University of São Paulo

About: University of São Paulo is a education organization based out in São Paulo, Brazil. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 136513 authors who have published 272320 publications receiving 5127869 citations. The organization is also known as: USP & Universidade de São Paulo.

Impact of desert dust on the biogeochemistry of phosphorus in terrestrial ecosystems

Abstract: [1] Leaching, biomass removal, and partitioning of phosphorus (P) into reservoirs not available to plants can limit the long-term productivity of terrestrial ecosystems. We evaluate the importance of atmospheric P inputs to the world's soils by estimating the total soil P turnover time with respect to dustborne P additions. Estimated turnover times range from ∼104 to ∼107 years. Our estimates provide a unique perspective on the importance and patterns of aeolian deposition to terrestrial landscapes. Dust source regions are areas of intense soil P cycling on large scales, but are too water-limited for this rapid cycling to have a major influence on ecosystem dynamics. By contrast, semiarid desert margins receive significant aeolian P from neighboring deserts and are likely influenced by dustborne P additions for the long-term maintenance of productivity. This is particularly true for the semiarid steppes of Africa and Eurasia. The prevalence of large dust sources in Africa and Eurasia indicates that these areas may generally be more influenced by dustborne P additions than soils in the Americas. Significant western hemisphere exceptions to this pattern occur on very old landscapes, such as the forests of the southeastern United States and the Amazon Basin. The Amazon Basin is highly dependent on aeolian deposition for the maintenance of long-term productivity. Dust deposition to terrestrial environments has not been constant with time. Variability in past P deposition related to geologically recent climate change may provide the strongest controls on present and future soil P in the Amazon and elsewhere.

Interleukin-33 attenuates sepsis by enhancing neutrophil influx to the site of infection

Abstract: Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory condition following bacterial infection with a high mortality rate and limited therapeutic options. Here we show that interleukin-33 (IL-33) reduces mortality in mice with experimental sepsis from cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). IL-33-treated mice developed increased neutrophil influx into the peritoneal cavity and more efficient bacterial clearance than untreated mice. IL-33 reduced the systemic but not the local proinflammatory response, and it did not induce a T helper type 1 (T(H)1) to T(H)2 shift. The chemokine receptor CXCR2 is crucial for recruitment of neutrophils from the circulation to the site of infection. Activation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in neutrophils downregulates CXCR2 expression and impairs neutrophil migration. We show here that IL-33 prevents the downregulation of CXCR2 and inhibition of chemotaxis induced by the activation of TLR4 in mouse and human neutrophils. Furthermore, we show that IL-33 reverses the TLR4-induced reduction of CXCR2 expression in neutrophils via the inhibition of expression of G protein-coupled receptor kinase-2 (GRK2), a serine-threonine protein kinase that induces internalization of chemokine receptors. Finally, we find that individuals who did not recover from sepsis had significantly more soluble ST2 (sST2, the decoy receptor of IL-33) than those who did recover. Together, our results indicate a previously undescribed mechanism of action of IL-33 and suggest a therapeutic potential of IL-33 in sepsis.

Tree height integrated into pantropical forest biomass estimates

Abstract: . Aboveground tropical tree biomass and carbon storage estimates commonly ignore tree height (H). We estimate the effect of incorporating H on tropics-wide forest biomass estimates in 327 plots across four continents using 42 656 H and diameter measurements and harvested trees from 20 sites to answer the following questions: 1. What is the best H-model form and geographic unit to include in biomass models to minimise site-level uncertainty in estimates of destructive biomass? 2. To what extent does including H estimates derived in (1) reduce uncertainty in biomass estimates across all 327 plots? 3. What effect does accounting for H have on plot- and continental-scale forest biomass estimates? The mean relative error in biomass estimates of destructively harvested trees when including H (mean 0.06), was half that when excluding H (mean 0.13). Power- and Weibull-H models provided the greatest reduction in uncertainty, with regional Weibull-H models preferred because they reduce uncertainty in smaller-diameter classes (≤40 cm D) that store about one-third of biomass per hectare in most forests. Propagating the relationships from destructively harvested tree biomass to each of the 327 plots from across the tropics shows that including H reduces errors from 41.8 Mg ha−1 (range 6.6 to 112.4) to 8.0 Mg ha−1 (−2.5 to 23.0). For all plots, aboveground live biomass was −52.2 Mg ha−1 (−82.0 to −20.3 bootstrapped 95% CI), or 13%, lower when including H estimates, with the greatest relative reductions in estimated biomass in forests of the Brazilian Shield, east Africa, and Australia, and relatively little change in the Guiana Shield, central Africa and southeast Asia. Appreciably different stand structure was observed among regions across the tropical continents, with some storing significantly more biomass in small diameter stems, which affects selection of the best height models to reduce uncertainty and biomass reductions due to H. After accounting for variation in H, total biomass per hectare is greatest in Australia, the Guiana Shield, Asia, central and east Africa, and lowest in east-central Amazonia, W. Africa, W. Amazonia, and the Brazilian Shield (descending order). Thus, if tropical forests span 1668 million km2 and store 285 Pg C (estimate including H), then applying our regional relationships implies that carbon storage is overestimated by 35 Pg C (31–39 bootstrapped 95% CI) if H is ignored, assuming that the sampled plots are an unbiased statistical representation of all tropical forest in terms of biomass and height factors. Our results show that tree H is an important allometric factor that needs to be included in future forest biomass estimates to reduce error in estimates of tropical carbon stocks and emissions due to deforestation.

Adult starvation and disease-related malnutrition: a proposal for etiology-based diagnosis in the clinical practice setting from the International Consensus Guideline Committee.

Abstract: Background & Aims:Multiple definitions for malnutrition syndromes are found in the literature resulting in confusion. Recent evidence suggests that varying degrees of acute or chronic inflammation are key contributing factors in the pathophysiology of malnutrition that is associated with disease or injury.Methods:An International Guideline Committee was constituted to develop a consensus approach to defining malnutrition syndromes for adults in the clinical setting. Consensus was achieved through a series of meetings held at the A.S.P.E.N. and ESPEN Congresses.Results:It was agreed that an etiology-based approach that incorporates a current understanding of inflammatory response would be most appropriate. The Committee proposes the following nomenclature for nutrition diagnosis in adults in the clinical practice setting. “Starvation-related malnutrition”, when there is chronic starvation without inflammation, “chronic disease-related malnutrition”, when inflammation is chronic and of mild to moderate degr...

Assessing the Service-Profit Chain

Abstract: The service-profit chain (SPC) is a framework for linking service operations, employee assessments, and customer assessments to a firm's profitability (Heskett et al. 1994). The SPC provides an integrative framework for understanding how a firm's operational investments into service operations are related to customer perceptions and behaviors, and how these translate into profits. For a firm, it provides much needed guidance about the complex interrelationships among operational investments, customer perceptions, and the bottom line.Implementing the SPC is a pervasive problem among most service firms, and several attempts have been made to model various aspects of the SPC. However, comprehensive approaches to model the SPC are lacking, as most studies have only focused on discrete aspects of the SPC. There is a need for approaches that combine data such as measures of operational inputs, customer perceptions and behaviors, and financial outcomes from multiple sources, providing the firm with not only comprehensive diagnosis and assessment but also with implementation guidelines. Importantly, an approach that is sensitive to and can accommodate the strengths and weaknesses of such data sets is required. We outline and illustrate such an approach in this paper. Our approach has the potential to both identify and quantify the benefits of implementing a service strategy, especially for firms having multiple units (e.g., banks with branches, retail outlets, and so forth).The implementation approach is illustrated using data from a national bank in Brazil. We used customer surveys from more than 500 branches of the bank. Each individual customer's marketing survey data was linked to a number of operational metrics. First, behavioral measures of retention, such as the length of the customer's relation with the bank, the deposit amount, and number of transactions with the bank, were obtained and merged with the survey data. Second, the main branch used by each customer was identified and operational inputs (e.g., number of employees, number of available automated teller machines (ATMs)) used at that branch were obtained and merged with the data set. This data set was used to model the SPC at astrategic andoperational level.Thestrategic analysis consisted of a structural-equation model that identified the critical conceptual relationships that parsimoniously articulate the SPC for this bank. For instance, from among a variety of attribute-level perceptions, the bank was able to identify those perceptions that were critical determinants of behavioral intentions. Similarly, from a variety of available behavioral metrics, the bank was able to identify those behaviors most relevant to profitability. Theoperational analysis utilized Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and provides customized feedback to each branch in implementing the strategic model. It provides each branch with a metric of its relative efficiency in translating inputs such as employees and ATMs into relevant strategic outcomes such as customer intentions and behaviors. Our illustration shows how top management can use the strategic and operational analysis in tandem. Whereas the strategic model provides the key relationships and metrics that are needed to ensure that all subunits of the firm follow a consistent strategy, the operational analysis enables each branch to benchmark its unique position so that the branch can implement the strategic model in the most efficient way. Thus,simultaneously implementing the strategic and operational model enables a firm to have a centralized focus with decentralized implementation. For this bank, the operational analysis shows that for a branch to achieve superior profitability, it is important that the branch manager not only be efficient in achieving superior satisfaction (as indicated in positive behavioral intentions) but also be efficient in translating such attitudes and intentions into relevant behaviors. In other words, superior satisfaction alone is not an unconditional guarantee of profitability.