Macroscopic Distinguishability Between Quantum States Defining Different Phases of Matter: Fidelity and the Uhlmann Geometric Phase

We study the fidelity approach to quantum phase transitions (QPTs) and apply it to general thermal phase transitions (PTs). We analyze two particular cases: the Stoner-Hubbard itinerant electron model of magnetism and the BCS theory of superconductivity. In both cases we show that the sudden drop of the mixed state fidelity marks the line of the phase transition. We conduct a detailed analysis of the general case of systems given by mutually commuting Hamiltonians, where the non-analyticity of the fidelity is directly related to the non-analyticity of the relevant response functions (susceptibility and heat capacity), for the case of symmetry-breaking transitions. Further, on the case of BCS theory of superconductivity, given by mutually non-commuting Hamiltonians, we analyze the structure of the system's eigenvectors in the vicinity of the line of the phase transition showing that their sudden change is quantified by the emergence of a generically non-trivial Uhlmann mixed state geometric phase.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures. Version to be publishe

A new cyanobacterial species with a protective effect on lettuce grown under salinity stress: envisaging sustainable agriculture practices

In this work, a new terrestrial cyanobacterial species, Oculatella lusitanica LEGE 161147, was isolated and characterized using a polyphasic approach. Morphologically, O. lusitanica shares characteristics with different Oculatella species (mainly with O. crustae-formantes), lacking distinctive features. However, the phylogeny based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence and the 16S-23S ITS secondary structures support the establishment of this isolate as a new species. O. lusitanica is placed within a clade mainly composed by other Oculatella terrestrial strains; however, it forms a separate lineage. In addition, our species differs from the other Oculatella described so far by lacking the V2 helix within the ITS region. Since cyanobacteria are known to release compounds that promote plant growth and/or increase their tolerance to stresses, the effect of this newly described cyanobacterial species on Lactuca sativa (lettuce) plants development and salinity stress resistance was evaluated. Our results showed that, although the cyanobacterium had no impact on plant growth under the conditions tested, it was able to mitigate the deleterious salinity stress effects on plant size, root and aerial part fresh weight, by eliciting the non-enzymatic antioxidant response system (proline, H2O2 and reduced glutathione). In addition, the microorganism was able to induce a priming effect on lettuce plants by stimulating defensive mechanisms under non-stress conditions, and enhances the activity of nitrogen metabolism-related enzymes glutamate dehydrogenase, glutamine synthetase and nitrate reductase. These results indicate that this native terrestrial cyanobacterial species could be employed as a tool in sustainable agricultural practices.This work was funded by National Funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., under the projects PCIF/RPG/0077/2017, UIDB/04293/2020, UIDP/04293/2020, UIDB/05748/2020 and UIDP/05748/2020. This work was also funded by the FCT grant SFRH/BPD/115571/2016 (to AB) and LTAUSA 18008 (to JK)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Competição política e desigualdades de gênero nas eleições para assembleias estaduais em 2018

O objetivo do trabalho é descrever e analisar a desigualdade de gênero nas eleições proporcionais de 2018 a partir dos seguintes parâmetros: i) o número de candidaturas masculinas e femininas; ii) o perfil sociodemográfico de candidatas e candidatos; iii) competitividade de mulheres e homens e, ainda, a relação entre votos; iv) e o volume de recursos financeiros de campanha declarados por candidatas e candidatos. A metodologia se deu com base em estatísticas descritivas dos dados brutos do Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (TSE), avaliando parâmetros de candidaturas, competitividade e gastos. A análise desses parâmetros revela que os partidos cumpriram, à risca, o patamar mínimo de candidaturas femininas definido em lei, de 30% de nomes nas listas partidárias. Além disso, observou-se um possível efeito do estado civil em interação com gênero desfavorável à representação feminina. Esse dado parece refletir, na arena eleitoral, constatações mais gerais a respeito da variação da desigualdade de gênero no Brasil associada à divisão sexual do trabalho reprodutivo. Para descrever a competitividade de candidatas e candidatos, foi elaborada uma tipologia a partir da regra que define o patamar mínimo de 10% quociente eleitoral como requisito para obtenção de representação. Observou-se um expressivo contingente de mulheres subcompetitivas. Isso ajuda a explicar outro achado do artigo: o fato de que as vagas adicionais nos legislativos estaduais obtidos pela expressividade da votação de algumas poucas mulheres “puxadoras de votos” foram preenchidas, em geral, por homens. Por fim, o artigo revela que, considerando um mesmo volume de recursos de campanha, os homens, em sua grande maioria, recebem mais votos que as mulheres. A descrição da desigualdade de gênero, a partir das eleições proporcionais de 2018, dialoga diretamente com os principais temas da literatura sobre desigualdade de gênero na política. Espera-se que a análise empreendida no artigo contribua para o diálogo e ações que visem promover uma maior igualdade entre homens e mulheres na política brasileira

332 Predictors and prognostic value of contrast-induced nephropathy in patients undergoing primary angioplasty

PurposeContrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) after coronariography has been associated to increased morbidity and mortality. Patients submitted to primary angioplasty seem to be at higher risk for CIN development, owing in part to hemodynamic status. We sought to determine the prevalence, predictors and prognostic value of CIN occurrence after primary angioplasty.MethodsA total of 141 patients consecutively submitted to primary angioplasty and admitted to our coronary unit were reviewed. CIN was defined as impairment of renal function occurring within 48 hours after administration of contrast media and manifested by an absolute increase in the serum creatinine level of at least 0.5mg/dl or by a relative increase of at least 25% over the baseline value (in the absence of another cause). The primary end points were in-hospital and six-month mortality.ResultsCIN developed in 18.4% of the patients (n=26). Patients with CIN were older (68±13 vs 61±13 years; p<0.05) and more often had diabetes mellitus (38.5% vs 15.7%; p<0.05). Although statistical significance was not reached, there was a trend for higher prevalence of hypertension (61.5% vs 42.6%; p=0.09), female gender (30.8% vs 18.3%; p=0.18) and Killip class higher than one at admission (26.9% vs 16.3%; p=0.1) among patients with CIN. Patients with CIN had an higher mean time from symptoms to reperfusion (304±192 vs 397±206 minutes; p<0.04). By multivariate analysis, independent correlates of CIN were older age (OR=1.04; 95%CI=1.01 − 1.08) and diabetes mellitus (OR=2.99; 95%CI=1.08 − 8.3). Patients with CIN had higher in-hospital (19.2% vs 0.9%; p<0.05) and 6-month mortality (28.6% vs 4.9%; p<0.05).ConclusionsCIN was a frequent complication of primary angioplasty (18.4% of the patients). Independent predictors of CIN after primary angioplasty were older age and diabetes mellitus. Patients with CIN had a worse prognosis, both during in-hospital stay and at 6 months

Development of a framework for metabolic pathway analysis-driven strain optimization methods

Genome-scale metabolic models (GSMMs) have become important assets for rational design of compound overproduction using microbial cell factories. Most computational strain optimization methods (CSOM) using GSMMs, while useful in metabolic engineering, rely on the definition of questionable cell objectives, leading to some bias. Metabolic pathway analysis approaches do not require an objective function. Though their use brings immediate advantages, it has mostly been restricted to small scale models due to computational demands. Additionally, their complex parameterization and lack of intuitive tools pose an important challenge towards making these widely available to the community. Recently, MCSEnumerator has extended the scale of these methods, namely regarding enumeration of minimal cut sets, now able to handle GSMMs. This work proposes a tool implementing this method as a Java library and a plugin within the OptFlux metabolic engineering platform providing a friendly user interface. A standard enumeration problem and pipeline applicable to GSMMs is proposed, making use by the community simpler. To highlight the potential of these approaches, we devised a case study for overproduction of succinate, providing a phenotype analysis of a selected strategy and comparing robustness with a selected solution from a bi-level CSOM.The authors thank the project “DeYeastLibrary—Designer yeast strain library optimized for metabolic engineering applications”, Ref. ERA-IB-2/0003/2013, funded by national funds through “Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia / Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior”.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

NEUROINFLAMAÇÃO NA ESCLEROSE LATERAL AMIOTRÓFICA

A esclerose lateral amiotrófica (ELA) esporádica é uma doença neurodegenerativaque acomete o neurônio motor. Sua etiologia ainda não foi totalmente esclarecida e é considerada multifatorial. O objetivo desse trabalho é fazer uma revisão narrativa sobre os mecanismos fisiopatológicos da ELA esporádica, com foco no papel da neuroinflamação, além de descrever estudos envolvendo a pesquisa de biomarcadores de diagnóstico e prognóstico. O processo de neuroinflamação na ELA é considerado secundário às alterações que levam à morte neuronal, podendo influenciar na taxa de progressão dadoença. Existem diversos estudos sobre o perfil dos fatores inflamatóriosna ELA, por vezes com resultados contraditórios, reforçando a dificuldade de análise desses fatores num organismo dinâmico. Ainda assim, no contexto da ELA, o estudo de possíveis biomarcadores diagnósticos e/ou prognósticos é válido e de grande interesse, pois permitiria um avanço nos ensaios clínicos que buscam novos tratamentos, bem como na condução e planejamento de cada caso

SARS-CoV-2 : Información e impactos

Em Wuhan, China, no final do ano de 2019 ocorreu um surto de pneumonia viral de causa desconhecida, até que em 7 de Janeiro de 2020 foi identificado o agente etiológico desta doença pelo Centro Chinês de Controle e Prevenção de Doenças (CDC), em quese tratava de uma Síndrome Respiratória Aguda Grave por Coronavírus 2(SARS-CoV-2) conhecida como coronavírus 19(COVID-19). Esse vírus já infectou até o dia 01 de junhode 2021 cerca de 170.814.464pessoas, levando 3.551.884a óbito, além de gerar uma série de problemas sociais e econômicos no mundo. Assim, este estudo teve como objetivo documentar informações referentes ao SARS-CoV-2 contidas na literatura cientifica, bem como, os impactos gerados na sociedade pelo novo coronavírus. As buscas foram realizadas nas bases de dados:PubMed/MEDLINE,SciELOeBVSutilizando filtro de buscas de artigos a partirde Dezembro de 2019 a Maio de 2021, que são os meses que compreendem de estudos referente ao SARS-CoV-2. As buscas bibliográficas foram realizadas no mês de Maio de 2021 utilizando os descritores “COVID-19 and Impacts”, “COVID-19 and Information”, “Complication and COVID-19” e“COVID-19 and Fake News”. Foram levados em considerações apenas achados no idioma inglês (americano e britânico). Dessa forma, esperamos que este estudo reforce o conhecimento dos leitores com informações sobre a COVID-19 e seus impactos na sociedade, também se almeja mensurar e identificar o vasto material cientifico que já temos disponível na literatura.In Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019 there was an outbreak of viral pneumonia of unknown cause, until on January 7, 2020, the etiologic agent of this disease was identified by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in that it was a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) known as coronavirus 19 (COVID-19). Until June 1, 2021, this virus has infected around 170,814,464 people, causing 3,551,884 people to die, in addition to generating a series of social and economic problems in the world. Thus, this study aimed to document information regarding SARS-CoV-2 contained in the scientific literature, as well as the impacts generated on society by the new coronavirus. Searches were performed in the following databases: PubMed/MEDLINE, SciELO, and BVS using a search filter for articles from December 2019 to May 2021, which are the months that comprise studies related to SARS-CoV-2. Bibliographic searches were performed in May 2021 using the descriptors "COVID-19 and Impacts", "COVID-19 and Information", "Complication and COVID-19", and "COVID-19 and Fake News". Only findings in the English language (American and British) were taken into consideration. Thus, we hope that this study reinforces readers' knowledge with information about COVID-19 and its impacts on society. It also aims to measure and identify the vast scientific material that we already have available in the literature.En Wuhan, China, a finales de 2019 se produjo un brote de neumonía viral de causa desconocida, hasta que el 7 de enero de 2020 el agente etiológico de esta enfermedad fue identificado por el Centro Chino para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) en el sentido de que fue un coronavirus 2 del síndrome respiratorio agudo severo (SARS-CoV-2) conocido como coronavirus 19 (COVID-19). Hasta el 1 de junio de 2021, este virus ha infectado a alrededor de 170.814.464 personas, provocando la muerte de 3.551.884 personas, además de generar una serie de problemas sociales y económicos en el mundo. Así, este estudio tuvo como objetivo documentar la información sobre el SARS-CoV-2 contenida en la literatura científica, así como los impactos generados en la sociedad por el nuevo coronavirus. Las búsquedas se realizaron en las siguientes bases de datos: PubMed/MEDLINE, SciELO y BVSmediante un filtro de búsqueda de artículos desde Diciembre de 2019 hasta Mayo de 2021, que son los meses que comprenden los estudios relacionados con el SARS-CoV-2. Las búsquedas bibliográficas se realizaron en Mayo de 2021 utilizando los descriptores “COVID-19 and Impacts”, “COVID-19 and Information”, “Complication and COVID-19” y “COVID-19 and Fake News”. Solo se tomaron en consideración los hallazgos en el idioma inglés (americano y británico). Así, esperamos que este estudio refuerce el conocimiento de los lectores con información sobre COVID-19 y sus impactos en la sociedad, además de medir e identificar el vasto material científico que ya tenemos disponibleen la literatura

Causal integration of multi-omics data with prior knowledge to generate mechanistic hypotheses.

Multi-omics datasets can provide molecular insights beyond the sum of individual omics. Various tools have been recently developed to integrate such datasets, but there are limited strategies to systematically extract mechanistic hypotheses from them. Here, we present COSMOS (Causal Oriented Search of Multi-Omics Space), a method that integrates phosphoproteomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics datasets. COSMOS combines extensive prior knowledge of signaling, metabolic, and gene regulatory networks with computational methods to estimate activities of transcription factors and kinases as well as network-level causal reasoning. COSMOS provides mechanistic hypotheses for experimental observations across multi-omics datasets. We applied COSMOS to a dataset comprising transcriptomics, phosphoproteomics, and metabolomics data from healthy and cancerous tissue from eleven clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) patients. COSMOS was able to capture relevant crosstalks within and between multiple omics layers, such as known ccRCC drug targets. We expect that our freely available method will be broadly useful to extract mechanistic insights from multi-omics studies

Mediação em centros e museus de ciência no México: um estudo sobre os atores sociais que atuam com os visitantes

The museums educators who work at the intersection of the museum's apparatus, objects and exhibitions with the visiting public are professionals who have different attributions and professional profiles. In this study, we map who the museums educators of scientific and cultural spaces in Mexico are and their views on the role of mediation. Data collection took place through an online questionnaire, answered by 179 people from 18 scientific and cultural spaces in ten states of the Mexican Republic. Among the respondents, there is a greater number of women (126; 70.4%) and young people aged between 20 and 24 years (108; 60.3%), with a bachelor's degree (122; 68.2%) or with high school education complete (49; 27.3%). The majority (157; 87.7%) have been working in the area for less than two years, working hours of up to 20 hours a week and receiving financial aid scholarships. For the Mexican museum educators who participated in this study, their actions should not be limited to explaining concepts; most of them expressed that they considered it essential that a good professional associate the museum's contents with daily life (135; 75.4%) and ask questions that provoke reflection (121; 67.6%). Mediation seems to be seen as a temporary activity, with a short-term link with Mexican institutions. We believe that our study will provide valuable information about professionals who work in mediation in museums and science centers in Mexico, helping to strengthen initiatives for training and maintaining these social actors in the profession.Os mediadores que atuam em museus na interseção entre os aparatos, os objetos e as exposições do museu com o público visitante são profissionais que possuem atribuições e perfis profissionais diversos. Neste estudo, mapeamos quem são os mediadores de espaços científicos e culturais do México e suas visões sobre o papel da mediação. A coleta de dados ocorreu por meio de um questionário on-line, respondido por 179 pessoas provenientes de 18 espaços científicos e culturais que se distribuem por dez estados da República Mexicana. Entre os respondentes, há um número maior de mulheres (126; 70,4%) e jovens entre 20 e 24 anos (108; 60,3%), com formação em licenciatura (122; 68,2%) ou com ensino médio completo (49; 27,3%). A maioria (157; 87,7%) atua há menos de dois anos na área, cumprindo jornadas de trabalho de até 20 horas semanais e recebendo bolsas de auxílio financeiro. Para os mediadores mexicanos que participaram deste estudo, suas ações não devem se limitar a explicação de conceitos; a maioria deles expressou considerar imprescindível que um bom mediador associe os conteúdos do museu com a vida cotidiana (135; 75,4%) e faça perguntas que provoquem reflexão (121; 67,6%). A mediação parece ser vista como uma atividade temporária, com um vínculo de curto prazo com as instituições mexicanas. Acreditamos que nosso estudo trará informações valiosas sobre os profissionais que atuam na mediação nos museus e centros de ciência do México, ajudando a fortalecer iniciativas de formação e manutenção desses atores sociais na profissão.