940 research outputs found
A novel imidazole derivative: synthesis, characterization and chemosensory ability for ions
Imidazoles have been explored over the years as optical chemosensors for their ability to coordinate with analytes, through specific binding sites, especially for ions, provided by the nitrogen heteroatom. Consequently, a novel 2,4,5-triheteroarylimidazole was synthetized bearing indolyl and furyl moieties. The compound was characterized by the usual spectroscopic techniques, and the preliminary chemosensory ability was carried out in acetonitrile and acetonitrile/water (25:75) in the presence of ions with biological, medicinal and environmental relevance. In an aqueous medium, the new compound showed a slight enhancement of fluorescence in the presence of HSO4−. As for cations, an enhancement of the fluorescence was observed upon interaction with Fe2+, Sn2+, Fe3+ and Al3+. On the other hand, a quenching of fluorescence was observed in the presence of Cu2+.This research was funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for financial
support to CQ/UM (UID/QUI/00686/2020). Thanks are also due to FCT for financial support to the
Portuguese NMR Network (PTNMR, Bruker Avance III 400-Univ. Minho)
Evidence based practice in radiology: the radiographer perspective
This study is included in the exploratory-descriptive type, since it aims to analyze the
applicability of knowledge and evidence based radiology by radiographers during their
daily work and their academic education
Planned and unplanned towns in former Portuguese colonies in Sub-Sahara Africa : an analysis of Silveira's 'Iconografia'
Luis Silveira’s ‘Ensaio de Iconografia das Cidades Portuguesas do Ultramar’, published in the 50’s, is a fundamental source for the study of urban form in former Portuguese colonies. This is an often cited work and its images have been abundantly used. Nonetheless, it has not been analysed and considered in itself, as a unique and essential collection of images representing the most important Portuguese settlements outside Europe as well as noteworthy places connected to the Portuguese expansion or colonization periods. It presents a wealth of graphical information on the settlements which can be understood as town or future town centres. More than a thousand figures depict nearly two hundred towns. The second volume is dedicated to occidental and oriental Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper addresses form and content of this fundamental resource for the study of citycentres in the Portuguese ex-colonies – as seen through the eyes of a public official in the eve of the colonial wars.Department of Culture, Delegation of the Flemish Government in
South Africa, Embassy of Belgiumhttps://africanperspectivesconference.wordpress.com
Desenvolvimento de recursos didácticos informatizados no âmbito da educação para o desenvolvimento sustentável. o exemplo do courseware SeRe
A falta de recursos didácticos informatizados de qualidade para o 1º e 2º Ciclos do Ensino Básico (1º/2º CEB), concebidos no âmbito da Educação para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável (EDS), numa perspectiva de Ensino por Pesquisa, determinou a organização de uma equipa multidisciplinar para o desenvolvimento do «Courseware Sere - O Ser Humano e os Recursos Naturais». Ajustando alguns princÃpios de desenvolvimento de software, particularmente de Design Centrado no Utilizador (DCU), o trabalho da equipa multidisciplinar, constituÃda por elementos com diversas competências (ao nÃvel da Didáctica das Ciências, da Tecnologia Educativa, de Design e de Programação), centrou-se no desenvolvimento de um recurso didáctico informatizado que integra várias tipologias de software, nomeadamente simulações e visualizações, com as actividades didácticas. A orientação do recurso, as temáticas propostas e as metodologias e estratégias de exploração privilegiadas fundamentam-se: i) na identificação das orientações nacionais e internacionais da EDS; ii) na identificação das necessidades e interesses dos professores quanto à implementação de actividades com orientação EDS (Sá, 2008; Sá e Martins, 2007), iii) no paradigma de ensino por competências (Cachapuz, Sá-Chaves e Paixão, 2004) e iv) no recurso a um design interactivo centrado no utilizador (Costa, Loureiro, Reis, Sá, Guerra e Vieira, 2009; Guerra, 2007). Neste artigo faz-se uma apresentação do processo de desenvolvimento do recurso didáctico, das temáticas propostas e das metodologias e estratégias de exploração perspectivadas pelos autores do recurs
Multidisciplinary Experience In The Selection Of Patients For Tubal Sterilization.
Results of the use of a special protocol for evaluation of patients requiring tubal ligation is presented after applied by a multidisciplinary group. The authors conclude that the use of defined parameters of age, parity, marital union duration, number of children alive and the presence of maternal clinical pathology are useful to identify patients with smaller chances of regret after surgery.27% of reproductive-age women in Brazil have chosen surgical sterilization as their contraceptive method. Most of these women who have undergone tubal sterilization opted for cesarean surgery. However, given the young ages of many of these women, many regret having been sterilized. This paper summarizes the experience of a multidisciplinary group in evaluating women who apply for surgical sterilization at the Department of Tocogynecology, Faculdade de Ciencas Medicas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas in Sao Paulo. Detailed descriptions are presented of the medical and social characteristics of cases seen between June 1988 and July 1989. The authors conclude that the use of the defined parameters of age, parity, marital union duration, number of living children, and the presence of maternal clinical pathology are useful in identifying the patients who are least likely to regret undergoing surgical sterilization.113171572
Spatial correlations in vote statistics: a diffusive field model for decision-making
We study the statistics of turnout rates and results of the French elections
since 1992. We find that the distribution of turnout rates across towns is
surprisingly stable over time. The spatial correlation of the turnout rates, or
of the fraction of winning votes, is found to decay logarithmically with the
distance between towns. Based on these empirical observations and on the
analogy with a two-dimensional random diffusion equation, we propose that
individual decisions can be rationalised in terms of an underlying "cultural"
field, that locally biases the decision of the population of a given region, on
top of an idiosyncratic, town-dependent field, with short range correlations.
Using symmetry considerations and a set of plausible assumptions, we suggest
that this cultural field obeys a random diffusion equation.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures; added sociophysics references
Double quantum dot turnstile as an electron spin entangler
We study the conditions for a double quantum dot system to work as a reliable
electron spin entangler, and the efficiency of a beam splitter as a detector
for the resulting entangled electron pairs. In particular, we focus on the
relative strengths of the tunneling matrix elements, the applied bias and gate
voltage, the necessity of time-dependent input/output barriers, and the
consequence of considering wavepacket states for the electrons as they leave
the double dot to enter the beam splitter. We show that a double quantum dot
turnstile is, in principle, an efficient electron spin entangler or
entanglement filter because of the exchange coupling between the dots and the
tunable input/output potential barriers, provided certain conditions are
satisfied in the experimental set-up.Comment: published version; minor error correcte
An EST-based analysis identifies new genes and reveals distinctive gene expression features of Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora
Background: Coffee is one of the world’s most important crops; it is consumed worldwide and plays a significant
role in the economy of producing countries. Coffea arabica and C. canephora are responsible for 70 and 30% of
commercial production, respectively. C. arabica is an allotetraploid from a recent hybridization of the diploid
species, C. canephora and C. eugenioides. C. arabica has lower genetic diversity and results in a higher quality
beverage than C. canephora. Research initiatives have been launched to produce genomic and transcriptomic data
about Coffea spp. as a strategy to improve breeding efficiency.
Results: Assembling the expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of C. arabica and C. canephora produced by the
Brazilian Coffee Genome Project and the Nestlé-Cornell Consortium revealed 32,007 clusters of C. arabica and
16,665 clusters of C. canephora. We detected different GC3 profiles between these species that are related to
their genome structure and mating system. BLAST analysis revealed similarities between coffee and grape (Vitis
vinifera) genes. Using KA/KS analysis, we identified coffee genes under purifying and positive selection. Protein
domain and gene ontology analyses suggested differences between Coffea spp. data, mainly in relation to
complex sugar synthases and nucleotide binding proteins. OrthoMCL was used to identify specific and prevalent
coffee protein families when compared to five other plant species. Among the interesting families annotated
are new cystatins, glycine-rich proteins and RALF-like peptides. Hierarchical clustering was used to
independently group C. arabica and C. canephora expression clusters according to expression data extracted
from EST libraries, resulting in the identification of differentially expressed genes. Based on these results, we
emphasize gene annotation and discuss plant defenses, abiotic stress and cup quality-related functional
categories.
Conclusion: We present the first comprehensive genome-wide transcript profile study of C. arabica and C.
canephora, which can be freely assessed by the scientific community at http://www.lge.ibi.unicamp.br/
coffea. Our data reveal the presence of species-specific/prevalent genes in coffee that may help to explain
particular characteristics of these two crops. The identification of differentially expressed transcripts offers a
starting point for the correlation between gene expression profiles and Coffea spp. developmental traits,
providing valuable insights for coffee breeding and biotechnology, especially concerning sugar metabolism
and stress tolerance
The signed loop approach to the Ising model: foundations and critical point
The signed loop method is a beautiful way to rigorously study the
two-dimensional Ising model with no external field. In this paper, we explore
the foundations of the method, including details that have so far been
neglected or overlooked in the literature. We demonstrate how the method can be
applied to the Ising model on the square lattice to derive explicit formal
expressions for the free energy density and two-point functions in terms of
sums over loops, valid all the way up to the self-dual point. As a corollary,
it follows that the self-dual point is critical both for the behaviour of the
free energy density, and for the decay of the two-point functions.Comment: 38 pages, 7 figures, with an improved Introduction. The final
publication is available at link.springer.co
Efficacy of Dexrazoxane in Preventing Anthracycline Cardiotoxicity in Breast Cancer
Abstract Objectives The authors performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized and nonrandomized trials on the efficacy of dexrazoxane in patients with breast cancer who were treated with anthracyclines with or without trastuzumab. Background Breast cancer treatment with anthracyclines and trastuzumab is associated with an increased risk of cardiotoxicity. Among the various strategies to reduce the risk of cardiotoxicity, dexrazoxane is an option for primary prevention, but it is seldom used in clinical practice. Methods Online databases were searched from January 1990 up to March 1, 2019, for clinical trials on the use of dexrazoxane for the prevention of cardiotoxicity in patients with breast cancer receiving anthracyclines with or without trastuzumab. Risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a random-effects model meta-analysis. Results Seven randomized trials and 2 retrospective trials with a total of 2,177 patients were included. Dexrazoxane reduced the risk of clinical heart failure (RR: 0.19; 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.40; p Conclusions Dexrazoxane reduced the risk of clinical heart failure and cardiac events in patients with breast cancer undergoing anthracycline chemotherapy with or without trastuzumab and did not significantly impact cancer outcomes. However, the quality of available evidence is low, and further randomized trials are warranted before the systematic implementation of this therapy in clinical practice
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