Análise econômica mensal sobre o setor de mandioca e derivados: maio/2010.

Menor oferta sustenta cotação em maio – O mês de maio foi caracterizado pela menor oferta de mandioca para a indústria de fécula, levando à diminuição na quantidade de mandioca processada pelas fecularias. Ainda que seja período de safra, a disponibilidade de mandioca de segundo ciclo é menor em relação a anos anteriores e, além disso, agricultores mantiveram-se retraídos em relação à colheita. Esses produtores não tiveram necessidade de caixa e aguardam preços ainda maiores nos próximos meses. O excesso de chuvas em alguns períodos de maio prejudicou a colheita, dificultando os trabalhos e diminuindo a quantidade ofertada à indústria. Vale destacara, também, que houve menor número de mão-de-obra disponível para a colheita, visto que parte dos agricultores já começou o preparo de solo para o plantio da safra 2010/11. Apesar da menor oferta em maio, o preço médio mensal da raiz de mandioca, considerando as regiões pesquisadas pelo Cepea, foi de R$217,61/tonelada (R$ 0,3785/grama de amido na balança hidrostática de 5 kg), ligeira baixa de 0,5% frente à de abril. Já entre a última semana de abril e a última de maio, o preço médio subiu 18,8%, passando para R$ 237,81/t.Os preços médios mensais nos estados de São Paulo e Mato Grosso do Sul tiveram respectivas quedas de 4,9% e de 2,7% entre abril e maio.bitstream/item/23998/1/05MaiCEPEA.pd

Ketogenic diet-induced weight loss is associated with an increase in vitamin d levels in obese adults

Vitamin D is an important micronutrient involved in several processes. Evidence has shown a strong association between hypovitaminosis D and cardio-metabolic diseases, including obesity. A ketogenic diet has proven to be very effective for weight loss, especially in reducing fat mass while preserving fat-free mass. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a ketogenic diet-induced weight loss on vitamin D status in a population of obese adults. We enrolled 56 obese outpatients, prescribed with either traditional standard hypocaloric Mediterranean diet (SHMD) or very low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD). Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were measured by chemiluminescence. The mean value of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations in the whole population at baseline was 17.8 +/- 5.6 ng/mL, without differences between groups. After 12 months of dietetic treatment, in VLCKD patients serum 25(OH)D concentrations increased from 18.4 +/- 5.9 to 29.3 +/- 6.8 ng/mL (p < 0.0001), vs 17.5 +/- 6.1 to 21.3 +/- 7.6 ng/mL (p = 0.067) in the SHMD group (for each kilogram of weight loss, 25(OH)D concentration increased 0.39 and 0.13 ng/mL in the VLCKD and in the SHMD groups, respectively). In the VLCKD group, the increase in serum 25(OH)D concentrations was strongly associated with body mass index, waist circumference, and fatty mass variation. In a multiple regression analysis, fatty mass was the strongest independent predictor of serum 25(OH)D concentration, explaining 15.6%, 3.3%, and 9.4% of its variation in the whole population, in SHMD, and VLCKD groups, respectively. We also observed a greater reduction of inflammation (evaluated by high-sensitivity C reactive protein (hsCRP) values) and a greater improvement in glucose homeostasis, confirmed by a reduction of HOMA values, in the VLCKD versus the SHMD group. Taken together, all these data suggest that a dietetic regimen, which implies a great reduction of fat mass, can improve vitamin D status in the obese

Análise econômica mensal sobre o setor de mandioca e derivados: junho/2010.

Mandioca: Cotações se sustentam em junho – Junho caracterizou-se pelo aumento da oferta da raiz para a indústria de derivados de mandioca, por ser período de pico de safra. Diante deste quadro, principalmente na segunda quinzena do mês, houve pressão sobre as cotações do produto. Apesar disso, a média de junho ainda foi maior que a de maio. O preço médio da mandioca para fecularias foi de R$246,31/t (R$ 0,4238/grama de amido na balança hidrostática de 5 kg) em junho, alta de 13,2% frente à de maio, que foi de R$217,64/t. Considerando a média da última semana de maio (R$ 237,81/t) e igual período de junho (R$239,31/t), houve aumento de 0,6$ 270,18/tonelada. A maior média de junho, de R$ 273,18/t, ocorreu no noroeste paranaense, com alta de 12,1% em relação à de maio.bitstream/item/24002/1/CEPEA06Jun.pd

Additive effect of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease on metabolic syndrome-related endothelial dysfunction in hypertensive patients

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is characterized by an increased risk of incident diabetes and cardiovascular (CV) events, identifying insulin resistance (IR) and endothelial dysfunction as key elements. Moreover, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is bidirectionally linked with MS as a consequence of metabolic and inflammatory abnormalities. We addressed the question if the evolution in NAFLD might worsen endothelium-dependent vasodilating response in MS hypertensives. We recruited 272 Caucasian newly-diagnosed never-treated hypertensive outpatients divided into three groups according to the presence/absence of MS alone or in combination with NAFLD. MS and NAFLD were defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATPIII) and non-invasive fatty liver index, respectively. We determined IR by using the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) index. Vascular function, as forearm blood flow (FBF), was determined through strain-gauge plethysmography after intra-arterial infusion of acetylcholine (ACh) and sodium nitroprusside. MS+NAFLD+ group showed worse metabolic, inflammatory and vascular profiles compared with MS-NAFLD- and MS+NAFLD-. HOMA resulted in being the strongest predictor of FBF both in the MS+NAFLD- and in the MS+NAFLD+ groups, accounting for 20.5% and 33.2% of its variation, respectively. In conclusion, we demonstrated that MS+NAFLD+ hypertensives show a worse endothelium-dependent vasodilation compared with MS+NAFLD-, allowing for consideration of NAFLD as an early marker of endothelial dysfunction in hypertensives

Association between one-hour post-load plasma glucose levels and vascular stiffness in essential hypertension

Objectives: Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a surrogate end-point for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. A plasma glucose value $155 mg/dl for the 1-hour post-load plasma glucose during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is able to identify subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) at high-risk for type-2 diabetes (T2D) and for subclinical organ damage. Thus, we addressed the question if 1-hour post-load plasma glucose levels, affects PWV and its central hemodynamic correlates, as augmentation pressure (AP) and augmentation index (AI). Methods: We enrolled 584 newly diagnosed hypertensives. All patients underwent OGTT and measurements of PWV, AP and AI. Insulin sensitivity was assessed by Matsuda-index. Results: Among participants, 424 were NGT and 160 had impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Of 424 NGT, 278 had 1-h postload plasma glucose ,155 mg/dl (NGT,155) and 146 had 1-h post-load plasma glucose$155 mg/dl (NGT$155). NGT$155 had a worse insulin sensitivity and higher hs-CRP than NGT,155, similar to IGT subjects. In addition, NGT $155 in comparison with NGT,155 had higher central systolic blood pressure (134612 vs 131610 mmHg), as well as PWV (8.463.7 vs 6.761.7 m/s), AP (12.567.1 vs 9.865.7 mmHg) and AI (29.4611.9 vs 25.1612.4 regression analysis, 1-h post-load plasma glucose resulted the major determinant of all indices of vascular stiffness. Conclusion: Hypertensive NGT$155 subjects, compared with NGT,155, have higher PWV and its hemodynamic correlates that increase their cardiovascular risk profile

PopIII signatures in the spectra of PopII/I GRBs

We investigate signatures of population III (PopIII) stars in the metal-enriched environment of GRBs originating from population II-I (PopII/I) stars by using abundance ratios derived from numerical simulations that follow stellar evolution and chemical enrichment. We find that at $z>10$ more than $10$ of PopII/I GRBs explode in a medium previously enriched by PopIII stars (we refer to them as GRBII$\rightarrow$III). Although the formation of GRBII$\rightarrow$III is more frequent than that of pristine PopIII GRBs (GRBIIIs), we find that the expected GRBII$\rightarrow$III observed rate is comparable to that of GRBIIIs, due to the usually larger luminosities of these latter. GRBII$\rightarrow$III events take place preferentially in small proto-galaxies with stellar masses $\rm M_\star \sim 10^{4.5} - 10^7\,\rm M_\odot$, star formation rates $\rm SFR \sim 10^{-3}-10^{-1}\,\rm M_\odot/yr$ and metallicities $Z \sim 10^{-4}-10^{-2}\,\rm Z_\odot$. On the other hand, galaxies with $Z < 10^{-2.8}\,\rm Z_\odot$ are dominated by metal enrichment from PopIII stars and should preferentially host GRBII$\rightarrow$III. Hence, measured GRB metal content below this limit could represent a strong evidence of enrichment by pristine stellar populations. We discuss how to discriminate PopIII metal enrichment on the basis of various abundance ratios observable in the spectra of GRBs' afterglows. By employing such analysis, we conclude that the currently known candidates at redshift $z\simeq 6$ -- i.e. GRB 050904 \cite[][]{2006Natur.440..184K} and GRB 130606A \cite[][]{2013arXiv1312.5631C} -- are likely not originated in environments pre-enriched by PopIII stars.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures; MNRAS accepte

Constraining the PopIII IMF with high-z GRBs

We study the possibility to detect and distinguish signatures of enrichment from PopIII stars in observations of PopII GRBs (GRBIIs) at high redshift by using numerical N-body/hydrodynamical simulations including atomic and molecular cooling, star formation and metal spreading from stellar populations with different initial mass functions (IMFs), yields and lifetimes. PopIII and PopII star formation regimes are followed simultaneously and both a top-heavy and a Salpeter-like IMF for pristine PopIII star formation are adopted. We find that the fraction of GRBIIs hosted in a medium previously enriched by PopIII stars (PopIII-dominated) is model independent. Typical abundance ratios, such as [Si/O] vs [C/O] and [Fe/C] vs [Si/C], can help to disentangle enrichment from massive and intermediate PopIII stars, while low-mass first stars are degenerate with regular PopII generations. The properties of galaxies hosting PopIII-dominated GRBIIs are not very sensitive to the particular assumption on the mass of the first stars.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Neuronal mechanisms of epileptogenesis

None

A cellular automaton for the factor of safety field in landslides modeling

Landslide inventories show that the statistical distribution of the area of recorded events is well described by a power law over a range of decades. To understand these distributions, we consider a cellular automaton to model a time and position dependent factor of safety. The model is able to reproduce the complex structure of landslide distribution, as experimentally reported. In particular, we investigate the role of the rate of change of the system dynamical variables, induced by an external drive, on landslide modeling and its implications on hazard assessment. As the rate is increased, the model has a crossover from a critical regime with power-laws to non power-law behaviors. We suggest that the detection of patterns of correlated domains in monitored regions can be crucial to identify the response of the system to perturbations, i.e., for hazard assessment.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure