Antibodies to the Mr 64,000 (64K) protein in islet cell antibody positive non-diabetic individuals indicate high risk for impaired Beta-cell function

A prospective study of a normal childhood population identified 44 islet cell antibody positive individuals. These subjects were typed for HLA DR and DQ alleles and investigated for the presence of antibodies to the Mr 64,000 (64K) islet cell antigen, complement-fixing islet cell antibodies and radiobinding insulin autoantibodies to determine their potency in detecting subjects with impaired Beta-cell function. At initial testing 64K antibodies were found in six of 44 islet cell antibody positive subjects (13.6%). The same sera were also positive for complement-fixing islet cell antibodies and five of them had insulin autoantibodies. During the follow-up at 18 months, islet cell antibodies remained detectable in 50% of the subjects studied. In all six cases who were originally positive, 64K antibodies were persistently detectable, whereas complement-fixing islet cell antibodies became negative in two of six and insulin autoantibodies in one of five individuals. HLA DR4 (p < 0.005) and absence of asparic acid (Asp) at position 57 of the HLA DQ chain (p < 0.05) were significantly increased in subjects with 64K antibodies compared with control subjects. Of 40 individuals tested in the intravenous glucose tolerance test, three had a first phase insulin response below the first percentile of normal control subjects. Two children developed Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus after 18 and 26 months, respectively. Each of these subjects was non-Asp homozygous and had persistent islet cell and 64K antibodies. We conclude that 64K antibodies, complement-fixing islet cell antibodies and insulin autoantibodies represent sensitive serological markers in assessing high risk for a progression to Type 1 diabetes in islet cell antibody positive non-diabetic individuals

Time-resolved spectroscopy of multi-excitonic decay in an InAs quantum dot

The multi-excitonic decay process in a single InAs quantum dot is studied through high-resolution time-resolved spectroscopy. A cascaded emission sequence involving three spectral lines is seen that is described well over a wide range of pump powers by a simple model. The measured biexcitonic decay rate is about 1.5 times the single-exciton decay rate. This ratio suggests the presence of selection rules, as well as a significant effect of the Coulomb interaction on the biexcitonic wavefunction.Comment: one typo fixe

Características sensoriais da carne de cordeiros Morada Nova submetidos a dietas com diferentes níveis de farelo de castanha de caju.

Utilizou-se dezenove cordeiras Morada Nova, alimentadas com níveis crescentes de inclusão de farelo de castanha de caju (0, 3, 6 e 9%), abatidas ao atingirem peso médio de 20 kg e avaliadas suas características sensoriais de dureza, suculência, aroma, sabor e aceitação global, através de um painel com 10 julgadores treinados. Sendo observada diferença somente para os atributos cor e sabor, com a dieta com 6% de farelo de castanha de caju apresentado as maiores médias. Assim, a adição de farelo de castanha de caju na dieta de cordeiros Morada Nova influencia as características sensoriais de cor e sabor da carne, à medida que o nível de inclusão é elevado. Sensorial characteristics of the Morada Nova lambs meat submitted to diets with different levels of inclusion of cashew nut meal. Abstract: Nineteen lambs Morada Nova, fed with increasing levels of inclusion of cashew nut meal (0, 3, 6 and 9%) to reach slaughter body weight of 20 kg and to evaluate for their sensorial characteristic of tenderness, succulence, odour, flavor and global acceptance by a panel of 10 trained judges. Difference was observed only for color and flavor, in the diet with 6% of cashew nut meal presented the highest averages. Thus, the addition of cashew nut meal in the diet of Morada Nova lambs influence the sensorial characteristics of color and flavor of meat, as that the level inclusion is high

Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem Cells as a Treatment for Aging Frailty

As life expectancy is projected to increase in the ensuing decades, individuals of older age continue to exceed the previous generation’s lifespan. Advancing age is associated with a reduction in physical and mental functional capacity, and chronic inflammation is a major factor contributing to this decline. A heightened inflammatory state can lead to exhaustion, weakness, weight loss, slow gate speed, and an overall decrease in activity level. These phenotypes define the onset of the disease process known as frailty. Frailty is a growing epidemic, which severely undermines a person’s ability to deal with outside stressors, and increases their rate of hospitalization, institutionalization, and mortality. Current interventions focus on preventative care by improving exercise capacity, strength, nutritional supplementation, diet, and mobility. However, a biological cure has heretofore remained elusive. Here, we introduce the novel therapeutic principle that mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy may represent a safe, practical, and efficacious both the treatment and prevention of frailty in individuals of advancing age. To date, a phase I safety trial reveals an excellent safety profile and suggests that mesenchymal stem cells can ameliorate signs and symptoms of frailty. These early studies lay the groundwork for future large-scale clinical trials of this exciting and novel therapeutic concept that has the potential to expand health span in the aging population

Características qualitativas da carcaça de cordeiros terminados em pastagem nativa da Caatinga, submetidos a diferentes suplementações de sal mineral.

Resumo: Objetivou-se determinar as características qualitativas da carcaça de cordeiros terminados em pastagem nativa da caatinga submetidos a diferentes suplementações de sal mineral. Foram utilizados 24 ovinos em terminação mestiços Santa Inês, distribuídos em um delineamento inteiramente casualizado, em três tratamentos, conforme as seguintes suplementações de sal mineral: sal mineral comercial (SALMINC), sal mineral comercial acrescido de 750 ppm de zinco animal-1 (SALMINCZn) e sal comercial com fornecimento de 2,5 ml por peso vivo metabólico (PV)0,75 animal-1 de propilenoglicol (SALMINCPeg), com oito repetições cada. Foram avaliadas as caracteristicas cor, área de olho de lombo/gabarito (cm2), área de olho de lombo/fórmula (cm2), espessura de gordura (mm), marmoreio da gordura (1-5), distribuição do marmoreio da gordura (1-3), textura da carne (1-5), textura da gordura (1-5). A única variável que diferiu entre os tratamentos avaliados foi a espessura de gordura (P<0,05). Os cordeiros que foram suplementados com sal mineral acrescido de 750 ppm de zinco apresentaram maior espessura de gordura. O uso de sal mineral com adição de Zinco influenciou na obtenção de uma maior espessura de gordura na carcaça de ovinos. [Qualitative carcass characteristics of lambs finished in native pasture of the Caatinga submitted to differents supplementations of mineral salt]. Abstract: The aim was to determine the qualitative characteristics of the carcass of lambs finished on native pasture of the Caatinga submitted to differents mineral salt supplementations. Were used 24 crossbred sheep Santa Ines in termination, distributed in a completely randomized design, with three treatments, according to the following supplements of mineral salt: commercial mineral salt (SALMINC), commercial mineral salt plus 750 ppm of zinc per animal-1 (SALMINCZn) and commercial mineral salt supply with 2.5 ml of propylene glycol per metabolic body weight (BW)0.75 animal-1 (SALMINCPeg), with eight replicates each. Were evaluated the characteristics of color, rib eye area/feedblack (cm2), rib eye area /formula (cm2), fat thickness (mm), marbling fat (1-5), distribution of marbling fat were evaluated (1-3), texture of meat (1-5), texture of fat (1-5). The only variable that differed among the treatments was the fat thickness (P <0.05). The lambs were supplemented with mineral salt plus zinc had greater fat thickness. The use of mineral salt added with zinc had influenced in getting of higher thickness carcass fat of sheep

Continuation-Passing C: compiling threads to events through continuations

In this paper, we introduce Continuation Passing C (CPC), a programming language for concurrent systems in which native and cooperative threads are unified and presented to the programmer as a single abstraction. The CPC compiler uses a compilation technique, based on the CPS transform, that yields efficient code and an extremely lightweight representation for contexts. We provide a proof of the correctness of our compilation scheme. We show in particular that lambda-lifting, a common compilation technique for functional languages, is also correct in an imperative language like C, under some conditions enforced by the CPC compiler. The current CPC compiler is mature enough to write substantial programs such as Hekate, a highly concurrent BitTorrent seeder. Our benchmark results show that CPC is as efficient, while using significantly less space, as the most efficient thread libraries available.Comment: Higher-Order and Symbolic Computation (2012). arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1202.324

Luminescence from highly excited nanorings: Luttinger liquid description

We study theoretically the luminescence from quantum dots of a ring geometry. For high excitation intensities, photoexcited electrons and holes form Fermi seas. Close to the emission threshold, the single-particle spectral lines aquire weak many-body satellites. However, away from the threshold, the discrete luminescence spectrum is completely dominated by many-body transitions. We employ the Luttinger liquid approach to exactly calculate the intensities of all many-body spectral lines. We find that the transition from single-particle to many-body structure of the emission spectrum is governed by a single parameter and that the distribution of peaks away from the threshold is universal.Comment: 10 pages including 2 figure

CoRoT\,102699796, the first metal-poor Herbig Ae pulsator: a hybrid δ\delta Sct-γ\gamma Dor variable?

We present the analysis of the time series observations of CoRoT\,102699796 obtained by the CoRoT satellite that show the presence of five independent oscillation frequencies in the range 3.6-5 c/d. Using spectra acquired with FLAMES@VLT, we derive the following stellar parameters: spectral type F1V, T$_{\rm eff}$=7000$\pm$200 K, log(g)=$3.8\pm0.4$, [M/H]=$-1.1\pm0.2$, $v$sin$i$=$50\pm5$ km/s, L/L$_{\odot}$=21$^{+21}_{-11}$. Thus, for the first time we report the existence of a metal poor, intermediate-mass PMS pulsating star. Ground-based and satellite data are used to derive the spectral energy distribution of CoRoT\,102699796 extending from the optical to mid-infrared wavelengths. The SED shows a significant IR excess at wavelengths greater than $\sim5 \mu$. We conclude that CoRoT\,102699796 is a young Herbig Ae (F1Ve) star with a transitional disk, likely associated to the HII region [FT96]213.1-2.2. The pulsation frequencies have been interpreted in the light of the non-radial pulsation theory, using the LOSC code in conjunction with static and rotational evolutionary tracks. A minimization algorithm was used to find the best-fit model with M=1.84 M$_{\odot}$, T$_{\rm eff}$=6900 K which imply an isochronal age of t$\sim$2.5 Myr. This result is based on the interpretation of the detected frequencies as $g$-modes of low-moderate $n$-value. To our knowledge, this is the first time that such modes are identified in a intermediate-mass PMS pulsating star. Since CoRoT\,102699796 lies in the region of the HR diagram where the $\delta$ Sct and $\gamma$ Dor instability strips intersect, we argue that the observed pulsation characteristics are intermediate between these classes of variables, i.e. CoRoT\,102699796 is likely the first PMS hybrid $\gamma$ Dor-$\delta$ Sct pulsator ever studied.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the RA

Theoretical interpretation of the experimental electronic structure of lens shaped, self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots

We adopt an atomistic pseudopotential description of the electronic structure of self-assembled, lens shaped InAs quantum dots within the ``linear combination of bulk bands'' method. We present a detailed comparison with experiment, including quantites such as the single particle electron and hole energy level spacings, the excitonic band gap, the electron-electron, hole-hole and electron hole Coulomb energies and the optical polarization anisotropy. We find a generally good agreement, which is improved even further for a dot composition where some Ga has diffused into the dots.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to Physical Review