In vitro Antifungal Activity of Baccharis trimera Less (DC) Essential Oil against Dermatophytes

Purpose: To identify the main components of the essential oil (EO) of Baccharis trimera Less and investigate their in vitro antifungal activity against seven fungal strains that cause onychomycosis.Methods: The chemical composition of EO was determined using gas chromatography, and its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC), and antifungal activity were compared with those of terbinafine and ketoconazole. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate morphological changes in the strains of interest.Results: Twenty compounds, with β-pinene being the major constituent (23.4 %), were identified in EO. EO exhibited fungicide potential, with MFC values in the range of 0.06 to 125 μg mL−1, which were lower than those of the reference drugs against Trichophyton rubrum CCT 5507 URM1666 and Microsporum canis ATCC 32903. MIC range for the compounds was from 0.03 to 125 μg mL−1 for five strains of the fungi evaluated. For Trichophyton mentagrophytes ATCC 11481 and Epidermophyton floccosum CCFIOC 3757, MIC was ≥ 1000 μg mL−1. Flattening, distortions, and shrinkage were observed in the SEM images of structures of the five fungal species that were subjected to the action of the EO.Conclusion: The results indicate that EO has antifungal activity against filamentous fungi and may be developed as an alternative for the treatment of onychomycosis.Keywords: Baccharis trimera, Fungi, Onychomycosis, Dermatophytes, Antifunga

Vineyard microclimate and yield under different plastic covers.

The use of plastic cover in vineyards minimizes effects of adverse weather conditions. The northwest of São Paulo State is one of the largest grape producing regions in Brazil; however, few studies investigate the effects of different plastic covers on vineyards in this region. This study compared the effect of black shading screen (BSS) and braided polypropylene film (BPF) on BRS Morena vineyard microclimate, grown on an overhead trellis system in the northwestern São Paulo. The experiments were carried out during three growing seasons (2012 ? 2014). BSS allowed superior incoming solar radiation (SR) transmissivity, resulting in higher net radiation (Rn), and higher ratio between photosynthetically active (PAR) and SR. No differences were observed between the average air temperatures (T) and relative humidity (RH) of covered environments (BPF and BSS) and outside condition (automatic weather station ? AWS), due to high air circulation, despite wind speed (WS) reduction caused by plastic covers. BPF provided better conditions for vineyard growth with higher fruit yield than vineyard under BSS regarding the number of shoots with bunches per plant, bunch and stem weights, longitudinal diameter of berries, quantity of fertile buds per shoot, and yield per shoot and per plant. BPF covers also influenced leaf size and growth speed of plants in vineyards. Keywords Black shading screen . Braided polypropylene film . BRS Morena . Leaf wetness duration . Yiel

X-ray emission from the Sombrero galaxy: discrete sources

We present a study of discrete X-ray sources in and around the bulge-dominated, massive Sa galaxy, Sombrero (M104), based on new and archival Chandra observations with a total exposure of ~200 ks. With a detection limit of L_X = 1E37 erg/s and a field of view covering a galactocentric radius of ~30 kpc (11.5 arcminute), 383 sources are detected. Cross-correlation with Spitler et al.'s catalogue of Sombrero globular clusters (GCs) identified from HST/ACS observations reveals 41 X-rays sources in GCs, presumably low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). We quantify the differential luminosity functions (LFs) for both the detected GC and field LMXBs, whose power-low indices (~1.1 for the GC-LF and ~1.6 for field-LF) are consistent with previous studies for elliptical galaxies. With precise sky positions of the GCs without a detected X-ray source, we further quantify, through a fluctuation analysis, the GC LF at fainter luminosities down to 1E35 erg/s. The derived index rules out a faint-end slope flatter than 1.1 at a 2 sigma significance, contrary to recent findings in several elliptical galaxies and the bulge of M31. On the other hand, the 2-6 keV unresolved emission places a tight constraint on the field LF, implying a flattened index of ~1.0 below 1E37 erg/s. We also detect 101 sources in the halo of Sombrero. The presence of these sources cannot be interpreted as galactic LMXBs whose spatial distribution empirically follows the starlight. Their number is also higher than the expected number of cosmic AGNs (52+/-11 [1 sigma]) whose surface density is constrained by deep X-ray surveys. We suggest that either the cosmic X-ray background is unusually high in the direction of Sombrero, or a distinct population of X-ray sources is present in the halo of Sombrero.Comment: 11 figures, 5 tables, ApJ in pres

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

CMS Data Processing Workflows during an Extended Cosmic Ray Run

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Aligning the CMS Muon Chambers with the Muon Alignment System during an Extended Cosmic Ray Run

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