The ventilatory response to environmental hypercarbia in the South American rattlesnake, Crotalus durissus

To study the effects of environmental hypercarbia on ventilation in snakes, particularly the anomalous hyperpnea that is seen when CO(2) is removed from inspired gas mixtures (post-hypercapnic hyperpnea), gas mixtures of varying concentrations of CO(2) were administered to South American rattlesnakes, Crotalus durissus, breathing through an intact respiratory system or via a tracheal cannula by-passing the upper airways. Exposure to environmental hypercarbia at increasing levels, up to 7% CO(2), produced a progressive decrease in breathing frequency and increase in tidal volume. The net result was that total ventilation increased modestly, up to 5% CO(2) and then declined slightly on 7% CO(2). on return to breathing air there was an immediate but transient increase in breathing frequency and a further increase in tidal volume that produced a marked overshoot in ventilation. The magnitude of this post-hypercapnic hyperpnea was proportional to the level of previously inspired CO(2). Administration of CO(2) to the lungs alone produced effects that were identical to administration to both lungs and upper airways and this effect was removed by vagotomy. Administration of CO(2) to the upper airways alone was without effect. Systemic injection of boluses of CO(2)-rich blood produced an immediate increase in both breathing frequency and tidal volume. These data indicate that the post-hypercapnic hyperpnea resulted from the removal of inhibitory inputs from pulmonary receptors and suggest that while the ventilatory response to environmental hypercarbia in this species is a result of conflicting inputs from different receptor groups, this does not include input from upper airway receptors.

Age-related histopathological lesions in the Mongolian gerbil ventral prostate as a good model for studies of spontaneous hormone-related disorders

The Meriones unguiculatus (Mongolian) gerbil has demonstrated significant prostatic responses to hormonal treatments, and to drugs against human prostatic hyperplasia Spontaneous neoplasia develops in the older animals. Thirty gerbils (age 18 months) were divided into non-affected and prostatic lesion bearers and the prostate lesions were evaluated morphologically, immunohistochemically and quantitatively. The most frequent changes were in epithelial sites and, namely prostatic intraepithelial neoplasias, microinvasive carcinomas and adenocarcinomas. In the stromal compartment, cellular hyperplasia, when verified, was always associated with the sites of anomalous epithelium. Additionally, larger deposition of collagen fibrils, generating stromal fibrosis, was found in all the old gerbils analysed. The quantitative analysis showed that prostatic tissue proportions differed in altered areas, being specific for each lesion type. Isolated nuclear and nucleolar parameters were not effective in diagnosing the malign potential of lesions. However, the cellular proliferation and death indexes indicated larger cellular turnover in invasive lesions such as carcinomas. With these analyses, it could be verified that old gerbils present high propensity to develop spontaneous prostate changes and this may aid in a better understanding of the biological behaviour of human prostate cancer.

Alterações cromossômicas causadas pela radiação dos monitores de vídeo de computadores

OBJETIVO: em decorrência dos questionamentos sobre o efeito deletério das radiações emitidas pelo campo eletromagnético (CEM) dos tipos ELF (extremely low frequency) e VLF (very low frequency) transmitidas pelos monitores de vídeo dos computadores (CRT), foi avaliada a freqüência de anomalias cromossômicas estruturais e a cinética do ciclo celular em indivíduos expostos por seu trabalho à radiação dos CRT. MÉTODOS: A pesquisa de aberrações cromossômicas foi realizada em 2.000 metáfases de primeira divisão celular obtidas de culturas de 48h de linfócitos de sangue venoso periférico de dez indivíduos expostos ao CRT (grupo E) e de dez controles (grupo C). A cinética do ciclo celular foi pesquisada pelos índices mitótico (IM) e de proliferação celular (IPC). RESULTADOS: A análise estatística evidenciou freqüências significativamente maiores de metáfases com anomalias cromossômicas (E=5,9%; C=3,7%) e anomalias/célula (E=0,066±0,026; C=0,040±0,026) nos indivíduos expostos aos CRTs. As alterações citogenéticas mais comuns foram as quebras cromatídicas, com freqüência de 0,034±0,016 no grupo E e de 0,016±0,015 no grupo C. As freqüências de IM e IPC não apresentaram diferenças significantes entre os grupos avaliados. CONCLUSÕES: Os resultados sugerem um efeito genotóxico do CEM emitido pelos CRTs devido à freqüência mais elevada de quebras cromatídicas, enfatizando a necessidade de haver um número maior de estudos com diferentes técnicas que vise a investigar a ação do CEM sobre o material genético.

Anatomia de um caso de dextrocardia com Situs Solitus

Apresentamos um caso raro de dextrocardia em um cadáver feminino com idade aproximada de um ano, apresentando situs solitus. Normalmente, os casos de dextrocardia relatados na literatura descrevem múltiplas malformações cardíacas associadas. No presente estudo, tem grande relevância o fato de não ter sido encontrada uma completa imagem especular do coração e dos vasos da base. Não foram encontradas discordância atrioventricular ou outras malformações intra e extracardíacas que são comumente incidentes em casos de dextrocardia. No entanto, foram encontradas a presença de um grande ducto arterioso, bem como uma posição anômala da parte direita do coração.

Indirect constraints on the triple gauge boson couplings from Z -> b(b)over-bar partial width: An update

We update the indirect bounds on anomalous triple gauge couplings coming from the non-universal one-loop contributions to the Z --> width. These bounds, which are independent of the Higgs boson mass, are in agreement with the standard model predictions for the gauge boson self-couplings since the present value of R-b agrees fairly well with the theoretical estimates. Moreover, these indirect constraints on Delta g(1)(Z) and g(5)(Z) are most stringent than the present direct bounds on these quantities, while the indirect limit on lambda(Z) is weaker than the available experimental data.

Vortices in nonlocal Gross-Pitaevskii equation

We consider vortices in the nonlocal two-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation with the interaction potential having Lorentz-shaped dependence on the relative momentum. It is shown that in the Fourier series expansion with respect to the polar angle, the unstable modes of the axial n-fold vortex have orbital numbers l satisfying 0 < \l\ < 2\n\, as in the local model. Numerical simulations show that nonlocality slightly decreases the threshold rotation frequency above which the nonvortex state ceases to be the global energy minimum and decreases the frequency of the anomalous mode of the 1-vortex. In the case of higher axial vortices, nonlocality leads to instability against splitting with the creation of antivortices and gives rise to additional anomalous modes with higher orbital numbers. Despite new instability channels with the creation of antivortices, for a stationary solution comprised of vortices and antivortices there always exists another vortex solution, composed solely of vortices, with the same total vorticity but with a lower energy.

Search for production of single top quarks via tcg and tug flavor-changing-neutral-current couplings

We search for the production of single top quarks via flavor-changing-neutral-current couplings of a gluon to the top quark and a charm (c) or up (u) quark. We analyze 230 pb(-1) of lepton+jets data from p (p) over tilde collisions at a center of mass energy of 1.96 TeV collected by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We observe no significant deviation from standard model predictions, and hence set upper limits on the anomalous coupling parameters kappa(c)(g)/Lambda and kappa(u)(g)/Lambda, where kappa(g) define the strength of tcg and tug couplings, and Lambda defines the scale of new physics. The limits at 95% C.L. are kappa(c)(g)/Lambda < 0.15 TeV-1 and kappa(u)(g)/Lambda < 0.037 TeV-1.

SU(5)circle times Z(13) grand unification model

We propose an SU(5) grand unified model with an invisible axion and the unification of the three coupling constants which is in agreement with the values, at M(Z), of alpha, alpha(s), and sin(2)theta(W). A discrete, anomalous, Z(13) symmetry implies that the Peccei-Quinn symmetry is an automatic symmetry of the classical Lagrangian protecting, at the same time, the invisible axion against possible semiclassical gravity effects. Although the unification scale is of the order of the Peccei-Quinn scale the proton is stabilized by the fact that in this model the standard model fields form the SU(5) multiplets completed by new exotic fields and, also, because it is protected by the Z(13) symmetry.

Remarks on Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau theory and gauge invariance

Two problems relative to the electromagnetic coupling of Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau (DKP) theory are discussed: the presence of an anomalous term in the Hamiltonian form of the theory and the apparent difference between the interaction terms in DKP and Klein-Gordon (KG) Lagrangians. For this, we first discuss the behavior of DKP field and its physical components under gauge transformations. From this analysis, we can show that these problems simply do not exist if one correctly analyses the physical components of DKP field. (C) 2000 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Exact renormalization of massless QED(2)

We perform the exact renormalization of two-dimensional massless gauge theories. Using these exact results we discuss the cluster property and confinement in both the anomalous and chiral Schwinger models.

A mathematical model for wave propagation in elastic tubes with inhomogeneities: Application to blood waves propagation

We study the propagation of waves in an elastic tube filled with an inviscid fluid. We consider the case of inhomogeneity whose mechanical and geometrical properties vary in space. We deduce a system of equations of the Boussinesq type as describing the wave propagation in the tube. Numerical simulations of these equations show that inhomogeneities prevent separation of right-going from left-going waves. Then reflected and transmitted coefficients are obtained in the case of localized constriction and localized rigidity. Next we focus on wavetrains incident on various types of anomalous regions. We show that the existence of anomalous regions modifies the wavetrain patterns. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Running couplings for the simultaneous decoupling of heavy quarks

Scale-invariant running couplings are constructed for several quarks being decoupled together, without reference to intermediate thresholds. Large-momentum scales can also be included. The result is a multi-scale generalization of the renormalization group applicable to any order. Inconsistencies in the usual decoupling procedure with a single running coupling can then be avoided, e.g., when cancelling anomalous corrections from t, b quarks to the axial charge of the proton. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Constraints on four-fermion contact interactions from precise electroweak measurements

We establish constraints on a general four-fermion contact interaction from precise measurements of electroweak parameters. We compute the one-loop contribution for the leptonic Z width, anomalous magnetic, weak-magnetic, electric and weak dipole moments of leptons in order to extract bounds on the energy scale of these effective interactions.

Direct instantons, topological charge screening, and QCD glueball sum rules

Nonperturbative Wilson coefficients of the operator product expansion (OPE) for the spin-0 glueball correlators are derived and analyzed. A systematic treatment of the direct instanton contributions is given, based on a realistic instanton size distribution and renormalization at the operator scale. In the pseudoscalar channel, topological charge screening is identified as an additional source of (semi-) hard nonperturbative physics. The screening contributions are shown to be vital for consistency with the anomalous axial Ward identity, and previously encountered pathologies (positivity violations and the disappearance of the 0(-+) glueball signal) are traced to their neglect. on the basis of the extended OPE, a comprehensive quantitative analysis of eight Borel-moment sum rules in both spin-0 glueball channels is then performed. The nonperturbative OPE coefficients turn out to be indispensable for consistent sum rules and for their reconciliation with the underlying low-energy theorems. The topological short-distance physics strongly affects the sum rule results and reveals a rather diverse pattern of glueball properties. New predictions for the spin-0 glueball masses and decay constants and an estimate of the scalar glueball width are given, and several implications for glueball structure and experimental glueball searches are discussed.

Topological charge screening and pseudoscalar glueballs

Topological charge screening in the QCD vacuum is found to provide crucial nonperturbative contributions to the short-distance expansion of the pseudoscalar (0-+) glueball correlator. The screening contributions enter the Wilson coefficients and are an indispensable complement to the direct instanton contributions. They restore consistency with the anomalous axial Ward identity and remedy several flaws in the 0-+ glueball sum rules caused by direct instantons in the absence of screening (lack of resonance signals, violation of the positivity bound and of the underlying low-energy theorem). The impact of the finite width of the instanton size distribution and the (gauge-invariant) renormalization of the instanton contributions are also discussed. New predictions for the 0-+ glueball mass and decay constant are presented.