Fractal Geometry of Higher Derivative Gravity

We determine the scaling properties of geometric operators such as lengths, areas, and volumes in models of higher derivative quantum gravity by renormalizing appropriate composite operators. We use these results to deduce the fractal dimensions of such hypersurfaces embedded in a quantum spacetime at very small distances

Changes in insulin sensitivity in response to different modalities of exercise: a review of the evidence

Summary: Type 2 diabetes is an increasingly prevalent condition with complications including blindness and kidney failure. Evidence suggests that type 2 diabetes is associated with a sedentary lifestyle, with physical activity demonstrated to increase glucose uptake and improve glycaemic control. Proposed mechanisms for these effects include the maintenance and improvement of insulin sensitivity via increased glucose transporter type four production. The optimal mode, frequency, intensity and duration of exercise for the improvement of insulin sensitivity are however yet to be identified. We review the evidence from 34 published studies addressing the effects on glycaemic control and insulin sensitivity of aerobic exercise, resistance training and both combined. Effect sizes and confidence intervals are reported for each intervention and meta-analysis presented. The quality of the evidence is tentatively graded, and recommendations for best practice proposed

Chemical and biological evaluation of rejects from the wood industry.

Este estudo visa a caracterização química e a avaliação da atividade antimicrobiana de extratos obtidos a partir de rejeitos resultantes do beneficiamento de madeiras nobres comercializadas no Paraná: Peroba-Rosa (Aspidosperma sp.), Roxinho (Peltogyne sp.), Jatobá (Hymenaea sp.), Curupixá (Micropholis sp.), Itaúba (Mezilaurus sp.), Cedrilho (Erisma sp.) e Imbúia-do-Norte (Licaria sp.), cujas identificações botânicas basearam-se em estudos anatômicos. Os extratos foram preparados com diversos solventes, analisados por CCD e espectrometria UV/VIS, testando-se contra: Proteus mirabilis ATCC15290, Escherichia coli ATCC25922, Enterobacter aerogenes ATCC13048, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923, Micrococcus luteus ATCC9341, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC13883, Pseudomonas aeroginosa ATCC27853, e Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans e Bacillus cereus isolados da clínica. O extrato etanólico de Peroba-Rosa, contendo alcalóides, apresentou atividade contra P. mirabilis. Os extratos metanólicos do Jatobá, Itaúba e Imbúia, contendo fenóis, e o extrato de Roxinho obtido com acetato de etila contendo fenóis e terpenóides, foram ativos contra K. pneumoniae, M. luteus, E. coli, S. aureus e P. mirabilis. Nenhum dos extratos foi ativo contra P. aeroginosa, S. mutans e E. aerogenes

Boas práticas apícolas para a produção de mel na região sul do Brasil.

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Nucleotide excision repair gene variants and association with survival in osteosarcoma patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of common polymorphisms in the NER pathway genes in the tumorigenesis of osteosarcoma and in the response to DNA damaging therapies, such as cisplatin-based neoadjuvant therapy. XPD (rs13181 and rs1799793), XPG (rs17655), and ERCC1 (rs3212986 and rs11615) polymorphisms were analysed in a group of 130 homogenously-treated patients with high-grade osteosarcoma for association with event free survival (EFS) using Kaplan-Meier plots and log-rank test. A positive association was observed between both XPD SNPs and an increased EFS (HR= 0.34, 95% CI 0.12-0.98 and HR= 0.19, 95% CI 0.05-0.77, respectively). We had also performed a case-control study for relative risk to develop osteosarcoma. Patients carrying at least one variant allele of XPD rs1799793 had a reduced risk of developing osteosarcoma compared to wild type patients (OR=0.55, 95% CI 0.36-0.84).This study suggests that XPD rs1799793 could be a marker of osteosarcoma associated with features conferring either a better prognosis or a better outcome after platinum therapy, or both

Rapid and sensitive RT-QuIC detection of human Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease using cerebrospinal fluid.

Fast, definitive diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is important in assessing patient care options and transmission risks. Real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assays of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and nasal-brushing specimens are valuable in distinguishing CJD from non-CJD conditions but have required 2.5 to 5 days. Here, an improved RT-QuIC assay is described which identified positive CSF samples within 4 to 14 h with better analytical sensitivity. Moreover, analysis of 11 CJD patients demonstrated that while 7 were RT-QuIC positive using the previous conditions, 10 were positive using the new assay. In these and further analyses, a total of 46 of 48 CSF samples from sporadic CJD patients were positive, while all 39 non-CJD patients were negative, giving 95.8% diagnostic sensitivity and 100% specificity. This second-generation RT-QuIC assay markedly improved the speed and sensitivity of detecting prion seeds in CSF specimens from CJD patients. This should enhance prospects for rapid and accurate ante mortem CJD diagnosis. IMPORTANCE\u2002: A long-standing problem in dealing with various neurodegenerative protein misfolding diseases is early and accurate diagnosis. This issue is particularly important with human prion diseases, such as CJD, because prions are deadly, transmissible, and unusually resistant to decontamination. The recently developed RT-QuIC test allows for highly sensitive and specific detection of CJD in human cerebrospinal fluid and is being broadly implemented as a key diagnostic tool. However, as currently applied, RT-QuIC takes 2.5 to 5 days and misses 11 to 23% of CJD cases. Now, we have markedly improved RT-QuIC analysis of human CSF such that CJD and non-CJD patients can be discriminated in a matter of hours rather than days with enhanced sensitivity. These improvements should allow for much faster, more accurate, and practical testing for CJD. In broader terms, our study provides a prototype for tests for misfolded protein aggregates that cause many important amyloid diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and tauopathies

Desempenho produtivo de poedeiras semipesadas alimentadas com dietas contendo farinha de folhas e ramas da mandioca.

A produção agroecológica de ovos encontra limitações quanto ao fornecimento de alimentos para as aves, normalmente centradas em milho e soja transgênicos, existindo necessidade de alternativas nutricionais. A parte aérea da mandioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz) apresenta relevante conteúdo de minerais, vitaminas e proteínas. Entretanto, fatores antinutricionais também se fazem presentes, como ácido cianídrico (HCN), taninos e fitatos. Este trabalho avaliou a inclusão de baixas dosagens (Zero, 0,15%, 0,30% e 0,45%) da farinha da parte aérea de mandioca (FPAM) on top sobre o desempenho produtivo de poedeiras, totalizando 192 aves Isa Brown. Observou-se que a FPAM não alterou significativamente o desempenho produtivo das poedeiras nas variáveis de desempenho (consumo diário de ração, peso corporal, número de ovos, massa de ovos, produção percentual de ovos e conversão alimentar por dúzia e por massa de ovos).Anais da Reunião Técnica sobre Agroecologia - Agroecologia, Resiliência e Bem Viver - Pelotas, RS

HLA-G 3'UTR Polymorphisms Impact the Prognosis of Stage II-III CRC Patients in Fluoropyrimidine-Based Treatment

An important hallmark of CRC is the evasion of immune surveillance. HLA-G is a negative regulator of host's immune response. Overexpression of HLA-G protein in primary tumour CRC tissues has already been associated to worse prognosis; however a definition of the role of immunogenetic host background is still lacking. Germline polymorphisms in the 3'UTR region of HLA-G influence the magnitude of the protein by modulating HLA-G mRNA stability. Soluble HLA-G has been associated to 3'UTR +2960 Ins/Ins and +3035 C/T (lower levels) and +3187 G/G (high levels) genotypes. HLA-G 3'UTR SNPs have never been explored in CRC outcome. The purpose of this study was to investigate if common HLA-G 3'UTR polymorphisms have an impact on DFS and OS of 253 stage II-III CRC patients, after primary surgery and ADJ-CT based on FL. The 3'UTR was sequenced and SNPs were analyzed for their association with survival by Kaplan-Meier and multivariate Cox models; results underwent internal validation using a resampling method (bootstrap analysis). In a multivariate analysis, we estimated an association with improved DFS in Ins allele (Ins/Del +Ins/Ins) carriers (HR 0.60, 95% CI 0.38-0.93, P = 0.023) and in patients with +3035 C/T genotype (HR 0.51, 95% CI 0.26-0.99, P = 0.045). The +3187 G/G mutated carriers (G/G vs A/A+A/G) were associated to a worst prognosis in both DFS (HR 2.46, 95% CI 1.19-5.05, P = 0.015) and OS (HR 2.71, 95% CI 1.16-6.63, P = 0.022). Our study shows a prognostic and independent role of 3 HLA-G 3'UTR SNPs, +2960 14-bp INDEL, +3035 C>T, and +3187 A>G

Quantum Einstein Gravity

We give a pedagogical introduction to the basic ideas and concepts of the Asymptotic Safety program in Quantum Einstein Gravity. Using the continuum approach based upon the effective average action, we summarize the state of the art of the field with a particular focus on the evidence supporting the existence of the non-trivial renormalization group fixed point at the heart of the construction. As an application, the multifractal structure of the emerging space-times is discussed in detail. In particular, we compare the continuum prediction for their spectral dimension with Monte Carlo data from the Causal Dynamical Triangulation approach.Comment: 87 pages, 13 figures, review article prepared for the New Journal of Physics focus issue on Quantum Einstein Gravit