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Amblyomma dubitatumengorged females, naturally infected by Rickettsia bellii, were used to establish a laboratory colony. Larvae, nymphs, and adults were exposed to two strains of Rickettsia rickettsiiby feeding on needle-inoculated guinea pigs, and thereafter reared on uninfected guinea pigs. After acquisition feeding, engorged larvae and nymphs molted to nymphs and adults, respectively, which were shown to be infected (confirming transstadial perpetuation), and were able to transmit both strains of R. rickettsiito uninfected animals, as demonstrated by clinical, serological, and molecular analyses. However, the larval, nymphal, and adult stages of A. dubitatumshowed to be only partially susceptible to R. rickettsiiinfection, since in all cases, only part of the ticks became infected by this agent, after being exposed to rickettsemic animals. While transovarial transmission of R. rickettsiiwas inefficient in the A. dubitatumengorged females of the present study, 100% of these females passed R. belliitransovarially. Because it has been reported that a primary infection by a Rickettsiaspecies would preclude transovarial transmission of a second Rickettsiaspecies, it is likely that the ineffectiveness of A. dubitatumto perpetuate R. rickettsiiby transovarial transmission was related to its primary infection by R. bellii; however, it could also be related to unknown factors inherent to A. dubitatum.The relevance of A. dubitatumas a natural vector of R. rickettsiito humans or animals is discussed.

AbstractIn this work, we present a numerical study of an all-optical logical gate based in a symmetric nonlinear directional coupler (NLDC) in Photonic Fiber Crystals (PCFs) PCFs operating with two ultrashort fundamental soliton pulses of 100 fs, modulated by PAM-ASK with binary amplitude modulation to represent the logical level 1 and 0. The performance of a symmetric dual core NLDCPCF to execute two-input logical functions is examined. We evaluate the effect resulting from an increment in the PAM coding parameter offset (ε), considering the anomalous Group Velocity Dispersion (GVD), third-order dispersion (β3) and nonlinear effects Self Phase Modulation (SPM), Self-Steepening (SS), lntrapulse Raman Scattering (IRS) in a lossless configuration. Our results indicate that is possible to get logical operations for the cores 1 or 2 using a phase control to the input pulse in one of the fibers.

ABSTRACTLeishmaniasis is a widespread neglected tropical disease caused by parasites of the Leishmaniagenus. These parasites express the enzyme 3'-nucleotidase/nuclease (3'NT/NU), which has been described to be involved in parasite nutrition and infection. Bacteria that express nucleases escape the toxic effects of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). Hence, we investigated the role of 3'NT/NU in Leishmaniasurvival of NET-mediated killing. Promastigotes of Leishmania infantumwere cultured in high-phosphate (HP) or low-phosphate (LP) medium to modulate nuclease activity. We compared the survival of the two different groups of Leishmaniaduring interaction with human neutrophils, assessing the role of neutrophil extracellular traps. As previously reported, we detected higher nuclease activity in parasites cultured in LP medium. Both LP and HP promastigotes were capable of inducing the release of neutrophil extracellular traps from human neutrophils in a dose- and time-dependent manner. LP parasites had 2.4 times more survival than HP promastigotes. NET disruption was prevented by the treatment of the parasites with ammonium tetrathiomolybdate (TTM), a 3'NT/NU inhibitor. Inhibition of 3'NT/NU by 3'-AMP, 5'-GMP, or TTM decreased promastigote survival upon interaction with neutrophils. Our results show that Leishmania infantuminduces NET release and that promastigotes can escape NET-mediated killing by 3'-nucleotidase/nuclease activity, thus ascribing a new function to this enzyme.

Basically, a traditional ceramic glaze is a thin layer of glass created on the ceramic surface to enhance the aesthetic appearance and also to waterproof the artifact. Almost all glazes are based on quartz, SiO2, and a flux such as Na2O or K2O, similar to the composition of common glass, which contains approximately 72% SiO2 and 15% Na2O, and is widely used as windows or in glass packaging. The current work investigated the formulation of glazes using recycled waste glass powder for firing temperatures of 1100 and 1250oC. Three transparent base glaze formulations were developed and by adding coloring agents such as iron, cobalt or copper oxide several colored glazes could be successfully produced. In this way, up to 30% of recycled waste glass powder could be incorporated into the glazes.

ABSTRACTAs a continuation of our earlier study on the in vitroantiprotozoal activity of 40 natural sesquiterpene lactones (STLs), we extended the set of tested compounds from our laboratories to 59. On the basis of this extended data set, further enriched by literature data for 10 compounds tested under the same conditions, our quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) analyses for activity against T. brucei rhodesiense(etiologic agent of human African trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness) were continued, and the QSAR model thus obtained with 69 structures was used to predict the activity of a virtual library of 1,750 STL structures. As a major result from these calculations, furanoheliangolide-type compounds, a subclass of STLs hitherto untested against T. brucei rhodesiense, were predicted to have an exceptionally high level of in vitroactivity. Four representative compounds of this type, goyazensolide, 4,5-dihydro-2′,3′-epoxy-15-deoxygoyazensolide, budlein A, and 4,15-isoatriplicolide tiglate, were therefore tested. They displayed 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) of 0.07, 0.20, 0.07, and 0.015 μM, respectively, so that the in silicoprediction was experimentally confirmed. 4,15-Isoatriplicolide tiglate is the most potent STL against T. b. rhodesiensefound. Furanoheliangolide STLs were thus identified as interesting leads against this parasite which deserve more detailed investigations.

Smallanthus sonchifolius(Poepp.) H. Rob., Asteraceae, known as yacon, is an herb that is traditionally used for the treatment of diabetes in folk medicine. However, recent studies have demonstrated that this plant has other interesting properties such as anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory actions. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the topical anti-inflammatory property of different extracts prepared from yacon leaves and analyze the role of different chemical classes in this activity. Three yacon leaf extracts were obtained: aqueous extract, where chlorogenic acid derivatives and sesquiterpene lactones were detected; leaf rinse extract, rich in sesquiterpene lactones; and polar extract, rich in chlorogenic acid derivatives. All the extracts exhibited anti-edematogenic activity in vivo(aqueous extract: 25.9% edema inhibition at 0.50 mg/ear; polar extract: 42.7% inhibition at 0.25 mg/ear; and leaf rinse extract: 44.1% inhibition at 0.25mg/ear). The leaf rinse extract furnished the best results regarding neutrophil migration inhibition, and NO, TNF-α and PGE2inhibition. These data indicate that both sesquiterpene lactones and chlorogenic acid derivatives contribute to the anti-inflammatory action, although sesquiterpene lactones seem to have more pronounced effects. In conclusion, yacon leaf extracts, particularly the sesquiterpene lactone-rich extract, has potential use as topical anti-inflammatory agent.

IntroductionUnexplained post-procedural events such as cerebral edema, inflammation, aseptic meningitis and hydrocephalus have been reported following unruptured cerebral aneurysm coiling. However, understanding of the etiology for these occurrences is limited due to their rare occurrence. A multicenter registry was developed to investigate further the occurrence of these events.MethodThis registry consisted of a retrospective analysis of unruptured aneurysms treated with hydrocoil that evolved to develop focal cerebral edema, inflammation, aseptic meningitis, or ventricular enlargement/hydrocephalus following uncomplicated coil embolization. Data points included pre, intra, and postoperative imaging, patient demographics, aneurysm demographics, procedural details such as coils used, medications administered, and intraprocedural complications, and all post-procedure follow-up including clinical status of the patients and all adverse events.ResultsTwenty-five patients (26 aneurysm coiling procedures) were found at 12 centers over an 8-year period. The mean aneurysm size was 13.7 mm. The average time from treatment to onset of symptoms was 8.5 months (2 weeks to 30 months, median 6 months). Delayed hydrocephalus was the most common clinical presentation. Six of the 25 patients were asymptomatic and did not require treatment.ConclusionPatients undergoing endovascular coiling may be at risk of developing delayed complications, which may or may not be symptomatic. This risk appeared low and was restricted mostly to larger aneurysms. These events can be difficult to detect due to delayed presentation.

This paper investigates the performance of a Full-Duplex Block Markov (FD-BM) relaying scheme with self interference at the relay under independent non-identically distributed Nakagami-m fading. Relying on efficient approximations proposed elsewhere in the literature for the sum of Gamma random variables (RVs), and based on a new, accurate approximation for the product of two Nakagami-m RVs, tight closed-form approximate expressions for the outage probability and throughput are derived. Representative numerical results show the accuracy of the proposed approximations.

The total flavonoid content (TFC), total polyphenols content (TPC), and in vitroantioxidant activity (AA) of six Bidens pilosaL., Asteraceae, populations harvested from different localities were evaluated in this work. The plants were separated in roots, stems, and leaves/flowers, and the influence of extraction methods was investigated. A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method (HPLC) was developed and employed to obtain characteristic HPLC fingerprints of the bioactive compounds present in the extractive solutions, which were correlated with the TFC, TPC, and AA. Extractive solutions of leaves/flowers presented a higher AA when compared with those obtained from other parts of the plant (IC50 of 35.35±0.10μg/mL). The stem extracts presented the lowest AA (IC50 117.2±1.96μg/mL). A direct correlation of AA with TFC and TPC was evidenced. The highest AA was obtained by dynamic maceration and was statistically different from the AA presented by the extractive solutions obtained by other extraction methods. The results of this work evidenced differences that can be found at different stages of development of phytopharmaceutical preparations from B. pilosaand highlighted the importance of using the concentration of marker compounds as well as HPLC fingerprints as quality control parameters.

CSN BF no. 2 has only three hot blast stoves. Owing to the operational risks as well as output losses associated with the BF operation with just two hot blast stoves, the revamping time of this equipment becomes a crucial issue, requiring special attention in each phase of the project from planning to execution so as to shorten the time as much as possible. According to this context, the present paper describes in detail the main technologies used in the last revamping of hot blast stoves carried out in February 2007. These technologies included an accelerated cooling down curve, air conditioning system (good working condition) and convection heating system, which in association with an innovative construction methodology, involving movable and multilevel platforms, has allowed the project to be completed from blow to blow in a record time of just 67 days and 10 h, resulting in a reduction of costs around R$3·4m.

LED-induced chlorophyll fluorescence spectral signatures from Saccharum officinarum leaves are employed to evaluate the effect of water deficit upon the plant growing process. The chlorophyll fluorescence spectral analysis is a nondestructive and nonintrusive indicator of the chlorophyll content of leaves and abiotic stress intensity, and is used to monitor the time evolution of the effect of water deficit stress upon plants physiological state. Red and far-red emission signals around 685 nm and 735 nm, respectively, are observed and examined as a function of irrigation amount. The intensity ratio of the fluorescence emissions allow one to detect signs of damage in the early stages of the plants growing process, and before traces of visible stress became apparent. The results indicated an unusual behavior of the fluorescence ratio for water stress that can potentially be used as a discriminator amongst several abiotic stresses.

COMBATANTS HAVE BEEN FIGHTING FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. STRUCTURED COMBAT SPORTS BETWEEN 2 MEN HAVE EXISTED FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS AS A SPORT SIMILAR TO WHAT WE CURRENTLY KNOW AS MIXED MARTIAL ARTS (MMA). SEVERAL CHANGES HAVE OCCURRED IN MMA IN THE LAST 2 DECADES, ALLOWING THE SPORT TO BECOME MORE PROFESSIONAL, WITH RULES, MEDIA EXPOSURE, AGENTS, AND MILLIONS OF SPECTATORS WORLDWIDE. THUS, IT IS IMPORTANT TODAY FOR ATHLETES AND STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING COACHES TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THE MOST APPROPRIATE FORMS OF TRAINING FOR THESE MODALITIES, INCLUDING NOT ONLY FIGHTING TECHNIQUE BUT ALSO OTHER RELATED COMPONENTS OF OPTIMAL PHYSICAL CONDITIONING, SUCH AS WARM-UP, FLEXIBILITY TRAINING, AND COOL-DOWN.

The aim of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for BW of Angus cattle up to 5 yr of age and to discuss options for including mature weight (MW) in their genetic evaluation. Data were obtained from the American Angus Association. Only records from herds with at least 500 animals and with >10% of animals with BW at ≥2 yr of age were considered. Traits were weaning weight (WW, n = 81,525), yearling weight (YW, n = 62,721), and BW measured from 2 to 5 yr of age (MW2, n = 15,927; MW3, n = 12,404; MW4, n = 9,805; MW5, n = 7,546). Genetic parameters were estimated using an AIREML algorithm with a multiple-trait animal model. Fixed effects were contemporary group and departure of the actual age from standard age (205, 365, 730, 1,095, 1,460, and 1,825 d of age for WW, YW, MW2, MW3, MW4, and MW5, respectively). Random effects were animal direct additive genetic, maternal additive genetic, maternal permanent environment, and residual. Estimates of direct genetic variances (kg2) were 298 ± 71.8, 563 ± 15.1, 925 ± 52.1, 1,221 ± 65.8, 1,406 ± 80.4, and 1,402 ± 66.9; maternal genetic variances were 167 ± 4.8, 153 ± 6.1, 123 ± 9.1, 136 ± 12.25, 167 ± 18.0, and 110 ± 14.0; maternal permanent environment variances were 124 ± 2.9, 120 ± 4.3, 61 ± 7.5, 69 ± 11.9, 103 ± 15.9, and 134 ± 35.2; and residual variances were 258 ± 3.8, 608 ± 8.6, 829 ± 34.2, 1,016 ± 38.8, 1,017 ± 52.1, and 1,202 ± 63.22 for WW, YW, MW2, MW3, MW4, and MW5, respectively. The direct genetic correlation between WW and YW was 0.84 ± 0.14 and between WW and MW ranged from 0.66 ± 0.06 (WW and MW4) to 0.72 ± 0.11 (WW and MW2). Direct genetic correlations ranged from 0.77 ± 0.08 (YW and MW5) to 0.85 ± 0.07 (YW and MW2) between YW and MW, and they were ≥0.95 among MW2, MW3, MW4, and MW5. Maternal genetic correlations between WW and YW and MW ranged from 0.52 ± 0.05 (WW and MW4) to 0.95 ± 0.07 (WW and YW), and among MW they ranged from 0.54 ± 0.14 (MW4 and MW5) to 0.94 ± 0.07 (MW2 and MW3). Genetic correlations suggest that a genetic evaluation for MW may be MW2-based and that including BW from older ages could be accomplished by adjusting records to the scale of MW2.

Diagnosis of human bladder cancer in untreated tissue sections is achieved by using imaging data from desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI‐MS) combined with multivariate statistical analysis. We use the distinctive DESI‐MS glycerophospholipid (GP) mass spectral profiles to visually characterize and formally classify twenty pairs (40 tissue samples) of human cancerous and adjacent normal bladder tissue samples. The individual ion images derived from the acquired profiles correlate with standard histological hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)‐stained serial sections. The profiles allow us to classify the disease status of the tissue samples with high accuracy as judged by reference histological data. To achieve this, the data from the twenty pairs were divided into a training set and a validation set. Spectra from the tumor and normal regions of each of the tissue sections in the training set were used for orthogonal projection to latent structures (O‐PLS) treated partial least‐square discriminate analysis (PLS‐DA). This predictive model was then validated by using the validation set and showed a 5 % error rate for classification and a misclassification rate of 12 %. It was also used to create synthetic images of the tissue sections showing pixel‐by‐pixel disease classification of the tissue and these data agreed well with the independent classification that uses histological data by a certified pathologist. This represents the first application of multivariate statistical methods for classification by ambient ionization although these methods have been applied previously to other MS imaging methods. The results are encouraging in terms of the development of a method that could be utilized in a clinical setting through visualization and diagnosis of intact tissue.

Light-emitting-diode induced chlorophyll fluorescence analysis is employed to investigate the effect of water and salt stress upon the growth process of physicnut(jatropha curcas) grain oil plants for biofuel. Red(Fr) and far-red (FFr) chlorophyll fluorescence emission signals around 685 nm and 735 nm, respectively, were observed and examined as a function of the stress intensity(salt concentration and water deficit) for a period of time of 30 days. The chlorophyll fluorescence(ChlF) ratio Fr/FFr which is a valuable nondestructive and nonintrusive indicator of the chlorophyll content of leaves was exploited to monitor the level of stress experienced by the jatrophaplants. The ChlF technique data indicated that salinity plays a minor role in the chlorophyll concentration of leaves tissues for NaCl concentrations in the 25 to 200 mM range, and results agreed quite well with those obtained using conventional destructive spectrophotometric methods. Nevertheless, for higher NaCl concentrations a noticeable decrease in the Chl content was observed. The Chl fluorescence ratio analysis also permitted detection of damage caused by water deficit in the early stages of the plants growing process. A significant variation of the Fr/FFr ratio was observed sample in the first 10 days of the experiment when one compared control and nonwatered samples. The results suggest that the technique may potentially be applied as an early-warning indicator of stress caused by water deficit.

In this report the optical properties and energy-transfer frequency upconversion luminescence of Er3+/Yb3+-codoped laponite-derived powders under 975 nm infrared excitation is investigated. The 75%(laponite):25%(PbF2) samples doped with erbium and ytterbium ions, generated high intensity red emission around 660 nm and lower intensity green emission around 525, and 545 nm. The observed emission signals were examined as a function of the excitation power and annealing temperature. The results indicate that energy-transfer, and excited-state absorption are the major upconversion excitation mechanism for the erbium excited-state red emitting level. The precursor glass samples were also heat treated at annealing temperatures of 300 °C, 400 °C, 500 °C, and 600 °C, for a 2h period. The dependence of the visible upconversion luminescence emission upon the annealing temperature indicated the existence of an optimum temperature which leads to the generation of the most intense and spectrally pure red emission signal.

The activating mutation JAK2 V617F plays a central role in the pathogenesis of polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, and primary myelofibrosis. Inhibition of JAK2 activity leads to growth inhibition and apoptosis in cells with mutated JAK2. However, the proapoptotic proteins involved in JAK2 inhibition-induced apoptosis remain unclear. In this study, we show that JAK2 inhibition-induced apoptosis correlated with up-regulation of the nonphosphorylated form of the BH3-only protein Bim in hematopoietic cell lines bearing JAK2 mutations. Knockdown of Bim dramatically inhibited apoptosis induced by JAK2 inhibition, which was reversed by the BH3 mimetic agent ABT-737. In addition, ABT-737 enhanced the apoptosis induced by JAK2 inhibition in JAK2 V617F+ HEL and SET-2 cells. The combination of JAK inhibitor I and ABT-737 reduced the number of erythroid colonies derived from CD34+ cells isolated from JAK2 V617F+ polycythemia vera patients more efficiently than either drug alone. These data suggest that Bim is a key effector molecule in JAK2 inhibition-induced apoptosis and that targeting this apoptotic pathway could be a novel therapeutic strategy for patients with activating JAK2 mutations.

The activating mutation JAK2 V617Fplays a central role in the pathogenesis of polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, and primary myelofibrosis. Inhibition of JAK2 activity leads to growth inhibition and apoptosis in cells with mutated JAK2. However, the proapoptotic proteins involved in JAK2 inhibition-induced apoptosis remain unclear. In this study, we show that JAK2 inhibition-induced apoptosis correlated with up-regulation of the nonphosphorylated form of the BH3-only protein Bim in hematopoietic cell lines bearing JAK2mutations. Knockdown of Bim dramatically inhibited apoptosis induced by JAK2 inhibition, which was reversed by the BH3 mimetic agent ABT-737. In addition, ABT-737 enhanced the apoptosis induced by JAK2 inhibition in JAK2 V617F+HEL and SET-2 cells. The combination of JAK inhibitor I and ABT-737 reduced the number of erythroid colonies derived from CD34+cells isolated from JAK2 V617F+polycythemia vera patients more efficiently than either drug alone. These data suggest that Bim is a key effector molecule in JAK2 inhibition-induced apoptosis and that targeting this apoptotic pathway could be a novel therapeutic strategy for patients with activating JAK2mutations.

The removal and recovery of critical rare-earth elements (REEs) are important from an environmental and economic perspective. The recovery of critical metals from secondary sources has received considerable attention. This work aims to evaluate the beads produced from sericin, alginate, and poly(ethylene glycol) diglycidyl ether (SA@PEGDGE) to recover Eu3+. The pH effect showed that pH 5.0 had the highest uptake of Eu3+(0.289 ± 0.006mmol/g) with stoichiometric cationic exchange with Ca2+(0.425 ± 0.023mmol/g) by SA@PEGDGE. The kinetic (pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, and external diffusion) and equilibrium (Langmuir) models adequately represented the adsorption results. The particles had an increase in adsorptive capacity from 0.555mmol/g at 25 °C to 0.633mmol/g at 55 °C. Hydrochloric acid (0.1mol/L) showed the highest recovery rate of Eu3+(96.50 ± 0.84%) from SA@PEGDGE. Eu3+recovery was highly successful for five cycles. The recovery was greater than 95% and the reuse of the eluent in the adsorption cycles enriched the Eu3+concentration 10-fold, from 1.07mmol/L to 9.96mmol/L. The SA@PEGDGE also showed better performance for biosorption of Eu3+with other competing ions. The characterization analyzes showed that the SA@PEGDGE beads produced by the ionotropic gelation technique have a spherical shape, surface with low roughness, and amorphous character. The mechanisms of Eu3+biosorption involved interactions with the functional groups present on the SA@PEGDGE surface, cation exchange, and electrostatic interactions. Thus, the crosslinked sericin/alginate particles can be a sustainable alternative for the recovery of critical REEs from wastewater, resulting in social and economic benefits from a circular economy.

In addition to known heliangolides, a new eudesmanolide was isolated from the leaf rinse extract of Viguiera robusta (Asteraceae). Structural elucidation was based on spectral analysis. It is the first report on eudesmanolides in members of the subgenus Calanticaria of Viguiera. In this work, the main isolated compound, the furanoheliangolide budlein A, besides its previously reported in vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory activities, inhibited human neutrophil elastase release. The inhibition was at the concentration of (16.83± 1.96) µm for formylated bacterial tripeptide (fMLP) stimulation and (11.84±1.62) µm for platelet aggregation factor (PAF) stimulation, being slightly less active than the reference drug parthenolide. The results are important to demonstrate the potential anti-inflammatory activities of sesquiterpene lactones and corroborate the previous studies using other targets.

Two kaurane diterpenes, ent-kaur-16(17)-en-19-oic acid (KA) and 15-ß-isovaleryloxy-entkaur- 16(17)-en-19-oic acid (KA-Ival), isolated from Aspilia foliacea, and the methyl ester derivative of KA (KA-Me) were evaluated against oral pathogens. KA was the most active compound, with MIC values of 10 µg mL-1against the following microorganisms: Streptococcus sobrinus, Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus sanguinis, and Lactobacillus casei. However, KA did not show significant activity against Streptococcus salivarius and Enterococcus faecalis, with MIC values equal to 100 and 200 µg mL-1, respectively. Our results show that KA has potential to be used as a prototype for the discovery of new effective anti-infection agents against microorganisms responsible for caries and periodontal diseases. Moreover, these results allow to conclude that minor structural differences among these diterpenes significantly influence their antimicrobial activity, bringing new perspectives to studies on the structure-activity relationship of this type of metabolites with respect to caries and periodontal diseases.