Women in the Igbo Culture: Extrapolations from Nsukka, South-Eastern Nigeria

Martins N. Okoro 숙명여자대학교 아시아여성연구원 2022 Asian Women Vol.38 No.1

The study documents all the key aspects through which the cultural representation of the Nsukka town women is constructed. It seeks to investigate women’s involvement and participation in the cultural enactment of festivals, title-taking ceremonies, burials and funerals, marriage ceremonies, postpartum care, and conflict resolution, relying on materials from literature, ethnographic data, studies involving participant observation, and interview sessions with natives possessing a sufficient knowledge of culture and tradition. Data collected were examined using historical descriptive and analytical methods and the study is anchored in Jones Lewis’s theory of feminism which, among other criticisms, questions how much of our culture is based on patriarchal assumptions. The study found that even though women are subjugated in certain aspects of life, their involvement and participation in the enactments of cultural events and conflict management in Nsukka town give them some sense of belonging and that, without their involvement, such cultural and traditional events would not take place and their essence would be lost. These counter claim that men are often considered the drivers of cultural activities and as such belong to the public domain while women are confined purely to private life and domestic activities. The study is helpful in understanding the implications of women’s involvement and participation in the enactments of culture and tradition in Nsukka town.

Self-sustained n-Type Memory Transistor Devices Based on Natural Cellulose Paper Fibers

Martins, Rodrigo,Pereira, Luis,Barquinha, Pedro,Correia, Nuno,Goncalves, Goncalo,Ferreira, Isabel,Dias, Carlos,Correia, N.,Dionisio, M.,Silva, M.,Fortunato, Elvira The Korean Infomation Display Society 2009 Journal of information display Vol.10 No.4

Reported herein is the architecture for a nonvolatile n-type memory paper field-effect transistor. The device was built via the hybrid integration of natural cellulose fibers (pine and eucalyptus fibers embedded in resin with ionic additives), which act simultaneously as substrate and gate dielectric, using passive and active semiconductors, respectively, as well as amorphous indium zinc and gallium indium zinc oxides for the gate electrode and channel layer, respectively. This was complemented by the use of continuous patterned metal layers as source/drain electrodes.

First record of red macroalgae bloom in Southern Atlantic Brazil

Martins, Mateus S.,Massocato, Thais F.,Horta, Paulo A.,Barufi, Jose Bonomi The Korean Society of Phycology 2016 ALGAE Vol.31 No.1

Blooms of macroalgae have grown over the planet in recent decades as a possible result of eutrophication of coastal waters. Visually, a bloom forming can be identified by dominant presence of an organism at the expense of others. In mid-January 2014, a forming bloom of red algae was detected on the beach of Garopaba, Santa Catarina State, Brazil. This aroused the interest of tourists and locals as well as the scientific community. Thus, the objective of this study was to characterize and quantify the photosynthetic floating organisms contributing to this phenomenon. In addition, we qualitatively compared algal composition of the bloom to those deposited in the post-beach area and the adjacent rocky shore community. Five sampling points in random patches of floating material were defined. At each point, five replicates were taken with a cube of 32,768 cm³, resulting in a total of 25 samples. Samples were collected in the inner area enclosed by a PVC quadrate of about 900 cm² from the shore and the specimens found in post-beach zone (wrack). Twenty-four taxa of macroalgae were found in the bloom, with Aglaothamnion uruguayense as the dominance one. Ten taxa were found on shore. Only four taxa were found in the post-beach area. The biomass estimated for A. uruguayense in the floating material was 8.35 tons with an estimated area of 52,770 m² . It is possible that this huge biomass value of the bloom is related to the local nutrient intake, and our results reinforce the necessity of coastal integrative management initiatives.

Design and evaluation of a head-mounted display for immersive 3D teleoperation of field robots

Martins, Henrique,Oakley, Ian,Ventura, Rodrigo Cambridge University Press 2015 Robotica Vol.33 No.10

<B>SUMMARY</B><P>This paper describes and evaluates the use of a head-mounted display (HMD) for the teleoperation of a field robot. The HMD presents a pair of video streams to the operator (one to each eye) originating from a pair of stereo cameras located on the front of the robot, thus providing him/her with a sense of depth (stereopsis). A tracker on the HMD captures 3-DOF head orientation data which is then used for adjusting the camera orientation by moving the robot and/or the camera position accordingly, and rotating the displayed images to compensate for the operator's head rotation. This approach was implemented in a search and rescue robot (RAPOSA), and it was empirically validated in a series of short user studies. This evaluation involved four experiments covering two-dimensional perception, depth perception, scene perception, and performing a search and rescue task in a controlled scenario. The stereoscopic display and head tracking are shown to afford a number of performance benefits. However, one experiment also revealed that controlling robot orientation with yaw input from the head tracker negatively influenced task completion time. A possible explanation is a mismatch between the abilities of the robot and the human operator. This aside, the studies indicated that the use of an HMD to create a stereoscopic visualization of the camera feeds from a mobile robot enhanced the perception of cues in a static three-dimensional environment and also that such benefits transferred to simulated field scenarios in the form of enhanced task completion times.</P>

Characterization of Aspartate Aminotransferase Isoenzymes from Leaves of Lupinus albus L. cv Estoril

Martins, Maria Luisa Louro,De Freitas Barbosa, Miguel Pedro,De Varennes E Mendonca, Amarilis Paula Alberti Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biol 2002 Journal of biochemistry and molecular biology Vol.35 No.2

Two aspartate aminoransferase (EC 2.6.1.1) isoenzymes (AAT-1 and AAT-2) from Lupinus albus L. cv Estoril were separated, purified, and characterized. The molecular weight, pI value, optimum pH, optimum temperature, and thermodynamic parameters for thermal inactivation of both isoenzymes were obtained. Studies of the kinetic mechanism, and the kinetics of product inhibition and high substrate concentration inhibition, were performed. The effect of some divalent ions and irreversible inhibitors on both AAT isoenzymes was also studied. Native PAGE showed a higher molecular weight for AAT-2 compared with AAT-1. AAT-1 appears to be more anionic than AAT-2, which was suggested by the anion exchange chromatography. SDS-PAGE showed a similar sub-unit molecular weight for both isoenzymes. The optimum pH (between 8,0 and 9.0) and temperature ($60-65^{\circ}C$) were similar for both isoenzymes. In the temperature range of $45-65^{\circ}C$, AAT-2 has higher thermostability than AAT-1. Both isoenzymes showed a high affinity for keto-acid substrates, as well as a higher affinity to aspartate than glutamate. Manganese ions induced an increase in both AAT isoenzymes activities, but no cooperative effect was detected. Among the inhibitors tested, hydroxylamine affected both isoenzymes activity by an irreversible inhibition mechanism.

Dynamics of hospitalizations and in-hospital deaths from COVID-19 in northeast Brazil: a retrospective analysis based on the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 variants and vaccination coverage

Martins-Filho Paulo Ricardo,de Souza Araújo Adriano Antunes,Quintans-Júnior Lucindo José,Soares Bárbara dos Santos,Barboza Waneska de Souza,Cavalcante Taise Ferreira,Santos Victor Santana 한국역학회 2022 Epidemiology and Health Vol.44 No.-

This study investigated the dynamics of hospitalizations and in-hospital deaths from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) throughout the pandemic in northeast Brazil, the Brazilian region with the worst socioeconomic indicators. In total, 141,445 cases, 8,213 hospital admissions, and 1,644 in-hospital deaths from COVID-19 were registered from March 14, 2020 to February 5, 2022. The overall rates of hospitalization and in-hospital deaths were 5.8% and 20.0%, respectively. The hospitalization and death rates significantly decreased over time, which may have been related to progress in vaccination. During the spread of the Gamma variant (January to June 2021), most hospitalized individuals were young adults, and approximately 40% of deaths occurred in this age group. During the predominance of Delta (July to December 2021), over 75% of deaths occurred among the elderly and unvaccinated or partially vaccinated individuals. This rate decreased to 42.3% during the transmission of the Omicron variant (January to February 2022), during which 34.6% of deaths were recorded among fully vaccinated individuals (2 doses) and 23.1% among those who received full vaccination and a booster. The Omicron-driven third wave was associated with a rise in the proportion of deaths among vaccinated individuals, especially among those who had not received a booster dose.

Characterization of Aspartate Aminotransferase Isoenzymes from Leaves of Lupinus albus L. cv Estoril

Martins, Maria Luisa Louro,Mourato, Miguel Pedro de Freitas Barbosa,Mendonca, Amarilis Paula alberti de varennes e 생화학분자생물학회 1989 BMB Reports Vol.35 No.2

Two aspartate azninotransferase (EC 2.6.1.1) isoenzymes (AAT-1 and AAT-2) from Lupines albus L. cv Estoril were separated, purified, and characterized. The molecular weight, pI value, optimum pH, optimum temperature, and thermodynamic parameters for thermal inactivation of both isaenzymes were abtained. Studies of the kinetic mechanism, and the kinetics of product inhibition and high substrate concentration inhibition, were performed. The effect of some divalent ions and irreversible inhibitors on both AAT isoenzymes was also studied. Native PAGE showed a higher molecular weight for AAT 2 compared with AAT 1. AAT 1 appears to be more anionic than AAT 2, which was suggested by the anion exchange chromatography SDS-PAGE showed a similar sub-unit molecular weight for both isoenzymes. The optimum pH (between 8.0 and 9.0) and temperature (60-65℃) were similar far both isoenzymes. In the temperature range of 45-65℃, AAT-2 has higher thermostability than AAT-1. Both isoenzymes showed a high affinity for keto-acid substrates, as well as a higher affinity to aspartate than glutamate. Manganese ions induced an increase in both AAT isoenzymes activities, but no cooperative effect was detected. Among the inhibitors tested, hydroxylamine affected both isoenzymes activity by an irreversible inhibition mechanism.

Wound dressing using graphene quantum dots: a proof of concept

Martins Vanessa Gonzalez Ferreira Caminha,Alencar Luciana Magalhaes Rebelo,Souza Pedro Filho Noronha,Lorentino Carolinne Margot Albanez,Frota Heloisa Freire,dos Santos Andre Luis Souza,Gemini-Piperni 한국약제학회 2023 Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation Vol.53 No.2

Purpose The costs and complexity related to effective wound healing treatment are immense. The number of multifactorial aspects related to the treatment of wounds (inflammation, infection, and many others) implies a complex multi-therapeutic approach involving various procedures, including medication and surgery. Regarding medication, there are only a few options, especially to treat chronic wounds. Recently graphene quantum dots have been applied for their potent antimicrobial properties as well as their significant tissue remodeling properties. In this study, we developed a formulation based on graphene quantum dots in the form of as a dry powder for wound healing. Methods Graphene quantum dots were produced by top-down technique using graphite as matrix, and fully characterized by Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray diffractometry. The dry powder formulation was produced under aseptic conditions and evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Results The results showed that the formulation improved the healing process in both: in vitro and in vivo, with good adherence, healing time and tissue reconstruction. Finally, the results demonstrated that dry powder was very effective against P. aeruginosa, S. epidermidis, C. albicans and C. tropicalis, representing an improvementfor wound healing purposes. Conclusion The data corroborated the use of the dry powder formulation using graphene quantum dots as matrix as wound dressing, expanding the use of graphene quantum in the biomedical field.

Prediction of the mechanical properties of granites under tension using DM techniques

Martins, Francisco F.,Vasconcelos, Graca,Miranda, Tiago Techno-Press 2018 Geomechanics & engineering Vol.15 No.1

The estimation of the strength and other mechanical parameters characterizing the tensile behavior of granites can play an important role in civil engineering tasks such as design, construction, rehabilitation and repair of existing structures. The purpose of this paper is to apply data mining techniques, such as multiple regression (MR), artificial neural networks (ANN) and support vector machines (SVM) to estimate the mechanical properties of granites. In a first phase, the mechanical parameters defining the complete tensile behavior are estimated based on the tensile strength. In a second phase, the estimation of the mechanical properties is carried out from different combination of the physical properties (ultrasonic pulse velocity, porosity and density). It was observed that the estimation of the mechanical properties can be optimized by combining different physical properties. Besides, it was seen that artificial neural networks and support vector machines performed better than multiple regression model.

Hand-held dental X-ray device: Attention to correct use

Martins Guilherme Ceschia,Rocha Thaíza Gonçalves,de Lima Azeredo Thaís,de Castro Domingos Andréa,Visconti Maria Augusta,Villoria Eduardo Murad 대한영상치의학회 2023 Imaging Science in Dentistry Vol.53 No.3