FERMENTACIÓN EN ESTADO SÓLIDO DE Saccharum spp. COMO SUPLEMENTO PARA RUMIANTES

Biotechnology allows transforming complex molecules (cellulose and hemicellulose) or without nutritional value (urea) into molecules with nutritional value for ruminants, through the use of Solid State Fermentation (SSF) techniques, with the aim of increasing, with regards to their value without processing, the content of digestible NDF, RP and PV with help from enzymes, native microorganisms (yeasts and bacteria) and artificially inoculated during fermentation. Variables are related, such as the price of sugar cane (Saccharum spp.) for the industry in Soconusco, Chiapas, México, in addition tothe sale of young bulls for fattening and raw milk; reduction of the livestock herd (due to change in land use), scarcity of pastures, grain price increase, invasion of resistant weeds, soil compacting, pests in animals, and nutritional management with low-quality diets, with the aim of identifying a strategy that allows using sugar cane and improving it in nutritional terms for ruminants. An improvement in the quality of RP synthesized from urea added to micro silos, suggesting that SSF is a useful process for the production of enzymes and metabolites, in addition to improving the quality of the animal diet with low energetic cost, giving an added value in cane production and alleviating the limitation of foods in the dry season.La biotecnología permite trasformar moléculas complejas (celulosa y hemicelulosa) o sin valor nutritivo (urea) a moléculas con valor nutricional para rumiantes, mediante el uso de técnicas de Fermentación en Estado Sólido (FES), con el fin de aumentar, con respecto a su valor sin procesar el contenido de FDN digestible, PC y PV con apoyo de enzimas, microorganismos (levaduras y bacterias) nativos e inoculado artificialmente durante la fermentación. Se relacionaron variables, tales como el precio de la caña (Saccharum spp.) para la industria en el Soconusco, Chiapas, México, además de la venta de toretes para engorda y leche bronca; reducción del hato ganadero (por cambio de uso de suelo), escases de pasturas, aumento en precio de granos, invasión de malezas resistentes, compactación de suelo, plagas en animales, y manejo nutrimental con dietas de baja calidad, con el fin de identificar una estrategia que permita aprovechar la caña de azúcar y mejorarla nutrimentalmente para rumiantes. Se observó una mejora en la cantidad de PC sintetizada a partir de urea adicionada a microsilos, sugiriendo que la FES es un proceso útil para la producción de enzimas y metabolitos, además de mejorar la calidad en la alimentación animal con bajo costo energético, dando un valor agregado en la producción de caña y atenuar bajo costo energético, dando un valor agregado en la producción de caña y atenuar la limitación de alimento en el estiaje

Experimental Setups for Single Event Effect Studies

Experimental setups are being prepared to test and to qualify electronic devices regarding their tolerance to Single Event Effect (SEE). A multiple test setup and a new beam line developed especially for SEE studies at the São Paulo 8 UD Pelletron accelerator were prepared. This accelerator produces proton beams and heavy ion beams up to 107Ag. A Super conducting Linear accelerator, which is under construction, may fulfill all of the European Space Agency requirements to qualify electronic components for SEE

The molecular basis and biologic significance of the β-dystroglycan-emerin interaction

β-dystroglycan (β-DG) assembles with lamins A/C and B1 and emerin at the nuclear envelope (NE) to maintain proper nuclear architecture and function. To provide insight into the nuclear function of β-DG, we characterized the interaction between β-DG and emerin at the molecular level. Emerin is a major NE protein that regulates multiple nuclear processes and whose deficiency results in Emery–Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD). Using truncated variants of β-DG and emerin, via a series of in vitro and in vivo binding experiments and a tailored computational analysis, we determined that the β-DG–emerin interaction is mediated at least in part by their respective transmembrane domains (TM). Using surface plasmon resonance assays we showed that emerin binds to β-DG with high affinity (KD in the nanomolar range). Remarkably, the analysis of cells in which DG was knocked out demonstrated that loss of β-DG resulted in a decreased emerin stability and impairment of emerin-mediated processes. β-DG and emerin are reciprocally required for their optimal targeting within the NE, as shown by immunofluorescence, western blotting and immunoprecipitation assays using emerin variants with mutations in the TM domain and B-lymphocytes of a patient with EDMD. In summary, we demonstrated that β-DG plays a role as an emerin interacting partner modulating its stability and function

Functional upgrading in China’s export processing sector

Functional upgrading occurs when a firm acquires more sophisticated functions within an existing value chain. In this paper, we analyze if there is evidence of this type of upgrading in China’s export processing regime by investigating dynamics in the relative prevalence of Import & Assembly (IA) versus Pure Assembly (PA) processing trade over the period 2000-2013. Firms in both regimes provide similar manufacturing services to foreign companies, but IA firms also conduct the sophisticated tasks of quality control, searching, financing and storing imported materials. Consistent with a trend of functional upgrading, we show that the share of IA trade in total processing trade has increased rapidly during the period 2000-2006, both overall and within product categories. Furthermore, we find that this trend has gone hand in hand with improvements in a sector’s labor productivity and unit values. Against expectations, we find that this process has slowed down notably during the period 2006-2013.status: publishe

Operations of and Future Plans for the Pierre Auger Observatory

Technical reports on operations and features of the Pierre Auger Observatory, including ongoing and planned enhancements and the status of the future northern hemisphere portion of the Observatory. Contributions to the 31st International Cosmic Ray Conference, Lodz, Poland, July 2009.Comment: Contributions to the 31st ICRC, Lodz, Poland, July 200

Anisotropy and chemical composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays using arrival directions measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Collaboration has reported evidence for anisotropy in the distribution of arrival directions of the cosmic rays with energies $E>E_{th}=5.5\times 10^{19}$ eV. These show a correlation with the distribution of nearby extragalactic objects, including an apparent excess around the direction of Centaurus A. If the particles responsible for these excesses at $E>E_{th}$ are heavy nuclei with charge $Z$, the proton component of the sources should lead to excesses in the same regions at energies $E/Z$. We here report the lack of anisotropies in these directions at energies above $E_{th}/Z$ (for illustrative values of $Z=6,\ 13,\ 26$). If the anisotropies above $E_{th}$ are due to nuclei with charge $Z$, and under reasonable assumptions about the acceleration process, these observations imply stringent constraints on the allowed proton fraction at the lower energies

Anisotropy studies around the galactic centre at EeV energies with the Auger Observatory

Data from the Pierre Auger Observatory are analyzed to search for anisotropies near the direction of the Galactic Centre at EeV energies. The exposure of the surface array in this part of the sky is already significantly larger than that of the fore-runner experiments. Our results do not support previous findings of localized excesses in the AGASA and SUGAR data. We set an upper bound on a point-like flux of cosmic rays arriving from the Galactic Centre which excludes several scenarios predicting sources of EeV neutrons from Sagittarius $A$. Also the events detected simultaneously by the surface and fluorescence detectors (the `hybrid' data set), which have better pointing accuracy but are less numerous than those of the surface array alone, do not show any significant localized excess from this direction.Comment: Matches published versio

Update on the correlation of the highest energy cosmic rays with nearby extragalactic matter

Data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory through 31 August 2007 showed evidence for anisotropy in the arrival directions of cosmic rays above the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min energy threshold, \nobreak{$6\times 10^{19}$eV}. The anisotropy was measured by the fraction of arrival directions that are less than $3.1^\circ$ from the position of an active galactic nucleus within 75 Mpc (using the V\'eron-Cetty and V\'eron $12^{\rm th}$ catalog). An updated measurement of this fraction is reported here using the arrival directions of cosmic rays recorded above the same energy threshold through 31 December 2009. The number of arrival directions has increased from 27 to 69, allowing a more precise measurement. The correlating fraction is $(38^{+7}_{-6})$, compared with $21$ expected for isotropic cosmic rays. This is down from the early estimate of $(69^{+11}_{-13})$. The enlarged set of arrival directions is examined also in relation to other populations of nearby extragalactic objects: galaxies in the 2 Microns All Sky Survey and active galactic nuclei detected in hard X-rays by the Swift Burst Alert Telescope. A celestial region around the position of the radiogalaxy Cen A has the largest excess of arrival directions relative to isotropic expectations. The 2-point autocorrelation function is shown for the enlarged set of arrival directions and compared to the isotropic expectation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physics on 31 August 201