Composting is a promising source of new organisms and thermostable enzymes that may be helpful in environmental management and industrial processes. Here we present results of metagenomic- and ...metatranscriptomic-based analyses of a large composting operation in the São Paulo Zoo Park. This composting exhibits a sustained thermophilic profile (50 °C to 75 °C), which seems to preclude fungal activity. The main novelty of our study is the combination of time-series sampling with shotgun DNA, 16S rRNA gene amplicon, and metatranscriptome high-throughput sequencing, enabling an unprecedented detailed view of microbial community structure, dynamics, and function in this ecosystem. The time-series data showed that the turning procedure has a strong impact on the compost microbiota, restoring to a certain extent the population profile seen at the beginning of the process; and that lignocellulosic biomass deconstruction occurs synergistically and sequentially, with hemicellulose being degraded preferentially to cellulose and lignin. Moreover, our sequencing data allowed near-complete genome reconstruction of five bacterial species previously found in biomass-degrading environments and of a novel biodegrading bacterial species, likely a new genus in the order Bacillales. The data and analyses provided are a rich source for additional investigations of thermophilic composting microbiology.
Trabalha-se com o campo de turismo no Brasil (1990-2018), tomado como os 3.887 artigos de 16 periódicos. Há os seguintes objetivos principais: a) apresentar o panorama das citações do campo; b) ...avaliar a distribuição temporal das citações (trajetória); c) construir rankings de autores, instituições e países, traçando o perfil dos elementos no topo; e d) construir um modelo de determinação de atributos para o número estimado de citações de um artigo. A metodologia de pesquisa baseia-se na bibliometria e na construção e aplicação de um modelo de regressão linear com variáveis explicativas. Os 3.887 artigos têm 10.882 citações reais (citações nominais subtraídas de autocitações, erros e redundâncias), com média de 2,80 e mediana igual a um. Destaca-se o elevado número de artigos sem nenhuma citação (42,14%), assim como a concentração das citações em reduzido conjunto de artigos. Desde 2010, tem havido contínuo e expressivo crescimento das citações, as quais são feitas, crescentemente, por artigos de periódico. No ranking de autores, predominam docentes credenciados em programas de pós-graduação stricto sensu no Brasil. Para as instituições, é marcante a liderança da Universidade de São Paulo. O modelo mostrou que o atributo mais importante para a determinação do número de citações é o ano de publicação do artigo, por mais que existam outros atributos relevantes. Apesar de apresentar, ainda, baixo impacto, estando este concentrado em reduzido número de artigos, o crescimento das citações, nos últimos anos, é auspicioso para o campo de turismo no Brasil, inclusive aquelas feitas por artigos de periódico de outros campos, disciplinas e ciências.
RESUMO O objeto é o campo de turismo no Brasil, tomado como os indivíduos que, em seu currículo Lattes, declaram que atuam em turismo. Os objetivos principais são caracterizar esses indivíduos, ...verificar as principais instituições de formação acadêmica e atuação profissional, e identificar os principais veículos de publicação. As análises foram embasadas por métodos de análise bibliométrica e de análise de redes sociais. Os resultados indicam a existência de um campo de conhecimento fragmentado e ainda em fase de amadurecimento.
ABSTRACT We study the field of tourism in Brazil, taken as the individuals who, in their curriculum Lattes, declare they work in this field. The main objectives are to characterize these individuals, to verify the main institutions of academic formation and work, and to identify the main scientific journals. We used methods of bibliometric analysis and of social networks analysis. The results indicate the existence of a fragmented and not yet mature field of knowledge.
Apresenta-se uma análise bibliométrica e de redes sociais do campo de turismo no Brasil, considerando-o como os artigos publicados em 16 periódicos brasileiros de turismo. Por meio das ...palavras-chave, é descrita e avaliada sua trajetória (1990-2018), com foco no agrupamento de turismo cultural. Acerca dele, abordam-se a autoria (autores, instituições e distribuição geográfica), periódicos (concentração da publicação), impacto e estrutura intelectual. O agrupamento é claramente delimitado, e congrega palavras-chave “esperadas,” que orbitam em torno do turismo cultural, cultura e patrimônio. A autoria é relativamente fragmentada; há clara sobre representação da Região Nordeste do Brasil. Nas referências, chama atenção a orientação de ciências sociais; há relativamente poucos autores e textos preocupados com o turismo cultural como segmento de mercado. É nítido o domínio e centralidade de Margarita Barretto na estrutura intelectual. No impacto, o agrupamento tem uma média de citações reais por artigo pouco abaixo da verificada para o campo.
Five mycobacterial isolates from sewage were classified as members of the genus
but presented inconclusive species assignments. Thus, the isolates (MYC017, MYC098, MYC101, MYC123 and MYC340) were ...analyzed by phenotypical, biochemical, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and genomic features to clarify their taxonomic position. Phenotypic analysis and biochemical tests did not distinguish these isolates from other non-pigmented mycobacteria. In contrast, MALDI-TOF MS analysis showed that isolates were not related to any previously described
species. Comparative genomic analysis showed values of ANI and dDDH between 81.59-85.56% and 24.4-28.8%, respectively, when compared to the genomes of species of this genus. In addition, two (MYC101 and MYC123) presented indistinguishable protein spectra from each other and values of ANI = 98.57% and dDDH = 97.3%, therefore being considered as belonging to the same species. Phylogenetic analysis grouped the five isolates within the
complex (MTC) but in a specific subclade and separated from the species already described and supported by 100% bootstrap value, confirming that they are part of this complex but different from earlier described species. According to these data, we propose the description of four new species belonging to the
genus: (i)
sp. nov. strain MYC017
(= ATCC TSD-296
= JCM 35364
), (ii)
sp. nov. strain MYC098
(= ATCC TSD-297
= JCM 35365T), (iii)
sp. nov. strain MYC101
(= ATCC TSD-298
= JCM 35366
) and MYC123 (= ATCC BAA-3216 = JCM 35367); and (iv)
sp. nov. strain MYC340
(= ATCC TSD-299
= JCM 35368
).
The technologies supporting Artificial Intelligence (AI) have advanced rapidly over the past few years and AI is becoming a commonplace in every aspect of life like the future of self-driving cars or ...earlier health diagnosis. For this to occur shortly, the entire community stands in front of the barrier of explainability, an inherent problem of latest models (e.g. Deep Neural Networks) that were not present in the previous hype of AI (linear and rule-based models). Most of these recent models are used as black boxes without understanding partially or even completely how different features influence the model prediction avoiding algorithmic transparency. In this paper, we focus on how much we can understand the decisions made by an SVM Classifier in a post-hoc model agnostic approach. Furthermore, we train a tree-based model (inherently interpretable) using labels from the SVM, called secondary training data to provide explanations and compare permutation importance method to the more commonly used measures such as accuracy and show that our methods are both more reliable and meaningful techniques to use. We also outline the main challenges for such methods and conclude that model-agnostic interpretability is a key component in making machine learning more trustworthy.
Human HSP27 is a small heat shock protein that modulates the ability of cells to respond to heat shock and oxidative stress, and also functions as a chaperone independent of ATP, participating in the ...proteasomal degradation of proteins. The expression of HSP27 is associated with survival in mammalian cells. In cancer cells, it confers resistance to chemotherapy; in neurons, HSP27 has a positive effect on neuronal viability in models of Alzheimerʼs and Parkinsonʼs diseases. To better understand the mechanism by which HSP27 expression contributes to cell survival, we expressed human HSP27 in the budding yeast
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
under control of different mutant TEF promoters, that conferred nine levels of graded basal expression, and showed that replicative lifespan and proteasomal activity increase as well as the resistance to oxidative and thermal stresses. The profile of these phenotypes display a dose–response effect characteristic of hormesis, an adaptive phenomenon that is observed when cells are exposed to increasing amounts of stress or toxic substances. The hormetic response correlates with changes in expression levels of HSP27 and also with its oligomeric states when correlated to survival assays. Our results indicate that fine tuning of HSP27 concentration could be used as a strategy for cancer therapy, and also for improving neuronal survival in neurodegenerative diseases.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are chemical compounds that are widespread in the environment, arising from the incomplete combustion of organic material, as well as from human activities ...involving petrol exploitation, petrochemical industrial waste, gas stations, and environmental disasters. PAHs of high molecular weight, such as pyrene, have carcinogenic and mutagenic effects and are considered pollutants. The microbial degradation of PAHs occurs through the action of multiple dioxygenase genes (
), which are localized in genomic island denominate region A, and cytochrome P450 monooxygenases genes (
) dispersed in the bacterial genome. This study evaluated pyrene degradation by five isolates of
using 2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol (DCPIP assay), gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (CG/MS), and genomic analyses. Two isolates (MYC038 and MYC040) exhibited pyrene degradation indexes of 96% and 88%, respectively, over a seven-day incubation period. Interestingly, the genomic analyses showed that the isolates do not have
genes, which are involved in PAH biodegradation, despite their ability to degrade pyrene, suggesting that degradation may occur due to the presence of
150 genes, or even genes that have not yet been described. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of isolates without
genes demonstrating the ability to degrade pyrene.
Resumo Indicadores de produção científica são usualmente utilizados para a avaliação da comunidade acadêmica. Como parâmetro de qualidade, as bases de dados bibliográficas são empregadas para a ...seleção dos periódicos mais importantes, o que as confere um papel significativo no processo avaliativo. Por outro lado, ao se restringir as análises à produção indexada, abre-se mão do todo, correndo-se o risco de desqualificar a produção em periódicos não indexados. O Qualis busca contornar esse problema, ao possibilitar que as áreas valorizem os periódicos não indexados, mas nem sempre consideram o volume de artigos publicados neles. Este trabalho apresenta uma análise exploratória da dispersão da produção científica dos 260.663 pesquisadores, no nível de doutorado, registrados na Plataforma Lattes. Para a determinação do panorama nacional, foram considerados todos os artigos completos publicados em periódicos por esses pesquisadores entre os anos de 1998 e 2016. Esse panorama contempla análises discriminadas por grande área de atuação dos pesquisadores, o país de publicação e a indexação das publicações nos diferentes periódicos. Observaram-se tendências de internacionalização, assim como a importância de periódicos nacionais como veículos de publicação de parte significativa da produção científica de algumas áreas. Finalmente, ficou evidenciada a potencial limitação de estudos que não considerem a produção científica em periódicos não indexados, ou estudos restritos às bases Scopus e/ou Web of Science, ignorando a Scientific Electronic Library Online.
Abstract Indicators of scientific production are generally used in the evaluation of the academic community. As a quality parameter, the bibliographic databases are used for the selection of the most important scientific journals, a relevant role in the evaluation process. On the other hand, when the analysis is restricted to the indexed production, there is a risk of disqualifying production in journals that are not indexed. Qualis aims to address this issue by enabling areas to value non-indexed journals, even as they do not always consider the volume of articles published in these journals. This paper presents an exploratory analysis of the dispersion of the scientific production of 260,663 researchers with doctorate level registered in the Lattes Platform. For the determination of the national panorama, we considered all the full papers they published in scientific journals between 1998 and 2016. This panorama includes analyzes divided by the researchers’ knowledge areas, the publications’ countries, as well as the indexation of the publications in the different journals. Internationalization trends were observed, as well as the importance of national journals as vehicles for the publication of a significant part of the scientific production in some areas. Additionally, we observed the limitation of studies that do not consider scientific production in non-indexed journals, or studies restricted to Scopus and/or Web of Science databases that do not consider Scientific Electronic Library Online.
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