Predação e parasitismo em sementes de duas populações de Parkia platycephala Benth., em áreas de cerrado no nordeste do Brasil

Duas populações morfologicamente distintas de Parkia platycephala, que diferem quanto à densidade no cerrado, têm suas sementes predadas por larvas de coleópteros Acanthoscelides imitator Kingsolver 1985 as quais são parasitadas por himenópteros Stenocorse bruchivora Crawford 1900. Neste trabalho determinou-se o efeito da nidificação, predação e parasitismo na germinação das sementes, comparando-se as taxas destes eventos entre as duas populações. Os testes de germinação foram conduzidos em laboratório, utilizando-se quatro repetições de 50 sementes. As taxas de nidificação, predação e parasitismo nas populações no cerrado foram estimadas em amostras de sementes colhidas de 20 frutos por indivíduo, em 15 indivíduos por população. As sementes de P. platycephala exibem dormência imposta pelo tegumento. A nidificação quebra a dormência e a predação pré-dispersão das sementes por larvas dos coleópteros as inviabiliza, sendo biologicamente controlada pelo parasitismo das larvas pelos himenópteros. A taxa de predação das sementes foi de 28% e 12% respectivamente, sendo significativamente maior na população branca com sementes menores e um maior número de sementes por fruto. A maior predação deve-se a maior taxa de nidificação das larvas dos coleópteros, a qual se correlaciona positivamente com o número de sementes por fruto. A taxa de parasitismo das larvas foi de aproximadamente 8% e não diferiu significativamente entre as populações. Os resultados indicam que a maior densidade da população branca não se deve às interações biológicas como predação ou parasitismo nas sementes.

Anatomia e histoquímica das estruturas secretoras da folha de Casearia decandra Jacq. (Salicaceae)

Extensivas investigações têm enfatizado as propriedades terapêuticas das espécies de Casearia, propriedades estas relacionadas com compostos secretados por estruturas especializadas presentes nas folhas. Portanto, objetivou-se caracterizar anatômica e histoquimicamente as estruturas secretoras presentes nas folhas de C. decandra. O material foi coletado em populações naturais da Mata da Biologia (Zona da Mata de MG Viçosa). As folhas foram fixadas em FAA em etanol 50% e processadas conforme metodologia usual para obtenção de laminário permanente, sendo as seções coradas com azul de toluidina pH 4,0 para caracterização estrutural, com ponceau de xilidina para proteínas totais e PAS para polissacarídeos neutros. Os demais testes histoquímicos foram aplicados a amostras frescas seccionadas transversal e longitudinalmente. O sistema secretor de C. decandra é composto por ductos e cavidades dispersos pela lâmina foliar e pecíolo, e por idioblastos presentes nos tecidos vasculares, parênquima cortical da nervura mediana e no parênquima paliçádico. Os ductos encontram-se distribuídos no parênquima cortical da nervura e possuem continuidade nesta mesma região do pecíolo. No mesofilo existem numerosas cavidades com localização subepidérmica ou distribuídas na interface do parênquima paliçádico com o lacunoso. Detectaram-se substâncias lipofílicas e hidrofílicas, evidenciando lipídios do tipo óleo-resina nos ductos e cavidades, e compostos fenólicos do tipo tanino nos idioblastos e no parênquima. Não foram detectados alcalóides, polissacarídeos e proteínas como produtos de secreção. Este trabalho relatou a presença de ductos e cavidades para o gênero Casearia. Os testes histoquímicos confirmam a complexidade do secretado, além de indicar tecidos fundamentais como sítios de síntese e/ou acúmulo de compostos fenólicos.

Cytogenetic study of 50 Brazilian patients with primary myelodysplastic syndrome

In this work we analyzed cytogenetically 50 patients with primary myelodysplastic syndrome from several hospitals of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The frequency of cytogenetic abnormalities was 32%. Patients with refractory anemia, or refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts, presented normal karyotypes or single abnormalities such as del(5q) or -Y, while patients with refractory anemia with an excess of blasts, refractory anemia with an excess of blasts in transformation or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia showed complex karyotypes and single abnormalities involving chromosomes 7 or 8, which are related to a bad prognosis and an elevated risk of evolution to acute myeloid leukemia.

Celebrando São Besso ou o que Robert Hertz e a Escola Francesa de Sociologia têm a nos dizer sobre festas, rituais e simbolismo

Este artigo apresenta reflexões sobre as possibilidades e as dificuldades do estudo de festas religiosas através da interpretação de um texto de Robert Hertz (um dos pesquisadores da Escola Francesa de Sociologia), originalmente publicado em 1913, que versa sobre a festa de São Besso, um evento religioso que ocorre nos alpes italianos. O objetivo do presente trabalho é destacar as pistas que Hertz deixou abertas em seu estudo e sugerir maneiras de nos apropriarmos de seus insights em nossas análises atuais.

The Effects of the Breast Cancer Mammography Screening Programme in Women aged 40 to 84 years in Turku, Finland (1987-2009)

The objective of this thesis was to evaluate whether a more extensive mammography screening programme (TurkuMSP) conducted by the city of Turku, had an effect on breast cancer (BC) incidence, survival, or mortality in years 1987 to 2009. Despite the fact that some studies have suggested a 20 percent reduction in BC mortality due to mammography screening, there are findings of harm to subjects, which are claimed to negate the benefits of screening. Thus, the aims of this study are most pertinent. A total of 176 908 screening examinations were performed in 36 000 women aged 40−74 during the years 1987−1997. In all, 685 primary BCs were found in the screened women, either screen-detected (n=531) or during screening intervals (n=154). Survival and BC recurrence rate of women with screen-detected BC was compared to 184 women with clinical BCs detected among individuals who did not take part in the screening. The invitation interval, which may influence the outcome, was studied in the age group 40 to 49 by inviting those born in even calendar years annually for mammography screening and those born in odd years, triennially. In addition, BC incidence and mortality in the total female population of Turku aged 40 to 84 years was compared with the respective figures of Helsinki and the rest of Finland, both during the pre-screening era (1976-1986) and the screening era (1987-2009). The study was designed to compare women by age groups, because women aged 50 to 59 were generally screened in all of Finland, whereas only in Turku women aged 40 to 49 and 60 to 74 were screened in addition. Data regarding cancer recurrence were derived from the Finnish Cancer Registry and data on deaths were collected from Statistics Finland. In survival analyses, screened women with invasive BC had a significantly higher survival rate than the women with clinical BC. The survival benefit started to appear already during the first follow-up years and was evident in all age groups. A marginal survival extension was also seen in screened women when BC had spread to ipsilateral axillary nodes already at diagnosis. Recurrence-free survival rate after BC treatment was significantly more favorable among the screened women compared with women with BC found clinically. The screening invitation interval did not significantly influence BC mortality in the subset of women aged 40 to 49 years. There were no consistent differences in the changes of BC incidence between Turku and the comparison areas during the screening era. In Turku, the BC mortality incidence in women aged 55−69 years was significantly lower during the screening era (from 1987 to 1997) compared with the pre-screening era, whereas no such change was found in the city of Helsinki or Tampere. When comparing the changes in incidence-based BC mortality during years 1987 to 2009 in Turku to those of Helsinki and the rest of Finland, there was a suggestion of more than 20 percent lower mortality in Turku among oldest age group (75-84 years) compared with the reference residential areas, but the differences were not consistently significant. Interpretation of the study results should be made with caution because there were no random control groups, and on the other hand, the number of cases in subgroups was fairly low to yield definite conclusions. Also due to the many statistical analyses, some of the findings may be due to chance. The results are, however, suggestive for a decrease of BC mortality in the elderly age groups due to wide mammography screening. This finding needs confirmation in further studies before recommending an expansion of mammography screening to women up to the age of 74 years

NIR-Vis Up-Conversion Luminescence in the Yb3+,Er3+ Doped Y2O2S, ZrO2, and NaYF4 Nanomaterials

Since the discovery of the up-conversion phenomenon, there has been an ever increasing interest in up-converting phosphors in which the absorption of two or more low energy photons is followed by emission of a higher energy photon. Most up-conversion luminescence materials operate by using a combination of a trivalent rare earth (lanthanide) sensitizer (e.g. Yb or Er) and an activator (e.g. Er, Ho, Tm or Pr) ion in a crystal lattice. Up-converting phosphors have a variety of potential applications as lasers and displays as well as inks for security printing (e.g. bank notes and bonds). One of the most sophisticated applications of lanthanide up-conversion luminescence is probably in medical diagnostics. However, there are some major problems in the use of photoluminescence based on the direct UV excitation in immunoassays. Human blood absorbs strongly UV radiation as well as the emission of the phosphor in the visible. A promising way to overcome the problems arising from the blood absorption is to use a long wavelength excitation and benefit from the up-conversion luminescence. Since there is practically no absorption by the whole-blood in the near IR region, it has no capability for up-conversion in the excitation wavelength region of the conventional up-converting phosphor based on the Yb3+ (sensitizer) and Er3+ (activator) combination. The aim of this work was to prepare nanocrystalline materials with high red (and green) up-conversion luminescence efficiency for use in quantitative whole-blood immunoassays. For coupling to biological compounds, nanometer-sized (crystallite size below 50 nm) up-converting phosphor particles are required. The nanocrystalline ZrO2:Yb3+,Er3+, Y2O2S:Yb3+,Er3+, NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ and NaRF4-NaR’F4 (R: Y, Yb, Er) materials, prepared with the combustion, sol-gel, flux, co-precipitation and solvothermal synthesis, were studied using the thermal analysis, FT-IR spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, EDX spectroscopy, XANES/EXAFS measurements, absorption spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, as well as up-conversion and thermoluminescence spectroscopies. The effect of the impurities of the phosphors, crystallite size, as well as the crystal structure on the up-conversion luminescence intensity was analyzed. Finally, a new phenomenon, persistent up-conversion luminescence was introduced and discussed. For efficient use in bioassays, more work is needed to yield nanomaterials with smaller and more uniform crystallite sizes. Surface modifications need to be studied to improve the dispersion in water. On the other hand, further work must be carried out to optimize the persistent up-conversion luminescence of the nanomaterials to allow for their use as efficient immunoassay nanomaterials combining the advantages of both up-conversion and persistent luminescence.

Bone mineral density in Brazilian men 50 years and older

Bone mineral density (BMD) in the lumbar spine (LSBMD), femoral neck (FNBMD) and whole body (WBBMD) and whole body tissue composition were evaluated in 288 Brazilian men 50 years and older, 80% white and 20% Mulattoes. Age was inversely correlated with WBBMD (r = -0.20) and FNBMD (r = -0.21) but not with LSBMD (r = 0.03). Body mass index and weight showed a strong positive correlation with WBBMD (r = 0.48 and 0.54), LSBMD (r = 0.37 and 0.45) and FNBMD (r = 0.42 and 0.48). Correlation with height was positive but weaker. No significant bone loss at the lumbar spine level was observed as the population aged. FNBMD and WBBMD decreased significantly only in the last decade (age 70-79) studied. BMD was higher for Brazilian men as compared to Brazilian women at all sites. No significant differences were observed between Brazilian and the US/European male population for BMD in the femoral neck. BMD measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in South American men is reported here for the first time. A decrease in FNBMD was detected only later in life, with a pattern similar to that described for the US/European male population.

Letters from the War of Ecosystems – An Analysis of Independent Software Vendors in Mobile Application Marketplaces

The recent emergence of a new generation of mobile application marketplaces has changed the business in the mobile ecosystems. The marketplaces have gathered over a million applications by hundreds of thousands of application developers and publishers. Thus, software ecosystems—consisting of developers, consumers and the orchestrator—have emerged as a part of the mobile ecosystem. This dissertation addresses the new challenges faced by mobile application developers in the new ecosystems through empirical methods. By using the theories of two-sided markets and business ecosystems as the basis, the thesis assesses monetization and value creation in the market as well as the impact of electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) and developer multihoming— i. e. contributing for more than one platform—in the ecosystems. The data for the study was collected with web crawling from the three biggest marketplaces: Apple App Store, Google Play and Windows Phone Store. The dissertation consists of six individual articles. The results of the studies show a gap in monetization among the studied applications, while a majority of applications are produced by small or micro-enterprises. The study finds only weak support for the impact of eWOM on the sales of an application in the studied ecosystem. Finally, the study reveals a clear difference in the multi-homing rates between the top application developers and the rest. This has, as discussed in the thesis, an impact on the future market analyses—it seems that the smart device market can sustain several parallel application marketplaces.

Measurement of the ultrasonic properties of human coronary arteries in vitro with a 50-MHz acoustic microscope

Ultrasonic attenuation coefficient, wave propagation speed and integrated backscatter coefficient (IBC) of human coronary arteries were measured in vitro over the -6 dB frequency bandwidth (36 to 67 MHz) of a focused ultrasound transducer (50 MHz, focal distance 5.7 mm, f/number 1.7). Corrections were made for diffraction effects. Normal and diseased coronary artery sub-samples (N = 38) were obtained from 10 individuals at autopsy. The measured mean ± SD of the wave speed (average over the entire vessel wall thickness) was 1581.04 ± 53.88 m/s. At 50 MHz, the average attenuation coefficient was 4.99 ± 1.33 dB/mm with a frequency dependence term of 1.55 ± 0.18 determined over the 36- to 67-MHz frequency range. The IBC values were: 17.42 ± 13.02 (sr.m)-1 for thickened intima, 11.35 ± 6.54 (sr.m)-1 for fibrotic intima, 39.93 ± 50.95 (sr.m)-1 for plaque, 4.26 ± 2.34 (sr.m)-1 for foam cells, 5.12 ± 5.85 (sr.m)-1 for media and 21.26 ± 31.77 (sr.m)-1 for adventitia layers. The IBC results indicate the possibility for ultrasound characterization of human coronary artery wall tissue layer, including the situations of diseased arteries with the presence of thickened intima, fibrotic intima and plaque. The mean IBC normalized with respect to the mean IBC of the media layer seems promising for use as a parameter to differentiate a plaque or a thickened intima from a fibrotic intima.

Jätteenpolton tulevaisuus Suomessa

Vuonna 2013 Suomessa astui voimaan Valtioneuvoston asetus kaatopaikoista 331/2013. Siinä asetettiin muun muassa rajoituksia orgaanisen ja biohajoavan aineksen sijoittamisesta kaatopaikoille. Tämä rajoitus astuu voimaan 1. tammikuuta 2016 alkaen, josta lähtien kaatopaikoille sijoitettava jäte ei saa sisältää yli 10 prosenttia orgaanista tai biohajoaaa ainesta. Asetus aiheutti muutos paineen Suomen jätesektorille, jossa perinteisesti oltiin suurin osa jätteestä sijoitettu kaatopaikoille. Edelleen suurin osa syntyvistä jätteistä sijoitetaan kaatopaikoille, mutta yhdyskuntajätteen energiahyödyntäminen on kasvattanut roolia huomattavasti. Kun 2000-luvun alussa Suomen jätteenpolttolaitosten kapasiteetti oli vielä 50 000 tonnia jätettä vuodessa, on kapasiteetti vuonna 2016 lähes 1,7 miljoonaa tonnia. Vuonna 2016 Suomessa on yhdeksän toiminnassa olevaa jätteenpolttolaitosta ja työn tarkasteluhetkellä uusia ei ole suunnitteilla. On todennäköistä, ettei jätteenpolttolaitosten kapasitetti nouse enää huomattavasti, koska poltettavan jätteen määrä on rajallinen ja kapasiteetin nostaminen vaatisi jätteen tuomista muualta.

Customer-driven service product development

This thesis studies customer-driven service product development and how to manage customer involvement in the service product development process. The theory part of this thesis is a literature review of the prior studies and the thesis also includes empirical evidence in the form of a case study about ABB.

Characterization of ß-trypsin at acid pH by differential scanning calorimetry

Trypsin is a serino-protease with a polypeptide chain of 223 amino acid residues and contains six disulfide bridges. It is a globular protein with a predominance of antiparallel ß-sheet and helix in its secondary structure and has two domains with similar structures. We assessed the stability of ß-trypsin in the acid pH range using microcalorimetric (differential scanning calorimetry) techniques. Protein concentrations varied in the range of 0.05 to 2.30 mg/ml. Buffer solutions of 50.0 mM ß-alanine and 20.0 mM CaCl2 at different pH values (from 2.0 to 4.2) and concentrations of sorbitol (1.0 and 2.0 M), urea (0.5 M) or guanidinium hydrochloride (0.5 and 1.0 M) were used. The data suggest that we are studying the same conformational transition of the protein in all experimental situations using pH, sorbitol, urea and guanidinium hydrochloride as perturbing agents. The observed van't Hoff ratios (deltaHcal/deltaHvH) of 1.0 to 0.5 in the pH range of 3.2 to 4.2 suggest protein aggregation. In contrast, deltaHcal/deltaHvH ratios equal to one in the pH range of 2.0 to 3.2 suggest that the protein unfolds as a monomer. At pH 3.00, ß-trypsin unfolded with Tm = 54ºC and deltaH = 101.8 kcal/mol, and the change in heat capacity between the native and unfolded forms of the protein (deltaCp) was estimated to be 2.50 ± 0.07 kcal mol-1 K-1. The stability of ß-trypsin calculated at 298 K was deltaG D = 5.7 kcal/mol at pH 3.00 and deltaG D = 15.2 kcal/mol at pH 7.00, values in the range expected for a small globular protein.

Assessment of the cardiovascular effects of electroconvulsive therapy in individuals older than 50 years

To evaluate the impact of electroconvulsive therapy on arterial blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability, and the occurrence of ischemia or arrhythmias, 38 (18 men) depressive patients free from systemic diseases, 50 to 83 years old (mean: 64.7 ± 8.6) underwent electroconvulsive therapy. All patients were studied with simultaneous 24-h ambulatory blood pressure and Holter monitoring, starting 18 h before and continuing for 3 h after electroconvulsive therapy. Blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability, arrhythmias, and ischemic episodes were recorded. Before each session of electroconvulsive therapy, blood pressure and heart rate were in the normal range; supraventricular ectopic beats occurred in all patients and ventricular ectopic beats in 27/38; 2 patients had non-sustained ventricular tachycardia. After shock, systolic, mean and diastolic blood pressure increased 29, 25, and 24% (P < 0.001), respectively, and returned to baseline values within 1 h. Maximum, mean and minimum heart rate increased 56, 52, and 49% (P < 0.001), respectively, followed by a significant decrease within 5 min; heart rate gradually increased again thereafter and remained elevated for 1 h. Analysis of heart rate variability showed increased sympathetic activity during shock with a decrease in both sympathetic and parasympathetic drive afterwards. No serious adverse effects occurred; electroconvulsive therapy did not trigger any malignant arrhythmias or ischemia. In middle-aged and elderly people free from systemic diseases, electroconvulsive therapy caused transitory increases in blood pressure and heart rate and a decrease in heart rate variability but these changes were not associated with serious adverse clinical events.

3D-tulostustekniikan hyödyntäminen diagnostisten pikatestien tuotekehityksessä

Pikamallinnustekniikat ovat kehittyneet viime vuosina nopeasti. Tämä antaa jo lähes rajat-tomat mahdollisuudet tuottaa 3D-tulostamalla erilaisia tuotteita. 3D-tulostuksen hyödyntä-minen on yleistynyt erityisesti teollisuuden ja teknologian aloilla. Tässä työssä tutkittiin miten 3D-tulostamista voidaan hyödyntää diagnostisten pikatestien tuotekehityksessä. Immunologinen lateral flow-testi on vasta-aineisiin perustuva, nopea ja helppokäyttöinen mittausmenetelmä pienten ainemäärien havaitsemiseen. Tässä työssä kehitettiin lateral flow-testikotelo, jonka suunnitteluun ja rakenteen mallintamiseen käytettiin 3D-tulostustekniikkaa. Testikotelon toimivuus lateral flow- testissä varmistettiin kehittämällä testikoteloon sopiva pikatesti, jonka suorituskykyä analysoitiin sekä visuaalisesti että Actim 1ngeni-lukulaitteella. Työ aloitettiin tutkimalla eri pikavalmistustekniikoita, joista testikotelon tulostamiseen valittiin SLA-tekniikka sen tulostustarkkuuden ja tuotteen pinnan laadun perusteella. Testikotelon suunnittelu aloitettiin määrittämällä millaisia ominaisuuksia testikotelolta haluttiin. Näitä ominaisuuksia olivat lateral flow-testin suojaaminen sekä testissä kulkevan näytteen virtauksen varmistamien. Lateral flow- testin kehityksessä hyödynnettiin osin aiemmin kehitetystä pikatestistä saatuja tietoja. Lateral flow- kasettitestin valmistusprosessi koostui seitsemästä eri prosessivaiheesta jotka olivat: Vasta-aineen/kontrollireagenssin konjugointi, näytetyynyn käsittely, konjugointityynyn käsittely, konjugointityynylle annostelu, membraanille annostelu, tikkujen laminointi ja leikkaus sekä kasettitestin kokoonpano. Kehitetyn lateral flow- kasettitestin toimivuus varmistettiin tutkimalla testin reaktiokinetiikkaa ja analyyttistä herkkyyttä sekä visuaalisesti että lukulaitteen avulla. Tutkimustulosten perusteella 3D-tulostus on erittäin hyödyllinen menetelmä pikatestien tuotekehityksessä suunniteltaessa testikotelorakenteita, näytteen annosteluvälineitä ja näiden yhdistelmiä.

Tuottavuuden kehittämisen esteet - Suomi eilen ja tänään

Tutkimusraportti tarkastelee tuottavuuden kehittämisen esteiden nykytilaa ja niiden muutosta lähes kahdenkymmenen vuoden aikana suomalaisissa pk-yrityksissä. Tutkimushanke on jatkumo vuonna 1997 toteutetulle tutkimukselle, jossa tutkittiin teemaa ensin päijäthämäläisissä pkt-yrityksissä ja sen jälkeen vastaavissa pirkanmaalaisissa pkt-yrityksissä. Tämä tutkimus toistaa aiemman tutkimuksen ja vertaa miten tuottavuuden kehittämisen esteet ovat muuttuneet ajan myötä. Merkittävin tuottavuuden kehittämisen este yritysten mielestä on edelleen sosiaaliturva- yms palkan sivukulujen suuruus. Tämän ohella kyselytutkimuksen tuloksista voidaan havaita kolme tuottavuusesteiden painopistealueen siirtymää verrattuna vuoden 1997 tilanteeseen: 1) Sisäisistä tuottavuusesteistä ulkoisiin – Merkittävämpien tuottavuusesteiden osalta painopiste on siirtynyt sisäisistä tuottavuusesteistä ulkoisiin. 2) Resurssien puutteesta osaamisen puutteeseen – Vuonna 1997 useimmat merkittävimmistä tuottavuusesteistä liittyivät yritysten resurssien niukkuuteen, kun taas vuonna 2014 nousi esiin osaamisen puute. 3) Henkilöstön osaamisen puutteesta johdon osaamisen puutteeseen – Vuonna 2014 esimiesten osaamisen ja koulutuksen puutteet nousivat koko tutkimuksen merkittävimmäksi sisäiseksi tuottavuusesteeksi selkeästi ohi aiemmin haasteena olleen työntekijöiden osaamisen puutteiden. Raportissa esitellään myös havaittujen muutoslinjojen perusteella suosituksia tilanteen parantamiseksi. Yhteiskunnan tulee tarjota paremmat edellytykset, puitteet ja mahdolli¬suudet tuottavuuden kasvulle sekä kannustaa yrittäjyyteen ja toiminnan kehittämiseen mm. purkamalla sääntelyä ja alentamalla kustannustasoa. Tämän lisäksi yritysten tulee tehdä käytännön tuottavuudenkehitystyötä työ¬paikoilla sekä panostaa henkilöstön osaamiseen ja kehittymiseen. Tämä tarkoittaa jatkuvaa uusien ideoiden ja innovaatioiden etsintää, uudenlaisia toimintatapoja ja prosesseja sekä uusia työmenetelmiä ja kannustavaa johtamista tuettuna tuottavuuden kehittämistä edistävällä palkitsemisella