Hyperthermia studies using inductive and ultrasound methods on E. coli bacteria and mouse glioma cells

The survival of Escherichia coli bacteria and mouse glioma cells were studied under different temperatures using direct heating in water, ultrasound, and magnetic fluid hyperthermia. The survival of these microorganisms depended on whether the heating mode was continuous or discontinuous, surviving more in the former than in the discontinuous heating mode. Whereas Escherichia coli bacteria did not survive at temperatures ≥50∘C, the mouse glioma cells did not survive at temperatures ≥48∘C

Mixolab Profile of Wheat Flour and Their Correlation with Textural Properties of Hot-Press Tortilla

Refined wheat flours commercially milled from the same red winter wheat under 10 different commercial conditions were tested for quality with a Mixolab and then processed into tortillas using the hot-press forming procedure. Tortilla making qualities of the flour samples were evaluated during dough handling, hot-pressing, baking, and the first five days on the shelf at room temperature. The most dominating Mixolab variables that were correlated with flour tortilla performance and textural shelf stability were C3 related to starch gelatinization (1.93-2.18), C4 related to amylase activity (1.46-1.78) and C5 related to starch retrogradation (2.82-3.41). These mixolab parameters influenced tortilla texture after one day storage whereas parameters C3 and C4 influenced tortillas stored for two and five days. Hot-press tortillas produced from 03 flour, which had the highest C3, C4 and C5 values, had the worst textural shelf-life (Force 12.41 N) and rollability. On the other hand, tortillas produced from 07 flour, that had the lowest C3, C4 and C5 values, exhibited the best textural shelf life (Force 6.73 N). Mixolab parameters C3, C4 and C5 proved to be useful in predicting the quality of wheat flours intended for hot-press tortilla production

The economics of undocumented immigration: Mexican participation in the U.S. labor market

This study addresses the impact of Mexican illegal immigration on the U.S. labor market. It constitutes a first step towards developing rigorous structural econometric models that empirically analyze undocumented labor force dynamics. Structural estimation of the labor supply and the participation decision of illegal Mexican immigration requires the solution of intricate theoretical problems that have not been addressed in previous literature. The analysis developed here identifies those problems and proposes innovative solutions. In particular, undocumented participation in the U.S. labor market is studied in the context of life cycle theory and stochastic behavior. The empirical part of the analysis reviews the problems of sample selection and missing observations that characterize the available data on Mexican migration. The proposed empirical specification is evaluated employing limited dependent variables procedures, where a Tobit simultaneous equation model is solved using maximum likelihood methods. According to the empirical results, Mexican undocumented immigration may be viewed as a transitory phenomenon. Individuals switch back and forth between Mexico and the U.S. reacting not only to income differentials, but also to social, family and economic attachments in their home-communities. Mexican workers seem to have little incentives to invest in human capital specific to the U.S., such as the ability to speak English. This behavior may be result of the partial transferability of Mexican skills, i.e. formal education, to the secondary market in the United States. Finally, contrary to conventional wisdom, the empirical evidence suggests that exogenous increases in U.S. wages, i.e. a non-expected hike in the legal minimum wage, may actually discourage Mexican undocumented participation in the U.S. labor market

Intertexto de Rosa : reconstrução do processo de composição empregado por Guimarães Rosa pela interpretação de um texto (Paramo, estas estorias)

Orientador: Roberto SchwarzDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da LinguagemResumo: Não informadoAbstract: Not informed.MestradoMestre em Letra

Mixolab Profile of Wheat Flour and Their Correlation with Textural Properties of Hot-Press Tortilla

Refined wheat flours commercially milled from the same red winter wheat under 10 different commercial conditions were tested for quality with a Mixolab and then processed into tortillas using the hot-press forming procedure. Tortilla making qualities of the flour samples were evaluated during dough handling, hot-pressing, baking, and the first five days on the shelf at room temperature. The most dominating Mixolab variables that were correlated with flour tortilla performance and textural shelf stability were C3 related to starch gelatinization (1.93-2.18), C4 related to amylase activity (1.46-1.78) and C5 related to starch retrogradation (2.82-3.41). These mixolab parameters influenced tortilla texture after one day storage whereas parameters C3 and C4 influenced tortillas stored for two and five days. Hot-press tortillas produced from 03 flour, which had the highest C3, C4 and C5 values, had the worst textural shelf-life (Force 12.41 N) and rollability. On the other hand, tortillas produced from 07 flour, that had the lowest C3, C4 and C5 values, exhibited the best textural shelf life (Force 6.73 N). Mixolab parameters C3, C4 and C5 proved to be useful in predicting the quality of wheat flours intended for hot-press tortilla production

Distribution of GnRH and Kisspeptin Immunoreactivity in the Female Llama Hypothalamus

Llamas are induced non-reflex ovulators, which ovulate in response to the hormonal stimulus of the male protein beta-nerve growth factor (beta-NGF) that is present in the seminal plasma; this response is dependent on the preovulatory gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) release from the hypothalamus. GnRH neurones are vital for reproduction, as these provide the input that controls the release of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) from the pituitary gland. However, in spontaneous ovulators, the activity of GnRH cells is regulated by kisspeptin neurones that relay the oestrogen signal arising from the periphery. Here, we investigated the organisation of GnRH and kisspeptin systems in the hypothalamus of receptive adult female llamas. We found that GnRH cells exhibiting different shapes were distributed throughout the ventral forebrain and some of these were located in proximity to blood vessels; sections of the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH) displayed the highest number of cells. GnRH fibres were observed in both the organum vasculosum laminae terminalis (OVLT) and median eminence (ME). We also detected abundant kisspeptin fibres in the MBH and ME; kisspeptin cells were found in the arcuate nucleus (ARC), but not in rostral areas of the hypothalamus. Quantitative analysis of GnRH and kisspeptin fibres in the ME revealed a higher innervation density of kisspeptin than of GnRH fibres. The physiological significance of the anatomical findings reported here for the ovulatory mechanism in llamas is still to be determined

Primary explants of the postnatal thymus allow the expansion of clonogenic thymic epithelial cells that constitute thymospheres

Abstract Background Thymic epithelial cells (TECs) are responsible for shaping the repertoires of T cells, where their postnatal regeneration depends on a subset of clonogenic TECs. Despite the implications for regenerative medicine, their cultivation and expansion remain challenging. Primary explant cell culture is a technique that allows the seeding and expansion of difficult-to-culture cells. Here, we report a reliable and simple culture system to obtain functional TECs and thymic interstitial cells (TICs). Methods To establish primary thymic explants, we harvested 1 mm cleaned fragments of thymus from 5-week-old C57/BL6 mice. Tissue fragments of a complete thymic lobe were placed in the center of a Petri dish with 1 mL of DMEM/F-12 medium supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and 1% penicillin‒streptomycin. To compare, thymic explants were also cultivated by using serum-free DMEM/F-12 medium supplemented with 10% KnockOut™. Results We obtained high numbers of functional clonogenic TECs and TICs from primary thymic explants cultivated with DMEM/F-12 with 20% FBS. These cells exhibited a highly proliferative and migration profile and were able to constitute thymospheres. Furthermore, all the subtypes of medullary TECs were identified in this system. They express functional markers to shape T-cell and type 2 innate lymphoid cells repertoires, such as Aire, IL25, CCL21 and CD80. Finally, we also found that ≥ 70% of lineage negative TICs expressed high amounts of Aire and IL25. Conclusion Thymic explants are an efficient method to obtain functional clonogenic TECs, all mTEC subsets and different TICs Aire+IL25+ with high regenerative capacity

Video Supplementary Figure 7

Thymic epithelial cells (TECs) are responsible for shaping the repertoires of T cells, where their postnatal regeneration depends on a subset of clonogenic TECs. Despite the implications for regenerative medicine, their cultivation and expansion remain challenging. Primary explant cell culture is a technique that allows the seeding and expansion of difficult-to-culture cells. Here, we report a reliable and simple culture system to obtain functional TECs and thymic interstitial cells (TICs).</p