Utilização de ambiente virtual de aprendizagem em disciplinas de projeto arquitetônico

Esta pesquisa tem o objetivo de identificar formas de inserção, no ensino de projeto arquitetônico, de recursos tecnológicos disponíveis em Ambientes Virtuais de Aprendizagem e na computação gráfica. Para se alcançar os objetivos estudaram-se referenciais relativos ao desenvolvimento e ensino de projeto arquitetônico e sua representação. Também foi realizado um experimento em que o Ambiente Virtual de Aprendizagem em Arquitetura e Design foi usado em uma disciplina de projeto arquitetônico do curso de graduação em Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Busca-se apontar pontos positivos e negativos para a inserção dos recursos tecnológicos de AVAs no ensino de Projeto Arquitetônico com o objetivo de melhorar o ambiente virtual em estudo para este fim tendo em vista o uso intenso da linguagem gráfico-visual usada nestas disciplinas

Global assessment of aquatic Isoëtes species ecology

1. Isoetes are iconic but understudied wetland plants, despite having suffered severe losses globally mainly because of alterations in their habitats. We therefore provide the first global ecological assessment of aquatic Isoetes to identify their environmental requirements and to evaluate if taxonomically related species differ in their ecology. 2. The assessment resulted in an extensive new database on aquatic Isoetes, ecological niche analyses, and descriptive species accounts. We compiled a global database that includes all known environmental data collected from 1935 to 2023 regarding aquatic Isoetes. We then evaluated the environmental drivers of 16 species using 2,179 global records. Additionally, we used hypervolume analysis to quantify the ecological niches of the two species with the greatest number of records, finding significant differences and evidence that Isoetes echinospora occupies a wider ecological niche than Isoetes lacustris. 3. Fifty-nine species (30% of the c. 200 Isoetes species known today) were categorised as aquatic and were mainly reported in the Americas and northern Europe. About 38% of the aquatic species are threatened with extinction or are endemic to a small region, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List in 2023. Many species were determined to be sensitive to certain water physical and chemical factors, generally preferring oligotrophic conditions such as low total phosphorus, moderate total nitrogen, moderate to low pH, and low conductivity. 4. This analysis includes ecological data in the assessment of rare/threatened aquatic plants globally. This new database and the ecological analyses completed defined the ecological requirements of several species and identified knowledge gaps, which can aid management actions and future research. 5. This paper highlights ecological significance and environmental sensitivities of aquatic Isoetes. The current level of knowledge is inadequate for a large proportion of known taxa. We affirm the extreme need to support global, collaborative initiatives on which to build future conservation strategies

Intraspecific variability of leaf form and function across habitat types

: Trait-based ecology has already revealed main independent axes of trait variation defining trait spaces that summarize plant adaptive strategies, but often ignoring intraspecific trait variability (ITV). By using empirical ITV-level data for two independent dimensions of leaf form and function and 167 species across five habitat types (coastal dunes, forests, grasslands, heathlands, wetlands) in the Italian peninsula, we found that ITV: (i) rotated the axes of trait variation that define the trait space; (ii) increased the variance explained by these axes and (iii) affected the functional structure of the target trait space. However, the magnitude of these effects was rather small and depended on the trait and habitat type. Our results reinforce the idea that ITV is context-dependent, calling for careful extrapolations of ITV patterns across traits and spatial scales. Importantly, our study provides a framework that can be used to start integrating ITV into trait space analyses

The incidence of alien species on the taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity of lentic and lotic communities dominated by

This study aims to investigate, for the first time, the multiple diversity harbored in plant communities dominated by P. australis, discriminating between lentic and lotic habitats. We focused on the incidence of alien species on taxonomical, phylogenetic and functional diversity. Although it was hypothesized that ecological differences between habitats (lentic vs. lotic) could lead to plant adaptive trade-offs, results showed that the P. australis dominance affected overall plant diversity in the same way in both target habitats. Similarly, the two compared habitats hosted a similar alien species richness and relative abundance. Different results were observed based on whether the alien species richness or their relative abundance were considered regarding the incidence of alien species. Increasing alien species richness in lentic habitats resulted in increased taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity. Instead, in lotic habitats, it promoted a decrease in taxonomic and functional diversity. In contrast, the increase in the relative abundance of alien species resulted in increased taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity in both habitats. Choosing relative abundance vs richness of aliens in lotic stands can have a different impact in evaluating the effect of aliens on various components of diversity

Functional traits and related environmental variables of 28 populations of Nuphar lutea

<p>This dataset includes 31 leaf functional traits, 2 genetic diversity metrics and 4 leaf reflectance measures on 28 wild populations of yellow water lily (<em>Nuphar lutea</em>). For each population (plot) coordinates, water depth, specific conductivity, nitrate, sediment organic matter and sediment total phosphorus contents are provided as well. The populations were located in 4 different lake systems in central and northern Italy. All the information on the methodology used to collect the data and can be found in the related paper.</p><p>Funding provided by: Ministry of Education, University and Research, Italy*<br>Crossref Funder Registry ID: <br>Award Number: 2017CTH94H</p&gt

The expression of efflux and uptake transporters are regulated by statins in Caco-2 and HepG2 cells

Aim: Statin disposition and response are greatly determined by the activities of drug metabolizing enzymes and efflux/uptake transporters. there is little information on the regulation of these proteins in human cells after statin therapy. In this study, the effects of atorvastatin and simvastatin on mRNA expression of efflux (ABCB1, ABCG2 and ABCC2) and uptake (SLCO1B1, SLCO2B1 and SLC22A1) drug transporters in Caco-2 and HepG2 cells were investigated. Methods: Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure mRNA levels after exposure of HepG2 and Caco-2 cells to statins. Results: Differences in mRnA basal levels of the transporters were as follows: ABCC2>ABCG2>ABCB1>SLCO1B1>>>SLC22A1>SLC O2B1 for HepG2 cells, and SLCO2B1>>ABCC2>ABCB1>ABCG2>>>SLC22A1 for Caco-2 cells. While for HepG2 cells, ABCC2, ABCG2 and SLCO2B1 mRnA levels were significantly up-regulated at 1, 10 and 20 mu mol/L after 12 or 24 h treatment, in Caco-2 cells, only the efflux transporter ABCB1 was significantly down-regulated by two-fold following a 12 h treatment with atorvastatin. Interestingly, whereas treatment with simvastatin had no effect on mRNA levels of the transporters in HepG2 cells, in Caco-2 cells the statin significantly down-regulated ABCB1, ABCC2, SLC22A1, and SLCO2B1 mRnA levels after 12 or 24 h treatment. Conclusion: These findings reveal that statins exhibits differential effects on mRNA expression of drug transporters, and this effect depends on the cell type. Furthermore, alterations in the expression levels of drug transporters in the liver and/or intestine may contribute to the variability in oral disposition of statins.FAPESP[2007/00347-6]CNP

New national and regional Annex I Habitat records: from #13 to #15

New data on the distribution of the Annex I Habitats 3160, 7210* and 9320 are reported in this contribution. In detail, 24 new occurrences in Natura 2000 Sites are presented and 42 new cells in the EEA 10 km x 10 km Reference grid are added. The new data refer to Italy and in particular to the Administrative Regions Lombardy, Sardinia, and Sicily

Role of irrigation canal morphology in driving riparian flora in over-exploited catchments

Freshwater plants loss is one of the preeminent issues concerning biodiversity conservation, due to the alteration of inland waters by water regulation and agricultural intensification. At the same time, data suggest a relevant contribution of artificial, lowland aquatic ecosystems in supporting plant diversity. However, the underlying ecological mechanisms remain to be fully understood. To add knowledge to this subject, a wide canal network in the Bologna area (~ 1400 km2 , northern Italy) was investigated to analyse the riparian flora in relation to canal morphology. A systematic sampling procedure was adopted by randomly selecting 96 transects (1 m × 10 m) along 79 different canals, classified as small, medium, and large in terms of water depth. Flora was characterised based on the Ellenberg’s humidity and nitrophily indices, life forms, chorotypes, and alien species. The distribution of the number of species and floristic categories between transects and the role of canal depth were explored using linear mixed models and nMDS. 251 plant species were recorded; they were characterised by a broad ecology in terms of soil moisture (71% of the list) and nutrient availability (59%). Wetland and alien species—including invasive ones—were a marginal presence (< 5%, < 6%, respectively)—and canal depth showed a significant effect on com- positional dissimilarity between canals, with larger canals characterised by lower diversity rates. This work reinforces the pivotal contribution of heavily modified water bodies in supporting plant richness in oversimplified landscapes, confirming the role of canal depth in driving local flora

Effects of lipid-lowering drugs on reverse cholesterol transport gene expressions in peripheral blood mononuclear and HepG2 cells

Aims: The ATP-binding cassette transporters, ABCA1 and ABCG1, are LXR-target genes that play an important role in reverse cholesterol transport. We examined the effects of inhibitors of the cholesterol absorption (ezetimibe) and synthesis (statins) on expression of these transporters in HepG2 cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of individuals with primary (and nonfamilial) hypercholesterolemia (HC). Materials & methods: A total of 48 HC individuals were treated with atorvastatin (10 mg/day/4 weeks) and 23 were treated with ezetimibe (10 mg/day/4 weeks), followed by simvastatin (10 mg/day/8 weeks) and simvastatin plus ezetimibe (10 mg of each/day/4 weeks). Gene expression was examined in statin- or ezetimibe-treated and control HepG2 cells as well as PBMCs using real-time PCR. Results: In PBMCs, statins and ezetimibe downregulated ABCA1 and ABCG1 mRNA expression but did not modulate NR1H2 (LxR-beta) and NR1H3 (LXR-alpha) levels. Positive correlations of ABCA1 with ABCG1 and of NR1H2 with NR1H3 expressions were found in all phases of the treatments. In HepG2 cells, ABCA1 mRNA levels remained unaltered while ABCG1 expression was increased by statin (1.0-10.0 mu M) or ezetimibe (5.0 mu M) treatments. Atorvastatin upregulated NR1H2 and NR1H3 only at 10.0 mu M, meanwhile ezetimibe (1.0-5.0 mu M) downregulated NR1H2 but did not change NR1H3 expression. Conclusion: Our findings reveal that lipid-lowering drugs downregulate ABCA1 and ABCG1 mRNA expression in PBMCs of HC individuals and exhibit differential effects on HepG2 cells. Moreover, they indicate that the ABCA1 and ABCG1 transcript levels were not correlated directly to LXR mRNA expression in both cell models treated with lipid-lowering drugs.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)[2006/06196-0, 2009/15125-8]Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICYT) - ChileConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Atorvastatin effects on SREBF1a and SCAP gene expression in mononuclear cells and its relation with lowering-lipids response

Background: The transcription factors SREBP1 and SCAP are involved in intracellular cholesterol homeostasis. Polymorphisms of these genes have been associated with variations on serum lipid levels and response to statins that are potent cholesterol-lowering drugs. We evaluated the effects of atorvastatin on SREBF1a and SCAP mRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and a possible association with gene polymorphisms and lowering-cholesterol response. Methods: Fifty-nine hypercholesterolemic patients were treated with atorvastatin (10 mg/day for 4 weeks). Serum lipid profile and mRNA expression in PBMC were assessed before and after the treatment. Gene expression was quantified by real-time PCR using GAPD as endogenous reference and mRNA expression in HepG2 cells as calibrator. SREBF1 -36delG and SCAP A2386G polymorphisms were detected by PCR-RFLP. Results: Our results showed that transcription of SREBF1a and SCAP was coordinately regulated by atorvastatin (r=0.595, p<0.001), and that reduction in SCAP transcription was associated with the 2386AA genotype (p=0.019). Individuals who responded to atorvastatin with a downregulation of SCAP had also a lower triglyceride compared to those who responded to atorvastatin with an upregulation of SCAP. Conclusion: Atorvastatin has differential effects on SREBF1a and SCAP mRNA expression in PBMC that are associated with baseline transcription levels, triglycerides response to atorvastatin and SCAP A2386G polymorphism. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved