Imagining the Beyond: The Conceptualization of Duat between the Old and the Middle Kingdoms

This paper focuses on the evolution of the concept of Duat in the Old and Middle Kingdom funerary texts. This notion is already attested in the Pyramid Texts, which provide early but ambiguous references to it, seemingly identifying the Duat both with part of the sky and with a liminal domain located somewhere between earth and horizon, and endowed with regenerative power. Toward the end of the Old Kingdom, and with the emergence of the Coffin Texts, the depiction of the cosmos appears to have altered slightly. A better-defined universe was now sketched in the spells. Contrasted with the earth and the diurnal sky stood the Duat, which was, to some extent, described as including both nether sky and netherworld. This article traces the process of development of the concept of Duat within the broader frame of the ancient Egyptian funerary beliefs as attested in the Pyramid and Coffin Texts. Moreover, a brief analysis of a particular category of funerary objects popular in this period shows that the evolution in the conceptualization of the afterlife found in funerary texts underlies changes in material culture as well

Classifying the Duat

Summary The notion of Duat plays a major role in ancient Egyptian funerary beliefs. Yet, a single definition of this notion is impossible to achieve, as it underwent a process of evolution over thousands of years without ever designating just one unambiguous place at a time. In this context, an approach based on cognitive linguistics and on the significance of the determinatives accompanying the word Duat can be exploited to shed more light on this elusive concept. The focus will be here on the Pyramid Texts and the Coffin Texts as well as the intermediary phase of transmission of the funerary literature during the period between the end of the Old Kingdom and the beginning of the Middle Kingdom.</jats:p

Immune complexes in chronic Chagas disease patients are formed by exovesicles from Trypanosoma cruzi carrying the conserved MASP N-terminal region

The exovesicles (EVs) are involved in pathologic host-parasite immune associations and have been recently used as biomarkers for diagnosis of infectious diseases. The release of EVs by Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, has recently been described, with different protein cargoes including the MASP multigene family of proteins MASPs are specific to this parasite and characterized by a conserved C-terminal (C-term) region and an N-terminal codifying for a signal peptide (SP). In this investigation, we identified immature MASP proteins containing the MASP SP in EVs secreted by the infective forms of the parasite. Those EVs are responsible for the formation of immune complexes (ICs) containing anti-MASP SP IgGs in patients with different (cardiac, digestive and asymptomatic) chronic Chagas disease manifestations. Moreover, purified EVs as well as the MASP SP inhibit the action of the complement system and also show a significant association with the humoral response in patients with digestive pathologies. These findings reveal a new route for the secretion of MASP proteins in T. cruzi, which uses EVs as vehicles for immature and misfolded proteins, forming circulating immune complexes. Such complexes could be used in the prognosis of digestive pathologies of clinical forms of Chagas disease.Fil: Díaz Lozano, Isabel María. Universidad de Granada; EspañaFil: De Pablos, Luis Miguel. Universidad de Granada; España. University Of York;Fil: Longhi, Silvia Andrea. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Zago, María Paola. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Schijman, Alejandro Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Osuna, Antonio. Universidad de Granada; Españ

Doença hemolítica do recém-nascido devido a anti-U

Anti-U is a rare red blood cell alloantibody that has been found exclusively in blacks. It can cause hemolytic disease of the newborn and hemolytic transfusion reactions. We describe the case of a female newborn presenting a strongly positive direct antiglobulin test due to an IgG antibody in cord blood. Anti-U was recovered from cord blood using acid eluate technique. Her mother presented positive screening of antibodies with anti-U identified at delivery. It was of IgG1 and IgG3 subclasses and showed a titer of 32. Monocyte monolayer assay showed moderate interaction of Fc receptors with maternal serum with a positive result (3.1%). The newborn was treated only with 48 hours of phototherapy for mild hemolytic disease. She recovered well and was discharged on the 4th day of life. We conclude that whenever an antibody against a high frequency erythrocyte antigen is identified in brown and black pregnant women, anti-U must be investigated.Anti-U é um aloanticorpo eritrocitário raro detectado exclusivamente em negros, que pode causar doença hemolítica do recém-nascido e reações transfusionais hemolíticas. Relatamos o caso de um recém-nascido, de sexo feminino, que apresentou teste de antiglobulina direto fortemente positivo, dirigido a um anticorpo IgG em sangue de cordão umbilical. Anti-U foi identificado por técnica de eluição ácida. A mãe apresentava pesquisa de anticorpos irregulares positiva com anticorpo anti-U, de subclasses IgG1 e IgG3, título 32, identificado ao nascimento. O ensaio de monocamada de monócitos apresentou resultado positivo (3.1%), mostrando uma interação moderada de receptores Fc com soro materno. O recém-nascido foi tratado somente por fototerapia durante 48 horas para uma doença hemolítica leve. A criança recuperou-se bem e teve alta médica no quarto dia de vida. Concluímos que quando um anticorpo contra um antígeno eritrocitário de alta freqüência for identificado em gestantes negras e pardas, anti-U deve ser investigado

Methodological approach to the ex vivo expansion and detection of T. cruzi-specific T cells from chronic Chagas disease patients

The discovery of T cell epitopes is essential not only for gaining knowledge about host response to infectious disease but also for the development of immune-intervention strategies. In Chagas disease, given the size and complexity of the Trypanosoma cruzi proteome and its interaction with the host’s immune system, the fine specificity of T cells has not been extensively studied yet, and this is particularly true for the CD4+ T cell compartment. The aim of the present work was to optimize a protocol for the generation of parasite-specific memory T cell lines, representative of their in vivo precursor populations and capable of responding to parasite antigens after long-term culture. Accordingly, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from both chronic asymptomatic and cardiac patients, and from non-infected individuals, underwent different in vitro culture and stimulation conditions. Subsequently, cells were tested for their capacity to respond against T. cruzi lysate by measuring [3H]-thymidine incorporation and interferon-γ and GM-CSF secretion. Results allowed us to adjust initial T. cruzi lysate incubation time as well as the number of expansions with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and irradiated allogeneic PBMC prior to specificity evaluation. Moreover, our data demonstrated that parasite specific T cells displayed a clear and strong activation by using T. cruzi lysate pulsed, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformed human B lymphocytes (B-LCL), as autologous antigen presenting cells. Under these culture conditions, we generated a clone from an asymptomatic patient’s memory CD4+ T cells which responded against epimastigote and trypomastigote protein lysate. Our results describe a culture method for isolating T. cruzispecific T cell clones from patients with Chagas disease, which enable the acquisition of information on functionality and specificity of individual T cells

Curcumin exerts a protective effect against obesity and liver injury induced by an atherogenic diet

Background: Curcumin (Cur) is a natural yellow polyphenol extracted from the turmeric rhizome (Curcuma longa). Cur is known for its potential therapeutic properties as an analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, and anti-mutagenic, although some of these biological activities remain unproven. Epidemiological studies have shown a positive relationship between high-fat diets and diet-related chronic diseases. We hypothesized that some adverse effects of consuming atherogenic or high-fat diets (AD) can be ameliorated by Cur supplementation. Using an experimental model of rats, this study investigated the significance of Cur when it is given as a supplement in an AD. Methods: Healthy adult Wistar rats were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Controls (C) received a standard diet and experimental rats were fed with AD or AD+Cur for 5 weeks. Cur (100 mg/kg body weight) was given orally daily, plus piperine (5 mg/kg body weight). The effect of Cur supplementation was studied on zoometrics, visceral fat content, serum lipids profile, hepatosteatosis, liver function and oxidative status. Results: Diets did not alter energy consumption. As compared to the other groups, AD+Cur group showed a lower total visceral fat content, percentage of perirenal, mesenteric, and pelvic fat, and body weight gain (P0.05). AD induced a liver injury with macrovesicular steatosis and portal inflammation. AD+Cur rats presented microvesicular steatosis with no inflammation, achieving the lowest level of alanine aminotransferase (ALT; P<0.0001) and reductions of aspartate aminotransferase (AST; P<0.0001). Liver homogenates from AD+Cur showed that Cur supplementation reduced the dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) oxidation rate induced by AD by 25 % and deferoxamine and superoxide dismutase inhibited DCFH-DA. Conclusion: Cur as a dietary supplement showed a protective effect against obesity and inflammation, but its cardioprotective ability remained unproved. Cur may develop as a promising therapeutic agent for liver diseases induced by oxidative stress. This study provides supporting evidence to confirm the beneficial effects of curcumin from the point of view of functional food science.Fil: Antona, María Eugenia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Odontología. Cátedra de Bioquímica General y Bucal; ArgentinaFil: González, Paula Mariela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Bioquímica y Medicina Molecular. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad Medicina. Instituto de Bioquímica y Medicina Molecular; ArgentinaFil: Ramos, Cecilia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Odontología. Cátedra de Bioquímica General y Bucal; ArgentinaFil: Cabrera, Joaquin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Bioquímica y Medicina Molecular. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad Medicina. Instituto de Bioquímica y Medicina Molecular; ArgentinaFil: Olano, Carolina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquimica. Instituto de Fisiopatologia y Bioquimica Clinica.; ArgentinaFil: Morales, Maria Celina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Fisiopatología Cardiovascular; ArgentinaFil: Zago, Valeria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquimica. Instituto de Fisiopatologia y Bioquimica Clinica.; ArgentinaFil: Steimetz, Tammy. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Odontología; ArgentinaFil: Puntarulo, Susana Ángela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Bioquímica y Medicina Molecular. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad Medicina. Instituto de Bioquímica y Medicina Molecular; ArgentinaFil: Friedman, Silvia María. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Odontología. Cátedra de Bioquímica General y Bucal; ArgentinaFil: Macri, Elisa Vanesa. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Odontología. Cátedra de Bioquímica General y Bucal; Argentin

CARACTERIZAÇÃO E QUALIDADE NUTRICIONAL DE PÉTALAS DE FLORES ORNAMENTAIS

As flores de algumas plantas, al&eacute;m de possu&iacute;rem valor ornamental, apresentam caracter&iacute;sticas que as tornam verdadeiras iguarias para uso na culin&aacute;ria, sendo utilizadas tanto para enfeitar pratos como para ter seu sabor apreciado. Assim, o objetivo do trabalho foi quantificar a composi&ccedil;&atilde;o qu&iacute;mica de p&eacute;talas de flores, das esp&eacute;cies de Rosa (Rosa x grandiflora Hort.), Hibiscos (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. e Hibiscus sabdariffa L.), Girassol (Helianthus annus L.), Z&iacute;nia (Zinnia elegans Jacq.), Cal&ecirc;ndula (Calendula officinalis L.), Cravina (Dianthus chinensis L.) e Capuchinha (Tropaeolum majus L.). As plantas foram cultivadas em ambiente protegido e c&eacute;u aberto no Departamento de Fitotecnia da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria. As an&aacute;lises fisicoqu&iacute;micas (umidade, cinza, extrato et&eacute;reo, prote&iacute;na, fibra e carboidrato) foram realizadas no Departamento de Tecnologia e Ci&ecirc;ncia dos Alimentos da mesma universidade. Observou que a maioria das esp&eacute;cies apresentaram alto teor de &aacute;gua (maior que 85%), hibisco, girassol e cravina apresentaram maiores teores de cinzas (1,2%), cal&ecirc;ndula apresentou maior teor de extrato et&eacute;reo (1,2%), cravina apresentou maiores teores de prote&iacute;na e carboidrato (2,48% e 12%, respectivamente) e a rosa apresentou maior teor de fibras (3,50%). As p&eacute;talas das flores apresentaram bom valor nutricional, podendo ser inclu&iacute;das nos card&aacute;pios di&aacute;rios por conterem nutrientes para dieta

Os Padrões no Ensino e Aprendizagem Álgebra

Este capítulo de livro discute numa primeira fase o conceito de padrão e depois a sua relação com a álgebra e com o pensamento algébrico. Este aspectos rementem para a análise dos currículos nacionais e para as oreinetações curriculares internacionais de modo a encontrar evidências sobre estes aspectos