Reproduction and demography of an Aphidophagous ladybird, Hippodamia variegata on six aphid species

We tested six aphid species, viz. Aphis gossypii, Aphis craccivora, Brevicoryne brassicae, Lipaphis erysimi, Myzus persicae and Uroleucon compositae as essential foods needed for the reproduction and demography of an aphidophagous ladybird, Hippodamia variegata. Females were highly fecund (1210.8 ± 55.31 eggs) with prolonged oviposition period (56.30 ± 2.36 days) and laying most viable eggs (92.91 ± 0.81%) when fed on A. gossypii (reared on Lagenaria vulgaris) with the highest net reproductive rate (449.45 ± 20.53 females / female). Aphis craccivora (raised on Dolichos lablab) supported optimal value for intrinsic rate of increase (0.183 ± 0.003) with the shortest generation time (32.40 ± 0.557 days). Other diets didn’t show improved performance but quantified as essential foods. Brassica hosted B. brassicae and L. erysimi were less suitable but not the rejected prey. Age-specific fecundity of female H. variegata was triangular in function with peak oviposition during her early reproductive age when fed on either A. gossypii, A. craccivora, U. compositae or M. persicae, while peak skewed towards later reproductive age when fed on B. brassicae or L. erysimi. Fecundity was positively correlated with egg-viability and oviposition period. We used jackknife technique to estimate and compare the demographic parameters within the groups. High values of intrinsic and finite rates of increase on A. gossypii and A. craccivora affirm their suitability for augmentative rearing of H. variegata. We conclude that both A. gossypii and A. craccivora on above respective host-plants are highly suitable aphid-diets for mass-multiplication of H. variegata. © 2020, African Association of Insect Scientists

The Utilization of Effective Microorganism 4 (EM4) on Growth of Oil Palm Seedling in Pre Nursery

A planting medium that rich in nutrients is needed for oil palm, especially in the nursery phase. This study aimed to determine the effect of various doses of EM4 and to get the best dose of EM4 on the growth of oil palm seedlings in the pre-nursery. The research method used was a non-factorial completely randomized design with 4 treatments, namely 0 ml EM4 (A1), 4 ml EM4 (A2), 8 ml EM4 (A3), and 12 ml EM4 (A4). Each treatment was repeated 6 times so that there were 24 experimental units. The data obtained were analyzed for variance at the 5% level, if the effect was real, it was followed by the least significant difference (LSD) test. Based on the results of the study, it could be concluded that application of various EM4 doses had a significant effect on plant height (4-12 MST), the number of leaves (4-8 MST), trunk girth (4-12 MST), and shoot wet weight but did not significantly affect the number of leaves (12 MST), the volume of roots, length of roots, root wet weight and shoot dry weight, dry weight root, the best dose was shown at a dose of 12 ml EM4

Physical activity attenuates the influence of FTO variants on obesity risk: A meta-analysis of 218,166 adults and 19,268 children

Background: The FTO gene harbors the strongest known susceptibility locus for obesity. While many individual studies have suggested that physical activity (PA) may attenuate the effect of FTO on obesity risk, other studies have not been able to confirm this interaction. To confirm or refute unambiguously whether PA attenuates the association of FTO with obesity risk, we meta-analyzed data from 45 studies of adults (n = 218,166) and nine studies of children and adolescents (n = 19,268). Methods and Findings: All studies identified to have data on the FTO rs9939609 variant (or any proxy [r2>0.8]) and PA were invited to participate, regardless of ethnicity or age of the participants. PA was standardized by categorizing it into a dichotomous variable (physically inactive versus active) in each study. Overall, 25% of adults and 13% of children were categorized as inactive. Interaction analyses were performed within each study by including the FTO×PA interaction term in an additive model, adjusting for age and sex. Subsequently, random effects meta-analysis was used to pool the interaction terms. In adults, the minor (A-) allele of rs9939609 increased the odds of obesity by 1.23-fold/allele (95% CI 1.20-1.26), but PA attenuated this effect (pinteraction= 0.001). More specifically, the minor allele of rs9939609 increased the odds of obesity less in the physically active group (odds ratio = 1.22/allele, 95% CI 1.19-1.25) than in the inactive group (odds ratio = 1.30/allele, 95% CI 1.24-1.36). No such interaction was found in children and adolescents. Concl

Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: a prospective, international, multicentre cohort study

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common infections associated with health care, but its importance as a global health priority is not fully understood. We quantified the burden of SSI after gastrointestinal surgery in countries in all parts of the world. Methods: This international, prospective, multicentre cohort study included consecutive patients undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection within 2-week time periods at any health-care facility in any country. Countries with participating centres were stratified into high-income, middle-income, and low-income groups according to the UN's Human Development Index (HDI). Data variables from the GlobalSurg 1 study and other studies that have been found to affect the likelihood of SSI were entered into risk adjustment models. The primary outcome measure was the 30-day SSI incidence (defined by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for superficial and deep incisional SSI). Relationships with explanatory variables were examined using Bayesian multilevel logistic regression models. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02662231. Findings: Between Jan 4, 2016, and July 31, 2016, 13 265 records were submitted for analysis. 12 539 patients from 343 hospitals in 66 countries were included. 7339 (58·5%) patient were from high-HDI countries (193 hospitals in 30 countries), 3918 (31·2%) patients were from middle-HDI countries (82 hospitals in 18 countries), and 1282 (10·2%) patients were from low-HDI countries (68 hospitals in 18 countries). In total, 1538 (12·3%) patients had SSI within 30 days of surgery. The incidence of SSI varied between countries with high (691 [9·4%] of 7339 patients), middle (549 [14·0%] of 3918 patients), and low (298 [23·2%] of 1282) HDI (p < 0·001). The highest SSI incidence in each HDI group was after dirty surgery (102 [17·8%] of 574 patients in high-HDI countries; 74 [31·4%] of 236 patients in middle-HDI countries; 72 [39·8%] of 181 patients in low-HDI countries). Following risk factor adjustment, patients in low-HDI countries were at greatest risk of SSI (adjusted odds ratio 1·60, 95% credible interval 1·05–2·37; p=0·030). 132 (21·6%) of 610 patients with an SSI and a microbiology culture result had an infection that was resistant to the prophylactic antibiotic used. Resistant infections were detected in 49 (16·6%) of 295 patients in high-HDI countries, in 37 (19·8%) of 187 patients in middle-HDI countries, and in 46 (35·9%) of 128 patients in low-HDI countries (p < 0·001). Interpretation: Countries with a low HDI carry a disproportionately greater burden of SSI than countries with a middle or high HDI and might have higher rates of antibiotic resistance. In view of WHO recommendations on SSI prevention that highlight the absence of high-quality interventional research, urgent, pragmatic, randomised trials based in LMICs are needed to assess measures aiming to reduce this preventable complication

Développement et implémentation parallèle de méthodes d'interaction de configurations sélectionnées

Cette thèse, ayant pour thème les algorithmes de la chimie quantique, s'inscrit dans le cade du changement de paradigme observé depuis une douzaines d'années, dans lequel les méthodes de calcul séquentielles se doivent d'être progressivement remplacées par des méthodes parallèles. En effet, l'augmentation de la fréquences des processeurs se heurtant à des barrières physiques difficilement franchissables, l'augmentation de la puissance de calcul se fait par l'augmentation du nombre d'unités de calcul. Toutefois, là où une augmentation de la fréquence conduisait mécaniquement à une exécution plus rapide d'un code, l'augmentation du nombre de cœurs peut se heurter à des barrières algorithmiques, qui peuvent nécessiter une adaptation ou un changement d'algorithme. Parmi les méthodes développées afin de contourner ce problème, on trouve en particulier celles de type Monte-Carlo (stochastiques), qui sont intrinsèquement "embarrassingly parallel", c'est à dire qu'elles sont par construction constituées d'une multitudes de tâches indépendantes, et de ce fait particulièrement adaptées aux architectures massivement parallèles. Elles ont également l'avantage, dans de nombreux cas, d'être capables de produire un résultat approché pour une fraction du coût calculatoire de l'équivalent déterministe exacte. Lors de cette thèse, des implémentations massivement parallèles de certains algorithmes déterministes de chimie quantique ont été réalisées. Il s'agit des algorithmes suivants : CIPSI, diagonalisation de Davidson, calcul de la perturbation au second ordre, shifted-Bk, et Coupled Cluster Multi Références. Pour certains, une composante stochastique a été introduite en vue d'améliorer leur efficacité. Toutes ces méthodes ont été implémentées sur un modèle de tâches distribuées en TCP, où un processus central distribue des tâches par le réseau et collecte les résultats. En d'autres termes, des nœuds esclaves peuvent être ajoutés au cours du calcul depuis n'importe quelle machine accessible depuis internet. L'efficacité parallèle des algorithmes implémentés dans cette thèse a été étudiée, et le programme a pu donner lieu à de nombreuses applications, notamment pour permettre d'obtenir des énergies de références pour des systèmes moléculaires difficiles.This thesis, whose topic is quantum chemistry algorithms, is made in the context of the change in paradigm that has been going on for the last decade, in which the usual sequential algorithms are progressively replaced by parallel equivalents. Indeed, the increase in processors' frequency is challenged by physical barriers, so increase in computational power is achieved through increasing the number of cores. However, where an increase of frequency mechanically leads to a faster execution of a code, an increase in number of cores may be challenged by algorithmic barriers, which may require adapting of even changing the algorithm. Among methods developed to circumvent this issue, we find in particular Monte-Carlo methods (stochastic methods), which are intrinsically "embarrassingly parallel", meaning they are by design composed of a large number of independent tasks, and thus, particularly well-adapted to massively parallel architectures. In addition, they often are able to yield an approximate result for just a fraction of the cost of the equivalent deterministic, exact computation. During this thesis, massively parallel implementations of some deterministic quantum chemistry algorithms were realized. Those methods are: CIPSI, Davidson diagonalization, computation of second-order perturbation, shifted-Bk, Multi-Reference Coupled-Cluster. For some of these, a stochastic aspect was introduced in order to improve their efficiency. All of them were implemented on a distributed task model, with a central process distributing tasks and collecting results. In other words, slave nodes can be added during the computation from any location reachable through Internet. The efficiency for the implemented algorithms has been studied, and the code could give way to numerous applications, in particular to obtain reference energies for difficult molecular systems

Papel do receptor B2 de cininas após tratamento com capsaicina no bulbo de ratos

Kinins are neuropeptides involved in the process of pain and inflammation. They are released through the activation of two receptors B1 and B2. The B2 receptor is considered a constitutive receptor in central and peripheral tissues and the B1 receptor is rarely expressed in normal tissues, but may be expressed after infection and tissue injury plasma leakage, cell migration, pain and hyperalgesia, although many studies have revealed the presence of this receptor constitutively in the canine cardiovascular system. Capsaicin is a vanilloid receptor type 1 (TRV1), a component of red pepper, participates in the thermal transduction of pain and inflammation. TRV1 causes degeneration of primary afferent fibers (C (Aδ)) which are sensory fibers that mediate pain.As cininas são neuropeptídios envolvidos no processo da dor e inflamação. Eles são liberados por meio da ativação de dois receptores B1 e B2. O receptor B2 é considerado um receptor constitutivo nos tecidos centrais e periféricos e o receptor B1 é raramente expresso em tecidos normais, mas podendo ser expressos após infecção e injúria tecidual extravasamento plasmático, migração celular, dor e hiperalgesia, embora muitos estudos revelaram a presença deste receptor de forma constitutiva no sistema cardiovascular canino. A capsaicina é um receptor vanilóide do tipo 1 (TRV1), componente da pimenta vermelha, participa na transdução térmica da dor e inflamação. O TRV1 causa degeneração das fibras aferentes primárias (C (Aδ)) que são fibras sensitivas que mediam a dor

Synergistic calibration of a hydrological model using discharge and remotely sensed soil moisture in the Paraná river basin

Hydrological models are useful tools for water resources studies, yet their calibration is still a challenge, especially if aiming at improved estimates of multiple components of the water cycle. This has led the hydrologic community to look for ways to constrain models with multiple variables. Remote sensing estimates of soil moisture are very promising in this sense, especially in large areas for which field observations may be unevenly distributed. However, the use of such data to calibrate hydrological models in a synergistic way is still not well understood, especially in tropical humid areas such as those found in South America. Here, we perform multiple scenarios of multiobjective model optimization with in situ discharge and the SMOS L4 root zone soil moisture product for the Upper Paraná River Basin in South America (drainage area > 900,000 km2), for which discharge data for 136 river gauges are used. An additional scenario is used to compare the relative impacts of using all river gauges and a small subset containing nine gauges only. Across the basin, the joint calibration (CAL-DS) using discharge and soil moisture leads to improved precision and accuracy for both variables. The discharges estimated by CAL-DS (median KGE improvement for discharge was 0.14) are as accurate as those obtained with the calibration with discharge only (median equal to 0.14), while the CAL-DS soil moisture retrieval is practically as accurate (median KGE improvement for soil moisture was 0.11) as that estimated using the calibration with soil moisture only (median equal to 0.13). Nonetheless, the individual calibration with discharge rates is not able to retrieve satisfactory soil moisture estimates, and vice versa. These results show the complementarity between these two variables in the model calibration and highlight the benefits of considering multiple variables in the calibration framework. It is also shown that, by considering only nine gauges inst

Uma reflexão sobre os brinquedos no Ensino Fundamental II na perspectiva da Teoria Histórico-Cultural

A presente pesquisa discutiu a relevância do brinquedo no espaço escolar, proporcionando processos de ensino-aprendizagem mediante jogos e brincadeiras, partindo das análises da Teoria Histórico-Cultural. Dessa maneira, o objetivo foi investigar os mais variados tipos de brinquedos e seus possíveis locais para realização de atividades curriculares, em uma Escola Estadual do Estado de São Paulo de ensino fundamental II. Desse modo, na metodologia, realizamos o levantamento e catalogação dos brinquedos disponíveis e posteriormente foram realizadas as categorizações. Concluímos que não há uma preocupação na aquisição dos brinquedos na escola. Evidencia-se que a quantidade é insatisfatória, além de que os brinquedos não eram compatíveis com as faixas etárias, reduzindo a uma atividade meio e fim. Palavras-chave: Brincar. Brinquedo. Teoria Histórico-Cultural

O impacto nos profissionais de saúde na pandemia COVID-19

A year into the pandemic, emotional exhaustion and a lack of preparation to deal with COVID-19 are the reality for healthcare professionals who are constantly on the front lines of the fight against the coronavirus. A study found that 80% of workers feel negatively impacted in terms of their mental health due to the pandemic, and only 19% sought help to deal with the problem.Um ano de pandemia se passou e a exaustão emocional e o despreparo para enfrentar a COVID-19 são a realidade de profissionais da saúde que estão constantemente na linha de frente de combate ao coronavírus. Em estudo é verificado que 80% dos trabalhadores sentem-se impactados negativamente em relação à saúde mental por conta da pandemia, sendo que somente 19% procuraram ajuda para encarar o problema