Two-Loop Chiral Perturbation Theory and the Pion-Pion Phase Shifts

We want to test the predictive power of Chiral Perturbation Theory (ChPT). In this work, we use the ChPT pion-pion scattering amplitude, including two loop contributions, and we obtain S- and P-wave low-energy phase shifts. We show that, by varying just one free parameter, the resulting S- and P-wave phase shifts are in reasonable agreement with the experimental data.Comment: 6 pages in latex 6 ps figure

A new perspective of e-trust in the era of social media: insights from customer satisfaction data

Managerial relevance: In this competitive business world, social media penetrates online sales very rapidly. Businesses operating online are required to provide a safe and secured environment for customers to ensure their satisfaction. Our research results confirm that in addition to social media advertising, guaranteed 'e-safety' for customers will help establishing trust between the customer and the online businesses; it is also viewed important for present and future sales. The social media reviews need to be incorporated in managerial decision making. We try to analyse how these reviews are changing over the period of time and what are the ways to enhance customer satisfaction using information on customer expectations. This paper can help service companies to position their websites to compete in the market. Abstract In this era of social media, products and services are sold globally using a few simple clicks online. In such online purchases, trust and familiarity are considered two important driving forces of consumer decision making. While online sales advocate high levels of flexibility and choices for consumers, they also hold the online service provider responsible for ensuring the security of the online user's data. Using a Structural Equation Model (SEM) with data collected from the online service industry, we test the direct effects of 'social media-induced purchase intention' on customer satisfaction. We also test the mediating role of e-commerce/online sales (e-advertisement, e-safety and e-information) on customer satisfaction. In addition to social media advertising and information sharing, we find that a new factor-'e-safety'-mediates the relationship between customer purchase intention and customer satisfaction. Our analysis indicates that online e-trust can be established between the customer and the service company when online purchases are made. At the same time, the quality of online information and e-safety of online payments make the service company trustworthy for future purchases. We relate data analysis directly to managerial decision making to avoid any delay in online customer services in the era of social media

Potential use of rhizobium for vegetable crops growth promotion

The system of vegetable crops production required large amounts of mineral fertilizers. One of the possible alternatives to assure the economic and environmental sustainability of this production system would be the use of promoting growth plant rhizobacteria (PGPR). However, care is needed to select a microorganism to be used in crops that are usually consumed raw, so human health is not at risk. It was important to search for PGPR, as rhizobium, that already were broadly used as inoculants for leguminous plants for several decades, without risks to human health. PGPR can promote growth and development of plants through direct and indirect mechanisms, by production and secretion of chemical substances in the rhizosphere. The direct mechanisms were involved with the uptake of nutrients by the plants (nitrogen, phosphorus and essential minerals) through phosphate solubilization, production of siderophores and growth regulators. The indirect mechanisms were involved with the decrease of inhibitory effects from various pathogenic agents related with biological pest control, thereby favoring plant growth. Nevertheless, due to its ability to promote beneficial effects to plants, effective bacterial colonization was extremely important. Some bacteria that colonized the rhizoplane may penetrate the plant roots and some strains may move to the aerial part, with decreased bacterial density, compared with colonizing populations in the rhizosphere or roots. It can be concluded that Rhizobia promotes plant growth using different mechanisms as biological nitrogen fixation and production of different plant growth regulators (e.g. auxins). Therefore, new studies with Rhizobia characterization and observation about its different mechanisms of promoting plant growth should be performed. Such information would be useful for the identification of plants with potential to increase agricultural production due to the benefits of using plant growth promoter’s rhizobia

Salivary Parameters (Salivary Flow, pH and Buffering Capacity) in Stimulated Saliva of Mexican Elders 60 Years Old and Older

Objective: To compare a limited array of chewing-stimulated saliva features (salivary flow, pH and buffer capacity) in a sample of elderly Mexicans with clinical, sociodemographic and socio-economic variables. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 139 adults, 60 years old and older, from two retirement homes and a senior day care centre in the city of Pachuca, Mexico. Sociodemographic, socio-economic and behavioural variables were collected through a questionnaire. A trained and standardized examiner obtained the oral clinical variables. Chewing-stimulated saliva (paraffin method) was collected and the salivary flow rate, pH and buffer capacity were measured. The analysis was performed using non-parametric tests in Stata 9.0. Results: Mean age was 79.1 ± 9.8 years. Most of the subjects included were women (69.1%). Mean chewing-stimulated salivary flow was 0.75 ± 0.80 mL/minute, and the pH and buffer capacity were 7.88 ± 0.83 and 4.20 ± 1.24, respectively. Mean chewing-stimulated salivary flow varied (p < 0.05) across type of retirement home, tooth brushing frequency, number of missing teeth and use of dental prostheses. pH varied across the type of retirement home (p < 0.05) and marginally by age (p = 0.087); buffer capacity (p < 0.05) varied across type of retirement home, tobacco consumption and the number of missing teeth. Conclusions: These exploratory data add to the body of knowledge with regard to chewing-stimulated salivary features (salivary flow rate, pH and buffer capacity) and outline the variability of those features across selected sociodemographic, socio-economic and behavioural variables in a group of Mexican elders

Artificially Sweetened Beverages and the Response to the Global Obesity Crisis

Christopher Millett and colleagues argue that artificially sweetened beverages should not be promoted as part of a healthy diet

Electronic and magnetic properties of SnO2/CrO2 thin superlattices

In this article, using first-principles electronic structure calculations within the spin density functional theory, alternated magnetic and non-magnetic layers of rutile-CrO2 and rutile-SnO2 respectively, in a (CrO2)n(SnO2)n superlattice (SL) configuration, with n being the number of monolayers which are considered equal to 1, 2, ..., 10 are studied. A half-metallic behavior is observed for the (CrO2)n(SnO2)n SLs for all values of n. The ground state is found to be FM with a magnetic moment of 2 μB per chromium atom, and this result does not depend on the number of monolayers n. As the FM rutile-CrO2 is unstable at ambient temperature, and known to be stabilized when on top of SnO2, the authors suggest that (CrO2)n(SnO2)n SLs may be applied to spintronic technologies since they provide efficient spin-polarized carriers

Relationships between CYP2D6 phenotype, breast cancer and hot flushes in women at high risk of breast cancer receiving prophylactic tamoxifen: results from the IBIS-I trial

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike Licens

Characterisation of an ABC transporter of a resistant Candida glabrata clinical isolate

BACKGROUND Candida glabrata ranks second in epidemiological surveillance studies, and is considered one of the main human yeast pathogens. Treatment of Candida infections represents a contemporary public health problem due to the limited availability of an antifungal arsenal, toxicity effects and increasing cases of resistance. C. glabrata presents intrinsic fluconazole resistance and is a significant concern in clinical practice and in hospital environments. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to characterise the azole resistance mechanism presented by a C. glabrata clinical isolate from a Brazilian university hospital. METHODS Azole susceptibility assays, chemosensitisation, flow cytometry and mass spectrometry were performed. FINDINGS Our study demonstrated extremely high resistance to all azoles tested: fluconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole and itraconazole. This isolate was chemosensitised by FK506, a classical inhibitor of ABC transporters related to azole resistance, and Rhodamine 6G extrusion was observed. A mass spectrometry assay confirmed the ABC protein identification suggesting the probable role of efflux pumps in this resistance phenotype. MAIN CONCLUSIONS This study emphasizes the importance of ABC proteins and their relation to the resistance mechanism in hospital environments and they may be an important target for the development of compounds able to unsettle drug extrusion.