Measurements and analysis of the upper critical field Hc2H_{c2} on an underdoped and overdoped La2−xSrxCuO4La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 compounds

The upper critical field $H_{c2}$ is one of the many non conventional properties of high-$T_c$ cuprates. It is possible that the $H_{c2}(T)$ anomalies are due to the presence of inhomogeneities in the local charge carrier density $\rho$ of the $CuO_2$ planes. In order to study this point, we have prepared good quality samples of polycrystalline $La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_{4}$ using the wet-chemical method, which has demonstrated to produce samples with a better cation distribution. In particular, we have studied the temperature dependence of the second critical field, $H_{c2}(T)$, through the magnetization measurements on two samples with opposite average carrier concentration ($\rho_m=x$) and nearly the same critical temperature, namely $\rho_m = 0.08$ (underdoped) and $\rho_m = 0.25$ (overdoped). The results close to $T_c$ do not follow the usual Ginzburg-Landau theory and are interpreted by a theory which takes into account the influence of the inhomogeneities.Comment: Published versio

Determination of steroid estrogens in wastewater by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

This paper discusses the requirement for, and presents an analytical procedure for, the determination of four unconjugated steroid hormones and a conjugated steroid (estrone-3-sulfate) in wastewaters. The method quantifies the steroids by LC/MS/MS following solid phase extraction and a two stage clean-up procedure. Samples were extracted using C18 cartridges and eluates were then purified by gel permeation chromatography, followed by a further clean-up step on an aminopropyl cartridge. The limits of detection achieved were 0.2 ng l-1 for estriol, 17β-estradiol and 17α-ethinylestradiol, and 0.1 ng l-1 for estrone and the conjugate. The robustness of the method was demonstrated by achieving recoveries of >83% for all steroids in settled sewage and final effluent samples with relative standard deviations of 0.5 - 12%. The method was used to analyse a range of samples from a wastewater treatment works in south east England which demonstrated a >80% removal for estrone, estradiol and estriol with little impact on concentrations of ethinylestradiol or the conjugate

Results of nutritional intervention in children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis

Objective: few studies have verified longitudinally the evolution of the nutritional status of patients with cystic fibrosis. The objective of this study is to follow the evolution of the nutritional status, body composition and energy consumption, macronutrients and micronutrients ingested by children and adolescents by means of nutritional interventions at the Clinic of Cystic Fibrosis/Pediatric Pneumology of the Department of Pediatrics of Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Methods: 18 patients were involved in this study, thirteen males and five females with ages ranging from 0.3 to 18.4 years. We performed three evaluations: evaluation 1 (M1- prenutritional intervention), M2 after 6 months, and M3 after 12 months. In these three instances we verified: the z score for weight/age, weight/height and height/age and the calculation of a 3-day diet record. We verified the body composition (anthropometry) in M1 and M3. The nutritional interventions were hypercaloric, hyperproteic, with adequate amount of ingested macronutrients and micronutrients.Results: we observed an increase in the z score for height/age (M1=-1.07; M2=-0.69; M3=-0.50) and fat-free mass after the nutritional interventions, without improvement in the z score for weight/height and fat mass. We verified an increase in the energy intake during M2 (139%) and M3 (132%) compared to M1 (106%). Remarkable increase in the intake of protein, calcium, iron and vitamin C by the patients was found. The occurrence of anemia was found in 44% (8/18) of the patients.Conclusion: the improvement of the z score in height/age and fat-free mass was probably due to the increase in energy consumption after the nutritional intervention. A significant improvement in the z score for weight/height and fat mass was not found, probably due to a gain in height and fat-free mass.Objetivo: poucos estudos têm verificado longitudinalmente a evolução do estado nutricional de pacientes com fibrose cística. O objetivo deste estudo foi acompanhar a evolução do estado nutricional, composição corporal e consumo de energia, macro e micronutrientes ingeridos por crianças e adolescentes, mediante intervenção nutricional, no Ambulatório de Fibrose Cística/Pneumologia Pediátrica, do Departamento de Pediatria da UNIFESP.Métodos: a casuística constituiu-se de 18 pacientes, sendo 13 do sexo masculino e 5 do feminino, faixa etária de 0,3 a 18,4 anos. Realizaram-se 3 avaliações: no momento 1 (M1: pré-intervenção nutricional), no M2, após 6 meses, e no M3, após 12 meses. Foram analisados nos 3 momentos: o escore Z de peso/idade (P/I), peso/estatura (P/E) e estatura/idade (E/I) e o cálculo do registro alimentar de 3 dias. No M1 e M3, verificou-se a composição corporal (antropometria). A conduta nutricional foi hipercalórica, hiperprotéica e houve adequação de macro e micronutrientes.Resultados: observou-se aumento significante do escore Z de E/I (M1=-1,07; M2=-0,69; M3=-0,50) e de massa magra após a intervenção nutricional, sem melhora no escore Z de P/E e massa gorda. Verificou-se aumento no consumo energético nos M2 (139%) e M3 (132%) em relação ao M1 (106%). Houve considerável aumento no consumo de proteína, cálcio, ferro e vitamina C pelos pacientes. A presença de anemia ocorreu em 44,4% (8/18) dos pacientes.Conclusão: o aumento no escore Z de E/I e massa magra ocorreu devido a adequação no consumo de energia, após a intervenção nutricional. Não houve melhora significante no escore Z de P/E e massa gorda, em função do ganho de estatura e de massa magra.UNIFESP-EPM Dep. de PediatriaHospital São Paulo Ambulatório de Fibrose CísticaUNISA Faculdade de MedicinaUNISA Dep. de PediatriaUNIFESP, EPM, Dep. de PediatriaHospital São Paulo Ambulatório de Fibrose CísticaSciEL

Outcome of the Commissioning of the Readout and Actuation Channels for the Cryogenics of the LHC

The LHC is the largest cryogenic installation ever built. For its operation more than 14 000 sensors and actuators are required. The 27 km circumference of the accelerator is divided into 8 sectors: like for the rest of the hardware and in particular the cryogenics, the commissioning of the cryogenics instrumentation has been performed sector by secto

First Experience with the LHC Cryogenic Instrumentation

The LHC under commissioning at CERN will be the world's largest superconducting accelerator and therefore makes extensive use of cryogenic instruments. These instruments are installed in the tunnel and therefore have to withstand the LHC environment that imposes radiation-tolerant design and construction. Most of the instruments require individual calibration; some of them exhibit several variants as concerns measuring span; all relevant data are therefore stored in an Oracle® database. Those data are used for the various quality assurance procedures defined for installation and commissioning, as well as for generating tables used by the control system to configure automatically the input/output channels. This paper describes the commissioning of the sensors and the corresponding electronics, the first measurement results during the cool-down of one machine sector; it discusses the different encountered problems and their corresponding solutions

Ionized gas kinematics of galaxies in the CALIFA survey I: Velocity fields, kinematic parameters of the dominant component, and presence of kinematically distinct gaseous systems

This work provides an overall characterization of the kinematic behavior of the ionized gas of the galaxies included in the Calar Alto Legacy Integral field Area (CALIFA), offering kinematic clues to potential users of this survey for including kinematical criteria for specific studies. From the first 200 galaxies observed by CALIFA, we present the 2D kinematic view of the 177 galaxies satisfying a gas detection threshold. After removing the stellar contribution, we used the cross-correlation technique to obtain the radial velocity of the dominant gaseous component. The main kinematic parameters were directly derived from the radial velocities with no assumptions on the internal motions. Evidence of the presence of several gaseous components with different kinematics were detected by using [OIII] profiles. Most objects in the sample show regular velocity fields, although the ionized-gas kinematics are rarely consistent with simple coplanar circular motions. 35% of the objects present evidence of a displacement between the photometric and kinematic centers larger than the original spaxel radii. Only 17% of the objects in the sample exhibit kinematic lopsidedness when comparing receding and approaching sides of the velocity fields, but most of them are interacting galaxies exhibiting nuclear activity. Early-type galaxies in the sample present clear photometric-kinematic misaligments. There is evidence of asymmetries in the emission line profiles suggesting the presence of kinematically distinct gaseous components at different distances from the nucleus. This work constitutes the first determination of the ionized gas kinematics of the galaxies observed in the CALIFA survey. The derived velocity fields, the reported kinematic peculiarities and the identification of the presence of several gaseous components might be used as additional criteria for selecting galaxies for specific studies.Comment: 38 pages, 16 figures, 4 tables. Paper accepted for publication in A&

Evaluation of bone turnover markers and serum minerals variations for predicting fracture healing versus non-union processes in adult sheep as a model for orthopedic research

Bone turnover markers (BTMs) have been considered as an auxiliary method of following the fracture healing process and for early prediction of impaired bone healing. A better understanding of the potential of BTMs in this application could allow for earlier interventions and improved patient care. The aim of this study with a large animal experimental model was to assess the variation of bone formation markers SOH namely the total alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and its bone-specific isoform (BALP), serum concentration of intact osteocalcin (OC), N-terminal propeptide type III procollagen (PIIINP) and of bone resorption markers â  namely tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and deoxypyridinoline crosslink (DPD) during the first stages of a normal fracture healing process and of a segmental critical size defect (CSD), which progresses to a non-union process. Thirty healthy female sheep (Portuguese Churra-da-Terra- Quente breed), approximately 4-years-old, were enrolled in this study. Jugular venous blood samples were collected pre-operatively and at 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 post-operative weeks. The animals of the CSD group showed significant lower serum levels of BALP, OC and significant higher serum PIIINP levels at early stages of the fracture healing process, compared with animals that progressed in a normal fracture healing process. Serum BALP, OC and PIIINP levels could be useful as non-invasive auxiliary tools with other complementary methods for predicting the outcome of traumatic bone fractures.Cristina P. Sousa acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for her PhD scholarship (Grant No SFRH/BD/45018/2008).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Mass-Metallicity relation explored with CALIFA: I. Is there a dependence on the star formation rate?

We present the results on the study of the global and local M-Z relation based on the first data available from the CALIFA survey (150 galaxies). This survey provides integral field spectroscopy of the complete optical extent of each galaxy (up to 2-3 effective radii), with enough resolution to separate individual HII regions and/or aggregations. Nearly $\sim$3000 individual HII regions have been detected. The spectra cover the wavelength range between [OII]3727 and [SII]6731, with a sufficient signal-to-noise to derive the oxygen abundance and star-formation rate associated with each region. In addition, we have computed the integrated and spatially resolved stellar masses (and surface densities), based on SDSS photometric data. We explore the relations between the stellar mass, oxygen abundance and star-formation rate using this dataset. We derive a tight relation between the integrated stellar mass and the gas-phase abundance, with a dispersion smaller than the one already reported in the literature ($\sigma_{\Delta{\rm log(O/H)}}=$0.07 dex). Indeed, this dispersion is only slightly larger than the typical error derived for our oxygen abundances. However, we do not find any secondary relation with the star-formation rate, other than the one induced due to the primary relation of this quantity with the stellar mass. We confirm the result using the $\sim$3000 individual HII regions, for the corresponding local relations. Our results agree with the scenario in which gas recycling in galaxies, both locally and globally, is much faster than other typical timescales, like that of gas accretion by inflow and/or metal loss due to outflows. In essence, late-type/disk dominated galaxies seem to be in a quasi-steady situation, with a behavior similar to the one expected from an instantaneous recycling/closed-box model.Comment: 19 Pages, 8 figures, Accepted for Publishing in Astronomy and Astrophysics (A&A

Tuberculosis and airflow obstruction: evidence from the PLATINO study in Latin America

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between history of tuberculosis and airflow obstruction.A population-based, multicentre study was carried out and included 5,571 subjects aged >= 40 yrs living in one of five Latin American metropolitan areas: São Paulo (Brazil); Montevideo (Uruguay); Mexico City (Mexico); Santiago (Chile); and Caracas (Venezuela). Subjects performed pre- and post-bronchodilator spirometry and were asked whether they had ever been diagnosed with tuberculosis by a physician.The overall prevalence of airflow obstruction (forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity post-bronchodilator < 0.7) was 30.7% among those with a history of tuberculosis, compared with 13.9% among those without a history. Males with a medical history of tuberculosis were 4.1 times more likely to present airflow obstruction than those without such a diagnosis. This remained unchanged after adjustment for confounding by age, sex, schooling, ethnicity, smoking, exposure to dust and smoke, respiratory morbidity in childhood and current morbidity. Among females, the unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios were 2.3 and 1.7, respectively.In conclusion, history of tuberculosis is associated with airflow obstruction in Latin American middle-aged and older adults.Univ Fed Pelotas, BR-96020220 Pelotas, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilNatl Inst Resp Dis, Mexico City, DF, MexicoUniv Republica, Montevideo, UruguayCatholic Univ Chile, Santiago, ChileCent Univ Venezuela, Caracas, VenezuelaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Cytokine Production but Lack of Proliferation in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells from Chronic Chagas' Disease Cardiomyopathy Patients in Response to T. cruzi Ribosomal P Proteins

Background:Trypanosoma cruzi ribosomal P proteins, P2β and P0, induce high levels of antibodies in patients with chronic Chagas' disease Cardiomyopathy (CCC). It is well known that these antibodies alter the beating rate of cardiomyocytes and provoke apoptosis by their interaction with β1-adrenergic and M2-muscarinic cardiac receptors. Based on these findings, we decided to study the cellular immune response to these proteins in CCC patients compared to non-infected individuals.Methodology/Principal findings:We evaluated proliferation, presence of surface activation markers and cytokine production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) stimulated with P2β, the C-terminal portion of P0 (CP0) proteins and T. cruzi lysate from CCC patients predominantly infected with TcVI lineage. PBMC from CCC patients cultured with P2β or CP0 proteins, failed to proliferate and express CD25 and HLA-DR on T cell populations. However, multiplex cytokine assays showed that these antigens triggered higher secretion of IL-10, TNF-α and GM-CSF by PBMC as well as both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells subsets of CCC subjects. Upon T. cruzi lysate stimulation, PBMC from CCC patients not only proliferated but also became activated within the context of Th1 response. Interestingly, T. cruzi lysate was also able to induce the secretion of GM-CSF by CD4+ or CD8+ T cells.Conclusions/Significance:Our results showed that although the lack of PBMC proliferation in CCC patients in response to ribosomal P proteins, the detection of IL-10, TNF-α and GM-CSF suggests that specific T cells could have both immunoregulatory and pro-inflammatory potential, which might modulate the immune response in Chagas' disease. Furthermore, it was possible to demonstrate for the first time that GM-CSF was produced by PBMC of CCC patients in response not only to recombinant ribosomal P proteins but also to parasite lysate, suggesting the value of this cytokine to evaluate T cells responses in T. cruzi infection.Fil: Longhi, Silvia Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; ArgentinaFil: Atienza, Augusto. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos "Ramos Mejía"; ArgentinaFil: Perez Prados, Graciela. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos "Juan A. Fernández"; ArgentinaFil: Buying, Alcinette. Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies; Estados UnidosFil: Balouz, Virginia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas; ArgentinaFil: Buscaglia, Carlos Andres. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas; ArgentinaFil: Santos, Radleigh. Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies; Estados UnidosFil: Tasso, Laura Mónica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Bonato, Ricardo. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos "Ramos Mejía"; ArgentinaFil: Chiale, Pablo. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos "Ramos Mejía"; ArgentinaFil: Pinilla, Clemencia. Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies; Estados UnidosFil: Judkowski, Valeria A.. Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies; Estados UnidosFil: Gomez, Karina Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; Argentin