Self-avoiding fractional Brownian motion - The Edwards model

In this work we extend Varadhan's construction of the Edwards polymer model to the case of fractional Brownian motions in $\R^d$, for any dimension $d\geq 2$, with arbitrary Hurst parameters $H\leq 1/d$.Comment: 14 page

Human macrophages differentiated in the presence of vitamin D3 restrict dengue virus infection and innate responses by downregulating mannose receptor expression

ABSTARCT: Severe dengue disease is associated with high viral loads and overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines, suggesting impairment in the control of dengue virus (DENV) and the mechanisms that regulate cytokine production. Vitamin D3 has been described as an important modulator of immune responses to several pathogens. Interestingly, increasing evidence has associated vitamin D with decreased DENV infection and early disease recovery, yet the molecular mechanisms whereby vitamin D reduces DENV infection are not well understood. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Macrophages represent important cell targets for DENV replication and consequently, they are key drivers of dengue disease. In this study we evaluated the effect of vitamin D3 on the differentiation of monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) and their susceptibility and cytokine response to DENV. Our data demonstrate that MDM differentiated in the presence of vitamin D3 (D3-MDM) restrict DENV infection and moderate the classical inflammatory cytokine response. Mechanistically, vitamin D3-driven differentiation led to reduced surface expression of C-type lectins including the mannose receptor (MR, CD206) that is known to act as primary receptor for DENV attachment on macrophages and to trigger of immune signaling. Consequently, DENV bound less efficiently to vitamin D3-differentiated macrophages, leading to lower infection. Interestingly, IL-4 enhanced infection was reduced in D3-MDM by restriction of MR expression. Moreover, we detected moderate secretion of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-10 in D3-MDM, likely due to less MR engagement during DENV infection. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings reveal a molecular mechanism by which vitamin D counteracts DENV infection and progression of severe disease, and indicates its potential relevance as a preventive or therapeutic candidate

Macroinvertebrates inhabiting the tank leaf terrestrial and epiphyte bromeliads at Reserva Adolpho Ducke, Manaus, Amazonas

The aim of this work was to investigate the diversity of macroinvertebrates and also verify if the abundance and diversity of Diptera were influenced by the abiotic factors. The samples were collected from the epiphytic and terrestrial bromeliads G. brasiliensis (1 and 3m) in wet and dry seasons at Reserva Adolpho Ducke analyzed total of 144 samples were analyzed from a total of 15,238 individuals collected. These conatined 14,097 insects and, among these, 8,258 were immature Diptera, represented by eight most abundant families: Chironomidae, Ceratopogonidae and Culicidae. The relationship of Diptera diversity was influenced by the seasons and stratifications (p= 0.01); the abundance was influenced by the volume of water (p= 0.02) and the relationship between the season and volume of water in the terrestrial bromeliads was significant (p= 0.01). This study represented the first contribution to knowledge of community of macroinvertebrates associated to bromeliads G. brasiliensis in Central Amazon