Partition functions of non-Lagrangian theories from the holomorphic anomaly

The computation of the partition function in certain quantum field theories, such as those of the Argyres-Douglas or Minahan-Nemeschansky type, is problematic due to the lack of a Lagrangian description. In this paper, we use the holomorphic anomaly equation to derive the gravitational corrections to the prepotential of such theories at rank one by deforming them from the conformal point. In the conformal limit, we find a general formula for the partition function as a sum of hypergeometric functions. We show explicit results for the round sphere and the Nekrasov-Shatashvili phases of the $\Omega$ background. The first case is relevant for the derivation of extremal correlators in flat space, whereas the second one has interesting applications for the study of anharmonic oscillators.Comment: 37 page

Endomarketing : visão estratégica para obter vantagens competitivas

Orientador : Luiz Carlos de SouzaMonografia (especialização) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Sociais Aplicadas, Curso de Especialização em Gestão de NegóciosInclui referência

Soil Sampling Protocol to Certify the Changes of Organic Carbon Stock in Mineral Soils Of European Union - Version 2

The revised second edition of the “Soil Sampling Protocol to Certify the Changes of Organic Carbon Stock in Mineral Soils of European Union” updates the Manual published in 2005. The revision is based on the practical testing in the field. Following numerous comments of the users the revised manual is illustrated by examples of the application of the manual and computation routine.JRC.H.7-Land management and natural hazard

Do Spirituality and Faith Make a Difference? Report from the Southern European Psycho-Oncology Study Group

OBJECTIVE: In the last decade, some attention has been given to spirituality and faith and their role in cancer patients' coping. Few data are available about spirituality among cancer patients in Southern European countries, which have a big tradition of spirituality, namely, the Catholic religion. As part of a more general investigation (Southern European Psycho-Oncology Study--SEPOS), the aim of this study was to examine the effect of spirituality in molding psychosocial implications in Southern European cancer patients. METHOD: A convenience sample of 323 outpatients with a diagnosis of cancer between 6 to 18 months, a good performance status (Karnofsky Performance Status > 80), and no cognitive deficits or central nervous system (CNS) involvement by disease were approached in university and affiliated cancer centers in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland (Italian speaking area). Each patient was evaluated for spirituality (Visual Analog Scale 0-10), psychological morbidity (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale--HADS), coping strategies (Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer--Mini-MAC) and concerns about illness (Cancer Worries Inventory--CWI). RESULTS. The majority of patients (79.3%) referred to being supported by their spirituality/faith throughout their illness. Significant differences were found between the spirituality and non-spirituality groups (p ≤ 0.01) in terms of education, coping styles, and psychological morbidity. Spirituality was significantly correlated with fighting spirit (r = -0.27), fatalism (r = 0.50), and avoidance (r = 0.23) coping styles and negatively correlated with education (r = -0.25), depression (r = -0.22) and HAD total (r = -0.17). SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: Spirituality is frequent among Southern European cancer patients with lower education and seems to play some protective role towards psychological morbidity, specifically depression. Further studies should examine this trend in Southern European cancer patients

N-glycosylation profile analysis of Trastuzumab biosimilar candidates by Normal Phase Liquid Chromatography and MALDI-TOF MS approaches

The pharmaceutical market has entered an era in which the production of new therapeutics is being often replaced by “biosimilars”, copies of already commercialized products waiting for the patents to expire in order to be distributed in a more competitive and affordable manners. Due to its relevance, the ErbB2-targeted monoclonal antibody Trastuzumab (Herceptin) used as breast cancer therapy is one of the main targets in the production of biosimilars. A major challenge is to produce antibodies with the same or the closest N-glycosylation pattern seen in the commercialized drug. Several factors, such as growing conditions or cell types employed, can determine the final composition and structure of the glycans, significantly affecting the properties of the generated antibodies. Therefore, an appropriate characterization is essential. In the present study, we describe two different but complementary strategies to characterize the N-glycosylation of two biosimilar candidates of Trastuzumab. In the first case, N-glycans are fluorescently labeled and separated by Normal Phase HPLC. Different sugars will elute at different times and can be identified using specific oligosaccharide standards. In the second approach, released glycans are permethylated and analyzed by MALDI-TOF MS, being able to determine the structure because of the differential sugar masses. Biological significance The characterization of the N-glycosylation sites of therapeutic recombinant monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) is usually one of the most critical and time consuming steps in the developing process of biosimilars or any other glycosylated drug. Herein we describe two different but complementary approaches to characterize mAbs glycosylation patterns, the use of glycan fluorescence labeling coupled to HPLC and MALDI-TOF MS profile analysis. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: HUPO 2014

Diseño de un seguidor solar de dos ejes para celdas fotovoltaicas

En este trabajo se presenta el desarrollo de un seguidor solar de dos ejes para aplicaciones solares, tales como celdas fotovoltaicas. Se detallan sus componentes, así como el funcionamiento de cada uno de ellos. El sistema ha demostrado un rendimiento satisfactorio, lo que permite una mayor absorción de los rayos solares.This paper presents the development of a two-axis solar tracker for solar applications, such as photovoltaic cells. It details its constituent parts as well as the operation of each of them. The system has demonstrated satisfactory performance, allowing greater uptake of solar rays.Asociación Argentina de Energías Renovables y Medio Ambiente (ASADES

A game-theoretic approach to computation offloading in mobile cloud computing

We consider a three-tier architecture for mobile and pervasive computing scenarios, consisting of a local tier ofmobile nodes, a middle tier (cloudlets) of nearby computing nodes, typically located at the mobile nodes access points but characterized by a limited amount of resources, and a remote tier of distant cloud servers, which have practically infinite resources. This architecture has been proposed to get the benefits of computation offloading from mobile nodes to external servers while limiting the use of distant servers whose higher latency could negatively impact the user experience. For this architecture, we consider a usage scenario where no central authority exists and multiple non-cooperative mobile users share the limited computing resources of a close-by cloudlet and can selfishly decide to send their computations to any of the three tiers. We define a model to capture the users interaction and to investigate the effects of computation offloading on the users’ perceived performance. We formulate the problem as a generalized Nash equilibrium problem and show existence of an equilibrium.We present a distributed algorithm for the computation of an equilibrium which is tailored to the problem structure and is based on an in-depth analysis of the underlying equilibrium problem. Through numerical examples, we illustrate its behavior and the characteristics of the achieved equilibria

Macrofungi present in a recovered zone of Atlantic Forest (Misiones, Argentina)

El Bosque de Mata Atlántica es un ecosistema que histórica y continuamente se ve sometido a manejo forestal desmedido. Esto ha generado una fragmentación del ambiente boscoso con su consecuente pérdida de hábitat para todo tipo de organismos de la región. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue generar un listado de especies de macrohongos presentes en un área de manejo de bosque regenerativo en la zona de Oberá (Misiones, Argentina), donde desde 2009 se llevan a cabo tareas de recuperación y regeneración de biodiversidad del Bosque de Mata Atlántica. Se realizaron muestreos a campo en diferentes estaciones durante 3 años. Como resultado se presenta un catálogo de especies de macrohongos presentes en la zona que consta de 136 especies distribuidas en 13 órdenes, 32 familias y 86 géneros. Este conocimiento permitirá profundizar estudios en distintos grupos de macrohongos y analizar su capacidad como bioindicadores del estado de conservación de la zona de Bosque Atlántico en proceso de recuperación.Atlantic Forest is an ecosystem historically managed without restrictions. Over the years, this situation led to a fragmentation of the forest environment with the consequent loss of habitats for all kinds of organisms in the region. The present work is a checklist of macrofungi found in a native forest in Oberá (Misiones, Argentina), where conservation and regeneration practices have been held since 2009 to recover its natural state. Sampling took place in different seasons for 3 years. 136 species have been identified, distributed in 13 orders, 32 families and 86 genera. The objective of the present work was to set a precedent of macrofungi diversity in the area. This will allow studying macrofungi ecological succession and their potential as bio-indicators of forest recovery.Fil: Grassi, Emanuel Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botánica; ArgentinaFil: Romano, Gonzalo Matías. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Departamento de Biología; ArgentinaFil: Schenone, Nahuel Francisco. Centro de Investigaciones Antonia Ramos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Fibrates as drugs with senolytic and autophagic activity for osteoarthritis therapy

Research paper[Abstract] Background. Ageing-related failure of homeostasis mechanisms contributes to articular cartilage degeneration and osteoarthritis (OA), for which disease-modifying treatments are not available. Our objective was to identify molecules to prevent OA by regulating chondrocyte senescence and autophagy. Methods. Human chondrocytes with IL-6 induced senescence and autophagy suppression and SA-β-gal as a reporter of senescence and LC3 as reporter of autophagic flux were used to screen the Prestwick Chemical Library of approved drugs. Preclinical cellular, tissue and blood from OA and blood from OA and ageing models were used to test the efficacy and relevance of activating PPARα related to cartilage degeneration. Findings. Senotherapeutic molecules with pro-autophagic activity were identified. Fenofibrate (FN), a PPARα agonist used for dyslipidaemias in humans, reduced the number of senescent cells via apoptosis, increased autophagic flux, and protected against cartilage degradation. FN reduced both senescence and inflammation and increased autophagy in both ageing human and OA chondrocytes whereas PPARα knockdown conferred the opposite effect. Moreover, PPARα expression was reduced through both ageing and OA in mice and also in blood and cartilage from knees of OA patients. Remarkably, in a retrospective study, fibrate treatment improved OA clinical conditions in human patients from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI) Cohort. Interpretation. These results demonstrate that FDA-approved fibrate drugs targeting lipid metabolism protect against cartilage degeneration seen with ageing and OA. Thus, these drugs could have immediate clinically utility for age-related cartilage degeneration and OA treatment.Instituto de Salud Carlos III; PI14/01324Instituto de Salud Carlos III; PI17/02059Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad; P01 AG043376Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad; U19 AG05627