The Community Water Initiative Fostering Water Security and Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

This publication highlights some case studies that illustrate successful projects funded by the Community Water Initiative (CWI), which have helped foster water security in local communities while simultaneously helping them mitigate and adapt to climate change through: (i) Community-based water supply and sanitation services using low-cost systems manageable by communities; (ii) Water resource conservation and sustainable land management to create resilient systems to combat drought and floods; (iii) Providing clean energy for water pumping; and (iv) Capacity building for community-level governance through community water management committees, women’s empowerment, and the establishment of water user fee schemes

Empirical algorithm to estimate the average cosine of underwater light field at 490 nm

The average cosine of the underwater light field μ(λ), where λ is the wavelength, is an apparent optical property (AOP) that describes the angular distribution of radiance at a given point in water. Here, we present a simple algorithm to determine the average cosine at 490 nm, μ(490), which was developed using the measured optical parameters from the eastern Arabian Sea and coastal waters off Goa. The algorithm is validated using measured optical parameters. This algorithm, based on a single optical parameter, performed better compared with other empirical algorithms in determining the average cosine of underwater light field. The absorption coefficient at 490 nm, derived as an application of μ(490), compared well with the synthetic optical data and optical data measured from other regions

Exploring Nitrogen-Functionalized Graphene Composites for Urinary Catheter Applications

Graphene has been broadly studied, particularly for the fabrication of biomedical devices, owing to its physicochemical and antimicrobial properties. In this study, the antibiofilm efficacy of graphene nanoplatelet (GNP)-based composites as coatings for urinary catheters (UCs) was investigated. GNPs were functionalized with nitrogen (N-GNP) and incorporated into a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. The resulting materials were characterized, and the N-GNP/PDMS composite was evaluated against single- and multi-species biofilms of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Both biofilm cell composition and structure were analyzed. Furthermore, the antibacterial mechanisms of action of N-GNP were explored. The N-GNP/PDMS composite showed increased hydrophobicity and roughness compared to PDMS. In single-species biofilms, this composite significantly reduced the number of S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, and K. pneumoniae cells (by 64, 41, and 29%, respectively), and decreased S. aureus biofilm culturability (by 50%). In tri-species biofilms, a 41% reduction in total cells was observed. These results are aligned with the outcomes of the biofilm structure analysis. Moreover, N-GNP caused changes in membrane permeability and triggered reactive oxygen species (ROS) synthesis in S. aureus, whereas in Gram-negative bacteria, it only induced changes in cell metabolism. Overall, the N-GNP/PDMS composite inhibited biofilm development, showing the potential of these carbon materials as coatings for UCs. (c) 2023 by the authors

Glossário: Programa Aprimore STJ - Gestão por competências

Glossário de termos utilizados no Programa Aprimore STJ

Ação gerencial na prevenção ao uso abusivo de drogas

O manual tem a finalidade de orientar o dia a dia de trabalho nas unidades a respeito da problemática da dependência química

Increased ultra-rare variant load in an isolated Scottish population impacts exonic and regulatory regions

Human population isolates provide a snapshot of the impact of historical demographic processes on population genetics. Such data facilitate studies of the functional impact of rare sequence variants on biomedical phenotypes, as strong genetic drift can result in higher frequencies of variants that are otherwise rare. We present the first whole genome sequencing (WGS) study of the VIKING cohort, a representative collection of samples from the isolated Shetland population in northern Scotland, and explore how its genetic characteristics compare to a mainland Scottish population. Our analyses reveal the strong contributions played by the founder effect and genetic drift in shaping genomic variation in the VIKING cohort. About one tenth of all high-quality variants discovered are unique to the VIKING cohort or are seen at frequencies at least ten fold higher than in more cosmopolitan control populations. Multiple lines of evidence also suggest relaxation of purifying selection during the evolutionary history of the Shetland isolate. We demonstrate enrichment of ultra-rare VIKING variants in exonic regions and for the first time we also show that ultra-rare variants are enriched within regulatory regions, particularly promoters, suggesting that gene expression patterns may diverge relatively rapidly in human isolates

Espaço Maternidade

Secretaria de Gestão de Pessoas reuniu as principais informações relacionadas aos benefícios que a servidora poderá solicitar no Tribunal antes ou após a chegada do(a) filho(a)

How do Graphene Composite Surfaces Affect the Development and Structure of Marine Cyanobacterial Biofilms?

The progress of nanotechnology has prompted the development of novel marine antifouling coatings. In this study, the influence of a pristine graphene nanoplatelet (GNP)-modified surface in cyanobacterial biofilm formation was evaluated over a long-term assay using an in vitro platform which mimics the hydrodynamic conditions that prevail in real marine environments. Surface characterization by Optical Profilometry and Scanning Electron Microscopy has shown that the main difference between GNP incorporated into a commercially used epoxy resin (GNP composite) and both control surfaces (glass and epoxy resin) was related to roughness and topography, where the GNP composite had a roughness value about 1000 times higher than control surfaces. The results showed that, after 7 weeks, the GNP composite reduced the biofilm wet weight (by 44%), biofilm thickness (by 54%), biovolume (by 82%), and surface coverage (by 64%) of cyanobacterial biofilms compared to the epoxy resin. Likewise, the GNP-modified surface delayed cyanobacterial biofilm development, modulated biofilm structure to a less porous arrangement over time, and showed a higher antifouling effect at the biofilm maturation stage. Overall, this nanocomposite seems to have the potential to be used as a long-term antifouling material in marine applications. Moreover, this multifactorial study was crucial to understanding the interactions between surface properties and cyanobacterial biofilm development and architecture over time

Estimation and inference under economic restrictions

Estimation of economic relationships often requires imposition of constraints such as positivity or monotonicity on each observation. Methods to impose such constraints, however, vary depending upon the estimation technique employed. We describe a general methodology to impose (observation-specific) constraints for the class of linear regression estimators using a method known as constraint weighted bootstrapping. While this method has received attention in the nonparametric regression literature, we show how it can be applied for both parametric and nonparametric estimators. A benefit of this method is that imposing numerous constraints simultaneously can be performed seamlessly. We apply this method to Norwegian dairy farm data to estimate both unconstrained and constrained parametric and nonparametric models