Vacuum energy for the supersymmetric twisted D-brane in constant electromagnetic field

We calculate vacuum energy for twisted SUSY D-brane on toroidal background with constant magnetic or constant electric field. Its behaviour for toroidal D-brane (p=2) in constant electric field shows the presence of stable minimum for twisted versions of the theory. That indicates such a background maybe reasonable groundstate.Comment: LaTeX, 10 page

A contribuição do município de Guarulhos (estado de São Paulo) para a qualidade da água no Sistema Alto Tietê

The population growth in Guarulhos (São Paulo State) has been above the average for the São Paulo Metropolitan Region (RMSP). The Baquirivu-Guaçu River Basin (BHRBG), where the Baquirivu-Guaçu River is located, is exactly the urban expansion vector of Guarulhos municipality and neighboring areas. This study presents an analysis of the quality of the Baquirivu-Guaçu River waters at the entrance and at the exit of the Guarulhos municipality, in order to assess the effects of the implementation of sewage treatment plants (STPs) and land use on the Baquirivu-Guaçu River water quality between 2010 and 2014. For that were prepared the land use maps in the period analyzed, an analysis of the functioning of STPs in the study area, a statistical analysis of the Water Quality Index (WQI) and its parameters at different points of the river. The data relative to the Baquirivu-Guaçu River physico-chemicals and microbiological analyses indicate a much lower water quality in the exit of the Guarulhos municipality (WQI=16), when compared to that coming from the Arujá municipality (WQI=32). The mean values highlighted for BOD, DO, TU, TS and FC parameters indicate a considerable worsening of the Baquirivu-Guaçu River waters at point BQGU 03850. The values of TN, TP and pH parameters both at the entrance and exit of the basin are close. The analysis of land use evolution and water quality shows the consequences of an improper process of urban growth in the basin and that the domestic and industrial polluting sources represent considerable risk to water quality, attesting that the sanitation works carried out up to now have not been effective in reducing the polluting charges launched in the Baquirivu-Guaçu River waters.A contribuição do município de Guarulhos (Estado de São Paulo) para a qualidade de água do Sistema Alto Tietê. Guarulhos (SP) tem apresentado índices de crescimento populacional acima da média da Região Metropolitana de São Paulo (RMSP). A Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Baquirivu Guaçu (BHRBG), onde se localiza o Rio Baquirivu Guaçu, é o vetor de expansão urbana do município e da região. Este trabalho apresenta uma análise da qualidade das águas do Rio Baquirivu-Guaçu na entrada e na saída do município de Guarulhos, avaliando os efeitos da implantação das ETEs e do uso da terra sobre a qualidade das águas do Rio Baquirivu-Guaçu, entre os anos de 2010 e 2014. Para isto foram elaborados os mapas de uso de terra no período analisado, uma análise do funcionamento das ETEs na área de estudo, e a análise estatística dos Índices de Qualidade de Águas (IQA) e de seus parâmetros nos diferentes pontos do rio. Os dados referentes às análises físico-química e microbiológica do Rio Baquirivu-Guaçu indicam uma qualidade de água na saída do município de Guarulhos (IQA=16), muito inferior àquela que recebe do município de Arujá (IQA=32). Os valores médios, em especial para os parâmetros DBO, OD, TU, ST e CF indicam uma piora na qualidade das águas do Rio Baquirivu-Guaçu no ponto BQGU03850. Os valores dos parâmetros NT, PT e pH foram muito próximos para ambos os pontos da entrada e saída da bacia. A análise entre a evolução do uso da terra e a qualidade da água demonstra as consequências do processo inadequado de crescimento urbano na bacia e que as fontes poluidoras domésticas e industriais representam considerável risco à qualidade das águas, demonstrando que as obras de saneamento realizadas até o momento não foram eficazes na redução de cargas poluidoras das águas do rio Baquirivu-Guaçu

Ethnicity and Cutaneous Melanoma in the City of Sao Paulo, Brazil: A Case-Control Study

Background: Over the last century the incidence of cutaneous melanoma has increased worldwide, a trend that has also been observed in Brazil. The identified risk factors for melanoma include the pattern of sun exposure, family history, and certain phenotypic features. In addition, the incidence of melanoma might be influenced by ethnicity. Like many countries, Brazil has high immigration rates and consequently a heterogenous population. However, Brazil is unique among such countries in that the ethnic heterogeneity of its population is primarily attributable to admixture. This study aimed to evaluate the contribution of European ethnicity to the risk of cutaneous melanoma in Brazil. Methodology/Principal Findings: We carried out a hospital-based case-control study in the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo, Brazil. We evaluated 424 hospitalized patients (202 melanoma patients and 222 control patients) regarding phenotypic features, sun exposure, and number of grandparents born in Europe. Through multivariate logistic regression analysis, we found the following variables to be independently associated with melanoma: grandparents born in Europe-Spain (OR = 3.01, 95% CI: 1.03-8.77), Italy (OR = 3.47, 95% CI: 1.41-8.57), a Germanic/Slavic country (OR = 3.06, 95% CI: 1.05-8.93), or >= 2 European countries (OR = 2.82, 95% CI: 1.06-7.47); eye color-light brown (OR = 1.99, 95% CI: 1.14-3.84) and green/blue (OR = 4.62; 95% CI 2.22-9.58); pigmented lesion removal (OR = 3.78; 95% CI: 2.21-6.49); no lifetime sunscreen use (OR = 3.08; 95% CI: 1.03-9.22); and lifetime severe sunburn (OR = 1.81; 95% CI: 1.03-3.19). Conclusions: Our results indicate that European ancestry is a risk factor for cutaneous melanoma. Such risk appears to be related not only to skin type, eye color, and tanning capacity but also to others specific characteristics of European populations introduced in the New World by European immigrants.Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo - FAPESP [06-52041-9, 5-56069-2]Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico - Brasil (National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development - Brazil) - CNPq [478239/03-3]Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico Brasil (National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development Brazil) CNP

Human spermatogenic failure purges deleterious mutation load from the autosomes and both sex chromosomes, including the gene DMRT1

Gonadal failure, along with early pregnancy loss and perinatal death, may be an important filter that limits the propagation of harmful mutations in the human population. We hypothesized that men with spermatogenic impairment, a disease with unknown genetic architecture and a common cause of male infertility, are enriched for rare deleterious mutations compared to men with normal spermatogenesis. After assaying genomewide SNPs and CNVs in 323 Caucasian men with idiopathic spermatogenic impairment and more than 1,100 controls, we estimate that each rare autosomal deletion detected in our study multiplicatively changes a man’s risk of disease by 10% (OR 1.10 [1.04–1.16], p,261023), rare X-linked CNVs by 29%, (OR 1.29 [1.11–1.50], p,161023), and rare Y-linked duplications by 88% (OR 1.88 [1.13–3.13], p,0.03). By contrasting the properties of our case-specific CNVs with those of CNV callsets from cases of autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and intellectual disability, we propose that the CNV burden in spermatogenic impairment is distinct from the burden of large, dominant mutations described for neurodevelopmental disorders. We identified two patients with deletions of DMRT1, a gene on chromosome 9p24.3 orthologous to the putative sex determination locus of the avian ZW chromosome system. In an independent sample of Han Chinese men, we identified 3 more DMRT1 deletions in 979 cases of idiopathic azoospermia and none in 1,734 controls, and found none in an additional 4,519 controls from public databases. The combined results indicate that DMRT1 loss-of-function mutations are a risk factor and potential genetic cause of human spermatogenic failure (frequency of 0.38% in 1306 cases and 0% in 7,754 controls, p = 6.261025). Our study identifies other recurrent CNVs as potential causes of idiopathic azoospermia and generates hypotheses for directing future studies on the genetic basis of male infertility and IVF outcomes.This work was partially funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) and co-financed by European funds (FEDER) through the COMPETE program, research grant PTDC/SAU-GMG/101229/2008. IPATIMUP is an Associate Laboratory of the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology, and Higher Education and is partially supported by FCT. AML is the recipient of a postdoctoral fellowship from FCT (SFRH/BPD/73366/2010). CO is supported by a grant from the United States National Institutes of Health (R01 HD21244), JDS is supported by Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation Epidemiology Award, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Children's Health Research Career Development Award NICHD 5K12HD001410. Support for humans studies and specimens were provided by the NIH/NIDDK George M. O'Brien Center for Kidney Disease Kidney Translational Research Core (P30DK079333) grant to Washington University. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Non-invasive ventilation in patients with an altered level of consciousness. A clinical review and practical insights

Non-invasive ventilation has gained an increasingly pivotal role in the treatment of acute hypoxemic and/or hypercapnic respira-tory failure and offers multiple advantages over invasive mechanical ventilation. Some of these advantages include the preserva-tion of airway defense mechanisms, a reduced need for sedation, and an avoidance of complications related to endotracheal intubation.Despite its advantages, non-invasive ventilation has some contraindications that include, among them, severe encephalopathy. In this review article, the rationale, evidence, and drawbacks of the use of noninvasive ventilation in the context of hypercapnic and non-hypercapnic patients with an altered level of consciousness are analyzed