Plasmon-free Surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy on TiO\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e-graphene Oxide Inverse Opal Substrates

TiO2-graphene oxide (GO) inverse opal materials were shown to be active plasmon-free surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates. The SERS activity of the substrates was analyzed using three different probe molecules: phenethylamine (PEA), methylene blue (MB), and 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA). The morphology of the substrates was investigated by SEM and AFM. Prepared TiO2-GO inverse opals substrates can be reused up to five times with minimal loss of signal, rendering them perfect candidates to be used as highly stable, low-cost, metal-free, recyclable SERS substrates

Art as a questioning process

The topic of this thesis is, broadly, the crisis of postmodernity and the solution that French rhetorician, Michel Meyer, presents in his theory “problematology.†Meyer looks to relocate the focus of philosophical attention on the question as opposed to the answer. Meyer calls preoccupation with answers “propositionalism.†Propositionalism can be likened to the looming scientism that threatens philosophy in general. Meyer shows, through an examination of questioning, how philosophy can be rescued from obsolescence without being detracted to scientism. Although Meyer’s philosophy is promising, it could not be considered thorough if it did not address art. Using Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari’s definition of art as externalized experience, this thesis will explore whether or not Meyer has examined the important relationship between art and philosophy. Through analysis of his three main books in English along with multiple essays, this thesis shows that, although Meyer did not examine art to a great extent, his philosophy contains underlying themes that correspond to the art world. If Meyer’s philosophy is shown to be thorough enough in every respect, it could serve as a new starting point for thought. Meyer’s philosophy has the potential to pioneer a new paradigm of thought that has not been previously explored

MATERIALES Y PROCESO PARA EL DISEÑO

GUÍA DE EVALUACIÓN DEL APRENDIZAJ

An Early Cretaceous astropectinid (Echinodermata, Asteroidea) from Patagonia (Argentina): a new species and the oldest record of the family for the Southern Hemisphere

Los asterozoos son echinodermos de vida libre, con forma de estrella, y componentes importantes de las faunas marinas bentónicas a nivel mundial. Su registro fósil, sin embargo, es pobre y fragmentario, probablemente debido a la desarticulación de los osículos. En particular, los asteroideos fósiles son poco frecuentes en América del Sur. Se presenta aquí una nueva especie de estrella de mar de edad valanginiana proveniente de la Formación Mulichinco (cuenca Neuquina), en un contexto de ambiente somero de ‘shoreface’ dominado por tormentas. El espécimen pertenece a la Familia Astropectinidae y fue asignado al género Tethyaster Sladen. T. antares sp. nov., se caracteriza por una relación R:r de 2.43:1, marginales rectangulares más anchos en los ángulos interbraquiales, inferomarginales (28 pares a lo largo de un arco medial) con perfil ligeramente convexo y espinas planas (una por osículo en las áreas interbraquiales y dos por osículo en los brazos). Las características sedimentológicas y tafonómicas indican un enterramiento rápido. La presencia de fasciolas bien desarrolladas sugiere la posibilidad de que el espécimen se hallara parcialmente enterrado al comienzo de su ruta tafonómica. Este registro representa el hallazgo más antiguo de Astropectinidae en el Hemisferio Sur y el primer registro del género Tethyaster en el Cretácico Inferior de Sudamérica.Asterozoans are free living, star-shaped echinoderms which are important components of benthic marine faunas worldwide. Their fossil record is, however, poor and fragmentary, probably due to dissarticulation of ossicles. In particular, fossil asteroids are infrequent in South America. A new species of starfish is reported from the early Valanginian of the Mulichinco Formation, Neuquén Basin, in the context of a shallow-water, storm-dominated shoreface environment. The specimen belongs to the Astropectinidae, and was assigned to a new species within the genus Tethyaster Sladen, T. antares sp. nov., characterized by a R:r ratio of 2.43:1, rectangular marginals wider in the interbrachial angles, inferomarginals (28 pairs along a median arc) with slightly convex profile and flat spines (one per ossicle in the interbrachials and two per ossicle in the arms). Both the sedimentologic features of the bearing bed, and the taphonomic signature point to a rapid burial. Considering the presence of well-developed fascioles, it is likely that the specimen was already half buried at the beginning of its taphonomic pathway. This record represents the oldest finding of Astropectinidae in the Southern Hemisphere and the first record of the genus Tethyaster for the Lower Cretaceous of South America.Fil: Fernández, Diana Elizabeth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; ArgentinaFil: Perez, Damián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Luci, Leticia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; ArgentinaFil: Carrizo, Martin Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentin

First Year Experience: Create an Ideal College Campus

First Year Experience 101 Assignment: Working in partners, design your ideal college campusbased on six areas of college life discussed this term

Ethnic Andean Concepts of Health and Illness in the Post-Colombian World and Its Relevance Today

‘MEDICINE’ is a new project funded under the EC Horizon 2020 Marie-Sklodowska Curie Actions, to determine concepts of health and healing from a culturally specific indigenous context, using a framework of interdisciplinary methods which integrates archaeological-historical, ethnographic and modern health sciences approaches. The study will generate new theoretical and methodological approaches to model how peoples survive and adapt their traditional belief systems in a context of alien cultural impacts. In the immediate wake of the conquest of Peru by invading Spanish armies and ideology, native Andeans responded by forming the Taki Onkoy millenarian movement, which rejected European philosophical and ontological teachings, claiming “you make us sick”. The study explores how people’s experience of their world and their health beliefs within it, is fundamentally shaped by their inherent beliefs about the nature of being and identity in relation to the wider cosmos. Cultural and health belief systems and related rituals or behaviors sustain a people’s sense of identity, wellbeing and integrity. In the event of dislocation and persecution these may change into devolved forms, which eventually inter-relate with ‘modern’ biomedical systems of health in as yet unidentified ways. The development of new conceptual frameworks that model this process will greatly expand our understanding of how people survive and adapt in response to cultural trauma. It will also demonstrate the continuing role, relevance and use of TM in present-day indigenous communities. Studies will first be made of relevant pre-Colombian material culture, and then of early colonial period ethnohistorical texts which document the health beliefs and ritual practices still employed by indigenous Andean societies at the advent of the 17th century Jesuit campaigns of persecution - ‘Extirpación de las Idolatrías’. Core beliefs drawn from these baseline studies will then be used to construct a questionnaire about current health beliefs and practices to be taken into the study population of indigenous Quechua peoples in the northern Andean region of Ecuador. Their current systems of knowledge and medicine have evolved within complex historical contexts of both the conquest by invading Inca armies in the late 15th century, followed a generation later by Spain, into new forms. A new model will be developed of contemporary Andean concepts of health, illness and healing demonstrating the way these have changed through time. With this, a ‘policy tool’ will be constructed as a bridhging facility into contemporary global scenarios relevant to other Indigenous, First Nations, and migrant peoples to provide a means through which their traditional health beliefs and current needs may be more appropriately understood and met. This paper presents findings from the first analytical phases of the work based upon the study of the literature and the archaeological records. The study offers a novel perspective and methods in the development policies sensitive to indigenous and minority people’s health needs

VIP contribution to the decidualization program: regulatory T cell recruitment

During early pregnancy, the human uterus undergoes profound tissue remodeling characterized by leukocyte invasion and production of proinflammatory cytokines, followed by tissue repair and tolerance maintenance induction. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is produced by trophoblast cells and modulates the maternal immune response toward a tolerogenic profile. Here, we evaluated the contribution of the VIP/VPAC to endometrial renewal, inducing decidualization and the recruitment of induced regulatory T cells (iTregs) that accompany the implantation period. For that purpose, we used an in vitro model of decidualization with a human endometrial stromal cell line (HESC) stimulated with progesterone (P4) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) simulating the inflammatory response during implantation and human iTregs (CD4+CD25+FOXP3+) differentiated from naïve T cells obtained from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of fertile women. We observed that VIP and its receptor VPAC1 are constitutively expressed in HESCs and that P4 increased VIP expression. Moreover, in HESC VIP induced expression of RANTES (CCL5), one of the main chemokines involved in T cell recruitment, and this effect is enhanced by the presence of P4 and LPS. Finally, assays of the migration of iTregs toward conditioned media from HESCs revealed that endogenous VIP production induced by P4 and LPS and RANTES production were involved, as anti-RANTES neutralizing Ab or VIP antagonist prevented their migration. We conclude that VIP may have an active role in the decidualization process, thus contributing to recruitment of iTregs toward endometrial stromal cells by increasing RANTES expression in a P4-dependent manner.Fil: Grasso, Esteban Nicolas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Paparini, Daniel Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Agüero, Mariana. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Mor, Gil. University of Yale; Estados UnidosFil: Perez Leiros, Claudia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Ramhorst, Rosanna Elizabeth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentin

Ofiuroideos del Cretácico Inferior de Patagonia: primer registro fósil articulado para el Mesozoico de América del Sur

The first articulated remains of ophiuroids for the Mesozoic of South America are described from the Lower Cretaceous of Neuquén Basin, Argentina. The taxonomic analysis allows the assignment of the material described herein to the extinct genus Ophiopetra. The specimens belong to a new species, but considering the poor preservation, a new name is not introduced, as it would be based on an incomplete diagnosis. Certain characteristics (e.g., the diameter of the disc, the width/height ratio of the vertebrae) suggest that these ophiuroids are paedomorphic specimens. In light of the latest classification of the Ophiuroidea, and new insights on the spine articulation microstructure of Ophiopetra lithographica presented herein, a transfer of Ophiopetra to the family Ophionereididae within the order Amphilepidida is proposed. This material expands the palaeogeographic record of this genus, since it represents the first remains of Ophiopetra described in the Southern Hemisphere. It is also the first Cretaceous record of the genus worldwide.Fil: Fernández, Diana Elizabeth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas; ArgentinaFil: Giachetti, Luciana María. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas; ArgentinaFil: Stöhr, Sabine. Swedish Museum of Natural History; SueciaFil: Thuy, Ben. Natural History Museum Luxembourg; LuxemburgoFil: Perez, Damián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”; ArgentinaFil: Comerio, Marcos. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica; ArgentinaFil: Pazos, Pablo Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; Argentin