Accumulation of a polyisoprene-linked amino sugar in polymyxin-resistant Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli: Structural characterization and transfer to lipid A in the periplasm

Polymyxin-resistant mutants of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium accumulate a novel minor lipid that can donate 4-amino-4-deoxy-L-arabinose units (L-Ara4N) to lipid A. We now report the purification of this lipid from a pss- pmrAC mutant of E. coli and assign its structure as undecaprenyl phosphate-α-L-Ara4N. Approximately 0.2 mg of homogeneous material was isolated from an 8-liter culture by solvent extraction, followed by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, C18 reverse phase resin, and silicic acid. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization/time of flight mass spectrometry in the negative mode yielded a single species [M - H]- at m/z 977.5, consistent with undecaprenyl phosphate-α-L-Ara4N (Mr = 978.41). 31P NMR spectroscopy showed a single phosphorus atom at -0.44 ppm characteristic of a phosphodiester linkage. Selective inverse decoupling difference spectroscopy demonstrated that the undecaprenyl phosphate group is attached to the anomeric carbon of the L-Ara4N unit. One- and two-dimensional 1H NMR studies confirmed the presence of a polyisoprene chain and a sugar moiety with chemical shifts and coupling constants expected for an equatorially substituted arabinopyranoside. Heteronuclear multiple-quantum coherence spectroscopy analysis demonstrated that a nitrogen atom is attached to C-4 of the sugar residue. The purified donor supports in vitro conversion of lipid IVA to lipid IIA, which is substituted with a single L-Ara4N moiety. The identification of undecaprenyl phosphate-α -L-Ara4N implies that L-Ara4N transfer to lipid A occurs in the periplasm of polymyxin-resistant strains, and establishes a new enzymatic pathway by which Gram-negative bacteria acquire antibiotic resistance

Responsabilidade do agente financeiro no crime de lavagem de dinheiro, Willfull Blindness e domínio do fato

             O presente artigo tem por foco o deslinde do um estudo acerca da responsabilidade imputada ao agente financeiro pela omissão de comunicar atividades suspeitas que despertem o delito de branqueamento de capitais, comumente denominado “lavagem de dinheiro”, no que espera tecer comentários e provocações sobre a possibilidade da responsabilização criminal do referido agente pela mesma conduta, conforme normas do BACEN, jurisprudências, legislação e doutrina pátria. Palavras chave: agente financeiro; cegueira deliberada; lavagem de dinheiro; cartas circulares; direito penal econômico. Sumário: Introdução. 1. Do tratamento dado pela lei de lavagem de dinheiro. 2. Cartas circulares do BACEN. 3. Da aplicação da Willfull Blindness ou Cegueira Deliberada. Conclusão. - Abstract             This article focuses on the responsibility attributed to the financial agent for the omission to report suspicious activities that arouse the crime of money laundering, in which hopes to comment and provocations the possibility of criminal liability of the agent by for the same conduct, according to BACEN norms, jurisprudence, legislation and homeland doctrine. Keywords: financial agent; willfull blidness; money laundry; circular letters; economic criminal law

Constraining Galileon inflation

In this short paper, we present constraints on the Galileon inflationary model from the CMB bispectrum. We employ a principal-component analysis of the independent degrees of freedom constrained by data and apply this to the WMAP 9-year data to constrain the free parameters of the model. A simple Bayesian comparison establishes that support for the Galileon model from bispectrum data is at best weak

Serological survey of bovine viral diarrhea (BVDV-1), brucellosis, and leptospirosis in captive white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari) from the Midwest region in Brazil

The present study was conducted to assess the occurrence of anti-Brucella sp., anti-BVDV-1, and anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies from captive white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari). A cross-sectional survey was performed testing 100 serum samples collected in a commercial breeding herd. All samples were submitted to the acidified antigen test (AAT), virus neutralization test (VNT) and microscopic agglutination test (MAT) with live antigens. None of the samples tested agglutinated in the AAT screening test. In the VNT, 28 samples presented a cytotoxic effect and were excluded from the evaluation. For BVDV-1, only one sample (1/72; 1.38%) was positive, with antibody titers of 40. For leptospirosis, 9% (9/100) of the samples reacted to at least one of the 24 serovars tested, with 8% (8/100) positive for serovar Patoc and 1% (1/100) for serovar Grippotyphosa. The maximum titer observed was 100. The identification of antibodies against the serovars Patoc and Grippotyphosa suggests that the sampled individuals have been exposed to the pathogen at some point during their lifetime. Regarding BVDV-1, this may be the first serological survey to describe seropositive samples in tayassuids

Inflationary perturbation theory is geometrical optics in phase space

A pressing problem in comparing inflationary models with observation is the accurate calculation of correlation functions. One approach is to evolve them using ordinary differential equations ("transport equations"), analogous to the Schwinger-Dyson hierarchy of in-out quantum field theory. We extend this approach to the complete set of momentum space correlation functions. A formal solution can be obtained using raytracing techniques adapted from geometrical optics. We reformulate inflationary perturbation theory in this language, and show that raytracing reproduces the familiar "delta N" Taylor expansion. Our method produces ordinary differential equations which allow the Taylor coefficients to be computed efficiently. We use raytracing methods to express the gauge transformation between field fluctuations and the curvature perturbation, zeta, in geometrical terms. Using these results we give a compact expression for the nonlinear gauge-transform part of fNL in terms of the principal curvatures of uniform energy-density hypersurfaces in field space.Comment: 22 pages, plus bibliography and appendix. v2: minor changes, matches version published in JCA

The δN formula is the dynamical renormalization group

We derive the 'separate universe' method for the inflationary bispectrum, beginning directly from a field-theory calculation. We work to tree-level in quantum effects but to all orders in the slow-roll expansion, with masses accommodated perturbatively. Our method provides a systematic basis to account for novel sources of time-dependence in inflationary correlation functions, and has immediate applications. First, we use our result to obtain the correct matching prescription between the 'quantum' and 'classical' parts of the separate universe computation. Second, we elaborate on the application of this method in situations where its validity is not clear. As a by-product of our calculation we give the leading slow-roll corrections to the three-point function of field fluctuations on spatially flat hypersurfaces in a canonical, multiple-field model.Comment: v1: 33 pages, plus appendix and references; 5 figures. v2: typographical typos fixed, minor changes to the main text and abstract, reference added; matches version published in JCA

Dynamics of tournaments: the soccer case

A random walk-like model is considered to discuss statistical aspects of tournaments. The model is applied to soccer leagues with emphasis on the scores. This competitive system was computationally simulated and the results are compared with empirical data from the English, the German and the Spanish leagues and showed a good agreement with them. The present approach enabled us to characterize a diffusion where the scores are not normally distributed, having a short and asymmetric tail extending towards more positive values. We argue that this non-Gaussian behavior is related with the difference between the teams and with the asymmetry of the scores system. In addition, we compared two tournament systems: the all-play-all and the elimination tournaments.Comment: To appear in EPJ

Inflationary signatures of single-field models beyond slow-roll

If the expansion of the early Universe was not close to de Sitter, the statistical imprints of the primordial density perturbation on the cosmic microwave background can be quite different from those derived in slow-roll inflation. In this paper we study the inflationary signatures of all single-field models which are free of ghost-like instabilities. We allow for a rapid change of the Hubble parameter and the speed of sound of scalar fluctuations, in a way that is compatible with a nearly scale-invariant spectrum of perturbations, as supported by current cosmological observations. Our results rely on the scale-invariant approximation, which is different from the standard slow-roll approximation. We obtain the propagator of scalar fluctuations and compute the bispectrum, keeping next-order corrections proportional to the deviation of the spectral index from unity. These theories offer an explicit example where the shape and scale-dependences of the bispectrum are highly non-trivial whenever slow-roll is not a good approximation.Comment: v1: 36 pages, including tables, appendices and references. v2: abstract improved, references added, minor clarifications throughout the text; matches version published in JCA

TOPOGRAFIA DO CONE MEDULAR EM UM GATO MOURISCO, Herpailurus yagouaroundi (Severtzow, 1858)(FELIDAE)

A anestesia caudal foi proposta pela primeira vez em 1926 e diversas técnicas foram desenvolvidas para anestesiar os nervos espinhais lombares e sacrais. Os métodos para anestesia epidural exigem conhecimento da anatomia da região envolvida. O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar a topografia do cone medular do gato mourisco, tornando possível a realização desta técnica anestésica em um felino silvestre de nossa fauna. Uma gata mourisca, adulta, proveniente do Zoológico Parque do Sabiá, Uberlândia-MG, foi encaminhado ao Laboratório de Pesquisa em Animais Silvestres (LAPAS), com o objetivo de determinar a topografia do cone medular para tornar possível a realização desta técnica anestésica em um felino silvestre de nossa fauna. Este animal foi fixado em solução de formol a 10%. Feita incisão de pele, os músculos da coluna vertebral foram retirados, os arcos vertebrais foram seccionados para visualização da medula espinhal e seus envoltórios. O cone medular neste animal iniciou-se na sexta vértebra lombar (L6) e terminou na segunda vértebra sacral (S2), com comprimento total de 50mm. O comprimento corporal deste felino foi de 473mm. Conclui-se que o melhor local para a anestesia epidural do membro pélvico no gato mourisco está entre as vértebras L6 e S2. Topographycal study on the medullar cone in jaguarundi, Herpailurus yagouaroundi (Severtzow,1858)(FELIDAE Abstract Since the caudal anesthesia was first proposed in 1926 many techniques were developed to anesthethize the lumbar and sacral nerves. Such methods for epidural anesthesia require knowledge of the relative anatomical regions. The objetive of the present study was to determine the topographic anatomy of the jaguarundi medullar cone as a morphological basis for application of anesthesis techniques. One adult female jaguarondi that perished by natural death has been obtained form the Sabiá Zoo Park, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil and conducted to tha Wild Animals Laboratory. The animal was fixes in 10% formalin solution. Following skin incision, muscles of the vertebral column were removed and the vertebral arcs sectioned for the visualization of hte spinal cord and its wrappers. Epidural anesthesic drug in the medullar cone. The medullar cone in this jaguarundi startet in the sixth lumbar vertebra (L6) and ended in the second sacral vertebra (S2); the spinal cord length was 50mm. The corporal length of this feline measured 473mm. The best region to perform the pelvic anesthesia in a jaguarundi is between the vertebra L6 and S2

Nucleation of a sodium droplet on C60

We investigate theoretically the progressive coating of C60 by several sodium atoms. Density functional calculations using a nonlocal functional are performed for NaC60 and Na2C60 in various configurations. These data are used to construct an empirical atomistic model in order to treat larger sizes in a statistical and dynamical context. Fluctuating charges are incorporated to account for charge transfer between sodium and carbon atoms. By performing systematic global optimization in the size range 1<=n<=30, we find that Na_nC60 is homogeneously coated at small sizes, and that a growing droplet is formed above n=>8. The separate effects of single ionization and thermalization are also considered, as well as the changes due to a strong external electric field. The present results are discussed in the light of various experimental data.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figure