Study of tergal glands morphogenesis through an integrative analysis of genomic data

About 50% of living species are holometabolan insects. Therefore, unraveling the ori- gin of insect metamorphosis from the hemimetabolan (gradual metamorphosis) to the holometabolan (sudden metamorphosis at the end of the life cycle) mode is equivalent to explaining how all this biodiversity originated. One of the problems with studying the evolution from hemimetaboly to holometaboly is that most information is available only in holometabolan species. Within the hemimetabolan group, our model, the cock- roach Blattella germanica, is the most studied species. However, given that the study of adult morphogenesis at organismic level is still complex, we focused on the study of the tergal gland (TG) as a minimal model of metamorphosis. The TG is formed in tergites 7 and 8 (T7-8) in the last days of the last nymphal instar (nymph 6). The comparative study of four T7-T8 transcriptomes provided us with crucial keys of TG formation, but also essential information about the mechanisms and circuitry that allows the shift from nymphal to adult morphogenesis.

Absence of nonhematopoietic MHC class II expression protects mice from experimental autoimmune myocarditis.

Experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) is a CD4(+) T-cell-mediated model of human inflammatory dilated cardiomyopathies. Heart-specific CD4(+) T-cell activation is dependent on autoantigens presented by MHC class II (MHCII) molecules expressed on professional APCs. In this study, we addressed the role of inflammation-induced MHCII expression by cardiac nonhematopoietic cells on EAM development. EAM was induced in susceptible mice lacking inducible expression of MHCII molecules on all nonhematopoietic cells (pIV-/- K14 class II transactivator (CIITA) transgenic (Tg) mice) by immunization with α-myosin heavy chain peptide in CFA. Lack of inducible nonhematopoietic MHCII expression in pIV-/- K14 CIITA Tg mice conferred EAM resistance. In contrast, cardiac pathology was induced in WT and heterozygous mice, and correlated with elevated cardiac endothelial MHCII expression. Control mice with myocarditis displayed an increase in infiltrating CD4(+) T cells and in expression of IFN-γ, which is the major driver of nonhematopoietic MHCII expression. Mechanistically, IFN-γ neutralization in WT mice shortly before disease onset resulted in reduced cardiac MHCII expression and pathology. These findings reveal a previously overlooked contribution of IFN-γ to induce endothelial MHCII expression in the heart and to progress cardiac pathology during myocarditis.

Ação promotora do berílio em catalisadores da síntese do estireno

The catalytic dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene in presence of steam is the main commercial route to produce styrene. The industrial catalysts are potassium- and chromia-doped hematite which show low surface areas leading to bad performance and short life. In order to develop catalysts with high areas, the effect of beryllium on the textural properties and on the catalytic performance of this iron oxide was studied. The influence of the amount of the dopant, the starting material and the calcination temperature were also studied. In sample preparations, iron and beryllium salts (nitrate or sulfate) were hydrolyzed with ammonia and then calcinated. The experiments followed a factorial design with two variables in two levels (Fe/Be= 3 and 7; calcination temperature= 500 and 700ºC). Solids without any dopant were also prepared. Samples were characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, surface area and porosity measurements, X-ray diffraction, DSC and TG. The catalysts were tested in a microreactor at 524ºC and 1 atm, by using a mole ratio of steam/ ethylbenzene=10. The selectivity was measured by monitoring styrene, benzene and toluene formation. It was found that the effect of beryllium on the characteristics of hematite and on its catalytic performance depends on the starting material and on the amount of dopant. Surface areas increased due to the dopant as well as the nature of the precursor; samples produced by beryllium sulfate showed higher areas. Beryllium-doped solids showed a higher catalytic activity when compared to pure hematite, but no significant influence of the anion of starting material was noted. It can be concluded that beryllium acts as both textural and structural promoter. Samples with Fe/Be= 3, heated at 500ºC, lead to the highest conversion and were the most selective. However, catalysts prepared from beryllium sulfate are the most promising to ethylbenzene dehydrogenation due to their high surface area which could lead to a longer life.

Estimativa da entalpia reticular (Dm Hmº) de adutos através de termogravimetria: uso de uma equação empírica

An empirical equation: DMHmº = t i/b (where t i is the Kelvin temperature of the beginning of the thermal decomposition obtained from the thermogravimetry of the adducts; b is an empirical parameter wich depends on the metal halide and on the number of ligands) was obtained and tested for 53 adducts MX2.nL (where MX2 is a metal halide from the zinc group). The difference between experimental and calculated values was less than 6% for 22 adducts. To another 22 adducts, that difference was less than 10%. Only for 4 compounds the difference between experimental and calculated values exceeds 15%.

Estimativa da entalpia de decomposição (deltaD Hmº) de adutos por termogravimetria

An empirical equation: deltaD HmO = t i/2.2(2-n) is obtained and tested for 102 adducts (mainly adducts with zinc group halides). In the equation, t i is the Kelvin temperature of the beginning of the thermal decomposition of the adduct, (obtained by thermogravimetry), and n is the number of ligands. For 1/3 of the tested adducts the difference between experimental and calculated values was less than 5%. For about 1/3 of the adducts that difference exceeds 15%.

Determination of compression behaviour of coating layer

The strength properties of paper coating layer are very important in converting and printing operations. Too great or low strength of the coating can affect several problems in printing. One of the problems caused by the strength of coating is the cracking at the fold. After printing the paper is folded to final form and the pages are stapled together. In folding the paper coating can crack causing aesthetic damage over printed image or in the worst case the centre sheet can fall off in stapling. When folding the paper other side undergoes tensile stresses and the other side compressive stresses. If the difference between these stresses is too high, the coating can crack on the folding. To better predict and prevent cracking at the fold it is good to know the strength properties of coating layer. It has measured earlier the tensile strength of coating layer but not the compressive strength. In this study it was tried to find some way to measure the compressive strength of the coating layer and investigate how different coatings behave in compression. It was used the short span crush test, which is used to measure the in-plane compressive strength of paperboards, to measure the compressive strength of the coating layer. In this method the free span of the specimen is very small which prevent buckling. It was measured the compressive strength of free coating films as well as coated paper. It was also measured the tensile strength and the Bendtsen air permeance of the coating film. The results showed that the shape of pigment has a great effect to the strength of coating. Platy pigment gave much better strength than round or needle-like pigment. On the other hand calcined kaolin, which is also platy but the particles are aggregated, decreased the strength substantially. The difference in the strength can be explained with packing of the particles which is affecting to the porosity and thus to the strength. The platy kaolin packs up much better than others and creates less porous structure. The results also showed that the binder properties have a great effect to the compressive strength of coating layer. The amount of latex and the glass transition temperature, Tg, affect to the strength. As the amount of latex is increasing, the strength of coating is increasing also. Larger amount of latex is binding the pigment particles better together and decreasing the porosity. Compressive strength was increasing when the Tg was increasing because the hard latex gives a stiffer and less elastic film than soft latex.

Preparation and thermal decomposition of copper(II), zinc(II) and cadmium(II) chelates with 8-hydroxyquinoline

When the compounds are heated in an inert atmosphere it can be verified the consecutive partial sublimation, fusion, partial volatilization and partial thermal decomposition of the anhydrous complexes. When in an oxidating atmosphere the above process is only verified to Cu(II) chelates. Anhydrous copper(II) complexes present a monoclinic structure in the b form and the volatilized compound in a a form. Zinc(II) and cadmium(II) hydrated complexes are isomorphous and they present different cell dimensions from those reported previously.

Effect of adsorbed polyaniline on the thermal stability of iron and arsenic oxides

Iron and arsenic oxide grains are coated with the conducting organic polymer polyaniline. The obtained samples were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, SEM, conducting measurements and thermogravimetry. The thermal stability of both oxides are increased. For As2O3 the sublimation temperature is increased from 165ºC in the pure oxide to 206ºC in the polymer modified sample. The pure Fe3O4 sample exhibits sublimation at 780ºC whereas the polyaniline coated oxide is stable until at least 1000ºC.

Calcium phosphate biomaterials from marine algae. Hydrothermal synthesis and characterisation

Calcium phosphate compounds such as Hydroxyapatite (HAp) were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis with phycogenic CaCO3 as starting material. Material obtained was characterised by usual methods (XRD, FTIR, TG, N2-adsorption, SEM and EDX) in order to study its physical-chemical characteristics. The prepared HAp showed that it may be suitable for use as a biomaterial.

Sobre a aplicabilidade da termogravimetria para a estimativa de parâmetros termoquímicos de compostos de coordenação: os elementos lantanídicos

By using thermochemical data reported for a series of chelates of the type [Ln(thd)3], thd = 2, 2, 6, 6 ­ tetramethyl- 3,5-heptanedione and Ln = La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Ho, Er, Tm and Yb, empirical correlations were found involving thermochemical parameters (e.g. dissociation enthalpy) and the thermodynamic temperatures of the beginning of thermal degradation of the chelates, t i. It is shown that t i values are of capital importance in the study of this all class of coordination compounds. Among others, the empirical equation is obtained: r3+ = (-0,013.Z + 1,36)/0,005, that relates the lanthanide cation radius (pm) with the atomic number of the element. The remarkable fact is that this equation is achieved by using thermogravimetric and calorimetric parameters. Is also shown that t i values are related with the P(M) function values, which are very close related with the energy difference, deltaE, between the lowest electronic energy level of the f n s²d¹ configuration and the lowest energy level of the f n+1s² configuration in the neutral gaseous atoms.

Contribuição ao estudo de uma metodologia alternativa para obtenção de dioxissulfeto de terras raras

In the last decade, many method has been developed to obtain oxysufides. However, theses materials were obtained by reaction involved gaseous toxics, CO, CS2, H2S and S. In the present work, the synthesis of lanthanum oxysufides actived by europium (III) through an alternative method has been made. This method involve the rare earth sulfate reduction under an atmosphere of argon contained 10% hydrogen using the thermogravimetric technique. The results showed the formation of the phase TR2O2S (TR = La and Eu) at temperatures which depend upon the heating rate, respectively 650 - 830ºC at 5ºC min-1 and 680 - 800ºC at 10ºC min-1. The oxysufides obtained are characterized by infrared spectroscopy. The method developed is more economic than the usual industrial methods and the environmental problems during the synthesis are also better controled.

Calcium phosphate glasses: silanation process and effect on the bioactivity behavior of Glass-PMMA composites

This article presents the results of a study of the efficiency of silanation process of calcium phosphate glasses particles and its effect on the bioactivity behavior of glasspoly( methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) composites. Two different calcium phosphate glasses: 44.5CaO-44.5P2O5-11Na2O (BV11) and 44.5CaO-44.5P2O5-6Na2O-5TiO2 (G5) were synthesized and treated with silane coupling agent. The glasses obtained were characterized by Microprobe and BET while the efficiency of silanation process was determined using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Thermal Analysis (DTA and TG)techniques. The content of coupling agent chemically tightly bond to the silanated glasses ascended to 1.69 6 0.02 wt % for BV11sil glass and 0.93 6 0.01 wt % for G5sil glass. The in vitro bioactivity test carried out in Simulated Body Fluid (SBF) revealed certain bioactive performance with the use of both silanated glasses in a 30% (by weight) as filler of the PMMA composites because of a superficial deposition of an apatite-like layer with low content of CO3 22 and HPO4 22 in its structure after soaking for 30 days occurred. VC 2013 Wiley Periodicals,Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 00B: 000-000, 2013.

Estudo termogravimétrico e calorimétrico da algaroba

Humidity and ash content of powder and bran of algaroba pods are important quality parameters for biological control during storage. The studies of humidity and ash content were carried out conventional and thermogravimetric methods. Different values were obtained by the various methods. The thermogravimetric method was faster and required less sample for the humidity and ash analyses of the powder and bran of algaroba pods. The differential scanning calorimetry curves of the powder and bran of algaroba pods, dryed at 55 ºC, showed two peaks, one corresponding to the gelatinization of starch and the other to the vaporization of water. The samples dryed at 65, 75, 85, 95 and 105 ºC showed one peak, corresponding to the vaporization of water.

Comportamento térmico do 8-quinolinol e seus nitro-derivados

The compounds 5-nitro-8-quinolinol and 5,7-dinitro-8-quinolinol were obtained by nitration of the chelant 8-quinolinol. The compounds were characterized through EA, MNR, XRD, IR, TG, DTA and DSC. It was verified through thermal analysis that the compounds show consecutive processes of sublimation, fusion and vaporization. During the vaporization process, partial thermal decomposition was observed, with formation of carbonaceous residues. Considering a slower heating rate, the sublimation is the prevalent process to the nitro-derivatives while the vaporization is the main process to 8-quinolinol. The thermal stability follows the decreasing order from 5,7-dinitro-8-quinolinol to 5-nitro-8-quinolinol to 8-quinolinol.

Synthesis and characterization of manganese-glycine and copper-glycine adducts

This work reports the synthesis and characterization of adducts of general formula MCl2.ngly, where M= Mn and Cu; n= 2 and 4, and gly= glycine. The manganese adducts were synthesized by dissolution of both, manganese chloride and glycine in water, whereas the copper adducts were obtained by using an alternative solid state synthesis approach. For all adducts, the obtained infrared data shows that the coordination involves the amine nitrogen atom, as well as an oxygen atom of the COO- group. The TG curves for the synthesized adducts exhibit only one mass loss step associated with the release of glycine molecules.