Desenvolvimento de filtros espaciais para o projeto Natdata.

O objetivo deste trabalho é criar uma ferramenta web que permita a criação de filtros espaciais que possam ser utilizados nas consultas ao Natdata. Para a criação dos filtros, é possível, visualmente, combinar polígonos de diferentes temas como: divisões políticas, bacias hidrográficas, biomas e/ou polígonos desenhados pelo próprio usuário

NATDATA: integrando dados de recursos naturais dos biomas brasileiros.

RESUMO: A agricultura nacional exige a intensificação das áreas plantadas aliada à manutenção dos recursos naturais dos biomas brasileiros. Respostas rápidas a questões envolvendo temas como solo, recursos hídricos, biodiversidade e clima nesse caso são essenciais. O Brasil dispõe de um grande acervo de dados sobre estes temas, distribuídos em várias instituições de pesquisa. A heterogeneidade de padrões aliada a essa distribuição dificulta o seu uso combinado. Este trabalho apresenta uma iniciativa que vem sendo desenvolvida pela Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária - Embrapa, que tem como principal objetivo integrar dados de recursos naturais dos diferentes biomas brasileiros, fornecendo aos usuários um ambiente que permita a consulta rápida e integrada a estes dados.SBIAgro 2011

Predictors of first-line treatment persistence in a Portuguese cohort of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis

Treatment persistence in first-line injectable disease-modifying therapies (DMT) for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) is an important indicator of effectiveness. Identifying predictors of treatment discontinuation is important as there are other therapies currently available and a growing range of emerging drugs. We report a retrospective study of RRMS and clinically isolated syndrome patients followed in a University Hospital during a 13-year period with the objective of identifying predictors of treatment persistence. An evaluation of persistence on the first DMT, rates of DMT discontinuation, and reasons and predictors of discontinuation was performed. A total of 410 patients were included, 69% female, with mean disease duration of 37.8months, mean age of 34.2years and mean follow-up time of 6.1years. The first DMT was glatiramer acetate (GA) in 27.56% of patients, interferon (IFN) β-1a intramuscular in 26.34%, IFNβ-1b in 26.10%, IFNβ-1a22 in 13.66% and IFNβ-1a44 in 6.34%. Treatment was discontinued in 16.34% of patients after 1year of treatment and in 50.24% of patients in the total follow-up time, with a mean time for discontinuation of 39.80months. Higher baseline Expanded Disability Status Scale score was an independent predictor of treatment discontinuation (hazard ratio 1.35, p=0.002). After the first year, treatment persistence was 90.74% for IFNβ-1a-IM, 88.46% for IFNβ-1a44, 83.18% for IFNβ-1b, 83.19% for GA and 69.64% for IFNβ-1a22 (p=0.014). Lower frequency of administration was associated with higher persistence rates. The most common reason for treatment discontinuation was lack of efficacy in all DMT subgroups.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Análise de uso de padrões de metadados em projetos de pesquisa e desenvolvimento na Embrapa Informática Agropecuária.

A Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa) produz uma grande quantidade de dados como resultado das pesquisa que realiza. Os dados gerados abrangem diferentes domínios: solos, clima, coleções, dados de animais, dados bibliográficos, entre outros. Muitas vezes os projetos trocam ou reúsam a informação produzidas. Apesar disso, muitos deles ainda são armazenados de diferentes formas e usando diferentes formatos, como planilhas, sistemas de banco de dados, papel, entre outros. A necessidade ou possibilidade de integração/compartilhamento de informação entre esses sistemas ou mesmo com outras instituições de pesquisa, desencadeou ações para a incorporação de novas estruturas e conceitos aos sistemas desenvolvidos, no sentido de facilitar a interoperabilidade de dados. Uma abordagem para esse problema é a adoção de padrões de metadados bem estabelecidos para descrição desses dados. Nesse sentindo, a Embrapa Informática Agropecuária estabeleceu um grupo de trabalho cuja missão era identificar a situação de seus projetos de pesquisa quanto à adoção desses padrões. O grupo elaborou um conjunto de perguntas que foram apresentadas à maioria desses projetos, permitindo não apenas identificar a utilização de metadados, mas também descrever as principais observações e recomendações sobre esse tema. Este documento apresenta o trabalho realizado por esse grupo, bem como os resultados obtidos.bitstream/item/57307/1/Livro-BolPesq27-1.pd

Metabolic composition of the cyanobacterium Nostoc muscorum as a function of culture time: a 1H NMR metabolomics study

Cyanobacteria are considered a factory of added-value compounds. However, knowledge about the array of interesting compounds that could be extracted from these prokaryotic organisms is still very limited. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a widely used technique for metabolic profiling that allows an overview of the main metabolites present in complex biological matrices. In this work, high resolution 1H NMR was employed to screen the metabolic composition of the freshwater cyanobacterium Nostoc muscorum. This species showed high longevity, being able to grow for more than one hundred days without any medium supplementation. During the period of study, several interesting metabolites were detected, such as several sugars and oligosaccharides, lipids (e.g., glycolipids, ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acids), amino acids, including mycosporin-like, peptides, and pigments (e.g., chlorophyll a and carotenoids). Owing to the long-term monitoring implemented in this study, the production of these compounds could be associated to specific moments of the growth of N. muscorum, providing new insights into the most appropriate harvesting time points for the biotechnological exploitation of specific molecules.publishe

The neural basis of fatigue in multiple sclerosis: A multimodal MRI approach

BACKGROUND: Fatigue is a frequent disabling symptom in multiple sclerosis (MS), but its pathophysiology remains incompletely understood. This study aimed to explore the underlying neural basis of fatigue in patients with MS. METHODS: We enrolled 60 consecutive patients with MS and 60 healthy controls (HC) matched on age, sex, and education. Fatigue was assessed using the Portuguese version of the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS). All participants underwent 3T brain MRI (conventional and diffusion tensor imaging [DTI] sequences). White matter (WM) focal lesions were identified and T1/T2 lesion volumes were computed. Tract-based spatial statistics were applied for voxel-wise analysis of DTI metrics fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity (MD) on normal-appearing WM (NAWM). Using Freesurfer software, total and regional volumes of cortical and subcortical gray matter (GM) were calculated. RESULTS: Compared to HC, patients with MS scored significantly higher on MFIS (33.8 ± 19.7 vs 16.5 ± 15.1, p < 0.001). MFIS scores were not significantly correlated with T1/T2 lesion volumes, total GM volume, or any regional volume of cortical and subcortical GM. Significant correlations were found between global scores of MFIS and MD increase of the NAWM skeleton, including corona radiata, internal capsule, external capsule, corticospinal tract, cingulum, corpus callosum, fornix, superior longitudinal fasciculus, superior fronto-occipital fasciculus, sagittal stratum, posterior thalamic radiation, cerebral peduncle, and uncinate fasciculus. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, fatigue was associated with widespread NAWM damage but not with lesion load or GM atrophy. Functional disconnection, caused by diffuse microstructural WM damage, might be the main neural basis of fatigue in MS.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cytotoxicity profiling of deep eutectic solvents to human skin cells

The tailor-made character of deep eutectic solvents (DES) turns them very attractive to be used in several applications, including in health-related areas such as pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmetic industries. However, although DES has been touted as "green" solvents, several works proved that their potential toxicity should not be neglected. Using the premise of DES applicability in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical sectors, we chose two cell lines to work as a skin model (keratinocytes HaCaT and tumor melanocytes MNT-1), to assess DES cytotoxicity. The effect of three different hydrogen bond acceptors (HBA) ([Chol]Cl, [N1111]Cl and [N4444]Cl) and three different hydrogen bond donors (HBD) (hexanoic and butanoic acid, ethylene glycol, 1-propanol and urea) were evaluated through a common viability assay (MTT assay). Results were promising since [Chol]Cl and [N1111]Cl- based DES showed good biocompatibility for the tested cells. [N4444]Cl-based DES, however, showed cytotoxicity for both cell lines, with the HBA being the driver of the toxicity. Interestingly, some compounds increased cell viability in the HaCaT cell line, namely [Chol]Cl, ethylene glycol, hexanoic acid, urea, and all [Chol]Cl and [N1111]Cl-based DES and should be considered as targets for future studies. These results highlight their possible use in cosmetic or pharmaceutical formulations.publishe

Uncovering the Use of Fucoxanthin and Phycobiliproteins into Solid Matrices to Increase Their Emission Quantum Yield and Photostability

In the search for a better and brighter future, the use of natural luminescent renewable materials as substitutes for synthetic ones in the energy field is of prime importance. The incorporation of natural pigments (e.g., xanthophylls and phycobiliproteins) is a fundamental step in a broad spectrum of applications that are presently marred by their limited stability. The incorporation of bio-based luminescent molecules into solid matrices allows the fabrication of thin films, which may dramatically increase the range of applications, including sustainable photovoltaic systems, such as luminescent solar concentrators or downshifting layers. In this work, we incorporated R-phycoerythrin (R-PE), C-phycocyanin (C-PC), and fucoxanthin (FX) into poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and studied their optical properties. It was found that the emission and excitation spectra of the phycobiliproteins and FX were not modified by incorporation into the PVA matrix. Moreover, in the case of FX, the emission quantum yield (η) values also remained unaltered after incorporation, showing the suitability of the PVA as a host matrix. A preliminary photostability study was performed by exposing the solid samples to continuous AM1.5G solar radiation, which evidenced the potential of these materials for future photovoltaics.publishe

Fibrogenesis in Kidney Transplant: Dysfunction Progress Biomarkers

Fibrogenesis markers, such as alpha-actin (AA), CD163 (macrophages), and E-cadherin, have been studied as chronic kidney allograft injury (CAI) predictors, a major cause of allograft failure. OBJECTIVE: Investigate the value of these markers in predicting CAI and initiation of dialysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 26 kidney allograft biopsies (from 22 patients with CAI) during 2 years, evaluating intensity and percentage of marked cells on glomeruli and tubulointerstitial compartment. At the time of the biopsy, patients were 45.5 ± 15.8 years and 4.2 years after transplant, and they had a mean glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 25.8 ± 9.9 mL/min. From an average of 8.5 glomeruli per biopsy, there was ≤25% sclerosis in 17 cases, 26% to 50% in 5, and >50% in 4. Interstitial fibrosis or tubular atrophy affected ≤25% of cortical area in 14 cases, 26% to 50% in 8, and >50% in 2. Twelve patients started dialysis 5.8 ± 4.7 years after transplant, with an average GFR 20.9 mL/min at the time of the biopsy. RESULTS: There was a higher intensity and percentage of CD163-marked cells in the tubulointerstitial compartment in advanced interstitial fibrosis. We found an association between intensity of AA in the tubulointerstitial compartment and initiation of dialysis (P = .003) and a negative correlation between intensity of E-cadherin loss and GFR (r = -0.56, P = .012). CONCLUSIONS: In our study, intensity of tubulointerstitial AA was shown to be a predictor of initiation of dialysis, and E-cadherin loss intensity was associated to CAI progression. However, prospective and larger studies are needed to evaluate the predictive value of these markers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Integrando dados Raster à plataforma da Embrapa de dados de recursos naturais dos biomas brasileiros: avaliação do uso da extensão PostGIS Raster.

Este trabalho apresenta a avaliação do uso da extensão PostGIS Raster do PostgreSQL na plataforma NatData, comentando o desenvolvimento de ferramentas que auxiliam a manutenção da base de dados raster da plataforma.SBSR 2015