Heteroclinic and Homoclinic Connections Between the Sun-Earth Triangular Points and Quasi-Satellite Orbits for Solar Observations

Investigation of new orbit geometries exhibits a very attractive behavior for a spacecraft to monitor space weather coming from the Sun. Several orbit transfer mechanisms are analyzed as potential alternatives to monitor solar activity such as a sub-solar orbit or quasi-satellite orbit and short and long heteroclinic and homoclinic connections between the triangular points L4 and L5 and the collinear point L3 of the CRTBP (circular restricted three-body problem) in the Sun-Earth system. These trajectories could serve as channels through where material can be transported from L5 to L3 by performing small maneuvers at the departure of the Trojan orbit. The size of these maneuvers at L5 is between 299 m/s and 730 m/s depending on the transfer time of the trajectory and does not need any deterministic maneuvers at L3. Our results suggest that material may also be transported from the Trojan orbits to quasi-satellite orbits or even displaced quasi-satellite orbits

The Mechanism of Excessive Intestinal Inflammation in Necrotizing Enterocolitis: An Immature Innate Immune Response

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating neonatal intestinal inflammatory disease, occurring primarily in premature infants, causing significant morbidity and mortality. The pathogenesis of NEC is associated with an excessive inflammatory IL-8 response. In this study, we hypothesized that this excessive inflammatory response is related to an immature expression of innate immune response genes. To address this hypothesis, intestinal RNA expression analysis of innate immune response genes was performed after laser capture microdissection of resected ileal epithelium from fetuses, NEC patients and children and confirmed in ex vivo human intestinal xenografts. Changes in mRNA levels of toll-like receptors (TLR)-2 and -4, their signaling molecules and transcription factors (MyD88, TRAF-6 and NFκB1) and negative regulators (SIGIRR, IRAK-M, A-20 and TOLLIP) and the effector IL-8 were characterized by qRT-PCR. The expression of TLR2, TLR4, MyD88, TRAF-6, NFκB1 and IL-8 mRNA was increased while SIGIRR, IRAK-M, A-20 and TOLLIP mRNA were decreased in fetal vs. mature human enterocytes and further altered in NEC enterocytes. Similar changes in mRNA expression were observed in immature, but not mature, human intestinal xenografts. Confirmation of gene expression was also validated with selective protein measurements and with suggested evidence that immature TRL4 enterocyte surface expression was internalized in mature enterocytes. Cortisone, an intestinal maturation factor, treatment corrected the mRNA differences only in the immature intestinal xenograft. Using specific siRNA to attenuate expression of primary fetal enterocyte cultures, both TOLLIP and A-20 were confirmed to be important when knocked down by exhibiting the same excessive inflammatory response seen in the NEC intestine. We conclude that the excessive inflammatory response of the immature intestine, a hallmark of NEC, is due to a developmental immaturity in innate immune response genes

First-Line Therapy for Human Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Peru Using the TLR7 Agonist Imiquimod in Combination with Pentavalent Antimony

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of tropical infections including trypanosomiasis, filariasis, schistosomiasis, onchocerciasis, leishmaniasis and other such diseases of poverty. Of the classic neglected diseases, leishmaniasis has among the highest level of morbidity and mortality. Infection with Leishmania parasites causes severe disease in humans, including fatal visceral leishmaniasis and cutaneous leishmaniasis resulting in severe scarring, often in the face. This is a difficult infection to treat because the current therapies are generally poorly effective. The present study carried out a placebo-controlled, double-blinded study to investigated whether a combined therapy with imiquimod plus pentavalent antimony was superior to the standard therapy of pentavalent antimony alone as a first-line treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis in Peru. A higher cure rate with the combination therapy was observed, but could not be conclusively proven

Actividades socio afectivas en el aprendizaje del área metodología personal social en los alumnos del sexto ciclo de educación primaria de la UNHEVAL, Huánuco

El presente estudio titulado “Actividades Socioafectivas en el Aprendizaje del Área Metodología Personal Social en los alumnos del sexto ciclo de Educación Primaria de la Unheval Huánuco – 2014”, se inició cuando se observó las diferentes acciones de los estudiantes de la EAP de Educación Básica, y se notó la baja autoestima, la deficiente comunicación debido al léxico muy pobre y sobre todo a la falta de empatía que existe en ellos, lo que ocasiona un inadecuado comportamiento y por ende, un mal aprendizaje dentro de su formación profesional; es por ello que, se considera importante el área de Personal Social como una de las disciplinas pedagógicas para la corrección de dichas anomalías, ya que en un futuro cercano se puedan mejorar desempeños académicos dentro de la educación. De otro lado, sabemos por teoría que es necesario trabajar el desarrollo socioafectivo como posibilidad pedagógica, potenciar el aprendizaje y la formación integral y continuar con los procesos de transformación iniciados en el marco de la Reorganización Curricular por Ciclos. En el contexto de la educación, la indagación sobre las vivencias relacionadas con los ámbitos del desarrollo socioafectivo y del aprendizaje ha implicado revisar la importancia y la calidad de las primeras relaciones afectivas de los niños y niñas. La epistemología genética de Piaget permite comprender el rol de las interacciones que realiza el niño con otras personas, por cuanto es a través de ellas, que supera la fase de egocentrismo y se construya la noción del yo en relación con los otros, aproximación que presenta a la afectividad como el motor de las acciones humanas y la antepone al interés y la motivación. Así se diagnosticó, planificó y desarrolló la gestión de un programa sobre actividades socioafectivas que nos permitió lograr un avance sobre la autoestima, comunicación y empatía de nuestros estudiantes, y al mismo tiempo, elevar su conocimiento del área Personal Social a la que muy poca importancia le dan en las instituciones educativas hoy en día, de modo que ellos puedan asumir el aprendizaje de los distintos contenidos temáticos y desarrollar diversificadamente los temas y de esta manera mejorar actitudes en ellos y en sus futuros alumnos. Los resultados son satisfactorios y sirven como base para otras investigaciones, afirmamos que el programa actividades socioafectivas, tiene efectos positivos para el desarrollo de aprendizajes del área Personal Social en los alumnos del sexto ciclo de la especialidad de Educación Primaria de la UNHEVAL, Huánuco - 2014. Ello invita a reflexionar acerca del área de las ciencias sociales en la escuela, importante materia porque nos explica la importancia de la práctica de valores, la autoestima, la comunicación y la empatía. También, se demuestra que un trabajo sistematizado y administrado permite lograr los objetivos propuestos

Thermal route for the synthesis of maghemite/hematite core/shell nanowires

Nowadays, iron oxide-based nanostructures are key materials in many technological areas. Their physical and chemical properties can be tailored by tuning the morphology. In particular, the possibility of increasing the specific surface area has turned iron oxide nanowires (NWs) into promising functional materials in many applications. Among the different possible iron oxide NWs that can be fabricated, maghemite/hematite iron oxide core/shell structures have particular importance since they combine the magnetism of the inner maghemite core with the interesting properties of hematite in different technological fields ranging from green energy to biomedical applications. However, the study of these iron oxide structures is normally difficult due to the structural and chemical similarities between both iron oxide polymorphs. In this work, we propose a route for the synthesis of maghemite/hematite NWs based on the thermal oxidation of previously electrodeposited iron NWs. A detailed spectroscopic analysis based on Raman, Mossbauer, and X-ray absorption shows that the ratio of both oxides can be controlled during fabrication. Transmission electron microscopy has been used to check the core/shell structure of the NWs. The biocompatibility and capability of internalization of these NWs have also been proven to show the potential of these NWs in biomedical applications

Architectural specification, exploration and simulation through rewriting-logic

In recent years Arvind’s Group at MIT has shown the usefulness of term rewriting theory for the specification of processor architectures. In their approach processors specified by term rewriting systems are translated into a standard hardware description language for simulation purposes.Keywords: Rewriting-logic, High Level Specification and Simulation, Design Environment.&nbsp

Assessment of Personal Care Product Use and Perceptions of Use in a Sample of US Adults Affiliated with a University in the Northeast

Evidence supports unequal burdens of chemical exposures from personal care products (PCPs) among some groups, namely femme-identifying and racial and ethnic minorities. In this study, we implemented an online questionnaire to assess PCP purchasing and usage behaviors and perceptions of use among a sample of US adults recruited at a Northeastern university. We collected PCP use across seven product categories (hair, beauty, skincare, perfumes/colognes, feminine hygiene, oral care, other), and behaviors, attitudes, and perceptions of use and safety across sociodemographic factors to evaluate relationships between sociodemographic factors and the total number of products used within the prior 24–48 h using multivariable models. We also summarized participants’ perceptions and attitudes. Among 591 adults (20.0% Asian American/Pacific Islander [AAPI], 5.9% Hispanic, 9.6% non-Hispanic Black [NHB], 54.6% non-Hispanic White [NHW], and 9.9% multiracial or other), the average number of PCPs used within the prior 24–48 h was 15.6 ± 7.7. PCP use was greater among females than males (19.0 vs. 7.9, P \u3c 0.01) and varied by race and ethnicity among females. Relative to NHWs, AAPI females used fewer hair products (2.5 vs. 3.1) and more feminine hygiene products (1.5 vs. 1.1), NHB females used more hair products (3.8 vs. 3.1), perfumes (1.0 vs. 0.6), oral care (2.3 vs. 1.9), and feminine hygiene products (1.8 vs. 1.1), and multiracial or other females used more oral care (2.2 vs. 1.9) and feminine hygiene products (1.5 vs. 1.1) (P-values \u3c0.05). Generally, study participants reported moderate concern about exposures and health effects from using PCPs, with few differences by gender, race, and ethnicity. These findings add to the extant literature on PCP use across sociodemographic characteristics. Improving the understanding of patterns of use for specific products and their chemical ingredients is critical for developing interventions to reduce these exposures, especially in vulnerable groups with an unequal burden of exposure

A Low Protein Diet Increases the Hypoxic Tolerance in Drosophila

Dietary restriction is well known to increase the life span of a variety of organisms from yeast to mammals, but the relationships between nutrition and the hypoxic tolerance have not yet been considered. Hypoxia is a major cause of cell death in myocardial infarction and stroke. Here we forced hypoxia-related death by exposing one-day-old male Drosophila to chronic hypoxia (5% O(2)) and analysed their survival. Chronic hypoxia reduced the average life span from 33.6 days to 6.3 days when flies were fed on a rich diet. A demographic analysis indicated that chronic hypoxia increased the slope of the mortality trajectory and not the short-term risk of death. Dietary restriction produced by food dilution, by yeast restriction, or by amino acid restriction partially reversed the deleterious action of hypoxia. It increased the life span of hypoxic flies up to seven days, which represented about 25% of the life time of an hypoxic fly. Maximum survival of hypoxic flies required only dietary sucrose, and it was insensitive to drugs such as rapamycin and resveratrol, which increase longevity of normoxic animals. The results thus uncover a new link between protein nutrition, nutrient signalling, and resistance to hypoxic stresses