2,033 research outputs found
Apolipoprotein E polymorphism distribution in an elderly Brazilian population: the Bambuí Health and Aging Study
Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is one of the most extensively studied genes in the context of aging, but there are few population-based studies on ApoE polymorphism in the elderly in developing countries. The objective of the present study was to assess ApoE allele and genotype distribution in a large elderly community-based sample and its association with age, sex and skin color. Participants included 1408 subjects (80.8% of all residents aged ³60 years) residing in Bambuí city, MG, Brazil. The DNA samples were subjected to the polymerase chain reaction amplification, followed by the restriction fragment length polymorphism technique, with digestion by HhaI. Analysis was carried out taking into consideration the six ApoE genotypes (e3/e3, e3/e4, e2/e3, e4/e4, e2/e4, and e2/e2), the three ApoE alleles, and the number of ApoE4 alleles for each individual. The e3 allele predominated (80.0%), followed by e4 (13.5%) and e2 (6.5%). All six possible genotypes were observed, the e3/e3 genotype being the most frequent (63.4%). This distribution was similar to that described in other western populations. Sex was not associated with number of ApoE4 alleles. Black skin color was significantly and independently associated with the presence of two ApoE4 alleles (age-sex adjusted OR = 7.38; 95%CI = 1.93-28.25), showing that the African-Brazilian elderly have a high prevalence of the e4 allele, as observed in blacks from Africa. No association between number of ApoE4 alleles and age was found, suggesting the absence of association of ApoE genotype with mortality in this population
Nonextensive Entropies derived from Form Invariance of Pseudoadditivity
The form invariance of pseudoadditivity is shown to determine the structure
of nonextensive entropies. Nonextensive entropy is defined as the appropriate
expectation value of nonextensive information content, similar to the
definition of Shannon entropy. Information content in a nonextensive system is
obtained uniquely from generalized axioms by replacing the usual additivity
with pseudoadditivity. The satisfaction of the form invariance of the
pseudoadditivity of nonextensive entropy and its information content is found
to require the normalization of nonextensive entropies. The proposed principle
requires the same normalization as that derived in [A.K. Rajagopal and S. Abe,
Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 83}, 1711 (1999)], but is simpler and establishes a basis
for the systematic definition of various entropies in nonextensive systems.Comment: 16 pages, accepted for publication in Physical Review
Semantic segmentation of Brazilian Savanna vegetation using high spatial resolution satellite data and U-net
Large-scale mapping of the Brazilian Savanna (Cerrado) vegetation using remote sensing images is still a challenge due to the high spatial variability and spectral similarity of the different characteristic vegetation types (physiognomies). In this paper, we report on semantic segmentation of the three major groups of physiognomies in the Cerrado biome (Grasslands, Savannas and Forests) using a fully convolutional neural network approach. The study area, which covers a Brazilian conservation unit, was divided into three regions to enable testing the approach in regions that were not used in the training phase. A WorldView-2 image was used in cross validation experiments, in which the average overall accuracy achieved with the pixel-wise classifications was 87.0%. The F-1 score values obtained with the approach for the classes Grassland, Savanna and Forest were of 0.81, 0.90 and 0.88, respectively. Visual assessment of the semantic segmentation outcomes was also performed and confirmed the quality of the results. It was observed that the confusion among classes occurs mainly in transition areas, where there are adjacent physiognomies if a scale of increasing density is considered, which agrees with previous studies on natural vegetation mapping for the Cerrado biome. © Authors 2020. All rights reserved
Bianchi type II models in the presence of perfect fluid and anisotropic dark energy
Spatially homogeneous but totally anisotropic and non-flat Bianchi type II
cosmological model has been studied in general relativity in the presence of
two minimally interacting fluids; a perfect fluid as the matter fluid and a
hypothetical anisotropic fluid as the dark energy fluid. The Einstein's field
equations have been solved by applying two kinematical ans\"{a}tze: we have
assumed the variation law for the mean Hubble parameter that yields a constant
value of deceleration parameter, and one of the components of the shear tensor
has been considered proportional to the mean Hubble parameter. We have
particularly dwelled on the accelerating models with non-divergent expansion
anisotropy as the Universe evolves. Yielding anisotropic pressure, the fluid we
consider in the context of dark energy, can produce results that can be
produced in the presence of isotropic fluid in accordance with the \Lambda CDM
cosmology. However, the derived model gives additional opportunities by being
able to allow kinematics that cannot be produced in the presence of fluids that
yield only isotropic pressure. We have obtained well behaving cases where the
anisotropy of the expansion and the anisotropy of the fluid converge to finite
values (include zero) in the late Universe. We have also showed that although
the metric we consider is totally anisotropic, the anisotropy of the dark
energy is constrained to be axially symmetric, as long as the overall energy
momentum tensor possesses zero shear stress.Comment: 15 pages; 5 figures; matches the version published in The European
Physical Journal Plu
Some anisotropic universes in the presence of imperfect fluid coupling with spatial curvature
We consider Bianchi VI spacetime, which also can be reduced to Bianchi types
VI0-V-III-I. We initially consider the most general form of the energy-momentum
tensor which yields anisotropic stress and heat flow. We then derive an
energy-momentum tensor that couples with the spatial curvature in a way so as
to cancel out the terms that arise due to the spatial curvature in the
evolution equations of the Einstein field equations. We obtain exact solutions
for the universes indefinetly expanding with constant mean deceleration
parameter. The solutions are beriefly discussed for each Bianchi type. The
dynamics of the models and fluid are examined briefly, and the models that can
approach to isotropy are determined. We conclude that even if the observed
universe is almost isotropic, this does not necessarily imply the isotropy of
the fluid (e.g., dark energy) affecting the evolution of the universe within
the context of general relativity.Comment: 17 pages, no figures; to appear in International Journal of
Theoretical Physics; in this version (which is more concise) an equation
added, some references updated and adde
Modelling Bodyweight to Avoid Anthelmintic Underdosing of Goats in Resources Limited Settings
Double quantum dot turnstile as an electron spin entangler
We study the conditions for a double quantum dot system to work as a reliable
electron spin entangler, and the efficiency of a beam splitter as a detector
for the resulting entangled electron pairs. In particular, we focus on the
relative strengths of the tunneling matrix elements, the applied bias and gate
voltage, the necessity of time-dependent input/output barriers, and the
consequence of considering wavepacket states for the electrons as they leave
the double dot to enter the beam splitter. We show that a double quantum dot
turnstile is, in principle, an efficient electron spin entangler or
entanglement filter because of the exchange coupling between the dots and the
tunable input/output potential barriers, provided certain conditions are
satisfied in the experimental set-up.Comment: published version; minor error correcte
An analysis of the FIR/RADIO Continuum Correlation in the Small Magellanic Cloud
The local correlation between far-infrared (FIR) emission and radio-continuum
(RC) emission for the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is investigated over scales
from 3 kpc to 0.01 kpc. Here, we report good FIR/RC correlation down to ~15 pc.
The reciprocal slope of the FIR/RC emission correlation (RC/FIR) in the SMC is
shown to be greatest in the most active star forming regions with a power law
slope of ~1.14 indicating that the RC emission increases faster than the FIR
emission. The slope of the other regions and the SMC are much flatter and in
the range of 0.63-0.85. The slopes tend to follow the thermal fractions of the
regions which range from 0.5 to 0.95. The thermal fraction of the RC emission
alone can provide the expected FIR/RC correlation. The results are consistent
with a common source for ultraviolet (UV) photons heating dust and Cosmic Ray
electrons (CRe-s) diffusing away from the star forming regions. Since the CRe-s
appear to escape the SMC so readily, the results here may not provide support
for coupling between the local gas density and the magnetic field intensity.Comment: 19 pages, 7 Figure
Asymmetries between the production of D+ and D- mesons from 500 GeV/c pi- nucleon interactions as a function of xF and pt**2
We present asymmetries between the production of D+ and D- mesons in Fermilab
experiment E791 as a function of xF and pt**2. The data used here consist of
74,000 fully-reconstructed charmed mesons produced by a 500 GeV/c pi- beam on C
and Pt foils. The measurements are compared to results of models which predict
differences between the production of heavy-quark mesons that have a light
quark in common with the beam (leading particles) and those that do not
(non-leading particles). While the default models do not agree with our data,
we can reach agreement with one of them, PYTHIA, by making a limited number of
changes to parameters used
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