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The occurrence of pure light exerts a variety of effects in the human body, which span from behavioral alterations, such as light-driven automatic motor activity, cognition and mood to more archaic vegetative functions, which encompass most organs of the body with remarkable effects on the cardiovascular system. Although empirical evidence clearly indicates occurrence of these widespread effects, the anatomical correlates and long-lasting changes within putatively specific neuronal circuitries remain largely unexplored. A specific role is supposed to take place for catecholamine containing neurons in the core of the brainstem reticular formation, which produces a widespread release of noradrenaline in the forebrain while controlling the vegetative nervous system. An indirect as well as a direct (mono-synaptic) retino-brainstem pathway is hypothesized to rise from a subtype of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (iPRGCs), subtype M1, which do stain for Brn3b, and project to the pre-tectal region (including the olivary pre-tectal nucleus). This pathway provides profuse axon collaterals, which spread to the periacqueductal gray and dorsal raphe nuclei. According to this evidence, a retino-reticular monosynaptic system occurs, which powerfully modulate the noradrenergic hub of reticular nuclei in the lateral column of the brainstem reticular formation. These nuclei, which are evidenced in the present study, provide the anatomical basis to induce behavioral and cardiovascular modulation. The occurrence of a highly interconnected network within these nuclei is responsible for light driven plastic effects, which may alter persistently behavior and vegetative functions as the consequence of long-lasting alterations in the environmental light stimulation of the retina. These changes, which occur within the core of an archaic circuitry such as the noradrenaline-containing neurons of the reticular formation, recapitulate, within the CNS, ancestral effects of light-driven changes, which can be detected already within the retina itself at the level of multipotent photic cells.

The present manuscript stems from evidence, which indicates that specific wavelength produce an activation of the autophagy pathway in the retina. These effects were recently reported to synergize with the autophagy-inducing properties of specific phytochemicals. The combined administration of photo-modulation and phytochemicals was recently shown to have a strong potential in eliciting the recovery in the course of retinal degeneration and it was suggested as a non-invasive approach named "Lugano protocol" to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Recent translational findings indicate that the protective role of autophagy may extend also to acute neuronal injuries including traumatic neuronal damage. At the same time, very recent investigations indicate that autophagy activation and retinal anatomical recovery may benefit from sound exposure. Therefore, in the present study, the anatomical rescue of a traumatic neuronal loss at macular level was investigated in a patient with idiopathic macular hole by using a combined approach of physical and chemical non-invasive treatments. In detail, light exposure was administered in combination with sound pulses to the affected retina. This treatment was supplemented by phytochemicals known to act as autophagy inducers, which were administered orally for 6 months. This combined administration of light and sound with nutraceuticals reported here as Advanced Lugano's Protocol (ALP) produced a remarkable effect in the anatomical architecture of the retina affected by the macular hole. The anatomical recovery was almost complete at roughly one year after diagnosis and beginning of treatment. The structural healing of the macular hole was concomitant with a strong improvement of visual acuity and the disappearance of metamorphopsia. The present findings are discussed in the light of a synergism shown at neuronal level between light and sound in the presence of phytochemicals to stimulate autophagy and promote proliferation and neuronal differentiation of retinal stem cells.

Carbon−hydrogen (C−H) and carbon−carbon (C−C) bonds are the main constituents of organic matter. The recent advancement of C−H functionalization technology has vastly expanded our toolbox for organic synthesis1. In contrast, C−C activation methods that allow for editing the molecular skeleton remain limited2–7. To date, a number of methods have appeared for catalytic C−C activation, particularly with ketone substrates, which are typically promoted either by ring-strain release as a thermodynamic driving force4,6 or using directing groups5,7 (DGs) to control the reaction outcome. While effective, these strategies require highly strained ketone substrates or those containing a preinstalled DG, or are limited to more specialist substrate classes5. Here, we report a general C−C activation mode driven by aromatization of an in situ-formed pre-aromatic intermediate. This reaction suitable for various ketone substrates, is catalyzed by an iridium/phosphine combination, and is promoted by a hydrazine reagent and 1,3-dienes. Specifically, the acyl group is removed from the ketone, transformed to a pyrazole, and the resulting alkyl fragment undergoes various transformations. These include the deacetylation of methyl ketones, carbenoid-free formal homologation of aliphatic linear ketones, and deconstructive pyrazole synthesis from cyclic ketones. Given that ketones are prevalent in feedstock chemicals, natural products and pharmaceuticals, these transformations could offer new strategic bond disconnections in the synthesis of complex bioactive molecules.

L'articolo analizza la recente disciplina comunitaria introdotta dalla Direttiva 2019/790/UE, sotto il profilo dei rimedi inibitori invocabili nel caso di sua violazione, valorizzando i possibili conflitti tra tali rimedi e l'art. 21 Cost. in tema di libertà di manifestazione del pensiero.

Brazilian scientific production in Biochemistry is growing impressively fast, and Rio Grande do Sul is outstanding in that context. This study aims to outline the state's scientific research profile, given its prominent position in the national scenario. Hence, researchers, laboratories, development of human resources and investments by Foundation for the Support to Research in the State of Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS) were identified and mapped. We observed that amount of financial support by FAPERGS decreases in last years. Therefore, there is the necessity to reestablish some of FAPERGS's programs, as well as to increase financial support to Biochemistry departments.

Purpose: Advanced-stage mycosis fungoides (MF; stage IIB to IV) and Sézary syndrome (SS) are aggressive lymphomas with a median survival of 1 to 5 years. Clinical management is stage based; however, there is wide range of outcome within stages. Published prognostic studies in MF/SS have been single-center trials. Because of the rarity of MF/SS, only a large collaboration would power a study to identify independent prognostic markers Patients and Methods: Literature review identified the following 10 candidate markers: stage, age, sex, cutaneous histologic features of folliculotropism, CD30 positivity, proliferation index, large-cell transformation, WBC/lymphocyte count, serum lactate dehydrogenase, and identical T-cell clone in blood and skin. Data were collected at specialist centers on patients diagnosed with advanced-stage MF/SS from 2007. Each parameter recorded at diagnosis was tested against overall survival (OS) Results: Staging data on 1,275 patients with advanced MF/SS from 29 international sites were included for survival analysis. The median OS was 63 months, with 2- and 5-year survival rates of 77% and 52%, respectively. The median OS for patients with stage IIB disease was 68 months, but patients diagnosed with stage III disease had slightly improved survival compared with patients with stage IB, although patients diagnosed with stage IV disease had significantly worse survival (48 months for stage IVA and 33 months for stage IVB). Of the 10 variables tested, four (stage IV, age > 60 years, large-cell transformation, and increased lactate dehydrogenase) were independent prognostic markers for a worse survival. Combining these four factors in a prognostic index model identified the following three risk groups across stages with significantly different 5-year surviva rates: low risk (68%), intermediate risk (44%), and high risk (28%) Conclusion: To our knowledge, this study includes the largest cohort of patients with advanced-stage MF/SS and identifies markers with independent prognostic value, which, used together in a prognostic ndex, may be useful to stratify advanced-stage patients. © 2015 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Connection between two sequences of orthogonal polynomials, where the associated measures are related to each other by a first degree polynomial multiplication (or division), are looked at. The results are applied to obtain information regarding Sobolev orthogonal polynomials associated with certain pairs of measures.

This research concern the social representations of classroom justice in a sample of Italian students and teachers. Our study carried out with the aim to: 1) analyze secondary school students’ and their teachers’ ideal representations of classroom justice, 2) deepen the topic of students’ sense of injustice, and 3) explore the links between students’ perceived injustice and their psychological engagement in school, measured on different aspects (identification with one’s own class, learning motivation, responsibility, dialogue with teachers). A questionnaire was distributed to 400 Italian secondary school students and their 79 teachers. Results show that the representations of ideal classroom justice refer to communication, principle of equality and principle of need, and that the positions of teachers and students on these conceptions differ. Moreover, students report a rather diffuse and shared feeling of being treated in an unjust manner by their teachers, and this has a strong impact on their psychological engagement in school.

Seismic events in volcanic systems can be accompanied by the release of gas from the Earth's crust: of particular interest here is fossil CO2, which contains no trace of carbon-14, and therefore dilutes the carbon-14 present in the surrounding atmosphere. When landscape conformation hampers mixing confining the low carbon-14 atmosphere, it can be wondered whether a trace of the release may be found in the wood of the trees breathing it. The present article describes a limited experimental campaign aimed at testing this idea, which was conducted on trees from the Pozzuoli caldera. The results presented can in no way be conclusive; however, they seem to yield support to the possibility of finding such markers of seismic activity.

A produção científica brasileira em Bioquímica está crescendo,e o Rio Grande do Sul se destaca nesse contexto. Por essa razão,o objetivo deste estudo é caracterizar o perfil dos professores/pesquisadores em Bioquímica das IES públicas e privadas do RS,quantificar e analisar sua produção científica (número de artigoscientíficos publicados, dissertações e teses orientadas). Observamosque a maioria dos professores/pesquisadores em Bioquímica de todasas instituições, públicas ou privadas, é titulada e pós-graduada, masnem todos conseguem seguir atividades de pesquisa aliadas àquelasde ensino nas instituições que os acolhem.

Previous studies reported significant variability of air pollutants across Europe with the lowest concentrations generally found in Northern Europe and the highest in Southern European countries. Within the MED-PARTICLES project the spatial and temporal variations of long-term PM and gaseous pollutants data were investigated in traffic and urban background sites across Southern Europe. The highest PM levels were observed in Greece and Italy (Athens, Thessaloniki, Turin and Rome) while all traffic sites showed high NO2levels, frequently exceeding the established limit value. High PM2.5/PM10ratios were calculated indicating that fine particles comprise a large fraction of PM10, with the highest values found in the urban background sites. It seems that although in traffic sites the concentrations of both PM2.5and PM10are significantly higher than those registered in urban background sites, the coarse fraction PM2.5-10is more important at the traffic sites. This fact is probably due to the high levels of resuspended road dust in sites highly affected by traffic, a phenomenon particularly relevant for Mediterranean countries. The long-term trends of air pollutants revealed a significant decrease of the concentration levels for PM, SO2and CO while for NO2no clear trend or slightly increasing trends were observed. This reduction could be attributed to the effectiveness of abatement measures and strategies and also to meteorological conditions and to the economic crisis that affected Southern Europe. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

In this paper the recurrence relations of symmetric orthogonal polynomials whose measures are related to each other in a certain way are considered. Many of the relations satisfied by the coefficients of the recurrence relations are exposed. The results are applied to obtain, for example, information regarding certain Sobolev orthogonal polynomials and regarding the measures of certain orthogonal polynomial sequences with twin periodic recurrence coefficients.

Our objective was to compare health problems and medical coverage of homeless and housed children who used a school-based health center (SBHC) for comprehensive care.Medical charts of homeless children (n = 76) and housed children (n = 232) seen for comprehensive care at an SBHC in New York City during the 1998-99 school year were systematically reviewed and compared.Controlled for ethnicity and medical coverage, homeless children were 2.5 times as likely (P.001) to have health problems and 3 times as likely (P.001) to have severe health problems as housed children. The most common health problems identified in the homeless population were asthma (33%), vision (13%), mental health (9%), and acute problems (8%). Lack of medical coverage was evident in 58% of homeless children, compared with 15% of housed children (P.001).Study findings identify homeless children as being at increased risk for health problems and lack of medical coverage. These findings support use of an SBHC for comprehensive care by underserved segments of the population and a need for increased vigilance on the part of health care providers caring for homeless children.

Background: The role of antibiotic therapy on Salmonella faecal excretion is controversial. Acute Salmonella gastroenteritis induces long-lasting digestive symptoms in up to one-third of subjects. The role of antimicrobial therapy on persistent post-infectious symptoms is unknown. Aim: To investigate the role of antibiotic therapy on long-term germ faecal excretion and digestive symptoms after Salmonella infection. Subjects and methods: 1543 subjects [518 aged between 3 and 5 years (35.3%); 950 between 6 and 10 years (64.7%) and 75 adults (4.9%)] involved in a single outbreak of Salmonella enteritis fulfilled the study criteria by repeating stool cultures and answering a symptom questionnaire 3 months post-infection. Results: 327 subjects (21.2%) were treated with antibiotics during the acute infection [121 children aged 3–5 years (23.4%), 175 children aged 6–10 years (18.4%) and 31 adults (41.3%)]. Antibiotic treatment did not affect Salmonella excretion at any of the time points studied up to three months post-infection in any age group as compared to age-matched untreated controls. Persistent digestive symptoms were more common among the patients treated with antibiotics (9.5% vs. 2.9%; P=0.003). Conclusions: Antibiotic therapy does not affect Salmonella enteritis excretion. Digestive symptoms after clearance of the infectious agent are significantly higher in patients treated with antibiotics during acute gastroenteritis.

A new approach to describe the adsorption behavior of liquid mixtures on solid surfaces by use of GE-models is presented. In contrast to the classical formulation of adsorption equilibrium the adsorbed phase is considered to be a mixture containing the adsorbed species (adsorbate) and the adsorbent as additional component. By introducing the Gibbs excess energy GE* for this adsorbate-solid-solution the free energy of adsorption is correlated with the respective activity coefficients of all involved components. This concept, in the following briefly called ASST (adsorbate-solid-solution theory), thus leads to a thermodynamically consistent description of both the adsorption equilibrium and caloric properties.

Both correlation as well as prediction of experimental data for the adsorption of various binary liquid mixtures of alkanes and alkenes on NaX at different temperatures are presented. The theoretical background is based on the adsorbate−solid solution theory which conceives the adsorbed phase to be a mixture of the adsorbed species (adsorbate) and the adsorbent as an additional component. With the introduction of the Gibbs excess energy GE* for this hypothetical mixture, activity coefficients and composition of the adsorbed phase may be calculated. The Gibbs excess energy and thus the activity coefficients of the adsorbed species depend strongly on the energetic heterogeneity of the solid surface which may be described by use of so-called group contribution models. These approaches, until now widely applied to predict fluid-phase equilibrium, are derived from statistical thermodynamics and take into account the energetic interactions between the respective components. For the application of this approach ...

Al pari di qualsiasi intervento in ambito sociale e clinico, anche quello basato sulla residenzialità dei minori si trova oggi di fronte alla necessità di individuare forme di valutazione sempre più condivise e capaci di rispondere ad esigenze sia esterne di riconoscibilità sociale, trasparenza e visibilità, sia interne di verifica della validità del proprio lavoro (Barbanotti et al, 1999; Regalia e Bruno, 2000; Tosco, 1999). Nel presente lavoro vengono presentati e discussi i risultati di un lungo percorso di ricerca il cui scopo è stato quello di mettere a punto un “modello ecologico” di valutazione fondato in modo specifico sui contributi della Psicopatologia evolutiva (Rutter e Sroufe, 2000) e sulla teoria ecologica di Bronfenbrenner (1979) che consente di delineare criteri di valutazione in grado di descrivere il funzionamento delle comunità e di verificarne l’effettiva capacità di esercitare una funzione riparatoria e protettiva nei confronti dello sviluppo dei bambini e degli adolescenti ad essa affidati. In particolare verranno presentati i principali dati emersi da tre successive fasi di ricerca:1) Studio pilota in cui si è scelto di creare uno spazio di discussione condiviso (focus group) fra operatori che, con funzioni e ruoli diversi all’interno del sistema dei servizi sociali, sono implicati negli interventi di comunità;2) Indagine sulle comunità in riferimento al loro contesto di intervento; 3) Indagine sul “microsistema” comunità in termini di organizzazione quotidiana delle attività, clima relazionale interno e processi di cambiamento attivati nei minori ospiti. Bibliografia Barbanotti, G., Fiore A., Morroni M., Vigliani C., Vanni E. (1999) (a cura di), Strumenti per la qualità, Edizioni CNCM. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979), The Ecology of Human Development. Experiments by Nature and Design. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Trad it. Ecologia dello sviluppo umano. Bologna: il Mulino; (1986), Regalia, C., Bruno, A. (2000) (a cura di), Valutazione e qualità nei servizi. Milano: Unicopli. Rutter, M., Sroufe, A. (2000), Developmental psychopathology: concepts and challenges. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 265–296. Tosco, L. (1999), Comunità a denominazione di origine controllata. Animazione sociale, 12, 71-85.

How do people talk about justice and injustice? Are concepts of justice and injustice factors in driving social change or, on the contrary, do they help legitimize the system and perpetuate the conditions generating injustice? This study, following the theoretical perspective of social representations, attempts to answer to these questions by examining shared concepts of justice and injustice, their components, and the ways in which they are organized. It analyzes reports of episodes of justice and injustice as described by three groups of participants, including men and women, characterized by varying degrees of work experience and victimization in the work place. A qualitative, inductive approach to data gathering was employed using a traditional content analysis and a statistical analysis through the Alceste software. The results show different ways in which distributive and procedural rules contribute to the representations of justice and injustice, and how such representations change according to the “social insertion” and work experience of participants, in particular the experiences of victimization. The workers who described themselves as victims of mobbing, resorted to procedural justice with reference to those procedures that involved a lack of their rights and of acknowledgment of their status inside the organization. The workers who did not experience mobbing essentially made reference to distributive criteria, as merit. In this group of workers the organizational culture appeared so strong that in their episodes of injustice they never questioned the organizational system of values and norms: they held individuals (e.g., colleagues, subordinates, managers) responsible for injustice, rarely the whole organization. The results show also some differences between men and women. In womens’ reports, injustice appeared to confirm that even today, women are experiencing discrimination in the workplace: they are paid less than men for similar roles and responsibilities, and have difficulty in advancing to higher career levels. This group, cross-sectional to the various subgroups of the sample in this research, shows a great attention to the social dimension of justice, by expressing a greater interest, compared to men, towards those behaviours (OCB) faces to the cooperation and the search of harmony inside the organizations.

In questo articolo vengono discussi i diversi sistemi rappresentazionali /modelli culturali impliciti in ogni processo di valutazione dei servizi rivolti alla persona, quali gli interventi di comunità per minori, e resi accessibili tramite l’analisi emozionale del testo (Carli, Paniccia 2002) applicata ad un corpus testuale costituito dalla trascrizione letterale di cinque focus-group realizzati con diversi operatori coinvolti nella realizzazione/gestione/valutazione degli interventi di comunità per minori. I risultati ottenuti consentono di evidenziare quale specifico contributo al processo di comprensione/soddisfazione della domanda del cliente di comunità, sia esso il singolo ragazzo o la sua famiglia o l’ente inviante, la conoscenza/consapevolezza da parte degli operatori di comunità dei modelli culturali impliciti nel loro contesto operativo e dei connessi processi di simbolizzazione che costituiscono i primi filtri culturali/ categorie emozionali attraverso le quali viene letta e data risposta a tale domanda.

La fine del 2006 sancisce definitivamente in Italia la chiusura degli istituti per minori (L. 149/01) riportando anche l’attenzione pubblica sulle realtà alternative che nell’ultimo trentennio si sono proposte come risposte diverse all’istituzionalizzazione dei minori: comunità familiari, comunità educative, comunità terapeutiche. Ma quanto queste realtà residenziali si differenziano dalla proposta istituzionale? Quanto la vita quotidiana costituisce una reale alternativa per i minori ospiti? Ci siamo proposte l’obiettivo di dare una risposta a questi quesiti con una ricerca nazionale che ha coinvolto educatori e ragazzi/e di 21 comunità per minori collocate nelle Marche, in Emilia Romagna e Lombardia. A tal fine ci siamo proposte di comprendere quanto le comunità per minori realizzino effettivamente un ambiente terapeutico globale (Bettelheim, 1955; Emiliani; Bastianoni, 1993; Bastianoni, 2000), in grado cioè di collocare la funzione riparatoria e protettiva della comunità proprio nelle attività e nelle relazioni quotidiane fra educatori e minori dotandole di significati simboli riconoscibili dagli interagenti ed in grado di promuovere processi di cambiamento personale nei giovani ospiti. In questo senso l’organizzazione di una comunità richiede agli adulti la capacità di ‘dare corpo’ attraverso modi, spazi e attività del quotidiano, a parole quali accoglienza, impegno, reciprocità, responsabilità, fiducia e sicurezza, dotando la globalità del contesto di vita di un’intenzionalità mirata. In questo senso tutta una serie di studi recenti, facendo propri i principi della psicopatologia evolutiva ed occupandosi pertanto del funzionamento familiare di giovani adolescenti sia “normali” sia “a rischio”, hanno utilizzato fra gli indicatori della qualità del clima familiare, accanto alla comunicazione fra genitori e figli, anche il sistema di routine, regole e rituali familiari, confermandone la funzione protettiva nei confronti dello sviluppo adolescenziale, solo a condizione che tali elementi strutturanti divengano luoghi della costruzione condivisa di gesti, comportamenti e significati sociali ed affettivi (Emiliani, Melotti e Palareti, 1998). Il quadro teorico di riferimento utilizza i contributi offerti dal modello processo–persona–contesto di Bronfenbrenner (1979). Secondo tale prospettiva, la comunità residenziale può essere concepita come una “nicchia ecologica”, ovvero una particolare situazione ambientale che si può rivelare favorevole per lo sviluppo dell’individuo in conseguenza delle sinergie tra forze derivanti dalle caratteristiche sia dell’ambiente che della persona In questa ottica abbiamo chiesto a 73 educatori e a 58 ragazzi/e ospiti di comunità per minori di fornire una propria valutazione sul luogo in cui operano (educatori) e risiedono (ragazzi/e) in rapporto ai processi di cambiamento personali percepiti nei ragazzi/e (educatori) e osservati in se stessi(ragazzi/e) tramite la compilazione di un questionario (costruito ad hoc) con domande aperte e chiuse. Nel poster saranno riportati i principali risultati ottenuti in relazione agli indicatori utilizzati: l’esperienza di soddisfazione riportata dagli educatori e dai ragazzi/e; la percezione del cambiamento dei giovani ospiti su alcune dimensioni significative valutate sia da parte dei minori ospiti che da parte degli educatori; il cambiamento percepito nella stima di sé; la percezione del clima quotidiano misurato tramite la qualità della comunicazione con gli educatori, secondo le classiche dimensioni di Olson e la condivisione delle routine quotidiane. Bibliografia Barnes, H.I., Olson, D.H. (1982). Parent Adolescent Communication. In D.H. Olson, H.I. McCubbin, H. Barnes, A. Larsen, M. Muxen, M. Wilson (Eds.), Family Inventories, Family Social Science, University of Minnesota, 55-70. Bastianoni, P. (2000). Interazioni in comunità. Roma: Carocci. Bettelheim, B. (1955). Truants from life; the rehabilitation of emotionallydisturbed children....

¿De qué se habla cuando hablamos de justicia y de injusticia? ¿ Con qué imágenes se constituye su representación? ¿Cuáles son las características consensúales del universo semántico de la justicia y de la injusticia y cuáles sontos aspectos peculiares de algunos grupos más bien que de otros? La investigación ha intentado responder a estas preguntas, analizando las representaciones sociales de la justicia y de la injusticia en tres grupos de participantes caracterizados por distintos grados de experiencia laboral. En particular, la investigación tenía como objetivos: La descripción de los universos semánticos asociados a los términos justicia y injusticia, a través del análisis de las características consensúales y | délas variaciones, respecto a los puntos de referencia compartidos; La exploración de posibles diferencias en relación a las características de los partecipantes y, en particular, al nivel de contacto con el mundo del trabajo y a la percepcion de haber sido victimas de ingiusticia. Los resultados ponen en relieve los distintos modos en los que los criterios distributivos y procesuales partecipan a las rapresentaciones de la justicia y de la injusticia y como tales representaciones se modifican en relacion a la insercion social a la experencia laboral de los partecipantes.

¿De qué se habla cuando hablamos de justicia y de injusticia? ¿ Con qué imágenes se constituye su representación? ¿Cuáles son las características consensuales del universo semántico de la justicia y de la injusticia y cuáles son los aspectos peculiares de algunos grupos más bien que de otros? La investigación ha intentado responder a estas preguntas, analizando las representaciones sociales de la justicia y de la injusticia en tres grupos de participantes caracterizados por distintos grados de experiencia laboral. En particular, la investigación tenía como objetivos: a) La descripción de los universos semánticos asociados a los términos justicia y injusticia, a través del análisis de las características consensuales y de las variaciones, respecto a los puntos de referencia compartidos; b) La exploración de posibles diferencias en relación a las características de los partecipantes y, en particular, al nivel de contacto con el mundo del trabajo y a la percepción de haber sido víctimas de injusticia. Los resultados ponen en relieve los distintos modos en los que los criterios distributivos y procesuales participan a las representaciones de la justicia y de la injusticia y cómo tales representaciones se modifican en relación a la inserción social y a la experiencia laboral de los participantes.

A new mixing rule for the attractive term parameter in the Dohrn-Prausnitz equation of state (DP-EOS) has been developed by combining the EOS with a group contribution GE-model. The application of the Dohrn-Prausnitz perturbation term for the Carnahan-Starling EOS in combination with original- or modified-UNIFAC leads to a new G E EOS model, the predictive-Dohrn-Prausnitz model (PDP), that successfully allows the prediction of phase equilibria of various nonideal systems at low and high pressures without introducing any parameters that have to be fitted to experimental data. Moreover, PDP is excellently suitable to predict both vapor-liquid equilibria (VLE) and vapor-solid equilibria of mixtures containing polar compounds, such as waterethanol, methanolacetone or carbon dioxidenaphthalene. The PDP equation of state can be used for predictions over large range of temperature and pressure and is easily extended to mixtures with supercritical components.

While the positive symptoms of schizophrenia are amenable to treatment with standard neuroleptics, negative symptoms are often difficult to treat. Co-prescribing antidepressants, such as sertraline, for patients on stable neuroleptic depot preparations is one pharmacological method of overcoming this problem. A total of 20 patients with chronic schizophrenia were enrolled in an open trial over a 12-week period during which sertraline was added to their usual antipsychotic medication. Prior to this, baseline scores for positive and negative symptoms, and extrapyramidal side-effects, were measured. The addition of sertraline resulted in global improvement, with a significant reduction in positive and negative symptom scores and no increase in undesirable neuroleptic side-effects. Sertraline may act by indirectly reducing dopaminergic activity.

Childhood tuberculosis continues to rise in the United States, with minority children living in large urban areas at increased risk. Most children have no symptoms or have nonspecific symptoms. Diagnosis is usually made on contact investigation for an adult with active disease. This article reviews for the pediatric nurse practitioner the pathogenesis of tuberculosis, diagnostic criteria, and specific therapeutic and interventional modalities.

Scientific activity in Brazil has experienced an accelerated growth in the past decades, with an increase in productivity that greatly surpasses the international average. This growth has occurred mostly at the expense of centers of excellence in public universities, which account for the vast majority of the country's scientific output. The aim of this study was to evaluate the production of the Department of Biochemistry of a large public university in southern Brazil (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul), as well as to identify internal and external policies that have influenced this growing production profile. We have performed a historical analysis of the scientific output of this Department of Biochemistry, which accounts for a considerable share of the indexed scientific production at this university. By focusing on the temporal course of its growth and drawing correlations between scientific output and important events in the history of the Department of Biochemistry and of the Brazilian science policies, we concluded that internal factors (as the creation of a postgraduation program, collaboration among researchers, experienced abroad researchers, qualification of faculty members) and external factors (as investments in the postgraduate education, the establishment of national scientific policies, such as financial stimuli for productive researchers and evaluation systems) influence scientific productivity in Brazil.A atividade científica no Brasil apresentou um crescimento acelerado nas últimas décadas, com um aumento na produtividade que ultrapassou os valores médios internacionais. Este crescimento tem ocorrido através dos centros de excelência em pesquisa nas Universidades Públicas, as quais são responsáveis pela maior parte da produção científica do país. O presente estudo tem como objetivo avaliar a produção do Departamento de Bioquímica de uma grande universidade pública do sul do Brasil (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - UFRGS), bem como identificar os fatores internos e externos que influenciaram este perfil crescente de produção. Foi realizada uma análise histórica da produção científica do Departamento, a qual representa uma parte considerável da produção científica da Universidade. Ao enfocar a evolução temporal do seu crescimento e o estudo das correlações entre a produção científica e eventos importantes na história do Departamento de Bioquímica e das políticas científicas brasileiras, podemos concluir que os fatores internos (como a criação de um programa de pós-graduação, a colaboração entre pesquisadores, a experiência no exterior por parte dos pesquisadores, a qualificação dos docentes) e fatores externos (como os investimentos na formação de pós-graduandos, o estabelecimento de políticas nacionais científicas, tais como estímulos financeiros para os pesquisadores produtivos e sistemas de avaliação) influenciam a produção científica no Brasil.

A homologous series of di(4-alkyloxybenzoates) of 4,4′-dimercaptobiphenyl: CH3(CH2) n-1O‒C6H4‒COS‒C6H4‒C6H4‒SOC‒C6H4‒O(CH2) n-1CH3,n=1–7, has been synthesized and the thermotropic liquid-crystalline behaviour investigated. All compounds exhibit enantiotropic mesomorphism over a remarkable temperature range. While the mesophase thermal stability is moderately higher than that found for the corresponding oxygenated analogues, the smectic stability is definitely lower. In fact, all the compounds are nematic but smectic mesomorphism (SC) is observed for n = 7. Compounds with n = 6 or 7 exhibit enantiotropic highly ordered smectic (or disordered crystal) phases, probably SG in type.

A thermodynamic framework is presented which allows the correlation and prediction of liquid-phase adsorption equilibria. In contrast to the classical formulation of phase equilibrium, the adsorbent is considered to be an additional component, thus incorporating the adsorbent’s properties like functional groups of the surface into the phase equilibrium equations. The development of a modified G E-model to describe the behavior of the adsorbed phase has to take into account an activity coefficient for each component with the limit value of pure component adsorption. In a first step the Wilson equation was used to describe the activity coefficients. First results show the good ability of the model to correlate surface excess isotherms of different types and to predict their temperature dependence. The thermodynamic approach facilitates the inclusion of enthalpies of wetting for the parameter estimation, thus leading to the development of a thermodynamic consistent theory which is especially suitable for the application of group contribution models.

The role of antibiotic therapy on Salmonella faecal excretion is controversial. Acute Salmonella gastroenteritis induces long-lasting digestive symptoms in up to one-third of subjects. The role of antimicrobial therapy on persistent post-infectious symptoms is unknown.To investigate the role of antibiotic therapy on long-term germ faecal excretion and digestive symptoms after Salmonella infection.1543 subjects [518 aged between 3 and 5 years (35.3%); 950 between 6 and 10 years (64.7%) and 75 adults (4.9%)] involved in a single outbreak of Salmonella enteritis fulfilled the study criteria by repeating stool cultures and answering a symptom questionnaire 3 months post-infection.327 subjects (21.2%) were treated with antibiotics during the acute infection [121 children aged 3-5 years (23.4%), 175 children aged 6-10 years (18.4%) and 31 adults (41.3%)]. Antibiotic treatment did not affect Salmonella excretion at any of the time points studied up to three months post-infection in any age group as compared to age-matched untreated controls. Persistent digestive symptoms were more common among the patients treated with antibiotics (9.5% vs. 2.9%; P=0.003).Antibiotic therapy does not affect Salmonella enteritis excretion. Digestive symptoms after clearance of the infectious agent are significantly higher in patients treated with antibiotics during acute gastroenteritis.

Ipomoea pes-caprae is a medicinal plant used in many countries for the treatment of several ailments, including inflammatory and algesic processes. The present study describes the antinociceptive effects of the methanolic extract and two fractions obtained from aerial parts of this plant. The results indicated that both methanolic extract and two fractions (ethyl acetate and aqueous) exhibited considerable antinociceptive activity against two classical models of pain in mice. Methanolic extract presented a calculated ID50 value of 33.8 mg/kg, i.p. against writhing test and also inhibited both phases of pain (neurogenic and inflammatory) of the formalin test with ID50 of 37.7 and 12.5 mg/kg, i.p. for the first and second phase, respectively. Preliminary phytochemical analysis suggested the presence of steroids, terpenoids, alkaloids and flavonoids. These findings support, at least in part, the popular use of I. pes-caprae to treat dolorous processes.

This study describes the isolation and identification of several constituents from Ipomoea pes-caprae (L.) R. Br., a medicinal plant frequently employed in folk medicine of many countries as a remedy against several diseases, including inflammation and pain. Our results demonstrate that some of these compounds, such as glochidone, betulinic acid, alpha- and beta-amyrin acetate, isoquercitrin, etc. showed pronounced antinociceptive properties in the writhing test and formalin test in mice. These data confirm our previous work concerning the antinociceptive action of the hydroalcoholic extract of I. pes-caprae and justify, at least in part, the popular use of this plant for the treatment of dolorous processes.

In this paper, we show that the positive estimated coefficient of average social security expenditure, often detected in cross-country growt regression, can not be imputed to reverse causation, that is on economic growth pulling social security expenditure, nor to omitted variables or other misspecification problems. Morover, we show that the positive effect of social security expenditure on growth is much stronger in poor countries than in rich countries. As for the channel through which the positive effect of social security expenditure on growth takes place, our results point out that the social security influences human capital formation. On the other hand, we do not find support for theories claiming that generous social security benefits should enhance investment productivity and growth by inducing retirement of unproductive workers or by improving political stability and social cohesion.

Nel quadro delle tecniche di simulazione dinamica, é descritto il modello di locomozione di un veicolo, comprensivo degli organi di generazione e trasmissione della potenza nonché delle interazioni con il terreno. A titolo di esempio, sono accennate tre aree appl~cative. La prima si riferisce al dimensionamento della trasmissione idrostatica. La seconda tratta la risposta del sistema a transitori rapidi di comando e sollecitazione. La terza introduce l'analisi di architetture di controllo automatico

The principle of cylinder regeneration is relatively simple and well known. Any fluid power textbook has a small section where mention is made of a special connection of ports in differential cylinders, which changes the speed and force characteristics and may be occasionally used to solve design and application problems (e.g. to reduce the length of a working cycle or the size of a pump). On the other side, some valve manufacturers offer the so-called regeneration valves, which change the cylinder connections automatically, and switch regeneration on and off. The aim of this paper is to relate each other these two inputs by investigating the special features of regeneration in general, and comparing some commercial valves. Two automatic switching principles are introduced, and followed by some experimental results.

Allergy to fresh fruits and vegetables is IgE-mediated. Its main clinical features are local, such as oral pruritus and swelling of lips and tongue but systemic symptoms such as urticaria, asthma, or anaphylactic shock may occur. Clinical associations with allergic rhinitis due to cross-reactive antigens of pollens and foods are frequent.

Bilayers of 40 nm titanium nitride and 500 nm copper were sputter deposited on oxidized silicon substrates. The films were annealed for one hour at temperatures from 400° C to 800° C in either vacuum or Ar/H2, ambients. Neither x-ray diffraction or Rutherford backscattering spectrometry indicated any interaction between the titanium nitride and copper films. While no differences in surface morphology were detected at annealing temperatures of less than 500° C, above this temperature a strong dependence on annealing ambient was found. In the vacuum annealed samples, surface grooves formed at the grain boundaries of the copper film. These grooves became progressively larger as the annealing temperature was increased, eventually leading to void formation. Only small grain boundary grooves were present in the Ar/H2, annealed films regardless of annealing temperature. The driving force for the formation of the grooves is believed to be a difference between the grain boundary and surface energies in the copper films. It is speculated that in Ar/H2 anneals this driving force is reduced because hydrogen segregates to the copper grain boundaries and lowers the grain boundary energy.The formation of grooves was found to retard copper grain growth and texturing. Resistivity of the copper film was also found to increase if the void density was sufficiently high.

Les polythioesters obtenus par polycondensation interfaciale du 4,4'-dimercapto biphenyle avec les dichlorures de diacide ClCO-(CH 2 ) n -COCl (n=10, 10, 13) sont caracterises par FTIR RMN 1 H, GPC et DSC. Les 3 polymeres presentent 2 transitions thermiques, quasi-confondues pour n=13; la premiere transition de phase observee pour n=13 est la fusion; un liquide anisotrope dont la morphologie est caracteristique d'un cristal liquide nematique est obtenu