Genetic variability among Blastoschizomyces capitatus isolates from different clinical sources.

Sixteen clinical isolates and nine ATCC reference strains of Blastoschizomyces capitatus were analysed genetically, examined for the cellobiose, arbutin and salicin assimilation and tested for the aspartyl-proteinase secretion. The restriction endonuclease analysis (REA) with HpaII and HinfI enzymes and the electrophoretic karyotype (EK) were investigated. Both the restriction enzymes revealed two groups (I, II) constituted by the same isolates: 17 isolates (68%) in group I and 8 (32%) in group II. The EK analysis revealed sixteen groups. These data prompts for a genetic variability of the isolates of Blastoschizomyces capitatus and their account in two distinct genetic groups as suggested by REA. This grouping was confirmed by examing the utilisation of cellobiose, arbutin and salicin. The tests for secretory aspartyl proteinase (Sap) were positive only for three isolates, suggesting a marginal role of this specific enzyme in pathogenesis for these isolates

Understanding the microstructure of mortars for cultural heritage using X-ray CT and MIP

In this study, the microstructure of mock-up mortar specimens for a historic environment, composed of different mixtures, was studied using mercury intrusion porosity (MIP) and micro-computed tomography (\ub5CT), highlighting the advantages and drawbacks of both techniques. Po-rosity, sphericity, and pores size distribution were studied, evaluating changes according to mortar composition (aerial and hydraulic binders, quartz sand, and crushed limestone aggregate). The \ub5CT results were rendered using 3D visualization software, which provides complementary information for the interpretation of the data obtained using 3D data-analysis software. Moreover, \ub5CT contrib-utes to the interpretation of MIP results of mortars. On the other hand, MIP showed significant ink-bottle effects in lime and cement mortars samples that should be taken into account when interpret-ing the results. Moreover, the MIP results highlighted how gypsum mortar samples display a porosity distribution that is best studied using this technique. This multi-analytical approach provides important insights into the interpretation of the porosimetric data obtained. This is crucial in the characterization of mortars and provides key information for the study of building materials and cultural heritage conservation

Squeezing of electromagnetic field in a cavity by electrons in Trojan states

The notion of the Trojan state of a Rydberg electron, introduced by I.Bialynicki-Birula, M.Kali\'nski, and J.H.Eberly (Phys. Rev. Lett. 73, 1777 (1994)) is extended to the case of the electromagnetic field quantized in acavity. The shape of the electronic wave packet describing the Trojan state is practically the same as in the previously studied externally driven system. The fluctuations of the quantized electromagnetic field around its classical value exhibit strong squeezing. The emergence of Trojan states in the cylindrically symmetrical system is attributed to spontaneous symmetry braking.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Random-phase approximation study of collective excitations in the Bose-Fermi mixed condensate of alkali-metal gases

We perform Random Phase Approximation (RPA) study of collective excitations in the bose-fermi mixed degenerate gas of Alkali-metal atoms at T=0. The calculation is done by diagonalization in a model space composed of particle-hole type excitations from the ground state, the latter being obtained from the coupled Gross-Pitaevskii and Thomas-Fermi equations. We investigate strength distributions for different combinations of bose and fermi multipole ($L$) operators with $L=0,1,2,3$. Transition densities and dynamical structure factors are calculated for collective excitations. Comparison with the sum rule prediction for the collective frequency is given. Time dependent behavior of the system after an external impulse is studied.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Entangling Two Bose-Einstein Condensates by Stimulated Bragg Scattering

We propose an experiment for entangling two spatially separated Bose-Einstein condensates by Bragg scattering of light. When Bragg scattering in two condensates is stimulated by a common probe, the resulting quasiparticles in the two condensates get entangled due to quantum communication between the condensates via probe beam. The entanglement is shown to be significant and occurs in both number and quadrature phase variables. We present two methods of detecting the generated entanglement.Comment: 4 pages, Revte

The Excitation Spectrum of a Bose-Einstein Condensate

We report the first measurement of the excitation spectrum and the static structure factor of a Bose-Einstein condensate. The excitation spectrum displays a linear phonon regime, as well as a parabolic single-particle regime. The linear regime provides an upper limit for the superfluid critical velocity, by the Landau criterion. The excitation spectrum agrees well with the Bogoliubov spectrum, in the local density approximation. This agreement continues even for excitations close to the long-wavelength limit of the region of applicability of the approximation. Feynman's relation between the excitation spectrum and the static structure factor is verified, within an overall constant

Stochastic ionization through noble tori: Renormalization results

We find that chaos in the stochastic ionization problem develops through the break-up of a sequence of noble tori. In addition to being very accurate, our method of choice, the renormalization map, is ideally suited for analyzing properties at criticality. Our computations of chaos thresholds agree closely with the widely used empirical Chirikov criterion

Trabectedin for patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma: A non-interventional, retrospective, multicenter study of the italian sarcoma group

The Italian Sarcoma Group performed this retrospective analysis of patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma, pretreated with ≥1 anthracycline-based treatment, and treated with trabectedin every three weeks. Primary endpoint was to describe real-life use of trabectedin across Italy. Secondary endpoints included objective response rate (ORR) and safety. Overall, 512 patients from 20 Italian centers were evaluated. Leiomyosarcoma (37.7%)/liposarcoma (30.3%) were the most prevalent histological types (abbreviated as L-sarcoma). Patients received a median of four trabectedin cycles (range: 1–40), mostly as a second-line treatment (~60% of patients). The ORR was 13.7% superior (p < 0.0001) in patients with L-sarcoma compared with patients with non-L-sarcoma (16.6% vs. 9.0%). Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 5.1 months, whereas median overall survival (OS) was 21.6 months. Significantly better PFS and OS were observed in patients with L-sarcoma, those with objective responses and/or disease stabilization, treated in an early line and treated with reduced dose. Bone marrow toxicity (61.4%) and transaminase increases (21.9%) were the most common grade 3/4 adverse events. The results of this real-life study suggest that trabectedin is an active treatment, which is mostly given as a second-line treatment to patients with a good performance status and high-grade, metastatic L-sarcoma (clinical trial information: NCT02793050)

From transformation to chronification of migraine: Pathophysiological and clinical aspects

Chronic migraine is a neurological disorder characterized by 15 or more headache days per month of which at least 8 days show typical migraine features. The process that describes the development from episodic migraine into chronic migraine is commonly referred to as migraine transformation or chronification. Ample studies have attempted to identify factors associated with migraine transformation fr

Mapping the root systems of individual trees in a natural community using genotyping-by-sequencing

The architecture of root systems is an important driver of plant fitness, competition and ecosystem processes. However, the methodological difficulty of mapping roots hampers the study of these processes. Existing approaches to match individual plants to belowground samples are low-throughput and species-specific. Here, we developed a scalable sequencing-based method to map the root systes of individual trees across multiple species. We successfully applied it to a tropical dry forest community in the Brazilian Caatinga containing 14 species We sequenced all 42 individual shrubs and trees in a 14 by 14 m plot using double-digest restriction-site associated sequencing (ddRADseq). We identified species-specific markers and individual-specific haplotypes from the data. We matched these markers to ddRADseq data from 100 mixed root samples from across the centre (10 by 10 m) of the plot at four different depths, using a newly developed R package We identified individual root samples for all species and all but one individual. There was a strong significant correlation between below and aboveground size measurements, and we also detected significant species-level root-depth preference for two species.? The method is more scalable and less labour-intensive than current techniques, and is broadly applicable to ecology, forestry and agricultural biology.On-line