Class Action: Homeless in high school, Jessica Boyle fought to make Colby a place where students from all backgrounds can thrive

Once a homeless teen, Jessica Boyle ’12 worked to make Colby a place where students like her can thrive.

Structural analysis of the place of wine in Brazil

With the constant decrease of the wine consumption in traditional winemaking countries, more and more Brazil is seen as an appealing market. But the country also pretends to become an international player of winemaking in its own right. Both the participants of the Brazilian wine industry and the foreigners trying to get advantage of this promising market are facing new challenges to develop the consumption of wine in the world’s fifth largest country. Among all the possible actions to be taken in that sense, it also is worth taking time for a collective thought on the place of wine in the country, as well as the factors that shape it. What are these factors, which ones really make the difference, and what is their respective impact on the evolution of the place of wine in the country? After drawing the big picture of the wine market situation, this thesis tries to identify the levers of the evolution of the place of wine in Brazil. Using the tools of prospective, it aims at putting into perspective the different driving forces that influence its development, and in particular the relative influence of the political drivers. This paper also intends to be a first step of a prospective study as it constitutes a solid base for scenario planning. This paper is divided in five chapters starting with “introduction”, followed by chapter 2 “Theoretical framework”. Chapter 3 is “Methodology”, followed by chapter 4 “Description and analysis of the results”. Finally the results are discussed and concluded in the last part “Conclusions and implications for future studies”.

Exposure to acute restraint stress reinstates nicotine-induced place preference in rats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Prior exposure to stress delays extinction but does not modify reinstatement of nicotine-induced conditioned place preference

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Involvement of dopamine receptors in diethylpropion-induced conditioning place preference

Diethylpropion (DEP) is an amphetamine-like agent used as an anorectic drug. Abuse of DEP has been reported and some restrictions of its use have been recently imposed. The conditioning place preference (CPP) paradigm was used to evaluate the reinforcing properties of DEP in adult male Wistar rats. After initial preferences were determined, animals weighing 250-300 g (N = 7 per group) were conditioned with DEP (10, 15 or 20 mg/kg). Only the dose of 15 mg/kg produced a significant place preference (358 ± 39 vs 565 ± 48 s). Pretreatment with the D1 antagonist SCH 23390 (0.05 mg/kg, sc) 10 min before DEP (15 mg/kg, ip) blocked DEP-induced CPP (418 ± 37 vs 389 ± 31 s) while haloperidol (0.5 mg/kg, ip), a D2 antagonist, 15 min before DEP was ineffective in modifying place conditioning produced by DEP (385 ± 36 vs 536 ± 41 s). These results suggest that dopamine D1 receptors mediate the reinforcing effect of DEP

The reinstatement of amphetamine-induced place preference is long-lasting and related to decreased expression of AMPA receptors in the nucleus accumbens

A great deal of effort has been devoted to elucidating the psychopharmacology underlying addiction and relapse. Long-term neuroadaptations in glutamate transmission seem to be of great relevance for relapse to stimulant abuse. In this study, we investigated amphetamine-induced conditioned place preference during adolescence and the reinstatement of the conditioned behavior following a priming injection of the drug 1 day (adolescence), 30 days (early adulthood) and 60 days (adulthood) after the extinction test. The nucleus accumbens was dissected immediately after the reinstatement test to examine alterations in GluR1 and NR1 subunits of glutamatergic receptors. Our results showed that a priming injection of amphetamine was able to reinstate the CPP 1 and 30 days after extinction. However, it failed to reinstate the conditioned response after 60 days. GluR1 levels were decreased on days 1 and 30 but not on day 60 while NR1 levels were unaltered in the reinstatement test. Using a relapse model we found that reinstatement of amphetamine-induced conditioning place preference during adolescence is long lasting and persists through early adulthood. Decreased levels of GluR1 in the nucleus accumbens might be related to the reinstatement of amphetamine-induced conditioning place preference. (C) 2008 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stress-induced reinstatement of amphetamine-conditioned place preference and changes in tyrosine hydroxylase in the nucleus accumbens in adolescent rats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Behaviour of displacement, cast-in-place piles on collapsible soil

The paper presents the results of instrumented compression load tests carried out in three uncased cast-in-place piles (pounded piles, called apiloadas in Brazil) which is largely used in interior part of the state of São Paulo. The tests were conducted with the soil in the natural condition and after soaking with water, before loading, in order to evaluate the influence of the soil collapsibility in the results. The values of the ultimate loads (total, point and lateral loads) obtained in the tests are presented and compared with the values predicted by empirical methods that utilize SPT and CPT results.

Use of scrap tire rubber in place of SBS in modified asphalt as an environmentally correct alternative for Brazil

Reusing scrap tires has become a worldwide challenge, especially due to the great difficulty in finding ecologically and economically feasible ways to dispose of them. This has led to the creation of specific programs and legislation for reusing scrap tires. Research has shown that a certain percentage of scrap tire rubber can be added to asphalt compositions, and this has become a worldwide practice. This paper describes the properties of four asphalt compositions modified with scrap tire rubber (STR) prepared in the laboratory. These properties are then compared with those of asphalt modified with styrene butadiene styrene (SBS), a synthetic polymer and one of the most common modifiers, to verify the feasibility of using scrap tire rubber as a substitute for SBS. The scope of this study does not include an analysis of how STR affects end-of-life asphalt. The main findings indicate that STR is a potential substitute of SBS in paving material, and although it does not meet some of the standard specifications when compared with SBS, these issues can be overcome by proper care during storage and transportation. The substitution of SBS by STR also showed the potential for about 10% in expenditure savings. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time-place learning in food-restricted Nile tilapia

Time-place learning based on food association was investigated in eight food-restricted Nile tilapias. Each fish was individually housed for 10 days in an experimental tank for adjustments to laboratory conditions, and fed daily in excess. Feeding was then interrupted for 17 days. Training was then started, based on a food-restricted regime in a tank divided into three interconnected compartments. Daily food was offered in one compartment (left or right side) of the tank in the morning and on the opposite side in the afternoon, for a continuous 30-day period. Frequency of choices on the right side was measured on days 10, 20 and 30 (during these test days, fish were not fed). Following this 30-day conditioning period, the Nile tilapias were able to switch sides at the correct period of the day to get food, suggesting that food restriction facilitates time-place learning discrimination. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Testing time-place learning in the cichlid fish Nile tilapia

Time-place learning based on food association was investigated in the fish Nile tilapia. During a 30-day period, food was placed at one side of the aquarium (containing three compartments) in the morning and at the opposite side in the afternoon. Learning was inferred by the number of correct side choices of all fish in each day of test (15th, 30th). During the test day, fish were not fed. The Nile tilapia did not learn to switch sides at the correct day period in order to get food, suggesting thus that this species does not have time-place learning ability.

Time-place learning in individually reared angelfish, but not in pearl cichlid

Time-place learning based on food association was investigated in the cichlids angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare) and pearl cichlid (Geophagus brasiliensis) reared in isolation, therefore eliminating social influence on foraging. During a 30-day period, food was placed in one side of the aquarium (containing three compartments) in the morning and in the opposite side in the afternoon. Learning was inferred by the number of correct side choices of all fish in each day of test (15th and 30th). During the test day fish were not fed. The angelfish learned to switch sides at the correct day period in order to get food, suggesting this species has time-place learning ability when individually reared. on the other hand, the same was not observed for pearl cichlid. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparative susceptibility and pathogeny of Nelore and Holstein-Friesian calves to the experimental infection of Haemonchus placei (Place, 1893)

Two groups of Holstein-Friesian and Nelore calves, five animals each, about nine months old, received, by oral route, 1,000 infective larvae (L-3) per kg of body weight of Haemonchus placei. Blood samples were collected by venipuncture, at weekly intervals, from one week before, to eight weeks after infection. Hematological studies comprised the hematocrit, differential leukocyte counts, hemoglobin, fibrinogen and plasma protein determinations. Parasitological examinations covered weekly fecal egg counts (EPG) and worm burden counts at necropsy. Samples of the abomasal mucosa were submitted to gross examination and histopathological studies. Both groups had increasing EPG after the fifth week, with Holstein calves showing higher counts than the Nelore. Holstein calves had anemia and hipoproteinemia from the third week post-infection to the end of the experiment, whereas Nelore calves showed no significant differences in those, parameters. Holstein calves had significantly larger worm counts than the Nelore. The gross and histopathological lesions in the abomasum at necropsy were very similar, although macroscopically they look more apparent in the Holstein group. These results showed that Holstein calves are more susceptible to the infection and pathogenic effects of H. placei than Nelore calves.

The relationship between place BANA reactivity and clinical parameters in subjects with mental disabilities

The purpose of the present investigation was to determine whether subjects institutionalized with mental retardation have a relationship between periodontal clinical parameters and the presence of the BANA-positive periodontal pathogens Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, and Bacteroides forsythus in their subgingival plaques. Fifty institutionalized subjects (25 patients with Down syndrome and 25 subjects with mental retardation) were matched with respect to age and sex. Periodontal clinical parameters (Bleeding on Probing, BOP; Papillary Bleeding Score, PBS; and Probing Depth, PD) were obtained from 6 reference teeth (3, 8, 14, 19, 24, 30). In addition, subgingival plaque samples taken from the same 6 teeth were analyzed for the presence of the BANA-positive species, by means of the chairside BANA test. In both the patients with Down syndrome and the group with mental retardation, the presence of BANA-positive plaques was significantly associated with bleeding on probing (p < 0.05) and increased probing depth (p < 0.01, Chisquare). Analysis of these data indicated that the BANA test could be used in combination with clinical criteria to diagnose a periodontopathy anaerobic Infection in institutionalized subjects.