Do ciberespaço à iconomia: projeções metapóricas

Na sociedade contemporânea o ser humano se vê inserido – ou invadido – em ambientes cada vez mais configurados por complexos recursos tecnológicos. É o ciberespaço, onde as imagens inundam o cotidiano e se traduzem em valor, o corpo adquire novo status imaterial e as noções de lugar e tempo se transformam e quase se anulam. O cinema pensa e produz também uma desterritorialização da imagem em movimento desde os seus primeiros tempos de imagem-máquina. Este trabalho reflete sobre as transformações da ordem social que implicam a emergência de uma “iconomia” a partir dos espaços simbólicos, tomando três momentos críticos na história do cinema como índices de uma convergência entre material e imaterial que se consolida a partir da emergência do ciberespaço. O quase-método metapórico é mobilizado como ferramenta de reconstrução metodológica desses ícones da história do cinema relacionados à desconstrução do Homo faber. O “outro lado” do ciberespaço, abrindo continuamente novos espaços-tempos de criação de valor, identifica-se a uma iconomia em que as projeções narrativas tornam-se fontes paradigmáticas de valor e de “mais gozar”.

Molecular and Electronic Structure of the Peptide Subunit of Geobacter sulfurreducens Conductive Phi from First Principles

The respiration of metal oxides by the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens requires the assembly of a small peptide (the GS pilin) into conductive filaments termed pili. We gained insights into the contribution of the GS pilin to the pilus conductivity by developing a homology model and performing molecular dynamics simulations of the pilin peptide in vacuo and in solution. The results were consistent with a predominantly helical peptide containing the conserved a-helix region required for pilin assembly but carrying a short carboxy-terminal random-coiled segment rather than the large globular head of other bacterial pilins. The electronic structure of the pain was also explored from first principles and revealed a biphasic charge distribution along the pilin and a low electronic HOMO-LUMO gap, even in a wet environment. The low electronic band gap was the result of strong electrostatic fields generated by the alignment of the peptide bond dipoles in the pilin's alpha-helix and by charges from ions in solution and amino acids in the protein. The electronic structure also revealed some level of orbital delocalization in regions of the pilin containing aromatic amino acids and in spatial regions of high resonance where the HOMO and LUMO states are, which could provide an optimal environment for the hopping of electrons under thermal fluctuations. Hence, the structural and electronic features of the pilin revealed in these studies support the notion of a pilin peptide environment optimized for electron conduction.

Minimal residual disease in cerebrospinal fluid at diagnosis: a more intensive treatment protocol was able to eliminate the adverse prognosis in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

We analyzed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 65 consecutive children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treated according to two different treatment protocols (GBTLI-ALL-93 and -99) with no puncture accident for minimal residual disease (MRD) in the central nervous system (CNS). Minimal residual disease was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with homo/heteroduplex analysis using consensus primers to IgH and TCR genes. MRD in the CSF at diagnosis was detected by PCR in 46.8% of children with no puncture accident or morphological involvement. In patients treated with GBTLI-ALL-93 a significantly lower 5-year event-free survival (EFS) was demonstrated for those with CSF involvement, in univariate (p = 0.01) and multivariate (p = 0.04) analysis. This observation was not true for patients treated with the more intensive protocol GBTLI-ALL-99 (p = 0.81). These findings suggest that MRD detection in the CSF is a common event in children with ALL. Treatment intensification provided by the GBTLI-ALL-99 apparently overcomes the detrimental effect of CNS minimal residual disease at diagnosis.

Septin C-Terminal Domain Interactions: Implications for Filament Stability and Assembly

Septins form a conserved family of filament forming GTP binding proteins found in a wide range of eukaryotic cells. They share a common structural architecture consisting of an N-terminal domain, a central GTP binding domain and a C-terminal domain, which is often predicted to adopt a coiled-coil conformation, at least in part. The crystal structure of the human SEPT2/SEPT6/SEPT7 heterocomplex has revealed the importance of the GTP binding domain in filament formation, but surprisingly no electron density was observed for the C-terminal domains and their function remains obscure. The dearth of structural information concerning the C-terminal region has motivated the present study in which the putative C-terminal domains of human SEPT2, SEPT6 and SEPT7 were expressed in E. coli and purified to homogeneity. The thermal stability and secondary structure content of the domains were studied by circular dichroism spectroscopy, and homo- and hetero-interactions were investigated by size exclusion chromatography, chemical cross-linking, analytical ultracentrifugation and surface plasmon resonance. Our results show that SEPT6-C and SEPT7-C are able to form both homo- and heterodimers with a high alpha-helical content in solution. The heterodimer is elongated and considerably more stable than the homodimers, with a K (D) of 15.8 nM. On the other hand, the homodimer SEPT2-C has a much lower affinity, with a K (D) of 4 mu M, and a moderate alpha-helical content. Our findings present the first direct experimental evidence toward better understanding the biophysical properties and coiled-coil pairings of such domains and their potential role in filament assembly and stability.

Advanced QSAR Studies on PPAR delta Ligands Related to Metabolic Diseases

PPAR delta is a nuclear receptor that, when activated, regulates the metabolism of carbohydrates and lipids and is related to metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. To understand the main interactions between ligands and PPAR delta, we have constructed 2D and 3D QSAR models and compared them with HOMO, LUMO and electrostatic potential maps of the compounds studied, as well as docking results. All QSAR models showed good statistical parameters and prediction outcomes. The QSAR models were used to predict the biological activity of an external test set, and the predicted values are in good agreement with the experimental results. Furthermore, we employed all maps to evaluate the possible interactions between the ligands and PPAR delta. These predictive QSAR models, along with the HOMO, LUMO and MEP maps, can provide insights into the structural and chemical properties that are needed in the design of new PPAR delta ligands that have improved biological activity and can be employed to treat metabolic diseases.

The basic antioxidant structure for flavonoid derivatives

An antioxidant structure-activity study is carried out in this work with ten flavonoid compounds using quantum chemistry calculations with the functional of density theory method. According to the geometry obtained by using the B3LYP/6-31G(d) method, the HOMO, ionization potential, stabilization energies, and spin density distribution showed that the flavonol is the more antioxidant nucleus. The spin density contribution is determinant for the stability of the free radical. The number of resonance structures is related to the pi-type electron system. 3-hydroxyflavone is the basic antioxidant structure for the simplified flavonoids studied here. The electron abstraction is more favored in the molecules where ether group and 3-hydroxyl are present, nonetheless 2,3-double bond and carbonyl moiety are facultative.

Spectroscopic Study on the Structural Differences of Thermally Induced Cross-Linking Segments in Emeraldine Salt and Base Forms of Polyaniline

This paper reports the spectroscopic study on the structural differences of thermally induced cross-linking segments in polyaniline in its emeraldine salt (PANI-ES) and base (PANI-EB) forms. Casting films of PANI-ES (ES-film) and PANI-EB (EB-film) were prepared and heated at 150 degrees C under atmospheric air for 30 min. Raman spectra excited at 632.8 nm of heated ES-film presented the characteristic bands of phenazine-like structures at 1638, 1392, and 575 cm(-1), whereas EB-film showed lower relative intensities for these bands. The lower content of phenazine-like segments in heated EB-film is related to residual polaronic segments from preparation procedures, as revealed by Raman. This statement was confirmed by a sequence of thermal and doping experiments in both films. Quantum-chemical calculations by density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) showed that the phenazine-like structure presents the intense Raman band at 1350 cm(-1) due to heterocycle breathing mode, and the non-phenazine-like structure (substituted hydrophenazine-type) presents higher energy for HOMO-LUMO transition, indicating the lack of conjugation in the heterocycle compared with the phenazine-like structure. According to experimental and theoretical data reported here, it is proposed that only thermally treated PANI-ES presents phenazine-like rings, whereas PANI-EB presents heterocyclic non-aromatic structures.

Polyazomethine with vinylene and phenantridine moieties in the main chain: Synthesis, characterization, opto(electrical) properties and theoretical calculations

The opto(electrical) properties and theoretical calculations of polyazomethine with vinylene and phenantridine moieties in the main chain were investigated in the present study. 2,5-Bis(hexyloxy)-1,4-bis[(2,5-bis(hexyloxy)-4-formyl-phenylenevinylene]benzene was polymerized in solution with 3,8-diamino-6-phenylphenanthridine (PAZ-PV-Ph). The temperatures of 5% weight loss (T-5%) of the polyazomethine was observed at 356 degrees C in nitrogen. Electrochemical properties of thin film of the polymer were studied by differential pulse voltammetry. The HOMO level of the PAZ-PV-Ph was at -4.97 eV. The energy band gap (E-g) was detected of approximately similar to 1.9 eV. Energy band gap (E-gopt) was additionally calculated from absorption spectrum and absorption coefficient alpha. The absorption UV-vis spectra of polyazomethine recorded in solution showed a blue shift in comparison with the solid state. HOMO-LUMO levels and E-g were additionally calculated theoretically by density functional theory and molecular simulations of PAZ-PV-Ph are presented. Current density-voltage (J-U) measurements were performed on ITO/PAZ-PV-Ph/Al, ITO/TiO2/PAZ-PV-Ph/Al and ITO/PEDOT/PAZ-PV-Ph:TiO2/Al devices in the dark and during irradiation with light (under illumination of 1000 W m(-2)). The polymer was tested using AFM technique and roughness (R-a, R-ms) along with skew and kurtosis are presented.

The 2:1 cycloadducts from [3+2] 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxide and vinylacetic acid. Synthesis and liquid crystal behaviour

Four liquid crystals (LC) 3,7a-bis(4-alkyloxyphenyl)-7,7a-dihydro-6H-isoxazolo[2,3-d][1,2,4]oxadiazol-6-yl)acetic acid (7a-d) were synthesised and the mesomorphic behaviour reported. The LCs were characterised as 2: 1 bisadducts, which were obtained from a double [3+2] 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. In the first step, the cycloaddition of 4-alkyloxyphenylnitrile oxide (4a-d) and vinylacetic acid (5) gave the initial unobserved 1:1 cycloadducts 2-[3-(4-alkyloxyphenyl)-4,5-dihydroisoxazol-5-yl]acetic acid (6a-d). In the second step, the addition of a second equivalent of 4 to 6 yielded the 2: 1 bisadducts 7a-d without any traces of 6. All compounds 7a-d were unstable during the transition from the mesophase to the isotropic state upon first heating as evidenced by the large peaks in the differential scanning calorimetry traces. Due to the chemical instability of the compounds upon heating, the transition temperature related to the smectic C to smectic A transitions was acquired by means of an image processing method. X-Ray diffraction experiments were also used to analyse the liquid-crystalline phases. A theoretical calculation was performed using density functional theory (DFT) methods at the PBE1PBE/6-311+G(2d,p) level (with solvent effect) in order to get information about the energetic profile of the 2: 1 cycloaddition. DFT studies revealed that the cycloaddition process is controlled by the HOMO(dipolarophile) - LUMO(1,3-dipole), and that the double [3+2] 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction is quite possible.

Prevalência e vulnerabilidade à infecção pelo HIV de moradores de rua em São Paulo, SP

OBJETIVO: Analisar a prevalência e o perfil de vulnerabilidade ao HIV de moradores de rua. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal com amostra não probabilística de 1.405 moradores de rua usuários de instituições de acolhimento de São Paulo, SP, de 2006 a 2007. Foi realizado teste anti-HIV e aplicado questionário estruturado. O perfil de vulnerabilidade foi analisado pela frequência do uso do preservativo, considerando mais vulneráveis os que referiram o uso nunca ou às vezes. Foram utilizadas regressões logística e multinomial para estimar as medidas de efeito e intervalos de 95% de confiança. RESULTADOS: Houve predominância do sexo masculino (85,6%), média de 40,9 anos, ter cursado o ensino fundamental (72,0%) e cor não branca (71,5%). A prática homo/bissexual foi referida por 15,7% e a parceria ocasional por 62,0%. O número médio de parcerias em um ano foi de 5,4 e mais da metade (55,7%) referiu uso de drogas na vida, dos quais 25,7% relataram uso frequente. No total, 39,6% mencionaram ter tido uma doença sexualmente transmissível e 38,3% relataram o uso do preservativo em todas as relações sexuais. A prevalência do HIV foi de 4,9% (17,4% dos quais apresentaram também sorologia positiva para sífilis). Pouco mais da metade (55,4%) tinha acesso a ações de prevenção. A maior prevalência do HIV esteve associada a ser mais jovem (OR 18 a 29 anos = 4,0 [IC95% 1,54;10,46]), história de doença sexualmente transmissível (OR = 3,3 [IC95% 1,87;5,73]); prática homossexual (OR = 3,0 [IC95% 1,28;6,92]) e à presença de sífilis (OR = 2,4 [IC95% 1,13;4,93]). O grupo de maior vulnerabilidade foi caracterizado por ser mulher, jovem, ter prática homossexual, número reduzido de parcerias, parceria fixa, uso de drogas e álcool e não ter acesso a ações de prevenção e apoio social. CONCLUSÕES: O impacto da epidemia entre moradores de rua é elevado, refletindo um ciclo que conjuga exclusão, vulnerabilidade social e acesso limitado à prevenção.

Theoretical Study of the Absorption Spectra of Photosynthetic Pigments

The first stage of the photosynthetic process is the extraordinary efficiency of sunlight absorption in the visible region [1]. This region corresponds to the maximum of the spectral radiance of the solar emission. The efficient absorption of visible light is one of the most important characteristics of photosynthetic pigments. In chlorophylls, for example, the absorptions are seen as a strong absorption in the region 400-450 nm in connection with other absorptions with small intensities in the region of 500-600 nm. This work aims at understanding the essential features of the absorption spectrum of photosynthetic pigments, in line with several theoretical studies in the literature [2, 3]. The absorption spectra were calculated for H2-Porphyrin, Mg-Porphyrin, and Zn-Porphyrin, and for H2-Phthalocyanine and Mg-Phthalocyanine with and without the four peripheral eugenol substituents. The geometries were optimized using the B3LYP/6-31+G(d) theoretical model. For the calculation of the absorption spectra different TD-DFT calculations were performed (B3LYP, CAM-B3LYP, O3LYP, M06-2X and BP86) along with CIS (D). For the spectra the basis set 6-311++G (d, p) was used for porphyrins and 6-31+G (d) was used for the other systems. At this stage the solvent effects were considered using the simplified continuum model (PCM). First a comparison between the results using the different methods was made. For the porphyrins the best results compared to experiment (both in position and intensities) are obtained with M06-2X and CIS (D). We also analyze the compatibility of the four-orbital model of Gouterman [4] that states that transitions could be well described by the HOMO-1, HOMO, LUMO, and LUMO+1 molecular orbitals. Our results for H2-Porphyrin shows an agreement with other theoretical results and experimental data [5]. For the phthalocyanines (including the four peripheral eugenol substituents) the results are also in good agreement compared with the experimental results given in ref [6]. Finally, the results show that the inclusion of solvent eÆects gives corrections for the spectral shift in the correct direction but numerically small. References [1] R.E. Blankenship; “Molecular Mechanisms of Photosynthesis", Blackwell Science (2002). [2] P. Jaramillo, K. Coutinho, B.J.C. Cabral and S. Canuto; Chem. Phys. Lett., 516, 250(2011). [3] L. Petit, A. Quartarolo, C. Adamo and N. Russo; J. Phys. Chem. B, 110, 2398(2006). [4] M. J. Gouterman; Mol. Spectr., 6, 138(1961). [5] M. Palummo, C. Hogan, F. Sottile, P. Bagal∂a and A. Rubio; J. Chem. Phys., 131, 084102(2009). [6] E. Agar, S. Sasmaz and A. Agar; Turk. J. Chem., 23, 131(1999).

Multiple trichoblastomas in a dog

Background – Hair follicle tumours generally present as benign, solitary masses and have a good prognosis following surgical resection. Hypothesis/Objectives – This report describes a case of multiple trichoblastomas in a dog. Animal – A 2-year-old crossbred dog presented with multiple soft cutaneous periocular, perilabial, submandibular and nasal nodules, between 2 and 9 cm in diameter, located on the right side of the face. New nodules were observed on the same side of the face at a second consultation 3 weeks later. Methods – Surgical resection of all nodules was performed in two procedures. Three nodules were initially resected and submitted for histolopathology and immunohistochemistry. The diagnosis was trichoblastoma for all three. At the time of the second consultation, new and remaining nodules were biopsied and the diagnosis of trichoblastoma confirmed. The dog was treated with doxorubicin and piroxicam for 30 days prior to the second surgical procedure in an attempt to reduce new tumour growth and the size of present tumours. All nodules were resected and the defects closed using rotation flaps. Results – No recurrence of the neoplasm was noted within 10 months after surgery. Conclusions and clinical importance – Trichoblastomas are generally benign but can present as multiple neoplasms that may require surgical resection and may respond to chemotherapy. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of multiple trichoblastomas in a dog.