5,453 research outputs found
Rituais e cerimônias políticas no ultramar luso-espanhol: governo geral do Estado do Brasil e vice-reino de Nova Espanha, 1580-1640
Actas de la XII Reunión Científica de la Fundación Española de Historia Moderna, celebrada en la Universidad de León en 19-21 de junio de 2012. Francisco Carlos Cosentino, Universidade Federal de Viçosa (Minas Gerais-Brasil) ([email protected])Este trabajo analiza y compara los rituales políticos y ceremonias realizadas por los gobernadores generales
del Estado de Brasil y de los virreyes de Nueva España que participa la representación del poder
de los monarcas españoles. Analiza el juramento y toma de posesión del cargo de eses gobernantes,
así como las ceremonias que rodean su entrada solemne en Salvador (Bahia) y México, para iniciar el
ejercicio del poder.Esse trabalho contou com o auxílio da Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)Peer reviewe
Crosstalk between Macrophages and Pancreatic β-Cells in Islet Development, Homeostasis and Disease.
Macrophages are highly heterogeneous and plastic immune cells with peculiar characteristics dependent on their origin and microenvironment. Following pathogen infection or damage, circulating monocytes can be recruited in different tissues where they differentiate into macrophages. Stimuli present in the surrounding milieu induce the polarisation of macrophages towards a pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory profile, mediating inflammatory or homeostatic responses, respectively. However, macrophages can also derive from embryonic hematopoietic precursors and reside in specific tissues, actively participating in the development and the homeostasis in physiological conditions. Pancreatic islet resident macrophages are present from the prenatal stages onwards and show specific surface markers and functions. They localise in close proximity to β-cells, being exquisite sensors of their secretory ability and viability. Over the years, the crucial role of macrophages in β-cell differentiation and homeostasis has been highlighted. In addition, macrophages are emerging as central players in the initiation of autoimmune insulitis in type 1 diabetes and in the low-grade chronic inflammation characteristic of obesity and type 2 diabetes pathogenesis. The present work reviews the current knowledge in the field, with a particular focus on the mechanisms of communication between β-cells and macrophages that have been described so far
Adapting to Cancer with Body, Mind, and Heart: Psychological,Psychophysiological Assessment and Management in Sample of Ovarian Cancer Survivors
Objective: Ovarian cancer survivors often develop severe
psychological disorders and impairments in social, familial, and
sexual functioning. They experience a withdrawal from intimate
relationship, fear and body shame, and a condition of unrelenting
distress. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a physiological parameter
that, when reduced, is index of higher distress. The quantitative
observational study aimed at understanding the relationship
between psychological adjustment, distress, and quality of life.
Methods: 44 women, consecutively recruited at the Oncological
service of the Gynecological Dept., filled questionnaires investigating
social support, body image, coping strategies and quality of life and
recorded short-term HRV.
Results: significant correlations appeared between: quality of life
functioning scales and body image, perceived social support and
coping strategies; perceived support from the significant other
and HRV (r=339 p <05), role functioning and HRV (r=479 p<001).
Simple regressions on HRV showed the effect of the significant
other’s support (F=4.27 p<05) and of role functioning (F=9.810
p<001), while body image showed its effect on quality of life (F=4.18
p<05). Multiple regression on HRV showed the effect of body image
(β=453), support from friends (β=-435) and avoidance (β=-391)
while fatalism showed an effect on quality of life (β=364, p<05).
Conclusion: Higher concerns on body image seem linked to a
worsened day-to-day life. Reporting these concerns contributes
to raise HRV, while better emotive disclosure reduces emotional
distress. Social support positively influences quality of life and HRV.
Fatalism facilitates cancer acceptance process. Proper emotive
disclosure may have a positive impact on life quality
Hydrodynamic induced deformation and orientation of a microscopic elastic filament
We describe simulations of a microscopic elastic filament immersed in a fluid
and subject to a uniform external force. Our method accounts for the
hydrodynamic coupling between the flow generated by the filament and the
friction force it experiences. While models that neglect this coupling predict
a drift in a straight configuration, our findings are very different. Notably,
a force with a component perpendicular to the filament axis induces bending and
perpendicular alignment. Moreover, with increasing force we observe four shape
regimes, ranging from slight distortion to a state of tumbling motion that
lacks a steady state. We also identify the appearance of marginally stable
structures. Both the instability of these shapes and the observed alignment can
be explained by the combined action of induced bending and non-local
hydrodynamic interactions. Most of these effects should be experimentally
relevant for stiff micro-filaments, such as microtubules.Comment: three figures. To appear in Phys Rev Let
End to end numerical simulations of the MAORY multiconjugate adaptive optics system
MAORY is the adaptive optics module of the E-ELT that will feed the MICADO
imaging camera through a gravity invariant exit port. MAORY has been foreseen
to implement MCAO correction through three high order deformable mirrors driven
by the reference signals of six Laser Guide Stars (LGSs) feeding as many
Shack-Hartmann Wavefront Sensors. A three Natural Guide Stars (NGSs) system
will provide the low order correction. We develop a code for the end-to-end
simulation of the MAORY adaptive optics (AO) system in order to obtain
high-delity modeling of the system performance. It is based on the IDL language
and makes extensively uses of the GPUs. Here we present the architecture of the
simulation tool and its achieved and expected performance.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes +
Instrumentation 2014 in Montr\'eal, Quebec, Canada, with number 9148-25
AFM-STED correlative nanoscopy reveals a dark side in fluorescence microscopy imaging
It is known that the presence of fluorophores can influence the dynamics of molecular processes. Despite this, an affordable technique to control the fluorophore distribution within the sample, as well as the rise of unpredictable anomalous processes induced by the fluorophore itself, is missing. We coupled a stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscope with an atomic force microscope to investigate the formation of amyloid aggregates. In particular, we studied the in vitro aggregation of insulin and two alloforms of b amyloid peptides. We followed standard methods to induce the aggregation and to label the molecules at different dye-to-protein ratios. Only a fraction of the fibrillar aggregates was displayed in STED images, indicating that the labeled molecules did not participate indistinctly to the aggregation process. This finding demonstrates that labeled molecules follow only selected pathways of aggregation, among the multiple that are present in the aggregation reaction
Short communication: Jenny milk as an inhibitor of late blowing in cheese: A preliminary report
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Preparation and characterisation of titania/hydroxyapatite composite coatings obtained by sol-gel process
In the present work a titania network encapsulating a hydroxyapatite particulate phase is proposed as a bioceramic composite coating. The coating on a titanium substrate was produced starting from a sol containing a mixture of titania colloidal particles and hydroxyapatite submicron particles using the dip-coating technique. The microstructure, the morphology and the surface chemical composition of the coating were characterised using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. Adhesion tests were also performed. These analyses showed that the obtained coating was chemically clean, homogeneous, rough, porous, with a low thickness and well-defined phase composition as well as a good adhesion to the substrate. Copyright © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd
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