Characterization of the virulence, growth temperature and antibiotic resistance of the Campylobacter jejuni IAL 2383 strain isolated from humans

The objective of this study was to characterize the C. jejuni IAL2383 strain isolated from humans in Brazil. Transcripts for the racR, dnaJ and ciaB genes were found and flaA, plda and cadF genes were present in the genome and bacteria was sensitive to most of the important antimicrobials used to treat humans. C. jejuni IAL2383 is a good experimental model to analyze the interactions with cells

Produtividade E Qualidade De Cultivares De Batata Para Industrialização Na Forma De Batata-palha E Chips

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Brazilian market of potato processing has presented expressive development in recent years. However,its expansion is constrained by raw material supply suitable for industrial processing. Selection of adequate cultivars contributes to final product cost reduction as well as its yield and quality improvement. The research aimed to study tuber yield and evaluate its frying potential for shoestrings and chips,of potato cultivars recently introduced in Brazil. Nine potato cultivars (Arizona,Caruso,Destiny,Excelence,Saviola,Agata,Almera,Fontane and Markies) were assessed in an experiment carried out between January and May,2013,in South-West region of Minas Gerais State,Brazil. ‘Arizona’ and ‘Caruso’ cultivars exhibited superior productive potential and along with ‘Markies’ the highest production of marketable tubers. ‘Caruso’ and ‘Destiny’ produced more than 20% of dry matter and the lowest reducing sugar levels. ‘Caruso’ exhibited the highest frying yield in both processing shapes and absorbed less fat as shoestring. ‘Destiny’ absorbed less fat when processed as chips. ‘Excelence’ presented intermediary performance for every evaluated attribute. ‘Caruso’,‘Destiny’,and ‘Excelence’ produced chips with appropriate color for market. Among the assessed cultivars,‘Caruso’,‘Destiny’,and ‘Excelence’ were the most promising. These cultivars demonstrated appropriate processing ability in the shape of shoestrings. ‘Destiny’ could also be indicated to be processed as chips. © 2016,Sociedade de Olericultura do Brasil. All rights reserved.344554560CNPq, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e TecnológicoFAPEMIG, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas GeraisFAPESP, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São PauloConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Electromagnetic form factors of light vector mesons

The electromagnetic form factors G_E(q^2), G_M(q^2), and G_Q(q^2), charge radii, magnetic and quadrupole moments, and decay widths of the light vector mesons rho^+, K^{*+} and K^{*0} are calculated in a Lorentz-covariant, Dyson-Schwinger equation based model using algebraic quark propagators that incorporate confinement, asymptotic freedom, and dynamical chiral symmetry breaking, and vector meson Bethe-Salpeter amplitudes closely related to the pseudoscalar amplitudes obtained from phenomenological studies of pi and K mesons. Calculated static properties of vector mesons include the charge radii and magnetic moments: r_{rho+} = 0.61 fm, r_{K*+} = 0.54 fm, and r^2_{K*0} = -0.048 fm^2; mu_{rho+} = 2.69, mu_{K*+} = 2.37, and mu_{K*0} = -0.40. The calculated static limits of the rho-meson form factors are similar to those obtained from light-front quantum mechanical calculations, but begin to differ above q^2 = 1 GeV^2 due to the dynamical evolution of the quark propagators in our approach.Comment: 8 pages of RevTeX, 5 eps figure

Predictive value of lymphocytopenia and the neutrophil-lymphocyte count ratio for severe imported malaria

Background: Lymphocytopenia has frequently been described in patients with malaria, but studies on its association with disease severity have yielded conflicting results. The neutrophil/lymphocyte count ratio (NLCR) has been introduced as a parameter for systemic inflammation in critically ill patients and was found, together with lymphocytopenia, to be a better predictor of bacteraemia than routine parameters like C-reactive protein and total leukocyte count. In the present study, the predictive value of the NLCR and lymphocytopenia for severe disease was evaluated in patients with imported malaria. Methods. All patients diagnosed with malaria at the Harbour Hospital between January 1§ssup§st§esup§ 1999 and January 1§ssup§st§esup§ 2012 with differential white cell counts determined within the first 24 hours after admission were included in this retrospective study. Severe malaria was defined according to the WHO criteria. The performance of the NLCR and lymphocytopenia as a marker of severe malarial disease was compared back-to-back with that of C-reactive protein as a reference biomarker. Results: A total of 440 patients (severe falciparum malaria n = 61, non-severe falciparum malaria n = 259, non-falciparum malaria n=120) were included in the study. Lymphocytopenia was present in 52% of all patients and the median NLCR of all patients was 3.2. Total lymphocyte counts and NLCR did not differ significantly between groups. A significant correlation of total leukocyte count and NLCR, but not lymphocyte count, with parasitaemia was found. ROC analysis revealed a good negative predictive value but a poor positive predictive value of both lymphocytopenia and NLCR and performance was inferior to that of C-reactive protein. After complete parasite clearance a significant rise in total leukocyte count and lymphocyte count and a significant decrease in NLCR was observed. Conclusion: The NLCR was found to correlate with parasitaemia, but b

Caracterização da cadeia produtiva de brássicas no Brasil

Brassica crops worldwide provide the greatest diversity of products used by man derived from a single genus. Collectively, leafy, flower and root vegetables can be eaten fresh, cooked and processed. The production of these vegetables in Brazil has been growing exponentially in the last decades, due to its economic importance, with major production volumes in several states and a quick monetary return for growers in areas considered of small acreage. With expansion, a number of aspects, including demands for quality and safety of these foods introduce themselves, strictly attached to the forms of production, logistics and their appearance. To meet the challenges and list the trends within the activities of different agents, a multiple case study was held in the states of Amazon, Minas Gerais, Paraná and Rio de Janeiro. Altogether, 55 stakeholders were interviewed, along with the compilation of different sources of data to characterize this productive chain. Changes in the scenario are imperative in order to maintain the activity of overcoming years, being related to cultivars adaptation, plant health, productions costs and difficulties during the establishment of crops. To overcome these adversities, a collective effort in terms of organization, technology transfer and R&D from official and private agents, technical assistance, and regional sanitary inspection is imperative, aiming, especially, in actions regarding themes like protected cultivation, mechanization/automation and adding value to products by processing and packaging, listed by stakeholders as priority. © 2019, Sociedade de Olericultura do Brasil. All rights reserved

Thermodynamics of Crossover from Weak- to Strong-Coupling Superconductivity

In this paper we study an evolution of low-temperature thermodynamical quantities for an electron gas with a $\delta$-function attraction as the system crosses over from weak-coupling (BCS-type) to strong-coupling (Bose-type) superconductivity in three and two dimensions.Comment: Replaced with journal version. Insignificant presentation changes. Links to related papers are also available at the author home page http://www.teorfys.uu.se/PEOPLE/egor

Superconducting fluctuations and the Nernst effect: A diagrammatic approach

We calculate the contribution of superconducting fluctuations above the critical temperature $T_c$ to the transverse thermoelectric response $\alpha_{xy}$, the quantity central to the analysis of the Nernst effect. The calculation is carried out within the microscopic picture of BCS, and to linear order in magnetic field. We find that as $T \to T_c$, the dominant contribution to $\alpha_{xy}$ arises from the Aslamazov-Larkin diagrams, and is equal to the result previously obtained from a stochastic time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation [Ussishkin, Sondhi, and Huse, arXiv:cond-mat/0204484]. We present an argument which establishes this correspondence for the heat current. Other microscopic contributions, which generalize the Maki-Thompson and density of states terms for the conductivity, are less divergent as $T \to T_c$.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

A nonlinear hydrodynamical approach to granular materials

We propose a nonlinear hydrodynamical model of granular materials. We show how this model describes the formation of a sand pile from a homogeneous distribution of material under gravity, and then discuss a simulation of a rotating sandpile which shows, in qualitative agreement with experiment, a static and dynamic angle of repose.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, RevTeX4; minor changes to wording and some additional discussion. Accepted by Phys. Rev.