104 research outputs found
The North Atlantic oscillation and European vegetation dynamics
The relationship between vegetation greenness and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is assessed over
Europe. The study covers the 21-year period from 1982 to 2002 and is based on monthly composites of the Normalised
Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Brightness Temperature from the Global Inventory Monitoring and Modelling
System (GIMMS) as well as on monthly precipitation from the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC).
A systematic analysis is first performed of point correlation fields over the 21-year period between the winter NAO
index and spring and summer NDVI, followed by an assessment of the vegetation response to precipitation and temperature
conditions in winter, over two contrasting regions, namely the Iberian Peninsula and Northeastern Europe. Finally, the
impact of NAO on vegetation dynamics over the two regions is evaluated by studying the corresponding annual cycles of
NDVI and comparing their behaviour for years associated with opposite NAO phases.
Over the Iberian Peninsula there is strong evidence that positive (negative) values of winter NAO induce low (high)
vegetation activity in the following spring and summer seasons. This feature is mainly associated with the impact of NAO
on winter precipitation, together with the strong dependence of spring and summer NDVI on water availability during the
previous winter. Northeastern Europe shows a different behaviour, with positive (negative) values of winter NAO inducing
high (low) values of NDVI in spring, but low (high) values of NDVI in summer. This behaviour mainly results from the
strong impact of NAO on winter temperature, associated with the critical dependence of vegetation growth on the combined
effect of warm conditions and water availability during the winter seaso
Caloric Restriction Is More Efficient than Physical Exercise to Protect from Cisplatin Nephrotoxicity via PPAR-Alpha Activation
The antineoplastic drug cisplatin promotes renal injury, which limits its use. Protocols that reduce renal cisplatin toxicity will allow higher doses to be used in cisplatin treatment. Here, we compare physical exercise and caloric restriction (CR) as protocols to reduce cisplatin renal injury in mice. Male C57BL/6 were divided into four groups: Control, cisplatin, exercise + cisplatin, and 30% CR + cisplatin. Animals were injected with a single dose of cisplatin (20 mg/kg i.p.) and sacrificed 96 h after injection. Quantitative real time PCR, histological analyses, immunohistochemistry, and biochemical measurements were performed to investigate renal injury, necrosis, apoptosis, and inflammatory mechanisms. Both protocols protected against cisplatin renal injury, but CR was more effective in reducing uraemia and renal necrosis. The CR + Cisplatin group exhibited reduced serum IL-1 beta and INF-alpha levels. No differences were noted in the renal mRNA expression of cytokines. Both interventions reduced apoptosis, but only the CR + Cisplatin group decreased TNFR2 protein expression. PPAR-ci was activated in mice after CR. An antagonist of PPAR-alpha blocked the protective effect of CR. Both interventions attenuated the nephrotoxicity caused by cisplatin injection, but CR + Cisplatin showed a better response by modulating TNFR2. Moreover, part of the CR benefit depends on PPAR-alpha activation.FAPESP (Fundacao de Apoio a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo)CAPES/DAADUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Biofis, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Med, Disciplina Nefrol, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Inst Ciencias Biomed, Dept Immunol, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Dept Clin Med, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Pelotas, Escola Nutr, Dept Nutr, Pelotas, BrazilMax Delbruck Ctr Mol Med, Berlin, GermanyUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Biofis, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Med, Disciplina Nefrol, Sao Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 2013/06207-6FAPESP: 2015/20082-7CAPES/DAAD: 427/15Web of Scienc
Exercise and Caloric Restriction Alter the Immune System of Mice Submitted to a High-Fat Diet
As the size of adipocytes increases during obesity, the establishment of resident immune cells in adipose tissue becomes an important source of proinflammatory mediators. Exercise and caloric restriction are two important, nonpharmacological tools against body mass increase. To date, their effects on the immune cells of adipose tissue in obese organisms, specifically when a high-fat diet is consumed, have been poorly investigated. Thus, after consuming a high-fat diet, mice were submitted to chronic swimming training or a 30% caloric restriction in order to investigate the effects of both interventions on resident immune cells in adipose tissue. These strategies were able to reduce body mass and resulted in changes in the number of resident immune cells in the adipose tissue and levels of cytokines/chemokines in serum. While exercise increased the number of NK cells in adipose tissue and serum levels of IL-6 and RANTES, caloric restriction increased the CD4+/CD8+ cell ratio and MCP-1 levels. Together, these data demonstrated that exercise and caloric restriction modulate resident immune cells in adipose tissues differently in spite of an equivalent body weight reduction. Additionally, the results also reinforce the idea that a combination of both strategies is better than either individually for combating obesity.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biophys, BR-04023062 São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Sch Arts Sci & Humanities, BR-03828000 São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Inst Biomed Sci, Lab Transplantat Immunobiol, Dept Immunol, BR-05508900 São Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Pelotas, Sch Nutr, Dept Nutr, BR-96010610 Pelotas, RS, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biophys, BR-04023062 São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 2011/03528-0Web of Scienc
Areas of natural occurrence of melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811(Hymenoptera: Apidae) in the state of Bahia, Brazil.
The bee Melipona scutellaris is considered the reared meliponine species with the largest distribution in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, with records from the state of Rio Grande do Norte down to the state of Bahia. Considering the importance of this species in the generation of income for family agriculture and in the preservation of areas with natural vegetation, this study aimed at providing knowledge on the distribution of natural colonies of M. scutellaris in the state of Bahia. Literature information, interviews with stinglessbee beekeepers, and expeditions were conducted to confirm the natural occurrence of the species. A total of 102 municipalities showed records for M. scutellaris, whose occurrence was observed in areas ranging from sea level up to 1,200-meter height. The occurrence of this species in the state of Bahia is considered to be restricted to municipalities on the coastal area and the Chapada Diamantina with its rainforests. Geographic coordinates, elevation, climate and vegetation data were obtained, which allowed a map to be prepared for the area of occurrence in order to support conservation and management policies for the species
Exceptional Flux Compactifications
We consider type II (non-)geometric flux backgrounds in the absence of brane
sources, and construct their explicit embedding into maximal gauged D=4
supergravity. This enables one to investigate the critical points, mass spectra
and gauge groups of such backgrounds. We focus on a class of type IIA geometric
vacua and find a novel, non-supersymmetric and stable AdS vacuum in maximal
supergravity with a non-semisimple gauge group. Our construction relies on a
non-trivial mapping between SL(2) x SO(6,6) fluxes, SU(8) mass spectra and
gaugings of E7(7) subgroups.Comment: 51 pages, 2 figures and 4 tables. v3: change of SO(6,6) spinorial
conventions, published versio
Scalar geometry and masses in Calabi-Yau string models
We study the geometry of the scalar manifolds emerging in the no-scale sector
of Kahler moduli and matter fields in generic Calabi-Yau string
compactifications, and describe its implications on scalar masses. We consider
both heterotic and orientifold models and compare their characteristics. We
start from a general formula for the Kahler potential as a function of the
topological compactification data and study the structure of the curvature
tensor. We then determine the conditions for the space to be symmetric and show
that whenever this is the case the heterotic and the orientifold models give
the same scalar manifold. We finally study the structure of scalar masses in
this type of geometries, assuming that a generic superpotential triggers
spontaneous supersymmetry breaking. We show in particular that their behavior
crucially depends on the parameters controlling the departure of the geometry
from the coset situation. We first investigate the average sGoldstino mass in
the hidden sector and its sign, and study the implications on vacuum
metastability and the mass of the lightest scalar. We next examine the soft
scalar masses in the visible sector and their flavor structure, and study the
possibility of realizing a mild form of sequestering relying on a global
symmetry.Comment: 36 pages, no figure
Flux moduli stabilisation, Supergravity algebras and no-go theorems
We perform a complete classification of the flux-induced 12d algebras
compatible with the set of N=1 type II orientifold models that are T-duality
invariant, and allowed by the symmetries of the T^6/(Z_2 x Z_2) isotropic
orbifold. The classification is performed in a type IIB frame, where only H_3
and Q fluxes are present. We then study no-go theorems, formulated in a type
IIA frame, on the existence of Minkowski/de Sitter (Mkw/dS) vacua. By deriving
a dictionary between the sources of potential energy for the three moduli (S, T
and U) in types IIA and IIB, we are able to combine algebra results and no-go
theorems. The outcome is a systematic procedure for identifying
phenomenologically viable models where Mkw/dS vacua may exist. We present a
complete table of the allowed algebras and the viability of their resulting
scalar potential, and we point at the models which stand any chance of
producing a fully stable vacuum.Comment: Version published in JHE
Análise comparativa entre biodiesel filtrado e biodiesel destilado em trator agrÃcola
The scarcity of natural resources, in addition to the increasing concern about the environment, is forcing man kind to develop energy alternatives from renewable and biodegradable sources of a sustainable nature. In the search for such alternatives for motors with ignition by compression, biodiesel rises as a biofuel option derived from the reaction of plant oils with anhydrous alcohol. The objective of the present study was to compare the fuel consumption of an agricultural tractor functioning of alternate form with filtered and distilled biodiesel in a direct planting operation. A factorial scheme with fully randomized blocks was used as experimental design, combining seven mixture proportions (B0, B5, B15, B25, B50, B75 and B100) and two types of biodiesel (filtered and distilled). Hourly consumption as a volume unit (L h-1) and mass (kg h-1) and specific consumption (g kWh-1) were determined. The results showed no difference in the specific consumption when the tractor used filtered or distilled biodiesel.A escassez de recursos naturais, aliada à crescente preocupação ambiental, força o homem a desenvolver alternativas energéticas provenientes de fontes renováveis e biodegradáveis de caráter sustentável. Na busca de tais alternativas para o motor de ignição por compressão, o biodiesel destaca-se como opção de biocombustÃvel produzido a partir da reação quÃmica de óleo vegetal e álcool anidro na presença de um catalizador. O objetivo deste trabalho foi comparar o consumo de combustÃvel de um trator agrÃcola funcionando de maneira alternada com biodiesel filtrado e biodiesel destilado em operação de semeadura-direta. O experimento foi realizado em esquema fatorial, em blocos inteiramente casualizados, combinando-se sete proporções de mistura (B0, B5, B15, B25, B50, B75 e B100) e dois tipos de biodiesel (filtrado e destilado). Analisaram-se o consumo horário em unidade de volume (L h-1) e massa (kg h-1) e consumo especÃfico (g kWh-1). Os resultados mostraram não haver diferença no consumo especÃfico quando o trator utiliza biodiesel filtrado ou destilado
Charting the landscape of N=4 flux compactifications
We analyse the vacuum structure of isotropic Z_2 x Z_2 flux
compactifications, allowing for a single set of sources. Combining algebraic
geometry with supergravity techniques, we are able to classify all vacua for
both type IIA and IIB backgrounds with arbitrary gauge and geometric fluxes.
Surprisingly, geometric IIA compactifications lead to a unique theory with four
different vacua. In this case we also perform the general analysis allowing for
sources compatible with minimal supersymmetry. Moreover, some relevant examples
of type IIB non-geometric compactifications are studied. The computation of the
full N=4 mass spectrum reveals the presence of a number of non-supersymmetric
and nevertheless stable AdS_4 vacua. In addition we find a novel dS_4 solution
based on a non-semisimple gauging.Comment: Minor corrections and references added. Version published in JHE
Lectures on Nongeometric Flux Compactifications
These notes present a pedagogical review of nongeometric flux
compactifications. We begin by reviewing well-known geometric flux
compactifications in Type II string theory, and argue that one must include
nongeometric "fluxes" in order to have a superpotential which is invariant
under T-duality. Additionally, we discuss some elementary aspects of the
worldsheet description of nongeometric backgrounds. This review is based on
lectures given at the 2007 RTN Winter School at CERN.Comment: 31 pages, JHEP
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