Phase diagram of a random-anisotropy mixed-spin Ising model

We investigate the phase diagram of a mixed spin-1/2--spin-1 Ising system in the presence of quenched disordered anisotropy. We carry out a mean-field and a standard self-consistent Bethe--Peierls calculation. Depending on the amount of disorder, there appear novel transition lines and multicritical points. Also, we report some connections with a percolation problem and an exact result in one dimension.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review

Effects of gluon number fluctuations on photon - photon collisions at high energies

We investigate the effects of gluon number fluctuations on the total $\gamma\gamma$, $\gamma^*\gamma^*$ cross sections and the photon structure function $F_2^\gamma(x,Q^2)$. Considering a model which relates the dipole-dipole and dipole-hadron scattering amplitudes, we estimate these observables by using event-by-event and physical amplitudes. We demonstrate that both analyses are able to describe the LEP data, but predict different behaviours for the observables at high energies, with the gluon fluctuations effects decreasing the cross sections. We conclude that the study of $\gamma \gamma$ interactions can be useful to constrain the QCD dynamics.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. Improved version with two new figures. Version to be published in Physical Review

Apelin decreases myocardial injury and improves right ventricular function in monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension

Falcao-Pires I, Goncalves N, Henriques-Coelho T, Moreira-Goncalves D, Roncon-Albuquerque R Jr, Leite-Moreira AF. Apelin decreases myocardial injury and improves right ventricular function in monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 296: H2007-H2014, 2009. First published April 3, 2009; doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00089.2009.-We investigated the endogenous production of apelin and the cardiac and pulmonary effects of its chronic administration in monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary hypertension (PH). Male Wistar rats were injected with MCT (60 mg/kg sc) or vehicle (day 0). One week later, these animals were randomly treated during 17 days with pyroglutamylated apelin-13 (Pyr-AP13; 200 mu g.kg(-1).day(-1) ip) or a similar volume of saline, resulting in four groups: sham (n = 11), sham-AP (n = 11), MCT (n = 16), and MCT-AP (n = 13). On day 25, right ventricular (RV) and left ventricular (LV) hemodynamic and morphometric parameters were assessed. Tissue and plasma samples were collected for histological and molecular analysis. When compared with sham, the MCT group presented a significant increase of RV mass (166 +/- 38%), diameter of cardiomyocyte (40 +/- 10%), myocardial fibrosis (95 +/- 20%), peak systolic pressure (99 +/- 22%), peak rate of ventricular pressure rise (dP/dt(max); 74 +/- 24%), peak rate of ventricular pressure decline (dP/dt(min); 73 +/- 19%), and time constant tau (55 +/- 16%). In these animals, RV expression of apelin (-73 +/- 10%) and its receptor APJ (-61 +/- 20%) was downregulated, whereas mRNA expression of type B natriuretic peptide (9,606 +/- 713%), angiotensinogen (191 +/- 147%), endothelin-1 (RV, 497 +/- 156%; and LV, 799 +/- 309%), plasmatic levels of apelin (104 +/- 48%), and angiotensin 1-7 (161 +/- 151%) were increased. Chronic treatment with Pyr-AP13 significantly attenuated or normalized these changes, preventing apelin-APJ mRNA downregulation and PH-induced neurohumoral activation of several vasoconstrictors, which exacerbates apelin-APJ vasodilator effects. Therefore, apelin delayed the progression of RV hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction. Together, these observations suggest that the apelin-APJ system may play an important role in the pathophysiology of PH, representing a potential therapeutic target since it significantly attenuates RV overload and PH-induced neurohumoral activation

Qualidade de frutos de abacaxi cultivado em diferentes épocas de plantio em sequeiro e irrigado.

No Acre existe um período de seca (junho, julho e agosto) curto onde os regimes pluviométricos não ultrapassam 50 mm ao mês, chegando a índices ao redor de 33 mm no mês de junho. Esse déficit hídrico pode comprometer seriamente o desenvolvimento da cultura do abacaxi que necessita de pelo menos 60 mm de chuva bem distribuída ao longo do mês. O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar a influencia de diferentes épocas de plantio sobre a qualidade de frutos de abacaxizeiro. O experimento já foi implantado e conduzido no Estado do Acre, em área de produtor rural de abacaxi. O experimento foi implantado na estação seca de 2012 com os tratamentos distribuídos em esquema de parcelas subdivididas. As parcelas foram constituídas de dois tratamentos primários correspondentes a não utilização da irrigação e à utilização da prática de irrigação. As subparcelas foram constituídas das épocas de plantio correspondentes aos meses de junho, julho, agosto e setembro que é a estação seca no Acre conforme prescrito no Zoneamento Ecológico-Econômico do estado (ZEE, 2006). Os tratamentos foram distribuídos em delineamento em blocos casualizados completos com 03 repetições. Foram avaliadas as seguintes características: Massa do fruto com e sem coroa; comprimento e diâmetro do fruto; firmeza da polpa; massa da polpa; pH; teor de sólidos solúveis (SS); acidez titulável (AT) e ratio. Nas condições em que o experimento foi conduzido, conclui-se que a qualidade dos frutos de abacaxizeiro não é influenciada pela época de plantio

Tricritical behaviour in deterministic aperiodic Ising systems

We use a mixed-spin model, with aperiodic ferromagnetic exchange interactions and crystalline fields, to investigate the effects of deterministic geometric fluctuations on first-order transitions and tricritical phenomena. The interactions and the crystal field parameters are distributed according to some two-letter substitution rules. From a Migdal-Kadanoff real-space renormalization-group calculation, which turns out to be exact on a suitable hierarchical lattice, we show that the effects of aperiodicity are qualitatively similar for tricritical and simple critical behaviour. In particular, the fixed point associated with tricritical behaviour becomes fully unstable beyond a certain threshold dimension (which depends on the aperiodicity), and is replaced by a two-cycle that controls a weakened and temperature-depressed tricritical singularity.Comment: Formatting improved. 7 pages, 2 figures (included). Journal reference adde

Benzyl 2-{[2,8-bis­(trifluoro­meth­yl)quinolin-4-yl](hy­droxy)meth­yl}piperidine-1-carboxyl­ate

The title mol­ecule, C25H22F6N2O3, adopts an open conformation whereby the quinoline and carboxyl­ate ester groups are orientated in opposite directions but to the same side of the piperidine ring so that the mol­ecule has an approximate U-shape. The piperidine ring adopts a distorted boat conformation. In the crystal, inversion dimers linked by pairs of O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds generate R 2 2(14) loops

Vector Meson Production in Ultraperipheral Heavy Ion Collisions

The ultraperipheral heavy ion collisions (UPC's) are an important alternative to study the QCD dynamics until the next generation of $e^+e^-/ ep / eA$ colliders become reality. Due to the coherent action of all the protons in the nucleus, the electromagnetic field is very strong and the resulting flux of equivalent photons is large, which allows to study two-photon as well as photonuclear interactions at high energies. In this paper we present a brief review of the vector meson production in UPC's at high energies using the QCD color dipole approach to describe their photonuclear production and the perturbative QCD Pomeron (BFKL dynamics) to describe the double meson production in photon-photon process. Predictions for rates and integrated cross sections are presented for energies of RHIC and LHC.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure. Version to be published in Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physic