On the p,qp,q-binomial distribution and the Ising model

A completely new approach to the Ising model in 1 to 5 dimensions is developed. We employ $p,q$-binomial coefficients, a generalisation of the binomial coefficients, to describe the magnetisation distributions of the Ising model. For the complete graph this distribution corresponds exactly to the limit case $p=q$. We take our investigation to the simple $d$-dimensional lattices for $d=1,2,3,4,5$ and fit $p,q$-binomial distributions to our data, some of which are exact but most are sampled. For $d=1$ and $d=5$ the magnetisation distributions are remarkably well-fitted by $p,q$-binomial distributions. For $d=4$ we are only slightly less successful, while for $d=2,3$ we see some deviations (with exceptions!) between the $p,q$-binomial and the Ising distribution. We begin the paper by giving results on the behaviour of the $p,q$-distribution and its moment growth exponents given a certain parameterization of $p,q$. Since the moment exponents are known for the Ising model (or at least approximately for $d=3$) we can predict how $p,q$ should behave and compare this to our measured $p,q$. The results speak in favour of the $p,q$-binomial distribution's correctness regarding their general behaviour in comparison to the Ising model. The full extent to which they correctly model the Ising distribution is not settled though.Comment: 51 pages, 23 figures, submitted to PRB on Oct 23 200

Antimicrobial activity of essential oils of Lamiaceae aromatic spices towards sheep mastitis-causing Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis

Mastitis in ewes is responsible for massive economic losses. Antibiotics are routinely used for mastitis control but its excessive use leads to development of antibiotic resistance with deleterious outcomes both for animal and public health. Essential oils (EOs) show antibacterial proprieties and no resistance has been reported after prolonged exposure; however their efficacy depends on their chemical composition. In this study EOs chemical composition from four autochthonous aromatic herbs, from Alentejo region, southern Portugal, Calamintha nepeta subsp. nepeta, Lavandula stoechas subsp. luisieri, Rosmarinus oficinalis and Thymus mastichina was accessed. EOs of R. officinalis showed predominance in monoterpene hydrocarbons (63%) whereas EOs of T. mastichina, L. luisieri and C. nepeta were rich in oxygenated monoterpenes (71-95%). The antimicrobial activity of selected EOs was investigated towards Staphylococcus aureus (n= 24) and Staphylococcus epidermidis isolates (n= 24) from ovine mastitic milk origin. Results of disk diffusion assay revealed that C. nepeta, L. stoechas and T. mastichina EOs are highly active against both S. aureus and S. epidermidis strains, whereas R. officinalis EO is highly active against S. aureus strains but inactive against several S. epidermidis isolates. EOs concentration causing bacterial growth inhibition ranged from 500 to 4,000 µg mL-1 in liquid microassays

Methionine Adenosyltransferase I/III Deficiency in Portugal: High Frequency of a Dominantly Inherited Form in a Small Area of Douro High Lands

Methionine adenosyltransferase deficienc(MAT I/III deficiency) is an inborn error of metabolism resulting in isolated hypermethioninemia, and usually inherited as an autosomal recessive trait, although a dominant form has been reported in several families. During the last 6 years, approximately 520,000 newborns were screened in the Portuguese Newborn Screening Laboratory by MS/MS, and 21 cases of persistent hypermethioninemia were found. One case was confirmed to be a deficiency of cystathionine b-synthase and 20 cases were confirmed by MAT1A gene analysis to have an elevation of methionine due to MAT I/III deficiency, which indicates an incidence for this condition of 1/26,000. Twelve of the MAT I/III deficient newborns, belonging to 11 families, were identified in the northern region of Portugal and sent to the same treatment center, where they are under follow-up. Clinical, biochemical, and genetic characteristics of individuals from these 11 families are presented. Plasma methionine and homocysteine concentrations were found to be moderately increased in all newborns, and molecular analysis revealed that they all were heterozygous for R264H mutation. Normal growth,development, and neurological examination were observed in all cases, and cerebral MRI performed in six cases revealed myelination abnormalities in one case. Plasma methionine concentration for all 12 cases was always below 300 mM, and they are all on a normal diet for their age

Comparison of antiproliferative effect of epigallocatechin gallate when loaded into cationic solid lipid nanoparticles against different cell lines

Several therapeutic properties have been attributed to epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a phytopharmaceutical polyphenol with antioxidant and antiproliferative activity. EGCG is however very prone to oxidation in aqueous solutions which changes its bioactive properties. Its loading in nanoparticles has been proposed to reduce its degradation while increasing its in vivo efficacy. The aim of this study was to compare the antiproliferative effect of EGCG before and after its loading in solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), against five different cell lines (Caco-2, HepG2, MCF-7, SV-80 and Y-79). EGCG produced concentration- and time-dependent antiproliferative effect, with eficacy dependent on the cell line. The order of potency was: MCF-7?>?SV-80?>?HepG2?>?Y-79?>?Caco-2, for 24h exposure (MCF-7 IC50=58.60?±?3.29 µg/mL; Caco-2 IC50>500.00 µg/mL). To the best of our knowledge this is the first study reporting EGCG antiproliferative effect in SV-80 and Y-79 cells. DDAB-SLN physicochemical properties (size ?134nm; PI?0.179; ZP ?+28mV) were only slightly modified with EGCG loading (EGCG-DDAB-SLN: ?144nm; PI?0.160; ZP ?+26mV). EGCG loadingin SLN, only slightly increases the EGCG antiproliferative effect in MCF-7 and SV-80 cells. SLN exhibited intrinsic toxicity, attributed to the surfactant used in its production. From the obtained results, the biocompatibility of blank SLN must be also considered when testing the efficacy of loaded phytopharmaceutics.The financial support was received from Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) under the project UID/AGR/04033/2019 (CITAB). FCT is also acknowledge for the grants SFRH/BD/80335/2011 (JF) and SFRH/BD/60640/2009 (TA).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Efetividade da terapia com Florais de Bach / Effectiveness of Bach Florals therapy

As Terapias Integrativas compreendem um grupo de práticas de atenção à saúde não alopáticas que englobam atividades como a acupuntura, naturopatia, fitoterapia, meditação, reiki e florais. Estas terapias procuram atender ao indivíduo de forma holística, baseado na confiança e no vínculo terapeuta / usuário. A Organização Mundial da Saúde, através do documento “Estratégia da OMS sobre Medicina Tradicional 2002-2005”, vem estimulando o uso destas terapias de forma racional, segura, eficaz e com qualidade. Florais de Bach são essências energéticas extraídas de flores que tem como objetivo transformar estados mentais e emocionais negativos em positivos. Supostamente curam emoções, como o medo, a angústia, a ansiedade entre outros problemas emocionais. Objetivou-se compreender os benefícios dos florais e o poder das terapias alternativas. Tratando-se de uma pesquisa do tipo bibliográfica realizada com a utilização de livros, artigos científicos já publicados através da busca no banco de dados do scielo, Pubmed e da bireme, a partir das fontes Medline e Lilacs e periódicos. Conclui-se que é um sistema médico-terapêutico que utiliza preparações florais, cujo campo de ação se limita às características psicoemocionais dos pacientes, podendo atuar de forma abrangente tanto nas doenças psicológicas quanto nas orgânicas. Sua principal contribuição consiste em conectar as causas físicas da doença às alterações mentais e emocionais dos pacientes

Addressing drinking water salinity due to sea water intrusion in Praia de Leste, Parana, by a brackish water desalination pilot plant

Seawater intrusion into the Pombas River, source of freshwater to Praia de Leste on the coast of Parana in Brazil presents a problem to the water utility as most water treatment plants in Brazil are conventional. To find a solution to this problem, a pilot plant (1 m3 /h) consisting of ultrafiltration (UF) followed by reverse osmosis (RO) was developed and evaluated. For testing, brackish water was produced with a concentration of 1,500 ± 100 mg/L of total dissolved solids (TDS), mixing seawater and fresh water. To evaluate the water quality, TDS, electrical conductivity, pH, temperature, apparent color, turbidity, alkalinity, total hardness, calcium, chloride and sulfate were monitored. For operational performance, flowrates, osmotic pressure, filtration rate, recovery rate and mass balance were analyzed. On average, the UF system removed 96.4% of turbidity and 98.6% of apparent color; whereas the RO system removed 99.4% of TDS. The overall average recovery (UF and RO) was 45.81% with average osmotic pressure of 8.21 bar, filtration rate of 30.7 L/h/m2 in the UF system and 21.7 L/h/m2 in the RO system. From a water quality point of view, the system was effective in processing brackish into fresh water of high quality

Utility of Gene Panels for the Diagnosis of Inborn Errors of Metabolism in a Metabolic Reference Center

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have been proposed as a first-line test for the diagnosis of inborn errors of metabolism (IEM), a group of genetically heterogeneous disorders with overlapping or nonspecific phenotypes. Over a 3-year period, we prospectively analyzed 311 pediatric patients with a suspected IEM using four targeted gene panels. The rate of positive diagnosis was 61.86% for intermediary metabolism defects, 32.84% for complex molecular defects, 19% for hypoglycemic/hyperglycemic events, and 17% for mitochondrial diseases, and a conclusive molecular diagnosis was established in 2-4 weeks. Forty-one patients for whom negative results were obtained with the mitochondrial diseases panel underwent subsequent analyses using the NeuroSeq panel, which groups all genes from the individual panels together with genes associated with neurological disorders (1870 genes in total). This achieved a diagnostic rate of 32%. We next evaluated the utility of a tool, Phenomizer, for differential diagnosis, and established a correlation between phenotype and molecular findings in 39.3% of patients. Finally, we evaluated the mutational architecture of the genes analyzed by determining z-scores, loss-of-function observed/expected upper bound fraction (LOEUF), and haploinsufficiency (HI) scores. In summary, targeted gene panels for specific groups of IEMs enabled rapid and effective diagnosis, which is critical for the therapeutic management of IEM patients.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Longitudinal evaluation, acceptability and long-term retention of knowledge on a horizontally integrated organic and functional systems course

Undergraduate medical education is moving from traditional disciplinary basic science courses into more integrated curricula. Integration models based on organ systems originated in the 1950s, but few longitudinal studies have evaluated their effectiveness. This article outlines the development and implementation of the Organic and Functional Systems (OFS) courses at the University of Minho in Portugal, using evidence collected over 10 years. It describes the organization of content, student academic performance and acceptability of the courses, the evaluation of preparedness for future courses and the retention of knowledge on basic sciences. Students consistently rated the OFS courses highly. Physician tutors in subsequent clinical attachments considered that students were appropriately prepared. Performance in the International Foundations of Medicine examination of a self-selected sample of students revealed similar performances in basic science items after the last OFS course and 4 years later, at the moment of graduation. In conclusion, the organizational and pedagogical approaches of the OFS courses achieve high acceptability by students and result in positive outcomes in terms of preparedness for subsequent training and long-term retention of basic science knowledge

Newborn Screening for Homocystinuria Revealed a High Frequency of MAT I/III Deficiency in Iberian Peninsula

Acessível em: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4375120/Homocystinuria due to cystathionine β-synthase deficiency or "classical homocystinuria" is a rare autosomal recessive condition resulting in altered sulfur metabolism with elevated methionine and homocysteine in plasma and homocystine in urine. This condition is characterized by a high clinical heterogeneity, which contributes to late clinical diagnosis, usually only made after irreversible damage has occurred. Treatment is effective if started before clinical symptoms. The analysis of methionine levels by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) allows the newborn screening for homocystinuria, but false-positive results can be frequently obtained and lead to the unwanted identification of methionine adenosyl transferase (MAT I/III) deficiency. This latter condition is biochemically characterized by isolated persistent hypermethioninemia, accompanied in some individuals with slightly elevated levels of homocysteine in plasma. A dominant form of MAT I/III deficiency, associated with mutation p.R264H, seems to be very frequent in the Iberian Peninsula and usually has a clinically benign course. Both these metabolic disorders are screened in Galicia and Portugal since the introduction of the MS/MS technology, in 2000 and 2004, respectively, resulting in the identification of three patients with classical homocystinuria and 44 patients with MAT I/III deficiency. All but one heterozygous parent of MAT I/III patients, identified with the p.R264H mutation, are healthy adults around the age of 30/40. The implementation of a second-tier test for homocysteine in dried blood spots would considerably reduce the number of MAT I/III-deficient patients identified and improve the specificity and positive predictive value for classical homocystinuria screening