2,704 research outputs found
EficiĂȘncia da bioadição na remoção de matĂ©ria orgĂąnica em sistemas aquaculturais
Several techniques are currently used to treat effluents. Bioaugmentation is a new bioremediation strategy and has been employed to improve effluent quality by treating the water during the production process. This technology consists basically of the addition of microorganisms able to degrade or remove polluting compounds, especially organic matter and nutrients. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of bioaugmentation on some parameters of organic matter and on the performance of juvenile tilapias in an intensive aquaculture production system. The combination of two bacterial consortiums in a complete randomized design was employed in a factorial analysis with two factors. Statistical differences between treatments were analyzed by the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey test at the 5% level. One of the treatments, heterotrophic bacterial supplementation, was able to reduce biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) by 23%, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) by 83.7% and phytoplanktonic biomass by 43%. On the other hand, no damage was done to either the physical-chemical indicators of water quality or to the growth performance of juvenile tilapias assessed in this study.Existem diversas tecnologias para tratamento de efluentes, o processo de bioadição consiste em uma vertente da biorremediação e tem sido empregado na melhoria da qualidade dos efluentes atravĂ©s do tratamento da ĂĄgua de produção. Esta tecnologia consiste basicamente na adição de microrganismos com a capacidade de degradar ou remover compostos poluentes, especialmente matĂ©ria orgĂąnica e nutrientes. Este estudo objetivou avaliar os efeitos da suplementação de composto bioativo sobre alguns parĂąmetros de matĂ©ria orgĂąnica e de desempenho de juvenis de tilĂĄpias em um sistema intensivo de produção aquacultural. Foi empregada a combinação de dois consĂłrcios bacterianos em delineamento inteiramente aleatorizado, em um esquema fatorial com dois fatores. As diferenças estatĂsticas entre os tratamentos foram analisadas por meio da anĂĄlise de variĂąncia (ANOVA) e do teste de Tukey ao nĂvel de 5%. Verificou-se neste estudo, que a bioadição heterotrĂłfica foi capaz de reduzir em 23% a demanda bioquĂmica de oxigĂȘnio (DBO); em 83,7%, o carbono orgĂąnico dissolvido (COD); e em 43%, a biomassa fitoplanctĂŽnica. Por outro lado, nĂŁo se observou nenhum prejuĂzo com relação aos parĂąmetros fĂsico-quĂmicos de qualidade de ĂĄgua bem como ao desempenho de crescimento para juvenis de tilĂĄpias avaliados neste estudo.Fundação de Amparo Ă Pesquisa do Estado de SĂŁo Paulo (FAPESP
Revealing the electroweak properties of a new scalar resonance
One or more new heavy resonances may be discovered in experiments at the CERN
Large Hadron Collider. In order to determine if such a resonance is the
long-awaited Higgs boson, it is essential to pin down its spin, CP, and
electroweak quantum numbers. Here we describe how to determine what role a
newly-discovered neutral CP-even scalar plays in electroweak symmetry breaking,
by measuring its relative decay rates into pairs of electroweak vector bosons:
WW, ZZ, \gamma\gamma, and Z\gamma. With the data-driven assumption that
electroweak symmetry breaking respects a remnant custodial symmetry, we perform
a general analysis with operators up to dimension five. Remarkably, only three
pure cases and one nontrivial mixed case need to be disambiguated, which can
always be done if all four decay modes to electroweak vector bosons can be
observed or constrained. We exhibit interesting special cases of Higgs
look-alikes with nonstandard decay patterns, including a very suppressed
branching to WW or very enhanced branchings to \gamma\gamma and Z\gamma. Even
if two vector boson branching fractions conform to Standard Model expectations
for a Higgs doublet, measurements of the other two decay modes could unmask a
Higgs imposter.Comment: 23 pages, two figures; v2: minor revision and version to appear in
JHE
Goldstone Fermion Dark Matter
We propose that the fermionic superpartner of a weak-scale Goldstone boson
can be a natural WIMP candidate. The p-wave annihilation of this `Goldstone
fermion' into pairs of Goldstone bosons automatically generates the correct
relic abundance, whereas the XENON100 direct detection bounds are evaded due to
suppressed couplings to the Standard Model. Further, it is able to avoid
indirect detection constraints because the relevant s-wave annihilations are
small. The interactions of the Goldstone supermultiplet can induce non-standard
Higgs decays and novel collider phenomenology.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures. References added, minor typos corrected.
Submitted to JHE
The Oslo definitions for coeliac disease and related terms.
ObjectiveThe literature suggests a lack of consensus on the use of terms related to coeliac disease (CD) and gluten.DesignA multidisciplinary task force of 16 physicians from seven countries used the electronic database PubMed to review the literature for CD-related terms up to January 2011. Teams of physicians then suggested a definition for each term, followed by feedback of these definitions through a web survey on definitions, discussions during a meeting in Oslo and phone conferences. In addition to 'CD', the following descriptors of CD were evaluated (in alphabetical order): asymptomatic, atypical, classical, latent, non-classical, overt, paediatric classical, potential, refractory, silent, subclinical, symptomatic, typical, CD serology, CD autoimmunity, genetically at risk of CD, dermatitis herpetiformis, gluten, gluten ataxia, gluten intolerance, gluten sensitivity and gliadin-specific antibodies.ResultsCD was defined as 'a chronic small intestinal immune-mediated enteropathy precipitated by exposure to dietary gluten in genetically predisposed individuals'. Classical CD was defined as 'CD presenting with signs and symptoms of malabsorption. Diarrhoea, steatorrhoea, weight loss or growth failure is required.' 'Gluten-related disorders' is the suggested umbrella term for all diseases triggered by gluten and the term gluten intolerance should not to be used. Other definitions are presented in the paper.ConclusionThis paper presents the Oslo definitions for CD-related terms
Assessment right atrial thrombus by real-time three dimensional transthoracic echocardiography in patient with dilated cardiomyopathy
We report a case of a 52-year-old patient with dilated cardiomyopathy who presented with worsening heart failure. Two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography and real-time three dimensional transthoracic echocardiography showed severe dilated cardiac chambers, impaired ejection fraction and a mobile right atrial thrombus 2.6 Ă 1.0 cm in size, traversing the right atrial cavity during the whole cardiac cycle. After one week therapeutic anticoagulation, echocardiography confirmed no evidence of residual thrombus
Assessing the Quality of Reports about Randomized Controlled Trials of Acupuncture Treatment on Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy
BACKGROUND: To evaluate the reports' qualities which are about randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture treatment on Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Eight databases including The Cochrane Library(1993-Sept.,2011), PubMed (1980-Sept., 2011), EMbase (1980-Sept.,2011), SCI Expanded (1998-Sept.,2011), China Biomedicine Database Disc (CBMdisc, 1978-Sept., 2011), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI, 1979-Sept., 2011 ), VIP (a full text issues database of China, 1989-Sept., 2011), Wan Fang (another full text issues database of China 1998-Sept., 2011) were searched systematically. Hand search for further references was conducted. Language was limited to Chinese and English. We identified 75 RCTs that used acupuncture as an intervention and assessed the quality of these reports with the Consolidated Standards for Reporting of Trials statement 2010 (CONSORT2010) and Standards for Reporting Interventions Controlled Trials of Acupuncture 2010(STRICTA2010). 24 articles (32%) applied the method of random allocation of sequences. No article gave the description of the mechanism of allocation concealment, no experiment applied the method of blinding. Only one article (1.47%) could be identified directly from its title as about the Randomized Controlled Trials, and only 4 articles gave description of the experimental design. No article mentioned the number of cases lost or eliminated. During one experiment, acupuncture syncope led to temporal interruption of the therapy. Two articles (2.94%) recorded the number of needles, and 8 articles (11.76%) mentioned the depth of needle insertion. None of articles reported the base of calculation of sample size, or has any analysis about the metaphase of an experiment or an explanation of its interruption. One (1.47%) mentioned intentional analysis (ITT). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The quality of the reports on RCTs of acupuncture for Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy is moderate to low. The CONSORT2010 and STRICTA2010 should be used to standardize the reporting of RCTs of acupuncture in future
Baseline Expression of Immune Gene Modules in Blood is Associated With Primary Response to Anti-TNF Therapy in Crohn's Disease Patients.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Anti-tumour necrosis factor [anti-TNF] therapy is widely used for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, yet many patients are primary non-responders, failing to respond to induction therapy. We aimed to identify blood gene expression differences between primary responders and primary non-responders to anti-TNF monoclonal antibodies [infliximab and adalimumab], and to predict response status from blood gene expression and clinical data. METHODS: The Personalised Anti-TNF Therapy in Crohn's Disease [PANTS] study is a UK-wide prospective observational cohort study of anti-TNF therapy outcome in anti-TNF-naive Crohn's disease patients [ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03088449]. Blood gene expression in 324 unique patients was measured by RNA-sequencing at baseline [week 0], and at weeks 14, 30, and 54 after treatment initiation [total sample sizeâ
=â
814]. RESULTS: After adjusting for clinical covariates and estimated blood cell composition, baseline expression of major histocompatibility complex, antigen presentation, myeloid cell enriched receptor, and other innate immune gene modules was significantly higher in anti-TNF responders vs non-responders. Expression changes from baseline to week 14 were generally of consistent direction but greater magnitude [i.e. amplified] in responders, but interferon-related genes were upregulated uniquely in non-responders. Expression differences between responders and non-responders observed at week 14 were maintained at weeks 30 and 54. Prediction of response status from baseline clinical data, cell composition, and module expression was poor. CONCLUSIONS: Baseline gene module expression was associated with primary response to anti-TNF therapy in PANTS patients. However, these baseline expression differences did not predict response with sufficient sensitivity for clinical use
WIMP-nucleus scattering in chiral effective theory
We discuss long-distance QCD corrections to the WIMP-nucleon(s) interactions
in the framework of chiral effective theory. For scalar-mediated WIMP-quark
interactions, we calculate all the next-to-leading-order corrections to the
WIMP-nucleus elastic cross-section, including two-nucleon amplitudes and
recoil-energy dependent shifts to the single-nucleon scalar form factors. As a
consequence, the scalar-mediated WIMP-nucleus cross-section cannot be
parameterized in terms of just two quantities, namely the neutron and proton
scalar form factors at zero momentum transfer, but additional parameters
appear, depending on the short-distance WIMP-quark interaction. Moreover,
multiplicative factorization of the cross-section into particle, nuclear and
astro-particle parts is violated. In practice, while the new effects are of the
natural size expected by chiral power counting, they become very important in
those regions of parameter space where the leading order WIMP-nucleus amplitude
is suppressed, including the so-called "isospin-violating dark matter" regime.
In these regions of parameter space we find order-of-magnitude corrections to
the total scattering rates and qualitative changes to the shape of recoil
spectra.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl
Rhizome Severing Increases Root Lifespan of Leymus chinensis in a Typical Steppe of Inner Mongolia
Root lifespan is an important trait that determines plants' ability to acquire and conserve soil resources. There have been several studies investigating characteristics of root lifespan of both woody and herbaceous species. However, most of the studies have focused on non-clonal plants, and there have been little data on root lifespan for clonal plants that occur widely in temperate grasslands.We investigated the effects of rhizome severing on overall root lifespan of Leymus chinensis, a clonal, dominant grass species in the temperate steppe in northern China, in a 2-year field study using modified rhizotron technique. More specifically, we investigated the effects of rhizome severing on root lifespan of roots born in different seasons and distributed at different soil depths. Rhizome severing led to an increase in the overall root lifespan from 81 to 103 days. The increase in root lifespan exhibited spatial and temporal characteristics such that it increased lifespan for roots distributed in the top two soil layers and for roots born in summer and spring, but it had no effect on lifespan of roots in the deep soil layer and born in autumn. We also examined the effect of rhizome severing on carbohydrate and N contents in roots, and found that root carbohydrate and N contents were not affected by rhizome severing. Further, we found that root lifespan of Stipa krylovii and Artemisia frigida, two dominant, non-clonal species in the temperate steppe, was significantly longer (118 d) than that of L. chinensis (81 d), and this value became comparable to that of L. chinensis under rhizome severing (103 d).We found that root lifespan in dominant, clonal L. chinensis was shorter than for the dominant, non-clonal species of S. krylovii and A. frigida. There was a substantial increase in the root lifespan of L. chinensis in response to severing their rhizomes, and this increase in root lifespan exhibited temporal and spatial characteristics. These findings suggest that the presence of rhizomes is likely to account for the observed short lifespan of clonal plant species in the temperate steppe
High resolution mapping of a novel late blight resistance gene Rpi-avll, from the wild Bolivian species Solanum avilesii
Both Mexico and South America are rich in Solanum species that might be valuable sources of resistance (R) genes to late blight (Phytophthora infestans). Here, we focus on an R gene present in the diploid Bolivian species S. avilesii. The genotype carrying the R gene was resistant to eight out of 10 Phytophthora isolates of various provenances. The identification of a resistant phenotype and the generation of a segregating population allowed the mapping of a single dominant R gene, Rpi-avl1, which is located in an R gene cluster on chromosome 11. This R gene cluster is considered as an R gene âhot spotâ, containing R genes to at least five different pathogens. High resolution mapping of the Rpi-avl1 gene revealed a marker co-segregating in 3890 F1 individuals, which may be used for marker assisted selection in breeding programs and for further cloning of Rpi-avl
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