Btl-like proteins as molecular markers to evaluate polyphenol accumulation potential and maturation rate in grape

Flavonoid accumulation is a phenomenon associated to grape maturation and could be ascribed to several active and passive mechanisms. A more detailed knowledge of these processes could provide outputs about to improve the nutritional values of grape and its derivatives. This goal will be obtained assessing an immunochemical detection device able to point out the expression level of membrane transporters in grape skin and, thus, to estimate the polyphenol accumulation potential. In addition, this innovative test could allow to determine the best time for grape harvest, following in the field the dynamics of flavonoid accumulation systems. This parameter will implement the usual parameters applied by agronomical techniques, which are based on sugar content and acidity measurement. The evaluation of the phenolic maturity represents an efficient tool for the assessment of grape quality, since it takes into account the concentration of secondary metabolites as fundamental antioxidant molecules

Gauging fractons and linearized gravity

We consider the covariant gauge field theory of fractons, which describe a new type of quasiparticles exhibiting novel and nontrivial properties. In particular, we focus on the field theoretical peculiarities which characterize this theory, starting from the fact that, if we accept the paradigm that quantum field theories are defined by their symmetries, fractons unavoidably come together with linearized gravity. The standard Faddeev-Popov procedure to gauge fix the theory leads to a scalar gauge condition, which has two important drawbacks: it is frozen in the Landau gauge and linearized gravity cannot be obtained as a limit. In this paper we adopt a tensorially alternative gauge fixing, which avoids both problems. In particular, this allows to show that important physical features, like the counting of the degrees of freedom, do not depend on a particular gauge choice, as expected. Moreover, the resulting gauge fixed theory contains both fractons and linearized gravity as a limit, differently from the standard scalar choice.Comment: 22 page

Natural semi-direct gauge mediation and D-branes at singularities

We consider semi-direct gauge mediation models of supersymmetry breaking where the messengers are composite fields and their supersymmetric mass is naturally generated through quartic superpotential couplings. We show that such composite messenger models can be easily embedded in quiver gauge theories arising from D-branes at Calabi-Yau singularities, and argue that semi-direct gauge mediation is in fact a very natural option for supersymmetry breaking in D-brane models. We provide several explicit examples and discuss their salient phenomenological properties.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures. V2: Typos corrected and a note about putative unsuppressed gaugino mass adde

Preferential oxidation of CO in presence of H2. Behavior of PtSn/g-Al2O3 catalysts modified by K or Ba

The behavior of catalysts based on Pt/ -Al2O3 is analyzed in the CO oxidation reaction. Experiments were performed in the temperature range between 50°C and 250°C with a feed H2 rich, and a concentration of 1% CO and 0.6% O2 Catalysts studied were: monometallic Pt/ -Al2O3, bimetallic PtSn/ -Al2O3 with a ratio Sn/Pt=1.6 at/at and two catalysts prepared by modification of the last one with K or Ba. The catalyst that showed maximum activity and selectivity levels is the PtSnK/ -Al2O3. The tin addition increases the activity which allows the reaction to occur at lower temperatures due to the decrease in the CO-Pt interaction. The addition of K or Ba produces a subsequent improvement with respect to the CO oxidation temperature, which leads to a selectivity increase. The selectivity of the CO oxidation passes through a maximum value as a function of the temperature. This maximum is explained by the importance acquired by the reverse of water gas shift reaction at temperatures near 200ºCFil: Siri, Guillermo Jorge. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo En Ciencias Aplicadas "Dr. Jorge J. Ronco". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas; ArgentinaFil: Bertolini, Guillermo Ramon. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo En Ciencias Aplicadas "Dr. Jorge J. Ronco". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas; ArgentinaFil: Ferretti, Osmar Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo En Ciencias Aplicadas "Dr. Jorge J. Ronco". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas; Argentin

Retrospect of the liability of the legal person in the Brazilian law: from the Brazilian Civil Code of 1916 to the comprehension of the strict liability of the Brazilian Anticorruption Act (Law n. 12.846/2013)

This paper presents a brief historical retrospective on the change of the Brazilian legal thinking regarding the liability of legal entities in Brazil. The hypothesis presented in this article is that the legal Brazilian system evolved from a subjective responsibility of the person to a regime of strict liability of the legal person, due to the needs and concerns of the Brazilian society. The main objective of this article is to promote a historical retrospective of the Brazilian regime of accountability of the legal entity, so as to better understand the regime of liability imposed by the Anti-Corruption Act, which imposes heavy penalties on legal entities that may cause any harm to the Public Administration.O artigo busca apresenta um retrospecto sobre mudança do pensamento jurídico brasileiro a respeito do panorama de responsabilização da pessoa jurídica. Desde a edição do Código Civil, em 1916, até a edição da Lei Anticorrupção, em 2013, observa-se uma paulatina e crescente atenuação do regi­me de responsabilidade limitada e subjetiva da pessoa jurídica (restrita à sociedade, e não atingível ao patrimônio dos seus sócios), havendo o que se denomina de “verdadeiro fim da responsabilidade li­mi­tada no Brasil”. A hipótese apresentada no presente artigo é a de que o ordenamento jurídico evoluiu de uma responsabilidade subjetiva da pessoa para um regime de responsabilidade objetiva da pessoa jurídica, devido às necessidades da sociedade brasileira. O objetivo principal do artigo é promover um retrospecto histórico do regime de responsabilização da pessoa jurídica, de modo a melhor compre­ender o regime de responsabilidade objetiva da Lei Anticorrupção, que impõe pesadas sanções às pessoas jurídicas que venham a causar prejuízos à Administração Pública. Além disso, o estudo busca aprofundar os limites da responsabilidade objetiva da pessoa jurídica no âmbito da Lei Anticorrupção, de modo a examinar as diferenças existentes no regime de responsabilização, por meio da utilização de sanções administrativas, no âmbito do Direito Consumidor, Ambiental, Tributário e Concorrencial, que se utilizam constantemente de sanções administrativas para responsabilizar pessoas jurídicas

A responsabilidade objetiva da pessoa jurídica na lei anticorrupção (lei nº 12.846/2013)

Orientador: Egon Bockmann MoreiraMonografia (graduação) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Jurídicas, Curso de Graduação em DireitoInclui referênciasResumo: O trabalho analisa a efetividade das Disposições Gerais (arts. 1o a 4o) da Lei no 12.846/2013, também conhecida como Lei Anticorrupção, que instala a responsabilidade objetiva das pes- soas jurídicas que causem algum tipo de dano ou prejuízo à Administração Pública brasileira, especialmente em sede de licitações e contratos administrativos. A monografia se aprofunda no conceito de responsabilidade objetiva da pessoa jurídica e verifica as possibilidades deste regime de responsabilização mediante a utilização de sanções administrativas, com a respecti- va comparação do regime de sanções administrativas estabelecidas no Direito Ambiental, do Consumidor, Tributário e Antitruste. Para isso, faz-se um exame a respeito da compatibilidade desta responsabilização objetiva, sem a comprovação de qualquer tipo de dolo ou culpa por parte daquele que acusa, com o ordenamento jurídico brasileiro. Uma das principais formas de atenuação e verificação desta responsabilidade objetiva da pessoa jurídica é mediante a insta- lação de critérios objetivos que possam aferir a conduta da pessoa jurídica, naquilo que a Lei Anticorrupção denomina de "Programas de Integridade" ou Compliance, que constituem vali- oso utensílio na averiguação da conduta danosa da pessoa jurídica e na atenuação das sanções administrativas da Lei no 12.846/2013. Além disso, são apresentadas algumas perspectivas a respeito do regime de responsabilização das pessoas jurídicas nos casos da alteração, cisão, fusão, incorporação e transformação da pessoa jurídica, com a apresentação de algumas solu- ções para a responsabilização de empreendimentos empresariais como Consórcios Licitató- rios, Sociedades de Propósito-Específico e Grupos Empresariais, objetos de atenção da Lei Anticorrupção em seu art. 4o.Abstract: The paper analyzes the effectiveness of the General Provisions (arts. 1st to 4th) of Brazilian Law No. 12.846/2013, also known as Anti-Corruption Act, which installs the strict liability of Companies that cause some sort of damage to the Brazilian Public Administration. The paper delves into the concept of strict liability of the legal entity and verifies the possibilities of this liability regime through the use of administrative sanctions, with the respective comparison of the system of administrative sanctions stipulated in the Brazilian Environmental Law, Consumer Law, Tax Law and Antitrust Law. For this, the paper presents the compatibility of the strict liability, without proof of any fraud or negligence by the Company accused, with the Brazilian legal system. One of the main forms of mitigation and verification of this objective responsibility of the corporation's is the "Integrity Program" or Compliance, which makes up a tute valuable tool in the investigation of the misconduct of the corporation and the alleviation of administrative penalties of Law No. 12.846/2013. In addition, the work presents some perspectives regarding the corporate accountability arrangements in cases of spin-off, merger, acquisitions and transformation of the legal entity

The disregard of the legal entity by the public administration – possibilities and limits of the Brazilian new anti-corruption federal act

O presente artigo tem como objetivo principal analisar a desconsideração administrativa da pessoa jurídica em âmbito da Administração Pública, de maneira especial a partir da análise da recém-promulgada Lei Anticorrupção (Lei Federal nº 12.846/2013). Também examina de maneira mais detida a necessidade de regulamentação da Lei Anticorrupção, suas possibilidades de aplicação, os conflitos com a jurisdição penal, e comenta a previsão específica de desconsideração da personalidade societária na Lei 12.846/2013.This article analyses the administrative disregard of legal entity under the Public Administration, especially from the investigation of the recent enacted Anti-corruption Act. It also examines the regulatory needs of the Anti-Corruption Act, its application possibilities, conflicts with criminal jurisdiction, and specific comments on the prediction of disregard of corporate veil in Law 12.846/2013

Biochemical and immunochemical similarities among mammalian bilitranslocase and a plant flavonoid translocator

Flavonoids are a large class of plant secondary metabolites, belonging to polyphenol family, which possess pharmacological and nutritional properties. Their synthesis takes place only in plants, while mammals can acquire them only with diet. It has been demonstrated that flavonoid uptake occurs in rat also by the activity of bilitranslocase, a carrier that is involved in anion transport in liver cell, vascular endothelium and gastric mucosa. A sequence of bilitranslocase interacting with flavonoid moieties is already known and characterized. Antibody raised against such protein epitope were shown to exhibit cross-reactivity against plant membrane proteins in tissues involved in flavonoid transport and accumulation, such as teguments of carnation petals and skin of grape berries. Further immunolocalization studies allowed to demonstrate the presence of cross-reacting protein not only at the level of tegumental tissues, but also associated to sieve elements and seed teguments in grape berries

The prognostic importance of chronic end-stage diseases in geriatric patients admitted to 163 Italian ICUs

BACKGROUND: The number of elderly patients undergoing major surgical interventions and then needing admission to intensive care unit (ICU) grows steadily. We investigated this issue in a cohort of 232,278 patients admitted in five years (2011-2015) to 163 Italian general ICUs. METHODS: Surgical patients older than 75 registered in the GiViTI MargheritaPROSAFE project were analyzed. The impact on hospital mortality of important chronic conditions (severe COPD, NYHA class IV, dementia, end-stage renal disease, cirrhosis with portal hypertension) was investigated with two prognostic models developed yearly on patients staying in the ICU less or more than 24 hours. RESULTS: 44,551 elderly patients (19.2%) underwent emergency (47.3%) or elective surgery (52.7%). At least one severe comorbidity was present in 14.6% of them, yielding a higher hospital mortality (32.4%, vs. 21.1% without severe comorbidity). In the models for patients staying in the ICU 24 hours or more, cirrhosis, NYHA class IV, and severe COPD were constant independent predictors of death (adjusted odds ratios [ORs] range 1.67-1.97, 1.54-1.91, and 1.34-1.50, respectively), while dementia was statistically significant in four out of five models (adjusted ORs 1.23-1.28). End-stage renal disease, instead, never resulted to be an independent prognostic factor. For patients staying in the ICU less than 24 hours, chronic comorbidities were only occasionally independent predictors of death. CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms that elderly surgical patients represent a relevant part of all ICUs admissions. About one of seven bear at least one severe chronic comorbidity, that, excluding end-stage renal disease, are all strong independent predictors of hospital death