208 research outputs found
Development of a microplate immunocapture (IC) RT-PCR assays for the detection of avian influenza virus (AIV) and infectious bronchitis virus (IBV).
Projeto/Plano de Ação: 11.11.11.111
Effective Widths and Effective Number of Phonons of Multiphonon Giant Resonances
We discuss the origin of the difference between the harmonic value of the
width of the multiphonon giant resonances and the smaller observed value.
Analytical expressions are derived for both the effective width and the average
cross-section. The contribution of the Brink-Axel mechanism in resolving the
discrepancy is pointed out.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
Molecular analysis of two novel missense mutations in the GDF5 proregion that reduce protein activity and are associated with brachydactyly type C
Growth and differentiation factor 5 (GDF5) plays a central role in bone and cartilage development by regulating the proliferation and differentiation of chondrogenic tissue. GDF5 is synthesized as a preproprotein. The biological function of the proregion comprising 354 residues is undefined. We identified two families with a heterozygosity for the novel missense mutations p.T201P or p.L263P located in the proregion of GDF5. The patients presented with dominant brachydactyly type C characterized by the shortening of skeletal elements in the distal extremities. Both mutations gave rise to decreased biological activity in in vitro analyses. The variants reduced the GDF5-induced activation of SMAD signaling by the GDF5 receptors BMPR1A and BMPR1B. Ectopic expression in micromass cultures yielded relatively low protein levels of the variants and showed diminished chondrogenic activity as compared to wild-type GDF5. Interestingly, stimulation of micromass cells with recombinant human proGDF5(T201P) and proGDF5(L263P) revealed their reduced chondrogenic potential compared to the wild-type protein. Limited proteolysis of the mutant recombinant proproteins resulted in a fragment pattern profoundly different from wild-type proGDF5. Modeling of a part of the GDF5 proregion into the known three-dimensional structure of TGFbeta1 latency-associated peptide revealed that the homologous positions of both mutations are conserved regions that may be important for the folding of the mature protein or the assembly of dimeric protein complexes. We hypothesize that the missense mutations p.T201P and p.L263P interfere with the protein structure and thereby reduce the amount of fully processed, biologically active GDF5, finally causing the clinical loss of function phenotype
Exact Solution of an Evolutionary Model without Ageing
We introduce an age-structured asexual population model containing all the
relevant features of evolutionary ageing theories. Beneficial as well as
deleterious mutations, heredity and arbitrary fecundity are present and managed
by natural selection. An exact solution without ageing is found. We show that
fertility is associated with generalized forms of the Fibonacci sequence, while
mutations and natural selection are merged into an integral equation which is
solved by Fourier series. Average survival probabilities and Malthusian growth
exponents are calculated indicating that the system may exhibit mutational
meltdown. The relevance of the model in the context of fissile reproduction
groups as many protozoa and coelenterates is discussed.Comment: LaTeX file, 15 pages, 2 ps figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Fermion Pairing Dynamics in the Relativistic Scalar Plasma
Using many-body techniques we obtain the time-dependent Gaussian
approximation for interacting fermion-scalar field models. This method is
applied to an uniform system of relativistic spin-1/2 fermion field coupled,
through a Yukawa term, to a scalar field in 3+1 dimensions, the so-called
quantum scalar plasma model. The renormalization for the resulting Gaussian
mean-field equations, both static and dynamical, are examined and initial
conditions discussed. We also investigate solutions for the gap equation and
show that the energy density has a single minimum.Comment: 21 pages, latex, 4 postscript figures, new sections, some literary
changes, notation corrections, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev
Nonlinear Enhancement of the Multiphonon Coulomb Excitation in Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions
We propose a soluble model to incorporate the nonlinear effects in the
transition probabilities of the multiphonon Giant Dipole Resonances based on
the SU(1,1) algebra. Analytical expressions for the multi-phonon transition
probabilities are derived. Enhancement of the Double Giant Resonance excitation
probabilities in relativistic ion collisions scales as for
the degree of nonlinearity and is able to reach values
compatible with experimental data. The enhancement factor is found to decrease
with increasing bombarding energy. [KEYWORDS: Relativistic Heavy Ion
Collisions,Double Giant Resonance]Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure
Isospin structure of one- and two-phonon GDR excitations
Isospin is included in the description of Coulomb excitation of multiple
giant isovector dipole resonances. In the excitation of even-even nuclei, a
relevant portion of the excitation strength is shown to be associated with 1+
two-phonon states, which tends to be hindered or completely supressed in
calculations in which the isospin degree of freedom is not considered. We find
that the excitation cross sections is strongly dependent on the ground state
isospin.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure
Zoneamento territorial de áreas brasileiras aptas à Amblypelta nitida (Stal) (Hemiptera: Coreidae).
Amblypelta nitida (Stal) (Hemiptera: Coreidae) é um inseto-praga polífago nativo da Austrália e pertencente ao grupo dos percevejos conhecidos por fruitspotting bugs (FSB). Entre os seus cultivos hospedeiros mais citados estão abacate, ameixa, cacau, caju, caqui, citros (laranja, limão e tangerina), figo, goiaba, kiwi, lichia, macadâmia, mamão, manga, maracujá, nectarina, pera, pêssego e pinha. Técnicas de geoprocessamento vem permitindo a identificação georreferenciada de áreas mais favoráveis à ocorrência de insetos-pragas exóticos, com base em dados nacional e internacional. Este trabalho apresenta o zoneamento territorial de áreas aptas à praga exótica ausente Amblypelta nitida, em pelo menos um mês do ano, considerando áreas brasileiras produtoras desses cultivos hospedeiros. O zoneamento fez uso de técnicas de geoprocessamento em ArcGIS, considerando informações biológicas do inseto de literatura, relacionadas às condições climáticas que favorecem o melhor desenvolvimento de fases do seu ciclo de vida. Também considerou dados climáticos médios nacionais (temperatura e umidade relativa) do período de 2009 a 2018 (recuperados da BDMEP/INMET), assim como dos principais municípios produtores de macadâmia em 2022 (disponibilizados pela Associação Brasileira de Noz Macadâmia (ABM)), dados dos outros cultivos hospedeiros (recuperados do SIDRA/IBGE) e a malha municipal nacional 2018 (do IBGE). O zoneamento indicou favorabilidade a ocorrência de A. nitida em 4278 municípios, distribuídos em 550 microrregiões estaduais das 27 unidades da federação (26 estados e distrito federal). Os resultados obtidos apoiam as políticas públicas de sanidade vegetal nacional e as estratégias de monitoramentos de áreas produtoras
Theory of Multiphonon Excitation in Heavy-Ion Collisions
We study the effects of channel coupling in the excitation dynamics of giant
resonances in relativistic heavy ions collisions. For this purpose, we use a
semiclassical approximation to the Coupled-Channels problem and separate the
Coulomb and the nuclear parts of the coupling into their main multipole
components. In order to assess the importance of multi-step processes, we
neglect the resonance widths and solve the set of coupled equations exactly.
Finite widths are then considered. In this case, we handle the coupling of the
ground state with the dominant Giant Dipole Resonance exactly and study the
excitation of the remaining resonances within the Coupled-Channels Born
Approximation. A comparison with recent experimental data is made.Comment: 29 pages, 7 Postscript figures available upon reques
Preparation and control of a cavity-field state through atom-driven field interaction: towards long-lived mesoscopic states
The preparation of mesoscopic states of the radiation and matter fields
through atom-field interactions has been achieved in recent years and employed
for a range of striking applications in quantum optics. Here we present a
technique for the preparation and control of a cavity mode which, besides
interacting with a two-level atom, is simultaneously submitted to linear and
parametric amplification processes. The role of the amplification-controlling
fields in the achievement of real mesoscopic states, is to produce
highly-squeezed field states and, consequently, to increase both: i) the
distance in phase space between the components of the prepared superpositions
and ii) the mean photon number of such superpositions. When submitting the
squeezed superposition states to the action of similarly squeezed reservoirs,
we demonstrate that under specific conditions the decoherence time of the
states becomes independent of both the distance in phase space between their
components and their mean photon number. An explanation is presented to support
this remarkable result, together with a discussion on the experimental
implementation of our proposal. We also show how to produce number states with
fidelities higher than those derived as circular states
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