Reconstruction of Quark Mass Matrices with Weak Basis Texture Zeroes from Experimental Input

All quark mass matrices with texture zeroes obtained through weak basis transformations are confronted with the experimental data. The reconstruction of the quark mass matrices M_u and M_d at the electroweak scale is performed in a weak basis where the matrices are Hermitian and have a maximum of three vanishing elements. The same procedure is also accomplished for the Yukawa coupling matrices at the grand unification scale in the context of the Standard Model and its minimal supersymmetric extension as well as of the two Higgs doublet model. The analysis of all viable power structures on the quark Yukawa coupling matrices that could naturally appear from a Froggatt-Nielsen mechanism is also presented.Comment: RevTeX4, 3 tables, 21 pages; misprints corrected and one reference adde

Human cachexia induces changes in mitochondria, autophagy and apoptosis in the skeletal muscle

Cachexia is a wasting syndrome characterized by the continuous loss of skeletal muscle mass due to imbalance between protein synthesis and degradation, which is related with poor prognosis and compromised quality of life. Dysfunctional mitochondria are associated with lower muscle strength and muscle atrophy in cancer patients, yet poorly described in human cachexia. We herein investigated mitochondrial morphology, autophagy and apoptosis in the skeletal muscle of patients with gastrointestinal cancer-associated cachexia (CC), as compared with a weight-stable cancer group (WSC). CC showed prominent weight loss and increased circulating levels of serum C-reactive protein, lower body mass index and decreased circulating hemoglobin, when compared to WSC. Electron microscopy analysis revealed an increase in intermyofibrillar mitochondrial area in CC, as compared to WSC. Relative gene expression of Fission 1, a protein related to mitochondrial fission, was increased in CC, as compared to WSC. LC3 II, autophagy-related (ATG) 5 and 7 essential proteins for autophagosome formation, presented higher content in the cachectic group. Protein levels of phosphorylated p53 (Ser46), activated caspase 8 (Asp384) and 9 (Asp315) were also increased in the skeletal muscle of CC. Overall, our results demonstrate that human cancer-associated cachexia leads to exacerbated muscle-stress response that may culminate in muscle loss, which is in part due to disruption of mitochondrial morphology, dysfunctional autophagy and increased apoptosis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report showing quantitative morphological alterations in skeletal muscle mitochondria in cachectic patients

Fruit yield and quality of Palmer mango trees under different irrigation systems.

Mango production has been having a great economical expression in the Brazilian agriculture. However, the economic crisis and increased competitiveness of the international market required improvements in the crop efficiency for its sustainability. In this context, the objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of different irrigation system on the physiology and fruit yield and quality of Palmer mango trees in the semiarid conditions of the Lower Middle São Francisco Valley, Brazil. The experiment was carried out at the Agranvil Farm, in Petrolina, state of Pernambuco, Brazil, with harvests in July 2013 and October 2014. A randomized block statistical design was used, with four treatments replicated in 5 blocks, during two production cycles. The treatments consisted of four irrigation systems: one micro sprinkler under the plant canopy (MSPC); drip system with two lateral lines per plant row (DSLL); one micro sprinkler between plants (MSBP); and ring-shaped drip system around the plants (RSDS). All treatments provided a flow rate of 56 L h-1 plant-1. The physiological characteristics evaluated were: photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, leaf transpiration, and leaf temperature. Fruit yield, quantity, mean weight, volume, soluble solid content, titratable acidity (TA), density, and pulp firmness were evaluated after the harvest. The evaluated treatments presented significant differences for the physiological variables. The treatment DSLL provided higher number of fruits and fruit yield, and the treatment MSBP provided the lowest results for these variables

Lusitanian toadfish song reflects male quality

Lusitanian toadfish males that provide parental care rely on acoustic signals (the boatwhistle) to attract females to their nest. We test the hypothesis that male quality, namely male size and condition that are relevant for parental success, is reflected in vocal activity and boatwhistle characteristics and thus advertised to females. We recorded 22 males over a week during the peak of the breeding season. Calling rate and calling effort (percentage of time spent calling) strongly reflected male condition (lipid content of somatic muscles) and to a smaller extent sonic muscle hypertrophy and larger gonads. Males in better condition (increased body lipid and relative higher liver mass) also contracted the sonic muscles at faster rate as shown by the shorter boatwhistle pulse periods. Amplitude modulation reflected the degree of sonic muscle hypertrophy. None of the measured male quality parameters were good predictors of boatwhistle duration and dominant frequency. Altogether this study strongly suggests that Lusitanian toadfish males advertise their quality to females primarily with boatwhistle calling rate and calling effort, which mainly reflect male condition. Because pulse period had low variability, consistent with the existence of a vocal central pattern generator, we suggest that males that sustain sonic muscles contraction at a very fast rate close to their physiological limit may be honestly advertising their quality (condition). Similarly, males that produce boatwhistles with higher amplitude modulation, a feature that seems dependent on sonic muscle hypertrophy, could be more attractive to females.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologiainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

SEA 32 MULTI-DOMAIN, MANNED-UNMANNED LITTORAL DENIAL SYSTEM

This report details a systems engineering approach to design a manned-unmanned, multi-domain, littoral denial system of systems, projected over the next decade. Mission context scenarios were created to provide diverse system operating environments, enabling a flexible system architecture to address a variety of threats in near-peer competition. With efforts to employ cost-effective and attritable unmanned components, open-source platform reviews were conducted to determine performance parameters, cost, and technical readiness levels, ultimately influencing the eligibility and appropriateness of these platforms for system integration. This evaluation led to a value system design for each candidate platform, providing quantitative analysis for its potential contribution to our system functions as they pertain to each mission scenario. An optimization program under cost constraints was then utilized to yield ideal platform combinations while meeting all functional requirements. Each architecture that resulted from the optimization program was then subjected to a combat model to verify its effectiveness, and then compared to conventional littoral denial constructs. Analysis and comparison of each system architecture yielded relevant insights for the project sponsor at OPNAV N9I (Director of Warfare Integration). Each scenario-dependent system of systems yielded improvements in certain functional evaluations, while also producing degradations in other functional areas.Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.Major, Republic of Singapore NavyMajor, Brazilian Air ForceLieutenant, United States NavyLieutenant, United States NavyLieutenant, United States Nav

QoS management and control for an all-IP WiMAX network architecture: Design, implementation and evaluation

The IEEE 802.16 standard provides a specification for a fixed and mobile broadband wireless access system, offering high data rate transmission of multimedia services with different Quality-of-Service (QoS) requirements through the air interface. The WiMAX Forum, going beyond the air interface, defined an end-to-end WiMAX network architecture, based on an all-IP platform in order to complete the standards required for a commercial rollout of WiMAX as broadband wireless access solution. As the WiMAX network architecture is only a functional specification, this paper focuses on an innovative solution for an end-to-end WiMAX network architecture offering in compliance with the WiMAX Forum specification. To our best knowledge, this is the first WiMAX architecture built by a research consortium globally and was performed within the framework of the European IST project WEIRD (WiMAX Extension to Isolated Research Data networks). One of the principal features of our architecture is support for end-to-end QoS achieved by the integration of resource control in the WiMAX wireless link and the resource management in the wired domains in the network core. In this paper we present the architectural design of these QoS features in the overall WiMAX all-IP framework and their functional as well as performance evaluation. The presented results can safely be considered as unique and timely for any WiMAX system integrator

Sudan Black B treatment reduces autofluorescence and improves resolution of in situ hybridization specific fluorescent signals of brain sections

Interference by autofluorescence is one of the major concerns of immunofluorescence analysis of in situ hybridization-based diagnostic assays. We present a useful technique that reduces autofluorescent background without affecting the tissue integrity or direct immunofluorescence signals in brain sections. Using six different protocols, such as ammonia/ethanol, Sudan Black B (SBB) in 70% ethanol, photobleaching with UV light and different combinations of them in both formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded and frozen human brain tissue sections, we have found that tissue treatment of SBB in a concentration of 0.1% in 70% ethanol is the best approach to reduce/eliminate tissue autofluorescence and background, while preserving the specific fluorescence hybridization signals. This strategy is a feasible, non-time consuming method that provides a reasonable compromise between total reduction of the tissue autofluorescence and maintenance of specific fluorescent labels.Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)[2007/56146-2]Comissao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)[1429/08-6

Advances in the phylogenetic study of the tribe Cinchoneae (Rubiaceae) with emphasis on the genus Cinchona and Ladenbergia

In its current circumscription, the Cinchoneae tribe includes 9 genera of neotropical distribution. Its species occur mostly in the Andes in South America, with few reaching Central America. Preliminary phylogenetic studies have suggested the monophyly of Cinchoneae but intrageneric relationships are still debatable. In this study, we sampled 8 genera of Cinchoneae (with ca 50% of species for Cinchona and Ladenbergia) and obtained multiple single-copy nuclear loci (ca 207 genes) by using the “Angiosperm353 universal probe set”, which was complemented with a taxonomic review of Cinchoneae. Phylogenetic inferences were realized with multispecies pseudo-coalescent (ASTRAL III) and gene concatenation analysis (ML). Our results strongly support the monophyly of the tribe and most of the genera, except for Ladenbergia. Furthermore, Ciliosemina, Ladenbergia, and Remijia formed a clade, although the position of Ciliosemina (= Remijia pedunculata) and Ladenbergia muzonensis is still elusive. The position of Ladenbergia muzonensis is intriguing due to its intermedíate floral morphology, which resembles both Remijia and Ladenbergia species. Additionally, our phylogeny also supports the recognition of a new species in Cinchona. Finally, our results show that sequencing data using the probe set designed for multiple gene capture is a useful tool for phylogenetic reconstructions in taxonomically complex groups