Eigen modes for the problem of anomalous light transmission through subwavelength holes

We show that the wide-spread concept of optical eigen modes in lossless waveguide structures, which assumes the separation on propagating and evanescent modes, fails in the case of metal-dielectric structures, including photonic crystals. In addition to these modes, there is a sequence of new eigen-states with complex values of the propagation constant and non-vanishing circulating energy flow. The whole eigen-problem ceases to be hermitian because of changing sign of the optical dielectric constant. The new anomalous modes are shown to be of prime importance for the description of the anomalous light transmission through subwavelength holes.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Facial expression training optimises viewing strategy in children and adults

This study investigated whether training-related improvements in facial expression categorization are facilitated by spontaneous changes in gaze behaviour in adults and nine-year old children. Four sessions of a self-paced, free-viewing training task required participants to categorize happy, sad and fear expressions with varying intensities. No instructions about eye movements were given. Eye-movements were recorded in the first and fourth training session. New faces were introduced in session four to establish transfer-effects of learning. Adults focused most on the eyes in all sessions and increased expression categorization accuracy after training coincided with a strengthening of this eye-bias in gaze allocation. In children, training-related behavioural improvements coincided with an overall shift in gaze-focus towards the eyes (resulting in more adult-like gaze-distributions) and towards the mouth for happy faces in the second fixation. Gaze-distributions were not influenced by the expression intensity or by the introduction of new faces. It was proposed that training enhanced the use of a uniform, predominantly eyes-biased, gaze strategy in children in order to optimise extraction of relevant cues for discrimination between subtle facial expressions

The preburning condition of Chalcolithic cremated human remains from the Perdigoes enclosures (Portugal)

The Iberian Chalcolithic displayed a remarkable variety of funerary practices, which has been related to interpopulation differences, intrapopulation social-cultural differences, and complex multistage funerary rituals. Perdigoes, a Chalcolithic set of ditched enclosures, reflects such diversity including a wide array of funerary practices. Among those practices is cremation, which, despite relatively rare, is represented in different structures in Perdigoes. One of these structures (Pit 40) presents an unparalleled high minimum number of individuals (n = 240), contrasting with nearby and coeval structures. In this study, we analyse heat-induced bone changes and other archaeothanatological variables to tentatively assess the preburning condition of the human remains. The results of Pit 40 are also compared with other comparable contexts to assess if this unique context presents further funerary differences relative to those other contexts in, for example, body processing. Our results suggest preferential cremation of fleshed human remains, but burning of at least a minority of skeletonised remains and deposition of possibly unburned remains also likely occurred. Body processing appears to be comparable with that of the cremation contexts of Perdigoes but contrasts with that of another nearby context (Dolmen of Olival da Pega 2b) in which burned bones were also found.Portuguese Foundation for Science and TechnologyPortuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [PEst-OE/SADG/UI0283/2013, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016766, PTDC/EPH-ARQ/0798/2014, PTDC/IVC-ANT/1201/2014, SFRH/BPD/84268/2012]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Hystricognathy vs Sciurognathy in the Rodent Jaw: A New Morphometric Assessment of Hystricognathy Applied to the Living Fossil Laonastes (Diatomyidae)

While exceptional for an intense diversification of lineages, the evolutionary history of the order Rodentia comprises only a limited number of morphological morphotypes for the mandible. This situation could partly explain the intense debates about the taxonomic position of the latest described member of this clade, the Laotian rock rat Laonastes aenigmamus (Diatomyidae). This discovery has re-launched the debate on the definition of the Hystricognathi suborder identified using the angle of the jaw relative to the plane of the incisors. Our study aims to end this ambiguity. For clarity, it became necessary to revisit the entire morphological diversity of the mandible in extant and extinct rodents. However, current and past rodent diversity brings out the limitations of the qualitative descriptive approach and highlights the need for a quantitative approach. Here, we present the first descriptive comparison of the masticatory apparatus within the Ctenohystrica clade, in combining classic comparative anatomy with morphometrical methods. First, we quantified the shape of the mandible in rodents using 3D landmarks. Then, the analysis of osteological features was compared to myological features in order to understand the biomechanical origin of this morphological diversity. Among the morphological variation observed, the mandible of Laonastes aenigmamus displays an intermediate association of features that could be considered neither as sciurognathous nor as hystricognathous

Control of Flowering and Cell Fate by LIF2, an RNA Binding Partner of the Polycomb Complex Component LHP1

Polycomb Repressive Complexes (PRC) modulate the epigenetic status of key cell fate and developmental regulators in eukaryotes. The chromo domain protein LIKE HETEROCHROMATIN PROTEIN1 (LHP1) is a subunit of a plant PRC1-like complex in Arabidopsis thaliana and recognizes histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation, a silencing epigenetic mark deposited by the PRC2 complex. We have identified and studied an LHP1-Interacting Factor2 (LIF2). LIF2 protein has RNA recognition motifs and belongs to the large hnRNP protein family, which is involved in RNA processing. LIF2 interacts in vivo, in the cell nucleus, with the LHP1 chromo shadow domain. Expression of LIF2 was detected predominantly in vascular and meristematic tissues. Loss-of-function of LIF2 modifies flowering time, floral developmental homeostasis and gynoecium growth determination. lif2 ovaries have indeterminate growth and produce ectopic inflorescences with severely affected flowers showing proliferation of ectopic stigmatic papillae and ovules in short-day conditions. To look at how LIF2 acts relative to LHP1, we conducted transcriptome analyses in lif2 and lhp1 and identified a common set of deregulated genes, which showed significant enrichment in stress-response genes. By comparing expression of LHP1 targets in lif2, lhp1 and lif2 lhp1 mutants we showed that LIF2 can either antagonize or act with LHP1. Interestingly, repression of the FLC floral transcriptional regulator in lif2 mutant is accompanied by an increase in H3K27 trimethylation at the locus, without any change in LHP1 binding, suggesting that LHP1 is targeted independently from LIF2 and that LHP1 binding does not strictly correlate with gene expression. LIF2, involved in cell identity and cell fate decision, may modulate the activity of LHP1 at specific loci, during specific developmental windows or in response to environmental cues that control cell fate determination. These results highlight a novel link between plant RNA processing and Polycomb regulation

Inorganic and organic trace mineral supplementation in weanling pig diets

A study was conducted to evaluate the s of dietary inorganic and organic trace minerals in two levels of supplementation regarding performance, diarrhea occurrence, hematological parameters, fecal mineral excretion and mineral retention in metacarpals and liver of weanling pigs. Seventy piglets weaned at 21 days of age with an average initial body weight of 6.70 ± 0.38 kg were allotted in five treatments: control diet (no added trace mineral premix); 50% ITMP (control diet with inorganic trace mineral premix supplying only 50% of trace mineral requirements); 50% OTMP (control diet with organic trace mineral premix supplying only 50% of trace mineral requirements); 100% ITMP (control diet with inorganic trace mineral premix supplying 100% of trace mineral requirements); and 100% OTMP (control diet with organic trace mineral premix supplying 100% of trace mineral requirements). Feed intake and daily weight gain were not affected by treatments, however, piglets supplemented by trace minerals presented better gain:feed ratio. No differences were observed at calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, sodium and sulfur excreted in feces per kilogram of feed intake. Treatments did not affect calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur and iron content in metacarpals. Trace mineral supplementation, regardless of level and source, improved the performance of piglets.Um estudo foi conduzido para avaliar os efeitos de microminerais inorgânicos e orgânicos na dieta em dois níveis de suplementação, sobre desempenho, ocorrência de diarreia, parâmetros hematológicos, excreção dos minerais nas fezes e retenção dos minerais nos metacarpos e fígado de leitões desmamados. Setenta leitões desmamados aos 21 dias de idade com peso médio inicial de 6,70 ± 0,38 kg foram distribuídos em cinco tratamentos: dieta controle (sem adição de premix micromineral); 50% ITMP (dieta controle contendo premix micromineral inorgânico atendendo a somente 50% da exigência em microminerais); 50% OTMP (dieta controle contendo premix micromineral orgânico atendendo a somente 50% da exigência em microminerais); 100% ITMP (dieta controle contendo premix micromineral inorgânico atendendo a 100% da exigência em microminerais); e 100% OTMP (dieta controle contendo premix micromineral orgânico atendendo a 100% da exigência em microminerais). Consumo de ração e o ganho diário de peso não foram afetados pelos tratamentos, entretanto, os leitões suplementados com microminerais apresentaram melhor eficiência alimentar. Não foram observadas diferenças para as quantidades de cálcio, fósforo, potássio, magnésio, sódio e enxofre excretados nas fezes por quilograma de alimento consumido. Os tratamentos não afetaram os teores de cálcio, fósforo, magnésio, enxofre e ferro nos metacarpos. A suplementação com microminerais, independente dos níveis e da fonte, melhorou o desempenho dos leitões.Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias Departamento de ZootecniaUniversidade Federal do Ceará Centro de Ciências Agrárias Departamento de ZootecniaUniversidade Federal da Paraíba Centro de Ciências Humanas, Sociais e Agrárias Departamento de Ciência AnimalUniversidade de São Paulo Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz Departamento de ZootecniaUniversidade Federal do Mato Grosso Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Tecnológicas Departamento de ZootecniaUniversidade Camilo Castelo BrancoUniversidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias Departamento de Zootecni

PNS67 TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF MANAGED ENTRY AGREEMENTS GUIDELINES FOR HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES IN BRAZIL

Objetivos: Descrever a experiência brasileira de realização de um workshop internacional para informar o desenvolvimento de uma diretriz nacional para a implementação de acordos de entrada gerenciada (MEA) para tecnologias em saúde (HT) no Sistema Nacional de Saúde (NHS). Métodos: Um workshop internacional foi realizado em Brasília em maio de 2019 com pessoal-chave envolvido em pesquisa, avaliação e implementação de MEA. Pessoal de nível sênior da Ásia, Europa, EUA e América do Sul compartilharam seus conhecimentos e experiências com MEA. Os participantes do workshop foram então convidados a discutir um caso hipotético de uma avaliação de HT de alto custo para uma doença rara em grupos e a identificar as principais considerações necessárias para permitir a implementação de MEA no Brasil. Esses elementos foram então classificados usando uma escala Likert de 10 pontos e ponderados pelo país e área de prática dos participantes. Resultados: 47 participantes participaram das atividades. As principais considerações para permitir o uso de MEA foram identificadas pelos grupos, classificadas em quatro dimensões: (i) econômica: fontes de financiamento e critérios que devem ser usados ​​para classificar os resultados dos estudos de avaliação, quando pagar e formas de precificar novos HT em avaliação; (ii) epidemiológico: necessidade de estabelecer o período do acordo e o número de pacientes cobertos, determinar critérios de elegibilidade e principais desfechos e desenvolver um banco de dados de alta qualidade para garantir uma análise de efetividade robusta; (iii) ético: implementar um protocolo de avaliação precoce e determinar a parte responsável por gerenciar, coletar e analisar os dados obtidos no acompanhamento, os pacientes devem consentir em participar, o tratamento contínuo deve ser garantido quando a eficácia e a segurança forem demonstradas; (iv) legal: necessidade de criar uma nova regulamentação para os acordos no Brasil. Conclusões: Organizar um workshop internacional sobre MEA permitiu aprender sobre as experiências de outros países e usar essas informações para informar o desenvolvimento de uma diretriz nacional de MEA para TH no NHS brasileiro que leve em consideração o contexto local.Objectives: To describe the Brazilian experience of holding an international workshop to inform the development of a national guideline for the implementation of managed entry agreements (MEA) for health technologies (HT) in National Health System (NHS). Methods: An international workshop was held in Brasilia in May 2019 with key-personnel involved in research, assessment and implementation of MEA. Senior level personnel from Asia, Europe, USA and South America shared their knowledge and experiences with MEA. Workshop participants were then invited to discuss a hypothetical case of a high-cost HTassessment for a rare disease in groups and to identify key considerations needed to enable MEA implementation in Brazil. These elements were then rated using a 10-point Likert scale, and weighted by the country and practice area of the participants. Results: 47 participants took part in the activities. The main considerations for enabling the use MEA were identified by the groups, classified in four dimensions: (i) economic: funding sources and criteria that should be used to grade results from evaluation studies, when to pay and ways of pricing new HT under evaluation; (ii) epidemiological: the need to establish the agreement period and the number of patients covered, to determine eligibility criteria and main outcomes, and to develop a high quality database to ensure robust effectiveness analysis; (iii) ethical: implement an early evaluation protocol and determine the responsible part for managing, collecting and analyzing data obtained in follow-up, patients should consent to participate, continued treatment should be guaranteed when efficacy and safety are demonstrated; (iv) legal: the need to create a new regulation for the agreements in Brazil. Conclusions: Organizing an international workshop on MEA enabled to learn about other countries experiences and use this information to inform the development of a MEA national guideline for HT in Brazilian NHS which takes into account the local context