La calidad en las empresas del sector de agentes de aduana en el Perú 2014

La presente investigación analizó la gestión de la calidad de los Agentes de Aduana en el Perú en el periodo Abril – Diciembre 2014, tomando como base el estudio de la Calidad en las Empresas Latinoamericanas: El Caso Peruano, Benzaquen (2013). El presente estudio se realizó siguiendo un diseño transeccional, cuantitativo y descriptivo, para el cual se recopiló información a través de encuestas que fueron dirigidas a los principales gerentes y directores de las empresas del sector. La muestra permitió obtener información de 73 empresas a nivel nacional de una población de 330 empresas. A esta muestra se le aplicó la prueba de U de Mann Whitney la cual, nos permitió comprobar que las empresas del sector Agentes de Aduana en el Perú con un Sistema de Gestión de Calidad (SGC) tienen diferencias significativas en los factores de Calidad de aquellas empresas que no tienen un SGC de acuerdo al modelo propuesto.This research analyzed the quality management of Customs Agents in Peru in the period April - December 2014, based on the study of Quality in Latin American Companies: The Peruvian Case, Benzaquen (2013). The present study was conducted following a transectional, quantitative and descriptive design for which information was collected through surveys that were aimed at senior managers and directors of companies from the sector. The sample yielded information from 73 companies nationwide from a population of 330 companies. To this sample was applied test U Mann-Whitney which allowed us to verify that the companies of Customs Agents sector in Peru with a Management System Quality (QMS) have significant differences in factors Quality those companies that do not have a QMS according to the proposed model.Tesi

Acylsugars protect Nicotiana benthamiana against insect herbivory and desiccation.

peer reviewedKEY MESSAGE: Nicotiana benthamiana acylsugar acyltransferase (ASAT) is required for protection against desiccation and insect herbivory. Knockout mutations provide a new resource for investigation of plant-aphid and plant-whitefly interactions. Nicotiana benthamiana is used extensively as a transient expression platform for functional analysis of genes from other species. Acylsugars, which are produced in the trichomes, are a hypothesized cause of the relatively high insect resistance that is observed in N. benthamiana. We characterized the N. benthamiana acylsugar profile, bioinformatically identified two acylsugar acyltransferase genes, ASAT1 and ASAT2, and used CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis to produce acylsugar-deficient plants for investigation of insect resistance and foliar water loss. Whereas asat1 mutations reduced accumulation, asat2 mutations caused almost complete depletion of foliar acylsucroses. Three hemipteran and three lepidopteran herbivores survived, gained weight, and/or reproduced significantly better on asat2 mutants than on wildtype N. benthamiana. Both asat1 and asat2 mutations reduced the water content and increased leaf temperature. Our results demonstrate the specific function of two ASAT proteins in N. benthamiana acylsugar biosynthesis, insect resistance, and desiccation tolerance. The improved growth of aphids and whiteflies on asat2 mutants will facilitate the use of N. benthamiana as a transient expression platform for the functional analysis of insect effectors and resistance genes from other plant species. Similarly, the absence of acylsugars in asat2 mutants will enable analysis of acylsugar biosynthesis genes from other Solanaceae by transient expression

Novel Low Cost 3D Surface Model Reconstruction System for Plant Phenotyping

Accurate high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) models are essential for a non-invasive analysis of phenotypic characteristics of plants. Previous limitations in 3D computer vision algorithms have led to a reliance on volumetric methods or expensive hardware to record plant structure. We present an image-based 3D plant reconstruction system that can be achieved by using a single camera and a rotation stand. Our method is based on the structure from motion method, with a SIFT image feature descriptor. In order to improve the quality of the 3D models, we segmented the plant objects based on the PlantCV platform. We also deducted the optimal number of images needed for reconstructing a high-quality model. Experiments showed that an accurate 3D model of the plant was successfully could be reconstructed by our approach. This 3D surface model reconstruction system provides a simple and accurate computational platform for non-destructive, plant phenotyping

Economic Implications of Harvest Time Effects on Switchgrass Moisture Content, Nutrient Concentration and Yield

Biorefineries face logistical problems that may affect the price a biorefinery is willing to pay. One of the driving factors in storage and transportation of biomass is the moisture content (MC) at harvest. Delaying switchgrass harvest from profit-maximizing times of October through November, when moisture and nutrient concentrations of the standing crop are still high, to January or February, when moisture in the standing crop has declined and more nutrients have translocated back to the roots of this perennial plant, may result in production cost savings at the expense of lower yield. Using 20 and 30% MC thresholds in the standing crop as a determining factor, harvesting requires a separate cutting pass above this threshold to allow drying in the swath before chopping with a forage harvester. Below that threshold, a forage harvester may be equipped to perform both cutting and chopping functions in a single pass. Using switchgrass trial data from several environments, this study calculates harvest date-driven changes in yield, harvest cost and nutrient replacement between a profit-maximizing harvest date, requiring two harvest equipment operations vs. delayed, single-pass harvest at lower standing crop MC of 30% and 20% to show whether delayed harvest is feasible

Schoolchildren multicentre RCT sample groups baseline data comparison: ICCMSTM vs. Colombian health-system caries managements.

Comparación del sistema tradicional de manejo de caries y sistema ICDASMaterials and Methods: After IRB (UEB008-2014) and informed consent from parents of 360 7-yr. olds in 9 Colombian dental schools’ clinics, comparison of the two groups (n = 180 each) was conducted in terms of: gender, caries risk likelihood (low/moderate/high), prevalence of caries experience (dmf/DMF-S, d/D: ICCMSTMMod, Ext) and-mean number of surfaces with caries experience (both dmf/DMF-S, d/D:ICCMSTMMod, Ext; and dmf/DMF-S, d/D:ICCMSTMIn, Mod, Ext). Results: The sample corresponded to 194 girls and 166 boys (Group-A: 105 and 74; Group-B: 89 and 92, respectively)(Χ2 ; p = 0.07). The prevalence of caries experience (dmf/ DMF-S, d/D:ICCMSTMMod, Ext) was 74.7% (Group-A: 76.5%; Group-B: 72.9%) Χ2 ; p  = 0.27). The mean dmf/DMF-S (d/D: ICCMSTMMod, Ext) was6.8±8.2 (Group-A: 7.4±8.5; Group-B: 6.3±7.8) (Mann-Whitney test; p = 0.21), increasing to 15.3±12.9 (Group-A: 15.9±13.1; Group-B: 14.8±12.6) (Mann-Whitney test;p = 0.47), when including d/D: ICCMSTMIn. The percentage distribution of caries-risk likelihood was: high: 54.2%; moderate: 35.8%; low: 10.0% (Group-A: 57.5%, 33.5%, and 9.0%, and Group-B: 50.8%, 38.1%, and 11.1%, respectively) Χ2 ; p = 0.43). Conclusion: The baseline data of this schoolchildren caries managements’ multicentre RCT shows that Group A (ICCMSTM) and Group B (Colombian-Health-System) individuals are similar in terms of gender and caries related [email protected]