Reply to "Comment on 'Gravitating Magnetic Monopole in the Global Monopole Spacetime' "

In this Reply I present some arguments in favor of the stability of the topological defect composed by global and magnetic monopoles.Comment: 1 page, no figures. Revised version improves the theoretical analysis about electrostatic self-interaction in the global monopole spacetim

Water buffalo production in the Brazilian Amazon Basin: a review

The Brazilian Amazon has witnessed, in the last decades, an increase in the water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) inventory, with interesting productivity results. As the Brazilian Amazon contains the main water buffalo population in the Americas, the aim of this work is to review its most relevant production systems and some peculiarities about meat and milk production in this territory. The opening section describes the Amazon Basin, the most common water buffalo breeds, a brief history of the local livestock farming beginning in 1644. Also, it presents how water buffaloes gradually replaced bovine herds, especially where the latter had a lower productive performance. The use of extensive or more intensified models is pointed out and the ecosystems in which buffaloes are raised are detailed since native or cultivated pastures can be used in floodplains or drylands. Buffalo raising is favored in the Amazon due to the climate, soil, genetic variability of forages, animal adaptability, and physical space. Thus, it is clear that buffaloes have a high potential for meat and milk production and are an alternative in the use of altered areas of the Amazon; and, in the recent past, the low profitability of buffalo farming in traditional production systems in the Amazon was the reason which made this activity economically unattractive. Most recent technologies as outdoor confinements and silvopastoral systems are pointed out as more suitable regarding land-use policies, and buffalo farming for meat and milk production fits perfectly in this context, with productivity and beneficial socioeconomicinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Nellore bull selection alternatives using multiple traits of economic importance

Os dados são provenientes de 234 touros da raça Nelore participantes de um teste de progênie, no período de 1996 a 2003. A diferença esperada na progênie (DEP) de sete características: peso aos 120 e 210 dias, efeito materno (DMPP120 e DMPP210), peso e perímetro escrotal aos 365 e 450 dias, efeito direto (DDP365, DDP450, DDPE365 e DDPE450) e idade ao primeiro parto (DDIPP) foi utilizada para classificar os animais em três grupos, assim como identificar quais as características possuíram maior poder discriminatório na formação de cada grupo. Para tanto, foram utilizados procedimentos estatísticos multivariados de análise de agrupamentos k-médias e componentes principais. Os resultados evidenciaram que, dos três grupos formados, dois se destacaram quanto aos valores médios das DEPs. A importância desses dois grupos de touros foi confirmada pela análise de componentes principais, que associou a eles valores superiores de DEPs diretas de peso e perímetro escrotal. A quantidade da variabilidade original retida pelos dois primeiros componentes principais foi de 70,22%. Estes procedimentos mostraram-se eficientes e constituíram importantes ferramentas para classificar touros, discriminar variáveis, bem como resumir informações multivariadas, podendo ser usados como auxílio valioso na seleção de reprodutores para uso nos programas de melhoramento genético.The data set is from 234 Nelore bulls which participate of a progeny test in the period from 1996 to 2003. The expected progeny diference (EPDs) of seven economic traits, weights at 120 e 210 days of age, maternal effect (DMPP120 and DMPP210), weights and scrotal circumferences at 365 e 450 days of age, direct effects (DDP365, DDP450, DDPE365 and DDPE450), and age at first calving (DDIPP), were used in order to classify these animals in three groups and verify which EPDs showed greatest discriminating power in forming the groups. The statistical applied techniques were: k-means clusters analysis and principal components analysis. From the three groups formed, two of them stood out in relation to values of the EPDs means. Evidence of the importance of these two groups was observed in the principal component analysis that associate to them higher values of direct EPDs of weight and scrotal circumference. The two first principal components accounted for 70.22% of the total original variability. Both techniques could be an important tools to sire classification, variable discrimination, as well as to resume multivariate information, and they could be applied to help selection in animal breeding program.Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)ANCPPRONEXFAPES

Clinical outcomes of patients with acute myeloid leukemia: evaluation of genetic and molecular findings in a real-life setting

sem informação1261518631865sem informaçãosem informaçã

Wightman function and scalar Casimir densities for a wedge with two cylindrical boundaries

Wightman function, the vacuum expectation values of the field square and the energy-momentum tensor are investigated for a massive scalar field with general curvature coupling parameter inside a wedge with two coaxial cylindrical boundaries. It is assumed that the field obeys Dirichlet boundary condition on bounding surfaces. The application of a variant of the generalized Abel-Plana formula enables to extract from the expectation values the contribution corresponding to the geometry of a wedge with a single shell and to present the interference part in terms of exponentially convergent integrals. The local properties of the vacuum are investigated in various asymptotic regions of the parameters. The vacuum forces acting on the boundaries are presented as the sum of self-action and interaction terms. It is shown that the interaction forces between the separate parts of the boundary are always attractive. The generalization to the case of a scalar field with Neumann boundary condition is discussed.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figure

Characterization of alpha thalassemic genotypes by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification in the Brazilian population

Alpha-thalassemia is the most common inherited disorder of hemoglobin synthesis. Genomic deletions involving the alpha-globin gene cluster on chromosome 16p13.3 are the most frequent molecular causes of the disease. Although common deletions can be detected by a single multiplex gap-PCR, the rare and novel deletions depend on more laborious techniques for their identification. The multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) technique has recently been used for this purpose and was successfully used in the present study to detect the molecular alterations responsible for the alpha-thalassemic phenotypes in 8 unrelated individuals (3 males and 5 females; age, 4 months to 30 years) in whom the molecular basis of the disease could not be determined by conventional methods. A total of 44 probe pairs were used for MLPA, covering approximately 800 kb from the telomere to the MSLN gene in the 16p13.3 region. Eight deletions were detected. Four of these varied in size from 240 to 720 kb and affected a large region including the entire alpha-globin gene cluster and its upstream regulatory element (alpha-MRE), while the other four varied in size from 0.4 to 100 kb and were limited to a region containing this element. This study is the first in Brazil to use the MLPA method to determine the molecular basis of alpha-thalassemia. The variety of rearrangements identified highlights the need to investigate all cases presenting microcytosis and hypochromia, but without iron deficiency or elevated hemoglobin A2 levels and suggests that these rearrangements may be more frequent in our population than previously estimated.162