Globalização e reconfigurações do mercado de trabalho em Portugal e no Brasil

The article discusses the processes of transformation that are underway in the contexts of Portuguese and Brazilian labor markets. Starting with a reflection on globalization and some of its impacts - resulting from technological changes and the introduction of new information technologies, accompanied by an economic policy that favors deregulation and flexibility of labor relations -, it analyses some trends regarding precarious employment in both countries. The discussion is grounded on the assumption that job precariousness, which currently affects all age and professional groups, is not anymore a mere cyclical and peripheral phenomenon.

Lumped Element Modeling of a Flexible Manipulator System

This paper is concerned with a modeling method that can be used for an experimental identification of a dynamic system. More specifically, an equivalent lumped element system is presented to represent in a unique and exact manner a complete proportional-derivative (PD) controlled servo positioning system having a flexible manipulator. The impedance and mobility approach is used to transform the P and D control gains to an electrical spring and an electrical damper, respectively. The impedance model method is used to transform the flexible manipulator to a coupled system between a single contact mass at the driving position and a series of noncontact masses each of which is connected to the contact mass via a resilient member. This method is applicable whenever the driving point response of such a manipulator is available. Experimental work is presented to support the theory developed.

Acid-base and biochemical stabilization and quality of recovery in male cats with urethral obstruction and anesthetized with propofol or a combination of ketamine and diazepam

This study compared acid-base and biochemical changes and quality of recovery in male cats with experimentally induced urethral obstruction and anesthetized with either propofol or a combination of ketamine and diazepam for urethral catheterization. Ten male cats with urethral obstruction were enrolled for urethral catheterization and anesthetized with either ketamine-diazepam (KD) or propofol (P). Lactated Ringer's solution was administered by intravenous (IV) beginning 15 min before and continuing for 48 h after relief of urethral obstruction. Quality of recovery and time to standing were evaluated. The urethral catheter was maintained to measure urinary output. Hematocrit (Hct), total plasma protein (TPP), albumin, total protein (TP), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, pH, bicarbonate (HCO3-), chloride, base excess, anion gap, sodium, potassium, and partial pressure of carbon dioxide in mixed venous blood (pvCO(2)) were measured before urethral obstruction, at start of fluid therapy (0 h), and at subsequent intervals. The quality of recovery and time to standing were respectively 4 and 75 min in the KD group and 5 and 16 min in the P group. The blood urea nitrogen values were increased at 0, 2, and 8 h in both groups. Serum creatinine increased at 0 and 2 h in cats administered KD and at 0, 2, and 8 h in cats receiving P, although the values were above the reference range in both groups until 8 h. Acidosis occurred for up to 2 h in both groups. Acid-base and biochemical stabilization were similar in cats anesthetized with propofol or with ketamine-diazepam. Cats that received propofol recovered much faster, but the ketamine-diazepam combination was shown to be more advantageous when treating uncooperative cats as it can be administered by intramuscular (IM) injection.

Underlying Event measurements in pp collisions at root s=0.9 and 7 TeV with the ALICE experiment at the LHC

We present measurements of Underlying Event observables in pp collisions at root s = 0 : 9 and 7 TeV. The analysis is performed as a function of the highest charged-particle transverse momentum p(T),L-T in the event. Different regions are defined with respect to the azimuthal direction of the leading (highest transverse momentum) track: Toward, Transverse and Away. The Toward and Away regions collect the fragmentation products of the hardest partonic interaction. The Transverse region is expected to be most sensitive to the Underlying Event activity. The study is performed with charged particles above three different p(T) thresholds: 0.15, 0.5 and 1.0 GeV/c. In the Transverse region we observe an increase in the multiplicity of a factor 2-3 between the lower and higher collision energies, depending on the track p(T) threshold considered. Data are compared to PYTHIA 6.4, PYTHIA 8.1 and PHOJET. On average, all models considered underestimate the multiplicity and summed p(T) in the Transverse region by about 10-30%.

Measurement of prompt J/psi and beauty hadron production cross sections at mid-rapidity in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV

The ALICE experiment at the LHC has studied J/psi production at mid-rapidity in pp collisions at root s = 7 TeV through its electron pair decay on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity L-int = 5.6 nb(-1). The fraction of J/psi from the decay of long-lived beauty hadrons was determined for J/psi candidates with transverse momentum p(t) > 1,3 GeV/c and rapidity vertical bar y vertical bar < 0.9. The cross section for prompt J/psi mesons, i.e. directly produced J/psi and prompt decays of heavier charmonium states such as the psi(2S) and chi(c) resonances, is sigma(prompt J/psi) (p(t) > 1.3 GeV/c, vertical bar y vertical bar < 0.9) = 8.3 +/- 0.8(stat.) +/- 1.1 (syst.)(-1.4)(+1.5) (syst. pol.) mu b. The cross section for the production of b-hadrons decaying to J/psi with p(t) > 1.3 GeV/c and vertical bar y vertical bar < 0.9 is a sigma(J/psi <- hB) (p(t) > 1.3 GeV/c, vertical bar y vertical bar < 0.9) = 1.46 +/- 0.38 (stat.)(-0.32)(+0.26) (syst.) mu b. The results are compared to QCD model predictions. The shape of the p(t) and y distributions of b-quarks predicted by perturbative QCD model calculations are used to extrapolate the measured cross section to derive the b (b) over bar pair total cross section and d sigma/dy at mid-rapidity.

Molecular epidemiology of extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae over a 10 year period in Calgary, Canada

A study was designed to investigate the molecular epidemiology of extended-spectrum -lactamase (ESBL)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated in a centralized region over a 10 year period (200009). Molecular characterization was done using isoelectric focusing, PCR and sequencing for bla(CTX-M), bla(TEM) and bla(SHV) genes and plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance determinants. Genetic relatedness was determined with PFGE using XbaI and multilocus sequencing typing. A total of 89 patients with incident infections were identified; the majority presented with hospital-onset urinary tract infections. The absolute number of ESBL-producing isolates remained very low until 2003, increased slightly in 2004, remained stable until 2008 and then in 2009 there was an abrupt increase in the numbers of ESBL producers identified. The majority of K. pneumoniae produced CTX-M-14 and -15, and have replaced SHV-12-producing isolates since 2005. We identified four different major sequence types (STs) among 32 of isolates (i.e. ST17, ST20, and the new ST573 and ST575) and provided insight into their clinical and molecular characteristics. The ST isolates were more likely to produce community-onset infections, were associated with bla(CTX-M) and emerged during the latter part of the study period. ST17 produced CTX-M-15 and SHV-12, and was more likely to be positive for qnrB; ST20 produced CTX-M-14 and was positive for qnrS. The multiresistant ST575 that produced CTX-M-15 appeared in 2009. Our study highlights the importance of molecular epidemiology in providing insight into the emergence, characteristics and distribution of STs among ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae.

PTEN Directly Activates the Actin Depolymerization Factor Cofilin-1 During PGE(2)-Mediated Inhibition of Phagocytosis of Fungi

Macrophage ingestion of the yeast Candida albicans requires its recognition by multiple receptors and the activation of diverse signaling programs. Synthesis of the lipid mediator prostaglandin E-2 (PGE(2)) and generation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) also accompany this process. Here, we characterized the mechanisms underlying PGE(2)-mediated inhibition of phagocytosis and filamentous actin (F-actin) polymerization in response to ingestion of C. albicans by alveolar macrophages. PGE(2) suppressed phagocytosis and F-actin formation through the PGE(2) receptors EP2 and EP4, cAMP, and activation of types I and II protein kinase A. Dephosphorylation and activation of the actin depolymerizing factor cofilin-1 were necessary for these inhibitory effects of PGE(2). PGE(2)-dependent activation of cofilin-1 was mediated by the protein phosphatase activity of PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10), with which it directly associated. Because enhanced production of PGE(2) accompanies many immunosuppressed states, the PTEN-dependent pathway described here may contribute to impaired antifungal defenses.

Mutational analyses of the signals involved in the subcellular location of DSCR1

Abstract Background Down syndrome is the most frequent genetic disorder in humans. Rare cases involving partial trisomy of chromosome 21 allowed a small chromosomal region common to all carriers, called Down Syndrome Critical Region (DSCR), to be determined. The DSCR1 gene was identified in this region and is expressed preferentially in the brain, heart and skeletal muscle. Recent studies have shown that DSCR1 belongs to a family of proteins that binds and inhibits calcineurin, a serine-threonine phosphatase. The work reported on herein consisted of a study of the subcellular location of DSCR1 and DSCR1-mutated forms by fusion with a green fluorescent protein, using various cell lines, including human. Results The protein's location was preferentially nuclear, independently of the isoform, cell line and insertion in the GFP's N- or C-terminal. A segment in the C-terminal, which is important in the location of the protein, was identified by deletion. On the other hand, site-directed mutational analyses have indicated the involvement of some serine and threonine residues in this event. Conclusion In this paper, we discuss the identification of amino acids which can be important for subcellular location of DSCR1. The involvement of residues that are prone to phosphorylation suggests that the location and function of DSCR1 may be regulated by kinases and/or phosphatases.

Traces de terre, traces d'encre... La rappresentazione dello spazio nella letteratura caraibica. (Francofona e Anglofona)

This study concerns the representation of space in Caribbean literature, both francophone and Anglophone and, in particular, but not only, in the martinican literature, in the works of the authors born in the island. The analysis focus on the second half of the last century, a period in which the martinican production of novels and romances increased considerably, and where the representation and the rule of space had a relevant place. So, the thesis explores the literary modalities of this representation. The work is constituted of 5 chapters and the critical and methodological approaches are both of an analytical and comparative type. The first chapter “The caribbean space: geography, history and society” presents the geographic context, through an analysis of the historical and political major events occurred in the Caribbean archipelago, in particular of the French Antilles, from the first colonization until the départementalisation. The first paragraph “The colonized space: historical-political excursus” the explores the history of the European colonization that marked forever the theatre of the relationship between Europe, Africa and the New World. This social situation take a long and complex process of “Re-appropriation and renegotiation of the space”, (second paragraph) always the space of the Other, that interest both the Antillean society and the writers’ universe. So, a series of questions take place in the third paragraph “Landscape and identity”: what is the function of space in the process of identity construction? What are the literary forms and representations of space in the Caribbean context? Could the writing be a tool of cultural identity definition, both individual and collective? The second chapter “The literary representation of the Antillean space” is a methodological analysis of the notions of literary space and descriptive gender. The first paragraph “The literary space of and in the novel” is an excursus of the theory of such critics like Blanchot, Bachelard, Genette and Greimas, and in particular the recent innovation of the 20th century; the second one “Space of the Antilles, space of the writing” is an attempt to apply this theory to the Antillean literary space. Finally the last paragraph “Signs on the page: the symbolic places of the antillean novel landscape” presents an inventory of the most recurrent antillean places (mornes, ravines, traces, cachots, En-ville,…), symbols of the history and the past, described in literary works, but according to new modalities of representation. The third chapter, the core of the thesis, “Re-drawing the map of the French Antilles” focused the study of space representation on francophone literature, in particular on a selected works of four martinican writers, like Roland Brival, Édouard Glissant, Patrick Chamoiseau and Raphaël Confiant. Through this section, a spatial evolution comes out step by step, from the first to the second paragraph, whose titles are linked together “The novel space evolution: from the forest of the morne… to the jungle of the ville”. The virgin and uncontaminated space of the Antilles, prior to the colonisation, where the Indios lived in harmony with the nature, find a representation in both works of Brival (Le sang du roucou, Le dernier des Aloukous) and of Glissant (Le Quatrième siècle, Ormerod). The arrival of the European colonizer brings a violent and sudden metamorphosis of the originary space and landscape, together with the traditions and culture of the Caraïbes population. These radical changes are visible in the works of Chamoiseau (Chronique des sept misères, Texaco, L’esclave vieil homme et le molosse, Livret des villes du deuxième monde, Un dimanche au cachot) and Confiant (Le Nègre et l’Amiral, Eau de Café, Ravines du devant-jour, Nègre marron) that explore the urban space of the creole En-ville. The fourth chapter represents the “2nd step: the Anglophone novel space” in the exploration of literary representation of space, through an analytical study of the works of three Anglophone writers, the 19th century Lafcadio Hearn (A Midsummer Trip To the West Indies, Two Years in the French West Indies, Youma) and the contemporary authors Derek Walcott (Omeros, Map of the New World, What the Twilight says) and Edward Kamau Brathwaite (The Arrivants: A New World Trilogy). The Anglophone voice of the Caribbean archipelago brings a very interesting contribution to the critical idea of a spatial evolution in the literary representation of space, started with francophone production: “The spatial evolution goes on: from the Martiniques Sketches of Hearn… to the modern bards of Caribbean archipelago” is the new linked title of the two paragraphs. The fifth chapter “Extended look, space shared: the Caribbean archipelago” is a comparative analysis of the results achieved in the prior sections, through a dialogue between all the texts in the first paragraph “Francophone and Anglophone representation of space compared: differences and analogies”. The last paragraph instead is an attempt of re-negotiate the conventional notions of space and place, from a geographical and physical meaning, to the new concept of “commonplace”, not synonym of prejudice, but “common place” of sharing and dialogue. The question sets in the last paragraph “The “commonplaces” of the physical and mental map of the Caribbean archipelago: toward a non-place?” contains the critical idea of the entire thesis.

Analisi acustica di una finestra forata: modellazione numerica mediante COMSOL multiphysics

“Immaginate di potervi rilassare a casa in una giornata d’estate tenendo le finestre aperte per lasciare passare la brezza ma senza essere disturbati dai rumori della città, oggi è possibile”. Quello che voglio fare attraverso questa tesi è di studiare la fattibilità per la realizzazione di una finestra che permetta il passaggio dell’aria ma non dei rumori. L’idea di questa particolare finestra silenziosa mi è stata fornita dallo studio fatto dal professor Sang-Hoon Kim del Mokpo National University maritime e dal professor Seong-Hyun Lee del Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials in Corea del Sud. Essi hanno utilizzato i metamateriali acustici per risolvere il problema dell’inquinamento sonoro in città. Queste finestre hanno il vantaggio di tenere i rumori fuori dalla nostra abitazione ma permettere il passaggio dell’aria attraverso dei fori aventi dimensioni e posizioni adeguate da garantire questo particolare fenomeno. I principi su cui si basano queste finestre sono: la diffrazione e i risonatori di Helmholtz, che analizzeremo nel dettaglio nei capitoli 1 e 2 di questa tesi. Dopo aver analizzato i due principi attraverso simulazione fatte mediante il programma COMSOL multiphysics, sono passata all’analisi della finestra vera e propria: ovvero alla realizzazione delle dimensioni adeguate dei risonatori di Helmholtz utilizzati, alle dimensioni dei rispettivi fori d’ingresso e alla combinazione di questi risonatori per ricavare la miglior finestra silenziosa, che trattenesse al suo esterno il maggior numero di dB.

Biocompatibility assessment of the first generation PediaFlow pediatric ventricular assist device

The PediaFlow pediatric ventricular assist device is a miniature magnetically levitated mixed flow pump under development for circulatory support of newborns and infants (3-15 kg) with a targeted flow range of 0.3-1.5 L/min. The first generation design of the PediaFlow (PF1) was manufactured with a weight of approximately 100 g, priming volume less than 2 mL, length of 51 mm, outer diameter of 28 mm, and with 5-mm blood ports. PF1 was evaluated in an in vitro flow loop for 6 h and implanted in ovines for three chronic experiments of 6, 17, and 10 days. In the in vitro test, normalized index of hemolysis was 0.0087 ± 0.0024 g/100L. Hemodynamic performance and blood biocompatibility of PF1 were characterized in vivo by measurements of plasma free hemoglobin, plasma fibrinogen, total plasma protein, and with novel flow cytometric assays to quantify circulating activated ovine platelets. The mean plasma free hemoglobin values for the three chronic studies were 4.6 ± 2.7, 13.3 ± 7.9, and 8.8 ± 3.3 mg/dL, respectively. Platelet activation was low for portions of several studies but consistently rose along with observed animal and pump complications. The PF1 prototype generated promising results in terms of low hemolysis and platelet activation in the absence of complications. Hemodynamic results validated the magnetic bearing design and provided the platform for design iterations to meet the objective of providing circulatory support for young children with exceptional biocompatibility.

Definitions and outcome measures for mucous membrane pemphigoid: recommendations of an international panel of experts

Mucous membrane pemphigoid encompasses a group of autoimmune bullous diseases with a similar phenotype characterized by subepithelial blisters, erosions, and scarring of mucous membranes, skin, or both. Although knowledge about autoimmune bullous disease is increasing, there is often a lack of clear definitions of disease, outcome measures, and therapeutic end points. With clearer definitions and outcome measures, it is possible to directly compare the results and data from various studies using meta-analyses. This consensus statement provides accurate and reproducible definitions for disease extent, activity, outcome measures, end points, and therapeutic response for mucous membrane pemphigoid and proposes a disease extent score, the Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid Disease Area Index.