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The main goal of this work was to evaluate the therapeutic potential of green superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) produced with coconut water for treating cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania amazonensis. Optical and electron microscopy techniques were used to evaluate the effects on cell proliferation, infectivity percentage, and ultrastructure. SPIONs were internalized by both parasite stages, randomly distributed in the cytosol and located mainly in membrane-bound compartments. The selectivity index for intracellular amastigotes was more than 240 times higher compared to current drugs used to treat the disease. The synthesized SPIONs showed promising activity against Leishmania and can be considered a strong candidate for a new therapeutic approach for treating leishmaniases.

Smart buildings play a key role in the complex ecosystem of cities and are often subject to barriers that limit their development. Although identifying these barriers is fundamental to creating an enabling environment for this segment’s expansion, few works aim to identify these challenges. This work has two main objectives: (1) to research the main barriers limiting the development of new smart building projects and (2) to prioritize these barriers from the perspective of professionals with experience in the field. We adopted an exploratory approach common in research that focuses on identifying and prioritizing variables related to a phenomenon, which is based on two main actions: obtaining information through a careful literature review and consulting professionals who work in the concerned field. The results showed that professionals assessed the 23 barriers identified through bibliographic research as important, with the most important being related to lack of qualified professionals, shortage of government policies, higher initial and construction costs, macroeconomic barriers and access to financing, high cost of intelligent systems and technologies, regulatory barriers, lack of knowledge about the current and potential benefits of smart buildings, and more complex design and construction.

Background Responsible innovation in health (RIH) emphasizes the importance of developing technologies that are responsive to system-level challenges and support equitable and sustainable healthcare. To help decision-makers identify whether an innovation fulfills RIH requirements, we developed and validated an evidence-informed assessment tool comprised of 4 inclusion and exclusion criteria, 9 assessment attributes and a scoring system. Methods We conducted an inter-rater reliability assessment to establish the extent to which 2 raters agree when applying the RIH Tool to a diversified sample of health innovations (n = 25). Following the Tool’s 3-step process, sources of information were collected and cross-checked to ensure their clarity and relevance. Ratings were reported independently in a spreadsheet to generate the study’s database. To measure inter-rater reliability, we used: a non-adjusted index (percent agreement), a chance-adjusted index (Gwet’s AC) and the Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results of the Tool’s application to the whole sample of innovations are summarized through descriptive statistics. Results Our findings show complete agreement for the screening criteria, “almost perfect” agreement for 7 assessment attributes, “substantial” agreement for 2 attributes and “almost perfect” agreement for the RIH overall score. A large portion of the sample obtained high scores for 6 attributes (health relevance, health inequalities, responsiveness, level and intensity of care and frugality) and low scores for 3 attributes (ethical, legal, and social issues [ELSIs], inclusiveness and eco-responsibility). At the rating step, 88% of the innovations had a sufficient number of attributes documented (≥ 7/9), but the assessment was based on sources of moderate to high quality (mean score ≥ 2 points) for 36% of the sample. While “Almost all RIH features” were present for 24% of the innovations (RIH mean score between 4.1-5.0 points), “Many RIH features” were present for 52% of the sample (3.1-4.0 points) and “Few RIH features” were present for 24% of the innovations (2.1-3.0 points). Conclusion By confirming key aspects of the RIH Tool’s reliability and applicability, our study brings its development to completion. It can be jointly put into action by innovation stakeholders who want to foster innovations with greater social, economic and environmental value.

Quick‐response (QR) codes are gaining much consideration in recent years due to their simple and fast readability compared with conventional barcodes. QR codes provide increased storage capacity and safer access to information, fostering the development of optical or printed smart tags as preferred tools for the Internet of Things (IoT). Herein, the combination of Yb3+/Er3+‐doped NaGdF4 upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) with recovered plastic for the fabrication of sustainable screen‐printed QR codes is reported. Their photothermal response under distinct power densities of the 980 nm laser irradiation (15–115 W cm−2) induces color‐tuning and temperature sensing. This power dependence is exploited to design a double key molecular keylock accessed by a smartphone camera through the red (R), green (G), and blue (B) (RGB) additive color model and upconversion thermometry. The latter is based on the integrated areas of the 2H11/2→4I15/2 and 4S3/2→4I15/2 Er3+ transitions using the interconnectivity and integration into the IoT network of the mobile phone to download the temperature calibration curve of the UCNPs from a remote server. These findings illustrate the potential of QR codes‐bearing UCNPs toward the design of smart tags for mobile optical sensing and anticounterfeiting.

The Notification Oriented Paradigm (NOP) introduced a new organization of software and hardware logic based on notifications among computational entities. This NOP new organization avoids processing redundancy and allows processing unit decoupling, therefore permitting proper processing performance and processing parallelism/distribution. Thus, the NOP provides means to make efficient use of the parallel execution capabilities of modern computing systems. However, as expected, the execution dynamics of NOP, based on notifications, is not efficiently performed by the hardware of most current computing systems. This paper presents a new solution called Notification-Oriented Computer Architecture (NOCA), which is suitable for the execution of software developed according to the NOP computing model. The NOCA was designed according to principles of generality and scalability, which allow it to execute NOP software of any size by fetching the application from memory. The proposed architecture is organized as a fine-grained multiprocessor that hierarchically executes instructions through sets of specialized processing cores. Preliminary experiments performed on prototypal FPGA implementation of the NOCA showed the expected behavior of executing NOP applications according to its theoretical computing model. This paper also presents experiments performed on a NOCA simulator extending the scale of parallelization of applications. Results show improvements in maximizing the speedups at higher scales of parallelization, as well as minimizing the effects of processor-to-memory communication bottlenecks by reducing the number of required memory accesses during execution.

The use of economic methods to design and fabricate flexible copper sensors decorated with bismuth micro/nanodentrites for the detection of lead and cadmium in sweat is demonstrated. The flexible copper sensors were constructed with simple and cost-effective materials; namely, flexible and adhesive conductive copper tape, adhesive label containing the design of a three-electrode electrochemical system, and nail polish or spray as a protective layer. The flexible copper device consisted of a working electrode decorated with bismuth micro/nanodentrites using an electrodeposition technique, a copper pseudo-reference and copper counter electrodes. Under optimal experimental conditions, the flexible sensing platform showed excellent performance toward the detection of lead and cadmium using differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPAdSV) in a wide linear range from 2.0 μM to 50 μM with acceptable reproducibility and repeatability, and limits of detection and quantification of 5.36 and 17.9 μM for Cd2+ ions and 0.76 μM and 2.5 for Pb2+ ions. Studies of addition and recovery in spiked artificial sweat sample were performed, with a recovery of 104.6%. The flexible copper device provides a great opportunity for application in wearable perspiration-based healthcare systems or portable sensors to detect toxic metals in biological samples.

In this work, we present constructions of algebraic lattices in Euclidean space with optimal center density in dimensions 2,3,4,5,6,8 and 12, which are rotated versions of the lattices Lambda_n, for n =2,3,4,5,6,8 and K_12. These algebraic lattices are constructed through canonical homomorphism via Z-modules of the ring of algebraic integers of a number field.

Several works have characterized weak instances of the Ring-LWE problem by exploring vulnerabilities arising from the use of algebraic structures. Although these weak instances are not addressed by worst-case hardness theorems, enabling other ring instantiations enlarges the scope of possible applications and favors the diversification of security assumptions. In this work, we extend the Ring-LWE problem in lattice-based cryptography to include algebraic lattices, realized through twisted embeddings. We define the class of problems Twisted Ring-LWE, which replaces the canonical embedding by an extended form. By doing so, we allow the Ring-LWE problem to be used over maximal real subfields of cyclotomic number fields. We prove that Twisted Ring-LWE is secure by providing a security reduction from Ring-LWE to Twisted Ring-LWE in both search and decision forms. It is also shown that the twist factor does not affect the asymptotic approximation factors in the worst-case to average-case reductions. Thus, Twisted Ring-LWE maintains the consolidated hardness guarantee of Ring-LWE and increases the existing scope of algebraic lattices that can be considered for cryptographic applications. Additionally, we expand on the results of Ducas and Durmus (Public-Key Cryptography, 2012) on spherical Gaussian distributions to the proposed class of lattices under certain restrictions. As a result, sampling from a spherical Gaussian distribution can be done directly in the respective number field while maintaining its format and standard deviation when seen in Zn via twisted embeddings.

ABSTRACT: The use of aerial application with electrostatic charge is an alternative to improve the quality of insecticide applications in soybean crop. The objective of this study was to evaluate the drift and chemical control of the caterpillar and stink bug complex promoted by aerial applications of insecticide in the soybean crop, using electrostatic spray system and rotary atomizers. The insecticide Thiamethoxam + Lambda cyhalothrin was applied with a Cessna 188 Ag Truck agricultural aircraft in two treatments: SPE® electrostatic system, with 54 SPE-5 nozzles and 10 L ha-1 application rate, and Travicar model® 05165 rotary atomizer, with 55° angle blades and application rate of 20 L ha-1. Drift was evaluated through quantification of active ingredient, by means of liquid chromatography, on nylon strings set 20, 40, 80, 160 and 320 m downwind from the applied area. Control efficiency was measured by counting caterpillars and stink bugs found five days after application. The droplet spectrum was also evaluated through water sensitive papers placed in the target area. It was verified that the hydraulic nozzles, associated with the electrostatic system, generated lower drift, but there was no difference in pest control efficiency, in relation to the rotary atomizers.

ABSTRACT Pesticide drift is an issue in modern farming, mainly for crops under constant spraying as soybeans. This study aimed at assessing drift and pest control for aerial applications in soybean crops. Hydraulic nozzles and rotary atomizers, regulated to a wide spectrum of droplet sizes, sprayed thiamethoxam plus lambda-cyhalothrin using an agricultural aircraft Ipanema 202A at volume rate of 20 L ha−1. Treatments consisted of testing two devices: a rotary cage atomizer (Micronair AU 5000) with blade angles of 65° for larger droplets, and with angle of 55° for smaller ones; and a set of adjustable nozzles (Stol model) with deflector angle of 90° for smaller droplets, and with angle of 30° for larger ones. Drift was evaluated through quantification of active ingredient, by means of liquid chromatography, on nylon strings set 20, 40, 80, 160 and 320 m downwind from the applied area. Control efficiency was measured by counting caterpillars and stinkbugs found five days after spray. Rotary atomizers produced lesser drift compared to adjustable nozzles at the designed setting. Furthermore, drift can be reduced through a suitable regulation of the devices, keeping an effective pest control.

The study evaluate the aerobic power levels of a Futsal team sub 17 years of the West Paraná. The sample consisted of 14 male athletes of the team under 17 of Copagril team average age at 16.81±0.63. All were submitted at anthropometric tests which had variables as height, body mass and % fat. They were also carried out a pubertal questionnaire and incremental test intermittent running (HRCT) to estimate maximal aerobic power. The data were presented by descriptive analysis by calculating the mean and standard deviation. The results were height (1.74±0.07 meters), body mass (70.4±7.97 kg) and % fat (15.6±5.71). The values of HRCT test: HRmax (182.8±27.92 bpm), speed peak (PV) (13.93±1.10 km.h-1) and aerobic power (48.75±3.85 ml.kg-1.min-1). Observing the physiological values of our study with athletes under 17 Futsal, we can conclude that were found lower values than studies with professional athletes, which was expected and also presented in the literature. This implies that the athletes are still forming from the physiological point of view and they will also need to improve the level of aerobic fitness, thereby they can have a chance to be in a professional level team one day.

O presente trabalho resume os processos de fiação convencionais usados na obtenção de fibras de poliacrilonitrila (PAN). Um breve histórico do desenvolvimento da fibra de PAN é apresentado. A empregabilidade das fibras de PAN está atribuída principalmente ao setor têxtil e aeronáutico (como principal precursora para fibras de carbono). Atualmente, o processo de fiação úmida tornou-se o único meio para produção industrial de fibras de PAN, que emprega o DMF (dimetilformamida) como principal solvente para esta técnica de fiação. Descreve-se um novo método de fiação da PAN que dispensa o emprego de solventes altamente tóxicos. Essa tecnologia inovadora permite fiação por fusão da PAN que pode empregar a glicerina (proveniente da produção do biodiesel) como seu principal plastificante.

Neste trabalho são apresentados resultados de análise térmica para poliacrilonitrila (PAN) plastificada com glicerina. Foram observados os efeitos da glicerina de alta pureza (glicerol) e demais aditivos à base de glicóis na fusão e degradação térmica da PAN pela técnica de DSC sob alta taxa de aquecimento (90 °C/min) e atmosfera inerte. Foi constatado que o glicerol reduziu a temperatura de fusão da PAN de 290 °C para 217 °C. Em uma etapa preliminar foi empregado o método de Kissinger para verificar o efeito da composição química da PAN sob sua degradação térmica. A energia de ativação aparente para o copolímero de PAN foi calculada em 149 kJ.mol-1. Sugeriu-se que a presença do comonômero acetato de vinila (AV) na composição química da PAN proporcionou menor entalpia de degradação (353 J.g-1) em comparação com outros comonômeros constituintes de uma PAN precursora de fibras de carbono (988 J.g-1).This paper presents results from thermal analysis of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) plasticized with glycerin, where effects from the high purity glycerin (glycerol) and other additives to glycol were studied. Using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) at high heating rate (90 °C/min) and inert atmosphere, we observed a decrease in the melting temperature of PAN (from 290 °C to 217 °C) owing to the presence of glycerol. The Kissinger's method was used to investigate the kinetics of thermal degradation for acrylonitrile (AN) with vinyl acetate (AV). The apparent activation energy for the copolymer AN/AV was calculated as 149 kJ.mol-1. The AV comonomer resulted in a lower degradation enthalpy for the copolymer AN/AV (353 J.g-1) compared with the comonomers comprising a precursor PAN for carbon fibers (988 J.g-1).

Parameters such as tolerance, scale and agility utilized in data sampling for using in Precision Agriculture required an expressive number of researches and development of techniques and instruments for automation. It is highlighted the employment of methodologies in remote sensing used in coupled to a Geographic Information System (GIS), adapted or developed for agricultural use. Aiming this, the application of Agricultural Mobile Robots is a strong tendency, mainly in the European Union, the USA and Japan. In Brazil, researches are necessary for the development of robotics platforms, serving as a basis for semi-autonomous and autonomous navigation systems. The aim of this work is to describe the project of an experimental platform for data acquisition in field for the study of the spatial variability and development of agricultural robotics technologies to operate in agricultural environments. The proposal is based on a systematization of scientific work to choose the design parameters utilized for the construction of the model. The kinematic study of the mechanical structure was made by the virtual prototyping process, based on modeling and simulating of the tension applied in frame, using the.Parâmetros, como tolerância, escala e agilidade empregados na amostragem de dados para uso em Agricultura de Precisão, exigem um expressivo número de pesquisas no desenvolvimento de instrumentos e técnicas para automação. Destacam-se a utilização de metodologias em sensoriamento remoto utilizadas em conjunto com o Sistema de Informação Geográfica (SIG), adaptados ou desenvolvidos para o uso agrícola. Visando a isso, a aplicação de Robôs Agrícolas Móveis é uma forte tendência, principalmente na União Europeia, EUA e Japão. No Brasil, pesquisas são necessárias para o desenvolvimento de plataformas robóticas, que sirvam de base para sistemas de navegação autônomos ou semiautônomos. O objetivo deste trabalho é descrever o projeto de uma plataforma experimental para a aquisição de dados em campo para o estudo da variabilidade espacial e desenvolvimento de tecnologias para operação de robôs em ambiente agrícola. A proposta baseia-se em uma sistematização de trabalhos científicos que norteiam a escolha dos parâmetros de projeto utilizados para a construção do modelo. O estudo cinemático da estrutura mecânica foi feito pelo processo de prototipagem virtual, baseado na modelagem e simulação das tensões aplicadas no chassi, utilizando o método dos elementos finitos, em função dos conceitos básicos de cinemática de robôs móveis e experiências em trabalhos anteriores.

The recent development of silver nanostars (Ag-NSs) is promising for improved surface-enhanced sensing and spectroscopy, which may be further exploited if the mechanisms behind the excitation of localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) are identified. Here, we show that LSPRs in Ag-NSs can be obtained with finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) calculations by considering the nanostars as combination of crossed nanorods (Ag-NRs). In particular, we demonstrate that an apparent tail at large wavelengths ( λ ≳ 700 nm) observed in the extinction spectra of Ag-NSs is due to a strong dipolar plasmon resonance, with no need to invoke heterogeneity (different number of arms) effects as is normally done in the literature. Our description also indicates a way to tune the strongest LSPR at desired wavelengths, which is useful for sensing applications.

Introduction. Infant juvenile obesity is currently a worldwide public health problem and it is increasing at alarming rate in the Brazilian population, showing its relevance in terms of public health. Objectives. Determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents between 2 and 19 years old in different regions of Brazil. Methods. The following electronic databases were searched (from September through November 2013): Medline (PubMed), LILACS, and SciELO, using the descriptors and Boolean operators (obesity) and (overweight) and (child) and (prevalence) and (Brazil). Prospective and/or cross-sectional designs studies were found regarding the prevalence of overweight and obese children and adolescents in the five regions of Brazil. Results. A total of 191 scientific articles were found of which 17 met all inclusion criteria. A higher prevalence of overweight was found in the south (25.7%) and north (28.8%) of the country, and obesity in the southeast (15.4%) and south (10.4%). Conclusions. The scope of the studies was mostly based on municipal coverage, which resulted in limitations for conclusive analysis, showing the need for further studies of prevalence at the national level, with emphasis on public health in obese children and adolescents throughout the Brazilian territory.

Este texto apresenta uma análise da demanda por unidades habitacionais no Brasil a partir dos dados da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios - 1995, do IBGE. Seu objetivo é fornecer uma avaliação das atuais dimensões do déficit habitacional brasileiro, seus principais determinantes e sua distribuição entre as Regiões Metropolitanas do país. Adicionalmente, também serão analisados aspectos vinculados às condições gerais da infra-estrutura habitacional - especificamente aqueles relacionados à cobertura das redes gerais de saneamento básico - os quais permitem avaliar com maior rigor a dimensão qualitativa da questão habitacional. A principal razão das inúmeras divergências observadas entre as diversas tentativas de mensuração do déficit habitacional refere-se à falta de uma conceituação precisa. Assim, este estudo tem como meta implícita oferecer uma alternativa que permita uma avaliação direta do que se pode chamar de core deficit utilizando-se os dados das diversas PNADs.

Nuclear migration is regulated by the LIS1 protein, which is the regulatory subunit of platelet activating factor (PAF) acetyl-hydrolase, an enzyme complex that inactivates the lipid mediator PAF. Among other functions, PAF modulates cell proliferation, but its effects upon mechanisms of the cell cycle are unknown. Here we show that PAF inhibited interkinetic nuclear migration (IKNM) in retinal proliferating progenitors. The lipid did not, however, affect the velocity of nuclear migration in cells that escaped IKNM blockade. The effect depended on the PAF receptor, Erk and p38 pathways and Chk1. PAF induced no cell death, nor a reduction in nucleotide incorporation, which rules out an intra-S checkpoint. Notwithstanding, the expected increase in cyclin B1 content during G2-phase was prevented in the proliferating cells. We conclude that PAF blocks interkinetic nuclear migration in retinal progenitor cells through an unusual arrest of the cell cycle at the transition from S to G2 phases. These data suggest the operation, in the developing retina, of a checkpoint that monitors the transition from S to G2 phases of the cell cycle.

Seminal gas discharge experiments of the late 19th and early 20th centuries laid the foundations of modern physics, and the influence of this "golden era" continues to resonate well into the 21st century through modern technologies, medical applications, and fundamental scientific investigations. Key to this continuing success story has been the kinetic equation formulated by Ludwig Boltzmann in 1872, which provides the theoretical foundations necessary for analyzing such highly non-equilibrium situations. However, as discussed here, the full potential of Boltzmann's equation has been realized only in the past 50 years or so, with modern computing power and analytical techniques facilitating accurate solutions for various types of charged particles (ions, electrons, positrons, and muons) in gases. Our example of thermalization of electrons in xenon gas highlights the need for such accurate methods—the traditional Lorentz approximation is shown to be hopelessly inadequate. We then discuss the emerging role of Boltzmann's equation in determining cross sections by inverting measured swarm experiment transport coefficient data using machine learning with artificial neural networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]