Tunneling Time Distribution by means of Nelson's Quantum Mechanics and Wave-Particle Duality

We calculate a tunneling time distribution by means of Nelson's quantum mechanics and investigate its statistical properties. The relationship between the average and deviation of tunneling time suggests the exsistence of ``wave-particle duality'' in the tunneling phenomena.Comment: 14 pages including 11 figures, the text has been revise

The BOOMERanG experiment and the curvature of the Universe

We describe the BOOMERanG experiment and its main result, i.e. the measurement of the large scale curvature of the Universe. BOOMERanG is a balloon-borne microwave telescope with sensitive cryogenic detectors. BOOMERanG has measured the angular distribution of the Cosmic Microwave Background on $\sim 3$ of the sky, with a resolution of $\sim 10$ arcmin and a sensitivity of $\sim 20 \mu K$ per pixel. The resulting image is dominated by hot and cold spots with rms fluctuations $\sim 80 \mu K$ and typical size of $\sim 1^o$. The detailed angular power spectrum of the image features three peaks and two dips at $\ell = (213^{+10}_{-13}), (541^{+20}_{-32}), (845^{+12}_{-25})$ and $\ell = (416^{+22}_{-12}), (750^{+20}_{-750})$, respectively. Such very characteristic spectrum can be explained assuming that the detected structures are the result of acoustic oscillations in the primeval plasma. In this framework, the measured pattern constrains the density parameter $\Omega$ to be $0.85 < \Omega < 1.1$ (95% confidence interval). Other cosmological parameters, like the spectral index of initial density fluctuations, the density parameter for baryons, dark matter and dark energy, are detected or constrained by the BOOMERanG measurements and by other recent CMB anisotropy experiments. When combined with other cosmological observations, these results depict a new, consistent, cosmological scenario.Comment: Proc. of the Erice School on "Neutrinos in Astro, Particle and Nuclear Physics", 18.-26. September 2001, Amand Faessler, Jan Kuckei eds, "Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics", vol. 4

Evaluation of bacteriocin-producing Lactobacillus sakei 1 against Listeria monocytogenes 1/2a growth and haemolytic activity Avaliação de Lactobacillus sakei 1 produtor de bacteriocina frente a Listeria monocytogenes 1/2a e sua atividade hemolítica

Bacteriocin-producing Lactobacillus sakei 1 was cultivated in Brain-Heart Infusion broth (24 h at 25ºC). The culture supernatant was neutralized, filter sterilized and used to test the activity of bacteriocin against Listeria monocytogenes 1/2a, at 8ºC and 15ºC. Non-bacteriocinogenic Lactobacillus sakei ATCC 15521 was used as a negative control. L. monocytogenes 1/2a was inoculated in culture supernatant medium from L. sakei 1 and L. sakei ATCC 15521 and the listerial populations were determined after 0, 5 and 10 days. The bacteriocin production was quantified as arbitrary units per mL (AU/mL) using agar antagonism test. Additionally, to investigate if L. monocytogenes virulence pattern could be changed after bactericion exposure, the ability of L. monocytogenes to cause haemolysis in sheep red blood cells was determined, before and after exposure to bacteriocin at 8ºC. In the presence of the antimicrobial peptide, at 8ºC, L. monocytogenes population decreased, but growth of resistant cells was observed. At 15ºC, there was no difference between test and control. Furthermore, the haemolytic activity of L. monocytogenes 1/2a was not altered by exposure to L. sakei 1 bacteriocin, which suggests no change in its virulence pattern.<br>Lactobacillus sakei 1 produtor de bacteriocina foi cultivado em caldo Infusão Cérebro-Coração por 24h a 25ºC. O sobrenadante da cultura foi neutralizado, esterilizado por filtração e usado para testar a atividade da bacteriocina frente a Listeria monocytogenes 1/2a, a 8ºC e 15ºC. Lactobacillus sakei ATCC 15521 não bacteriocinogênico, foi utilizado como controle negativo. L. monocytogenes 1/2a foi inoculada no sobrenadante da cultura de L.sakei 1 e L. sakei ATCC 15521 e as populações listeriais foram determinadas após 0, 5 e 10 dias. A produção de bacteriocina foi quantificada como unidades arbitrárias por mL (UA/mL), utilizando-se o teste de antagonismo em ágar. Adicionalmente, para investigar se o padrão de virulência de L. monocytogenes poderia ter mudado após exposição à bacteriocina, foi avaliada a habilidade de L. monocytogenes em causar hemólise em hemáceas de carneiro, antes e após exposição à bacteriocina a 8ºC. Na presença do peptídeo antimicrobiano, a 8ºC, a população de L. monocytogenes foi reduzida, mas o desenvolvimento de células resistentes foi observado. A 15ºC, não houve diferença entre os grupos controle e teste. Além disso, a atividade hemolítica de L. monocytogenes 1/2a não foi alterada pela exposição à bacteriocina de L. sakei, 1/2a não foi alterada pela exposição à bacteriocina de L. sakei, o que sugere que não houve mudança em seu padrão de virulência

Vaginal lactobacilli as potential probiotics against Candida spp

Urogenital infections affect millions of people every year worldwide. The treatment of these diseases usually requires the use of antimicrobial agents, and more recently, the use of probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) cultures for the management of vaginal infections has been extensively studied. In this work, 11 vaginal lactobacilli isolates, previously obtained from healthy patients, were studied to screen microorganisms with probiotic properties against Candida spp. The LAB were tested for their ability of auto-aggregation, coaggregation with C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. krusei, and C. tropicalis, adhesion to Caco-2 epithelial cells and production of lactic acid and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). All lactobacilli isolates tested were able to auto-aggregate (ranging from 25.3% to 75.4% assessed at 4 hours of incubation) and to co-aggregate with the four Candida species into different degrees; among them L. crispatus showed the highest scores of coaggregation. The highest amount of lactic acid was produced by L. salivarius (13.9 g/l), followed by L. johnsonii (6.5 g/l), L. acidophilus (5.5 g/l), and L. jensenii (5.4 g/l). All isolates produced H2O2 , but the highest levels (3 -10 mg/l) were observed for L. acidophilus, L. crispatus, L. gasseri, L. johnsonii, and L. vaginalis. Only L. agilis, L. jensenii, L. johnsonii and L. ruminus were able to adhere to epithelial Caco-2 cells. Among the isolates evaluated, L agilis, L. jensenii, L. johnsonii, and L. ruminus exhibited simultaneously several desirable properties as potential probiotic strains justifying future studies to evaluate their technological properties in different pharmaceutical preparations for human use

Current scientific understanding of urinary tract infections in women: An overview

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most prevalent vaginal infection worldwide and is characterized by depletion of the indigenous lactobacilli. Antimicrobial therapy is often ineffective. We hypothesized that probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14 might provide an adjunct to antimicrobial treatment and improve cure rates. Sixty-four Brazilian women diagnosed with BV were randomly assigned to receive a single dose of tinidazole (2 g) supplemented with either 2 placebo capsules or 2 capsules containing L. rhamnosus GR-1 and L. reuteri RC-14 every morning for the following 4 weeks. At the end of treatment (day 28), the probiotic group had a significantly higher cure rate of BV (87.5%) than the placebo group (50.0%) (p = 0.001). In addition, according to the Gram-stain Nugent score, more women were assessed with normal vaginal microbiota in the probiotic group (75.0% vs. 34.4% in the placebo group; p = 0.011). This study shows that probiotic lactobacilli can provide benefits to women being treated with antibiotics for an infectious condition

Cranberry juice consumption may reduce biofilms on uroepithelial cells: Pilot study in spinal cord injured patients

Aims: To determine the ability of probiotic lactobacilli to improve the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) using a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled trial. Methods and Results: Fifty-five women diagnosed with VVC by vaginal discharge positive for Candida spp. (according to culture method) associated with at least one of the symptoms (itching and burning vaginal feeling, dyspareunia and dysuria), were treated with single dose of fluconazole (150 mg) supplemented every morning for the following 4 weeks with two placebo or two probiotic capsules (containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14). At 4 weeks, the probiotic treated group showed significantly less vaginal discharge associated with any of the above mentioned symptoms (10·3%vs 34·6%; P = 0·03) and lower presence of yeast detected by culture (10·3%vs 38·5%; P = 0·014). Conclusion: This study has shown that probiotic lactobacilli can increase the effectiveness of an anti-fungal pharmaceutical agent in curing disease. Significance and Impact of the Study: This novel finding of probiotic lactobacilli augmenting the cure rate of yeast vaginitis, not only offers an alternative approach to a highly prevalent condition that adversely affects the quality of life of women around the world, but also raises the question of how this combination works. © 2009 The Society for Applied Microbiology

Development of lactobacilli therapy to prevent recurrent urinary tract infections in females

Culture-dependent PCR-amplified rRNA gene restriction analysis and culture-independent (PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) methodologies were used to examine vaginal lactobacilli from Brazilian women who were healthy or had been diagnosed with vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) or bacterial vaginosis. Only Lactobacillus crispatus was detected accordingly by both methods, and H O -producing lactobacilli were not associated with protection against VVC. Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved. 2

Non-Gaussian noise effects in the dynamics of a short overdamped Josephson junction

The role of thermal and non-Gaussian noise on the dynamics of driven short overdamped Josephson junctions is studied. The mean escape time of the junction is investigated considering Gaussian, Cauchy-Lorentz and L\ue9vy-Smirnov probability distributions of the noise signals. In these conditions we find resonant activation and the first evidence of noise enhanced stability in a metastable system in the presence of L\ue9vy noise. For Cauchy-Lorentz noise source, trapping phenomena and power law dependence on the noise intensity are observed