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We examine the behavior of highly magnetized two‐light‐flavor quark matter within the context of a nonlocal NJL‐type model. This analysis assumes the chiral limit mc=0$$ \left({m}_c=0\right) $$ and incorporates the interaction between fermions and the Polyakov loop. Our calculations utilize a covariant Gaussian form factor. We present phase diagrams on the T−μ$$ T-\mu $$ plane, illustrating different magnetic field strengths. Additionally, we examine the critical endpoint's placement and the de Haas‐Van Alphen transitions within the chiral restored phase, observing their temperature‐dependent characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we explored the effects of microbial activity on the evaporation of water from cores of a sandy soil under laboratory conditions. We applied treatments to stimulate microbial activity by adding different amounts of synthetic analogue root exudates. For comparison, we used soil samples without synthetic root exudates as control and samples treated with mercuric chloride to suppress microbial activity. Our results suggest that increasing microbial activity reduces the rate of evaporation from soil. Estimated diffusivities in soil with the largest amounts of added root exudates were one third of those estimated in samples where microbial activity was suppressed by adding mercuric chloride. We discuss the effect of our results with respect to water uptake by roots. Highlights: We explored effects of microbial activity on the evaporation of water from cores of a sandy soil. We found the effect of microbial activity on water release characteristic was small. Increasing microbial activity reduced evaporation from soil, while microbial suppression increased it. Effect of microbial activity on root water uptake was estimated to be equivalent to a change in soil structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Many types of lung tumors have a very poor prognosis due to their spread in the whole organ volume. The fact that boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) would allow for selective targeting of all the nodules regardless of their position, prompted a preclinical feasibility study of ex situ BNCT at the thermal neutron facility of RA-3 reactor in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. (?)-4p-dihydroxy-borylphenylalanine fructose complex (BPA-F) biodistribution studies in an adult sheep model and computational dosimetry for a human explanted lung were performed to evaluate the feasibility and the therapeutic potential of ex situ BNCT. Methods: Two kinds of boron biodistribution studies were carried out in the healthy sheep: a set of pharmacokinetic studies without lung excision, and a set that consisted of evaluation of boron concentration in the explanted and perfused lung. In order to assess the feasibility of the clinical application of ex situ BNCT at RA-3, a case of multiple lung metastases was analyzed. A detailed computational representation of the geometry of the lung was built based on a real collapsed human lung. Dosimetric calculations and dose limiting considerations were based on the experimental results from the adult sheep, and on the most suitable information published in the literature. In addition, a workable treatment plan was considered to assess the clinical application in a realistic scenario. Results: Concentration-time profiles for the normal sheep showed that the boron kinetics in blood, lung, and skin would adequately represent the boron behavior and absolute uptake expected in human tissues. Results strongly suggest that the distribution of the boron compound is spatially homogeneous in the lung. A constant lung-to-blood ratio of 1.3±0.1 was observed from 80 min after the end of BPA-F infusion. The fact that this ratio remains constant during time would allow the blood boron concentration to be used as a surrogate and indirect quantification of the estimated value in the explanted healthy lung. The proposed preclinical animal model allowed for the study of the explanted lung. As expected, the boron concentration values fell as a result of the application of the preservation protocol required to preserve the lung function. The distribution of the boron concentration retention factor was obtained for healthy lung, with a mean value of 0.46±0.14 consistent with that reported for metastatic colon carcinoma model in rat perfused lung. Considering the human lung model and suitable tumor control probability for lung cancer, a promising average fraction of controlled lesions higher than 85% was obtained even for a low tumor-to-normal boron concentration ratio of 2. Conclusions: This work reports for the first time data supporting the validity of the ovine model as an adequate human surrogate in terms of boron kinetics and uptake in clinically relevant tissues. Collectively, the results and analysis presented would strongly suggest that ex situ whole lung BNCT irradiation is a feasible and highly promising technique that could greatly contribute to the treatment of metastatic lung disease in those patients without extrapulmonary spread, increasing not only the expected overall survival but also the resulting quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peatlands respond to natural hydrologic cycles of precipitation and evapotranspiration with reversible deformations due to variations of water content in both the unsaturated and saturated zone. This phenomenon results in short-term vertical displacements of the soil surface that superimpose to the irreversible long-term subsidence naturally occurring in drained cropped peatlands because of bio-oxidation of the organic matter. These processes cause changes in the peat structure, in particular, soil density and void ratio. The consequential changes in the hydrological parameters need to be incorporated in water flow dynamical models. In this paper, we present a new constitutive relationship for the soil shrinkage characteristic (SSC) in peats by describing the variation of porosity with moisture content. This model, based on simple physical considerations, is valid for both anisotropic and isotropic three-dimensional peat deformations. The capability of the proposed SSC to accurately describe the deformation dynamics has been assessed by comparison against a set of laboratory experimental results recently published. The constitutive relationship has been implemented into a Richards' equation-based numerical code and applied for the simulation of the peat soil dynamics as observed in a peatland south of the Venice Lagoon, Italy, in an ad hoc field experiment where the relevant parameters are continuously measured. The modeling results match well a large set of field data encompassing a period of more than 50 days and demonstrate that the proposed approach allows for a reliable reproduction of the soil vertical displacement dynamics as well as the hydrological behavior in terms of, for example, water flow, moisture content, and suction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the elevation of phenylalanine (Phe) level in phenylketonuria (PKU) in the feeding administration of newborn babies. Relationship between feeding type and time course of hyperphenylalaninemia; Evaluation of the individual Phe tolerance on infants in the neonatal period; Factors for blood level Phe elevation in PKU.

Knowledge of soil moisture is of upmost importance for many applications (e.g., flood and landslide prediction). In alpine areas, its estimation is difficult mainly due to complex topography and presence of snow. In this study, modeled and satellite data obtained by the Advanced SCATterometer have shown good agreement with in situ observations. Soil moisture is widely recognized as a state variable governing the mass and energy balance between the land surface and the atmosphere. For that, its knowledge is of upmost importance for many applications including flood and landslide prediction. In alpine catchments, soil moisture estimation is a very difficult task, because of complex topography, high vegetation density, and presence of snow and outcrops. In this study, the possibility to estimate soil moisture for these areas by using modeled and satellite data is investigated. Specifically, an updated version of a soil water balance model, which takes the snowmelt process into account, is employed. Moreover, satellite-derived soil moisture observations obtained by the Advanced SCATterometer (ASCAT) sensor onboard the MetOp satellite are tested by considering two products: the Surface Soil Moisture (SSM) and the Soil Water Index (SWI ). The latter is obtained through the application of an exponential filter and it is aimed to reduce the differences in the layer depth of in situ measurements (10 cm) and satellite data (~2-3 cm). Quality-checked in situ soil moisture measurements collected at four continuous monitoring sites in Valle d'Aosta (North I taly) are used to test the accuracy of modeled and satellite estimates. Notwithstanding the above issues, results indicated the potential not only of modeling approaches but also, unexpectedly, of satellite data to retrieve soil moisture in high elevation regions (>1000 m a.s.l.). Indeed, by estimating correctly the snowmelt contribution, the agreement between modeled and observed data is quite good, with correlation coefficient values, r, in the range 0.795-0.940. In addition, the ASCAT-derived SWI product provides satisfactorily results with r = 0.635-0.869. Based on these findings, in situ, modeled, and satellite soil moisture data will be used for improving flood and landslide risk prediction at the Valle d(tm)Aosta Functional center to improve the Civil Protection Alert System. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of water content is important for water resources management and risk prevention. For areas covered with forest, the presence of decomposed or undecomposed forest litter poses a real problem for the monitoring of volumetric water content. Traditional methods such as time domain reflectometry (TDR) are difficult to apply, as the inconsistence of the porous material often leads to density modifications close to the probe wires. The aim of this work was to develop a TDR probe that can be used for loose materials while ensuring optimum working conditions in terms of ease of insertion into the porous medium, contact with the surrounding porous medium, and homogeneity and confinement of electrical energy storage. The performance of the new probe was tested on three porous media: a sandy soil and decomposed and undecomposed litter taken from four different sources of forest material. A classical TDR three-rod probe and a coaxial probe were used for comparison. Permittivity data were analyzed with parameters related to either mineral or organic media and two physically based models. The comparison of the results necessary for the evaluation of the probe performance was performed using the criterion of mean absolute error and the associated standard deviation, calculated on the difference between the water content values measured by the TDR probes and those determined by gravimetric observations. For the sandy soil, the new probe gave results comparable to those of the coaxial probe but more accurate than those obtained with the three-rod probe. For the forest litter samples, the new probe systematically gave the most accurate results. Once calibrated, the new probe allows measuring volumetric water content in forest litter within an error range of 0.02 m³/m³. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a retrospective multicenter nationwide Italian study collecting neonatal anthropometric data of Caucasian subjects with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) born from 1988 to 2018. The aim of the study is to provide percentile charts for weight and length of singletons with PWS born between 36 and 42 gestational weeks. We collected the birth weight and birth length of 252 male and 244 female singleton live born infants with both parents of Italian origin and PWS genetically confirmed. Percentile smoothed curves of birth weight and length for gestational age were built through Cole's lambda, mu, sigma method. The data were compared to normal Italian standards. Newborns with PWS showed a lower mean birth weight, by 1/2 kg, and a shorter mean birth length, by 1 cm, than healthy neonates. Females with a 15q11-13 deletion were shorter than those with maternal uniparental maternal disomy of chromosome 15 (p < .0001). The present growth curves may be useful as further traits in supporting a suspicion of PWS in a newborn. Because impaired prenatal growth increases risk of health problems later in life, having neonatal anthropometric standards could be helpful to evaluate possible correlations between the presence or absence of small gestational age and some clinical and metabolic aspects of PWS., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Human GATA3 haploinsufficiency leads to HDR (hypoparathyroidism, deafness, and renal dysplasia) syndrome. The development of a specific subset of organs in which this transcription factor is expressed appears exquisitely sensitive to gene dosage. We report on a 14-year-old patient with symptomatic hypoparathyroidism, sensorineural bilateral deafness, unilateral renal dysplasia, bilateral palpebral ptosis, and horizontal nystagmus. Fundoscopy displayed symmetrical pseudopapilledema, and brain CT scan revealed basal ganglia calcifications. FISH analysis did not disclose any microdeletion in the 22q11.2 or 10p14 regions. GATA3 mutation analysis identified a heterozygous deletion of GG nucleotides at codon 36 and 37 (c.108&#95;109delGG) in exon 2 causing a frameshift with a premature stop codon after a new 15-aminoacid sequence. Restriction endonuclease analysis performed in parents was negative. Our patient carries a novel "de novo" GATA3 mutation, providing further evidence that HDR syndrome is caused by haploinsufficiency of GATA3, which may be responsible for a complex neurologic picture besides the known triad.