93 research outputs found
Antifungal Activity of Selected Indigenous Pseudomonas and Bacillus from the Soybean Rhizosphere
The purpose of this study was to isolate and select indigenous soil Pseudomonas and Bacillus bacteria capable of developing multiple mechanisms of action related to the biocontrol of phytopathogenic fungi affecting soybean crops. The screening procedure consisted of antagonism tests against a panel of phytopathogenic fungi, taxonomic identification, detection by PCR of several genes related to antifungal activity, in vitro detection of the antifungal products, and root colonization assays. Two isolates, identified and designated as Pseudomonas fluorescens BNM296 and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens BNM340, were selected for further studies. These isolates protected plants against the damping-off caused by Pythium ultimum and were able to increase the seedling emergence rate after inoculation of soybean seeds with each bacterium. Also, the shoot nitrogen content was higher in plants when seeds were inoculated with BNM296. The polyphasic approach of this work allowed us to select two indigenous bacterial strains that promoted the early development of soybean plants
Conformal invariance: from Weyl to SO(2,d)
The present work deals with two different but subtilely related kinds of
conformal mappings: Weyl rescaling in dimensional spaces and SO(2,d)
transformations. We express how the difference between the two can be
compensated by diffeomorphic transformations. This is well known in the
framework of String Theory but in the particular case of spaces. Indeed,
the Polyakov formalism describes world-sheets in terms of two-dimensional
conformal field theory. On the other hand, B. Zumino had shown that a classical
four-dimensional Weyl-invariant field theory restricted to live in Minkowski
space leads to an SO(2,4)-invariant field theory. We extend Zumino's result to
relate Weyl and SO(2,d) symmetries in arbitrary conformally flat spaces (CFS).
This allows us to assert that a classical -invariant field does not
distinguish, at least locally, between two different -dimensional CFSs.Comment: 5 pages, no figures. There are slight modifications to match with the
published versio
General Relativity and Weyl Geometry
We show that the general theory of relativity can be formulated in the
language of Weyl geometry. We develop the concept of Weyl frames and point out
that the new mathematical formalism may lead to different pictures of the same
gravitational phenomena. We show that in an arbitrary Weyl frame general
relativity, which takes the form of a scalar-tensor gravitational theory, is
invariant with respect to Weyl tranformations. A kew point in the development
of the formalism is to build an action that is manifestly invariant with
respect to Weyl transformations. When this action is expressed in terms of
Riemannian geometry we find that the theory has some similarities with
Brans-Dicke gravitational theory. In this scenario, the gravitational field is
not described by the metric tensor only, but by a combination of both the
metric and a geometrical scalar field. We illustrate this point by, firstly,
discussing the Newtonian limit in an arbitrary frame, and, secondly, by
examining how distinct geometrical and physical pictures of the same phenomena
may arise in different frames. To give an example, we discuss the gravitational
spectral shift as viewed in a general Weyl frame. We further explore the
analogy of general relativity with scalar-tensor theories and show how a known
Brans-Dicke vacuum solution may appear as a solution of general relativity
theory when reinterpreted in a particular Weyl frame. Finally, we show that the
so-called WIST gravity theories are mathematically equivalent to Brans-Dicke
theory when viewed in a particular frame.Comment: LATEX, 22 page
Conformally flat spacetimes and Weyl frames
We discuss the concepts of Weyl and Riemann frames in the context of metric
theories of gravity and state the fact that they are completely equivalent as
far as geodesic motion is concerned. We apply this result to conformally flat
spacetimes and show that a new picture arises when a Riemannian spacetime is
taken by means of geometrical gauge transformations into a Minkowskian flat
spacetime. We find out that in the Weyl frame gravity is described by a scalar
field. We give some examples of how conformally flat spacetime configurations
look when viewed from the standpoint of a Weyl frame. We show that in the
non-relativistic and weak field regime the Weyl scalar field may be identified
with the Newtonian gravitational potential. We suggest an equation for the
scalar field by varying the Einstein-Hilbert action restricted to the class of
conformally-flat spacetimes. We revisit Einstein and Fokker's interpretation of
Nordstr\"om scalar gravity theory and draw an analogy between this approach and
the Weyl gauge formalism. We briefly take a look at two-dimensional gravity as
viewed in the Weyl frame and address the question of quantizing a conformally
flat spacetime by going to the Weyl frame.Comment: LATEX - 18 page
The unexpected resurgence of Weyl geometry in late 20-th century physics
Weyl's original scale geometry of 1918 ("purely infinitesimal geometry") was
withdrawn by its author from physical theorizing in the early 1920s. It had a
comeback in the last third of the 20th century in different contexts: scalar
tensor theories of gravity, foundations of gravity, foundations of quantum
mechanics, elementary particle physics, and cosmology. It seems that Weyl
geometry continues to offer an open research potential for the foundations of
physics even after the turn to the new millennium.Comment: Completely rewritten conference paper 'Beyond Einstein', Mainz Sep
2008. Preprint ELHC (Epistemology of the LHC) 2017-02, 92 pages, 1 figur
Complicity and memory in soldiers’ testimonies of the Algerian War of decolonisation in Esprit and Les Temps modernes
Mutation of a single residue, β-glutamate-20, alters protein–lipid interactions of light harvesting complex II
It is well established that assembly of the peripheral antenna complex, LH2, is required for proper photosynthetic membrane biogenesis in the purple bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides. The underlying interactions are, as yet, not understood. Here we examined the relationship between the morphology of the photosynthetic membrane and the lipid–protein interactions at the LH2–lipid interface. The non-bilayer lipid, phosphatidylethanolamine, is shown to be highly enriched in the boundary lipid phase of LH2. Sequence alignments indicate a putative lipid binding site, which includes β-glutamate-20 and the adjacent carotenoid end group. Replacement of β-glutamate-20 with alanine results in significant reduction of phosphatidylethanolamine and concomitant raise in phosphatidylcholine in the boundary lipid phase of LH2 without altering the lipid composition of the bulk phase. The morphology of the LH2 housing membrane is, however, unaffected by the amino acid replacement. In contrast, simultaneous modification of glutamate-20 and exchange of the carotenoid sphaeroidenone with neurosporene results in significant enlargement of the vesicular membrane invaginations. These findings suggest that the LH2 complex, specifically β-glutamate-20 and the carotenoids' polar head group, contribute to the shaping of the photosynthetic membrane by specific interactions with surrounding lipid molecules
Defensive coping and health-related quality of life in chronic kidney disease: a cross-sectional study
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Coping with the stresses of chronic disease is considered as a key factor in the perceived impairment of health related quality of life (HRQL). Little is known though about these associations in chronic kidney disease (CKD). The present study aimed to investigate the relationship of defensive coping and HRQL among patients in different CKD stages, after adjusting for psychological distress, sociodemographic and disease-related variables.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The sample consisted of 98 CKD patients, attending a university nephrology department. Seventy-nine (79) pre-dialysis patients of disease stages 3 to 4 and 19 dialysis patients were included. HRQL was assessed by the 36-item Short-Form health survey (SF-36), defensive coping by the Rationality/Emotional Defensiveness (R/ED) scale of the Lifestyle Defense Mechanism Inventory (LDMI) and psychological distress by the depression and anxiety scales of the revised Hopkins Symptom CheckList (SCL-90-R). Regression analyses were carried out to examine the association between SF-36 dimensions and defensive coping style.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Patients on dialysis had worse scores on SF-36 scales measuring physical aspects of HRQL. In the fully adjusted analysis, a higher defensive coping score was significantly associated with a lower score on the mental component summary (MCS) scale of the SF-36 (worse mental health). In contrast, a higher defensive score showed a small positive association with the physical component summary (PCS) scale of the SF-36 (better health), but this was marginally significant.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results provided evidence that emotional defensiveness as a coping style tends to differentially affect the mental and the physical component of HRQL in CKD. Clinicians should be aware of the effects of long-term denial and could examine the possibility of screening for defensive coping and depression in recently diagnosed CKD patients with the aim to improve both physical and mental health.</p
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