Circo social: uma ação da educação física na educação não formal

This work is the fruitful result of the desire to conduct a collaborative investigation through Circus Arts with children and adolescents at social (vulnerability) risk. Thus, the very objective of the rese arch was to analyze and understand Social Circus action possibilities on non-formal education as a (viable) job option for Physical Education teachers. This research was developed through qualitative research using Field Notes as the main instrument for the meetings' data collection, which took place from May to December 2015. In general terms, the research was divided into three phases, the former was carried out at a state school through the Escola da Família Program, (which consists of the opening of all public schools on weekends, offering to the communities extra activities) and the latter two in Shelter Homes for adolescents. The results showed that there were some (considerable) difficulties throughout and some gaps in our society that become evident on the poor. Furthermore, the results also confirm the possibility of the Physical Education teachers' participation in other sectors of the society, through the non-formal Education perspective and the possibility of Social Circus as the (fundamental) instrument of this action

Light emission and current rectification in a molecular device: Experiment and theory

We have investigated optical and transport properties of the molecular structure 2,3,4,5-tetraphenyl-1-phenylethynyl-cyclopenta-2,4-dienol experimentally and theoretically. The optical spectrum was calculated using Hartree-Fock-intermediate neglect of differential overlap-configuration interaction model. The experimental photoluminescence spectrum showed a peak around 470nm which was very well described by the modeling. Electronic transport measurements showed a diode-like effect with a strong current rectification. A phenomenological microscopic model based on non-equilibrium Green's function technique was proposed and a very good description electronic transport was obtained. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4767457]

Flow Visualization with Quantified Spatial and Temporal Errors Using Edge Maps

Robust analysis of vector fields has been established as an important tool for deriving insights from the complex systems these fields model. Traditional analysis and visualization techniques rely primarily on computing streamlines through numerical integration. The inherent numerical errors of such approaches are usually ignored, leading to inconsistencies that cause unreliable visualizations and can ultimately prevent in-depth analysis. We propose a new representation for vector fields on surfaces that replaces numerical integration through triangles with maps from the triangle boundaries to themselves. This representation, called edge maps, permits a concise description of flow behaviors and is equivalent to computing all possible streamlines at a user defined error threshold. Independent of this error streamlines computed using edge maps are guaranteed to be consistent up to floating point precision, enabling the stable extraction of features such as the topological skeleton. Furthermore, our representation explicitly stores spatial and temporal errors which we use to produce more informative visualizations. This work describes the construction of edge maps, the error quantification, and a refinement procedure to adhere to a user defined error bound. Finally, we introduce new visualizations using the additional information provided by edge maps to indicate the uncertainty involved in computing streamlines and topological structures.

Influenza A H1N1/2009 vaccine in juvenile dermatomyositis: reduced immunogenicity in patients under immunosuppressive therapy

Objectives The aim of the present paper is to assess the influence of demographic, muscle enzymes, JDM scores and treatment on non-adjuvanted influenza A H1N1/2009 vaccine immunogenicity in juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) patients. Methods Thirty JDM patients and 81 healthy age-matched controls were vaccinated. All participants were evaluated pre- and 21 days post-vaccination and serology for anti-HI NI was performed by haemagglutination inhibition assay. Muscle enzymes, JDM scores and treatment were evaluated before and after vaccination. Adverse events were reported. Results After immunisation seroconversion rates were significantly lower in JDM patients compared to age-matched controls (86.7 vs. 97.5%, p=0.044), whereas seropmtection (p=0.121), geometric mean titres (GMT) (p=0.992) and factor increase (FI) in GMT (p=0.827) were similar in both groups. Clinical and labomtorial evaluations revealed that JDM scores and muscle enzymes remained stable throughout the study (p>0.05). A higher frequency of chronic course was observed in non-seroconverted compared to seroconverted (100% vs. 27%, p=0.012). Regarding treatment, a lower rate of seroconversion was observed in patients under prednisone>20mg/day (50% vs. 4%, p=0.039), and in those treated with a combination of prednisone, methotrexate and cyclosporine (50% vs. 4%, p=0.039). Local and systemic vaccine adverse events were mild and similar in patients and controls (p>0.05). Conclusion This study identified that chronic course and immunosuppressive therapy are the major factors hampering seroconversion was JDM, suggesting that a specific protocol may be required for this subgroup of patients. In spite of that, a single dose of non-adjuvanted influenza A/H1N1 2009 vaccine was generally seroprotective in this disease with no evident deleterious effect in disease itself (ClinicalTrials.gov, no. NCT01151644).

Performance of an electronic tongue during monitoring 2-rnethylisoborneol and geosmin in water samples

2-Methylisoborneol (MIB) and geosmin (GSM) are sub products from algae decomposition and, depending on their concentration, can be toxic: otherwise, they give unpleasant taste and odor to water. For water treatment companies it is important to constantly monitor their presence in the distributed water and avoid further costumer complaints. Lower-cost and easy-to-read instrumentation would be very promising in this regard. In this study, we evaluate the potentiality of an electronic tongue (ET) system based on non-specific polymeric sensors and impedance measurements in monitoring MIB and GSM in water samples. Principal component analysis (PCA) applied to the generated data matrix indicated that this ET was capable to perform with remarkable reproducibility the discrimination of these two contaminants in either distilled or tap water, in concentrations as low as 25 ng L-1. Nonetheless, this analysis methodology was rather qualitative and laborious, and the outputs it provided were greatly subjective. Also, data analysis based on PCA severely restricts automation of the measuring system or its use by non-specialized operators. To circumvent these drawbacks, a fuzzy controller was designed to quantitatively perform sample classification while providing outputs in simpler data charts. For instance, the ET along with the referred fuzzy controller performed with a 100% hit rate the quantification of MIB and GSM samples in distilled and tap water. The hit rate could be read directly from the plot. The lower cost of these polymeric sensors allied to the especial features of the fuzzy controller (easiness on programming and numerical outputs) provided initial requirements for developing an automated ET system to monitor odorant species in water production and distribution. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison of microsatellites and isozymes in genetic diversity studies of Oryza glumaepatula (Poaceae) populations

The study of the genetic structure of wild plant populations is essential for their management and conservation. Several DNA markers have been used in such studies, as well as isozyme markers. In order to provide a better comprehension of the results obtained and a comparison between markers which will help choose tools for future studies in natural populations of Oryza glumaepatula, a predominantly autogamous species, this study used both isozymes and microsatellites to assess the genetic diversity and genetic structure of 13 populations, pointing to similarities and divergences of each marker, and evaluating the relative importance of the results for studies of population genetics and conservation. A bulk sample for each population was obtained, by sampling two to three seeds of each plant, up to a set of 50 seeds. Amplified products of eight SSR loci were electrophoresed on non-denaturing polyacrylamide gels, and the fragments were visualized using silver staining procedure. Isozyme analyses were conducted in polyacrylamide gels, under a discontinuous system, using six enzymatic loci. SSR loci showed higher mean levels of genetic diversity (A=2.83, p=0.71, A(P)=3.17, H-o=0.081, H-e=0.351) than isozyme loci (A=1.20, p=0.20, A(P)=1.38, H-o=0.006, H-e=0.056). Interpopulation genetic differentiation detected by SSR loci (R-ST=0.631, equivalent to F-ST=0.533) was lower than that obtained with isozymes (F-ST=0.772). However, both markers showed high deviation from Hardy-Weinberg expectations (F-IS=0.744 and 0.899, respectively for SSR and isozymes). The mean apparent outcrossing rate for SSR ((t) over bar (a)=0.14) was higher than that obtained using isozymes ((t) over bar (a)=0.043), although both markers detected lower levels of outcrossing in Amazonia compared to the Pantanal. The migrant number estimation was also higher for SSR (Nm=0.219) than isozymes (Nm=0.074), although a small number for both markers was expected due to the mode of reproduction of this species, defined as mixed with predominance of self fertilization. No correlation was obtained between genetic and geographic distances with SSR, but a positive correlation was found between genetic and geographic distances with isozymes. We conclude that these markers are divergent in detecting genetic diversity parameters in O. glumaepatula and that microsatellites are powerful for detecting information at the intra-population level, while isozymes are more powerful for inter-population diversity, since clustering of populations agreed with the expectations based on the geographic distribution of the populations using this marker. Rev. Biol. Trop. 60 (4): 1463-1478. Epub 2012 December 01.

Differences in throughfall and net precipitation between soybean and transitional tropical forest in the southern Amazon, Brazil

The expansion of soybean cultivation into the Amazon in Brazil has potential hydrological effects at local to regional scales. To determine the impacts of soybean agriculture on hydrology, a comparison of net precipitation (throughfall, stemflow) in undisturbed tropical forest and soybean fields on the southern edge of the Amazon Basin in the state of Mato Grosso is needed. This study measured throughfall with troughs and stemflow with collar collectors during two rainy seasons. The results showed that in forest 91.6% of rainfall was collected as throughfall and 0.3% as stemflow, while in soybean fields with two-month old plants, 46.2% of rainfall was collected as throughfall and 9.0% as stemflow. Hence, interception of precipitation in soybean fields was far greater than in intact forests. Differences in throughfall, stemflow and net precipitation were found to be mainly associated with differences in plant structure and stem density in transitional forest and soybean cropland. Because rainfall interception in soybean fields is higher than previously believed and because both the area of cropland and the frequency of crop cycles (double cropping) are increasing rapidly, interception needs to be reconsidered in regional water balance models when consequences of land cover changes are analyzed in the Amazon soybean frontier region. Based on the continued expansion of soybean fields across the landscape and the finding that net precipitation is lower in soy agriculture, a reduction in water availability in the long term can be assumed. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biomonitoring genotoxicity and cytotoxicity of Microcystis aeruginosa (Chroococcales, Cyanobacteria) using the Allium cepa test

Water pollution caused by toxic cyanobacteria is a problem worldwide, increasing with eutrophication. Due to its biological significance, genotoxicity should be a focus for biomonitoring pollution owing to the increasing complexity of the toxicological environment in which organisms are exposed. Cyanobacteria produce a large number of bioactive compounds, most of which lack toxicological data. Microcystins comprise a class of potent cyclic heptapeptide toxins produced mainly by Microcystis aeruginosa. Other natural products can also be synthesized by cyanobacteria, such as the protease inhibitor, aeruginosin. The hepatotoxicity of microcystins has been well documented, but information on the genotoxic effects of aeruginosins is relatively scarce. In this study, the genotoxicity and ecotoxicity of methanolic extracts from two strains of M. aeruginosa NPLJ-4, containing high levels of microcystin, and M. aeruginosa NPCD-1, with high levels of aeruginosin, were evaluated. Four endpoints, using plant assays in Allium cepa were applied: rootlet growth inhibition, chromosomal aberrations, mitotic divisions, and micronucleus assays. The microcystin content of M. aeruginosa NPLJ-4 was confirmed through ELISA, while M. aeruginosa NPCD-1 did not produce microcystins. The extracts of M. aeruginosa NPLJ-4 were diluted at 0.01, 0.1, 1 and 10 ppb of microcystins: the same procedure was used to dilute M. aeruginosa NPCD-1 used as a parameter for comparison, and water was used as the control. The results demonstrated that both strains inhibited root growth and induced rootlet abnormalities. The strain rich in aeruginosin was more genotoxic, altering the cell cycle, while microcystins were more mitogenic. These findings indicate the need for future research on non-microcystin producing cyanobacterial strains. Understanding the genotoxicity of M. aeruginosa extracts can help determine a possible link between contamination by aquatic cyanobacteria and high risk of primary liver cancer found in some areas as well as establish water level limits for compounds not yet studied. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Double-chambered right ventricle in an adult patient diagnosed by transthoracic echocardiography

Abstract Background Double-chambered right ventricle is a rare congenital disease frequently misdiagnosed in the adult patient. An anomalous muscle band divides the right ventricle in two cavities causing variable degree of obstruction. Although echocardiography is considered a useful method for the diagnosis of this pathology in children, it has been recognized the transthoracic scanning limitation in adults. Case presentation A 29 year-old patient with double-chambered right ventricle presenting mild exercise intolerance referred for follow up of a known ventricular septal defect in whom a complete diagnosis was obtained based only on transthoracic two dimensional echocardiography without the needing of cardiac catheterization. Conclusion Based on non invasive echocardiographic diagnosis, patient was referred to surgical correction, which was completely successful.

Cellular and humoral immune responses against the Plasmodium vivax MSP-119 malaria vaccine candidate in individuals living in an endemic area in north-eastern Amazon region of Brazil

Abstract Background Plasmodium vivax merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1) is an antigen considered to be one of the leading malaria vaccine candidates. PvMSP-1 is highly immunogenic and evidences suggest that it is target for protective immunity against asexual blood stages of malaria parasites. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the acquired cellular and antibody immune responses against PvMSP-1 in individuals naturally exposed to malaria infections in a malaria-endemic area in the north-eastern Amazon region of Brazil. Methods The study was carried out in Paragominas, Pará State, in the Brazilian Amazon. Blood samples were collected from 35 individuals with uncomplicated malaria. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated and the cellular proliferation and activation was analysed in presence of 19 kDa fragment of MSP-1 (PvMSP-119) and Plasmodium falciparum PSS1 crude antigen. Antibodies IgE, IgM, IgG and IgG subclass and the levels of TNF, IFN-γ and IL-10 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results The prevalence of activated CD4+ was greater than CD8+ T cells, in both ex-vivo and in 96 h culture in presence of PvMSP-119 and PSS1 antigen. A low proliferative response against PvMSP-119 and PSS1 crude antigen after 96 h culture was observed. High plasmatic levels of IFN-γ and IL-10 as well as lower TNF levels were also detected in malaria patients. However, in the 96 h supernatant culture, the dynamics of cytokine responses differed from those depicted on plasma assays; in presence of PvMSP-119 stimulus, higher levels of TNF were noted in supernatant 96 h culture of malaria patient’s cells while low levels of IFN-γ and IL-10 were verified. High frequency of malaria patients presenting antibodies against PvMSP-119 was evidenced, regardless class or IgG subclass.PvMSP-119-induced antibodies were predominantly on non-cytophilic subclasses. Conclusions The results presented here shows that PvMSP-119 was able to induce a high cellular activation, leading to production of TNF and emphasizes the high immunogenicity of PvMSP-119 in naturally exposed individuals and, therefore, its potential as a malaria vaccine candidate.

Empirical and fundamental mechanical tests in the evaluation of dough and bread rheological properties

Bread dough and particularly wheat dough, due to its viscoelastic behaviour, is probably the most dynamic and complicated rheological system and its characteristics are very important since they highly affect final products’ textural and sensorial properties. The study of dough rheology has been a very challenging task for many researchers since it can provide numerous information about dough formulation, structure and processing. This explains why dough rheology has been a matter of investigation for several decades. In this research rheological assessment of doughs and breads was performed by using empirical and fundamental methods at both small and large deformation, in order to characterize different types of doughs and final products such as bread. In order to study the structural aspects of food products, image analysis techniques was used for the integration of the information coming from empirical and fundamental rheological measurements. Evaluation of dough properties was carried out by texture profile analysis (TPA), dough stickiness (Chen and Hoseney cell) and uniaxial extensibility determination (Kieffer test) by using a Texture Analyser; small deformation rheological measurements, were performed on a controlled stress–strain rheometer; moreover the structure of different doughs was observed by using the image analysis; while bread characteristics were studied by using texture profile analysis (TPA) and image analysis. The objective of this research was to understand if the different rheological measurements were able to characterize and differentiate the different samples analysed. This in order to investigate the effect of different formulation and processing conditions on dough and final product from a structural point of view. For this aim the following different materials were performed and analysed: - frozen dough realized without yeast; - frozen dough and bread made with frozen dough; - doughs obtained by using different fermentation method; - doughs made by Kamut® flour; - dough and bread realized with the addition of ginger powder; - final products coming from different bakeries. The influence of sub-zero storage time on non-fermented and fermented dough viscoelastic performance and on final product (bread) was evaluated by using small deformation and large deformation methods. In general, the longer the sub-zero storage time the lower the positive viscoelastic attributes. The effect of fermentation time and of different type of fermentation (straight-dough method; sponge-and-dough procedure and poolish method) on rheological properties of doughs were investigated using empirical and fundamental analysis and image analysis was used to integrate this information throughout the evaluation of the dough’s structure. The results of fundamental rheological test showed that the incorporation of sourdough (poolish method) provoked changes that were different from those seen in the others type of fermentation. The affirmative action of some ingredients (extra-virgin olive oil and a liposomic lecithin emulsifier) to improve rheological characteristics of Kamut® dough has been confirmed also when subjected to low temperatures (24 hours and 48 hours at 4°C). Small deformation oscillatory measurements and large deformation mechanical tests performed provided useful information on the rheological properties of samples realized by using different amounts of ginger powder, showing that the sample with the highest amount of ginger powder (6%) had worse rheological characteristics compared to the other samples. Moisture content, specific volume, texture and crumb grain characteristics are the major quality attributes of bread products. The different sample analyzed, “Coppia Ferrarese”, “Pane Comune Romagnolo” and “Filone Terra di San Marino”, showed a decrease of crumb moisture and an increase in hardness over the storage time. Parameters such as cohesiveness and springiness, evaluated by TPA that are indicator of quality of fresh bread, decreased during the storage. By using empirical rheological tests we found several differences among the samples, due to the different ingredients used in formulation and the different process adopted to prepare the sample, but since these products are handmade, the differences could be account as a surplus value. In conclusion small deformation (in fundamental units) and large deformation methods showed a significant role in monitoring the influence of different ingredients used in formulation, different processing and storage conditions on dough viscoelastic performance and on final product. Finally the knowledge of formulation, processing and storage conditions together with the evaluation of structural and rheological characteristics is fundamental for the study of complex matrices like bakery products, where numerous variable can influence their final quality (e.g. raw material, bread-making procedure, time and temperature of the fermentation and baking).

Elektrorheologie homogener Systeme

Zusammenfassung: Thema dieser Arbeit ist der Einfluss von elektrischen Feldern auf die Viskosität nematischer Flüssigkristalle sowie isotroper Polymerlösungen.Für zwei thermotrope nematische Flüssigkristalle, 4-(trans-4'-n-Pentylcyclohexyl)-benzonitril (PCH-5) und 4-n-Pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl (5CB), wurde die Viskosität mit elektrorheologischen Messungen in Abhängigkeit von Feldstärke und Scherrate bestimmt. Alle Messwerte kommen bei Auftragung gegen E?/? auf einer Masterkurve zu liegen. Die Anpassung dieser Daten mit einer auf der Theorie von Ericksen und Leslie basierenden Gleichung liefert gleichzeitig die Scherviskositäten ? und ? sowie die Rotationsviskosität ? in guter Übereinstimmung mit Literaturwerten. Elektrorheologische Messungen stellen somit eine Methode zur Bestimmung dieser Viskositätskoeffizienten für Nematen dar, wenn diese eine ausreichend große positive dielektrische Anisotropie aufweisen. Bei den isotropen Polymerlösungen ließ sich der elektrorheologische Effekt des Systems Decalin/Polystyrol im Bereich der Entmischungstemperatur klären. Während im Ein-Phasen-Gebiet nur eine geringe Viskositätsänderung im E-Feld aufgrund elektrohydrodynamischer Strömungen zu beobachten ist, tritt unterhalb der Entmischungstemperatur ein deutlicher, aber nicht reproduzierbarer ER-Effekt auf. Dieser ist auf einen Einfluss des E-Felds auf die Zwei-Phasen-Morphologie zurückzuführen.Für das System Diethylbenzol/Isopentylcellulose wurde ein negativer elektrorheologischer Effekt auf die Dissoziation von assoziierten Polymermolekülen zurückgeführt. Die Dissoziation erfolgt aufgrund der Wirkung des elektrischen Feldes auf freie Ladungen.

Novel simulation methods for Coulomb and hydrodynamic interactions

This thesis presents new methods to simulate systems with hydrodynamic and electrostatic interactions. Part 1 is devoted to computer simulations of Brownian particles with hydrodynamic interactions. The main influence of the solvent on the dynamics of Brownian particles is that it mediates hydrodynamic interactions. In the method, this is simulated by numerical solution of the Navier--Stokes equation on a lattice. To this end, the Lattice--Boltzmann method is used, namely its D3Q19 version. This model is capable to simulate compressible flow. It gives us the advantage to treat dense systems, in particular away from thermal equilibrium. The Lattice--Boltzmann equation is coupled to the particles via a friction force. In addition to this force, acting on {it point} particles, we construct another coupling force, which comes from the pressure tensor. The coupling is purely local, i.~e. the algorithm scales linearly with the total number of particles. In order to be able to map the physical properties of the Lattice--Boltzmann fluid onto a Molecular Dynamics (MD) fluid, the case of an almost incompressible flow is considered. The Fluctuation--Dissipation theorem for the hybrid coupling is analyzed, and a geometric interpretation of the friction coefficient in terms of a Stokes radius is given. Part 2 is devoted to the simulation of charged particles. We present a novel method for obtaining Coulomb interactions as the potential of mean force between charges which are dynamically coupled to a local electromagnetic field. This algorithm scales linearly, too. We focus on the Molecular Dynamics version of the method and show that it is intimately related to the Car--Parrinello approach, while being equivalent to solving Maxwell's equations with freely adjustable speed of light. The Lagrangian formulation of the coupled particles--fields system is derived. The quasi--Hamiltonian dynamics of the system is studied in great detail. For implementation on the computer, the equations of motion are discretized with respect to both space and time. The discretization of the electromagnetic fields on a lattice, as well as the interpolation of the particle charges on the lattice is given. The algorithm is as local as possible: Only nearest neighbors sites of the lattice are interacting with a charged particle. Unphysical self--energies arise as a result of the lattice interpolation of charges, and are corrected by a subtraction scheme based on the exact lattice Green's function. The method allows easy parallelization using standard domain decomposition. Some benchmarking results of the algorithm are presented and discussed.

Mastocitosi cutanee: il mastocitoma in età pediatrica

Background: Mastocytosis is a rare disease involving mast cells (MC) and their CD34+ progenitors. According to the WHO consensus classification, cutaneous mastocytosis (CM) is considered a benign disease confined to the skin, preferentially seen in young children with a marked tendency to regress spontaneously. Aim of our study was the long-term assessment of the outcome of solitary (SM) and multiple (MM) mastocytomas in a pediatric population. Materials and methods: From January 1996 to December 2010, 241 pediatric patients with a diagnosis of CM were followed-up at the outpatient division of pediatric dermatology of the University of Bologna. We focused our retrospective evaluation on patients affected by SM or MM. We collected, through the analysis of medical records and with a telephone questionnaire for patients and their families, information on clinical aspects of the disease evolution and on the efficacy of topical steroid therapy. Results: Over the 241 considered patients we recorded: SM or MM in 176 (73%) pts., urticaria pigmentosa in 53 (22%) pts., telangiectasia macularis eruptiva perstans in 9 (4%) pts., diffuse CM in 2 (0,9%) pts. and polymorph CM in 1 (0,4%) pt. On 176 children affected by SM or MM (97 M vs. 79 F), 130 (74%) patients were followed-up with a mean of 56,3 (r. 4-142) months. A satisfactory outcome was recorded in 99 (76%) cases of whom 52 (53%) treated with topic steroids. Mean time to complete regression was 16.4 m. on treated patients vs. 34.7 m. on non treated patients (p=0,001). Conclusions: From our study emerged that resolution of the disease is independent from therapy, but the time to regression and to complete recovery of the coetaneous lesions is faster and favored by the application of topic steroid with an improvement of the quality of life for children and their families.

A dictionary of modular threefolds

The thesis deals with the modularity conjecture for three-dimensional Calabi-Yau varieties. This is a generalization of the work of A. Wiles and others on modularity of elliptic curves. Modularity connects the number of points on varieties with coefficients of certain modular forms. In chapter 1 we collect the basics on arithmetic on Calabi-Yau manifolds, including general modularity results and strategies for modularity proofs. In chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5 we investigate examples of modular Calabi-Yau threefolds, including all examples occurring in the literature and many new ones. Double octics, i.e. Double coverings of projective 3-space branched along an octic surface, are studied in detail. In chapter 6 we deal with examples connected with the same modular forms. According to the Tate conjecture there should be correspondences between them. Many correspondences are constructed explicitly. We finish by formulating conjectures on the occurring newforms, especially their levels. In the appendices we compile tables of coefficients of weight 2 and weight 4 newforms and many examples of double octics.