Embodied Cognition and Representation in Domesticated Dogs

Embodied cognition is a relatively recent approach in the philosophy of mind. Similarly, the volume of research into dog cognition has increased in the last decade and is set to keep on growing as we learn more about the animals with which we have associated for so long. This thesis argues that the principles of embodied cognition can be productively applied to the study of dogs. Adoption of these principles can improve experimental design and inform the conclusions that we draw from empirical data regarding dogs’ cognitive capacities and behaviour. This dissertation advocates for ethologically appropriate studies, designed for dogs rather than humans, a greater emphasis on the dynamic interplay between the dog, environment and humans, and fresh interpretations of the behaviour and cognitive skills that dogs demonstrate. Moreover, the models of embodied representation expounded in this thesis aid our understanding of dog behaviour and cognition and can enhance our approach to dog training. The thesis closes with a case for embodied representations as facilitators of rational actions in the domesticated dog

Composition of sorghum cane juice intended for syrup production

The problems involved in making a high quality sorghum syrup are many. One of the problems most neglected or least understood is that concerning the relationship of various constituents contained in the juice and the finished syrup. On the whole, the literature indicates that earlier investigators made little attempt to correlate composition of the juice and quality of syrup. Although the production of sorghum syrup has never been considered to have commercial importance, it continues to be produced on a limited scale in at least 35 states. Six southeastern states, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia produce approximately 50 percent of the sorghum today. The production of sorghum syrup has never been considered an important cash crop in Tennessee, and, consequently, the cane is not grown extensively in many areas of the state. Benton co\inty, the largest syrup producing county in the state, reported that 25 percent of the row crop income for 1964 was derived from the production of sorghum (17). Other leading counties producing syrup in 1959 were Warren, Fayette, Tipton, Shelby and DeKalb. These 6 counties produced approximately 50 percent of the total for the state (15). No information is available pertaining to consumer demand for sorghum syrup; however, from observations and conversations with producers, it is apparent that there is a commercial potential for high quality sorghum syrup. In order to develop this potential, it will be necessary to eliminate practices contributing to the production of inferior syrups. One of the contributing factors, as reported by research workers, is the influence of various chemical constituents of the juice. More data pertaining to the presence of these constituents and their influence on syrup quality are vital to overall improvement of quality and to the further development of the industry. With this factor in mind, the objectives of this study were (1) to determine the presence of certain chemical constituents in the juice, and (2) the concentrations of these constituents in the various internodes. By knowing where these constituents are most concentrated, steps deemed necessary for the alteration or elimination of the juice can be initiated

Crosstalk between high-density lipoproteins and endothelial cells in health and disease: Insights into sex-dependent modulation

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. Intense research in vascular biology has advanced our knowledge of molecular mechanisms of its onset and progression until complications; however, several aspects of the patho-physiology of atherosclerosis remain to be further elucidated. Endothelial cell homeostasis is fundamental to prevent atherosclerosis as the appearance of endothelial cell dysfunction is considered the first pro-atherosclerotic vascular modification. Physiologically, high density lipoproteins (HDLs) exert protective actions for vessels and in particular for ECs. Indeed, HDLs promote endothelial-dependent vasorelaxation, contribute to the regulation of vascular lipid metabolism, and have immune-modulatory, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties. Sex- and gender-dependent differences are increasingly recognized as important, although not fully elucidated, factors in cardiovascular health and disease patho-physiology. In this review, we highlight the importance of sex hormones and sex-specific gene expression in the regulation of HDL and EC cross-talk and their contribution to cardiovascular disease

Massive Pulmonary Embolism from worsening of Gouty Arthritis due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract: Gout is the most common inflammatory arthritis in men and is associated with increased mortality and is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease such as myocardial infarction and stroke. In addition, several other types of inflammatory arthritis have been linked to increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). VTE is associated high mortality of around 9.7% for PE and 4.6% for DVT. However, only a handful of studies have been conducted to estimate the risk of VTE in patients with gout before or after diagnosis. Most recent study in Canada concluded that patients with gout have around a 20% increase in risk compared to the general population for VTE. However, they stated not all gout patients carry the same risk and further research is needed to identify high risk factors and implement prophylactic therapy. In addition to that, multiple studies have concluded that alcohol sales, mental health illness, and drug use has increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. We present an interesting case of a 64-year-old patient with history of chronic gout which worsened within the last six months, first leading to DVT and a few months later a massive pulmonary embolism (PE). The patient had multiple high-risk factors for PE including chronic gout with worsening flare ups due to the excessive alcohol drinking since the COVID-19 pandemic and recent non-adherence to DVT anticoagulant medication for a month. We highlight the importance to monitor for high-risk factors such as excessive alcohol use and immobility in patients with inflammatory condition such as gout especially during the COVID pandemic

Reologia de líquidos viscoelásticos e termossensíveis em cisalhamento

Trabalho de conclusão de curso (graduação)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Tecnologia, Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica, 2017.Neste projeto de graduação, o comportamento reológico de duas soluções poliméricas aquosas é caracterizado experimentalmente através do uso de um reômetro de discos paralelos. As soluções utilizadas variam no tipo de soluto, uma constituindo-se de Poloxamer 407 e a outra de poliacrilamida aniônica (PAMA), ambas em diferentes frações volumétricas. As amostras das duas soluções poliméricas são testadas de acordo com três metodologias. A primeira refere-se aos ensaios em regime de cisalhamento permanente, no qual examina-se o comportamento da viscosidade aparente dos fluidos em função do tempo, da taxa de cisalhamento, da temperatura e da fração volumétrica de partículas do fluido complexo, verificando assim, a aderência da descrição de tais fluidos aos modelos de fluido newtoniano generalizado. A segunda metodologia refere-se a testes com cisalhamento oscilatório, em regime de viscoelasticidade linear, no qual obtiveram-se os módulos viscoelásticos dos fluidos em função da frequência para uma condição de pequenas deformações. É realizado também uma comparação do comportamento dos fluidos ensaiados com o modelo teórico de Maxwell para um fluido viscoelástico com um espectro de tempos de relaxação. Utilizando-se a segunda metodologia, mas, realizando-a com base em uma variação de temperatura, estuda-se a dependência das funções viscométricas em função desta propriedade. A temperatura é variada na faixa de 4 a 50∘\u1d436 para as amostras de Poloxamer 407 e de 20 a 50∘\u1d436 para as de PAMA, a fim de se obterem as características de termossensibilidade do Poloxamer 407 e verificar o comportamento do tipo Arrheinius previsto para a PAMA. A terceira metodologia diz respeito aos ensaios experimentais com escoamentos do tipo transiente em regime de impulso de deformação (step-strain). A partir desta análise experimental obtiveram-se, para as amostras de diferentes frações volumétricas de poliacrilamida aniônica, suas funções relaxação de tensão e, com base nelas, o cálculo de seus tempos de relaxação.In the first stage of this undergraduation project, the rheological behavior of two aqueous polymer solutions are experimentally characterized using a parallel disk rheometer. The solutions used in this work vary in the type of solute, one consisting of Polaxamer 407 and the other of anionic polyacrylamide (PAMA), both in different volumetric fractions. The samples from the two polymeric solutions are tested through three methodologies. The first one refers to the tests in permanent shear regime, in which the behavior of the apparent viscosity of the fluids as a function of time, shear rate, temperature and volumetric fraction of its contituents can be examined, thus verifying the adherence of the description of such fluids to the Generalized Newtonian Fluid Model. The second methodology refers to tests with oscillatory shear, in a regime of linear viscoelasticity, in which the viscoelastic modules of the fluids as a function of the frequency are obtained for a condition of small deformations. A comparison of the behavior of the tested fluids with the theoretical Maxwell model is also performed for a viscoelastic fluid with a spectrum of relaxation times. Using the second methodology, but performing it under a temperature variation, the dependence of the viscometric functions in function of this property is studied, in the range of 4 to 50∘\u1d436 for the Poloxamer samples and of 20 to 50∘\u1d436 for the PAMA ones, in order to obtain the thermosensitivity characteristics of the Poloxamer 407 and verify the Arrheinius type behavior predicted for PAMA. The third methodology refers to the experimental studies with step-strain transient flows, with which are obtained, for the samples of different volumetric fractions of anionic polyacrylamide, their stress relaxation functions, which make the calculation of their times of relaxation possible

The Gandavyuha-Sutra: A study of wealth, gender and power in an Indian Buddhist narrative.

In this thesis, I examine the roles of wealth, gender and power in the Mahayana Buddhist scripture known as the Gandavyuha-sutra, using contemporary textual theory, narratology and worldview analysis. I argue that the wealth, gender and power of the spiritual guides (kalyanamitras, literally 'good friends') in this narrative reflect the social and political hierarchies and patterns of Buddhist patronage in ancient Indian during the time of its compilation. In order to do this, I divide the study into three parts. In part I, 'Text and Context', I first investigate what is currently known about the origins and development of the Gandavyuha, its extant manuscripts, translations and modem scholarship. Next, using a relative chronology based on current research into the origins of the Mahayana, I argue for the 3rd century CE, as likely time of origin, and suggest Dhanyakataka/Dharanlkota as the place of origin for the text. In part II, 'Structures', I examine the text's worldview and narrative structures. In chapter 3, I investigate the notions of reality, society and the individual. In chapter 4,1 outline some key concepts developed by the Dutch narratologist Mieke Bal (1997) and demonstrate how these concepts may be utilised in an analysis of the Gandavyuha. I begin part III, 'Forces', by considering Derrida's (2001) notion of 'force' as a critique of structuralism's overly 'geometric' model in the study of narrative. In an attempt to synthesise structure and force in part III, I examine the various structures outlined in previous chapters in relation to the themes of wealth, gender and power, as they unfold chronologically within the narrative From this study, I conclude that in the Gandavyuha, wealth functions as a sign of spiritual status, the significant number of royal female kalydnamitras reflects the importance of female patrons at the time of the text's compilation, and the spiritual hierarchy within the story mirrors the political hierarchies of Buddhism's Middle Period in India

Rheology of ferrofluids in shear flows

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Tecnologia, Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica, 2019.Nesta dissertação de mestrado, o comportamento reológico de dois ferrofluidos comerciais, EFH1 e EFH3, produzidos pela Ferrotec, é caracterizado experimentalmente através do uso de um reômetro de discos paralelos equipado com uma célula magnética. Os ferrofluidos utilizados variam somente na fração volumétrica de partículas magnéticas (magnetita) que contém. As amostras dos dois ferrofluidos são testadas de acordo com três metodologias. A primeira refere-se aos ensaios em regime de cisalhamento perma- nente na presença de campo magnético, através do qual examina-se o comportamento da viscosidade aparente e da tensão de cisalhamento dos ferrofluidos em função da intensi- dade do campo magnético, da taxa de cisalhamento e da fração volumétrica de partículas do fluido complexo. Isto permite a verificação da aderência do comportamento reológico de tais fluidos aos modelos de fluido newtoniano generalizado. A segunda metodologia diz respeito aos ensaios experimentais com escoamentos do tipo transiente, em regime de impulso de deformação na presença de campo magnético. A partir desta análise ex- perimental obtiveram-se, para os diferentes ferrofluidos, suas funções relaxação de tensão dependentes tanto da intensidade campo magnético como da intensidade do impulso apli- cado, com base nelas, efetuaram-se o cálculo de seus tempos de relaxação. Verificou-se também que a tensão de cisalhamento não relaxa para zero em ferrofluidos quando na presença de um campo magnético, mas sim para uma tensão residual a qual foi avaliada tanto em função da intensidade do campo, quanto da intensidade do escoamento. A ter- ceira metodologia refere-se a testes com cisalhamento oscilatório na presença de campo magnético, em regime de viscoelasticidade linear, no qual obtiveram-se os módulos vis- coelásticos dos ferrofluidos em função da frequência e da intensidade do campo magnético para uma condição de pequenas deformações. É mostrada, para ambos ferrofluidos, a dependência da frequência característica de transição de um comportamento predomi- nantemente dissipativo para um majoritariamente elástico em relação à intensidade do campo magnético aplicado. Verificações de compatibilidade entre o módulo viscoso e a viscosidade aparente para valores iguais de frequência e taxa de cisalhamento são real- izadas e, com base nisso, a primeira diferença de tensões normais é calculada usando a regra de Laun.In this master’s dissertation, the rheological behavior of two commercial ferroflu- ids, EFH1 and EFH3, produced by Ferrotec, is experimentally characterized through the use of a parallel disc rheometer equipped with a magnetic cell. The ferrofluids used vary only in the volume fraction of magnetic particles (magnetite) it contains. Samples of both ferrofluids are tested according to three methodologies. The first one refers to tests in permanent shear regime in the presence of magnetic field, through which the behavior of the apparent viscosity and of the shear stress of the ferrofluids is analyzed as a function of magnetic field intensity, shear rate and of the volumetric fraction of particles of the complex fluid. This permits the verification of the adherence of the rheological behavior of such fluids to the generalized Newtonian fluid models. The second methodology con- cerns the experimental tests with transient flow under step-strain regime in the presence of magnetic field. From this experimental analysis it has been obtained, for the different ferrofluids, their stress relaxation functions dependent on both the magnetic field intensity and the applied impulse intensity. Based on them, their relaxation times were calculated. It was also found that the shear stress does not relax to zero in ferrofluids when sub- jected to an external magnetic field, but rather it relaxes to a residual stress which was evaluated as a function of both field strength and yield strength. The third methodology refers to tests with oscillatory shear, in the presence of magnetic field, and under a linear viscoelastic regime. From this tests, it has been obtained the viscoelastic modules of the ferrofluids as functions of frequency and intensity of the magnetic field, for a condition of small deformations. It is shown, for both ferrofluids, the dependence of the characteristic transition frequency as a function of the intensity of the magnetic field. This frequency marks the change from a predominantly dissipative to a mostly elastic behavior of the complex fluids. Compatibility checks between the viscous modulus and apparent viscos- ity for equal frequency and shear rate values are performed, and based on this, the first difference of normal stresses is calculated using Laun’s rule

Kardiologischer Check-up bei Frauen in den Wechseljahren

Kardiovaskuläre Erkrankungen, insbesondere atherothrombotische Ereignisse, verursachen jährlich über 4 Mio. Todesfälle in Europa. Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen enden insgesamt tödlicher für die Frauen (2,2 Mio.) als für die Männer (1,8 Mio.), wohingegen kardiovaskuläre Todesfälle vor dem 65. Lebensjahr vorwiegend Männer betreffen (490.000 vs. 193.000). Das Herz-Kreislauf-Risiko ist nach der Menopause erhöht, das Risiko steigt weiter bei vorzeitiger oder früher Menopause. Risikofaktoren wie arterielle Hypertonie sollen spätestens ab dem 18. Lebensjahr abgeklärt werden, bei Verdacht auf eine familiäre Hypercholesterinämie soll eine Abklärung bereits im Kindesalter erfolgen. Frauen mit erhöhtem Risiko sollten deshalb früher zur Vorsorgeuntersuchung gehen. Für alle anderen Frauen ist ein kardialer Check-up generell nach der Menopause bzw. ab dem 50. Lebensjahr empfohlen. Welche kardiologischen Vorsorgeuntersuchungen für eine Frau in den Wechseljahren sinnvoll sind, hängt von individuellen Faktoren wie Krankheiten in der Familie, Alter, Vorerkrankungen oder kardiovaskulären Risikofaktoren ab. Zudem zählen als wichtige Aspekte die Lebensstilfaktoren (Konsum von Tabak oder Nikotin, Ernährung, körperliche Aktivität, Stress, Konsum von illegalen Drogen) sowie die familiäre und berufliche Situation. Ein kardiologischer Check-up bietet die Gelegenheit, Lebensgewohnheiten zu besprechen und individuelle Ratschläge zu erteilen. Auf Basis der Untersuchungsresultate werden gezielte, nach Alter und individuellen Risikofaktoren angepasste Präventivmassnahmen mit bewiesener Wirksamkeit empfohlen

Hygroscopic and chemical characterisation of Po Valley aerosol

Continental summer-time aerosol in the Italian Po Valley was characterised in terms of hygroscopic properties and the influence of chemical composition therein. Additionally, the ethanol affinity of particles was analysed. The campaign-average minima in hygroscopic growth factors (HGFs, at 90% relative humidity) occurred just before and during sunrise from 03:00 to 06:00 LT (all data are reported in the local time), but, more generally, the hygroscopicity during the whole night is very low, particularly in the smaller particle sizes. The average HGFs recorded during the low HGF period were in a range from 1.18 (for the smallest, 35nm particles) to 1.38 (for the largest, 165 nm particles). During the day, the HGF gradually increased to achieve maximum values in the early afternoon hours 12:00–15:00, reaching 1.32 for 35 nm particles and 1.46 for 165 nm particles. Two contrasting case scenarios were encountered during the measurement period: Case 1 was associated with westerly air flow moving at a moderate pace and Case 2 was associated with more stagnant, slower moving air from the north-easterly sector. Case 1 exhibited weak diurnal temporal patterns, with no distinct maximum or minimum in HGF or chemical composition, and was associated with moderate non-refractory aerosol mass concentrations (for 50% size cut at 1 μ) of the order of 4.5 μg m⁻³. For Case 1, organics contributed typically 50% of the mass. Case 2 was characterised by >9.5 μg m⁻³ total non-refractory mass (<1 μ) in the early morning hours (04:00), decreasing to ~3 μg m⁻³ by late morning (10:00) and exhibited strong diurnal changes in chemical composition, particularly in nitrate mass but also in total organic mass concentrations. Specifically, the concentrations of nitrate peaked at night-time, along with the concentrations of hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol (HOA) and of semi-volatile oxygenated organic aerosol (SV-OOA). In general, organic growth factors (OGFs) followed a trend which was opposed to HGF and also to the total organic mass as measured by the aerosol mass spectrometer. The analysis of the HGF probability distribution function (PDF) reveals an existence of a predominant "more hygroscopic" (MH) mode with HGF of 1.5 around noon, and two additional modes: one with a "less hygroscopic" (LH) HGF of 1.26, and another with a "barely hygroscopic" (BH) mode of 1.05. Particles sized 165 nm exhibited moderate diurnal variability in HGF, ranging from 80% at night to 95% of "more hygroscopic" growth factors (i.e. HGFs 1.35–1.9) around noon. The diurnal changes in HGF progressively became enhanced with decreasing particle size, decreasing from 95% "more hygroscopic" growth factor fraction at noon to 10% fraction at midnight, while the "less hygroscopic" growth factor fraction (1.13–1.34) increased from 5% at noon to > 60% and the "barely hygroscopic" growth factor fraction (1.1–1.2) increased from less than 2% at noon to 30% at midnight. Surprisingly, the lowest HGFs occurred for the period when nitrate mass reached peak concentrations (Case 2). We hypothesised that the low HGFs of nitrate-containing particles can be explained by a) an organic coating suppressing the water-uptake, and/or by b) the existence of nitrates in a less hygroscopic state, e.g. as organic nitrates. The latter hypothesis allows us to explain also the reduced OGFs observed during the early morning hours (before dawn) when nitrate concentrations peaked, based on the evidence that organic nitrates have significant lower ethanol affinity than other SV-OOA compounds