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In this article, we present an argumentative analysis of Galeazzo Flavio Capra's Della Eccelenza e dignità della donna (1525), one of the least studied Renaissance treatises of the "Querelle des Femmes". The author, who was educated at the court of the Duchy of Milan, distinguished himself among the notable humanists of his time thanks to his position as secretary to Francesco II Sforza. Capra wrote his text in vernacular prose, reworking classical models and proposing a reinterpretation of Petrarch, Boccacio, and other contemporary writers. This study aims to show the originality of Capra's work in the face of traditional cultural and literary values which he managed to turn in favour of sixteenth-century women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estudios Románicos is the property of Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Murcia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Anales de Otorrinolaringología Mexicana is the property of Sociedad Mexicana de Otorrinolaringologia y Cirugia de Cabeza y Cuello and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Complement C5 deficiency (C5D) is a rare primary immunodeficiency associated with recurrent infections, particularly meningitis, by Neisseria species. To date, studies to elucidate the molecular basis of hereditary C5D have included fewer than 40 families, and most C5 mutations (13 of 17) have been found in single families. However, the recently described C5 p.A252T mutation is reported to be associated with approximately 7% of meningococcal disease cases in South Africa. This finding raises the question of whether the mutation may be prevalent in other parts of Africa or other continental regions. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of C5 p.A252T in Africa and other regions and discuss the implications for prophylaxis against meningococcal disease. In total, 2710 samples from healthy donors within various populations worldwide were analysed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay to detect the C5 p.A252T mutation. Eleven samples were found to be heterozygous for p.A252T, and nine of these samples were from sub-Saharan African populations (allele frequency 0·94%). Interestingly, two other heterozygous samples were from individuals in populations outside Africa (Israel and Pakistan). These findings, together with data from genomic variation databases, indicate a 0·5-2% prevalence of the C5 p.A252T mutation in heterozygosity in sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, this mutation may have a relevant role in meningococcal disease susceptibility in this geographical area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies based on linguistic corpus have brought great benefits to the teaching of foreign languages. Likewise, with the aid of digital databases, they are an invaluable tool in the field of specialized translation. This paper presents an analysis of discourses on immigration (related to immigrants, refugees and control of territory) in Italian, by means the compilation of a multilingual written corpus, consisting of documents issued by public authorities of Spain, France, Italy and the United Kingdom, between 2011 and 2013. The Ladex corpus (Administrative and Legal Language for Foreigners) has been compiled in order to analyze the cultural imprint of the foreign subject in a seemingly neutral text type. However, the data gathered from the sub-corpus in Italian show an abundance of lexical units stereotyped with a strong socio-political meaning; such constructions evolve very rapidly, according to circumstantial laws, enacted in correspondence with emergency and massive influx of immigrants. Significant examples of these units, currently mark a tendency in forming administrative terminology presented here; also we can see in them the ideological connotations and its cultural implications. The first conclusions, based on samples of actual language, offer new perspectives for teaching Italian as L2 and for the development of materials for translation and cultural mediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estudios Románicos is the property of Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Murcia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Mexicana de Ingeniería Biomédica is the property of Sociedad Mexicana de Ingenieria Biomedica, A.C. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Mexicana de Ingeniería Biomédica is the property of Sociedad Mexicana de Ingenieria Biomedica, A.C. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Anales de Filología Francesa is the property of Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Murcia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Anales de Filología Francesa is the property of Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Murcia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Nefrologia is the property of Revista Nefrologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The present study develops a connectionist neural network with unsupervised learning rules to simulate a discrimination task in a reduced number of time steps without previous training. The design of the network took into account some neurophysiological findings of dopaminergic mesolimbic system from structures like amygdala (AMG), orbitofrontal cortex (COF), ventral tegmental area (ATV) and nucleus accumbens (ACC). The proposed model generated similar responses to those from male rats during a discrimination and reversal learning tasks in a T maze, using sex as reward. In the activity of simulated structures different phenomena were found, like reinforcement preference and its reversal during reversal learning phase in ACC and ATV. It was also found an early encode in AMG, besides a retarded encoding and an increase in recruitment of neural nodes in COF during reversal learning. All output structures showed an expectancy activity before reinforcer delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Nefrologia is the property of Revista Nefrologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Mexicana de Ingeniería Biomédica is the property of Sociedad Mexicana de Ingenieria Biomedica, A.C. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

To determinate the Multisection Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA) utility in the renal donors evaluation, and to compare the results with the surgical findings. Material and methods: CTA was made in all the renal donor candidates, with 4D reconstructions for the vascular evaluation and was correlated with surgical findings. Results: We include 43 patients, 21 female (48%) and 22 (52%) male, ages ranged from 20 to 56 years. The arterial variants anatomical were: 33 (77%) single renal artery, 10 (23%) with polar arteries (normal anatomical finding), 7 male, 3 female; 7 unilateral and 3 bilateral. In 26 patients, the ACT findings with surgery were correlated. Of these 12 women and 14 men, with 19 left nephrectomy and 7 right nephrectomy. The correlation were in 25 patients (96%), just only one the diagnosis was different, the Spearman's correlation coefficient value is 0.96, kappa 0.78, concordance 0.96, all of them with p < 0.05, positive predictive value of 100% and negative predictive value of 96%. All patients had a single vein. Conclusion: The CTA with 4D reconstructions, is accurate to describe the vascular renal anatomy, is less expensive, requires less time and is not invasive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) are rare. Few cases of such tumours are reported in the literature. Until recently, they were only treated surgically but, nowadays, for high grade tumours, we can consider wide excision, not only as a palliative measure, but also to enable subsequent treatment with Imatinib mesylate.Methods: We describe the case of a patient with a high-grade GIST, who, two years after undergoing surgery and medical treatment, is still in remission. Computerised axial tomography (CT) of the abdomen detected the presence of multiple heterogeneous solid masses of various sizes but no localised retroperitoneal adenopathies.Main Findings: Median laparotomy was performed and revealed multiple intraperitoneal tumours. The larger masses were excised and the smaller residual implants are currently being treated with Imatinib mesylate. The patient had visceral, parietal and peritoneal dissemination. One of them, located in the supramesocolic area, had a maximal diameter of 20cm. Another one, at the level of the retro-gastric space, had a diameter of 22cm. The other tumours were smaller and spread over the parietal and visceral peritoneum, mainly between the loops of the small intestine and pelvis. Two years after cytoreduction surgery, the patient is well and free of obvious disease and has shown a good tolerance to pharmacological treatment.Conclusions: Imatinib mesylate has revolutionised the treatment of GIST and offers good palliation and prolongation of overall survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Maternal behavior is a motivated behavior that includes pup-directed sequential motor acts. The dopaminergic (DAergic) brain systems have been proposed to play an important role in voluntary maternal acts, however, not much is known about the way these systems function during the performance of this behavior. The electroencephalogram (EEG) is a sensitive tool that allows determination of the simultaneous functioning of different structures in relation to specific cognitive processes or motor acts. The present study recorded the function of the two structures that constitute the mesoprefrontal DAergic system, ventral tegmental area (VTA) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) by EEG during the performance of various maternal behaviors. Bilateral EEG from the VTA and medial PFC (mPFC) was simultaneously recorded during typical maternal acts and was compared to that recorded during non-maternal behaviors in freely moving female rats. Three different frequency bands (6–7, 8–11, and 12–21Hz) were obtained from principal component analysis applied to the EEG for both structures. In the left and right mPFC and VTA, absolute power (AP) of the 8–11Hz band showed a significant increase during pup retrieval compared to the EEG during walking. In the left and right mPFC and VTA, AP of the three bands showed a significant increase during pup licking with respect to forepaw licking. No differences in the EEG were found during inactive nursing behaviors compared to the awake quiet condition. The mPFC and VTA presented characteristic EEG patterns during active maternal behaviors but not during inactive maternal behaviors. This provides electrical evidence of the involvement of these structures in the performance of maternal behavior. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study describes the density variation and phenology ofMacrocystis integrifoliaandM.pyriferapopulations from northern and southern Chile, respectively. Samples of both species were taken in wave-exposed and wave-protected areas. In addition, spore production, germination and early growth rate of sporophytes of each population was studied at monthly intervals under three temperature and salinity regimes. Results indicate thatM.integrifoliafrom northern Chile presents perennial plants with a mean density of three individuals per 0.25 m2 throughout the year and that it reproduces mainly during spring and winter. Although,M.pyriferain exposed areas of southern Chile also have a perennial-type life strategy, they are able to reproduce all year round. In contrast,M.pyriferapopulations in protected areas of southern Chile show a clear annual cycle, with high recruitment during late winter and fertile sporophytes in summer and autumn, although the populations become completely decimated thereafter. The effect of temperature and salinity onM.integrifoliashows that it is independent of water movement, but requires low temperatures and high salinities for the release of zoospores, germination and early sporophyte growth. This pattern differs from that ofM.pyriferain southern Chile, which has a broader tolerance range for salinity and temperature than doesM.integrifolia. However, in southern Chile wave-protected populations showed higher spore release and germination at 15°C and 18°C, whereas sporophyte growth responded better at the lowest temperature tested (8°C). In general, these results are contrary to those expected, since a seasonal reproductive pattern was observed inM.integrifoliainhabiting a less seasonally variable environment. In exposed sites of southern Chile, plants showed greater tolerance and continuous reproduction throughout the year, despite the greater environmental variability. Finally, population dynamics of protected kelps in southern Chile shows an annual pattern, which is contrary to the expected perennial strategy shown by exposed populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on Lorentz transformations in special relativity. x6 In spacetime an event is represented by (XJ) = (ct,x,y,z), j = 0,...,3, with the matrix (g)=Diag (-1,-1,-1,-1). If it is necessary to employ another frame of reference, the new coordinates are connected via the linear transformation.