PP-wave and Non-supersymmetric Gauge Theory

We extend the pp-wave correspondence to a non supersymmetric example. The model is the type 0B string theory on the pp-wave R-R background. We explicitly solve the model and give the spectrum of physical states. The field theory counterpart is given by a sector of the large N SU(N) x SU(N) CFT living on a stack of N electric and N magnetic D3-branes. The relevant effective coupling constant is g_{eff}=g_sN/J^2. The string theory has a tachyon in the spectrum, whose light-cone energy can be exactly computed as a function of g_{eff}. We argue that the perturbative analysis in g_{eff} in the dual gauge theory is reliable, with corrections of non perturbative type. We find a precise state/operator map, showing that the first perturbative corrections to the anomalous dimensions of the operators have the behavior expected from the string analysis.Comment: 19 pages. Revised versio

Trojan hosts: the menace of invasive vertebrates as vectors of pathogens in the Southern Cone of South America

Invasive alien species (IAS) can act as vectors for the introduction of pathogens in ecosystems and their transmission to threatened native species (TNS), leading to biodiversity loss, population reductions and extinctions. We assessed pathogens potentially occurring in a set of IAS in the Southern Cone of South America and identified TNS potentially vulnerable to their effects. Also, we assessed how risk analysis systems proposed or adopted by national authorities in the study region value the importance of pathogens. We identified 324 pathogens in the selected IAS, which could potentially affect 202 TNS. Wild boar (Sus scrofa) was the IAS with the largest number of pathogens (91), followed by domestic dog (Canis familiaris) (62), red deer (Cervus elaphus) (58), rock dove (Columba livia) (37), American vison (Neovison vison) (18), European hare (Lepus europaeus) (17), common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) (12), common slider (Trachemys scripta) (6), and American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) (2). Most TNS were in the “vulnerable” IUCN category, followed by “endangered” and “critically endangered” species. Bacteria were the most frequently represented pathogens (112), followed by ectoparasites (78), viruses (69), protozoa and other (65). The direct effects of IAS on native wildlife are beginning to be addressed in South America, and their potential impact as pathogen spreaders to native wildlife has remained largely unexplored. Risk analysis systems associated with the introduction of IAS are scarce in this region. Although the existing systems contemplate hazard analyses for the co-introduction of pathogens, they underestimate the potential impact of diseases on TNS. Conservation efforts in the region would benefit from systems which give pathogen risk a relevant place, and from government agencies promoting targeted disease surveillance in IAS and wildlife.Fil: la Sala, Luciano Francisco. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Burgos, Julian M.. Marine And Freshwater Research Institute; IslandiaFil: Scorolli, Alberto Luis. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Grupo de Estudios en Conservación y Manejo; ArgentinaFil: VanderWaal, Kimberly. University of Minnesota; Estados UnidosFil: Zalba, Sergio Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Grupo de Estudios en Conservación y Manejo; Argentin

The Estimates of Retinal Ganglion Cell Counts Performed Better than Isolated Structure and Functional Tests for Glaucoma Diagnosis

Purpose. To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) counts as estimated by combining data from standard automated perimetry (SAP) and spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Methods. Healthy individuals and glaucoma patients were included in this cross-sectional study. All eyes underwent 24-2 SITA SAP and structural imaging tests. RGC count estimates were obtained using a previously described algorithm, which combines estimates of RGC numbers from SAP sensitivity thresholds and SD-OCT retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) average thickness. Results. A total of 119 eyes were evaluated, including 75 eyes of 48 healthy individuals and 44 eyes of 29 glaucoma patients. RGC count estimates performed better than data derived from SD-OCT RNFL average thickness or SAP mean deviation alone (area under ROC curves: 0.98, 0.92, and 0.79; P<0.001) for discriminating healthy from glaucomatous eyes, even in a subgroup of eyes with mild disease (0.97, 0.88, and 0.75; P<0.001). There was a strong and significant correlation between estimates of RGC numbers derived from SAP and SD-OCT (R2=0.74; P<0.001). Conclusion. RGC count estimates obtained by combined structural and functional data showed excellent diagnostic accuracy for discriminating the healthy from the glaucomatous eyes and performed better than isolated structural and functional parameters

Systemic but not intraocular Epo Gene Transfer Protects the Retina from Light-and Genetic-Induced Degeneration

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Thermo-magnetic-fluid dynamics analysis of an OsNAN distribution transformer cooled with mineral oil and biodegradable esters

This work introduces a coupled electromagnetic, thermal and fluid flow analysis of an oil-natural air-natural distribution transformer in order to study the changes in the heat dissipation performance when a biodegradable ester is used to cool the device instead of mineral oil. The transformer has a rated power of 315kVA and a voltage ratio of 13.2kV / 0.4kV. The heat losses in the magnetic core and the windings are computed with the ANSYS® Maxwell software and they are transferred as volume heat source terms to compute the heat conduction. The natural convection of the fluid flow is taken into account using a temperature-dependent density. The heat conduction through the solid walls and radiators panels are also considered. The thermo–hydraulic problem is solved with the software Code_Saturne. Data from experimental tests carried out with mineral oil are used to validate the numerical simulations. Equivalent and anisotropic thermal conductivities in the core and the windings are calculated both with a semi-analytic procedure and finite element simulations to simplify the heat conduction model in the active parts. It is found that, after reaching a steady state, the transformer cooled with the ester shows a temperature difference between specific locations at the top and the bottom higher than that cooled with mineral oil. The magnetic core and the windings also work hotter when ester is used. Finally, the analysis of the flow through the cooling ducts of the windings confirms that the oil velocity is, on average, 25% higher than the ester one.Fil: Garelli, Luciano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Centro de Investigaciones en Métodos Computacionales. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Centro de Investigaciones en Métodos Computacionales; ArgentinaFil: Rios Rodriguez, Gustavo Adolfo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Centro de Investigaciones en Métodos Computacionales. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Centro de Investigaciones en Métodos Computacionales; ArgentinaFil: Kubiczek, K.. Silesian University Of Technology; PoloniaFil: Lasek, P.. Silesian University Of Technology; PoloniaFil: Stepien, M.. Silesian University Of Technology; PoloniaFil: Smolka, J.. Silesian University Of Technology; PoloniaFil: Storti, Mario Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Centro de Investigaciones en Métodos Computacionales. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Centro de Investigaciones en Métodos Computacionales; ArgentinaFil: Pessolani, F.. No especifíca;Fil: Amadei, M.. No especifíca

Characterization and control of oocyte large-scale chromatin configuration in different cattle breeds.

Made available in DSpace on 2020-12-11T01:57:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2020-01-01 Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) Differences in reproductive physiology between cattle breeds may help to explain distinct responses to assisted reproductive techniques and to define breed-specific protocols with improved efficiency. Germinal vesicle (GV) stage oocytes are characterized by increasing levels of chromatin compaction enclosed within the nucleus (graded from GV0 to GV3), associated with different developmental competence. The first objective of this study was to characterize chromatin configuration of GV stage oocytes recovered by OPU at random days of the estrous cycle from Nelore (Bos indices) and Holstein (Bos taurus) cows. In Nelore 90% of the oocytes presented advanced stages of chromatin compaction associated with higher developmental competence (GV2 and GV3), while in Holstein, only 65% of the oocytes were at these stages. Then, aiming to obtain a more homogeneous population of oocytes in Holstein, we tested two synchronization protocols combining aspiration of all visible follicles at a random day (day 0), two IM injections of FSH 12 h apart on day 2, and OPU on day 4 (OPU/D4) or 5 (OPU/D5). The protocol OPU/D4 provided around 45% of the oocytes with low chromatin compaction (GV1), while the protocol OPU/D5 provided 70% of the oocytes at GV2 and 20% at GV3. Finally, we assessed the effects of a culture system known to prevent meiotic resumption on chromatin configuration of the GV2 enriched oocyte population obtained with the protocol OPU/D5. After 9 h of culture most oocytes transited from GV2 to GV3, with 90% of the oocytes at GV3 stage. This study demonstrates differences between Nelore and Holstein cows regarding patterns of chromatin configuration that may account for their different performance in IVM/IVF. In addition, it provides novel references for the design of protocols aiming to regulate oocyte quality before IVM for the optimization of IVF outcomes. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Sao Paulo State Univ, Inst Biosci, Dept Physiol, Ovarian Mol Physiol Lab, Sao Paulo, Brazil Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Anim Reprod, Sao Paulo, Brazil Univ Milan, Dept Hlth Anim Sci & Food Safety, Reprod & Dev Biol Lab, Milan, Italy Sao Paulo State Univ, Inst Biosci, Dept Physiol, Ovarian Mol Physiol Lab, Sao Paulo, Brazil CAPES: 001 FAPESP: 2017/07588-4 FAPESP: 2016/21671-

KEEL 3.0: an open source software for multi-stage analysis in data mining

This paper introduces the 3rd major release of the KEEL Software. KEEL is an open source Java framework (GPLv3 license) that provides a number of modules to perform a wide variety of data mining tasks. It includes tools to performdata management, design of multiple kind of experiments, statistical analyses, etc. This framework also contains KEEL-dataset, a data repository for multiple learning tasks featuring data partitions and algorithms’ results over these problems. In this work, we describe the most recent components added to KEEL 3.0, including new modules for semi-supervised learning, multi-instance learning, imbalanced classification and subgroup discovery. In addition, a new interface in R has been incorporated to execute algorithms included in KEEL. These new features greatly improve the versatility of KEEL to deal with more modern data mining problems

Metastable Vacua in Superconformal SQCD-like Theories

We study dynamical supersymmetry breaking in vector-like superconformal N=1 gauge theories. We find appropriate deformations of the superpotential to overcome the problem of the instability of the non supersymmetric vacuum. The request for long lifetime translates into constraints on the physical couplings which in this regime can be controlled through efficient RG analysis.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, JHEP3.cl

Degradation of nitroaromatic compounds by the UV–H₂O₂ process using polychromatic radiation sources

The UV–H₂O₂ process, a standard advanced oxidation process (AOP) for water treatment, has been applied to the degradation of a series of nitroaromatic compounds (nitrobenzene, 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene, 2,4-dinitrophenol, 3-nitrophenol, 4-nitrophenol and 4-chloro-3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid) using polychromatic radiation sources. The optimal concentration of hydrogen peroxide ([H₂O₂]OPT) leading to the fastest degradation rate of a given substrate (S) was determined experimentally and estimated using a simplified kinetic model based on the main reactions involved in the first stages of the oxidation. We have shown that, under conditions of monochromatic irradiation, the ratio ROPT; (=; [H₂O₂]OPT/[S]₀) is given by a simple mathematical expression containing only a few parameters,; whereas, under conditions of polychromatic irradiation, ROPT is expressed by a complex mathematical equation (involving the spectral distribution of the lamp emission and the absorption spectra of H₂O₂ and the substrate). Two numerical analysis procedures are proposed for obtaining the bimolecular rate constants for the reaction of hydroxyl radicals with a substrate (kₛ) from this equation. The rate constants, kₛ, determined for the substrates investigated in this work are in agreement with the expected reactivity trend, taking into account the effects of substituents on the distribution of electron density in the aromatic ring. The methods proposed in this work offer a double advantage: i) a standard AOP may be used to evaluate the rate constants of reaction of substrates with hydroxyl radicals under polychromatic as well as under monochromatic irradiation, ii) optimal amounts; of additive may be obtained using only a few parameters as predictive tools.Facultad de Ciencias ExactasInstituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicada

Molecular targets and oxidative stress biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma: an overview

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a complex and heterogeneous tumor with multiple genetic aberrations. Several molecular pathways involved in the regulation of proliferation and cell death are implicated in the hepatocarcinogenesis. The major etiological factors for HCC are both hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus infection (HCV)