On the propagation of a perturbation in an anharmonic system

We give a not trivial upper bound on the velocity of disturbances in an infinitely extended anharmonic system at thermal equilibrium. The proof is achieved by combining a control on the non equilibrium dynamics with an explicit use of the state invariance with respect to the time evolution.Comment: 14 page

H-Content Is Not Predictive of Perfluorocarbon Ocular Endotamponade Cytotoxicity in Vitro

In recent years, cases of retinal toxicity occurred in some European, Middle Eastern, and South American countries following the use of perfluorocarbon liquids (PFCLs) on vitreoretinal surgeries owing to impurities in the product. Moreover, Spanish ophthalmologists reported several toxic cases on the use of perfluoro-n-octane Ala Octa (Alamedics, Dornstadt, Germany), raising the necessity of reviewing the current validated methods used for assessing the safety of PFCLs. We proved that in samples of PFCLs contaminated on purpose with impurities previously detected in Ala Octa devices, the determination of the so-called H-content using a 1H NMR quantitative assay implemented with the electronic reference to access in vivo concentrations 2 technology failed to demonstrate a correlation between the H-content and in vitro cytotoxicity test in ARPE-19 and BALB 3T3 cell lines. Therefore, direct information on the safety of PFCLs was provided only by the cytotoxicity test in vitro validated according to ISO 10993-5, and the H-content was not predictive of perfluorocarbon ocular endotamponade cytotoxicity in vitr

Dermatite ulcerosa em bovinos provocada por Stephanofilaria.

Em um rebanho leiteiro localizado na cidade de São Carlos-SP, foram constatados cinco casos de dermatite ulcerosa tendo como agente etiologico a Stephanofilaria spp. As lesões se localizaram na inserção da cauda, ubere, coxa e graupa. O diagnóstico foi feito por esfregaço e impressões obtidas de raspado e pele da borda da ulcera, coradas com Giemsa e também com vermelho Congo sendo que este permitiu melhor visualização do parasita. O tratamento foi feito com tricloforn, obtendo-se a cura dos animais em quinze dias

Bibliografia internacional de carrapato do bovino Boophilus microplus Canestrini, 1887 (Acarina: ixodidae).

Esta vasta coletânea bibliográfica sobre o carrapato do bovino mostra que muitos conhecimentos estão acumulados; por outro lado, a realidade da pecuária nacional é de carência de tecnologia para a solução deste problema. É, portanto, oportuno uma análise criteriosa dessas informações, e definir o caminho que deve ser seguido na busca de novos conhecimentos que possam ser transformados em tecnologia aplicada. Tecnologias essas adaptadas aos vários sistemas de criação com grande diversificação de raça e manejo, nas diferentes regiões do Brasil, que possam resultar em aumento da produtividade e produção, proporcionando maior rentabilidade aos produtores e preços do produto mais acessíveis aos consumidores, e excedentes para atender a necessidade de exportação. É uma obra com o objetivo de facilitar a todos aqueles que militam acreditando na solução deste problema, tendo como alvo, mais carne, leite e subprodutos para o bem-estar da sociedade humana e fonte de riqueza para o País. Além disso, resume e reflete a complexidade de disciplinas e segmentos da sociedade que, direta ou indiretamente, estão envolvidos em um problema que apresenta ser pequeno, mas que compromete muito um produto agropecuário. Por fim, registra-se o reconhecimento deste valioso trabalho prestado pelos autores Regina Célia Pisanelli e Gilson Pereira de Oliveira, que seguramente será muito útil para os estudiosos do problema do carrapato em prol da bovinocultura brasileira

Social movements, the European crisis, and EU political opportunities

Social movements in the wake of the financial crisis have shifted from the counter-summits and world social forums of the global justice movement to the camps of the anti-austerity mobilizations, and from a clear focus on building ‘another Europe’ to more domestically embedded issues. Among other reasons, this turn away from the EU can be linked to contracting political opportunities for social justice movements at the European level. This article addresses the closure of opportunities at the EU level for the work of social movement groups campaigning on specific EU policies. We reflect on the complexity of the EU’s political opportunity structure prior to the financial crisis, before examining changes to the EU’s architecture effected through responses to the crises and outlining arguments on how EU level opportunities around socio-economic issues in particular have shrunk as a result. We then show how the perception of other political opportunities at the EU level is affected by the austerity response by drawing on campaigns that sought to exploit new opportunities included in the Lisbon Treaty and designed to increase citizens’ input. Opportunities introduced by changes made in the Lisbon Treaty are perceived through the prism of contracted opportunities flowing from power shifts caused by the response to the financial crisis

In Lysinuric Protein Intolerance system y+L activity is defective in monocytes and in GM-CSF-differentiated macrophages

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the recessive aminoaciduria Lysinuric Protein Intolerance (LPI), mutations of <it>SLC7A7</it>/y+LAT1 impair system y⁺L transport activity for cationic amino acids. A severe complication of LPI is a form of Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis (PAP), in which alveolar spaces are filled with lipoproteinaceous material because of the impaired surfactant clearance by resident macrophages. The pathogenesis of LPI-associated PAP remains still obscure. The present study investigates for the first time the expression and function of y+LAT1 in monocytes and macrophages isolated from a patient affected by LPI-associated PAP. A comparison with mesenchymal cells from the same subject has been also performed.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Monocytes from peripheral blood were isolated from a 21-year-old patient with LPI. Alveolar macrophages and fibroblastic-like mesenchymal cells were obtained from a whole lung lavage (WLL) performed on the same patient. System y⁺L activity was determined measuring the 1-min uptake of [³H]-arginine under discriminating conditions. Gene expression was evaluated through qRT-PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have found that: 1) system y⁺L activity is markedly lowered in monocytes and alveolar macrophages from the LPI patient, because of the prevailing expression of <it>SLC7A7</it>/y+LAT1 in these cells; 2) on the contrary, fibroblasts isolated from the same patient do not display the transport defect due to compensation by the <it>SLC7A6</it>/y+LAT2 isoform; 3) in both normal and LPI monocytes, GM-CSF induces the expression of <it>SLC7A7</it>, suggesting that the gene is a target of the cytokine; 4) GM-CSF-induced differentiation of LPI monocytes is comparable to that of normal cells, demonstrating that GM-CSF signalling is unaltered; 5) general and respiratory conditions of the patient, along with PAP-associated parameters, markedly improved after GM-CSF therapy through aerosolization.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Monocytes and macrophages, but not fibroblasts, derived from a LPI patient clearly display the defect in system y⁺L-mediated arginine transport. The different transport phenotypes are referable to the relative levels of expression of <it>SLC7A7 </it>and <it>SLC7A6</it>. Moreover, the expression of <it>SLC7A7 </it>is regulated by GM-CSF in monocytes, pointing to a role of y+LAT1 in the pathogenesis of LPI associated PAP.</p

Interaction of a short peptide with G-quadruplex-forming sequences: an SRCD and CD study

G-quadruplex (G4) forming DNA sequences were recently found to play a crucial role in the regulation of genomic processes such as replication, transcription and translation, also related to serious diseases. Therefore, systems capable of controlling DNA and RNA G-quadruplex structures would be useful for the modulation of various cellular events. In particular, peptides represent good candidates for targeting G-quadruplex structures, since they are easily tailored to enhance their functionality. In this work, we analyzed, by circular dichroism and synchrotron radiation circular dichroism spectroscopies, the interaction of a 25-residue peptide deriving from RHAU helicases (Rhau25) with three G-quadruplex-forming oligonucleotide sequences, in both sodium- and potassium-containing buffers, the most relevant monovalent cations in physiological conditions. The peptide displayed greater affinity for the G4 sequences adopting a parallel structure. However, it showed the ability to also interact with antiparallel or hybrid G-quadruplex structures, inducing a conformation conversion to the parallel structure. The stability of the oligonucleotide structure alone or in presence of the Rhau25 peptide was studied by temperature melting and UV denaturation experiments, and the data showed that the interaction with the peptide stabilized the conformation of oligonucleotide sequences when subjected to stress conditions

ALPIDE for space applications: Power consumption

ALPIDE, a monolithic active pixel sensor developed for the ALIDE Inner Tracker upgrade, is studied as possible sensor unit for a space-borne particle tracker. The aspect of power consumption and heat dissipation is investigated

Operational experience, improvements, and performance of the CDF Run II silicon vertex detector

The Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) pursues a broad physics program at Fermilab's Tevatron collider. Between Run II commissioning in early 2001 and the end of operations in September 2011, the Tevatron delivered 12 fb-1 of integrated luminosity of p-pbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV. Many physics analyses undertaken by CDF require heavy flavor tagging with large charged particle tracking acceptance. To realize these goals, in 2001 CDF installed eight layers of silicon microstrip detectors around its interaction region. These detectors were designed for 2--5 years of operation, radiation doses up to 2 Mrad (0.02 Gy), and were expected to be replaced in 2004. The sensors were not replaced, and the Tevatron run was extended for several years beyond its design, exposing the sensors and electronics to much higher radiation doses than anticipated. In this paper we describe the operational challenges encountered over the past 10 years of running the CDF silicon detectors, the preventive measures undertaken, and the improvements made along the way to ensure their optimal performance for collecting high quality physics data. In addition, we describe the quantities and methods used to monitor radiation damage in the sensors for optimal performance and summarize the detector performance quantities important to CDF's physics program, including vertex resolution, heavy flavor tagging, and silicon vertex trigger performance.Comment: Preprint accepted for publication in Nuclear Instruments and Methods A (07/31/2013

Civil Society Between Populism and Anti-populism

AbstractThis chapter focuses on the activities of civil society formations in the European political environment. It argues that the long-established ethos of inclusionary civil society groups is undergoing a redefinition. Moralized ideational constructs such as "community", "belonging" and "solidarity", which have traditionally been associated with a cosmopolitan, tolerant conception of the role of civil society, are undergoing a process of redefinition. An individualistic, nationalist, exclusionary and socially conservative conception of civil society is emerging. The chapter frames the contrast between rival images of civil society through a movement–counter-movement dynamic, which opposes a populist and an anti-populist bloc. It interprets them with reference to studies of "civil" and "uncivil" society and provides a typology of their roles and values