A queda no consumo per capita de arroz em contexto.

O objetivo do presente trabalho foi analisar a redução do consumo domiciliar e aparente per capita de arroz em um contexto mais amplo, considerando diversos itens que compõem o consumo das famílias brasileiras

Downstream processing of recombinant proteins using alternative purification platforms based on ionic liquids

Remarkable advances in the treatment of chronic diseases have been achieved with biopharmaceutical-based therapies, a sector that is currently dominated by therapeutic proteins with over 200 protein drugs in the market1. Improvements in the biopharmaceuticals upstream stage have resulted in high yields of the desired product, and shifted the bioprocess bottleneck to the downstream processing, which is currently dominated by chromatography, accounting with more than 70% of total downstream costs2. Aiming at finding new cost-effective, efficient and sustainable technologies for proteins purification, novel polymer-polymer aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) using ionic liquids (ILs) as adjuvants were investigated in the downstream of interferon alfa 2b (IFNα2b) from Escherichia coli BL21 cultures. The phase diagrams of ABS composed by polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polypropylene glycol (PPG), with ILs as adjuvants, were determined at 25 °C. Chloride-based ILs combined with cholinium, imidazolium, pyrrolidinium, piperidinium, tetralkylammonium and tetralkylphosphonium cations were investigated. The use of ILs allows the selective removal of the protein impurities present in the culture medium. In summary, the application of ILs allowed to develop effective IFNα2b purification platforms from E. coli based on polymer-polymer-ABS, having significant benefits in terms of economic, biocompatible and environmental issues. References: 1Walsh G, Nat Biotechnol, 2018, 36, 1136-1145; 2Azevedo AM, Rosa PAJ, Ferreira IF, et al. Trends Biotechnol, 2009, 27, 240-247.publishe

Improving the purification of recombinant proteins by the use of ionic liquids as adjuvants in aqueous two-phase systems

The development of new drugs has a high impact on the global health, and since the approval of humulin (recombinant insulin) by FDA, several protein-based biopharmaceuticals have been introduced in the market. These products are usually attained through biotechnological processes using engineered biological sources and have led to remarkable advances in the treatment of distinct human diseases, as for example the case of interferon alfa 2b (IFNα2b) which has been used in in the treatment of oncological diseases for more than 30 years [1]. Currently, the (bio)pharmaceutical industry is committed to improve the quality of their products while endeavouring a reduction of its production costs, which is intimately related to the necessity of improving their downstream processes, since this field is mainly dominated by chromatographic techniques [2] and are responsible for their current high-cost. Therefore, envisaging to develop new, cost-effective, efficient and sustainable techniques for proteins purification, polymer-polymer aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) with ionic liquids (ILs) as adjuvants are herein proposed for the extraction and purification of IFNα2b from Escherichia coli BL21 cultures. The recombinant protein was produced in the form of inclusion bodies, followed by a dialysis step in order to solubilize the target biomolecule in a specific buffer, with the goal of maintaining the biomolecule stability. Afterwards, several polymers where studied as phase-forming components of ATPS, namely polyethylene glycol (PEG), polypropylene glycol (PPG), as well as Dextran. Furthermore, several ILs belonging to the cholinium, imidazolium, tetralkylammonium and tetralkylphosphonium families, were tested as co-adjuvants for ATPS formation in order to extract and purify of IFNα2b.publishe

Detecção automática de estradas não pavimentadas em imagens de média resolução.

Este trabalho propõe um novo método de detecção automática de estradas não pavimentadas a partir de imagens multiespectrais de sensores remotos, de baixa e média resolução. A área de estudo localiza-se no município de Alcinópolis, nordeste do estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, região com alta susceptibilidade a erosão, que é parte da sub-bacia do Rio Taquari, contribuinte do Pantanal e afluente do rio Paraguai. Foi utilizada uma cena do satélite LANDSAT TM da área de estudo e a validação dos resultados foi realizada com dados de campo colhidos com GPS um mês após a captura das imagens

Efeito do Deltamethrin e Mancozeb sobre Anthistarcha binocularis (LEP., Gelechiidae), Selenothrips rubrocinctus (THYS., Thripidae) e Aphis gossypii (HOM., Aphididae) em cajueiro.

Foi estudado no municipio de Aracati, Ceara, Brasil, o efeito do Deltamethrin CE e SC (a 14,36 g e 14,39 g do i. a./ha, respectivamente e do fungicida mancozeb ( a 800 g do i. a./ha) nas populacoes da broca - das - pontas. (Anthistarcba binocularis), tripes (Selenotbrips rubrocinctus) e pulgao (Aphis gossypii), em cajueiro (Anacardium occidentale L.). O inseticida piretroide deltamethrin foi eficiente no controle da broca-das-pontas e do tripes, tendo, no entanto, induzido o aumento da populacao de pulgoesbitstream/CNPAT-2010/1892/1/Bp-006.pd

Um método para modelagem de conhecimento multitemporal no processo de classificação automática de imagens de sensores remotos.

O presente trabalho propõe um procedimento para a modelagem de conhecimento multitemporal e sua integração com outras formas de conhecimento num ambiente integrado para a interpretação automática de imagens de sensores remotos. A proposta consiste em utilizar diagramas de transição de estado para expressar a relação entre a classe de um objeto num dado momento e a classe do mesmo objeto num instante anterior

Phlebotomus papatasi SP15: mRNA expression variability and amino acid sequence polymorphisms of field populations

Citation: Ramalho-Ortigao, M., Coutinho-Abreu, I. V., Balbino, V. Q., Figueiredo, C. A. S., Mukbel, R., Dayem, H., . . . McDowell, M. A. (2015). Phlebotomus papatasi SP15: mRNA expression variability and amino acid sequence polymorphisms of field populations. Parasites & Vectors, 8, 14. doi:10.1186/s13071-015-0914-2Background: The Phlebotomus papatasi salivary protein PpSP15 was shown to protect mice against Leishmania major, suggesting that incorporation of salivary molecules in multi-component vaccines may be a viable strategy for anti-Leishmania vaccines. Methods: Here, we investigated PpSP15 predicted amino acid sequence variability and mRNA profile of P. papatasi field populations from the Middle East. In addition, predicted MHC class II T-cell epitopes were obtained and compared to areas of amino acid sequence variability within the secreted protein. Results: The analysis of PpSP15 expression from field populations revealed significant intra-and interpopulation variation.. In spite of the variability detected for P. papatasi populations, common epitopes for MHC class II binding are still present and may potentially be used to boost the response against Le. major infections. Conclusions: Conserved epitopes of PpSP15 could potentially be used in the development of a salivary gland antigen-based vaccine.Additional Authors: Lobo, N. F.;Mahon, A. R.;Emrich, S. J.;Kamhawi, S.;Collins, F. H.;McDowell, M. A

Action of cholecalciferol and alpha-tocopherol on Staphylococcus aureus efflux pumps

Alpha-tocopherol is one the most abundant and biologically active isoforms of vitamin E. This compound is a potent antioxidant and one of most studied isoforms of vitamin E. Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is an important nutrient for calcium homeostasis and bone health, that has also been recognized as a potent modulator of the immune response. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the most important causative agent of both nosocomial and community-acquired infections. The aim of this study was to evaluate the inhibitory effect of alpha-tocopherol and cholecalciferol on both S. aureus and multidrug resistant S. aureus efflux pumps. The RN4220 strain has the plasmid pUL5054 that is the carrier of gene that encodes the macrolide resistance protein (an efflux pump) MsrA; the IS-58 strain possesses the TetK tetracycline efflux protein in its genome and the 1199B strain resists to hydrophilic fluoroquinolones via a NorA-mediated mechanism. The antibacterial activity was evaluated by determining the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and a possible inhibition of efflux pumps was associated to a reduction of the MIC. In this work we observed that in the presence of the treatments there was a decrease in the MIC for the RN4220 and IS-58 strains, suggesting that the substances presented an inhibitory effect on the efflux pumps of these strains. Significant efforts have been done to identify efflux pump inhibitors (EPIs) from natural sources and, therefore, the antibacterial properties of cholecalciferol and alphatocopherol might be attributed to a direct effect on the bacterial cell depending on their amphipathic structure

Observation of an Excited Bc+ State

Using pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 8.5 fb-1 recorded by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of s=7, 8, and 13 TeV, the observation of an excited Bc+ state in the Bc+π+π- invariant-mass spectrum is reported. The observed peak has a mass of 6841.2±0.6(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, where the last uncertainty is due to the limited knowledge of the Bc+ mass. It is consistent with expectations of the Bc∗(2S31)+ state reconstructed without the low-energy photon from the Bc∗(1S31)+→Bc+γ decay following Bc∗(2S31)+→Bc∗(1S31)+π+π-. A second state is seen with a global (local) statistical significance of 2.2σ (3.2σ) and a mass of 6872.1±1.3(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, and is consistent with the Bc(2S10)+ state. These mass measurements are the most precise to date