2,114 research outputs found
The Neron-Severi group of a proper seminormal complex variety
We prove a Lefschetz (1,1)-Theorem for proper seminormal varieties over the
complex numbers. The proof is a non-trivial geometric argument applied to the
isogeny class of the Lefschetz 1-motive associated to the mixed Hodge structure
on H^2.Comment: 16 pages; Mathematische Zeitschrift (2008
Preliminary evaluation of probiotic properties of Lactobacillus strains isolated from Sardinian dairy products
Twenty-three Lactobacillus strains of dairy origin were evaluated for some functional properties relevant to their use as probiotics. A preliminary subtractive screening based on the abilities to inhibit the growth of microbial pathogens and hydrolyze conjugated bile salts was applied, and six strains were selected for further characterization including survival under gastrointestinal environmental conditions, adhesion to gut epithelial tissue, enzymatic activity, and some safety properties. All selected strains maintained elevated cell numbers under conditions simulating passage through the human gastrointestinal tract, well comparable to the values obtained for the probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, and were able to adhere to Caco-2 cells to various extents (from 3 to 20%). All strains exhibited high aminopeptidase, and absent or very low proteolytic and strong β-galactosidase activities; none was found to be haemolytic or to produce biogenic amines and all were susceptible to tetracycline, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, ampicillin, and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. Our results indicate that the Lactobacillus strains analyzed could be considered appropriate probiotic candidates, due to resistance to GIT simulated conditions, antimicrobial activity, adhesion to Caco-2 cell-line, and absence of undesirable properties. They could be used as adjunct cultures for contributing to the quality and health related functional properties of dairy products
Silent Flocks
Experiments find coherent information transfer through biological groups on
length and time scales distinctly below those on which asymptotically correct
hydrodynamic theories apply. We present here a new continuum theory of
collective motion coupling the velocity and density fields of Toner and Tu to
the inertial spin field recently introduced to describe information propagation
in natural flocks of birds. The long-wavelength limit of the new equations
reproduces Toner-Tu theory, while at shorter wavelengths (or, equivalently,
smaller damping), spin fluctuations dominate over density fluctuations and
second sound propagation of the kind observed in real flocks emerges. We study
the dispersion relation of the new theory and find that when the speed of
second sound is large, a gap sharply separates first from second sound modes.
This gap implies the existence of `silent' flocks, namely medium-sized systems
across which neither first nor second sound can propagate
Phase transitions for the cavity approach to the clique problem on random graphs
We give a rigorous proof of two phase transitions for a disordered system
designed to find large cliques inside Erdos random graphs. Such a system is
associated with a conservative probabilistic cellular automaton inspired by the
cavity method originally introduced in spin glass theory.Comment: 36 pages, 4 figure
Collective behaviour without collective order in wild swarms of midges
Collective behaviour is a widespread phenomenon in biology, cutting through a
huge span of scales, from cell colonies up to bird flocks and fish schools. The
most prominent trait of collective behaviour is the emergence of global order:
individuals synchronize their states, giving the stunning impression that the
group behaves as one. In many biological systems, though, it is unclear whether
global order is present. A paradigmatic case is that of insect swarms, whose
erratic movements seem to suggest that group formation is a mere epiphenomenon
of the independent interaction of each individual with an external landmark. In
these cases, whether or not the group behaves truly collectively is debated.
Here, we experimentally study swarms of midges in the field and measure how
much the change of direction of one midge affects that of other individuals. We
discover that, despite the lack of collective order, swarms display very strong
correlations, totally incompatible with models of noninteracting particles. We
find that correlation increases sharply with the swarm's density, indicating
that the interaction between midges is based on a metric perception mechanism.
By means of numerical simulations we demonstrate that such growing correlation
is typical of a system close to an ordering transition. Our findings suggest
that correlation, rather than order, is the true hallmark of collective
behaviour in biological systems.Comment: The original version has been split into two parts. This first part
focuses on order vs. correlation. The second part, about finite-size scaling,
will be included in a separate paper. 15 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, 5 video
Finite-size scaling as a way to probe near-criticality in natural swarms
Collective behaviour in biological systems is often accompanied by strong
correlations. The question has therefore arisen of whether correlation is
amplified by the vicinity to some critical point in the parameters space.
Biological systems, though, are typically quite far from the thermodynamic
limit, so that the value of the control parameter at which correlation and
susceptibility peak depend on size. Hence, a system would need to readjust its
control parameter according to its size in order to be maximally correlated.
This readjustment, though, has never been observed experimentally. By gathering
three-dimensional data on swarms of midges in the field we find that swarms
tune their control parameter and size so as to maintain a scaling behaviour of
the correlation function. As a consequence, correlation length and
susceptibility scale with the system's size and swarms exhibit a near-maximal
degree of correlation at all sizes.Comment: Selected for Viewpoint in Physics; PRL Editor's Suggestio
Bloodstream infection caused by KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae resistant to ceftazidime/avibactam: epidemiology and genomic characterization
Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of ceftazidime/avibactam resistance among Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing K. pneumoniae (KPC-Kp) strains isolated from patients with bloodstream infection. Methods: We collected 120 carbapenemase producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) strains from unique patients hospitalized in two Italian hospitals between January 2018 to February 2019. Strains were phenotypically characterized for the type of carbapenemase production and susceptibility to ceftazidime/avibactam. Ceftazidime/avibactam-resistant strains were characterized by whole-genome sequencing. Results: During the study period, we characterized 105 (87.5%) KPC producers among a total of 120 CPE strains. Ceftazidime/avibactam resistance was found in three KPC-Kp strains isolated from patients with no history of previous ceftazidime/avibactam-based treatment. Of note, two out of three ceftazidime\u2013avibactam-resistant KPC-Kp were also resistant to meropenem/vaborbactam. Genomic characterization showed that a ceftazidime/avibactam-resistant KPC-Kp harboured a mixed population with D179Y mutated KPC-2, while the other two ceftazidime\u2013avibactam-resistant KPC-Kp possessed non-functional ompK35-ompK37 and mutated ompK36 porins associated with higher copy number of blaKPC gene. Conclusions: Our results showed that incidence of ceftazidime/avibactam resistance emerged in KCP-Kp strains independently from previous antimicrobial exposure. Resistance to ceftazidime/avibactam was associated with mutations within the blaKPC gene or porin deficiency associated with higher blaKPC copy number and is also related to the meropenem/vaborbactam resistance
A quantum trajectory description of decoherence
A complete theoretical treatment in many problems relevant to physics,
chemistry, and biology requires considering the action of the environment over
the system of interest. Usually the environment involves a relatively large
number of degrees of freedom, this making the problem numerically intractable
from a purely quantum-mechanical point of view. To overcome this drawback, a
new class of quantum trajectories is proposed. These trajectories, based on the
same grounds as Bohmian ones, are solely associated to the system reduced
density matrix, since the evolution of the environment degrees of freedom is
not considered explicitly. Within this approach, environment effects come into
play through a time-dependent damping factor that appears in the system
equations of motion. Apart from their evident computational advantage, this
type of trajectories also results very insightful to understand the system
decoherence. In particular, here we show the usefulness of these trajectories
analyzing decoherence effects in interference phenomena, taking as a working
model the well-known double-slit experiment.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure
The Metallo-β-lactamase GOB Is a Mono-Zn(II) Enzyme with a Novel Active Site
Metallo-β-lactamases (MβLs) are zinc-dependent enzymes able to hydrolyze and inactivate most β-lactam antibiotics. The large diversity of active site structures and metal content among MβLs from different sources has limited the design of a pan-MβL inhibitor. Here we report the biochemical and biophysical characterization of a novel MβL, GOB-18, from a clinical isolate of a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen, Elizabethkingia meningoseptica. Different spectroscopic techniques, three-dimensional modeling, and mutagenesis experiments, reveal that the Zn(II) ion is bound to Asp120, His121, His263, and a solvent molecule, i.e. in the canonical Zn2 site of dinuclear MβLs. Contrasting all other related MβLs, GOB-18 is fully active against a broad range of β-lactam substrates using a single Zn(II) ion in this site. These data further enlarge the structural diversity of MβLs
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