Fungal Respiratory Infections in Cystic Fibrosis (CF): Recent Progress and Future Research Agenda

International audienc

Combinação entre turfa vermelha e areia na obtenção de substrato-inóculo do fungo micorrízico arbuscular Glomus clarum.

O objetivo com o presente estudo foi verificar a influência de diferentes proporções de turfa vermelha e areia na composição do substrato sobre a colonização radicular por fungos micorríozicos arbusculares (FMA) e no desenvolvimento vegetativo de aveia branca. O experimento foi conduzido em casa de vegetação e os tratamentos foram constituídos a partir de combinações de turfa vermelha (T) e areia (A): 100%A; 25%T+75%A; 50%T+50%A; 75%T+25%A; 100%T. Dez sementes de aveia foram emeadas por vaso plástico preto (350ml de volume), contendo 5 gramas de inóculo de Glomus clarum. Quarenta e três dias após a semeadura da aveia, foram realizadas avaliações de desenvolvimento vegetativo e colonização micorrízica do sistema radicular das plantas, através da presença de estruturas, como hifas, arbúsculos e vesículas. Substratos com maior quantidade de turfa induziram maior desenvolvimento da parte aérea e maior qualidade de raízes (QR), em termos de volume de raízes. Entretanto, a presença da turfa acima de 50% no substrato diminuiu a percentagem de colonização micorrízica da aveia. A similaridade verificada entre as curvas de regressões de percentagem de colonização e Água Facilmente Disponível, com mesmo ponto de máximo, sugerem que a quantidade de mesoporos resultante da combinação turfa/areia influencia na resposta dos FMA, a melhor resposta é obtida em mistura com 32,5% de turfa vermelha

Symmetries of Differential Equations via Cartan's Method of Equivalence

We formulate a method of computing invariant 1-forms and structure equations of symmetry pseudo-groups of differential equations based on Cartan's method of equivalence and the moving coframe method introduced by Fels and Olver. Our apparoach does not require a preliminary computation of infinitesimal defining systems, their analysis and integration, and uses differentiation and linear algebra operations only. Examples of its applications are given.Comment: 15 pages, LaTeX 2.0

Sequential Strong Measurements and Heat Vision

We study scenarios where a finite set of non-demolition von-Neumann measurements are available. We note that, in some situations, repeated application of such measurements allows estimating an infinite number of parameters of the initial quantum state, and illustrate the point with a physical example. We then move on to study how the system under observation is perturbed after several rounds of projective measurements. While in the finite dimensional case the effect of this perturbation always saturates, there are some instances of infinite dimensional systems where such a perturbation is accumulative, and the act of retrieving information about the system increases its energy indefinitely (i.e., we have `Heat Vision'). We analyze this effect and discuss a specific physical system with two dichotomic von-Neumann measurements where Heat Vision is expected to show.Comment: See the Appendix for weird examples of heat visio

Pressure-induced metal-insulator transition in MgV_2O_4

On the basis of experimental thermoelectric power results and ab initio calculations, we propose that a metal-insulator transition takes place at high pressure (approximately 6 GPa) in MgV_2O_4.Comment: 2 pages, 3 figures, accepted in Physica B (Strongly Correlated Electron Systems '07

A long-term optical and X-ray ephemeris of the polar EK Ursae Majoris

We searched for long-term period changes in the polar EK UMa using new optical data and archival X-ray/EUV data. An optical ephemeris was derived from data taken remotely with the MONET/N telescope and compared with the X-ray ephemeris based on Einstein, Rosat, and EUVE data. A three-parameter fit to the combined data sets yields the epoch, the period, and the phase offset between the optical minima and the X-ray absorption dips. An added quadratic term is insignificant and sets a limit to the period change. The derived linear ephemeris is valid over 30 years and the common optical and X-ray period is P=0.0795440225(24) days. There is no evidence of long-term O-C variations or a period change over the past 17 years Delta P = -0.14+-0.50 ms. We suggest that the observed period is the orbital period and that the system is tightly synchronized. The limit on Delta P and the phase constancy of the bright part of the light curve indicate that O-C variations of the type seen in the polars DP Leo and HU Aqr or the pre-CV NN Ser do not seem to occur in EK UMa. The X-ray dips lag the optical minima by 9.5+-0.7 deg in azimuth, providing some insight into the accretion geometry.Comment: 4 pages, 2 Postscript figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Theory of traveling filaments in bistable semiconductor structures

We present a generic nonlinear model for current filamentation in semiconductor structures with S-shaped current-voltage characteristics. The model accounts for Joule self-heating of a current density filament. It is shown that the self-heating leads to a bifurcation from static to traveling filament. Filaments start to travel when increase of the lattice temperature has negative impact on the cathode-anode transport. Since the impact ionization rate decreases with temperature, this occurs for a wide class of semiconductor systems whose bistability is due to the avalanche impact ionization. We develop an analytical theory of traveling filaments which reveals the mechanism of filament motion, find the condition for bifurcation to traveling filament, and determine the filament velocity.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

Invariants from classical field theory

We introduce a method that generates invariant functions from perturbative classical field theories depending on external parameters. Applying our methods to several field theories such as abelian BF, Chern-Simons and 2-dimensional Yang-Mills theory, we obtain, respectively, the linking number for embedded submanifolds in compact varieties, the Gauss' and the second Milnor's invariant for links in S^3, and invariants under area-preserving diffeomorphisms for configurations of immersed planar curves.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figure, to appear in J. Math. Phy

Exterior Differentials in Superspace and Poisson Brackets

It is shown that two definitions for an exterior differential in superspace, giving the same exterior calculus, yet lead to different results when applied to the Poisson bracket. A prescription for the transition with the help of these exterior differentials from the given Poisson bracket of definite Grassmann parity to another bracket is introduced. It is also indicated that the resulting bracket leads to generalization of the Schouten-Nijenhuis bracket for the cases of superspace and brackets of diverse Grassmann parities. It is shown that in the case of the Grassmann-odd exterior differential the resulting bracket is the bracket given on exterior forms. The above-mentioned transition with the use of the odd exterior differential applied to the linear even/odd Poisson brackets, that correspond to semi-simple Lie groups, results, respectively, in also linear odd/even brackets which are naturally connected with the Lie superalgebra. The latter contains the BRST and anti-BRST charges and can be used for calculation of the BRST operator cohomology.Comment: 12 pages, LATEX 2e, JHEP format. Correction of misprints. The titles for some references are adde

On the non-Abelian Stokes theorem for SU(2) gauge fields

We derive a version of non-Abelian Stokes theorem for SU(2) gauge fields in which neither additional integration nor surface ordering are required. The path ordering is eliminated by introducing the instantaneous color orientation of the flux. We also derive the non-Abelian Stokes theorem on the lattice and discuss various terms contributing to the trace of the Wilson loop.Comment: Latex2e, 0+14 pages, 3 figure