Intensified peginterferon α-2a dosing increases sustained virologic response rates in heavy, high viral load hepatitis c genotype 1 patients with high low-density lipoprotein

BACKGROUND AND GOAL: Patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) with elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels achieve higher sustained virologic response (SVR) rates after peginterferon (PegIFN)/ribavirin treatment versus patients with lower LDL. Our aim was to determine whether SVR rates in patients with low/elevated LDL can be improved by dose intensification. STUDY: In PROGRESS, genotype 1 patients with baseline HCV RNA≥400,000 IU/mL and body weight ≥85 kg were randomized to 48 weeks of 180 μg/wk PegIFN α-2a (40 kDa) plus ribavirin (A: 1200 mg/d; B: 1400/1600 mg/d) or 12 weeks of 360 μg/wk PegIFN α-2a followed by 36 weeks of 180 μg/wk, plus ribavirin (C: 1200 mg/d; D: 1400/1600 mg/d). This retrospective analysis assessed SVR rates among patients with low (<100 mg/dL) or elevated (≥100 mg/dL) LDL. Patients with high LDL (n=256) had higher baseline HCV RNA (5.86×10 IU/mL) versus patients with low LDL (n=262; 4.02×10 IU/mL; P=0.0003). RESULTS: Multiple logistic regression analysis identified a significant interaction between PegIFN α-2a dose and LDL levels on SVR (P=0.0193). The only treatment-related SVR predictor in the nested multiple logistic regression was PegIFN α-2a dose among patients with elevated LDL (P=0.0074); therefore, data from the standard (A+B) and induction (C+D) dose arms were pooled. Among patients with low LDL, SVR rates were 40% and 35% in the standard and induction-dose groups, respectively; SVR rates in patients with high LDL were 44% and 60% (P=0.014), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Intensified dosing of PegIFN α-2a increases SVR rates in patients with elevated LDL even with the difficult-to-cure characteristics of genotype 1, high baseline viral load, and high body weight. Copyright © 2013 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Scaling invariance of the diffusion coefficient in a family of two-dimensional Hamiltonian mappings

We consider a family of two-dimensional nonlinear area-preserving mappings that generalize the Chirikov standard map and model a variety of periodically forced systems. The action variable diffuses in increments whose phase is controlled by a negative power of the action and hence effectively uncorrelated for small actions, leading to a chaotic sea in phase space. For larger values of the action the phase space is mixed and contains a family of elliptic islands centered on periodic orbits and invariant Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser (KAM) curves. The transport of particles along the phase space is considered by starting an ensemble of particles with a very low action and letting them evolve in the phase until they reach a certain height h. For chaotic orbits below the periodic islands, the survival probability for the particles to reach h is characterized by an exponential function, well modeled by the solution of the diffusion equation. On the other hand, when h reaches the position of periodic islands, the diffusion slows markedly. We show that the diffusion coefficient is scaling invariant with respect to the control parameter of the mapping when h reaches the position of the lowest KAM island. © 2013 American Physical Society.

Ergodic crossover in partially self-avoiding stochastic walks

Consider a one-dimensional environment with N randomly distributed sites. An agent explores this random medium moving deterministically with a spatial memory μ. A crossover from local to global exploration occurs in one dimension at a well-defined memory value μ1=log2N. In its stochastic version, the dynamics is ruled by the memory and by temperature T, which affects the hopping displacement. This dynamics also shows a crossover in one dimension, obtained computationally, between exploration schemes, characterized yet by the trajectory size (Np) (aging effect). In this paper we provide an analytical approach considering the modified stochastic version where the parameter T plays the role of a maximum hopping distance. This modification allows us to obtain a general analytical expression for the crossover, as a function of the parameters μ, T, and Np. Differently from what has been proposed by previous studies, we find that the crossover occurs in any dimension d. These results have been validated by numerical experiments and may be of great value for fixing optimal parameters in search algorithms. © 2013 American Physical Society.

Multifractality, stickiness, and recurrence-time statistics

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Tunable Fermi acceleration in a nondissipative driven magnetic billiard

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Cobertura e depósito de calda fitossanitária em plantas de café pulverizadas com equipamento original e adaptado para plantas altas

The objective of this study was to evaluate the coverage of spray droplets on coffee plants as well as their deposition using a sprayer with and without adaptation of an auxiliary branch for tall plants. The experiment was conducted following a randomized block design with six treatments and four replications to evaluate the percentage of coverage for the spraying liquids in water sensitive paper fixed at four quadrants and two heights (lower and upper) of the plants, and the spray deposit with metallic marker (MnSO4) on sheets in the same positions of the water sensitive paper in two spray volumes (450 and 750 L h(-1)). The experiment was conducted in October 2011 in the town of Patroc nio-MG, and the experimental plots consisted of 30 plants of Catua IAC-99, with approximately 12 years of age and average height of 3.50 meters. The experiments were conducted following a randomized block design with six treatments and four replications to evaluate the coverage and deposition, in two spray volumes (450 and 750 L ha(-1)). Leaves were collected in four positions and also at the top four in the lower canopy. The results of the evaluations were analysed statistically by F test and for comparison of means by Tukey test at 5% probability. The auxiliary branch installed at the rear of the equipment is the most suitable when compared to use of equipment without this feature or installed in the front of the equipment. Furthermore, the application volume of 450 L ha(-1) results in coverages and deposits of spraying liquids equivalents to volume of 750 L ha(-1), considered sufficient according to the parameters evaluated.

Finite-time synchronization of tunnel-diode-based chaotic oscillators

This paper addresses the problem of finite-time synchronization of tunnel diode based chaotic oscillators. After a brief investigation of its chaotic dynamics, we propose an active adaptive feedback coupling which accomplishes the synchronization of tunnel-diode-based chaotic systems with and without the presence of delay(s), basing ourselves on Lyapunov and on Krasovskii-Lyapunov stability theories. This feedback coupling could be applied to many other chaotic systems. A finite horizon can be arbitrarily established by ensuring that chaos synchronization is achieved at a pre-established time. An advantage of the proposed feedback coupling is that it is simple and easy to implement. Both mathematical investigations and numerical simulations followed by PSPICE experiment are presented to show the feasibility of the proposed method.

Finite time blow-up and breaking of solitary wind waves

The evolution of surface water waves in finite depth under wind forcing is reduced to an antidissipative Korteweg-de Vries-Burgers equation. We exhibit its solitary wave solution. Antidissipation accelerates and increases the amplitude of the solitary wave and leads to blow-up and breaking. Blow-up occurs in finite time for infinitely large asymptotic space so it is a nonlinear, dispersive, and antidissipative equivalent of the linear instability which occurs for infinite time. Due to antidissipation two given arbitrary and adjacent planes of constant phases of the solitary wave acquire different velocities and accelerations inducing breaking. Soliton breaking occurs in finite space in a time prior to the blow-up. We show that the theoretical growth in amplitude and the time of breaking are both testable in an existing experimental facility.

Escape through a time-dependent hole in the doubling map

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Wide vector solitons in systems with time- and space-modulated nonlinearities

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

As crônicas do Inca Garcilaso de La Vega: um discurso de legitimação

A literatura latino-americana está marcada pela heterogeneidade existente na América Latina, e a crônica é considerada o início desta heterogeneidade, devido ao fato de narrar um mundo desconhecido a leitores que fazem parte de outra realidade, gerando assim, uma situação de conflito. Os relatos escritos das civilizações andinas, em sua maioria, são de cronistas espanhóis, no entanto, também nos deparamos com alguns cronistas “índios” e mestiços, como o Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. Ele se destaca não somente por representar esta pequena parcela, ou seja, por ser um mestiço, mas, principalmente por ser herdeiro de duas nobrezas: a nobreza espanhola e a nobreza incaica. O cronista Inca Garcilaso era filho do capitão espanhol Garcilaso de la Vega, que possuía uma família que se destacava na guerra e na literatura; e de Chimpu Ocllo, uma princesa Inca, neta do Imperador Túpac Inca Yupanqui. Porém, este privilégio em relação aos outros mestiços, não lhe garantia o reconhecimento como nobre diante da coroa espanhola. Por isso, veremos neste trabalho que um dos seus intuitos ao escrever as crônicas Comentarios Reales de los Incas e Historia General del Perú, era o de tentar legitimar o seu status social diante dos espanhóis por meio de relatos que descrevem todos os feitos e avanços dos Incas, bem como afirmar, como uma de suas justificativas, que a colonização foi aceita pelos indígenas e estes estavam aptos à catequização, sendo uma maneira do Rei da Espanha e a Igreja Católica “salvarem” este povo da barbárie. Desta maneira, o Inca Garcilaso cria um discurso contraditório, pois, ao mesmo tempo que defende os espanhóis, ele glorifica o Império Inca

Estabilidade oclusal a longo prazo de Classe II, divisão 1, após tratamento com extração de pré-molares

Patients are looking for esthetic and functional changes when seeking orthodontic treatment and expect the remaining of a stable occlusion. Occlusion stability is one of the goals of the orthodontist; however, dental relationships changes in long-term can occur leading to a relapse of the treatment. Teeth and shape of arches tend to return to the original form, been the retention phase important after the appliance removal, even after several years of post-treatment. This article approaches a submission of a clinical case of Class II division 1 treated with extraction of premolars analyzing its long-term stability.

Molecular model for hydrated biological tissues

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Global ballistic acceleration in a bouncing-ball model

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)