Microstructural and electrical properties of PbTIO3 screen-printed thick films

In this article we will study the structural and electrical properties of PbTiO3 (PTO) screen-printed thick films. These properties can change with synthetic routes employed for synthesis of PTO. The ceramic powder has been synthesized by mechanical alloying and solid state route. This material crystallizes in the tetragonal system, with space group P4mm and unit cell dimensions a = b = 3.904, c = 4.152 angstrom, and Z = 1. From our results, it was observed that PTO obtained by mechanical alloying provides smaller crystallite size. The Rietveld refinement showed that the samples synthesized by mechanical alloying and solid state route crystallize in the tetragonal system but with different cell parameters. The Raman shifts of these films agree with modes from literature. However, some displacements happen, because the morphology and structural characteristics of the thick films are different, compared to single crystal and thin film. The photomicrographs of the PTO thick films showed that the choice of synthetic routes obtained samples with different microstructures.191097398

Inhibition of hypothalamic Foxo1 expression reduced food intake in diet-induced obesity rats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Insulin signalling in the hypothalamus plays a role in maintaining body weight. The forkhead transcription factor Foxo1 is an important mediator of insulin signalling in the hypothalamus. Foxo1 stimulates the transcription of the orexigenic neuropeptide Y and Agouti-related protein through the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/Akt signalling pathway, but the role of hypothalamic Foxo1 in insulin resistance and obesity remains unclear. Here, we identify that a high-fat diet impaired insulin-induced hypothalamic Foxo1 phosphorylation and degradation, increasing the nuclear Foxo1 activity and hyperphagic response in rats. Thus, we investigated the effects of the intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) microinfusion of Foxo1-antisense oligonucleotide (Foxo1-ASO) and evaluated the food consumption and weight gain in normal and diet-induced obese (DIO) rats. Three days of Foxo1-ASO microinfusion reduced the hypothalamic Foxo1 expression by about 85%. i.c.v. infusion of Foxo1-ASO reduced the cumulative food intake (21%), body weight change (28%), epididymal fat pad weight (22%) and fasting serum insulin levels (19%) and increased the insulin sensitivity (34%) in DIO but not in control animals. Collectively, these data showed that the Foxo1-ASO treatment blocked the orexigenic effects of Foxo1 and prevented the hyperphagic response in obese rats. Thus, pharmacological manipulation of Foxo1 may be used to prevent or treat obesity.5871023412351Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Caring for institutionalized elderly: representations of managers and professionals

ABSTRACT Objective: Analyze the social representations of professionals and managers of long-term care institution for the elderly about the care and the influence of this conception in the practice of caring. Method: This is a qualitative research carried out with twenty-nine professionals and four managers of a long-term institution for the elderly in a city in the interior of São Paulo. The data, collected in two phases through individual interviews and workshops, were analyzed through the techniques of the Collective Subject Discourse and Content Analysis in the thematic modality. Results: About their representations about care, three main ideas were identified for managers: "giving affection"; "Supply basic needs"; and "look broadened." For the professionals, the main ideas were "to help and to give affection"; "Supply needs"; and "extended care". It also identified that the representations of the elderly influence the care practice. Final considerations and implications for the practice: The maintenance of the caregiving vision of the care process and the charitable model of producing health in these institutions are reflections of the representations of the elderly. Thus, it is necessary to review the social roles of the elderly, recognizing them as protagonists of their care process aiming at a better quality of care for this population