Cross view from a transdisciplinary critical perspective to poverty

O objetivo do artigo é articular, desde uma perspectiva transdiciplinária, concepções teóricas que permitem discutir a questão social da pobreza com base em estudos críticos do discurso (ECD), sobretudo, os que relacionam a noção cognitiva de contexto com propriedades de gêneros discursivos, registros, estilos e retórica (van Dijk, 2007, 2008; Fairclough, 2003). Essas propriedades, vinculadas ao discurso como prática social, contribuem para a análise de eventos comunicativos que emergem de ‘contextos de situação’ e refletem ‘contextos de cultura’. _______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThe aim of this paper is to articulate, from a transdisciplinary perspective, theoretical conceptions that allow us to discuss the social question of poverty based on critical studies of discourse (ECD) that comprise cognitive dimension of context associated with properties of discursive genre, as well as register, style and rhetoric (van Dijk, 2007, 2008; Fairclough, 2003). These discourse properties as social practice contribute to the analysis of communicative events that emerge from ‘situational contexts’ and reflect ‘cultural contexts’

Bridge helix bending promotes RNA polymerase II backtracking through a critical and conserved threonine residue.

The dynamics of the RNA polymerase II (Pol II) backtracking process is poorly understood. We built a Markov State Model from extensive molecular dynamics simulations to identify metastable intermediate states and the dynamics of backtracking at atomistic detail. Our results reveal that Pol II backtracking occurs in a stepwise mode where two intermediate states are involved. We find that the continuous bending motion of the Bridge helix (BH) serves as a critical checkpoint, using the highly conserved BH residue T831 as a sensing probe for the 3'-terminal base paring of RNA:DNA hybrid. If the base pair is mismatched, BH bending can promote the RNA 3'-end nucleotide into a frayed state that further leads to the backtracked state. These computational observations are validated by site-directed mutagenesis and transcript cleavage assays, and provide insights into the key factors that regulate the preferences of the backward translocation

Personal data broker instead of blockchain for students’ data privacy assurance

Data logs about learning activities are being recorded at a growing pace due to the adoption and evolution of educational technologies (Edtech). Data analytics has entered the field of education under the name of learning analytics. Data analytics can provide insights that can be used to enhance learning activities for educational stakeholders, as well as helping online learning applications providers to enhance their services. However, despite the goodwill in the use of Edtech, some service providers use it as a means to collect private data about the students for their own interests and benefits. This is showcased in recent cases seen in media of bad use of students’ personal information. This growth in cases is due to the recent tightening in data privacy regulations, especially in the EU. The students or their parents should be the owners of the information about them and their learning activities online. Thus they should have the right tools to control how their information is accessed and for what purposes. Currently, there is no technological solution to prevent leaks or the misuse of data about the students or their activity. It seems appropriate to try to solve it from an automation technology perspective. In this paper, we consider the use of Blockchain technologies as a possible basis for a solution to this problem. Our analysis indicates that the Blockchain is not a suitable solution. Finally, we propose a cloud-based solution with a central personal point of management that we have called Personal Data Broker.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Quantifying loopy network architectures

Biology presents many examples of planar distribution and structural networks having dense sets of closed loops. An archetype of this form of network organization is the vasculature of dicotyledonous leaves, which showcases a hierarchically-nested architecture containing closed loops at many different levels. Although a number of methods have been proposed to measure aspects of the structure of such networks, a robust metric to quantify their hierarchical organization is still lacking. We present an algorithmic framework, the hierarchical loop decomposition, that allows mapping loopy networks to binary trees, preserving in the connectivity of the trees the architecture of the original graph. We apply this framework to investigate computer generated graphs, such as artificial models and optimal distribution networks, as well as natural graphs extracted from digitized images of dicotyledonous leaves and vasculature of rat cerebral neocortex. We calculate various metrics based on the Asymmetry, the cumulative size distribution and the Strahler bifurcation ratios of the corresponding trees and discuss the relationship of these quantities to the architectural organization of the original graphs. This algorithmic framework decouples the geometric information (exact location of edges and nodes) from the metric topology (connectivity and edge weight) and it ultimately allows us to perform a quantitative statistical comparison between predictions of theoretical models and naturally occurring loopy graphs.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures. During preparation of this manuscript the authors became aware of the work of Mileyko at al., concurrently submitted for publicatio

Dynamics of phosphorus in the body of sheep fed different levels of this mineral in the diets

Avaliou-se a dinâmica do fósforo no organismo de cordeiros Santa Inês alimentados com dietas com diversos níveis deste mineral, considerando as correlações entre os níveis de fósforo consumido e de fósforo no plasma; na saliva; no conteúdo ruminal; nas fezes; e na urina. Foram utilizados 18 cordeiros com 5 meses de idade e 27 kg de peso vivo. O experimento foi dividido em dois períodos de cinco semanas, cada um com nove animais. Os animais foram mantidos individualmente em gaiolas para estudo de metabolismo e receberam uma dieta basal constituída de feno de capim coast-cross (Cynodon dactylon, L. Pers.) e concentrado com diferentes níveis de fósforo (1,9; 2,6; 3,3 g/dia) provenientes de fosfato bicálcico. No 15º dia, iniciaram-se as coletas de saliva, plasma, conteúdo ruminal, fezes e urina para as análises de fósforo inorgânico. Observaram-se correlações positivas entre o aumento do consumo de fósforo e os teores desse mineral no plasma (r = 0,64), na saliva (r = 0,86), no conteúdo ruminal (r = 0,82), nas fezes (r = 0,92) e na urina (r = 0,37), comprovando que, quando absorvido, o fósforo é distribuído no corpo pelo plasma. Após a saturação no organismo, o excesso é secretado via saliva, segue para o rúmen e, ao chegar ao intestino, é reabsorvido em menor quantidade e excretado via fezes. À medida que se aumentaram os níveis de fósforo na dieta, verificou-se aumento expressivo dos teores desse mineral na saliva, no plasma, no conteúdo ruminal e nas fezes.The dynamics of phosphorus in the body of Santa Ines lambs fed diets with different levels of this mineral was evaluated, considering the correlations among the levels of phosphorus consumed, in plasma; in saliva, in rumen contents, in feces, and in urine. Eighteen lambs were used with five mo old and 27 kg BW. The experiment was divided into two periods of five weeks, each with nine animals. The animals were individually kept in cages of metabolism study and were fed a basal diet consists of coast-cross grass (Cynodon dactylon, L. Pers.) hay and concentrate with different phosphorus levels (1.9, 2.6, 3.3 g/day) from dicalcium phosphate. On the 15th day, it was initiated the collection of saliva, plasma, rumen contents, feces and urine for the analysis of inorganic phosphorus. Positive correlations were observed among the increase of phosphorus intake and the levels of this mineral in plasma, saliva, rumen contents, feces and urine, indicating that, when absorbed, the phosphorus is distributed throughout the body by the plasma. After saturation in the body, the excess is secreted through saliva, following for the rumen, and reaching the intestine; it is reabsorbed into smaller quantity and excreted via feces. As phosphorus levels increased in the diet, there was significant increase of these mineral levels in saliva, plasma, rumen contents and feces

Link Prediction in Complex Networks: A Survey

Link prediction in complex networks has attracted increasing attention from both physical and computer science communities. The algorithms can be used to extract missing information, identify spurious interactions, evaluate network evolving mechanisms, and so on. This article summaries recent progress about link prediction algorithms, emphasizing on the contributions from physical perspectives and approaches, such as the random-walk-based methods and the maximum likelihood methods. We also introduce three typical applications: reconstruction of networks, evaluation of network evolving mechanism and classification of partially labelled networks. Finally, we introduce some applications and outline future challenges of link prediction algorithms.Comment: 44 pages, 5 figure

Manual del Profesor como Complemento a la Asignatura Laboratorio Integrado de la Titulación Grado en Ingeniería de Materiales

El fin principal de este proyecto es la creación de un Manual del Profesor con inclusión de cuestionarios, gráficos, muestras-tipo, etc. La generación de estos recursos didácticos adicionales permitirá al profesorado del Departamento de Ingeniería Química y de Materiales, anteriormente denominado Departamento de Ciencia de los Materiales e Ingeniería Metalúrgica, una mejor preparación de las prácticas de la asignatura Laboratorio Integrado de tercer curso del grado Ingeniería de Materiales impartido en la Facultad de Ciencias Físicas. Actualmente esta asignatura cuenta con un total de 24 prácticas, clasificadas en cuatro bloques, a saber: tratamientos térmicos de aceros, metalografía, corrosión y procesado. En este proyecto se abordarán las prácticas relativas a Anodizado, Niquelado y Cobreado correspondientes al bloque de Procesado de Materiales

Global similarity with local differences in linkage disequilibrium between the Dutch and HapMap–CEU populations

The HapMap project has facilitated the selection of tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (tagSNPs) for genome-wide association studies (GWAS) under the assumption that linkage disequilibrium (LD) in the HapMap populations is similar to the populations under investigation. Earlier reports support this assumption, although in most of these studies only a few loci were evaluated. We compared pair-wise LD and LD block structure across autosomes between the Dutch population and the CEU-HapMap reference panel. The impact of sampling distribution on the estimation of LD blocks was studied by bootstrapping. A high Pearson correlation (genome-wide; 0.93) between pair-wise