology, inhibited viability and the formation of cell colonies. Piperine promoted genotoxicity by triggering apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in G2/M and S. A decrease in cell migration was also observed, and decreased expression of MMP2/9 genes. Piperine also reduced the expression of inflammatory molecules (PTGS2 and PTGER4), regulated the secretion of cytokines (IF-y and IL-8) and modulated the expression of ERK and p38. These results suggest that piperine exerts anti-cancer effects on tumor cells, and could be a promising natural treatment by regulating signaling pathways associated with head and neck cancer.

Background: Here, we investigated the inflammaging and physical performance in older adults before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Women(n=18) and men(n=7) older were evaluated before the COVID-19 pandemic(PRE), 12 months after the lockdown(POST), and 10 months after resuming exercise training(POS-TR). Physical tests [gait speed(GS) and timed-up-and-go(TUG)]; muscle strength (handgrip-HG), and serum cytokine levels were assessed. Results: The older women showed higher GS and TUG at POST than PRE and POST-TR, besides lower HG at POST-TR than PRE, whereas older men exhibited lower HG at POST and POST-TR than PRE. Both groups presented (1)lower IL-10 and IL-12p70 values in contrast to higher IL-6/IL-10 and IL-8/IL-10 ratios at POST than PRE; (2)higher IL-10 values and lower IL-8/IL-10 ratio at POST-TR than POST; (3)higher IL-12p70/IL-10 ratio at POST-TR than PRE and POST. Particularly older women showed: (4)lower IL-6 values at POST and POST-TR than PRE; (5)lower IL-8 and IL-10 values at POST-TR than POST; (6)and higher TNF-α/IL-10 and IFN-γ/IL-10 ratios at POST than PRE and POST-TR. Significant correlations between the variables were found in both groups. Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, detraining and resumption of exercise training promoted distinct alterations in physical capacity and inflammaging among older women and older men population.

The global craft beer market is witnessing substantial growth, with a particular spotlight on sour beers. These unique brews are created through lactic fermentation initiated by lactic acid bacteria (LAB). However, the presence of hops, renowned for their antimicrobial properties, can pose a limitation within the realm of sour beer production. This research aims to explore and assess the potential of sour beer as a probiotic beverage. It involves a comparative analysis of the viability of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei F19 (F19) and 431 (L431) in a sour beer with an International Bitterness Unit (IBU) value of 26.65, alongside examining the ex-pression of genes such as horA, horB, horC, hitA, bsrA, and recA, which are associated with hop resistance. The study encompasses the development of two formulations of sour beers characterized by both high hop content and a robust probiotic count (8.44 – 8.77 log CFU/mL). The findings suggest that both probiotic strains of F19 and L431, are well-suited to produce sour beers with elevated hop levels, demonstrating excellent stability. Notably, the expression of genes responsible for hops resistance exhibited distinct modulation patterns among the two strains. It appears that a higher concentration of bsrA, as observed in strain L431, may be more effective in mitigating the effects of hop-related stress, potentially surpassing the combined expression of horA and bsrA. Nonetheless, further research is essential to validate this observation in gene expression. F19 and L431 emerge as promising candidates for the development of sour beers with increased hop intensity.

The objective was to estimate the correlation between VIs and grain yield and identify the optimal timing and VIs for precise corn grain yield estimation. Furthermore, the study aims to employ photographic quantification to measure corn ear traits and establish their correlation with corn grain yield. Ten corn hybrids were evaluated in CRB with three rep-lications at three locations. Vegetation indices and green leaf area were estimated throughout the cycle using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and subsequently corre-lated with grain productivity. In addition, photographs were taken of the corn ear to esti-mate their length, width and total number of kernels and compare these values with manual measurements. The experiments consistently demonstrated significant experi-mental quality across sites, with accuracy ranging from 79.07% to 95.94%. UAV flights carried out at the beginning of the crop cycle revealed a positive correlation between grain productivity and the evaluated indices (NGRDI, VARI, GLI). Regarding the phenotyping of corn ears, the regression coefficients for width, length and TNG were 0.92, 0.88 and 0.62, respectively, indicating an association with manual measurements. However, stage V5 in the localities of Lavras and Ijaci and stage V8 in the locality of Nazareno showed a posi-tive correlation with productivity. The use of images for ear phenotyping is promising as a method for measuring corn components.

Hypertensive diseases of pregnancy (HDP) represent a global clinical challenge, affecting 5-10% of women and leading to complications for both maternal well-being and fetal development. At the heart of these complications is endothelial dysfunction, with oxidative stress emerging as a pivotal causative factor. The reduction in nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability is a vital indicator of this dysfunction, culminating in blood pressure dysregulation. In the therapeutic context, although antihypertensive medications are commonly used, they come with inherent concerns related to maternal-fetal safety, and a percentage of women do not respond to these therapies. Therefore, alternative strategies that directly address the pathophysiology of HDP are required. This article focuses on the potential of the nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway, abundantly present in dark leafy greens and beetroot, as an alternative approach to treating HDP. The objective of this review is to discuss the prospective antioxidant role of nitrate. We hope our discussion paves the way for using nitrate to improve endothelial dysfunction and control oxidative stress, offering a potential therapy for managing HDP.

Sarcopenia is associated with clinical complications, which increase mortality. Effective sarcopenia risk screening in the elderly should be grounded in a comprehensive assessment, encompassing both nutritional status and medication use. Current screening tools, while emphasizing muscular per-formance, exhibit limited sensitivity in identifying elderly individuals at risk of sarcopenia. This cross-sectional study aimed to develop a sarcopenia risk screening tool, named Sarc-Global, with enhanced sensitivity, incorporating factors pertinent to the overall health of the elderly. Utilizing the criteria established by EWGSOP2 for diagnosing sarcopenia, we evaluated 395 communi-ty-dwelling elderly individuals. This evaluation served as a reference for assessing the efficacy of two validated questionnaires, Sarc-F and Sarc-CalF, and our newly developed Sarc-Global. Con-structed through multiple logistic regression, Sarc-Global integrates variables such as sex, age, medication use, body mass index, arm circumference, and handgrip strength – all significantly associated with sarcopenia (p

In this paper, we identify issues and possible solutions in the key area of large-scale antenna systems, also know as Massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) systems. Additionally, we propose the use of Massive MIMO technology as a means to tackle the uplink mixed-service communication problem. Under the assumption of an available physical narrowband shared channel (PNSCH), the capacity of the MTC network and, in turn, that of the whole system, can be increased by grouping Machine-Type Communication (MTC) devices into clusters and letting each cluster share the same time-frequency physical resource blocks. We study the feasibility of applying sub-optimal linear detection to the problem of detecting a large number of MTC devices sharing the same time-frequency resources at the uplink of a base station (BS) equipped with a large number of antennas, M. In our study, we derive the achievable lower-bound rates for the studied sub-optimal linear detectors and show that the transmitted power of each MTC device can be reduced as M increases, which is a very important result for powerconstrained MTC devices running on batteries. Our simulation results suggest that, as M is made progressively larger, the performance of sub-optimal linear detection methods approach the matched filter bound, also known as perfect interference-cancellation bound.

Leishmaniasis are neglected diseases that affect regions such as South Asia, South Africa and Latin America, less developed regions. Current treatment, for cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral leishmaniosis, which are the main forms of the disease, is based on the administration of pentavalent antimonial and amphotericin B. However, these drugs have low efficacy and high toxicity. For this reason, the search for new treatments for this disease is necessary, based on studies of new molecules and their conformations. The research proposed the conformational study of brominated guanidine compounds with potential antileishmanial activity using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The present study involves the bro-minated molecules, LQOF-G2, LQOF-G30, LQOF-G35 and LQOF-G35-Br. The later was synthesized by the reaction of LQOF-G35 with NBS under IR irradiation at 120 Watts of potency and dichloro-methane as solvent by 12-h of exposition. The obtained results demonstrated the efficiency of the bromination method, since two bromines atoms entered the molecule. Furthermore, NMR analysis showed the occurrence of a conformational change from Z to E when compound LQOF-G35 was brominated to LQOF-G35-Br. This feature was well confirmed by comparative DRX study of the LQOF-G35 and LQOF-G35-Br compounds. The antileishmanial activity of LQOF-G2 e LQOF-G35 motivated the synthesis of new brominated compounds LQOF-G30 e LQOF-G35-Br.

The paper presents a study of two novel visual motion onset stimulus-based brain–computer interfaces (vmoBCI). Two settings are compared with afferent and efferent to a computer screen center motion patterns. Online vmoBCI experiments are conducted in an oddball event–related potential (ERP) paradigm allowing for “aha–responses” decoding in EEG brainwaves. A subsequent stepwise linear discriminant analysis classification (swLDA) classification accuracy comparison is discussed based on two inter–stimulus–interval (ISI) settings of 700 and 150 ms in two online vmoBCI applications with six and eight command settings. A research hypothesis of classification accuracy non–significant differences with various ISIs is confirmed based on the two settings of 700 ms and 150 ms, as well as with various numbers of ERP response averaging scenarios.The efferent in respect to display center visual motion patterns allowed for a faster interfacing and thus they are recommended as more suitable for the no–eye–movements requiring visual BCIs.

Background: The management of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) focuses on dietary interventions, physical activity, and pharmacological therapy. Strategies that enhance adherence to the diet could play a pivotal role in managing this population. Objective: To compare the effectiveness of outpatient nutritional guidance supplemented by digital media with exclusively standard outpatient nutritional guidance in pregnant women with GDM. Methods: This was a randomized, patient-blinded clinical trial conducted at the Diabetes and Pregnancy outpatient clinic from February 2021 to January 2023. Pregnant women with GDM were randomly allocated into two groups: the Control Group (CG) received exclusively outpatient nutritional guidance, and the Intervention Group (IG) received outpatient nutritional guidance along with reminders via WhatsApp. Dietary intake (calories, carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and fibers) was evaluated using 24-hour dietary recalls (24HR). Glycemic control and the need for pharmacological treatment were also assessed. Mann-Whitney tests were applied to numerical variables, and Fisher's exact test or Chi-square tests were used for categorical variables. Results: 81 women were included, 34 allocated to the CG, and 47 to the IG. Patients were followed for a period of 4 to 8 weeks. Few differences were observed in glycemic control between the two groups over the follow-up period. There were no statistical differences in pharmacological therapy (p=0.498); 188 24HR were conducted in the CG and 290 in the IG. A statistically significant increase in lipid intake was observed in the IG over the follow-up period compared to the CG (p

Students studying dentistry and nursing experience anxiety daily, which affects both their general well-being and academic achievement. Anxiety is exacerbated by several circumstances, such as stressors in one's personal life, clinical environment exposure, and academic expectations. To effectively regulate anxiety and support students' achievement, treatments that take these elements into account must be designed. In this study, 271 students from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece's departments of dentistry and nursing were polled. Being the following resources, participants filled out an electronic questionnaire that was uploaded to Google Forms and assessed their levels of stress, anxiety, depression, resilience, hope, and spiritual well-being: a) the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS-21), b) the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-12), c) the Adult Hope Scale (AHS), d) the Resilience Assessment Questionnaire (RAQ8), and e) the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS). Additionally, demographic data was gathered, such as gender, educational attainment, family income, and country of origin. Statistical analyses were performed to investigate the relationships between the variables, including hierarchical multiple linear regression and t-tests. The sample consisted of 271 students from the Department of Nursing (n=126, 46.5%) and Dentistry (n=145, 53.5%), with 68.60% of them being female, 80.10% being undergraduate students, and 48.30% being from Athens, the country's capital. Comparatively speaking, 74.50 percent of nursing students were female, while 62.80% of dental students were. Compared to dental students (2.10%), nurses (40.50%) participated in postgraduate studies at a higher rate. Compared to dental students (44.80%), nursing students reported a household income of just 13.90%, which is much less than €35,000. Anxiety was reported by 51.30% of participants overall, with dental students reporting higher anxiety than nursing students. Higher family wealth was associated with reduced stress levels, while female undergraduate students reported higher levels of anxiety than their male counterparts. Hope was a strong predictor of resilience, but stress and worry had a negative correlation. Promoting students' well-being and academic success requires effective stress-reduction and resilience-building techniques aimed to not only improve student performance but also support future healthcare professionals' personal sustainability and holistic growth.

Social distancing policies put in place during COVID-19 epidemic in addition to helping to limit the spread of the disease also contributed to improving urban air quality. Here we show a decrease in air pollutant concentration as a consequence of mobility reduction in São Paulo during the containment measure which began on 22^nd March 2020. When comparing to foregoing weeks to equivalent periods of 2019, the concentration of most air pollutants sharply decreased in the first days of mobility restriction, to then increase again after government officials downplayed the threat of the disease. This trend is also followed by a decrease in hospital admissions by SARS-influenza. Therefore, despite the great economic and social unrest caused by the pandemic, this unique situation shows that large-scale mobility reduction policy had a significant impact on air quality, benefiting, directly and indirectly, the public health system.

We are experiencing an unprecedented urbanization process that alongside with physical, social and economic developments is having a significant impact on population’s health. Due to higher apprehensions of pollution, violence and poverty, our modern cities no longer ensure a good quality of life so they become unhealthy environments. This study aims to measure the socio-environmental and hematologic profile of residents of Santo André’s landfill – “Bairro Espírito Santo” by using the contextualization of the studied area. The research method is Observational type and from Retrospective cohort and by convenience sampling in Santo André in the Greater ABC region. The study determined a socio environmental profile and the hematologic diseases screening related to a close location to the landfill. The disease manifests itself within a broad spectrum of symptoms that causes changes in blood count parameters. The full blood counts analysis was performed, indicating that the blood counts of residents living near the landfill led to positive hematological changes and diseases like Leukopenia, Anemia, Neutropenia and lymphocytosis were the most common changes. However it is considered that the proof of the relation of cause- effect to environmental exposures that may trigger chronic manifestations in humans requires specific studies that are often complicated.

Students with disabilities are often framed as “the problem” and have limited opportunities to engage in standards based mathematics, leading to persistent underachievement. In this paper, we investigate a research divide between mathematics educational research for students with and without disabilities, a divide with significant differences in the theoretical orientations and research methodologies used to understand learners. Based on an analysis of 149 mathematics educational research articles published between 2013 and 2015, we found significant differences between articles focused on learners with and without disabilities. For those with disabilities, mathematical problem solving was understood primarily from behavioral and information processing theoretical perspectives, while for those without disabilities, problem solving was understood primarily through constructivist and sociocultural perspectives. While 86% of research on problem-solving including students with disabilities was quantitative, only 35% of research on students without disabilities was quantitative. Fifty percent of problem-solving research on students without disabilities was qualitative, compared to only 6% of research on students with disabilities. Problem solving, then, is studied in very different ways for learners with and without disabilities. Students without disabilities are studied through close analysis of learning, often individual. Students with disabilities are most often studied quantitatively, in groups, with little analysis of individual thinking. By offering only a limited range of methods and theoretical orientations, this research divide reifies deficit constructions of students with disabilities.

Sword-duels are interesting, from a game-theoretical perspective, as they correspond to sudden-death interactions between players (i.e., defeat means removal from the game), and where victory/defeat depend on not just skill, but also luck. Analyzing probabilities of victory streaks, given a certain level of self and others' skill, is thus relevant for any application domain that can be modeled in the same way. This paper takes inspiration from Miyamoto Musashi, famously undefeated for 61 duels, and implements a Markov-chain Monte-Carlo simulation approach to evaluate this scenario. Results suggest that a 61 victory streak can be probabilistically observed when skill level is roughly 6.5 times that of the average duelist, and with 95\% confidence when skill level is roughly 1000 times that of the average duelist. More generally, this paper provides a method for determining chances of victory streaks in game-theoretical sudden-death encounters, when both "skill" and "luck" contribute to the outcome of the encounter. Specific scenarios can be modeled by modifying the utilized Markov chain and adjusting sampled distributions as required.

There have been beaching events of the marine alga pelagic sargassum in coastal regions of the Caribbean Sea, West African countries, and the north-northeast region of Brazil since 2011. Its presence has caused environmental and socioeconomic impacts while several studies were conducted in order to understand the causes of this phenomenon, as well as alternatives to mitigate its impacts. The objective of this research was to evaluate pelagic sargassum biomass as a raw material for the manufacture of medium-density multilayer particleboards. These are composed of 30% sargassum particles in their inner layer and 70% sugarcane bagasse particles on their outer layers which are bonded with castor oil-based polyurethane resin. A physical and chemical characterization was carried out in order to evaluate sargassum particles while physical and mechanical tests were carried out in order to evaluate the panels. Results were subsequently compared with indications from NBR 14810-2:2018 and ISO 16893:2016 standards. A life cycle assessment based on ISO 14040:2006 and 14044:2006 was carried out as to complement the feasibility study of these panels and to compare their different manufacturing processes. The multilayer panels met the minimum requirements for physical and mechanical properties established by regulations, indicating that the Sargassum spp. biomass can be used as filling. The life cycle assessment study indicates that sargassum panels produced in the Belém-PA-Brazil region present lower environmental impacts in four of seven evaluated categories when compared to conventional panels. As such, they constitute an alternative way to mitigate environmental impacts generated by beaching events.

The aging of the global population has increased the prevalence of neurodegenerative conditions. Bacopa monnieri (BM), an herb with active compounds, such as bacosides A and B, betulinic acid, loliolide, asiatic acid, and quercetin, demonstrates the potential for brain health. Limited research has been conducted on the therapeutic applications of BM in neurodegenerative conditions. This systematic review aims to project BM's beneficial role in brain disorders. BM has anti-apoptotic and antioxidant actions and can repair damaged neurons, stimulate kinase activity, restore synaptic function, improve nerve transmission, and increase neuroprotection. The included twenty-two clinical trials demonstrated that BM can reduce Nuclear Factor-κB phosphorylation, improve emotional function, cognitive functions, anhedonia, hyperactivity, sleep routine, depression, attention deficit, learning problems, memory retention, impulsivity, and psychiatric problems. Moreover, BM can reduce the levels of pro-inflammatory biomarkers and oxidative stress. Here, we highlight that BM provides notable therapeutic benefits and can serve as a complementary approach for the care of patients with neurodegenerative conditions associated with brain disorders. This review adds to the growing interest in natural products and their potential therapeutic applications by improving our understanding of the mechanisms underlying cognitive function and neurodegeneration and informing the development of new therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative diseases.

Latin America and the Caribbean offer the most favorable natural and social conditions for the emergence of cattle ranching that regenerate and maintains the ecosystem services on which life on Earth depends, that is energy efficient and that contributes to meeting fundamental human food needs. Unlike other major global producers, cattle farming in Latin America and the Caribbean is fundamentally based on pasture. Therein lies both its strength (due to the regenerative potential of well-managed pastures) and its vulnerability (due to the pervasive link between deforestation and pasture formation, especially in the Amazon, where 40% of the Brazilian herd is concentrated). The diversification of pastures (today marked by impressive monotony, with brachiaria accounting for 85% of the species in Brazil), the introduction of legumes and tree plantations within them, and the proper management of herds, open the way to the possibility of drastically reducing the area currently occupied by the activity (especially in the Amazon) while maintaining the supply of its products. Agricultural research has disseminated forms of moderate intensification of cattle ranching, which represent a low opportunity cost of animal feed and, at the same time, regeneration of ecosystem services that have so far been destroyed by the prevailing methods of farming.

The reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) is a highly mobile and plankton-feeding species, classified vulnerable to extinction on the IUCN Red List for Threatened Species. Knowledge on their spatial ecology and the extent of their dispersal remain incomplete, especially within island-fragmented habitats as found in New Caledonia. Satellite telemetry was used to investigate the horizontal movement ecology of reef manta rays in New Caledonia. A total of 21 manta rays were tagged with pop-up satellite archival transmitting tags (21 Fastloc and 2 MiniPAT) that remained deployed for a duration ranging from 3 to 180 days (mean ± SE = 76.7 ± 50.3). Rays presented a strong site fidelity and an important affinity for coastal waters. Long-distance migrations (> 300 km) were also observed, mainly through coastal and shallow water paths. Horizontal movements were compared to a home range area and classified into four distinct patterns: Fidelity, Excursion, Fidelity + Relocation and Relocation. The most dominant pattern was Fidelity where manta rays remained within their home range for the whole duration of the tag deployment. Our findings may assist the design of more appropriate management strategies for the species in New Caledonia and other regions worldwide.

Stainless steel 316L (SS316L) and titanium-alloy Ti6AL4V exhibit properties for bio-medical applications; however their tribocorrosion associated with metallosis is still a major concern. Therefore smoothing DLC coatings aiming for the improvement of tri-bocorrosion and cell viability of stainless steel 316L (SS316L) and titanium-alloy Ti6AL4V with and without DLC coatings were compared. The motivation was due to many papers detailing metallosis caused by metal debris in the body's soft tissues. Nowadays, metallosis is responsible for almost of prosthesis replacement surgeries. DLC coatings were produced using the Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) technique; acetylene gas was used as a carbon precursor, and silane gas produced an amorphous silicon interface between the DLC coating and metal substrate. A combined setup of techniques thoroughly evaluated the coatings considering chemical composition, coatings adhesion at a metallic substrate, scratch resistance, and tribocorrosion susceptibility. The cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of metallic samples with and without DLC coatings were analyzed, considering cell viability and its correlation with coatings’ chemical composition

Fructose consumption has been growing exponentially and, concomitant with this, the increase in the incidence of obesity and associated complications has followed the same behavior. Studies indicate that fructose may be a carbohydrate with greater obesogenic potential than other sugars. In this context, the liver seems to be a key organ for understanding the deleterious health effects promoted by fructose consumption. Fructose promotes complications in glucose metabolism, accumulation of triacylglycerol in the hepatocytes and alterations in the lipid profile, which, associated with an inflammatory response and alterations in the redox state, will imply a systemic picture of insulin resistance. However, physical exercise has been indicated for the treatment of several chronic diseases. In this review, we show how each exercise protocol (aerobic, strength or a combination of both) promote improvements in the obesogenic state created by fructose consumption as an improvement in the serum and liver lipid profile (HDL increase and decrease TG and LDL levels) and a reduction of markers of inflammation caused by an excess of fructose. Therefore, it is concluded that the practice of aerobic physical exercise, strength or a combination of both is essential for attenuating the complications developed by the consumption of fructose.

This paper presents a review on numerical and experimental methods to predict fracture of ad-vanced high strength steels (AHSS). AHSS are widely processed through sheet metal forming processes. Although being an excellent choice when lightweight, high strength and ductility are critical factors, their multi-phase microstructure accentuates forming challenges. To accurately model forming behavior, necking based failure criteria as well as direct fracture models require improvements. As a necking based failure model, the conventional forming limit diagram/curve (FLD/FLC) presents limitations such as in estimating direct fracture (surface cracks, edge cracks, shear cracks), as well as deformation histories under nonlinear strain paths. Thus, significant re-search efforts are being made towards the needs of advanced fracture constitutive models capa-ble of predicting fracture scenarios without necking, more frequently observed in the realm of AHSS. Scientific community research is divided into several directions aiming at improving the forming and fracture behavior accuracy of parts subjected to sheet metal forming operations. In this review paper, a comprehensive overview on ductile fracture modeling is presented. Firstly, the FLD/FLC limitations modeling fracture behavior in sheet metal forming operations are stud-ied. Followed by the recent trends in constitutive material modeling. Afterwards, material char-acterization methods advancements to cover a broad range of stress states are comprised. Final-ly, damage and fracture models predicting failure in AHSS are investigated. This review paper supplies relevant information on the current issues the sheet metal forming community is chal-lenged with due to the trend towards AHSS employment in the automotive industry.

The use of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) is a great contribution to medical studies since the application of forecasting concepts allows the analysis of future diseases propagations. In this context, this paper presents a study of the new coronavirus SARS-COV-2 with a focus on verifying the virus propagation associated with mitigation procedures and massive vaccination campaigns. There were proposed two methodologies to predict 28 days ahead the number of new cases, deaths, and ICU patients of five European countries: Portugal, France, Italy, United Kingdom, and Germany, and a case study of the results of massive immunization in Israel. The data input of cases, deaths, and daily ICU patients was normalized to reduce discrepant numbers due to the countries size, and the cumulative vaccination values by the percentage of population immunized, at least with one dose of vaccine. As a comparative criterion, the calculation of the mean absolute error (MAE) of all predictions presents the best methodology and targets other possibilities of use for the proposed method. The best architecture achieved a general MAE for the 1 to 28 days ahead forecast lower than 30 cases, 0,6 deaths and 2,5 ICU patients by million people.

The split of the brain into two hemispheres is pivotal to human existence, enabling incompatible versions of the world, with quite different priorities and values, to exist concomitantly. Neuroimaging techniques are usually the adopted methods to assess hemispherical bias. However, can differences in thinking orientation, behavioural style, and personality emerging from laterality be observed without the use of neuroimaging techniques? This paper investigates whether a personality test based on the Five-factor model (FFM) is also able to identify hemispherical bias. It does so by testing five hypotheses on personality differences related to handedness. The aim is to contribute to the instantiation of the FFM in neuroscience by testing its validity against the neuroscientific literature on brain laterality. The findings pointed to no statistically significant differences due to handedness in three out of five personality traits (namely, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness and Extraversion). As to the other two traits – Openness and Agreeableness – the hypotheses were only partially confirmed by the data, as the relevant difference found was not between left-handed and right-handed groups, but between ambidextrous and the others.

Upon the outbreak of the COVID-19, countries worldwide developed policies with the goal to introduce restrictive measures geared towards mitigating the spread of the virus. Although these health initiatives were put in place through top-down public directives, they relied heavily on the cooperation of citizens who had to be willing to carry them out. As a consequence, we could observe differences in compliance with governmental restrictions within and between countries. Increasing policy stringency was the method adopted overall to promote people’s compliance. This article used survey data from 10308 participants in Brazil to examine whether there was a positive correlation between policy stringency and compliance with restrictive measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The results revealed, however, that there was no direct influence of policy stringency on people’s health behaviors. Accordingly, I hypothesized that individual differences in personality traits were one of the drivers behind policy compliance, as they would support self-interests such as the duty to support authorities as well as the perceived health risks of certain behaviors and ultimately motivate compliance. The findings’ implications for both compliance research and for authorities wanting to nurture voluntary compliance with public health orders are discussed and suggestions are provided.

Despite the need for a sustainable energy resource, bioenergy gained its spotlight in the 2000s. Sugarcane is a significant crop in terms of sugar and energy capacity, and it can be an alternative energy source to mitigate the effects of climate change. Bioenergy production from sugarcane in Brazil is one of the most efficient. This production lends a centrality to biofuels' importance in confronting the effects of climate change. The present article reviews the Brazilian history of this crop as a biofuel source. We highlight the historical changes related to scientific, technological, industrial, and environmental advances since the beginning of the 20th century. We describe how creating governmental institutes and disseminating scientific knowledge strengthened public policies that led Brazil to occupy leadership positions in producing, distributing, and using bioenergy throughout the country. The compiled data shows the improvement and the new approaches needed in ethanol sugarcane. We developed a bibliometric analysis to evaluate Brazilian science's contribution to this process compared to other countries. Brazil's history of science and investments in sugarcane biofuel development for transportation may be divided into two phases: ethanol-only and flex-fuel cars. A third phase is starting, which is the ethanol-to-hydrogen era.

The global population is at risk of vitamin D deficiency due to low exposure to sunlight and low intake of the vitamin through diet. The aim was to investigate in women the association between vitamin D status and parathyroid hormone (PTH), ultraviolet radiation, lifestyle, ethnicity, social conditions, and residential greenness. A 1-year longitudinal study assessed vitamin D status in 309 women, latitude 51° 14' N. Blood samples were taken four times throughout the year for analysis of 25(OH)D and serum PTH concentration. After each seasonal visit, the individuals completed 4-day diet diaries and used two dosimeter badges for 1 week to estimate weekly UVR exposure. A questionnaire was applied to provide information about lifestyle and their ethnicity. Residential greenness was measured by Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), within a 1000 m radius around each participant’s home address. Women living in greener spaces were more likely to have improved vitamin D status (RR: 1.51; 95%CI: 1.13 – 2.02), as well as those who were more exposed to UVR (RR: 2.05; 95%CI: 1.44 – 2.92). Our results provided a first insight into the connection between vitamin D, residential greenness, and lifestyle in a region of temperate climate and with a high degree of urbanization.

Chagas disease is a Neglected Tropical Disease with limited and ineffective therapy. In a search for new antitrypanosomal compounds, we investigated the potential of metabolites from bacteria living in corals and sediments of the Southeastern Brazilian coast. Three corals Tubastraea coccinea, Mussismilia hispida, Madracis decactis and sediments yielded 11 bacterial strains, that were fully identified by MALDI-ToF/MS or gene sequencing, resulting in six genera - Vibrio, Shewanella, Mesoflavibacter, Halomonas, Bacillus and Alteromonas. To conduct this study, EtOAc extracts were prepared and tested against Trypanosoma cruzi. Crude extracts showed IC50 values ranging from 15 to 51 μg/mL against trypomastigotes. The bacterium Mesoflavibacter zeaxanthinifaciens was selected for fractionation, resulting in an active fraction (FII) with IC50 values of 17.7 μg/mL and 23.8 μg/mL against the trypomastigotes and amastigotes, respectively, with neither mammalian cytotoxicity nor hemolytic activity. Using NMR and ESI-HRMS analysis, FII revealed the presence of unsaturated iso-type fatty acids. Its lethal action was investigated, leading to a protein spectral profile of the parasite altered after treatment. FII also induced a rapid permeabilization of the plasma membrane of the parasite, leading to cell death. These findings demonstrate these unsaturated iso-type fatty acids as possible new hits against T. cruzi.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused by spreading rapidly a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has imposed a unique situation for the humanity. Sao Paulo has reported 124,105 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 5,623 deaths up to June 14th, being considered the epicenter of the pandemic in Brazil and in South America. Due to the measures for social distancing, there was a drop in the air pollution concentration in Sao Paulo. Starting on March 16th, 2020, we broke 90 days of social distancing into 13 weeks and compared to an equivalent period in 2019. We investigated the air quality improvement during the quarantine period and compared the associated avoided deaths to COVID-19 burden deaths. Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) was the best indicator of air quality in the analyzed weeks, since its reduction reached 58 %. Our study showed that the 5,623 deaths occurred during the analyzed weeks of quarantine represents an economic health loss of US$ 10.5 billion. In opposite, we observed a significant air quality improvement due to pollutants concentrations’ reductions during the analyzed weeks. Considering PM₁₀, PM_2.5 and NO₂, the decrease of concentration levels respectively avoided 78, 337 and 387 premature deaths and prevented up to US$ 1.5 billion on health costs. These results highlight the importance of continuing to enforce existing air pollution regulations and measures to protect human health both during and after COVID-19 pandemic.

Almost four years after COVID-19 was declared a global health emergency, equitable distribution of the vaccine remains a challenge, especially among homeless people, the fastest growing population in Brazil. Therefore, we sought to identify the factors associated with completion of the COVID-19 vaccination schedule among homeless people in Brazil. Materials and Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study in the capital cities of Brazil's Federative Units, considering people living on the streets as the target population. We used a sequential inclusion approach, with individual interviews conducted by trained professionals, using a validated questionnaire. We used descriptive statistics to analyze the data and a binary logistic regression model to identify factors associated with homeless individuals who completed the COVID-19 vaccination schedule. Results: It was identified that the highest density of homeless people and indicators related to COVID-19 is located in the Northeast, Southeast and South regions of Brazil. The primary data sample consisted of 1,392 participants, predominantly male (n: 961; 69.0%), with an average age of 38.3±15.2 years, belonging to the black/brown race/color (n: 1,097; 78.8%), with an elementary school education (n: 1,060; 76.1%). The factors associated with completing the vaccination schedule were: receiving government aid (OR: 1.58; 95%CI: 1.09 - 2.30), visits from Health Agents from the Street Clinic (OR: 3.19; 95%CI: 1.95 - 5.36), history of COVID-19 (OR: 5.77; 95%CI: 3.17 - 11.15), support for mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 (OR: 3.76; 95%CI: 2.48 - 5.76), trust in the efficacy of vaccines (OR: 3.92; 95%CI: 2.63 - 5.89), seeking information from NGOs, street clinics, community leaders (OR: 1.91; 95%CI: 1.01 - 3.88) and trust in the Federal Government's statements on vaccines (OR: 1.57; 95%CI: 1.06 - 2.31).Conclusion: The study advances knowledge by highlighting the completeness of the COVID-19 vaccination schedule among the homeless population. The source of information proved to be one of the determinants of completeness, and the Unified Health System played a leading role in raising awareness among homeless people, notably through its strategy of street clinics, when available. The evidence points to the importance of affirmative and inclusive actions that guarantee access to the vaccine for homeless people.

Assessing dietary inadequacies can contribute to understanding the nutritional vulnerabilities of a country. This study aimed to investigate nutrient intakes and micronutrient inadequacies in the Brazilian adult population, with an interest in different age subgroups. Cross-sectional study with 1812 individuals aged 19 to 65 years from a population-based study with a representative sample of Brazilian adults. Dietary intake was assessed by two 24-hour food recalls, and the probabilities of inadequate intake were estimated using the Dietary Reference Intake targets. Adequate macronutrient intake was over 99% for proteins, 84.7% for carbohydrates, and 80.7% for total fats. There was a high probability of inadequacy (above 90%) for vitamins D and E, but vitamin D inadequacy was very similar between sexes. In contrast, vitamin E was more likely to be inadequately consumed among women. A high probability of inadequacy (above 85%) of calcium and magnesium was found in the population, regardless of age group. Except for iron, the probability of inadequacy of other minerals increased with age. The results showed a relevant proportion of nutrient inadequacies, with those most at risk being women and older individuals, helping with better targeting and monitoring of public health policies that address nutritional problems in the population.

The advantage of FPGAs lies in the ability to implement a fully hardware solution for interfacing with various input/output (I/O) devices. Each block can work in parallel with all the others, simplifying the satisfaction of timing constraints. However, this hardware utilization consumes FPGA resources that could otherwise be allocated to the primary project. An alternative involves employing a small "soft-core" processor implementing I/O in software. With the goal to design and evaluate a new tiny soft-core processor optimized for FPGA resources in I/O , a novel processor named Baby8 is developed. It is an 8-bit CISC soft-core processor optimized for reduced FPGA resources including program size for 8-bit applications. The number of instructions is not large but any instruction can access arbitrary memory locations. The performance and resource utilization of the newly designed processor are evaluated and compared with a variety of other soft-core processors. The results demonstrate its competitive performance, achieving an average maximum clock frequency of approximately 57 MHz and a power consumption of around 2mW. Furthermore, it conserves nearly half of the FPGA resources in implementation.

This paper provides a comparative analysis of AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) and Salsa20 algorithm implementations, focusing on power consumption efficiency in passive RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags and ultra-low-power devices. The main objective of this work is to determine which of these algorithms is more suitable to operate in these types of devices. For this purpose, ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) implementations of AES and Salsa20 based on low-power approaches were developed and their power consumption was evaluated. Results demonstrate that Salsa20 power consumption is lower than AES (2.82μW and 4.01μW, respectively - both in 0.18μm), indicating that Salsa20 is a better choice than AES for passive RFID tags.

This study was conducted to determine the effect of different types of olive cake (five treatments) in the diet of Bísaro pigs on the volatile compounds and sensory characteristics in the dry-cured loin and dry-cured “cachaço” (2 processed meat products). The treatments applied are based on the type of extraction and this may imply differences in their water and fat content. Eighty com-pounds were identified, and grouped into eight chemical classes: hydrocarbons, aldehydes, es-ters, alcohols, ketones, acids, furans, and other compounds. Aldehydes and alcohols were the ma-jor groups of compounds, representing 57.06-66.07 % and 68.67-75.61 % for the loin and “cacha-ço”, respectively. There were no significant differences between treatments for any of the volatile compounds identified. The major aldehydes were hexanal, heptanal, pentanal, and propanal. These compounds were significantly higher (p<0.001) in “cachaço”. This significant difference be-tween the two types of dry-cured products is directly related to the amount of total fat content. The major alcohols were 2.3-butanediol, 1-octen-3-ol, 1-butanol, 3-methyl, 1-hexanol, benzyl-alcohol and glycidol. Except for compounds 2,3-butanediol and benzyl-alcohol, the majority in this group are significantly different in terms of the type of dry-cured product. As for the sensory evaluation, for both dry-cured products, the trained tasters did not detect significant differences between the different treatments, which is in line with the results obtained for volatile compounds.

Antibodies are important tools for the study of membrane proteins in biological, biophysics and structural analyses. However, the production of purified membrane proteins is still a formidable challenge due to the amphipathic character and inherent instability of these proteins. In this work, we tested a strategy for producing antibodies against an ATP-Binding Cassette (ABC) transporter without the need to produce the full membrane complex. Instead, just the extra cytoplasmic regions of the ABC-type transporter Rv1819c from Mycobacterium tuberculosis were presented in the RAD-display, a scaffold system based on the engineered Pyrococcus furiosus RadA protein developed for exposition of peptides. The RadA scaffold protein is highly stable, can tolerate long insertions and easy to produce in Escherichia coli. Based on the three-dimensional structure of Rv1891c, we selected two versions of the main extracellular loops of the permease to use as test cases for this approach. Rv1819c-derived peptides displayed on RAD display system were used for immunization of mice and production of polyclonal antibodies. These antibodies were able to recognize the transporter in M. tuberculosis cell extracts, on intact cells by flow cytometry and as purified protein. The results showed the approach can be a useful tool for in vitro analyses, screening, and evaluation of different epitopes in membrane proteins.

Brazil has ideal conditions for the large-scale use of cabotage cargo transportation: a vast coastline with almost 7,400 km, approximately 70% of the population resident in a coastal range of up to 200 km from the coast and a strong concentration of activities economic along the coast. However, there is an absolute domain of road modal for the transportation of goods, and cabotage is underused. The purpose of the study was to raise the main barriers that negatively impact the performance of Brazilian cabotage. To this end, it was used to bibliographic and documentary research, based on studies already published in journals, doctoral theses, master's dissertations, congress annals, technical reports and research on government-related government agencies sites, navigation companies and entities related to cabotage. The main barriers that contribute to the low use of cabotage in Brazil were identified and analyzed, as well as possible alternatives of solution for sustainable development of this mode of transport. Such a study will certainly serve as subsidies for the definition of public policies aimed at better use of Brazilian cabotage, as well as to encourage navigation companies to invest more in the transport of goods by cabotage, in order to contribute to the reduction of trucks on highways Brazilian and for environmental preservation.

Covid-19 is a disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, which has spread worldwide since the beginning of 2020. Several pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical strategies were proposed to contain the virus dissemination, including vaccination and lockdowns. One of the consequences of the pandemic was the denial or delay of access to convenient health care services, but also potentially the increase of adverse events within those services, like the number of hospital infections. Therefore, the main question here is: What happened to the performance and sustainability of hospitals? The main goal of this work was to test if the Portuguese public hospitals' performance has been affected by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We used the Benefit-of-Doubt method integrated with the Malmquist Index to analyze the performance evolution over time. Then, we employed a multiple regression model to test whether some pandemic-related variables could explain the performance results. We considered a database of 40 Portuguese public hospitals evaluated from January 2017 to May 2022. The period 2017 to 2019 corresponds to the baseline (pre-pandemic), against which the remaining period will be compared (during the pandemic). We also considered fourteen variables characterizing hospital quality, divided into three main performance definitions (efficiency and productivity; access; safety and care appropriateness). As potential explanatory variables, we consider seven dimensions, including vaccination rate and the need for intensive care for Covid-19 infected people. Results suggest that Covid-19 pandemic features help explain the drop on access after 2020, but not the evolution of safety and appropriateness of care, which surpris-ingly increased the whole time.

Leishmania parasites present astonishing adaptative abilities that represent a matter of life or death within disparate environments during the heteroxenous parasite life cycle. From an evolutionary perspective, organisms develop methods of overcoming such challenges. Strategies that extend beyond the genetic diversity have been discussed and include variability between parasite cells during the infections of their hosts. The occurrence of Leishmania subpopulation fluctuations with variable structural genomic contents demonstrates that a single strain might shelter the variability required to overcome inconsistent environments. Such intrastrain variability provides parasites with an extraordinary ability to adapt and thus survive and propagate. However, different perspectives on this evolution have been proposed. Strains or species living in the same environment can cooperate but also compete. These interactions might increase the replication rate of some parasites but cause the loss of more aggressive competitors for others. Adaptive responses to intra- and interspecific competition can evolve as a fixed strategy (replication is adapted to the average genetic complexity of infections) or an optional strategy (replication varies according to the genetic complexity of the current infection). This review highlights the complexity of interspecies and intrastrain interactions among Leishmania parasites as well as the different factors that influence this interplay.

Abstract: Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a progressive uncurable neurodegenerative disease affect-ing millions worldwide. Various methods, including drug therapies and light emission diode (LED) irradiation, are promising alternatives for preventing and reducing the rapid progression of neurodegenerative diseases, also stimulating the reconstructing of neural tissue structures. In this study, we evaluated the neuroprotective and restorative effects of taurine combined with LED on human neuroblastoma cells (SH-SY5Y), under oxidative stress condition, a considerable modulator in AD. We evaluated LED at the wavelength of 660 nm and taurine under different concentrations before and after exposing SH-SY5Y cells to different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), assessing mitochondrial activity by the MTT colorimetric test and labeling live cell mitochondria by fluorescence using MitoTracker Orange. Cell viability was also evaluated by the trypan blue exclusion assay, and we verified cellular morphological structures by scan-ning electron microscopy (SEM). It was observed that neuroprotective effects are achieved by both LED and taurine when cells are exposed to them and later are stressed with H2O2. Compar-ing both agents, LED irradiation is sufficient to stimulate cell proliferation, representing an af-fordable candidate to contribute against neurodegeneration.

Abstract: (1) Background: Surgery is the best curative option for Gastric Cancer (GC). However, morbimortality associated with surgery still a significant problem. Thus, it is essential to determine the preoperative surgical risk, to optimize outcomes in higher risk patients. (2) Methods: Patients who underwent curative gastrectomy between January 2010 and December 2013 were included, obtaining a sample of 131 patients, and the acuity of the scales understudy was evaluated. The predictive power of the scales was evaluated through calibration and discrimination. (3) Results and Conclusions: Regarding mortality, the scales demonstrated good calibration, with POSSUM and P-POSSUM obtaining the best O:E ratio. The scales presented good discrimination, with POSSUM showing the best result. Considering morbidity, the scales showed good calibration and discrimination. POSSUM and P-POSSUM seem to have potential in predicting morbidity and mortality when applied to the studied population, but there is a need for further studies in this area.

Soil microorganisms plays an important role on plant development and the homogenization of soil microbiome is agri-environmental harmful. It is essential that agricultural practices are carried out taking soil microbiome preservation in consideration. Agroforestry systems are one of the most environmentally friendly agrosystems and its plant diversity influence directly the soil microbiome diversity. In addition, many technologies have been developed and used by applying inoculants in agriculture. However, most of the inoculants are developed with only one or a little number of microbial species to supply a specific plant nutritional demand. In this study we tested the efficacy of the microbial consortium (MC) obtained from compost and the cyanobacteria Arthrospira platensis (AP) comparing with the application of the vermicompost tea (VT) and bokashi (BK) in arugula, lettuce, beetroot, and carrot in an agroforestry system in two seasons. Soil changes on chemical properties and β-glucosidase and arylsulfatase were measured over time. The vegetables yield was measured and for arugula and lettuce the nutritional traits and plant root system were also evaluated. Greater plant yield, nutritional values, and plant root development was observed in the CM treated plants, AP and BK had similar results. Our results show that both CM and AP have potential to become a sustainable product for agricultural production

The analysis of the morphological features can be framed in different temporal and spatial scales, depending on the specific objectives and methodologies of the various scientific fields that find in them a valuable source of information. The inventory and assessment of the geomorphological heritage may be based not exclusively in geophysical factors, but also in its contribution to the structuring of the biosphere, in its interrelation with other types of heritage or even in its potential for research or education purposes. In this article, we proceeded to the selection of a set of geomorphosites, at different scales, in Serra do Alvão (northern Portugal), seeking to demonstrate the importance of the broad lines of relief and intermediate and detailed landforms to the organization of the cultural landscape. Based on a questionnaire applied to a sample of 104 persons, it was intended to assess the value of the geomorphosites, concerning the scientific, preservation, use, cultural and educational dimensions.

Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) is associated with access and use of public open spaces. The “President João Goulart Elevated Avenue” and current denominated “Minhocão” is a facility for leisure activities that are open for people during the night/weekends. The aim of this study was to examine if the prevalence of LTPA among individuals living in the surroundings of Minhocão is different according to proximity to, and use of, the facility. We conducted a cross-sectional study with cluster sampling with people aged ≥18 years who lived in households until 500m and between 501m to 1500m of Minhocão. The survey was conducted between December/2017 until March/2019 with an electronic questionnaire self-responded. We conducted bivariate analysis and Poisson regression to examine possible differences in LTPA according to the proximity of residences and use of Minhocão. The analysis used post-stratification weights. A total of 12,030 telephone numbers of people were drawn (≤500m = 6,942; and &gt;500m to ≤1500m = 5,088). The final sample analyzed were of 235 residents who returned the questionnaires. There was a higher prevalence of individuals engaging in at least 150 minutes per week of LTPA among users than non-users (Prevalence Ratio=2.23, IC95%1.72-2.90). People who used the park had higher prevalence of all types of LTPA than non-users. The results can serve to inform government decision-making on the future of Minhocão.

Diabetes and its complications are a global health burden, necessitating novel therapeutic approaches. Natural products and derivatives are gaining attention as potential agents for managing diabetes due to their diverse constituents and pharmacological activities. Algae, in particular, offer promising bioactive compounds with antidiabetic properties. This review provides an overview of natural products derived from algae in diabetes management, including advancements and future prospects. It highlights the significance of natural products in diabetes, explores algae's diversity, bioactive compounds, and mechanisms of action. The challenges, limitations, and strategies for optimizing algae-based interventions are discussed, alongside future research directions. Algae's multifaceted pharmacological activities and chemical constituents make them attractive for developing novel antidiabetic therapeutics. Further research and optimization of algae-based interventions have the potential to address the global burden of diabetes and improve patient outcomes.

COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has spread around the world and killed around 6.9 million people. Rapid and accurate diagnosis is essential for preventing and controlling the disease, reducing transmission and consequently saving lives. RT-PCR is the gold standard test used to detect the disease. However, the test is expensive and the result is time-consuming, which makes mass testing difficult, especially in countries with limited resources. In addition, the test has high analytical specificity and low diagnostic sensitivity, which leads to false-negative results. Several studies in the literature report the presence of hematological and biochemical alterations in infected patients and use these alterations with machine learning algorithms to help diagnose the disease. Therefore, this article presents the results obtained by different neural network architectures based on Adaptive Resonance Theory (ART) for the diagnosis of COVID-19. The study was conducted in two distinct stages: the first consisted of selecting the best ART network among several, using three open-access datasets and comparing the results with the literature. In the second stage, the chosen model was tested on a dataset containing patients from various hospitals in four countries. In addition, the model was subjected to external validation, including data from a country not present during the training and adjustment of the model, in order to validate the robustness and generalization capacity of the model. The results obtained by the ART networks in this study are promising, outperforming not only classical models, but also the deep learning models often used in the literature. Validation on data from different countries strengthens the model’s reliability and effectiveness.

Throughout the world, disabilities people have worse health prospects, lower education levels, lower economic participation, and higher poverty rate in comparative terms to people without disabilities. For disabilities people achieve better, more long-lasting prospects, we must empower these people and remove barriers that restrict them from participating in the community have access to quality education, to find decent work and have their voices heard. In statistical terms, a very useful alternative that can provide support and monitoring of public policies in this area is proposing to be used continuously. A risk index called risk index disabled person who is to assess which factors are associated to this risk, as well as the intensity and direction of each of these factors, yielding a final score that can be sorted or classified according to the probability of people acquire a certain disability. In the Brazilian case, we propose the use of techniques such as binary and ordinal logistic regression to select the most significant factors using criteria such as AIC, BIC and DIC. Calculate the risk probability for different disabilities (see, hear, move and intellectual) and number of disabilities to the dataset Sample of respondents for Full Questionnaire at IBGE 2010 Census. In this work, by using stereotype ordinal logistic model with ordinal response, it was possible to improve the fit quality, to be compared with binary response logistic model. By using ordinal response merged the disability risk for different severity degree and amount of deficiencies. Mains conclusions were: i)the model required a smaller number of explanatory variables was intellectual or mental and greater number was disabilities; ii) the most sensitive adjust was using stereotype ordinal logistic; iii) different disabilities aren´t homogenous as the different predictor variables, and finally; iv) higher incidence of risks were noted visual disability, living in the northeast, female, age 80, yellow race, instruction level until incomplete fundamental, works production form their own consumption and high number of children.

The objective of this study was to apply simulation and computational intelligence techniques using artificial intelligence and genetic algorithm for economic and environmental optimization of the reverse network (manufacturers, waste managers and recyclers in São Paulo, Brazil) of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) to promote circular economy. For the economic evaluation, the reduction of: fuel, drivers, insurance, depreciation, maintenance and charges was considered and for the environmental evaluation, the environmental impact was measured in the abiotic, biotic, water, land, air and greenhouse gases compartments. It is concluded that the optimized structure of the WEEE reverse chain for São Paulo, Brazil reduced the number of collections, making the most of the cubage. It also generated economic and environmental gains, contributing to the strategic actions of the circular economy. Thus, the proposed simulation allows replication in organizational practice, mainly to meet the 2030 agenda on reducing the carbon footprint generated in transport in large cities. Thus, this study can guide companies on structuring the reverse WEEE chain in São Paulo, Brazil for economic and environmental optimization, a relevant aspect considering the exponential generation of WEEE, requiring the implementation of the national solid waste policy, and subsequently the signature of the electronics sector agreement in São Paulo.

This study explores the effect of seasonality on soil carbon efflux and pasture growth based on field and lysimeter experiments during summer-fall and winter-spring in two years. Focus is also pointed on irrigation strategies to alleviate the crop response to seasonal fluctuations in precipitation and surface temperatures. Soil respiration, soil and air temperature, leaf photosynthesis, plant dry weight and leaf area index were quantified and analyzed. It has been found significant differences in the CO₂ efflux between the two growing season. Emission of soil CO₂ allowed to characterize and to prioritize the temperature and rain influence in seasonal brachiaria response. During the seasons, the transient variation of CO₂ efflux was highly correlated with rainfall (r = 0.87, P < 0.05), and poorly correlated with soil temperatures (r = 0.5, P < 0.05). The CO₂ efflux and plant response to different level of reposition of evapotranspiration demonstrated that irrigation during fall mitigates the reduction of growth conditioned by drying soil and the lower temperatures. The lower temperatures are limiting only when the soil moisture is below 32% of the field capacity. Thus, we propose to keep the soil moisture around 50% during the fall as a key practices for mitigating the effect of seasonality and its intensification with the climate change, even more if added to management routine practices the soil and water conservation.

The late diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus can occur due to lack of access to the primary health care system and the non-manifestation of symptoms. Faced with this problem, this work presents the creation of a mobile application, called DiabetesCheck, for predicting the risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. A mathematical model is used, which classifies the risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus for a group of patients with intervention and for a comparative group, using Fuzzy Classification and Decision Trees. The proposed application allows the health professional to monitor patients through the history stored in a database, allowing a representation of the evolution of patients and indication of medications. Therefore, this proposal aims to carry out the diagnosis in the initial phase of the disease and help in the prescription of more effective treatments and in the proposition of public policy strategies in epidemiology and screening.

BACKGROUND: During the natural history, the incidence HTLV-1 related diseases were 0.5% until 10% after decades of infection. Despite relative low lethality, previous study observed that HTLV-1 infection is associated with significantly increased mortality. For example, the incidence of ATLL and HAM/TSP, co-infections with HIV and HCV, parasitic co-infection with Strongyloides stercoralis may increase morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE: Determine the mortality rate and its major variables as possible risk factors, analyzing the HTLV Clinic at Emilio Ribas Institute, a continuous open cohort of HTLV patients since 1997. METHODS: This cohort open cohort possesses new patients added at a rate of approximately 50 patients/year. There were 1100 HTLV-infected subjects identified by September 30th 2018. All clinical data including clinical and laboratory data, which have been updated on a regular basis over the last 22 years, were entered into a specific REDCap database. The Ethical Board of the IIER approved the protocol. RESULTS: Along 22 years of clinical care in the HTLV-out clinic, 727 HTLV-1-infected subjects and 248 HAM/TSP cases. Four-hundred sixty-eight patients of whom remaining under active follow up. The mean follow-up time of the cohort was 12 years. Twenty-seven patients died (median age of 51,5 years old). From this total, 13 was asymptomatic carriers and 14 HAM/TSP subjects, 12 of asymptomatic and seven HAM/TSP possess co-infected with HIV or/and HCV. Other seven presented HAM/TSP without co-infection, and all was female, and sepsis was the majority cases the majority of cases of sepsis were related to infection of the urinary tract (p=0.058) and to ulcers of decubitus (p=0.021), and it was associated with risk factors for mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the mortality rate for HAM-TSP patients was six percent. The mean life expectancy in Brazil is about 78 years in 2018, twenty-two years higher than HAM/TSP patients without any other coinfection. This study highlights the possibility of higher death risk among HTLV-1-infected patients and HAM/TSP subjects in Brazil, and identified some risk factors for this outcome. Also, these patients may possess higher risk for morbidity, usually urinary tract infections and decubitus scars, which could increase risk for death.

⦁ Introduction: The challenging context, resulting from a post-pandemic scenario, wars, and various natural disasters, does not allow for the ideal assurance of efficiency in the Agri-food supply chain. ⦁ Research significance Currently, Agri-food supply chains and Reverse logistics show critical characteristics such as centralization, limited flexibility, distrust, bureaucratization, Border and Documentary Compliance and there are problems about efficiency, security, and safety Agri-Food. using the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) framework, with the purpose of achieving Sustainable Development Goals, promoting transparency, traceability, and non-linearization of the agri-food supply chain. ⦁ Methodology The methodology is combined, the first part uses Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) identifying 72 articles with the principal contribution in the literature. The second part combines the application of Supply Chain Operations References (SCOR) and the Blockchain Technology aiming to decentralize the linear Agri-food Supply Chain and Reverse logistics. ⦁ Results/findings The results revealed a transformation of the traditional Agri-food Supply Chain, transitioning from linear management to a circular one. Additionally, after application it is possible to know a new way to manage the Reverse Logistic with more decentralization, flexibility, traceability, and reducing the unnecessary activities, which include Border and Documentary Compliance. The originality of this research is the novel combination of SCOR Model and Blockchain showing a priority about the key activities that add value and come close to the Sustainable practices. ⦁ Conclusion / Implications Based on the results is possible to conclude that the synergy between Blockchain and SCOR Model enables a new way to manage the Agri-food supply chain, improving efficiency and reducing activities without value. Also, it is possible to ensure that the practices of Reverse Logistics are improved based on terms of cost and time, and the reduction of the exposition on the Defective Product Risk. ⦁ Social Implications This paper could enhance confidence in all operations of the Agri-food supply chain as there are numerous issues regarding the security and safety of food. Additionally, it will aid in diminishing unnecessary activities and inefficient resource consumption practices, thereby accomplishing objectives 2 "zero hunger", 9 "Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure", and 12 "Responsible consumption and production", along with their respective indicators. ⦁ Practical implications Regarding the practical implications, this research could contribute to analyses of the application of technology Blockchain in different sectors and identify the possible limitations when the main objective is to apply it on a big scale.

The severity of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak demand from countries to adopt extreme measurements of social isolation to stop the spread and flatten the curve of contamination. Although social isolation measures may have negative impacts on economy, historically it has been showed to be more effective in saving lives and less damaging to economy than not adopting these measurements during a viral pandemic. In Brazil, despite the positioning of the president against social isolation due to the consequent economic recession, the rapid spread of the virus has worried the governors of the Brazilian states, which are thus managing stringent social isolation measurements to avoid the advance of the virus. Since one of the main strategies to guarantee progress and economic growth in Brazil has been the exploitation of natural resources from the Amazonia biome, here we discuss the importance of this biome to Brazilian economy during the post-pandemic recession and highlights potential strategies to burst the economy without promoting Amazonia destruction. We show that, together with the REDD+ and the Amazon Fund, the Forest bonds represents good strategies to burst Brazilian economy in a sustainable way, showing that it is possible to improve the commodities without increasing Amazonia deforestation or the greenhouse gases emissions. Amazonia is a biome of global importance for the avoidance of another global crisis, which will occur if we reach the climatic tipping point of 1.5°C. Thus, governmental actions should go towards its preservation, not exploitation and depletion. The commitment of the government with environmental conservation is paramount so that these economic strategies have positive results, especially in a post-pandemic scenario, where the economy will be extremely weakened. The COVID-19 brings us a lesson regarding how our attitudes can impact the world, and what we can expect from a global crisis. Perhaps we can apply these lessons and focus on change our economy towards a sustainable direction to avoid another global crisis in the years to come.

HU is the Hypergeometrical Universe Theory (HU)[1-8], proposed in 2006, where the Universe is a Lightspeed Expanding Hyperspherical Hypersurface and Gravitation is an absolute-velocity-dependent, epoch-dependent force. Here we introduce the Big Pop Cosmogenesis and show our calculations associated with the Equation of State of the Universe. This article is the first in a series of articles[9-22] supporting the paradigm shift.

This article discusses the relationship between the discourse of evangelical churches and the production of conservative neoliberal political rationalities. We start from the premise that the Large Evangelical Corporations (in Brazil), operate within the neoliberal logic, and offer biographical solutions to social exclusion systems, indicating the individual and spiritual causes for poverty and suffering, while identifying the "deserving" of blessings, suggesting elevation through personal responsibility. In this turn, they merge self-entrepreneur individualism with rhetoric that interweaves elements of conservative communitarianism, such as tradition, naturalizing gender roles, and cultivating traditional family models, seen as key to rehabilitating the wider society. We hypothesize that, in the Brazilian case of the state of Rio de Janeiro, evangelical churches are central parts of this gear, acting as one of the main "resonance machines" (Connolly) of neoliberal policies, providing individualized solutions for structural systems of social exclusion, in a pedagogical, efficient and extensive manner. In this sense, this work benefits from fieldwork and interviews conducted in the state of Rio de Janeiro with its large evangelical churches.

Introduction: Bovine tuberculosis is a zoonotic disease of considerable impact, especially in livestock countries, which can cause human disease. Despite its importance, Colombia is a country in which few studies analyse its behaviour, and none develop maps using geographic information systems to characterise it. Objective: To describe the temporal-spatial distribution of bovine tuberculosis in Colombia between 2001 and 2019. Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study, based on reports by the Colombian Agricultural Institute, of tuberculosis surveillance in cattle on farms in Colombia from 2001 to 2019. The data were converted into databases in Microsoft Access 365®, and multiple epidemiological maps were generated with the Kosmo RC1®3.0 software coupled to shape files of all the country's departments. Results: During the study period, 5,273 tuberculosis cases in bovines were identified in the different departments of Colombia (mean 278 cases/year). Regarding its temporal distribution, the number of cases varied from a maximum of 903 cases (17.12% of the total) in 2015 to a minimum of 0 between 2001 and 2004 and between 2017 and 2019 (between 2005 and 2016, the minimum was 46 cases, 0.87%). Conclusions: GIS is an essential tool for understanding the temporospatial behaviour of zoonotic diseases in Colombia, as is the case of bovine tuberculosis, with its potential implications for Human and One Health.

The dengue virus (DENV) is an arbovirus belonging to the Flaviviridae family; the species comprises four antigenically distinct serotypes (DENV–1, DENV–2, DENV–3, and DENV–4), which are further subdivided into genotypes. The virus is transmitted to humans through mosquito bites, primarily from the Aedes spp. genus. Dengue is endemic in various parts of the world, including tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Oceania. In Brazil, the state of Tocantins, located in north-central Brazil, has experienced a significant number of arboviral disease cases, particularly dengue. This study aimed to monitor DENV circulation within the state by conducting full genome sequencing of viral genomes recovered from 61 patients between June 2021 and July 2022. During this period, both DENV-1 and DENV-2 serotypes were identified. Our findings confirm the circulation of DENV serotypes 1 and 2 in Tocantins, affecting males and females equally, with younger age groups (4 to 43 years old) being the most susceptible. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the circulating viruses belong to DENV–1 genotype V American and DENV–2 genotype III Southeast Asian/American. The Bayesian analysis of DENV-1 Genotype V sequenced here is closely related to genomes previously sequenced in the state of São Paulo. Regarding DENV-2 genotype III genomes, these are clustered in a distinct, well-supported subclade, along with previously reported isolates from the states of Goiás and São Paulo. In both cases, our results suggest that multiple introductions of these genotypes occurred in the Tocantins state. This observation highlights the significant impact of major population centers in Brazil on virus dispersion, including other Latin-American countries and the USA. In the SNP analysis, DENV-1 displayed 122 distinct missense mutations, while DENV-2 had 44, with significant mutations predominantly occurring in the envelope and NS5 proteins. The analyses performed here reveal the concomitant circulation of distinct DENV-1 and -2 genotypes in some Brazilian states, underscoring the dynamic evolution of the DENV and the ongoing significance of surveillance efforts in supporting public health policies.

Objectives: The impact of COVID-19 in metropolitan areas has been extensively studied. The geographic spread to smaller cities is of great concern and may follow hierarchical influence of urban centers. With that in mind, we investigated factors that affect vulnerability of inner municipalities in São Paulo State, Brazil, an area with 24 million inhabitants. Methods: Surveillance data for confirmed COVID-19 cases and admissions for severe acute respiratory disease (SARD) up to April 18^th were recorded for each of 604 municipalities that lay outside São Paulo metropolitan area. Vulnerability was assessed in Multivariable models, including sociodemographic indexes, road distance to the State Capital and the municipalities classification proposed by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Municipalities of great regional relevance were used as reference category for that classification. The outcome of interest for Cox regression was having COVID-cases, with time counting from the first report in São Paulo State. For binomial negative regression models, the outcomes of interest were rates of confirmed COVID-19 cases and admissions for SARD.Results: A total of 198 (32.8%) municipalities had autochthonous COVID-19 cases. In Cox models, affected municipalities were likely to have greater population density (Hazard Ratio[HR] for each 100 inhabitants per square kilometer, 1.07; 95% Confidence Interval [CI], (1.05-1.10)), proportion of inhabitants in urban area (HR, 1.02; 95%CI, 1.00-1.04), higher human development index (HDI, HR for 1%, 1.06; 95%CI, 1.00-1.13) and Gini Index for Inequality of income (HR for 1%, 1.04, 95% CI, 1.00-1.07). On the other hand, distance from the Capital was protective (HR for each 100Km, 0.82; 95%CI, 0.74-0.90). The HR95%[95%CI] also varied negatively according to the categories of influence of major centers (0.41 [0.22-0.77], 0.16 [0.09-0.32], 0.07 [0.03-0.15]). The binomial negative regression models for COVID-19 incidence also detected positive association with population density (Incidence Rate Ratio[IRR], 1.13; 95%CI, 1.07-1.18) and proportion of urban population (IRR, 1.04; 95%CI, 1.01-1.05), protection for cities distant to the Capital (IRR=0.73; 95%CI, 0.68-0.81) and increasing negative association for categories of influence (0.19 [0.09-0.42], 0.07 [0.03-0.15] and 0.03 [0.02-0.08]). Similar findings were detected when we used SARD incidence as outcome.Conclusion: Municipalities with greater population, density and regional influence were more likely to be affected earlier and more intensely by COVID-19. Non-pharmacological measures should be strengthened in those areas of greater risk.

This article examines the diagnosis of the Agricultural Innovation System (SIA) in the department of Tolima, Colombia, as part of a project led by the Colombian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Technological University of Pereira (TUP), which also evaluated the National Agricultural Innovation System (NAIS) in regions such as Chocó, Bolívar, and Meta. A methodology was used that involved a survey with 58 questions on a Likert scale to 300 participants, evaluated with congruence and relevance indexes, identifying key variables in the operation of the Agricultural Innovation System (AIS). A survey was also applied to actors of the National Innovation System for Higher Education in Agriculture, A survey was also applied to map the participating actors in the regional agricultural innovation systems of Tolima to identify gaps in extension, innovation, development, sustainability, ICT, education and training. Among the conclusions, it stands out that the associativity subsystem presents the lowest lag and is close to a score of two on the scale of gaps, evaluation carried out among the five subsystems including extension, ICT, environmental aspects, and pub-lic policy. The department of Tolima shows low performance in innovation and ICT, while the extension is less lagging. In Chaparral there is a general lag, with innovation being the worst evaluated subsystem. Rovira obtains high scores in most subsystems, although innovation and ICT have lower scores. At the national and regional levels, innovation is low, and articulation among NARS actors is insufficient, which highlights the need to promote good practices, strategies, and projects.

Multicore magnetic nanoparticles of manganese ferrite were prepared using carboxymethyl-dextran and melamine as agglutinating agents. The nanoparticles prepared using melamine exhibit a flower-shape structure, a saturation magnetization of 6.16 emu/g and good capabilities for magnetic hyperthermia. Magnetoliposome-like structures containing the multicore nanoparticles exhibit sizes in the range 250 – 400 nm. A new antitumor thienopyridine derivative was loaded in these nanocarriers with a high encapsulation efficiency of 98% ± 2.6%. Release profiles in absence and presence of an AMF indicate a transport by diffusion, with a maximum compound release of 31% under the AMF. A sustained and controlled drug release in anticipated from the results, pointing to suitable characteristics of the magnetoliposomes for dual cancer therapy (combined magnetic hyperthermia and chemotherapy).

This literature review aims to assess the extent and depth of existing angel investment literature, particularly focusing on the city of Florianópolis. Through an examination of available literature, the report seeks to elucidate the mechanisms and practices employed in angel investing within the Florianópolis ecosystem. This comprehensive analysis involves synthesizing scientific literature and incorporating insights from authoritative sources in the field. Key findings highlight the imperative for further research and exploration in this domain and the potential for increased angel investment within the studied ecosystem.

Air pollution is an important public health issue. High levels of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere are hazardous to human health. Studies regarding the concentration of this and other gases in the atmosphere allow political actions to manage and reduce the emission of pollutants. In this context, this paper studied the annual, seasonal and daily variations of carbon monoxide (CO) concentration for the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (MRSP). We studied three sites in the MRSP, chosen due to the longer time series and the localities. Two of them are located in areas under the influence of heavy vehicle traffic (Osasco and Congonhas) and the third one in a city park (Ibirapuera Park). The results showed high influence of gasoline vehicles on CO emission. In the annual scale, instead of following the increasing number of vehicles, CO emission and concentration decreased due to improvements in emission technology. CO emission showed a seasonal, weekly and diurnal cycle. The highest values of mean concentration were observed in June/July for Osasco (2.20 ppm), Congonhas (2.04 ppm) and Ibirapuera (1.04 ppm), during the morning, due to weak dispersion of the polluting gases.

Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) has caused several environmental impacts, resulting in significant siltation of water bodies due to the deposition of sediments on river banks. Based on this perspective, this study aims to investigate the water bodies and regions most impacted by mining activities, especially in relation to the increase in the Total Suspended Solids (TSS) caused by ASGM, focusing on the territories of Suriname and French Guiana, over the period from 2017 to 2023, through the creation of an algorithm in Google Earth Engine. The research also aims to map and describe active mining in this region using the Classification and Regression Tree (CART) method, which achieved an overall accuracy of 82% and a kappa index of 0.77. The results reveal that from 2017 to 2024 there was an increase of 148.09 km² of mining, with an average increase in TSS of up to 167 mg/l in water bodies most affected by mining activities. Finally, the continued importance of using remote sensing technologies, such as GEE, together with innovative methodological approaches, to monitor and manage natural resources in a sustainable manner is highlighted.

Introduction: Body size is correlated with many aspects of an animal species' natural history, such as life span, abundance, dispersal capacity and diet breadth. However, contrasting trends have been reported for the relationship between body size and these ecological traits. Methods: Butterfly species from fruit-feeding guilds were used to investigate whether body size correlates with species abundances, dispersal, permanence, and diet breadth in a Neotropical savanna in Brazil (Cerrado). We used Blomberg’s K and Phylogenetic Generalized Least Squares models (PGLS) to measure phylogenetic signal strength in species traits, and to estimate size-dispersal-diet breadth associations while taking shared ancestry into account. Results: 539 individuals from 27 species were captured, and 190 individuals were recaptured, representing a 35% recapture rate. We found that body size negatively influenced butterfly abundance. In contrast, body size was positively associated with dispersal levels, distance traveled, number of traps visited, individual permanence, and diet breadth. These results indicate that larger butterflies have a greater proportion of dispersing individuals over longer distances, as they permanence were detected over longer periods than their smaller relatives. Moreover, larger butterflies are more generalized, based on the number of host plant families and genera they consume. Smaller butterflies demand fewer resources, which is reflected in their higher survival in small patches, and may explain their lower dispersal ability, and higher diet specialization. Nevertheless, lower dispersal ability, if not compensated by large population sizes, may threaten small-bodied species inhabiting environments with intense deforestation rates, such as the Cerrado. Conclusions: Body size positively influences dispersal and diet breadth in the fruit-feeding butterflies collected in this study.

The search for graphene or few layer graphene production methods that are simple, allow mass production and yield good quality material continues to provoke intense investigation. The present work contributes through the study of the aqueous exfoliation of four types of graphene sources, namely graphite and graphite nanoflakes with different morphologies and geographical origin. The exfoliation was achieved in an aqueous solution of a soluble pyrene derivative that was synthesized to achieve maximum interaction with the graphene surface at low concentration (5 x 10-5 M). The yield of bilayer and few layer graphene obtained was quantified by Raman spectroscopic analysis and the adsorption of the pyrene derivative on the graphene surface was studied by thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction. The whole procedure was rationalized with the help of molecular modeling.

Ensuring access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities, coupled with behavior change education in schools, is fundamental for fostering a conducive learning environment and promoting principles of inclusion, dignity, and equality. This study focuses on 12 primary schools in Anápolis, Brazil, encompassing 4,394 students and 248 teachers. WASH assessments were conducted through a questionnaire, observation of water and sanitation facilities and structures, and microbiological analysis. Over the period 2018 to 2020, the proportion of schools with safely managed drinking water surged from 42% to 92%. However, sanitation conditions in the schools were categorized as a basic level, with hygiene services rated as limited in 92% of the schools due to the absence of soap. While this study reveals that Anápolis schools generally align with WASH guidelines for basic/advanced drinking water services, there is a crucial need for enhancements in both hardware and software facilities to address sanitation and hygiene challenges.

Anxiety is a multifactorial pathology associated with oxidative stress and changes in different neurotransmitters in the central nervous system (CNS). Sarcomphalus joazeiro (Rhamnaceae) has a predicted effect on the CNS, being considered an alternative for pre-clinical investigations of anxiolytic drugs. The objective of this study is to evaluate the chemical composition, analyze the antioxidant capacity and the anxiolytic effect of the ethanolic extract of S. joazeiro leaves (EEFSJ) in zebrafish. The chemical profile was analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (UPLC-PDA-ESI-QDA). Antioxidant action by DPPH• elimination and ABTS•⁺ capture assays. The 96 h acute toxicity and open field and light and dark tests, for sedative and anxiolytic evaluation, respectively, were applied in vivo, using zebrafish. It was possible to identify 11 compounds from the flavonoid and saponin class. EEFSJ exhibited a mean inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 185.2 ± 2.2 µg/mL and 74.17 ± 1.5 µg/mL against the DPPH• and ABTS•⁺ radicals, respectively. In vivo, EEFSJ demonstrated reduced locomotor activity and an anxiolytic effect similar to diazepam via GABAergic systems, without presenting toxicity within 96 h. These results suggest the safety of using EEFSJ for the development of clinical trials for the production of new anxiolytic drugs.

This study evaluated the grain size and high organic content from drinking water treatment sludge (DWTS) in the properties of ceramics. Samples were studied using raw and oven dried DWTS at 110 °C in two granulometries (0.180 mm and 0.075 mm), with and without calcination (550 °C), as partial replacement of two soils commonly used in ceramic production. Specimens were prepared with 5, 10, and 20% DWTS and calcined at 950 °C to determine their chemical, physical, mineralogical and mechanical properties. The DWTS reduced the density and increased the absorption and shrinkage of the specimens after calcination. An increase in strength with up to 10% sludge, driven by the presence of fluxing agents, was verified. The processing method had little influence on the properties of ceramic with above 10% of sludge. In conclusion, the use of raw DWTS obtained better results with low energy usage for its reuse.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, masks have been promoted as an important tool for reducing SARS-CoV-2 transmission. However, even though masks are plausible experimental interventions, their mechanistic effectiveness has not been validated by randomized clinical trials (RCTs), with reduction risks of just 1.1-fold (11%) or less. Several meta-analyses have suggested that masks effectively reduce viral transmission, but all of them rely heavily or exclusively on observational data. Indeed, there is a strong inverse correlation between the effectiveness of masks and the number of RCTs included in the meta-analysis. RCTs on alternative therapies often show similar low levels of effectiveness. Thus, masks can be compared with potential new drugs or therapies that failed clinical trials despite showing mechanistic evidence.

The concept of artisanal products has been largely discussed mainly due to concerns about the inappropriate use of the term that may cause confusion for the consumers. Cheeses are important food models to evaluate consumers’ and producers’ perception about artisanal foods worldwide. Thus, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the perception of consumers and cheesemakers towards artisan foods, focusing on artisanal cheeses. For this purpose, two focus group were performed either with cheese producers and with consumers to discuss the topic. Colonial and Serrano cheeses, traditional and cultural dairy products in Brazil, were used as food model for the discussion. Producers and consumers related artisan foods to small scale of production, handicraft and freshness. Affective memories were also an important issue related to artisanal cheeses. For cheesemakers, artisan cheeses must be produced with unpasteurized milk, which was not cited by consumers. Consumers disclosed the intention of pay a premium price for food products that present artisan seals on front-package-label, mainly due to the guarantee of acquiring a quality product. The confusion about artisanal and traditional food concepts were observed, which is a subject to be deeply evaluated further. The findings provide useful implications to policy makers and institutions that can influence citizens’ attitudes and consumption patterns of artisanal products.

Financial stress can have significant implications for individuals, businesses, asset prices and the economy as a whole. This study examines the nonlinear structure and dynamic changes in the multifractal behavior of cross-correlation between the financial stress index (FSI) and four well-known commodity indices, namely Commodity Research Bureau Index (CRBI), Baltic Dry Index (BDI), London Metal Index (LME) and Brent Oil prices (BROIL), using multifractal detrended cross correlation analysis (MFDCCA). For analysis, we utilized daily values of FSI and commodity index prices from 16th June 2016 to 9th July 2023. The following are the most important empirical findings: (I) All of the chosen commodity market indices show cross correlations with the FSI and have notable multifractal characteristics. (II) The presence of power law cross-correlation implies that a noteworthy shift in FSI is likely to coincide with a considerable shift in the commodity indices. (III) The multifractal cross-correlation is highest between FSI and Brent Oil (BROIL) and lowest with LME. (IV) The rolling windows analysis reveals a varying degree of persistency between FSI and commodity markets. The findings of this study have a number of important implications for commodity market investors and policymakers.

Water footprint has been widely used to illustrate the consumption of water in many situations; for instance, in products, processes or regions of interest. In this work, we analyzed – using a sensitivity analysis approach – the effect of some variables in the calculation of the water footprint in the viticulture in Brazilian Serra Gaúcha (the major producing region of Brazilian Wine).The classical Penman-Monteith model for evapotransporation was considered, with uncertainties in some parameters (dead mulch covering fraction in the vineyard, maximum temperatures for some months, altitudes and latitudes of the site). The sensitivity analysis was conducted using the SAFE toolbox under Octave framework. The results indicated that the the portion of the water footprint corresponding to the evapotranspiration is more sensitive to the values of mulch covering fraction and the altitude of the site in comparison with the latitude and the maximum temperatures.

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) stands as the paramount tropical phenomenon of climatic magnitude resulting from ocean-atmosphere interaction. Due to its atmospheric teleconnection mechanism, ENSO wields influence over diverse environmental variables spanning distinct atmospheric scales, thereby potentially impacting the spatiotemporal distribution of atmospheric aerosols. Within this framework, this study aims to appraise the relationship between ENSO and atmospheric aerosols across the Legal Amazon during the period between 2006 and 2011. Over this quinquennium, four ENSO events were identified. Concurrently, an analysis was conducted on the spatiotemporal variability of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and AOD extinction for Black Carbon (EAOD-BC), concomitant with said ENSO events, utilizing data derived from the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET), MERRA-2 model, and ERSSTV5. Through the Windowed Cross Correlation (WCC) approach, statistically significant phase lags of up to 4 to 6 months were observed between ENSO indicators and atmospheric aerosols. Moreover, conspicuous increases of over 100% in atmospheric aerosol concentration were evidenced subsequent to El Niño periods, especially during the intervals encompassing the La Niña phase, particularly within the La Niña CP (Central Pacific)/Modoki category. By analyzing specific humidity anomalies (QA), exceptional scenarios in the region were detectable. This observation suggests a notable singularity when juxtaposed with antecedent investigations and typical average patterns characterizing the impacts on the Amazonian region.

Conclusions: It could be concluded that small/medium scale dairy plants can use UF equipment with the aim to valorize sheep´s and goat´s CW through the production of dairy formulations with added prebiotics and probiotics, while reducing the environmental impact of their activities.

In contemporary construction, the prevalence of vibration serviceability issues in lightweight and slender structures has become increasingly common, owing to advancements in building materials and construction methods. While these structures often meet the criteria for ultimate limit states, they can still elicit complaints due to excessive vibrations induced by human activity. To address this challenge, the Integral Resonant Control (IRC) technique has emerged as a favored approach for actively damping vibrations in various systems. This study introduces a fresh perspective on implementing a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) IRC scheme for active vibration control (AVC) specifically tailored for pedestrian structures utilizing inertial mass actuators. Building upon a common framework and design methodology outlined in previous research, this work presents a novel application of MIMO IRC for AVC. The designed controller is rigorously tested and implemented on a laboratory floor structure to validate its efficacy.

Climate and land use changes are two factors affecting the hydrology of watersheds. The greatest effect of climate change is probably the change in the hydrological cycle, thus water availability for human consumption, industry, and power generation. While the change in land use can cause changes in the hydrological components of the basin, such as evapotranspiration, runoff, and groundwater recharge. From these projections, it is necessary to understand the processes involved in climate change and land use and its impact on water systems. In this context, the objective of this study was to simulate climate change scenarios combined with the land use change and to analyze the impacts on the hydrology in the Piracicaba basin. Two periods were selected based on the preliminary result of detection of the abrupt change point of the annual flow series, using Petitt's non-parameter test. The first period selected prior to the occurrence of the point of the change was from 1985 to 2000. The other period after the point of the change was 2001 to 2015. Land use maps of the years 1990 and 2010 were used to represent the two periods. The results showed a good performance of the SWAT model. The NS (Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient) was 0.88 in calibration for both periods. In the validation, the NS was 0.92 and 0.94 for the first and second periods respectively. We then simulate climate and land use changes scenarios and compare them to the current scenario (baseline). The simulation results showed that the hydrological processes in the Piracicaba basin in the period 1985-2015, had more intense responses to land use change than climate.

With the rising trends in elderly populations around the world, there is a growing interest in understanding how climate sensitivity is related to their thermal perception. Therefore, we analyzed the associations between mortality in the elderly due to cardiovascular (CVD) and respiratory diseases (RD) and meteorological variables, for three cities in the State of São Paulo, Brazil: Campos do Jordão, Ribeirão Preto and Santos, from 1996 to 2017. We applied the Autoregressive Model Integrated with Moving Average (ARIMA) and the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) in order to evaluate statistical associations. Results showed CVD as a major cause of mortality, particularly in the cold period, when a high mortality rate is also observed due to RD. The mortality rate was higher in Campos do Jordão and lower in Santos (and intermediate values in Ribeirão Preto). Campos do Jordão results indicate an increased probability of mortality from CVD and RD due to lower temperatures. In Ribeirão Preto, the lower relative humidity may be related to the increase in CVD and RD deaths. This study emphasizes that, even among subtropical climates, there are significant differences. Therefore, this can assist decision makers in the implementation of mitigating and adaptive measures.

The present study aimed to determine the genetic diversity of isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) from presumed drug resistant tuberculosis patients from several states of Brazil. The isolates had been submitted to conventional drug susceptibility testing for first- and second-line drugs. Multidrug-resistant (MDR-TB) (54.8%) was the most frequent phenotypic resistance profile, in addition to an important high frequency of pre-extensively resistant (p-XDR-TB) (9.2%). Using whole-genome sequencing (WGS), we characterized 298 Mtb isolates from Brazil. Besides analysis of genotype distribution and possible correlations between molecular and clinical data, we determined the performance of an in-house WGS pipeline with other online pipelines for Mtb lineages and drug resistance profile definition. Sub-lineage 4.3 (52%) was the most frequent genotype and the genomic approach revealed a p-XDR-TB level of 22.5%. We detected 20 novel mutations in three resistance genes, and six of these were observed in eight phenotypically resistant isolates. Cluster analysis of 170 isolates showed that 43.5% of the TB patients belonged to 24 genomic clusters, suggesting considerable ongoing transmission of DR-TB, including two interstate transmissions. The in-house WGS pipeline showed the best overall performance in drug-resistance prediction, presenting the best accuracy values to five of nine drugs tested. Significant associations were observed between suffering from fatal disease and genotypic p-XDR-TB (p = 0.03) and either phenotypic (p = 0.006) and genotypic (p = 0.0007) ethambutol resistance. The use of WGS analysis improved our understanding of the population structure of MTBC in Brazil, genetic and clinical data correlations and demonstrating its utility for surveillance efforts for spread of DR-TB, hopefully helping to avoid the emergence of even more resistant strains and to reduce TB incidence and mortality rates.

The use of large-scale antenna arrays grants considerable benefits in energy and spectral efficiency to wireless systems due to spatial resolution and array gain techniques. By assuming a dominant line-of-sight environment in a massive MIMO scenario with favorable propagation, we derive analytical expressions for the sum-capacity. % Then, we show that convenient simplifications on the sum-capacity expressions are possible when working at low and high SNR regimes. % Furthermore, in the case of a high SNR regime, it is demonstrated that the Gamma PDF can approximate the PDF of the instantaneous channel sum-capacity as the number of BS antennas grows. A second important demonstration presented in this work is that a Gamma PDF can also be used to approximate the PDF of the summation of the channel's singular values as the number of devices increases. Finally, it is important to highlight that the presented framework is useful for LPWAN's as we show that the transmit power of each device can be made inversely proportional to the number of BS antennas.

In this brief letter we report our initial results on the application of deep-learning to the massive MIMO channel estimation challenge. We show that it is possible to estimate wireless channels and that the possibility of mitigating pilot-contamination with deep-learning is possible given that the leaning model underwent an extensive training-phase and that it has been presented with a large number of different channel conditions.

The Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) plays an important role in LTE and LTE-A systems. It is through the PRACH channel that the user equipment (UE), based on eNodeB's timing estimates, aligns its uplink transmissions to the eNodeB's uplink and gain access to the network. One of the initial operations executed by the PRACH receiver at eNodeB side is the translation of the PRACH signal back to base band, $i.e.$, center the PRACH signal around DC. This operation is a necessary step for preamble detection and can be carried out through a time-domain frequency shift operation. Therefore, in this paper we present the hardware architecture and implementation details of a configurable and optimized FPGA-based time-domain frequency shifter. It is a hardware-efficient and accurate architecture for converting the relevant received PRACH signal into base band before further signal processing. The architecture is manly based on a customized Numerically Controlled Oscillator (NCO), which is used for generating complex exponentials employing only adders, a Look-Up Table (LUT) and plain logic resources. The main advantage of the proposed hardware architecture is that it completely eliminates the need for storing a large number of long complex exponential sequences by employing a single LUT and exploiting quarter wave symmetry of the basis waveform. Our simulation results show that the proposed customized NCO architecture provides high Spurious Free Dynamic Range (SFDR) signals using a minimal amount of FPGA resources. Moreover, the proposed architecture exhibits spur-suppression ranging from 62.13 to 153.58 dB without using Taylor Series correction.