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Este artigo tem por finalidade apresentar a história ambiental do Cerrado como um sistema biogeográfico e as consequências ambientais da expansão da fronteira agrícola na região central do Brasil. A pesquisa está embasada em um conjunto diverso de fontes documentais e bibliográficas que ressaltam as paisagens do Cerrado, sua biodiversidade, com ênfase nos processos históricos da expansão da fronteira agrícola. O estudo está fundamentado nos pressupostos teórico-metodológicos da história ambiental para a compreensão da relação entre sociedade e o ecossistema do Cerrado. Os resultados apontam que a compreensão do Cerrado como sistema biogeográfico é complexa e os diferentes processos históricos de percepção, descrição e ocupação desse ecossistema acontece de forma variada, considerando a diversidade das paisagens e dos elementos naturais que o compõe. Ademais, os esforços governamentais no desenvolvimento científico para tornar o Cerrado como fronteira agrícola, bem como a expansão agropecuária dos últimos 50 anos têm alterado significativamente as suas paisagens, gerando impactos e danos ambientais irreversíveis nesse ecossistema único nos chapadões centrais da América do Sul

Contribution: This work evaluates the role of the complementary training programs (CTPs) offered by the Center for Research and Development in Electronic and Information Technology (CETELI), from the Federal University of Amazonas, Brazil. This analysis highlights the relevant role of the CTP, carried out by CETELI, in supporting students in the engineering undergraduate course, thus reducing dropouts and improving retention of low-income students. Background: The great challenge of engineering courses and of all courses in the technological area is to keep in step with the job market and, thus, provide better conditions for entering trainees. Intended Outcomes: Based on the experience of this work, other electrical engineering courses should be encouraged to adopt partnerships with industries, offering the possibility for students to carry out project activities on topics of interest to industries and, especially in developing countries like Brazil, to associate this activity with the provision of scholarships. Application Design: The evaluation assesses the impact of the various CTP partnership projects (PPs) on the graduation rate (GR), on students' academic performance, and on the average graduation time (GT). It also assesses how the CTP students entered the job market, measuring whether the CTP facilitated their entry. Findings: It was observed a difference in the GR between the students who participated in the CTP and students that did not participate in the CTP. For the computer engineering course, this rate was about five times higher. It was observed that more than half of the students who participated in the CTP entered the market and were hired almost immediately for work in their area of training.

The co-circulation of chikungunya virus (CHIKV), dengue virus (DENV) and Zika virus (ZIKV) in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Brazil, caused a challenging triple epidemic, as they share similar clinical signs and symptoms and geographical distribution. Here, we aimed to investigate the clinical and laboratorial aspects of chikungunya suspected cases assisted in RJ during the 2018 outbreak, focusing on the differential diagnosis with dengue and zika. All suspected cases were submitted to molecular and/or serological differential diagnostic approaches to arboviruses. A total of 242 cases suspected of arbovirus infection were investigated and 73.6% (178/242) were molecular and/or serologically confirmed as chikungunya. In RT-qPCR confirmed cases, cycle threshold (Ct) values ranged from 15.46 to 35.13, with acute cases presenting lower values. Chikungunya cases were mainly in females (64%) and the most frequently affected age group was adults between 46 to 59 years old (27%). Polyarthralgia affected 89% of patients, especially in hands and feet. No dengue virus (DENV) and Zika virus (ZIKV) infections were confirmed by molecular diagnosis, but 9.5% (23/242) had serological evidence of DENV exposure by the detection of specific anti-DENV IgM or NS1, and 42.7% (76/178) of chikungunya positive cases also presented recent DENV exposure reflected by a positive anti-DENV IgM or NS1 result. A significantly higher frequency of arthritis (p = 0.023) and limb edema (p < 0.001) was found on patients with CHIKV monoinfection compared to dengue patients and patients exposed to both viruses. Lastly, phylogenetic analysis showed that the chikungunya cases were caused by the ECSA genotype. Despite the triple arboviruses epidemic in the state of RJ, most patients with fever and arthralgia investigated here were diagnosed as chikungunya cases, and the incidence of CHIKV/DENV co-detection was higher than that reported in other studies.

This paper presents an experimental inverse approach to simultaneously estimate the temperature-dependent thermal properties of AISI 316 stainless steel. The heat flux conducted to the sample was corrected by using a transducer, evaluating contact resistance at microscopic level, and performing experiments under vacuum. Estimates were severely biased when heat flux correction was not applied. Metaheuristics were used to enlarge the search space, which can cover the thermal properties of all known metallic materials, thereby taking advantage of better thermal modeling adequacy. The estimation reliability was shown by comparison with literature data, statistical significance, uncertainty analysis, and inverse heat flux retrieval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a common psychiatric condition characterized by persistent and excessive worry, often accompanied by dysautonomic symptoms that significantly impact patients' well-being. Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive compound derived from cannabis, has shown potential as an anxiolytic through its partial agonism of the 5HT-1A receptor and its negative allosteric modulation of CB1 receptors, which may help mitigate the anxiogenic effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This study evaluates the impact of CBD on individuals diagnosed with various anxiety disorders, comparing its effects to placebo and conventional pharmaceutical treatments through a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). A systematic search of RCTs published between 2013 and 2023 was conducted across three databases using the terms "cannabidiol" and "anxiety". Out of the 284 articles identified, 11 met the eligibility criteria. The studies reviewed varied widely in terms of the types of anxiety disorders and CBD dosages examined, leading to results that were often contradictory. Despite these conflicting outcomes, the data suggest that CBD may reduce anxiety with minimal adverse effects when compared to a placebo. However, further RCTs with improved methodologies, encompassing a broad range of doses and continuous CBD administration across specific anxiety disorders, are needed. Unlike previous studies and meta-analyses, this review encompasses a broader spectrum of anxiety disorders and a variety of study designs and dosages, providing a more nuanced understanding of CBD's potential efficacy across different conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loreto virus (LORV) is an insect-specific virus classified into the proposed taxon Negevirus. It was originally described in Iquitos, Peru, in 1977. Here, we describe three novel LORV genomes obtained from the isolates of three pooled samples of Trichoprosopon digitatum, Aedes (Ochlerotatus) fulvus, and Limatus durhamii collected in Ilhéus—Bahia, 2014. Samples were submitted to RNA sequencing on the Illumina platform to recover the LORV genome. The genomes presented, on average, 81.5% nucleotide identity and 92.6% global amino acid identity with the LORV reference genome (NC_034158). Subsequently, phylogenetic analysis was performed based on a multiple sequence alignment of the concatenated amino acid sequences predicted for the three ORFs of the Negevirus genomes, and the target sequences were clustered within the LORV clade. The taxon Negevirus is in constant expansion of its species content and host range. New data about insect specific negeviruses are important for virus evolution studies, along with those approaching interactions with the hosts and their influence in the transmission of arboviruses. Also, the assessment of these data may allow the development of biologic control strategies for arboviral vectors. This is the original report of the identification of LORV in Brazil, infecting three Culicidae species hosts native to the Atlantic Forest biome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of sodium bicarbonate (SB) supplementation on physical performance, neuromuscular and metabolic responses during CrossFit® exercise. Seventeen Advanced CrossFit®-trained athletes completed the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover protocol consisting of four visits, including two familiarization sessions and two experimental trials separated by a 7-day washout period. Participants supplemented 0.3 g/kg body mass (BM) of SB or placebo 120-min prior to performing the CrossFit® benchmark Fran followed by 500 m of rowing. SB improved time to complete Fran compared to PLA (291.2 ± 71.1 vs. 303.3 ± 77.8 s, p = 0.047), but not 500 m rowing (112.1 s ± 7.9 vs. 113.2 s ± 8.9 s, p = 0.26). No substantial side-effects were reported during the trials. This study showed that SB improved CrossFit® benchmark Fran performance, but not subsequent 500-m rowing. These data suggest that SB might be an interesting supplementation strategy for CrossFit® athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]