Euclidean Supersymmetry, Twisting and Topological Sigma Models

We discuss two dimensional N-extended supersymmetry in Euclidean signature and its R-symmetry. For N=2, the R-symmetry is SO(2)\times SO(1,1), so that only an A-twist is possible. To formulate a B-twist, or to construct Euclidean N=2 models with H-flux so that the target geometry is generalised Kahler, it is necessary to work with a complexification of the sigma models. These issues are related to the obstructions to the existence of non-trivial twisted chiral superfields in Euclidean superspace.Comment: 8 page

Dynamics of drinking water biofilm in flow/non-flow conditions

Drinking water biofilm formation on polyvinyl chloride (PVC), cross-linked polyethylene (PEX), high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) was followed in three different reactors operating under stagnant or continuous flow regimes. After one week, a quasi-steady state was achieved where biofilm total cell numbers per unit surface area were not affected by fluctuations in the concentration of suspended cells. Metabolically active cells in biofilms were around 17-35% of the total cells and 6-18% were able to form colony units in R(2)A medium. Microbiological analysis showed that the adhesion material and reactor design did not affect significantly the biofilm growth. However, operating under continuous flow (0.8-1.9 Pa) or stagnant water had a significant effect on biofilm formation: in stagnant waters, biofilm grew to a less extent. By applying mass balances and an asymptotic biofilm formation model to data from biofilms grown on PVC and HDPE surfaces under turbulent flow, specific growth rates of bacteria in the biofilm were found to be similar for both materials (around 0.15 day(-1)) and much lower than the specific growth rates of suspended bacteria (around 1.8 day(-1))

Optimization of the supercritical fluid extraction of Quercus cerris cork towards extraction yield and selectivity to friedelin

Optimization of the supercritical fluid extraction of Quercus cerris cork was carried out using Box-Behnken design of experiments and response surface methodology (RSM). The optimized process variables were temperature (T : 40, 50 and 60 °C), ethanol content (EtOH: 0.0, 2.5 and 5.0 wt%) and CO2 flow rate (QCO2: 5, 8 and 11 −g min )1 . The studied responses were total extraction yield (ηTotal), friedelin concentration of the extract (CFriedelin), and selectivity towards friedelin (αF,nF). The linear effect of EtOH was by far the most influent operating condition (Pareto analysis) and the highest yield (ηTotal = 2.2 wt%) was attained with 5.0 wt% EtOH. The RSM model estimates maximum friedelin concentration in the extracts (38.2 wt%) to occur without cosolvent (0 wt% EtOH) for the lowest T (40 °C) and QCO2 (5 −g min )CO2 1 . As for selectivity, the experimental αF,nF values were always higher than 1.0 and reached 3.1 (at 50 °C, 5 wt% EtOH, 11 −g minCO2 1). Altogether, these results suggest friedelin can be selectively removed from Quercus cerris cork by supercritical fluid extraction within the range of experimental conditions studiedpublishe

Why pair production cures covariance in the light-front?

We show that the light-front vaccum is not trivial, and the Fock space for positive energy quanta solutions is not complete. As an example of this non triviality we have calculated the electromagnetic current for scalar bosons in the background field method were the covariance is restored through considering the complete Fock space of solutions. We also show thus that the method of "dislocating the integration pole" is nothing more than a particular case of this, so that such an "ad hoc" prescription can be dispensed altogether if we deal with the whole Fock space. In this work we construct the electromagnetic current operator for a system composed of two free bosons. The technique employed to deduce these operators is through the definition of global propagators in the light front when a background electromagnetic field acts on one of the particles.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure

Schistosomiasis Mansoni In Urban Northeast Brazil: Influence Of Rainfall Regime On The Population Dynamics Of Biomphalaria Sp

Introduction: Our objective was to evaluate the infl uence of rainfall regime on the population dynamics of Biomphalaria in a potential urban focus of schistosomiasis in Aracaju, Brazil, during 2009-2010. Methods: Snails were collected monthly and were counted, measured and identifi ed; the level of infection and fecal contamination at the sampling sites was determined; rainfall data were obtained. Results: High levels of fecal contamination were observed, and the abundance of Biomphalaria glabrata increased during the rainy and post-rainy seasons. The snails' size was variable, and infected snails were identifi ed independently of rainfall. Conclusions: These results provide evidence of anthropogenic and climate interference in an urban focus of schistosomiasis in the Aracaju metropolitan area.465654657Pordeus, L.C., Aguiar, L.R., Quinino, L.R.M., Barbosa, C.S.A., Ocorrência das formas aguda e crônica da esquistossomose mansônica no Brasil no período de 1997 a 2006: Uma revisão de literatura (2008) Epidemiol Serv Saude, 17, pp. 163-175Souza, M.A.A., Barbosa, V.S., Wanderlei, T.N.G., Barbosa, C.S., Criadouros de Biomphalaria, temporários e permanentes, em Jaboatão dos Guararapes, PE (2008) Rev Soc Bras Med Trop, 41, pp. 252-256Araújo, K.C.G.M., Resendes, A.P.C., Souza-Santos, R., Silveira Jr., J.C., Barbosa, C.S., Análise espacial dos focos de Biomphalaria glabrata (Say, 1818) e de casos humanos de esquistossomose mansônica em Porto de Galinhas, Pernambuco, Brasil, no ano 2000 (2007) Cad Saude Publica, 23, pp. 409-417Lima, L.C., Família Planorbidae (1995) Tópicos em Malacologia Médica., pp. 90-112. , In: Barbosa FS, editor. Rio de Janeiro: Fundação Oswaldo Cruz(2005) Resolução CONAMA no 357, , http://www.cetesb.sp.gov.br/Agua/praias/res_conama_357_05.pdf, Conselho Nacional do Meio Ambiente (CONAMA). de 17 de março de. [Cited 2011 February 23]. Available fromSouza, M.A.A., Barbosa, V.S., Albuquerque, J.O., Bocanegra, S., Souza-Santos, R., Paredes, H., Aspectos ecológicos e levantamento malacológico para identificação de áreas de risco para transmissão da esquistossomose mansoni no litoral norte de Pernambuco, Brasil (2010) Iheringia Serie Zoológica, 100, pp. 19-24Barbosa, F.S., Barbosa, C.S., The bioecology of snails vectors for schistosomiasis in Brazil (1994) Cad Saude Publica, 10, pp. 200-209Fernandez, M.A., Thiengo, S.C., Susceptibility of Biomphalaria straminea from Peixe Angical dam, Tocantins, Brazil to infection with three strains of Schistosoma mansoni (2010) Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, 105, pp. 488-491Barbosa, C.S., Domingues, A.L.C., Abath, F., Montenegro, S.M.L., Guida, U., Carneiro, J., Epidemia de esquistossomose aguda na praia de Porto de Galinhas, Pernambuco, Brasil (2001) Cad Saude Publica, 17, pp. 725-728Rollemberg, C.V.V., Santos, C.M.B., Silva, M.M.B.L., Souza, A.M.B., Silva, A.M., Almeida, J.A.P., Aspectos epidemiológicos e distribuição geográfica da esquistossomose e geo-helmintos, no Estado de Sergipe, de acordo com os dados do Programa de Controle da Esquistossomose (2011) Rev Soc Bras Med Trop, 44, pp. 91-96Barbosa, C.S., Montenegro, S.M.L., Abath, F.G., Domingues, A.L.C., Eventos epidemiológicos relacionados à transmissão da esquistossomose em áreas rurais e urbanas de Pernambuco (2002) Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, 96, pp. 169-172Departamento de Vigilância Epidemiológica (2008) Vigilância e controle de moluscos de importância epidemiológica: Diretrizes técnicas., , Ministério da Saúde. Programa de Vigilância e Controle da Esquistossomose (PCE). 2nded. Brasília: Ministério da Saúd

Low energy collective modes, Ginzburg-Landau theory, and pseudogap behavior in superconductors with long-range pairing interactions

We study the superconducting instability in systems with long but finite ranged, attractive, pairing interactions. We show that such long-ranged superconductors exhibit a new class of fluctuations in which the internal structure of the Cooper pair wave function is soft, and thus lead to "pseudogap" behavior in which the actual transition temperature is greatly depressed from its mean field value. These fluctuations are {\it not} phase fluctuations of the standard superconducting order parameter, and lead to a highly unusual Ginzburg-Landau description. We suggest that the crossover between the BCS limit of a short-ranged attraction and our problem is of interest in the context of superconductivity in the underdoped cuprates.Comment: 20 pages with one embedded ps figure. Minor revisions to the text and references. Final version to appear in PRB on Nov. 1st, 200

Activation of leukocyte rolling by the cysteine-rich domain and the hyper-variable region of HF3, a snake venom hemorrhagic metalloproteinase

AbstractThe functionality of the disintegrin-like/cysteine-rich domains of snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs) has been shown to reside in the cysteine-rich region, which can interact with VWA-containing proteins. Recently, the hyper-variable region (HVR) of the cysteine-rich domain was suggested to constitute a potential protein–protein adhesive interface. Here we show that recombinant proteins of HF3, a hemorrhagic P-III SVMP, containing the cysteine-rich domain (disintegrin-like/cysteine-rich and cysteine-rich proteins) but not the disintegrin-like protein were able to significantly increase leukocyte rolling in the microcirculation. Peptides from the HVR also promoted leukocyte rolling and this activity was inhibited by anti-alphaM/beta2 antibodies. These results show, for the first time, that the cysteine-rich domain and its HVR play a role in triggering pro-inflammatory effects mediated by integrins

The in-plane paraconductivity in La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 thin film superconductors at high reduced-temperatures: Independence of the normal-state pseudogap

The in-plane resistivity has been measured in $La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$ (LSxCO) superconducting thin films of underdoped ($x=0.10,0.12$), optimally-doped ($x=0.15$) and overdoped ($x=0.20,0.25$) compositions. These films were grown on (100)SrTiO$_3$ substrates, and have about 150 nm thickness. The in-plane conductivity induced by superconducting fluctuations above the superconducting transition (the so-called in-plane paraconductivity, $\Delta\sigma_{ab}$) was extracted from these data in the reduced-temperature range 10^{-2}\lsim\epsilon\equiv\ln(T/\Tc)\lsim1. Such a $\Delta\sigma_{ab}(\epsilon)$ was then analyzed in terms of the mean-field--like Gaussian-Ginzburg-Landau (GGL) approach extended to the high-$\epsilon$ region by means of the introduction of a total-energy cutoff, which takes into account both the kinetic energy and the quantum localization energy of each fluctuating mode. Our results strongly suggest that at all temperatures above Tc, including the high reduced-temperature region, the doping mainly affects in LSxCO thin films the normal-state properties and that its influence on the superconducting fluctuations is relatively moderate: Even in the high-$\epsilon$ region, the in-plane paraconductivity is found to be independent of the opening of a pseudogap in the normal state of the underdoped films.Comment: 35 pages including 10 figures and 1 tabl