The revanchist logic of mega-events: community displacement in Rio de Janeiro's West End

As the curtains are drawn in London's East End, Brazil and Rio de Janeiro will be under the international spotlight over the next four years. This paper focuses on the process of Olympic city-making in the West End of Rio de Janeiro, where the planning and construction of facilities and transport network have adversely affected low-income settlements. The planning of the Olympic Park has become the latest episode in a series of attempts to drive out one of the longest established poor settlements in the borough of Barra da Tijuca. Attention is given to the changing discourse justifying the relocation and the context in which residents have resisted eviction. In another case study, the paper considers the construction of Bus Rapid Transit corridors aimed to improve access to the area. In this instance, some communities were not able to avoid eviction, being relocated to the western edges of the city or financially compensated. Analysis of the eviction process is drawn from material collected by visiting the affected communities. The paper concludes by reflecting on the inexorability of Olympic city-making and entitlement to the emerging geographies

Coating of bioactive glasses with chitosan: The effects of the glass composition and coating method on the surface properties, including preliminary in vitro results

Two bioactive glasses were coated with chitosan: SCNB belongs to the SiO2-CaO-Na2O system, and SCNA has the addition of Al2O3 to enhance chemical stability. Different coating methods were compared: direct physical attachment, surface activation through tresyl chloride, and polydopamine as a linker. The samples were char-acterized through SEM-EDS, contact angle measurements, FTIR, zeta potential titrations, tape tests, in vitro precipitation of hydroxylapatite (bioactivity), and cell cultures (RAW 264.7 and UMR-106) on some selected samples. Direct physical attachment (in acetic acid) or use of polydopamine allowed complete surface coverage, while it dropped to one-quarter on both glasses by using tresyl chloride. The coating had a contact angle of about 80 degrees and it well showed typical functional groups (FTIR). The coatings on SCNA were chemically and mechan-ically stable (classified as 4-5B by the tape tests, partially maintained after soaking for 14 days), and showed an isoelectric point around 8. On SCNB, the coatings were unstable (classified as 0-3B, dissolved during soaking) but bioactivity was preserved. The coating affected the biological outcome of SCNA with M0/M1 polarization (1 day) and reduced viability of macrophages (3 days), while osteoblastic cells showed poor adhesion but maintained cell viability and osteogenic potential (3-7 days)

Protein Co-Enrichment Analysis of Extracellular Vesicles

Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) carry cell-derived proteins that confer functionality and selective cell uptake. However, whether proteins are packaged stochastically or co-enriched within individual EVs, and whether co-enrichment fluctuates under homeostasis and disease, has not been measured. EV abundance and protein global relative expression have been qualified by bulk analysis. Meanwhile, co-enrichment is not directly accessible via bulk measurement and has not been reported for single EV analysis. Here, we introduce the normalized index of co-enrichment (NICE) to measure protein co-enrichment. NICE was derived by (i) capturing EVs based on the expression of a membrane-bound protein, (ii) probing for the co-expression of a second protein at the population level - EV integrity underwrites the detection of single EV co-expression without the need to resolve single EVs - and (iii) normalizing measured values using two universal normalization probes. Axiomatically, NICE = 1 for stochastic inclusion or no overall co-enrichment, while for positive and negative co-enrichment NICE > 1 or < 1, respectively. We quantified the NICE of tetraspanins, growth factor receptors and integrins in EVs of eight breast cancer cell lines of varying metastatic potential and organotropism, combinatorially mapping up to 104 protein pairs. Our analysis revealed protein enrichment and co-expression patterns consistent with previous findings. For the organotropic cell lines, most protein pairs were co-enriched on EVs, with the majority of NICE values between 0.2 to 11.5, and extending from 0.037 to 80.4. Median NICE were either negative, neutral or positive depending on the cells. NICE analysis is easily multiplexed and is compatible with microarrays, bead-based and single EV assays. Additional studies are needed to deepen our understanding of the potential and significance of NICE for research and clinical uses

Produção orgânica de rabanete em plantio direto sobre cobertura morta e viva.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o uso de plantas espontâneas e cobertura viva de amendoim forrageiro(Arachis pintoi), associado à aplicação de composto orgânico na produção orgânica do rabanete em plantio direto. O experimento foi instalado na Universidade Federal do Acre, em Rio Branco-AC, de 15/06 a 14/07/2007. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi em blocos casualizados com parcelas subdivididas 4x3, em quatro repetições. As parcelas corresponderam ao sistema de plantio direto com cobertura viva de amendoim forrageiro, cobertura viva de planta espontânea, cobertura morta de planta espontânea e sistema de plantio em canteiro com solo descoberto. As subparcelas foram compostas pelas doses de composto orgânico de 5, 10 e 15 t ha-1 (base seca). O plantio direto na palha de plantas espontâneas teve desempenho semelhante ao preparo convencional do solo, ambos superiores ao plantio sobre as coberturas vivas. A produtividade do rabanete cv. Cometo, não foi afetada pelas doses crescentes de composto orgânico, podendo aplicar-se apenas 5 t ha-1, enquanto em preparo convencional do solo, o aumento da produtividade ultrapassa o plantio direto na palha apenas na dose maior de composto (15 t ha-1)

The Critical Behaviour of the Spin-3/2 Blume-Capel Model in Two Dimensions

The phase diagram of the spin-3/2 Blume-Capel model in two dimensions is explored by conventional finite-size scaling, conformal invariance and Monte Carlo simulations. The model in its $\tau$-continuum Hamiltonian version is also considered and compared with others spin-3/2 quantum chains. Our results indicate that differently from the standard spin-1 Blume-Capel model there is no multicritical point along the order-disorder transition line. This is in qualitative agreement with mean field prediction but in disagreement with previous approximate renormalization group calculations. We also presented new results for the spin-1 Blume-Capel model.Comment: latex 18 pages, 4 figure

Photosynthetic quantum efficiency in south‐eastern Amazonian trees may be already affected by climate change

Tropical forests are experiencing unprecedented high‐temperature conditions due to climate change that could limit their photosynthetic functions. We studied the high‐temperature sensitivity of photosynthesis in a rainforest site in southern Amazonia, where some of the highest temperatures and most rapid warming in the Tropics have been recorded. The quantum yield (F v /F m ) of photosystem II was measured in seven dominant tree species using leaf discs exposed to varying levels of heat stress. T 50 was calculated as the temperature at which F v /F m was half the maximum value. T 5 is defined as the breakpoint temperature, at which F v /F m decline was initiated. Leaf thermotolerance in the rapidly warming southern Amazonia was the highest recorded for forest tree species globally. T 50 and T 5 varied between species, with one mid‐storey species, Amaioua guianensis , exhibiting particularly high T 50 and T 5 values. While the T 50 values of the species sampled were several degrees above the maximum air temperatures experienced in southern Amazonia, the T 5 values of several species are now exceeded under present‐day maximum air temperatures

CRIANÇAS, CONHECIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E PERCEPÇÕES AMBIENTAIS: O QUE A EDUCAÇÃO ESCOLAR TEM A VER COM ISSO?

O Brasil é um país megadiverso cuja biodiversidade enfrenta momento crucial devido à implantação de controversas políticas públicas ambientais na esfera federal. Neste artigo, ressaltamos que há um recente declínio de interesse por parte da sociedade brasileira pelas questões ambientais, cenário que sugere uma falha no processo de comunicação sobre a importância de se proteger a natureza e sua biodiversidade. Como elementos que dão corpo a esta realidade, apresentamos a incidência do neoliberalismo no campo educacional e objetivação deste nas políticas educacionais, em especial sobre o currículo escolar, a partir da BNCC da Educação Básica. Diante do exposto, consideramos que no Brasil as crianças são sujeitos importantes, nos quais as percepções ambientais sobre a conservação da natureza podem ser aprimoradas a longo prazo. Neste sentido, apresentamos metodologias e procedimentos metodológicos que podem, na contramão da educação pragmática e tecnicista, contribuir com atividades de comunicação e educação científica para este público-alvo