A Checklist Of Arthropods Associated With Pig Carrion And Human Corpses In Southeastern Brazil.

Necrophagous insects, mainly Diptera and Coleoptera, are attracted to specific stages of carcass decomposition, in a process of faunistic succession. They are very important in estimating the postmortem interval, the time interval between the death and the discovery of the body. In studies done with pig carcasses exposed to natural conditions in an urban forest (Santa Genebra Reservation), located in Campinas, State of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil, 4 out of 36 families of insects collected - Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, Muscidae (Diptera) and Dermestidae (Coleoptera) - were considered of forensic importance, because several species were collected in large numbers both visiting and breeding in pig carcasses. Several species were also observed and collected on human corpses at the Institute of Legal Medicine. The species belonged to 17 different families, 6 being of forensic importance because they were reared from human corpses or pig carcasses: Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, Muscidae, Piophilidae (Diptera), Dermestidae, Silphidae and Cleridae (Coleoptera). The most important species were: Diptera - Chrysomya albiceps, Chrysomya putoria, Hemilucilia segmentaria, Hemilucilia semidiaphana (Calliphoridae), Pattonella intermutans (Sarcophagidae), Ophyra chalcogaster (Muscidae), Piophila casei (Piophilidae); Coleoptera - Dermestes maculatus (Dermestidae), Oxyletrum disciolle (Silphidae) and Necrobia rufipes (Cleridae).95135-

Broken symmetry of row switching in 2D Josephson junction arrays

We present an experimental and theoretical study of row switching in two-dimensional Josephson junction arrays. We have observed novel dynamic states with peculiar percolative patterns of the voltage drop inside the arrays. These states were directly visualized using laser scanning microscopy and manifested by fine branching in the current-voltage characteristics of the arrays. Numerical simulations show that such percolative patterns have an intrinsic origin and occur independently of positional disorder. We argue that the appearance of these dynamic states is due to the presence of various metastable superconducting states in arrays.Comment: 4 Pages, 6 Figure

Possible first order transition in the two-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau model induced by thermally fluctuating vortex cores

We study the two-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau model of a neutral superfluid in the vicinity of the vortex unbinding transition. The model is mapped onto an effective interacting vortex gas by a systematic perturbative elimination of all fluctuating degrees of freedom (amplitude {\em and} phase of the order parameter field) except the vortex positions. In the Coulomb gas descriptions derived previously in the literature, thermal amplitude fluctuations were neglected altogether. We argue that, if one includes the latter, the vortices still form a two- dimensional Coulomb gas, but the vortex fugacity can be substantially raised. Under the assumption that Minnhagen's generic phase diagram of the two- dimensional Coulomb gas is correct, our results then point to a first order transition rather than a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition, provided the Ginzburg-Landau correlation length is large enough in units of a microscopic cutoff length for fluctuations. The experimental relevance of these results is briefly discussed. [Submitted to J. Stat. Phys.]Comment: 36 pages, LaTeX, 6 figures upon request, UATP2-DB1-9

Chronic allergic contact dermatitis promotes skin cancer

Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is well recognized as an adverse event associated with implantable medical devices that contain allergenic materials like nickel; however, other cutaneous consequences of chronic exposure to allergens in implanted devices are not well understood. Here, we present a clinical case of Marjolin’s ulcer, an invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) that developed in response to chronic ACD caused by an orthopedic implant. We used a standard murine model of contact hypersensitivity to determine whether chronic ACD promotes skin carcinogenesis. Chronic application of 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (DNFB) to carcinogen-treated skin led to the development of papillomas and aggressive SCC. DNFB-driven chronic ACD was marked by type 2 inflammation, which mediated skin carcinogenesis, as mice unable to mount an inflammatory response were less likely to develop skin tumors. Importantly, we found similar tumor-promoting inflammation surrounding the SCC in our patient. Our findings demonstrate that chronic ACD caused by constant exposure to an allergen can promote tumorigenesis at skin sites with preexisting cancer-initiated cells. Moreover, our results suggest that patients with implantable devices placed in close proximity to the skin should be monitored for ACD and highlight the importance of patch testing prior to the placement of such devices

Inorganic carbon promotes photosynthesis, growth, and maximum biomass of phytoplankton in eutrophic water bodies

1.The traditional perception in limnology has been that phytoplankton biomass in lakes is limited by phosphorus, nitrogen, and light, but not by dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) because CO2 can be supplied from the atmosphere. We tested the possibility of carbon limitation of photosynthesis, growth, and biomass accumulation of phytoplankton communities across an alkalinity and DIC gradient (0.15–3.26 mM) in nutrient‐rich freshwater. 2.During 47‐day long experiments, we measured phytoplankton biomass, organic carbon, calcium, DIC, pH, and oxygen in indoor, constantly mixed mesocosms with either no removal or a 70% weekly removal of the biomass. Photosynthesis was measured in the morning and in the afternoon at high biomass. 3.Maximum biomass and organic carbon production increased two‐ to four‐fold with DIC, which supported 7% of organic carbon production at low DIC and 53% at high DIC concentration, while atmospheric CO2 uptake supplied the remainder. Weekly biomass removal increased growth rates through improved light conditions leading to enhanced total phytoplankton biomass production at high DIC. Photosynthesis was significantly higher in the morning compared to afternoon due to daily DIC depletion. 4.We conclude that phytoplankton photosynthesis, growth rate, maximum biomass, and organic carbon production can be markedly carbon limited in eutrophic lake waters. Consequently, lakes of high DIC and pH can support a faster primary production by greater DIC use and chemically enhanced atmospheric CO2 uptake.publishedVersio

Simulation of the CMS Resistive Plate Chambers

The Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) muon subsystem contributes significantly to the formation of the trigger decision and reconstruction of the muon trajectory parameters. Simulation of the RPC response is a crucial part of the entire CMS Monte Carlo software and directly influences the final physical results. An algorithm based on the parametrization of RPC efficiency, noise, cluster size and timing for every strip has been developed. Experimental data obtained from cosmic and proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV have been used for determination of the parameters. A dedicated validation procedure has been developed. A good agreement between the simulated and experimental data has been achieved.Comment: to be published in JINS

Search for physics beyond the standard model in events with τ leptons, jets, and large transverse momentum imbalance in pp collisions at [Formula: see text].

A search for physics beyond the standard model is performed with events having one or more hadronically decaying τ leptons, highly energetic jets, and large transverse momentum imbalance. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.98 fb-1 of proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text] collected with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2011. The number of observed events is consistent with predictions for standard model processes. Lower limits on the mass of the gluino in supersymmetric models are determined

Search for supersymmetry in hadronic final states with missing transverse energy using the variables αT and b-quark multiplicity in pp collisions at [Formula: see text].

An inclusive search for supersymmetric processes that produce final states with jets and missing transverse energy is performed in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 11.7 fb-1 collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. In this search, a dimensionless kinematic variable, αT, is used to discriminate between events with genuine and misreconstructed missing transverse energy. The search is based on an examination of the number of reconstructed jets per event, the scalar sum of transverse energies of these jets, and the number of these jets identified as originating from bottom quarks. No significant excess of events over the standard model expectation is found. Exclusion limits are set in the parameter space of simplified models, with a special emphasis on both compressed-spectrum scenarios and direct or gluino-induced production of third-generation squarks. For the case of gluino-mediated squark production, gluino masses up to 950-1125 GeV are excluded depending on the assumed model. For the direct pair-production of squarks, masses up to 450 GeV are excluded for a single light first- or second-generation squark, increasing to 600 GeV for bottom squarks

Probing color coherence effects in pp collisions at [Formula: see text].

A study of color coherence effects in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7[Formula: see text] is presented. The data used in the analysis were collected in 2010 with the CMS detector at the LHC and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 36 pb[Formula: see text]. Events are selected that contain at least three jets and where the two jets with the largest transverse momentum exhibit a back-to-back topology. The measured angular correlation between the second- and third-leading jet is shown to be sensitive to color coherence effects, and is compared to the predictions of Monte Carlo models with various implementations of color coherence. None of the models describe the data satisfactorily