Social and environmental impacts on the construction of hydroelectric dams

O presente artigo possui como objetivo geral definir e traçar análise sob a implantação de barragens hidrelétricas no Brasil. O estudo sobre os impactos causados por tais construções é realizado por intermédio do prisma econômico, social e ambiental. Para o estudo, parte-se da vertente jurídico-sociológica e utiliza-se a metodologia de pesquisa teórica, a  partir de uma revisão bibliográfica pautada em documentos que evidenciam o tema exposto. Como resultado da pesquisa, infere-se que existe na construção de tais empreendimentos uma assimetria de poder, que origina uma apropriação social sobre os conflitos socioambientais, na medida em que a utilização dos espaços ambientais ocorre em detrimento do uso que outros segmentos sociais fazem do território. Dessa maneira, constata-se que barragens hidrelétricas são geradoras de injustiça ambiental, visto que são construídas e implementadas com a finalidade precípua de beneficiar determinados setores econômicos, em prol de direitos fundamentais da comunidade direta e indiretamente afetada.The present article has as its general objective to define and outline analysis under the implementation of hydroelectric dams in Brazil. The study on the impacts caused by such constructions is carried out through the economic, social and environmental prism. For the study, it starts from the legal-sociological aspect and uses the theoretical research methodology, based on a bibliographic review based on documents that highlight the exposed theme. As a result of the research, it is inferred that there is an asymmetry of power in the construction of such enterprises, which leads to a social appropriation of socio-environmental conflicts, insofar as the use of environmental spaces occurs to the detriment of the use that other social segments make of territory. Thus, it appears that hydroelectric dams generate environmental injustice, since they are built and implemented with the primary objective of benefiting certain economic sectors, in favor of the rights and fundamentals of the community directly and indirectly affected

Oscillatory brain responses to own names uttered by unfamiliar and familiar voices

AbstractAmong auditory stimuli, the own name is one of the most powerful and it is able to automatically capture attention and elicit a robust electrophysiological response. The subject’s own name (SON) is preferentially processed in the right hemisphere, mainly because of its self-relevance and emotional content, together with other personally relevant information such as the voice of a familiar person. Whether emotional and self-relevant information are able to attract attention and can be, in future, introduced in clinical studies remains unclear. In the present study we used EEG and asked participants to count a target name (active condition) or to just listen to the SON or other unfamiliar names uttered by a familiar or unfamiliar voice (passive condition). Data reveals that the target name elicits a strong alpha event related desynchronization with respect to non-target names and triggers in addition a left lateralized theta synchronization as well as delta synchronization.In the passive condition alpha desynchronization was observed for familiar voice and SON stimuli in the right hemisphere.Altogether we speculate that participants engage additional attentional resources when counting a target name or when listening to personally relevant stimuli which is indexed by alpha desynchronization whereas left lateralized theta synchronization may be related to verbal working memory load. After validating the present protocol in healthy volunteers it is suggested to move one step further and apply the protocol to patients with disorders of consciousness in which the degree of residual cognitive processing and self-awareness is still insufficiently understood

Cistern Project for Domestic Water use in Semi-Arid Regions

Water scarcity in semi-arid regions compromises the quality of life, principally human health, in these regions. The use of cisterns with adequate dimensions, that ensure the minimum of water required to meet human needs, is a practice recommended for these regions. This paper aims to estimate, considering the regional variability of precipitation, the most appropriate relationship between the capacity of cistern and the catchment area to ensure access to water considering the minimum recommended by WHO. A case study is presented for the Brazilian semi-arid region. A curve representing the relationship between these two variables was created for each region with similar precipitation conditions. In regions with low annual average precipitation, increasing the cistern capacity was found less efficient if there was no increase in the catchment area, while in areas with higher annual precipitation and longer periods of drought, the increased cistern capacity was the best alternative. Large differences in the relation between the cistern capacity and the catchment area were obtained in regions where the total precipitation and seasonal variability of precipitation throughout the year showed an intermediate behavior

Malvidin and cyanidin derivatives from açai fruit (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) counteract UV-A-induced oxidative stress in immortalized fibroblasts

UV-A radiations are known to induce cellular oxidative stress, leading to premature skin aging. Consumption of açai fruit (Euterpe oleracea Martius) is known to have many health benefits due to its high level of antioxidants. Herein, we analyzed the ability of phenolic compounds extracted from this fruit to attenuate UV-A-induced oxidative stress in immortalized fibroblast. A methanol/water açai extract was fractionated by HPLC and each fraction tested for anti-oxidant stress activity. Immortalized fibroblasts were pre-incubated with açai fractions and then exposed to UV-A radiations. Açai extract was found to be able to strongly protect cells from oxidative stress. In particular, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, GSH depletion, lipid peroxidation and no increase in the phosphorylation levels of proteins involved in the oxidative stress pathway was observed in cells pre-incubated with the extract and then irradiated by UV-A. Mass spectrometry analyses of HPLC fractionated extract led us to the identification of malvidin and cyanidin derivatives as the most active molecules able to counteract the negative effects induced by UV-A irradiation. Our results indicate, for the first time, that açai fruit is a valuable natural source for malvidin and cyanidin to be used as anti-stress molecules and represent good candidates for dietary intervention in the prevention of age related skin damage

Insights into the interaction of the N-terminal amyloidogenic polypeptide of ApoA-I with model cellular membranes

BACKGROUND: About twenty variants of apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I) are associated to hereditary systemic amyloidoses. Although the molecular bases of this disease are still largely unknown, it has been hypothesized that ApoA-I proteolysis is a key event in pathogenesis, since it triggers the release of an N-terminal fragment (80-100 residue long) that misfolds to form amyloid deposits in peripheral organs and tissues. It is also known that cell membrane lipids play a key role in the fibrillogenic pathway. In the case of ApoA-I related amyloidosis caused by L174S mutation, the 93-residue N-terminal fragment of ApoA-I ([1-93]ApoA-I) was found to be the major constituent of ex vivo fibrils. METHODS: With the main goal to investigate the interaction of either [1-93]ApoA-I and ApoA-I with biomimetic membranes, we set-up an experimental system based on the Raman Tweezers methodology. We tested GUVs composed by two types of zwitterionic lipids with a different fluidity degree, i.e. dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC). RESULTS: We found that [1-93]ApoA-I induces conformational disorder in an ordered lipid bilayer. When interacting with fluid phases, instead, the fragment was found to be able to penetrate the membrane bilayer inducing an alignment of lipid chains. CONCLUSIONS: The interaction features of [1-93]ApoA-I with biomimetic membranes strongly depend on the lipid phase. Full-length ApoA-I was found to have similar effects, even if significantly less pronounced. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: Our observations shed light on still largely unknown molecular bases of ApoA-I fibrillogenic domain interaction with membranes

Simple two Higgs doublet model

We study a simple two Higgs doublet model which reflects, in a phenomenological way, the idea of compositeness for the Higgs sector. It is relatively predictive. In one scenario, it allows for a "hidden" usual Higgs particle in the 100 GeV region and a possible dark matter candidate.Comment: more references and explanatio

Clinical evidence of efficacy of red yeast rice and berberine in a large controlled study versus diet

Efficacy of a new patented proprietary combination of natural nutraceuticals (PN) containing natural hypolipidemic as red yeast, policosanol and berberine was tested in a large study on dyslipidemic patients in clinical practice. A parallel, controlled, randomized, multicenter study was designed. After 2 weeks on a stable dietary regimen, the patients were randomized to PN 1 tablet/day associated with diet (PN + D) or diet alone (D) for 16 weeks. Entry criteria were: Tot-Chol >200 mg/dL or LDL-Chol >150 mg/dL without a clear indication for statins, or plasma triglycerides >150 mg/dL. Lipid pattern and CV parameters were evaluated at baseline and monthly. 1,751 patients were enrolled in 248 Italian units, 933 patients on PN + D and 818 on D. The baseline lipid values were: Tot-Chol 255.4 versus 243.1 mg/dL, LDL-Chol 170.1 versus 162.2 mg/dL, HDL-Chol 50.0 versus 48.8 mg/dL, and TG 190.5 versus 184.4 mg/dL. PN constantly and significantly improved lipid parameters versus D group: at 16 weeks −19.1 versus −9.4% for Tot-Chol (p < 0.001), −23.5 versus −10.8% for LDL-Chol (p < 0.001), +11.6 versus +4.0% for HDL-Chol (p < 0.001), −17.9 versus −11.3% for TG (p < 0.001). In conclusions, PN plus diet allows an effective improvement of blood lipids with a significant reduction of global CV risk, suggesting a role for PN in CHD prevention