952 research outputs found
Comportamento mecânico do destacamento de bagos de uva 'Niagara Rosada'
The 'Niagara Rosada' grape is the main Brazilian table grape belonging to the Labrusca family. It develops medium, cylindrical and compact bunches with berries presenting a pinkish skin and a foxy flavor that is valued in the Brazilian market. These berries are tender and have a pedicel-berry connection provided by the vascular bundles and surrounding skin. This cultivar is very susceptible to berry drop mainly caused by vibration and senescence. The objective of this study was to evaluate the temporal mechanical behavior of the pedicel-berry detachment, using resistance indexes extracted from traction force-deformation curves. Test results showed two different detachment types. In the first one, which exhibited higher average resistance, a considerable portion of the vascular bundle came out attached to the pedicel and in the second type; the vascular bundle was retained inside the berry. The proposed indexes based on maximum detachment force, force at 0.2; 0.5; 1.0 and 1.2 mm, and maximum force to corresponding deformation ratio did not discriminate the senescence of the berry.A uva Niagara Rosada é a principal uva de mesa brasileira, da famÃlia das Labruscas, possui cachos médios cilÃndricos e compactos, coloração rosada e sabor denominado Foxy muito apreciado pelo consumidor brasileiro. Os frutos são delicados, a junção do pedicelo com o bago é feita pela casca e por feixes vasculares. Essa cultivar é muito suscetÃvel à degrana causada, principalmente, pela vibração e pelo envelhecimento. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o comportamento mecânico da junção pedicelo-bago e sua variação temporal, utilizando-se de Ãndices de resistência ao destacamento, extraÃdos das curvas força-deslocamento, obtidos em ensaios de tração de uvas. Os ensaios revelaram dois tipos de destacamento: um em que porção considerável do pincel (feixes vasculares) saiu preso ao pedicelo, e outro, em que o pincel ficou no interior do bago. A resistência média encontrada no primeiro tipo de destacamento foi maior que o segundo. Os Ãndices de resistência constituÃdos pelos valores médios da a força máxima no destacamento, força à s deformações de 0.2; 0.5; 1.0 e 1.2 mm, e a razão entre força máxima e o deslocamento correspondente não discriminaram a senescência do bago.1115112
Circulating Senescent T Cells Are Linked to Systemic Inflammation and Lesion Size During Human Cutaneous Leishmaniasis
Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis induces American tegumentary leishmaniasis that
ranges in severity from the milder form, cutaneous (CL) to severe disseminated
cutaneous leishmaniasis. Patients with CL develop a cell-mediated Th1 immune
response accompanied by production of inflammatory cytokines, which contribute to
parasite control and pathogenesis of disease. Here, we describe the accumulation of
circulating T cells with multiple features of telomere dependent-senescence including
elevated expression of CD57, KLRG-1, and γH2AX that have short telomeres and low
hTERT expression during cutaneous L. braziliensis infection. This expanded population
of T cells was found within the CD45RA+CD27− (EMRA) subset and produced high
levels of inflammatory cytokines, analogous to the senescence-associated secretory
profile (SASP) that has been described in senescent non-lymphoid cells. There was
a significant correlation between the accumulation of these cells and the extent of
systemic inflammation, suggesting that they are involved in the inflammatory response
in this disease. Furthermore, these cells expressed high level of the skin homing
receptor CLA and there was a highly significant correlation between the number of
these cells in the circulation and the size of the Leishmania-induced lesions in the
skin. Collectively our results suggest that extensive activation during the early stages
of leishmaniasis drives the senescence of T cells with the propensity to home to the skin.
The senescence-related inflammatory cytokine secretion by these cells may control the
infection but also contribute to the immunopathology in the disease
Two-photon Lithography for 3D Magnetic Nanostructure Fabrication
Ferromagnetic materials have been utilised as recording media within data
storage devices for many decades. Confinement of the material to a two
dimensional plane is a significant bottleneck in achieving ultra-high recording
densities and this has led to the proposition of three dimensional (3D)
racetrack memories that utilise domain wall propagation along nanowires.
However, the fabrication of 3D magnetic nanostructures of complex geometry is
highly challenging and not easily achievable with standard lithography
techniques. Here, by using a combination of two-photon lithography and
electrochemical deposition, we show a new approach to construct 3D magnetic
nanostructures of complex geometry. The magnetic properties are found to be
intimately related to the 3D geometry of the structure and magnetic imaging
experiments provide evidence of domain wall pinning at a 3D nanostructured
junction
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Rarity of monodominance in hyperdiverse Amazonian forests.
Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such "monodominant" forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tree Diversity Network (ATDN). Utilizing a simple defining metric of at least half of the trees ≥ 10 cm diameter belonging to one species, we found only a few occurrences of monodominance in Amazonia, and the phenomenon was not significantly linked to previously hypothesized life history traits such wood density, seed mass, ectomycorrhizal associations, or Rhizobium nodulation. In our analysis, coppicing (the formation of sprouts at the base of the tree or on roots) was the only trait significantly linked to monodominance. While at specific locales coppicing or ectomycorrhizal associations may confer a considerable advantage to a tree species and lead to its monodominance, very few species have these traits. Mining of the ATDN dataset suggests that monodominance is quite rare in Amazonia, and may be linked primarily to edaphic factors
Low frequency of TERT promoter mutations in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs).
Somatic mutations in the promoter region of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene, mainly at positions c. − 124 and
c. − 146 bp, are frequent in several human cancers; yet its presence in gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) has not been
reported to date. Herein, we searched for the presence and clinicopathological association of TERT promoter mutations in
genomic DNA from 130 bona fide GISTs. We found TERT promoter mutations in 3.8% (5/130) of GISTs. The c. − 124C4T
mutation was the most common event, present in 2.3% (3/130), and the c. − 146C4T mutation in 1.5% (2/130) of GISTs.
No significant association was observed between TERT promoter mutation and patient’s clinicopathological features. The present
study establishes the low frequency (4%) of TERT promoter mutations in GISTs. Further studies are required to confirm our
findings and to elucidate the hypothetical biological and clinical impact of TERT promoter mutation in GIST pathogenesis.This project was partially supported by Barretos Cancer Hospital internal
research funds (PAIP) and CNPq Universal Grant (476192/2013-7) to RMR.
NCC is a recipient of an FAPESP Doctoral Fellowship (2013/25787-3). Further
funding from the project ‘Microenvironment, metabolism and cancer’ that was
partially supported by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2—O
Novo Norte) under the Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional (QREN)
and the Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER). IPATIMUP is
an Associate Laboratory of the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and
Higher Education that is partially supported by the FCT
The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe
The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the
dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for
life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront
of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early
evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The
Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed
plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE
is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity
neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi
National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream
of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed
as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research
Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in
Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at
Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino
charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet
cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can
accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional
combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and
potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility
for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around
the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program
of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of
LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics
worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will
possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for
LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a
comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the
landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate
and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure
MIF Participates in Toxoplasma gondii-Induced Pathology Following Oral Infection
BACKGROUND: Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is essential for controlling parasite burden and survival in a model of systemic Toxoplasma gondii infection. Peroral T. gondii infection induces small intestine necrosis and death in susceptible hosts, and in many aspects resembles inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Considering the critical role of MIF in the pathogenesis of IBD, we hypothesized that MIF participates in the inflammatory response induced by oral infection with T. gondii. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Mif deficient (Mif(-/-)) and wild-type mice in the C57Bl/6 background were orally infected with T. gondii strain ME49. Mif(-/-) mice had reduced lethality, ileal inflammation and tissue damage despite of an increased intestinal parasite load compared to wt mice. Lack of MIF caused a reduction of TNF-α, IL-12, IFN-γ and IL-23 and an increased expression of IL-22 in ileal mucosa. Moreover, suppressed pro-inflammatory responses at the ileal mucosa observed in Mif(-/-) mice was not due to upregulation of IL-4, IL-10 or TGF-β. MIF also affected the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) but not MMP-2 in the intestine of infected mice. Signs of systemic inflammation including the increased concentrations of inflammatory cytokines in the plasma and liver damage were less pronounced in Mif(-/-) mice compared to wild-type mice. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: In conclusion, our data suggested that in susceptible hosts MIF controls T. gondii infection with the cost of increasing local and systemic inflammation, tissue damage and death
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