Anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, and antipyretic effects of methanol extract of Cariniana rubra stem bark in animal models

Schmeda-Hirschmann, G (Schmeda-Hirschmann, Guillermo) Univ Talca, IQRN, Talca, ChileCariniana rubra Miers (Lecythidaceae), popularly known as "jequitiba-vermelho", is a large Brazilian tree whose bark is used in infusion and decoction for the treatment of inflammatory conditions. This study aims to assess the anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, and antipyretic effects of Cariniana rubra methanolic stem bark extract (EMCr) using experimental animals. Anti-inflammatory activity of EMCr was tested on carrageenan and dextran-induced rat paw edema, carrageenan-induced pleurisy in rats and acetic acid-increase vascular permeability in mice. Antinociceptive and antipyretic activities were evaluated using acetic acid-induced writhing, formalin and hot-plate tests in mice, as well as brewer's yeast-induced pyrexia in rats. The extract inhibitied carrageenan and dextran-induced edema, reduced exudate volume and leukocyte migration on the carrageenan-induced pleurisy and on the vascular permeability increase induced by acetic acid. The EMCr inhibited nociception on the acetic acid-induced writhing and in the second phase of formalin test, and decreased rectal temperature. It was, however, inactive against thermal nociception. Phytochemical analysis with EMCr showed the occurrence of saponins, triterpenes, sterols and phenolic compounds. Phytosterols (beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol), pentacyclic triterpenes (alpha- and beta-amyrin as a mixture), arjunolic acid, a phytosterol glycoside (sitosterol 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside), and triterpenoid saponins (28-beta-glucopyranosyl-23-O-acetyl arjunolic acid; 3-O-beta-glucopyranosyl arjunolic acid and 28-O-[alpha-L-Rhamnopyranosyl-(1 -> 2)-beta-glucopyranosyl]-23-O-acetyl arjunolic acid) were the main identified compounds. It can be presumed that EMCr caused their effects by inhibiting the liberation and/or action of different inflammatory mediators. These findings support the traditional use of Cariniana rubra preparations to treat inflammation

On the Formulation of Three-Dimensional Inverse Catenary for Embedded Mooring Line Modeling

Embedded anchors have been widely used in offshore operations, and they are known to be effective and economical solutions to anchoring problems. Aiming at contributing to the definition and understanding of the embedded mooring line behavior, this paper expands the formulation adopted at DNV Recommended Practices, for two-dimensional modeling of the interaction between the seabed and the anchor line, to three-dimensional analysis. The formulation here presented, within an elegant differential geometry approach, can now model even out of plane lines. A reference problem is then defined and solved using the obtained governing equations. Corresponding equations are implemented and solved numerically in MATLAB® environment. Numerical results are also presented and discussed

Fitting the integrated Spectral Energy Distributions of Galaxies

Fitting the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of galaxies is an almost universally used technique that has matured significantly in the last decade. Model predictions and fitting procedures have improved significantly over this time, attempting to keep up with the vastly increased volume and quality of available data. We review here the field of SED fitting, describing the modelling of ultraviolet to infrared galaxy SEDs, the creation of multiwavelength data sets, and the methods used to fit model SEDs to observed galaxy data sets. We touch upon the achievements and challenges in the major ingredients of SED fitting, with a special emphasis on describing the interplay between the quality of the available data, the quality of the available models, and the best fitting technique to use in order to obtain a realistic measurement as well as realistic uncertainties. We conclude that SED fitting can be used effectively to derive a range of physical properties of galaxies, such as redshift, stellar masses, star formation rates, dust masses, and metallicities, with care taken not to over-interpret the available data. Yet there still exist many issues such as estimating the age of the oldest stars in a galaxy, finer details ofdust properties and dust-star geometry, and the influences of poorly understood, luminous stellar types and phases. The challenge for the coming years will be to improve both the models and the observational data sets to resolve these uncertainties. The present review will be made available on an interactive, moderated web page (sedfitting.org), where the community can access and change the text. The intention is to expand the text and keep it up to date over the coming years.Comment: 54 pages, 26 figures, Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc

Measurement of D*+/- meson production in jets from pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper reports a measurement of D*+/- meson production in jets from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is based on a data sample recorded with the ATLAS detector with an integrated luminosity of 0.30 pb^-1 for jets with transverse momentum between 25 and 70 GeV in the pseudorapidity range |eta| < 2.5. D*+/- mesons found in jets are fully reconstructed in the decay chain: D*+ -> D0pi+, D0 -> K-pi+, and its charge conjugate. The production rate is found to be N(D*+/-)/N(jet) = 0.025 +/- 0.001(stat.) +/- 0.004(syst.) for D*+/- mesons that carry a fraction z of the jet momentum in the range 0.3 < z < 1. Monte Carlo predictions fail to describe the data at small values of z, and this is most marked at low jet transverse momentum.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (22 pages total), 5 figures, 1 table, matches published version in Physical Review

Search for supersymmetry in final states with jets, missing transverse momentum and one isolated lepton in sqrt{s} = 7 TeV pp collisions using 1 fb-1 of ATLAS data

We present an update of a search for supersymmetry in final states containing jets, missing transverse momentum, and one isolated electron or muon, using 1.04 fb^-1 of proton-proton collision data at sqrt{s} = 7 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC in the first half of 2011. The analysis is carried out in four distinct signal regions with either three or four jets and variations on the (missing) transverse momentum cuts, resulting in optimized limits for various supersymmetry models. No excess above the standard model background expectation is observed. Limits are set on the visible cross-section of new physics within the kinematic requirements of the search. The results are interpreted as limits on the parameters of the minimal supergravity framework, limits on cross-sections of simplified models with specific squark and gluino decay modes, and limits on parameters of a model with bilinear R-parity violation.Comment: 18 pages plus author list (30 pages total), 9 figures, 4 tables, final version to appear in Physical Review

Reducing heterotic M-theory to five dimensional supergravity on a manifold with boundary

This paper constructs the reduction of heterotic $M$-theory in eleven dimensions to a supergravity model on a manifold with boundary in five dimensions using a Calabi-Yau three-fold. New results are presented for the boundary terms in the action and for the boundary conditions on the bulk fields. Some general features of dualisation on a manifold with boundary are used to explain the origin of some topological terms in the action. The effect of gaugino condensation on the fermion boundary conditions leads to a `twist' in the chirality of the gravitino which can provide an uplifting mechanism in the vacuum energy to cancel the cosmological constant after moduli stabilisation.Comment: 16 pages, RevTe

Measurement of tau polarization in W->taunu decays with the ATLAS detector in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

In this paper, a measurement of tau polarization in W->taunu decays is presented. It is measured from the energies of the decay products in hadronic tau decays with a single final state charged particle. The data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 24 pb^-1, were collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider in 2010. The measured value of the tau polarization is Ptau = -1.06 +/- 0.04 (stat) + 0.05 (syst) - 0.07 (syst), in agreement with the Standard Model prediction, and is consistent with a physically allowed 95% CL interval [-1,-0.91]. Measurements of tau polarization have not previously been made at hadron colliders.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (25 pages total), 4 figures, 4 tables, revised author list, matches published EPJC versio

Readiness of the ATLAS liquid argon calorimeter for LHC collisions

The ATLAS liquid argon calorimeter has been operating continuously since August 2006. At this time, only part of the calorimeter was readout, but since the beginning of 2008, all calorimeter cells have been connected to the ATLAS readout system in preparation for LHC collisions. This paper gives an overview of the liquid argon calorimeter performance measured in situ with random triggers, calibration data, cosmic muons, and LHC beam splash events. Results on the detector operation, timing performance, electronics noise, and gain stability are presented. High energy deposits from radiative cosmic muons and beam splash events allow to check the intrinsic constant term of the energy resolution. The uniformity of the electromagnetic barrel calorimeter response along eta (averaged over phi) is measured at the percent level using minimum ionizing cosmic muons. Finally, studies of electromagnetic showers from radiative muons have been used to cross-check the Monte Carlo simulation. The performance results obtained using the ATLAS readout, data acquisition, and reconstruction software indicate that the liquid argon calorimeter is well-prepared for collisions at the dawn of the LHC era.ATLAS Collaboration, for complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-010-1354-y</p

Jatropha curcasand Ricinus communisdisplay contrasting photosynthetic mechanisms in response to environmental conditions

Higher plants display different adaptive strategies in photosynthesis to cope with abiotic stress. In this study, photosynthetic mechanisms and water relationships displayed byJatropha curcasL. (physic nuts) andRicinus communisL. (castor bean), in response to variations in environmental conditions, were assessed.R. communis showed higher CO2 assimilation, stomatal and mesophyll conductance thanJ. curcas as light intensity and intercellular CO2 pressure increased. On the other hand,R. communis was less effective in stomatal control in response to adverse environmental factors such as high temperature, water deficit and vapor pressure deficit, indicating lower water use efficiency. Conversely,J. curcas exhibited higher photosynthetic efficiency (gas exchange and photochemistry) and water use efficiency under these adverse environmental conditions.R. communisdisplayed higher potential photosynthesis, but exhibited a lowerin vivo Rubisco carboxylation rate (Vcmax) and maximum electron transport rate (Jmax). During the course of a typical day, in a semiarid environment, with high irradiation, high temperature and high vapor pressure deficit, but exposed to well-watered conditions, the two studied species presented similar photosynthesis. Losing potential photosynthesis, but maintaining favorable water status and increasing non-photochemical quenching to avoid photoinhibition, are important acclimation mechanisms developed byJ. curcas to cope with dry and hot conditions. We suggest thatJ. curcas is more tolerant to hot and dry environments thanR. communis but the latter species displays higher photosynthetic efficiency under well-watered and non-stressful conditions