Determinants of eco-innovations in Brazilian firms : a review

For many years, the imperatives of innovation have been oriented to competitiveness achievement, not to environmental concerns. The debates about the role of governments, business, citizens and the diversity of global and social actors in seeking answers to short and long term environmental problems, especially related to greenhouse gases emissions have increased. This paper provides an overview of the recent body of literature in the field of eco-innovations in Brazil, identifying determinants and impacts of the adoption by the firms. It also contributes to the discussion of the relationship between Brazilian policies and regulations and the implementation of eco-innovations by Brazilian firms. The study analysed data from empirical studies in three databases: Scopus, Web of Science and SciELO. Although ecological issues became part of the innovation agenda and eco-innovation is already a crucial field, Brazil lacks specific literature on the area and needs to advance a local discussion. With a tradition of having a very bureaucratic public administration which is sensitive to political interference, the innovation policies did not deal with environmental issues until very recently. Environmental and innovation policies should be aligned, complementing each other

Nobelpreise 1994

Mit George A. Olah hat die Königlich Schwedische Akademie der Wissenschaften erstmals und für manche überraschend einen Forscher für Arbeiten auf dem Gebiet organischer Reaktionsmechanismen und reaktiver Zwischenstufen mit dem Nobelpreis ausgezeichnet, eine Ehre, die selbst C. K. Ingold (1893 - 1970), dem Begründer dieser Arbeitsrichtung, versagt blieb. Der Nobelpreis für Medizin und Physiologie ging in diesem Jahr an die beiden US-Amerikaner Alfred G. Gilman und Martin Rodbell für ihre Arbeiten über die G-Proteine

Monitoring retinal changes with optical coherence tomography predicts neuronal loss in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

BACKGROUND:Retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a clinical and research tool in multiple sclerosis, where it has shown significant retinal nerve fiber (RNFL) and ganglion cell (RGC) layer thinning, while postmortem studies have reported RGC loss. Although retinal pathology in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) has been described, comparative OCT studies among EAE models are scarce. Furthermore, the best practices for the implementation of OCT in the EAE lab, especially with afoveate animals like rodents, remain undefined. We aimed to describe the dynamics of retinal injury in different mouse EAE models and outline the optimal experimental conditions, scan protocols, and analysis methods, comparing these to histology to confirm the pathological underpinnings. METHODS:Using spectral-domain OCT, we analyzed the test-retest and the inter-rater reliability of volume, peripapillary, and combined horizontal and vertical line scans. We then monitored the thickness of the retinal layers in different EAE models: in wild-type (WT) C57Bl/6J mice immunized with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein peptide (MOG35-55) or with bovine myelin basic protein (MBP), in TCR2D2 mice immunized with MOG35-55, and in SJL/J mice immunized with myelin proteolipid lipoprotein (PLP139-151). Strain-matched control mice were sham-immunized. RGC density was counted on retinal flatmounts at the end of each experiment. RESULTS:Volume scans centered on the optic disc showed the best reliability. Retinal changes during EAE were localized in the inner retinal layers (IRLs, the combination of the RNFL and the ganglion cell plus the inner plexiform layers). In WT, MOG35-55 EAE, progressive thinning of IRL started rapidly after EAE onset, with 1/3 of total loss occurring during the initial 2 months. IRL thinning was associated with the degree of RGC loss and the severity of EAE. Sham-immunized SJL/J mice showed progressive IRL atrophy, which was accentuated in PLP-immunized mice. MOG35-55-immunized TCR2D2 mice showed severe EAE and retinal thinning. MBP immunization led to very mild disease without significant retinopathy. CONCLUSIONS:Retinal neuroaxonal damage develops quickly during EAE. Changes in retinal thickness mirror neuronal loss and clinical severity. Monitoring of the IRL thickness after immunization against MOG35-55 in C57Bl/6J mice seems the most convenient model to study retinal neurodegeneration in EAE

Effects of dimethyl fumarate on neuroprotection and immunomodulation

BACKGROUND: Neuronal degeneration in multiple sclerosis has been linked to oxidative stress. Dimethyl fumarate is a promising novel oral therapeutic option shown to reduce disease activity and progression in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. These effects are presumed to originate from a combination of immunomodulatory and neuroprotective mechanisms. We aimed to clarify whether neuroprotective concentrations of dimethyl fumarate have immunomodulatory effects. FINDINGS: We determined time- and concentration-dependent effects of dimethyl fumarate and its metabolite monomethyl fumarate on viability in a model of endogenous neuronal oxidative stress and clarified the mechanism of action by quantitating cellular glutathione content and recycling, nuclear translocation of transcription factors, and the expression of antioxidant genes. We compared this with changes in the cytokine profiles released by stimulated splenocytes measured by ELISPOT technology and analyzed the interactions between neuronal and immune cells and neuronal function and viability in cell death assays and multi-electrode arrays. Our observations show that dimethyl fumarate causes short-lived oxidative stress, which leads to increased levels and nuclear localization of the transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 and a subsequent increase in glutathione synthesis and recycling in neuronal cells. Concentrations that were cytoprotective in neuronal cells had no negative effects on viability of splenocytes but suppressed the production of proinflammatory cytokines in cultures from C57BL/6 and SJL mice and had no effects on neuronal activity in multi-electrode arrays. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that immunomodulatory concentrations of dimethyl fumarate can reduce oxidative stress without altering neuronal network activity

Life cycle assessment and eco-innovations: What kind of convergence is possible?

Generation of goods and services are highly dependent on the use of natural resources. Until very recently, there was an implicit belief that the physical expansion of the economic system could be unlimited, as if the planet would have conditions and time enough to recover and continue to supply resources. This belief implies a confidence in an economic system that would provide whatever is necessary for a continuous growing production and consumption. Even believing that technology alone is not enough to solve the current environmental problems, it is certain that it can collaborate to mitigate climate change and to adaptation to changes in the environment. By bringing environmental aspects into discussions, eco-innovations can affect and transform the innovation system in order to create sustainable processes. However, the main challenge towards the transition to a more sustainable, cleaner and more equitable society is to set innovation in a new context, as until very recently it only considered the economic variables. This change means to value the social and environmental dimension of the innovation. In addition to eco-innovation, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is spreading in the industrial environment, offering promising perspectives. LCA is considered a valuable methodology in the environmental sustainability of industry. In this context, the present study addresses LCA and its relationship with the generation of eco-innovations. Drawing on contributions from literature on eco-innovation and LCA, the paper analyses available evidence on this relationship in a context of the transition towards sustainable development. To structure the debate, the paper offers a conceptual approach and an illustrative case on international researchers' and practitioners’ perceptions on the potentially positive relationship between eco-innovation and LCA. The study gathers data in the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection and in Scopus, in order to provide a picture of the distribution of documents retrieved from these databases, dealing with both eco-innovation and LCA topics. The paper concludes that the convergence of the eco-innovation and LCA studies is quite plausible, but at least in its initial phase, the literature that unites both themes is scarcely found in publications in the area of innovation, being more frequent in the area of engineering and management that usually addresses LCA studies

ANTROPOCENO, DESINFORMAÇÃO E INSEGURANÇA ALIMENTAR NO BRASIL

The article is based on the analysis of the context of disinformation and the role of environmental governance and its contribution to the deepening of the Anthropocene in Brazil. It shows that conventional agriculture, with large-scale production, perpetuates the extractive logic while the country continues to play the role of mere exporter of natural resources. The current discourse, reinforced by media channels, enhances its contribution to the development of the country. This information regime disregards the environmental degradation produced by industrial scale agriculture. Food insecurity is only one of the effects of the trail of environmental degradation in this scenario which more intensely affect populations in socioeconomic vulnerability.O artigo parte da análise do contexto de desinformação e do papel da governança ambiental e sua contribuição para o aprofundamento do Antropoceno no Brasil. Evidencia que a agricultura convencional, com produção de larga escala, perpetua a lógica extrativista e que o país continua a desempenhar o papel de mero exportador de recursos naturais. O discurso corrente, reforçado nos canais de comunicação, enaltecem sua contribuição para o desenvolvimento do país. Neste regime de informação desconsidera-se o passivo ambiental produzido pela agricultura de escala industrial.  Entre eles está a insegurança alimentar, a qual deixa um rastro de degradação ambiental, enquanto seus efeitos atingem primeiro e mais intensamente as populações em vulnerabilidade socioeconômica

SLOW FASHION, ECONOMIA CIRCULAR E CRIATIVA PARA A SUSTENTABILIDADE AMBIENTAL NA MODA: O PAPEL DOS SERVIÇOS DE REDES SOCIAIS ONLINE

The protagonism that Information and Communication Technologies have gained nowadays has led to virtual spaces of interrelationship, such as Online Social Network Services, expanding the possibilities of communication of the most diverse social groups. From the environmental point of view, sustainable movements that aim to promote a more conscious consumption pattern have opportunities for visibility and dissemination of their principles in these virtual spaces. The objective of this article is to identify and analyze the spread of the principles of the Slow Fashion movement in an Online Social Network Service, Instagram, as an alternative of conscious consumption of clothing and that transits between the concepts of Circular Economy and Creative Economy. This is an exploratory and descriptive research, with a qualitative approach, which verifies the presence of Slow Fashion on Instagram from a strategy of information retrieval from the use of keywords, which configures the exploratory part of this research. The results indicate that Slow Fashion is a movement with adherence in Brazil and has a presence on the Instagram platform. It is concluded that, facing the ecological crisis, Instagram can contribute to the change of individual habits towards a more sustainable consumption.O protagonismo que as Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação ganharam na atualidade, fez com que espaços virtuais de inter-relacionamento, como os Serviços de Redes Sociais Online, expandissem as possibilidades de comunicação dos mais diversos grupos sociais. Movimentos de caráter sustentável do ponto de vista ambiental, que visam fomentar um padrão de consumo mais consciente têm, nestes espaços virtuais, oportunidades de visibilidade e disseminação de seus princípios. o objetivo deste artigo é refletir sobre a propagação dos princípios do movimento Slow Fashion no Serviço de Rede Social Online Instagram, como alternativa de consumo consciente de vestuário, e que transita entre os conceitos de Economia Circular e Economia Criativa. Trata-se de uma pesquisa exploratória e descritiva, com abordagem qualitativa, que verifica a presença do Slow Fashion no Instagram a partir de uma estratégia de recuperação de informação baseada em palavras-chave, que configura a parte exploratória desta pesquisa. Verifica-se na coleta de dados que o Slow Fashion é um movimento com aderência no Brasil e está presente na plataforma Instagram. Conclui-se que, diante do cenário ambiental da contemporaneidade, as mudanças de hábitos individuais podem ser uma alternativa para sociedade civil contribuir para um caminho de consumo mais sustentável

SLOW FASHION, ECONOMIA CIRCULAR E CRIATIVA PARA A SUSTENTABILIDADE AMBIENTAL NA MODA: O PAPEL DOS SERVIÇOS DE REDES SOCIAIS ONLINE

The protagonism that Information and Communication Technologies have gained nowadays has led to virtual spaces of interrelationship, such as Online Social Network Services, expanding the possibilities of communication of the most diverse social groups. From the environmental point of view, sustainable movements that aim to promote a more conscious consumption pattern have opportunities for visibility and dissemination of their principles in these virtual spaces. The objective of this article is to identify and analyze the spread of the principles of the Slow Fashion movement in an Online Social Network Service, Instagram, as an alternative of conscious consumption of clothing and that transits between the concepts of Circular Economy and Creative Economy. This is an exploratory and descriptive research, with a qualitative approach, which verifies the presence of Slow Fashion on Instagram from a strategy of information retrieval from the use of keywords, which configures the exploratory part of this research. The results indicate that Slow Fashion is a movement with adherence in Brazil and has a presence on the Instagram platform. It is concluded that, facing the ecological crisis, Instagram can contribute to the change of individual habits towards a more sustainable consumption.O protagonismo que as Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação ganharam na atualidade, fez com que espaços virtuais de inter-relacionamento, como os Serviços de Redes Sociais Online, expandissem as possibilidades de comunicação dos mais diversos grupos sociais. Movimentos de caráter sustentável do ponto de vista ambiental, que visam fomentar um padrão de consumo mais consciente têm, nestes espaços virtuais, oportunidades de visibilidade e disseminação de seus princípios. o objetivo deste artigo é refletir sobre a propagação dos princípios do movimento Slow Fashion no Serviço de Rede Social Online Instagram, como alternativa de consumo consciente de vestuário, e que transita entre os conceitos de Economia Circular e Economia Criativa. Trata-se de uma pesquisa exploratória e descritiva, com abordagem qualitativa, que verifica a presença do Slow Fashion no Instagram a partir de uma estratégia de recuperação de informação baseada em palavras-chave, que configura a parte exploratória desta pesquisa. Verifica-se na coleta de dados que o Slow Fashion é um movimento com aderência no Brasil e está presente na plataforma Instagram. Conclui-se que, diante do cenário ambiental da contemporaneidade, as mudanças de hábitos individuais podem ser uma alternativa para sociedade civil contribuir para um caminho de consumo mais sustentável

Priodontes maximus (Cingulata: Chlamyphoridae) using a highway wildlife underpass in a fragmented Cerrado landscape from Eastern Goiás State, central Brazil

We monitored a stretch of the BR-050 highway in the State of Goiás that crosses several natural environments used by the giant armadillo, a peculiar and endangered species whose survival is threatened by vehicle collisions. Here, we present the record of highway underpass use by Priodontes maximus in a fragmented Cerrado landscape in Ipameri, Goiás. The finding confirms the use of highway underpasses by the giant armadillo and highlights that these structures should be promoted at points where P. maximus occurs in the habitats isolated by the BR-050

Proton inhibition of unitary currents of vanilloid receptors

Protons, which are released during inflammation and injury, regulate many receptors and ion channels involved in pain transduction, including capsaicin channels (transient receptor potential vanilloid receptors 1). Whereas extracellular acidification both sensitizes and directly activates the channel, it also causes concomitant reduction of the unitary current amplitudes. Here, we investigate the mechanisms and molecular basis of this inhibitory effect of protons on channel conductance. Single-channel recordings showed that the unitary current amplitudes decreased with extracellular pH in a dose-dependent manner, consistent with a model in which protons bind to a site within the channel with an apparent pKa of ∼6. The inhibition was voltage dependent, ∼65% at −60 mV and 37% at +60 mV when pH was reduced from 7.4 to 5.5. The unitary current amplitudes reached saturation at [K+] ≥ 1 M, and notably the maximum amplitudes did not converge with different pHs, inconsistent with a blockade model based on surface charge screening or competitive inhibition of permeating ions. Mutagenesis experiments uncovered two acidic residues critical for proton inhibition, one located at the pore entrance and the other on the pore helix. Based on homology to the KcsA structure, the two acidic residues, along with another basic residue also on the pore helix, could form a triad interacting with each other through extensive hydrogen bonds and electrostatic contacts, suggesting that protons may mediate the interactions between the selectivity filter and pore helix, thereby altering the local structure in the filter region and consequently the conductance of the channel