Thermodynamics of noncommutative quantum Kerr black holes

Thermodynamic formalism for rotating black holes, characterized by noncommutative and quantum corrections, is constructed. From a fundamental thermodynamic relation, equations of state and thermodynamic response functions are explicitly given and the effect of noncommutativity and quantum correction is discussed. It is shown that the well known divergence exhibited in specific heat is not removed by any of these corrections. However, regions of thermodynamic stability are affected by noncommutativity, increasing the available states for which some thermodynamic stability conditions are satisfied.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figure

Deformed Phase Space in Cosmology and Black Holes

It is well known that one way to study canonical quantum cosmology is through the Wheeler DeWitt (WDW) equation where the quantization is performed on the minisuperspace variables. The original ideas of a deformed minisuperspace were done in connection with noncommutative cosmology, by introducing a deformation into the minisuperspace in order to incorporate an effective noncommutativity. Therefore, studying solutions to Cosmological models through the WDW equation with deformed phase space could be interpreted as studying quantum effects to Cosmology. In this chapter, we make an analysis of scalar field cosmology and conclude that under a phase space transformation and imposed restriction, the effective cosmological constant is positive. On the other hand, obtaining the wave equation for the noncommutativity Kantowski-Sachs model, we are able to derive a modified noncommutative version of the entropy. To that purpose, the Feynman-Hibbs procedure is considered in order to calculate the partition function of the system

Brucellosis remains a neglected disease inthe developing world: a call forinterdisciplinary action

Brucellosis places significant burdens on the human healthcare system and limits the economic growth of individuals, communities, and nations where such development is especially important to diminish the prevalence of poverty. The implementation of public policy focused on mitigating the socioeconomic effects of brucellosis in human and animal populations is desperately needed. When developing a plan to mitigate the associated consequences, it is vital to consider both the abstract and quantifiable effects. This requires an interdisciplinary and collaborative, or One Health, approach that consists of public education, the development of an infrastructure for disease surveillance and reporting in both veterinary and medical fields, and campaigns for control in livestock and wildlife species

Molecular identification of isolates of the Trichophyton mentagrophytes complex

Background: The Trichophyton mentagrophytes complex is the second most common causal agent of dermatophytosis. It comprises five species-T. mentagrophytes, T. interdigitale, T. erinacei, T quinckeanum, and T. benhamie, as well as nine different genotypes of T. mentagrophytes / T. interdigitale-which are morphologically similar; however, their susceptibility to antifungal agents may differ. For targeted therapy and better prognosis, it is important to identify these species at a molecular level. However, since many hospitals lack molecular methods, the actual aetiology of dermatophytosis caused by this complex remains unknown. Objective: To characterize 55 anthropophilic isolates of the T. mentagrophytes complex recovered from a dermatological centre in Yucatan, Mexico. Material and methods: Fifty-five isolates of the T. mentagrophytes complex were obtained from patients with tinea capitis, tinea pedis, tinea corporis, tinea barbae, and tinea unguium. They were characterized by their colonial and microscopic morphology on Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) and through the sequencing of a fragment from the region ITS1-5.8S-ITS2. Results: All colonies grown on SDA were white. Forty-six isolates formed colonies with a powdery texture, while nine isolates formed colonies with a velvety texture. The micromorphological features were typical of the T. mentagrophytes complex. The molecular analysis revealed that 55 isolates were microorganisms that belonged to the T. mentagrophytes complex, that 46 formed powdery colonies representing T. mentagrophytes, and that the other nine isolates that formed velvety colonies represented T. interdigitale. The latter nine isolates were obtained from patients with tinea pedis, tinea corporis, and tinea unguium. Conclusions: The colony morphology on SDA led to the identification of 46 isolates as T. mentagrophytes and nine isolates as T. interdigitale. At a molecular level, the species identified by their morphology were identified only as T. mentagrophytes complex

Robust fabrication of electrospun-like polymer mats to direct cell behaviour

Currently, cell culture systems that include nanoscale topography are widely used in order to provide cells additional cues closer to the in vivo environment, seeking to mimic the natural extracellular matrix. Electrospinning is one of the most common techniques to produce nanofiber mats. However, since many sensitive parameters play an important role in the process, a lack of reproducibility is a major drawback. Here we present a simple and robust methodology to prepare reproducible electrospun-like samples. It consists of a polydimethylsiloxane mold reproducing the fiber pattern to solvent-cast a polymer solution and obtain the final sample. To validate this methodology, poly( L-lactic) acid ( PLLA) samples were obtained and, after characterisation, bioactivity and ability to direct cell response were assessed. C2C12 myoblasts developed focal adhesions on the electrospun-like fibers and, when cultured under myogenic differentiation conditions, similar differentiation levels to electrospun PLLA fibers were obtained.The support of ERC through HealInSynergy (306990) and FPU program AP2009-3626 is acknowledged.Ballester Beltrán, J.; Lebourg., MM.; Capella Monsonís, H.; Díaz Lantada, A.; Salmerón Sánchez, M. (2014). Robust fabrication of electrospun-like polymer mats to direct cell behaviour. Biofabrication. 6(3). https://doi.org/10.1088/1758-5082/6/3/035009S6

Overview of ImageCLEF 2017: Information extraction from images

This paper presents an overview of the ImageCLEF 2017 evaluation campaign, an event that was organized as part of the CLEF (Conference and Labs of the Evaluation Forum) labs 2017. ImageCLEF is an ongoing initiative (started in 2003) that promotes the evaluation of technologies for annotation, indexing and retrieval for providing information access to collections of images in various usage scenarios and domains. In 2017, the 15th edition of ImageCLEF, three main tasks were proposed and one pilot task: (1) a LifeLog task about searching in LifeLog data, so videos, images and other sources; (2) a caption prediction task that aims at predicting the caption of a figure from the biomedical literature based on the figure alone; (3) a tuberculosis task that aims at detecting the tuberculosis type from CT (Computed Tomography) volumes of the lung and also the drug resistance of the tuberculosis; and (4) a remote sensing pilot task that aims at predicting population density based on satellite images. The strong participation of over 150 research groups registering for the four tasks and 27 groups submitting results shows the interest in this benchmarking campaign despite the fact that all four tasks were new and had to create their own community

¿Es prioritario vacunar a niños de 3-11 años contra COVID-19 en Colombia?

En octubre 31 del 2021, Colombia inició la vacunación contra COVID-19 para niños de 3 a 11 años de edad, conla vacuna CoronaVac (Sinovac). Esta estrategia se implementó en ausencia de un informe técnico sobre la eficaciay seguridad de CoronaVac en niños, y sin una evaluación del costo-beneficio de esta, en comparación con otrasestrategias. En este comentario se consideran aspectos fundamentales que debieron tomarse en cuenta al ponderar silos beneficios de esta estrategia eran mayores que sus riesgos. Específicamente, la eficacia y seguridad de CoronaVacen niños de 3 a 11 años, la relación riesgo/beneficio de la estrategia, el rol de los niños en la transmisión comunitariade SARS-CoV-2, y las implicaciones éticas de la estrategia.En octubre 31 del 2021, Colombia inició la vacunación contra COVID-19 para niños de 3 a 11 años de edad, conla vacuna CoronaVac (Sinovac). Esta estrategia se implementó en ausencia de un informe técnico sobre la eficaciay seguridad de CoronaVac en niños, y sin una evaluación del costo-beneficio de esta, en comparación con otrasestrategias. En este comentario se consideran aspectos fundamentales que debieron tomarse en cuenta al ponderar silos beneficios de esta estrategia eran mayores que sus riesgos. Específicamente, la eficacia y seguridad de CoronaVacen niños de 3 a 11 años, la relación riesgo/beneficio de la estrategia, el rol de los niños en la transmisión comunitariade SARS-CoV-2, y las implicaciones éticas de la estrategia.En octubre 31 del 2021, Colombia inició la vacunación contra COVID-19 para niños de 3 a 11 años de edad, conla vacuna CoronaVac (Sinovac). Esta estrategia se implementó en ausencia de un informe técnico sobre la eficaciay seguridad de CoronaVac en niños, y sin una evaluación del costo-beneficio de esta, en comparación con otrasestrategias. En este comentario se consideran aspectos fundamentales que debieron tomarse en cuenta al ponderar silos beneficios de esta estrategia eran mayores que sus riesgos. Específicamente, la eficacia y seguridad de CoronaVacen niños de 3 a 11 años, la relación riesgo/beneficio de la estrategia, el rol de los niños en la transmisión comunitariade SARS-CoV-2, y las implicaciones éticas de la estrategia

Exploring the Midgut Transcriptome and Brush Border Membrane Vesicle Proteome of the Rice Stem Borer, Chilo suppressalis (Walker)

The rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is one of the most detrimental pests affecting rice crops. The use of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins has been explored as a means to control this pest, but the potential for C. suppressalis to develop resistance to Bt toxins makes this approach problematic. Few C. suppressalis gene sequences are known, which makes in-depth study of gene function difficult. Herein, we sequenced the midgut transcriptome of the rice stem borer. In total, 37,040 contigs were obtained, with a mean size of 497 bp. As expected, the transcripts of C. suppressalis shared high similarity with arthropod genes. Gene ontology and KEGG analysis were used to classify the gene functions in C. suppressalis. Using the midgut transcriptome data, we conducted a proteome analysis to identify proteins expressed abundantly in the brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV). Of the 100 top abundant proteins that were excised and subjected to mass spectrometry analysis, 74 share high similarity with known proteins. Among these proteins, Western blot analysis showed that Aminopeptidase N and EH domain-containing protein have the binding activities with Bt-toxin Cry1Ac. These data provide invaluable information about the gene sequences of C. suppressalis and the proteins that bind with Cry1Ac

Poly(ethylmethacrylate-co-diethylaminoethyl acrylate) coating improves endothelial re-population, bio-mechanical and anti-thrombogenic properties of decellularized carotid arteries for blood vessel replacement

Decellularized vascular scaffolds are promising materials for vessel replacements. However, despite the natural origin of decellularized vessels, issues such as biomechanical incompatibility, immunogenicity risks and the hazards of thrombus formation, still need to be addressed. In this study, we coated decellularized vessels obtained from porcine carotid arteries with poly (ethylmethacrylate-co-diethylaminoethylacrylate) (8g7) with the purpose of improving endothelial coverage and minimizing platelet attachment while enhancing the mechanical properties of the decellularized vascular scaffolds. The polymer facilitated binding of endothelial cells (ECs) with high affinity and also induced endothelial cell capillary tube formation. In addition, platelets showed reduced adhesion on the polymer under flow conditions. Moreover, the coating of the decellularized arteries improved biomechanical properties by increasing its tensile strength and load. In addition, after 5 days in culture, ECs seeded on the luminal surface of 8g7-coated decellularized arteries showed good regeneration of the endothelium. Overall, this study shows that polymer coating of decellularized vessels provides a new strategy to improve re-endothelialization of vascular grafts, maintaining or enhancing mechanical properties while reducing the risk of thrombogenesis. These results could have potential applications in improving tissue-engineered vascular grafts for cardiovascular therapies with small caliber vessels