Studying minijets via the pTp_T dependence of two-particle correlation in azimuthal angle ϕ\phi

Following my previous proposal that two-particle correlation functions can be used to resolve the minijet contribution to particle production in minimum biased events of high energy hadronic interactions, I study the $p_T$ and energy dependence of the correlation. Using HIJING Monte Carlo model, it is found that the correlation $c(\phi_1,\phi_2)$ in azimuthal angle $\phi$ between two particles with $p_T>p_T^{cut}$ resembles much like two back-to-back jets as $p_T^{cut}$ increases at high colliding energies due to minijet production. It is shown that $c(0,0)-c(0,\pi)$, which is related to the relative fraction of particles from minijets, increases with energy. The background of the correlation for fixed $p_T^{cut}$ also grows with energy due to the increase of multiple minijet production. Application of this analysis to the study of jet quenching in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions is also discussed.Comment: 11 pages Latex text and 8 ps figures, LBL-3349

Evolution of Chagas’ disease in Brazil. Epidemiological perspective and challenges for the future: a critical review

Aims: This paper aimed to provide a critical review of the evolution of Chagas’ disease in Brazil, its magnitude, historical development and management, and challenges for the future. Methods: A literature search was performed using PubMed, SciELO and Google Scholar and throughout collected articles’ references. Narrative analysis was structured around five main themes identified: vector transmission, control program, and transfusion, oral and congenital transmission. Results: In Brazil, the Chagas’ disease Control Program was fully implemented in the 1980s, when it reached practically all the endemic areas, and in 1991, the Southern Cone Initiative was created, aiming to eliminate the disease transmission through eliminating the Triatoma infestans and controlling blood banks. As a result, the prevalence of chagasic donors in blood banks reduced from 4.4% in the 80s to 0.2% in 2005. In 2006, PAHO certified the interruption of transmission of Chagas’ disease through this vector in Brazil. However, there are still challenges, such as the domiciliation of new vector species, the need for medical care of the infected individuals, the prevention of alternative mechanisms of transmission, the loss of political concern regarding the disease and, the weakening of the control program. Conclusion: Despite the progress towards control, there are still many challenges ahead to maintain and expand such control and minimise the risk of re-emergence

Shallow water marine sediment bacterial community shifts along a natural CO2 gradient in the Mediterranean Sea off Vulcano, Italy.

The effects of increasing atmospheric CO(2) on ocean ecosystems are a major environmental concern, as rapid shoaling of the carbonate saturation horizon is exposing vast areas of marine sediments to corrosive waters worldwide. Natural CO(2) gradients off Vulcano, Italy, have revealed profound ecosystem changes along rocky shore habitats as carbonate saturation levels decrease, but no investigations have yet been made of the sedimentary habitat. Here, we sampled the upper 2 cm of volcanic sand in three zones, ambient (median pCO(2) 419 μatm, minimum Ω(arag) 3.77), moderately CO(2)-enriched (median pCO(2) 592 μatm, minimum Ω(arag) 2.96), and highly CO(2)-enriched (median pCO(2) 1611 μatm, minimum Ω(arag) 0.35). We tested the hypothesis that increasing levels of seawater pCO(2) would cause significant shifts in sediment bacterial community composition, as shown recently in epilithic biofilms at the study site. In this study, 454 pyrosequencing of the V1 to V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene revealed a shift in community composition with increasing pCO(2). The relative abundances of most of the dominant genera were unaffected by the pCO(2) gradient, although there were significant differences for some 5 % of the genera present (viz. Georgenia, Lutibacter, Photobacterium, Acinetobacter, and Paenibacillus), and Shannon Diversity was greatest in sediments subject to long-term acidification (>100 years). Overall, this supports the view that globally increased ocean pCO(2) will be associated with changes in sediment bacterial community composition but that most of these organisms are resilient. However, further work is required to assess whether these results apply to other types of coastal sediments and whether the changes in relative abundance of bacterial taxa that we observed can significantly alter the biogeochemical functions of marine sediments

Etnobotânica. Perspectivas, história e utilizações

Nota de apresentação Entendemos a Etnobotânica , como o estudo de tudo o que diz respeito à relação Homem-Mundo vegetal . Relativamente recente como conceito (Harshberger, 1895 ) e como disciplina tem aspectos marcadamente interdisciplinares requerendo e beneficiando da contribuição de várias disciplinas e de múltiplas e diferentes perspectivas. No presente volume reúnem-se os textos de algumas das conferências de Etnobotânica realizadas durante o ano lectivo de 2001-2002 onde se examinam diferentes aspectos da relação Homem-Mundo vegetal, concorrem diferentes visões de diferentes conferencistas de formação base também muito diversificada. Com a organização deste ciclo de conferências, dedicado sobretudo aos estudantes que frequentavam esta disciplina optativa da licenciatura em Biologia da Universidade de Évora, pretendeu-se contribuir para a formação de uma visão ampla e pluridisciplinar da relação Homem-Mundo Vegetal. Procurou-se, igualmente, sempre que possível, que as conferências fossem abertas à Academia e ao público em geral noticiando internamente e nos órgãos de comunicação social a sua realização de forma a oferecer às pessoas interessadas a oportunidade de assistir e de participar na discussão de assuntos que pela sua natureza são de interesse muito generalizado. Com a publicação dos textos das conferências pretende-se que estes contributos não se percam no vento que passa e possam ser futuramente úteis aos alunos de Etnobotânica e outros potenciais interessados. Quero agradecer mais uma vez a todos os meus convidados a sua colaboração e brilhante prestação e aos alunos a dedicação e entusiasmo demonstrados. O ciclo iniciou-se com uma conferência proferida pelo meu antecessor na regência desta disciplina, Professor Luiz Carlos Gazarini, meu colega do Departamento de Biologia da Universidade de Évora que em “Perspectivas em Etnobotânica” abordou os aspectos históricos do aparecimento e evolução do conceito de Etnobotânica, os marcos relevantes da sua evolução como disciplina, a actualidade e grandes projectos em curso bem como as perspectivas nesta área do saber. Seguiu-se a Mestra Drª Ana Paula Fitas que em “Da Sociologia da Cultura à Etnobotânica” descreve um percurso fascinante que a leva a desvendar o estranho caso dos saquinhos pendurados nos ramos da azinheira de Santo Aleixo e simultaneamente nos elucida sobre aspectos teóricos e práticos do trabalho de terreno antropológico. A estudante finalista da licenciatura em Biologia, Maria José Barão, explicou- -nos como se colhem, preparam e usam os cardos na cozinha tradicional da região de Évora oferecendo-nos em “Foram cardos, foram prosas...” um prato tradicional e melodioso em que não falta a frescura de algumas peripécias em surpreendentes terrenos de sete saias. O Professor Carlos Sinogas falou-nos sobre “Medicamentos de origem vegetal: O caso da erva de S. João (Hypericum perforatum)” confessando a sua paixão por esta planta de múltiplos usos desde a antiguidade até aos nossos dias e dando, além disso, nota sobre os resultados de pesquisas que demonstram as suas propriedades anti-virais. O Dr. Paulo de Oliveira em conjunto com as estudantes finalistas de Biologia Maria da Luz Calado e Joana Rosado em “Etnomicologia” transportaram-nos ao mundo dos cogumelos de Gordon Wasson, da alimentação ao medicamento, até à fronteira de mundos ocultos. A Professora Aurora Carapinha em “O Jardim enquanto Cosmogonia Vegetal” conduziu-nos por vários jardins no espaço e no tempo, diferentes propostas de recriação da natureza desde o antigo Egipto até à actualidade. O Professor Luís Silva Dias em “Da Papas à Phytophtora ou as aventuras e desventuras da batata” contou-nos uma parte da história da batata, uma planta que integra actualmente o nosso quotidiano, e de como os seus infortúnios contribuíram para modificar o mundo. Finalmente o Mestre Engº Yuri Tavares Rocha em “História, distribuição geográfica e conservação do pau-brasil (Caesalpinia echinata Lam.): Contribuição para o seu estudo“ contou-nos também uma parte da história de uma outra planta, hoje infelizmente quase extinta, que se não modificou o mundo deu o nome ao seu país e sustentou economicamente o início da presença portuguesa no Novo Mundo. Os textos relativos às conferências “Perspectivas em Etnobotânica” e o “O Jardim enquanto Cosmogonia Vegetal” que não puderam infelizmente integrar- -se no presente volume, serão disponibilizados logo que possível. Deve ainda referir-se que se optou por manter o texto da última conferência no português do Brasil que apesar de nos poder ser ligeiramente incómodo não deixa de ser perfeitamente perceptível, sendo além do mais, certamente mais adequado ao tema tratado. Alexandra Soveral Dia

Urethrocystography: a guide for urological surgery?

Urethrocystography remains the gold-standard technique for urethral pathology diagnosis. Nowadays, of the various indications for performing urethrocystography, the most common is due to a clinical suspicion of urethral stricture. Due to the high prevalence of strictures and their substantial impact on a patient's quality of life, the examination must allow the location, exclusion of multifocality, and assessment of the extent of the stricture to influence surgical planning. This article intends to demonstrate that the radiologist's role, by performing and interpreting the modality of urethrocystography, influences and is crucial for the urologic therapeutic decision and that the patients who were submitted to reconstruction by urethroplasty had a better success rate. The authors aim to review the radiological anatomy of the male urethra, discuss the modalities of choice for imaging the urethra (retrograde urethrography and voiding cystourethrography), provide an overview of the different indications for performing the study, examine the different etiologies for urethral strictures, understand the relevance of the different appearances of urethral pathology, and identify the surgical options, especially in the treatment of urethral strictures. Simultaneously, the study exposes cases of urethral trauma, fistulas, diverticulum, and congenital abnormalities.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT

Search for direct pair production of the top squark in all-hadronic final states in proton-proton collisions at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for direct pair production of the scalar partner to the top quark using an integrated luminosity of 20.1fb−1 of proton–proton collision data at √s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported. The top squark is assumed to decay via t˜→tχ˜01 or t˜→ bχ˜±1 →bW(∗)χ˜01 , where χ˜01 (χ˜±1 ) denotes the lightest neutralino (chargino) in supersymmetric models. The search targets a fully-hadronic final state in events with four or more jets and large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess over the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and exclusion limits are reported in terms of the top squark and neutralino masses and as a function of the branching fraction of t˜ → tχ˜01 . For a branching fraction of 100%, top squark masses in the range 270–645 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 30 GeV. For a branching fraction of 50% to either t˜ → tχ˜01 or t˜ → bχ˜±1 , and assuming the χ˜±1 mass to be twice the χ˜01 mass, top squark masses in the range 250–550 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 60 GeV

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal