A comparative study of the dynamic critical behavior of the four-state Potts like models

We investigate the short-time critical dynamics of the Baxter-Wu (BW) and $n=3$ Turban (3TU) models to estimate their global persistence exponent $\theta _{g}$. We conclude that this new dynamical exponent can be useful in detecting differences between the critical behavior of these models which are very difficult to obtain in usual simulations. In addition, we estimate again the dynamical exponents of the four-state Potts (FSP) model in order to compare them with results previously obtained for the BW and 3TU models and to decide between two sets of estimates presented in the current literature. We also revisit the short-time dynamics of the 3TU model in order to check if, as already found for the FSP model, the anomalous dimension of the initial magnetization $x_{0}$ could be equal to zero

Assessing the effect of pharmaceutical excipients on the DNA extraction from plant food supplements

in the EU market as ingredients in formulations, which are sold as plant food supplements (PFS). Among the several issues that may affect the safety of PFS, the most relevant concerns aduÍterations by the illegal addition of pharmaceutical drugs and/or the swap/ misidentification ofplant material, with cases of acate toxicity already reported [l]. Owing to the high similarity and distinct therapeutic uses ofseveral medicinal plants, accurate and fast methodologies allowing their distincüon are required. For that purpose, DNA-based methods are considered fast, sensitive and highly specific tools, allowing the unequivocal identification of plant species. Up to date, most of DNA methodologies reporting the identification of plant species essentially concern medicinal plants [2], with few works being developed for the authentication of PFS.This work was supported by the projects EXPL/DTP-SAP/1438/2013 (4SaferPFS) and Pest-C/EQB/LA0006/2013 financed by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) (FEDER funds through COMPETE). Teimo J.R. Fernandes is grateful to FCT PhD grant (SFRH/BD/93711/2013) financed by POPH-QREN (subsidised by FSE and MCTES).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Soybean DNA extraction from blended refined vegetable oils

The major genetically modified (GM) crop species is soybean (Glycine max), accounting for 53% of the total world’s GM planted area and 70% of the soybean annual production in 2008 [1]. Since the approval of Roundup Ready® (RR) soybean in EU, the production of soybean oil using GM seeds has been increasing. In EU, the doubts raised by the use of genetically modified organisms (GMO) lead to the mandatory labelling for food products containing more than 0.9% of authorised GMO. In blended edible oils prepared with mixtures of two or more different oils, it is important to verify the labelling statements concerning their constituents and the presence of GM material, since soybean oil is frequently used. The analysis of DNA coupled with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been the technique of choice to monitor the presence of GMO in food. However, it is very difficult to obtain amplifiable DNA from oil since most vegetable oils, like crude soybean oil, must be refined prior to its consumption

A survey on genetically modified maize in foods commercialised in Portugal

Maize, the second most important genetically modified (GM) crop, has the highest number of authorised GM events for food and feed in the EU. To provide consumer’s information, labelling for food products containing more than 0.9% of GM material is demanded by the actual EU legislation. Analysis of foods is then essential to detect and quantify GM maize material and verify the compliance with labelling information. The aim of the present work was to assess the presence of GM maize in a range of processed foods commercialised in Portugal between 2007 and 2010. For this purpose, screening of GM material was carried out by qualitative PCR targeting the 35S promoter and the NOS terminator, followed by the specific detection of Bt11, MON810, Bt176, GA21, MON863, NK603, TC1507 (also known as DAS1507), DAS59122 and MIR604 events. The identified maize events were confirmed and quantified by real-time PCR with hydrolysis probes. The overall results of GMO screening were 30% for 35S promoter, 10% for NOS terminator and 25% for identified events. The most frequently detected events were MON810, TC1507 and NK603, with one sample containing GA21, while the other events were not detected in any of the analysed foods. The quantitative results suggest the need for a more severe control since 4% of the analysed foods contained more than the threshold for labelling and none of them declared the presence of GMO

DNA extraction from plant food supplements: Influence of different pharmaceutical excipients

The consumption of plant food supplements (PFS) has been growing globally, with an increase of misleading labeling and fraudulent practices also being reported. Recently, the use of molecular biology techniques has been proposed to detect botanical adulterations, one of the possible frauds in PFS. However, difficulties in recovering DNA from some PFS samples have been described. Aiming at using DNA-based methods for the unequivocal identification of plant species in PFS, adequate DNA isolation is required. However, PFS often contain pharmaceutical excipients known to have adsorbent properties that might interfere with DNA extraction. Thus, the aim of this work was to assess the effect of different excipients (talc, silica, iron oxide and titanium dioxide) on the recovery/amplification of DNA. For that purpose, known amounts of template maize DNA were spiked either to PFS or to model mixtures of excipients and quantified by real-time PCR. The tested excipients evidenced clear adsorption phenomena that justify the hampering effect on DNA extraction from PFS. The use of either 10% talc or 0.5% dyes completely adsorbed DNA, resulting in negative PCR amplifications. For the first time, pharmaceutical excipients were shown to affect DNA extraction explaining the inability of recovering DNA from some PFS samples in previous studies.This work received financial support from the European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and National Funds (FCT, Fundaç~ao para a Ci^encia e Tecnologia) through project EXPL/DTPSAP/ 1438/2013 (Safety of plant food supplements: searching for adulterant pharmaceutical drugs and plants) and UID/QUI/50006/ 2013. Joana Costa and Telmo J.R. Fernandes are grateful to FCT grants SFRH/BPD/102404/2014 and SFRH/BD/93711/2013, respectively, financed by POPH-QREN (subsidized by FSE and MCTES).This work received financial support from the European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and National Funds (FCT, Fundaç~ao para a Ci^encia e Tecnologia) through project EXPL/DTPSAP/ 1438/2013 (Safety of plant food supplements: searching for adulterant pharmaceutical drugs and plants) and UID/QUI/50006/ 2013. Joana Costa and Telmo J.R. Fernandes are grateful to FCT grants SFRH/BPD/102404/2014 and SFRH/BD/93711/2013, respectively, financed by POPH-QREN (subsidized by FSE and MCTES).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Fully Differential Digital CMOS Pulse UWB Generator

A new fully-digital CMOS pulse generator for impulse-radio Ultra-Wide-Band (UWB) systems is presented. First, the shape of the pulse which best fits the FCC regulation in the 3.1-5 GHz sub-band of the entire 3.1-10.6 GHz UWB bandwidth is derived and approximated using rectangular digital pulses. In particular, the number and width of pulses that approximate an ideal template is found through an ad-hoc optimization methodology. Then a fully differential digital CMOS circuit that synthesizes the pulse sequence is conceived and its functionality demonstrated through post-layout simulations. The results show a very good agreement with the FCC requirements and a low power consumptio

An alternative order parameter for the 4-state Potts model

We have investigated the dynamic critical behavior of the two-dimensional 4-state Potts model using an alternative order parameter first used by Vanderzande [J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. \textbf{20}, L549 (1987)] in the study of the Z(5) model. We have estimated the global persistence exponent $\theta_g$ by following the time evolution of the probability $P(t)$ that the considered order parameter does not change its sign up to time $t$. We have also obtained the critical exponents $\theta$, $z$, $\nu$, and $\beta$ using this alternative definition of the order parameter and our results are in complete agreement with available values found in literature.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Mass-luminosity relation for FGK main sequence stars: metallicity and age contributions

The stellar mass-luminosity relation (MLR) is one of the most famous empirical "laws", discovered in the beginning of the 20th century. MLR is still used to estimate stellar masses for nearby stars, particularly for those that are not binary systems, hence the mass cannot be derived directly from the observations. It's well known that the MLR has a statistical dispersion which cannot be explained exclusively due to the observational errors in luminosity (or mass). It is an intrinsic dispersion caused by the differences in age and chemical composition from star to star. In this work we discuss the impact of age and metallicity on the MLR. Using the recent data on mass, luminosity, metallicity, and age for 26 FGK stars (all members of binary systems, with observational mass-errors <= 3%), including the Sun, we derive the MLR taking into account, separately, mass-luminosity, mass-luminosity-metallicity, and mass-luminosity-metallicity-age. Our results show that the inclusion of age and metallicity in the MLR, for FGK stars, improves the individual mass estimation by 5% to 15%.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, accepted in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

Soil biochemistry and microbial activity in vineyards under conventional and organic management at Northeast Brazil.

The São Francisco Submedium Valley is located at the Brazilian semiarid region and is an important center for irrigated fruit growing. This region is responsible for 97% of the national exportation of table grapes, including seedless grapes. Based on the fact that orgThe São Francisco Submedium Valley is located at the Brazilian semiarid region and is an important center for irrigated fruit growing. This region is responsible for 97% of the national exportation of table grapes, including seedless grapes. Based on the fact that organic fertilization can improve soil quality, we compared the effects of conventional and organic soil management on microbial activity and mycorrhization of seedless grape crops. We measured glomerospores number, most probable number (MPN) of propagules, richness of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) species, AMF root colonization, EE-BRSP production, carbon microbial biomass (C-MB), microbial respiration, fluorescein diacetate hydrolytic activity (FDA) and metabolic coefficient (qCO2). The organic management led to an increase in all variables with the exception of EE-BRSP and qCO2. Mycorrhizal colonization increased from 4.7% in conventional crops to 15.9% in organic crops. Spore number ranged from 4.1 to 12.4 per 50 g-1 soil in both management systems. The most probable number of AMF propagules increased from 79 cm-3 soil in the conventional system to 110 cm-3 soil in the organic system. Microbial carbon, CO2 emission, and FDA activity were increased by 100 to 200% in the organic crop. Thirteen species of AMF were identified, the majority in the organic cultivation system. Acaulospora excavata, Entrophospora infrequens, Glomus sp.3 and Scutellospora sp. were found only in the organically managed crop. S. gregaria was found only in the conventional crop. Organically managed vineyards increased mycorrhization and general soil microbial activity

Putting the magnifying glass on minorities groups in entrepreneurship: What can we observe?

Although entrepreneurship plays a critical role in fostering economic development, erasing inequality, and generating more balanced societies, a gap concerning the course, nature, and state-of-the-art of minority entrepreneurship scientific literature need to be fulfilled. A hybrid methodology, combining bibliometric methods and topic models (latent Drichlet allocation) is used to perform a thematic analysis of the minority entrepreneurship research stream. The analysis provides insight into the most relevant research themes as well as further research agenda.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio