Brassica oleracea var. costata: comparative study on organic acids and biomass production with other cabbage varieties

BACKGROUND: A study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of agronomic practices, harvesting time and leaf age on the organic acid composition and biomass production of Brassica oleracea L. var. costata DC (tronchuda cabbage). Samples were cultivated under eight different fertilisation regimes (two levels each of nitrogen, boron and sulfur, an organic fertiliser and no fertiliser) and collected at three different times. RESULTS: Principal component analysis of the data indicated significant differences. Three principal components with an eigenvalue higher than one accounted for 79.0% of the total variance of the data set. Samples obtained with conventional fertilisation were characterised by the highest values of fresh weight. External leaves showed higher total organic acid and malic acid contents than internal leaves,while the latterwere characterised by higher proportions of citric acid. For consecutive harvests, total organic acid concentration decreased in both external and internal leaves. CONCLUSION: The use of a conventional fertilisation regime (nitrogen, boron or sulfur) improved the growth of B. oleracea var. costata without affecting its organic acid profile. However, for consecutive harvests, total organic acid concentration was observed to decrease independently of the agronomic practices tested. Leaf age influenced the quantitative composition of organic acids.FC

Metabolic fate of dietary volatile compounds in Pieris brassicae

In this work, the evolution of the qualitative and quantitative profile of the volatile fraction of Pieris brassicae after feeding on Brassica oleracea var. acephala (kale) was monitored through time. HS-SPME/GC-MS was applied to both the host plant and the living insect and its excrements. A total of seventy seven compounds (lipoxygenase pathway by-products, nitrogen compounds, norisoprenoids, sulphur compounds, terpenes, among others) were identified. Thirty eight compounds were identified in insect after 2 h of starvation and forty eight compounds in excrements. Qualitative and quantitative changes were detected along time. Dimethyldisulfide, dimethyltrisulfide, limonene and eugenol were major compounds for all analysed times in both matrices, being limonene an important compound in insect after starvation. The accumulation by P. brassicae of some compounds, such as limonene, was verified, suggesting a mechanism by which the insect can take benefit from bioactive constituents from the diet. Along with accumulation, complete excretion of some compounds, including nitrogen bearing compounds, by-products of glucosinolates was detected. These results reflect one of the strategies used to overcome plant barriers, namely detoxification of toxic compounds. The findings contribute to the knowledge of the metabolization of the volatile compounds in insects and contribute to the body of knowledge of this ecologic system.FC

Observational constraint on generalized Chaplygin gas model

We investigate observational constraints on the generalized Chaplygin gas (GCG) model as the unification of dark matter and dark energy from the latest observational data: the Union SNe Ia data, the observational Hubble data, the SDSS baryon acoustic peak and the five-year WMAP shift parameter. It is obtained that the best fit values of the GCG model parameters with their confidence level are $A_{s}=0.73^{+0.06}_{-0.06}$ ($1\sigma$) $^{+0.09}_{-0.09}$ $(2\sigma)$, $\alpha=-0.09^{+0.15}_{-0.12}$ ($1\sigma$) $^{+0.26}_{-0.19}$ $(2\sigma)$. Furthermore in this model, we can see that the evolution of equation of state (EOS) for dark energy is similar to quiessence, and its current best-fit value is $w_{0de}=-0.96$ with the $1\sigma$ confidence level $-0.91\geq w_{0de}\geq-1.00$.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Transformação do revestimento epitelial de cisto odontogênico em carcinoma de células escamosas: processo de diagnóstico

Os cistos odontogênicos (COs) se originam dos remanescentes da lâmina dentária ou órgão do esmalte e são subclassificados em cistos de desenvolvimento ou inflamatórios [1]. A incidência de alterações malignas dos COs tem sido descrita na literatura com uma variação de 0,13% a 3% [2,3]. Os carcinomas de células escamosas (CEC) originados a partir do limitante epitelial de cistos odontogênicos passaram a ser classificadas em 2017 pela OMS, como carcinomas primários de células escamosas intraósseas (PIOSCC) [4]. Paciente do sexo feminino, negra, 23 anos, apresentou histórico de infecção odontogênica. Ao exame observou-se edema e eritema gengival na região do dente 48, com aumento volumétrico, dor, trismo e dispneia noturna. A radiografia panorâmica revelou extensa lesão de cárie no dente 48 e lesão radiolúcida de aproximadamente 2 cm entre os dentes 47 e 48 com afastamento de raízes. A reabsorção da tábua óssea lingual foi constatada no exame tomográfico. Procedeu-se com a exodontia do dente 48 e curetagem da lesão. O exame microscópico revelou fragmento de cisto odontogênico cujo limitante epitelial, invadia superficialmente o tecido conjuntivo da cápsula. As células apresentavam, individualmente, aumento da relação núcleo/citoplasma, núcleos pleomórficos, hipercromáticos e inversão de polaridade. O diagnóstico foi de CEC microinvasivo originado do revestimento de cisto odontogênico. Essa malignidade chama atenção para a importância de não negligenciarmos o minucioso exame microscópico do revestimento epitelial dos cistos odontogênicos.   Palavras-chave: Cistos odontogênicos. Carcinoma de célula escamosa. Alterações malignas.&nbsp

Global surveillance of cancer survival 1995-2009: analysis of individual data for 25,676,887 patients from 279 population-based registries in 67 countries (CONCORD-2)

BACKGROUND: Worldwide data for cancer survival are scarce. We aimed to initiate worldwide surveillance of cancer survival by central analysis of population-based registry data, as a metric of the effectiveness of health systems, and to inform global policy on cancer control. METHODS: Individual tumour records were submitted by 279 population-based cancer registries in 67 countries for 25·7 million adults (age 15-99 years) and 75,000 children (age 0-14 years) diagnosed with cancer during 1995-2009 and followed up to Dec 31, 2009, or later. We looked at cancers of the stomach, colon, rectum, liver, lung, breast (women), cervix, ovary, and prostate in adults, and adult and childhood leukaemia. Standardised quality control procedures were applied; errors were corrected by the registry concerned. We estimated 5-year net survival, adjusted for background mortality in every country or region by age (single year), sex, and calendar year, and by race or ethnic origin in some countries. Estimates were age-standardised with the International Cancer Survival Standard weights. FINDINGS: 5-year survival from colon, rectal, and breast cancers has increased steadily in most developed countries. For patients diagnosed during 2005-09, survival for colon and rectal cancer reached 60% or more in 22 countries around the world; for breast cancer, 5-year survival rose to 85% or higher in 17 countries worldwide. Liver and lung cancer remain lethal in all nations: for both cancers, 5-year survival is below 20% everywhere in Europe, in the range 15-19% in North America, and as low as 7-9% in Mongolia and Thailand. Striking rises in 5-year survival from prostate cancer have occurred in many countries: survival rose by 10-20% between 1995-99 and 2005-09 in 22 countries in South America, Asia, and Europe, but survival still varies widely around the world, from less than 60% in Bulgaria and Thailand to 95% or more in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the USA. For cervical cancer, national estimates of 5-year survival range from less than 50% to more than 70%; regional variations are much wider, and improvements between 1995-99 and 2005-09 have generally been slight. For women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2005-09, 5-year survival was 40% or higher only in Ecuador, the USA, and 17 countries in Asia and Europe. 5-year survival for stomach cancer in 2005-09 was high (54-58%) in Japan and South Korea, compared with less than 40% in other countries. By contrast, 5-year survival from adult leukaemia in Japan and South Korea (18-23%) is lower than in most other countries. 5-year survival from childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is less than 60% in several countries, but as high as 90% in Canada and four European countries, which suggests major deficiencies in the management of a largely curable disease. INTERPRETATION: International comparison of survival trends reveals very wide differences that are likely to be attributable to differences in access to early diagnosis and optimum treatment. Continuous worldwide surveillance of cancer survival should become an indispensable source of information for cancer patients and researchers and a stimulus for politicians to improve health policy and health-care systems

Volume I. Introduction to DUNE

The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early universe, the dynamics of the supernovae that produced the heavy elements necessary for life, and whether protons eventually decay—these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our universe, its current state, and its eventual fate. The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is an international world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions as it searches for leptonic charge-parity symmetry violation, stands ready to capture supernova neutrino bursts, and seeks to observe nucleon decay as a signature of a grand unified theory underlying the standard model. The DUNE far detector technical design report (TDR) describes the DUNE physics program and the technical designs of the single- and dual-phase DUNE liquid argon TPC far detector modules. This TDR is intended to justify the technical choices for the far detector that flow down from the high-level physics goals through requirements at all levels of the Project. Volume I contains an executive summary that introduces the DUNE science program, the far detector and the strategy for its modular designs, and the organization and management of the Project. The remainder of Volume I provides more detail on the science program that drives the choice of detector technologies and on the technologies themselves. It also introduces the designs for the DUNE near detector and the DUNE computing model, for which DUNE is planning design reports. Volume II of this TDR describes DUNE\u27s physics program in detail. Volume III describes the technical coordination required for the far detector design, construction, installation, and integration, and its organizational structure. Volume IV describes the single-phase far detector technology. A planned Volume V will describe the dual-phase technology