Nutrição e imunidade

The immune system has different cells producing different substances whose objective is to defend the organism against foreign bodies. The human immune system is divided into a central system (bone marrow and thymus) and a peripheral system (spleen, lymph nodes, and mucous membrane associated lymphoid tissue – MALT). This system allows all cells to work together and synchronically. Infection, trauma, malignances, and inflammatory diseases activate the immune system production of pro-inflammatory substances. These substances are produced by different cells, mainly the gutassociated lymphoid tissue (GALT), perhaps the most important component of MALT, which has a central role in this process. The related nutrition abnormalities suppress the immune system, becoming the most commonly acquired immune deficiency in human beings. Many studies have been published showing the potential benefits of nutrients (arginine, glutamine, nucleotides, carnitine, fibers, and fish oil) in modulating the immune response. Moreover, recent studies have shown the beneficial effects of diets including probiotic flora in enteral formulas to enhance the gut mucosal barrier. This is called ecoimmunonutrition. The use of immune-enhancing formulas and modern recommendations concerning this sort of approach are discussed in the present article.O sistema imune humano possui diferentes células que produzem substâncias destinadas a defender o organismo humano contra agentes infecciosos ou suas toxinas. Este sistema imune é dividido em um sistema central (medula óssea e timo) e periférico (baço, linfonodos, tonsilas amigdalianas e tecidos linfóides associados às membranas mucosas), e permite a ação conjunta e sincronizada de diferentes células. Morbidades como infecção, trauma, câncer e doenças inflamatórias ativam este sistema, possibilitando a produção de substâncias pró-inflamatórias, produzidas por diferentes elementos deste sistema, principalmente o tecido linfóide associado à mucosa intestinal, que tem papel central neste processo. Alterações da nutrição suprimem o sistema imune, caracterizando-se como a forma mais comum de imunodeficiência adquirida em seres humanos. Muitos estudos têm sido publicados em diferentes e importantes jornais médicos, mostrando o possível benefício de nutrientes imunoestimulantes (arginina, glutamina, nucleotídeos, carnitina, fibras e lipídios w-3) na melhor modulação da atividade imunológica. Além disso, recentes estudos mostraram os efeitos benéficos de dietas incluindo flora pró-biótica em fórmulas enterais com o objetivo de realçar a barreira intestinal (ecoimunonutrição). O uso de fórmulas imunoestimulantes e recomendações atuais pertinentes a esta abordagem são discutidas neste artigo

Escalonamento e gerenciamento da produção em empresas virtuais (EV) usando agentes

O artigo tem como proposta aplicar os conceitos de extração de dados para aumentar o conhecimento sobre o custo do processo produtivo de Empresas Virtuais. Esta abordagem usa técnicas de IA, especialmente lógica fuzzy, “embutidas” em agentes estacionários para calcular o custo dos lotes de produção de acordo com as necessidades dos clientes. Assim os coordenadores das Empresas Virtuais (EV) têm uma ferramenta de auxilio nas tomadas de decisões, pois possuem uma previsão de custos e podem formular propostas de acordo com a capacidade real de produção.Eje: Ingeniería de Software y Bases de Datos (ISBD)Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Escalonamento e gerenciamento da produção em empresas virtuais (EV) usando agentes

O artigo tem como proposta aplicar os conceitos de extração de dados para aumentar o conhecimento sobre o custo do processo produtivo de Empresas Virtuais. Esta abordagem usa técnicas de IA, especialmente lógica fuzzy, “embutidas” em agentes estacionários para calcular o custo dos lotes de produção de acordo com as necessidades dos clientes. Assim os coordenadores das Empresas Virtuais (EV) têm uma ferramenta de auxilio nas tomadas de decisões, pois possuem uma previsão de custos e podem formular propostas de acordo com a capacidade real de produção.Eje: Ingeniería de Software y Bases de Datos (ISBD)Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Use of Swine Manure in Agriculture in Southern Brazil: Fertility or Potential Contamination?

A major challenge in agricultural production systems is the maximization of resources used to promote the development of crops with a minimum of environmental impact. In this sense, the use of fertilizers of animal origin has great potential to promote the improvement of soil properties. In southern Brazil, swine manure (SM) is widely used in agricultural areas, allowing nutrient cycling within pig units and reducing costs for chemical fertilizers. Much of this manure is applied in liquid form (PS), but other strategies are often used, such as PS compost and swine bedding (DL). The use of these SMs improves the chemical, biological, and physical attributes of the soil, contributing to increased fertility and productivity of crops. However, prolonged use or applications with high doses of SM can result in the accumulation of metals and phosphorus in soils, representing a risk of contamination of soils and surface water resources, mainly due to losses by runoff, and subsurface, by leaching. Therefore, the adoption of criteria and the rational use of PMs need to be adopted to avoid dangerous effects on the environment, such as plant toxicity and water contamination. The potentialities and risks of SM applications are discussed in this chapter

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to <90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], >300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years

Innovative Visualizations Shed Light on Avian Nocturnal Migration

We acknowledge the support provided by COST–European Cooperation in Science and Technology through the Action ES1305 ‘European Network for the Radar Surveillance of Animal Movement’ (ENRAM) in facilitating this collaboration. We thank ENRAM members and researchers attending the EOU round table discussion ‘Radar aeroecology: unravelling population scale patterns of avian movement’ for feedback on the visualizations. We thank Arie Dekker for his feedback as jury member of the bird migration visualization challenge & hackathon hosted at the University of Amsterdam, 25–27 March 2015. We thank Willem Bouten and Kevin Winner for discussion of methodological design. We thank Kevin Webb and Jed Irvine for assistance with downloading, managing, and reviewing US radar data. We thank the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium for providing weather radar data.Globally, billions of flying animals undergo seasonal migrations, many of which occur at night. The temporal and spatial scales at which migrations occur and our inability to directly observe these nocturnal movements makes monitoring and characterizing this critical period in migratory animals’ life cycles difficult. Remote sensing, therefore, has played an important role in our understanding of large-scale nocturnal bird migrations. Weather surveillance radar networks in Europe and North America have great potential for long-term low-cost monitoring of bird migration at scales that have previously been impossible to achieve. Such long-term monitoring, however, poses a number of challenges for the ornithological and ecological communities: how does one take advantage of this vast data resource, integrate information across multiple sensors and large spatial and temporal scales, and visually represent the data for interpretation and dissemination, considering the dynamic nature of migration? We assembled an interdisciplinary team of ecologists, meteorologists, computer scientists, and graphic designers to develop two different flow visualizations, which are interactive and open source, in order to create novel representations of broad-front nocturnal bird migration to address a primary impediment to long-term, large-scale nocturnal migration monitoring. We have applied these visualization techniques to mass bird migration events recorded by two different weather surveillance radar networks covering regions in Europe and North America. These applications show the flexibility and portability of such an approach. The visualizations provide an intuitive representation of the scale and dynamics of these complex systems, are easily accessible for a broad interest group, and are biologically insightful. Additionally, they facilitate fundamental ecological research, conservation, mitigation of human–wildlife conflicts, improvement of meteorological products, and public outreach, education, and engagement.Yeshttp://www.plosone.org/static/editorial#pee

Nutrição e imunidade

The immune system has different cells producing different substances whose objective is to defend the organism against foreign bodies. The human immune system is divided into a central system (bone marrow and thymus) and a peripheral system (spleen, lymph nodes, and mucous membrane associated lymphoid tissue – MALT). This system allows all cells to work together and synchronically. Infection, trauma, malignances, and inflammatory diseases activate the immune system production of pro-inflammatory substances. These substances are produced by different cells, mainly the gutassociated lymphoid tissue (GALT), perhaps the most important component of MALT, which has a central role in this process. The related nutrition abnormalities suppress the immune system, becoming the most commonly acquired immune deficiency in human beings. Many studies have been published showing the potential benefits of nutrients (arginine, glutamine, nucleotides, carnitine, fibers, and fish oil) in modulating the immune response. Moreover, recent studies have shown the beneficial effects of diets including probiotic flora in enteral formulas to enhance the gut mucosal barrier. This is called ecoimmunonutrition. The use of immune-enhancing formulas and modern recommendations concerning this sort of approach are discussed in the present article.O sistema imune humano possui diferentes células que produzem substâncias destinadas a defender o organismo humano contra agentes infecciosos ou suas toxinas. Este sistema imune é dividido em um sistema central (medula óssea e timo) e periférico (baço, linfonodos, tonsilas amigdalianas e tecidos linfóides associados às membranas mucosas), e permite a ação conjunta e sincronizada de diferentes células. Morbidades como infecção, trauma, câncer e doenças inflamatórias ativam este sistema, possibilitando a produção de substâncias pró-inflamatórias, produzidas por diferentes elementos deste sistema, principalmente o tecido linfóide associado à mucosa intestinal, que tem papel central neste processo. Alterações da nutrição suprimem o sistema imune, caracterizando-se como a forma mais comum de imunodeficiência adquirida em seres humanos. Muitos estudos têm sido publicados em diferentes e importantes jornais médicos, mostrando o possível benefício de nutrientes imunoestimulantes (arginina, glutamina, nucleotídeos, carnitina, fibras e lipídios w-3) na melhor modulação da atividade imunológica. Além disso, recentes estudos mostraram os efeitos benéficos de dietas incluindo flora pró-biótica em fórmulas enterais com o objetivo de realçar a barreira intestinal (ecoimunonutrição). O uso de fórmulas imunoestimulantes e recomendações atuais pertinentes a esta abordagem são discutidas neste artigo