Avaliação da Ocorrência de Focos de Calor na região da Estação Ecológica do Taim e Campos Neutrais, Rio Grande do Sul - Brasil

Unidades de Conservação são regiões demarcadas com o objetivo de preservar o bioma, tornando-as importantes ferramentas para a mitigação dos efeitos das mudanças climáticas, em termos do estoque de carbono e da preservação de recursos hídricos. Sob condições atmosféricas que proporcionam um período atípico, ambientes florestais preservados ficam suscetíveis à ação do fogo, que pode proporcionar uma alteração drástica em sua estrutura e diversidade. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a ocorrência de focos de calor na região da Estação Ecológica do Taim e Campos Neutrais, Rio Grande do Sul - Brasil (1998 a 2018). As informações sobre os focos de calor foram obtidas através do modelo Brazilian Biomass Burning Emission Model, do pré-processador de emissões PREP-CHEM-SRC, a partir do qual foram feitas correlações com dados de precipitação média na área e anomalias da temperatura média da superfície do mar nas regiões do Niño e Oceano Atlântico Adjacente. Os principais resultados mostraram que o período sazonal de maior ocorrência de focos de calor foram os da primavera e verão, destacando-se os meses de dezembro e janeiro, diferindo do que ocorre para o bioma Pampa. Observou-se uma tendência de aumento de focos de calor e diminuição da precipitação (0,62 FC/ano e -14,9 mm/ano) na região, entretanto, elas não se mostraram estatisticamente significativas. Os resultados indicam também que períodos com baixa precipitação, iniciados até três meses antes podem aumentar a ocorrência de focos de calor, evidenciando que a atmosfera exerce um papel importante no condicionamento para sua ocorrência

Silver clusters of five atoms as highly selective antitumoral agents through irreversible oxidation of thiols

Low atomicity clusters present properties dependent on the size, due to the quantum confinement, with well-defined electronic structures and high stability. Here it is shown that Ag5 clusters catalyze the complete oxidation of sulfur to S+6. Ag5 catalytic activity increases with different oxidant species in the order O2 ≪ H2O2 < OH•. Selective oxidation of thiols on the cysteine residues of glutathione and thioredoxin is the primary mechanism human cells have to maintain redox homeostasis. Contingent upon oxidant concentration, Ag5 catalyzes the irreversible oxidation of glutathione and thioredoxin, triggering apoptosis. Modification of the intracellular environment to a more oxidized state to mimic conditions within cancer cells through the expression of an activated oncogene (HRASG12V) or through ARID1A mutation, sensitizes cells to Ag5 mediated apoptosis. While cancers evolve to evade treatments designed to target pathways or genetic mutations that drive them, they cannot evade a treatment that takes advantage of aberrant redox homeostasis, which is essential for tumor progression and metastasis. Ag5 has antitumor activity in mice with orthotopic lung tumors reducing primary tumor size, and the burden of affected lymphatic nodes. The findings suggest the unique intracellular redox chemistry of Ag5 may lead to new redox-based approaches to cancer therapyThis research was partially supported by 1) “la Caixa” Foundation, Ref. LCF/PR/PR12/11070003 to F.D. and M.A.L.Q.; 2) Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MAT2017-89678-R, AEI/FEDER, UE) to F.D. and A.V.; 3) the Consellería de Educación (Xunta de Galicia), Grants No. Grupos Ref. Comp. ED431C 2017/22, ED431C 2019/13 and AEMAT-ED431E2018/08 to M.A.L.Q.; and ED431C 2019/13 to A.V. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Bac-To-Fuel) under Grant Agreement No. 825999 (M.A.L.Q.). J.C.H. acknowledge financial support from European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 823717-ESTEEM3, and the MICIIN (projects PID2019-107578GA-100 and PID-110018GA-100). J.M.D, L.J.G., and F.G.R. thank to the ANPCyT (PICT 2015-2285 and 2017-3944), UNLP (Project 11/X790) and the partial support by the Laboratório Nacional de Luz Síncrotron (LNLS, Brazil) under proposal SXS-20180280. G.B. acknowledges the CINECA Award N. IsC51, year 2017, under the ISCRA initiative, for the availability of high-performance computing resources and support. D.B. expresses gratitude for a postdoctoral grant from Xunta de Galicia, Spain (POS-A/2013/018). B.D. expresses gratitude for a predoctoral grant from MICINN, Spain (BES-2016-076765). F.D. and A.V. also acknowledged Xunta de Galicia (Centro singular de investigación de Galicia accreditation 2019-2022 ref ED431G 2019/02) and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund – ERDF). Work in M.P.M.'s lab was supported by the Medical Research Council UK (MC_U105663142). T.G.C. gratefully acknowledges the technical assistance of María José Otero-Fraga (FIDIS)S

Consistent patterns of common species across tropical tree communities

Trees structure the Earth’s most biodiverse ecosystem, tropical forests. The vast number of tree species presents a formidable challenge to understanding these forests, including their response to environmental change, as very little is known about most tropical tree species. A focus on the common species may circumvent this challenge. Here we investigate abundance patterns of common tree species using inventory data on 1,003,805 trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm across 1,568 locations1,2,3,4,5,6 in closed-canopy, structurally intact old-growth tropical forests in Africa, Amazonia and Southeast Asia. We estimate that 2.2%, 2.2% and 2.3% of species comprise 50% of the tropical trees in these regions, respectively. Extrapolating across all closed-canopy tropical forests, we estimate that just 1,053 species comprise half of Earth’s 800 billion tropical trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm. Despite differing biogeographic, climatic and anthropogenic histories7, we find notably consistent patterns of common species and species abundance distributions across the continents. This suggests that fundamental mechanisms of tree community assembly may apply to all tropical forests. Resampling analyses show that the most common species are likely to belong to a manageable list of known species, enabling targeted efforts to understand their ecology. Although they do not detract from the importance of rare species, our results open new opportunities to understand the world’s most diverse forests, including modelling their response to environmental change, by focusing on the common species that constitute the majority of their trees.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Constraints on the structure and seasonal variations of Triton's atmosphere from the 5 October 2017 stellar occultation and previous observations

Context. A stellar occultation by Neptune's main satellite, Triton, was observed on 5 October 2017 from Europe, North Africa, and the USA. We derived 90 light curves from this event, 42 of which yielded a central flash detection. Aims. We aimed at constraining Triton's atmospheric structure and the seasonal variations of its atmospheric pressure since the Voyager 2 epoch (1989). We also derived the shape of the lower atmosphere from central flash analysis. Methods. We used Abel inversions and direct ray-tracing code to provide the density, pressure, and temperature profiles in the altitude range similar to 8 km to similar to 190 km, corresponding to pressure levels from 9 mu bar down to a few nanobars. Results. (i) A pressure of 1.18 +/- 0.03 mu bar is found at a reference radius of 1400 km (47 km altitude). (ii) A new analysis of the Voyager 2 radio science occultation shows that this is consistent with an extrapolation of pressure down to the surface pressure obtained in 1989. (iii) A survey of occultations obtained between 1989 and 2017 suggests that an enhancement in surface pressure as reported during the 1990s might be real, but debatable, due to very few high S/N light curves and data accessible for reanalysis. The volatile transport model analysed supports a moderate increase in surface pressure, with a maximum value around 2005-2015 no higher than 23 mu bar. The pressures observed in 1995-1997 and 2017 appear mutually inconsistent with the volatile transport model presented here. (iv) The central flash structure does not show evidence of an atmospheric distortion. We find an upper limit of 0.0011 for the apparent oblateness of the atmosphere near the 8 km altitude.J.M.O. acknowledges financial support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the European Social Fund (ESF) through the PhD grant SFRH/BD/131700/2017. The work leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Community's H2020 2014-2021 ERC grant Agreement nffi 669416 "Lucky Star". We thank S. Para who supported some travels to observe the 5 October 2017 occultation. T.B. was supported for this research by an appointment to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Post-Doctoral Program at the Ames Research Center administered by Universities Space Research Association (USRA) through a contract with NASA. We acknowledge useful exchanges with Mark Gurwell on the ALMA CO observations. This work has made use of data from the European Space Agency (ESA) mission Gaia (https://www.cosmos.esa.int/gaia), processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC, https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dpac/consortium).Funding for the DPAC has been provided by national institutions, in particular the institutions participating in the Gaia Multilateral Agreement. J.L.O., P.S.-S., N.M. and R.D. acknowledge financial support from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the "Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa" award to the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (SEV-2017-0709), they also acknowledge the financial support by the Spanish grant AYA-2017-84637-R and the Proyecto de Excelencia de la Junta de Andalucia J.A. 2012-FQM1776. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, under Grant Agreement no. 687378, as part of the project "Small Bodies Near and Far" (SBNAF). P.S.-S. acknowledges financial support by the Spanish grant AYA-RTI2018-098657-J-I00 "LEO-SBNAF". The work was partially based on observations made at the Laboratorio Nacional de Astrofisica (LNA), Itajuba-MG, Brazil. The following authors acknowledge the respective CNPq grants: F.B.-R. 309578/2017-5; R.V.-M. 304544/2017-5, 401903/2016-8; J.I.B.C. 308150/2016-3 and 305917/2019-6; M.A. 427700/20183, 310683/2017-3, 473002/2013-2. This study was financed in part by the Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior -Brasil (CAPES) -Finance Code 001 and the National Institute of Science and Technology of the e-Universe project (INCT do e-Universo, CNPq grant 465376/2014-2). G.B.R. acknowledges CAPES-FAPERJ/PAPDRJ grant E26/203.173/2016 and CAPES-PRINT/UNESP grant 88887.571156/2020-00, M.A. FAPERJ grant E26/111.488/2013 and A.R.G.Jr. FAPESP grant 2018/11239-8. B.E.M. thanks CNPq 150612/2020-6 and CAPES/Cofecub-394/2016-05 grants. Part of the photometric data used in this study were collected in the frame of the photometric observations with the robotic and remotely controlled telescope at the University of Athens Observatory (UOAO; Gazeas 2016). The 2.3 m Aristarchos telescope is operated on Helmos Observatory by the Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing of the National Observatory of Athens. Observations with the 2.3 m Aristarchos telescope were carried out under OPTICON programme. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 730890. This material reflects only the authors views and the Commission is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. The 1. 2m Kryoneri telescope is operated by the Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing of the National Observatory of Athens. The Astronomical Observatory of the Autonomous Region of the Aosta Valley (OAVdA) is managed by the Fondazione Clement Fillietroz-ONLUS, which is supported by the Regional Government of the Aosta Valley, the Town Municipality of Nus and the "Unite des Communes valdotaines Mont-Emilius". The 0.81 m Main Telescope at the OAVdA was upgraded thanks to a Shoemaker NEO Grant 2013 from The Planetary Society. D.C. and J.M.C. acknowledge funds from a 2017 'Research and Education' grant from Fondazione CRT-Cassa di Risparmio di Torino. P.M. acknowledges support from the Portuguese Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia ref. PTDC/FISAST/29942/2017 through national funds and by FEDER through COMPETE 2020 (ref. POCI010145 FEDER007672). F.J. acknowledges Jean Luc Plouvier for his help. S.J.F. and C.A. would like to thank the UCL student support observers: Helen Dai, Elise Darragh-Ford, Ross Dobson, Max Hipperson, Edward Kerr-Dineen, Isaac Langley, Emese Meder, Roman Gerasimov, Javier Sanjuan, and Manasvee Saraf. We are grateful to the CAHA, OSN and La Hita Observatory staffs. This research is partially based on observations collected at Centro Astronomico HispanoAleman (CAHA) at Calar Alto, operated jointly by Junta de Andalucia and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (IAA-CSIC). This research was also partially based on observation carried out at the Observatorio de Sierra Nevada (OSN) operated by Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (CSIC). This article is also based on observations made with the Liverpool Telescope operated on the island of La Palma by Liverpool John Moores University in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias with financial support from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council. Partially based on observations made with the Tx40 and Excalibur telescopes at the Observatorio Astrofisico de Javalambre in Teruel, a Spanish Infraestructura Cientifico-Tecnica Singular (ICTS) owned, managed and operated by the Centro de Estudios de Fisica del Cosmos de Aragon (CEFCA). Tx40 and Excalibur are funded with the Fondos de Inversiones de Teruel (FITE). A.R.R. would like to thank Gustavo Roman for the mechanical adaptation of the camera to the telescope to allow for the observation to be recorded. R.H., J.F.R., S.P.H. and A.S.L. have been supported by the Spanish projects AYA2015-65041P and PID2019-109467GB-100 (MINECO/FEDER, UE) and Grupos Gobierno Vasco IT1366-19. Our great thanks to Omar Hila and their collaborators in Atlas Golf Marrakech Observatory for providing access to the T60cm telescope. TRAPPIST is a project funded by the Belgian Fonds (National) de la Recherche Scientifique (F.R.S.-FNRS) under grant PDR T.0120.21. TRAPPIST-North is a project funded by the University of Liege, and performed in collaboration with Cadi Ayyad University of Marrakesh. E.J. is a FNRS Senior Research Associate

Estudo da eficiência das Parametrizações Convectivas na simulação de eventos severos ocorridos no Brasil, utilizando o BRAMS

The general objective of this purpose of was to study the Convection Parameterization influence in the Brazilian severe events simulation, in order to evaluate its performance in the regional severe storm forecast. It was compared observed and simulated precipitation, the energy budghets envolved in the convection process had been studied, were analyzed the large-scale thermodynamic and dynamic modification and had studied ways to improve the Grell convective parameterization for a better weather numerical forecast, using BRAMS 2.0 model. For this, two cases of convective systems had been analyzed, influenced by regimes distinct (extratropical and tropical). Still, we made an analysis of the Grell Convective Parameterization behavior in the precipitation simulation for May 2005, in the Rio Grande Do Sul state. The accumulated precipitation, simulated from experiments that use the Grell scheme, better represented the rain intensity, but overestimated the observed data. The simulations with Kuo scheme underestimated the observed data. The inicialization data has a full influence in the squall line simulation. The LIGRELLA/LIKUOA experiments better simulated the spatial coverage of squall line, with relation the GPCP satellite data. However, the LIGRELLB/LIKUOB experiments simulated maximum precipitation in regions with any observed rain, including, LIKUOB simulated a squall line with propagation opposing the observed.Sem bolsaO objetivo geral dessa dissertação de mestrado foi estudar a influência das Parametrizações de Convecção na simulação de eventos severos no Brasil, a fim de avaliar o seu desempenho na previsão regional de tempestades potencialmente destruidoras. Com esse raciocínio, comparou-se a precipitação observada e simulada, estudaram-se as reservas de energia envolvidas no processo da convecção, analisou-se como o ambiente termodinâmico e dinâmico em grande escala foi modificado e estudaram-se maneiras de melhorar a parametrização convectiva de Grell a fim de propiciar ainda mais confiabilidade à previsão numérica do tempo, utilizando o modelo regional de mesoescala BRAMS 2.0. Para isso, analisaram-se dois casos de sistemas precipitantes, influenciados por regimes distintos (extratropical e tropical). Não obstante, ainda fez-se uma análise da confiabilidade da Parametrização Convectiva de Grell na simulação da precipitação para o mês de maio de 2005, no Rio Grande do Sul. Evidencia-se a superioridade da Parametrização Convectiva de Grell na simulação da magnitude da precipitação, em relação à Parametrização Convectiva de Kuo. Porém, conclui-se que a Parametrização Convectiva de Grell tende a superestimar o dado observado de precipitação acumulada. Nos dois casos de convecção, pôde-se obter uma boa eficiência da Parametrização convectiva de Grell, em relação à magnitude da precipitação diária acumulada, diminuindo-se o raio da nuvem, aumentando o entranhamento de massa no sistema. Os experimentos cuja peculiaridade é o uso da Parametrização Convectiva de Grell, simularam com melhor precisão as características termodinâmicas do ambiente e representaram com boa exatidão os aspectos dinâmicos favoráveis à gênese e manutenção de tempestades mais severas, fornecendo subsídio no que se refere ao uso da modelagem regional como estratégia adicional na prevenção de fenômenos potencialmente destruidores. Percebe-se, analisando o caso II, que os dados de inicialização do modelo tiveram um profundo impacto na simulação da Linha de Instabilidade. Os experimentos iniciados com os dados de Re-análise, do NCEP, cuja resolução é de 250 km, organizaram as bandas convectivas numa configuração mais parecida com o que foi observado. Todavia, os experimentos iniciados com o modelo T126L28, do CPTEC, cuja resolução é de 100 km, geraram núcleos convectivos em áreas onde não foi observada atividade convectiva

Análise das Emissões Atmosféricas de Fontes Móveis para a Cidade Pelotas – RS

This study aimed to establish an vehicular emissions inventory to the Pelotas city, for the 2012 base year. An analysis of vehicular emissions was proposed to the CO, NOx and NMHC atmospheric pollutants, following the methodology proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The vehicle fleet data was obtained from the National Traffic Department (DENATRAN-RS), resumed in five vehicle categories (light vehicles, light commercial vehicles, trucks, motorcycle and bus). The categorization of fuel consumed (gasoline, alcohol, biofuel and diesel) follows distribution obtained from the National Agency of Vehicle Manufacturer (Anfavea) and emission factors have been corrected by the deterioration factor, according to the methodology proposed in the National Inventory of vehicle emissions. As evidenced in inventory results, automobiles (totaling 59% of Pelotas fleet) accounted for approximately 63% of the emission of CO and 72% of NMHC emissions. As expected, the heavy vehicles (trucks / buses) accounted for 76% of NOx emissions in the city. It was estimated that the fleet vehicle Pelotas emits 11,497 tonnes of CO, 3,727 tons of NOx and 2,280 tons of NMHC.Elaborou-se um inventário de emissões veiculares para a cidade de Pelotas, para o ano base de 2012. Foi realizada uma análise das emissões veiculares dos poluentes CO, NOx e NMHC, principais precursores urbanos de CO2 e O3, seguindo a metodologia proposta pela Agência de Proteção Ambiental (EPA). O levantamento da frota veicular para a cidade de Pelotas foi obtido com os dados do Departamento Nacional de Trânsito (DENATRAN-RS), definindo-se em cinco categorias veiculares (veículos leves, veículos comercial leves, caminhões, motocicleta e ônibus), a categorização pelo combustível consumido (gasolina, álcool, bicombustível e diesel) segue distribuição obtida pela Agência Nacional de Fabricante de Veículos Automotores (ANFAVEA) e os fatores de emissão utilizados, foram corrigidos pelo fator de deterioração, conforme metodologia proposta no Inventário Nacional de Emissões Veiculares. Evidencia-se, os automóveis (que totalizam 59% da frota de Pelotas) foram responsáveis por aproximadamente 63% da emissão de CO e 72% da emissão de NMHC. Conforme esperado, os veículos pesados (caminhões/ônibus) foram responsáveis por 76% da emissão de NOx no município. Estimou-se que a frota veicular pelotense emite 11.497 toneladas de CO, 3.727 toneladas de NOxe 2.280 toneladas de NMHC

Early diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism. Results of a decade

ArtículosEspañol 30 de septiembre de 2002 Institución Responsable: Hospital Pediátrico Provincial Docente "José Luis Miranda ". El diagnóstico temprano del hipotiroidismo congénito constituye un método necesario para evitar los daños que esta lesión produce desde etapas tempranas de la vida. Esta investigación se realizó con el objetivo de mostrar los resultados alcanzados a través de esta estrategia de diagnóstico. Se inició en Cuba en 1986 con la implantación del programa nacional de detección precoz. En la provincia de Santa Clara, Villa Clara, comenzó en 1990, donde desde entonces, y hasta mayo del 2000, se logró captar y tratar a 39 pacientes. A todos ellos se les generó una historia clínica, con base en los parámetros establecidos por el programa a escala naciona

Variações diárias e sazonais de desconforto térmico indoor na cidade de Pelotas/RS

O presente estudo tem como objetivo avaliar a variação do des(conforto) térmico interno à residências em três turnos (manhã, tarde e noite) durante três estações do ano (Verão, Outono e Inverno) para as seis diferentes macrorregiões da cidade de Pelotas no Rio Grande do Sul

Coupled models using radar network database to assess vehicular emissions in current and future scenarios

Vehicles are one of the most significant sources of air pollutant emissions in urban areas, and their real contribution always needs to be updated to predict impacts on air quality. Radar databases and traffic counts using statistical modeling is an alternative and low-cost approach to produce traffic activities data in each urban street to be used as input to predict vehicular emissions. In this work, we carried out a spatial statistical analysis of local radar data and calculated traffic flow using local radar data combined with different statistical models. Future scenarios about vehicle emission inventory to define public policies were also proposed and analyzed for Belo Horizonte (BH), a Brazilian State capital, with the third-largest metropolitan region in the country. The Normal-Neighborhood Model (i.e., the mixed effect model with random effect in the neighborhood, radar type, and in the regional area) was used to calculate traffic flow in each urban street. Results showed average reductions in CO (4.5%), NMHC (3.0%), NOx (3.0%) and PM2.5 (6.2%) emissions even with an increase in fleet composition (25% in average). The decrease is a result of the implementation of emission control programs by the government, improvements vehicles technologies, and the quality of fuels. Prediction of traffic data from radar databases has proven to be useful for avoiding the high costs of performing origin-destination surveys and traffic modeling using commercial software. Radar databases can provide many potential benefits for research and analysis in environmental and transportation planning. These findings can be incorporated in future investigations to implement public policies on vehicular emission reduction in urban areas and to advance environmental health effects research and human health risk assessment.[Display omitted]•The model Normal-Neighborhood was more suitable to perform a spatial distribution of vehicle flow.•Different fleet reduction combinations generate up to a 40% reduction in vehicle emissions.•Mobility and transportation solutions can be proposed using radar data

Traffic data in air quality modeling: a review of key variables, improvements in results, open problems and challenges in current research

Outdoor air pollution was responsible for approximately 4.2 million deaths around the world in 2016, with the emissions from road vehicles being the main source of air pollution in urban areas. To fulfill the need to identify the contribution of pollutants emitted by on-road vehicles and examine the limitations of various air quality models (boundary conditions, wind behavior representations, chemical mechanisms and reactions), a systematic review of the main traffic variables used in emissions and air quality modeling was performed. The discussion of their relationships, connections, and relevance showed a consistent sequence to generate traffic data using different traffic models. A list of key traffic variables to use as input data for vehicle emissions modeling and consequently to improve the accuracy of air quality modeling was proposed. A revision over 125 published articles was realized approaching methods to integrate traffic, emissions, air quality models, and detailing how these data can improve the results generated by the air quality model. Traffic models (macroscopic, mesoscopic, and microscopic) require variables at different levels of detail, such as traffic flow, speed, fuel consumption, and fleet composition. The emissions models (static and dynamic) are the key inputs to regional air quality models, but there is a tradeoff between the accuracy in emission estimates and the level of detail in model inputs. Meteorological data also influence the results. The conclusions showed that gaps remain on consistent emissions factors, spatial and temporal distributions, allocations of emissions on grid cells, and performance of the meteorological models. The average link-based traffic parameters are a persistent limitation. The proposed key traffic variables list point to flow per vehicle type as the most important variable. There is a need for scientific efforts to integrate traffic engineering data into emissions models to improve air quality modeling results using better traffic flow representations. Uncertainties in traffic data must first be analyzed, and accordingly a guidance with an accuracy reference for distinctive applications in different regions should be proposed