Synthesis of polymer-based triglycine sulfate nanofibres by electrospinning

In this work we present the synthesis and characterization of polyethylene oxide (PEO) based triglycine sulfate (NH2(CH2OOH)3H2S04, TGS) nanofibres obtained by electrospinning. The fibres, with typical diameters of about 190–750 nm and above several hundred micrometres in length, present the nanocrystals of TGS embedded in a polymer matrix. The obtained nanofibres were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy and the domain structure was examined by piezoforce microscopy. Dielectric permittivity measurements on the TGS–PEO nanofibres exhibit the characteristic ferroelectric–paraelectric phase transition at around 50 ºC.This work was financially supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (reference CIENCIA-2007 UMINHOCF-06). The authors would like to acknowledge Luis Vieira for help in FT-IR measurements

Comparing social perceptions of culturally emic protagonists using the Stereotype Content Model: A scale development and adaption process across four languages and eight countries

Cross-cultural comparisons are often based on a single itemset that is used in several cultures and languages being translated semantically correct. In contrast, a new, emic, approach measures the same construct with individually created items for each culture and language. To test this emic approach, the current paper used the stereotype content model (SCM) with its dimensions, warmth, and competence. It is used to compare perceptions of people, residing in different countries, speaking different languages. The current paper reports a study (N = 2,901) that tests whether an adapted scale allows reliable and structurally valid measurement and comparisons of culturally emic protagonists on SCM dimensions across four languages (English, German, Portuguese, Spanish) in eight countries (United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Brazil, Spain, Argentina). The warmth dimension emerges as largely universal, but the competence dimension is a more culture-specific construct. Cross-cultural comparisons as to the competence dimension should be treated with care

Coinfection with Different Trypanosoma cruzi Strains Interferes with the Host Immune Response to Infection

A century after the discovery of Trypanosoma cruzi in a child living in Lassance, Minas Gerais, Brazil in 1909, many uncertainties remain with respect to factors determining the pathogenesis of Chagas disease (CD). Herein, we simultaneously investigate the contribution of both host and parasite factors during acute phase of infection in BALB/c mice infected with the JG and/or CL Brener T. cruzi strains. JG single infected mice presented reduced parasitemia and heart parasitism, no mortality, levels of pro-inflammatory mediators (TNF-α, CCL2, IL-6 and IFN-γ) similar to those found among naïve animals and no clinical manifestations of disease. On the other hand, CL Brener single infected mice presented higher parasitemia and heart parasitism, as well as an increased systemic release of pro-inflammatory mediators and higher mortality probably due to a toxic shock-like systemic inflammatory response. Interestingly, coinfection with JG and CL Brener strains resulted in intermediate parasitemia, heart parasitism and mortality. This was accompanied by an increase in the systemic release of IL-10 with a parallel increase in the number of MAC-3+ and CD4+ T spleen cells expressing IL-10. Therefore, the endogenous production of IL-10 elicited by coinfection seems to be crucial to counterregulate the potentially lethal effects triggered by systemic release of pro-inflammatory mediators induced by CL Brener single infection. In conclusion, our results suggest that the composition of the infecting parasite population plays a role in the host response to T. cruzi in determining the severity of the disease in experimentally infected BALB/c mice. The combination of JG and CL Brener was able to trigger both protective inflammatory immunity and regulatory immune mechanisms that attenuate damage caused by inflammation and disease severity in BALB/c mice

Warmth and competence perceptions of key protagonists are associated with containment measures during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from 35 countries

It is crucial to understand why people comply with measures to contain viruses and their effects during pandemics. We provide evidence from 35 countries (Ntotal = 12,553) from 6 continents during the COVID-19 pandemic (between 2021 and 2022) obtained via cross-sectional surveys that the social perception of key protagonists on two basic dimensions—warmth and competence—plays a crucial role in shaping pandemic-related behaviors. Firstly, when asked in an open question format, heads of state, physicians, and protest movements were universally identified as key protagonists across countries. Secondly, multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses revealed that warmth and competence perceptions of these and other protagonists differed significantly within and between countries. Thirdly, internal meta-analyses showed that warmth and competence perceptions of heads of state, physicians, and protest movements were associated with support and opposition intentions, containment and prevention behaviors, as well as vaccination uptake. Our results have important implications for designing effective interventions to motivate desirable health outcomes and coping with future health crises and other global challenges.publishedVersio