Study of MDT calibration constants using H8 testbeam data of year 2004

In year 2004 Atlas performed a long campaign of test beam data taking at the H8 Cern beam. Two sectors of the barrel and endcap regions of the Muon Spectrometer were exposed to the beam and large amount of data were collected in well defined and controlled operating conditions. This allowed a careful study on MDT drift properties. A better understanding of the calibration constants, of their definition and determination and of the criteria for their acceptance has been obtained. Systematic effects and time stability of the constants have also been studied

Method for monitoring intertidal communities in a steep rocky shore: a combination of digital image technology and field operational strategy

Este trabalho apresenta uma metodologia para estudos temporais de comunidades entre-marés de costões rochosos com acentuada inclinação, associando tecnologia de captura de imagens digitais com uma estrutura operacional de campo, permitindo a amostragem de ampla faixa da comunidade, em pouco tempo. Dois métodos tradicionais de estimativa de porcentagem de cobertura (estimativa visual e pontos de interseção) foram usados para comparar a aplicabilidade do método proposto a um estudo de sucessão, quanto às vantagens econômicas, operacionais e qualidade dos dados obtidos. O método permite a amostragem temporal de múltiplos transectos verticais específicos, por meio de fotos seqüenciais. As mesmas são fundamentais para a posterior montagem da imagem do transecto num programa de edição de imagem através da compilação das fotos e sobreposição temporal dos transectos. Este método obteve resultados similares ao método de pontos de interseção quanto às leituras de porcentagem de cobertura, além de reduzido tempo em campo, vantagens econômicas e vantagens do uso das fotografias digitais. A análise das transições temporais permitiu a obtenção de parâmetros como recrutamento, mortalidade e crescimento populacional, além da montagem de uma animação com a sucessão. Consideramos esta metodologia a mais indicada para estudos de sucessão ecológica, especialmente no monitoramento de comunidades de invertebrados bentônicos do médiolitoral, em costões de inclinação acentuada.This paper introduces a method for temporal studies of steep rocky intertidal communities. It combines the use of digital image technology with field methodology, so that a wide area of the community can be sampled in a short time. Two current nondestructive percent cover estimation methods (visual estimation and point intersection) were compared in terms of cost, operational advantages and data quality, with a proposed method for a sucessional study . The proposed method used sequential photos to sample multiple fixed vertical transects over time. Reproduction of the mid-intertidal transect over time was possible by overlaying temporal transects in an image editing program. This method was similar to the point intersection quadrat method used to estimate percent cover. Benefits included reduced time on field work, economic advantages and other advantages of using digital photography, such as recording. Temporal photography of transects provided measurements of recruitment, mortality and population growth, and made it possible to manufacture an animation of sucessional stages. We suggest that this is the best method for providing information and understanding on the process of succession and for monitoring benthic invertebrate intertidal communities on steep rocky shores

Detonation nanodiamonds tailor the structural oeder of PEDOT chains in conductive coating layers of hybrid nanoparticles

Solid layers of PEDOT–detonation nanodiamond based nanoparticles with an exceptional structural order were produced by means of a template-free polymerization technique. As an efficient multifunctional filler, the nanocrystalline diamond has been shown to possess a high catalytic activity on the monomer polymerization rate as well as to play a fundamental role as a 3D arrangement-directing agent of the PEDOT chains at the micro- and nano-scale. SEM, TEM and TED analyses highlighted the mutual organization between PEDOT oligomers and nanodiamond grains, and the produced hierarchical effects on the arrangement of the backbones of the final polymer. Optical and Raman spectroscopy, used together with XRD diffraction to study the molecular structure and crystallographic features of the hybrid materials, pointed out that the adopted synthetic strategy enables highly conjugated and doped hybrid systems to be generated. The spatial distribution of the filler inside the polymeric matrix and the mutual connectivity of nanodiamond crystals and PEDOT segments are found to strongly improve the functional properties of the host polymer. Mechanical characterizations by advanced AFM-based techniques revealed that both indentation modulus and hardness of PEDOT/nanodiamond materials are 3 times higher than the pure PEDOT polymer, while electrical characterizations by a 4-probe method gave sheet resistance values of 1 106 U sq 1 for the nanocomposite particle

CD200 as a Potential New Player in Inflammation during Rotator Cuff Tendon Injury/Repair: An In Vitro Model

Rotator cuff tendon (RCT) disease results from multifactorial mechanisms, in which inflammation plays a key role. Pro-inflammatory cytokines and tendon stem cell/progenitor cells (TSPCs) have been shown to participate in the inflammatory response. However, the underlying molecular mechanism is still not clear. In this study, flow cytometry analyses of different subpopulations of RCT-derived TSPCs demonstrate that after three days of administration, TNFα alone or in combination with IFNγ significantly decreases the percentage of CD146+CD49d+ and CD146+CD49f+ but not CD146+CD109+ TSPCs populations. In parallel, the same pro-inflammatory cytokines upregulate the expression of CD200 in the CD146+ TSPCs population. Additionally, the TNFα/IFNγ combination modulates the protein expression of STAT1, STAT3, and MMP9, but not fibromodulin. At the gene level, IRF1, CAAT (CAAT/EBPbeta), and DOK2 but not NF-κb, TGRF2 (TGFBR2), and RAS-GAP are modulated. In conclusion, although our study has several important limitations, the results highlight a new potential role of CD200 in regulating inflammation during tendon injuries. In addition, the genes analyzed here might be new potential players in the inflammatory response of TSPCs

An engineered anti-idiotypic antibody-derived killer peptide (KP) early activates swine inflammatory monocytes, CD3+CD16+ natural killer T cells and CD4+CD8α+ double positive CD8β+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes associated with TNF-α and IFN-γ secretion

This study evaluated the early modulation of the phenotype and cytokine secretion in swine immune cells treated with an engineered killer peptide (KP) based on an anti-idiotypic antibody functionally mimicking a yeast killer toxin. The influence of KP on specific immunity was investigated using porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) as ex vivo antigens. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from healthy pigs were stimulated with KP and with a scramble peptide for 20 min, 1, 4 and 20 h or kept unstimulated. The cells were analyzed using flow cytometry and ELISA. The same time-periods were used for KP pre-incubation/co-incubation to determine the effect on virus-recalled interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) secreting cell (SC) frequencies and single cell IFN-γ productivity using ELISPOT. KP induced an early dose-dependent shift to pro-inflammatory CD172α+CD14+high monocytes and an increase of CD3+CD16+ natural killer (NK) T cells. KP triggered CD8α and CD8β expression on classical CD4−CD8αβ+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and double positive (DP) CD4+CD8α+ Th memory cells (CD4+CD8α+low CD8β+low). A fraction of DP cells also expressed high levels of CD8α. The two identified DP CD4+CD8α+high CD8β+low/+high CTL subsets were associated with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and IFN-γ secretion. KP markedly boosted the reactivity and cross-reactivity of PRRSV type-1- and PCV2b-specific IFN-γ SC. The results indicate the efficacy of KP in stimulating Th1-biased immunomodulation and support studies of KP as an immunomodulator or vaccine adjuvant

Online portfolio: Strategy to improve the assessment system of the integral health care discipline in the medical course

Este estudo relata a estratégia para aprimorar o portfólio como instrumento de avaliação da aprendizagem em uma disciplina oferecida aos estudantes do quarto ano de graduação em Medicina, por meio do portfólio on-line. A disciplina é constituída de atividades práticas de atendimento integral à saúde da criança, do adolescente, do adulto e da mulher na atenção primária do município de Campinas. A utilização do portfólio permite que os estudantes reflitam sobre os atendimentos realizados em relação ao conhecimento, à habilidade clínica e ao vínculo médico-paciente na consulta. O portfólio on-line possibilitou rever os critérios de avaliação, agilizar e facilitar a gestão da correção, realizada por oitenta avaliadores de três especialidades médicas. O acesso às informações do portfólio na plataforma moodle permitiu a rápida tomada de decisão em aspectos que precisam ser adequados para a melhoria do processo ensino-aprendizagem24sem informaçãoThis study reports on the strategy to improve the use of online portfolios as a learning assessment instrument of a discipline taught to fourth-year medical students. The discipline comprises practical activities of comprehensive care of children, teenagers, adults, and women in primary care in the Brazilian city of Campinas. Using portfolios, students are able to reflect upon the provided care as to the knowledge, clinical skills, and doctor-patient bond shown in the appointment. The online portfolio enabled to review the assessment criteria, and streamline and facilitate managing the assessment conducted by 80 evaluators from three medical specialties. Access to the portfolio’s information in the Moodle platform enabled a fast decision-making process in aspects that need to be adequate to improve the teaching and learning processsem informaçã