Smart Water Management in Agriculture: a Proposal for an Optimal Scheduling Formulation of a Gravity Water Distribution System

Agriculture represents one of the most water demanding sectors and its role is central on defining water saving policies. In this work, we propose an improved approach to the irrigation scheduling problem, reducing water wastage while satisfying farmers\u2019 demands and crops\u2019 water needs.For water distribution system managed with on-demand distribution approach, the efficiency of irrigation relies on the ability of the network manager (i.e., gatekeeper) to guarantee a proper service, consisting in: the irrigation scheduling, the definition of the volume of water passing through the channels at a given time, and the operations on gates and sluices to make the water reach the farms. Consequently, the irrigation scheduling inefficiencies might be limited by: i) reducing the water wastage, ii) minimizing the gatekeeper work and iii) maximizing the satisfaction of the farmers\u2019 requirements.We propose an improved mixed-integer linear optimization formulation that adds the possibility to store water in the channels and takes seepage into account. This new formulation is able to better represent the physical behavior of the water flow in the channels network, also avoiding the presence of flooding. The proposed optimization solution is embedded within a wider monitoring framework with the intent to fully exploit the availability of a complex network of models, repositories and sensors installed in the field.The resulting problem is solved by one of the most used optimization solvers (IBM ILOG Cplex) and tested on a synthetic benchmark. Furthermore, we validate the results on a digital copy of the network that performs a hydraulic simulation of the irrigation system. The scheduling is accepted if the water introduced in the system can satisfy farmers\u2019 requests with the considered timing and does not produce flooding

Fast analysis of low molecular mass compounds present in snake venom: identification of ten new pyroglutamate-containing peptides.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-09T01:20:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ID25295.pdf: 254192 bytes, checksum: 13faf75f59f61e212f0e82fe521da5d8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-07-21bitstream/item/178385/1/ID-25295.pd

Caracterização de órgãos de galinha envolvidos na imunidade à infecção por Eimeria tenella

Projeto/Plano de Ação: 16.00.30004.0

A transcriptomic analysis of gene expression in the venom gland of the snake Bothrops alternatus (urutu)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The genus <it>Bothrops </it>is widespread throughout Central and South America and is the principal cause of snakebite in these regions. Transcriptomic and proteomic studies have examined the venom composition of several species in this genus, but many others remain to be studied. In this work, we used a transcriptomic approach to examine the venom gland genes of <it>Bothrops alternatus</it>, a clinically important species found in southeastern and southern Brazil, Uruguay, northern Argentina and eastern Paraguay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A cDNA library of 5,350 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) was produced and assembled into 838 contigs and 4512 singletons. BLAST searches of relevant databases showed 30% hits and 70% no-hits, with toxin-related transcripts accounting for 23% and 78% of the total transcripts and hits, respectively. Gene ontology analysis identified non-toxin genes related to general metabolism, transcription and translation, processing and sorting, (polypeptide) degradation, structural functions and cell regulation. The major groups of toxin transcripts identified were metalloproteinases (81%), bradykinin-potentiating peptides/C-type natriuretic peptides (8.8%), phospholipases A₂(5.6%), serine proteinases (1.9%) and C-type lectins (1.5%). Metalloproteinases were almost exclusively type PIII proteins, with few type PII and no type PI proteins. Phospholipases A₂were essentially acidic; no basic PLA₂were detected. Minor toxin transcripts were related to L-amino acid oxidase, cysteine-rich secretory proteins, dipeptidylpeptidase IV, hyaluronidase, three-finger toxins and ohanin. Two non-toxic proteins, thioredoxin and double-specificity phosphatase Dusp6, showed high sequence identity to similar proteins from other snakes. In addition to the above features, single-nucleotide polymorphisms, microsatellites, transposable elements and inverted repeats that could contribute to toxin diversity were observed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>Bothrops alternatus </it>venom gland contains the major toxin classes described for other <it>Bothrops </it>venoms based on trancriptomic and proteomic studies. The predominance of type PIII metalloproteinases agrees with the well-known hemorrhagic activity of this venom, whereas the lower content of serine proteases and C-type lectins could contribute to less marked coagulopathy following envenoming by this species. The lack of basic PLA₂agrees with the lower myotoxicity of this venom compared to other <it>Bothrops </it>species with these toxins. Together, these results contribute to our understanding of the physiopathology of envenoming by this species.</p

Territorial Milieu as Driver for Sustainability through Urban Regeneration Initiatives: The Case of San Diego, CA

Urban regeneration acquired a powerful role in the shaping of the future of the cities in the Globalization era. It could be considered a public action in a market governed by different powers introducing a more strategic approach in thecontemporary urban planning theory and practice. If integration can be considered one of the main objective to get through urban regeneration, and complexity as the peculiarity of urban dynamics related to the context they belong to, we might see the community involvement as crucial toward sustainable urban regeneration initiatives. The intent of generating wider effectsin terms of economic development at macro-level (regional thereby) through urban regeneration initiatives has been eluded by the strong local interests even if not homogenous among each others.In order to reach a feasible consensus among all actors involved, the common objective became the job creation to which converge all different urban problems and solutions. Consequently, the sustainability of urban regeneration initiatives is still at the centre of political and academic debate. Economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and social sustainability provide criteria to measure the urban regeneration performance. The paper reports some interesting findings of the second year of the CLUDs (Commercial Local Urban Districts) research project, funded by IRSES Marie Curie Actions, illustrating how territorial milieu can reinforce local urban regeneration initiatives by combining the latest urban rural link research with the detailed analysis of 9 urban areas located in San Diego, CA (USA), where urban regeneration initiatives have been implemented. The CLUDs project has introduced the concept of “milieu” to offer a different source of sustainability within urban regeneration initiatives that is the connections with the surrounding rural areas to reinforce local economy

A heme-binding aspartic proteinase from the eggs of the hard tick Boophilus microplus

An aspartic proteinase that binds heme with a 1:1 stoichiometry was isolated and cloned from the eggs of the cattle tick Boophilus microplus. This proteinase, herein named THAP (tick heme-binding aspartic proteinase) showed pepstatin-sensitive hydrolytic activity against several peptide and protein substrates, Although hemoglobin was a good substrate for THAP, low proteolytic activity was observed against globin devoid of the heme prosthetic group. Hydrolysis of globin by THAP increased as increasing amounts of heme were added to globin, with maximum activation at a heme-to-globin 1:1 ratio. Further additions of heme to the reaction medium inhibited proteolysis, back to a level similar to that observed against globin alone. the addition of heme did not change THAP activity toward a synthetic peptide or against ribonuclease, a non-hemeprotein substrate. the major storage protein of tick eggs, vitellin (VT), the probable physiological substrate of THAP, is a hemeprotein. Hydrolysis of VT by THAP was also inhibited by the addition of heme to the incubation media. Taken together, our results suggest that THAP uses heme bound to VT as a docking site to increase specificity and regulate VT degradation according to heme availability.Univ Fed Rio de Janeiro, Ctr Ciencias Saude, Inst Ciencias Biomed, Dept Bioquim Med, BR-21910590 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilUNIFESP, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Biofis, BR-04044020 São Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Fluminense, Inst Biol, Dept Biol Celular & Mol, BR-24001970 Niteroi, RJ, BrazilUNIFESP, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Biofis, BR-04044020 São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc