Erosão e conservação de solos no Brasil

Brazil covers 8,547,403 km² and is divided into five regions (Northern, North Western, Central Western, South Eastern and Southern). The diversity of climate, geology, topography, biota and human activities have contributed to the considerable diversity of soil types and thus soil erosion problems. National soils can be classified into 12 classes. These are: Oxisols (38.7%), Alfisols (20.0%), Inceptisols (2.7%), Mollisols (0.5%), Spodosols (1.6%), Gleysols (3.7%), Aridisols (2.7%), Entisols (14.5%), Vertisols (2.0%), Ultisols (1.8%), Plinthosols (6%) and Alisols (4.3%). The erodibility of these Soil Orders is reviewed and is mainly related to soil texture. Sands and loamy sands are especially erodible. Soil erosion patterns are complex, being influenced by rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, topography, land use and management characteristics. Urban areas have specific erosion problems and there are illustrated using a case study from São Luis (north-east Brazil). Soil erosion rates can be excessive, in some cases exceeding 100 tonnes per hectare per year. Particularly serious soil erosion is associated with six regions. These are north-western Paraná State; the Central Plateau, in the Centre Western Region; Western São Paulo State; the Paraíba do Sul middle drainage basin, in Rio de Janeiro State; Campanha Gaúcha in Rio Grande do Sul State and Triângulo Mineiro, in western Minas Gerais State. Examples of effective soil conservation are presented, using case studies from both Paraná and Santa Catarina States. Integrated management of drainage basins offers a promising way forward for effective soil conservation in Brazil.O Brasil ocupa 8.547.403 km² e está dividido em cinco regiões (Norte, Nordeste, Centro-Oeste, Sudeste e Sul). A diversidade climática, geológica, topográfica, da biota e das atividades humanas tem contribuído para a grande diversidade de tipos de solo, assim como para os problemas de erosão. Solos nacionais podem ser classificados em 12 classes. Estes são: Latossolos (38,7%), Argissolos (20,0%), Cambissolos (2,7%), Chernossolos (0,5%), Espodossolos (1,6%), Gleissolos (3,7%), Luvissolos (2,7 %), Neossolos (14,5%), Vertissolos (2,0%), Planossolo (1,8 %), Plintossolos (6%) e Alissolos (4,3%). A erodibilidade dessas classes de solo foi revisada e relacionada principalmente à textura. Solos arenosos e franco-arenosos são especialmente mais susceptíveis à erosão. Os padrões de erosão são complexos, sendo influenciados pela erosividade da chuva, erodibilidade do solo, topografia, uso e manejo do solo. As zonas urbanas têm problemas específicos de erosão e estes são ilustrados através de um estudo de caso de São Luís (Nordeste do Brasil). As taxas de erosão são significativas, sendo em alguns casos superiores a 100 toneladas por hectare por ano. A erosão é particularmente grave associada com seis regiões: noroeste do Paraná, Planalto Central, Região Centro Oeste, Oeste do Estado de São Paulo, médio curso da Bacia do Paraíba do Sul, no Estado do Rio de Janeiro; na Campanha Gaúcha, no Rio Grande do Sul e no Triângulo Mineiro, Estado de Minas Gerais. Exemplos de conservação do solo são apresentados por meio de estudos de caso no Paraná e Santa Catarina. A gestão integrada de bacias hidrográficas oferece uma maneira promissora para a conservação do solo em vigor no Brasil

Formoterol reduces muscle wasting in mice undergoing doxorubicin chemotherapy

BackgroundEven though doxorubicin (DOX) chemotherapy promotes intense muscle wasting, this drug is still widely used in clinical practice due to its remarkable efficiency in managing cancer. On the other hand, intense muscle loss during the oncological treatment is considered a bad prognosis for the disease’s evolution and the patient’s quality of life. In this sense, strategies that can counteract the muscle wasting induced by DOX are essential. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of formoterol (FOR), a β2-adrenoceptor agonist, in managing muscle wasting caused by DOX.Methods and resultsTo evaluate the effect of FOR on DOX-induced muscle wasting, mice were treated with DOX (2.5 mg/kg b.w., i.p. administration, twice a week), associated or not to FOR treatment (1 mg/kg b.w., s.c. administration, daily). Control mice received vehicle solution. A combination of FOR treatment with DOX protected against the loss of body weight (p<0.05), muscle mass (p<0.001), and grip force (p<0.001) promoted by chemotherapy. FOR also attenuated muscle wasting (p<0.01) in tumor-bearing mice on chemotherapy. The potential mechanism by which FOR prevented further DOX-induced muscle wasting occurred by regulating Akt/FoxO3a signaling and gene expression of atrogenes in skeletal muscle.ConclusionsCollectively, our results suggest that FOR can be used as a pharmacological strategy for managing muscle wasting induced by DOX. This study provides new insights into the potential therapeutic use of FOR to improve the overall wellbeing of cancer patients undergoing DOX chemotherapy

XIPE: the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer

X-ray polarimetry, sometimes alone, and sometimes coupled to spectral and temporal variability measurements and to imaging, allows a wealth of physical phenomena in astrophysics to be studied. X-ray polarimetry investigates the acceleration process, for example, including those typical of magnetic reconnection in solar flares, but also emission in the strong magnetic fields of neutron stars and white dwarfs. It detects scattering in asymmetric structures such as accretion disks and columns, and in the so-called molecular torus and ionization cones. In addition, it allows fundamental physics in regimes of gravity and of magnetic field intensity not accessible to experiments on the Earth to be probed. Finally, models that describe fundamental interactions (e.g. quantum gravity and the extension of the Standard Model) can be tested. We describe in this paper the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer (XIPE), proposed in June 2012 to the first ESA call for a small mission with a launch in 2017 but not selected. XIPE is composed of two out of the three existing JET-X telescopes with two Gas Pixel Detectors (GPD) filled with a He-DME mixture at their focus and two additional GPDs filled with pressurized Ar-DME facing the sun. The Minimum Detectable Polarization is 14 % at 1 mCrab in 10E5 s (2-10 keV) and 0.6 % for an X10 class flare. The Half Energy Width, measured at PANTER X-ray test facility (MPE, Germany) with JET-X optics is 24 arcsec. XIPE takes advantage of a low-earth equatorial orbit with Malindi as down-link station and of a Mission Operation Center (MOC) at INPE (Brazil).Comment: 49 pages, 14 figures, 6 tables. Paper published in Experimental Astronomy http://link.springer.com/journal/1068

III Diretriz Brasileira de Insuficiência Cardíaca Crônica

Universidade de São Paulo Faculdade de Medicina Hospital das ClínicasUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Hospital de Clínicas de Porto AlegreUniversidade de Pernambuco Faculdade de Ciências Médicas de PernambucoUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de MedicinaUniversidade Federal de Minas Gerais Faculdade de MedicinaFaculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio PretoFundação Universitária de Cardiologia do Rio Grande do Sul Instituto de CardiologiaRede Labs D'OrUniversidade Federal FluminenseUniversidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro Faculdade de Ciencias MédicasInstituto Dante Pazzanese de CardiologiaSanta Casa de MisericórdiaUniversidade de Pernambuco Pronto Socorro Cardiológico de PernambucoHospital Pró CardíacoHospital de MessejanaPontifícia Universidade Católica do ParanáUniversidade Federal de Goiás Faculdade de MedicinaUniversidade de São Paulo Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão PretoReal e Benemerita Sociedade de Beneficência PortuguesaFaculdade de Ciências Médicas de Minas GeraisUNIFESP, EPMSciEL

II Diretriz Brasileira de Transplante Cardíaco

Universidade de São Paulo Faculdade de Medicina Hospital das ClínicasIIHospital de Messejana Dr. Carlos Alberto Studart GomesUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de MedicinaInstituto Dante Pazzanese de CardiologiaUniversidade Federal de Minas Gerais Hospital das ClínicasFaculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio PretoPontifícia Universidade Católica do ParanáIHospital Israelita Albert EinsteinInstituto Nacional de Cardiologia, Fundação Universitária do Rio Grande do Sul Instituto de CardiologiaReal e Benemérita Sociedade de Beneficência Portuguesa, São PauloHospital Pró-Cardíaco do Rio de JaneiroSanta Casa do Rio de JaneiroUNIFESP, EPMSciEL