Universality in Systems with Power-Law Memory and Fractional Dynamics

There are a few different ways to extend regular nonlinear dynamical systems by introducing power-law memory or considering fractional differential/difference equations instead of integer ones. This extension allows the introduction of families of nonlinear dynamical systems converging to regular systems in the case of an integer power-law memory or an integer order of derivatives/differences. The examples considered in this review include the logistic family of maps (converging in the case of the first order difference to the regular logistic map), the universal family of maps, and the standard family of maps (the latter two converging, in the case of the second difference, to the regular universal and standard maps). Correspondingly, the phenomenon of transition to chaos through a period doubling cascade of bifurcations in regular nonlinear systems, known as "universality", can be extended to fractional maps, which are maps with power-/asymptotically power-law memory. The new features of universality, including cascades of bifurcations on single trajectories, which appear in fractional (with memory) nonlinear dynamical systems are the main subject of this review.Comment: 23 pages 7 Figures, to appear Oct 28 201

The role of gut-liver axis in the restriction of intrauterine growth in a model of experimental gastroschisis

PURPOSE: To evaluate the intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) by the expression of IR-&#946;, IRS-1, IRS-2, IGF-IR&#946; and Ikappa&#946; in experimental model of gastroschisis. METHODS: Pregnant rats at 18.5 days of gestation were submitted to surgery to create experimental fetal gastroschisis (term = 22 days) were divided in three groups: gastroschisis (G), control (C) and sham (S). Fetuses were evaluated for body weight (BW), intestinal (IW), liver (LW) and their relations IW/BW and LW/BW. IR-&#946; and IGF-IR&#946; receptors, IRS-1 and IRS-2 substrates and Ikappa&#946; protein were analyzed by western blotting. RESULTS: BW was lower in G, the IW and IW / BW were greater than C and S (p<0.05) groups. The liver showed no differences between groups. In fetuses with gastroschisis, compared with control fetuses, the expression of IGF-IR&#946; (p<0.001) and Ikappa&#946; (p<0.001) increased in the liver and intestine, as well as IR-&#946; (p<0.001) which decreased in both. In contrast to the intestine, IRS-1 (p<0.001) increased in the liver and IRS-2 decreased (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: The axis of the intestine liver has an important role in inflammation, with consequent changes in the metabolic pathway of glucose can contribute to the IUGR in fetuses with gastroschisis

Bladder sensory desensitization decreases urinary urgency

Research articl

Homologous Recombination Is Stimulated by a Decrease in dUTPase in Arabidopsis

Deoxyuridine triphosphatase (dUTPase) enzyme is an essential enzyme that protects DNA against uracil incorporation. No organism can tolerate the absence of this activity. In this article, we show that dUTPase function is conserved between E. coli (Escherichia coli), yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and that it is essential in Arabidopsis as in both micro-organisms. Using a RNA interference strategy, plant lines were generated with a diminished dUTPase activity as compared to the wild-type. These plants are sensitive to 5-fluoro-uracil. As an indication of DNA damage, inactivation of dUTPase results in the induction of AtRAD51 and AtPARP2, which are involved in DNA repair. Nevertheless, RNAi/DUT1 constructs are compatible with a rad51 mutation. Using a TUNEL assay, DNA damage was observed in the RNAi/DUT1 plants. Finally, plants carrying a homologous recombination (HR) exclusive substrate transformed with the RNAi/DUT1 construct exhibit a seven times increase in homologous recombination events. Increased HR was only detected in the plants that were the most sensitive to 5-fluoro-uracils, thus establishing a link between uracil incorporation in the genomic DNA and HR. Our results show for the first time that genetic instability provoked by the presence of uracils in the DNA is poorly tolerated and that this base misincorporation globally stimulates HR in plants

Cavernostomy x Resection for Pulmonary Aspergilloma: A 32-Year History

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The most adequate surgical technique for the treatment of pulmonary aspergilloma is still controversial. This study compared two groups of patients submitted to cavernostomy and pulmonary parenchyma resection.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cases of pulmonary aspergilloma operated upon between 1979 and 2010 were analyzed retrospectively. Group 1 consisted of patients submitted to cavernostomy and group 2 of patients submitted to pulmonary parenchyma resection. The following variables were compared between groups: gender, age, number of hospitalizations, pre- and postoperative length of hospital stay, time of follow-up, location and type of aspergilloma, preoperative symptoms, underlying disease, type of fungus, preoperative pulmonary function, postoperative complications, patient progression, and associated diseases.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 208 patients with pulmonary aspergilloma were studied (111 in group 1 and 97 in group 2). Group 1 was older than group 2. The number of hospitalizations, length of hospital stay and time of follow-up were higher in group 1. Hemoptysis was the most frequent preoperative symptom in group 1. Preoperative respiratory malfunction was more severe in group 1. Hemorrhagic complications and recurrence were more frequent in group 1 and infectious complications and residual pleural space were more common in group 2. Postoperative dyspnea was more frequent in group 2. Patient progression was similar in the two groups. No difference in the other factors was observed between groups.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Older patients with severe preoperative respiratory malfunction and peripheral pulmonary aspergilloma should be submitted to cavernostomy. The remaining patients can be treated by pulmonary resection.</p

Murid Herpesvirus-4 Exploits Dendritic Cells to Infect B Cells

Dendritic cells (DCs) play a central role in initiating immune responses. Some persistent viruses infect DCs and can disrupt their functions in vitro. However, these viruses remain strongly immunogenic in vivo. Thus what role DC infection plays in the pathogenesis of persistent infections is unclear. Here we show that a persistent, B cell-tropic gamma-herpesvirus, Murid Herpesvirus-4 (MuHV-4), infects DCs early after host entry, before it establishes a substantial infection of B cells. DC-specific virus marking by cre-lox recombination revealed that a significant fraction of the virus latent in B cells had passed through a DC, and a virus attenuated for replication in DCs was impaired in B cell colonization. In vitro MuHV-4 dramatically altered the DC cytoskeleton, suggesting that it manipulates DC migration and shape in order to spread. MuHV-4 therefore uses DCs to colonize B cells

Gene Expression Profiling during Early Acute Febrile Stage of Dengue Infection Can Predict the Disease Outcome

Background: We report the detailed development of biomarkers to predict the clinical outcome under dengue infection. Transcriptional signatures from purified peripheral blood mononuclear cells were derived from whole-genome gene-expression microarray data, validated by quantitative PCR and tested in independent samples. Methodology/Principal Findings: The study was performed on patients of a well-characterized dengue cohort from Recife, Brazil. The samples analyzed were collected prospectively from acute febrile dengue patients who evolved with different degrees of disease severity: classic dengue fever or dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) samples were compared with similar samples from other non-dengue febrile illnesses. The DHF samples were collected 2-3 days before the presentation of the plasma leakage symptoms. Differentially-expressed genes were selected by univariate statistical tests as well as multivariate classification techniques. The results showed that at early stages of dengue infection, the genes involved in effector mechanisms of innate immune response presented a weaker activation on patients who later developed hemorrhagic fever, whereas the genes involved in apoptosis were expressed in higher levels. Conclusions/Significance: Some of the gene expression signatures displayed estimated accuracy rates of more than 95%, indicating that expression profiling with these signatures may provide a useful means of DHF prognosis at early stages of infection. © 2009 Nascimento et al