Quark matter in compact stars?

Ozel, in a recent reanalysis of EXO 0748-676 observational data (astro-ph/0605106), concluded that quark matter probably does not exist in the center of compact stars. We show that the data is actually consistent with the presence of quark matter in compact stars.Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX; New title and overall rewrite to reflect version published in Nature. Conclusions unchange

Assessing the grapevine crop water stress indicator over the flowering-veraison phase and the potential yield lose rate in important European wine regions

In Europe, most of vineyards are managed under rainfed conditions, where water deficit has become increasingly an issue. The flowering-veraison phenophase represents an important period for vine response to water stress, which is known to depend on variety characteristics, soil and climate conditions. In this paper, we have carried out a retrospective analysis for important European wine regions over 1986-2015, with objectives to assess the mean Crop Water Stress Indicator (CWSI) during flowering-veraison phase, and potential Yield Lose Rate (YLR) due to seasonal cumulative water stress. Moreover, we also investigate if advanced flowering-veraison phase can lead to alleviated CWSI under recent-past conditions, thus contributing to reduced YLR. A process-based grapevine model is employed, which has been extensively calibrated for simulating both flowering and veraison stages using location-specific observations representing 10 different varieties. Subsequently, grid-based modelling is implemented with gridded climate and soil datasets and calibrated phenology parameters. The findings suggest wine regions with higher mean CWSI of flowering-veraison phase tend to have higher potential YLR. However, contrasting patterns are found between wine regions in France-Germany-Luxembourg and Italy Portugal-Spain. The former tends to have slight-to-moderate drought conditions (CWSI0.5) and substantial YLR (>40%). Wine regions prone to a high drought risk (CWSI>0.75) are also identified, which are concentrated in southern Mediterranean Europe. Advanced flowering-veraison phase over 1986-2015, could have benefited from more spring precipitation and cooler temperatures for wine regions of Italy-Portugal-Spain, leading to reduced mean CWSI and YLR. For those of France-Germany-Luxembourg, this can have reduced flowering-veraison precipitation, but prevalent reductions of YLR are also found, possibly due to shifted phase towards a cooler growing-season with reduced evaporative demands. Our study demonstrates flowering-verasion water deficit is critical for potential yield, which can have different impacts between Central and Southern European wine regions. This phase can be advanced under a warmer climate, thus having important implications for European rainfed vineyards. The overall outcome may provide new insights for appropriate viticultural management of seasonal water deficits under climate change.This study was funded by Clim4Vitis project-"Climate change impact mitigation for European viticulture: knowledge transfer for an integrated approach", funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, under grant agreement no. 810176; it was also supported by FCT-Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UIDB/04033/2020. We acknowledge the data provisions from members of the PEP725 project, from IPHEN project and from the Consejo Regulador of Ribera de Duero and Rioja DOCa

Terpenoid biotransformations by Mucor species

Terpenoids are natural products of great interest due to their widespread use in agrochemicals, drugs, fragrances, flavouring and pigments. Biocatalysts are increasingly being used in the search for new derivatives with improved properties especially to obtain structurally novel leads for new drugs which are difficult to obtain using conventional organic chemical methods. This review, covering up to the end of 2012, reports on the application of Mucor species as catalysts in terpenoid biotransformation to obtain new drug targets, enhance pharmacological activity or decrease the unwanted effects of starting material

Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, in the Next 10 Years, in Patients Between 25 And 60 Years old who Attend the UMF 53 During the Year 2023, When Using the FINDRISC Scale

Objetivo: Identificar el riesgo de desarrollar Diabetes Mellitus tipo 2 en los próximos 10 años, en los pacientes de 25 a 60 años que acuden a la UMF 53 durante el año 2023, mediante la escala FINDRISC. Material y métodos: Se realizó un estudio observacional, prospectivo, transversal y descriptivo con enfoque cuantitativo en el que se incluyeron a 383 pacientes que acudieron a la UMF 53, de 25 a 60 años, sin diagnóstico de diabetes, por simple disponibilidad, el cálculo de muestra se llevó a cabo con la herramienta: “Raosoft sample size calculator”, a partir de una muestra total de 118,432 obtenida de ARIMAC (Área de Información Médica y Archivo Clínico) de la Unidad de Medicina Familiar  53  con: una proporción del 50%, nivel de confianza del 95%. Una vez seleccionados se les invitó a participar en el estudio, en caso de aceptar, se firmó el consentimiento informado, se procedió con la toma de peso, talla y presión arterial, posteriormente con el cálculo de índice de masa corporal y toma de glucemia, se llenó el cuestionario, se clasificó de acuerdo al puntaje, se capturó la información obtenida en una base de datos en Excel y se realizó el análisis estadístico usando el programa SPSS25.Resultados: Se analizó una muestra de 383 pacientes  que acudieron a la clínica 53 en León Guanajuato, de ambos sexos, entre los rangos de edad de 25 a 60 años, en los cuales se encontró que: De 383 pacientes: riesgo bajo: 8 pacientes (2.1%), riesgo ligeramente elevado: 46 pacientes (12 %), riesgo moderado: 76 pacientes (19.8%), riesgo alto: 192 pacientes (50.1%), riesgo muy alto: 61 pacientes (15.9%).Conclusiones: La Diabetes Mellitus 2 es una enfermedad multifactorial, de gran impacto en la dinámica familiar, en éste caso existe un alto riesgo de desarrollo en los pacientes estudiados, varios de ellos se encuentran ya en condiciones de prediabetes según los criterios de actuales de la American Diabetes Association, y de la guía de práctica clínica Mexicana sobre diagnóstico y tratamiento de la Diabetes Mellitus 2, por lo que se debe concientizar a la población sobre su estado actual, y así disminuir el riesgo actual.Material and methods: An observational, prospective, cross-sectional and descriptive study was carried out with a quantitative approach in which 383 patients who attended the UMF 53, aged 25 to 60, without a diagnosis of diabetes, were included, due to simple availability, the calculation The sample size was carried out with the tool: “Raosoft sample size calculator”, from a total sample of 118,432 obtained from ARIMAC (Medical Information and Clinical Archive Area) of the Family Medicine Unit 53 with: a proportion of 50%, 95% confidence level. Once selected, they were invited to participate in the study. If they accepted, the informed consent was signed, the weight, height and blood pressure were measured, followed by the calculation of body mass index and blood glucose measurement. The questionnaire was filled out, classified according to the score, the information obtained was captured in an Excel database and the statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS25 program.  Results: A sample of 383 patients who attended the clinic 53 were analyzed. in León Guanajuato, of both sexes, between the age ranges of 25 to 60 years, in which it was found that: Of 383 patients: low risk: 8 patients (2.1%), slightly elevated risk: 46 patients (12%), moderate risk: 76 patients (19.8%), high risk: 192 patients (50.1%), very high risk: 61 patients (15.9%). Conclusions: Diabetes Mellitus 2 is a multifactorial disease, with great impact on family dynamics, in this case there is a high risk of development in the patients studied, several of them are already in conditions of prediabetes according to the current criteria of the American Diabetes Association, and the Mexican clinical practice guideline on diagnosis and treatment of Diabetes Mellitus 2, so the population must be made aware of its current status, and thus reduce the current risk

Effects of different arachidonic acid supplementation on psychomotor development in very preterm infants; A randomized controlled trial

Background & aims: Nutritional supplementation with polyunsaturated fatty acids is important in preterm infants neurodevelopment, but it is not known if the omega-6/omega-3 ratio affects this process. This study was designed to determine the effects of a balanced contribution of arachidonic acid in very preterm newborns fed with formula milk. Methods: This was a randomized trial, in which newborns <1500 g and/or <32 weeks gestational age were assigned to one of two groups, based on the milk formula they would receive during the first year of life. Initially, 60 newborns entered the study, but ultimately, group A was composed of 24 newborns, who were given formula milk with an ω-6/ ω-3 ratio of 2/1, and Group B was composed of 21 newborns, given formula milk with an ω-6/ω-3 ratio of 1/1. The infants were followed up for two years: growth, visual-evoked potentials, brainstem auditory-evoked potentials, and plasma fatty acids were periodically measured, and psychomotor development was assessed using the Brunet Lézine scale at 24 months corrected age. A control group, for comparison of Brunet Lézine score, was made up of 25 newborns from the SEN1500 project, who were fed exclusively with breast milk. Results: At 12 months, arachidonic acid values were significantly higher in group A than in group B (6.95 ± 1.55 % vs. 4.55 ± 0.78 %), as were polyunsaturated fatty acids (41.02 ± 2.09 % vs. 38.08 ± 2.32 %) achieved a higher average. Group A achieved a higher average Brunet Lézine score at 24 months than group B (99.9 ± 9 vs. 90.8 ± 11, p =0.028). The Brunet Lézine results from group A were compared with the control group results, with very similar scores registered between the two groups (99.9 ± 9 vs. 100.5 ± 7). There were no significant differences in growth or evoked potentials between the two formula groups. Conclusions: Very preterm infants who received formula with an ω-6/ω-3 ratio of 2/1 had higher blood levels of essential fatty acids during the first year of life, and better psychomotor development, compared with very preterm newborns who consumed formula with an ω-6/ω-3 of 1/1. Therefore, formula milk with an arachidonic acid quantity double that of docosahexaenoic acid should be considered for feeding very preterm infants

A novel camera calibration technique based on differential evolution particle swarm optimization algorithm

Camera calibration is one of the fundamental issues in computer vision and aims at determining the intrinsic and exterior camera parameters by using image features and the corresponding 3D features. This paper proposes a relationship model for camera calibration in which the geometric parameter and the lens distortion effect of camera are taken into account in order to unify the world coordinate system (WCS), the camera coordinate system (CCS) and the image coordinate system (ICS). Differential evolution is combined with particle swarm optimization algorithm to calibrate the camera parameters effectively. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has a good optimization ability to avoid local optimum and can complete the visual identification tasks accurately

Epiglottis reshaping using CO2 laser: A minimally invasive technique and its potent applications

Laryngomalacia (LRM), is the most common laryngeal abnormality of the newborn, caused by a long curled epiglottis, which prolapses posteriorly. Epiglottis prolapse during inspiration (acquired laryngomalacia) is an unusual cause of airway obstruction and a rare cause of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS)