On the Large Time Behavior of Solutions of Hamilton-Jacobi Equations Associated with Nonlinear Boundary Conditions

In this article, we study the large time behavior of solutions of first-order Hamilton-Jacobi Equations, set in a bounded domain with nonlinear Neumann boundary conditions, including the case of dynamical boundary conditions. We establish general convergence results for viscosity solutions of these Cauchy-Neumann problems by using two fairly different methods : the first one relies only on partial differential equations methods, which provides results even when the Hamiltonians are not convex, and the second one is an optimal control/dynamical system approach, named the "weak KAM approach" which requires the convexity of Hamiltonians and gives formulas for asymptotic solutions based on Aubry-Mather sets

Involvement of (pro)renin receptor in the glomerular filtration barrier

(Pro)renin receptor-bound prorenin not only causes the generation of angiotensin II via the nonproteolytic activation of prorenin, it also activates the receptor’s own intracellular signaling pathways independent of the generated angiotensin II. Within the kidneys, the (pro)renin receptor is not only present in the glomerular mesangium, it is also abundant in podocytes, which play an important role in the maintenance of the glomerular filtration barrier. Recent in vivo studies have demonstrated that the overexpression of the (pro)renin receptor to a degree similar to that observed in hypertensive rat kidneys leads to slowly progressive nephropathy with proteinuria. In addition, the handle region peptide, which acts as a decoy peptide and competitively inhibits the binding of prorenin to the receptor, is more beneficial than an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor with regard to alleviating proteinuria and glomerulosclerosis in experimental animal models of diabetes and essential hypertension. Thus, the (pro)renin receptor may be upregulated in podocytes under hypertensive conditions and may contribute to the breakdown of the glomerular filtration barrier

Complete Set of Polarization Transfer Observables for the 12C(p,n)^{12}{\rm C}(p,n) Reaction at 296 MeV and 0∘^{\circ}

A complete set of polarization transfer observables has been measured for the $^{12}{\rm C}(p,n)$ reaction at $T_p=296 {\rm MeV}$ and $\theta_{\rm lab}=0^{\circ}$. The total spin transfer $\Sigma(0^{\circ})$ and the observable $f_1$ deduced from the measured polarization transfer observables indicate that the spin--dipole resonance at $E_x \simeq 7 {\rm MeV}$ has greater $2^-$ strength than $1^-$ strength, which is consistent with recent experimental and theoretical studies. The results also indicate a predominance of the spin-flip and unnatural-parity transition strength in the continuum. The exchange tensor interaction at a large momentum transfer of $Q \simeq 3.6 {\rm fm}^{-1}$ is discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Antigen targeting to endosomal pathway in dendritic cell vaccination activates regulatory T cells and attenuates tumor immunity

Lymphoma cells are malignant cells of the T- or B-cell lineage that often express many surface markers inappropriately, yet are not recognized as abnormal by the immune system. We modeled this situation by inoculating ovalbumin-expressing E.G7-OVA lymphoma cells into mice that expressed ovalbumin as a self antigen in pancreatic islets, and investigated the efficacy of dendritic cell (DC) vaccination in these mice. Although vaccination with DC-expressing ovalbumin induced strong cytotoxic T-cell immunity, which led to clearance of E.G7-OVA lymphoma cells in naive C57BL/6 mice, DC vaccination was ineffective in mice expressing ovalbumin as a self antigen. Antigen modification to increase its processing via the endosomal processing pathway dramatically increased CD4 T-cell activation but paradoxically, impaired the protective effect of DC vaccination even in naive mice. Depletion of CD25(+) T cells (regulatory T cells [Tregs]) prior to vaccination restored the efficacy of DC vaccination and allowed eradication of lymphoma also in mice expressing ovalbumin as a self antigen. We conclude that lymphoma cells may be eradicated using DC vaccination if activation of CD25(+) Tregs is simultaneously inhibited, and that intentionally enhanced endosomal antigen processing in DC vaccines may shift the balance from CD4 T-cell help toward stimulation of Tregs.</p

Comparação Entre O Agronegócio Familiar Do Rio Grande Do Sul E Do Brasil

This goal of this paper is to measure and to make an analysis of the level of the familiar agricultural agribusiness in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, and comparing it with the one for the Brazilian economy as a whole, for the period from 1995 to 2003. Using input-output models it was possible to estimate the importance of the Gross Domestic Product of the familiar agribusiness in the national economy. The results show that around 1/3 of the Brazilian agribusiness comes from the agricultural production done by the familiar agriculture, the numbers are even more stricken for the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where 1/2 of the agribusiness GDP comes from the familiar agriculture. It was also noticed that the recent development of the familiar agriculture and of its links has been very positive, suppressing, the growth rates found in the non-familiar segment

O Pib do Agronegócio Familiar no Rio Grande do Sul

This paper aims to present the level of agribusiness family activity in Rio Grande do Sul, for the period 1995 to 2003. Through the input-output models has been possible to estimate the importance of gross domestic product generated by the agribusiness family. The results show that agribusiness family production in Rio Grande do Sul is of high importance in GDP not only in agribusiness, but in the overall state economy

Comparação Entre O Agronegócio Familiar Do Rio Grande Do Sul E Do Brasil

This goal of this paper is to measure and to make an analysis of the level of the familiar agricultural agribusiness in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, and comparing it with the one for the Brazilian economy as a whole, for the period from 1995 to 2003. Using input-output models it was possible to estimate the importance of the Gross Domestic Product of the familiar agribusiness in the national economy. The results show that around 1/3 of the Brazilian agribusiness comes from the agricultural production done by the familiar agriculture, the numbers are even more stricken for the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where 1/2 of the agribusiness GDP comes from the familiar agriculture. It was also noticed that the recent development of the familiar agriculture and of its links has been very positive, suppressing, the growth rates found in the non-familiar segment

Radiative recombination of bare Bi83+: Experiment versus theory

Electron-ion recombination of completely stripped Bi83+ was investigated at the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) of the GSI in Darmstadt. It was the first experiment of this kind with a bare ion heavier than argon. Absolute recombination rate coefficients have been measured for relative energies between ions and electrons from 0 up to about 125 eV. In the energy range from 15 meV to 125 eV a very good agreement is found between the experimental result and theory for radiative recombination (RR). However, below 15 meV the experimental rate increasingly exceeds the RR calculation and at Erel = 0 eV it is a factor of 5.2 above the expected value. For further investigation of this enhancement phenomenon the electron density in the interaction region was set to 1.6E6/cm3, 3.2E6/cm3 and 4.7E6/cm3. This variation had no significant influence on the recombination rate. An additional variation of the magnetic guiding field of the electrons from 70 mT to 150 mT in steps of 1 mT resulted in periodic oscillations of the rate which are accompanied by considerable changes of the transverse electron temperature.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. A, see also http://www.gsi.de/ap/ and http://www.strz.uni-giessen.de/~k

Expression of Foxp3 in colorectal cancer but not in Treg cells correlates with disease progression in patients with colorectal cancer

Background: Regulatory T cells (Treg) expressing the transcription factor forkhead-box protein P3 (Foxp3) have been identified to counteract anti-tumor immune responses during tumor progression. Besides, Foxp3 presentation by cancer cells itself may also allow them to evade from effector T-cell responses, resulting in a survival benefit of the tumor. For colorectal cancer (CRC) the clinical relevance of Foxp3 has not been evaluated in detail. Therefore the aim of this study was to study its impact in colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods and Findings: Gene and protein analysis of tumor tissues from patients with CRC was performed to quantify the expression of Foxp3 in tumor infiltrating Treg and colon cancer cells. The results were correlated with clinicopathological parameters and patients overall survival. Serial morphological analysis demonstrated Foxp3 to be expressed in cancer cells. High Foxp3 expression of the cancer cells was associated with poor prognosis compared to patients with low Foxp3 expression. In contrast, low and high Foxp3 level in tumor infiltrating Treg cells demonstrated no significant differences in overall patient survival. Conclusions: Our findings strongly suggest that Foxp3 expression mediated by cancer cells rather than by Treg cells contribute to disease progression

Effect of a conditional cash transfer programme on leprosy treatment adherence and cure in patients from the nationwide 100 Million Brazilian Cohort: a quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Indirect financial costs and barriers to health-care access might contribute to leprosy treatment non-adherence. We estimated the association of the Brazilian conditional cash transfer programme, the Programa Bolsa Família (PBF), on leprosy treatment adherence and cure in patients in Brazil. METHODS: In this quasi-experimental study, we linked baseline demographic and socioeconomic information for individuals who entered the 100 Million Brazilian Cohort between Jan 1, 2007, and Dec 31, 2014, with the PBF payroll database and the Information System for Notifiable Diseases, which includes nationwide leprosy registries. Individuals were eligible for inclusion if they had a household member older than 15 years and had not received PBF aid or been diagnosed with leprosy before entering the 100 Million Brazilian Cohort; they were excluded if they were partial receivers of PBF benefits, had missing data, or had a monthly per-capita income greater than BRL200 (US$50). Individuals who were PBF beneficiaries before leprosy diagnosis were matched to those who were not beneficiaries through propensity-score matching (1:1) with replacement on the basis of baseline covariates, including sex, age, race or ethnicity, education, work, income, place of residence, and household characteristics. We used logistic regression to assess the average treatment effect on the treated of receipt of PBF benefits on leprosy treatment adherence (six or more multidrug therapy doses for paucibacillary cases or 12 or more doses for multibacillary cases) and cure in individuals of all ages. We stratified our analysis according to operational disease classification (paucibacillary or multibacillary). We also did a subgroup analysis of paediatric leprosy restricted to children aged up to 15 years. FINDINGS: We included 11?456 new leprosy cases, of whom 8750 (76·3%) had received PBF before diagnosis and 2706 (23·6%) had not. Overall, 9508 (83·0%) patients adhered to treatment and 10?077 (88·0%) were cured. After propensity score matching, receiving PBF before diagnosis was associated with adherence to treatment (OR 1·22, 95% CI 1·01-1·48) and cure (1·26, 1·01-1·58). PBF receipt did not significantly improve treatment adherence (1·37, 0·98-1·91) or cure (1·12, 0·75-1·67) in patients with paucibacillary leprosy. For patients with multibacillary disease, PBF beneficiaries had better treatment adherence (1·37, 1·08-1·74) and cure (1·43, 1·09-1·90) than non-beneficiaries. In the propensity score-matched analysis in 2654 children younger than 15 years with leprosy, PBF exposure was not associated with leprosy treatment adherence (1·55, 0·89-2·68) or cure (1·57, 0·83-2·97). INTERPRETATION: Our results suggest that being a beneficiary of the PBF, which facilitates cash transfers and improved access to health care, is associated with greater leprosy multidrug therapy adherence and cure in multibacillary cases. These results are especially relevant for patients with multibacillary disease, who are treated for a longer period and have lower cure rates than those with paucibacillary disease. FUNDING: CONFAP/ESRC/MRC/BBSRC/CNPq/FAPDF-Doenças Negligenciadas, the UK Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior-Brazil (CAPES)