Wavelets Applied to the Detection of Point Sources of UHECRs

In this work we analyze the effect of smoothing maps containing arrival directions of cosmic rays with a gaussian kernel and kernels of the mexican hat wavelets of orders 1, 2 and 3. The analysis is performed by calculating the amplification of the signal-to-noise ratio for several anisotropy patterns (noise) and different number of events coming from a simulated source (signal) for an ideal detector capable of observing the full sky with equal probability. We extend this analysis for a virtual detector located within the array of detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory, considering an acceptance law.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures. Proceedings of the Young Researchers Meeting, 2010. Available in: http://www.ifi.unicamp.br/physicae/ojs-2.1.1/index.php/physicae/article/view/191; Physicae, Proceedings of the Young Researchers Meeting, Vol 1, 201

A INTENÇÃO DE LEALDADE À UNIVERSIDADE A PARTIR DA ANÁLISE DO PERFIL DE ALUNOS DO CURSO DE ADMINISTRAÇÃO DE UMA UNIVERSIDADE PÚBLICA

Universidades cada vez mais necessitam ter um gerenciamento profissional, especialmente, objetivando o atendimento às necessidades dos alunos. A lealdade de alunos pode contribuir para a existência de benefícios pessoais, sociais e institucionais. Entretanto, algumas características interferem na lealdade daqueles que buscam serviços na área de educação. Buscando conhecer as características que influenciam na lealdade de alunos universitários, o presente artigo buscou realizar uma pesquisa descritiva e quantitativa com alunos do curso de Administração de uma universidade pública no sul do Brasil. Os resultados indicam que alunos em geral sentem-se leais, e nesta pesquisa as mulheres. Alunos de maior idade tendem e ser mais leais, assim como aqueles que estudaram em escolas públicas e nasceram em outra cidade. A lealdade varia em relação a semestres que o aluno estava cursando

Caloric Restriction Is More Efficient than Physical Exercise to Protect from Cisplatin Nephrotoxicity via PPAR-Alpha Activation

The antineoplastic drug cisplatin promotes renal injury, which limits its use. Protocols that reduce renal cisplatin toxicity will allow higher doses to be used in cisplatin treatment. Here, we compare physical exercise and caloric restriction (CR) as protocols to reduce cisplatin renal injury in mice. Male C57BL/6 were divided into four groups: Control, cisplatin, exercise + cisplatin, and 30% CR + cisplatin. Animals were injected with a single dose of cisplatin (20 mg/kg i.p.) and sacrificed 96 h after injection. Quantitative real time PCR, histological analyses, immunohistochemistry, and biochemical measurements were performed to investigate renal injury, necrosis, apoptosis, and inflammatory mechanisms. Both protocols protected against cisplatin renal injury, but CR was more effective in reducing uraemia and renal necrosis. The CR + Cisplatin group exhibited reduced serum IL-1 beta and INF-alpha levels. No differences were noted in the renal mRNA expression of cytokines. Both interventions reduced apoptosis, but only the CR + Cisplatin group decreased TNFR2 protein expression. PPAR-ci was activated in mice after CR. An antagonist of PPAR-alpha blocked the protective effect of CR. Both interventions attenuated the nephrotoxicity caused by cisplatin injection, but CR + Cisplatin showed a better response by modulating TNFR2. Moreover, part of the CR benefit depends on PPAR-alpha activation.FAPESP (Fundacao de Apoio a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo)CAPES/DAADUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Biofis, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Med, Disciplina Nefrol, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Inst Ciencias Biomed, Dept Immunol, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Dept Clin Med, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Pelotas, Escola Nutr, Dept Nutr, Pelotas, BrazilMax Delbruck Ctr Mol Med, Berlin, GermanyUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Biofis, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Med, Disciplina Nefrol, Sao Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 2013/06207-6FAPESP: 2015/20082-7CAPES/DAAD: 427/15Web of Scienc

Produção e composição morfológica de pastos de híbridos de sorgo para pastejo manejados sob duas alturas com ovinos.

Resumo: A sazonalidade da produção de forragem em regiões semiáridas consiste em um dos principais entraves à produção de ruminantes a pasto. A utilização de forrageiras tolerantes ao défice hídrico consiste em estratégia viável para minimizar a oscilação na produção de forragem das pastagens. Objetivou-se avaliar a produção e a composição morfológica de pastos de dois híbridos de sorgo para pastejo submetidos a duas alturas com ovinos. Os tratamentos consistiram da combinação entre dois híbridos de sorgo para pastejo (Sorghum bicolor x S. sudanense) (híbrido BR007A x TX2785, no meado BR; e o híbrido CMSXS157A x TX2785, nomeado de CM) e duas alturas pré-pastejo (60 cm e 80 cm), perfazendo quatro tratamentos, em um delineamento inteiramente casualizado com medidas repetidas no tempo e quatro repetições (piquetes de 7,90 m x 12,80 m). Avaliaram-se a biomassa de forragem, o horizonte de pastejo, a composição e a distribuição vertical dos componentes morfológicos do pasto. Os pastos manejados a 60 cm de altura pré-pastejo tiveram menores períodos de descanso. As variáveis biomassa de forragem verde (BFV) e horizonte de pastejo (HP) revelaram efeito (P0,05) na BFV entre os ciclos de pastejo. Constatou-se maior variação do HP nos pastos do híbrido BR em relação aos pastos do híbrido CM. Para o tratamento BRx60 quantificou-se menor (P0.05). Greater variation of GH was found in the pastures of hybrid BR in comparison to the pastures of hybrid CM. Lower GH was quantified for the treatment BRx60 in the fourth grazing cycle (P<0.05). In the pastures of hybrids BR and CM managed with 60 cm of pre-grazing height, an increase in the percentage of spontaneous plants along the strata of the pasture was quantified, mainly in the 0 to 20 cm layers. In the treatment CMx80, higher percentages of leaves and lower percentages of stem were quantified in comparison to the treatment BRx80, however, higher percentages of dead material and spontaneous plants were also quantified along the strata of the pasture. In conclusion, the pastures of hybrid BR managed with pre-grazing height of 60 cm have a higher proportion of leaves, which can provide better quality forage for sheep

Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Contribution of the carbohydrate-binding ability of Vatairea guianensis lectin to induce edematogenic activity

Vatairea guianensis lectin (VGL), Dalbergiae tribe, is a N-acetyl-galactosamine (GalNAc)/Galactose (Gal) lectin previously purified and characterized. In this work, we report its structural features, obtained from bioinformatics tools, and its inflammatory effect, obtained from a rat paw edema model. The VGL model was obtained by homology with the lectin of Vatairea macrocarpa (VML) as template, and we used it to demonstrate the common characteristics of legume lectins, such as the jellyroll motif and presence of a metal-binding site in the vicinity of the carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD). Protein-ligand docking revealed favorable interactions with N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, D-galactose and related sugars as well as several biologically relevant N- and O-glycans. In vivo testing of paw edema revealed that VGL induces edematogenic effect involving prostaglandins, interleukins and VGL CRD. Taken together, these data corroborate with previous reports showing that VGL interacts with N- and/or O-glycans of molecular targets, particularly in those presenting galactosides in their structure, contributing to the lectin inflammatory effect. © 2017 Elsevier B.V. and Société Française de Biochimie et Biologie Moléculaire (SFBBM

Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers. These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30 to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components. The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy -- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO