Food Consumption and Demographics in Japan: Implications for an Aging Population

This study estimates a cross-sectional model based on the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) to examine the determinants of food consumption patterns in Japan over life-cycle periods. The test of structural changes, the analysis of the effects of demographic characteristics, and the estimation of expenditure and price elasticities are conducted from a random sample of 1,281 households from a Japanese household survey in 1997. Results show that each economic or non-economic factor has a different impact on food consumption over a lifetime. Changes in consumption of some food groups can be explained by price and income effects where others can be explained by demographic characteristics. Financial constraint is not binding and residential location is likely to have little or no impact on predicting consumers’ food choices at different periods of their lives. Other key factors that affect consumption pattern include family size, number of children, lifestyle and health concern.Japan, Food Demand, Life-Cycle, AIDS, Household

The role of apoptosis proteins and complement components in the etiopathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a prototypical autoimmune disease characterized by the deregulation of T and B cells, tissue infiltration by mononuclear cells, tissue damage and the production of autoantibodies. There is a consensus that accelerated apoptosis of circulating lymphocytes and/or impaired clearance of apoptotic bodies may increase the amount of nuclear antigens presented to T lymphocytes. This process is accompanied by autoimmune responses that can lead to the development of lupus. The dysfunction of apoptosis may be a direct consequence of alterations in proteins/genes such as Fas, Bcl-2 and C1q. Increased expression of Fas antigen could intensify the exposure of hidden antigens. The overexpression of Bcl-2 protein might inhibit the removal of auto-reactive cells, and the lack of C1q could impair the clearance of self-antigens. The complete knowledge of the role of apoptosis components in the etiopathogenesis of lupus could lead to the development of new therapies targeting the apoptotic threshold, which could result in a more specific and effective disease response compared to global immunosuppression. This review summarizes the role of each component of the apoptotic process in the pathogenesis of lupus

Produção de fertilizante de liberação lenta a partir de enriquecimento de biomassa carbonizada com manipueira.

Ações que visem aumentar o estoque de carbono no solo são mais efetivas e factíveis que alterações no conteúdo de biomassa. Assim sendo, de maneira geral, um aumento do conteúdo de carbono no solo aumenta sua fertilidade e, com isso, o conteúdo de biomassa vegetal que esse solo é capaz de suportar

A New species of Tripartiella (Ciliophora: Trichodinidae) from Aequidens tetramerus (Perciformes: Cichlidae) in north Brazil.

A new species of Tripartiella is described from the gills of the wild saddle cichlid Aequidens tetramerus in north Brazil. Wet smears of skin and gills of examined fish were air-dried at room temperature and impregnated with Klein?s dry silver method for examination of the adhesive disc?s structures and denticles. Total prevalence of parasitism was 65%. This ciliate is characterized as a small-sized trichodinid, body diameter 37.03 ± 4.9 μm, adhesive disc 30.50 ± 2.71 μm, denticulate ring 13.28 ± 0.8 μm and 24 ± 2.0 denticles. Taxonomic and morphometric data for the new species are discussed

Lean thinking contributions for Industry 4.0: a systematic literature review

Lean Thinking has successfully challenged mass production practices, providing greater flexibility in production systems and processes, resulting in "leaner" products and supply chains, i.e., with less waste. More recently, the term Industry 4.0 emerged. It was first used in Germany in 2011 to refer to the 4th industrial revolution. It aims to connect the physical and virtual worlds in industrial production and has become increasingly popular with the many opportunities and business models that can be consolidated through new technologies. With such automation associated with Industry 4.0, questions arise about the interoperability between the two approaches and the role of Lean in this ongoing industrial revolution. Therefore, a systematic literature review was carried out in order to answer the research questions, and to identify the role of Lean in this scenario. The review was conducted for the period from 2011 to 2018 and resulted in a total of 26 articles being analyzed. This paper's focus is the effect of Lean Thinking as a facilitator, within the scope of Industry 4.0. It is also clear that this is an emerging research area, with most of the selected studies published between 2017 and 2018. (C) 2019, IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This work has been supported by FCT - Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/2019

Preferência do bicudo-das-palmeiras por dendezeiro, caiaué e por seu híbrido interespecífico.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar, em campo, a preferência do bicudo-das-palmeiras (Rhynchophorus palmarum) por estipes de dendezeiro (Elaeis guineensis), caiaué (Elaeis oleifera) e pelo híbrido entre caiaué e dendezeiro. O experimento foi conduzido no banco de germoplasma de dendê da Comissão Executiva de Planejamento da Lavoura Cacaueira. Entre os três genótipos testados, o caiaué é significativamente menos preferido por Rhynchophorus palmarum, seguido do híbrido interespecífico e do dendezeiro