13,478 research outputs found
Accretion of non-minimally coupled generalized Chaplygin gas into black holes
The mass evolution of Schwarzschild black holes by the absorption of scalar
fields is investigated in the scenario of the generalized Chaplygin gas (GCG).
The GCG works as a unification picture of dark matter plus dark energy that
naturally accelerates the expansion of the Universe. Through elements of the
quasi-stationary approach, we consider the mass evolution of Schwarzschild
black holes accreted by non-minimally coupled cosmological scalar fields
reproducing the dynamics of the GCG. As a scalar field non-minimally coupled to
the metrics, such an exotic content has been interconnected with accreting
black holes. The black hole increasing masses by the absorption of the gas
reflects some consistence of the accretion mechanism with the hypothesis of the
primordial origin of supermassive black holes. Our results effectively show
that the non-minimal coupling with the GCG dark sector accelerates the
increasing of black hole masses. Meanwhile some exotic features can also be
depicted for specific ranges of the non-minimal coupling in which the GCG
dynamics is substantially modified.Comment: 13 pages, 03 figure
Interaction effects on galaxy pairs with Gemini/GMOS- II: Oxygen abundance gradients
In this paper we derived oxygen abundance gradients from HII regions located
in eleven galaxies in eight systems of close pairs. Long-slit spectra in the
range 4400-7300A were obtained with the Gemini Multi-Object Spec- trograph at
Gemini South (GMOS). Spatial profiles of oxygen abundance in the gaseous phase
along galaxy disks were obtained using calibrations based on strong
emission-lines (N2 and O3N2). We found oxygen gradients signifi- cantly flatter
for all the studied galaxies than those in typical isolated spiral galaxies.
Four objects in our sample, AM1219A, AM1256B, AM 2030A and AM2030B, show a
clear break in the oxygen abundance at galactocentric radius R/R25 between 0.2
and 0.5. For AM1219A and AM1256B we found negative slopes for the inner
gradients, and for AM2030B we found a positive one. In all these three cases
they show a flatter behaviour to the outskirts of the galaxies. For AM2030A, we
found a positive-slope outer gradient while the inner one is almost compatible
with a flat behaviour. A decrease of star forma- tion efficiency in the zone
that corresponds to the oxygen abundance gradient break for AM1219A and AM2030B
was found. For the former, a minimum in the estimated metallicities was found
very close to the break zone that could be associated with a corotation radius.
On the other hand, AM1256B and AM2030A, present a SFR maximum but not an
extreme oxygen abundance value. All the four interacting systems that show
oxygen gradient breakes the extreme SFR values are located very close to break
zones. Hii regions lo- cated in close pairs of galaxies follow the same
relation between the ionization parameter and the oxygen abundance as those
regions in isolated galaxies.Comment: 30 pages, 14 figures, accepted MNRAS, (Figs. 1 and 2 are in low
resolution
Energy metabolism in human pluripotent stem cells and their differentiated counterparts
Background: Human pluripotent stem cells have the ability to generate all cell types present in the adult organism, therefore harboring great potential for the in vitro study of differentiation and for the development of cell-based therapies. Nonetheless their use may prove challenging as incomplete differentiation of these cells might lead to tumoregenicity. Interestingly, many cancer types have been reported to display metabolic modifications with features that might be similar to stem cells. Understanding the metabolic properties of human pluripotent stem cells when compared to their differentiated counterparts can thus be of crucial importance. Furthermore recent data has stressed distinct features of different human pluripotent cells lines, namely when comparing embryo-derived human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) reprogrammed from somatic cells. Methodology/Principal Findings: We compared the energy metabolism of hESCs, IPSCs, and their somatic counterparts. Focusing on mitochondria, we tracked organelle localization and morphology. Furthermore we performed gene expression analysis of several pathways related to the glucose metabolism, including glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. In addition we determined oxygen consumption rates (OCR) using a metabolic extracellular flux analyzer, as well as total intracellular ATP levels by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Finally we explored the expression of key proteins involved in the regulation of glucose metabolism. Conclusions/Findings: Our results demonstrate that, although the metabolic signature of IPSCs is not identical to that of hESCs, nonetheless they cluster with hESCs rather than with their somatic counterparts. ATP levels, lactate production and OCR revealed that human pluripotent cells rely mostly on glycolysis to meet their energy demands. Furthermore, our work points to some of the strategies which human pluripotent stem cells may use to maintain high glycolytic rates, such as high levels of hexokinase II and inactive pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH). © 2011 Varum et al
Efficiency of low versus high airline pressure in stunning cattle with a pneumatically powered penetrating captive bolt gun
The efficiency of stunning cattle was assessed in 443 animals (304 pure Zebu and 139 crossbred cattle), being mainly mature bulls and cows. Cattle were stunned using a Jarvis pneumatically powered penetrating captive bolt gun operating with low (160–175 psi, N = 82) and high (190 psi, N = 363) airline pressure, which was within the manufactures specifications. Signs of brain function and the position of the shots on the heads were recorded after stunning. Velocity of the captive bolt and its physical parameters were calculated. Cattle shot with low pressures showed more rhythmic respiration (27 vs. 8%, P < 0.001), less tongue protrusion (4 vs. 12%, P = 0.03) and less masseter relaxation (22 vs. 48%, P < 0.001). There was an increased frequency of shots in the ideal position when cattle were shot with the low compared to high airline pressures (15.3 vs. 3.1%). Bolt velocity and its physical parameters were significantly (P < 0.01) higher when using high pressure. Airline pressures below 190 psi are inappropriate when shooting adult Zebu beef cattle with pneumatically powered penetrating captive bolt guns
A systematic comparison of supervised classifiers
Pattern recognition techniques have been employed in a myriad of industrial,
medical, commercial and academic applications. To tackle such a diversity of
data, many techniques have been devised. However, despite the long tradition of
pattern recognition research, there is no technique that yields the best
classification in all scenarios. Therefore, the consideration of as many as
possible techniques presents itself as an fundamental practice in applications
aiming at high accuracy. Typical works comparing methods either emphasize the
performance of a given algorithm in validation tests or systematically compare
various algorithms, assuming that the practical use of these methods is done by
experts. In many occasions, however, researchers have to deal with their
practical classification tasks without an in-depth knowledge about the
underlying mechanisms behind parameters. Actually, the adequate choice of
classifiers and parameters alike in such practical circumstances constitutes a
long-standing problem and is the subject of the current paper. We carried out a
study on the performance of nine well-known classifiers implemented by the Weka
framework and compared the dependence of the accuracy with their configuration
parameter configurations. The analysis of performance with default parameters
revealed that the k-nearest neighbors method exceeds by a large margin the
other methods when high dimensional datasets are considered. When other
configuration of parameters were allowed, we found that it is possible to
improve the quality of SVM in more than 20% even if parameters are set
randomly. Taken together, the investigation conducted in this paper suggests
that, apart from the SVM implementation, Weka's default configuration of
parameters provides an performance close the one achieved with the optimal
configuration
Impacto social de inovações tecnológicas na agricultura familiar: tecnologias para produção de leite.
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Arruda: (Ruta graveolens L.)
Publicação com informações sintéticas sobre a arruda e sua aplicação medicinal.bitstream/item/100482/1/Folder-arruda.pd
Serological detection of Plasmodium vivax malaria using recombinant proteins corresponding to the 19-kDa C-terminal region of the merozoite surface protein-1
Background: Serological tests to detect antibodies specific to Plasmodium vivax could be a valuable tool for epidemiological studies, for screening blood donors in areas where the malaria is not endemic and for diagnosis of infected individuals. Because P. vivax cannot be easily obtained in vitro, ELISA assays using total or semi-purified antigens are rarely used. Based on this limitation, we tested whether recombinant proteins representing the 19 kDa C-terminal region of the merozoite surface protein-1 of P. vivax (MSP1(19)) could be useful for serological detection of malaria infection.Methods: Three purified recombinant proteins produced in Escherichia coli (GST-MSP1(19), His(6)-MSP1(19) and His(6)-MSP1(19)-PADRE) and one in Pichia pastoris (yMSP1(19)-PADRE) were compared for their ability to bind to IgG antibodies of individuals with patent P. vivax infection. the method was tested with 200 serum samples collected from individuals living in the north of Brazil in areas endemic for malaria, 53 serum samples from individuals exposed to Plasmodium falciparum infection and 177 serum samples from individuals never exposed to malaria.Results: Overall, the sensitivity of the ELISA assessed with sera from naturally infected individuals was 95%. the proportion of serum samples that reacted with recombinant proteins GST-MSP1(19), His(6)-MSP1(19), His(6)-MSP1(19)-PADRE and yMSP1(19)-PADRE was 90%, 93.5%, 93.5% and 93.5%, respectively. the specificity values of the ELISA determined with sera from healthy individuals and from individuals with other infectious diseases were 98.3% (GST-MSP1(19)), 97.7% (His(6)-MSP1(19) and His(6)-MSP1(19)-PADRE) or 100% (yMSP1(19)-PADRE).Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that for the Brazilian population, an ELISA using a recombinant protein of the MSP1(19) can be used as the basis for the development of a valuable serological assay for the detection of P. vivax malaria.Univ São Paulo, Dept Anal Clin & Toxicol, Fac Ciencias Farmaceut, BR-05508900 São Paulo, BrazilFed Univ Para, Dept Patol, Ctr Ciencias Biol, BR-66075900 Belem, Para, BrazilMinist Salud, Inst Evandro Chagas, Secretaria Vigilancia Saude, BR-66090000 Belem, Para, BrazilHosp Israelita Albert Einstein, Dept Hemoterapia, BR-05651901 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, BR-04023062 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, BR-04023062 São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc
Unusual formations of the free electromagnetic field in vacuum
It is shown that there are exact solutions of the free Maxwell equations
(FME) in vacuum allowing an existence of stable spherical formations of the
free magnetic field and ring-like formations of the free electric field. It is
detected that a form of these spheres and rings does not change with time in
vacuum. It is shown that these convergent solutions are the result of an
interference of some divergent solutions of FME. One can surmise that these
electromagnetic formations correspond to Kapitsa's hypothesis about
interference origin and a structure of fireball.Comment: Revtex-file, without figures. To get lournal-pdf-copy with figures
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