A short term credibility index for central banks under inflation targeting: an application to Brazil

This paper uses predictive densities obtained via mixed causal-noncausal autoregressive models to evaluate the statistical sustainability of Brazilian inflation targeting system with the tolerance bounds. The probabilities give an indication of the short-term credibility of the targeting system without requiring modelling people's beliefs. We employ receiver operating characteristic curves to determine the optimal probability threshold from which the bank is predicted to be credible. We also investigate the added value of including experts predictions of key macroeconomic variables

Innovation in peanut productive chain in Brazil between 1996-2016

Innovation enables organizations to achieve increased competitiveness, through increased productivity, organization and marketing, with the possible consequence of opening new markets. The case of agro-industrial chains it’s not different, in which the innovations along the chain have repercussion in the whole sector. In this way, this article aims to analyze the contributions of innovation in the groundnut production chain between 1996 and 2016, which went from culture with an import profile in the late 1990’s to the export profile in the 2000’s. It was used a qualitative approach and a descriptive research based on bibliographic research in databases, such as FAOSTAT and CONAB. Through the research it was possible to verify that the technological, marketing and organizational innovations were of great contribution to the recovery of the groundnut culture

Life-cycle assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from unconventional gas in Scotland

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First evidence of resistance to pyrethroid insecticides in Italian Aedes albopictus populations after 26 years since invasion

Aedes albopictus has spread during the last decades all over the world. This has increased significantly the risk of exotic arbovirus transmission (e.g. Chikungunya, Dengue, and Zika) also in temperate areas, as testified by the Chikungunya 2007- and 2017-outbreaks in north-east and central Italy. Insecticides represent a main tool for limiting the circulation of these mosquito-borne viruses. The aim of the present study is to start filling the current gap of knowledge on pyrethroid insecticide resistance of European Ae. albopictus populations focusing on populations from Italy, Albania and Greece

Whole brain radiation therapy in management of brain metastasis: results and prognostic factors

PURPOSE: To evaluate the prognostic factors associated with overall survival in patients with brain metastasis treated with whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) and estimate the potential improvement in survival for patients with brain metastases, stratified by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) class. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 1996 to December 2000, 270 medical records of patients with diagnosis of brain metastasis, who received WBRT in the Hospital do Cancer Sao Paulo A.C. Camargo in the period, were analyzed. The surgery followed by WBRT was used in 15% of patients and 85 % of others patients were submitted at WBRT alone; in this cohort 134 patients (50%) received the fractionation schedule of 30 Gy in 10 fractions. The most common primary tumor type was breast (33%) followed by lung (29%), and solitary brain metastasis was present in 38.1% of patients. The prognostic factors evaluated for overall survival were: gender, age, Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS), number of lesions, localization of lesions, primary tumor site, surgery, chemotherapy, absence extracranial disease, RPA class and radiation doses and fractionation. RESULTS: The OS in 1, 2 and 3 years was 25, 1%, 10, 4% e 4, 3% respectively, and the median survival time was 4.6 months. The median survival time in months according to RPA class after WBRT was: 6.2 class I, 4.2 class II and 3.0 class III (p < 0.0001). In univariate analysis, the significant prognostic factors associated with better survival were: KPS higher than 70 (p < 0.0001), neurosurgery (p < 0.0001) and solitary brain metastasis (p = 0.009). In multivariate analysis, KPS higher than 70 (p < 0.001) and neurosurgery (p = 0.001) maintained positively associated with the survival. CONCLUSION: In this series, the patients with higher perform status, RPA class I, and treated with surgery followed by whole brain radiotherapy had better survival. This data suggest that patients with cancer and a single metastasis to the brain may be treated effectively with surgical resection plus radiotherapy. The different radiotherapy doses and fractionation schedules did not altered survival

Efeito da sedação do midazolam, quetamina e butorfanol nos valores do ultrassom com Doppler espectral na artéria femoral e grandes artérias abdominais de gatos

Real time information about direction and type of blood flow can be obtained with Doppler ultrasound. In the literature it was not found data obtained with this method from celiac and cranial mesenteric artery in cats. Moreover, sedation of the animal is occasionally necessary to obtain more information on any blood vessel using this method. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quantitative aspects of spectral waves formed from blood flow of the celiac, cranial mesenteric, renal, external iliac, femoral, and aortic arteries in healthy cats, and to compare them with the same animals when subjected to midazolam, ketamine, and butorphanol sedation. We also measured the heart rate. Twenty healthy adult cats were evaluated. The values obtained for resistivity index and pulsatility index from the celiac artery were 0.62 ± 0.10 and 1.29 ± 0.55, and those from the mesenteric artery were 0.68 ± 0.09 and 1.37 ± 0.39, respectively. Although heart rate was higher in sedated animals, no significant statistical difference was found in case of other parameters, except celiac artery end diastolic velocity and time averaged mean velocity and iliac artery resistivity and pulsatility index. Thus, we provide the Doppler velocimetry parameter from celiac and mesenteric arteries and conclude that this protocol does not alter the values of Doppler ultrasound in the selected vessels, except the celiac and iliac arteries.Informações em tempo real da direção e tipo de fluxo sanguíneo podem ser obtidas com ultrassonografia com Doppler. Existe na literatura dados relativos a esses parâmetros, em gatos não sedados, obtidos das artérias: aorta, renal, ilíaca e femoral; no entanto não foram encontrados na literatura dados relativos às artérias celíaca e mesentérica cranial. Além disso, ocasionalmente há necessidade de sedar animais inquietos ou agressivos, para que seja possível a realização deste exame. O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar os aspectos quantitativos da onda espectral formada pelo fluxo sanguíneo das artérias: celíaca, mesentérica cranial, renal, ilíaca externa, femoral e aorta abdominal de gatos hígidos e compará-los aos obtidos dos mesmos animais submetidos à sedação com midazolam, cetamina e butorfanol. A frequência cardíaca também foi mensurada. Foram avaliados 20 gatos SRD adultos e saudáveis. Os valores encontrados em animais não sedados na artéria celíaca de índice de resistividade foi 0,62 ± 0,10 e índice de pulsatilidade 1,29 ± 0,55, enquanto da artéria mesentérica cranial, 0,68 ± 0,11 e 1,37 ± 0,39, respectivamente. Apesar da frequência cardíaca mais elevada nos animais sedados, não foram encontradas diferenças estatisticamente significativas dentre os demais parâmetros avaliados, exceto na velocidade diastólica final e velocidade média da artéria celíaca, e índice de resistividade e de pulsatilidade da artéria ilíaca. Dessa forma, foram fornecidos parâmetros dopplervelocimétricos da artéria celíaca e mesentérica cranial e conclui-se que o protocolo utilizado não alterou os valores encontrados por ultrassonografia Doppler nos vasos selecionados, exceto da artéria celíaca e da ilíaca

HS3ST2 expression is critical for the abnormal phosphorylation of tau in Alzheimer's disease-related tau pathology

Heparan sulphate (glucosamine) 3-O-sulphotransferase 2 (HS3ST2, also known as 3OST2) is an enzyme predominantly expressed in neurons wherein it generates rare 3-O-sulphated domains of unknown functions in heparan sulphates. in Alzheimer's disease, heparan sulphates accumulate at the intracellular level in disease neurons where they co-localize with the neurofibrillary pathology, while they persist at the neuronal cell membrane in normal brain. However, it is unknown whether HS3ST2 and its 3-O-sulphated heparan sulphate products are involved in the mechanisms leading to the abnormal phosphorylation of tau in Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies. Here, we first measured the transcript levels of all human heparan sulphate sulphotransferases in hippocampus of Alzheimer's disease (n = 8; 76.8 +/- 3.5 years old) and found increased expression of HS3ST2 (P < 0.001) compared with control brain (n = 8; 67.8 +/- 2.9 years old). Then, to investigate whether the membrane-associated 3-O-sulphated heparan sulphates translocate to the intracellular level under pathological conditions, we used two cell models of tauopathy in neuro-differentiated SH-SY5Y cells: a tau mutation-dependent model in cells expressing human tau carrying the P-301L mutation hTau P-301L, and a tau mutation-independent model in where tau hyperphosphorylation is induced by oxidative stress. Confocal microscopy, fluorescence resonance energy transfer, and western blot analyses showed that 3-O-sulphated heparan sulphates can be internalized into cells where they interact with tau, promoting its abnormal phosphorylation, but not that of p38 or NF-kappa B p65. We showed, in vitro, that the 3-O-sulphated heparan sulphates bind to tau, but not to GSK3B, protein kinase A or protein phosphatase 2, inducing its abnormal phosphorylation. Finally, we demonstrated in a zebrafish model of tauopathy expressing the hTau P-301L, that inhibiting hs3st2 (also known as 3ost2) expression results in a strong inhibition of the abnormally phosphorylated tau epitopes in brain and in spinal cord, leading to a complete recovery of motor neuronal axons length (n = 25; P < 0.005) and of the animal motor response to touching stimuli (n = 150; P < 0.005). Our findings indicate that HS3ST2 centrally participates to the molecular mechanisms leading the abnormal phosphorylation of tau. By interacting with tau at the intracellular level, the 3-O-sulphated heparan sulphates produced by HS3ST2 might act as molecular chaperones allowing the abnormal phosphorylation of tau. We propose HS3ST2 as a novel therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease.Association France Alzheimer & Maladies ApparenteesSATT Idf InnovCONACyT, MexicoFrench Ministry of Higher Education and ResearchInstitute de Recherche ServierUniv Paris Est, CNRS, Lab Cell Growth Tissue Repair & Regenerat CRRET, UPEC,EA 4397,ERL 9215, F-94000 Creteil, FranceUPMC, Univ Paris 04, Inst Cerveau & Moelle Epiniere, CNRS,UMR 7225,INSERM,U1127,UM75, Paris, FranceHop Robert Debre, INSERM, UMR 1141, F-75019 Paris, FranceSorbonne Paris Cite, Univ Paris Diderot, Paris, FranceUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Aging & Neurodegenerat Dis Brain Bank Invest Lab, BR-04023062 São Paulo, BrazilGrp Hosp Pitie Salpetriere, Biochim Malad Neurometab, F-75013 Paris, FranceRadboud Univ Nijmegen, Med Ctr, Radboud Inst Mol Life Sci, NL-6525 ED Nijmegen, NetherlandsUniv Strasbourg, INSERM, U1119, FMTS, F-67000 Strasbourg, FranceUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Aging & Neurodegenerat Dis Brain Bank Invest Lab, BR-04023062 São Paulo, BrazilCONACyT, Mexico: 308978Web of Scienc

Complementary roles of wild boar and red deer to animal tuberculosis maintenance in multi-host communities

[EN] The contribution of wildlife species to pathogen maintenance in multi-host communities has seldom been quantified. To assess the relative contribution of the main wildlife hosts of animal tuberculosis (TB) to its maintenance, we estimated the basic reproduction number (R0) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in wild boar and red deer at 29 sites in the Iberian Peninsula. Host abundance and true TB prevalence were estimated for each species at each site by sampling from distributions incorporating the uncertainty in the proportion of the population harvested each year, sensitivity, and specificity of the diagnostic methods, while excretion of mycobacteria was estimated using site-occupancy models. The distributions of these parameters were then used to estimate, at each site, the R0,wild boar (range 0.1 – 55.9, average 8.7, standard deviation 11.8), and the R0,red deer (0.1 – 18.9, 2.2, 3.9). Animal TB is maintained in epidemiological scenarios ranging from any single species acting as a maintenance host (the wild boar in 18 sites and the red deer in 5), to facultative multi-host disease (6 sites). The prevalence of TB in the red deer is likely an important driver of the epidemiology in multi-host communities. The wild boar was the main maintenance host of TB in most of the study sites and could have an epidemiological role linking the wildlife multi-host community and livestockSIThis work was supported by Fundaç˜ao para a Ciˆencia e Tecnologia [project grant EXPL/CVT-CVT/1525/2021 and fellowship SFRH/BPD/ 116596/2016 to N.S.]. FCT/MCTES for the financial support to CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020 +UIDB/50017/2020), through national fund

Manejo odontológico de pacientes HIV positivos: aspectos medicamentosos

É comum profissionais odontólogos depararem-se com pacientes portadores de HIV; muitas vezes o próprio paciente nem suspeita da infecção ou não a informa. Portanto, é imprescindível que o cirurgião-dentista (CD) saiba identificar manifestações orais provocadas pela presença do vírus no organismo e adote medidas de precaução, para atuar de forma segura. O objetivo com este trabalho é aprofundar o conhecimento sobre manifestações bucais decorrentes do HIV, além de conhecer alguns fármacos utilizados por pacientes soropositivos e possíveis reações adversas provocadas por interações com medicamentos rotineiramente utilizados no ambiente odontológico. Trata-se de uma revisão de literatura elaborada por meio de levantamento de artigos no banco de dados SciELO e em livros de Farmacologia e Terapêutica Medicamentosa. A presença do HIV no organismo tende a deixar o hospedeiro mais suscetível a infecções oportunistas, e muitas delas acometem a cavidade oral, por isso, o CD pode ser o primeiro a reconhecer as alterações causadas pelo vírus. Atualmente, muitas alterações estão controladas em razão da terapia antirretroviral; porém o CD deve estar atento ao receitar medicamentos para pacientes soropositivos, pois podem ocorrer reações adversas provenientes de interações medicamentosas. Depressão e ansiedade são comuns em pacientes HIV positivos; alguns fármacos utilizados no tratamento de manifestações bucais, como cetoconazol e itraconazol, potencializam efeitos sedativos de ansiolíticos benzodiazepínicos, principalmente do midazolam, quando feitas interações medicamentosas. Outras reações acontecem por meio da associação de antidepressivos tricíclicos e anestésicos locais contendo vasoconstritores do grupo aminas simpaticomiméticas, potencializando efeitos das drogas adrenérgicas. Para prevenir contaminação cruzada são usados Equipamentos de Proteção Individual e materiais clínicos esterilizados. Cabe ressaltar que além da importância significativa no diagnóstico precoce da infecção pelo HIV, o CD está apto a prescrever medicamentos que aliviam incômodos ocasionados pelas manifestações bucais e também possui papel fundamental no controle da transmissão cruzada, evitando exposição individual e coletiva a riscos evitáveis.Palavras-chave: AIDS. Antirretrovirais. HIV. Infecção cruzada. Manifestações bucais