Measurement of the Z/gamma* plus b-jet cross section in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Shape, transverse size, and charged-hadron multiplicity of jets in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Measurement of energy flow at large pseudorapidities in pp collisions at root s=0.9 and 7 TeV

The energy flow, dE/d eta, is studied at large pseudorapidities in proton-proton collisions at the LHC, for centre-of-mass energies of 0.9 and 7 TeV. The measurements are made using the CMS detector in the pseudorapidity range 3:15 < vertical bar eta vertical bar < 4.9, for both minimum-bias events and events with at least two high-momentum jets. The data are compared to various pp Monte Carlo event generators whose theoretical models and input parameter values are sensitive to the energy-flow measurements. Inclusion of multiple-parton interactions in the Monte Carlo event generators is found to improve the description of the energy-flow measurements.

Measurement of the underlying event in the Drell-Yan process in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Ratios of dijet production cross sections as a function of the absolute difference in rapidity between jets in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Standartization of broth microdilution method for Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Indirect drug susceptibility tests of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was done to investigate the accuracy and feasibility of a broth microdilution method (BMM) for determining minimal inhibitory concentrations of conventional drugs against M. tuberculosis. Test drugs included isoniazid (H), rifampicin (R), ethambutol (E), streptomycin (S) and pyrazinamide (Z). Fifty isolates of M. tuberculosis from patients who had never received drug therapy, and H37Rv strain for control, were evaluated in the system. When comparing this method with the gold standard proportional method in Lowenstein-Jensen medium, sensitivity of 100% for all drugs and specifities of 91, 100, 96, 98 and 85% were observed respectively for H, R, E, S and Z. The BMM was read faster (14-20 days) than the proportional method (20-28 days). The microdilution method evaluated allows the testing of multiple drugs in multiple concentrations. It is easy to perform and does not require special equipment or expensive supplies. In contrast to radiometric method it does not use radioactive material.

Aclimatização de mudas micropropagadas de bananeira 'Grand Naine' com aplicação de biofertilizantes em duas estações do ano

A utilização de mudas de bananeira micropropagadas de qualidade é o primeiro passo na implantação de um bom pomar e, para isso, sua aclimatização deve ser realizada de forma adequada. em vista disso, objetivou-se, neste trabalho, avaliar o desempenho dos biofertilizantes HUMITEC® e RUTER AA® no desenvolvimento de mudas de bananeira micropropagadas, sendo instalado um experimento em viveiro comercial de produção de mudas. Foram utilizadas mudas de bananeira cv. Grand Naine, obtidas por micropropagação, sendo, posteriormente, transplantadas em sacos de polietileno preto (1,5 L), contendo, como substrato, terra de subsolo (Latossolo Amarelo), casca de arroz carbonizada e composto orgânico Organifol® (1:1:1). O delineamento experimental foi em blocos ao acaso, fatorial 2 x 4 (produtos e doses), com quatro repetições e quatro plantas úteis por parcela. Os tratamentos foram compostos pelos seguintes biofertilizantes e doses: HUMITEC® (0,0; 4,0; 8,0; 16,0 mL planta-1) e RUTER AA® (0,0; 2,0; 4,0; 8,0 mL planta-1). As doses dos produtos foram divididas em duas aplicações (28 e 56 dias após o transplantio das mudas), aplicadas via fertirrigação. Noventa e oito dias após o transplantio avaliaram-se as seguintes variáveis: altura das plantas (cm), diâmetro do colo rente superfície do solo (mm), área foliar total e por folha, biomassas fresca e seca da parte aérea e das raízes (g). Os dados foram submetidos análise da variância e quando o teste F foi significativo, realizou-se análise de regressão. Pode-se concluir que aplicações de HUMITEC® e RUTER AA® favoreceram o desenvolvimento das mudas e que, no verão, as plantas apresentaram maior desenvolvimento durante a aclimatização.

Isolation of Mycobacterium spp. in milk from cows suspected or positive to tuberculosis

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

pncA mutations in pyrazinamide-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates from the southeast region of Brazil

Objectives: To investigate the presence of mutations in the pncA gene in 31 pyrazinamide-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis and 5 susceptible strains. MICs and pyrazinamidase (PZase) activity were also determined.Methods: All 36 M. tuberculosis clinical isolates were genotyped by mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units (MIRUs) and most were also typed by spoligotyping. The MIC value necessary to inhibit 99% of the resistant mycobacterial isolates was determined by microplate Alamar Blue assay (MABA) and by Lowenstein-Jensen assay (LJA). The PZase activity was measured by pyrazinamide deamination to pyrazinoic acid and ammonia, and the entire pncA sequence including the 410 by upstream from the start codon was determined by DNA sequencing of purified PCR products.Results: of the 31 isolates resistant to pyrazinamide, 26 (83.9%) showed at least one mutation in the pncA gene or in its putative regulatory region: Among the 22 different mutations detected in the pncA gene and in its regulatory region, 9 (40.9%) mutations (consisting of six substitutions, two insertions and one deletion) have not been described in previous studies. Three pyrazinamide-resistant isolates, confirmed by MIC varying from 800 to 1600 mg/L, carried the wild-type pncA sequence and retained PZase activity.Conclusions: These results contribute to the knowledge of the molecular mechanism of pyrazinamide resistance in Brazil and also expand the profile of pncA mutations worldwide. The MABA was successfully used to determine the MICs of pyrazinamide.

Sensitivity of mycobacteria to different species of eucalyptus l'herit

Sensitivity profile of 10 mycobacteria of clinical interest to eight different species of Eucalyptus L'Herit was studied. A Proportion Method Indirect Test was performed to detect resistant bacilli utilizing 5 and 10 mg/ml of essential oils incorporated to Lowestein-Jensen medium. Mycobaterium tuberculosis and other slow growing mycobacteria were more sensitive to essential oils than faster growing ones. The most effective essential oils, in decreasing order, were Eucalyptus citriodora, Eucalyptus maculata and Eucalyptus tereticornis.

Antimycobacterial activity of some Brazilian indigenous medicinal drinks

Tuberculosis (TB) is a very serious problem worldwide and the increasing number of multiple drugs resistant TB cases makes the search for new anti-TB drugs an urgent need. Indigenous knowledge about the use of native plants to treat illnesses has contributed to the discovery of new medicines. In this study, the antimycobacterial activity of seven medicinal drinks was assessed: Ananas sativus (hydroalcoholic fruit extract), Aristolochia triangularis (aqueous and hydroalcoholic leaf, root and stem extracts), Bromelia antiacantha (hydroalcoholic fruit extract), Stryphnodendron adstringens (hydroalcoholic bark extract), Tabebuia ovellanedae (hydroalcoholic bark extract), Vernonia polyanthes (hydroalcoholic root extract), all used by the Vanuíre indigenous community in the treatment of respiratory diseases. The activity was evaluated by using a time-to-kill assay, in which Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv was cultured on Löwenstein-Jensen medium, after thirty minutes, one, three, six, twelve and twenty-four hours contact of the bacteria with each drink. Within half to one hour contact, the hydroalcoholic drinks of A. triangularis, S. adstringens, T. ovellanedae and V. polyanthes reduced the bacterial growth by 2 orders of magnitude in CFU/mL, and all bacterial growth was absent after three hours contact. In contrast, no mycobactericidal effect was detected in the aqueous extract of A. triangularis or in the hydroalcoholic beverages of A. sativus and B. antiacantha, even after twenty-four hours contact.

Measurement of the charge ratio of atmospheric muons with the CMS detector

We present a measurement of the ratio of positive to negative muon fluxes from cosmic ray interactions in the atmosphere, using data collected by the CMS detector both at ground level and in the underground experimental cavern at the CERN LHC. Muons were detected in the momentum range from 5 GeV/. c to 1 TeV/. c. The surface flux ratio is measured to be 1.2766±0.0032(stat.)±0.0032(syst.), independent of the muon momentum, below 100 GeV/. c. This is the most precise measurement to date. At higher momenta the data are consistent with an increase of the charge ratio, in agreement with cosmic ray shower models and compatible with previous measurements by deep-underground experiments. © 2010.

Measurement of the muon stopping power in lead tungstate

A large sample of cosmic ray events collected by the CMS detector is exploited to measure the specific energy loss of muons in the lead tungstate (PbWO4) of the electromagnetic calorimeter. The measurement spans a momentum range from 5 GeV/c to 1 TeV/c. The results are consistent with the expectations over the entire range. The calorimeter energy scale, set with 120 GeV/c electrons, is validated down to the sub-GeV region using energy deposits, of order 100 MeV, associated with low-momentum muons. The muon critical energy in PbWO4 is measured to be 160+5 -68 GeV, in agreement with expectations. This is the first experimental determination of muon critical energy. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd and SISSA.