Human Mobility in Large Cities as a Proxy for Crime

We investigate at the subscale of the neighborhoods of a highly populated city the incidence of property crimes in terms of both the resident and the floating population. Our results show that a relevant allometric relation could only be observed between property crimes and floating population. More precisely, the evidence of a superlinear behavior indicates that a disproportional number of property crimes occurs in regions where an increased flow of people takes place in the city. For comparison, we also found that the number of crimes of peace disturbance only correlates well, and in a superlinear fashion too, with the resident population. Our study raises the interesting possibility that the superlinearity observed in previous studies [Bettencourt et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104, 7301 (2007) and Melo et al., Sci. Rep. 4, 6239 (2014)] for homicides versus population at the city scale could have its origin in the fact that the floating population, and not the resident one, should be taken as the relevant variable determining the intrinsic microdynamical behavior of the system.Comment: 17 pages, 8 Figure

Soil class map of the Rio Jardim watershed in Central Brazil at 30 meter spatial resolution based on proximal and remote sensed data and MESMA method

Geospatial soil information is critical for agricultural policy formulation and decision making, land-use suitability analysis, sustainable soil management, environmental assessment, and other research topics that are of vital importance to agriculture and economy. Proximal and Remote sensing technologies enables us to collect, process, and analyze spectral data and to retrieve, synthesize, visualize valuable geospatial information for multidisciplinary uses. We obtained the soil class map provided in this article by processing and analyzing proximal and remote sensed data from soil samples collected in toposequences based on pedomorphogeological relashionships. The soils were classified up to the second categorical level (suborder) of the Brazilian Soil Classification System (SiBCS), as well as in the World Reference Base (WRB) and United States Soil Taxonomy (ST) systems. The raster map has 30 m resolution and its accuracy is 73% (Kappa coefficient of 0.73). The soil legend represents a soil class followed by its topsoil color

Salvado de harina y salvado de fécula de mandioca como potenciales excipientes para comprimidos

Objectives: The physicochemical characteristics of bran of cassava starch flour and bran of cassava flour (viz. organoleptic characteristics, pH value, moisture content, total ashes, lipid, protein, starch and fiber contents) and biopharmacotechnical parameters (viz. granulometry, flow capacity, angle at rest, outflow time and apparent density) were evaluated aiming at assessing their potential use as tablet excipients. Methodos: Three tablet formulations of venlafaxine hydrochloride were proposed, having as excipients bran of cassava flour, bran of cassava starch flour and Starch 1500®. The tablets were produced using two different pressures (98±5 MPa and 32±6 Mpa) and their mechanical (hardness and friability) and dissolubility characteristics were evaluated. Results and Conclusions: The tablets produced with both cassava flours, using higher pressures, presented similar physicochemical characteristics to those obtained with the excipient Starch1500®, thus indicating that cassava flours possess the potential to be used as disintegrating agents in tablets.Objetivos: Se evaluaron características físico-químicas del salvado de harina y del salvado de la fécula de mandioca (características organolépticas, pH, humedad, cenizas totales y contenido de lípidos, proteínas, almidones y fibras) y biofarmacotécnicas (granulometría, capacidad de flujo, ángulo en reposo, tiempo de salida y densidad aparente) con el objetivo de evaluar el uso de estos residuos como excipientes para comprimidos. Métodos: Se propusieron tres formulaciones en comprimidos de venlafaxina teniendo como excipientes salvado de harina de mandioca, salvado de fécula de mandioca y Starch 1500 ®. Las pastillas se produjeron utilizando dos presiones diferentes (98 ± 5 MPa y 32 ± 6 Mpa). Las características mecánicas (dureza y friabilidad) y de disolución de los comprimidos se evaluaron. Resultados y Conclusiones: Los comprimidos producidos con ambos salvados de mandioca, utilizando las presiones más elevadas, presentaron características físico-químicas similares a las obtenidas con el excipiente Starch1500®, indicando que las harinas de mandioca poseen potencial para ser utilizadas como agentes desintegrantes en comprimidos

Chitosan-based scaffolds for tissue regeneration: preparation and microstructure characterization

Scaffolds are porous three-dimensional supports, designed to mimic the extracellular environment and remain temporarily integrated into the host tissue while stimulating, at the molecular level, specific cellular responses to each type of body tissues. The major goal of the research work entertained herein was to study the microstructure of scaffolds made from chitosan (Ch), blends of chitosan and sodium alginate (Ch/NaAlg), blends of chitosan, sodium alginate and calcium chloride (Ch/NaAlg/CaCl2) and blends of chitosan, sodium alginate and hydroxyapatite (Ch/NaAlg/HA). Scaffolds possessing ideal physicochemical properties facilitate cell proliferation and greatly increase the rate of recovery of a damaged organ tissue. Using CT three-dimensional images of the scaffolds, it was observed that all scaffolds had a porosity in the range 64%-92%, a radius of maximum pore occurrence in the range 95m-260m and a permeability in the range 1×10-10-18×10-10 m2. From the results obtained, the scaffolds based on Ch, Ch/NaAlg and Ch/NaAlg/CaCl2 would be most appropriate both for the growth of osteoid and for bone tissue regeneration, while the scaffold made with a blend of Ch/NaAlg/HA, by possessing larger pores size, might be used as a support for fibrovascular tissue.Project funding by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP, São Paulo, Brazil) (FAPESP Refs. No. 2012/21219-5, 2012/15651-4, 2013/03181-6, 2013/19300-4, and 2014/21122-0), is hereby gratefully acknowledged. This work received support from CNPq, National Council for Scientific and Technological Development – Brazil, in the form of Research Productivity (PQ) fellowships granted to Victor M. Balcão and Marco V. Chaud

Condensed Tannins and Total Phenols in \u3ci\u3eStylosanthes\u3c/i\u3e spp.

Rangelands, such as the species of the genus Stylosanthes, are plants highly selected by animals and represent an important forage source for livestock in the Northeast region of Brazil. Plants of this genus are naturally occurring in several places in Brazil and other semi-arid areas. The variability of condensed tannins and total phenols in different Stylosanthes accessions is still poorly characterized. Based on that, the objective of this study was to quantify the content of condensed tannins and total phenols of Stylosanthes accessions collected in different physiographic zones of the State of Pernambuco and cultivated in germplasm banks. The work was carried out in two germplasm banks in the municipalities of Serra Talhada and Carpina in Pernambuco-Brazil. These regions have different edaphoclimatic characteristics. The analyzes were performed on samples of the whole plant (leaves and stems) collected at 20 cm height. The design was completely randomized, with accessions representing the fixed effects treatments. The data were submitted for analysis of variance, and the means were compared by the Scott-Knott test at a level of 5%. The Stylosanthes accessions cultivated in the active germplasm banks of the municipalities of Carpina and Serra Talhada showed statistically significant differences (P \u3c 0.05) among accessions in their concentrations of condensed tannins and total phenols. For the accessions cultivated in the active germplasm bank of Serra Talhada, six groups were formed. The concentrations of condensed tannins ranged from 5.6 to 63.3 mg g-1, and the total phenols ranged from 13.7 to 100.0 mg g-1in the cultivars from Serra Talhada. Likewise, condensed tannins ranged between 16.6 and 142.1 mg g-1, and total phenols ranged from 38.4 and 294.1 mg g-1 for the three groups from the municipality of Carpina. There is variability in the contents of condensed tannins and total phenols among accessions of Stylosanthes spp

Ecosystem Services Provided by Overseeding Aeschynomene Into Bahiagrass Pastures in South Florida

Aeschynomene (Aeschynomene americana L.) is a warm-season annual legume commonly overseeded into warm-season perennial grass pastures in tropical and subtropical regions. Although aeschynomene usually increases forage production and nutritive value, there is limited information about the ecosystem services provided by this legume. The objective of these studies was to evaluate the effects of overseeding aeschynomene into bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flüggé) pastures on nutrient dynamics and microbial N-cycling gene abundances. The studies were conducted in Ona, FL, from April to March 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. Treatments were the split-plot arrangement of two forage systems treatments (overseeding aeschynomene into bahiagrass or bahiagrass monoculture; main plots) and two N fertilization levels [0 (control) and 60 kg N ha-1 ; sub-plot], distributed in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. Forage characteristics were evaluated 8-wk after seeding and every 35 d thereafter. The static chamber technique was used to estimate nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. The litter bag technique was used to estimate organic matter (OM) and N decomposition. Nitrogen-cycling gene abundances were measured by qPCR. Bahiagrass-aeschynomene had greater crude protein concentration than bahiagrass monoculture but there was no difference in forage accumulation. Nitrogen fertilization increased forage accumulation and daily N2O emissions. Litter from bahiagrass-aeschynomene had greater OM and N decomposition rates than bahiagrass only, and N fertilization did not affect litter decomposition. There were no differences in N-cycling microbial gene abundances among treatments. Overseeding aeschynomene into bahiagrass may provide additional ecosystem services, but the magnitude is conditional to the establishment and proportion of aeschynomene in the pasture botanical composition

Antibacterial Activity of Root-end Filling Materials

Svrha istraživanja bila je ocijeniti i usporediti antibakterijsku učinkovitost pet retrogradnih punila korijenskih kanala. Materijal i metode: Metodom difuzije u agru ocijenjena je zona inhibicije bakterijskog rasta na podlozi pet retrogradnih punila korijenskih kanala: Pro Root MTA, cementa Portland, Super-EBA, IRM-a, Sealera 26 te amalgama. Za ciljane mikroorganizme bilo je odabrano pet anaeroba (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Parvimonas micra, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Propionibacterium acnes i Eubacterium saburreum) te dva fakultativna (Actinomyces viscosus i Enterococcus faecalis). Rezultati: Sealer 26 postigao je najveću inhibiciju rasta. Punila IRM i Super-EBA spriječila su rast samo Porphyromonas gingivalis, ali učinak je bio znatno slabiji u usporedbi s djelovanjem Sealera 26. Kao neučinkovita antibakterijska sredstva pokazali su se MTA, cement Portland i amalgam. Zaključak: Rezultati istraživanja potvrdili su da Sealer 26 ima najjače antibakterijsko djelovanje u usporedbi s ostalim često upotrebljavanim apikalnim punilima korijenskih kanala.Purpose: The present study was undertaken to evaluate and compare the antibacterial effectiveness of five root-end filling materials. Material and methods: The agar diffusion method was employed to evaluate the inhibition zone provided by the following root-end filling materials: Pro Root MTA, Portland cement, Super-EBA, IRM, Sealer 26, and silver amalgam. The target microorganisms included five anaerobic bacterial species (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Parvimonas micra, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Propionibacterium acnes and Eubacterium saburreum) and two facultative bacterial species (Actinomyces viscosus and Enterococcus faecalis). Results: Sealer 26 demonstrated the largest inhibitory effects on all species tested. IRM and Super-EBA were inhibitory only to P. gingivalis, but this effect was far less pronounced as compared to Sealer 26. MTA, Portland cement, and amalgam proved ineffective against all species tested. Conclusion: These findings revealed that Sealer 26 has more pronounced antibacterial effects when compared to other commonly used root-end filling materials