Impactos do aquecimento global na produção de milho do estado de São Paulo

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Carlos Roberto SanquettaMonografia (especialização) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Agrárias. Curso de Especialização em Projetos Sustentáveis, Mudanças Climáticas e Mercado de CarbonoInclui referências: p. 12-14Resumo: O presente estudo busca discutir as implicações que um aumento da temperatura superficial global ocasionado pelas emissões de gases de efeito estufa poderia promover no desenvolvimento e produtividade do milho em regiões do estado de São Paulo. Dados históricos de clima registrados por mais de 20 anos, em seis municípios paulistas, foram utilizados no software LARSWG para geração de dados sintéticos de temperaturas mínima e máxima diária para cada um dos quatro cenários de aquecimento global propostos pelo IPCC no seu quinto relatório. Os resultados impactaram todos os municípios em diferentes graus e indicaram que as temperaturas estimadas até o ano de 2.100 não seriam proibitivas para o desenvolvimento do milho, no que tange sua fisiologia. Entretanto as temperaturas mais altas poderiam reduzir a produtividade do milho, mais intensamente nos cenários mais pessimistas,RCP6.0 e RCP8.5, para cinco dos seis municípios analisados

A Numerical Method for Distinction between Blow-up and Global Solutions of the Nonlinear Heat Equation

The famous one-dimensional nonlinear heat equation is considered. To this equation a numerical method for distinction between blow-up and global solutions is proposed. Difficulty is in the treatment of the global solution which is defined in the infinite interval. The bounding transform is used to overcome this difficulty. Numerical experiments show the validity of our method

ESSENCE-Q - dash; a first clinical validation study of a new screening questionnaire for young children with suspected neurodevelopmental problems in south Japan

Background: Early identification of autism spectrum disorder, intellectual developmental disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and other neurodevelopmental disorders/problems is crucial, yet diagnosis is often delayed for years under the often misguided “wait-and-see” paradigm. The early symptomatic syndromes eliciting neurodevelopmental clinical examinations-questionnaire (ESSENCE-Q) is a brief (12-item) screening questionnaire developed specifically for the purpose of speeding up the identification process of a wide variety of neurodevelopmental problems. The aims were to 1) estimate the reliability of the ESSENCE-Q, 2) evaluate the clinical cutoff levels suggested by the author of the ESSENCE-Q, and 3) propose optimal cutoff levels based on receiver operating characteristic analysis. Methods: The ESSENCE-Q was used for 1 year by a psychiatrist in Kochi, Japan, assessing children under the age of 6 years referred for developmental problems. The children were also clinically assessed with regard to whether or not they met criteria for a developmental disorder (diagnosis positive and diagnosis negative groups). We contrasted the results of the ESSENCE-Q and those of clinical diagnostic assessments in 130 cases. Results: Cronbach’s alpha was 0.82, sensitivity was 0.94 (95% confidence interval [CI]: [0.88, 0.98]), and specificity 0.53 (95% CI: [0.28, 0.77]), which are reasonable psychometrics for a first-step screening tool. Based on receiver operating characteristic analysis, we recommended an optimal cutoff level of yes ≥2 or maybe/a little ≥3 on the ESSENCE-Q (0.87 (95% CI: [0.79, 0.92]) sensitivity and 0.77 (95% CI: [0.50, 0.93]) specificity). Conclusion and implication: The ESSENCE-Q can be a good instrument for use as a screening tool for aiding in the process of early identification of neurodevelopmental disorders in clinical settings. To establish the broader validity and reliability of the ESSENCE-Q, case–control studies and general population studies of children in different age groups are needed

ESSENCE-Q – a first clinical validation study of a new screening questionnaire for young children with suspected neurodevelopmental problems in south Japan

BACKGROUND: Early identification of autism spectrum disorder, intellectual developmental disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and other neurodevelopmental disorders/problems is crucial, yet diagnosis is often delayed for years under the often misguided “wait-and-see” paradigm. The early symptomatic syndromes eliciting neurodevelopmental clinical examinations-questionnaire (ESSENCE-Q) is a brief (12-item) screening questionnaire developed specifically for the purpose of speeding up the identification process of a wide variety of neurodevelopmental problems. The aims were to 1) estimate the reliability of the ESSENCE-Q, 2) evaluate the clinical cutoff levels suggested by the author of the ESSENCE-Q, and 3) propose optimal cutoff levels based on receiver operating characteristic analysis. METHODS: The ESSENCE-Q was used for 1 year by a psychiatrist in Kochi, Japan, assessing children under the age of 6 years referred for developmental problems. The children were also clinically assessed with regard to whether or not they met criteria for a developmental disorder (diagnosis positive and diagnosis negative groups). We contrasted the results of the ESSENCE-Q and those of clinical diagnostic assessments in 130 cases. RESULTS: Cronbach’s alpha was 0.82, sensitivity was 0.94 (95% confidence interval [CI]: [0.88, 0.98]), and specificity 0.53 (95% CI: [0.28, 0.77]), which are reasonable psychometrics for a first-step screening tool. Based on receiver operating characteristic analysis, we recommended an optimal cutoff level of yes ≥2 or maybe/a little ≥3 on the ESSENCE-Q (0.87 (95% CI: [0.79, 0.92]) sensitivity and 0.77 (95% CI: [0.50, 0.93]) specificity). CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION: The ESSENCE-Q can be a good instrument for use as a screening tool for aiding in the process of early identification of neurodevelopmental disorders in clinical settings. To establish the broader validity and reliability of the ESSENCE-Q, case–control studies and general population studies of children in different age groups are needed

STAT1/3 signaling suppresses axon degeneration and neuronal cell death through regulation of NAD+-biosynthetic and consuming enzymes

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)+-biosynthetic and consuming enzymes are involved in various intracellular events through the regulation of NAD+ metabolism. Recently, it has become clear that alterations in the expression of NAD+-biosynthetic and consuming enzymes contribute to the axonal stability of neurons. We explored soluble bioactive factor(s) that alter the expression of NAD+-metabolizing enzymes and found that cytokine interferon (IFN)-γ increased the expression of nicotinamide nucleotide adenylyltransferase 2 (NMNAT2), an NAD+-biosynthetic enzyme. IFN-γ activated signal transducers and activators of transcription 1 and 3 (STAT1/3) followed by c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) suppression. As a result, STAT1/3 increased the expression of NMNAT2 at both mRNA and protein levels in a dose- and time-dependent manner and, at the same time, suppressed activation of sterile alpha and Toll/interleukin receptor motif-containing 1 (SARM1), an NAD+-consuming enzyme, and increased intracellular NAD+ levels. We examined the protective effect of STAT1/3 signaling against vincristine-mediated cell injury as a model of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), in which axonal degeneration is involved in disease progression. We found that IFN-γ-mediated STAT1/3 activation inhibited vincristine-induced downregulation of NMNAT2 and upregulation of SARM1 phosphorylation, resulting in modest suppression of subsequent neurite degradation and cell death. These results indicate that STAT1/3 signaling induces NMNAT2 expression while simultaneously suppressing SARM1 phosphorylation, and that both these actions contribute to suppression of axonal degeneration and cell death

Quinolizidines. XX. Racetnic and Chiral Syntheses of the Alangium Alkaloids 9-Demethylprotoemetinol and 10-Demethylprotoemetinol(Organic,Chemical)

The synthesis of (±)-9-demethylprotoemetinol [(±)-3d] was accomplished by LiAlH_4 reduction of the tricyclic ester (±)-5 and subsequent debenzylation of the resulting tricyclic-alcohol (±)-10. Acetylation of (±)-3d with acetic anhydride and pyridine gave the diacetate (±)-11. The same sequence of reactions starting with (-)-5 afforded (-)-9-demethylprotoemetinol [(-)-3d] and the diacetate (-)-11 through (-)-10. Parallel synthetic routes starting with the isomeric tricyclic esters (±)-9 and (-)-9 produced (±)- and (-)-10-demethylprotoemetinols [(±)-4d and (-)-4d] and the corresponding diacetates [(±)-13 and (-)-13] through (±)-12 and (-)-12, respectively. The correctness of the structure and absolute stereochemistry of an Alangiutn alkaloid inferred to be 10-demethylprotoemetinol was confirmed by a direct comparison of its diacetate with synthetic (-)-13

Inhibition of RAGE signaling through the intracellular delivery of inhibitor peptides by PEI cationization

The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is a multi-ligand cell surface receptor and a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily. RAGE is involved in a wide range of inflammatory, degenerative and hyper-proliferative disorders which span over different organs by engaging diverse ligands, including advanced glycation end products, S100 family proteins, high-mobility group protein B1 (HMGB1) and amyloid beta. We previously demonstrated that the cytoplasmic domain of RAGE is phosphorylated upon the binding of ligands, enabling the recruitment of two distinct pairs of adaptor proteins, Toll-interleukin 1 receptor domain-containing adaptor protein (TIRAP) and myeloid differentiation protein 88 (MyD88). This engagement allows the activation of downstream effector molecules, and thereby mediates a wide variety of cellular processes, such as inflammatory responses, apoptotic cell death, migration and cell growth. Therefore, inhibition of the binding of TIRAP to RAGE may abrogate intracellular signaling from ligand-activated RAGE. In the present study, we developed inhibitor peptides for RAGE signaling (RAGE-I) by mimicking the phosphorylatable cytosolic domain of RAGE. RAGE-I was efficiently delivered into the cells by polyethylenimine (PEI) cationization. We demonstrated that RAGE-I specifically bound to TIRAP and abrogated the activation of Cdc42 induced by ligand-activated RAGE. Furthermore, we were able to reduce neuronal cell death induced by an excess amount of S100B and to inhibit the migration and invasion of glioma cells in vitro. Our results indicate that RAGE-I provides a powerful tool for therapeutics to block RAGE-mediated multiple signaling