Path Integral Approach to Strongly Nonlinear Composite

We study strongly nonlinear disordered media using a functional method. We solve exactly the problem of a nonlinear impurity in a linear host and we obtain a Bruggeman-like formula for the effective nonlinear susceptibility. This formula reduces to the usual Bruggeman effective medium approximation in the linear case and has the following features: (i) It reproduces the weak contrast expansion to the second order and (ii) the effective medium exponent near the percolation threshold are $s=1$, $t=1+\kappa$, where $\kappa$ is the nonlinearity exponent. Finally, we give analytical expressions for previously numerically calculated quantities.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Síndrome de Birt-Hogg-Dubé

A 45-year-old woman with a history of renal carcinoma was observed for facial, cervical and truncal flesh-colored papules. Relatives had similar skin findings and a brother had repeated episodes of pneumothorax. The computerized tomography scan revealed multiple cysts on both lungs. A skin biopsy revealed a perifollicular fibroma. The clinical diagnosis of Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome (BHDS) was corroborated by identification of a novel frameshift c.573delGAinsT (p.G191fsX31) mutation in heterozygosity on exon 6 of the folliculin gene. The presence of multiple and typical benign hair follicle tumors highlights the role of the dermatologist in the diagnosis of this rare genodermatosis that is associated with an increased risk of renal cell cancer and pulmonary cysts, warranting personal and familial follow-up and counseling

Eficiência do controle da ferrugem asiática da soja em função do momento de aplicação sob condições de epidemia em Londrina, PR.

Com o objetivo de estudar a eficiência do controle da ferrugem asiática da soja em função do momento de aplicação foram conduzidos ensaios em Londrina, PR, Brasil, durante as safras 2005/06 e 2006/07. A mistura de 60 g azoxistrobina há + 24 g ciproconazol há foi aplicada em diferentes estádios fenológicos, iniciando em R2 até R5.5, em aplicações únicas e seqüenciais. A severidade foi estimada periodicamente para o cálculo da área abaixo da curva de progresso da doença (AACPD) e a produtividade avaliada no final do ciclo. Nas duas safras, os sintomas iniciais foram observados no final do estádio vegetativo. Na safra 2005/06, o tratamento com aplicações seqüenciais, em R2 e R5.1, foi o mais eficiente na redução da severidade e da AACPD e apresentou a maior produtividade. Na safra 2006/07, os tratamentos com aplicações seqüenciais, em R2 e R5.1, e a aplicação única em R3 apresentaram as menores severidades, menores AACPD e maiores produtividades. Correlações negativas foram encontradas entre as variáveis severidade em R6 e AACPD e a produtividade (-0,83 e -0,84 em 2005/06 e -0,87 e -0,89 em 2006/07). As aplicações realizadas com níveis elevados de severidade, ao redor de 50%, apresentaram produtividade igual à testemunha não tratada

Asparagopsis Genus : What We Really Know About Its Biological Activities and Chemical Composition

Although the genus Asparagopsis includes only two taxonomically accepted species, the published literature is unanimous about the invasive nature of this genus in different regions of the globe, and about the availability of large amounts of biomass for which it is important to find a commercial application. This review shows that extracts from Asparagospsis species have already been evaluated for antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antifouling, cytotoxic, antimethanogenic and enzyme-inhibitory activity. However, the tables presented herein show, with few exceptions, that the activity level displayed is generally low when compared with positive controls. Studies involving pure compounds being identified in Asparagopsis species are rare. The chemical compositions of most of the evaluated extracts are unknown. At best, the families of the compounds present are suggested. This review also shows that the volatile halogenated compounds, fatty acids and sterols that are biosynthesized by the Asparagopsis species are relatively well known. Many other non-volatile metabolites (halogen compounds, flavonoids, other phenolic compounds) seem to be produced by these species, but their chemical structures and properties haven’been investigated. This shows how much remains to be investigated regarding the secondary-metabolite composition of these species, suggesting further studies following more targeted methodologies.This study was financed by ASPAZOR project (DRCT: ACORES-01-0145-FEDER-00060-ASPAZOR); Portuguese National Funds, through FCT-Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, and as applicable co-financed by the FEDER within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement by funding the LAQVREQUIMTE (UIDB/50006/2020) and the cE3c centre (FCT Unit funding (UID/BIA/00329/2019).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Raças fisiológicas e linhagens de uma população contemporânea de Magnaporthe oryzae associada à brusone do arroz irrigado no Sul do Brasil.

Objetivou-se identificar raças fisiológicas, com base em séries diferenciadoras, e linhagens, com base em marcadores microssatélites, em uma população de Magnaporthe oryzae do sul do Brasil

Individual monitoring for internal exposure in Europe and the integration of dosimetric data

The European Radiation Dosimetry Group, EURADOS, established a working group consisting of experts whose aim is to assist in the process of harmonisation of individual monitoring as part of the protection of occupationally exposed workers. A catalogue of facilities and internal dosimetric techniques related to individual monitoring in Europe has been completed as a result of this EURADOS study. A questionnaire was sent in 2002 to services requesting information on various topics including type of exposures, techniques used for direct and indirect measurements including calibration and sensitivity data and the methods employed for the assessment of internal doses. Information relating to Quality Control procedures for direct and indirect measurements, Quality Assurance Programmes in the facilities and legal requirements for ‘approved dosimetric services' were also considered. A total of 71 completed questionnaires were returned by internal dosimetry facilities in 26 countries. This results in an overview of the actual status of the processes used in internal exposure estimation in Europe. In many ways harmonisation is a reality in internal dose assessments, especially when taking into account the measurements of the activity retained or excreted from the body. However, a future study detailing the estimation of minimum detectable activity in the laboratories is highly recommended. Points to focus on in future harmonisation activities are as follows: the process of calculation of doses from measured activity, establishment of guidelines, similar dosimetric tools and application of the same ICRP recommendations. This would lead to a better and more harmonised approach to the estimation of internal exposures in all European facilitie

Do the words matter? An analysis of the linguistic sentiment of earnings conference calls and abnormal stock returns in brazilian companies

In finance and accounting literature, different aspects are presented as possible factors related to stock returns. More recently, studies have been dedicated to analyzing the potential influence of the tone and sentiment of corporate reports, newspaper articles, press releases, and investor message boards on stock prices. Thus, based on assumptions of Legitimacy Theory, we investigate whether cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) on the stocks of Brazilian listed companies are associated with the linguistic sentiment of quarterly earnings conference calls. Using a sample of 78 observations related to the conference calls of 24 companies listed in the Novo Mercado segment in 2016-2017, we measured CAR using the market model and the linguistic sentiment of earnings conference calls using IBM’s Watson Natural Language Understanding platform. An analysis of the results of statistical tests such as descriptive results, correlation matrix, and correspondence analysis enables it to be inferred that, in general, there is a positive association between cumulative abnormal returns and the optimism sentiment of quarterly conference calls. Thus, it is conjectured the possibility that the speeches made by managers in conference calls legitimize company performance in the market, by altering the perception of investors in the stock market and leading to implications for the value of the stocks traded.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio