3,417 research outputs found
A questão do financiamento de longo prazo no Brasil: uma revisão histórica
No full textTCC (graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro Sócio-Econômico. Economia.No processo de crescimento econômico, principalmente em economias emergentes que necessitam desenvolver o setor de infra-estrutura, o financiamento de longo prazo constitui um mecanismo fundamental para a viabilização de investimentos. A falta de mecanismos internos eficazes de financiamento privado de longo prazo dentro do Sistema Financeiro, ao longo da história, impôs barreiras em relação ao crescimento econômico do Brasil. O baixo crescimento econômico do nosso país durante muitas décadas resulta, em grande parte, de um sistema financeiro subdesenvolvido com claras deficiências no que se refere ao mercado de capitais e ao sistema bancário privado como elementos de suporte para as empresas realizarem seus investimentos. Este trabalho busca analisar o modelo de financiamento adotado no Brasil no século XX, além do papel atual do sistema financeiro doméstico na oferta de crédito privado
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Letter from A.L. Monmerqué de Courmont.
No full textLetter from A.L. Monmerqué de Courmont, possibly Adélaïde Louise de Monmerqué (1767-1835) who had been married to Louis Marie Le Bas de Courmont (1741-1794), dated 10 pluvoise. It is not addressed but was presumably sent to Philippe-Antoine Merlin, as it comprises the verso of one of his requisitions from 1802. In this letter the author requests a day and an hour when she (or he) might meet with the recipient
Interações tróficas em ambientes recifais ao longo de diferentes escalas espaciais
No full textTese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Florianópolis, 2015.Interações tróficas são fundamentais para a estrutura e funcionamento de ecossistemas, alterando padrões de densidade e biomassa de espécies de diferentes níveis tróficos. Atividades humanas podem afetar negativamente a estrutura e intensidade dessas interações, causando mudanças drásticas nos ecossistemas. Os ambientes recifais, por exemplo, têm sofrido uma variedade de impactos antrópicos (e.g., sobrepesca, poluição), levando à perda de diversidade e processos ecossistêmicos críticos, sobretudo aqueles mediados por interações tróficas. Por exemplo, quando peixes herbívoros e ouriços foram experimentalmente removidos (cenário de sobrepesca) de recifes de coral, macroalgas rapidamente dominaram o recife. Nesses ambientes, a pressão alimentar dos peixes recifais sobre a comunidade bentônica é um bom modelo de interação trófica já que tem uma importância fundamental na estruturação das comunidades bentônicas. A intensidade e composição de interações tróficas podem ser influenciadas por múltiplos fatores ao longo de diferentes escalas espaciais, com consequências importantes para o funcionamento dos ecossistemas. Por exemplo: na escala do centímetro, a qualidade nutricional de uma presa ou suas defesas químicas moldam a identidade de seus predadores e intensidade de predação; na escala do habitat (centenas de metros), diferentes níveis de tolerância à condições abióticas extremas podem resultar em refúgios contra predação; em largas escalas espaciais (centenas de quilômetros), a temperatura pode interferir na demanada metabólica do predador, moldando suas interações tróficas; em escala latitudinal, esses fatores ecológicos se combinam a fatores biogeográficos, como diferentes composições taxonômicas. Esta tese apresenta diferentes abordagens sobre interações tróficas desde a escala do centímetro até a escala latitudinal, em quatro capítulos: (1) ?Can seaweed-coral competition make seaweeds more palatable??, que aborda questões de competição direta entre corais e macroalgas e sua relação com herbivoria; (2) ?Between-habitat variation in benthic communities, reef fish assemblage and feeding pressure at the only atoll in South Atlantic: Rocas atoll, NE Brazil?, que avalia padrões das comunidades e processos ecológicos relacionados à sua estruturação emhabitats com diferentes condições abióticas; (3) ?Herbivory drives large-scale spatial variation in reef fish trophic interactions?, que explora a intensidade e composição da pressão alimentar dos peixes recifais sobre as comunidades bentônicas, identificando espécies-chave para esses ecossistemas; e (4) ?Latitudinal gradients in reef fish trophic interactions on the benthos?, que investiga a variação latitudinal (34oN?27oS) da intensidade e composição das interações tróficas dos peixes sobre o bentos no Oceano Atlântico Ocidental, e sua relação com fatores ambientais (e.g., temperatura) e contexto biogeográfico (e.g., regiões biogeográficas). Observou-se que: (1) na escala do centímetro, a competição com corais pode tornar a alga mais susceptível à herbivoria; (2) na escala do habitat, a sinergia entre fatores abióticos e interações tróficas é determinante na estruturação de comunidades recifais (peixes e bentos); (3) em larga escala espacial, a contribuição desproporcional de alguns grupos, indicam que o funcionamento dos ambientes recifais é variável de acordo com condições locais específicas (e.g., temperatura); e (4) em escala latitudinal, observou-se que embora recifes compartilhem os mesmos grupos funcionais, a identidade das espécies nesses grupos varia de acordo com o contexto biogeográfico. Esses múltiplos fatores ao longo de diferentes escalas espaciais demonstram a complexidade das interações tróficas e indicam abordagens possíveis de aplicação em conservação de processos críticos mediados por essas interações.Abstract : Trophic interactions are critical to the structure and functioning of ecosystems, altering density and biomass patterns of species across different trophic levels. Human activities have been negatively impacting these interactions, causing drastic changes in ecosystems. Reef habitats, for instance, have suffered a variety of human-related impacts (e.g, overfishing, pollution) leading to loss of biodiversity and critical ecosystem processes, particularly those mediated by trophic interactions. For example, when herbivorous fish and sea urchins were experimentally excluded from coral reefs (overfishing scenario) seaweeds rapidly overgrew corals. In these habitats, reef fish feeding pressure on the benthos is a good metric of trophic interaction because it is critically important to the structure of benthic communities. The intensity and composition of trophic interactions can be influenced by multiple factors across different spatial scales and have important consequences to ecosystem functioning. For example: at the scale of centimeters, prey nutritional quality or chemical defenses can shape the identity of predators and predation intensity; at the habitat scale (hundreds of meters), different tolerance levels to harsh abiotic conditions can result in predation refugees; at large spatial scales (hundreds of kilometers), temperature can interfere in the predator?s metabolic demand and thus influencing its trophic interactions; at latitudinal scales (thousands of kilometers), these ecological factors meet biogeography, for example with different taxonomic composition. This thesis presents different approaches on trophic interactions in reef systems from the centimeter to the latitudinal scales, along four chapters: (1) ?Can seaweed-coral competition make seaweeds more palatable??, encompassing direct coral-seaweed competition and its effect on herbivory by sea urchins; (2) ?Between-habitat variation in benthic communities, reef fish assemblage and feeding pressure at the only atoll in South Atlantic: Rocas atoll, NE Brazil?, on patterns in reef fish and benthic assemblages and ecological processes associated to its structure in habitats with different abiotic conditions; (3) ?Herbivory drives large-scale spatial variation in reef fish trophic interactions?, exploring the intensity and composition of reef fish feeding pressure on the benthosand identifying key groups to the studied ecosystems; and (4) ?Latitudinal gradients in reef fish trophic interactions on the benthos?, exploring the latitudinal variation (34oN?27oS) in the intensity and composition of reef fish feeding pressure on the benthos in the Western Atlantic Ocean, and its relation to environmental factos (e.g., temperature) and biogeographic context (e.g., biogeographic regions). The main outcomes are: (1) at the scale of centimeters, competition with corals can enhance seaweed?s susceptibility to herbivory by sea urchins; (2) at the habitat scale, the synergy between abiotic conditions and trophic interactions is critical to structure reef communities (fish and benthos); (3) at large spatial scales, the disproportional contribution of some groups indicate that the functioning of the reefs are variable and dependent on specific local conditions (e.g., temperature). And (4) at the latitudinal scale, it was observed that although reefs in different regions share the same functional groups, species within these groups vary according to the biogeographic context. These multiple factors across different spatial scales demonstrate the complexity of trophic interactions and indicate potential approaches to be applied in the conservation of critical processes they mediate
MBOAT7 down-regulation by genetic and environmental factors predisposes to MAFLD
No full textMetabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) encompasses a broad spectrum of hepatic disorders, which include steatosis, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis and cirrhosis, that is a critical risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development. Its pathogenesis is intertwined with obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the predisposition to develop MAFLD is severely influenced by environmental and inherited cues. The rs641738 variant close to MBOAT7 gene has been identified by a genome-wide association screening in heavy drinkers. Although this variant has been associated with the entire spectrum of MAFLD, these results have not been completely replicated and the debate is still opened. Thus, functional studies that unravel the biological mechanisms underlying the genetic association with fatty liver are required. This review aims to summarize the clinical and experimental findings regarding the rs641738 variation and MBOAT7 function, with the purpose to shed light to its role as novel player in MAFLD pathophysiology
MAFLD in COVID-19 patients: an insidious enemy
No full textThe pandemic Sars-CoV-2 infection represents a dramatic health challenge worldwide. Pneumonia is considered the major damage caused by the virus. However, recent data have highlighted the impact of the Sars-CoV-2 related disease namely COVID-19 on the liver. Hepatic abnormalities significantly increase during COVID-19 and a more severe infection occurs in patients with pre-existing liver diseases, among which the most frequent is metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). It has been described that MAFLD patients had a higher risk of progression to severe COVID-19, higher abnormal liver tests and longer viral shedding time. The presence of fibrosis in MAFLD patients is another risk factor for severity of COVID-19. Due to the overgrowing prevalence of MAFLD, it could be speculated that a large proportion of the population might be at risk of severe COVID-19 and the identification of these patients possibly by using liver enzymes as risk predictors may be crucial for an early diagnosis and for the management of the infection
MiRNA signature in NAFLD: A turning point for a non-invasive diagnosis
No full textNonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) defines a wide pathological spectrum ranging from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) which may predispose to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. It represents the leading cause of hepatic damage worldwide. Diagnosis of NASH still requires liver biopsy but due to the high prevalence of NAFLD, this procedure, which is invasive, is not practicable for mass screening. Thus, it is crucial to non-invasively identify NAFLD patients at higher risk of progression to NASH and fibrosis. It has been demonstrated that hepatic fat content and progressive liver damage have a strong heritable component. Therefore, genetic variants associated with NAFLD have been proposed as non-invasive markers to be used in clinical practice. However, genetic variability is not completely explained by these common variants and it is possible that many of the phenotypic differences result from gene-environment interactions. Indeed, NAFLD development and progression is also modulated by epigenetic factors, in particular microRNAs (miRNAs), which control at post-transcriptional level many complementary target mRNAs and whose dysregulation has been shown to have high prognostic and predictive value in NAFLD. The premise of the current review is to discuss the role of miRNAs as pathogenic factors, risk predictors and therapeutic targets in NAFLD
Sustainable production and consumption in remote working conditions due to COVID-19 lockdown in Italy: An environmental and user acceptance investigation
No full textIn response to the disruptive changes brought upon our society by the COVID-19 pandemic, most work activities and service providers had to resort to remote working. This is credited to reduce emissions for transportation, however the role of forced confinement within dwellings, especially if not designed for hosting working stations, deserves to be properly evaluated in terms of both user acceptance and long-term environmental impact. In this work, a dedicated survey campaign is used for investigating the potential pros and cons of remote working. In more detail, logistic regression and generalized linear models are used for capturing the effect of several independent variables on user acceptance of remote working. At a later stage, the main greenhouse gas emissions produced by each participant before and during remote working are assessed. According to the obtained results, the greater the distance between their home and workplace, the higher the acceptance score declared by the survey participants about remote working. Additionally, higher incomes and better-quality lifestyles with larger devotion to leisure activities also provide higher acceptance. Finally, the existence of a comfortable room to be used for work activities plays a crucial role on the declared acceptance. From an environmental point of view, remote working is always sustainable in case of long commuting distances (above 10 km) are avoided on a daily routine. In conclusion, a sensible use of remote working could reduce the environmental impact of any organization employing desk-workers as well as improve their work satisfaction and lifestyle
S.L.I.M., a small linear interdependent model of eight EU-member states, the USA and Japan
No full textInternational Economics;EU
A Review of Some Updates in the 13th Edition of “Sears and Zemansky’s University Physics with Modern Physics” (Authors: Hugh D. Young and Roger A. Freedman; contributing author, A. Lewis Ford; 2012)
No full textYoung, H.D.; and Freedman, R.A.; Ford, A.L. (contributing author). 2012. Sears and Zemansky’s University Physics with Modern Physics. 13th ed.Pearson Education, Inc., Addison-Wesley, San Francisco, CA, USA
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