CoQ10 and Aging.

The aging process includes impairment in mitochondrial function, a reduction in anti-oxidant activity, and an increase in oxidative stress, marked by an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Oxidative damage to macromolecules including DNA and electron transport proteins likely increases ROS production resulting in further damage. This oxidative theory of cell aging is supported by the fact that diseases associated with the aging process are marked by increased oxidative stress. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) levels fall with aging in the human but this is not seen in all species or all tissues. It is unknown whether lower CoQ10 levels have a part to play in aging and disease or whether it is an inconsequential cellular response to aging. Despite the current lay public interest in supplementing with CoQ10, there is currently not enough evidence to recommend CoQ10 supplementation as an anti-aging anti-oxidant therapy

Sustainability Assessment of indicators for integrated water resources management

The scientific community strongly recommends the adoption of indicators for the evaluation and monitoring of progress towards sustainable development. Furthermore, international organizations consider that indicators are powerful decision-making tools. Nevertheless, the quality and reliability of the indicators depends on the application of adequate and appropriate criteria to assess them. The general objective of this study was to evaluate how indicators related to water use and management perform against a set of sustainability criteria. Our research identified 170 indicators related to water use and management. These indicators were assessed by an international panel of experts that evaluated whether they fulfil the four sustainability criteria: social, economic, environmental, and institutional. We employed an evaluation matrix that classified all indicators according to the DPSIR (Driving Forces, Pressures, States, Impacts and Responses) framework. A pilot study served to test and approve the research methodology before carrying out the full implementation. The findings of the study show that 24 indicators comply with the majority of the sustainability criteria; 59 indicators are bi-dimensional (meaning that they comply with two sustainability criteria); 86 are one-dimensional indicators (fulfilling just one of the four sustainability criteria) and one indicator do not fulfil any of the sustainability criteria.Postprint (author's final draft

Emergence of robustness against noise: A structural phase transition in evolved models of gene regulatory networks

We investigate the evolution of Boolean networks subject to a selective pressure which favors robustness against noise, as a model of evolved genetic regulatory systems. By mapping the evolutionary process into a statistical ensemble and minimizing its associated free energy, we find the structural properties which emerge as the selective pressure is increased and identify a phase transition from a random topology to a "segregated core" structure, where a smaller and more densely connected subset of the nodes is responsible for most of the regulation in the network. This segregated structure is very similar qualitatively to what is found in gene regulatory networks, where only a much smaller subset of genes --- those responsible for transcription factors --- is responsible for global regulation. We obtain the full phase diagram of the evolutionary process as a function of selective pressure and the average number of inputs per node. We compare the theoretical predictions with Monte Carlo simulations of evolved networks and with empirical data for Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure

Atomic Focusing by Quantum Fields: Entanglement Properties

The coherent manipulation of the atomic matter waves is of great interest both in science and technology. In order to study how an atom optic device alters the coherence of an atomic beam, we consider the quantum lens proposed by Averbukh et al [1] to show the discrete nature of the electromagnetic field. We extend the analysis of this quantum lens to the study of another essentially quantum property present in the focusing process, i.e., the atom-field entanglement, and show how the initial atomic coherence and purity are affected by the entanglement. The dynamics of this process is obtained in closed form. We calculate the beam quality factor and the trace of the square of the reduced density matrix as a function of the average photon number in order to analyze the coherence and purity of the atomic beam during the focusing process.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Network of recurrent events for the Olami-Feder-Christensen model

We numerically study the dynamics of a discrete spring-block model introduced by Olami, Feder and Christensen (OFC) to mimic earthquakes and investigate to which extent this simple model is able to reproduce the observed spatiotemporal clustering of seismicty. Following a recently proposed method to characterize such clustering by networks of recurrent events [Geophys. Res. Lett. {\bf 33}, L1304, 2006], we find that for synthetic catalogs generated by the OFC model these networks have many non-trivial statistical properties. This includes characteristic degree distributions -- very similar to what has been observed for real seismicity. There are, however, also significant differences between the OFC model and earthquake catalogs indicating that this simple model is insufficient to account for certain aspects of the spatiotemporal clustering of seismicity.Comment: 11 pages, 16 figure

SOLUTION OF 1D AND 2D POISSON'S EQUATION BY USING WAVELET SCALING FUNCTIONS

The use of multiresolution techniques and wavelets has become increasingly popular in the development of numerical schemes for the solution of partial differential equations (PDEs). Therefore, the use of wavelet scaling functions as a basis in computational analysis holds some promise due to their compact support, orthogonality and localization properties. Daubechies and Deslauriers-Dubuc functions have been successfully used as basis functions in several schemes like the Wavelet- Galerkin Method (WGM) and the Wavelet Finite Element Method (WFEM). Another possible advantage of their use is the fact that the calculation of integrals of inner products of wavelet scaling functions and their derivatives can be made by solving a linear system of equations, thus avoiding the problem of using approximations by some numerical method. These inner products were defined as connection coefficients and they are employed in the calculation of stiffness matrices and load vectors. In this work, some mathematical foundations regarding wavelet scaling functions, their derivatives and connection coefficients are reviewed. A scheme based on the Galerkin Method is proposed for the direct solution of Poisson's equation (potential problems) in a meshless formulation using interpolating wavelet scaling functions (Interpolets). The applicability of the proposed method and some convergence issues are illustrated by means of a few examples

Neonatal Morbi-Mortality in Very Low Birth Weight in Europe: the Portuguese Experience

The aim of this study was to access evolution in care of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants after the implementation of a regionalization policy in Portugal. The data of the National Portuguese Network of VLBW infants are analyzed concerning mortality, morbidity, and quality of regionalization. A total of 12,826 VLBW infants born from 1 January 1994 to 31 December 2008 were enrolled, with a prevalence of 0.66%-0.99% of all live born. The global mortality was 11%. The major improvement in survival is in the babies more than 1000 g. Since 2004, the threshold of viability is 25 weeks, but the intact survival is around 28 weeks. In the last 10 years with more efficient regionalization more VLBW babies are born in the right place. The improvement in neonatal mortality rate was determinant in the good evolution of perinatal and infant mortalities. After reinforcement of regionalization policies, we found improvements in mortality for VLBW infants. The aims of regionalization were achieved. The reform of perinatal care in Portugal is an example of how a good diagnosis and adequate proposals combined with a strong political will is crucial for changing.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Classical and quantum coupled oscillators: symplectic structure

We consider a set of N linearly coupled harmonic oscillators and show that the diagonalization of this problem can be put in geometrical terms. The matrix techniques developed here allowed for solutions in both the classical and quantum regimes.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figure