Mass spectra of the particle-antiparticle system with a Dirac oscillator interaction

The present view about the structure of mesons is that they are a quark-antiquark system. The mass spectrum corresponding to this system should, in principle, be given by chromodynamics, but this turns out to be a complex affair. Thus it is of some interest to consider relativistic systems of particle-antiparticle, with a simple type of interaction, which could give some insight on the spectra we can expect for mesons. This analysis is carried out when the interaction is of the Dirac oscillator type. It is shown that the Dirac equation of the antiparticle can be obtained from that of the particle by just changing the frequency omega into -omega. Following a procedure suggested by Barut, the equation for the particle-antiparticle system is derived and it is solved by a perturbation procedure. Thus, explicit expressions for the square of the mass spectra are obtained and its implications in the meson case is discussed

Eficacia clínica y microbiológica de la azitromicina como terapia adjunta del tratamiento periodontal no quirúrgico

Tesis (Cirujano Dentista)La enfermedad periodontal (EP), considerada la segunda patología oral más frecuente en Chile después de la caries dental, se caracteriza por la destrucción de los tejidos de soporte que rodean al diente. El factor etiológico primario es la bioflora, es por esto que el principal objetivo de la terapia periodontal convencional, considerada el tratamiento gold standard de dicha enfermedad, consiste en su remoción. El tratamiento convencional presenta ciertas limitaciones, razón por la que se han comenzado a utilizar los antibióticos sistémicos a modo de terapia adjunta, demostrando exitosos resultados. Dentro de la variedad de antibióticos administrados en periodoncia para el tratamiento de la periodontitis crónica (PC), los más utilizados son la amoxicilina junto al metronidazol, los cuales se indican por regímenes de 7 a 14 días, sin embargo, en los últimos años surge la azitromicina, antimicrobiano que de ser utilizado como terapia complementaria en periodoncia podría generar múltiples beneficios para los pacientes, debido a que presenta propiedades farmacológicas favorables, tales como antiinflamación e inmunomodulación, un amplio espectro contra microorganismos Gram negativos, baja incidencia de efectos adversos, además de poseer una posología de 3 a 5 días máximos en una dosis diaria. No obstante, a pesar de sus ventajas, la evidencia científica actual aún no es concluyente en cuanto a su eficacia como coadyuvante del tratamiento periodontal convencional. Finalmente, considerando que no existen estudios realizados en Chile sobre dicho tema, todo lo expuesto motiva al desarrollo de esta investigación, la cual pretende evaluar el efecto de la administración sistémica de azitromicina como complemento al tratamiento periodontal no quirúrgico, comparado con el tratamiento periodontal no quirúrgico más placebo, en lo que concierne a los posibles cambios en los parámetros clínicos y microbiológicos en pacientes adultos con periodontitis crónica

ATP-dependent chromatosome remodeling

Chromatin serves to package, protect and organize the complex eukaryotic genomes to assure their stable inheritance over many cell generations. At the same time, chromatin must be dynamic to allow continued use of DNA during a cell's lifetime. One important principle that endows chromatin with flexibility involves ATP-dependent `remodeling' factors, which alter DNA-histone interactions to form, disrupt or move nucleosomes. Remodeling is well documented at the nucleosomal level, but little is known about the action of remodeling factors in a more physiological chromatin environment. Recent findings suggest that some remodeling machines can reorganize even folded chromatin fibers containing the linker histone H1, extending the potential scope of remodeling reactions to the bulk of euchromatin

The enzymes LSD1 and Set1A cooperate with the viral protein HBx to establish an active hepatitis B viral chromatin state

Indexación: Web of ScienceWith about 350 million people chronically infected around the world hepatitis B is a major health problem. Template for progeny HBV synthesis is the viral genome, organized as a minichromosome (cccDNA) inside the hepatocyte nucleus. How viral cccDNA gene expression is regulated by its chromatin structure; more importantly, how the modulation of this structure impacts on viral gene expression remains elusive. Here, we found that the enzyme SetDB1 contributes to setting up a repressed cccDNA chromatin state. This repressive state is activated by the histone lysine demethylase-1 (LSD1). Consistently, inhibiting or reducing LSD1 levels led to repression of viral gene expression. This correlates with the transcriptionally repressive mark H3K9 methylation and reduction on the activating marks H3 acetylation and H3K4 methylation on viral promoters. Investigating the importance of viral proteins we found that LSD1 recruitment to viral promoters was dependent on the viral transactivator protein HBx. Moreover, the histone methyltransferase Set1A and HBx are simultaneously bound to the core promoter, and Set1A expression correlates with cccDNA H3K4 methylation. Our results shed light on the mechanisms of HBV regulation mediated by the cccDNA chromatin structure, offering new therapeutic targets to develop drugs for the treatment of chronically infected HBV patients.http://www.nature.com/articles/srep2590

Information technology literacy: examples from academia in Chile and Hawaii

This research describes the challenging task of identifying new required competencies and responding with new ITL programs in two different regions. The first one, in Chile, is part of an Ibero-American initiative, ALFIN (ALFabetizacion en INformacion). The second one, in Hawaii, is part of a nationwide program in the United States, advocated by the American Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries, and the American Association of School Libraries, among other agencies. Research findings include the target audience of IT programs; copyright issues; necessary cooperation among domain instructors, education specialists, librarians and technology specialists; tools and systems being considered; and distance educationEducation for the 21 st century - impact of ICT and Digital Resources ConferenceRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Estudio farmacológico y fitoquímico de dos especies de salandra nativas de México

A pharmacological and phytochemical sreening study of two species of Solandra native of Mexico is reported due to their indigenous use in traditional medicine. Water extracts of flowers of S. nítida and barks of S. guerrerense have marked anticholinergic effectis inhibiting acetiylicholine induced contraction of the smooth muscle of isolated ileum of guinea pig and depressing EEG activity in rats after intraperitoneal injection. By gas chromatography and NMR spectrometry the prodomine is abundant in S. nítida flowers, vhile Hyoscyamine is the mayin alkaloid in S. guerrerense bark. The presence of these tropane alkaloids in Solandra extracts and popular use of the plants for ceremonial and medicinal procedures is discussed.Se realizó un screening farmacológico y fitoquírnico de dos especies de Solandra que se usan en México con propósitos medicinales y rituales. Los extractos de flores de S. nítida y de cortezas de S. guerrerense contienen escopolamina e hiosciamina respectivamente como alcaloides predominantes. El efecto anticolinérgico de los extractos acuosos de estas plantas se estudió en el íleon aislado del cobayo y su efecto sedante del sistema nervioso central en la rata implantada con electrodos y sometida a estímulos dolorosos. El uso como psicotrópico que se hace de estas especies se explica como una consecuencia de la intoxicación que producen los extractos administrados por vía oral. Se discute el papel de la acetilcolina y los alcaloides del tropano en la acción anestésica local atribuida a estas plantas

New Host-plant Records For Neotropical Agromyzids (diptera: Agromyzidae) From Asteraceae Flower Heads

Agromyzidae is a large and cosmopolitan fly family with approximately 2,500 known species. Here we present 22 new records of agromyzid-host plant associations. Plants were sampled from 2002 to 2005 in São Paulo state, Brazil. A total of eight agromyzid species were reared from 18 Asteraceae host species. The genus Melanagromyza Hendel was the commonest. This is the first detailed study reporting associations between non-leafmining Agromyzidae and their host plants in Brazil.3719799Almeida, A.M., C.R. Fonsceca, P.I. Prado, M. Almeida Neto, S. Diniz, U. Kubota, M.R. Braun, R.L.G. Raimundo, L.A. Anjos, T.G. Mendonça, S.M. Futada & T.M. Lewinsohn. 2005. Diversidade e ocorrência de Asteraceae em cerrados de São Paulo. Biota Neotrop. 5: http://www.biotaneotropica. org.br/v5n2/pt/abstract?article+BN00105022005 . ISSN 1676-0603Andersen, A., Sjursen, H., Rafoss, T., Biodiversity of Agromizydae (Diptera) and biologically and conventionally grown spring barley and grass field (2004) Biol. Agric. Hortic, 22, pp. 143-155Benavent-Corai, J., Martinez, M., Jimenez Peydró, R., Catalogue of the host-plants of the world Agromyzidae (Diptera) (2005) Boll. Zool. Agrar. Bachic. Serie II, 37, pp. 1-97Bremer, K., (1994) Asteraceae: Cladistics and classification, , Timber Press, Portland, 752pChen, X., Lang, F., Xu, Z., He, J., Ma, Y., The occurrence of leafminers and their parasitoids on vegetables and weeds in Hangzhou area, Southeast China (2003) BioControl, 48, pp. 515-527Eiten, G., Cerrado vegetation of Brazil (1972) Bot. Rev, 38, pp. 201-341Fonseca, C.R., Prado, P.I., Almeida Neto, M., Kubota, U., Lewinsohn, T.M., Flower heads, herbivores, and their parasitoids: Food web structure along a fertility gradient (2005) Ecol. Entomol, 30, pp. 36-46Gagné, R.J., (1994) The gall midges of the Neotropical region, , Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, 352pLewinsohn, T.M. 1991. Insects in flower heads of Asteraceae in southeast Brazil: a case study on tropical species richness, p.525-560. In P.W. Price, T.M. Lewinsohn, G.W. Fernandes & W.W. Benson (eds.). Plant-animal interactions: Evolutionary ecology in tropical and temperate regions. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 639pLewinsohn, T.M., Novotny, V., Basset, Y., Insects on plants: Diversity of herbivore assemblages revisited (2005) Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst, 36, pp. 597-620Schuster, D.J., Gilreath, J.P., Wharton, R.A., Seymour, P.R., Agromyzidae (Diptera) leafminers and their parasitoids in weeds associated with potato in Florida (1991) Environ. Entomol, 20, pp. 720-723Spencer, K.A., Notes on the Neotropical Agromyzidae (Diptera) (1966) Pap. Avulsos Zool, 19, pp. 142-150Spencer, K.A., The Agromyzidae of Canada and Alaska (1969) Mem. Entomol. Soc. Can, 64, pp. 1-311Spencer, K.A. 1973a. Agromyzidae (Diptera) of economic importance. Dr. W. Junk B. V. The Hague, Serie Entomologica, 418pSpencer, K.A., The Agromyzidae (Diptera) of Venezuela. Rev. Fac. Agrom (1973), pp. 5-107. , Mar. VIIISpencer, K.A., (1990) Host specialization in the world Agromyzidae, , Diptera, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 444pSpencer, K.A. 1996. Australasian/Oceanian Diptera Catalog - Web Version. URL: http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/aocat/agromyzidae.html. Accessed in 12/09/2006Spencer, K.A. & C.E. Stegmaier. 1973. Arthropods of Florida (EUA) and neighboring land areas, v. 7. Agromyzidae of Florida (USA) with a Supplement on Species from the Caribbean. Fla. Dep. Agri. Cons. Serv., Gainesville, 205pSpencer, K.A. & G.C. Steyskal. 1986. Manual of the Agromyzidae (Diptera) of the United States. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook. n. 638. Washington, U.S.ASpencer, K.A., Martinez, M., Etienne, J., Les Agromyzidae (Diptera) de Guadeloupe. (1992) Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr, 28, pp. 251-302Zwölfer, H. 1988. Species richness, species packing, and evolution in insect-plant systems, p.301-319. In E.D. Schulze & H. Zwölfer (eds.), Potentials and limitations of ecosystem analysis. Springer-Verlag. Berlin, 435

Neural network interpolation of the magnetic field for the LISA Pathfinder Diagnostics Subsystem

LISA Pathfinder is a science and technology demonstrator of the European Space Agency within the framework of its LISA mission, which aims to be the first space-borne gravitational wave observatory. The payload of LISA Pathfinder is the so-called LISA Technology Package, which is designed to measure relative accelerations between two test masses in nominal free fall. Its disturbances are monitored and dealt by the diagnostics subsystem. This subsystem consists of several modules, and one of these is the magnetic diagnostics system, which includes a set of four tri-axial fluxgate magnetometers, intended to measure with high precision the magnetic field at the positions of the test masses. However, since the magnetometers are located far from the positions of the test masses, the magnetic field at their positions must be interpolated. It has been recently shown that because there are not enough magnetic channels, classical interpolation methods fail to derive reliable measurements at the positions of the test masses, while neural network interpolation can provide the required measurements at the desired accuracy. In this paper we expand these studies and we assess the reliability and robustness of the neural network interpolation scheme for variations of the locations and possible offsets of the magnetometers, as well as for changes in environmental conditions. We find that neural networks are robust enough to derive accurate measurements of the magnetic field at the positions of the test masses in most circumstances