13 research outputs found
Radiation characteristics of thin-wire V-antennas excited by arbitrary time-dependent currents
Spatial analysis of leptospirosis and toxoplasmosis seroprevalence in the canine population in an area of socioeconomic and environmental vulnerability
ABSTRACT Leptospirosis and toxoplasmosis are zoonoses of occupational character that are spread worldwide, mainly in tropical and socioeconomically vulnerable areas. Both diseases have vertebrate hosts, which spread the infectious agent to the environment and are potentially infectious to humans and can progress to fatal cases. The present study reinforces the importance of One Health for the control and prophylaxis of leptospirosis and toxoplasmosis using sentinel animals in areas of socioeconomic vulnerability based on a serological study. A total of 336 blood samples were obtained from the canine population of the urban district, which has high rates of poverty and sanitation. The results were analyzed based on seroreactivity animals and georeferencing by kernel spatial mapping. A total of 43.3% (52/120) of the animals were seroreagents for anti-Leptospira spp., with a predominance of Canicola (35/52 = 67.3%) and Pyrogenes (5/52 = 9.6%), while 52.97% (178/336) of the dogs were seroreactive for anti-Toxoplasma gondii. The presence of seroreagent dogs for both zoonosis alert to the inadequate hygienic-sanitary conditions of the studied region, and highlight the importance of a survey of the social, economic and environmental structure to identify factors related to the links in the epidemiological chain of pathogen transmission and necessary corrective actions
Information needs and uses: An analysis of the literature published in Spain, 1990â2004
Avaliação do efeito do alho (Allium sativum L.) sobre o colesterol plasmåtico em coelhos com hipercolesterolemia induzida
Systematics, taxonomy and floristics of Brazilian Rubiaceae: an overview about the current status and future challenges
Refined NMR structure of α-sarcin by 15N-1H residual dipolar couplings
15Nâ1H residual dipolar couplings (RDC) have been used as additional restraints to refine the solution structure of the ribotoxin α-sarcin. The RDC values were obtained by partial alignment of α-sarcin in the binary mixture of n-dodecyl hexa(ethylene glycol)/hexanol. A total of 131 RDCs were measured and 106 were introduced in the final steps of the calculation protocol following the main calculation based on nuclear Overhauser enhancements and torsion angle restraints. A homogeneous family of 81 conformers was obtained. The resulting average pairwise root-mean-square deviation corresponding to the superposition of the 20 best structures is 0.69±0.12 Ă
for the backbone and 1.29±0.14 Ă
for all heavy atoms. The new structural features derived from the refined structure, compared with the non-refined structure of α-sarcin, consist of new hydrogen bonds and a better definition of the backbone conformation. In particular, the loop segment spanning Gly 60 to Lys 70 shows a single conformation, corresponding to the most populated family of conformers observed in the unrefined structure. The information derived from the analysis of the refined structure and the comparison with the homologous protein restrictocin could help in establishing further structureâfunction relationships concerning α-sarcin which can be reasonably extrapolated to other members of the ribotoxin family
Evolutionary Optimization with Dynamic Fidelity Computational Models
In this paper, we propose an evolutionary framework for model fidelity control that decides, at runtime, the appropriate fidelity level of the computational model, which is deemed to be computationally less expensive, to be used in place of the exact analysis code as the search progresses. Empirical study on an aerodynamic airfoil design problem based on a Memetic Algorithm with Dynamic Fidelity Model (MA-DFM) demonstrates that improved quality solution and efficiency are obtained over existing evolutionary schemes. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
Combined effects of marine heatwaves and reduced light on the physiology and growth of the surfgrass Phyllospadix torreyi from Baja California, Mexico
This study aimed to elucidate for the first time the combined effects of marine heatwaves (MHWs) and light
limitation simulated in mesocosm on critical physiological descriptors of the surfgrass Phyllospadix torreyi, which
constitutes highly productive meadows along the intertidal and subtidal rocky shores of the Pacific coast of North
America. Our results revealed that short-term exposure (~7 days) to extreme thermal anomalies of + 9 âŠC had
positive effects on the photosynthetic capacities of P. torreyi, as indicated by increments in maximum photosynthetic
rates, photosynthetic efficiency (α), maximum electron transport rate, and effective quantum yield.
Despite that its photosynthetic performance was enhanced, exposure to warming caused a decrease in its internal
carbon reserves (i.e. energy status), likely as a consequence of carbon mobilization/utilization to activate heatstress
responses. Plants exposed to light limitation
generally exhibited an increase in α and/or a decrease in respiration, which ultimately allowed for a reduction in
plant compensation irradiance. The combination of low light and seawater warming resulted in a decrease in
non-structural carbohydrates content, daily net-productivity, and leaf growth rates. Gross photosynthetic rates at
control saturating irradiance exhibited higher activation energy and, thus, greater responsiveness to seawater
warming than plants kept under light limitation. While our results indicated that unusual warming events might
favor the photosynthetic performance of P. torreyi, combining this condition with a drastic light reduction can
lead to internal carbon depletion and potentially compromise plant survival in the long term.1,51