Cercosporin production by Cercospora coffeicola isolates: spectrophotometry and HPLC quantification and image analysis

Cercosporin has excellent properties of photosensitization that have been widely used in organophotocatalyst and photodynamic therapy as well as an antimicrobial agent. Therefore, there is a need to quantify it accurately with accessible methods. A comparative analysis of cercosporin quantification obtained by spectrophotometry (SPEC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was performed for nineteen Cercospora coffeicola isolates from different coffee-producing municipalities in Brazil. Image analysis of cercosporin crystals was performed in isolates with either high or low production of the toxin. Our results show that SPEC and HPLC are equally valid for the cercosporin evaluation of C. coffeicola cultures grown in vitro. The isolates with high cercosporin production had a higher crystal number and size when compared to the one with low cercosporin productioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effects of dual blockade in heart failure and renal dysfunction: Systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: The effect of dual renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibition in heart failure (HF) is still controversial. Systematic reviews have shown that dual RAS blockade may reduce mortality and hospitalizations, yet it has been associated with the increased risk of renal dysfunction (RD). Surprisingly, although RD in patients with HF is frequent, the effect of combining RAS inhibitors in HF patients with RD has never been studied in a meta-analysis. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials involving HF patients with RD who received dual blockade analyzing death, cardiovascular (CV) death or HF hospitalization, and adverse events. RESULTS: Out of 2258 screened articles, 12 studies were included (34,131 patients). Compared with monotherapy, dual RAS inhibition reduced hazard ratio of death to 0.94 (p=0.07) and significantly reduced CV death or HF hospitalization to 0.89 (p=0.0006) in all individuals, and to 0.86 (p=0.005) in patients with RD and to 0.91 (p=0.04) without RD. Nevertheless, dual RAS blockade significantly increased the risk of renal impairment (40%), hyperkalemia (44%), and hypotension (42%), although discontinuation of treatment occurs only in 3.68% versus 2.19% (p=0.00001). CONCLUSIONS: Dual RAS inhibition therapy reduces the risk of CV death or HF hospitalization. However, cautions monitoring for specific adverse events may be warranted

Estimating the uncertainties of strain and damage analysis by X-ray diffraction in ion implanted MoO3

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Clinical And Laboratory Profile Of Pediatric And Adolescent Patients With Type 1 Diabetes

Objective: To evaluate clinical and laboratory profiles of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus in three public hospitals in São Paulo, Brazil, since type 1 diabetes mellitus is a chronic illness that occurs mainly in the pediatric age group in the Brazilian population. Methods: Cross-sectional study with patients followed up in reference centers in São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP), Campinas (UNICAMP) and São Paulo (Conjunto Hospitalar do Mandaqui). Data about gender, age, diabetes duration, daily insulin dose, number of daily insulin injections, and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were analyzed. Results: Two hundred and thirty-nine patients (131 females) were evaluated; mean age was 13.1±4.7 years and mean diabetes duration was 6.6±4.2 years. Daily insulin doses ranged from 0.1 to 1.78 units/kg/day (0.88±0.28), and 180 (74.7%) patients had two daily injections. HbA 1c ranged from 4.6 to 17.9% (10.0±2.3%). Conclusions: Although the hospitals included in this study are excellence centers for the follow-up of patients with diabetes in three municipalities in the state of São Paulo, one of the most developed states in Brazil, blood glucose control evaluated according to HbA1c was not adequate. Findings confirm that, despite the efforts of all the professionals involved, great challenges still lie ahead. Copyright © 2009 by Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria.856490494Karvonen, M., Viik-Kajander, M., Moltchanova, E., Libman, I., LaPorte, R., Tuomilehto, J., Incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes worldwide. Diabetes Mondiale (DiaMond) Project Group (2000) Diabetes Care, 23, pp. 1516-1526Hoey, H., Aanstoot, H.J., Chiarelli, F., Daneman, D., Danne, T., Dorchy, H., Good metabolic control is associated with better quality of life in 2,101 adolescents with type 1 diabetes (2001) Diabetes Care, 24, pp. 1923-1928Danne, T., Mortensen, H.B., Hougaard, P., Lynggaard, H., Aanstoot, H.J., Chiarelli, F., Persistent differences among centers over 3 years in glycemic control and hypoglycemia in a study of 3,805 children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes from the Hvidøre Study Group (2001) Diabetes Care, 24, pp. 1342-1347The effect of intensive treatment of diabetes on the development and progression of long-term complications in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial Research Group. N Engl J Med. 1993;329:977-86Schmid, H., New options in insulin therapy (2007) J Pediatr (Rio J), 83, pp. S146-S154Effect of intensive diabetes treatment on the development and progression of long-term complications in adolescents with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus: Diabetes Control and Complications Trial. Diabetes Control and Complications Trial Research Group. Group. J Pediatr. 1994;125:177-88Epidemiology of severe hypoglycemia in the diabetes control and complications trial. The DCCT Research Group (1991) Am J Med, 90, pp. 450-459Hypoglycemia in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial. The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial Research Group (1997) Diabetes, 46, pp. 271-286Malerbi, D., Damiani, D., Rassi, N., Chacra, A.R., Niclewicz, E.D., Silva Filho, R., Posição de consenso da Sociedade Brasileira de Diabetes - Insulinoterapia intensiva e terapêutica com bombas de insulina. (2006) Arq Bras Endocrinol Metab, 50, pp. 125-135Rewers, M., Pihoker, C., Donaghue, K., Hanas, R., Swift, P., Klingensmith, G.J., Assessment and monitoring of glycemic control in children and adolescents with diabetes (2007) Pediatr Diabetes, 8, pp. 408-418Nathan, D.M., Cleary, P.A., Backlund, J.Y., Genuth, S.M., Lachin, J.M., Orchard, T.J., Intensive diabetes treatment and cardiovascular disease in patients with type 1 diabetes (2005) N Engl J Med, 353, pp. 2643-2653Mortensen, H.B., Robertson, K.J., Aanstoot, H.J., Danne, T., Holl, R.W., Hougaard, P., Insulin management and metabolic control of type 1 diabetes mellitus in childhood and adolescence in 18 countries. Hvidøre Study Group on Childhood Diabetes (1998) Diabet Med, 15, pp. 752-759Mendes, A.B., Fittipaldi, J.A., Neves, R.C., Chacra, A.R., Moreira Jr., E.D., Prevalence and correlates of inadequate glycaemic control: Results from a nationwide survey in 6,671 adults with diabetes in Brazil (2009) Acta Diabetol, , In pressEliaschewitz, F.G., Franco, D.R., Does brittle diabetes exist as a clinical entity? Arq Bras Endocrinol (2009) Metabol, 53, pp. 466-469Akbaş, S., Karabekiroǧlu, K., Ozgen, T., Tasdemir, G., Karakurt, M., Senses, A., Association between emotional and behavioral problems and metabolic control in children and adolescents with Type 1 diabetes (2009) J Endocrinol Invest, 32, pp. 325-329Grossi, S.A., Lottenberg, S.A., Lottenberg, A.M., Della Manna, T., Kuperman, H., Home blood glucose monitoring in type 1 diabetes mellitus (2009) Rev Lat Am Enfermagem, 17, pp. 194-200Crasto, W., Jarvis, J., Khunti, K., Davies, M.J., New insulins and new insulin regimens: A review of their role in improving glycaemic control in patients with diabetes (2009) Postgrad Med J, 85, pp. 257-26

Silicon and Germanium Nanostructures for Photovoltaic Applications: Ab-Initio Results

Actually, most of the electric energy is being produced by fossil fuels and great is the search for viable alternatives. The most appealing and promising technology is photovoltaics. It will become truly mainstream when its cost will be comparable to other energy sources. One way is to significantly enhance device efficiencies, for example by increasing the number of band gaps in multijunction solar cells or by favoring charge separation in the devices. This can be done by using cells based on nanostructured semiconductors. In this paper, we will present ab-initio results of the structural, electronic and optical properties of (1) silicon and germanium nanoparticles embedded in wide band gap materials and (2) mixed silicon-germanium nanowires. We show that theory can help in understanding the microscopic processes important for devices performances. In particular, we calculated for embedded Si and Ge nanoparticles the dependence of the absorption threshold on size and oxidation, the role of crystallinity and, in some cases, the recombination rates, and we demonstrated that in the case of mixed nanowires, those with a clear interface between Si and Ge show not only a reduced quantum confinement effect but display also a natural geometrical separation between electron and hole

Anisotropic flow of charged hadrons, pions and (anti-)protons measured at high transverse momentum in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=2.76 TeV

The elliptic, $v_2$, triangular, $v_3$, and quadrangular, $v_4$, azimuthal anisotropic flow coefficients are measured for unidentified charged particles, pions and (anti-)protons in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Results obtained with the event plane and four-particle cumulant methods are reported for the pseudo-rapidity range $|\eta|<0.8$ at different collision centralities and as a function of transverse momentum, $p_{\rm T}$, out to $p_{\rm T}=20$ GeV/$c$. The observed non-zero elliptic and triangular flow depends only weakly on transverse momentum for $p_{\rm T}>8$ GeV/$c$. The small $p_{\rm T}$ dependence of the difference between elliptic flow results obtained from the event plane and four-particle cumulant methods suggests a common origin of flow fluctuations up to $p_{\rm T}=8$ GeV/$c$. The magnitude of the (anti-)proton elliptic and triangular flow is larger than that of pions out to at least $p_{\rm T}=8$ GeV/$c$ indicating that the particle type dependence persists out to high $p_{\rm T}$.Comment: 16 pages, 5 captioned figures, authors from page 11, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/186

Centrality dependence of charged particle production at large transverse momentum in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}} = 2.76 TeV

The inclusive transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) distributions of primary charged particles are measured in the pseudo-rapidity range $|\eta|<0.8$ as a function of event centrality in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}=2.76$ TeV with ALICE at the LHC. The data are presented in the $p_{\rm T}$ range $0.15<p_{\rm T}<50$ GeV/$c$ for nine centrality intervals from 70-80% to 0-5%. The Pb-Pb spectra are presented in terms of the nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm{AA}}$ using a pp reference spectrum measured at the same collision energy. We observe that the suppression of high-$p_{\rm T}$ particles strongly depends on event centrality. In central collisions (0-5%) the yield is most suppressed with $R_{\rm{AA}}\approx0.13$ at $p_{\rm T}=6$-7 GeV/$c$. Above $p_{\rm T}=7$ GeV/$c$, there is a significant rise in the nuclear modification factor, which reaches $R_{\rm{AA}} \approx0.4$ for $p_{\rm T}>30$ GeV/$c$. In peripheral collisions (70-80%), the suppression is weaker with $R_{\rm{AA}} \approx 0.7$ almost independently of $p_{\rm T}$. The measured nuclear modification factors are compared to other measurements and model calculations.Comment: 17 pages, 4 captioned figures, 2 tables, authors from page 12, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/284

Measurement of charm production at central rapidity in proton-proton collisions at s=2.76\sqrt{s} = 2.76 TeV

The $p_{\rm T}$-differential production cross sections of the prompt (B feed-down subtracted) charmed mesons D$^0$, D$^+$, and D$^{*+}$ in the rapidity range $|y|<0.5$, and for transverse momentum $1< p_{\rm T} <12$ GeV/$c$, were measured in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis exploited the hadronic decays D$^0 \rightarrow$K$\pi$, D$^+ \rightarrow$K$\pi\pi$, D$^{*+} \rightarrow$D$^0\pi$, and their charge conjugates, and was performed on a $L_{\rm int} = 1.1$ nb$^{-1}$ event sample collected in 2011 with a minimum-bias trigger. The total charm production cross section at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV and at 7 TeV was evaluated by extrapolating to the full phase space the $p_{\rm T}$-differential production cross sections at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV and our previous measurements at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV. The results were compared to existing measurements and to perturbative-QCD calculations. The fraction of cdbar D mesons produced in a vector state was also determined.Comment: 20 pages, 5 captioned figures, 4 tables, authors from page 15, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/307

Strange particle production in proton-proton collisions at s=0.9\sqrt{s}=0.9 TeV with ALICE at the LHC

The production of mesons containing strange quarks (K$^0_s$, $\phi$) and both singly and doubly strange baryons ($\Lambda$, Anti-$\Lambda$, and $\Xi$+Anti-$\Xi$) are measured at central rapidity in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 0.9 TeV with the ALICE experiment at the LHC. The results are obtained from the analysis of about 250 k minimum bias events recorded in 2009. Measurements of yields (dN/dy) and transverse momentum spectra at central rapidities for inelastic pp collisions are presented. For mesons, we report yields () of 0.184 $\pm$ 0.002 stat. $\pm$ 0.006 syst. for K$^0_s$ and 0.021 $\pm$ 0.004 stat. $\pm$ 0.003 syst. for $\phi$. For baryons, we find = 0.048 $\pm$ 0.001 stat. $\pm$ 0.004 syst. for $\Lambda$, 0.047 $\pm$ 0.002 stat. $\pm$ 0.005 syst. for Anti-$\Lambda$ and 0.0101 $\pm$ 0.0020 stat. $\pm$ 0.0009 syst. for $\Xi$+Anti-$\Xi$. The results are also compared with predictions for identified particle spectra from QCD-inspired models and provide a baseline for comparisons with both future pp measurements at higher energies and heavy-ion collisions.Comment: 33 pages, 21 captioned figures, 10 tables, authors from page 28, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/387