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In the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration1, large knowledge gaps persist on how to increase biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in cash crop-dominated tropical landscapes2. Here, we present findings from a large-scale, 5-year ecosystem restoration experiment in an oil palm landscape enriched with 52 tree islands, encompassing assessments of ten indicators of biodiversity and 19 indicators of ecosystem functioning. Overall, indicators of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, as well as multidiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality, were higher in tree islands compared to conventionally managed oil palm. Larger tree islands led to larger gains in multidiversity through changes in vegetation structure. Furthermore, tree enrichment did not decrease landscape-scale oil palm yield. Our results demonstrate that enriching oil palm-dominated landscapes with tree islands is a promising ecological restoration strategy, yet should not replace the protection of remaining forests.

Confinement effects offer unique opportinuties to facilitate reactions in a way to favor sustainability... in an almost magical way.

Electronic government (e-gov) enables citizens and residents to digitally interact with their government via the Internet. Underpinning these services is the Internet Domain Name Systems (DNS), which maps e-gov domain names to Internet addresses. Structuring DNS with multiple levels of redundancy that can withstand stress events such as denial-ofservice (DoS) attacks is a challenging task. While the operator community has established best practices to this end, adopting them all involves expert knowledge and resources. In this work, we obtain and study a list of e-gov domain names used by four countries (The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States) and measure the DNS structuring of these domains. We show the adoption of best practices, inter-country differences, and provide recommendations for improve DNS service robustness.

While the need for biodiversity research is growing, paradoxically, global taxonomical expertise is decreasing as a result of the neglected funding for young academics in taxonomy. Non-destructive approaches for DNA barcoding are necessary for a more efficient use of this dwindling expertise to fill gaps, and identify incorrect entries in sequence databases like BOLD or GenBank. They are efficient because morphological re-examination of species vouchers is still possible post-DNA barcoding. Non-destructive approaches for Diptera with a comprehensive species representation or the consideration of diagnostic fragile morphological characters are missing. Additionally, most non-destructive approaches combine a time intensive and non-destructive digestion step with common DNA extraction methods, such as commercial kits or CTAB DNA isolation. We circumvented those approaches and combined a modified non-destructive TE buffer high-speed DNA extraction, with a PCR inhibitor-resistant PCR reaction system, to a non-destructive DNA barcoding procedure for fresh and frozen samples of the Schizophora (Diptera). This method avoids morphological impairment and the application of harmful chemicals, is cost and time effective, restricts the need for laboratory equipment to a minimum, and prevents cross-contamination risk during DNA isolation. Moreover, the study indicates that the presented non-destructive DNA barcoding procedure is transferable to other soft-bodied insects. We suggest that PCR inhibitor-resistant master mixes enable the development of new—and the modification of existing—non-destructive approaches with the avoidance of further DNA template cleaning.

BackgroundSARS-CoV-2 serologic surveys estimate the proportion of the population with antibodies against historical variants which nears 100% in many settings. New analytic approaches are required to exploit the full information in serosurvey data.MethodUsing a SARS-CoV-2 anti-Spike (S) protein chemiluminescent microparticle assay, we attained a semi-quantitative measurement of population IgG titres in serial cross-sectional monthly samples of routine blood donations across seven Brazilian state capitals (March 2021-November 2021). In an ecological analysis (unit of analysis: age-city-calendar month) we assessed the relative contributions of prior attack rate and vaccination to antibody titre in blood donors. We compared blood donor anti-S titre across the seven cities during the growth phase of the Delta variant of concern (VOC) and use this to predict the resulting age-standardized incidence of severe COVID-19 cases.ResultsOn average we tested 780 samples per month in each location. Seroprevalence rose to >95% across all seven capitals by November 2021. Driven proximally by vaccination, mean antibody titre increased 16-fold over the study. The extent of prior natural infection shaped this process, with the greatest increases in antibody titres occurring in cities with the highest prior attack rates. Mean anti-S IgG was a strong predictor (adjusted R2 =0.89) of the number of severe cases caused by the Delta VOC in the seven cities.ConclusionsSemi-quantitative anti-S antibody titres are informative about prior exposure and vaccination coverage and can inform on the potential impact of future SARS-CoV-2 variants.SummaryIn the face of near 100% SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence, we show that average semi-quantitative anti-S titre predicted the extent of the Delta variant’s spread in Brazil. This is a valuable metric for future seroprevalence studies.

Perinatal maternal hypercaloric diets increase the susceptibility to metabolic disorders in the offspring. We hypothesized that maternal intake of an isocaloric moderate-fat diet (mMFD) would disturb the glucose homeostasis and favor the β-cell failure in response to fructose overload in adult male offspring.Female Wistar rats received an isocaloric diet (3.9 kcal/g) containing 29 % (mMFD) or 9 % as fat (mSTD) prior mating and throughout gestation and lactation. After weaning, male offspring received standard chow and fructose-drinking water (15 %) between 120 and 150 days old.mMFD offspring had higher body weight, visceral adiposity and, fasting glycemia, with normal insulinemia. Fructose increased glycemia at 15 min from oral glucose administration, but only mMFD had returned to basal glucose levels at 120 min. Fructose increased HOMA-IR index regardless diet, but only mMFD exhibited hyperinsulinemia and a higher HOMA-β index. mMFD pancreatic islets showed increased area and insulin immunostaining density, suggesting β-cell hypertrophy. Fructose induced the expected compensatory hypertrophy in mSTD islets, while the opposite occurred in mMFD islets, associated with reduced insulin immunostaining, suggesting lower insulin storage. Pancreatic islets isolated from mMFD offspring exhibited higher glucose-stimulated insulin release at physiological concentrations. However, at higher glucose concentrations, the islets from fructose-treated mMFD reduced dramatically their insulin release, suggesting exhaustion.Isocaloric mMFD induced adaptive mechanism in the offspring allowing insulin hypersecretion, but under metabolic challenge with fructose, β-cell compensation shifts to exhaustion, favoring dysfunction. Therefore, a maternal MFD may contribute to developing diabetes under fructose overload in the adult offspring.

Adsorption on activated carbon is a promising technique for the treatment of low-concentration heavy metal pollutants in water with high efficiency and simple operation. However, commercial-activated carbon is often associated with high costs. Therefore, much attention has been given to activated carbon derived from low-cost agricultural and residual biomass. In this work, adsorption of Zn, Cd, and Pb ions in aqueous solutions was conducted using granular-activated carbon obtained from macauba palm, biomass waste of biofuel production, after surface modification using different methods. The adsorbents were obtained in granular form which facilitates all steps of the use, recovery, and reuse of the material, differently from the powdered-activated carbon normally used. The materials were characterized by using XPS, elemental analysis, N

In collaboration with the American College of Veterinary Pathologists

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) increases food intake, appetite for fat and lipogenesis, while decreases energy expenditure (thermogenesis), contributing to metabolic dysfunctions. We demonstrated that maternal high-fat diet (HFD) alters cannabinoid signaling in brown adipose tissue (BAT) of neonate and weanling male rat offspring, which have increased adiposity but also higher energy expenditure in adulthood. In this study, the main objective was to investigate the ECS expression in thermogenic tissues as BAT and skeletal muscle of adult rats programmed by maternal HFD. We hypothesized that maternal HFD would modulate ECS and energy metabolism markers in BAT and skeletal muscle of adult male offspring.Female rats received standard diet (9.4 % of calories as fat) or isocaloric HFD (28.9 % of calories as fat) for 8 weeks premating and throughout gestation and lactation. Male offspring were weaned on standard diet and euthanatized in adulthood.Maternal HFD increased body weight, adiposity, glycemia, leptinemia while decreased testosterone levels in adult offspring. Maternal HFD did not change cannabinoid receptors in BAT or skeletal muscle as hypothesized but increased the content of uncoupling protein and tyrosine hydroxylase (thermogenic markers) in parallel to changes in mitochondrial morphology in skeletal muscle of adult offspring.In metabolic programming models, the ECS modulation in the BAT and skeletal muscle may be more important early in life to adapt energy metabolism during maternal dietary insult, and other mechanisms are possibly involved in muscle metabolism long-term regulation.

Eucalyptus urophylla is an important species of the genus Eucalyptus that is used across the world, especially in Brazil. It is used for pulp and paper production, and charcoal production for iron and steel industry, thus making the development of biotechnological approaches essential for the breeding programs of this species. The polyploidy induction is one such approach that may introduce phenotypic characteristics of interest to the market and industry. This is the first study that shows the production, evaluation, and development of tetraploids (4x = 44) from a clone of E. urophylla. For this, the shoot apical meristems were cultured for elongation using in vitro conditions for 15 with 5 or 10 µM colchicine, trifluralin, or oryzalin. Following this, every 30 days, the elongated plantlets were transferred to JADS medium for multiplication using tufts as explants. Thereafter, four tufts containing six to eight buds each were inoculated in flasks followed by six subcultures and were then transferred to the greenhouse for acclimatization. The experiment was performed in a completely randomized design in a factorial scheme (3x2+1: antimitotic substance x concentrations + control), with 12 replicates. Analysis of nuclear DNA content and chromosome counting by flow cytometry, photosynthetic pigment quantification, stomatal size and density, survival, and rooting were performed for 110 days after acclimatization. Data were submitted for analysis of variance followed by Scott & Knott’s test (P ≤ 0.05). As a result, we observed that the oryzalin and trifluralin treatments were efficient in the induction of tetraploid plants, while colchicine proved to be ineffective. Also, trifluralin treatment at 5 µM provided a higher polyploidy induction (18.2% tetraploids) in comparison to the others. Diploid plants displayed 1.41 pg of nuclear DNA content with 22 chromosomes, while tetraploid plants showed 2.86 pg with 44 chromosomes. In conclusion, the tetraploid plants, as compared to the diploids (control), were found to show higher chlorophyll content, larger but fewer stomata, and lower rooting and survival, which can be mitigated nonetheless through silvicultural techniques. This study shall bring new perspectives for the breeding programs of E. urophylla

Obesity and high-fat (HF) diet are associated with over activation of the endocannabinoid system (ECS). We have demonstrated that maternal HF diet induces early obesity and modulates cannabinoid signaling in visceral (VIS) and subcutaneous (SUB) white adipose tissue (WAT) in weanling rat offspring. We hypothesized that perinatal maternal HF diet would program the expression of ECS in adipose tissue in a long-term way in parallel to alterations in epigenetic markers and sex hormone signaling. Progenitor female rats received control diet (C, 9% fat) or isocaloric high-fat diet (HF, 28% fat) for 8 weeks before mating, gestation, and lactation. All pups were weaned to C diet and they were euthanized at 180 days old. Maternal HF diet induced overweight and increased SUB WAT mass of male and female adult offspring. Maternal HF diet induced hypertrophy of VIS and SUB adipocytes only in female offspring associated with increased type 1 cannabinoid receptor protein (CB1) and mRNA (Cnr1) levels. These changes were associated with increased estrogen receptor α binding to Cnr1 promoter in SUB WAT of adult female offspring, which may contribute to higher expression of Cnr1. Increased CB1 signaling in adipose tissue might contribute to higher adiposity programmed by maternal HF diet because endocannabinoids stimulate the accumulation of fat in the adipose tissue. Our findings provide molecular insights into sex-specific targets for anti-obesity therapies based on the endocannabinoid system.

Diverse food safety programmes around the world are designed to help ensure production of safe food. To meet this need, the development and implementation of more efficient and effective analytical methods to monitor residues (pesticides and veterinary drugs) and contaminants in food is important. In this study, we report the validation results for a simple high-throughput mega-method for residual analysis of 213 pesticides and veterinary drugs, including 15 metabolites, plus 12 environmental contaminants (polychlorinated biphenyls) in tilapia muscle for implementation in routine laboratory analyses. The generic sample preparation method and analytical approach are known as QuEChERSER (more than QuEChERS). A small portion of the initial extract (204 µL) is taken for analysis by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) covering 145 analytes, and the remaining extract undergoes a salting out step followed by an automated robotic instrument top sample preparation (ITSP) cleanup, also known as micro-solid-phase extraction (µSPE), plus fast low-pressure gas chromatography LPGC-MS/MS for 134 analytes (66 pesticides are targeted in both UHPLC-MS/MS and LPGC-MS/MS). The mega-method was validated in spiked tilapia samples at 5, 10, 15, and 20 ng/g with 10 replicates per level over two days (n = 80 overall), and 70-140% recoveries with RSDs ≤20% were achieved for 92% of the analytes in LC and 82% in GC. No significant matrix effects were observed for the analytes in LPGC-MS/MS, and only 5% of the analytes exceeded ±20% matrix effect in UHPLC-MS/MS. Analysis of standard reference materials (NIST SRMs 1946 and 1947) for contaminants in freeze-dried fish showed acceptable results, further demonstrating that the QuEChERSER mega-method can be implemented to expand analytical scope and increase laboratory efficiency compared to the QuEChERS method.

Perinatal maternal obesity and excessive fructose consumption have been associated with liver metabolic diseases. The study investigates whether moderate maternal high-fat diet affects the liver mitochondria responses to fructose intake in adult offspring.Wistar female rats have received a standard diet (mSTD) or high-fat diet (mHFD) (9% and 28.6% fat, respectively), before mating until the end of lactation. Male offspring were fed standard diet from weaning to adulthood and received water or fructose-drinking water (15%) from 120 to 150 days old. Fructose induces liver mitochondrial ultrastructural alterations with higher intensity in mHFD offspring, accompanied by reduced autophagy markers. Isolated mitochondria respirometry shows unaltered ATP-coupled oxygen consumption with increased Atp5f1b mRNA only in mHFD offspring. Fructose increases basal respiration and encoding complex I-III mRNA, only in mSTD offspring. Uncoupled respiration is lower in mHFD mitochondria that are unable to exhibit fructose-induced increase Ucp2 mRNA. Fructose decreases antioxidative defense markers, increases unfolded protein response and insulin resistance only in mHFD offspring without fructose-induced hepatic lipid accumulation.Mitochondrial dysfunction and homeostatic disturbances in response to fructose are early events evidencing the higher risk of fructose damage in the liver of adult offspring from dams fed an isocaloric moderate high-fat diet.

O aproveitamento de resíduos agroindustriais tem ganhado relevância nas pesquisas nos últimos anos, pois devido à alta quantidade produzida, a sua destinação adequada faz-se necessária para reduzir impactos ambientais negativos. Esses resíduos podem ser utilizados na elaboração de novos produtos, como farinhas não convencionais para produção de pães, massas, biscoitos e barras de cereais, agregando valor nutricional aos produtos e reduzindo a quantidade de matéria orgânica descartada no solo. No processamento de suco de laranja, mais da metade do fruto (em peso) é destinada como resíduo. Diante do exposto, o presente trabalho objetivou elaborar uma farinha a partir de cascas de laranja Pera (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) provenientes do processamento de suco, com diferentes temperaturas de secagem (60, 70 e 80°C), realizando sua caracterização granulométrica e avaliando sua umidade, teor de fibras, e atividade antioxidante. As cascas foram obtidas em um supermercado localizado na cidade de Bagé/Brasil A caracterização granulométrica foi realizada com peneiras Tyler, calculando o diâmetro de Sauter. As análises de umidade e fibras seguiram metodologia oficial e a atividade antioxidante foi determinada através de análise espectrofotométrica com o radical livre DPPH. Os resultados mostraram que as farinhas elaboradas obtiveram umidade dentro do padrão estabelecido pela RDC - Resolução da Diretoria Colegiada n° 54 de 2012 (máximo 15%), apresentaram alto teor de fibras e alta capacidade antioxidante, não havendo diferenças estatísticas entre as temperaturas utilizadas, se enquadrando em farinha do tipo fina. Pode-se concluir que a elaboração de farinha a partir de casca de laranja Pera é uma ótima alternativa para aumentar o valor nutricional de produtos, pois possui alto teor de fibras e é rica em compostos antioxidantes, apresentando-se como uma alternativa de destino adequado para estes resíduos agroindustriais.

Na produção de cerveja gera-se em torno de 20 kg de bagaço de malte a cada 100 L de cerveja. Esse resíduo apresenta alto teor nutritivo, devido à sua composição nutricional, em geral, é considerado um material lignocelulósico rico em proteínas e fibras. Pensar em formas de aliar sustentabilidade e saúde nas atividades produtivas é um grande desafio para empreendedores e pesquisadores do século XXI. Realizar um reaproveitamento dos resíduos da indústria cervejeira, pela transformação do bagaço de malte em farinha, pode ser uma alternativa para agregar valor nutricional ao produto final e para o desenvolvimento de um novo produto. O objetivo deste trabalho foi o desenvolvimento de farinha do bagaço de malte e a caracterização físico-química do bagaço e da farinha obtida. Para as análises seguiu-se a metodologia oficial do Instituto Adolfo Lutz. Foram utilizados resíduos de bagaço de malte de três diferentes tipos de cervejas: Pilsen, IPA (Indian Pale Ale) e Black IPA. A farinha que apresentou uma maior quantidade de proteína (20,52 ± 0,08) e fibra bruta (66,01 ± 2,32) foi a do bagaço de malte utilizado na produção da cerveja do tipo IPA. Com isso, observar-se que em comparação com a farinha de trigo, a farinha do bagaço de malte se mostrou uma opção melhor no desenvolvimento de novos produtos além de agregando valor nutricional para o produto final.

A utilização de subprodutos nas indústrias alimentícias vem ganhando espaço no desenvolvimento de novos produtos, além de reduzir o impacto ambiental. A produção de laranja no Brasil ocupa a 6ª posição das dez maiores commodities, com isso, havendo grande geração de resíduos da laranja como casca, sementes e polpas. A laranja (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) é o fruto a partir do cruzamento do pomelo (Citrus máxima) com a tangerina (Citrus reticulata). A adição de casca de laranja para desenvolvimentos de barras de cereais confere capacidade antioxidante, podendo prevenir o surgimento de algumas doenças. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo desenvolver barras de cereais com adição de farinha de cascas de laranja e avaliação do potencial antioxidante. Para isso, foram utilizadas cascas de laranja provenientes da cultivar Pera, cultivadas na região de Santa Margarida do Sul – RS, colhidas em julho de 2022. Para a obtenção da farinha das cascas, as mesmas foram secas à 70ºC, por 5 h e adicionadas na elaboração das barras de cereais com 25 e 75% de substituição em relação à farinha de trigo. Em seguida, foi realizado avaliação do potencial antioxidante e teve como resultado esperado que o percentual de inibição das barras de cereais com diferentes formulações de farinha de formulações. Logo, a adição da casca de laranja Pera no enriquecimento das barras de cereais traz benefícios à saúde e, ainda, reduz o impacto ambiental com a utilização de resíduos agroindustriais.

O desenvolvimento da olivicultura no Brasil apresenta grandes destaques com a produção de azeite de oliva. Contudo, o resíduo da sua produção, o bagaço, é considerado complexo visto que é um subproduto sólido formado a partir de pedaços de caroço, pele e polpa de azeitona. A utilização de subprodutos de indústrias alimentícias vem ganhando espaço no desenvolvimento de novos produtos por agregar valor econômico, nutricional além de contribuir para a redução do impacto ambiental. Uma parcela da população brasileira que possuem a doença celíaca, o que impossibilita o consumo de produtos que contêm glúten em sua formulação. Nesse contexto, o desenvolvimento de produtos sem glúten, como biscoitos, é um desafio para a indústria alimentícia, visto que na impossibilidade do consumo do trigo, geralmente se utiliza a farinha de arroz nessas preparações, por ser uma das opções bem aceitas para a elaboração de produtos para celíacos. Assim, objetivou-se desenvolver formulações de biscoitos salgados, sendo um controle (apenas com farinha de arroz) e outras três com substituições parciais de 5,0; 10,0 e 15% de farinha de arroz pela farinha de polpa proveniente do bagaço da azeitona.Com isso, elaboraram-se os biscoitos salgados, determinando as características físicas das formulações, observando que de maneira geral, as formulações enriquecidas com farinha de polpa proveniente do bagaço da extração de azeite de oliva ficaram mais crocante, agregando valor ao produto visto que a maioria dos produtos sem glúten apresentam estruturas menos rígidas.

It is well known that, when given a choice, a DNS recursive resolvers will favor authoritative servers with lower latency. This performance optimization has been a part of their im- plementation since the 1990s, and the behavior has been documented in two studies: Yu et al. examined implementa- tions and replayed traces [13], and Müller et al studied the Root DNS from thousands of RIPE Atlas nodes. In addition, many DNS services have deployed anycast, in part to reduce latency [3, 4, 10].The contribution of this abstract to showhow lower DNS latency shifts traffic from one server to anotherWhile prior studies examined DNS from the perspective of a client, we consider the server-side view.If anycast deployments vary in latency, than implication of a recursive’s preference for lower latency is that more traffic will shift to the lower-latency anycast service. We confirm that lower latency results in increased traffic from recursive resolvers that have a choice between multiple anycast service addresses providing the same zone. (This question differs from studies that examine the optimality of a specific anycast service with multiple sites [5–7].)To examine this question we use public RSSAC-002 sta- tistics for the root server system [9, 12]. From this we use the “traffic-volume” statistic, which reports queries per day for each root anycast service. (Recall that the Root DNS is provided by 13 different anycast service addresses per IP version, each using a different anycast infrastructure.) We show 6 months of data here (2019-11-01 to 2020-05-31), but we noticed similar trends since 2016. This analysis omits G- and I-Root, which did not provide data during this period.Figure 1 shows the fraction of traffic that goes to each anycast service in the root server system for one year. Two root letters deployed additional sites over this period: B-Root originally had 2 sites but added 3 sites in 2020-02-01 [1], then optimized routing around 2020-04-01 [2]. H-Root originally had 2 sites but deployed 4 additional sites on 2020-02-11 and 3 additional sites on 2020-04-06 [11]. While other letters also added sites, B and H’s changes were the largest improve- ments relative to their prior size. We see that, B and H’s share rises from about 4% in 2019-11 to about 6% in 2020-05.This data confirms that when new sites deployed by one of the root letters, they offer some clients lower latency for that letter. Lower latency causes some clients to shift more of their traffic to this letter (automatically, as described in [8]), so its share of traffic relative to the others grows.This data quantifies the long-term uneven balance of traffic across the 13 root letters.Finally, it suggests that anycast DNS deployments that want to balance traffic across multiple IP anycast deploy- ments (each on its own NS record and IP address) should either keep the size and connectivity of each anycast deploy- ment similar, or expect that load will be uneven.

The DNS provides one of the core services of the Internet, mapping applications and services to hosts. DNS employs both UDP and TCP as a transport protocol, and currently most DNS queries are sent over UDP. The problem with UDP is that large responses run the risk of not arriving a their destinations – which can ultimately lead toun- reachability. However, it remains unclear how much of a problem these large DNS responses over UDP are in the wild. This is the focus on this paper: we analyze 114 billion queries/response pairs from more than 43k autonomous systems, covering two months and a week period (2019 and 2020), collected at the authoritative servers of the.nl, the country-code top-level domain of the Netherlands. We show that fragmentation, and the problems that can follow fragmentation, rarely occur at such author- itative servers. Further, we demonstrate that DNS built-in defenses – use of truncation, EDNS0 buffer sizes, reduced responses and TCP fall back – are effective to reduce fragmentation. Last, we measure the uptake of the DNS flag day in 2020.

TheInternet’s Domain Name System (DNS) is a part of every web re- quest and e-mail exchange, so DNS failures can be catastrophic, tak- ing out major websites and services. This paper identifies TsuNAME, a vulnerability where some recursive resolvers can greatly amplify queries, potentially resulting in a denial-of-service to DNS services. TsuNAME is caused by cyclical dependencies in DNS records. A recursive resolver repeatedly follows these cycles, coupled with insufficient caching and application-level retries greatly amplify an initial query, stressing authoritative servers. Although issues with cyclic dependencies are not new, the scale of amplification has not previously been understood. We document real-world events in.nz(a country-level domain), where two misconfigured domains resulted in a 50% increase on overall traffic. We reproduce and document root causes of this event through experiments, and de- mostrate a 500×amplification factor. In response to our disclosure, several DNS software vendors have documented their mitigations, including Google public DNS and Cisco OpenDNS. For operators of authoritative DNS services we have developed and releasedCycleHunter, an open-source tool that detects cyclic dependencies and prevents attacks. We useCycleHunterto evaluate roughly 184 million domain names in 7 large, top-level domains (TLDs), finding 44 cyclic dependent NS records used by 1.4k domain names. The TsuNAME vulnerability is weaponizable, since an adversary can easily create cycles to attack the infrastructure of a parent domains. Documenting this threat and its solutions is an important step to ensuring it is fully addressed.

The paper presents recent advances in the design of controllable, highly accurate, and multi–band Raman gain profiles. The ultra–wideband programmable gain profiles are implemented using a machine learning approach based on the mapping between gain profiles and pump powers.

Currently, people are very concerned with the quality of life in their cities, especially with the level of air quality. Due to this concern, this work aims to analyze the communication of Internet of Things (IoT) devices using Long-Range technology (LoRa) with the Long-Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) protocol for monitoring air quality and smart cities. In this context, factors such as distance between nodes, types of antennas and different Spreading Factor (SF) are considered. In addition, metrics Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), Latency, Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) and Packet Loss Rate (PDR) are collected from a real scenario in the city of Teresina in Brazil. Furthermore, a simulation to analyze the lifetime of the sensor nodes using energy consumption is run. Results show that the LoRaWAN technology proved to be a viable option, with low cost, low energy consumption, covering a distance of up to 2000 meters with packet loss rate of 0.3%, low SNR and latency of 23ms, with shipment of up to 12000 packages with node life of 2081 days, reaching a total consumption of 0.0105 mWh, even with all the barriers of the real scenario.

Um processo judicial é formado, em essência, por uma sequência de atos que são traduzidos em movimentações processuais que carregam o histórico do desenvolvimento das atividades realizadas pelas mais diversas partes no curso da demanda processual. Neste trabalho, explicitamos os caminhos mais prováveis que caracterizam as classes de processos judiciais por meio de um conjunto de regras atribuídas a uma rede complexa. Observamos a sequência de atividades mais prováveis e destacamos os tempos médios necessários para serem concluídas. Observamos quais seriam os principais pontos de atrasos nas possíveis formas de inicialização e término de um processo além da similaridade entre os possíveis caminhos tomados. Ademais, indicamos qual seria o tempo gasto, em média, no aumento do número de movimentações para cada classe de processo. A caracterização dessas redes e a contextualização do caminho de movimentação ideal, associado aos outros dados gerados pelo método proposto permitem, por meio de um processo confiável de geração de dados, uma observação detalhada do fluxo dos processos judiciais, a identificação de comportamentos atípicos e o planejamento de intervenções capazes de otimizar a prestação do serviço jurisdicional pelo judiciário.

Ultra-wideband (UWB) optical communication systems, envision to operate in O+E+S+C+l band, are a viable solution to cope with the network’s exponential traffic growth [1] . One of the main challenges to provide beyond C-band transmission is a lack of optical amplifiers. Since the erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) are limited to C and L bands only, new technologies will have to be explored to cover the remaining bands. Some examples of amplifiers able to provide amplification beyond C–band are: bismuth doped fibre amplifiers (BDFA) [2] , semiconductor optical amplifiers, (SOAs) [3] and Raman amplifiers (RAs) [4] . Compared to the solutions based on BDFA and SOA, optical amplifiers based RAs offer a higher degree of commercial maturity [5] . Most importantly, RA amplifiers can provide gain in any band provided a proper allocation of pump powers and wavelength.

Neuromedin B, a bombesin-like peptide, and its receptor, are expressed in white adipose tissue with undefined roles. Female mice with disruption of neuromedin B receptor (NB-R) exhibited partial resistance to diet-induced obesity leading to our hypothesis that NB-R is involved in adipogenesis. Here, we showed that adipose stem/stromal cells (ASC) from perigonadal fat of female NB-R-knockout mice, exposed to a differentiation protocol in vitro, accumulated less lipid (45%) than wild type, suggesting reduced capacity to differentiate under adipogenic input. To further explore mechanisms, preadipocytes 3T3-L1 cells were incubated in the presence of NB-R antagonist (PD168368) during the first 3 days in culture. Cells were analyzed in the end of the treatment (Day 3) and later when fully differentiated (Day 21). NB-R antagonist induced lower number of cells at day 3 and 21 (33–39%), reduced cell proliferation at day 3 (−53%) and reduced lipid accumulation at day 21 (−86%). The mRNA expressions of several adipocyte differentiation markers were importantly reduced at both days: Cebpb and Pparg and Fabp4, Plin-1 and Adipoq, and additionally Lep mRNA at day 21. The antagonist had no effect when incubated with mature 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Therefore, genetically disruption of NB-R in mice ASC or pharmacological antagonism of NB-R in 3T3-L1 cells impairs adipogenesis. The mechanisms suggested by results in 3T3-L1 cells involve reduction of cell proliferation and of early gene expressions, leading to decreased number of mature adipocytes. We speculate that NB-R antagonism may be useful to limit the increase in adiposity due to pre-adipocyte differentiation.

O presente artigo tem por finalidade apresentar uma reflexao sobre os impactos do deslizamento de terras e rochas causadas principalmente pelo processo

Considering the constant improvement of Eucalyptus cloning and the search for new technologies to produce plantlets of this species, somatic embryogenesis has attracted interest from research groups and forestry companies that use advanced genetic breeding and cloning programs. The objective of the present study was to verify the effect of concentrations and sources of calcium, concentrations and effect time of cytokinin BAP and polyamine putrescine on the induction and development of somatic embryos in juvenile explants of Eucalyptus grandis x E. urophylla. Cotyledonary explants were inoculated into culture medium containing calcium chloride (MS medium) or calcium nitrate (JADS medium) as source of calcium. Different concentrations of calcium were also used, for MS medium containing: 4.40 gL-1 (control-Ca), 6.60 gL-1 (50% increase over control - Ca 50) and 8.80 gL-1 (increase of 100% over control – Ca 100) of calcium nitrate; and for JADS medium containing: 11.81 gL-1 (Ca), 17.72 gL-1 (Ca50) and 23.62 gL-1 (Ca100) of calcium chloride. Cotyledon explants were inoculated into the primary induction medium (PIM) containing 20.71 μM picloram as growth regulator. At 10, 20 and 30 days of primary induction, the explants were transferred to the secondary induction medium (SIM) containing 20.71 μM picloram and 11.10 μM BAP or 28.36 μM putrescine. The culture medium containing calcium nitrate provided higher callogenesis when compared to the medium containing calcium chloride. The increase in calcium concentration in the media did not provide higher percentage of induction of somatic pro-embryos. However, the addition of 28.36 μM putrescine to the culture medium provided a higher percentage of induction of somatic embryogenesis. The number of somatic pro-embryos formed per explant was higher when BAP and putrescine were added to the culture medium when compared to medium containing only picloram. To obtain a greater number of somatic pro-embryos of Eucalyptus grandis × E. urophylla, the JADS culture medium containing 28.36 μM putrecine should be used.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic interstitial lung disease of unknown cause that occurs sporadically, but it can also occur in families and so named as Familial Pulmonary Fibrosis (FPF). Some forms of FPF overlaps IPF features, namely the radiological and histological pattern of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP). Genetic and environmental factors commonly play an important role in the pathogenesis of FPF and the most commonly identified mutations involve the telomerase complex. Here, we report a rare case of FPF in a male at the age of 44, in whom genetic testing showed heterozygous variants for the telomerase reverse transcriptase gene (TERT). Our report highlights the importance of compiling a thorough family history in younger patients identified with UIP serving as a resource for identifying the current and future genetic links to disease. Families with UIP hold a great promise in defining UIP pathogenesis, potentially suggesting targets for the development of future therapies. Keywords: Familial pulmonary fibrosis, Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, TERT, Telomerase gene mutations

AIM The aim of this study is to assess three protocols for removing a eugenol-based filling endodontic sealer from root dentin and the bond strength of fiberglass posts luted with resin cement. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sixty single-rooted bovine teeth were prepared and filled with the Endofill endodontic sealer and gutta-percha cones. After 7 days, 9 mm of the filling was removed and divided into five groups (n = 12) according to the cleaning protocol: G1 (negative control), unfilled; G2 (positive control), saline solution; G3, 95% alcohol; G4, amyl acetate; and G5, Largo bur. The canals were hybridized and fiberglass posts were luted with resin cement. They were cross-sectioned in slices of 1 mm and subjected to the push-out test. The other samples were sectioned longitudinally and visualized in a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the existing chemical elements were quantified by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The statistical analysis used variance analysis (ANOVA)-one way and Fisher's test, at a 5% significance level. RESULTS The 95% alcohol was more effective for cleaning the canal, resulting in a clean dentinal surface and bond strength statistically similar to the negative control. The Largo bur was also statistically similar to the negative control, with only a few debris impregnated on the wall. Amyl acetate showed more sealer residues on the canal walls, with a consequent lower bond strength value than the other groups, only higher than the positive control. CONCLUSION The 95% alcohol and Largo burs may be used after removing the canal filling, so that the bond strength is improved when using the eugenol-based sealer.

IP anycast has become a vital technology for DNS and CDN operators alike. Yet, while big operators have their tools to monitor and configure anycast routing, most of anycast networks are still configured manually. In this paper, we introduce a new approach to anycast management. Our solution is based on active measurements combined with traffic engineering. We propose the concept of a "BGP Cookbook" that allows operators to forecast the effects of routing policy changes over their services. We also introduce a web-based interface, called "BGP Anycast Tuner", that allows operators to gain insight into their service’s performance and provides easy management through automation. We evaluate our approach by implementing a prototype running in a testbed composed of 12 anycast sites covering 5 continents. We demonstrate our tool in two different use cases: discovering and fixing a sub-optimal anycast routing issue, and shifting traffic between continents, which is useful during service disruptions.

Large amounts of by-products are generated during fish processing. The study aimed to assess whether tilapia scales are a potential source for obtaining glycosaminoglycans, as well as to determine their anticoagulant and cytotoxic/antiproliferative activities, against different tumor lines. The glycosaminoglycans were extracted, purified, and fractionated. The fractions that indicated the presence of uronic acid and sulfated GAGs were characterized by electrophoresis, NMR, and degree of sulfation (DS). The extraction process using the papain enzyme had a yield of 0.86%. Fraction V (FV) revealed the presence of chondroitin sulfate chains CS-A and CS-C, with DS of 0.146. FV demonstrated anticoagulant potential, as it was able to increase aPTT time. FV showed a cytotoxic effect for HTC metabolizing cells at 24, 48, and 72 h. However, it did not show activity for neuroblastoma cells in any of the evaluated times. The results indicate that the tilapia scales are a possible source for obtaining chondroitin sulfate, with potential use as anticoagulant and cytotoxic/antitumor.

Gout is a multisystem disease that may present in different ways. We report an elderly man who presented with a large ulcer of the left leg with hard yellow projections evolving for one year. Analytical study revealed a normal uric acid level, but histopathology showed a focal basophilic acellular material compatible with a gouty tophus. This tophus represents the cardinal feature of advanced gout and may present several challenges to wound care professionals. In fact, the ulcer in our patient persisted after one-year follow-up. Our aim is to alert clinicians about a rare cutaneous presentation of gout that may be increasingly diagnosed.

We described the clinical, laboratory and molecular characteristics of individuals with Hb S (HBB: c.20A>T)/β-thalassemia (Hb S/β-thal) participating in the Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study (REDS-III) Brazil Sickle Cell Disease cohort. HBB gene sequencing was performed to genotype each β-thal mutation. Patients were classified as Hb S/β(0)-thal, Hb S/β(+)-thal-severe or Hb S/β(+)-thal based on prior literature and databases of hemoglobin (Hb) variants. Characteristics of patients with each β-thal mutation were described and the clinical profile of patients grouped into Hb S/β(0)-thal, Hb S/β(+)-thal and Hb S/β(+)-thal-severe were compared. Of the 2793 patients enrolled, 84 (3.0%) had Hb S/β(0)-thal and 83 (3.0%) had Hb S/β(+)-thal; 40/83 (48.2%) patients with Hb S/β(+)-thal had mutations defined as severe. We identified 19 different β-thal mutations, eight Hb S/β(0)-thal, three Hb S/β(+)-thal-severe and eight Hb S/β(+)-thal. The most frequent β(0) and β(+) mutations were codon 39 (HBB: c.118C>T) and IVS-I-6 (T>C) (HBB: c.92+6T>C), respectively. Individuals with Hb S/β(0)-thal had a similar clinical and laboratory phenotype when compared to those with Hb S/β(+)-thal-severe. Individuals with Hb S/β(+)-thal-severe had significantly lower total Hb and Hb A levels and higher Hb S, white blood cell (WBC) count, platelets and hemolysis markers when compared to those with Hb S/β(+)-thal. Likewise, individuals with Hb S/β(+)-thal-severe showed a significantly higher occurrence of hospitalizations, vaso-occlusive events (VOE), acute chest syndrome (ACS), splenic sequestration, blood utilization, and hydroxyurea (HU) therapy.

Obesity and high-fat (HF) diet are associated with over activation of the endocannabinoid system (ECS). We have demonstrated that maternal HF diet induces early obesity and modulates cannabinoid signaling in visceral (VIS) and subcutaneous (SUB) white adipose tissue (WAT) in weanling rat offspring. We hypothesized that perinatal maternal HF diet would program the expression of ECS in adipose tissue in a long-term way in parallel to alterations in epigenetic markers and sex hormone signaling.Progenitor female rats received control diet (C, 9% fat) or isocaloric high-fat diet (HF, 28% fat) for 8 weeks before mating, gestation, and lactation. All pups were weaned to C diet and they were euthanized at 180 days old.Maternal HF diet induced overweight and increased SUB WAT mass of male and female adult offspring. Maternal HF diet induced hypertrophy of VIS and SUB adipocytes only in female offspring associated with increased type 1 cannabinoid receptor protein (CB1) and mRNA (Cnr1) levels. These changes were associated with increased estrogen receptor α binding to Cnr1 promoter in SUB WAT of adult female offspring, which may contribute to higher expression of Cnr1.Increased CB1 signaling in adipose tissue might contribute to higher adiposity programmed by maternal HF diet because endocannabinoids stimulate the accumulation of fat in the adipose tissue. Our findings provide molecular insights into sex-specific targets for anti-obesity therapies based on the endocannabinoid system.