A new method of evaluating the side wall interference effect on airfoil angle of attack by suction from the side walls

A quantitative evaluation method of the suction effect from a suction plate on side walls is explained. It is found from wind tunnel tests that the wall interference is basically described by the summation form of wall interferences in the case of two dimensional flow and the interference of side walls

Gate fidelity of arbitrary single-qubit gates constrained by conservation laws

Recent investigations show that conservation laws limit the accuracy of gate operations in quantum computing. The inevitable error under the angular momentum conservation law has been evaluated so far for the CNOT, Hadamard, and NOT gates for spin 1/2 qubits, while the SWAP gate has no constraint. Here, we extend the above results to general single-qubit gates. We obtain an upper bound of the gate fidelity of arbitrary single-qubit gates implemented under arbitrary conservation laws, determined by the geometry of the conservation law and the gate operation on the Bloch sphere as well as the size of the ancilla.Comment: Title changed; to appear in J. Phys. A: Math. Theor.; 19 pages, 2 figure

Plasma exosomes from children with juvenile dermatomyositis are taken up by human aortic endothelial cells and are associated with altered gene expression in those cells

BACKGROUND: The pathology of juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) is characterized by prominent vessel wall and perivascular inflammation. This feature of the disease has remained unexplained and under-investigated. We have hypothesized that plasma exosomes, which play an important role in inter-cellular communication, may play a role in the vascular injury associated with JDM. OBJECTIVE: To characterize the circulating exosomes of children with JDM and determine whether the small RNA cargoes within those exosomes are capable of altering transcriptional programs within endothelial cells. DESIGN/METHODS: We purified exosomes from plasma samples of children with active, untreated JDM (n = 6) and healthy controls (n = 9). We characterized the small RNA cargoes in JDM and control exosomes by RNA sequencing using the Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform. We then incubated isolated exosomes from healthy controls and children with JDM with cultured human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC) for 24 h. Fluorescence microscopy was used to confirm that both control and JDM exosomes were taken up by HAEC. RNA was then purified from HAEC that had been incubated with either control or JDM exosomes and sequenced on the Illumina platform. Differential expression of mRNAs from HAEC incubated with control or JDM exosomes was ascertained using standard computational methods. Finally, we assessed the degree to which differential gene expression in HAEC could be attributed to the different small RNA cargoes in JDM vs control exosomes using conventional and novel analytic methods. RESULTS: We identified 10 small RNA molecules that showed differential abundance when we compared JDM and healthy control exosomes. Fluorescence microscopy of labeled exosomes confirmed that both JDM and control exosomes were taken up by HAEC. Differential gene expression analysis revealed 59 genes that showed differential expression between HAEC incubated with JDM exosomes vs HAEC incubated with exosomes from controls. Statistical analysis of gene expression data demonstrated that multiple miRNAs exerted transcriptional control on multiple genes with HAEC. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma exosomes from children with active, untreated JDM are taken up by HAEC and are associated with alterations in gene expression in those cells. These findings provide new insight into potential mechanisms leading to the targeting of vascular tissue by the immune system in JDM

Regeneração de Passiflora suberosa em suspensão celular.

O gênero Passiflora é o maior e o mais importante da família Passifloraceae por abrigar as principais espécies exploradas comercialmente no mundo. Muitas espécies são cultivadas para a produção de sucos, consumo in natura, extração de substâncias de interesse farmacológico e fins ornamentais, mas a presença de patógenos de solo que vêm dizimando os cultivos. Uma alternativa é a hibridação interespecífica, ou seja, cruzamentos convencionais, de seleção ou cultivares comerciais, com as espécies silvestres na produção de porta-enxertos resistentes, porém esses híbridos sexuais quando obtidos têm apresentado baixa fertilidade. Desta forma, uma alternativa viável é a produção de porta-enxertos tetraplóides com genes de resistência aos patógenos pela técnica da hibridação somática. Contudo, para isto são necessários protocolos eficientes de regeneração das espécies parentais diplóides a patir de células individuais. Assim, o objetivo desse trabalho foi estabelecer um protocolo de regeneração de plantas a partir de células em suspensão da espécie de P. suberosa. Para tanto, calos MR13 BIO oriundos da Embrapa de Mandioca e Fruticultura Tropical de Cruz das Almas/BA foram submetidos ao meio de cultura MS (Murashige e Skoog) suplementado com os reguladores de crescimento BAP 1,0 mg/L ou 2,0 mg/L; KIN 1,0 mg/L ou 2,0 mg/L para a obtenção de calos friáveis no Laboratório de Cultura de Tecidos Vegetais da unidade experimental Horto Florestal da Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana/BA. O melhor resultado, BAP 2,0 mg/L, foi submetido aos testes contendo balanço de fitorreguladores: MS + BAP 2,0 mg/L + ANA 0,5 mg/L + Kin 1,0 mg/L ou MS + AIA 2,5 mg/L + ANA 0,5 mg/L +Kin 1,0 mg/L, suplementado com agar 6% e, ao teste de culturas de células em suspensão, na ausência de luz, em meio MS na metade da concentração dos sais, suplementados pelos compostos orgânicos (extrato de malte ou extrato de levedura) e mantidos sob 140 rpm de agitação contínua num volume final de 100 mL em frascos erlenmeyers de 250 mL de capacidade. As células colocadas em suspensão no meio líquido suplementado com extrato de malte foram capazes de regenerar de plantas inteiras de P. suberosa, a partir de células diplóides, num prazo de 60 dias na ausência de luz.Disponível em: Acesso em: 02 mar. 201

Seleção molecular assistida para identificação de alelo para cor rósea na cultivar Brisa IPA 12.

O objetivo do presente trabalho foi aplicar os marcadores moleculares ANS para genotipar 270 plantas da Brisa IPA 12 que segregavam para bulbos de cor rósea, que podem ficar ?escondidos? nas plantas heterozigotas, de forma a eliminar essa condição que dificulta a aceitação comercial dessa cultivar de cebola. DNA total foi extraído conforme protocolo CTAB 2x, de amostras foliares de plantas coletadas aos 30 dias após a semeadura dos bulbos vernalizados e pré-selecionados para a cor amarelaSuplemento. Edição dos Anais do 53 Congresso Brasileiro de Olericultura, jul. 2014

Fontes de resistência de videira ao fungo oídio no Nordeste brasileiro.

Foram avaliadas 135 variedades distintas em três ciclos, observando-se as mesmas plantas sem nenhum oídicida

Orthorhombic Phase of Crystalline Polyethylene: A Constant Pressure Path Integral Monte Carlo Study

In this paper we present a Path Integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) simulation of the orthorhombic phase of crystalline polyethylene, using an explicit atom force field with unconstrained bond lengths and angles. This work represents a quantum extension of our recent classical simulation (J. Chem. Phys. 106, 8918 (1997)). It is aimed both at exploring the applicability of the PIMC method on such polymer crystal systems, as well as on a detailed assessment of the importance of quantum effects on different quantities. We used the $NpT$ ensemble and simulated the system at zero pressure in the temperature range 25 - 300 K, using Trotter numbers between 12 and 144. In order to investigate finite-size effects, we used chains of two different lengths, C_12 and C_24, corresponding to the total number of atoms in the super-cell being 432 and 864, respectively. We show here the results for structural parameters, like the orthorhombic lattice constants a,b,c, and also fluctuations of internal parameters of the chains, such as bond lengths and bond and torsional angles. We have also determined the internal energy and diagonal elastic constants c_11, c_22 and c_33. We discuss the temperature dependence of the measured quantities and compare to that obtained from the classical simulation. For some quantities, we discuss the way they are related to the torsional angle fluctuation. In case of the lattice parameters we compare our results to those obtained from other theoretical approaches as well as to some available experimental data. In order to study isotope effects, we simulated also a deuterated polyethylene crystal at a low temperature. We also suggest possible ways of extending this study and present some general considerations concerning modeling of polymer crystals.Comment: 18 pages, RevTex, 18 figures, 3 tables, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Identification of a novel zinc metalloprotease through a global analysis of clostridium difficile extracellular proteins

Clostridium difficile is a major cause of infectious diarrhea worldwide. Although the cell surface proteins are recognized to be important in clostridial pathogenesis, biological functions of only a few are known. Also, apart from the toxins, proteins exported by C. difficile into the extracellular milieu have been poorly studied. In order to identify novel extracellular factors of C. difficile, we analyzed bacterial culture supernatants prepared from clinical isolates, 630 and R20291, using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The majority of the proteins identified were non-canonical extracellular proteins. These could be largely classified into proteins associated to the cell wall (including CWPs and extracellular hydrolases), transporters and flagellar proteins. Seven unknown hypothetical proteins were also identified. One of these proteins, CD630_28300, shared sequence similarity with the anthrax lethal factor, a known zinc metallopeptidase. We demonstrated that CD630_28300 (named Zmp1) binds zinc and is able to cleave fibronectin and fibrinogen in vitro in a zinc-dependent manner. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we identified residues important in zinc binding and enzymatic activity. Furthermore, we demonstrated that Zmp1 destabilizes the fibronectin network produced by human fibroblasts. Thus, by analyzing the exoproteome of C. difficile, we identified a novel extracellular metalloprotease that may be important in key steps of clostridial pathogenesis

Agronomic Management of Indigenous Mycorrhizas

Many of the advantages conferred to plants by arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) are associated to the ability of AM plants to explore a greater volume of soil through the extraradical mycelium. Sieverding (1991) estimates that for each centimetre of colonized root there is an increase of 15 cm3 on the volume of soil explored, this value can increase to 200 cm3 depending on the circumstances. Due to the enhancement of the volume of soil explored and the ability of the extraradical mycelium to absorb and translocate nutrients to the plant, one of the most obvious and important advantages resulting from mycorrhization is the uptake of nutrients. Among of which the ones that have immobilized forms in soil, such as P, assume particular significance. Besides this, many other benefits are recognized for AM plants (Gupta et al, 2000): water stress alleviation (Augé, 2004; Cho et al, 2006), protection from root pathogens (Graham, 2001), tolerance to toxic heavy metals and phytoremediation (Audet and Charest, 2006; Göhre and Paszkowski, 2006), tolerance to adverse conditions such as very high or low temperature, high salinity (Sannazzaro et al, 2006), high or low pH (Yano and Takaki, 2005) or better performance during transplantation shock (Subhan et al, 1998). The extraradical hyphae also stabilize soil aggregates by both enmeshing soil particles (Miller e Jastrow, 1992) and producing a glycoprotein, golmalin, which may act as a glue-like substance to adhere soil particles together (Wright and Upadhyaya, 1998). Despite the ubiquous distribution of mycorrhizal fungi (Smith and Read, 2000) and only a relative specificity between host plants and fungal isolates (McGonigle and Fitter, 1990), the obligate nature of the symbiosis implies the establishment of a plant propagation system, either under greenhouse conditions or in vitro laboratory propagation. These techniques result in high inoculum production costs, which still remains a serious problem since they are not competitive with production costs of phosphorus fertilizer. Even if farmers understand the significance of sustainable agricultural systems, the reduction of phosphorus inputs by using AM fungal inocula alone cannot be justified except, perhaps, in the case of high value crops (Saioto and Marumoto, 2002). Nurseries, high income horticulture farmers and no-agricultural application such as rehabilitation of degraded or devegetated landscapes are examples of areas where the use of commercial inoculum is current. Another serious problem is quality of commercial available products concerning guarantee of phatogene free content, storage conditions, most effective application methods and what types to use. Besides the information provided by suppliers about its inoculum can be deceiving, as from the usually referred total counts, only a fraction may be effective for a particular plant or in specific soil conditions. Gianinazzi and Vosátka (2004) assume that progress should be made towards registration procedures that stimulate the development of the mycorrhizal industry. Some on-farm inoculum production and application methods have been studied, allowing farmers to produce locally adapted isolates and generate a taxonomically diverse inoculum (Mohandas et al, 2004; Douds et al, 2005). However the inocula produced this way are not readily processed for mechanical application to the fields, being an obstacle to the utilization in large scale agriculture, especially row crops, moreover it would represent an additional mechanical operation with the corresponding economic and soil compaction costs. It is well recognized that inoculation of AM fungi has a potential significance in not only sustainable crop production, but also environmental conservation. However, the status quo of inoculation is far from practical technology that can be widely used in the field. Together a further basic understanding of the biology and diversity of AM fungi is needed (Abbott at al, 1995; Saito and Marumoto, 2002). Advances in ecology during the past decade have led to a much more detailed understanding of the potential negative consequences of species introductions and the potential for negative ecological consequences of invasions by mycorrhizal fungi is poorly understood. Schwartz et al, (2006) recommend that a careful assessment documenting the need for inoculation, and the likelihood of success, should be conducted prior to inoculation because inoculations are not universally beneficial. Agricultural practices such as crop rotation, tillage, weed control and fertilizer apllication all produce changes in the chemical, physical and biological soil variables and affect the ecological niches available for occupancy by the soil biota, influencing in different ways the symbiosis performance and consequently the inoculum development, shaping changes and upset balance of native populations. The molecular biology tools developed in the latest years have been very important for our perception of these changes, ensuing awareness of management choice implications in AM development. In this context, for extensive farming systems and regarding environmental and economic costs, the identification of agronomic management practices that allow controlled manipulation of the fungal community and capitalization of AM mutualistic effect making use of local inoculum, seem to be a wise option for mycorrhiza promotion and development of sustainable crop production