Time evolution of the behaviour of Brazilian legislative Representatives using a complex network approach

The follow up of Representative behavior after elections is imperative for a democratic Representative system, at the very least to punish betrayal with no re-election. Our goal was to show how to follow Representatives' and how to show behavior in real situations and observe trends in political crises including the onset of game changing political instabilities. We used correlation and correlation distance matrices of Brazilian Representative votes during four presidential terms. Re-ordering these matrices with Minimal Spanning Trees displays the dynamical formation of clusters for the sixteen year period, which includes one Presidential impeachment. The reordered matrices, colored by correlation strength and by the parties clearly show the origin of observed clusters and their evolution over time. When large clusters provide government support cluster breaks, political instability arises, which could lead to an impeachment, a trend we observed three years before the Brazilian President was impeached. We believe this method could be applied to foresee other political storms.Comment: 11 pages, 4 Figure

Tumor extracellular matrix: lessons from the second-harmonic generation microscopy

Extracellular matrix (ECM) represents more than a mere intercellular cement. It is physiologically active in cell communication, adhesion and proliferation. Collagen is the most abundant protein, making up to 90% of ECM, and 30% of total protein weight in humans. Second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy represents an important tool to study collagen organization of ECM in freshly unfixed tissues and paraffin-embedded tissue samples. This manuscript aims to review some of the applications of SHG microscopy in Oncologic Pathology, mainly in the study of ECM of epithelial tumors. It is shown how collagen parameters measured by this technique can aid in the differential diagnosis and in prognostic stratification. There is a tendency to associate higher amount, lower organization and higher linearity of collagen fibers with tumor progression and metastasizing. These represent complex processes, in which matrix remodeling plays a central role, together with cancer cell genetic modifications. Integration of studies on cancer cell biology and ECM are highly advantageous to give us a more complete picture of these processes. As microscopic techniques provide topographic information allied with biologic characteristics of tissue components, they represent important tools for a more complete understanding of cancer progression. In this context, SHG has provided significant insights in human tumor specimens, readily available for Pathologists.Fil: de Andrade Natal, Rodrigo. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; BrasilFil: Adur, Javier Fernando. Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Bioingeniería y Bioinformática - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Bioingeniería y Bioinformática; ArgentinaFil: Lenz Cesar, Carlos. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; BrasilFil: Vassallo, José. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; Brasi

Electromagnetic forces for an arbitrary optical trapping of a spherical dielectric

Analytical solution for optical trapping force on a spherical dielectric particle for an arbitrary positioned focused beam is presented in a generalized Lorenz-Mie and vectorial diffraction theory. In this case the exact electromagnetic field is considered in the focal region. A double tweezers setup was employed to perform ultra sensitive force spectroscopy and observe the forces, demonstrating the selectively couple of the transverse electric (TE), transverse magnetic (TM) modes by means of the beam polarization and positioning, and to observe correspondent morphology-dependent resonances (MDR) as a change in the optical force. The theoretical prediction of the theory agrees well with the experimental results. The algorithm presented here can be easily extended to other beam geometries and scattering particles.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Processo De Produção De Tubos, Capilares E Bastões De Vidro Telurito

Refere-se a presente invenção a um processo de produção de tubos de vidro telurito, compreendendo as etapas de: a) provi são de urna composição vítrea baseada no sistema TeO2-WO3-Na2O-Nb2O5, sendo a relação estequiométrica entre os quatro constituintes dada preferivelmente por 70-19-7-4 ou 71-22.5-5-1.5 (%mol); b) fabricação dos vidros em um forno de indução a RF, á temperatura de cerca de 900°C por cerca de 30 minutos; e) após processo de homogeneização, um tubo de sílica tem uma de suas extremidades acoplada a uma bomba de vácuo mecânica, enquanto a outra extremidade é introduzida em um cadinho de platina onde está o vidro na fase liquida; d) sugamento do vidro telurito líquido para o interior do tubo de sílica; e) retirada da extremidade do tubo de sílica do cadinho, fazendo com que o telurito dentro do tubo de sílica se solidifique, formando-se telurito sólido em forma de bastão sólido; e f) transformação do referido bastão sólido de baixa qualidade óptica em tubos ocos com diâmetro interno uniforme e alta qualidade óptica pelo prendimento do referido tubo de sílica com telurito solidificado dentro a um mandril que está conectado a um sistema de centrifugação. Ainda, é provido um processo de produção de capilares e bastões de vidro telurito, compreendendo as etapas de provisão dos tubos teluritos (9) fabricados de acordo com o processo supracitado; e posicionamento do tubo telurito (9) na parte superior de uma torre de puxamento (antes do forno), permitindo que enquanto a extremidade superior do tubo está presa no mandril da torre, a extremidade inferior está dentro do forno.BRPI0502659 (A); BRPI0502659 (B1)C03B37/022C03B37/025C03B37/04C03C3/12C03C4/00C03B37/022C03B37/025C03B37/04C03C3/12C03C4/00BR2005PI02659C03B37/022C03B37/025C03B37/04C03C3/12C03C4/00C03B37/022C03B37/025C03B37/04C03C3/12C03C4/0

Exact Partial Wave Expansion of Optical Beams with Respect to an Arbitrary Origin

Using an analytical expression for an integral involving Bessel and Legendre functions we succeeded to obtain the partial wave decomposition of a general optical beam at an arbitrary location from the origin. We also showed that the solid angle integration will eliminate the radial dependence of the expansion coefficients. The beam shape coefficients obtained are given by an exact expression in terms of single or double integrals. These integrals can be evaluated numerically in a short time scale. We presented the results for the case of linear polarized Gaussian beam.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Studying nanotoxic effects of CdTe quantum dots in Trypanosoma cruzi

Semiconductor nanoparticles, such as quantum dots (QDs), were used to carry out experiments in vivo and ex vivo with Trypanosoma cruzi. However, questions have been raised regarding the nanotoxicity of QDs in living cells, microorganisms, tissues and whole animals. The objective of this paper was to conduct a QD nanotoxicity study on living T. cruzi protozoa using analytical methods. This was accomplished using in vitro experiments to test the interference of the QDs on parasite development, morphology and viability. Our results show that after 72 h, a 200 μM cadmium telluride (CdTe) QD solution induced important morphological alterations in T. cruzi, such as DNA damage, plasma membrane blebbing and mitochondrial swelling. Flow cytometry assays showed no damage to the plasma membrane when incubated with 200 μM CdTe QDs for up to 72 h (propidium iodide cells), giving no evidence of classical necrosis. Parasites incubated with 2 μM CdTe QDs still proliferated after seven days. In summary, a low concentration of CdTe QDs (2 μM) is optimal for bioimaging, whereas a high concentration (200 μM CdTe) could be toxic to cells. Taken together, our data indicate that 2 μM QD can be used for the successful long-term study of the parasite-vector interaction in real time.15816

Second-harmonic generation imaging analysis can help distinguish sarcoidosis from tuberculoid leprosy

FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOSarcoidosis and tuberculoid leprosy (TL) are prototypes of granulomatous inflammation in dermatology, which embody one of the histopathology limitations in distinguishing some diseases. Recent advances in the use of nonlinear optical microscopy in skin have enabled techniques, such as second-harmonic generation (SHG), to become powerful tools to study the physical and biochemical properties of skin. We use SHG images to analyze the collagen network, to distinguish differences between sarcoidosis and TL granulomas. SHG images obtained from skin biopsies of 33 patients with TL and 24 with sarcoidosis retrospectively were analyzed using first-order statistics (FOS) and second-order statistics, such as gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM). Among the four parameters evaluated (optical density, entropy, contrast, and second angular moment), only contrast demonstrated statistical significance, being higher in sarcoidosis (p = 0.02||4908.31 versus 2822.17). The results may indicate insufficient differentiating power for most tested FOS and GLCM parameters in classifying sarcoidosis and TL granulomas, when used individually. But in combination with histopathology (H&E and complementary stains, such as silver and fast acid stains), SHG analysis, like contrast, can contribute to distinguishing between these diseases. This study can provide a way to evaluate collagen distribution in granulomatous diseases.231217FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO11/51959-02014/50938-82016/22927-72017/17149-801-P-3368/2017312049/2014-5465699/2014-