The hunt for formamide in interstellar ices: A toolkit of laboratory infrared spectra in astronomically relevant ice mixtures and comparisons to ISO, Spitzer, and JWST observations

This work aims at characterizing the mid-IR spectra of formamide in its pure form as well as in mixtures of the most abundant interstellar ices via laboratory simulation of such ices, as well as demonstrating how these laboratory spectra can be used to search for formamide in ice observations. Mid-IR spectra (4000 - 500 cm$^{-1}$, 2.5 - 20 $\mu$m) of formamide, both in its pure form as well as in binary and tertiary mixtures with H$_2$O, CO$_2$, CO, NH$_3$, CH$_3$OH, H$_2$O:CO$_2$, H$_2$O:NH$_3$, CO:NH$_3$, and CO:CH$_3$OH, are collected at temperatures ranging from 15 - 212 K. Apparent band strengths and positions of eight IR bands of pure amorphous and crystalline formamide at various temperatures are provided. Three bands are identified as potential formamide tracers in observational ice spectra: the overlapping C=O stretch and NH$_2$ scissor bands at 1700.3 and 1630.4 cm$^{-1}$ (5.881 and 6.133 $\mu$m), the CH bend at 1388.1 cm$^{-1}$ (7.204 $\mu$m), and the CN stretch at 1328.1 cm$^{-1}$ (7.529 $\mu$m). The relative apparent band strengths, positions, and FWHM of these features in mixtures at various temperatures are also determined. Finally, the laboratory spectra are compared to observational spectra of low- and high-mass young stellar objects as well as pre-stellar cores observed with the Infrared Space Observatory, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the JWST. A comparison between the formamide CH bend in laboratory data and the 7.24 $\mu$m band in the observations tentatively indicates that, if formamide ice is contributing significantly to the observed absorption, it is more likely in a polar matrix. Upper limits ranging from 0.35-5.1\% with respect to H$_{2}$O are calculated. These upper limits are in agreement with gas-phase formamide abundances and take into account the effect of a H$_{2}$O matrix on formamide's band strengths.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 25 pages, 11 figures, 9 table

Incidencia del proceso de certificación de calidad y exportación del tabaco en los costos unitarios de la empresa Drew Estate Tobacco Company S.A. durante el primer semestre del año 2017

La presente investigación está enfocada en la revisión y determinación de los procesos utilizados para la certificación y exportación del tabaco que está desarrollando la empresa Drew Estate Tobacco Company S.A, y determinar el impacto de este en el cálculo de los costos unitarios de cada unidad producida. La metodología empleada en este estudio es de enfoque cualitativo; siendo un estudio de caso debido a que se trató de dar explicación y respuesta a una problemática real Drew Estate Tobacco Company S.A, de igual manera se aplicó un muestreo no probabilístico. Para obtener información fue necesaria la aplicación de tres entrevistas, además de aplicar guías de observación y revisión documental. Los resultados obtenidos mediante el estudio determinó que las certificaciones de calidad aplicadas por la empresa permiten una reducción en los costos unitarios de cada unidad producida; debido a que al realizar la certificación solamente la materia prima que pasa por ese proceso se considera en buen estado y presenta mejores condiciones para producir, mientras que sin certificación la materia prima que está en buen estado absorbe el costo y cuando está en mal estado se eleva dicho costo. Cabe mencionar que los certificados utilizados en el proceso de exportación; la empresa los toma como gastos y no tienen ninguna incidencia en los costos unitarios

Incidencia de la certificación de calidad del tabaco para la exportación en la empresa Drew Estate Tobacco Company S.A.

La presente investigación está enfocada en la revisión y determinación de los procesos utilizados para la certificación y exportación del tabaco que se está desarrollando la empresa Drew Estate Tobacco Company S.A, y determinar el impacto de este en el cálculo de los costos unitarios de cada unidad producida. La metodología empleada en este estudio es de enfoque cualitativo; siendo un estudio de caso debido a que se trató de dar explicación y respuesta a una problemática real Drew Estate Tobacco Company S.A, de igual manera se aplicó un muestreo no probabilístico. Para obtener información fue necesaria la aplicación de tres entrevistas, además de aplicar guías de observación y revisión documental. Los resultados obtenidos mediante el estudio determinó que las certificaciones de calidad aplicadas por la empresa permiten una reducción en los costos unitarios de cada unidad producida; debido a que al realizar la certificación solamente la materia prima que pasa por ese proceso se considera en buen estado y presenta mejores condiciones para producir, mientras que sin certificación la materia prima que está en buen estado absorbe el costo y cuando está en mal estado y por eso eleva el costo. Cabe mencionar que los certificados utilizados en el proceso de exportación; la empresa los toma como gastos y no tienen ninguna incidencia en los costos unitarios

Estudo comparativo de amostras de NiTi produzidas por metalurgia do pó

The NiTi is an equiatomic Nickel and Titanium alloy that presents excellent properties as biocompatibility, shape memory and superelasticity. The Laboratory of Metal Forming (LdTM-Ufrgs) is carrying out many different experiments aiming the production of NiTi alloys using conventional powder metallurgy (PM) and powder injection molding (PIM), the characterization and processing possibilities through metal forming. The use of NiTi alloy in medical devices is also being explored. This article presents a part of this project which is concerned with comparison between the chemical and metallurgical properties obtained in NiTi alloy from both processes (PIM and conventional PM). Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), measurements of micro hardness and nanohardness, metallography, porosity evaluation and analysis of the chemical composition with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), were carried out to evaluate the material and the possibilities of the two different methods concerning the achievable properties. Key words: NiTi, conventional powder metallurgy, powder injection molding.O NiTi é uma liga equiatômica de níquel e titânio que apresenta excelentes propriedades como biocompatibilidade, memória de forma e superelasticidade. O Laboratório de Conformação Mecânica (LdTM - UFRGS) está realizando diferentes experimentos de produção da liga NiTi através de metalurgia do pó convencional e moldagem de pós por injeção, sua caracterização e processamento por conformação mecânica. O uso da liga de NiTi também é explorado em dispositivos médicos. Este artigo apresenta uma parte deste projeto que consiste na comparação das propriedades químicas e metalúrgicas presentes na liga de NiTi produzida por diferentes processos (MIM e metalurgia do pó convencional (P/M)). Análises de Calorimetria Diferencial Exploratória (DSC), medições de microdureza e nanodureza, análise metalográfica, avaliação do teor de porosidades e análise da composição química por Espectroscopia de Raios-X por Energia Dispersiva (EDS), foram realizadas com o intuito de avaliar o material e as possibilidades dos dois diferentes métodos com relação as propriedades apresentadas. Palavras-chave: NiTi, metalurgia do pó, moldagem de pós por injeção

Proyecto macro: Programa de educación física orientado desde las competencias motriz, expresivo corporal, axiológica y ciudadanas.

Para el desarrollo de esta propuesta de un modelo de articulación interinstitucional se determinaron necesidades, problemas, expectativas y posibles proyectos para que en realidad fuera fructífero el desarrollo de dicha investigación. A continuación se muestran dichos aspectos que fueron base para esta tesis de grado. Necesidades: Un docente de educación física o ampliar los tiempos de práctica pedagógica de los practicantes, Hacer un énfasis desde las clases de educación física en recreación, deporte, lúdica, violencia y los valores, Unificar los procesos de evaluación. Problemas: Tradicionalismo metodológico de los docentes y practicantes, La violencia y los problemas relacionados con la convivencia. Expectativas: La universidad debe propiciar el fortalecimiento de los procesos de articulación, Participación de los practicantes en todo el horario del colegio, Procesos de retroalimentación de los procesos de los practicantes. Además, hay un creciente interés por formar ciudadanos que se puedan desarrollar dentro de la sociedad como parte activa y positiva dela misma por eso se toma una guía titulada “formar para la ciudadanía ¡si es posible! Lo que necesitamos saber y saber hacer” dando como punto central la competencia ciudadana que es una de las competencias con más elementos integradores, que entre si forman un marco de referencia para la misma siendo estos, junto los conocimientos, las habilidades cognitivas, emocionales y comunicativas, que articuladas entre si favorecen que el niño tenga a la mano una serie de herramientas para desarrollarse dentro de su propio contexto así como en otros. Cabe añadir que lo anterior parte como medio fundamental la utilización de la escuela y el hogar como puntos focales donde se cumplen las primeras etapas del niño buscando que este se vuelva un ente participativo, democrático que pueda vivir en comunidad y que actué para el bien de la sociedad en la que vive abriendo espacios donde se impulse la solidaridad generando normas de convivencia sana

Efeito da moagem de alta energia na morfologia e compressibilidade do compósito Mo-30%Cu

The purpose of this work is to analyze the effects of high energy milling on the granulometry, powder morphology and compressibility of Mo-Cu composite. The Mo-Cu composite combines high mechanical strength of Mo with the high thermal and electrical conductivity of Cu. These characteristics are important to heat sink and electrical conductors. The high energy milling produces composite powders with high homogeneity and refines the grain size. The synthesis of Mo-30Cu composite, starting from powders of Mo and Cu, was realized for milling times of 1, 4, 8, 16 and 32 hours. Scanning electron microscopy and laser granulometry were used to follow the influence of milling time on the microstructure. This allowed to observe the morphological evaluation and interaction between the elements of the material produced. The results show that the particle size and compressibility decreased with the milling time, which shows the viability to obtain this composite by the proposed process. Key words: conventional powder metallurgy, Mo-Cu composite, high energy milling.Este trabalho tem por objetivo a investigação do efeito da moagem de alta energia sobre a morfologia, tamanho de partícula e compressibilidade do compósito Mo-Cu. O compósito Mo-Cu combina a alta resistência mecânica do Mo com a alta condutividade térmica e elétrica do Cu. Estas características são importantes para dissipadores de calor e condutores elétricos. A moagem de alta energia produz pós compósitos com alto nível de homogeneização e refina o tamanho de grão. A síntese do compósito Mo-30Cu, partindo dos pós de Mo e Cu, foi realizada para tempos de moagem de 1, 4, 8, 16 e 32 horas. A fim de observar a influência do tempo de moagem sobre a microestrutura, empregaram-se as técnicas de microscopia eletrônica de varredura e granulometria a laser. Esta avaliação permitiu observar o comportamento morfológico e a interação entre os elementos do material produzido. Os resultados mostram que com o decorrer do tempo de moagem ocorreu a diminuição do tamanho de partículas, que demonstra a viabilidade de obtenção deste compósito. Palavras-chave: metalurgia do pó, compósito Mo- Cu, moagem de alta energia

The EDIBLES Survey. VII. A survey of C2 and C3 in interstellar clouds

We carried out a sensitive survey of C$_2$ and C$_3$ using the EDIBLES data set. We also expanded our searches to C$_4$, C$_5$, and $^{13}$C$^{12}$C isotopologue in the most molecule-rich sightlines. We fit synthetic spectra generated following a physical excitation model to the C$_2$ (2-0) Phillips band to obtain the C$_2$ column density ($N$) as well as the kinetic temperature ($T_\textrm{kin}$) and number density ($n$) of the host cloud. The C$_3$ molecule was measured through its $\tilde{A} - \tilde{X}$ (000-000) electronic origin band system. We simulated the excitation of this band with a double-temperature Boltzmann distribution. We present the largest combined survey of C$_2$ and C$_3$ to date in which the individual transitions can be resolved. In total we detected C$_2$ in 51 velocity components along 40 sightlines, and C$_3$ in 31 velocity components along 27 sightlines. The two molecules are detected in the same velocity components. We find a very good correlation between $N$(C$_2$) and $N$(C$_3$) with Pearson $r = 0.93$ and an average $N$(C$_2$)/$N$(C$_3$) ratio of 15.5$\pm$1.4. A comparison with the behaviour of the C$_2$ DIBs shows that there are no clear differences among sightlines with and without detection of C$_2$ and C$_3$. This is in direct contrast to the better-studied non-C$_2$ DIBs who have reduced strengths in molecule-rich environments. We also identify for the first time the $Q$(2), $Q$(3), and $Q$(4) transitions of the $^{13}$C$^{12}$C (2-0) Phillips band in a stacked average spectrum, and estimate the isotopic ratio of carbon $^{12}$C/$^{13}$C as 79$\pm$8. Our search for the C$_4$ and C$_5$ optical bands was unsuccessful.Comment: 31 pages, 23 figures. To appear in A&

Microscopic Investigation of Reversible Nanoscale Surface Size Dependent Protein Conjugation

Aβ1–40 coated 20 nm gold colloidal nanoparticles exhibit a reversible color change as pH is externally altered between pH 4 and 10. This reversible process may contain important information on the initial reversible step reported for the fibrillogenesis of Aβ (a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease). We examined this reversible color change by microscopic investigations. AFM images on graphite surfaces revealed the morphology of Aβ aggregates with gold colloids. TEM images clearly demonstrate the correspondence between spectroscopic features and conformational changes of the gold colloid

Structure–Activity Relationship of Piplartine and Synthetic Analogues against Schistosoma mansoni and Cytotoxicity to Mammalian Cells

Schistosomiasis, caused by helminth flatworms of the genus Schistosoma, is an infectious disease mainly associated with poverty that affects millions of people worldwide. Since treatment for this disease relies only on the use of praziquantel, there is an urgent need to identify new antischistosomal drugs. Piplartine is an amide alkaloid found in several Piper species (Piperaceae) that exhibits antischistosomal properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the structure–function relationship between piplartine and its five synthetic analogues (19A, 1G, 1M, 14B and 6B) against Schistosoma mansoni adult worms, as well as its cytotoxicity to mammalian cells using murine fibroblast (NIH-3T3) and BALB/cN macrophage (J774A.1) cell lines. In addition, density functional theory calculations and in silico analysis were used to predict physicochemical and toxicity parameters. Bioassays revealed that piplartine is active against S. mansoni at low concentrations (5⁻10 µM), but its analogues did not. In contrast, based on 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and flow cytometry assays, piplartine exhibited toxicity in mammalian cells at 785 µM, while its analogues 19A and 6B did not reduce cell viability at the same concentrations. This study demonstrated that piplartine analogues showed less activity against S. mansoni but presented lower toxicity than piplartine.This work was partially supported by grants from the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP grant number 2016/22488-3), the authors are grateful to CAPES/FAPEPI for the scholarship granted. ACM is grateful to FAPESP (2014/02282-6). YPM is grateful to CNPq (Grant 302674/2010-1). Financial Support: FCT (Fundação para Ciência e Tecnologia) by grant no. UID/MULTI/04378/2013 POCI/01/0145/FEDER/007728, Fapesp (2014/50316-7). The work at UCIBIO/Requimte was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) with financial support from FCT/MEC through national funds and co-financed by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020. Alexandra Plácido is grateful to FCT by her grant SFRH/BD/97995/2013, financed by POPH–QREN–Tipologia 4.1–Formação Avançada, subsidized by Fundo Social Europeu and Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Contralateral delay activity as a marker of visual working memory capacity: a multi-site registered replication

Visual working memory (VWM) is a temporary storage system capable of retaining information that can be accessed and manipulated by higher cognitive processes, thereby facilitating a wide range of cognitive functions. Electroencephalography (EEG) is used to understand the neural correlates of VWM with high temporal precision, and one commonly used EEG measure is an event-related potential called the contralateral delay activity (CDA). In a landmark study by Vogel and Machizawa (2004), the authors found that the CDA amplitude increases with the number of items stored in VWM and plateaus around three to four items, which is thought to represent the typical adult working memory capacity. Critically, this study also showed that the increase in CDA amplitude between two-item and four-item arrays correlated with individual subjects’ VWM performance. Although these results have been supported by subsequent studies, a recent study suggested that the number of subjects used in experiments investigating the CDA may not be sufficient to detect differences in set size and to provide a reliable account of the relationship between behaviorally measured VWM capacity and the CDA amplitude. To address this, the current study, as part of the #EEGManyLabs project, aims to conduct a multi-site replication of Vogel and Machizawa's (2004) seminal study on a large sample of participants, with a pre-registered analysis plan. Through this, our goal is to contribute to deepening our understanding of the neural correlates of visual working memory