Searching for chemical inhomogeneities in Open Clusters: Analysis of the CN and CH Molecular Band Strengths in NGC 2158, NGC 2420, NGC 2682, NGC 7789 and Berkeley 29

Context: The total mass of a cluster, being the main parameter determining its ability to host more than one stellar generation, may constitute a threshold below which the cluster is able to form only a single stellar population. AIms: Our goal is to investigate the existence of star-to-star variations of CN and CH band strengths, related to the N and C abundances, respectively, among the stars in five open cluster (NGC 2158, NGC 2420, NGC 2682, NGC 7789 and Berkeley 29) similar to those observed in globular clusters and linked with the existence of multiple populations therein. Since these systems are less massive than globulars, our results may allow us to constrain the lower mass necessary to form more than one stellar population. Methods: We measured the strength of the CN and CH bands, which correlate with the C and N abundances, using four molecular indices in low-resolution SDSS/SEGUE spectra. Results: We found that for four of the open clusters (NGC 2158, NGC 2420, NGC 2682 and Berkeley 29) all the stars studied in each of them have similar CN and CH band strengths within the uncertainties since neither anomalous spreads nor bimodalities have been detected in their CN and CH distributions. In contrast, for NGC 7789 we found an anomalous spread in the strength of the CN molecular band at 3839 \AA which is larger than the uncertainties. However, the small number of stars studied in this cluster implies that further analysis is needed to confirm the existence of chemical inhomogeneities in this cluster.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in A&A, Tables 7, 8 and 9 will be publish onlin

A implementação de embalagens genéricas para cigarros na Austrália e o direito ao uso da marca na OMC

Monografia (especialização)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Relações Internacionais, 2015.Em dezembro de 2012 o governo australiano tornou-se o pioneiro no mundo a adotar uma medida de promoção de saúde pública através da proibição do direito de uso de marca e restrição à propriedade intelectual. É o caso das embalagens genéricas ou padronizadas para os produtos das indústrias de tabaco, também conhecida como “plain packaging” ou embalagem genéricas. Este artigo busca analisar a legalidade da supracitada medida sob a égide da Organização Mundial de Comércio (OMC) e seus respectivos tratados (Acordo TRIPS – Aspectos dos Direitos de Propriedade Intelectual Relacionados ao Comércio -, Acordo GATT – Acordo Geral de Tarifas e Comércio – e TBT – Acordo sobre Barreiras Técnicas ao Comércio). Levar-se-á em conta também a efetividade das embalagens genéricas como política pública de saúde com base em informações do governo australiano e de institutos de pesquisa sobre dados de consumo de tabaco desde a operacionalização de embalagens genéricas. ______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTIn December 2012 the Australian government became the first in the world to adopt a measure of public health promotion through the prohibition of the right to trademark use and restrictions over intellectual property. This is the case of the generic or standardized packaging for the products of the tobacco industry, also known as "plain packaging". This paper analyzes the legality of plain packaging under the World Trade Organization (WTO) and respective treaties (TRIPS Agreement - Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Related to Trade - GATT - General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade - and TBT - Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade). Additionally, this paper will report the effectiveness of generic packaging as public health policy based on information from the Australian government and research institutes on tobacco consumption data since the implementation of generic packaging

Identification and functional characterization of BICD2 mutations causing SMALED2, a congenital dominant form of spinal muscular atrophy

Autosomal dominant spinal muscular atrophy is considered rare in comparison with the recessive 5q-linked form. However, for the majority of autosomal dominant SMA, the genetic causes are unknown. In this respect, the present doctoral thesis focused on the identification and functional characterization of the disease-causing gene of autosomal dominant spinal muscular atrophy, lower extremity-predominant, type 2 (SMALED2 MIM 615290). By applying next generation sequencing and Sanger sequencing, we were able to identify in affected individuals with SMALED2, four heterozygous missense variants (c.320C>T [p.Ser107Leu], c.563A>C [p.Asn188Thr], c.2108C>T [p.Thr703Met] and c.2239C>T [p.Arg747Cys]) in the Bicaudal-D2 gene (BICD2 MIM 609797). Moreover, to gain insights into the pathogenesis of SMALED2, the molecular consequences of these protein alterations were further investigated using in vitro and in vivo approaches. BICD2 is a highly conserved protein and interacts with several important players involved in axonal transport (dynein-dynactin complex [DTCN2] and kinesin [KIF5A]), endocytosis (clathrin heavy chain), vesicle transport (RAB6A) and others. BICD2 has been implicated in retrograde dynein-mediated axonal transport along the microtubules, in the vesicle transport from the Golgi apparatus to the endoplasmic reticulum and in the centrosome positioning. Our in vitro studies revealed that each of the SMALED2-associated mutations exerts different consequences in the cell, including Golgi fragmentation, changes in interaction with dynein-dynactin complex and RAB6A, decreased endocytosis, centrosome splitting and G2 phase arrest, and aggregate formation. Studies performed in fibroblast cell lines derived from individuals with SMALED2 showed that all the mutations cause microtubule hyperstability. Clinical findings of affected individuals suggest that the motor neuron is the disease relevant cell type in SMALED2. Transduced motor neurons that express the SMALED2-associated mutations displayed axonal aberrations such as increased branching and overgrowth. Both findings, microtubule hyperstability and axonal aberrations during development, strongly suggest an involvement of BICD2 either in formation, stability or assembly of microtubules. Thus, our data points to a novel function of BICD2 in microtubule regulation, that when altered constitutes a shared pathomechanism of SMALED2-associated mutations, while the disease severity may be defined by individual effects of a respective mutation. We generated and characterized the first in vivo model for SMALED2. We made use of the bioengineered tools of Drosophila melanogaster, a widely used animal system in studies of neurodevelopmental disorders. The Drosophila lines that expressed in neuronal tissue the mutant BICD2 constructs showed markedly impaired locomotion during early adulthood with reduced neuromuscular junction size during development. No pathological effect was observed when expressing the mutations in muscle, which supports a primarily neurogenic involvement, as reported by clinicians in SMALED2 cases. The mutations studied in the Drosophila model for SMALED2, were identified in individuals with chronic myopathy. This finding opened up a controversial debate of whether those mutations affect primarily neurons or muscles. Histological and functional studies revealed that these BICD2 mutations alter Golgi structure in muscle and possibly exocytosis. In addition, one asymptomatic carrier was identified suggesting variable expressivity or incomplete penetrance, possibly due to the presence of protective genetic modifiers. Unexpectedly, our study unraveled an early lethal form of congenital arthrogryposis multiplex with respiratory failure associated to de novo variants in BICD2. The extreme pathological consequences due to these mutations may lead to the uncovering of a likely different mechanism as the observed in SMALED2. Thus, the investigations carried out during this PhD project led to the discovery of BICD2 as the genetic cause of SMALED2, provided substantial experimental evidence of the pathological effects due to BICD2 mutations, and contributed to the identification of other disorders associated to BICD2

Tracer test modeling for characterizing heterogeneity and local-scale residence time distribution in an artificial recharge site

Artificial recharge of aquifers is a technique for improving water quality and increasing groundwater resources. Understanding the fate of a potential contaminant requires knowledge of the residence time distribution (RTD) of the recharged water in the aquifer beneath. A simple way to obtain the RTDs is to perform a tracer test. We performed a pulse injection tracer test in an artificial recharge system through an infiltration basin to obtain the breakthrough curves, which directly yield the RTDs. The RTDs turned out to be very broad and we used a numerical model to interpret them, to characterize heterogeneity, and to extend the model to other flow conditions. The model comprised nine layers at the site scaled to emulate the layering of aquifer deposits. Two types of hypotheses were considered: homogeneous (all flow and transport parameters identical for every layer) and heterogeneous (diverse parameters for each layer). The parameters were calibrated against the head and concentration data in both model types, which were validated quite satisfactorily against 1,1,2-Trichloroethane and electrical conductivity data collected over a long period of time with highly varying flow conditions. We found that the broad RTDs can be attributed to the complex flow structure generated under the basin due to three-dimensionality and time fluctuations (the homogeneous model produced broad RTDs) and the heterogeneity of the media (the heterogeneous model yielded much better fits). We conclude that heterogeneity must be acknowledged to properly assess mixing and broad RTDs, which are required to explain the water quality improvement of artificial recharge basins.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Drying Kinetics of Oca (Oxalis Tuberosa)

One of the most important steps for agro-industrial industrialization is examining the kinetic behavior of products, to determine the ideal parameters to maintain their characteristics throughout the production chain. This study experimentally determined the drying kinetics of oca, an indigenous product of the Andean region, because there is no established information on the drying techniques of this tuber. The Andean region is the cradle of a large number of food crops that were domesticated and exploited by indigenous people thousands of years ago, even long before the expansion of the Inca civilization. In Ecuador, oca is perhaps the most important element of the daily diet, and an acceptable level of purity and hygiene has been reached. Oca provides fiber, essential amino acids and a low level of fat. In this study, a temperature of 60ºC was set at the beginning of each experimental run. The weight of the oca slices was measured every 10 min. The experiments were carried out in triplicate. Data were analyzed using StatGraphics software. Two drying periods were observed: the initial period of constant drying speed, where the removal of moisture corresponded to moisture not linked to the oca, while in the second stage, the internal moisture of the tuber was removed. Keywords: kinetic, drying, goose. RESUMEN Uno de los pasos más importantes para la industrialización agroindustrial es el comportamiento cinético de productos, esto en especial para conocer cuáles son los parámetros ideales para mantener las características sensoriales durante toda la cadena de producción. El presente documento determina experimentalmente la cinética de secado para un producto autóctono de la Región Andina, como lo es la oca, puesto que no existe información sobre las técnicas de secado de este tubérculo. En el Ecuador se ha alcanzado un aceptable nivel de pureza e higiene, la Oca es quizás el elemento más importante de la dieta diaria. La región andina es cuna de un gran número de cultivos alimenticios que fueron domesticados y aprovechados por pueblos autóctonos hace miles de años, inclusive mucho antes de la expansión de la civilización Inca. Aporta fibra, aminoácidos esenciales y un nivel bajo en grasa. La experimentación para conocer las curvas que modelan el comportamiento cinético del secado, se llevó a cabo por triplicado; luego de realizar la recolección de datos, estos fueron analizados utilizando el software estadístico StatGraphics. donde se obtuvo el respectivo análisis de varianza y las curvas. En el estudio se configuró una temperatura de 60ºC al inicio de cada corrida experimental, Se midió el peso de las rodajas de Oca cada 10 min, los datos fueron registrados y se procesó las tablas resultantes. En el estudio se pudo observar dos periodos de secado: Periodo inicial de velocidad de secado constante, donde la eliminación de humedad corresponde a la humedad no ligada a la oca, mientras en la segunda etapa se eliminó la humedad interna del tubérculo. Palabras claves: cinética, secado, oca

Tracing out the Northern Tidal Stream of the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheoridal Galaxy

The main aim of this paper is to report two new detections of tidal debris in the northern stream of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy located at 45 arcdeg and 55 arcdeg from the center of galaxy. Our observational approach is based on deep color-magnitude diagrams, that provides accurate distances, surface brightness and the properties of stellar population of the studied region of this tidal stream. The derived distances for these tidal debris wraps are 45 kpc and 54 kpc respectively.We also confirm these detections with numerical simulations of the Sagittarius dwarf plus the Milky Way. The model reproduces the present position and velocity of the Sagittarius main body and presents a long tidal stream formed by tidal interaction with the Milky Way potential. This model is also in good agreement with the available observations of the Sagittarius tidal stream. We also present a method for estimating the shape of the Milky Way halo potential using numerical simulations. From our simulations we obtain an oblateness of the Milky Way dark halo potential of 0.85, using the current database of distances and radial velocities of the Sagittarius tidal stream. The color-magnitude diagram of the apocenter of Sagittarius shows that this region of the stream shares the complex star formation history observed in the main body of the galaxy. We present the first evidence for a gradient in the stellar population along the stream, possibly correlated with its different pericenter passages. (abridged)Comment: 43 pages (including 15 figures; for high resolution color figures, please contact [email protected]). Submitted to Ap