119 research outputs found
A origem do universo
THE VARIOUS cosmological models along history are briefly reviewed. The evolution of the ideas may be understood as successive models such as the flat earth, the geocentric models as well as the heliocentric and the galacto-centric ones. In the last century, a concept was developed, the big-bang theory, that describes the most sophisticated observations on hand today and shows that the universe had an origin that can be search with scientific methods. In recent decades this model was refined to a new concept: inflation. By the end of the century and millenium new discoveries showed that all known matter is only the tip of the iceberg in a universe dominated by dark energy and dark matter whose natures remain mysterious.OS VÁRIOS MODELOS cosmológicos ao longo da história são brevemente descritos. A evolução das idéias pode ser entendida como uma sucessão de modelos, como o da Terra plana, o dos modelos geocêntricos, o do heliocêntrico e o do galactocêntrico. Nos últimos cem anos foi desenvolvida uma teoria, a do Big Bang, que descreve as observações mais sofisticadas de que dispomos hoje e que mostra que o universo teve uma origem que pode ser pesquisada cientificamente. Em décadas recentes, esse modelo foi aperfeiçoado para um novo conceito, o do Big Bang inflacionário. Na virada do milênio, novas descobertas mostraram que toda a matéria conhecida é apenas a ponta do iceberg em um universo dominado pela energia escura e pela matéria escura cujas naturezas permanecem misteriosas
Conhecimento: gargalos para um Brasil no futuro
KNOWLEDGE (education, science, technology and innovation) is essential for a society's economic development and well-being. In Brazil, quantitative indicators of scholastic achievement, scientific production and graduate studies have all risen significantly over the last decade. Economic and social indicators, however, have been mediocre at best. This article examines the bottlenecks that prevent knowledge from becoming a more effective driver of social and economic development, as well as some prospective results, particularly those pertaining to the knowledge dimension. Projections of the Human Development Index (HDI) up to the year 2022 are shown, revealing how much development is related to economic growth. If the trends that have been operative in Brazil over the last decades persist, the most probable short-term scenario is one of low quality primary and secondary education coupled with increased social inequality and violence. The desirable scenario, of course, is one of economic growth and decreasing inequality. But this requires, among other things, a better performance in the knowledge sector to overcome the aforementioned bottlenecks - which implies improving the quality of basic education, enhancing higher education in the country's North and Northeast, a significant increase in post-secondary technological education, and the implementation of a policy to stimulate the demand for science, technology and innovation.O CONHECIMENTO (educação, ciência, tecnologia e inovação) é fundamental para o desenvolvimento econômico e o bem-estar da sociedade. No Brasil, os indicadores quantitativos de escolaridade, produção científica e de pós-graduação têm evoluído de forma muito positiva na última década. Apesar disso, os indicadores econômicos e sociais têm tido um desempenho pífio. Neste ensaio, são examinados alguns gargalos para que o conhecimento possa vir a ser promotor mais eficaz do desenvolvimento econômico e social. São examinados resultados prospectivos, em especial no que diz respeito à dimensão do conhecimento. Fazem-se projeções para o Índice de Desenvolvimento Humano (IDH) até o ano de 2022 e mostra-se que o seu desenvolvimento do IDH está essencialmente associado ao crescimento econômico. A continuarem as tendências verificadas no país nas últimas décadas, o cenário mais provável para o futuro próximo é de baixa qualidade de educação básica, associada à grande desigualdade social e violência crescente. O cenário desejável, contudo, é de crescimento econômico associado à redução de desigualdades. Para isso, é condição necessária, mas não suficiente, um melhor desempenho no quesito conhecimento para superar os gargalos identificados, como perseguir a melhoria da qualidade da educação básica, a ampliação do ensino superior nas regiões Norte/Nordeste, uma significativa ampliação do ensino tecnológico pós-secundário e a implantação de uma política de demanda por ciência, tecnologia e inovação
The nature of the LINER in the galaxy NGC 404
NGC 404, at a distance of 3.4 Mpc, is the nearest S0 galaxy. This galaxy
harbors a LINER; however, since the spectrum does not show a broad H{\alpha}
emission, it is not certain that this LINER is a low luminosity AGN and its
nature is still an open question. HST observations show the existence of
stellar populations with an age of 3 x 10^8 years years in the galactic bulge
and with an age of 6-15 x 10^9 years in the galactic disk. In this work, we
present an analysis of the data cube of NGC 404 obtained with the IFU (Integral
Field Unity) of the GMOS (Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph) on the Gemini North
telescope.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figure
Qualidade e diversidade institucional na pós-graduação brasileira
THE INSTITUTIONS that offer graduate programs in Brazil are analyzed with respect to their diversity and quality. This diversity has grown in the last decades. Brazil had, in 2003, a total of 45 doctoral/research institutions, 73 that offered master degree (besides 1,554 institutions that offered graduate courses). The geographic distribution of these institutions is quite irregular. The relation between the number of institutions involved in graduate programs in Brazil and USA is similar to the proportion of the GNP of the two countries. The doctoral/research institutions in Brazil, like in the USA, are basically public, followed by community-type institutions that, in the case of Brazil, have often faith-relate origin. Contrary to common believes, Brazil graduates a larger percentage of doctorates in applied areas then the USA. In fields like Agrarian Sciences and Health Sciences, the absolute numbers are similar. This implies a clear risk of future brain drain in these fields of knowledge, potentially damaging for countries like Brazil. The quality of the master and doctorate programs does not depend strongly on the administrative nature, if public, community related or private. The quality of the master programs of an institution depends on the number of its graduates but also on the fact that the institution offers or not doctoral programs. Distinct fields of knowledge seem to mature differently. Health Sciences present the worst Capes scores (4.2) while Exact and Earth Sciences present the best (5.7). Some institutions have reached international level in some of the large areas of knowledge.ANALISAMOS a pós-graduação brasileira no que diz respeito à sua diversidade institucional e a sua qualidade. Esta diversidade cresceu nas últimas décadas. O Brasil tinha, em 2003, um total de 45 instituições de pesquisa e doutorado e 73 de mestrado, (além de 1.554 instituições de ensino de graduação). A distribuição geográfica das instituições envolvidas com pós-graduação é bastante irregular. A relação entre o número de instituições envolvidas na pós-graduação no Brasil e nos EUA mantém a mesma proporção que entre o PIB dos dois países. As universidades de pesquisa e de doutorado brasileiras, assim como as americanas, são basicamente públicas, seguidas de universidades comunitárias que, no caso do Brasil, têm origem majoritariamente confessional. Ao contrário do que normalmente se afirma, o Brasil forma maior porcentagem de doutores em áreas aplicadas como Ciências Agrárias e Ciências da Saúde do que os EUA. Isto implica a existência de um sério risco de brain drain nestas áreas. A qualidade dos cursos de mestrado e de doutorado não depende fortemente da natureza da instituição, se pública, comunitária/ filantrópica ou privada. A qualidade dos cursos de mestrado de uma instituição depende do número de dissertações da instituição mas, também, do fato de ela ter ou não programas de doutorado. Diferentes áreas do conhecimento parecem ter distintos graus de amadurecimento, sendo que a Área de Ciências da Saúde (com 4.2) tem a pior avaliação Capes e a Área de Ciências Exatas e da Terra, a melhor (5.7). Algumas universidades já atingiram o nível internacional em algumas grandes áreas
Integral Field Spectroscopy of the inner kpc of the elliptical galaxy NGC 5044
We used Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) in the Integral Field Unit
mode to map the stellar population, emission line flux distributions and gas
kinematics in the inner kpc of NGC 5044. From the stellar populations synthesis
we found that the continuum emission is dominated by old high metallicity stars
(13 Gyr, 2.5Z). Also, its nuclear emission is diluted by a non
thermal emission, which we attribute to the presence of a weak active galactic
nuclei (AGN). In addition, we report for the first time a broad component
(FWHM 3000km) in the H emission line in the nuclear
region of NGC 5044. By using emission line ratio diagnostic diagrams we found
that two dominant ionization processes coexist, while the nuclear region (inner
200 pc) is ionized by a low luminosity AGN, the filamentary structures are
consistent with being excited by shocks. The H velocity field shows
evidence of a rotating disk, which has a velocity amplitude of
240kms at 136 pc from the nucleus. Assuming a Keplerian
approach we estimated that the mass inside this radius is
, which is in agreement with the value obtained through the
M- relation, . Modelling the
ionized gas velocity field by a rotating disk component plus inflows towards
the nucleus along filamentary structures, we obtain a mass inflow rate of
0.4 M. This inflow rate is enough to power the central AGN in NGC
5044.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures, accepted by MNRA
A panchromatic spatially resolved study of the inner 500pc of NGC1052 -- II: Gas excitation and kinematics
We map the optical and near-infrared (NIR) emission-line flux distributions
and kinematics of the inner 320535pc of the elliptical galaxy
NGC1052. The integral field spectra were obtained with the Gemini Telescope
using the GMOS-IFU and NIFS instruments, with angular resolutions of 0''88 and
0''1 in the optical and NIR, respectively. We detect five kinematic components:
(1 and 2) Two spatially unresolved components, being a broad line region
visible in H, with a FWHM of 3200km s and an
intermediate-broad component seen in the [OIII]4959,5007
doublet; (3) an extended intermediate-width component with 280<FWHM<450km
s and centroid velocities up to 400km s, which dominates the flux
in our data, attributed either to a bipolar outflow related to the jets,
rotation in an eccentric disc or a combination of a disc and large-scale gas
bubbles; (4 and 5) two narrow (FWHM<150km s) components, one visible in
[OIII], and one visible in the other emission lines, extending beyond the
field-of-view of our data, which is attributed to large-scale shocks. Our
results suggest that the ionization within the observed field of view cannot be
explained by a single mechanism, with photoionization being the dominant
mechanism in the nucleus with a combination of shocks and photoionization
responsible for the extended ionization.Comment: Accepted at MNRAS. 17 pages, 17 figure
Decrease of CD68 Synovial Macrophages in Celastrol Treated Arthritic Rats
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory disease characterized by cellular infiltration into the joints, hyperproliferation of synovial cells and bone damage. Available treatments for RA only induce remission in around 30% of the patients, have important adverse effects and its use is limited by their high cost. Therefore, compounds that can control arthritis, with an acceptable safety profile and low production costs are still an unmet need. We have shown, in vitro, that celastrol inhibits both IL-1β and TNF, which play an important role in RA, and, in vivo, that celastrol has significant anti-inflammatory properties. Our main goal in this work was to test the effect of celastrol in the number of sublining CD68 macrophages (a biomarker of therapeutic response for novel RA treatments) and on the overall synovial tissue cellularity and joint structure in the adjuvant-induced rat model of arthritis (AIA).FCT fellowship: (SFRH/BPD/92860/2013)
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