396 research outputs found

    shape to color associations in non synesthetes evidence for emotional mediation

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    4 Shape Features: Curviness: Curved, angular Symmetry: Asymmetric, symmetric Closure: Open, intersecting-once, intersecting>1 # of Line-Segments: 2, 3, 8 line-segments 8 Hues: Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Orange, Chartreuse, Cyan, Purple 4 Saturation/Lightness levels ("cuts"): Saturated, Light, Muted, Dark + 5 Achromatic Colors: White, Black, Light, Medium, & Dark Gray 1a 1c 2a 2c 3a 3c 4a 4c 5a 5c 6

    Thyroid hormones in donkey blood and milk: correlations with milk yield and environmental temperatures

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    Thyroid hormones (TH) are the primary endocrine stimulators of non-shivering thermogenesis and are known to stimulate lactation. Triiodothyronine (T3) is the bioactive form, mainly derived by deiodination of thyroxine (T4), and the free quote (unbound to plasma proteins) is immediately bioavailable. This study aimed to evaluate potential relationships among TH in the blood, triiodothyronine in the milk (T3M), milk yield and environmental temperature in March to July for 8 lactating donkeys. Milk yield and blood TH concentrations changed significantly over time, whereas T3M was rather stable among individuals and not affected by time of sampling. Free T3 was not correlated with free T4 or with total TH in the blood, but was weakly correlated with T3M. No relationship was found between blood TH and milk yield, which was negatively correlated with T3M, thus the absolute quantity of bioactive hormone in milk secretion is maintained. Milk yield was positively correlated with the free/total T3 and free T3/free T4 ratios and, thus, with the relative quote of the circulating bioactive hormone. Circulating T3/T4 ratios were negatively correlated with environmental temperature. It is concluded that environmental temperature, in the range of the present study (-2 to 35 °C), does not significantly entrain thyroid gland activity, which is affected more by other factors, such as inter-individual variations and physiological status (i.e., stage of lactation). However, increases in environmental temperature most likely induced decreases in deiodinase activity at the peripheral tissue level, as indicated by the decrease in the T3/T4 ratios in the blood

    Follicular development, plasma Inhibin-A and Estradiol-17-beta concentrations in Buffalo cows during different treatment schedules for MOET programs

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    Buffalo cows were submitted to three superovulatory treatments. T1 (n = 7): PRID for 10 days (d0-d9) plus decreasing doses of 500 IU FSH/LH (12 h-intervals d7‑d10); T2 (n = 8): PRID for 11 d (d0-d10) plus 2000 IU PMSG at d7; T3 (n = 9): PRID for 11 d plus 2000 IU PMSG at d7 and decreasing doses of 175 IU FSH/LH (12 h-intervals d10‑ d11). Overall plasma inhibin‑A (In-A) concentrations correlated with large follicles (LF, diameter >6mm, R=0.83, P10 mm at d12- 13 (T1=5.0+/-1.4, T2=1.2+/-0.9, T3=8.3+/-2.3). In-A concentrations significantly rised at d11-13 of T1 and T3. In-A seems a good indicator of the follicular development during superovulation in buffalo cows, while E2 is not. Furthermore T3 was followed by better ovarian follicular responses

    Lecithin and phytosterols-based mixtures as hybrid structuring agents in different organic phases

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    In this study the effect of lecithin (L) addition and solvent quality in a well-established oleogel system formed by -sitosterol and -oryzanol (BG) was investigated. Medium chain triglycerides (MCT) and sunflower oil (SFO) were used as triglycerides and hexadecane (HEX) as a model of linear hydrocarbon. Lecithin was proposed due to its natural and versatile properties, showing different functionalities such as emulsifier and co-oleogelator. A study based on hierarchical organization of structured oil was performed applying techniques for bulk, meso and nanoscale. Self-sustained structures could no longer be observed after 40wt% of BG replacement by lecithin. Small-angle X-ray scattering showed that the formed nanostructures (building blocks) were dependent on type of solvent and BG:L ratio in the mixture of oleogelators. Differential scanning calorimetry showed that stability against temperature was improved decreasing the polarity of the oil, and a time-dependent self-assembly of hybrid systems was observed from thermal and rheological measurements. Microscopy images exhibited changes on typical fibril aggregation of BG as lecithin was added, which promoted to a certain extent the suppression of ribbons. Oscillatory shear and uniaxial compression measurements were influenced by BG:L ratio and solvent mainly at higher lecithin amount. The combination of BG and MCT appeared to be the most affected by lecithin incorporation whereas SFO rendered harder oleogels. These results could contribute to understand the role of both lecithin and solvent type influencing the host oleogelator structure. It was hypothesized that intermolecular BG complex formation is hindered by lecithin, besides this phospholipid also might coexist as a different phase, causing structural changes in the gel network. Addressing the role of co-oleogelator it can provide the opportunity to tune soft materials with adjusted properties.Paula Kiyomi Okuro thanks to CNPq (159180/2013-9) and SĂŁo Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) grant #2015/24912-4 and 2016/ 10277-8, for the PhD fellowship; Rosiane Lopes Cunha thanks CNPq (307168/2016-6) for the productivity grant. The authors also thank the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) for the opportunity to use SAXS1 (proposal number 20160277 and 20170297) beamline and Tsuno Rice Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd. for the donation of gamma oryzanol samples. We thank the access to equipment and assistance provided bytheLaboratory ofProcessEngineering, Department ofFood Engineering, Faculty ofFood Engineering at the University of Campinas co-funded by FAPESP (96/08366-5, 2004/08517-3, 2006/03263-9, 2007/58017-5, 2011/06083-0).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Heat Treated NiP–SiC Composite Coatings: Elaboration and Tribocorrosion Behaviour in NaCl Solution

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    Tribocorrosion behaviour of heat-treated NiP and NiP–SiC composite coatings was investigated in a 0.6 M NaCl solution. The tribocorrosion tests were performed in a linear sliding tribometer with an electrochemical cell interface. It was analyzed the influence of SiC particles dispersion in the NiP matrix on current density developed, on coefficient of friction and on wear volume loss. The results showed that NiP–SiC composite coatings had a lower wear volume loss compared to NiP coatings. However, the incorporation of SiC particles into the metallic matrix affects the current density developed by the system during the tribocorrosion test. It was verified that not only the volume of co-deposited particles (SiC vol.%) but also the number of SiC particles per coating area unit (and consequently the SiC particles size) have made influence on the tribocorrosion behaviour of NiP–SiC composite coatings

    Self-organizing structures of phosphatidylcholine in nonaqueous solvents: tailoring gel-like systems

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    In this paper, we investigated the role played by solvent type and additives (water [W] and citric acid [CA]) on the self-assembly of phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho) into gels. Soybean lecithin (L) served as the PtdCho source used in this study. Lecithin was combined with different oils: hexadecane (HEX), sunflower oil, and medium-chain triacylglycerol to explore its ability to form organogels. Among the solvents, only HEX was able to form a translucent self-sustainable gel with lecithin. It was found that the lower water solubility and viscosity of HEX favored gel formation. Small-angle X-ray scattering revealed different structures arisen from lecithin organization depending on the organic medium type. In addition, the gel properties of the L-HEX binary system were also tailored through inclusion of the primers W or CA. Oscillatory rheological behavior of organogels was effectively described by a single relaxation-time Maxwell model, with good fitting at low and intermediate frequencies and with deviations at higher frequencies, indicating the presence of reverse wormlike micelles. Organogels were thermoreversible and, upon CA addition, a substantial increase in zero-shear viscosity was observed. Incorporation of W led to a similar microstructure to that obtained only with L, whereas CA promoted a different ordering of PtdCho assemblies. Formation and properties of PtdCho-based organogels were dictated by using different oil types or by changing the polarity of the medium with the incorporation of primers. A better understanding of phospholipid-based nonlamellar mesophases in organic solvent offers the prospect of adapting the gel properties to the desired application and functionality.Paula Kiyomi Okuro thanks to grant#2015/24912-4; 2016/10277-8 and 2018/20308-3, S~ao PauloResearch Foundation (FAPESP) and CNPq (159180/2013-9);Rosiane Lopes Cunha thanks CNPq (307168/2016-6) for the productivitygrant. Authors want to thank Dr. Ashok R. Patel for his scientific inputsand Dra. Ana Paula Badan Ribeiro for the fatty acid composition analysis.The authors thank the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) forthe opportunity to use SAXS 1 (Proposal: 19015) beamline. We thank theaccess to equipment and assistance provided by the Laboratory of ProcessEngineering, Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Food Engineer-ing at the University of Campinas co-funded by FAPESP (96/08366-5,2004/08517-3, 2006/03263-9, 2007/58017-5, 2011/06083-0). This studywas alsofinanced in part by the Coordenaç~ao de Aperfeiçoamento dePessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Common spatiotemporal processing of visual features shapes object representation

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    none10Biological vision relies on representations of the physical world at different levels of complexity. Relevant features span from simple low-level properties, as contrast and spatial frequencies, to object-based attributes, as shape and category. However, how these features are integrated into coherent percepts is still debated. Moreover, these dimensions often share common biases: for instance, stimuli from the same category (e.g., tools) may have similar shapes. Here, using magnetoencephalography, we revealed the temporal dynamics of feature processing in human subjects attending to objects from six semantic categories. By employing Relative Weights Analysis, we mitigated collinearity between model-based descriptions of stimuli and showed that low-level properties (contrast and spatial frequencies), shape (medial-axis) and category are represented within the same spatial locations early in time: 100-150 ms after stimulus onset. This fast and overlapping processing may result from independent parallel computations, with categorical representation emerging later than the onset of low-level feature processing, yet before shape coding. Categorical information is represented both before and after shape, suggesting a role for this feature in the refinement of categorical matching.nonePapale, Paolo; Betta, Monica; Handjaras, Giacomo; Malfatti, Giulia; Cecchetti, Luca; Rampinini, Alessandra; Pietrini, Pietro; Ricciardi, Emiliano; Turella, Luca; Leo, AndreaPapale, Paolo; Betta, Monica; Handjaras, Giacomo; Malfatti, Giulia; Cecchetti, Luca; Rampinini, Alessandra; Pietrini, Pietro; Ricciardi, Emiliano; Turella, Luca; Leo, Andre

    Complete genome sequence of the Medicago microsymbiont Ensifer (Sinorhizobium) medicae strain WSM419

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    Ensifer (Sinorhizobium) medicae is an effective nitrogen fixing microsymbiont of a diverse range of annual Medicago (medic) species. Strain WSM419 is an aerobic, motile, non-spore forming, Gram-negative rod isolated from a M. murex root nodule collected in Sardinia, Italy in 1981. WSM419 was manufactured commercially in Australia as an inoculant for annual medics during 1985 to 1993 due to its nitrogen fixation, saprophytic competence and acid tolerance properties. Here we describe the basic features of this organism, together with the complete genome sequence, and annotation. This is the first report of a complete genome se-quence for a microsymbiont of the group of annual medic species adapted to acid soils. We reveal that its genome size is 6,817,576 bp encoding 6,518 protein-coding genes and 81 RNA only encoding genes. The genome contains a chromosome of size 3,781,904 bp and 3 plasmids of size 1,570,951 bp, 1,245,408 bp and 219,313 bp. The smallest plasmid is a fea-ture unique to this medic microsymbiont
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