Susceptibility inhomogeneity and non-Fermi liquid behavior in UCu_{5-x}Pt_x

Transverse-field muSR shifts and relaxation rates have been measured in the non-Fermi liquid (NFL) alloy system UCu_{5-x}Pt_x, x = 1.0, 1.5, and 2.5. At low temperatures the fractional spread in Knight shifts delta K/K approx deltachi/chi is gtrsim 2 for x = 1, but is only half this value for x = 1.5 and 2.5. In a disorder-driven scenario where the NFL behavior is due to a broadly distributed (Kondo or Griffiths-phase cluster) characteristic energy E, our results indicate that delta E/E_{rm av} approx (delta K/K)_{T=0} is similar for UCu_{5-x}Pd_x (x = 1 and 1.5) and UCu_4Pt, but is reduced for UCu_{5-x}Pt_x, x = 1.5 and 2.5. This reduction is due to a marked increase of E with increasing x; the spread delta E is found to be roughly independent of x. Our results correlate with the observed suppression of other NFL anomalies for x > 1 in UCu_{5-x}Pt_x but not in UCu_{5-x}Pd_x, and are further evidence for the importance of disorder in the NFL behavior of both these alloy systems.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to 10th International Conference on Muon Spin Rotation, Relaxation, and Resonance, Oxford, UK, August 200

Non-AIDS-related comorbidities in people living with HIV-1 aged 50 years and older: The AGING POSITIVE study.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the profile of non-AIDS-related comorbidities (NARC) in the older HIV-1-infected population and to explore the factors associated with multiple NARC. METHODS: This was a multicentre, cross-sectional study including HIV-1-infected patients aged ≥50 years, who were virologically suppressed and had been on a stable antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimen for at least 6 months. A multiple regression model explored the association between demographic and clinical variables and the number of NARC. RESULTS: Overall, 401 patients were enrolled. The mean age of the patients was 59.3 years and 72.6% were male. The mean duration of HIV-1 infection was 12.0 years and the median exposure to ART was 10.0 years. The mean number of NARC was 2.1, and 34.7% of patients had three or more NARC. Hypercholesterolemia was the most frequent NARC (60.8%), followed by arterial hypertension (39.7%) and chronic depression/anxiety (23.9%). Arterial hypertension and diabetes mellitus were the most frequently treated NARC (95.6% and 92.6% of cases, respectively). The linear regression analysis showed a positive relationship between age and NARC (B=0.032, 95% confidence interval 0.015-0.049; p=0.0003) and between the duration of HIV-1 infection and NARC (B=0.039, 95% confidence interval 0.017-0.059; p=0.0005). CONCLUSIONS: A high prevalence of NARC was found, the most common being metabolic, cardiovascular, and psychological conditions. NARC rates were similar to those reported for the general population, suggesting a larger societal problem beyond HIV infection. A multidisciplinary approach is essential to reduce the burden of complex multi-morbid conditions in the HIV-1-infected population.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterization of the Adherence of Clostridium difficile Spores: The Integrity of the Outermost Layer Affects Adherence Properties of Spores of the Epidemic Strain R20291 to Components of the Intestinal Mucosa

Indexación: Web of Science.Clostridium difficile is the causative agent of the most frequently reported nosocomial diarrhea worldwide. The high incidence of recurrent infection is the main clinical challenge of C. difficile infections (CBI). Formation of C. difficile spores of the epidemic strain R20291 has been shown to be essential for recurrent infection and transmission of the disease in a mouse model. However, the underlying mechanisms of how these spores persist in the colonic environment remains unclear. In this work, we characterized the adherence properties of epidemic R20291 spores to components of the intestinal mucosa, and we assessed the role of the exosporium integrity in the adherence properties by using cdeC mutant spores with a defective exosporium layer. Our results showed that spores and vegetative cells of the epidemic R20291 strain adhered at high levels to monolayers of Caco-2 cells and mucin. Transmission electron micrographs of Caco-2 cells demonstrated that the hair-like projections on the surface of R20291 spores are in close proximity with the plasma membrane and microvilli of undifferentiated and differentiated monolayers of Caco-2 cells. Competitive-binding assay in differentiated Caco-2 cells suggests that spore-adherence is mediated by specific binding sites. By using spores of a cdeC mutant we demonstrated that the integrity of the exosporium layer determines the affinity of adherence of C. difficile spores to Caco-2 cells and mucin. Binding of fibronectin and vitronectin to the spore surface was concentration-dependent, and depending on the concentration, spore-adherence to Caco-2 cells was enhanced. In the presence of an aberrantly-assembled exosporium (cdeC spores), binding of fibronectin, but not vitronectin, was increased. Notably, independent of the exosporium integrity, only a fraction of the spores had fibronectin and vitronectin molecules binding to their surface. Collectively, these results demonstrate that the integrity of the exosporium layer of strain R20291 contributes to selective spore adherence to components of the intestinal mucosa.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fcimb.2016.00099/ful

Production management model through MPS and line balancing to reduce the non-fulfillment of orders in lingerie clothing MSEs in Peru

The focus of this research is to establish control and planning management in the sewing production process of lingerie clothing to better prepare companies for demand growth. The lack of improvement tools in this sector, the lack of staff training and a lack of quality culture has led to companies, especially MYPES, not being able to meet the established delivery times and non-fulfillment of orders with the customers, which represents 80% of dissatisfied orders due to the limited production capacity and non-productive time in the plant. This problem is due to limited production capacity, deficient production planning, and lack of materials. In order to solve this problem, industrial engineering tools were used. The application of these tools improved production from 79% to 95%

Order and nFl Behavior in UCu4Pd

We have studied the role of disorder in the non-Fermi liquid system UCu4Pd using annealing as a control parameter. Measurement of the lattice parameter indicates that this procedure increases the crystallographic order by rearranging the Pd atoms from the 16e to the 4c sites. We find that the low temperature properties depend strongly on annealing. Whereas the non-Fermi liquid behavior in the specific heat can be observed over a larger temperature range after annealing, the clear non-Fermi liquid behavior of the resistivity of the unannealed sample below 10 K disappears. We come to the conclusion that this argues against the Kondo disorder model as an explanation for the non-Fermi liquid properties of both as-prepared and annealed UCu4Pd

Variabilidade genética de isolados de Rhizoctonia solani, de parte aérea, analisadas por meio de marcadores RAPD.

Rhizoctonia solani é um fungo cosmopolita, com vasto número de hospedeiros, e causa importantes doenças na maioria das plantas cultivadas em todo o mundo. Diferentes técnicas têm sido utilizadas com o intuito de estudar a diversidade genética de R. solani. Dentre elas, os marcadores de DNA do tipo RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) constituem instrumentos para caracterizar e avaliar o germoplasma rapidamente e com eficiência. Em virtude da variabilidade existente nos sintomas produzidos por esse patógeno, o objetivo do presente trabalho é avaliar a variabilidade genética de 13 isolados de R. solani que induzem, na sua maioria, sintomas na parte aérea dos vegetais infectados, utilizando-se marcadores moleculares de DNA, do tipo RAPD. A análise molecular do DNA extraído dos isolados com o primers OPA1 e OPA2 permitiu visualizar 17 bandas polimórficas com tamanhos que variavam entre 800 a 1800 bp, gerando 100% de polimorfismo entre os 13 isolados estudados. A similaridade entre as amostras, estimada pelo coeficiente de Jaccard, foi de 21,71%, sendo gerado pelo método UPGMA um dendrograma que permitiu agrupar os isolados em 7 grupos principais. Com base nas avaliações realizadas, concluiu-se que há uma grande variabilidade molecular entre os isolados de R. solani analisado

Ureterolithiasis after Cohen re-implantation – case report

BACKGROUND: In the past decades, the widespread use of cross-trigonal ureteral reimplants for the treatment of children with vesicoureteral reflux has resulted in a large population of patients with transversely lying ureters. As this population gets older they will consequently be entering an age group at higher risk for stone and urothelial cancer formation. If ureteroscopy becomes necessary, the transverse position of the ureter makes ureteric access often impossible. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the case of a young man who not only suffered from urolithiasis due to hyperparathyroidism, but also further jeopardized his treatment by omitting the fact that as a child he underwent Cohen reimplantation of the right ureter. CONCLUSIONS: This case illustrates the particular difficulties the endoscopist may face in this group of patients. Patients with difficult ureteric access, abnormal anatomy, or those with known cross-trigonal ureteric reimplantations should be managed in a specialised endourology unit

Evidence for a common physical description of non-Fermi-liquid behavior in f-electron systems

The non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) behavior observed in the low temperature specific heat $C(T)$ and magnetic susceptibility $\chi(T)$ of f-electron systems is analyzed within the context of a recently developed theory based on Griffiths singularities. Measurements of $C(T)$ and $\chi(T)$ in the systems $Th_{1-x}U_{x}Pd_{2}Al_{3}$, $Y_{1-x}U_{x}Pd_3$, and $UCu_{5-x}M_{x}$ (M = Pd, Pt) are found to be consistent with $C(T)/T \propto \chi(T) \propto T^{-1+\lambda}$ predicted by this model with $\lambda <1$ in the NFL regime. These results suggest that the NFL properties observed in a wide variety of f-electron systems can be described within the context of a common physical picture.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Number, maps and facts: Agriculture leads environmental preservation.

This paper presents the role of Brazilian agriculture in the preservation of native vegetation and palustrine and lacustrine ecosystems. After the approval of the New Brazilian Forest Code, farmers are required to register their rural property in the Rural Environmental Registry. By April 30, 2017, more than four million farmers were included, an area of approximately 408 million hectares. The collected data add up to hundreds of millions of polygons, requiring a computational effort and geoprocessing techniques to treat the data and turn it into information. The results indicate that the area reserved to vegetation preservation by farmers represents 20.5% of Brazilian territory, thus demonstrating the importance of the agriculture in environmental preservation