Writing and living on the stage of history

This article studies the intercultural trajectory of a Portuguese female aristocrat of the eighteenth to nineteenth centuries. Her trajectory of intercultural transition from a Portuguese provincial lady into an independent owner of a sugar mill in tropical Bahia is documented through family letters, which provide a polyphonic representation of a movement of personal, family, and social transculturation over almost two decades. Maria Bárbara began her journey between cultures as a simple spectator-reader, progressively becoming a commentator-actor-protagonist-author in society, in politics, and in history. These letters function as a translation that is sometimes consecutive, other times simultaneous, of the events lived and witnessed. This concept of intercultural translation is based on the theories of Boaventura de Sousa Santos (2006, 2008), who argues that cultural differences imply that any comparison has to be made using procedures of proportion and correspondence which, taken as a whole, constitute the work of translation itself. These procedures construct approximations of the known to the unknown, of the strange to the familiar, of the ‘other’ to the ‘self’, categories which are always unstable. Likewise, this essay explores the unstable contexts of its object of study, with the purpose of understanding different rationalities and worldviews.

Microbeam radiation-induced tissue damage depends on the stage of vascular maturation

To explore the effects of microbeam radiation (MR) on vascular biology, we used the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model of an almost pure vascular system with immature vessels (lacking periendothelial coverage) at Day 8 and mature vessels (with coverage) at Day 12 of development.

K(L) --> pi0 e+ e- and K(L) --> pi0 mu+ mu-: A binary star on the stage of flavor physics

A systematic analysis of New Physics impacts on the rare decays KL→π0ell+ell- is performed. Thanks to their different sensitivities to flavor-changing local effective interactions, these two modes could provide valuable information on the nature of the possible New Physics at play. In particular, a combined measurement of both modes could disentangle scalar/pseudoscalar from vector or axial-vector contributions. For the latter, model-independent bounds are derived. Finally, the KL→π0μ+μ- forward-backward CP-asymmetry is considered, and shown to give interesting complementary information.

A MÍDIA IMPRESSA ESPECIALIZADA E O ADOLESCENTE VESTIBULANDO

Assuntos como vestibular, escolha profissional ocupam espaço na mídia impressa especializada principalmente no final do ano. Evidentemente, o adolescente está inserido nesse contexto. Este estudo teve como objetivo geral investigar como essa mídia representa o adolescente na etapa da escolha profissional e do vestibular, pesquisando que aspectos da vida desse jovem são mais focalizados. Para tanto, foram analisadas algumas publicações da mídia especializada - revistas GUIA DO ESTUDANTE, ALMANAQUE DO ESTUDANTE e os suplementos teens FOVEST e FOLHATEEN, veiculados pelo jornal Folha de SP. Tomando-se por base a teoria evolutiva da adaptação humana de Ryad Simon,que procura analisar quatro setores adaptativos: Afetivo-Relacional, Produtividade,Sócio-Cultural e Orgânico, procurou-se verificar se a mídia leva em conta todos os setores ou se procura dar maior destaque apenas ao setor da produtividade. O período de análise escolhido foi o que antecede a época do vestibular, de meio e de final de ano. A pesquisa foi quantitativa e qualitativa, buscando-se utilizar, como método, a análise de conteúdo por meio da EDAO, um instrumento da Psicologia que avalia os quatro setores da adaptação humana, segundo a teoria proposta por Simon (1989). Os resultados obtidos mostraram que a mídia especializada dá maior ênfase aos aspectos produtivos, portanto ao setor Produtividade. Os demais setores, confirmando as hipóteses formuladas, foram pouco abordados, tanto pelas revistas quanto pelos suplementos.Outro dado observado foi a pouca profundidade na abordagem dos temas. O estudo concluiu, também, que a EDAO - Escala Diagnóstica Adaptativa Operacionalizada pode ser utilizada como instrumento de análise de conteúdo em pesquisas envolvendo a mídia impressa especializada e os aspectos psicossociais do indivíduo.(AU)

A MÍDIA IMPRESSA ESPECIALIZADA E O ADOLESCENTE VESTIBULANDO

Assuntos como vestibular, escolha profissional ocupam espaço na mídia impressa especializada principalmente no final do ano. Evidentemente, o adolescente está inserido nesse contexto. Este estudo teve como objetivo geral investigar como essa mídia representa o adolescente na etapa da escolha profissional e do vestibular, pesquisando que aspectos da vida desse jovem são mais focalizados. Para tanto, foram analisadas algumas publicações da mídia especializada - revistas GUIA DO ESTUDANTE, ALMANAQUE DO ESTUDANTE e os suplementos teens FOVEST e FOLHATEEN, veiculados pelo jornal Folha de SP. Tomando-se por base a teoria evolutiva da adaptação humana de Ryad Simon,que procura analisar quatro setores adaptativos: Afetivo-Relacional, Produtividade,Sócio-Cultural e Orgânico, procurou-se verificar se a mídia leva em conta todos os setores ou se procura dar maior destaque apenas ao setor da produtividade. O período de análise escolhido foi o que antecede a época do vestibular, de meio e de final de ano. A pesquisa foi quantitativa e qualitativa, buscando-se utilizar, como método, a análise de conteúdo por meio da EDAO, um instrumento da Psicologia que avalia os quatro setores da adaptação humana, segundo a teoria proposta por Simon (1989). Os resultados obtidos mostraram que a mídia especializada dá maior ênfase aos aspectos produtivos, portanto ao setor Produtividade. Os demais setores, confirmando as hipóteses formuladas, foram pouco abordados, tanto pelas revistas quanto pelos suplementos.Outro dado observado foi a pouca profundidade na abordagem dos temas. O estudo concluiu, também, que a EDAO - Escala Diagnóstica Adaptativa Operacionalizada pode ser utilizada como instrumento de análise de conteúdo em pesquisas envolvendo a mídia impressa especializada e os aspectos psicossociais do indivíduo.(AU)

A MÍDIA IMPRESSA ESPECIALIZADA E O ADOLESCENTE VESTIBULANDO

Assuntos como vestibular, escolha profissional ocupam espaço na mídia impressa especializada principalmente no final do ano. Evidentemente, o adolescente está inserido nesse contexto. Este estudo teve como objetivo geral investigar como essa mídia representa o adolescente na etapa da escolha profissional e do vestibular, pesquisando que aspectos da vida desse jovem são mais focalizados. Para tanto, foram analisadas algumas publicações da mídia especializada - revistas GUIA DO ESTUDANTE, ALMANAQUE DO ESTUDANTE e os suplementos teens FOVEST e FOLHATEEN, veiculados pelo jornal Folha de SP. Tomando-se por base a teoria evolutiva da adaptação humana de Ryad Simon,que procura analisar quatro setores adaptativos: Afetivo-Relacional, Produtividade,Sócio-Cultural e Orgânico, procurou-se verificar se a mídia leva em conta todos os setores ou se procura dar maior destaque apenas ao setor da produtividade. O período de análise escolhido foi o que antecede a época do vestibular, de meio e de final de ano. A pesquisa foi quantitativa e qualitativa, buscando-se utilizar, como método, a análise de conteúdo por meio da EDAO, um instrumento da Psicologia que avalia os quatro setores da adaptação humana, segundo a teoria proposta por Simon (1989). Os resultados obtidos mostraram que a mídia especializada dá maior ênfase aos aspectos produtivos, portanto ao setor Produtividade. Os demais setores, confirmando as hipóteses formuladas, foram pouco abordados, tanto pelas revistas quanto pelos suplementos.Outro dado observado foi a pouca profundidade na abordagem dos temas. O estudo concluiu, também, que a EDAO - Escala Diagnóstica Adaptativa Operacionalizada pode ser utilizada como instrumento de análise de conteúdo em pesquisas envolvendo a mídia impressa especializada e os aspectos psicossociais do indivíduo.(AU)

Influence Of The Stage Of Ripeness On The Composition Of Iridoids And Phenolic Compounds In Genipap (genipa Americana L.).

Genipap fruits, native to the Amazon region, were classified in relation to their stage of ripeness according to firmness and peel color. The influence of the part of the genipap fruit and ripeness stage on the iridoid and phenolic compound profiles was evaluated by HPLC-DAD-MS(n), and a total of 17 compounds were identified. Geniposide was the major compound in both parts of the unripe genipap fruits, representing >70% of the total iridoids, whereas 5-caffeoylquinic acid was the major phenolic compound. In ripe fruits, genipin gentiobioside was the major compound in the endocarp (38%) and no phenolic compounds were detected. During ripening, the total iridoid content decreased by >90%, which could explain the absence of blue pigment formation in the ripe fruits after their injury. This is the first time that the phenolic compound composition and iridoid contents of genipap fruits have been reported in the literature.

A recombinant hybrid protein as antigen for an anti-blood stage malaria vaccine: a study on the conservation of a protective component

Recently we have shown that two hybrid proteins expressed in Escherichia coli confer protective immunity to Aotus monkeys against an experimental Plasmodium falciparum infection (Knapp et al., 1992). Both hybrid proteins carry a sequence containing amino acids 631 to 764 of the serine stretch protein SERP (Knapp et al., 1989b). We have studied the diversity of this SERP region in field isolates of P. falciparum. Genomic DNA was extracted from the blood of six donors from different endemic areas of Brazil and West Africa. The SERP region encoding amino acids 630 to 781 was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced. Only conserved amino acid substitutions in maximally two positions of the analyzed SERP fragment could be detected which supports the suitability of this SERP region as a component of anti-blood stage malaria vaccine.

Study on the Elimination of Angiostrongylus costaricensis First Stage Larvae in the Experimental Infection of Swiss Mice

Abdominal angiostrongylosis is a nematode infection of wild rodents. Human infection may result in severe abdominal disease and has been reported from several countries in the Americas. The domestic mouse, Mus musculus, has not been found with natural infection and, like other urban rodents, should not be considered a natural host for Angiostrongylus costaricensis. Quantification of parasitic forms released for transmission may better express the coevolutionary status in parasite-host relationship. With this objective, five groups of experimentally infected Swiss mice were followed for up to 155 days post-infection (PI) days and the quantification of first stage larvae (L1) output revealed: an irregular elimination of L1 and a huge variation in the patency period (1 to 114 days) and in the number of L1 eliminated daily by individual animals (1 to 6340 L1/g). Overall mortality was 72% (range: 28% to 100%) at seven weeks PI. In conclusion, abdominal angiostrongylosis in M. musculus presents high mortality and a very variable and irregular elimination of L1 in feces.

Prosthetic joint infections : A retrospective study on the timing of reimplantation in a two-stage exchange

Different therapeutic options for prosthetic joint infections exist, but surgery remains the key. With a two-stage exchange procedure, a success rate above 90% can be expected. Currently, there is no consensus regarding the optimal duration between explantation and the reimplantation in a two-stage procedure. The aim of this study was to retrospectively compare treatment outcomes between short-interval and long-interval two-stage exchanges. Patients having a two-stage exchange of a hip or knee prosthetic joint infection at Lausanne University Hospital (Switzerland) between 1999 and 2013 were included. The satisfaction of the patient, the function of the articulation and the eradication of infection, were compared between patients having a short (2 to 4 weeks) versus a long (4 weeks and more) interval during a two-stage procedure. Patient satisfaction was defined as good if the patient did not have pain and bad if the patient had pain. Functional outcome was defined good if the patient had a prosthesis in place and could walk, medium if the prosthesis was in place but the patient could not walk, and bad if the prosthesis was no longer in place. Infection outcome was considered good if there had been no re-infection and bad if there had been a re-infection of the prosthesis 145 patients (100 hips, 45 knees) were identified with a median age of 68 years (range 19-103). The median hospital stay was 58 days (range 10-402). The median follow-up was 12.9 months (range 0.5-152). 28 % and 72 % of the patients had a short-interval and long-interval exchange of the prosthesis, respectively. Patient satisfaction, functional outcome and infection outcome for patients having a short versus a long interval are reported in the Table. The patient satisfaction was higher when a long interval was performed whereas the functional and infection outcomes were higher when a short interval was performed. According to this study a short-interval exchange appears preferable to a long interval, especially in the view of treatment effectiveness and functional outcome.

On the Convergence of Two-Stage Iterative Processes for Solving Linear Equations

This paper considers two-stage iterative processes for solving the linear system $Af = b$. The outer iteration is defined by $Mf^{k + 1} = Nf^k + b$, where $M$ is a nonsingular matrix such that $M - N = A$. At each stage $f^{k + 1} $ is computed approximately using an inner iteration process to solve $Mv = Nf^k + b$ for $v$. At the $k$th outer iteration, $p_k $ inner iterations are performed. It is shown that this procedure converges if $p_k \geqq P$ for some $P$ provided that the inner iteration is convergent and that the outer process would converge if $f^{k + 1} $ were determined exactly at every step. Convergence is also proved under more specialized conditions, and for the procedure where $p_k = p$ for all $k$, an estimate for $p$ is obtained which optimizes the convergence rate. Examples are given for systems arising from the numerical solution of elliptic partial differential equations and numerical results are presented.

On the Performance of a Two-Stage Vibration Isolation System Which has Geometrically Nonlinear Stiffness

Linear single-stage vibration isolation systems have a limitation on their performance, which can be overcome passively by using linear two-stage isolations systems. It has been demonstrated by several researchers that linear single-stage isolation systems can be improved upon by using nonlinear stiffness elements, especially for low-frequency vibrations. In this paper, an investigation is conducted into whether the same improvements can be made to a linear two-stage isolation system using the same methodology for both force and base excitation. The benefits of incorporating geometric stiffness nonlinearity in both upper and lower stages are studied. It is found that there are beneficial effects of using nonlinearity in the stiffness in both stages for both types of excitation. Further, it is found that this nonlinearity causes the transmissibility at the lower resonance frequency to bend to the right, but the transmissibility at the higher resonance frequency is not affected in the same way. Generally, it is found that a nonlinear two-stage system has superior isolation performance compared to that of a linear two-stage isolator.