We present the results of a lattice QCD calculation of the pseudoscalar meson decay constants fπ, fK , fD and fDs , performed with Nf = 2 dynamical fermions. The simulation is carried out with the tree-level improved Symanzik gauge action and with the twisted mass fermionic action at maximal twist. We have considered for the final analysis three values of the lattice spacing, a ≃ 0.10 fm, 0.09 ...

BACKGROUND We hypothesized that the repetitive use of a toenail clipper by podiatric physicians could induce fatigue of the flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) muscle, reducing the accuracy of toenail cutting. METHODS We examined the consequences of cutting a plastic sheet, reproducing the resistance of thick toenails, with a podiatric medical clipper on the maximal handgrip force (Fmax) dev...

OBJECTIVE To describe the correlation between the functional dysphagia scale and aspiration pneumonia and which characteristics influence the occurrence of aspiration pneumonia in patients with idiopathic Parkinson disease. METHODS Fifty-three patients with idiopathic Parkinson disease were prospectively evaluated in this study. Disease severity and functional status were measured by modified...

Shape is one of the primary features in Content Based Image Retrieval (CBIR). Many shape representations and retrieval methods exist. However, most of those methods either do not well capture shape features or are difficult to do normalization (or matching). Among them, methods based Fourier descriptors (FDs) achieve both good representation and easy normalization. FDs is often blamed for not b...

Flow and Diffusion Distributed Structures (FDS) are stationary spatially periodic patterns that can be observed in reaction-diffusion-advection systems. These structures arise when the flow rate exceeds a certain bifurcation point provided that concentrations of interacting species at the inlet differ from steady state values and the concentrations are held constant. Normally, theoretical studi...

Membrane scission is essential for intracellular trafficking. While BAR domain proteins such as endophilin have been reported in dynamin-independent scission of tubular membrane necks, the cutting mechanism has yet to be deciphered. Here, we combine a theoretical model, in vitro, and in vivo experiments revealing how protein scaffolds may cut tubular membranes. We demonstrate that the protein s...

It is well known that the complexity of testing the correctness of an arbitrary update to a database view can be far greater than the complexity of testing a corresponding update to the main schema. However, views are generally managed according to some protocol which limits the admissible updates to a subset of all possible changes. The question thus arises as to whether there is a more tracta...

People modify their voice to accommodate the communicative needs of their audience. Previously, speech recipient groups with communicative needs such as foreigners and infants have been investigated, however, there is a lack of research into speech directed to hearing-impaired people. The aim of our study was to investigate prosodic modifications in speech directed to hearing-impaired people an...

Berries have shown several cardiovascular health benefits and have been associated with antioxidant functions in experimental models. Clinical studies are limited. We examined the antioxidant effects of freeze-dried strawberries (FDS) in adults [n = 60; age: 49 ± 10 years; BMI: 36 ± 5 kg/m(2) (mean ± SD)] with abdominal adiposity and elevated serum lipids. Participants were randomized to one of...