Characterizing correlations and synchronization in collective dynamics

Synchronization, that occurs both for non-chaotic and chaotic systems, is a striking phenomenon with many practical implications in natural phenomena. However, even before synchronization, strong correlations occur in the collective dynamics of complex systems. To characterize their nature is essential for the understanding of phenomena in physical and social sciences. The emergence of strong correlations before synchronization is illustrated in a few piecewise linear models. They are shown to be associated to the behavior of ergodic parameters which may be exactly computed in some models. The models are also used as a testing ground to find general methods to characterize and parametrize the correlated nature of collective dynamics.Comment: 37 pages, 37 figures, Late

The Drosophilidae (Diptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark: replacing three misprinted plates

Three out of the 80 plates of fine line drawings of male terminalia in the book entitled The Drosophilidae (Diptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark, published by Brill Leiden were misprinted. Here these three plates have been reprinted in the manner that they should have been published originally and provide an accurate representation of the complex male terminalia of Amiota subtusradiata Leucophenga quinquemaculata and Phortica variegata. Male terminalia republishing corrigenda In 2004, the authors published a book in the Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica series (Volume 39), entitled The Drosophilidae (Diptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark (Bächli et al. 2004). Unfortunately, three of the plates with fine line drawings were misprinted. These plates displayed the complex male terminalia of Amiota subtusradiata Duda, 1934 (p. 44, Figs 98–101), Leucophenga quinquemaculata Strobl, 1893 (p. 68, Figs 148–151), and Phortica variegata (Fallén, 1823) (p. 75, Figs 164–167), which display a boreo-montane distribution throughout central Europe. In 2007, photomicrographs of the complex male terminalia of these species were published (Bächli and Vilela 2007); however, one of the photomicrographs was misprinted, and an erratum was published soon after (Bächli and Vilela 2009). Along the same lines, The Drosophilidae (Diptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark is widely used and cited by Drosophilidae experts, mainly taxonomists, who rely on accurate illustrations to properly identify the specimens. Therefore, it was decided to republish these plates (including the captions), with permission from Brill Publishers, aiming to help taxonomists in the species identification process

Two new Neotropical species of Drosophilinae (Diptera: Drosophilidae) from Uruguay

ABSTRACT Two new species of Drosophilidae from Uruguay are described and illustrated: Drosophila montevidensis sp. nov. (Holotype male in MZSP: Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de la República, Montevideo city, Department of Montevideo), and Scaptomyza pipinna sp. nov. (Holotype male in MZSP: Sarandí del Consejo, near north shore of Laguna de Castillos, Department of Rocha). The former species belongs to the D. tripunctata group and is sibling to Drosophila nappae Vilela, Valente & Basso-da-Silva, 2004, differing mainly in characters of the aedeagus. The latter is closely related to Scaptomyza striaticeps Wheeler & Takada, 1966, from which it can be distinguished by color and terminalia characters. The new Drosophila species was successfully cultured in a modified banana-agar medium which is provided. Photomicrographs of mitotic and meiotic chromosomes of D. montevidensis sp. nov. are also included

Two new neotropical species of drosophilinae (Diptera: Drosophilidae) from Uruguay

Two new species of Drosophilidae from Uruguay are described and illustrated: Drosophila montevidensis sp. nov. (Holotype male in MZSP: Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de la República, Montevideo city, Department of Montevideo), and Scaptomyza pipinna sp. nov. (Holotype male in MZSP: Sarandí del Consejo, near north shore of Laguna de Castillos, Department of Rocha). The former species belongs to the D. tripunctata group and is sibling to Drosophila nappae Vilela, Valente & Basso-da-Silva, 2004, differing mainly in characters of the aedeagus. The latter is closely related to Scaptomyza striaticeps Wheeler & Takada, 1966, from which it can be distinguished by color and terminalia characters. The new Drosophila species was successfully cultured in a modified banana-agar medium which is provided. Photomicrographs of mitotic and meiotic chromosomes of D. montevidensis sp. nov. are also included

Silk bilayer scaffolds can induce fast integration with subchondral bone and support cartilage repair

Publicado em : J Tissue Eng Regen Med 2014; 8 (Suppl. 1)Introduction: Osteochondral defect (OCD) regeneration presents major challenges in orthopedics. Since healing of cartilage and bone should be simultaneously considered, ideal scaffolds should be those that can mimic both tissues properties. In this study, bilayered silk and silk-nano calcium phosphate (Silk/Silk-NanoCaP) scaffolds with tailored mechanical properties were developed for OCD tissue engineering application. Materials and methods: Aqueous silk solution (16%) was prepared.1 Nano calcium phosphate particles (16%) were synthesized in the silk solution (Silk-NanoCaP).2 The bony layer was prepared by addition of NaCl particles (500–1000 lm) into the Silk-NanoCaP suspension. After drying for 2 days and salt-leaching overnight, silk solution was added on top of the bony layer using the same procedure to produce the chondral layer. The !nal scaffolds were evaluated through in vitro culture of rabbit bone marrow stromal cells (RBMSCs) for 2 weeks, and in vivo implantation in a rabbit knee OCD for 4 weeks. Results: The RBMSCs cultured in the scaffolds presented increasing viability from day 1 to day 7 by MTS assay. Good adhesion and migration of the RBMSCs in the scaffolds were achieved, as observed under the scanning electron microscope. Cell proliferation was observed from day 7 to day 14 as determined by DNA quanti!cation. The bony layer induced higher alkaline phosphatase level as compared to the chondral layer, in osteogenic condition. Histological analysis (H&E) showed that the bilayered scaffolds integrated well with the host tissue, after 4 weeks of implantation in a critical size OC defect (Fig. 1). Abundant new bone formation was detected in the Silk-NanoCaP layer. Cartilage regeneration occurred in the silk layer. Discussion and conclusions: The bilayered scaffolds favored the attachment, proliferation, and differentiation of RBMSCs. The bony layer of the bilayered scaffolds possessed osteoconductive properties. The bilayered scaffolds were biocompatible in vitro and in vivo. These scaffolds also induced both subchondral bone regeneration and supported cartilage regeneration, thus showing great promise in OCD regeneration. Acknowledgments: The authors thank FCT projects Tissue2Tissue and OsteoCart, and the FP7 Programme POLARIS. Yan LP was awarded a FCT PhD scholarship. Investigador FCT program (IF/00423/2012) and (IF/00411/2013) are also greatly acknowledged. Disclosure: The authors declare that there is no con"ict of interest

Development & performance assessment of a new ATMP for cartilage tissue engineering

Publicado em "Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. Conference Abstract: 10th World Biomaterials Congress"NORTE-07-0202-FEDER-023189 / ARTICULATE - Desenvolvimento de novos produtos e terapias regenerativas para o tratamento de patologias articulares / AD

Environmentally friendly carrageenan-based ionic-liquid driven soft actuators

UID/FIS/04650/2020 UID/QUI/0686/2020 LA/P/0008/2020 PID2019-106099RB-C43/AEI/10.13039/501100011033A naturally derived polymer based on iota carrageenan and different ammonium and imidazolium based ionic liquids (ILs) are used for the development of environmentally friendly soft actuators. The influence of IL content and type and solvent evaporation temperature on the morphological and physico-chemical properties of the materials was evaluated, together with the effect on actuator functional response. Independently of the IL content and type, and the solvent evaporation temperature, a non-porous structure is obtained. The incorporation of the IL within the polymer matrix does not affect the thermal stability but leads to a decrease in the Young modulus for the different IL/carrageenan samples. The highest influence was observed by using the [Ch][DHP] IL at a filler content of 40% w/w with a decrease in the Young modulus from 748 MPa for the neat polymer to 145 MPa for the [Ch][DHP]/carrageenan sample. Furthermore, the ionic conductivity of the samples increases with increasing IL content, with the highest values being 2.9 × 10-6 S cm-1 and 1.2 × 10-6 S cm-1 for the samples with 40% w/w of [Bmim][FeCl4] and [Ch][DHP], respectively. Regarding the soft actuator performance, the maximum displacement was obtained for the [Ch][DHP]/carrageenan sample with an IL content of 40% w/w, showing a maximum displacement of 5.8 mm at a DC applied voltage of 9 V.publishersversionpublishe