Viabilidade técnica e econômica da substituição de fontes convencionais de energia por biogás em assentamento rural do Estado de São Paulo.

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a viabilidade econômica da implantação de dois biodigestores com uso de dejetos animais em área do Assentamento de Trabalhadores Rurais no município de Itaberá - SP, no ano de 2005; um deles para o fornecimento de energia para os domicílios e outro para as atividades produtivas. Foram avaliados os benefícios referentes ao fornecimento de energia elétrica e térmica, a partir do biogás, para cinco domicílios da agrovila do assentamento e para as atividades produtivas, comparativamente aos custos de construção e operação para produção de biogás. Os resultados mostraram a viabilidade econômica da produção de gás em ambos os biodigestores. Foram gerados benefícios no valor de R$3.698,00 por ano e R$ 9.080,57 por ano, nos biodigestores para os domicílios e produção, respectivamente; bem como o equivalente a R$1.478,28 por ano referentes à produção de biofertilizante. O custo anual do processo é de R$ 1.218,50 em cada biodigestor. O prazo de recuperação do investimento é de 2,5 anos e 11 meses, para a produção de biogás nos domicílios e na produção, respectivamente. Os resultados podem ser utilizados para subsidiar políticas públicas direcionadas ao aproveitamento de biomassa para a produção de energia a baixos custos no segmento da agricultura familiar

Development of a selective and sensitive sensor for urate determination based on tris(1,10-phenantroline)copper(II) bis(tetracyanoquinodimethanide) adsorbed on carbon nanotubes

The present work describes the development of a selective electrochemical sensor for urate based on tris(1,10-phenantroline) copper(II) bis(tetracyanoquinodimethanide) (Cu(phen)(3)(TCNQ)(2)) adsorbed on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT). The composite material was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The composite material showed an excellent electrocatalytic activity toward oxidation of urate. The heterogeneous charge transfer rate constant (k') between the analyte and the sensor was determined using linear sweep voltammetry experiments. The composite material shows a linear range from 5 up to 2500 mu mol L-1 with limit of detection of 1.05 mu mol L-1 and limit of quantification of 3.50 mu mol L-1. The high sensitivity and selectivity of the sensor for urate was sufficient for its determinationThe present work describes the development of a selective electrochemical sensor for urate based on tris(1,10-phenantroline)copper(II) bis(tetracyanoquinodimethanide) (Cu(phen)3(TCNQ)2) adsorbed on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT). The composite materi261020352045FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOFAPEMA - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO A PESQUISA E AO DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO DO MARANHÃOsem informaçãosem informaçãosem informaçãoThe authors are grateful to Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), INCTBio, Rede Mineira de Química, and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Maranhão (FAPEMA

Explorando as potencialidades dos jogos digitais de movimento na Educação e promoção da Saúde

O presente trabalho apresenta o resultado de uma revisão sistemática da literatura (RSL) com a temática, jogos digitais e exergames. O objetivo da presente RSL foi explorar o potencial dos jogos digitais de movimento, especialmente os exergames, nas áreas de educação e promoção da saúde. Foram selecionados 14 trabalhos no portal periódicos CAPES após serem realizados os critérios de inclusão e exclusão. Os resultados apontaram para estudos que variam em suas metodologias, mas que apresentam uma abordagem em comum trazendo informações sobre os exergames em diferentes contextos, seja na Educação ou na Saúde. O estudo explorou o potencial dos jogos digitais de movimento apresentando recomendações no campo educacional e da Saúde

Major histocompatibility complex associations of ankylosing spondylitis are complex and involve further epistasis with ERAP1

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a common, highly heritable, inflammatory arthritis for which HLA-B*27 is the major genetic risk factor, although its role in the aetiology of AS remains elusive. To better understand the genetic basis of the MHC susceptibility loci, we genotyped 7,264 MHC SNPs in 22,647 AS cases and controls of European descent. We impute SNPs, classical HLA alleles and amino-acid residues within HLA proteins, and tested these for association to AS status. Here we show that in addition to effects due to HLA-B*27 alleles, several other HLA-B alleles also affect susceptibility. After controlling for the associated haplotypes in HLA-B, we observe independent associations with variants in the HLA-A, HLA-DPB1 and HLA-DRB1 loci. We also demonstrate that the ERAP1 SNP rs30187 association is not restricted only to carriers of HLA-B*27 but also found in HLA-B*40:01 carriers independently of HLA-B*27 genotype

Metabolic syndrome in overweight children from the city of Botucatu - São Paulo State - Brazil: agreement among six diagnostic criteria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The metabolic syndrome has been described in children; however, a standard criterion has not been established for its diagnosis. Also, few studies have been conducted to specifically observe the possible existence of agreement among the existing diagnostic criteria. The purpose of the study is to evaluate agreement concerning prevalence rates of the metabolic syndrome diagnosed by six different criteria in overweight schoolchildren in the city of Botucatu - SP -Brazil.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is a cross-sectional study on 128 overweight schoolchildren. Clinical examination included anthropometry, pubertal staging evaluation, and blood pressure. Triacylglycerol, glycemia, HDL-cholesterol, insulin levels, and HOMA-IR were determined. The Kappa index, the Mann-Whitney test and the chi-square test were used for statistical analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome varied from 10 to 16.5% according to different diagnostic criteria. Results were similar for boys and girls and pubertal stage. Great agreement was observed among the six different diagnostic criteria for the metabolic syndrome.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Different diagnostic criteria, when adopted for subjects with similar demographic characteristics, generate similar and compatible prevalence. Results suggest that it is possible to adopt any of the analyzed criteria, and the choice should be according to the components available for each situation.</p

The germline mutational landscape of BRCA1 and BRCA2 in Brazil

The detection of germline mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 is essential to the formulation of clinical management strategies, and in Brazil, there is limited access to these services, mainly due to the costs/availability of genetic testing. Aiming at the identification of recurrent mutations that could be included in a low-cost mutation panel, used as a first screening approach, we compiled the testing reports of 649 probands with pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants referred to 28 public and private health care centers distributed across 11 Brazilian States. Overall, 126 and 103 distinct mutations were identified in BRCA1 and BRCA2, respectively. Twenty-six novel variants were reported from both genes, and BRCA2 showed higher mutational heterogeneity. Some recurrent mutations were reported exclusively in certain geographic regions, suggesting a founder effect. Our findings confirm that there is significant molecular heterogeneity in these genes among Brazilian carriers, while also suggesting that this heterogeneity precludes the use of screening protocols that include recurrent mutation testing only. This is the first study to show that profiles of recurrent mutations may be unique to different Brazilian regions. These data should be explored in larger regional cohorts to determine if screening with a panel of recurrent mutations would be effective.This work was supported in part by grants from Barretos Cancer Hospital (FINEP - CT-INFRA, 02/2010), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP, 2013/24633-2 and 2103/23277-8), Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Rio Grande do Norte (FAPERN), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS), Ministério da Saúde, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (Avon grant #02-2013-044) and National Institute of Health/National Cancer Institute (grant #RC4 CA153828-01) for the Clinical Cancer Genomics Community Research Network. Support in part was provided by grants from Fundo de Incentivo a Pesquisa e Eventos (FIPE) from Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, BioComputacional 3381/2013, Rede de Pesquisa em Genômica Populacional Humana), Secretaria da Saúde do Estado da Bahia (SESAB), Laboratório de Imunologia e Biologia Molecular (UFBA), INCT pra Controle do Câncer and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). RMR and PAP are recipients of CNPq Productivity Grants, and Bárbara Alemar received a grant from the same agencyinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio