Por Mulheres na Computagao no Brasil: análise das agoes e publicagoes do evento Women in Information Technology

As an attempt to increase the proportion of women in Computing there is a concern in several universities, civil societies and companies to incentivate actions that promote women representation in Computing. This article aims to present an analysis of one of those iniciatives, the Women in Information Technology (WIT), event promoted by the Brazilian Society of Computing, by analysing the actions held by the event in a decade and the papers published in the tenth edition of the event. The results show the growth of the initiative and the dissemination of actions to encourage greater participation of women in the areas of Computing in almost all Brazilian regions.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativa (SADIO

Por Mulheres na Computagao no Brasil: análise das agoes e publicagoes do evento Women in Information Technology

As an attempt to increase the proportion of women in Computing there is a concern in several universities, civil societies and companies to incentivate actions that promote women representation in Computing. This article aims to present an analysis of one of those iniciatives, the Women in Information Technology (WIT), event promoted by the Brazilian Society of Computing, by analysing the actions held by the event in a decade and the papers published in the tenth edition of the event. The results show the growth of the initiative and the dissemination of actions to encourage greater participation of women in the areas of Computing in almost all Brazilian regions.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativa (SADIO

Por Mulheres na Computagao no Brasil: análise das agoes e publicagoes do evento Women in Information Technology

As an attempt to increase the proportion of women in Computing there is a concern in several universities, civil societies and companies to incentivate actions that promote women representation in Computing. This article aims to present an analysis of one of those iniciatives, the Women in Information Technology (WIT), event promoted by the Brazilian Society of Computing, by analysing the actions held by the event in a decade and the papers published in the tenth edition of the event. The results show the growth of the initiative and the dissemination of actions to encourage greater participation of women in the areas of Computing in almost all Brazilian regions.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativa (SADIO

CEREBROSPINAL FLUID DRAINAGE DEVICES: EXPERIMENTAL CARACTERIZATION

Hydrocephalus is a pathophysiology due to the excess of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain ventricles and it can be caused by congenital defects, brain abnormalities, tumors, inflammations, infections, intracranial hemorrhage and others. Hydrocephalus can be followed by significant rise of intraventricular pressure due to the excess of production of cerebrospinalfluid over the absorption, resulting in a weakening of intellectual functions, serious neurological damage (decreased movement, sensation and functions), critical physical disabilities and even death. A procedure for treatment involves the placement of a ventricular catheter into the cerebral ventricles to divert/drain the cerebrospinal fluid flow to a bag outside of the patient body – provisory treatment known as external ventricular drainage (EVD). Another option is the permanent treatment, internal ventricular drainage (IVD), promoting the cerebrospinal fluid drainage to other body cavity, being more commonly the abdominal cavity. In both cases, EVD and IVD, it is necessary to use of some type of neurological valve in order to control the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. In the present work is proposed an experimental procedure to test the hydrodynamic behavior of a complete drainage system, or parts of them, in order to verify its performance when subjected to pressure gradients found in the human body. Results show that the method is well adapted to quantify the pressure drop in neurological systems

Solution conformations of a linked construct of the Zika virus NS2B-NS3 protease

The Zika virus presents a serious risk for global health. Crystal structures of different constructs of the Zika virus NS2B-NS3 protease (NS2B-NS3pro) have been determined with the aim to provide a basis for rational drug discovery. In these structures, the C-terminal β-hairpin of NS2B, NS2Bc, was observed to be either disordered (open conformation) or bound to NS3pro complementing the substrate binding site (closed conformation). Enzymatically active constructs of flaviviral NS2B-NS3 proteases commonly used for inhibitor testing contain a covalent peptide linker between NS2B and NS3pro. Using a linked construct of Zika virus NS2B-NS3pro, we studied the location of NS2Bc relative to NS3pro in solution by pseudocontact shifts generated by a paramagnetic lanthanide tag attached to NS3pro. Both closed and open conformations were observed with different inhibitors. As the NS2B co-factor is involved in substrate binding of flaviviral NS2B-NS3 proteases, the destabilization of the closed conformation in the linked construct makes it an attractive tool to search for inhibitors that interfere with the formation of the enzymatically active, closed conformation.C.N. thanks the Alexander vonHumbolt Foundation for a Feodor-Lynen fellowship. Financialsupport by the Australian Research Council is gratefully acknowl-edged. C.K. acknowledges support by the Deutsche For-schungsgemeinschaft, grant KL 1356/3

Selective Affimers Recognise the BCL‐2 Family Proteins BCL‐xL and MCL‐1 through Noncanonical Structural Motifs

The BCL‐2 family is a challenging group of proteins to target selectively due to sequence and structural homologies across the family. Selective ligands for the BCL‐2 family regulators of apoptosis are useful as probes to understand cell biology and apoptotic signalling pathways, and as starting points for inhibitor design. We have used phage display to isolate Affimer reagents (non‐antibody‐binding proteins based on a conserved scaffold) to identify ligands for MCL‐1, BCL‐xL, BCL‐2, BAK and BAX, then used multiple biophysical characterisation methods to probe the interactions. We established that purified Affimers elicit selective recognition of their target BCL‐2 protein. For anti‐apoptotic targets BCL‐xL and MCL‐1, competitive inhibition of their canonical protein‐protein interactions is demonstrated. Co‐crystal structures reveal an unprecedented mode of molecular recognition; where a BH3 helix is normally bound, flexible loops from the Affimer dock into the BH3 binding cleft. Moreover, the Affimers induce a change in the target proteins towards a desirable drug‐bound‐like conformation. These proof‐of‐concept studies indicate that Affimers could be used as alternative templates to inspire the design of selective BCL‐2 family modulators and more generally other protein‐protein interaction inhibitors

Restauração ecológica em sistemas agroflorestais sucessionais do Vale do Ribeira, São Paulo.

Nas últimas três décadas foi possível observar uma crescente percepção de que a restauração de ecossistemas degradados é necessária, para garantir um mínimo de qualidade de vida para as futuras gerações. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar sistemas agroflorestais sucessionais do Vale do Ribeira, utilizando os indicadores de restauração ecológica da legislação brasileira e os conceitos internacionais estabelecidos pela Sociedade para a Restauração Ecológica, e apontar possíveis soluções para otimização do potencial dos sistemas agroflorestais. Os sistemas agroflorestais sucessionais do Vale do Ribeira demonstram ser práticas eficientes, eficazes e engajadas em restauração ecológica, pois atendem aos indicadores e à maioria dos conceitos empregados como base. Aponta-se a necessidade de construção de políticas públicas voltadas para incentivos normativos e soluções tecnológicas que possibilitem o aumento da geração de renda nestes sistemas. TITLE: Ecological restoration in successional agroforestry systems of Vale do Ribeira, São Paulo State, Brazil ABSTRACT: From the last three decades, there has been a growing perception that the restoration of degraded ecosystems is necessary to guarantee a minimum life quality for future generations. The objective of this work was to evaluate the successional agroforestry systems of Vale do Ribeira, using ecological restoration indicators present in the Brazilian legislation and the in international concepts presented by the Society for Ecological Restoration, and to point out possible solutions to optimize its potential. The successional agroforestry systems in the Vale do Ribeira proved to be efficient, effective and engaged as ecological restoration practices, since they meet the ecological restoration indicators of the legislation and most of the concepts of restoration ecology. Public policies should be developed aiming regulatory incentives and technological solutions to increase income generation by these systems

Sistema agroflorestal sucessional do Vale do Ribeira: 1 - analogias e ilustrações didáticas de sua sucessão ecológica.

Sistemas agroflorestais sucessionais são praticados desde a década de 1990 na divisa entre SP e PR. Seu planejamento, implantação e manejo buscam uma analogia aos processos da sucessão ecológica da floresta tropical. Os objetivos deste trabalho são descrever e comparar as sucessões ecológicas dos sistemas agroflorestais sucessionais do Vale do Ribeira e da floresta tropical e desenvolver um recurso educativo didático para sua demonstração, utilizando a literatura disponível. À floresta tropical é um mosaico de ex-clareiras, formando um mosaico de fases sucessionais de diferentes idades e tamanhos, em constante mudança ao longo do tempo. Por sua vez, o sistema agroflorestal sucessional de uma unidade agrícola familiar constitui-se em várias parcelas implantadas em diferentes anos, que são podadas local e seletivamente, formando um mosaico de sucessões de diferentes idades e tamanhos, distribuídas de forma heterogênea no espaço, resultando em uma sucessão análoga a ocorrente na sucessão ecológica da floresta tropical. Ambas as sucessões podem ser didaticamente ilustradas pelo diagrama de Taiji, com suas fases pioneiras e climácicas se sobrepondo ao longo do tempo como andares em uma escada em caracol

Sistema agroflorestal sucessional do Vale do Ribeira: 2 - dificuldades e oportunidades para a expansão de sua adoção

O sistema agroflorestal sucessional praticado na divisa entre SP e PR deve ser considerado nas políticas públicas de desenvolvimento social e de conservação ambiental. Enquanto o extrato superior do dossel ainda não é dominado pelas árvores, o manejo, produtos e processos são similares a aqueles que as comunidades realizam histórica e culturalmente. No entanto, a partir da fase arbórea surgem dificuldades para a sustentabilidade. O objetivo deste trabalho foi discutir as dificuldades durante a fase arbórea e as oportunidades de ação em pesquisa, desenvolvimento e inovação (PDTI) para superá-las. Foram realizados mais de 2500 dias de trabalho em campo. Ao longo desse tempo, observou-se as dificuldades e oportunidades no desenvolvimento da fase arbórea, que foram anotadas. Também foram aplicadas entrevistas semiestruturadas. A falta de uma fonte de renda significativa durante a fase arbórea é uma dificuldade que se destaca, advinda principalmente de legislações e políticas públicas inexistentes ou excessivamente burocráticas para a comercialização dos produtos da fase arbórea, notadamente palmito de juçara e madeira de espécies nativas. As oportunidades de PDI estão no subsídio para a construção, junto aos órgãos públicos, de leis e políticas públicas simplificadas, visando viabilizar e incentivar a produção, e junto aos produtores, construir soluções de inovação tecnológica