Expected radiation environment and damage for YBCO tapes in compact fusion reactors

We investigate the neutron damage expected in high-temperature superconducting tapes that will be employed in compact fusion reactors. Monte Carlo simulations yield the expected neutron spectrum and fluence at the magnet position, from which the primary knock-on atom energy distributions can be computed for each atomic species comprising the superconductor. This information is then employed to characterize the displacement cascades, in terms of size and morphology, through molecular dynamics simulations. The expected radiation environment is then compared with the neutron spectrum and fluences achievable at the facilities currently available for experimental investigation in order to highlight similarities and differences that could be relevant to the understanding of the radiation hardness of these materials in real fusion conditions. We find that the different neutron spectra result in different damage regimes, the irradiation temperature influences the number of generated defects, and the interaction of the neutrons with the superconductor results in a local increase in temperature. These observations suggest that further experimental investigations are needed in different regimes and that some neutron shielding will be necessary in compact fusion reactors.Funding Agencies|Italian Ministry of Education, University, and Research through Project PRIN HIBiSCUS [201785KWLE]; Programma Operativo Nazionale (PON) Ricerca e Innovazione 2014-2020; Swedish Research Council [2018-05973]; European Cooperation in Science and Technology, COST Action [CA19108]</p

Los orígenes de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación de la UNLP: disputas y consensos

El presente trabajo intenta explorar en el proceso de constitución de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación de la Universidad Nacional de la Plata entre 1906-1918. El objetivo de este trabajo es rastrear algunas de las tensiones que subyacen a la creación de dicha facultad en el marco del debate entre las visiones profesionalistas y las visiones cientificistas de la educación media y superior. A partir de ello, nos proponemos, en primer lugar, esclarecer el lugar que ocupa la Facultad en el proyecto de Joaquín V. González, exponente clave de una élite que encarnó un particular entrecruzamiento entre campo político y campo intelectual. En segundo término, rastrearemos la existencia de tensiones en la génesis del campo profesional docente, a partir de las discusiones suscitadas entre la Universidad y las escuelas normales en relación a la definición del ámbito legítimo para la formación del profesorado.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

ATP7B Variants as Modulators of Copper Dyshomeostasis in Alzheimer's Disease

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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies in Alzheimer's Disease

Although motor deficits affect patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) only at later stages, recent studies demonstrated that primary motor cortex is precociously affected by neuronal degeneration. It is conceivable that neuronal loss is compensated by reorganization of the neural circuitries, thereby maintaining motor performances in daily living. Effectively several transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies have demonstrated that cortical excitability is enhanced in AD and primary motor cortex presents functional reorganization. Although the best hypothesis for the pathogenesis of AD remains the degeneration of cholinergic neurons in specific regions of the basal forebrain, the application of specific TMS protocols pointed out a role of other neurotransmitters. The present paper provides a perspective of the TMS techniques used to study neurophysiological aspects of AD showing also that, based on different patterns of cortical excitability, TMS may be useful in discriminating between physiological and pathological brain aging at least at the group level. Moreover repetitive TMS might become useful in the rehabilitation of AD patients. Finally integrated approaches utilizing TMS together with others neuro-physiological techniques, such as high-density EEG, and structural and functional imaging as well as biological markers are proposed as promising tool for large-scale, low-cost, and noninvasive evaluation of at-risk populations

Complementarity of dark matter direct detection targets, Phys

We investigate the reconstruction capabilities of Dark Matter mass and spin-independent crosssection from future ton-scale direct detection experiments using germanium, xenon or argon as targets. Adopting realistic values for the exposure, energy threshold and resolution of Dark Matter experiments which will come online within 5 to 10 years, the degree of complementarity between different targets is quantified. We investigate how the uncertainty in the astrophysical parameters controlling the local Dark Matter density and velocity distribution affects the reconstruction. For a 50 GeV WIMP, astrophysical uncertainties degrade the accuracy in the mass reconstruction by up to a factor of ∼ 4 for xenon and germanium, compared to the case when astrophysical quantities are fixed. However, combination of argon, germanium and xenon data increases the constraining power by a factor of ∼ 2 compared to germanium or xenon alone. We show that future direct detection experiments can achieve self-calibration of some astrophysical parameters, and they will be able to constrain the WIMP mass with only very weak external astrophysical constraints

O papel das redes sociais nas eleições municipais em época de pandemia: monitoramento do Facebook das candidatas ao cargo de vereadora em Rio Grande da Serra - SP

The under-representation of women is current in several spheres of power in Brazilian society, among them the municipal legislature, where it is aggravating. To understand the persistence of the absence of women in local power, it was chosen to study the case of the municipality of Rio Grande da Serra - SP, under the hypothesis that, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual campaigns would be strategic to increase the competitiveness of female candidates in the municipality. Therefore, this article presents the results of the monitoring of virtual campaigns of women in the town of Rio Grande da Serra, during the municipal elections of 2020, whose coverage covered the profiles and Facebook and Instagram pages available to all 77 candidates. The survey relied on daily monitoring to group information and subsequent analysis to the detriment of the results of the election. Thus, the article intends to understand the influence of social networks on the success of women's candidacies in the municipal legislature. As the results show, virtual platforms tend to reproduce inequalities more than compensate them. Despite the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the face-to-face campaign is still central to the reach of votes and, therefore, it is not possible to identify fraudulent candidacies only by the virtual campaign. Also, the plurality of factors in the barriers to women's access to politics is not limited to the gender category but is also related to the race/ethnicity issue. At the end of the electoral process, considering the election of an all-male city council, it can be said that the virtual camp performed poorly for the election of women.A sub-representação feminina, presente em diversas esferas de poder da sociedade brasileira, agrava-se no legislativo municipal. Para entender a persistência da ausência de mulheres no poder local, escolheu-se estudar o caso das candidatas à vereança no município de Rio Grande da Serra – SP, a partir da hipótese de que, no contexto da pandemia da COVID-19, as campanhas virtuais seriam estratégicas para aumentar a competitividade das candidaturas femininas no município. O artigo apresenta os resultados do acompanhamento das campanhas virtuais, por meio dos perfis e páginas de Facebook e Instagram das 77 candidatas ao cargo de vereadora do município de Rio Grande da Serra, durante as eleições municipais de 2020. A pesquisa contou com um monitoramento diário para agrupamento de informações e uma posterior análise em detrimento do resultado da urna.&nbsp; Procura-se entender a influência das redes sociais para o sucesso das candidaturas femininas no legislativo municipal. Como os resultados demonstram, as plataformas virtuais tendem mais a reproduzir desigualdades do que compensá-las. Apesar do contexto da pandemia da COVID-19, a campanha presencial ainda se coloca como central no alcance de votos. Adicionalmente, não é possível identificar candidaturas fraudulentas apenas pela campanha virtual. Percebe-se também que a pluralidade de fatores nos entraves à entrada de mulheres na política não se limita à categoria gênero, relacionando-se também pela questão da raça/etnia. Ao final do processo eleitoral, considerando a eleição de uma Câmara Municipal inteiramente masculina, pode-se afirmar que o ambiente virtual teve baixo desempenho para a eleição de mulheres

Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Seropositive Men in Serodiscordant Couples: Effects on the Assisted Reproductive Outcomes

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Paclitaxel-Loaded Nanosponges Inhibit Growth and Angiogenesis in Melanoma Cell Models

This study investigated the effects of free paclitaxel (PTX) and PTX-loaded in pyromellitic nanosponges (PTX-PNS) in reducing in vitro and in vivo melanoma cell growth and invasivity, and in inhibiting angiogenesis. To test the response of cells to the two PTX formulations, the cell viability was evaluated by MTT assay in seven continuous cell lines, in primary melanoma cells, both in 2D and 3D cultures, and in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) after exposure to different concentrations of PTX or PTX-PNS. Cell motility was assessed by a scratch assay or Boyden chamber assay, evaluating cell migration in presence or absence of diverse concentrations of PTX or PTX-PNS. The effect of PTX and PTX-PNS on angiogenesis was evaluated as endothelial tube formation assay, a test able to estimate the formation of three-dimensional vessels in vitro. To assess the anticancer effect of PTX and PTX-PNS in in vivo experiments, the two drug formulations were tested in a melanoma mouse model obtained by B16-BL6 cell implantation in C57/BL6 mice. Results obtained were as follows: 1) MTT analysis revealed that cell proliferation was more affected by PTX-PNS than by PTX in all tested cell lines, in both 2D and 3D cultures; 2) the analysis of the cell migration showed that PTX-PNS acted at very lower concentrations than PTX; 3) tube formation assay showed that PTX-PNS were more effective in inhibiting tube formation than free PTX; and 4) in vivo experiments demonstrated that tumor weights, volumes, and growth were significantly reduced by PTX-PNS treatment with respect to PTX; the angiogenesis and the cell proliferation, detected in the tumor samples with CD31 and Ki-67 antibodies, respectively, indicated that, in the PTX-PNS-treated tumors, the tube formation was inhibited, and a low amount of proliferating cells was present. Taken together, our data demonstrated that our new PTX nanoformulation can respond to some important issues related to PTX treatment, lowering the anti-tumor effective doses and increasing the effectiveness in inhibiting melanoma growth in vivo

Enhanced cytotoxic effect of camptothecin nanosponges in anaplastic thyroid cancer cellsin vitroandin vivoon orthotopic xenograft tumors

Anaplastic carcinoma of the thyroid (ATC) is a lethal human malignant cancer with median survival of 6 months. To date, no treatment has substantially changed its course, which makes urgent need for the development of novel drugs or novel formulations for drug delivery. Nanomedicine has enormous potential to improve the accuracy of cancer therapy by enhancing availability and stability, decreasing effective doses and reducing side effects of drugs. Camptothecin (CPT) is an inhibitor of DNA topoisomerase-I with several anticancer properties but has poor solubility and a high degradation rate. Previously, we reported that CPT encapsulated in β-cyclodextrin-nanosponges (CN-CPT) increased solubility, was protected from degradation and inhibited the growth of prostate tumor cells both in vitro and in vivo. The aim of this study was to extend that work by assessing the CN-CPT effectiveness on ATC both in vitro and in vivo. Results showed that CN-CPT significantly inhibited viability, clonogenic capacity and cell-cycle progression of ATC cell lines showing a faster and enhanced effect compared to free CPT. Moreover, CN-CPT inhibited tumor cell adhesion to vascular endothelial cells, migration, secretion of pro-angiogenic factors (IL-8 and VEGF-α), expression of β-PIX, belonging to the Rho family activators, and phosphorylation of the Erk1/2 MAPK. Finally, CN-CPT significantly inhibited the growth, the metastatization and the vascularization of orthotopic ATC xenografts in SCID/beige mice without apparent toxic effects in vivo. This work extends the previous insight showing that β-cyclodextrin-nanosponges are a promising tool for the treatment of ATC