827 research outputs found
Consensus against all odds:explaining the persistence of EU sanctions on Russia
In response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine in 2014, the EU introduced sanctions on Moscow. Despite increasing polarisation among member states after imposition, the sanctions package was consistently renewed. How can sanctions persistence be explained? While scholarly accounts highlight German leadership, commitment to norms, and policymakers’ engagement, the EU’s ability to uphold the sanctions in the face of uneven support among member states remains puzzling. With the help of a two-level game framework, according to which actors make decisions based on the interplay between the domestic and international levels, we argue that the interaction between the Council and domestic politics helped sustaining the consensus. To illustrate this dynamic, in an exploration of domestic factions in Spain and Poland, two member states displaying opposite attitudes towards Russia, we identify the presence of at least one actor whose preference deviates from the core, thereby facilitating consensus
Hidden musculoskeletal involvement in inflammatory bowel disease: a multicenter ultrasound study
BACKGROUND:
Inflammatory bowel diseases are associated with a variety of extra-intestinal manifestations. The most frequent of these is joint involvement, which affects 16-33 % of IBD patients. Our aim was to evaluate the ultrasound prevalence of sub-clinical joint and entheseal involvement in patients with IBD without musculoskeletal symptoms, and to correlate the US findings with clinical and laboratory variables.
METHODS:
We recorded the clinical and laboratory data of 76 patients with IBD, 20 patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA) and 45 healthy controls at three rheumatology centers. All of the IBD patients and healthy controls were clinically examined by a rheumatologist in order to confirm the absence of musculoskeletal symptoms, and all of the subjects underwent grey-scale (GS) and power Doppler (PD) US examinations of the second and third metacarpophalangeal joints, knees and lower limbs in order to detect joint or entheseal abnormalities.
RESULTS:
A total of 1410 entheseal sites and 1410 joints were evaluated by US. Of the 76 patients with IBD, 64 (84.1 %) had at least one GS entheseal abnormality, and 11 (13.9 %) had more than one PD-positive entheseal site; 32 (42.1 %) showed sub-clinical joint involvement. There was a significant difference between the IBD patients and healthy controls in terms of global entheseal, PD-positive entheseal, and joint involvement (p < 0.0001), but no difference between the IBD and SpA patients. Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies predicted entheseal involvement in patients with IBD (OR 6.031; p = 0.015).
CONCLUSIONS:
The prevalence of sub-clinical joint and entheseal involvement was higher in IBD patients than healthy controls, but there was no difference between the IBD and SpA patients
First Test of Lorentz Invariance in the Weak Decay of Polarized Nuclei
A new test of Lorentz invariance in the weak interactions has been made by
searching for variations in the decay rate of spin-polarized 20Na nuclei. This
test is unique to Gamow-Teller transitions, as was shown in the framework of a
recently developed theory that assumes a Lorentz symmetry breaking background
field of tensor nature. The nuclear spins were polarized in the up and down
direction, putting a limit on the amplitude of sidereal variations of the form
|(\Gamma_{up} - \Gamma_{down})| / (\Gamma_{up} + \Gamma_{down}) < 3 * 10^{-3}.
This measurement shows a possible route toward a more detailed testing of
Lorentz symmetry in weak interactions.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure
Application of Vis/Nir spectroscopy to establish peach ripening as affected by rootstock
The objective of this paper was to monitor peach ripeness of “Chimarrita” and “Maciel” cultivars, grafted on different rootstocks, using the pulp firmness parameter, as an indicator of harvest time through equipment based on Vis/Nir spectroscopy. The orchard was installed in 2005, has a "V" conduction system with spacing of 5.0 x 1.5 m, and the cultivars are grafted on seven rootstocks: “Capdeboscq”, “Flordaguard”, “Nemaguard”, “Okinawa”, “Tsukuba”, “Umezeiro” and “Viamão”. After harvesting, the fruits were evaluated by the NIR CASE spectrophotometer, establishing categories of pulp firmness, between 40N and 60N for fruits consumed in a long term and <40N for immediate consumption. The analyzed rootstocks alter the peach ripeness of the “Chimarrita” and “Maciel” cultivars. The “Umezeiro” rootstock anticipates harvest for the “Chimarrita” cultivar. The “Nemaguard”/ “Maciel” combination provides fruits with a superior harvest period than the other ones evaluated. The Vis/Nir Spectroscopy is a useful tool to monitor the harvest of “Chimarrita” and “Maciel” cultivars
ToposseqĂĽĂŞncia de solos cultivada com milho no estado de Sergipe.
O oeste de Sergipe vem se destacando na produção de milho numa extensa área de solos fĂ©rteis com boas caracterĂsticas edáficas. A potencialidade e extensĂŁo dos solos, bem como a necessidade de introdução de tĂ©cnicas agrĂcolas e avaliação dos resultados das pesquisas ali desenvolvidas tanto para seu melhor aproveitamento agrĂcola, quanto para a preservação ambiental, justificam o estudo pormenorizado da área. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar uma toposseqĂĽĂŞncia de solos caracterĂstica da regiĂŁo, cultivados com milho em regime dependente de chuvas, buscando interpretar sua dinâmica a fim de aportar subsĂdios para seu melhor manejo, visando a sustentabilidade dos cultivos desenvolvidos. Foram descritos e amostrados cinco perfis de solos em toposseqĂĽĂŞncia numa encosta de relevo suave ondulado. CaracterĂsticas morfolĂłgicas, fĂsicas e quĂmicas foram estudadas tanto entre os horizontes do perfil, quanto entre os perfis ao longo do relevo. A variabilidade observada reflete as condições impostas pelo posicionamento dos solos na paisagem, sobretudo no que se refere Ă s condições de infiltração de água e drenagem diferenciada
Solos do Campo Experimental Pedro Arle em Frei Paulo - Sergipe.
A Embrapa Tabuleiros Costeiros vem desenvolvendo estudos comparativos de variedades e hĂbridos adaptados Ă s condições semiáridas do Nordeste, selecionando os melhores para indicar seu cultivo e, assim, participar efetivamente do progresso da agricultura da RegiĂŁo. Estudar as caracterĂsticas dos solos onde estes trabalhos estĂŁo sendo conduzidos Ă© de fundamental importância para o planejamento de novas pesquisas, para a avaliação dos resultados obtidos e para que as informações possam ser extrapoladas para locais com condições edafoclimáticas semelhantes. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar os solos do Campo Experimental Pedro Arle, da Embrapa Tabuleiros Costeiros, localizado no municĂpio de Frei Paulo, em Sergipe. Para tanto, foi estudada uma topossequĂŞncia em área onde vem sendo conduzidos experimentos com milho, obtendo-se altas produtividades. Vertissolo Háplico Ă“rtico tĂpico e Cambissolo Háplico Ta EutrĂłfico vertissĂłlico foram encontrados na parte mais elevada da topossequĂŞncia. Cambissolos Háplicos Ta EutrĂłficos, variando entre lĂ©ptico e lĂtico, ocupam as posições de terço mĂ©dio, inferior e a baixada. As análises refletem as limitações agrĂcolas destes solos relacionadas Ă sua profundidade efetiva e sua potencialidade que está diretamente relacionada Ă fertilidade natural
Differences between <i>Trypanosoma brucei gambiense</i> groups 1 and 2 in their resistance to killing by Trypanolytic factor 1
<p><b>Background:</b> The three sub-species of <i>Trypanosoma brucei</i> are important pathogens of sub-Saharan Africa. <i>T. b. brucei</i> is unable to infect humans due to sensitivity to trypanosome lytic factors (TLF) 1 and 2 found in human serum. <i>T. b. rhodesiense</i> and <i>T. b. gambiense</i> are able to resist lysis by TLF. There are two distinct sub-groups of <i>T. b. gambiense</i> that differ genetically and by human serum resistance phenotypes. Group 1 <i>T. b. gambiense</i> have an invariant phenotype whereas group 2 show variable resistance. Previous data indicated that group 1 <i>T. b. gambiense</i> are resistant to TLF-1 due in-part to reduced uptake of TLF-1 mediated by reduced expression of the TLF-1 receptor (the haptoglobin-hemoglobin receptor (<i>HpHbR</i>)) gene. Here we investigate if this is also true in group 2 parasites.</p>
<p><b>Methodology:</b> Isogenic resistant and sensitive group 2 <i>T. b. gambiense</i> were derived and compared to other T. brucei parasites. Both resistant and sensitive lines express the <i>HpHbR</i> gene at similar levels and internalized fluorescently labeled TLF-1 similar fashion to <i>T. b. brucei</i>. Both resistant and sensitive group 2, as well as group 1 <i>T. b. gambiense</i>, internalize recombinant APOL1, but only sensitive group 2 parasites are lysed.</p>
<p><b>Conclusions:</b> Our data indicate that, despite group 1 <i>T. b. gambiense</i> avoiding TLF-1, it is resistant to the main lytic component, APOL1. Similarly group 2 <i>T. b. gambiense</i> is innately resistant to APOL1, which could be based on the same mechanism. However, group 2 <i>T. b. gambiense</i> variably displays this phenotype and expression does not appear to correlate with a change in expression site or expression of <i>HpHbR</i>. Thus there are differences in the mechanism of human serum resistance between <i>T. b. gambiense</i> groups 1 and 2.</p>
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