A spherical perfect lens

It has been recently proved that a slab of negative refractive index material acts as a perfect lens in that it makes accessible the sub-wavelength image information contained in the evanescent modes of a source. Here we elaborate on perfect lens solutions to spherical shells of negative refractive material where magnification of the near-field images becomes possible. The negative refractive materials then need to be spatially dispersive with $\epsilon(r) \sim 1/r$ and $\mu(r)\sim 1/r$. We concentrate on lens-like solutions for the extreme near-field limit. Then the conditions for the TM and TE polarized modes become independent of $\mu$ and $\epsilon$ respectively.Comment: Revtex4, 9 pages, 2 figures (eps

Influence Of Secondary Packing On The Freezing Time Of Chiken Meat In Air Blast Freezing Tunnels [influência Da Embalagem Secundária Sobre O Tempo De Congelamento De Carne De Frango Em Túneis De Circulação De Ar Forçada]

Freezing of poultry cuts in continuous convective air blast tunnels is normally performed with the products protected by Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) as a primary packaging and using Corrugated Cardboard Boxes (CCB) as secondary packaging. The objective of this work was to investigate the influence of these secondary packaging on the freezing of poultry cuts in continuous convective air blast tunnels. The study was performed by replacing CCB with Perforated Metal Boxes (PMB) in order to remove the packaging thermal resistance. The assays, performed in a industrial plant, demonstrated that CCB used commercially for meat freezing have a high heat transfer resistance. Their replacement with PMB can lead to shorter freezing times and spatially homogeneous freezing. Reductions of up to 45% in the freezing times were observed using PMB. The plateau of the temperature curve, related to the freezing time of free water, was significantly reduced using PMB, which is accepted to lead to better product quality after thawing. As the products were protected by the LDPE films as primary packaging, their appearance were not affected. The results presented in this work indicate that replacing CBB with PMB can be an excellent alternative to reduce freezing time and improve freezing homogeneity in industrial air blast tunnels, which could also be applied to other products.28SUPPL.252258(1998) Refrigeration Handbook, Food Storage and Equipment, Food Refrigeration, , ASHRAE - American Society of Heating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, AtlantaBrennan, J.G., (1980) Las Operaciones de la ingenieria de los alimentos, pp. 367-377. , 2 ed. Zaragoza, Espanha: AcribiaLawrie, R.A., (1985) Meat Science, pp. 112-134. , 4 ed. New York: Pergamon PressPardi, M.C., (2001) Ciência, higiene e tecnologia da carne, 1. , 2 ed. Goiânia: UFGResende, J.V., Neves Filho, L.C., Silveira Junior, V., Escoamento de ar através de embalagens de polpa de frutas em caixas comerciais: Efeito sobre os perfis de velocidade em tÚneis de congelamento (2002) Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos, 22 (2), pp. 184-191. , maio/agoResende, J.V., Silveira Junior, V., Medidas da condutividade térmica efetiva de modelos de polpas de frutas no estado congelado (2002) Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos, 22 (2), pp. 177-183. , maio/agoSantos, C.A., Determination of heat transfer coefficient in cooling-freezing tunnels using experimental time temperature data (2007) Journal of Food Process Engineering, 30 (6), pp. 1-12Silva, J.A., (2000) Tópicos da Tecnologia de Alimentos, pp. 147-159. , São Paulo: Livraria VarelaSingh, R.P., Heldman, D.R., (1977) Introduccion a la ingenieria de los alimentos, , Zaragoza, Espanha: AcribiaVigneault, C., Indirect airflow measurement for horticultural crop package. Part II: Verification of the research tool applicability (2004), pp. 7331-7344. , In: ASAE Annual International MeetingVigneault, C., Castro, L.R., Gautron, G., Effect of open handles on packages during precooling process of horticultural produce (2004), pp. 6901-6908. , In: ASAE Annual International Meetin

Toxicokinetics of copper and cadmium in the soil model Enchytraeus crypticus (Oligochaeta)

Toxicokinetics information is key to understanding the underlying intoxication processes, although this is often lacking. Hence, in the present study the toxicokinetics of copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd) was assessed in the soil invertebrate Enchytraeus crypticus. The animals were exposed in LUFA 2.2 natural soil spiked to the estimated EC20 for reproduction effects in the Enchytraeid Reproduction Test (ERT), i.e. 80 mg Cu/kg soil Dry Weight (DW) and 20 mg Cd/kg soil DW. Tests followed the OECD guideline 317, including a 14-day uptake phase in spiked soil followed by 14 days elimination in clean soil, with samplings at days 0, 1, 2, 4, 7, 10, and 14. Exposure to Cu showed fast uptake, reaching a steady state after approx. 7 days, whereas for Cd, internal concentration increased and did not reach a clear steady state even after 14 days. When transferred to clean soil, Cu was rapidly eliminated returning to initial levels, while Cd-exposed animals still contained increased residue levels after 14 days. These differences in toxicokinetics have consequences for the toxicity and toxicodynamics and are indicative of the way essential and non-essential elements are handled by enchytraeids, likely also other soil invertebrates. This argues for the relevancy of longer exposure testing for elements like Cd compared to Cu, where phenotypical effects can well occur later at non-tested periods, e.g. after the 21 days’ duration of the standard ERT using E. crypticus

Individual responder analysis of effectiveness of manual therapy and exercise versus usual care in neck pain patients: preliminary results of a randomized controlled trial

Trabalho apresentado no 10th Congress of European Pain Federation (EFIC), 6-9 setembro 2017, Copenhaga, DinamarcaN/

Genetic Distance Based On Ssr And Grain Yield Of Inter And Intrapopulational Maize Single Cross Hybrids

The objective of this work was to correlate the genetic distances between the progenitors obtained by microsatellite markers with the grain yield of inter and intrapopulational maize single cross hybrids. Three S 0 populations derived from commercial single cross hybrids were used to obtain 163 hybrids (110 interpopulational and 53 intrapopulational). The two best hybrids and two worst hybrids of each the inter- and intrapopulational crosses were selected and their progenitors maintained through self-pollination of the second ear of each S 0 plant, genotyped with 47 SSRs. The Modified Roger's Distance (MRD) between each pair of S 1 inbred lines, the number of alleles and the polymorphic information content (PIC) of each primer were estimated. The genetic distances between progenitors were correlated with the grain yield of the inter- and intrapopulational hybrids. The number of obtained alleles was 186, with a mean of 3.96 alleles. The PIC varied from 0.49 to 0.80, with a mean of 0.65. The mean genetic distance between all S 1 inbred lines was 0.75, varying from 0.40 to 0.89, indicating the existence of variability between the S 1 inbred lines. The correlation between MRD and grain yield was high and significant for the interpopulational crosses (r = 0.84, P ≤ 0.01) and low and not significant (r = 0.18, P ≥ 0.05) for intrapopulational crosses.5103/04/15507513Ajmone Marsan, P., Castiglioni, P., Fu Sari, F., Kuiper, M., Motto, M., Genetic diversity and its relationship to hybrid performance in maize as revealed by RFLP and AFLP markers (1998) Theor. Appl. Genet., 96, pp. 219-227Árcade, A., Faivre-Rampant, P., Le Guerroué, B., Paques, L.E., Prat, D., Heterozigosity and hybrid performance in larch (1996) Theor. Appl. Genet., 93, pp. 1274-1281Barbosa, A.M.M., Geraldi, I.O., Benchimol, L.L., Garcia, A.A.F., Souza Jr., C.L., Souza, A.P., Relationship of intra and interpopulation tropical maize single cross hybrid performance and genetic distances computed from AFLP and SSR markers (2003) Euphytica, 87, pp. 87-99Benchimol, L.L., Souza Jr., C.L., Garcia, A.A.F., Kono, P.M.S., Mangolin, C.A., Barbosa, A.M.M., Coelho, A.S.G., Souza, A.P., Genetic diversity in tropical maize inbred lines: Heterotic group assignment and hybrid performance determined by RFLP markers (2000) Plant Breed., 119, pp. 491-496Boppenmaier, J., Melchinger, A.E., Brunklaus-Junt, E., Geiger, H.H., Genetic diversity for RFLP in European maize inbreds: Relation to performance of flint x dent crosses for forage traits (1992) Crop Sci., 32, pp. 895-902Butstein, D., White, M., Sholnick, M., David, R.W., Construction of a genetic linkage map in man using restriction fragment length polymorphisms (1980) Am. J. Hum. Genet., 32, pp. 314-331Cheres, M.T., Miller, J.F., Crane, J.M., Knapp, S.J., Genetic distance as a predictor of heterosis and hybrid performance within and between heterotic groups in sunflower (2000) Theor. Appl. Genet., 100, pp. 889-894Cruz, C.D., Shuster, I., (2004) GQMOL: Aplicativo Computacional para Análise de Dados Moleculares e de Suas Associações Com Caracteres Quantitativos. Versão 2004.2.1, , Viçosa. MGDhillon, B.S., Boppenmaier, J., Pollmer, R.G., Hermann, R.G., Melchinger, A.E., Relationship of restriction length polymorphisms among european maize inbreds with ear dry matter yield of their hybrids (1993) Maydica, 38, pp. 245-248Drinic, S.M., Trifunovic, S., Drinic, G., Konstantinov, K., Genetic divergence and its correlation to heterosis in maize as revealed by SSR base markers (2002) Maydica, 47, pp. 1-8Goodman, M.M., Stuber, C.W., Races of maize: VI. Isozyme variation among races of maize in Bolivia (1983) Maydica, 28, pp. 169-187Hallauer, A.R., Miranda Filho, J.B., (1988) Quantitative Genetics in Maize Breeding, 468p. , Iowa State University Press, AmesKruskal, J.B., Multidimensional scaling by optimizing goodness of fit to a no metric hypothesis (1964) Psychometrika, 29, pp. 1-27Lanza, L.L.B., Souza Jr., C.L., Ottoboni, I.M.M., Vieira, M.L.C., Souza, A.P., Genetic distance of inbred lines and prediction of maize single-cross performance using RAPD markers (1997) Theor. Appl. Genet., 94, pp. 1023-1030Le Clerc, V., Bazante, F., Baril, C., Guiard, J., Zhang, D., Assessing temporal changes in genetic diversity of maize varieties using microsatellite markers (2005) Theor. Appl. 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Ed., 633p. , New York: McGraw HillVaz Patto, M.C., Satovic, Z., Pêgo, S., Fevereiro, P., Assessing the genetic diversity of Portuguese maize germoplasm using microsatellite markers (2004) Euphytica, 137, pp. 63-72Xia, X.C., Reif, J.C., Hoisington, D.A., Melchinger, A.E., Frisch, M., Warburton, M.L., Genetic diversity among CIMMYT maize inbred lines investigated with SSR markers (2004) Crop Sci., 44, pp. 2230-2237Xu, S., Liu, J., Liu, G., The use of SSRs for predicting the hybrid yield and yield heterosis in 15 key inbred lines of Chinese maize (2004) Hereditas, 141, pp. 207-21

Magnetotelluric Imaging of the Lithosphere Across the Variscan Orogen (Iberian Autochthonous Domain, NW Iberia)

A new magnetotelluric (MT) survey comprising 17 MT soundings throughout a 30 km long N30°W transect in the Iberian autochthons domain of NW Iberia (Central Iberian Zone) is presented. The 2-D inversion model shows the resistivity structure of the continental crust up to 10 km depth, heretofore unavailable for this region of the Variscan Orogen. The MT model reveals a wavy structure separating a conductive upper layer underlain by a resistive layer, thus picturing the two main tectonic blocks of a large-scale D2 extensional shear zone (i.e., Pinhel shear zone). The upper layer represents a lower grade metamorphic domain that includes graphite-rich rocks. The lower layer consists of high-grade metamorphic rocks that experienced partial melting and are associated with granites (more resistive) emplaced during crustal thinning. The wavy structure is the result of superimposed crustal shortening responsible for the development of large-scale D3 folds (e.g., Marofa synform), later deflected and refolded by a D4 strike-slip shear zone (i.e., Juzbado-Penalva do Castelo shear zone). The later contribution to the final structure of the crust is marked by the intrusion of postkinematic granitic rocks and the propagation of steeply dipping brittle fault zones. Our study demonstrates that MT imaging is a powerful tool to understand complex crustal structures of ancient orogens in order to design future prospecting surveys for mineral deposits of economic interest

Amplification of evanescent waves in a lossy left-handed material slab

We carry out finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations, with a specially-designed boundary condition, on pure evanescent waves interacting with a lossy left-handed material (LHM) slab. Our results provide the first full-wave numerical evidence for the amplification of evanescent waves inside a LHM slab of finite absorption. The amplification is due to the interactions between the evanescent waves and the coupled surface polaritons at the two surfaces of the LHM slab and the physical process can be described by a simple model.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

RAG Recombinase as a Selective Pressure for Genome Evolution

The RAG recombinase is a domesticated transposable element co-opted in jawed vertebrates to drive the process of the so-called V(D)J recombination, which is the hallmark of the adaptive immune system to produce antigen receptors. RAG targets, namely, the Recombination Signal Sequences (RSS), are rather long and degenerated sequences, which highlights the ability of the recombinase to interact with a wide range of target sequences, including outside of antigen receptor loci. The recognition of such cryptic targets by the recombinase threatens genome integrity by promoting aberrant DNA recombination, as observed in lymphoid malignancies. Genomes evolution resulting from RAG acquisition is an ongoing discussion, in particular regarding the counter-selection of sequences resembling the RSS and the modifications of epigenetic regulation at these potential cryptic sites. Here, we describe a new bioinformatics tool to map potential RAG targets in all jawed vertebrates. We show that our REcombination Classifier (REC) outperforms the currently available tool and is suitable for full genomes scans from species other than human and mouse. Using the REC, we document a reduction in density of potential RAG targets at the transcription start sites of genes co-expressed with the rag genes and marked with high levels of the trimethylation of the lysine 4 of the histone 3 (H3K4me3), which correlates with the retention of functional RAG activity after the horizontal transfer.Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência; Optimus alive award; Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia grant: (SFRH/BPD/65292/2009).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Kinin B2 receptor regulates chemokines CCL2 and CCL5 expression and modulates leukocyte recruitment and pathology in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in mice

BACKGROUND: Kinins are important mediators of inflammation and act through stimulation of two receptor subtypes, B1 and B2. Leukocyte infiltration contributes to the pathogenesis of autoimmune inflammation in the central nervous system (CNS), occurring not only in multiple sclerosis (MS) but also in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). We have previously shown that the chemokines CCL2 and CCL5 play an important role in the adhesion of leukocytes to the brain microcirculation in EAE. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relevance of B2 receptors to leukocyte-endothelium interactions in the cerebral microcirculation, and its participation in CNS inflammation in the experimental model of myelin-oligodendrocyte-glycoprotein (MOG)35-55-induced EAE in mice. METHODS: In order to evaluate the role of B2 receptor in the cerebral microvasculature we used wild-type (WT) and kinin B2 receptor knockout (B2-/-) mice subjected to MOG35-55-induced EAE. Intravital microscopy was used to investigate leukocyte recruitment on pial matter vessels in B2-/- and WT EAE mice. Histological documentation of inflammatory infiltrates in brain and spinal cords was correlated with intravital findings. The expression of CCL5 and CCL2 in cerebral tissue was assessed by ELISA. RESULTS: Clinical parameters of disease were reduced in B2-/- mice in comparison to wild type EAE mice. At day 14 after EAE induction, there was a significant decrease in the number of adherent leukocytes, a reduction of cerebral CCL5 and CCL2 expressions, and smaller inflammatory and degenerative changes in B2-/- mice when compared to WT. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that B2 receptors have two major effects in the control of EAE severity: (i) B2 regulates the expression of chemokines, including CCL2 and CCL5, and (ii) B2 modulates leukocyte recruitment and inflammatory lesions in the CNS

Electromagnetic-field quantization and spontaneous decay in left-handed media

We present a quantization scheme for the electromagnetic field interacting with atomic systems in the presence of dispersing and absorbing magnetodielectric media, including left-handed material having negative real part of the refractive index. The theory is applied to the spontaneous decay of a two-level atom at the center of a spherical free-space cavity surrounded by magnetodielectric matter of overlapping band-gap zones. Results for both big and small cavities are presented, and the problem of local-field corrections within the real-cavity model is addressed.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, RevTe