Modeling applied to sowing date of irrigated maize.

In Brazil, the rainfed maize crop may undergo yield breaks due to uncertainties in the rainfall distribution. Irrigation can be a management alternative that, however, requires evaluation and planning to be helpful. The objective of this work was to analyze the simulated yield data of irrigated maize in counties of Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The CSM-CERES-Maize model was used to simulated weekly sowings of maize considering optimum agronomic conditions. A sprinkler irrigation scheme with 80% efficiency was used with automatic applications when the crop withdrew 50% of the soil available water. The harvest was scheduled to happen automatically when the crop had reached physiological maturity. The results were statistically analyzed for each county, based on goodness of fit test, ANOVA, Tukey?s test and risk analysis (stochastic dominance). The most promising sowing period was from January 16 to March 27 for all locations, except for Janaúba, for which the best sowing window was from November 14 to January 2. The treatments of highest average simulated maize yield stochastically dominated the other treatments evaluated. The CSM-CERES-Maize model proved to be a useful tool to help making decision in irrigated maize crop systems

Estimativa da produtividade da água para o milho irrigado em Minas Gerais.

CONBEA 2014

Determinação da produtividade para diferentes épocas de semeadura do milho irrigado em Minas Gerais utilizando modelagem computacional.

CONBEA 2014

Physicians’ Perceptions of Clinical Utility of a Digital Health Tool for Electronic Patient-Reported Outcome Monitoring in Real-Life Hematology Practice. Evidence From the GIMEMA-ALLIANCE Platform

Digital health tools are increasingly being used in cancer care and may include electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) monitoring systems. We examined physicians’ perceptions of usability and clinical utility of a digital health tool (GIMEMA-ALLIANCE platform) for ePRO monitoring in the real-life practice of patients with hematologic malignancies. This tool allows for the collection and assessment of ePROs with real-time graphical presentation of results to medical staff. Based on a predefined algorithm, automated alerts are sent to medical staff. Participating hematologists completed an online survey on their experience with the platform. Of the 201 patients invited to participate between December 2020 and June 2021 (cut-off date for current analysis), 180 (90%) agreed to enter the platform and had a median age of 57 years. Twenty-three hematologists with a median age of 42 years and an average of 17 years of experience in clinical practice were surveyed. All hematologists agreed or strongly agreed that the platform was easy to use, and 87%, agreed or strongly agreed that ePROs data were useful to enhance communication with their patients. The majority of physicians (78%) accessed the platform at least once per month to consult the symptom and health status profile of their patients. The frequency of access was independent of physician sex (p=0.393) and years of experience in clinical practice (p=0.404). In conclusion, our preliminary results support the clinical utility, from the perspective of the treating hematologist, of integrating ePROs into the routine cancer care of patients with hematologic malignancies

Self-standing polymer-functionalized reduced graphene oxide papers obtained via a UV-process

Graphene based materials are attracting great attention every day due to their outstanding properties. Widening their potentialities through synergic effects in conjunction with other materials represents an intriguing challenge in order to obtain lighter and multi-functional composites. In this paper, novel self-standing graphene-based paper-like sheets are investigated, obtained via a facile dual step UV-induced process. This method, employing graphene oxide as a starting material, allows the obtaining of polymeric functionalized reduced graphene oxide papers that could be easily handled, featuring improved mechanical and peculiar electrical properties. The mechanical and thermal properties were investigated as well as their electrical response under different stimuli, such as temperature and humidity, showing remarkable changes

Self-standing polymer-functionalized reduced graphene oxide papers obtained via a UV-process

The mechanical and electrical properties of novel polymer-grafted RGO papers, synthesized via a two-step UV-induced method, were studied

Modeling applied to sowing date of irrigated maize.

In Brazil, the rainfed maize crop may undergo yield breaks due to uncertainties in the rainfall distribution. Irrigation can be a management alternative that, however, requires evaluation and planning to be helpful. The objective of this work was to analyze the simulated yield data of irrigated maize in counties of Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The CSM-CERES-Maize model was used to simulated weekly sowings of maize considering optimum agronomic conditions. A sprinkler irrigation scheme with 80% efficiency was used with automatic applications when the crop withdrew 50% of the soil available water. The harvest was scheduled to happen automatically when the crop had reached physiological maturity. The results were statistically analyzed for each county, based on goodness of fit test, ANOVA, Tukey?s test and risk analysis (stochastic dominance). The most promising sowing period was from January 16 to March 27 for all locations, except for Janaúba, for which the best sowing window was from November 14 to January 2. The treatments of highest average simulated maize yield stochastically dominated the other treatments evaluated. The CSM-CERES-Maize model proved to be a useful tool to help making decision in irrigated maize crop systems.Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-29T00:36:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Modelingapplied.pdf: 1023594 bytes, checksum: efca220de558572dec17b0d4f2cbd2ff (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-09-28bitstream/item/183690/1/Modeling-applied.pd

Genetic predisposition to myelodysplastic syndromes: A challenge for adult hematologists

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) arising in the context of inherited bone marrow failure syndromes (IBMFS) differ in terms of prognosis and treatment strategy compared to MDS occurring in the adult population without an inherited genetic predisposition. The main molecular pathways affected in IBMFS involve telomere maintenance, DNA repair, biogenesis of ribosomes, control of proliferation and others. The increased knowledge on the genes involved in MDS pathogenesis and the wider availability of molecular diagnostic assessment have led to an improvement in the detection of IBMFS genetic predisposition in MDS patients. A punctual recognition of these disorders implies a strict surveillance of the patient in order to detect early signs of progression and promptly offer allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, which is the only curative treatment. Moreover, identifying an inherited mutation allows the screening and counseling of family members and directs the choice of donors in case of need for transplantation. Here we provide an overview of the most recent data on MDS with genetic predisposition highlighting the main steps of the diagnostic and therapeutic management. In order to highlight the pitfalls of detecting IBMFS in adults, we report the case of a 27-year-old man affected by MDS with an underlying telomeropathy

Inducible T-cell co-stimulator (ICOS) and ICOS ligand are novel players in the multiple-myeloma microenvironment

The inducible T-cell co-stimulator (ICOS) is a T-cell receptor that, once bound to ICOS ligand (ICOSL) expressed on several cell types including the B-cell lineage, plays a decisive role in adaptive immunity by regulating the interplay between B and T cells. In addition to its immunomodulatory functions, we have shown that ICOS/ICOSL signalling can inhibit the activity of osteoclasts, unveiling a novel mechanism of lymphocyte–bone cells interactions. ICOS and ICOSL can also be found as soluble forms, namely sICOS and sICOSL. Here we show that: (i) levels of sICOS and sICOSL are increased in multiple myeloma (MM) compared to monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and smouldering MM; (ii) levels of sICOS and sICOSL variably correlate with several markers of tumour burden; and (iii) sICOS levels tend to be higher in Durie–Salmon stage II/III versus stage I MM and correlate with overall survival as an independent variable. Moreover, surface ICOS and ICOSL are expressed in both myeloma cells and normal plasma cells, where they probably regulate different functional stages. Finally, ICOSL triggering inhibits the migration of myeloma cell lines in vitro and the growth of ICOSL+ MOPC-21 myeloma cells in vivo. These results suggest that ICOS and ICOSL represent novel markers and therapeutic targets for MM