213 research outputs found
Espinheira-santa: uma alternativa de produção para a pequena propriedade.
bitstream/item/33617/1/documento-177.pd
Heuristic search of (semi-)bent functions based on cellular automata
An interesting thread in the research of Boolean functions for cryptography and coding theory is the study of secondary constructions: given a known function with a good cryptographic profile, the aim is to extend it to a (usually larger) function possessing analogous properties. In this work, we continue the investigation of a secondary construction based on cellular automata (CA), focusing on the classes of bent and semi-bent functions. We prove that our construction preserves the algebraic degree of the local rule, and we narrow our attention to the subclass of quadratic functions, performing several experiments based on exhaustive combinatorial search and heuristic optimization through Evolutionary Strategies (ES). Finally, we classify the obtained results up to permutation equivalence, remarking that the number of equivalence classes that our CA-XOR construction can successfully extend grows very quickly with respect to the CA diameter
Therapeutic Strategies Targeting DUX4 in FSHD
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is a common muscle dystrophy typically affecting patients within their second decade. Patients initially exhibit asymmetric facial and humeral muscle damage, followed by lower body muscle involvement. FSHD is associated with a derepression of DUX4 gene encoded by the D4Z4 macrosatellite located on the subtelomeric part of chromosome 4. DUX4 is a highly regulated transcription factor and its expression in skeletal muscle contributes to multiple cellular toxicities and pathologies ultimately leading to muscle weakness and atrophy. Since the discovery of the FSHD candidate gene DUX4, many cell and animal models have been designed for therapeutic approaches and clinical trials. Today there is no treatment available for FSHD patients and therapeutic strategies targeting DUX4 toxicity in skeletal muscle are being actively investigated. In this review, we will discuss different research areas that are currently being considered to alter DUX4 expression and toxicity in muscle tissue and the cell and animal models designed to date
Hard x-ray spectroscopy in NaxCoO2 and superconducting NaxCoO2 - yH2O: A view on the bulk Co electronic properties
The electronic properties of Co in bulk Na0.7CoO2 and the superconducting
hydrated compound Na0.35CoO2 - y H2O have been investigated by x-ray absorption
spectroscopy (XAS) and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) using hard
x-rays. The XAS spectra at the Co K-edge were measured in both compounds with
two different polarization directions. The changes in the XAS spectra upon
hydration and their polarization dependence are well accounted for by linear
muffin- tin orbital calculations in the local density approximation. The
underlying electronic structure indicates the strong hybridization between the
Co 3d and O 2p states in both compounds, while the electron localization is
enhanced in the hydrated compound due to the increase of the Co-Co interplanar
distance. The Co K pre-edge further highlights the splitting of the d band as a
result of the crystal field effect and demonstrates the Co valency increase
when Na0.7CoO2 is hydrated. The RIXS spectra measured at the Co K-edge show an
energy loss feature around 10 eV in both compounds in fair agreement with the
calculated dynamical structure factor. The RIXS feature is associated to a
damped plasmon excitation.Comment: 8 page
Artificial Intelligence for the design of symmetric cryptographic primitives
Algorithms and the Foundations of Software technolog
RIPK3-mediated cell death is involved in DUX4-mediated toxicity in facioscapulohumeral dystrophy
BACKGROUND: Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD) is caused by mutations leading to the aberrant expression of the DUX4 transcription factor in muscles. DUX4 was proposed to induce cell death, but the involvement of different death pathways is still discussed. A possible pro-apoptotic role of DUX4 was proposed, but as FSHD muscles are characterized by necrosis and inflammatory infiltrates, non-apoptotic pathways may be also involved. METHODS: We explored DUX4-mediated cell death by focusing on the role of one regulated necrosis pathway called necroptosis, which is regulated by RIPK3. We investigated the effect of necroptosis on cell death in vitro and in vivo experiments using RIPK3 inhibitors and a RIPK3-deficient transgenic mouse model. RESULTS: We showed in vitro that DUX4 expression causes a caspase-independent and RIPK3-mediated cell death in both myoblasts and myotubes. In vivo, RIPK3-deficient animals present improved body and muscle weights, a reduction of the aberrant activation of the DUX4 network genes, and an improvement of muscle histology. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide evidence for a role of RIPK3 in DUX4-mediated cell death and open new avenues of research
Observation of magnetic circular dichroism in Fe L_{2,3} x-ray-fluorescence spectra
We report experiments demonstrating circular dichroism in the x-ray-fluorescence spectra of magnetic systems, as predicted by a recent theory. The data, on the L_{2,3} edges of ferromagnetic iron, are compared with fully relativistic local spin density functional calculations, and the relationship between the dichroic spectra and the spin-resolved local density of occupied states is discussed
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