613 research outputs found
Impacts of land use change on ecosystems and society in the Rio de La Plata basin.
The La Plata river basin (LPB) covers an area of 3.1 million km2 with a population of over 100 million people of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The LPB covers a wide geographical area, spanning a South to North latitudinal gradient, resulting in the establishment of a variety of soil - vegetation configurations, as a response to different climates. The inherent topographic heterogeneity of the LPB adds natural complexity to the basin, resulting in a combination of extensive savannah-like plateaus (cerrado) and grasslands and open fields (pampas) in its Northern and Southern portions, respectively, the largest tropical wetland area in the world in the Northwest (pantanal), as well as both dry and humid forest biomes (chaco and Atlantic forests, respectively). This varied composition of biomes and ecosystems, added to the different social and cultural setup of the LPB, resulted in diverse histories and complex patterns of land use in the basin. Rural land use and industry in the basin are responsible for 70% of the Gross National Products of the LPB countries and are in a process of continuous change, as a response to drivers such as international market trends, infra-structure and technology developments, societal evolution, and the dynamics of national policies. Possible land use changes (LUC) are limited by biophysical constraints such as unsuitable soil type, topography, or climate. However, technology development can overcome some of these limitations, as was the case of the soybean expansion to the Cerrado region of Brazil, in the eighties. Effective and sustainable management of the LPB depends on the ability of land managers from the five nations to predict the impacts LUCs on nature and society. Modeling efforts to predict environmental impacts in the LPB can benefit from knowledge acquired from impact assessments of major LUC processes. Land use change affects both the natural environment and society, therefore impact indicators should represent both dimensions. The human and natural dimensions interact both as drivers and as recipients of the impacts of LUC. The altered state of the impacted human and natural dimensions will reconfigure them as altered LUC drivers. Understanding these feedback mechanisms is a great challenge that integrates natural and social sciences. There is an urgent need for interdisciplinary research, overcoming inherent conceptual and epistemologic barriers. Decision makers and society will only act on response to global change science results, when social and natural scientists achieve an effective integrated research framework
Decompressive hemicraniectomy in severe cerebral venous thrombosis: a prospective case series
Small retrospective case series suggest that decompressive hemicraniectomy can be life saving in patients with cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) and impending brain herniation. Prospective studies of consecutive cases are lacking. Thus, a single centre, prospective study was performed. In 2006 we adapted our protocol for CVT treatment to perform acute decompressive hemicraniectomy in patients with impending herniation, in whom the prognosis with conservative treatment was considered infaust. We included all consecutive patients with CVT between 2006 and 2010 who underwent hemicraniectomy. Outcome was assessed at 12Â months with the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Ten patients (8 women) with a median age of 41Â years (range 26â52Â years) were included. Before surgery 5Â patients had GCSÂ <Â 9, 9Â patients had normal pupils, 1Â patient had a unilaterally fixed and dilated pupil. All patients except one had space-occupying intracranial hemorrhagic infarcts. The median preoperative midline shift was 9Â mm (range 3â14Â mm). Unilateral hemicraniectomy was performed in 9Â patients and bilateral hemicraniectomy in one. Two patients died from progressive cerebral edema and expansion of the hemorrhagic infarcts. Five patients recovered without disability at 12Â months (mRS 0â1). Two patients had some residual handicap (one minor, mRS 2; one moderate, mRS 3). One patient was severely handicapped (mRS 5). Our prospective data show that decompressive hemicraniectomy in the most severe cases of cerebral venous thrombosis was probably life saving in 8/10 patients, with a good clinical outcome in six. In 2Â patients death was caused by enlarging hemorrhagic infarcts
Decompressive hemicraniectomy followed by endovascular thrombosuction in a patient with cerebral venous thrombosis
Scientific Assessment and Innovation in Neurosurgical Treatment Strategie
Aperfeiçoamento do monitoramento do uso e cobertura do solo com dados MODIS a partir da utilização de um diagrama de transição de estados.
This paper describes a methodology for the improvement of current capabilities for long-term monitoring of land use. A previously published methodology for the classification of land use and land cover using data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is presented, which takes advantage of that sensorâs high temporal frequency, extensive coverage, and extremely low costs for data acquisition. Then, a state-transition diagram is proposed in order to enhance that methodology by incorporating extra information in the form of a priori knowledge of land use dynamics, thus making it possible for the classification algorithm to take advantage of the temporal context of each point within the region of analysis. Finally, it is argued how such an approach can significantly improve the classification process not only in terms of overall accuracy but also in terms of better describing the land use and land cover classes found within the area of study
Endovascular Treatment With or Without Prior Intravenous Alteplase for Acute Ischemic Stroke
Background-âIt is unclear whether intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) with alteplase before endovascular treatment (EVT) is beneficial
for patients with acute ischemic stroke caused by a large vessel occlusion. We compared clinical and procedural outcomes, safety,
and workflow between patients treated with both IVT and EVT and those treated with EVT alone in routine clinical practice.
Methods and Results-âUsing multivariable regression, we evaluated the association of IVT+EVT with 90-day functional outcome
(modified Rankin Scale), mortality, reperfusion, first-pass effect, and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage in the MR CLEAN
(Multicenter Randomised Controlled Trial of Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke in The Netherlands) Registry. Of
1485 patients, 1161 (78%) were treated with IVT+EVT, and 324 (22%) with EVT alone. Patients treated with IVT+EVT had atrial
fibrillation less often (16% versus 44%) and had better pre-stroke modified Rankin Scale scores (pre-stroke modified Rankin Scale
0: 73% versus 52%) than those treated with EVT alone. Procedure time was shorter in the IVT+EVT group (median 62 versus
68 minutes). Nontransferred IVT+EVT patients had longer door-to-groin-puncture times (median 105 versus 94 minutes). IVT+EVT
was associated with better functional outcome (adjusted common odds ratio 1.47; 95% CI: 1.10â1.96) and lower mortality
(adjusted odds ratio 0.58; 95% CI: 0.40â0.82). Successful reperfusion, first-pass effect, and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage
did not differ bet
Safety and technical efficacy of early minimally invasive endoscopy-guided surgery for intracerebral haemorrhage:the Dutch Intracerebral haemorrhage Surgery Trial pilot study
Utilização de dados MODIS e modelo SEBAL para a estimativa da perda de ĂĄgua por evapotranspiração: uma proposição metodolĂłgica para o monitoramento do impacto da expansĂŁo da cultura canavieira na dinâmica hĂdrica regional.
This work proposes a methodology for sugarcane expansion monitoring and its possible impacts in the regional hydric dynamic through the real evapotranspiration estimation (ET) based on Terra/Modis satellite data. The methodological approach is based on a systematic and automatic land use mapping that uses a sequence of temporal profiles Vegetation Index (NDVI) built with Modis data JONATHAN (2005). Previous Studies (MEIRELLES et al, 2006 JONATHAN et al 2008); as well as some preliminaries results developed on the scope of this work, shown the applicability of the proposed method as a tool for regional monitoring land use dynamic and its impacts. The real evapotranspiration is calculated through SEBAL algorithm (Surface Energy Balance for Land) developed by BASTIAANSSEN (1995) for energy balance estimation. The study area is the southern portion of Goias state in Brazil, where the sugar cane expansion has being increasing drastically in the last decades. O objetivo deste trabalho Ê apresentar uma combinação de procedimentos metodológicos, relacionados à distinção da cultura da cana-de-açúcar por meio do aperfeiçoamento de uma metodologia de classificação automåtica do uso do solo, desenvolvida por JONATHAN (2005, (a) e (b)), e da utilização do Modelo SEBAL para a estimativa da ET real, ambos a partir de dados do sensor MODIS/Aqua
11β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase type 1 is expressed in neutrophils and restrains an inflammatory response in male mice
Endogenous glucocorticoid action within cells is enhanced by prereceptor metabolism by 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1), which converts intrinsically inert cortisone and 11-dehydrocorticosterone into active cortisol and corticosterone, respectively. 11β-HSD1 is highly expressed in immune cells elicited to the mouse peritoneum during thioglycollate-induced peritonitis and is down-regulated as the inflammation resolves. During inflammation, 11β-HSD1-deficient mice show enhanced recruitment of inflammatory cells and delayed acquisition of macrophage phagocytic capacity. However, the key cells in which 11β-HSD1 exerts these effects remain unknown. Here we have identified neutrophils (CD11b(+),Ly6G(+),7/4(+) cells) as the thioglycollate-recruited cells that most highly express 11β-HSD1 and show dynamic regulation of 11β-HSD1 in these cells during an inflammatory response. Flow cytometry showed high expression of 11β-HSD1 in peritoneal neutrophils early during inflammation, declining at later states. In contrast, expression in blood neutrophils continued to increase during inflammation. Ablation of monocytes/macrophages by treatment of CD11b-diphtheria-toxin receptor transgenic mice with diphtheria toxin prior to thioglycollate injection had no significant effect on 11β-HSD1 activity in peritoneal cells, consistent with neutrophils being the predominant 11β-HSD1 expressing cell type at this time. Similar to genetic deficiency in 11β-HSD1, acute inhibition of 11β-HSD1 activity during thioglycollate-induced peritonitis augmented inflammatory cell recruitment to the peritoneum. These data suggest that neutrophil 11β-HSD1 increases during inflammation to contribute to the restraining effect of glucocorticoids upon neutrophil-mediated inflammation. In human neutrophils, lipopolysaccharide activation increased 11β-HSD1 expression, suggesting the antiinflammatory effects of 11β-HSD1 in neutrophils may be conserved in humans
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