Constraining Elko Dark Matter at the LHC with Monophoton Events

A mass dimension one fermion, also known as Elko, constitutes a dark matter candidate which might interact with photons at the tree level in a specific fashion. In this work, we investigate the constraints imposed by unitarity and LHC data on this type of interactions using the search for new physics in monophoton events. We found that Elkos which can explain the dark matter relic abundance mainly through electromagnetic interactions are excluded at the 95\%CL by the 8 TeV LHC data for masses up to 1 TeV.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Seletividade de extrato aquoso de Zingiber officinale [Willd] Roscoe sobre o predador Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant (Coleoptera: Coccinelidae)

Os coleópteros da família Coccinellídeae são predadores de diversas pragas de importância econômica. Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant é uma espécie exótica no qual foram enviada da Austrália à Califórnia entre 1891-92 por Albert Koeble, para controlar as espécies de cochonilhas que estavam atacando citros (SANCHES et al, 2002). De acordo com Gravena et al. (2006) C. montouzieri é um consumidor generalista e voraz de várias espécies de cochonilha em ambas as fases de larva e adulto. Dentre os predadores de cochonilhas e afídeos, os Coccinelídeos são os mais conhecidos e eficientes, pois uma única larva pode consumir até 250 cochonilhas. O produto fitossanitário ideal, do ponto de vista da produção agrícola e do Manejo Integrado de Pragas, seria aquele que apresentasse seletividade total, isto é, que matasse somente as pragas visadas e preservasse os artrópodes benéficos, evitando, com isso, o desequilíbrio biológico. Os inseticidas comumente utilizados em citros, na sua maioria, são nocivos às joaninhas e outros insetos benéficos que visitam esta cultura (YAMAMOTO e BASSANEZI, 2003). De acordo com Bacci (2001) é de extrema importância que sejam utilizados inseticidas seletivos para a preservação das espécies benéficas no agroecossistema. Apesar da importância da seletividade na preservação do controle biológico natural de pragas, existem ainda poucos estudos a esse respeito.pdf 170

Tissue engineering as a remarkable tool for cartilage repair

Articular cartilage is a very specialized tissue with outstanding load-bearing capacity. It consists mainly of a dense extracellular matrix (ECM) with chondrocytes embedded on it. Cartilage has very low capacity of self-repair and regeneration after traumatic, degenerative or inflammatory injury. Current available surgical treatments for cartilage repair present several drawbacks, such as possible implant rejection or infection, or the need for revision after some years of implantation. Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) is an autologous therapy that was proposed as a basis for tissue engineering strategies to repair cartilage (1). Modifications on various aspects of this surgical technique have been developed, comprising the use of natural-based scaffolds as supports for chondrocyte expansion (2). Many strategies and systems have been developed along the years for cartilage regeneration and repair. Scaffolds play a major role in those strategies, as they provide the support for cell growth and to promote extracellular matrix production. Both natural based (3) or synthetic scaffolds (4) have been successfully used as supports for chondrogenic differentiation or cartilage-like tissue production. The interest in cells cross-talk and communication has been growing in the past years, revealing that signalling pathways are pivotal elements when understanding the tissue formation and its repair mechanisms (5). Chondrocytes release morphogenetic signals that influence the surrounding cells, for example, stem cells, to differentiate into the chondrogenic lineage (5). In fact, the increased cartilage formation on co-cultures using stem cells and articular chondrocytes has been reported (6). Therefore, the study of co-cultures using chondrocytes and undifferentiated cells is a very promising strategy to develop engineered cartilage

Remote Experimentation supported by Learning Analytics and Recommender Systems

This paper proposes a process based on learning analytics and recommender systems targeted at making suggestions to students about their remote laboratories activities and providing insights to all stakeholders taking part in the learning process. To apply the process, a log with requests and responses of remote experiments from the VISIR project were analyzed. A request is the setup of the experiment including the assembled circuits and the configurations of the measuring equipment. In turn, a response is a message provided by the measurement server indicating measures or an error when it is not possible to execute the experiment. Along the two phases of analysis, the log was analyzed and summarized in order to provide insights about students' experiments. In addition, there is a recommendation service responsible for analyzing the requests thus returning, in case of error, precise information about the assembly of circuits or configurations. The evaluation of the process is consistent in what regards its ability to afford recommendations to the students as they carry out the experiments. Moreover, the summarized information intends to offer teachers means to better understand and develop strategies to scaffold students' learning.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Remote Experimentation supported by Learning Analytics and Recommender Systems

This paper proposes a process based on learning analytics and recommender systems targeted at making suggestions to students about their remote laboratories activities and providing insights to all stakeholders taking part in the learning process. To apply the process, a log with requests and responses of remote experiments from the VISIR project were analyzed. A request is the setup of the experiment including the assembled circuits and the configurations of the measuring equipment. In turn, a response is a message provided by the measurement server indicating measures or an error when it is not possible to execute the experiment. Along the two phases of analysis, the log was analyzed and summarized in order to provide insights about students' experiments. In addition, there is a recommendation service responsible for analyzing the requests thus returning, in case of error, precise information about the assembly of circuits or configurations. The evaluation of the process is consistent in what regards its ability to afford recommendations to the students as they carry out the experiments. Moreover, the summarized information intends to offer teachers means to better understand and develop strategies to scaffold students' learning.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Controle alternativo de podridões pós-colheita de framboesas.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de tratamentos pré-colheita sobre a ocorrência de podridões pós-colheita e sobre os atributos de qualidade de framboesas (Rubus idaeus L.) 'Heritage'. As frutas foram pulverizadas com um dos seguintes tratamentos: água destilada (controle), 6 g L-1 de quitosana, 100 mg L-1 de dióxido de cloro, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Curtobacterium pusillum ou Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Foram realizadas colheitas aos 3, 7 e 14 dias após a aplicação dos tratamentos. Após cada uma das colheitas, realizadas no estádio de maturação comercial (coloração rosa), as frutas foram inoculadas individualmente com suspensão de conídios (2x105 conídios mL-1) de Botrytis cinerea ou Rhizopus stolonifer. As frutas foram mantidas a 12±0,5ºC por sete dias e avaliadas quanto à incidência de podridões e quanto aos principais atributos de qualidade. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, C. pusillum e S. cerevisiae proporcionaram menor área abaixo da curva de progresso da incidência das podridões por Botrytis e Rhizopus. Os agentes de controle biológico avaliados não interferem negativamente sobre os atributos de qualidade das frutas, e, portanto, são alternativas potenciais no controle de podridões pós-colheita de framboesas

Advances on assessing nanotoxicity in marine fish: the pros and cons of combining an ex vivo approach and histopathological analysis in gills

The need to overcome logistic and ethical limitations of in vivo nanotoxicity evaluation in marine organisms is essential, mostly when dealing with fish. It is well established that medium/solvent conditions affect dispersion and agglomeration of nanoparticles (NPs), which represents a constraint towards a solid and realistic toxicity appraisal. In this way the pros and cons of an ex vivo approach, using a simplified exposure medium (seawater) and addressing gills histopathology, were explored. The nanotoxic potential of environmentally realistic concentrations of titanium dioxide NPs (TiO2 NPs) was also assessed, disclosing the morpho-functional effects on the gills and the possible uptake/elimination processes. Excised gills of the Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) were directly exposed in artificial seawater to 20 and 200 μg L-1 TiO2 NPs, for 2 h and 4 h. Semi-quantitative and quantitative histological analyses were applied. The normal morphology of the gill's epithelia was only slightly altered in the control, reflecting protective mechanisms against the artificiality of the experimental conditions, which, together with the absence of differences in the global histopathological index (Ih), corroborated that the gill's morpho-functional features were not compromised, thereby validating the proposed ex vivo approach. TiO2 NPs induced moderate severity and dissemination of histopathological lesions. After 2 h, a series of compensatory mechanisms occurred in NP treatments, implying an efficient response of the innate defense system (increasing number of goblet cells) and effective osmoregulatory ability (chloride cells proliferation). After 4 h, gills revealed signs of recovery (normalization of the number of chloride and goblet cells; similar Ih), highlighting the tissue viability and effective elimination and/or neutralization of NPs. The uptake of the TiO2 NPs seemed to be favored by the higher particle sizes. Overall, the proposed approach emerged as a high-throughput, reliable, accurate and ethically commendable methodology for nanotoxicity assessment in marine fish.publishe

Comparison of the C-mediating killing activity and C-activating properties of mouse monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies against Trypanosoma cruzi

A Mouse polyclonal antiserum against Trypanosoma cruzi or its IgG and IgM fractions and five monoclonal antibodies (two IgM, two IgG1 and one IgG2a) recognize and combine with membrane components of trypomastigote forms of the parasite as revealed by immunofluorescence. Although all these antibodies sensitize trypomastigotes and prepare them to activate the complement (C) system, as measured by consumption of total C, C4, B and C3, only the polyclonal antiserum or its IgG, IgM and Fabμ fragments were able to induce trypanosome lysis by the alternative C pathway