Synthesis and thermal studies of solid state 2-chloro-benzylidenepyruvic acid and its compounds with sodium, aluminium (III), gallium (III) and indium (III) cations

The synthesis of sodium 2-chlorobenzylidenepyruvate and its corresponding acid as well as binary, binary together with it's acid or hydroxo-2-chorobenzylidenepyruvate of aluminium (III), gallium (III) and indium (III), were isolated. Chemical analysis, thermogravimetry, derivative thermogravimetry (TG/DTG), simultaneous thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) and X-ray powder diffractometry have been employed to characterize and to study the thermal behaviour of these compounds. The results provided information concerning the stoichiometry, crystallinity, thermal stability and thermal decomposition.

Comparison of some properties of 2,3 - and 3,4 - dimethoxybenzoates of Cu(II), Co(II) and Nd(III)

The physicochemical properties of 2,4-, and 3,4- dimethoxybenzoates of Cu(II), Co(II) and Nd(III) were studied and compared to observe the -OCH3 substituent positions in benzene ring on the character of complexes. The analysed compounds are crystalline hydrated or anhydrous salts with colours depending on the kind of central ions: blue for Cu(II), pink for Co(II) and violet for Nd(III) complexes. The carboxylate groups bind as monodentate, bidentate bridging or chelating and even tridentate ligands. Their thermal stabilities were studied in air at 293-1173K. When heated the hydrated complexes release the water molecules and form anhydrous compounds which are then decomposed to the oxides of respective metals. Their magnetic moment values were determined in the range of 76-303K. The results reveal the compounds of Nd(III) and Co(II) to be the high-spin and that of Cu(II) forms dimer. The various positions of -OCH3 groups in benzene ring influence some of physicochemical properties of analysed compounds.

Complexes of 4-chlorophenoxyacetates of Nd(III), Gd(III) and Ho(III)

The complexes of 4-chlorophenoxyacetates of Nd(III), Gd(III) and Ho(III) have been synthesized as polycrystalline hydrated solids, and characterized by elemental analysis, spectroscopy, magnetic studies and also by X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric measurements. The analysed complexes have the following colours: violet for Nd(III), white for Gd(III) and cream for Ho(III) compounds. The carboxylate groups bind as bidentate chelating (Ho) or bridging ligands (Nd, Gd). On heating to 1173K in air the complexes decompose in several steps. At first, they dehydrate in one step to form anhydrous salts, that next decompose to the oxides of respective metals. The gaseous products of their thermal decomposition in nitrogen were also determined and the magnetic susceptibilites were measured over the temperature range of 76-303K and the magnetic moments were calculated. The results show that 4-chlorophenoxyacetates of Nd(III), Gd(III) and Ho(III) are high-spin complexes with weak ligand fields. The solubility value in water at 293K for analysed 4-chlorophenoxyacetates is in the order of 10-4mol/dm³.

THE SKEPTICAL CARTESIAN BACKGROUND OF HUME'S "OF THE ACADEMICAL OR SCEPTICAL PHILOSOPHY" (FIRST INQUIRY, SECTION 12)

ABSTRACT In section XII of the First Inquiry, Hume refers to the two Hellenistic schools of skepticism (Academic and Pyrrhonian) to present his own view of skepticism, which, however, depends on the ancient skeptics mainly indirectly. Hume's view of skepticism depends crucially on Descartes and post-Cartesian philosophers such as Pascal, Huet, Foucher and Bayle, who reacted skeptically to major Cartesian doctrines but followed one version or other of Descartes's methodical doubt. Although all these post-Cartesian philosophers are relevant in section XII, I focus on the topics in which Descartes himself-besides his skeptical followers-seems directly relevant. After an introductory section (I) on Julia Annas' and Richard Popkin's views of Hume's relation to, respectively, ancient and modern skepticism, I turn to section XII and examine what Hume calls (II) "consequent skepticism about the senses," (III) "antecedent skepticism," and (IV) "Academic skepticism."

Basel III - vakavaraisuussäännöksen kyky ylläpitää pankkien vakavaraisuutta

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli analysoida Basel III- säännöksen ominaisuuksien ja uudistusten riittävyyttä pankkien vakavaraisuuden ylläpitämiseksi. Lähtökohtana tarkasteltiin säännöksen ominaisuuksien parantavaa vaikutusta pankkien vakavaraisuuteen. Tutkimuksessa käsiteltiin myös ominaisuuksia, joilla on pieni tai heikentävä vaikutus pankkien vakavaraisuuteen. Tutkimus toteutettiin laadullisena tapaustutkimuksena. Tutkimusaineisto koostui kuudesta puolistrukturoidusta teemahaastattelusta. Haastateltavina oli pankkien asiantuntijoita sekä finanssialan asiantuntija. Tulokset osoittavat, että Basel III- säännös pitää sisällään hyviä uudistuksia vakavaraisuuden ylläpitämiseksi. Tärkeimpiä ominaisuuksia ovat pankeilta vaaditun oman pääoman merkittävä laadun ja määrän parantuminen, uusia riskejä huomioivat vaateet sekä pankin likviditeettiä tasapainottava pysyvän varainhankinnan vaatimus. Säännöksessä on myös osa-alueita, jotka vaativat kehittämistä. Säännös ei huomioi velkakriisin aiheuttamaa valtionlainoihin liittyvää riskiä ja syklien sääntely on ongelmallista. Säännöksen kokonaisvaikutus on positiivinen ja pankkikriisien todennäköisyys vähenee. Basel III- säännöksen muutokset eivät aikaansaa kuitenkaan kaikkia vaadittuja rakenteellisia muutoksia finanssisektorin koko-naisriskin vähentämiseksi, joten sääntelyn kehittäminen varmasti jatkuu.

Anaerobic biodigestion of pigs feces in the initial, growing and finishing stages fed with diets formulated with corn or sorghum

The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality and the production of biogas and biofertilizer obtained from biodigester supplied with pig feces in the initial, growing and finishing stages, fed with diets formulated based on corn or sorghum. Twenty bench biodigesters were used with hydraulic retention time of 30 days and daily loads that contained 4 to 6% of total solids (TS) and 3.6 to 5.2% of volatile solids (VS). In the effluent of the biodigesters, mean levels of TS were observed ranging between 1.6 and 2.0% and of VS between 1.2 and 1.6%. The mean reductions of TS were 57.7 to 64.7% and of VS from 61.7 to 69.0%, and there was only difference in the finishing phase, in which the major averages reductions were produced by the biodigesters supplied with feces from animals fed with diets based on corn. In biodigesters supplied with feces from animals in the initial and growing stages fed with diets based on corn, were observed higher average productions of biogas and the greatest average potentials of biogas production. The average potentials obtained were 0.033; 0.181; 0.685; 0.788 and 1.132 m³ per kg of affluent, manure, TS added, VS added and VS reduced, respectively. No differences were found on the average content of methane in the biogas between diets and stages. The average concentrations of nutrients N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu in the biodigester affluent and effluent, ranged between diets and stages.

Research and development of III-V semiconductor surfaces for improved device interfaces

This thesis is devoted to understanding and improving technologically important III-V compound semiconductor (e.g. GaAs, InAs, and InSb) surfaces and interfaces for devices. The surfaces and interfaces of crystalline III-V materials have a crucial role in the operation of field-effect-transistors (FET) and highefficiency solar-cells, for instance. However, the surfaces are also the most defective part of the semiconductor material and it is essential to decrease the amount of harmful surface or interface defects for the next-generation III-V semiconductor device applications. Any improvement in the crystal ordering at the semiconductor surface reduces the amount of defects and increases the material homogeneity. This is becoming more and more important when the semiconductor device structures decrease to atomic-scale dimensions. Toward that target, the effects of different adsorbates (i.e., Sn, In, and O) on the III-V surface structures and properties have been investigated in this work. Furthermore, novel thin-films have been synthesized, which show beneficial properties regarding the passivation of the reactive III-V surfaces. The work comprises ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) environment for the controlled fabrication of atomically ordered III-V(100) surfaces. The surface sensitive experimental methods [low energy electron diffraction (LEED), scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS), and synchrotron radiation photoelectron spectroscopy (SRPES)] and computational density-functionaltheory (DFT) calculations are utilized for elucidating the atomic and electronic properties of the crucial III-V surfaces. The basic research results are also transferred to actual device tests by fabricating metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors and utilizing the interface sensitive measurement techniques [capacitance voltage (CV) profiling, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy] for the characterization. This part of the thesis includes the instrumentation of home-made UHV-compatible atomic-layer-deposition (ALD) reactor for growing good quality insulator layers. The results of this thesis elucidate the atomic structures of technologically promising Sn- and In-stabilized III-V compound semiconductor surfaces. It is shown that the Sn adsorbate induces an atomic structure with (1×2)/(1×4) surface symmetry which is characterized by Sn-group III dimers. Furthermore, the stability of peculiar ζa structure is demonstrated for the GaAs(100)-In surface. The beneficial effects of these surface structures regarding the crucial III-V oxide interface are demonstrated. Namely, it is found that it is possible to passivate the III-V surface by a careful atomic-scale engineering of the III-V surface prior to the gate-dielectric deposition. The thin (1×2)/(1×4)-Sn layer is found to catalyze the removal of harmful amorphous III-V oxides. Also, novel crystalline III-V-oxide structures are synthesized and it is shown that these structures improve the device characteristics. The finding of crystalline oxide structures is exploited by solving the atomic structure of InSb(100)(1×2) and elucidating the electronic structure of oxidized InSb(100) for the first time.

Tabulae Peutingerianae segmentum III : a Marcomannis ad Sarmatas usque ; Segmentum IV : a Sarmatis usque ad Hamaxobios

Julkaisussa: Accuratissima orbis antiqui delineatio, sive, geographia vetus, sacra & profana

Reference values for lung function tests: III. Carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (transfer factor)

Carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DLCO) or transfer factor (TLCO) is a particularly useful test of the appropriateness of gas exchange across the lung alveolocapillary membrane. With the purpose of establishing predictive equations for DLCO using a non-smoking sample of the adult Brazilian population, we prospectively evaluated 100 subjects (50 males and 50 females aged 20 to 80 years), randomly selected from more than 8,000 individuals. Gender-specific linear prediction equations were developed by multiple regression analysis with single breath (SB) absolute and volume-corrected (VA) DLCO values as dependent variables. In the prediction equations, age (years) and height (cm) had opposite effects on DLCOSB (ml min-1 mmHg-1), independent of gender (-0.13 (age) + 0.32 (height) - 13.07 in males and -0.075 (age) + 0.18 (height) + 0.20 in females). On the other hand, height had a positive effect on DLCOSB but a negative one on DLCOSB/VA (P<0.01). We found that the predictive values from the most cited studies using predominantly Caucasian samples were significantly different from the actually measured values (P<0.05). Furthermore, oxygen uptake at maximal exercise (VO2max) correlated highly to DLCOSB (R = 0.71, P<0.001); this variable, however, did not maintain an independent role to explain the VO2max variability in the multiple regression analysis (P>0.05). Our results therefore provide an original frame of reference for either DLCOSB or DLCOSB/VA in Brazilian males and females aged 20 to 80 years, obtained from the standardized single-breath technique.

The calcium-modulated proteins, S100A1 and S100B, as potential regulators of the dynamics of type III intermediate filaments

The Ca2+-modulated, dimeric proteins of the EF-hand (helix-loop-helix) type, S100A1 and S100B, that have been shown to inhibit microtubule (MT) protein assembly and to promote MT disassembly, interact with the type III intermediate filament (IF) subunits, desmin and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), with a stoichiometry of 2 mol of IF subunit/mol of S100A1 or S100B dimer and an affinity of 0.5-1.0 µM in the presence of a few micromolar concentrations of Ca2+. Binding of S100A1 and S100B results in inhibition of desmin and GFAP assemblies into IFs and stimulation of the disassembly of preformed desmin and GFAP IFs. S100A1 and S100B interact with a stretch of residues in the N-terminal (head) domain of desmin and GFAP, thereby blocking the head-to-tail process of IF elongation. The C-terminal extension of S100A1 (and, likely, S100B) represents a critical part of the site that recognizes desmin and GFAP. S100B is localized to IFs within cells, suggesting that it might have a role in remodeling IFs upon elevation of cytosolic Ca2+ concentration by avoiding excess IF assembly and/or promoting IF disassembly in vivo. S100A1, that is not localized to IFs, might also play a role in the regulation of IF dynamics by binding to and sequestering unassembled IF subunits. Together, these observations suggest that S100A1 and S100B may be regarded as Ca2+-dependent regulators of the state of assembly of two important elements of the cytoskeleton, IFs and MTs, and, potentially, of MT- and IF-based activities.

The brain decade in debate: III. Neurobiology of emotion

This article is a transcription of an electronic symposium in which active researchers were invited by the Brazilian Society of Neuroscience and Behavior (SBNeC) to discuss the advances of the last decade in the neurobiology of emotion. Four basic questions were debated: 1) What are the most critical issues/questions in the neurobiology of emotion? 2) What do we know for certain about brain processes involved in emotion and what is controversial? 3) What kinds of research are needed to resolve these controversial issues? 4) What is the relationship between learning, memory and emotion? The focus was on the existence of different neural systems for different emotions and the nature of the neural coding for the emotional states. Is emotion the result of the interaction of different brain regions such as the amygdala, the nucleus accumbens, or the periaqueductal gray matter or is it an emergent property of the whole brain neural network? The relationship between unlearned and learned emotions was also discussed. Are the circuits of the former the underpinnings of the latter? It was pointed out that much of what we know about emotions refers to aversively motivated behaviors, like fear and anxiety. Appetitive emotions should attract much interest in the future. The learning and memory relationship with emotions was also discussed in terms of conditioned and unconditioned stimuli, innate and learned fear, contextual cues inducing emotional states, implicit memory and the property of using this term for animal memories. In a general way it could be said that learning modifies the neural circuits through which emotional responses are expressed.

Effects of lead and/or zinc exposure during the second stage of rapid postnatal brain growth on delta-aminolevulinate dehydratase and negative geotaxis of suckling rats

Lead has been shown to produce cognitive and motor deficits in young rats that could be mediated, at least in part, by inhibition of the zinc-containing heme biosynthetic enzyme delta-aminolevulinate dehydratase (ALA-D). In the present study we investigated the effects of lead and/or zinc treatment during the second stage of rapid postnatal brain development on brain, kidney and blood ALA-D specific activity, as well as the negative geotaxis behavior of rats. Eight-day-old Wistar rats were injected intraperitoneally with saline, lead acetate (8 mg/kg) and/or zinc chloride (2 mg/kg) daily for five consecutive days. Twenty-four hours after treatment, ALA-D activity was determined in the absence and presence of DL-dithiothreitol (DTT). The negative geotaxis behavior was assessed in 9- to 13-day-old rats. Treatment with lead and/or zinc did not affect body, brain or kidney weights or brain- or kidney-to-body weight ratios of the animals. In spite of the absence of effect of any treatment on ALA-D specific activity in brain, kidney and blood, the reactivation index with DTT was higher in the groups treated with lead or lead + zinc than in the control group, in brain, kidney and blood (mean ± SEM; brain: 33.33 ± 4.34, 38.90 ± 8.24, 13.67 ± 3.41; kidney: 33.50 ± 2.97, 37.60 ± 2.67, 15.80 ± 2.66; blood: 63.95 ± 3.73, 56.43 ± 5.93, 31.07 ± 4.61, respectively, N = 9-11). The negative geotaxis response behavior was not affected by lead and/or zinc treatment. The results indicate that lead and/or zinc treatment during the second stage of rapid postnatal brain growth affected ALA-D, but zinc was not sufficient to protect the enzyme from the effects of lead in brain, kidney and blood.

Spectroscopic Studies of III-V Semiconductor Materials for Improved Devices

Defects in semiconductor crystals and at their interfaces usually impair the properties and the performance of devices. These defects include, for example, vacancies (i.e., missing crystal atoms), interstitials (i.e., extra atoms between the host crystal sites), and impurities such as oxygen atoms. The defects can decrease (i) the rate of the radiative electron transition from the conduction band to the valence band, (ii) the amount of charge carriers, and (iii) the mobility of the electrons in the conduction band. It is a common situation that the presence of crystal defects can be readily concluded as a decrease in the luminescence intensity or in the current flow for example. However, the identification of the harmful defects is not straightforward at all because it is challenging to characterize local defects with atomic resolution and identification. Such atomic-scale knowledge is however essential to find methods for reducing the amount of defects in energy-efficient semiconductor devices. The defects formed in thin interface layers of semiconductors are particularly difficult to characterize due to their buried and amorphous structures. Characterization methods which are sensitive to defects often require well-defined samples with long range order. Photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) combined with photoluminescence (PL) or electrical measurements is a potential approach to elucidate the structure and defects of the interface. It is essential to combine the PES with complementary measurements of similar samples to relate the PES changes to changes in the interface defect density. Understanding of the nature of defects related to III-V materials is relevant to developing for example field-effect transistors which include a III-V channel, but research is still far from complete. In this thesis, PES measurements are utilized in studies of various III-V compound semiconductor materials. PES is combined with photoluminescence measurements to study the SiO2/GaAs, SiNx/GaAs and BaO/GaAs interfaces. Also the formation of novel materials InN and photoluminescent GaAs nanoparticles are studied. Finally, the formation of Ga interstitial defects in GaAsN is elucidated by combining calculational results with PES measurements.

Diagnostic profile of inpatients as a determinant of length of stay in a general hospital psychiatric unit

The aim of this study was to determine if the diagnostic profile of inpatients of a psychiatric unit in a general hospital influences the length of stay. The results of a retrospective survey comprising the first 16 years of operation of the Psychiatric Unit of the Ribeirão Preto General Hospital (PURP) showed that the progressive increase observed in the length of stay correlated with the increase in percentage of schizophrenia diagnosis, after the 8th year of hospital operation, and of affective disorders, after the 12th year. The length of hospitalization kept increasing until the 16th year, even though there was no change in the diagnostic profile of the patients admitted to the unit. In a prospective study encompassing the next six months, 61 inpatients were evaluated with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). The results showed that 82% of the inpatients fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for the schizophrenic or affective disorder spectrum at admission, with a discharge rate slower than for other diagnoses, although the length of hospitalization did not significantly differ among diagnostic categories. The results further demonstrated that in every diagnostic category more than 50% of the patients stayed in hospital for more than one week after reaching a BPRS score equal to 6, indicative of discharge. Overall, these data suggest that the increase in length of hospitalization may be due to a higher percentage of patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and affective disorder admitted to the PURP. In addition, patients with low symptomatic levels remained in hospital longer than they should have.

A third generation regimen VACOP-B with or without adjuvant radiotherapy for aggressive localized non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: report from the Italian Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Co-operative Study Group

The objective of this multicenter prospective study was to determine the clinical efficacy and toxicity of a polychemotherapeutic third generation regimen, VACOP-B, with or without radiotherapy as front-line therapy in aggressive localized non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Ninety-three adult patients (47 males and 46 females, median age 45 years) with aggressive localized non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 43 in stage I and 50 in stage II (non-bulky), were included in the study. Stage I patients received VACOP-B for 6 weeks plus involved field radiotherapy and stage II patients received 12 weeks VACOP-B plus involved field radiotherapy on residual masses. Eighty-six (92.5%) achieved complete remission and 4 (4.3%) partial remission. Three patients (3.2%) were primarily resistant. Ten-year probability of survival, progression-free survival and disease-free survival were 87.3, 79.9 and 83.9%, respectively. Eighty-four patients are surviving at a median observation time of 57 months (range: 6-126). Statistical analysis showed no difference between stages I and II in terms of response, ten-year probability of survival, progression-free survival or disease-free survival. Side effects and toxicity were negligible and were similar in the two patient groups. The results of this prospective study suggest that 6 weeks of VACOP-B treatment plus radiotherapy may be the therapy of choice in stage I aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Twelve weeks of VACOP-B treatment with or without radiotherapy was shown to be effective and feasible for stage II. These observations need to be confirmed by a phase III study comparing first and third generation protocols in stage I-II aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.