Characterization of the mandible atta laevigata and the bioinspiration for the development of a biomimetic surgical clamp

Approximately thousand years ago it was reported the use of mandibles of ants for suture. In this sense, bioinspired components, as absorbable surgical clamps, can be designed. This study is aimed to characterize the mandible of the ant Atta laevigata in order to help the selection of candidate biomaterials for application as surgical clamps. Three pairs of mandibles were used and ten nanoindenations were performed in each pair. The average hardness for the samples in the internal and external regions were 0.36 ± 0.06 GPa and 0.19 ± 0.04 GPa, respectively and the average elastic modulus for the internal and external regions were 6.16 ± 0.23 GPa and 2.74 ± 0.44 GPa, respectively. The morphology of the mandible was observed in detail by scanning electron microscopy, as well as Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The average roughnesses on the internal and external regions, measured by atomic force microscopy, were 6.73 ± 0.90 nm and 11.87 ± 1.42 nm, respectively. From these results, it was possible to identify biomaterials that mimic the mandible behaviour for surgical clamp. © 2017

Modelagem Dinâmica do Uso e Cobertura das Terras para o Controle da Erosão na Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Mogi-Guaçú e Pardo - São Paulo - Brasil

O objetivo deste artigo é a modelagem da dinâmica do uso e cobertura das terras na Bacia-Hidrográfica dos Rios Mogi-Guaçú e Pardo no Estado de São Paulo. Ele foca a restauração dos serviços ecossistêmicos do controle da erosão. São descritos e analisados a dinâmica do uso e cobertura das terras, focados nas suas principais forças direcionadoras, tais como a legislação ambiental do país e as mudanças nos preços relativos favorecendo uma forte expansão do cultivo da cana-de-açúcar na região. Esta dinâmica tem importante impacto nas taxas de erosão cujas medidas metodológicas são apresentadas com os resultados obtidos. Para simular esta dinâmica foi desenvolvido um modelo seguindo a metodologia do MIMES. O algoritmo desenvolvido modela as mudanças do uso e cobertura das terras baseado principalmente na força das leis ambientais. Espera-se que esta dinâmica contribua para a restauração dos serviços ecossistêmicos da Bacia HidrográficaThis paper aims at modeling the land use and land cover dynamics in a watershed in São Paulo State, Brazil. It focuses on the potential restoration of the ecosystem service erosion control. The studied watershed is described and its land use and land cover dynamics analyzed, focusing on its main driving forces such as the legislation enforcement and crop relative price changes favoring a very strong expansion of sugar-cane in the region. This dynamics has important impacts on erosion rates whose measurement methodology is presented along with the results obtained. To simulate this dynamics a model was built following MIMES. The algorithms developed deal with a process of forest recovery, modeling land use/land cover changes pushed mainly by legislation enforcement and environmental price movements and measuring their impacts on the erosion process. It is expected that this dynamics would lead to a restoration of the ecosystem service erosion contro

Modelagem Dinâmica do Uso e Cobertura das Terras para o Controle da Erosão na Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Mogi-Guaçú e Pardo – São Paulo – Brasil

O objetivo deste artigo é a modelagem da dinâmica do uso e cobertura das terras na Bacia-Hidrográfica dos Rios Mogi-Guaçú e Pardo no Estado de São Paulo. Ele foca a restauração dos serviços ecossistêmicos do controle da erosão. São descritos e analisados a dinâmica do uso e cobertura das terras, focados nas suas principais forças direcionadoras, tais como a legislação ambiental do país e as mudanças nos preços relativos favorecendo uma forte expansão do cultivo da cana-de-açúcar na região. Esta dinâmica tem importante impacto nas taxas de erosão cujas medidas metodológicas são apresentadas com os resultados obtidos. Para simular esta dinâmica foi desenvolvido um modelo seguindo a metodologia do MIMES. O algoritmo desenvolvido modela as mudanças do uso e cobertura das terras baseado principalmente na força das leis ambientais. Espera-se que esta dinâmica contribua para a restauração dos serviços ecossistêmicos da Bacia Hidrográfica.Modelo de mudanças do uso das terras; valoração dos serviços ecossistêmicos; controle da erosão de solos; modelo dinâmico integrado multi-escala.

II Diretriz Brasileira de Transplante Cardíaco

Universidade de São Paulo Faculdade de Medicina Hospital das ClínicasIIHospital de Messejana Dr. Carlos Alberto Studart GomesUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de MedicinaInstituto Dante Pazzanese de CardiologiaUniversidade Federal de Minas Gerais Hospital das ClínicasFaculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio PretoPontifícia Universidade Católica do ParanáIHospital Israelita Albert EinsteinInstituto Nacional de Cardiologia, Fundação Universitária do Rio Grande do Sul Instituto de CardiologiaReal e Benemérita Sociedade de Beneficência Portuguesa, São PauloHospital Pró-Cardíaco do Rio de JaneiroSanta Casa do Rio de JaneiroUNIFESP, EPMSciEL

Skin color and severe maternal outcomes: evidence from the brazilian network for surveillance of severe maternal morbidity

Taking into account the probable role that race/skin color may have for determining outcomes in maternal health, the objective of this study was to assess whether maternal race/skin color is a predictor of severe maternal morbidity. This is a secondary analysis of the Brazilian Network for Surveillance of Severe Maternal Morbidity, a national multicenter cross-sectional study of 27 Brazilian referral maternity hospitals. A prospective surveillance was performed to identify cases of maternal death (MD), maternal near miss (MNM) events, and potentially life-threatening conditions (PLTC), according to standard WHO definition and criteria. Among 9,555 women with severe maternal morbidity, data on race/skin color was available for 7,139 women, who were further divided into two groups: 4,108 nonwhite women (2,253 black and 1,855 from other races/skin color) and 3,031 white women. Indicators of severe maternal morbidity according to WHO definition are shown by skin color group. Adjusted Prevalence Ratios (PRadj - 95%CI) for Severe Maternal Outcome (SMO=MNM+MD) were estimated according to sociodemographic/obstetric characteristics, pregnancy outcomes, and perinatal results considering race. Results. Among 7,139 women with severe maternal morbidity evaluated, 90.5% were classified as PLTC, 8.5% as MNM, and 1.6% as MD. There was a significantly higher prevalence of MNM and MD among white women. MNMR (maternal near miss ratio) was 9.37 per thousand live births (LB). SMOR (severe maternal outcome ratio) was 11.08 per 1000 LB, and MMR (maternal mortality ratio) was 170.4 per 100,000 LB. Maternal mortality to maternal near miss ratio was 1 to 5.2, irrespective of maternal skin color. Hypertension, the main cause of maternal complications, affected mostly nonwhite women. Hemorrhage, the second more common cause of maternal complication, predominated among white women. Nonwhite skin color was associated with a reduced risk of SMO in multivariate analysis. Nonwhite skin color was associated with a lower risk for severe maternal outcomes. This result could be due to confounding factors linked to a high rate of Brazilian miscegenation.2019CNPQ - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico402702/2008-

The complete genome sequence of Chromobacterium violaceum reveals remarkable and exploitable bacterial adaptability

Chromobacterium violaceum is one of millions of species of free-living microorganisms that populate the soil and water in the extant areas of tropical biodiversity around the world. Its complete genome sequence reveals (i) extensive alternative pathways for energy generation, (ii) ≈500 ORFs for transport-related proteins, (iii) complex and extensive systems for stress adaptation and motility, and (iv) wide-spread utilization of quorum sensing for control of inducible systems, all of which underpin the versatility and adaptability of the organism. The genome also contains extensive but incomplete arrays of ORFs coding for proteins associated with mammalian pathogenicity, possibly involved in the occasional but often fatal cases of human C. violaceum infection. There is, in addition, a series of previously unknown but important enzymes and secondary metabolites including paraquat-inducible proteins, drug and heavy-metal-resistance proteins, multiple chitinases, and proteins for the detoxification of xenobiotics that may have biotechnological applications

A social and ecological assessment of tropical land uses at multiple scales: the Sustainable Amazon Network

Science has a critical role to play in guiding more sustainable development trajectories. Here, we present the Sustainable Amazon Network (Rede Amazonia Sustentavel, RAS): a multidisciplinary research initiative involving more than 30 partner organizations working to assess both social and ecological dimensions of land-use sustainability in eastern Brazilian Amazonia. The research approach adopted by RAS offers three advantages for addressing land-use sustainability problems: (i) the collection of synchronized and co-located ecological and socioeconomic data across broad gradients of past and present human use; (ii) a nested sampling design to aid comparison of ecological and socioeconomic conditions associated with different land uses across local, landscape and regional scales; and (iii) a strong engagement with a wide variety of actors and non-research institutions. Here, we elaborate on these key features, and identify the ways in which RAS can help in highlighting those problems in most urgent need of attention, and in guiding improvements in land-use sustainability in Amazonia and elsewhere in the tropics. We also discuss some of the practical lessons, limitations and realities faced during the development of the RAS initiative so far.Keywords: Social–ecological systems, Tropical forests, Land use, Interdisciplinary research, Sustainability, Trade-off