Electronic setup for fluorescence emission measurements and long-time constant-temperature maintenance of Single-Walled Carbon Nano-Tubes in water solutions

In our previous research we have observed that the fluorescence emission from water solutions of Single-Walled Carbon Nano-Tubes (SWCNT), excited by a laser with a wavelength of 830nm, diminishes with the time. We have already proved that such a fading is a function of the storage time and the storage temperature. In order to study the emission of the SWCNT as a function of these two parameters we have designed and realized a special measurement compartment with a cuvette holder where the SWCNT solutions can be measured and stored at a fixed constant temperature for periods of time as long as several weeks. To maintain the measurement setup under a constant temperature we have designed special experimental setup based on two Peltier cells with electronic temperature control

New Insights into Mechanisms Controlling the NLRP3 Inflammasome and Its Role in Lung Disease

Inflammasomes are large macromolecular signaling complexes that control the proteolytic activation of two highly proinflammatory IL-1 family cytokines, IL-1β and IL-18. The NLRP3 inflammasome is of special interest because it can assemble in response to a diverse array of stimuli and because the inflammation it triggers has been implicated in a wide variety of disease pathologies. To avoid aberrant activation, the NLRP3 inflammasome is modulated on multiple levels, ranging from transcriptional control to post-translational protein modifications. Emerging genetic and pharmacological evidence suggests that NLRP3 inflammasome activation may also be involved in acute lung inflammation after viral infection and during progression of several chronic pulmonary diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and asthma. Here, we review the most recent contributions to our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms controlling activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and discuss the contribution of the NLRP3 inflammasome to the pathology of lung diseases

Nonlinear viscoelasticity of freestanding and polymer-anchored vertically aligned carbon nanotube foams

Vertical arrays of carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) show unique mechanical behavior in compression, with a highly nonlinear response similar to that of open cell foams and the ability to recover large deformations. Here, we study the viscoelastic response of both freestanding VACNT arrays and sandwich structures composed of a VACNT array partially embedded between two layers of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and bucky paper. The VACNTs tested are ∼2 mm thick foams grown via an injection chemical vapor deposition method. Both freestanding and sandwich structures exhibit a time-dependent behavior under compression. A power-law function of time is used to describe the main features observed in creep and stress-relaxation tests. The power-law exponents show nonlinear viscoelastic behavior in which the rate of creep is dependent upon the stress level and the rate of stress relaxation is dependent upon the strain level. The results show a marginal effect of the thin PDMS/bucky paper layers on the viscoelastic responses. At high strain levels (ɛ = 0.8), the peak stress for the anchored CNTs reaches ∼45 MPa, whereas it is only ∼15 MPa for freestanding CNTs, suggesting a large effect of PDMS on the structural response of the sandwich structures

Finite Temperature Effective Potential for Gauge Models in de Sitter Space

The one-loop effective potential for gauge models in static de Sitter space at finite temperatures is computed by means of the $\zeta$--function method. We found a simple relation which links the effective potentials of gauge and scalar fields at all temperatures. In the de Sitter invariant and zero-temperature states the potential for the scalar electrodynamics is explicitly obtained, and its properties in these two vacua are compared. In this theory the two states are shown to behave similarly in the regimes of very large and very small radii a of the background space. For the gauge symmetry broken in the flat limit ($a \to \infty$) there is a critical value of a for which the symmetry is restored in both quantum states. Moreover, the phase transitions which occur at large or at small a are of the first or of the second order, respectively, regardless the vacuum considered. The analytical and numerical analysis of the critical parameters of the above theory is performed. We also established a class of models for which the kind of phase transition occurring depends on the choice of the vacuum.Comment: 23 pages, LaTeX, 5 figure.ep

Avaliação do efeito do Baculovirus anticarsia sobre Podisus nigrispinus (DALLAS, 1851), predador da lagarta da soja Anticarsia gemmatalis (HUBNER, 1818).

Este trabalho tem como objetivo conhecer os efeitos da ingestão de lagartas da soja infectadas com B. anticarsia pelo predador Podisus nigrispinus, avaliando-se os parâmetros biológicos de cada inseto.bitstream/CNPMA/5854/1/baculovirus_anticarsia.pd

Pulmonary tuberculosis followed by sarcoidosis in an HIV-infected patient: a case report and a simplified diagnostic flowchart for diagnosis and treatment of sarcoidosis

The diagnosis of sarcoidosis in a patient living with HIV infection is an uncommon event and a challenge for clinicians. Clinical manifestations are variable and fluctuating depending to adherence to ARV therapy and to the level of CD4 count. We analyze here one chronic case in which sarcoidosis appeared clinically two years after pulmonary tuberculosis. The course of the disease was influenced and prolonged by frequent interruptions of antiretroviral therapy. Moreover the diagnosis and the decision to treat have been delayed by the need of exclusion of other pathologies, principally tuberculosis reactivation/reinfection, other mycobacterial diseases, hematologic malignancies. We propose a simplified flowchart for diagnosis and follow up of sarcoidosis, which may also be applied to patients with HIV infection. Diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) may be difficult in these patients, because the immunological paradox of sarcoidosis. For this reason, following exclusion of active tuberculosis, we advise to submit all sarcoidosis patients to IPT (isoniazid preventive therapy), when immunosuppressive therapy is started

Implementation of two data bases on biosafety of biocontrol agents.

Since 1994, two data bases are being developed at the National Research Center for Monitoring and Environmental Impact Assessment - (CNPMA/EMBRAPA), under a project entitled "Risk Analysis and Environmental Impact of the Use of Biocontrol Agents". The first, "Who is Who on Risk Assessment of Biocontrol Agents" is an international data base and stores information on researchers, institutions and laboratories involved in such studies. It is presently available on the Internet for on-line search. Over 300 specialists from around the world are currently included in the data base. The second, "Risk Assessment of Biocontrol Agents", stores information collected from scientific papers about methodologies for risk assessment of the use of biocontrol agents. Over 100 papers have been processed and available for consultation at CNPMA/EMBRAPA's library. These data bases are being developed under a research project, conducted at CNPMA. The contribution of this work is to identify researchers and institutions that work with this issue and provide fast communication among them to faster exchange of experiences, and also to facilitate the selection of methodologies that could be used in different studies