On the methods of determining size/weight characteristics of food organisms of fish. (Determination of the length of Copepoda in larval stages by egg-laying females of the free living freshwater Copepoda). [Translation from: Voprosy Ikhtiologii 14, 182-194, 1960. ]

As is known, copepods play an important role in the nutrition of fish. Therefore with a view to facilitating research on the study of the quantitative side of feeding, there have recently appeared a considerable number of papers devoted to the development of methods for determining the wet. weight of these crustaceans. For the further facilitating of research in the nutrition of fish it would be of great interest to clarify the problem, is there not some kind of rule in the growth of the crustaceans during metamorphosis, and if there is such a rule is it not possible, to determine the length of the larvae at each stage, not by measuring them, but by using the formulae derived on the basis of these rules. This article examines the growth curves of different species of freshwater Copepoda, obtained on the basis of experimental observations in cultures or by way of measurement of mass material at all stages of development in samples from water-bodies. The authors study in particular the ratio of the mean diameter of the eggs to the mean length of the egg-bearing females.

Properties of convergence of a class of iterative processes generated by sequences of self-mappings with applications to switched dynamic systems

This article investigates the convergence properties of iterative processes involving sequences of self-mappings of metric or Banach spaces. Such sequences are built from a set of primary self-mappings which are either expansive or non-expansive self-mappings and some of the non-expansive ones can be contractive including the case of strict contractions. The sequences are built subject to switching laws which select each active self-mapping on a certain activation interval in such a way that essential properties of boundedness and convergence of distances and iterated sequences are guaranteed. Applications to the important problem of stability of dynamic switched systems are also given.

Keep an "eye" on the text: The Use of Self-mention in the Academic Writing of Experts

One of the most controversial inquiries in academic writing is whether it is admissible to use first person pronouns in a scientific paper or not. Many professors discourage their students from using them, rather favoring a more passive tone, and thus causing novices to avoid inserting themselves into their texts in an expert-like manner. Abundant research, however, has recently attested that negotiation of identity is plausible in academic prose, and there is no need for a paper to be void of an authorial identity. Because in the course of the English Studies Degree we have received opposing prompts in the use of I, the aim of this dissertation is to throw some light upon this vexed issue. To this end, I compiled a corpus of 16 Research Articles (RAs) that comprises two sub-corpora, one featuring Linguistics RAs and the other one Literature RAs, and each, in turn, consists of articles written by American and British authors. I then searched for real occurrences of I, me, my, mine, we, us, our and ours, and studied their frequency, rhetorical functions and distribution along each paper. The results obtained certainly show that academic writing is no longer the faceless prose that it used to be, for I is highly used in both disciplines and varieties of English. Concerning functions, the most typically used roles were the use of I to take credit for the writer’s research process, and also those involving plural forms. With respect to the spatial disposition, all sections welcomed first person pronouns, but the Method and the Results/Discussion sections seem to stimulate their appearance. On the basis of these findings, I suggest that an L2 writing pedagogy that is mindful not only of the language proficiency, but also of the students’ own identity may have a beneficial effect on the composition of their texts.

Accuracy of sex determination for northeastern Pacific Ocean thornyheads (Sebastolobus altivelis and S. alascanus)

Determining the sex of thornyheads (Sebastolobus alascanus and S. altivelis) can be difficult under field conditions. We assessed our ability to correctly assign sex in the field by comparing results from field observations to results obtained in the laboratory through both macroscopic and microscopic examination of gonads. Sex of longspine thornyheads was more difficult to determine than that of shortspine thornyheads and correct determination of sex was signif icantly related to size. By restricting the minimum size of thornyheads to 18 cm for macroscopic determination of sex we reduced the number of fish with misidentified sex by approximately 65%.

Dignidade na vida, na doença e para a morte: as diretivas antecipadas como instrumento de valorização da pessoa

A dignidade da pessoa humana e a autonomia privada espraiam-se pela experiência da vida, alcançando a doença e a morte. As diretivas antecipadas, gênero dos quais são espécies o testamento vital e o mandato duradouro, constituem negócio jurídico de caráter existencial que têm por objetivo assegurar a realização da dignidade da pessoa e o cumprimento dos atos de autonomia nas situações em que a pessoa estiver incapacitada para manifestar sua vontade. As diretivas representam instrumento de autodeterminação através do qual a pessoa disciplina os tratamentos médicos que aceita ou não ser submetida, autoriza doação de órgão, estipula se tem interesse em conhecer seu estado clínico e/ou nomeia terceira pessoa para tomar estas decisões em seu lugar. As três primeiras hipóteses constituem o que usualmente se qualifica como testamento vital, enquanto a última situação descrita configura o mandato duradouro. O objeto de estudo abrange a evolução das diretivas antecipadas, a disciplina existente em países que já regulamentaram o tema, a legitimação no sistema jurídico brasileiro (o que autoriza a conclusão favorável a sua utilização independentemente de lei expressa) e a sistematização deste negócio jurídico perante o ordenamento jurídico.

Development of nucleic acid vaccines: use of self-amplifying RNA in lipid nanoparticles

Self-amplifying RNA or RNA replicon is a form of nucleic acid-based vaccine derived from either positive-strand or negative-strand RNA viruses. The gene sequences encoding structural proteins in these RNA viruses are replaced by mRNA encoding antigens of interest as well as by RNA polymerase for replication and transcription. This kind of vaccine has been successfully assayed with many different antigens as vaccines candidates, and has been shown to be potent in several animal species, including mice, nonhuman primates, and humans. A key challenge to realizing the broad potential of self-amplifying vaccines is the need for safe and effective delivery methods. Ideally, an RNA nanocarrier should provide protection from blood nucleases and extended blood circulation, which ultimately would increase the possibility of reaching the target tissue. The delivery system must then be internalized by the target cell and, upon receptor-mediated endocytosis, must be able to escape from the endosomal compartment into the cell cytoplasm, where the RNA machinery is located, while avoiding degradation by lysosomal enzymes. Further, delivery systems for systemic administration ought to be well tolerated upon administration. They should be safe, enabling the multiadministration treatment modalities required for improved clinical outcomes and, from a developmental point of view, production of large batches with reproducible specifications is also desirable. In this review, the concept of self-amplifying RNA vaccines and the most promising lipid-based delivery systems are discussed.

Effect of surface plasmon resonance in TiO2/Au thin films on the fluorescence of self-assembled CdTe QDs structure

23rd Congress of the International Comission for Optics (ICO 23)