Variational Principle underlying Scale Invariant Social Systems

MaxEnt's variational principle, in conjunction with Shannon's logarithmic information measure, yields only exponential functional forms in straightforward fashion. In this communication we show how to overcome this limitation via the incorporation, into the variational process, of suitable dynamical information. As a consequence, we are able to formulate a somewhat generalized Shannonian Maximum Entropy approach which provides a unifying "thermodynamic-like" explanation for the scale-invariant phenomena observed in social contexts, as city-population distributions. We confirm the MaxEnt predictions by means of numerical experiments with random walkers, and compare them with some empirical data

Population overlap and habitat segregation in wintering Black-tailed Godwits Limosa limosa

Distinct breeding populations of migratory species may overlap both spatially and temporally, but differ in patterns of habitat use. This has important implications for population monitoring and conservation. To quantify the extent to which two distinct breeding populations of a migratory shorebird, the Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa, overlap spatially, temporally and in their use of different habitats during winter. We use mid-winter counts between 1990 and 2001 to identify the most important sites in Iberia for Black-tailed Godwits. Monthly surveys of estuarine mudflats and rice-fields at one major site, the Tejo estuary in Portugal in 2005-2007, together with detailed tracking of colour-ringed individuals, are used to explore patterns of habitat use and segregation of the Icelandic subspecies L. l. islandica and the nominate continental subspecies L. l. limosa. In the period 1990-2001, over 66 000 Black-tailed Godwits were counted on average in Iberia during mid-winter (January), of which 80% occurred at just four sites: Tejo and Sado lower basins in Portugal, and Coto Dontildeana and Ebro Delta in Spain. Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits are present throughout the winter and forage primarily in estuarine habitats. Continental Black-tailed Godwits are present from December to March and primarily use rice-fields. Iberia supports about 30% of the Icelandic population in winter and most of the continental population during spring passage. While the Icelandic population is currently increasing, the continental population is declining rapidly. Although the estuarine habitats used by Icelandic godwits are largely protected as Natura 2000 sites, the habitat segregation means that conservation actions for the decreasing numbers of continental godwits should focus on protection of rice-fields and re-establishment of freshwater wetlands

HER Family Receptors are Important Theranostic Biomarkers for Cervical Cancer: Blocking Glucose Metabolism Enhances the Therapeutic Effect of HER Inhibitors

Persistent HPV infection alone is not sufficient for cervical cancer development, which requires additional molecular alterations for tumor progression and metastasis ultimately leading to a lethal disease. In this study, we performed a comprehensive analysis of HER family receptor alterations in cervical adenocarcinoma. We detected overexpression of HER protein, mainly HER2, which was an independent prognostic marker for these patients. By using in vitro and in vivo approaches, we provided evidence that HER inhibitors, allitinib and lapatinib, were effective in reducing cervical cancer aggressiveness. Furthermore, combination of these drugs with glucose uptake blockers could overcome the putative HIF1-a-mediated resistance to HER-targeted therapies. Thus, we propose that the use of HER inhibitors in association with glycolysis blockers can be a potentially effective treatment option for HER-positive cervical cancer patients.FINEP (MCTI/FINEP/MS/SCTIE/DECIT-BIOPLAT (1302/13), Brazil and co-funded by the project “ON.2 SR&TD Integrated Program (NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000017)” co-funded by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2- O Novo Norte), Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional (QREN), through Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER). OM is recipient of a post-doc fellowship (SFRH/BPD/108351/2015) from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal. FC is recipient of a master fellowship (2014/03684-0) from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP). VMG is recipient from a PhD fellowship (SFRH/BD/51997/2012) from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugalinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Strange particle production in proton-proton collisions at s=0.9\sqrt{s}=0.9 TeV with ALICE at the LHC

The production of mesons containing strange quarks (K$^0_s$, $\phi$) and both singly and doubly strange baryons ($\Lambda$, Anti-$\Lambda$, and $\Xi$+Anti-$\Xi$) are measured at central rapidity in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 0.9 TeV with the ALICE experiment at the LHC. The results are obtained from the analysis of about 250 k minimum bias events recorded in 2009. Measurements of yields (dN/dy) and transverse momentum spectra at central rapidities for inelastic pp collisions are presented. For mesons, we report yields () of 0.184 $\pm$ 0.002 stat. $\pm$ 0.006 syst. for K$^0_s$ and 0.021 $\pm$ 0.004 stat. $\pm$ 0.003 syst. for $\phi$. For baryons, we find = 0.048 $\pm$ 0.001 stat. $\pm$ 0.004 syst. for $\Lambda$, 0.047 $\pm$ 0.002 stat. $\pm$ 0.005 syst. for Anti-$\Lambda$ and 0.0101 $\pm$ 0.0020 stat. $\pm$ 0.0009 syst. for $\Xi$+Anti-$\Xi$. The results are also compared with predictions for identified particle spectra from QCD-inspired models and provide a baseline for comparisons with both future pp measurements at higher energies and heavy-ion collisions.Comment: 33 pages, 21 captioned figures, 10 tables, authors from page 28, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/387

Ciências sociais e ambientais rural: principais temas e perspectivas analíticas.

Este trabalho tem por finalidade fazer um balanço dos estudos ambientais rurais sob a perspectiva das ciências sociais. Para isso, em primeiro lugar, realiza-se uma análise da trajetória dos movimentos sociais, identificando-se as principais questões ambientais emergentes na ótica dos atores do mundo rural. Num segundo momento, agrupam-se os temas privilegiados pelos pesquisadores para, em seguida, apontar as principais perspectivas analíticas em curso

FA

Climatic change emphasize the importance of biodiversity maintenance, Suggesting that germplasm adapted to organic, low input, or conventional conditions is needed to face future demands. This Study presents: I - The two steps genesis of the synthetic maize population Fandango, A) NUTICA creation: in 1975, Miguel Mota and Silas Pego, initiated a new type of polycross method involving 77 yellow elite inbred lines (dent and flint; 20% Portuguese and 80% North American germplasm) from the NUMI programme (NUcleo de melhoramento de Milho, Braga, Portugal). These inbreds were intermated in natural isolation and progenies submitted to intensive selection for both parents during continued cycles; B) From NUTICA to Fandango: Tandango was composed of all the crosses that resulted from a North Carolina Design I matting design (1 male crossed with 5 females) applied to NUTICA. II - The diversity evolution of Fandango under a Participatory Breeding project at the Portuguese Sousa Valley region (VASO) initiated in 1985 by Pego, with CIMMYT support. Morphological, fasciation expression, and yield trials were conducted in Portugal (3 locations, 3 years) and in the USA (4 locations, I year) using seeds obtained from five to seven cycles of mass selection (MS). The selection across cycles wits clone by the breeder (until cycle 5) and farmer (before cycle II in present). ANOVA and regression analysis on the rate of direct response to selection were performed when the assumption of normality was positively confirmed. Otherwise the non parametric Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) was performed. Response to mass selection in lowa showed significant decrease in yield, while in Portugal a significant increase for time of silking, plant and ear height, ear diameters 2, 37 4, kernel number, cot) diameters, and rachis was observed. At this location also a significant decrease was observed for thousand kernel weight and ear length. These results showed that mass selection were not effective for significant yield increase, except when considered Lousada with breeder selection (3.09% of gain per cycle per year). Some non-para metric methods (MARS, decision trees and random forests) were used to get insights on the causes that explain yield in Fandango. Kernel weight and ear weight were the most important traits, although row numbers, number of kernels per row, ear length, and ear diameter were also of some importance influencing Fandango yield

Measurement of charm production at central rapidity in proton-proton collisions at s=2.76\sqrt{s} = 2.76 TeV

The $p_{\rm T}$-differential production cross sections of the prompt (B feed-down subtracted) charmed mesons D$^0$, D$^+$, and D$^{*+}$ in the rapidity range $|y|<0.5$, and for transverse momentum $1< p_{\rm T} <12$ GeV/$c$, were measured in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis exploited the hadronic decays D$^0 \rightarrow$K$\pi$, D$^+ \rightarrow$K$\pi\pi$, D$^{*+} \rightarrow$D$^0\pi$, and their charge conjugates, and was performed on a $L_{\rm int} = 1.1$ nb$^{-1}$ event sample collected in 2011 with a minimum-bias trigger. The total charm production cross section at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV and at 7 TeV was evaluated by extrapolating to the full phase space the $p_{\rm T}$-differential production cross sections at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV and our previous measurements at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV. The results were compared to existing measurements and to perturbative-QCD calculations. The fraction of cdbar D mesons produced in a vector state was also determined.Comment: 20 pages, 5 captioned figures, 4 tables, authors from page 15, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/307

Renal Evaluation in Women with Preeclampsia

Background/Aims: Preeclampsia (PE) is a cause of glomerulopathy worldwide. Urinary retinol-binding protein (RBP) is a marker of proximal tubular dysfunction, albuminuria is an endothelial injury marker, urine protein:creatinine ratio (PCR) may have a predictive value for renal disease later in life, and, recently, podocyturia has been proposed as a sensitive tool in pregnancy, but it needs to be tested. The aim of this study was to evaluate renal involvement in PE and healthy pregnancy. Methods: Case-control study with 39 pregnant women assessed after 20 weeks of gestation (25 in the control group, CG, and 14 in the PE group) by performing urinary tests. Results: Mean (±SD) age and gestational age of the CG were 26.9 ± 6.4 years and 37.1 ± 5.0 weeks, and of the PE group 26.4 ± 6.9 years and 30.6 ± 5.6 weeks, respectively (p = 0.001). Mean (±SD) urinary RBP (p = 0.017), albuminuria (p = 0.002), and urinary albumin concentration (UAC) ratio (p = 0.006) of the CG were 0.4 ± 0.7 mg/l, 7.3 ± 6.9 mg/l, and 8.2 ± 6.7 mg/g and of the PE group 2.0 ± 4.4 mg/l, 2,267.4 ± 2,130.8 mg/l (p = 0.002), and 3,778.9 ± 4,296.6 mg/g (p = 0.006), respectively. Mean (±SD) urine PCR in the PE group was 6.7 ± 6.1 g/g (p Conclusions: Urinary RBP, PCR, albuminuria, and UAC ratio were elevated in the PE group in comparison to the CG. Podocyturia did not predict PE

Particle-yield modification in jet-like azimuthal di-hadron correlations in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76 TeV

The yield of charged particles associated with high-$p_{\rm T}$ trigger particles ($8 < p_{\rm T} < 15$ GeV/$c$) is measured with the ALICE detector in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV relative to proton-proton collisions at the same energy. The conditional per-trigger yields are extracted from the narrow jet-like correlation peaks in azimuthal di-hadron correlations. In the 5% most central collisions, we observe that the yield of associated charged particles with transverse momenta $p_{\rm T}> 3$ GeV/$c$ on the away-side drops to about 60% of that observed in pp collisions, while on the near-side a moderate enhancement of 20-30% is found.Comment: 15 pages, 2 captioned figures, 1 table, authors from page 10, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/350