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This article focuses on the process of urbanization and growth in the city of Juiz de Fora in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais during the transition from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. We problematize the relationship between this process, marked by a developmentalist and elitist ideology, and the construc-tion of the political-criminal and punitive framework in the municipality. Based on the dialogue between his-torical studies on the city and the theoretical frameworks of critical criminology, we observe the bonds connecting the processes of urbanization and development and the punitive economy during the period under study, along with the social and criminal impacts throughout the course of the city’s history.

Introduction Engaging with patients and the public (consumers and community) enhances the relevance of cancer control developments; however, challenges remain to integrate into processes. Medical and other professional societies are well-positioned to foster and endorse best practice. Methods Between October and December 2021, the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) conducted a global consultation with those who identified as “people affected by cancer”. Recruitment to an online cross-sectional survey was by a combination of purposive and convenience sampling to determine preferred terminologies and experiences with MASCC and other cancer-related societies. Results The survey was completed by 343 respondents from 29 countries, a majority being female (78.1%) and younger than 60 years of age (62.1%). Respondents preferred to be identified as ‘patient’ from a set of defined terms; however, this only accounted for 49–67% of selected response across geographical regions. Only 22.2% of respondents had engaged previously with MASCC, of whom 90.8% reported a positive experience through involvement with education and information, networking and collaboration, and practice guidelines. Respondents perceived areas of opportunity as early involvement in decision-making, educational initiatives, open communication, and information sharing. Across all geographical regions, responders chose a preference to contribute to future consumer research (53.0%), policy (31.7%) or consumer engagement activities (56.9%) including participation in a conference session (65.0%) or patient day (47.9%). Conclusions This survey provides a first insight into how consumers wish to engage with MASCC. These values will be embedded into a strategy that aims for effective and sustainable partnerships with multinational consumers.

Asymptomatic surveillance testing together with COVID-19-related research can lead to positive SARS-CoV-2 tests resulting not from true infections, but non-infectious, non-hazardous by-products of research (amplicons). Amplicons can be widespread and persistent in lab environments and can be difficult to distinguish for true infections. We discuss prevention and mitigation strategies., Asymptomatic surveillance testing is a powerful approach for rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2, currently utilized by multiple research institutes as part of routine pandemic response protocols. In combination with the recent explosion in COVID-19 related research, many research labs are working with SARS-CoV-2 genetic material. This raises a critical issue: some positive test results are due to the detection of the non-infectious, non-hazardous genetic sequences used for research (amplicons) instead of true COVID-19 infections. By collecting positive test results from several of the universities associated with this study, we identified a cohort of individuals working with SARS-CoV-2 genetic material for non-diagnostic purposes. Follow-up PCR and antibody tests on a subset of 39 individuals showed that 36 of those were not true COVID-19 cases, but instead their positive test result likely arose from amplicon contamination. In research labs working with genetic materials derived from the virus, environmental testing indicated amplicon residue might be present on surfaces including on notebooks, keyboards, drinking glasses, and doorknobs. Removal of individuals from standard testing protocols, per CDC guidelines for positive cases, risks the spread of true infection if the individuals were to be truly infected during the recommended 90 days no-testing period after an initial positive test. On the basis of this risk, combined with unnecessary isolation, quarantine, and contact tracing, we argue that it is critical to minimize instances of amplicon contamination and develop protocols for handling suspected cases to propel research efforts and avoid diverting resources from patients with COVID-19. Although our results show how amplicon contamination in research environments can lead to false positives, they also demonstrate that it is important to perform follow-up tests of those asymptomatic individuals because some might be cases of true infection. Given that amplicon contamination has not been a problem in CLIA labs, we discuss potential prevention and mitigation strategies and emphasize the relevance of this study beyond this pandemic.

By voting, people can decide the direction of change and development since the people have a sense of “Ownership of Government”. Voting is a very important process in any democratic country. For a secure voting, blockchain technology used by electronic voting is more effective and secure. Many digital services are being developed by the blockchain technology. The investigation on the blockchain topic is still proceeding; however, the research mainly focuses on its legal and technical issues, but this novel concept can be taken advantage of and can be used to create advanced digital services. This paper is going to grip the open-source blockchain technology, and we are going to propose an e-voting system based on this technology. We are using the SHA-256 hash function to keep the voter anonymous, and we are enabling the dual authentication process while the voters’ cast their vote. This will result in the minimalization of malicious activities since it is safe, reliable, secure, and trustworthy.

A cohort of laboratorians with positive SARS-CoV2 test results were uncovered during asymptomatic COVID-19 screening programs at six universities. Follow-up PCR and antibody tests showed that most of these cases were not true COVID-19 infection but instead arose from reverse-transcribed and amplified viral sequences (amplicons) that are generated during research. Environmental testing showed widespread contamination of amplicons in lab spaces including notebooks, keyboards, glasses, and doorknobs. Minimizing instances of amplicon contamination and developing protocols for handling suspected cases are critical to propel research efforts and to avoid diverting university and healthcare resources from patients with COVID-19. Removal of these individuals from the standard testing protocol, per CDC guidelines for positive cases, risks the spread of true infection. We discuss potential prevention and mitigation strategies.

A Traveling Wave (TW) based propagation analysis of two different transmission line (TL) models available in Electromagnetic Transients Programs (EMTP) is presented in this paper, namely: Bergeron and JMarti models. Firstly, transients induced by a single-phase fault are analyzed assuming ideally transposed (IdT), transposed (T) and untransposed (UnT) TLs. Current signals are evaluated in order to verify differences between TWs propagation when each analyzed model is taken into account. Secondly, the impact of earth resistivity (ρ e ) has also been investigated. From the obtained results, it is concluded that relevant differences can show up in TWs propagation features due to the applied EMTP TL model, ρ e values and also to the modeled transposition scheme, being the ground mode more affected from one case to another.

Two models for the motion in the Mataf of the Holy Mosque of Makkah that are applicable to any so-called social force or agent-based model are presented. The first model assigns a desired distance to the Kaaba to each pilgrim. The second model assumes that pilgrims desire to get as close as possible to the Kaaba until a tolerable density is reached. Both models are realistic: image data shows behaviours of both types. The models are very simple to incorporate into any computational crowd dynamics code, and yield results that correlate surprisingly well with observed data.

The two neuronal populations in the cortex, pyramidal neurons and interneurons, can be separated based on neurotransmitter identity, however, within this segregation a large degree of diversity exists. Investigations into the molecular diversity of neurons are impeded by the inability to isolate cell populations born at different times for gene expression analysis. Developing interneurons may be distinguished by the expression of Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase-67 (GAD67). Neuronal birthdating using nucleoside analogs is an effective means of identifying coetaneous interneurons. Using these two features, neurotransmitter identity and birthdating, we have developed a method to isolate migrating interneurons using fluorescent-activated cell sorting (FACS) for RNA extraction and gene expression analysis. We utilized 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) to birthdate interneuron cohorts and the GAD67 knock-in GFP transgenic mice to identify interneurons. In combination, we achieved simultaneous detection of GFP and EdU signals during FACS sorting of coetaneous interneurons with minimum loss of RNA integrity. RNA quality was deemed to be satisfactory by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for the interneuron-specific transcript Gad67.

BACKGROUND Perianal sepsis occurs in up to 10% of neutropaenic patients with haematological malignancy and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The management of this condition is challenging in neutropaenic patients due to its atypical pathophysiology. The aim of this study is to assess the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and surgery in neutropaenic patients with perianal sepsis. METHODS A retrospective chart review was performed on all neutropenic patients with a haematological malignancy who had a diagnosis of perianal sepsis during the inpatient admission between 2008 and 2017. Patient characteristics, symptoms, haematological data, MRI result, surgical intervention, intraoperative findings and outcomes including recurrence and mortality were collected. RESULTS Nineteen neutropaenic patients with haematological malignancy were treated for perianal sepsis, eight (42%) patients were managed conservatively and 11 (58%) were managed surgically. Nine patients underwent MRI, which identified a collection in 88% of cases despite severe neutropaenia. In patients with a collection identified on MRI prior to surgery, 80% had a drainable collection confirmed intraoperatively. Post-operative complications included two cases of sepsis from a presumed perianal source and one death. A total of 82% of patients experienced symptom resolution after surgery compared to 88% of patients managed conservatively. CONCLUSION This study has demonstrated that MRI is a useful diagnostic tool in evaluating perianal sepsis in patients with haematological malignancy, even during periods of severe neutropenia. We found that both conservative and surgical management strategies lead to resolution of symptoms.

Universidade de Bras?lia. Faculdade de Medicina. Laborat?rio Multidisciplinar de Pesquisa em Doen?a de Chagas. Bras?lia, DF, Brasil. Universidade de Bras?lia. Faculdade de Medicina. Laborat?rio Multidisciplinar de Pesquisa em Doen?a de Chagas. Bras?lia, DF, Brasil. Universidade de Bras?lia. Faculdade de Medicina. Laborat?rio Multidisciplinar de Pesquisa em Doen?a de Chagas. Bras?lia, DF, Brasil. Universidade de Bras?lia. Faculdade de Medicina. Laborat?rio Multidisciplinar de Pesquisa em Doen?a de Chagas. Bras?lia, DF, Brasil. Universidade de Bras?lia. Faculdade de Medicina. Laborat?rio Multidisciplinar de Pesquisa em Doen?a de Chagas. Bras?lia, DF, Brasil. Minist?rio da Sa?de. Secretaria de Vigil?ncia em Sa?de. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil. Minist?rio da Sa?de. Secretaria de Vigil?ncia em Sa?de. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil. Universidade de Bras?lia. Faculdade de Medicina. Laborat?rio Multidisciplinar de Pesquisa em Doen?a de Chagas. Bras?lia, DF, Brasil. Universidade de Bras?lia. Faculdade de Medicina. Laborat?rio Multidisciplinar de Pesquisa em Doen?a de Chagas. Bras?lia, DF, Brasil. Universidade de Bras?lia. Faculdade de Medicina. Laborat?rio Multidisciplinar de Pesquisa em Doen?a de Chagas. Bras?lia, DF, Brasil. Universidade de Bras?lia. Faculdade de Medicina. Laborat?rio Multidisciplinar de Pesquisa em Doen?a de Chagas. Bras?lia, DF, Brasil. Universidade de Bras?lia. Faculdade de Medicina. Laborat?rio Multidisciplinar de Pesquisa em Doen?a de Chagas. Bras?lia, DF, Brasil. BACKGROUND: The Trypanosoma cruzi infection endemic in Latin America has now spread to several countries across four continents; this endemic involves triatomine vector-free protists. We hypothesised that the sexual transmission of T. cruzi contributes to the ongoing spread of Chagas disease. OBJECTIVES: A short-term longitudinal study was conducted to evaluate this hypothesis. METHODS: The study population comprised 109 subjects from four families, among whom 21 had been diagnosed with acute Chagas disease by direct parasitological analysis. Blood mononuclear cells and serum samples were obtained from each study subject once per year for three consecutive years. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and indirect immunofluorescence serological examinations were used to detect specific T. cruzi antibodies. Polymerase chain reaction of T. cruzi DNA revealed 188-nucleotide bands, which hybridised to a specific radiolabelled probe and were confirmed by cloning and sequencing. RESULTS: Three independent assessments at different time points revealed T. cruzi nuclear DNA footprints in 76% (83/109) of the study population with active infection. In contrast, the ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence assays detected the T. cruzi antibody in 28.4% (31/109) of the study samples. Moreover, the semen from 82.6% (19/23) of subjects people revealed harboured the 188- bp base pair T. cruzi footprint. Interestingly, the ejaculates of nuclear DNA-positive Chagas patient transmitted the T. cruzi upon peritoneal injection or infusion in the vagina of mice, and amastigotes were detected in the skeletal muscle, myocardium, vas deferens, and uterine tube. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: T. cruzi infections can be transmitted from females or males to na?ve mates through intercourse, and progeny showed discrepancies between the ratios of nuclear DNA footprints and specific antibody that can be explained by the tolerance attained during early embryo growth. Additional studies are needed to develop drugs to eradicate the infections. Additionally, the importance of a vigorous education, information, and communication program to prevent sexually transmitted Chagas disease in humans cannot be underemphasised.

Contributions of damaged mitochondria to neuropathologies have stimulated interest in mitophagy. We investigated triggers of neuronal mitophagy by disruption of mitochondrial energy metabolism in primary neurons. Mitophagy was examined in cultured murine cerebellar granule cells after inhibition of mitochondrial respiratory chain by drugs rotenone, 3-nitropropionic acid, antimycin A, and potassium cyanide, targeting complexes I, II, III, and IV, respectively. Inhibitor concentrations producing slow cellular demise were determined from analyses of cellular viability, morphology of neuritic damage, plasma membrane permeability, and oxidative phosphorylation. Live cell imaging of dissipation of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm ) by drugs targeting mitochondrial complexes was referenced to complete depolarization by carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazone. While inhibition of complexes I, III and IV effected rapid dissipation of ΔΨm , inhibition of complex II using 3-nitropropionic acid led to minimal depolarization of mitochondria. Nonetheless, all respiratory chain inhibitors triggered mitophagy as indicated by increased aggregation of mitochondrially localized PINK1. Mitophagy was further analyzed using a dual fluorescent protein biosensor reporting mitochondrial relocation to acidic lysosomal environment. Significant acidification of mitochondria was observed in neurons treated with rotenone or 3-nitropropionic acid, revealing mitophagy at distal processes. Neurons treated with antimycin A or cyanide failed to show mitochondrial acidification. Minor dissipation of ΔΨm by 3-nitropropionic acid coupled with vigorous triggering of mitophagy suggested depolarization of mitochondria is not a necessary condition to trigger mitophagy. Moreover, weak elicitation of mitophagy by antimycin A, subsequent to loss of ΔΨm , suggested that mitochondrial depolarization is not a sufficient condition for triggering robust neuronal mitophagy. Our findings provide new insight into complexities of mitophagic clearance of neuronal mitochondria.

Segmental arterial mediolysis (SAM) is a rare, non-inflammatory, vascular condition that predominantly affects medium-sized to large-sized abdominal arteries and can present with haemorrhage into the abdominal cavity. We report the case of a patient with SAM of the coeliac, splenic, renal and gastroduodenal arteries in whom endovascular coil embolisation was successfully used to treat a bleeding gastroduodenal artery pseudoaneurysm.

We study the behavior of the fermion propagator in an external time dependent potential in 0+1 dimension. We show that, when the potential has upto quadratic terms in time, the propagator can be expressed in terms of generalized Airy functions (or standard Airy functions depending on the exact time dependence). We study various properties of these new generalized functions which reduce to the standard Airy functions in a particular limit., 9 pages, 3 figures

Ubiquitin ligases of the Nedd4 family are important for axon and dendrite development, but little is known about their adaptor, Nedd4 family-interacting protein 1 (Ndfip1), that is responsible for their enzymatic activation. To study the function of Ndfip1 in cortical development, we generated a conditional knock-out (conditional KO) in neurons. The Ndfip1 conditional KO mice were viable; however, cortical neurons in the adult brain exhibited atrophic characteristics, including stunted dendritic arbors, blebbing of dendrites, and fewer dendritic spines. In electron micrographs, these neurons appeared shrunken with compacted somata and involutions of the nuclear membrane. In culture, Ndfip1 KO neurons exhibited exuberant sprouting suggesting loss of developmental control. Biochemical analysis of postsynaptic density (PSD) fractions from Ndfip1 KO cortical and hippocampal neurons showed that the postsynaptic proteins (Arc and PSD-95) were reduced compared with wild-type controls. In addition, the PI3 kinase/Akt signaling pathway was altered. These results indicate that Ndfip1, through its Nedd4 effectors, is important for the development of dendrites and dendritic spines in the cortex.

Malformations of cortical development can arise when projection neurons generated in the germinal zones fail to migrate properly into the cortical plate. This process is critically dependent on the Reelin glycoprotein, which when absent leads to an inversion of cortical layers and blurring of borders. Reelin has other functions including supporting neuron migration and maintaining their trajectories; however, the precise role on glial fiber-dependent or -independent migration of neurons remains controversial. In this study, we wish to test the hypothesis that migrating cortical neurons at different levels of the cortical wall have differential responses to Reelin. We exposed neurons migrating across the cortical wall to exogenous Reelin and monitored their migratory behavior using time-lapse imaging. Our results show that, in the germinal zones, exogenous Reelin retarded neuron migration and altered their trajectories. This behavior is in contrast to the response of neurons located in the intermediate zone (IZ), possibly because Reelin receptors are not expressed in this zone. In the reeler cortex, Reelin receptors are expressed in the IZ and exposure to exogenous Reelin was able to rescue the migratory defect. These studies demonstrate that migrating neurons have nonequivalent responses to Reelin depending on their location within the cortical wall.

Copy number variations to chromosome 21 (HSA21) cause intellectual disability and Down Syndrome, but our understanding of the HSA21 genetic factors which contribute to fetal brain development remains incomplete. Here, we focussed on the neurodevelopmental functions for EURL (also known as C21ORF91, Refseq Gene ID:54149), a protein-coding gene at the centromeric boundary of the Down Syndrome Critical Region (DSCR) of HSA21. We report that EURL is expressed during human and mouse cerebral cortex development, and we report that alterations to EURL mRNA levels within the human brain underlie Down Syndrome. Our gene perturbation studies in mice demonstrate that disruptions to Eurl impair progenitor proliferation and neuronal differentiation. Also, we find that disruptions to Eurl impair the long-term positioning and dendritic spine densities of cortical projection neurons. We provide evidence that EURL interacts with the coiled-coil domain-containing protein CCDC85B so as to modulate β-catenin levels in cells. Further, we utilised a fluorescent reporter (8xTOPFLASHd2EGFP) to demonstrate that disruptions to Eurl alter β-catenin signalling in vitro as well as in vivo. Together, these studies highlight EURL as an important new player in neuronal development that is likely to impact on the neuropathogenesis of HSA21-related disorders including Down Syndrome.

Asymmetric cell division plays an indispensable role during corticogenesis for producing new neurons while maintaining a self-renewing pool of apical progenitors. The cellular and molecular determinants favouring asymmetric division are not completely understood. Here, we identify a novel mechanism for generating cellular asymmetry through the active transportation and local translation of Cyclin D2 mRNA in the basal process. This process is regulated by a unique cis-regulatory sequence found in the 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR) of the mRNA. Unequal inheritance of Cyclin D2 protein to the basally positioned daughter cell with the basal process confers renewal of the apical progenitor after asymmetric division. Conversely, depletion of Cyclin D2 in the apically positioned daughter cell results in terminal neuronal differentiation. We demonstrate that Cyclin D2 is also expressed in the developing human cortex within similar domains, thus indicating that its role as a fate determinant is ancient and conserved.

Migration is a dynamic process in which a cell searches the environment and translates acquired information into somal advancement. In particular, interneuron migration during development is accomplished by two distinct processes: the extension of neurites tipped with growth cones; and nucleus translocation, termed nucleokinesis. The primary purpose of our study is to investigate neurite branching and nucleokinesis using high-resolution time-lapse confocal microscopy and computational modeling. We demonstrate that nucleokinesis is accurately modeled by a spring-dashpot system and that neurite branching is independent of the nucleokinesis event, and displays the dynamics of a stochastic birth-death process. This is in contrast to traditional biological descriptions, which suggest a closer relationship between the two migratory mechanisms. Our models are validated on independent data sets acquired using two different imaging protocols, and are shown to be robust to alterations in guidance cues and cellular migratory mechanisms, through treatment with brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neurotrophin-4, and blebbistatin. We postulate that the stochastic branch dynamics exhibited by interneurons undergoing guidance-directed migration permit efficient exploration of the environment.

In the context of a broad class of quenched models, we derive a generalized differential form of the Kadanoff-Baym (KB) ansatz which relates the out of equilibrium correlated and spectral Green's functions. This relation holds at any time both before the quench (when it coincides with the fluctuation-dissipation theorem) as well as after it. We also examine, in the context of exactly soluble quenched models, the validity of some of the earlier alternative extensions of the KB ansatz., Comment: 9 pages

Textbooks and university courses teach elasticity and plasticity as separate methods for analysing the stiffness and strength of a shallow foundation. The behaviour of real soil is neither linear elastic nor perfectly plastic. In this paper, two simple techniques for incorporating non-linearity in routine design have been validated using finite element (FE) analysis. These two techniques—Atkinson's method and the mobilisable strength design (MSD) approach—assume that the responses of an individual soil element and the boundary value problem being considered are self-similar. Using this assumption, the soil element response can be scaled to predict the response of the boundary value problem. Atkinson's method is based on elasticity whereas MSD uses plasticity. Non-linearity has been captured in the FE analysis using a power law soil model. This approach uses minimal parameters, but is shown to capture accurately the undrained stress–strain response of typical clays under monotonic loading. Comparison with elastic and plastic solutions showed that the FE analysis was accurate to within < 5% at the elastic and plastic extremes of the loading range. The responses of the soil and the boundary value problem are shown to be sufficiently self-similar up to two-thirds of the failure load for the foundation response to be predicted simply by a linear scaling of the soil response. Previously reported scaling factors for vertical loading are confirmed, and new factors for horizontal and moment loading are derived. These results show that, for this particular boundary value problem, soil non-linearity can be captured with sufficient accuracy for routine design, without recourse to sophisticated numerical analysis. These self-similarity methods are simple enough to be taught to undergraduates, and could be incorporated in textbooks alongside the core sections on elasticity and plasticity, providing guidance on the application of these techniques to real non-linear soil.

SummaryDevelopment of appropriate dendritic arbors is crucial for neuronal information transfer. We show, using seizure-related gene 6 (sez-6) null mutant mice, that Sez-6 is required for normal dendritic arborization of cortical neurons. Deep-layer pyramidal neurons in the somatosensory cortex of sez-6 null mice exhibit an excess of short dendrites, and cultured cortical neurons lacking Sez-6 display excessive neurite branching. Overexpression of individual Sez-6 isoforms in knockout neurons reveals opposing actions of membrane-bound and secreted Sez-6 proteins, with membrane-bound Sez-6 exerting an antibranching effect under both basal and depolarizing conditions. Layer V pyramidal neurons in knockout brain slices show reduced excitatory postsynaptic responses and a reduced dendritic spine density, reflected by diminished punctate staining for postsynaptic density 95 (PSD-95). In behavioral tests, the sez-6 null mice display specific exploratory, motor, and cognitive deficits. In conclusion, cell-surface protein complexes involving Sez-6 help to sculpt the dendritic arbor, in turn enhancing synaptic connectivity.

The choice of initial wall thickness in welded steel pipe design is accomplished by following an empirical formula with the objective of managing stresses and strains in the pipe wall during handling. Stresses and strains during handling are due to a number of factors, including lifting with slings, placement on supports, and shipping to name a few. Although the avoidance of cement mortar lining (CML) cracking before or during stull installation is of primary interest in this paper, the need to manage the strain level in steel to prevent having an adverse impact on the integrity of CML is also discussed. With a flexible lining, the design engineer has more latitude. To avoid excessive stresses and strains, for decades, design standards and manuals have provided empirical formulae as a diameter to thickness (D/t) ratio criterion. Given that water pipes carry relatively low internal pressures in many projects, the choice of initial wall thickness often ends up as the final thickness of the steel pipe. The question that has not been asked by engineers for over eight decades is Can a Design Engineer Rely on D/t Ratio as a Rational Indicator to Manage Stresses and Strains in Welded Steel Pipe during Handling? The authors of this paper embarked on an investigation to answer this very question. The authors share their methodology, results, findings and suggestions for improvement in current practice.

In the context of an exactly soluble out of equilibrium (quenched) model, we study an extension of the fluctuation-dissipation relation. This involves a modified differential form of this relation, with an effective temperature which may have an explicit dependence on time scales.