Universal properties and the first law of black hole inner mechanics

We show by explicit computations that the product of all the horizon areas is independent of the mass, regardless of the topology of the horizons. The universal character of this relation holds for all known five dimensional asymptotically flat black rings, and for black strings. This gives further evidence for the crucial role that the thermodynamic properties at each horizon play in understanding the entropy at the microscopic level. To this end we propose a "first law" for the inner Cauchy horizons of black holes. The validity of this formula, which seems to be universal, was explicitly checked in all cases.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; v2: minor corrections, references added; v3: minor corrections, references adde

Black Hole Monodromy and Conformal Field Theory

The analytic structure of solutions to the Klein-Gordon equation in a black hole background, as represented by monodromy data, is intimately related to black hole thermodynamics. It encodes the "hidden conformal symmetry" of a non-extremal black hole, and it explains why features of the inner event horizon appear in scattering data such as greybody factors. This indicates that hidden conformal symmetry is generic within a universality class of black holes.Comment: 20 pages, v2 minor corrections, updated reference

Influence of anaerobic conditions on vaginal microbiota recovery from bacterial vaginosis patients

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is one of the most common infections in women of reproductive age. Clinical studies have shown an association among BV and abnormal pregnancy, pelvic inflammatory disease and increased risk of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. This disorder was first described in 1914 by Curtis as a “white discharge” syndrome and despite the decades of research we have only limited, and clearly not conclusive, evidence of microbial cause of BV, mechanism of disease and effective treatment. The development of molecular techniques such as Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) and DNA sequencing produced a clearer picture of the complexities of the vaginal microbiota. It has also become more apparent that none of the microorganisms already isolated from the vagina are likely to be the sole pathogen responsible for BV. Thus, improved knowledge of the relationship between different species of bacteria and their host is critical to a better understanding of both women’s health and illness. In order to comprehend the dynamic interaction between bacteria–bacteria and bacteria–host it becomes necessary to isolate bacteria from vaginal samples and to use them in in vitro and in vivo assays. The human vagina has a very specific environment regarding pH, nutrient availability and oxygen tension, being populated by a large range of bacteria from facultative to obligated anaerobic species. To isolate bacteria from such a complex niche, rich media should be used in order to promote the growth of different species. By using Columbia Agar (CBA) with 5% horse blood and by incubating at 37°C in the presence of 5%, 10% CO or in anaerobic condition generated by AnaeroGenTM (Oxoid), we were able to recover different bacteria species, from each of the anaerobic conditions tested, from BV vaginal samples, including some species never reported, as far as we know, such as Brevibacterium ravenspurgense, Corynebacterium tuscaniense, Klebsiella variicola, Nosocomiicoccus ampullae, Staphylococcus warneri and Bacillus firmus. Despite the development of molecular methods and their unquestionable advantages in characterising the vaginal microbiota, classical bacteriology will nevertheless be required to elucidate the etiology of BV since the isolation of the pathogenic agent will be always required. Our findings revealed that slight differences in anaerobic conditions were crucial for the isolation of novel BV-associated organisms. Further in vitro studies of all the isolated bacteria will promote a better understanding of the dynamics of their interaction and will potentially reveal how BV develops and influences other sexual transmitted diseases.(undefined

Isolation of Gardnerella vaginalis from BV patients and healthy women : analysis of virulence through adherence, biofilm formation and cytotoxicity assays

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is one of the most common gynaecological disorder affecting women in the reproductive age. Microbiological analysis of BV has shown Gardnerella vaginalis to be the most frequent organism in BV. However, G. vaginalis colonization do not always lead to BV. This raised the question whether there are pathogenic and commensal lineages within this species. In an effort to understand the differences between G. vaginalis strains, we performed in vitro assays to compare virulence properties of recently isolated 14 G. vaginalis strains from Portuguese women with and without BV. G. vaginalis strains were characterised for their initial adhesion ability to a monolayer of HeLa cells by incubating the bacteria with this monolayer and quantifying the adhesion by staining with DAPI and fluorescence microscopy. These assays revealed that the BV isolates of G. vaginalis had a stronger initial adhesion capability than non-BV isolates. The biofilm-forming capacity was then assessed by allowing each of the strains to form biofilms under anaerobic conditions for 48 hours and using different growth media. It was possible to observe that BV isolates tend to growth preferentially as biofilms while non-BV isolates had a lower intrinsic tendency towards biofilm formation. In addition, BV isolates of G. vaginalis displayed robust cytotoxicity in the epithelial cells after 3 hours in the contact with a monolayer of HeLa cells. Thus, this study outlines two distinct variants of G. vaginalis, one apparently commensal and one pathogenic, and presents evidence for disparate virulence potentials

Modular system design for vegetated surfaces: a proposal for energy-efficient buildings

http://issuu.com/maria_manso/docs/bess-sb13-paper-01-revised?workerAddress=ec2-23-22-93-32.compute-1.amazonaws.comBuildings represent 40 % of total energy consumption in the European Union (EU). So it is peremptory to reduce the EU energy dependency and greenhouse gas emissions. The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2010/31/EU (EPBD) requires that by 2020 all new buildings must be nearly “zero-energy buildings”. This document also evidences the importance to use passive design solutions adapted to local climate conditions, in order to minimize the heating or cooling energy needs in buildings. As result from an on-going research project (GEOGREEN) is presented the concept of a modular system for vegetated surfaces in new or retrofitted buildings. It is designed to be demountable and adaptable to different surfaces and inclinations, allowing the creation of vegetated surfaces simultaneously in roofs, walls and other building elements. The modular system materials were selected to minimize the embodied energy and CO2 emission. It is based on the recovery of mine wasting materials to develop alkaline activated binders (geopolymers), combining natural materials with the insertion of endemic vegetation resistant to dry mesomediterranean conditions. In order to evaluate the thermal and energy performance of this solution, a cell test infrastructure will be installed at the University of Beira Interior facilities to perform real climate studies.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, FCT

Gardnerella vaginalis outcompetes 29 other bacterial species isolated from BV patients in an in vitro biofilm formation model

Despite the worldwide prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV), its etiology is still unknown. Although BV has been associated with the presence of biofilm, the ability of BV-associated bacteria to form biofilms is still largely unknown. Here, we isolated 30 BV-associated species and characterized their virulence, using an in vitro biofilm formation model. Our data suggests that Gardnerella vaginalis had the highest virulence potential, as defined by higher initial adhesion and cytotoxicity of epithelial cells, as well as the greater propensity to form a biofilm. Interestingly, we also demonstrated that most of the BV-associated bacteria had a tendency to grow as biofilms.This work was supported by the European Union (FEDER/COMPETE funds) and the Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (reference FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-008991 [PTDC/BIA-MIC/098228/2008] and RECI/EBB-EBI/0179/2012 [FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462])

Gardnerella vaginalis virulence potential outcompetes with 30 other microorganisms isolated from BV patients

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal disorder affecting millions of women every year, and is usually associated with several adverse health outcomes, including preterm birth and acquisition of sexually transmitted diseases. However, the etiology of BV is still under debate. Recently, new fastidious anaerobic bacteria have been associated with BV, but there are very few studies that comprehensively evaluate the virulence potential of these microorganisms, mainly due to difficult growth conditions. However, in order to find answers to some of the questions related to BV, isolation and characterization of such bacteria will be required. In this work, samples of vaginal exudate from BV women were collected and 31 different microorganisms were isolated, including 6 novel species never described in BV before. Each microorganism was characterized for their ability to adhere to HeLa epithelial cells and cause cytopathogenic changes; their intrinsic biofilm-forming capability; and finally their antimicrobial susceptibility tests for antibiotics commonly used in the treatment of BV. Despite the strong evidence that G. vaginalis outcompeted the other species in the defined virulence assays, our results also demonstrate that other bacteria showed significant biofilm-forming capability, but not initial adhesion, such as Actinomyces turicensis and Corynebacterium tuscaniense. This work supports the evidence that G. vaginalis is the main colonizer in multi-species related BV and further describes novel microorganisms with enhanced virulence potential. Finally, this is the first characterization of Portuguese microbiota associated with BV

Metals and arsenic enrichment processes in sulfide-rich waste dumps - the role of the clay size fraction

[Extract] 1. Purpose Abandoned mines pose some of the most outstanding environmental risks, namely related with potentially toxic metals and metalloids in mining soils. Mobilization or fixation of these elements in the soil particles can be regulated by the interactions between several biogeochemical and mineralogical processes. In this context, the present study is focused on the detection of metals and arsenic enrichment processes in different particle size fractions of two distinctive sulphide-rich waste dumps. Furthermore, the study evaluates the role of typical clay size minerals, such as oxyhydroxides and clay minerals in the retention of toxic elements...info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Black Hole Scattering from Monodromy

We study scattering coefficients in black hole spacetimes using analytic properties of complexified wave equations. For a concrete example, we analyze the singularities of the Teukolsky equation and relate the corresponding monodromies to scattering data. These techniques, valid in full generality, provide insights into complex-analytic properties of greybody factors and quasinormal modes. This leads to new perturbative and numerical methods which are in good agreement with previous results.Comment: 28 pages + appendices, 2 figures. For Mathematica calculation of Stokes multipliers, download "StokesNotebook" from https://sites.google.com/site/justblackholes/techy-zon

Oral tolerance to cancer can be abrogated by T regulatory cell inhibition

Oral administration of tumour cells induces an immune hypo-responsiveness known as oral tolerance. We have previously shown that oral tolerance to a cancer is tumour antigen specific, non-cross-reactive and confers a tumour growth advantage. We investigated the utilisation of regulatory T cell (Treg) depletion on oral tolerance to a cancer and its ability to control tumour growth. Balb/C mice were gavage fed homogenised tumour tissue – JBS fibrosarcoma (to induce oral tolerance to a cancer), or PBS as control. Growth of subcutaneous JBS tumours were measured; splenic tissue excised and flow cytometry used to quantify and compare systemic Tregs and T effector (Teff) cell populations. Prior to and/or following tumour feeding, mice were intraperitoneally administered anti-CD25, to inactivate systemic Tregs, or given isotype antibody as a control. Mice which were orally tolerised prior to subcutaneous tumour induction, displayed significantly higher systemic Treg levels (14% vs 6%) and faster tumour growth rates than controls (p<0.05). Complete regression of tumours were only seen after Treg inactivation and occurred in all groups - this was not inhibited by tumour feeding. The cure rates for Treg inactivation were 60% during tolerisation, 75% during tumour growth and 100% during inactivation for both tolerisation and tumour growth. Depletion of Tregs gave rise to an increased number of Teff cells. Treg depletion post-tolerisation and post-tumour induction led to the complete regression of all tumours on tumour bearing mice. Oral administration of tumour tissue, confers a tumour growth advantage and is accompanied by an increase in systemic Treg levels. The administration of anti-CD25 Ab decreased Treg numbers and caused an increase in Teffs. Most notably Treg cell inhibition overcame established oral tolerance with consequent tumor regression, especially relevant to foregut cancers where oral tolerance is likely to be induced by the shedding of tumour tissue into the gut