Red, green, and blue upconversion luminescence in ytterbium-sensitized praseodymium-doped lead-cadmium-germanate glass

Blue, green, red, and near-infrared upconversion luminescence in the wavelength region of 480 - 740 nm in Pr3+/Yb3+-codoped lead-cadmium-germanate glass under 980 nm diode laser excitation, is presented. Upconversion emission peaks around 485, 530, 610, 645, and 725 nm which were ascribed to the 3P0 - 3HJ (J=4, 5, and 6), and 3P0 - 3FJ (J=2, and 3,4), transitions, respectively, were observed. The population of the praseodymium upper 3P0 emitting level was accomplished through a combination of ground-state absorption of Yb3+ ions at the 2F7/2, energy-transfer Yb3+(2F 5/2) Pr3+(3H4), and excited-state absorption of Pr3+ ions provoking the 1G4 - 3P0 transition. The dependence of the upconversion luminescence upon the Yb3+-concentration and diode laser power, is also examined, in order to subsidize the proposed upconversion excitation mechanism.

Measurement of the pp(-)-> W gamma plus X cross section at root s=1.96 TeV and WW gamma anomalous coupling limits

The WWγ triple gauge boson coupling parameters are studied using pp̄rarr; νγ+X(=e,μ) events at s=1.96 TeV. The data were collected with the D0 detector from an integrated luminosity of 162pb-1 delivered by the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The cross section times branching fraction for pp̄→W(γ)+X→ νγ+X with ETγ>8 GeV and ΔR γ> 0.7 is 14.8±1.6(stat)±1.0(syst) ±1.0(lum)pb. The one-dimensional 95% confidence level limits on anomalous couplings are -0.88<Δκγ<0.96 and -0. 20<λγ<0.20. © 2005 The American Physical Society.

Retinoic acid supplementation attenuates ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction in rats

The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of retinoic acid in experimental postinfarction myocardial remodeling. Wistar rats were subjected to myocardial infarction (MI) and treated with retinoic acid (RA), 0.3 mg/(kg · d) (MI-RA, n = 29), or fed a control diet (MI, n = 34). After 6 mo, the surviving rats (MI-RA = 18 and MI = 22) underwent echocardiograms, and isolated hearts were tested for function in vitro. The cross-sectional area of the myocyte (CSA) and interstitial collagen fraction (IC) were measured in a cross section of the heart stained by hematoxylin-eosin and picrosirius red, respectively. The CSA was smaller in the MI-RA group [229 (220, 234) μm 2] [medians (lower quartile, upper quartile)] than in the MI group [238 (232, 241) μm 2] (P = 0.01) and IC was smaller in the MI-RA group [2.4 (1.7, 3.1)%] than in the MI group [3.5 (2.6, 3.9)%] (P = 0.05). The infarct size did not differ between the groups [MI = 44.6 (40.8, 48.4)%, MI-RA = 45 (38.6, 47.2)%]. Maximum rate of rise of left ventricular pressure (+dp/dt) was greater in the MI-RA group (2645 ± 886 mm Hg/s) than in the MI group (2081 ± 617 mm Hg/s) (P = 0.05). The other variables tested did not differ between groups. Retinoic acid supplementation of rats for 6 mo attenuates the ventricular remodeling process after MI. © 2005 American Society for Nutrition.

Minimal cross-subsidies approach for loss allocation in distribution networks with open access

Open access philosophy applied by regulatory agencies may lead to a scenario where captive consumers will solely face the responsibility on distribution network's losses even with Independent Energy Producers (also known as Distributed Generation) and Independent Energy Consumers connected to the system. This work proposes the utilization of a loss allocation method in distribution systems where open access is allowed, in which cross-subsidies, that appear due to the influence the generators have over the system losses, are minimized. Thus, guaranteeing to some extent the efficiency and transparency of the economic signals of the market. Results obtained through the Zbus loss allocation method adapted for distribution networks are processed in such a way that the corresponding allocation to the generation buses is divided among the consumer buses, while still considering consumers spatial characteristics. © 2007 IEEE.

Measurement of the inclusive jet cross section in pp̄ collisions at s=1.96TeV

We report on a measurement of the inclusive jet cross section in pp̄ collisions at a center-of-mass energy s=1.96TeV using data collected by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.70fb-1. The data cover jet transverse momenta from 50 to 600 GeV and jet rapidities in the range -2.4 to 2.4. Detailed studies of correlations between systematic uncertainties in transverse momentum and rapidity are presented, and the cross section measurements are found to be in good agreement with next-to-leading order QCD calculations. © 2008 The American Physical Society.

Association between breast-feeding practices and sucking habits: A cross-sectional study of children in their first year of life

In addition to providing nutrition and immunological protection, breast-feeding has positive effects on the development of the infant's oral cavity. The aim of the present study is to assess breast-feeding patterns and to analyze the influence of breast-feeding practices and maternal sociodemographic variables on the prevalence of non-nutritive sucking habits in a sample of Brazilian infants. This cross-sectional study was carried out in Southern Brazil. A random sample of 100 mothers of infants up to 12 months of age was interviewed during the National Vaccination Campaign Day. The prevalence and median duration of breast-feeding were assessed. Breast-feeding practice, the exposure factor, was categorized as exclusive breast-feeding, predominant breast-feeding, complementary breast-feeding, or weaning. Maternal sociodemographic variables included age, race, marital status, educational level, profession, and family income. The outcome investigated was the prevalence of sucking habits (pacifier use and thumb sucking). We used two-sample tests, the chi-square test and Fisher exact test0 for statistical analyses of the data. The study revealed that 75% of infants were being breast-fed. Pacifier use and thumb sucking were common in 55%. Bottle-feeding was prevalent in 74% of infants. Breast-feeding was negatively correlated with pacifier use and thumb sucking (OR = 0.11; 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.4). Bottle-feeding was strongly associated with weaning (p = 0.0003). Among the sociodemographic variables, only marital status showed a statistical association with sucking habits (p = 0.04). These findings suggest that breast-feeding can prevent the occurrence of sucking habits. Although we could not evaluate causality assessment, malocclusion prevention seems to be yet one more reason for promoting breast-feeding practices.

Characterization of the Genetic Variability of a Sugarcane Commercial Cross Through Yield Components and Quality Parameters

The phenotypic characterization as well as the knowledge of the correlation among traits, is the first step to quantify the potential of a cross for further QTL (quantitative trait loci) detection. The present work aimed to evaluate the yield components and quality parameters variability of a mapping population derived from a bi-parental cross between IACSP95-3018 and IACSP93-3046 at plant cane and ratoon cane as well as to estimate the heritabilities and pair-wise correlation among the traits evaluated. The progeny clones differed significantly for the traits measures indicating the existence of significant amount of variability among them as also as the presence of transgressive clones. Broad-sense heritabilities values were generally high for stalk diameter, stalk weight, stalk height, Brix and Pol%Cane in plant cane and ratoon cane. Tones of sugarcane per hectare (TCH) were significantly correlated with stalk weight and stalk number in both years. Regarding to all the yield components, stalk number together with stalk weight were the most important components in the determination of TCH. While fiber and Pol%Cane were negative correlated showing that they are inversely correlated traits. © 2012 Society for Sugar Research & Promotion.

Global sampling reveals low genetic diversity within Compsopogon (Compsopogonales, Rhodophyta)

Twenty-five specimens of the freshwater red alga Compsopogon were collected from locations in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australasia and Oceania, and from an aquarium, with the goal of determining genetic diversity among specimens and ascertaining the number of phylogenetic species. Specimens were morphologically identified as having either the 'caeruleus' morphology, with regular polyhedral cortical cells, or the 'leptoclados' morphology, with irregular cortical cells with rhizoidal outgrowths. The 'leptoclados' morphology has been used by some researchers to distinguish the genus Compsopogonopsis from Compsopogon, or at least to distinguish C. leptoclados from other Compsopogon species. Sequence data for the rbcL gene and cox1 barcoding region were obtained for most specimens. In addition, SSU and partial LSU (barcode) rDNA were explored for a few specimens, but all sequences were identical. For the 25 newly generated and eight previously published rbcL gene data, there were seven unique haplotypes, but the sequence divergence was very low (≤7 bp, ≤ 0.7%). One haplotype was widespread, represented by 21 specimens from diverse locations in all regions sampled. Likewise, the 22 new and one previously published cox1 barcode region sequences yielded seven unique haplotypes with little sequence divergence (≤13 bp, ≤ 2.0%). One haplotype was widespread, being shared among 16 specimens from all regions. The combined molecular and morphological data showed no genetic differentiation between the 'caeruleus' and 'leptoclados' morphologies. The ubiquitous distribution of Compsopogon in tropical/subtropical regions and its low genetic variation are probably facilitated by the alga's ability to tolerate a wide range of stream conditions and its propagation via asexual spores. Given the findings of previous culture-based studies, morphometric research and field observations, coupled with the results of our study, we conclude there is only a single monospecific genus worldwide and that the species is correctly called C. caeruleus, since this is the oldest validly published name; all other previously described species of Compsopogon and Compsopogonopsis are synonyms. © 2013 British Phycological Society.

Unsupervised segmentation method for cuboidal cell nuclei in histological prostate images based on minimum cross entropy

This paper presents a novel segmentation method for cuboidal cell nuclei in images of prostate tissue stained with hematoxylin and eosin. The proposed method allows segmenting normal, hyperplastic and cancerous prostate images in three steps: pre-processing, segmentation of cuboidal cell nuclei and post-processing. The pre-processing step consists of applying contrast stretching to the red (R) channel to highlight the contrast of cuboidal cell nuclei. The aim of the second step is to apply global thresholding based on minimum cross entropy to generate a binary image with candidate regions for cuboidal cell nuclei. In the post-processing step, false positives are removed using the connected component method. The proposed segmentation method was applied to an image bank with 105 samples and measures of sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were compared with those provided by other segmentation approaches available in the specialized literature. The results are promising and demonstrate that the proposed method allows the segmentation of cuboidal cell nuclei with a mean accuracy of 97%. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cross-talk with β2-adrenoceptors enhances ligand affinity properties from endothelial alpha1D-adrenoceptors that mediates carotid relaxation

Objectives Our main objectives were to investigate the affinity properties of endothelial and muscular α1D-adrenoceptors and to characterize the cross-talk between endothelial α1D- adrenoceptors and β2-adrenoceptors in rat carotid. Methods Relaxation and contraction concentration-response curves for phenylephrine (α1-adrenergic agonist) were obtained in carotid rings in absence or presence of increasing concentrations of BMY7378 (α 1D-adrenergic antagonist), combined or not with increasing concentration of ICI-118,551 (β2-adrenergic antagonist). Schild analysis was used to estimate the affinity constant from pA2 values of BMY7378. Key Findings BMY7378 produced an unsurmountable antagonism on phenylephrine-induced relaxation but a surmountable antagonism on phenylephrine-induced contraction. BMY7378 potency was higher in inhibiting the relaxation than the contraction induced by phenylephrine because the rightward shifts induced by BMY7378 were greater in the relaxation. The apparent pA 2 value for BMY7378 in phenylephrine-induced relaxation was greater than in contraction. When combined with ICI-118,551, BMY7378 yielded a surmountable antagonism on phenylephrine-induced relaxation and presented a pA2 value similar to that obtained in phenylephrine-induced contraction. Conclusions Endothelial α1D-adrenoceptors, which mediates rat carotid relaxation, present high ligand affinity because of the cross-talk with β2-adrenoceptors, which explains the higher potency of phenylephrine in inducing relaxation than contraction and the atypical unsurmountable antagonism produced by BMY7378 on phenylephrine-induced relaxation. © 2013 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Reproductive performance and reconception of nellore cows according to their pure- or cross-bred calves

Contents The objective of the present research was to evaluate the effect of a calf's genetic group on the productive and reproductive efficiency of its Nellore dam. Fixed-time artificial insemination was applied to 800 cows using semen extracted from Nellore, Simmental and Angus Red bulls. Four hundred eleven cows calved, producing 119 Nellore, 103 1/2Simmental-1/2Nellore and 189 1/2Nellore-1/2Angus Red calves. The second mating period, which paired Nellore cows with Simmental bulls, was initiated 10days after parturitions began and lasted for 5months. Based on the two successive parturitions, the cumulative parturition rate for calving periods of 3, 4 and 5months was calculated. Although no significant difference was observed for birth weight among the genetic groups, cross-bred calves weighed, on average, 10% more than did pure-bred calves at the age of 205days. Nellore dams experienced a gestation period that was 7days longer than did the cross-bred dams, and the former showed a higher parturition rate at 90 and 120days of the calving season, but not at 150days (calving rates of 80.6, 76.4 and 76.2% for mothers of Nellore, 1/2Nellore-1/2Angus Red and 1/2Nellore-1/2Simmental, respectively, p>0.05). At 90 and 120days, Nellore dams produced more kg of calf per mated dam. In conclusion, in a short breeding season, Nellore dams nursing pure-bred Nellore calves were found to have a higher biological efficiency compared with Nellore dams nursing cross-bred calves.

Effect of ethanol, dry extract and reducing sugars on density and viscosity of Brazilian red wines

BACKGROUND Density and viscosity are properties that exert great influence on the body of wines. The present work aimed to evaluate the influence of the alcoholic content, dry extract, and reducing sugar content on density and viscosity of commercial dry red wines at different temperatures. The rheological assays were carried out on a controlled stress rheometer, using concentric cylinder geometry at seven temperatures (2, 8, 14, 16, 18, 20 and 26 degrees C).RESULTSWine viscosity decreased with increasing temperature and density was directly related to the wine alcohol content, whereas viscosity was closely linked to the dry extract. Reducing sugars did not influence viscosity or density. Wines produced from Italian grapes were presented as full-bodied with higher values for density and viscosity, which was linked to the higher alcohol content and dry extract, respectively.CONCLUSIONThe results highlighted the major effects of certain physicochemical properties on the physical properties of wines, which in turn is important for guiding sensory assessments. (c) 2014 Society of Chemical Industry

Cross-sensitization between testosterone and cocaine in adolescent and adult rats

Cocaine and anabolic-androgenic steroids are substances commonly co-abused. The use of anabolic steroids and cocaine has increased among adolescents. However, few studies investigated the consequences of the interaction between anabolic-androgenic steroids in animals' model of adolescence. We examined the effects of acute and repeated testosterone administration on cocaine-induced locomotor activity in adult and adolescent rats. Rats received ten once-daily subcutaneous (s.c.) injections of testosterone (10mg/kg) or vehicle. Three days after the last testosterone or vehicle injections rats received an intraperitoneal (i.p.) challenge injection of either saline or cocaine (10mg/kg). A different subset of rats was treated with a single injection of testosterone (10mg/kg) or vehicle and three days later was challenged with cocaine (10mg/kg, i.p.) or saline. Immediately after cocaine or saline injections the locomotor activity was recorded during forty minutes. Our results demonstrated that repeated testosterone induced locomotor sensitization to cocaine in adolescent but not adult rats.

Reliable assessment of forearm photoageing by high-frequency ultrasound: a cross-sectional study

High-frequency ultrasound is a non-invasive tool used in skin ageing research to assess dermis thickness and echogenicity. This study evaluated the reliability of a range of high-frequency ultrasound parameters and tested their correlation with age and a validated clinical scale for the assessment of forearm skin photoageing; the difference between two body sites according to environmental exposition patterns was also investigated. Twenty-three volunteers aged 28-82 years were divided into three groups according to forearm photoageing degree. A 20 MHz ultrasound unit was used to obtain cross-sectional images of the skin by two trained investigators on two different sites: the dorsal forearm (chronically photoexposed skin) and the proximal medial arm (non-photoexposed skin). Several echogenicity parameters were studied for each skin compartment: total dermis, upper dermis and lower dermis, and the ratio between upper and lower dermis. The intraclass correlation coefficient (for complete agreement) between investigators was higher for upper and total dermis echogenicity measures compared with the lower dermis. At the non-photoexposed site, the upper and lower dermis parameter ratio was better correlated with age. At the photoexposed area, total dermis parameters demonstrated higher correlations with clinical score. The authors discuss the choice of parameters for forearm photoageing assessment using high-frequency ultrasound.