Be Stars: Rapidly Rotating Pulsators

I will show that Be stars are, without exception, a class of rapidly rotating stars, which are in the majority of cases pulsating stars as well, while none of them does possess a large scale (i.e. with significant dipolar contribution) magnetic field.Comment: Review talk given at "XX Stellar Pulsation Conference Series: Impact of new instrumentation and new insights in stellar pulsations", Granada, 5-9 September 2011, in press in AIP Conf. Se

Effects of exercise on physical and mental health, and cognitive and brain functions in schizophrenia: clinical and experimental evidence

Exercise promotes several health benefits, such as cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and cardiorespiratory improvements. It is believed that the practice of exercise in individuals with psychiatric disorders, e.g. schizophrenia, can cause significant changes. Schizophrenic patients have problematic lifestyle habits compared with general population; this may cause a high mortality rate, mainly caused by cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate changes in physical and mental health, cognitive and brain functioning due to the practice of exercise in patients with schizophrenia. Although still little is known about the benefits of exercise on mental health, cognitive and brain functioning of schizophrenic patients, exercise training has been shown to be a beneficial intervention in the control and reduction of disease severity. Type of training, form of execution, duration and intensity need to be better studied as the effects on physical and mental health, cognition and brain activity depend exclusively of interconnected factors, such as the combination of exercise and medication. However, one should understand that exercise is not only an effective nondrug alternative, but also acts as a supporting linking up interventions to promote improvements in process performance optimization. In general, the positive effects on mental health, cognition and brain activity as a result of an exercise program are quite evident. Few studies have been published correlating effects of exercise in patients with schizophrenia, but there is increasing evidence that positive and negative symptoms can be improved. Therefore, it is important that further studies be undertaken to expand the knowledge of physical exercise on mental health in people with schizophrenia, as well as its dose-response and the most effective type of exercise

Modelling Land Use Change in Brazil: 2000–2050

The input and output land cover dataset across all modelled time periods (2000-2050) and scenarios resulting from the work of the REDD-PAC project in Brazil. Please consult the data section of the REDD-PAC website (http://redd-pac.org/new_page.php?contents=data1.csv) to access a data visualization tool and to obtain the dataset in WFS format. This dataset can be accessed and displayed using GIS software such as QGIS. Please consult the metadata file for further instruction

Quantificação do carbono das substâncias húmicas em diferentes sistemas de uso do solo e épocas de avaliação.

A quantificação do carbono nas diferentes frações da matéria orgânica do solo (MOS) torna-se necessária devido ao interesse de se conhecer o potencial de captura e armazenamento do carbono nos diferentes sistemas de uso do solo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi quantificar o carbono das substâncias húmicas em diferentes sistemas de uso do solo e épocas de avaliação e correlacioná-lo com algumas propriedades químicas e físicas do solo. Os sistemas selecionados foram: preparo convencional (PC-milho/feijão), plantio direto (PD-berinjela/milho), consórcio maracujá/Desmodium sp, cultivo com figo e sistema agroflorestal. As amostras de solo foram coletadas em duas profundidades (0-5 e 5-10 cm) e épocas (17/11/2005–verão e 23/6/2006-inverno). Foi determinado o carbono orgânico total (COT) e realizado o fracionamento químico da MOS, quantificando-se o carbono da fração humina (C-HUM), fração ácido húmico (C-FAH) e fração ácido fúlvico (C-FAF). O C-HUM constituiu a maior parte do COT, havendo correlação significativa com o COT em todos os sistemas avaliados e estações. Analisando o C-FAH foi possível identificar alterações no solo relacionadas aos sistemas de uso, na profundidade de 0-5 cm e no verão, destacando-se o PD com os maiores teores. Com o C-FAF ocorreu este mesmo comportamento, mas na profundidade de 5-10 cm e no inverno, destacando-se o PC com maiores valores. Foram verificadas correlações significativas entre Valor S, Valor T e DMP em todos os sistemas, com exceção da área de PC. O PD aumenta os teores de C-FAH, nas duas profundidades e nas duas estações, quando comparado ao PC do solo

Measurement of the Bottom contribution to non-photonic electron production in p+pp+p collisions at s\sqrt{s} =200 GeV

The contribution of $B$ meson decays to non-photonic electrons, which are mainly produced by the semi-leptonic decays of heavy flavor mesons, in $p+p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 200 GeV has been measured using azimuthal correlations between non-photonic electrons and hadrons. The extracted $B$ decay contribution is approximately 50% at a transverse momentum of $p_{T} \geq 5$ GeV/$c$. These measurements constrain the nuclear modification factor for electrons from $B$ and $D$ meson decays. The result indicates that $B$ meson production in heavy ion collisions is also suppressed at high $p_{T}$.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted by PR

Pre-M Phase-promoting Factor Associates with Annulate Lamellae in Xenopus Oocytes and Egg Extracts

We have used complementary biochemical and in vivo approaches to study the compartmentalization of M phase-promoting factor (MPF) in prophase Xenopus eggs and oocytes. We first examined the distribution of MPF (Cdc2/CyclinB2) and membranous organelles in high-speed extracts of Xenopus eggs made during mitotic prophase. These extracts were found to lack mitochondria, Golgi membranes, and most endoplasmic reticulum (ER) but to contain the bulk of the pre-MPF pool. This pre-MPF could be pelleted by further centrifugation along with components necessary to activate it. On activation, Cdc2/CyclinB2 moved into the soluble fraction. Electron microscopy and Western blot analysis showed that the pre-MPF pellet contained a specific ER subdomain comprising "annulate lamellae" (AL): stacked ER membranes highly enriched in nuclear pores. Colocalization of pre-MPF with AL was demonstrated by anti-CyclinB2 immunofluorescence in prophase oocytes, in which AL are positioned close to the vegetal surface. Green fluorescent protein-CyclinB2 expressed in oocytes also localized at AL. These data suggest that inactive MPF associates with nuclear envelope components just before activation. This association may explain why nuclei and centrosomes stimulate MPF activation and provide a mechanism for targeting of MPF to some of its key substrates

Longitudinal double-spin asymmetry and cross section for inclusive neutral pion production at midrapidity in polarized proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV

We report a measurement of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry A_LL and the differential cross section for inclusive Pi0 production at midrapidity in polarized proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV. The cross section was measured over a transverse momentum range of 1 < p_T < 17 GeV/c and found to be in good agreement with a next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculation. The longitudinal double-spin asymmetry was measured in the range of 3.7 < p_T < 11 GeV/c and excludes a maximal positive gluon polarization in the proton. The mean transverse momentum fraction of Pi0's in their parent jets was found to be around 0.7 for electromagnetically triggered events.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (RC

Prolonging disuse in aged mice amplifies cortical but not trabecular bones’ response to mechanical loading

Objective: Short-term neurectomy-induced disuse (SN) has been shown to restore load responses in aged mice. We examined whether this restoration was further enhanced in both cortical and trabecular bone by simply extending the SN. Methods: Following load:strain calibration, tibiae in female C57BL/J6 mice at 8, 14 and 20 weeks and 18 months (n=8/ group) were loaded and bone changes measured. Effects of long-term SN examined in twenty-six 18 months-old mice, neurectomised for 5 or 100 days with/without subsequent loading. Cortical and trabecular responses were measured histomorphometrically or by micro-computed tomography. Results: Loading increased new cortical bone formation, elevating cross-sectional area in 8, 14 and 20 week-old (p &lt;0.05), but not 18 month-old aged mice. Histomorphometry showed that short-term SN reinstated load-responses in aged mice, with significant 33% and 117% increases in bone accrual at 47% and 37%, but not 27% of tibia length. Cortical responses to loading was heightened and widespread, now evident at all locations, following prolonged SN (108, 167 and 98% at 47, 37 and 27% of tibial length, respectively). In contrast, loading failed to modify trabecular bone mass or architecture. Conclusions: Mechanoadaptation become deficient with ageing and prolonging disuse amplifies this response in cortical but not trabecular bone

A software to estimate heat stress impact on dairy cattle productive performance

ArticleThe aim of this study is to develop a computational tool, based on the Temperature and Humidity Index value, to characterize the thermal environment in dairy cattle barns and to evaluate the impact of thermal stress on productive performance. The software for the thermal environment prediction, and determination of the influence of heat stress on dairy cow productivity (Ambi + Leite) was developed using the C# programming language in the Microsoft Visual C# 2010 Express Integrated Development Environment. The following scenario was considered for the program test: air temperature 32°C, relative air humidity 70% and milk production potential in thermoneutrality condition 20 kg cow-1 day-1 . The prediction of the thermal environment based on the simulated situations indicates that the animals are submitted to a moderate heat stress condition with THI equal to 82.81. In this condition a decrease of approximately 26% in milk production and a reduction of 4 kg cow-1 day-1 in food intake was calculated. In conclusion, the developed software can be a practical tool to assist the producer in making-decision processes