The current study evaluated cultural values and family processes that may moderate associations between daily racial-ethnic discrimination and distress among Mexican-origin youth. Integrating micro-time (daily diary) and macro-time (longitudinal survey) research design features, we examined familism, family cohesion, and ethnic-racial socialization from youth-, mother-, and father- reports as potential buffers of daily associations between youth racial-ethnic discrimination and youth distress (negative affect and anger). The analytic sample, drawn from the Seguimos Avanzando study, included 317 Mexican-origin adolescents (Mage = 13.5 years) and their parents, recruited from the Midwestern United States. Results indicated that youth-reported familism and family cohesion significantly buffered daily associations between youth racial-ethnic discrimination and youth distress. In contrast, parent-reported familism and family cohesion and some aspects of ethnic-racial socialization exacerbated the discrimination to distress link. The implications of these results are discussed to inform efforts supporting the healthy development of Mexican-origin youth and their families.

Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) are a highly valued aquaculture species, and, as obligate carnivores, they have a demonstrated preference for dietary protein over lipid or starch to fuel energetic growth demands. In order to investigate how carnivorous fish regulate nutritional cues, we examined the metabolic effects of feeding two isoenergetic diets that contained different proportions of digestible protein or starch energy. Fish fed a high proportion of dietary starch energy had a higher proportion of liver SFA, but showed no change in plasma glucose levels, and few changes in the expression of genes regulating key hepatic metabolic pathways. Decreased activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin growth signalling cascade was consistent with decreased growth performance values. The fractional synthetic rate (lipogenesis), measured by TAG 2H-enrichment using 2H NMR, was significantly higher in barramundi fed with the starch diet compared with the protein diet (0·6 (se 0·1) v. 0·4 (se 0·1) % per d, respectively). Hepatic TAG-bound glycerol synthetic rates were much higher than other closely related fish such as sea bass, but were not significantly different (starch, 2·8 (se 0·3) v. protein, 3·4 (se 0·3) % per d), highlighting the role of glycerol as a metabolic intermediary and high TAG-FA cycling in barramundi. Overall, dietary starch significantly increased hepatic TAG through increased lipogenesis. Compared with other fish, barramundi possess a unique mechanism to metabolise dietary carbohydrates and this knowledge may define ways to improve performance of advanced formulated feeds.

To understand the production factors that affect conclusive parameters of sow herd performance can improve the use of the resources and profitability of farm. The objective of this study was to identify associations and quantify the effects of a set of factors related to piglet weight at weaning (PWW), kilograms of piglets weaned per sow per year (kgPWSY) and sow feed conversion (SFC). Data from 150 farms were collected, for a total study population of 135 168 sows, including gilt replacement, breeding (mating), gestation and farrowing/lactation phases. A questionnaire focusing on reproductive performance, management, facilities, feeding, health and biosafety was administered. Multiple linear regression models were used to assess associations among factors with each of the three dependent variables. Increased duration of lactation was positively associated with PWW, kgPWSY and SFC. The increase in the number of live born pigs per litter was positively associated with kgPWSY and with SFC. Farms with higher PWW had farrowing room humidifiers, did not surgically castrate male piglets and used quaternary ammonia compounds for farrowing room disinfection. Farms with higher kgPWSY used lined ceilings in farrowing rooms and winter feeds with higher CP percentages in gestation; they also had more farrowings per sow per year. Sow feed conversion was worse in farms with partly slatted floors during gestation, in farms feeding lactating sows six times a day or ad libitum and farms with a higher sow-handler ratio. This study indicates that farms can increase PWW and kgPWSY and improve the SFC by changing one or more management, biosafety and feeding practices or facilities as well as by focusing on improving several performance parameters, particularly increasing the duration of lactation and the number of live born pigs per litter.

Use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines has caused emergence of non-vaccine serotypes. No Brazilian data specifically about serotype 19A are available. We aimed to evaluate the frequency of occurrence, susceptibility profile and molecular epidemiology of serotype 19A before and after vaccine introduction in Brazil. Pneumococcal identification was performed by the conventional method. Strain serotype was determined by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and/or Quellung reaction. Resistance was determined by Etest® and PCR was performed to determine the presence of macrolide resistance genes, ermB and/or mefA. Pneumococci were typed by Multilocus Sequence Typing. Thirty-eight serotype 19A Streptococcus pneumoniae were recovered, mostly from invasive diseases. Prevalence of serotype 19A increased following vaccination (from 3.5% before vaccination to 8.1% after, p = 0.04196). Non-susceptibility increased to most antimicrobials after vaccine introduction and was associated with clonal complex (CC)320. MLST showed nine different STs, which were grouped in one main CC: CC320 (63.9%). During the post-vaccination era, the frequency of this serotype increased significantly from 1.2% in 2011 to 18.5% in 2014 (p = 0.00001), with a concomitant decrease in the genetic variability: ST320 consistently predominated after vaccine-introduction (61.1%). Overall, our results showed a post-PCV10 increase in the frequency of serotype 19A. This was accompanied by a selection of CC320 and antimicrobial resistance.

Brazil today has a legal market that allows for foreign lawyers and foreign firms, but existing regulations are restrictive. Foreign lawyers cannot practice domestic law or litigation, nor can Brazilian‐licensed lawyers working for foreign firms or partnering with foreign lawyers. This was not always the case, however. Until 1963, there was little regulation of the legal profession. Beginning in 1913, elite US lawyers traveled to Brazil, with some even becoming prominent domestic practitioners. They partnered with local elite lawyers (who maintained their domestic privileges) and served as key brokers for US businesses seeking market entry. Drawing on the elite theory literature, and on ethnographies, interview data, and over 1,000 pages of rare Portuguese and English archival sources, this study's thesis is that sophisticated US and Brazilian legal elites capitalized on the lack of regulation to advance their financial interests, and in the process transformed Brazil's corporate legal sector.

Tungsten (W) was select for an extensive use in nuclear fusion devices due to its low neutron activation, high melting point and sputtering threshold as well as low hydrogen inventory. Nevertheless, W is brittle at low and moderate temperatures, which results in abnormal thermal stress, component fracture and extra erosion under reactor operation due to inherent thermal cycling events. An attractive way to solve these problems involves the addition of other refractory metals in the W matrix and tantalum (Ta) is a natural candidate. It has a high ductility, toughness and radiation resistance relative to those of W and transmutes to W by high-energy neutron irradiation. Recently, IST proposed the production of W-Ta composite by mechanical synthesis.

The composite should reveal the individual properties of the pristine phases as long as the interdiffusion between the components is significantly avoided during the consolidation/sintering route of the final material. Sintering operations at temperatures higher than 1300ºC lead to significant improvements in the final densification and thermal conductivity of the composites, which is crucial for fusion applications. However, W and Ta interdiffusion can be relevant above 1300ºC, mainly due to diffusion of W into Ta, and the aim of the present work is to control the mechanism.

W-Taf composites presenting 10 and 20 at.% of Ta where produced by alloying W powders and Ta fibres with a planetary ball milling route (MA) and by consolidating the mixture with spark plasma sintering (SPS) in the 1300-1600ºC temperature range. The final densifications remain fairly constant in both composites after sintering at different temperatures (83 to 87%) and the elemental interdiffusion remained low at 1300ºC. Nevertheless, the diffusivity of W in Ta became significant at 1600ºC, leading to the formation of a solid solution zone with a stoichiometry close to W16Ta84. The mechanism was followed by scanning electron and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopies (SEM/EDS; Figures 1 and 2, Table 1). Fabrication routes yielding high densifications and low interdiffusion are currently under investigation.

The work has been supported by the Contract of Association between Euratom and IST and by the Fund. Ciência e a Tecnologia contracts PTDC/CTM/100163/2008, Pest-OE/SADG/LA0010/2011 and PEST-OE/CTM-UI0084/2011.

The high melting point, high sputtering threshold and low tritium inventory rendered W as a potentially suitable material in fusion devices. The major problem associated with presently available tungsten grades as structural materials is its brittleness at lower temperatures. This is further worsened by irradiation embrittlement. A strategy for ductility improvement is producing a composite, with the brittle W matrix being reinforced by short fibres of tantalum. As Ta is more ductile than W it can therefore divert or stop cracks propagating in the W matrix. In the present research Ta short fibres and powder were used as reinforcement component for W by alloying Ta short fibres or powder in a W powder matrix. The composites were subsequently irradiated with deuterium to assess the retention of this hydrogenic species in the materials.

The irradiated composites, with Ta contents of 10 or 20 at%, were produced from pure elemental powders (W-Ta powder composites), and pure W powder and Ta fibre (W-Ta fibre composites) with 100 μm in diameter by low energy ball milling in argon atmosphere. These materials were consolidated via spark plasma sintering (SPS) in the temperature 1200 to 1600 ºC range. Pure W and Ta plates (controls) and W-Ta composites were irradiated with He+ ions (optional pre-implantation step) and D+ ion beams at room temperature with fluences in the 1020-1021 at/m2 range. Blistering and deuterium retention in W and Ta plates and in W-Ta composites were studied with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction and thermal desorption analysis. The deuterium concentration was evaluated trough nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) using 0.75 to 2.1 MeV 3He+ beam and the D(3He,p)α reaction.

The investigations showed that deuterium irradiation induced microstructural modifications producing blistering in Ta plates as well as in W-Ta composites (Figure 1). These effects increased substantially in the Ta and W-Ta materials with the He pre-implantation step, while blisters have not been observed in the W plates either for D+ or He+ plus D+ implantation. Higher deuterium retention was observed by thermal desorption for the composites than for the W plates. Moreover the present study revealed that D+ trapping in the composites is dependent on the microstructure with higher retention observed for fibers than for powder.

This work has been performed under the Contract of Association between EURATOM and Instituto Superior Tecnico. Financial support was also received from the Fundação para a Ciência Tecnologia (FCT) grants with references PTDC/CTM/100163/2008, Pest-OE/SADG/LA0010/2011 and PEST-OE/CTM-UI0084/2011. The authors wish to acknowledge Jorge Rocha the implantation in W-Ta samples.

In this work we present an experimental study where energetic ions were produced in an underdense 2.5 × 1019 cm−3 plasma created by a 50 fs Ti:Sapphire laser with 5 TWs of power. The plasma comprises 95% He and 5% N2 gases. Ionization-induced trapping of nitrogen K-shell electrons in the laser-induced wakefield generates an electron beam with a mean energy of 40 MeV and ~1 nC of charge. Some of the helium ions at the wake–vacuum interface are accelerated with a measured minimum ion energy of He1+ ions of 1.2 MeV and He2+ ions of 4 MeV. The physics of the interaction is studied with 2D particle-in-cell simulations. These reveal the formation of an ion filament on the axis of the plasma due to space charge attraction of the wakefield-accelerated high-charge electron bunch. Some of these high-energy electrons escape the plasma to form a sheath at the plasma–vacuum boundary that accelerates some of the ions in the filament in the forward direction. Electrons with energy less than the sheath potential cannot escape and return to the plasma boundary in a vortex-like motion. This in turn produces a time-varying azimuthal magnetic field, which generates a longitudinal electric field at the interface that further accelerates and collimates the ions.

The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that equine growth hormone (eGH), in combination with insulin growth factor-I (IGF-I), influences positively in vitro nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of equine oocytes. Cumulus–oocyte complexes were recovered from follicles that were < 25 mm in diameter, characterized by morphology and were allocated randomly as follow: (a) control (no additives); (b) 400 ng/ml eGH; (c) 200 ng/ml IGF-I; (d) eGH + IGF-I; and (e) eGH + IGF-I + 400 ng/ml anti-IGF-I antibody. Oocytes were matured for 30 h at 38.5°C in air with 5% CO2 and then stained with 10 μg/ml propidium iodide (PI) to evaluate nuclear status and 10 μg/ml Lens culinaris agglutinin-fluorescein complex (FITC-LCA) to assess cortical granule migration by confocal microscopy. The proportion of immature oocytes that developed to the metaphase II (MII) stage in the eGH + IGF-I group (15 of 45) was greater than in the groups that were treated only with IGF-I (7 of 36, p = 0.03). Oocytes that reached MII in the control group (20 of 56; 35.7%) showed a tendency to be different when compared with eGH + IGF-I group (15 of 45; 33.3%, p = 0.08). The treated group that contained anti-IGF-I (15 of 33; 45.4%) decreased the number of oocytes reaching any stage of development when compared with eGH (47 of 72; 65.3%) and eGH + IGF-I (33 of 45; 73.3%) groups (p = 0.05) when data from MI and MII were combined. We concluded that the addition of eGH to in vitro maturation (IVM) medium influenced the in vitro nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of equine oocytes. The use of GH and IGF-I in vitro may represent a potential alternative for IVM of equine oocytes.