Avaliação dos impactos socioeconômicos de projetos energéticos – eletrificação rural: área de concessão da ENERSUL – MS

This article evaluates the impacts of the Program of Rural Electrification called “Luz no Campo” on the energy profile of rural properties located in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The evaluation period comprehends three phases – ex-ante, intermediary and ex-post – of the field research and is based on the area of concession of the utility ENERSUL. It presents a panel of the local energy consumption and its relations with the family incomes. It also identifies some changes that occurred as a result of the access to electric energy. The results intend to help the decision makers in the formulation of public policies that aim at promoting the optimization of the use of energetic resources and atpromoting rural development.Key words: Energy, Rural electrification, Sustainable development.Este artigo busca avaliar os impactos no perfil energético das propriedades rurais, decorrentes da implementação do Programa de Eletrificação Rural “Luz no Campo” para a área de concessão da ENERSUL – Empresa Energética de Mato Grosso do Sul, durante três fases da pesquisa de campo: a fase ex-ante, a fase intermediária e a fase ex-post. Será apresentado um painel do perfil de consumo energético das comunidades e, além disso, as relações entre esse consumo e a renda familiar dessa população. Serão identificadas algumas transformações que o homem do campo sofre com a chegada da energia elétrica. Os resultados auxiliarão os tomadores de decisão na formulação de políticas públicas que promovam a otimização do uso de recursos energéticos, assim como na promoção do desenvolvimento rural.Palavras-chave: Energia, Eletrificação rural, Desenvolvimento sustentável

Avaliação dos impactos socioeconômicos de projetos energéticos – eletrificação rural: área de concessão da ENERSUL – MS

This article evaluates the impacts of the Program of Rural Electrification called “Luz no Campo” on the energy profile of rural properties located in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The evaluation period comprehends three phases – ex-ante, intermediary and ex-post – of the field research and is based on the area of concession of the utility ENERSUL. It presents a panel of the local energy consumption and its relations with the family incomes. It also identifies some changes that occurred as a result of the access to electric energy. The results intend to help the decision makers in the formulation of public policies that aim at promoting the optimization of the use of energetic resources and atpromoting rural development.Key words: Energy, Rural electrification, Sustainable development.Este artigo busca avaliar os impactos no perfil energético das propriedades rurais, decorrentes da implementação do Programa de Eletrificação Rural “Luz no Campo” para a área de concessão da ENERSUL – Empresa Energética de Mato Grosso do Sul, durante três fases da pesquisa de campo: a fase ex-ante, a fase intermediária e a fase ex-post. Será apresentado um painel do perfil de consumo energético das comunidades e, além disso, as relações entre esse consumo e a renda familiar dessa população. Serão identificadas algumas transformações que o homem do campo sofre com a chegada da energia elétrica. Os resultados auxiliarão os tomadores de decisão na formulação de políticas públicas que promovam a otimização do uso de recursos energéticos, assim como na promoção do desenvolvimento rural.Palavras-chave: Energia, Eletrificação rural, Desenvolvimento sustentável

Ketone bodies mediate alterations in brain energy metabolism and biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. AD is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive dysfunction, including learning and memory deficits, and behavioral changes. Neuropathology hallmarks of AD such as amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles containing the neuron-specific protein tau is associated with changes in fluid biomarkers including Aβ, phosphorylated tau (p-tau)-181, p-tau 231, p-tau 217, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and neurofilament light (NFL). Another pathological feature of AD is neural damage and hyperactivation of astrocytes, that can cause increased pro-inflammatory mediators and oxidative stress. In addition, reduced brain glucose metabolism and mitochondrial dysfunction appears up to 15 years before the onset of clinical AD symptoms. As glucose utilization is compromised in the brain of patients with AD, ketone bodies (KBs) may serve as an alternative source of energy. KBs are generated from the β-oxidation of fatty acids, which are enhanced following consumption of ketogenic diets with high fat, moderate protein, and low carbohydrate. KBs have been shown to cross the blood brain barrier to improve brain energy metabolism. This review comprehensively summarizes the current literature on how increasing KBs support brain energy metabolism. In addition, for the first time, this review discusses the effects of ketogenic diet on the putative AD biomarkers such as Aβ, tau (mainly p-tau 181), GFAP, and NFL, and discusses the role of KBs on neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial metabolism

Chloroplast genome assembly of Serjania erecta Raldk: comparative analysis reveals gene number variation and selection in protein-coding plastid genes of Sapindaceae

Serjania erecta Raldk is an essential genetic resource due to its anti-inflammatory, gastric protection, and anti-Alzheimer properties. However, the genetic and evolutionary aspects of the species remain poorly known. Here, we sequenced and assembled the complete chloroplast genome of S. erecta and used it in a comparative analysis within the Sapindaceae family. S. erecta has a chloroplast genome (cpDNA) of 159,297 bp, divided into a Large Single Copy region (LSC) of 84,556 bp and a Small Single Copy region (SSC) of 18,057 bp that are surrounded by two Inverted Repeat regions (IRa and IRb) of 28,342 bp. Among the 12 species used in the comparative analysis, S. erecta has the fewest long and microsatellite repeats. The genome structure of Sapindaceae species is relatively conserved; the number of genes varies from 128 to 132 genes, and this variation is associated with three main factors: (1) Expansion and retraction events in the size of the IRs, resulting in variations in the number of rpl22, rps19, and rps3 genes; (2) Pseudogenization of the rps2 gene; and (3) Loss or duplication of genes encoding tRNAs, associated with the duplication of trnH-GUG in X. sorbifolium and the absence of trnT-CGU in the Dodonaeoideae subfamily. We identified 10 and 11 mutational hotspots for Sapindaceae and Sapindoideae, respectively, and identified six highly diverse regions (tRNA-Lys — rps16, ndhC – tRNA-Val, petA – psbJ, ndhF, rpl32 – ccsA, and ycf1) are found in both groups, which show potential for the development of DNA barcode markers for molecular taxonomic identification of Serjania. We identified that the psaI gene evolves under neutrality in Sapindaceae, while all other chloroplast genes are under strong negative selection. However, local positive selection exists in the ndhF, rpoC2, ycf1, and ycf2 genes. The genes ndhF and ycf1 also present high nucleotide diversity and local positive selection, demonstrating significant potential as markers. Our findings include providing the first chloroplast genome of a member of the Paullinieae tribe. Furthermore, we identified patterns in variations in the number of genes and selection in genes possibly associated with the family’s evolutionary history

The role of environmental filtering, geographic distance and dispersal barriers in shaping the turnover of plant and animal species in Amazonia

To determine the effect of rivers, environmental conditions, and isolation by distance on the distribution of species in Amazonia. Location: Brazilian Amazonia. Time period: Current. Major taxa studied: Birds, fishes, bats, ants, termites, butterflies, ferns + lycophytes, gingers and palms. We compiled a unique dataset of biotic and abiotic information from 822 plots spread over the Brazilian Amazon. We evaluated the effects of environment, geographic distance and dispersal barriers (rivers) on assemblage composition of animal and plant taxa using multivariate techniques and distance- and raw-data-based regression approaches. Environmental variables (soil/water), geographic distance, and rivers were associated with the distribution of most taxa. The wide and relatively old Amazon River tended to determine differences in community composition for most biological groups. Despite this association, environment and geographic distance were generally more important than rivers in explaining the changes in species composition. The results from multi-taxa comparisons suggest that variation in community composition in Amazonia reflects both dispersal limitation (isolation by distance or by large rivers) and the adaptation of species to local environmental conditions. Larger and older river barriers influenced the distribution of species. However, in general this effect is weaker than the effects of environmental gradients or geographical distance at broad scales in Amazonia, but the relative importance of each of these processes varies among biological groups