Glutamatergic hyperfunctioning during alcohol withdrawal syndrome: Therapeutic perspective with zinc and magnesium

It is known that the glutamatergic pathways are hyperfunctioning during alcohol withdrawal syndrome. It has been demonstrated that hyperfunctioning of this system causes a great damage to the superior cortical activity, the ability to concentrate and the control of impulses. Recent studies show that the cations zinc and magnesium modulate the glutamatergic function, reducing it to non-toxic levels, yet not reducing it to the point of depriving this neurotransmitter of its normal activity. New perspectives of treatment focus on the modulation of this system, having, as a result, reestablishment of impulse control abilities, damage prevention to the hippocampus and the amygdala and prevention of future relapses. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psychobiol, BR-04024002 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Med, BR-04024002 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psychobiol, BR-04024002 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Med, BR-04024002 São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

The risk of salt reduction in dry-cured sausage assessed by the influence on water activity and the survival of salmonella

Research Areas: Food Science & TechnologyWater activity (aw) is the main hurdle for microbial control in dry-cured sausages. The aw can be influenced by drying or adding electrolytes or humectants. Dry-cured meat products are partially dried, which, together with added salt, results in safe aw values. Currently, there is a trend to reduce salt in meat products, which can compromise the preservation process. The present work aims to evaluate the influences of added salt levels (1% or 3%) and the use or omission of phosphates and wine on the aw of a dry-cured sausage, and to evaluate the possibility of estimating the aw from the moisture loss and the behavior of Salmonella during dry-cured sausage (chouriço) processing. There was a strong relationship between moisture and aw, regardless of the salt level and the presence of phosphates or wine. Predicting aw from moisture loss is possible using the Boltzmann sigmoid function. The salt level strongly influences Salmonella behavior, mainly through aw reduction. An increase in aw by 0.01 units reduced the odds of achieving a 5-log reduction in Salmonella counts to half. Increasing added salt from 1% to 3% increased the odds of achieving a 5-log Salmonella reduction 7.5-fold. The current trend to reduce salt in foods must be carefully approached if applied to cured meat products, as it has substantial consequences on aw evolution and Salmonella survivalinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Structural and recurrence relations for hypergeometric-type functions by Nikiforov-Uvarov method

The functions of hypergeometric-type are the solutions y = yν(z) of the differential equation σ(z)y ′′ + τ(z)y ′ + λy = 0, where σ and τ are polynomials of degrees not higher than 2 and 1, respectively, and λ is a constant. Here we consider a class of functions of hypergeometric type: those that satisfy the condition λ + ντ′ + 1 2 ν(ν − 1)σ ′′ = 0, where ν is an arbitrary complex (fixed) number. We also assume that the coefficients of the polynomials σ and τ do not depend on ν. To this class of functions belong Gauss, Kummer, and Hermite functions, and also the classical orthogonal polynomials. In this work, using the constructive approach introduced by Nikiforov and Uvarov, several structural properties of the hypergeometric-type functions y = yν (z) are obtained. Applications to hypergeometric functions and classical orthogonal polynomials are also given.Ministerio de Educación y CienciaJunta de AndalucíaCentre for Mathematics (University of Coimbra

Cubic graphs, their Ehrhart quasi-polynomials, and a scissors congruence phenomenon

The scissors congruence conjecture for the unimodular group is an analogue of Hilbert's third problem, for the equidecomposability of polytopes. Liu and Osser-man studied the Ehrhart quasi-polynomials of polytopes naturally associated to graphs whose vertices have degree one or three. In this paper, we prove the scissors congruence conjecture, posed by Haase and McAllister, for this class of polytopes. The key ingredient in the proofs is the nearest neighbor interchange on graphs and a naturally arising piecewise unimodular transformation

SmartSantander: Internet of Things research and innovation through citizen participation

The Smart City concept relates to improving efficiency of city services and facilitating a more sustainable development of cities. However, it is important to highlight that, in order to effectively progress towards such smart urban environments, the people living in these cities must be tightly engaged in this endeavour. This paper presents two novel services that have been implemented in order to bring the Smart City closer to the citizen. The Participatory Sensing service we are proposing exploits the advanced features of smartphones to make the user part of the ubiquitous sensing infrastructure over which the Smart City concept is built. The Augmented Reality service is connected to the smart city platform in order to create an advanced visualization tool where the plethora of available information is presented to citizens embedded in their natural surroundings. A brief description of the smart city platform on top of which these services are built is also presented.Although only a few names appear in this paper’s list of authors, this work would not have been possible without the contribution and encouragement of the enthusiastic team of the SmartSantander project which has been partially funded by the European Commission under the contract number FP7-ICT-257992

A machine learning approach for collaborative robot smart manufacturing inspection for quality control systems1-10

The 4th industrial revolution promotes the automatic inspection of all products towards a zero-defect and high-quality manufacturing. In this context, collaborative robotics, where humans and machines share the same space, comprises a suitable approach that allows combining the accuracy of a robot and the ability and flexibility of a human. This paper describes an innovative approach that uses a collaborative robot to support the smart inspection and corrective actions for quality control systems in the manufacturing process, complemented by an intelligent system that learns and adapts its behavior according to the inspected parts. This intelligent system that implements the reinforcement learning algorithm makes the approach more robust once it can learn and be adapted to the trajectory. In the preliminary experiments, it was used a UR3 robot equipped with a Force-Torque sensor that was trained to perform a path regarding a product quality inspection task. © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the FAIM 2021.This work has been supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UIDB/05757/2020info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mineral stress affects the cell wall composition of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) callus

Versão provisória aceite p. publicação na Plant Science (ISSN 0168-9452)em 19-01-2013Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is one of the most economically important fruit crops in the world. Deficit in nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur nutrition impairs essential metabolic pathways. The influence of mineral stress in the composition of the plant cell wall (CW) has received residual attention. Using grapevine callus as a model system, 6-weeks deficiency of those elements caused a significant decrease in growth. Callus CWs were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), by quantification of CW components and by immunolocalization of CW epitopes with monoclonal antibodies. PCA analysis of FT-IR data suggested changes in the main components of the CW in response to individual mineral stress. Decreased cellulose, modifications in pectin methyl esterification and increase of structural proteins were among the events disclosed by FT-IR analysis. Chemical analyses supported some of the assumptions and further disclosed an increase in lignin content under nitrogen deficiency, suggesting a compensation of cellulose by lignin. Moreover, polysaccharides of callus under mineral deficiency showed to be more tightly bonded to the CW, probably due to a more extensive cross-linking of the cellulose-hemicellulose network. Our work showed that mineral stress impacts the CW at different extents according to the withdrawn mineral element, and that the modifications in a given CW component are compensated by the synthesis and/or alternative linking between polymers. The overall results here described for the first time pinpoint the CW of Vitis callus different strategies to overcome mineral stress, depending on how essential they are to cell growth and plant development

Posterior chamber collagen copolymer phakic intraocular lenses to correct myopia : five-year follow-up

PURPOSE: To evaluate the long-term safety and efficacy of posterior chamber collagen copolymer phakic intraocular lens (pIOL) implantation to correct myopia. SETTING: Fern!andez-Vega Ophthalmological Institute, Oviedo, Spain. DESIGN: Cohort study. METHODS: Uncorrected (UDVA) and corrected (CDVA) distance visual acuities, refraction, pIOL vault, endothelial cell loss, and adverse events were evaluated for 5 years after implantation of the Visian Implantable Collamer Lens pIOL for moderate to high myopia. RESULTS: The mean spherical equivalent (188 eyes) decreased from !11.17 diopters (D)G 3.40 (SD) preoperatively to!0.88G0.72 D 5 years postoperatively. The mean change in refraction from 1 month to 5 years was !0.65G0.65 D. The mean UDVA and CDVA (Snellen decimal) were 0.69G 0.26 and 0.83 G 0.15, respectively. The mean safety and efficacy indices were 1.27 G 0.33 and 0.89 G 0.35, respectively. No eye lost more than 2 lines of visual acuity; 70% achieved 0.80 or better CDVA. Three eyes (1.6%) developed late anterior subcapsular cataract that was clinically significant in 1 case, leading to pIOL removal and phacoemulsification. Of the 3 eyes (1.6%) with a mild transient increase in intraocular pressure (up to 27 mm Hg), none required a second surgical procedure or prolonged topical medication. The total endothelial cell loss (considered cumulatively at consecutive intervals through 5 years) was 7.7%. There was a tendency toward decreased pIOL vault decrease over time. No vision-threatening complications occurred. CONCLUSION: Implantation of the collagen copolymer pIOL for moderate to high myopia was safe and effective and provided long-term predictable, stable refractive results.Supported in part by grants from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion Research (SAF2008-01114 and SAF2009-13342) (Dr. Montes-Mico) and Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia of Portugal (FCT-SFRH-BD-34303-2007) (Dr. Fernandes)

Desafios regulatórios à promoção da fonte solar fotovoltaica no Brasil

O presente trabalho tem como propósito investigar desafios relacionados ao processo de transição energética no Brasil, especialmente para a energia solar fotovoltaica (FV). A metodologia pretende analisar, a partir de modelos de tratamento de dados multicritério, o contexto regulatório, técnico e socioeconômico brasileiro, assim como caracterizar as vantagens e as desvantagens de longo prazo a consumidoras e concessionárias. Este resumo apresenta uma breve descrição da proposta de pesquisa e suas etapas, onde o objetivo principal é mostrar que o processo de transição energética para a fonte FV depende fortemente de incentivos governamentais, além da atuação integrada de vários atores envolvidos na cadeia transição