“Fantasmas” na mecânica quântica

CNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCan you pick a complex subject in quantum mechanics and discuss it with a minimum number of equations, in a simplified form that the general scientific public could understand? This was a question presented to graduate students of the one-year Quantum Mechanics course based on the text book Modern Quantum Mechanics by J. J. Sakurai and Jim Napolitano, at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil. The first seven authors of this paper are graduate students (alphabetical order) that accepted to try it. The chosen subject was "delocalized quantum states", and it will be discussed using colloquial terms like quantum ghosts, spooky action, splitting beings and invisibility cloak. © Sociedade Brasileira de Física. Printed in Brazil.Can you pick a complex subject in quantum mechanics and discuss it with a minimum number of equations, in a simplified form that the general scientific public could understand? This was a question presented to graduate students of the one-year Quantum Mechanics course based on the text book Modern Quantum Mechanics by J. J. Sakurai and Jim Napolitano, at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil. The first seven authors of this paper are graduate students (alphabetical order) that accepted to try it. The chosen subject was "delocalized quantum states", and it will be discussed using colloquial terms like quantum ghosts, spooky action, splitting beings and invisibility cloak.383111CNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOSem informaçãoSem informaçãoSem informaçãoPode-se escolher um topico complexo em mecanica quantica e discuti-lo com um numero mınimo de equações, e de forma simplificada para que um publico com apenas conhecimento basico em fısica possa entender? Essa foi a pergunta apresentada aos alunos de pos-graduação das disciplinas de um ano de Mecanica Quantica I e II da Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), baseadas no livro “Quantum Mechanics” de J. J. Sakurai e Jim Napolitano. Os primeiros sete autores desse artigosão os alunos de pos-graduação (em ordem alfabetica) que aceitaram o desafio. O topico escolhido foi estados quanticos delocalizados, e sera discutido utilizando termos coloquiais como fantasmas quanticos, ações fantasmagoricas, entidades divididas e capa de invisibilidade.G.M.A., D.T.M, M.M. and M.A.P.L acknowledge support from the Brazilian agency “Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico” (CNPq). D.Q.A., L.F.M.C, and S.I.C.G acknowledge support from the Brazilian agency “Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior” (CAPES), and L.F.C.F acknowledges support from the Brazilian state of São Paulo agency “Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo” (FAPESP). The authors thank Amanda A. R. Lima for drawing the inspiring figure 2. The authors are grateful to Profs. Michael Brunger, Prof. Amir Caldeira and Prof. José A. Roversi for their critical reading of the manuscript and constructive comments and suggestions. The authors also thank for critical reading of this manuscript, the following group of people of the aimed public target: Paulo S. P. Lima (Mechanical Engineer), Martín E. Navarro Maldonado (Chemical Engineer), and Luis Quesada (Professor of Computer Science and Informatics)

Simultaneous production of mesoporous biochar and palmitic acid by pyrolysis of brewing industry wastes

Pyrolysis of malt bagasse was carried out to obtain simultaneously a mesoporous biochar and an oil fraction rich in palmitic acid. The best result for biochar production was at 500 °C with holding time of 10 min. The yields of biochar and pyrolytic oil in this condition were, 29.7 and 33.9 wt%, respectively. The pyrolysis temperature and holding time influenced the yields of the products. An increase in pyrolysis temperature (from 500 to 700 °C) and holding time (from 10 to 50 min) caused a decrease in biochar yield, a reduction in the volatile matter content and an increase in the amount of ash. Additionally, in the range studied in this work, the increase of the pyrolysis temperature caused a decrease in the specific surface area and total pore volume of the biochar. Meanwhile, the biochar presented interesting functional groups and a mesoporous character, which can be a precursor to obtain adsorbents, or even, be used as adsorbent. The pyrolytic oil was composed of oxygenated aromatic compounds, the main fraction being palmitic acid (27.3%), which can be used in a number of applications, including biodiesel production. This work demonstrated that an available and problematic waste, malt bagasse, can be converted simultaneously into a mesoporous biochar and, into a pyrolytic oil rich in palmitic acid. Biochar and pyrolytic oil, in turn, are products of great value and can be applied in several fields

Hepatitis B virus infection in Haemodialysis Centres from Santa Catarina State, Southern Brazil. Predictive risk factors for infection and molecular epidemiology.

BACKGROUND: Patients under haemodialysis are considered at high risk to acquire hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Since few data are reported from Brazil, our aim was to assess the frequency and risk factors for HBV infection in haemodialysis patients from 22 Dialysis Centres from Santa Catarina State, south of Brazil. METHODS: This study includes 813 patients, 149 haemodialysis workers and 772 healthy controls matched by sex and age. Serum samples were assayed for HBV markers and viraemia was detected by nested PCR. HBV was genotyped by partial S gene sequencing. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses with stepwise logistic regression analysis were carried out to analyse the relationship between HBV infection and the characteristics of patients and their Dialysis Units. RESULTS: Frequency of HBV infection was 10.0%, 2.7% and 2.7% among patients, haemodialysis workers and controls, respectively. Amidst patients, the most frequent HBV genotypes were A (30.6%), D (57.1%) and F (12.2%). Univariate analysis showed association between HBV infection and total time in haemodialysis, type of dialysis equipment, hygiene and sterilization of equipment, number of times reusing the dialysis lines and filters, number of patients per care-worker and current HCV infection. The logistic regression model showed that total time in haemodialysis, number of times of reusing the dialysis lines and filters, and number of patients per worker were significantly related to HBV infection. CONCLUSIONS: Frequency of HBV infection among haemodialysis patients at Santa Catarina state is very high. The most frequent HBV genotypes were A, D and F. The risk for a patient to become HBV positive increase 1.47 times each month of haemodialysis; 1.96 times if the dialysis unit reuses the lines and filters > or = 10 times compared with haemodialysis units which reuse < 10 times; 3.42 times if the number of patients per worker is more than five. Sequence similarity among the HBV S gene from isolates of different patients pointed out to nosocomial transmission

Genomic Analyses, Gene Expression and Antigenic Profile of the Trans-Sialidase Superfamily of Trypanosoma cruzi Reveal an Undetected Level of Complexity

The protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, a highly debilitating human pathology that affects millions of people in the Americas. The sequencing of this parasite's genome reveals that trans-sialidase/trans-sialidase-like (TcS), a polymorphic protein family known to be involved in several aspects of T. cruzi biology, is the largest T. cruzi gene family, encoding more than 1,400 genes. Despite the fact that four TcS groups are well characterized and only one of the groups contains active trans-sialidases, all members of the family are annotated in the T. cruzi genome database as trans-sialidase. After performing sequence clustering analysis with all TcS complete genes, we identified four additional groups, demonstrating that the TcS family is even more heterogeneous than previously thought. Interestingly, members of distinct TcS groups show distinctive patterns of chromosome localization. Members of the TcSgroupII, which harbor proteins involved in host cell attachment/invasion, are preferentially located in subtelomeric regions, whereas members of the largest and new TcSgroupV have internal chromosomal locations. Real-time RT-PCR confirms the expression of genes derived from new groups and shows that the pattern of expression is not similar within and between groups. We also performed B-cell epitope prediction on the family and constructed a TcS specific peptide array, which was screened with sera from T. cruzi-infected mice. We demonstrated that all seven groups represented in the array are antigenic. A highly reactive peptide occurs in sixty TcS proteins including members of two new groups and may contribute to the known cross-reactivity of T. cruzi epitopes during infection. Taken together, our results contribute to a better understanding of the real complexity of the TcS family and open new avenues for investigating novel roles of this family during T. cruzi infection

Comparative genomic analysis of Leishmania (Viannia) peruviana and Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis

BACKGROUND: The Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis complex is responsible for most cases of New World tegumentary leishmaniasis. This complex includes two closely related species but with different geographic distribution and disease phenotypes, L. (V.) peruviana and L. (V.) braziliensis. However, the genetic basis of these differences is not well understood and the status of L. (V.) peruviana as distinct species has been questioned by some. Here we sequenced the genomes of two L. (V.) peruviana isolates (LEM1537 and PAB-4377) using Illumina high throughput sequencing and performed comparative analyses against the L. (V.) braziliensis M2904 reference genome. Comparisons were focused on the detection of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), insertions and deletions (INDELs), aneuploidy and gene copy number variations. RESULTS: We found 94,070 variants shared by both L. (V.) peruviana isolates (144,079 in PAB-4377 and 136,946 in LEM1537) against the L. (V.) braziliensis M2904 reference genome while only 26,853 variants separated both L. (V.) peruviana genomes. Analysis in coding sequences detected 26,750 SNPs and 1,513 indels shared by both L. (V.) peruviana isolates against L. (V.) braziliensis M2904 and revealed two L. (V.) braziliensis pseudogenes that are likely to have coding potential in L. (V.) peruviana. Chromosomal read density and allele frequency profiling showed a heterogeneous pattern of aneuploidy with an overall disomic tendency in both L. (V.) peruviana isolates, in contrast with a trisomic pattern in the L. (V.) braziliensis M2904 reference. Read depth analysis allowed us to detect more than 368 gene expansions and 14 expanded gene arrays in L. (V.) peruviana, and the likely absence of expanded amastin gene arrays. CONCLUSIONS: The greater numbers of interspecific SNP/indel differences between L. (V.) peruviana and L. (V.) braziliensis and the presence of different gene and chromosome copy number variations support the classification of both organisms as closely related but distinct species. The extensive nucleotide polymorphisms and differences in gene and chromosome copy numbers in L. (V.) peruviana suggests the possibility that these may contribute to some of the unique features of its biology, including a lower pathology and lack of mucosal development. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1928-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Evaluation of Bacteria and Fungi DNA Abundance in Human Tissues

Whereas targeted and shotgun sequencing approaches are both powerful in allowing the study of tissue-associated microbiota, the human: microorganism abundance ratios in tissues of interest will ultimately determine the most suitable sequencing approach. In addition, it is possible that the knowledge of the relative abundance of bacteria and fungi during a treatment course or in pathological conditions can be relevant in many medical conditions. Here, we present a qPCR-targeted approach to determine the absolute and relative amounts of bacteria and fungi and demonstrate their relative DNA abundance in nine different human tissue types for a total of 87 samples. In these tissues, fungi genomes are more abundant in stool and skin samples but have much lower levels in other tissues. Bacteria genomes prevail in stool, skin, oral swabs, saliva, and gastric fluids. These findings were confirmed by shotgun sequencing for stool and gastric fluids. This approach may contribute to a more comprehensive view of the human microbiota in targeted studies for assessing the abundance levels of microorganisms during disease treatment/progression and to indicate the most informative methods for studying microbial composition (shotgun versus targeted sequencing) for various samples types

A high performance liquid chromatography method for determination of hydroxyzine hydrochloride in syrup

A simple isocratic method for quantification of hydroxyzine dihydrochloride by HPLC with UV detection at 232 nm in syrup has been developed and validated. Separation was achieved on a C18 column (250 x 4.6 mm, 5 μm) maintained at 90 ºC with 0.5 mol/L potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer : acetonitrile (1:1, v/v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 2.0 mL/min. The method was proven to be linear over the range of 80–120 μg/mL, accurate (recovery = 97.8 %), precise (coefficient of variation = 1.52 % for sample) and robust.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Genome of the Avirulent Human-Infective Trypanosome—Trypanosoma rangeli

Background: Trypanosoma rangeli is a hemoflagellate protozoan parasite infecting humans and other wild and domestic mammals across Central and South America. It does not cause human disease, but it can be mistaken for the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi. We have sequenced the T. rangeli genome to provide new tools for elucidating the distinct and intriguing biology of this species and the key pathways related to interaction with its arthropod and mammalian hosts.  Methodology/Principal Findings: The T. rangeli haploid genome is ,24 Mb in length, and is the smallest and least repetitive trypanosomatid genome sequenced thus far. This parasite genome has shorter subtelomeric sequences compared to those of T. cruzi and T. brucei; displays intraspecific karyotype variability and lacks minichromosomes. Of the predicted 7,613 protein coding sequences, functional annotations could be determined for 2,415, while 5,043 are hypothetical proteins, some with evidence of protein expression. 7,101 genes (93%) are shared with other trypanosomatids that infect humans. An ortholog of the dcl2 gene involved in the T. brucei RNAi pathway was found in T. rangeli, but the RNAi machinery is non-functional since the other genes in this pathway are pseudogenized. T. rangeli is highly susceptible to oxidative stress, a phenotype that may be explained by a smaller number of anti-oxidant defense enzymes and heatshock proteins.  Conclusions/Significance: Phylogenetic comparison of nuclear and mitochondrial genes indicates that T. rangeli and T. cruzi are equidistant from T. brucei. In addition to revealing new aspects of trypanosome co-evolution within the vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, comparative genomic analysis with pathogenic trypanosomatids provides valuable new information that can be further explored with the aim of developing better diagnostic tools and/or therapeutic targets

Genomics and epidemiology for gastric adenocarcinomas (GE4GAC): a Brazilian initiative to study gastric cancer

Abstract Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most common type of cancer worldwide with high incidences in Asia, Central, and South American countries. This patchy distribution means that GC studies are neglected by large research centers from developed countries. The need for further understanding of this complex disease, including the local importance of epidemiological factors and the rich ancestral admixture found in Brazil, stimulated the implementation of the GE4GAC project. GE4GAC aims to embrace epidemiological, clinical, molecular and microbiological data from Brazilian controls and patients with malignant and pre-malignant gastric disease. In this letter, we summarize the main goals of the project, including subject and sample accrual and current findings

Short-Term Withdrawal of Mitogens Prior to Plating Increases Neuronal Differentiation of Human Neural Precursor Cells

Background: Human neural precursor cells (hNPC) are candidates for neural transplantation in a wide range of neurological disorders. Recently, much work has been done to determine how the environment for NPC culture in vitro may alter their plasticity. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) are used to expand NPC; however, it is not clear if continuous exposure to mitogens may abrogate their subsequent differentiation. Here we evaluated if short-term removal of FGF-2 and EGF prior to plating may improve hNPC differentiation into neurons.Principal Findings: We demonstrate that culture of neurospheres in suspension for 2 weeks without EGF-FGF-2 significantly increases neuronal differentiation and neurite extension when compared to cells cultured using standard protocols. in this condition, neurons were preferentially located in the core of the neurospheres instead of the shell. Moreover, after plating, neurons presented radial rather than randomly oriented and longer processes than controls, comprised mostly by neurons with short processes. These changes were followed by alterations in the expression of genes related to cell survival.Conclusions: These results show that EGF and FGF-2 removal affects NPC fate and plasticity. Taking into account that a three dimensional structure is essential for NPC differentiation, here we evaluated, for the first time, the effects of growth factors removal in whole neurospheres rather than in plated cell culture.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Institutos do Milenio de Bioengenharia TecidualUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Physiol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biophys, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Inst Ciencias Biomed, BR-21941 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Physiol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biophys, São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: fellowCNPq: fellowWeb of Scienc