Unit organization of two topics in economics

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University, 1949. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

Androgen deprivation therapy (castration therapy) and pedophilia: What's new

Andrology is a constantly evolving discipline, embracing social problems like pedophilia and its pharmacological treatment. With regard to chemical castration, the andrologist may perform an important role as part of a team of specialists. At present, no knowledge is available regarding hormonal, chromosomal or genetic alterations involved in pedophilia. International legislation primarily aims to defend childhood, but does not provide for compulsory treatment. We reviewed international literature that, at present, only comprises a few reports on research concerning androgen deprivation. Most of these refer to the use of leuprolide acetate, rather than medroxyprogesterone and cyproterone acetate, which present a larger number of side effects. Current opinions on chemical castration for pedophilia are discordant. Some surveys confirm that therapy reduces sexual thoughts and fantasies, especially in recidivism. On the other hand, some authors report that chemical castration does not modify the pedophile's personality. In our opinion, once existing legislation has changed, andrologists could play a significant role in the selection of patients to receive androgen deprivation therapy, due in part to their knowledge about its action and side effects

Food profitability and recruitment behaviour in a scent trail laying stingless bee (Scaptotrigona aff. depilis)

Innerhalb der sozialen Insekten haben viele Gruppen die faszinierende Fähigkeit entwickelt, Nestgenossinnen zu rekrutieren. Rekrutierung beruht auf einer Kommunikation, die angewandt wird, um Mitglieder des Nestes zu einem bestimmten Ort zu bringen, wo Arbeit von Nöten ist (Wilson 1971). Daher beinhaltet die Rekrutierungskommunikation sowohl die Aktivierung von Nestgenossinnen innerhalb des Nestes, als auch die Orientierungshilfen für das Auffinden des Zielortes (Traniello & Robson 1995). Die stachellosen Bienen (Hymenoptera, Meliponini) sind unter den sozialen Insekten eine hoch diverse Tiergruppe (über 400 Arten, Michener 2000). Sie eignen sich ausgezeichnet für die Untersuchung der ebenso diversen Rekrutierungs- und Kommunikationsmechanismen. Bei stachellosen Bienen, wie bei anderen sozialen Insekten, beeinflusst die Güte der Futterquelle die Rekrutierung. Bisher wurde an Arten, die keinen Duftpfad legen, gezeigt, dass zu ertragreichen Futterquellen mehr Bienen rekrutiert werden als zu weniger ertragreichen (Biesmeijer & Ermers 1999). In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde erstmals untersucht, wie die Zuckerkonzentration des Futters die Rekrutierung einer Art (Scaptotrigona aff. depilis) beeinflusst, welche Rekruten durch das Auslegen eines Duftpfades zur Futterquelle führt (Schmidt & al. 2006b).How does the sugar concentration of the food source affect the recruitment of the stingless bee Scaptotrigona aff. depilis (Hymenoptera, Meliponini)? We offered sugar water of either constant, increasing, or decreasing concentrations. Simultaneously, we recorded the number of recruits and the recruiters’ running speed, jostling contacts, and vibrations inside the nest. Neither the number of recruits nor the behavioural parameters depended on the actual sugar concentration but rather on the changes experienced over time. Concentration decreases resulted in significantly decreased numbers of recruits. Concentration increases neither led to increased numbers of recruits nor to increased recruitment activity. However, most parameters of intranidal activity changed significantly only when the concentration was reduced from 40% to 20% w/w and recruitment to the food source nearly ceased. These findings support the idea of a feedback mechanism reducing the colony’s effort to exploit food sources of decreasing profitability

Europium(II) Compounds: Simple Synthesis of a Molecular Complex in Water and Coordination Polymers with 2,2'-Bipyrimidine Mediated Ferromagnetic Interactions

International audienceReaction between EuCl2 and 2,2'-bipyrimidine (bpm) in de-oxygenated water afforded a cationic molecular complex [EuCl(bpm)2(H2O)4][Cl]∙H2O (1). When performed in an organic solvent such as THF or methanol, the same reaction yielded a 3-dimensional coordination polymer of formula [EuCl2(bpm)(MeOH)0.5] (2) in which both bpm and the chloride ions act as linkers between the Eu(II) ions. Upon replacing Cl- by I-, two coordination polymers of formula {[Eu(bpm)2(H2O)3][I]2*0.5bpm}∞ (3) and {[Eu(I)(bpm)(MeOH)]- [I]}∞ (4) were obtained from reaction in water and methanol, respectively. All these compounds were characterized by X-ray crystallography. Investigations of the magnetic properties revealed a weak antiferromagnetic coupling in 2, while 3 and 4 showed a weak ferromagnetic coupling at low temperature

Fast Optimization of Temperature Focusing in Hyperthermia Treatment of Sub-Superficial Tumors

Microwave hyperthermia aims at selectively heating cancer cells to a supra-physiological temperature. For non-superficial tumors, this can be achieved by means of an antenna array equipped with a proper cooling system (the water bolus) to avoid overheating of the skin. In patient-specific treatment planning, antenna feedings are optimized to maximize the specific absorption rate (SAR) inside the tumor, or to directly maximize the temperature there, involving a higher numerical cost. We present here a method to effect a low-complexity temperature-based planning. It arises from recognizing that SAR and temperature have shifted peaks due to thermal boundary conditions at the water bolus and for physiological effects like air flow in respiratory ducts. In our method, temperature focusing on the tumor is achieved via a SAR-based optimization of the antenna excitations, but optimizing its target to account for the cooling effects. The temperature optimization process is turned into finding a SAR peak position that maximizes the chosen temperature objective function. Application of this method to the 3D head and neck region provides a temperature coverage that is consistently better than that obtained with SAR-optimization alone, also considering uncertainties in thermal parameters. This improvement is obtained by solving the bioheat equation a reduced number of times, avoiding its inclusion in a global optimization process

Fossil vs. active geothermal systems: A field and laboratory method to disclose the relationships between geothermal fluid flow and geological structures at depth

Comparison between fossil and analogue active geothermal systems permit to obtain key-parameters to define a conceptual model of the area under exploration. The approach is based on structural, kinematic, and fluid inclusions analyses. The fossil system is investigated to describe the distribution of the hydrothermal mineralization as witness of the fluid flow through geological structures and bodies, at depth. Structural and kinematic data (to define the preferential direction of fluid flow) are collected in structural stations and by scan lines and scan boxes on key outcrops. Distribution, length, width of fractures, and hydrothermal veins bring to evaluate permeability in the fossil system and, by analogy, in the deep roots of the active system. Fluid inclusions analysis shed light on density, viscosity, and temperature of the paleo-fluids. Data integration provides the hydraulic conductivity. In active geothermal systems, fieldwork is addressed to paleo-stress analysis with data from recent faults (<2 Ma), to compare with local focal mechanisms. By this, indications on the present fluid pathways are given. The main advantage resides in obtaining parameters normally got after drilling, thus contributing to strengthen the strategy of exploration, de-risking unsuccessful boreholes

On the identity of Trichogramma demoraesi Nagaraja (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), with a checklist and a key to Trichogramma species associated with Erinnyis ello (L.) (Lepidoptera, Sphingidae) in Brazil.

Specimens collected from eggs of the cassava hornworm Erinnyis ello, originally identified as T. demoraesi, were compared with the paratype of this species. Based on morphological analysis, the specimens from E. ello actually belong to Trichogramma marandobai Brun, Moraes and Soares, 1986. Therefore, T. demoraesi is not a parasitoid of the eggs of E. ello, a major pest of cassava. The main features separating the two species, and a checklist and key to the species of Trichogramma associated with E. ello are presented.Autoria: QUERINO [i.e. SILVA], R. B. Q. da. RANYSE BARBOSA QUERINO DA SILV

Corrosion prediction of metallic cultural heritage assets by EIS

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) was used to predict corrosion behaviour of metallic Cultural Heritage assets in two monitoring campaigns: 1) an iron bar chain exposed indoor from over 500 years in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Amiens (France); and 2) a large weathering steel sculpture exposed outdoor from tens of years in Ferrara (Italy). The EIS portable instrument employed was battery operated. In situ EIS measurements on the iron chain could be used to investigate the phenomena involved in the electrochemical interfaces among various corrosion products and assess and predict their corrosion behaviour in different areas of the Cathedral. Meanwhile, the sculpture of weathering steel, like most outdoor artefacts, showed rust layers of different chemical composition and colour depending on the orientation of metal plates. The EIS monitoring campaign was carried out on different areas of the artefact surface, allowing assessment of their protective effectiveness. Results of EIS measurements evidenced how employing a simple test that could be performed in situ without damaging the artefacts surface is possible to quickly gain knowledge of the conservation state of an artefact and highlight potential danger conditions

Automated Design of a Broadside-Radiating Linearly Polarized Isotropic Metasurface Antenna

We present the automated design of a broadside-radiating metasurface antenna. The design is carried out by employing a continuous isotropic Impedance Boundary Condition through an optimization procedure based on the equivalent surface current only. A modified gradient-descent optimization algorithm is applied to minimize an objective function that incorporates both realizability and far field requirements. The antenna is then implemented by a suitable arrangement of circular unit cells, selected from a database of precomputed shapes. This procedure is applied to the design of a broadside-radiating, linearly polarized circular metasurface antenna working at 23 GHz, with size ≈12λ . The obtained design is then validated with commercial software simulations

Genetic diversity in soybean germplasm identified by SSR and EST-SSR markers.

Os objetivos deste trabalho foram avaliar a diversidade genética de 79 acessos de soja de diferentes regiões do mundo, agrupá-los de acordo com a similaridade e testar a correlação entre os dois tipos de marcadores utilizados. Foram utilizados marcadores microssatélites genômicos (SSR) e funcionais (EST-SSR). Trinta pares de primers SSR foram selecionados (20 genômicos e 10 EST-SSR) de acordo com sua distribuição nos 20 grupos de ligação da soja, com sua unidade de repetição trinucleotídica e com seu conteúdo de informação polimórfica. Todos os lócus analisados foram polimórficos, e 259 alelos foram encontrados. O número de alelos por lócus variou entre 2?21, com média de 8,63. Os acessos possuem uma quantidade significativa de alelos raros, sendo os acessos 19, 35, 63 e 65 os que apresentaram maior número de alelos exclusivos. Os acessos 75 e 79 são os mais similares e os acessos 31 e 35, e 40 e 78 são os mais divergentes. Foi observada baixa correlação entre resultados de SSR e EST-SSR. Portanto, uma análise adequada de diversidade em soja deve ser feita utilizando-se tanto marcadores microssatélites genômicos como funcionais. A diversidade genética dos acessos selecionados é alta, tendo sido encontrados cinco grupos e vários subgrupos. Observou-se moderada relação entre divergência genética e origem geográfica dos acessos