Use of biogas in internal combustion engines

The biogas from the anaerobic digestion of solid or liquid waste is an alternative energy source. Its composition is a mixture of gases in which methane and carbon dioxide are in higher proportions. The internal combustion engines are widely used because they can operate with different kinds of both liquid and gaseous fuels. So that biogas can be used as fuel, either in engines, gas turbines or microturbines, it is necessary to identify its flow, chemical composition and calorific value, parameters that determine the real potential to generate electricity.O biogás proveniente da digestão anaeróbia de resíduos sólidos ou líquidos constitui uma fonte de energia alternativa. Sua composição é uma mistura de gases onde o metano e o dióxido de carbono estão em maiores proporções. Os motores de combustão interna são muito utilizados por poderem operar com diferentes tipos de combustíveis tanto líquidos como gasosos. Para que o biogás possa ser utilizado como combustível, seja em motores, turbinas a gás ou microturbinas, é necessário identificar sua vazão, composição química e poder calorífico, parâmetros que determinam o real potencial de geração de energia elétrica

Dual-initiation promoters with intertwined canonical and TCT/TOP transcription start sites diversify transcript processing

Variations in transcription start site (TSS) selection reflect diversity of preinitiation complexes and can impact on post-transcriptional RNA fates. Most metazoan polymerase II-transcribed genes carry canonical initiation with pyrimidine/purine (YR) dinucleotide, while translation machinery-associated genes carry polypyrimidine initiator (5’-TOP or TCT). By addressing the developmental regulation of TSS selection in zebrafish we uncovered a class of dual-initiation promoters in thousands of genes, including snoRNA host genes. 5’-TOP/TCT initiation is intertwined with canonical initiation and used divergently in hundreds of dual-initiation promoters during maternal to zygotic transition. Dual-initiation in snoRNA host genes selectively generates host and snoRNA with often different spatio-temporal expression. Dual-initiation promoters are pervasive in human and fruit fly, reflecting evolutionary conservation. We propose that dual-initiation on shared promoters represents a composite promoter architecture, which can function both coordinately and divergently to diversify RNAs

Produção de biogás em escala real em unidade demonstrativa – Unidade Granja Colombari Biogas production full-scale demostration unit – Unit Colombari Farm

A cadeia produtiva de suínos tem se destacado no cenário agroindustrial brasileiro, fato decorrente dos avanços na escala de produção e dos investimentos tecnológicos do setor. A quantidade total de dejetos produzidos pelo suíno em determinada fase de seu desenvolvimento é um dado fundamental para o planejamento das instalações e equipamentos a serem utilizados para o transporte e distribuição do mesmo na lavoura. Este trabalho buscou viabilizar a utilização de biodigestores em escala real evidenciando o potencial deste na redução de carga orgânica e a produção equivalente em biogás, bem como a sua qualidade para obtenção de energia elétrica.AbstractThe pork supply chain has emerged in Brazilian agribusiness scenario, a fact due to advances in productions scale and technological investments in the sector. Thetotal amount of waste produced by the pig at a certain stage of its evelopment is a key to the planning of facilities and equipment to be used for the transportations and distribution in the same Field. This study sought to enable the use of full-scale digesters showing the potential of the reduction of organic load and the equivalent in biogas production and its quality obtains electricity

Telethonin protein expression in neuromuscular disorders

Telethonin is a 19-kDa sarcomeric protein, localized to the Z-disc of skeletal and cardiac muscles. Mutations in the telethonin gene cause limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2G (LGMD2G). We investigated the sarcomeric integrity of muscle fibers in LGMD2G patients, through double immunofluorescence analysis for telethonin with three sarcomeric proteins: titin, alpha-actinin-2, and myotilin and observed the typical cross striation pattern, suggesting that the Z-line of the sarcomere is apparently preserved, despite the absence of telethonin. Ultrastructural analysis confirmed the integrity of the sarcomeric architecture. the possible interaction of telethonin with other proteins responsible for several forms of neuromuscular disorders was also analyzed. Telethonin was clearly present in the rods in nemaline myopathy (NM) muscle fibers, confirming its localization to the Z-line of the sarcomere. Muscle from patients with absent telethonin showed normal expression for the proteins dystrophin, sarcoglycans, dysferlin, and calpain-3. Additionally, telethonin showed normal localization in muscle biopsies from patients with LGMD2A, LGMD2B, sarcoglycanopathies, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Therefore, the primary deficiency of calpain-3, dysferlin, sarcoglycans, and dystrophin do not seem to alter telethonin expression. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.Univ São Paulo, Ctr Study Human Genome, Dept Biol, IBUSP, BR-05508900 São Paulo, BrazilInt Ctr Genet Engn & Biotechnol, Tieste, ItalyUniv Padua, CRIBI Biotechnol Ctr, I-35121 Padua, ItalyHarvard Univ, Childrens Hosp, Sch Med, Div Genet, Boston, MA 02115 USAUniv Helsinki, Helsinki, FinlandUNIFESP, Dept Neurol, São Paulo, BrazilFMUSP, Dept Neurol, São Paulo, BrazilFMUSP, Dept Pathol, São Paulo, BrazilUNIFESP, Dept Neurol, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Expression of Foxp3 in colorectal cancer but not in Treg cells correlates with disease progression in patients with colorectal cancer

Background: Regulatory T cells (Treg) expressing the transcription factor forkhead-box protein P3 (Foxp3) have been identified to counteract anti-tumor immune responses during tumor progression. Besides, Foxp3 presentation by cancer cells itself may also allow them to evade from effector T-cell responses, resulting in a survival benefit of the tumor. For colorectal cancer (CRC) the clinical relevance of Foxp3 has not been evaluated in detail. Therefore the aim of this study was to study its impact in colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods and Findings: Gene and protein analysis of tumor tissues from patients with CRC was performed to quantify the expression of Foxp3 in tumor infiltrating Treg and colon cancer cells. The results were correlated with clinicopathological parameters and patients overall survival. Serial morphological analysis demonstrated Foxp3 to be expressed in cancer cells. High Foxp3 expression of the cancer cells was associated with poor prognosis compared to patients with low Foxp3 expression. In contrast, low and high Foxp3 level in tumor infiltrating Treg cells demonstrated no significant differences in overall patient survival. Conclusions: Our findings strongly suggest that Foxp3 expression mediated by cancer cells rather than by Treg cells contribute to disease progression

Caracterización de los incidentes de caídas de pacientes adultos internados en un hospital universitario

Objetivo: Avaliar as notificações e caracterizar os incidentes de quedas dos pacientes adultos internados em unidades clínicas e cirúrgicas de um hospital universitário na região sul do país, no período de 2011 a 2014. Método: Estudo descritivo, transversal e retrospectivo, realizado no período de dezembro de 2016 a dezembro de 2017. A amostra foi de 1112 notificações, abrangendo todos os pacientes internados que foram notificados com ocorrência de quedas no período estudado. Os dados foram analisados por meio de estatística descritiva e analítica. Resultados: Foram predominantes na amostra os pacientes do sexo feminino e idosos, onde 69,4% dos incidentes não apresentaram dano. A ocorrência de quedas foi significativamente maior no período noturno. Limitação para deambular e estar desacompa- nhado foram os fatores mais prevalentes nas condições do paciente antes da queda. Conclusão: Queda é um evento multifatorial que necessita avaliação periódica dos fatores de risco pela equipe para planejar sua prevenção.Objective: To evaluate the occurrences and to characterize the falling incidents of adult patients hospitalized in clinical and surgical units of a university hospital in the southern region of the country, in the period from 2011 to 2014. Method: Descriptive, cross-sectional and retrospective study, carried out from December 2016 to December 2017. The sample consisted of 1112 reports, covering all hospitalized patients who were notified with falls occurring in the studied period. Data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics. Results: Female and elderly patients were predominant in the sample, in which 69.4% of the incidents did not present any damage. The occurrence of falls was significantly higher at night. Limitation to walking and being unaccompanied were the most prevalent factors in the patient’s conditions before the fall. Conclusion: The fall is a multifactorial event that requires periodic evaluation of the risk factors by the team to plan their prevention.Objetivo: Evaluar las notificaciones y caracterizar los incidentes de caídas de los pacientes adultos internados en unidades clínicas y quirúrgicas de un hospital universitario en la región sur del país, en el período 2011 a 2014. Método: Estudio descriptivo, transversal y retrospectivo, realizado en el período de diciembre de 2016 a diciembre de 2017. La muestra fue de 1112 notificaciones, abarcando a todos los pacientes internados que fueron notificados con ocurrencia de caídas en el periodo estudado. Los datos fueron analizados por medio de estadística descriptiva y analítica. Resultados: Fueron predominantes en la muestra los pacientes del sexo femenino y ancianos, donde el 69,4% de los incidentes no presentaron daño. La ocurrencia de caídas fue significativamente mayor en el período nocturno. La limitación para deambular y estar desatendido fueron los factores más prevalentes en las condiciones del paciente antes de la caída. Conclusión: La caída es un evento multifactorial que necesita evaluación periódica de los factores de riesgo por el equipo para planificar su prevención

The 3rd Global Summit of Research Institutes for Disaster Risk Reduction: Expanding the Platform for Bridging Science and Policy Making

The Global Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes held its 3rd Global Summit of Research Institutes for Disaster Risk Reduction at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University, Japan, 19–21 March, 2017. The Global Alliance seeks to contribute to enhancing disaster risk reduction (DRR) and disaster resilience through the collaboration of research organizations around the world. The summit aim was to expand the platform for bridging science and policy making by evaluating the evidence base needed to meet the expected outcomes and actions of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 and its Science and Technology Roadmap. The summit reflected the international nature of collaborative research and action. A pre-conference questionnaire filled out by Global Alliance members identified 323 research projects that are indicative of current research. These were categorized to support seven parallel discussion sessions related to the Sendai Framework priorities for action. Four discussion sessions focused on research that aims to deepen the understanding of disaster risks. Three cross-cutting sessions focused on research that is aimed at the priorities for action on governance, resilience, and recovery. Discussion summaries were presented in plenary sessions in support of outcomes for widely enhancing the science and policy of DRR

Dynamic regulation of the transcription initiation landscape at single nucleotide resolution during vertebrate embryogenesis

Spatiotemporal control of gene expression is central to animal development. Core promoters represent a previously unanticipated regulatory level by interacting with cis-regulatory elements and transcription initiation in different physiological and developmental contexts. Here, we provide a first and comprehensive description of the core promoter repertoire and its dynamic use during the development of a vertebrate embryo. By using cap analysis of gene expression (CAGE), we mapped transcription initiation events at single nucleotide resolution across 12 stages of zebrafish development. These CAGE-based transcriptome maps reveal genome-wide rules of core promoter usage, structure, and dynamics, key to understanding the control of gene regulation during vertebrate ontogeny. They revealed the existence of multiple classes of pervasive intra- and intergenic post-transcriptionally processed RNA products and their developmental dynamics. Among these RNAs, we report splice donor site-associated intronic RNA (sRNA) to be specific to genes of the splicing machinery. For the identification of conserved features, we compared the zebrafish data sets to the first CAGE promoter map of Tetraodon and the existing human CAGE data. We show that a number of features, such as promoter type, newly discovered promoter properties such as a specialized purine-rich initiator motif, as well as sRNAs and the genes in which they are detected, are conserved in mammalian and Tetraodon CAGE-defined promoter maps. The zebrafish developmental promoterome represents a powerful resource for studying developmental gene regulation and revealing promoter features shared across vertebrates.publishedVersio