Poredbene hematološke i biokemijske analize divovske amazonske kornjače uzgajane pod lošim i normalnim hranidbenim uvjetima

Besides indicating the baseline values of the species, blood parameter assessments of chelonian may also be used as quick tools for diagnosing health status. An investigation was carried out to assess and compare red blood cells parameters, white blood cell (WBC) and total thrombocyte counts and certain blood biochemical parameters for freshwater turtles, Podocnemis expansa Schweigger, 1812 (Pelomedusidae) reared on normal (control group) and poor nutrition (malnourished group). For the malnourished turtles, a signififi cant decrease (P<0.05) in red blood cell counts was found, including hematocrit, plasma glucose, plasma total protein, cholesterol and urea levels, as well as WBC counts, azurophils and heterophils. Malnutrition did not alter the hemostasis, but caused severe normocytic-hypocromic anemia and marked immune depression, which were diagnosed here. This study was the fifi rst to characterize the physiological and immune status of giant turtles from the Amazon under adverse nutritional conditions.Osim za utvrđivanje osnovnih vrijednosti osebujnih za vrstu, pretraživanje krvnih pokazatelja može u kornjača biti rabljeno za brzo određivanje njihova zdravstvenoga stanja. Istraživanje je poduzeto da se odrede i usporede pokazatelji crvenih krvnih stanica, bijelih krvnih stanica, ukupnog broja trombocita i neki biokemijski pokazatelji za slatkovodne kornjače Podocnemis expansa Schweigger, 1812 (Pelomedusidae) uzgajane u normalnim (kontrolna skupina) i lošim hranidbenim uvjetima (pokusna skupina). U kornjača uzgajanih u lošim uvjetima ustanovljen je značajno smanjen (P<0,05) broj crvenih krvnih stanica kao i smanjene vrijednosti hematokrita, razine glukoze u plazmi, razine ukupnih proteina plazme, kolesterola i mokraćevine te broj bijelih krvnih stanica, azurofila i heterofila. Loša hranidba nije utjecala na hemostazu, ali je prouzročila tešku normocitnu hipokromnu anemiju i znatnu imunodepresiju. Ovo je prvo istraživanje u kojem je prikazan fiziološki i imunološki status divovske kornjače iz Amazone, držane u nepovoljnim hranidbenim uvjetima

Systematic Implementation of Implicit Regularization for Multi-Loop Feynman Diagrams

Implicit Regularization (IReg) is a candidate to become an invariant framework in momentum space to perform Feynman diagram calculations to arbitrary loop order. In this work we present a systematic implementation of our method that automatically displays the terms to be subtracted by Bogoliubov's recursion formula. Therefore, we achieve a twofold objective: we show that the IReg program respects unitarity, locality and Lorentz invariance and we show that our method is consistent since we are able to display the divergent content of a multi-loop amplitude in a well defined set of basic divergent integrals in one loop momentum only which is the essence of IReg. Moreover, we conjecture that momentum routing invariance in the loops, which has been shown to be connected with gauge symmetry, is a fundamental symmetry of any Feynman diagram in a renormalizable quantum field theory

Electrochemical and electrochromic properties of poly(4,4 dimethoxy 3'-methyl 2,2':5',2 terthiophene)

This work describes the electrochemical, spectroelectrochemical and electrochromic properties of poly(4,4 dimethoxy 3'-methyl 2,2':5',2 terthiophene) thin films. The effect of temperature on the electropolymerization was studied by cyclic voltammetry measured in situ. The temperatures used were -10, 0, 10, 20, and 40 ºC. Results indicate that the electropolymerization temperature directly affect the degree of chain organization. The optical response time for bleaching was 0.8 s and for coloring 0.3 s (for films synthesized at 40 ºC, 60 nm thick). After 1400 electrochromic cycles, the chromatic contrast at 570 nm changes from 31 to 14%. The coloration efficiency was enhanced as a function of redox cycling. This was probably caused by a decrease in the injected charge necessary for the color change, suggesting that the electroactive losses occurring during the cycles are related to sites not responsible for electrochromic contrast.Este trabalho descreve o estudo das propriedades eletroquímicas, espectroeletroquímicas e eletrocrômicas de filmes finos de poli(4,4 dimetoxi 3'-metil 2,2':5',2 tertiofeno). A voltametria cíclica in situ foi usada para estudar o efeito da temperatura sobre a eletropolimerização. As temperaturas utilizadas na deposição eletroquímica foram -10, 0, 10, 20 e 40 ºC. Os resultados indicaram que a temperatura de eletropolimerização afeta diretamente o grau de ordenamento molecular do polímero. O tempo de resposta eletrocrômico foi de 0,8 s para clareamento e 0,3 s para escurecimento (para filmes sintetizados a 40 ºC, espessura de 60 nm). Após 1400 ciclos eletrocrômicos, o contraste óptico a 570 nm diminuiu de 31 para 14%. A eficiência eletrocrômica foi intensificada em função do número de ciclos eletrocrômicos. Este fato foi provavelmente causado pela diminuição da carga injetada, necessária para a mudança de cor, sugerindo que as perdas na eletroatividade estão associadas a sítios que não são responsáveis pela mudança de coloração.733738Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES

Effect of pre-weaning diet on the ruminal archaeal, bacterial, and fungal communities of dairy calves.

At birth, calves display an underdeveloped rumen that eventually matures into a fully functional rumen as a result of solid food intake and microbial activity. However, little is known regarding the gradual impact of pre-weaning diet on the establishment of the rumen microbiota. Here, we employed next-generation sequencing to investigate the effects of the inclusion of starter concentrate (M: milk-fed vs. MC: milk plus starter concentrate fed) on archaeal, bacterial and anaerobic fungal communities in the rumens of 45 crossbred dairy calves across pre-weaning development (7, 28, 49, and 63 days). Our results show that archaeal, bacterial, and fungal taxa commonly found in the mature rumen were already established in the rumens of calves at 7 days old, regardless of diet. This confirms that microbiota colonization occurs in the absence of solid substrate. However, diet did significantly impact some microbial taxa. In the bacterial community, feeding starter concentrate promoted greater diversity of bacterial taxa known to degrade readily fermentable carbohydrates in the rumen (e.g., Megasphaera, Sharpea, and Succinivribrio). Shifts in the ruminal bacterial community also correlated to changes in fermentation patterns that favored the colonization of Methanosphaera sp. A4 in the rumen of MC calves. In contrast, M calves displayed a bacterial community dominated by taxa able to utilize milk nutrients (e.g., Lactobacillus, Bacteroides, and Parabacteroides). In both diet groups, the dominance of these milk-associated taxa decreased with age, suggesting that diet and age simultaneously drive changes in the structure and abundance of bacterial communities in the developing rumen. Changes in the composition and abundance of archaeal communities were attributed exclusively to diet, with more highly abundant Methanosphaera and less abundant Methanobrevibacter in MC calves. Finally, the fungal community was dominated by members of the genus SK3 and Caecomyces. Relative anaerobic fungal abundances did not change significantly in response to diet or age, likely due to high inter-animal variation and the low fiber content of starter concentrate. This study provides new insights into the colonization of archaea, bacteria, and anaerobic fungi communities in pre-ruminant calves that may be useful in designing strategies to promote colonization of target communities to improve functional development

Prospective monitoring and self-report of previous falls among older women at high risk of falls and fractures : a study of comparison and agreement

Background: the identification of the occurrence of falls is an important step for screening and for rehabilitation processes for the elderly. The methods of monitoring these events are susceptible to recording biases, and the choice of the most accurate method remains challenging. Objectives: (i) to investigate the agreement between retrospective self-reporting and prospective monitoring of methods of recording falls, and (ii) to compare the retrospective self-reporting of falls and the prospective monitoring of falls and recurrent falls over a 12-month period among older women at high risk of falls and fractures. Method: a total of 118 community-dwelling older women with low bone density were recruited. The incidence of falls was monitored prospectively in 116 older women (2 losses) via monthly phone calls over the course of a year. At the end of this monitoring period, the older women were asked about their recall of falls in the same 12-month period. The agreement between the two methods was analyzed, and the sensitivity and specificity of self-reported previous falls in relation to the prospective monitoring were calculated. Results: there was moderate agreement between the prospective monitoring and the retrospective self-reporting of falls in classifying fallers (Kappa=0.595) and recurrent fallers (Kappa=0.589). The limits of agreement were 0.35±1.66 falls. The self-reporting of prior falls had a 67.2% sensitivity and a 94.2% specificity in classifying fallers among older women and a 50% sensitivity and a 98.9% specificity in classifying recurrent fallers. Conclusion: self-reporting of falls over a 12-month period underestimated 32.8% of falls and 50% of recurrent falls. The findings recommend caution if one is considering replacing monthly monitoring with annual retrospective questioning

PpCRN7 and PpCRN20 of phythophthora parasitica regulate plant cell death leading to enhancement of host susceptibility

Phytophthora species secrete cytoplasmic effectors from a family named Crinkler (CRN), which are characterised by the presence of conserved specific domains in the N- and C-terminal regions. P. parasitica causes disease in a wide range of host plants, however the role of CRN effectors in these interactions remains unclear. Here, we aimed to: (i) identify candidate CRN encoding genes in P. parasitica genomes; (ii) evaluate the transcriptional expression of PpCRN (Phytophthora parasitica Crinkler candidate) during the P. parasitica interaction with Citrus sunki (high susceptible) and Poncirus trifoliata (resistant); and (iii) functionally characterize two PpCRNs in the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana. Results Our in silico analyses identified 80 putative PpCRN effectors in the genome of P. parasitica isolate 'IAC 01/95.1'. Transcriptional analysis revealed differential gene expression of 20 PpCRN candidates during the interaction with the susceptible Citrus sunki and the resistant Poncirus trifoliata. We have also found that P. parasitica is able to recognize different citrus hosts and accordingly modulates PpCRNs expression. Additionally, two PpCRN effectors, namely PpCRN7 and PpCRN20, were further characterized via transient gene expression in N. benthamiana leaves. The elicitin INF-1-induced Hypersensitivity Response (HR) was increased by an additive effect driven by PpCRN7 expression, whereas PpCRN20 expression suppressed HR response in N. benthamiana leaves. Despite contrasting functions related to HR, both effectors increased the susceptibility of plants to P. parasitica. Conclusions PpCRN7 and PpCRN20 have the ability to increase P. parasitica pathogenicity and may play important roles at different stages of infection. These PpCRN-associated mechanisms are now targets of biotechnological studies aiming to break pathogen's virulence and to promote plant resistance19CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQ445390/2014–0; 465440/2014–

O Impacto do Estádio no Consumo do Torcedor: como a Frequência no Estádio Impulsiona a Demanda por Produtos dos Clubes

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the presence of supporter in the stadium, which demonstrates the supporter’s involvement with his soccer club, and its influence on the purchase of official products of the 12 largest Brazilian brands of soccer clubs. In this research, it was collected information from 1,296 supporters who responded to a questionnaire with 22 questions. It was defined as involvement with their soccer club the frequency this supporter goes to the stadium. In order to determine the consumption relationship it were used variables such as frequency of purchase of official products, the annual amount spent on such products, favorite venue to purchase and assortment of the products mix. For the supporters buying preferences analysis, it was applied the technique of correspondence analysis (Anacor). As a result, we can point out that the supporters’ loyalty, driven by the relationship marketing, is one of the catalysts for increasing the soccer clubs revenue, since the higher the products and average tickets purchase frequency, the more this frequency is associated with a higher number of attendance to the stadium, as well as the variety in the mix of products acquired by the supporter. In this sense, the work points to the importance of building a long term relationship which goes beyond the emotional bond with the club, reaching the brand products consumption.O objetivo deste estudo é investigar a relação existente entre a presença do torcedor no estádio, que demonstra o envolvimento do torcedor com seu clube de futebol, e sua influência na compra de produtos oficiais das 12 maiores marcas brasileiras de clubes de futebol. Nesta pesquisa, coletaram-se informações de 1.296 torcedores que responderam a um questionário com 22 perguntas. Definiu-se como envolvimento com seu clube de futebol a frequência de ida ao estádio. Para determinar a relação de consumo, foram utilizadas variáveis como frequência de compra de produtos oficiais, valor anual gasto com tais produtos, local preferido para realização de compras e sortimento do mix de produto. Para a análise das preferências de compra do torcedor, foi aplicada a técnica de análise de correspondência (Anacor). Como resultado, pode-se apontar que a fidelização do torcedor, impulsionada pelo marketing de relacionamento, é um dos catalisadores para aumentar as receitas dos clubes de futebol, já que maiores frequências de compra e tíquetes médios estão associadas a um número maior de idas ao estádio, assim como à variedade do mix de produtos adquiridos pelo torcedor. Nesse sentido, o trabalho aponta para a importância de construir uma relação de longo prazo que vá além do vínculo emocional com o clube, chegando até ao consumo dos produtos da marca

Regularization Independent Analysis of the Origin of Two Loop Contributions to N=1 Super Yang-Mills Beta Function

We present a both ultraviolet and infrared regularization independent analysis in a symmetry preserving framework for the N=1 Super Yang-Mills beta function to two loop order. We show explicitly that off-shell infrared divergences as well as the overall two loop ultraviolet divergence cancel out whilst the beta function receives contributions of infrared modes.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, typos correcte