Local effects and global impact in neurotoxicity and neurodegeneration: The Xi"an International Neurotoxicology Conference

'Neurotoxicity and Neurodegeneration: Local Effect and Global Impact' was the theme of the Xi"an International Neurotoxicology Conference (XINC), held in Xi"an, June 2011. The Conference was a joint event of the 13th Biennial Meeting of the International Neurotoxicology Association (INA-13) and the 11th International Symposium on Neurobehavioral Methods and Effects in Occupational and Environmental Health (NEUREOH-11) of the Scientific Committee on Neurotoxicology and...

Local effects and global impact in neurotoxicity and neurodegeneration: The Xi"an International Neurotoxicology Conference

'Neurotoxicity and Neurodegeneration: Local Effect and Global Impact' was the theme of the Xi"an International Neurotoxicology Conference (XINC), held in Xi"an, June 2011. The Conference was a joint event of the 13th Biennial Meeting of the International Neurotoxicology Association (INA-13) and the 11th International Symposium on Neurobehavioral Methods and Effects in Occupational and Environmental Health (NEUREOH-11) of the Scientific Committee on Neurotoxicology and...

Nuclear DNA content variation in life history phases of the Bonnemaisoniaceae (Rhodophyta)

Nuclear DNA content in gametophytes and sporophytes or the prostrate phases of the following species of Bonnemaisoniaceae (Asparagopsis armata, Asparagopsis taxiformis, Bonnemaisonia asparagoides, Bonnemaisonia clavata and Bonnemaisonia hamifera) were estimated by image analysis and static microspectrophotometry using the DNA-localizing fluorochrome DAPI (4′, 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, dilactate) and the chicken erythrocytes standard. These estimates expand on the Kew database of DNA nuclear content. DNA content values for 1C nuclei in the gametophytes (spermatia and vegetative cells) range from 0.5 pg to 0.8 pg, and for 2C nuclei in the sporophytes or the prostrate phases range from 1.15-1.7 pg. Although only the 2C and 4C values were observed in the sporophyte or the prostrate phase, in the vegetative cells of the gametophyte the values oscillated from 1C to 4C, showing the possible start of endopolyploidy. The results confirm the alternation of nuclear phases in these Bonnemaisoniaceae species, in those that have tetrasporogenesis, as well as those that have somatic meiosis. The availability of a consensus phylogenetic tree for Bonnemaisoniaceae has opened the way to determine evolutionary trends in DNA contents. Both the estimated genome sizes and the published chromosome numbers for Bonnemaisoniaceae suggest a narrow range of values consistent with the conservation of an ancestral genome.

Local effects and global impact in neurotoxicity and neurodegeneration: The Xi"an International Neurotoxicology Conference

'Neurotoxicity and Neurodegeneration: Local Effect and Global Impact' was the theme of the Xi"an International Neurotoxicology Conference (XINC), held in Xi"an, June 2011. The Conference was a joint event of the 13th Biennial Meeting of the International Neurotoxicology Association (INA-13) and the 11th International Symposium on Neurobehavioral Methods and Effects in Occupational and Environmental Health (NEUREOH-11) of the Scientific Committee on Neurotoxicology and...

Antireflection coatings from analogy between electron scattering and spin precession

We use the analogy between scattering of a wave from a potential, and the precession of a spin-half particle in a magnetic field, to gain insight into the design of an antireflection coating for electrons in a semiconductor superlattice. It is shown that the classic recipes derived for optics are generally not applicable due to the different dispersion law for electrons. Using the stability conditions we show that a Poisson distribution of impedance steps is a better approximation than is a Gaussian distribution. Examples are given of filters with average transmissivity exceeding 95% over an allowed band.

Electronic properties of a quantum wire with arbitrary bending angle

The electron transmission and bound state properties of a quantum wire with a sharp bend at arbitrary angle are studied, extending results on the right angle sharp bend (the L¿shaped wire). These new results are compared to those of a similar structure, the circular bend wire. The possibility of using a bent wire to perform transistor action is also discussed.

Transparency and trust in government (2007-2014): a comparative study

In a 2000 report entitled "Trust in government. Ethics measures in OECD countries," OECD Secretary-General Donald J. Johnston emphasized the fact that public ethics are considered as a keystone of good governance. Moreover, public ethics are a prerequisite to public trust, which is in turn vital not only to any public service, but also to any society in general. At the same time, transparency reforms have flourished over the last few years and have several times been designed as a response to public distrust. Therefore, ethics, transparency and trust are closely linked together in a supposed virtuous circle where transparency works as a factor of better public ethics and leads to more trust in government on the citizens' side. This article explores the links between transparency and levels of trust in 10 countries between 2007 and 2014, using open data indexes and access to information requests as proxies for transparency. A national ranking of transparency, based on requests submitted by citizens to the administration and open data indexes, is then proposed. Key findings show that there is no sharp decline of trust in government in all countries considered in this article, and that transparency and trust in government are not systematically positively associated. Therefore, this article challenges the common assumption, mostly found in the normative literature, about a positive interrelation between the two, where trust in government is conceived as a beneficial effect of administrative transparency.

O Quadrante de Ruetsap e a anti-ciência, tecnologia e inovação

The concept of research and the controversy among classical models for C, T & I, outdated by the development of knowledge and Post-modern society needs were revisited through the (3) Quadrants advanced by Donald Stokes in the mid-nineties. The scientific community to fit into these Quadrants was faced with many difficulties and reacted by issuing pseudo-facts, accepted by under-prepared technocrats as viable justifications for conducting research in face of these new paradigms. In a poor country full of contrast and needs such as Brazil, this attitude satisfies the bureaucracy and academic elite, but frustrates government and society, that do not get, in the expected measure, the benefits of their commitment with the Teaching, Research and Extension Sectors mainly embedded in the Public University system. An extension, in fact a contradictory approach, to Pasteur's Quadrant, is proposed to characterize this situation: The Syndrome of Ruetsap's Quadrant.

Kaupunkien imagonrakennus ja elokuvat

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Merten ja maiden valloitusta

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Vihreiden pitkä historia

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Causas e leis nas ciências do homem

A proposta humeana acerca do método e da investigação na ciência do homem tornou-o um precursor do conhecido modelo covering-law de explicação científica, tal como defendido por Hempel, Nagel e outros filósofos contemporâneos da ciência. A interpretação da teoria da ciência de Hume como precursora desse modelo costuma ser majoritária entre os comentadores de sua filosofia. Apenas Donald Livingston travou uma discussão singular contra essa quase unanimidade, propondo-se a defender a existência de dois modelos de explicação na epistemologia de Hume, um adequado às ciências naturais, outro às morais. O autor apóia-se em certas passagens em que Hume parece reconhecer que, em ciências morais, predominariam as explicações recorrendo a causas morais, as quais consistiriam nas razões do agente ou conjunto de agentes envolvidos no evento a ser explicado. Defendemos que a diversidade das explicações causais naturais e morais em Hume pode ser discutida, não a partir de uma distinção radical de natureza, como aquela que Livingston quer estabelecer, mas a partir de uma distinção de grau: os graus de certeza que distinguem entre provas e probabilidades, entre explicações pela via dedutiva a partir de leis ou por generalizações estatísticas. Isto é, mais de acordo com a assimetria que Nagel reconhece entre ciências do particular e generalizadoras, quanto ao objetivo de estabelecer leis, no segundo caso, ou de apenas aplicá-las, no primeiro. Uma distinção compatível com aquela que Hume já adotara, atribuindo graus diferentes de generalidade de modo análogo a ciências naturais ou morais.

Midge Decter ja tosi amerikkalainen miehisyys

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