273 research outputs found
A candidate-gene association study for berry colour and anthocyanin content in Vitis vinifera L.
Anthocyanin content is a trait of major interest in Vitis vinifera L. These compounds affect grape and wine quality, and have beneficial effects on human health. A candidate-gene approach was used to identify genetic variants associated with anthocyanin content in grape berries. A total of 445 polymorphisms were identified in 5 genes encoding transcription factors and 10 genes involved in either the biosynthetic pathway or transport of anthocyanins. A total of 124 SNPs were selected to examine association with a wide range of phenotypes based on RP-HPLC analysis and visual characterization. The phenotypes were total skin anthocyanin (TSA) concentration but also specific types of anthocyanins and relative abundance. The visual assessment was based on OIV (Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin) descriptors for berry and skin colour. The genes encoding the transcription factors MYB11, MYBCC and MYC(B) were significantly associated with TSA concentration. UFGT and MRP were associated with several different types of anthocyanins. Skin and pulp colour were associated with nine genes (MYB11, MYBCC, MYC(B), UFGT, MRP, DFR, LDOX, CHI and GST). Pulp colour was associated with a similar group of 11 genes (MYB11, MYBCC, MYC(B), MYC(A), UFGT, MRP, GST, DFR, LDOX, CHI and CHS(A)). Statistical interactions were observed between SNPs within the transcription factors MYB11, MYBCC and MYC(B). SNPs within LDOX interacted with MYB11 and MYC(B), while SNPs within CHI interacted with MYB11 only. Together, these findings suggest the involvement of these genes in anthocyanin content and on the regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis. This work forms a benchmark for replication and functional studies
The QCD Potential at
Within an effective field theory framework, we obtain an expression for the
next-to-leading term in the expansion of the singlet QCD
potential in terms of Wilson loops, which holds beyond perturbation theory. The
ambiguities in the definition of the QCD potential beyond leading order in
are discussed and a specific expression for the potential is given.
We explicitly evaluate this expression at one loop and compare the outcome with
the existing perturbative results. On general grounds we show that for quenched
QED and fully Abelian-like models this expression exactly vanishes.Comment: 19 pages, LaTeX, 1 figure. Journal version. Discussion refined,
misprints corrected, few references added; results unchange
Densification and microstructural evolution of Pb0.59Ba0.41Nb2O 6 ceramics
Lead barium niobate ferroelectric ceramics have a crystallographic tungsten bronze structure and present interesting ferroelectric properties from both scientific and technological points of view, making them very attractive for electro-optical, SAW and pyroelectric device applications. Ceramics of Pb0(0.59)Ba0.41Nb2O 6 (PBN59) were prepared through conventional mixed precursors method. Two distinct densification routes were employed in this work: conventional firing and uniaxial hot pressing. The microstructural characterizations indicated that the samples obtained by the latter method present a bimodal grain size distribution and high densities, indicating that this technique is more suitable for obtaining ceramics with high densification rates. The post-pressing annealing induces the preferentially oriented macro grain growth.O niobato de bário e chumbo (PBN) possui uma estrutura cristalina do tipo tungstĂŞnio-bronze e apresenta propriedades ferroelĂ©tricas muito interessantes tanto do ponto de vista cientĂfico quanto do ponto de vista tecnolĂłgico, revelando-se como um material bastante promissor para aplicação no desenvolvimento de dispositivos eletro-Ăłpticos, piezoelĂ©tricos e piroelĂ©tricos. Cerâmicas Ă base de Pb0(0,59)Ba0,41Nb2O 6 (PBN59) foram preparadas pelo mĂ©todo convencional de mistura de matĂ©rias-primas. Duas rotas distintas de densificação de amostras foram utilizadas nesse trabalho: sinterização convencional e sinterização por prensagem uniaxial a quente. As caracterizações microestruturais efetuadas indicaram que as amostras obtidas via prensagem uniaxial a quente apresentam uma distribuição bimodal de tamanhos de grĂŁo e elevadas densidades, indicando que essa tĂ©cnica propicia uma maior eficiĂŞncia no processo de densificação das amostras. O tratamento tĂ©rmico pĂłs-prensagem uniaxial a quente induz o macro-crescimento preferencial de grĂŁos orientados.152155Fundação de Amparo Ă Pesquisa do Estado de SĂŁo Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de NĂvel Superior (CAPES
Inclusive Decays of Heavy Quarkonium to Light Particles
We derive the imaginary part of the potential NRQCD Hamiltonian up to order
1/m^4, when the typical momentum transfer between the heavy quarks is of the
order of Lambda_{QCD} or greater, and the binding energy E much smaller than
Lambda_{QCD}. We use this result to calculate the inclusive decay widths into
light hadrons, photons and lepton pairs, up to O(mv^3 x
(Lambda_{QCD}^2/m^2,E/m)) and O(mv^5) times a short-distance coefficient, for
S- and P-wave heavy quarkonium states, respectively. We achieve a large
reduction in the number of unknown non-perturbative parameters and, therefore,
we obtain new model-independent QCD predictions. All the NRQCD matrix elements
relevant to that order are expressed in terms of the wave functions at the
origin and six universal non-perturbative parameters. The wave-function
dependence factorizes and drops out in the ratio of hadronic and
electromagnetic decay widths. The universal non-perturbative parameters are
expressed in terms of gluonic field-strength correlators, which may be fixed by
experimental data or, alternatively, by lattice simulations. Our expressions
are expected to hold for most of the charmonium and bottomonium states below
threshold. The calculations and methodology are explained in detail so that the
evaluation of higher order NRQCD matrix elements in this framework should be
straightforward. An example is provided.Comment: 61 pages, 9 figures. Minor change
Nondestructive monitoring of ageing of Alkali resistant Glass fiber reinforced cement (GRC)
Glass fiber reinforced cement (GRC) is a composite material made of portland cement mortar and alkali resistant (AR) fibers. AR fibers are added to portland cement to give the material additional flexural strength and toughness. However, ageing deteriorates the fibers and as a result the improvement in the mechanical properties resulted from the fiber addition disappears as the structure becomes
old. The aim of this paper is monitoring GRC ageing by nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques. Two different NDE techniques (1) nonlinear impact resonant acoustic spectroscopy analysis and (2) propagating ultrasonic guided waves are used for this purpose. Both techniques revealed a reduction of the nonlinear behavior in the GRC material with ageing. Specimens are then loaded to failure to obtain their strength and stiffness. Compared to the un-aged specimens,
the aged specimens are found to exhibit more linear behavior, have more stiffness but less toughness. Finally, undisturbed fragments on the fracture surface from mechanical tests are inspected under the electron microscope, to understand the fundamental mechanisms that cause the change in the GRC behavior with ageing.The authors want to acknowledge the financial support of the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion MICINN, Spain, and FEDER funding (Ondacem Project: BIA 2010-19933) and BES-2011-044624. Also thanks to PAID-02-11 Program from Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.Eiras Fernández, JN.; Kundu, T.; Bonilla Salvador, MM.; Paya Bernabeu, JJ. (2013). Nondestructive monitoring of ageing of Alkali resistant Glass fiber reinforced cement (GRC). Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation - NDT and E International. 32:300-314. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10921-013-0183-yS30031432Bentur, A., Fibre, M.S.: Reinforced Cementitious Composites, 2nd edn. 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Sex-related differences of fatty acid-binding protein 4 and leptin levels in atrial fibrillation
Aims: Adiposity plays a key role in the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF). Our aim was to study the sex differences in adipokines levels according to AF burden. Methods and results: Two independent cohorts of patients were studied: (i) consecutive patients with AF undergoing catheter ablation (n = 217) and (ii) a control group (n = 105). (i) Adipokines, oxidative stress, indirect autonomic markers, and leucocytes mRNA levels were analysed; (ii) correlation between biomarkers was explored with heatmaps and Kendall correlation coefficients; and (iii) logistic regression and random forest model were used to determine predictors of AF recurrence after ablation. Our results showed that: (i) fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4) and leptin levels were higher in women than in men in both cohorts (P < 0.01). In women, FABP4 levels were higher on AF cohort (20 ± 14 control, 29 ± 18 paroxysmal AF and 31 ± 17 ng/mL persistent AF; P < 0.01). In men, leptin levels were lower on AF cohort (22 ± 15 control, 13 ± 16 paroxysmal AF and 13 ± 11 ng/mL persistent AF; P < 0.01). (ii) In female with paroxysmal AF, there was a lower acetylcholinesterase and higher carbonic anhydrase levels with respect to men (P < 0.05). (iii) Adipokines have an important role on discriminate AF recurrence after ablation. In persistent AF, FABP4 was the best predictor of recurrence after ablation (1.067, 95% confidence interval 1-1.14; P = 0.046). Conclusion: The major finding of the present study is the sex-based differences of FABP4 and leptin levels according to AF burden. These adipokines are associated with oxidative stress, inflammatory and autonomic indirect markers, indicating that they may play a role in AF perpetuation.This study was supported by projects (PI16/01282 and PI18/01584) integrated in the Plan Estatal de I+D+I 2016–2019 and cofounded by ISCIII-SubdirecciĂłn General de EvaluaciĂłn y Fomento de la InvestigaciĂłn del Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER). J.N.L.-C. and M.R.-M. were a recipient of a Sociedade Galega de CardioloxĂa (SOGACAR) research grant. D.d.G.-C. was a recipient of a Juan de la Cierva-IncorporaciĂłn grant from the Ministry of Science Innovation and Universities (IJCI-2016-29393). CIBER Cardiovascular (CB16/11/00403 to V.Ll.-C. and D.d.G.-C.) is a project from Carlos III Health Institute.Peer reviewe
Validation of Reference Genes for the Relative Quantification of Gene Expression in Human Epicardial Adipose Tissue
BACKGROUND: Relative quantification is a commonly used method for assessing gene expression, however its accuracy and reliability is dependent upon the choice of an optimal endogenous control gene, and such choice cannot be made a priori. There is limited information available on suitable reference genes to be used for studies involving human epicardial adipose tissue. The objective of the current study was to evaluate and identify optimal reference genes for use in the relative quantification of gene expression in human epicardial fat depots of lean, overweight and obese subjects. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Some of the commonly used reference genes including 18S, ACTB, RPL27, HPRT, CYCA, GAPDH, RPLPO, POLR2A and B2M were quantified using real-time PCR analysis. The expression stability of these genes was evaluated using Genorm, Normfinder and Bestkeeper algorithms. In addition, the effect of sample size on the validation process was studied by randomly categorizing subjects in two cohorts of n = 2 and n = 33. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: CYCA, GAPDH and RPL27 were identified as the most stable genes common to all three algorithms and both sample sizes. Their use as reference gene pairs might contribute to the enhanced robustness of relative quantification in the studies involving the human epicardial adipose tissue
Myxobolus platanus n. sp. (Myxosporea, Myxobolidae), a parasite of Mugil platanus GĂĽnther, 1880 (Osteichthyes, Mugilidae) from Lagoa dos Patos, RS, Brazil
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