Relationships between remotely sensed fisheries distribution information and selected oceanographic parameters in the Mississippi Sound

A feasibility study to demonstrate the potential of satellites for providing fisheries significant information was conducted in the Mississippi Sound and adjacent offshore waters. Attempts were made to relate satellite acquired imagery to selected oceanographic parameters and then to relate these parameters to aircraft remotely sensed distribution patterns of resident surface schooling fishes. Initial results suggest that this approach is valid and that the satellite acquired imagery may have important fisheries resource assessment implications

A Wind-powered Rover for a Low-Cost Venus Mission

Venus, with a surface temperature of 450 C and an atmospheric pressure 90 times higher than that of the Earth, is a difficult target for exploration. However, high-temperature electronics and power systems now being developed make it possible that future missions may be able to operate in the Venus environment. Powering such a rover within the scope of a Discovery class mission will be difficult, but harnessing Venus' surface winds provides a possible way to keep a powered rover small and light. This project scopes out the feasibility of a wind-powered rover for Venus surface missions. Two rover concepts, a land-sailing rover and a wind-turbine-powered rover, were considered. The turbine-powered rover design is selected as being a low-risk and low-cost strategy. Turbine detailed analysis and design shows that the turbine can meet mission requirements across the desired range of wind speeds by utilizing three constant voltage generators at fixed gear ratios

Smooth functions with uncountably many zeros

[EN] In this short note we show that there exist uncountably generated alge- bras every non-zero element of which is a smooth function having uncount- ably many zeros. This result complements some recent ones by Enflo et al. [7, 9].The authors would like to thank the anonymous referee, whose thorough analysis and insightful remarks improved the text. The authors were supported by CNPq Grant 401735/2013-3 (PVE - Linha 2), MTM2012-34341, MEC Project MTM2013-47093-P, and Programa de Investigacion y Desarrollo de la UPV, Referencia SP2012070. The third author is also supported by a FPU grant of MEC Project MTM2010-14909.Conejero, JA.; Muñoz-Fernández, GA.; Murillo Arcila, M.; Seoane Sepúlveda, JB. (2015). Smooth functions with uncountably many zeros. Bulletin of the Bengian Mathematical Society. 22:1-5. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/64844152

Climatic variables that favor the Black Sigatoka (Mycosphaerella fijiensis Morelet) [anamorph: Pseudocercospora fijiensis (Morelet) Deighton] infestation in a banana-growing zone

Objective:  Characterize how favorable or unfavorable are the climatic conditions for the incidence and development of Black Sigatoka in the banana región of Teapa, Tabasco, Mexico. Design/Methodology/Approach: Daily temperature data from 59 years from Teapa, Tabasco, Mexico, climatological station (27044) were analized (1961-2019), using historical reports fron IMTA, (2009) and the National Meteorological Service. Relative humidity was estimated using the equation reported by Allen et al. (2006). To determine how suitable are the weather conditions for the incidence and develpment of Black Sigatoka in Teapa, a climatic favorability classification proposed by Júnior et al. (2008) was used. Results: The results shows that in the area under this study, there are no highly favorable climatic conditions for the incidence and development of this disease, and the spring-summer months are the less favorable; while the autum-winter months are the most favorable. Study limitations/implications: It is important to do this kind of studies in other banana producing areas in Tabasco, because the climatic conditions (temperature and relative humidity) they are different, so the disease frequency or appearance may vary. Findings/conclusions: The time period from october to march are the most favorable months for Black Sigatoka incidence and development; so integrated management programs should be designed for this period. Keywords: temperature, relative humidity, banana, yields, probability, prediction models.Objective: To establish the favorable or unfavorable climatic conditions for the emergence and developmentof Black Sigatoka in a banana-growing area within the influence zone of the Teapa weather station (27004) inTabasco, Mexico.Design/Methodology/Approach: We analyzed temperature data for n=59 years (1961-2019) at the Teapaweather station (27044) in Tabasco, as reported by IMTA (2009) and the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional(until 2019). Relative humidity was calculated using the equation developed by Allen et al. (2006). We alsoestablished the favorable or unfavorable climatic conditions for the development of Black Sigatoka in Teapa byresorting to the favorability typology posited by Júnior et al. (2008).Results: There are no highly favorable climatic conditions for the incidence and development of this disease.Overall, spring and summer are the less favorable months, while fall and winter offer more favorable conditions.Study Limitations/Implications: This study should be replicated in other banana-growing areas of Tabasco,since both temperature and relative humidity may differ and, consequently, the frequency of the disease mayvary.Findings/Conclusions: October and March are the most favorable months for Black Sigatoka occurrence.Therefore, comprehensive management and control programs should be designed for this perio

Comparison of Figulla Flex® and Amplatzer™ devices for atrial septal defect closure: A meta-analysis

Background: Atrial septal defect (ASD) is one of the most common congenital heart diseases. Percutaneousclosure is the preferred treatment, but certain complications remain a concern. The most common devices are AMPLATZER™ (ASO) (St. Jude Medical, St. Paul, MN, USA) and Figulla Flex® septal occluders (FSO) (Occlutech GmbH, Jena, Germany). The present study aimed to assess main differences in outcomes.Methods: A systematic search in Pubmed and Google scholarship was performed by two independent reviewers for any study comparing ASO and FSO. Searched terms were “Figulla”, “Amplatzer”, and “atrial septal defect”. A random-effects model was used.Results: A total of 11 studies including 1770 patients (897 ASO; 873 FSO) were gathered. Baseline clinical and echocardiographic characteristics were comparable although septal aneurysm was more often reported in patients treated with ASO (32% vs. 25%; p = 0.061). Success rate (94% vs. 95%; OR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.38–1.71; p = 0.58) and peri-procedural complications were comparable. Procedures were shorter, requiring less fluoroscopy time with an FSO device (OR: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.20–0.97; p = 0.003). Although the global rate of complications in long-term was similar, the ASO device was associated with a higher rate of supraventricular arrhythmias (14.7% vs. 7.8%, p = 0.009).Conclusions: Percutaneous closure of ASD is a safe and effective, irrespective of the type of device. No differences exist regarding procedural success between the ASO and FSO devices but the last was associated to shorter procedure time, less radiation, and lower rate of supraventricular arrhythmias in follow-up. Late cardiac perforation did not occur and death in the follow-up was exceptional

Molecular evidence of Ebola Reston virus infection in Philippine bats

Background: In 2008-09, evidence of Reston ebolavirus (RESTV) infection was found in domestic pigs and pig workers in the Philippines. With species of bats having been shown to be the cryptic reservoir of filoviruses elsewhere, the Philippine government, in conjunction with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, assembled a multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional team to investigate Philippine bats as the possible reservoir of RESTV. Methods: The team undertook surveillance of bat populations at multiple locations during 2010 using both serology and molecular assays. Results: A total of 464 bats from 21 species were sampled. We found both molecular and serologic evidence of RESTV infection in multiple bat species. RNA was detected with quantitative PCR (qPCR) in oropharyngeal swabs taken from Miniopterus schreibersii, with three samples yielding a product on conventional hemi-nested PCR whose sequences differed from a Philippine pig isolate by a single nucleotide. Uncorroborated qPCR detections may indicate RESTV nucleic acid in several additional bat species (M. australis, C. brachyotis and Ch. plicata). We also detected anti-RESTV antibodies in three bats (Acerodon jubatus) using both Western blot and ELISA. Conclusions: The findings suggest that ebolavirus infection is taxonomically widespread in Philippine bats, but the evident low prevalence and low viral load warrants expanded surveillance to elaborate the findings, and more broadly, to determine the taxonomic and geographic occurrence of ebolaviruses in bats in the region. © 2015 Jayme et al

Long-term safety in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer treated with niraparib versus placebo: Results from the phase III ENGOT-OV16/NOVA trial

OBJECTIVE: Niraparib is a poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor approved for use in heavily pretreated patients and as maintenance treatment in patients with newly-diagnosed or recurrent ovarian cancer following a response to platinum-based chemotherapy. We present long-term safety data for niraparib from the ENGOT-OV16/NOVA trial. METHODS: This multicenter, double-blind, randomized, controlled phase III trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of niraparib for the treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer. Patients were randomly assigned 2:1 to receive either once-daily niraparib 300 mg or placebo. Two independent cohorts were enrolled based on germline BRCA mutation status. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival, reported previously. Long-term safety data were from the most recent data cutoff (September 2017). RESULTS: Overall, 367 patients received niraparib 300 mg once daily. Dose reductions due to TEAEs were highest in month 1 (34%) and declined every month thereafter. Incidence of any-grade and grade ≥ 3 hematologic and symptomatic TEAEs was also highest in month 1 and subsequently declined. Incidence of grade ≥ 3 thrombocytopenia decreased from 28% (month 1) to 9% and 5% (months 2 and 3, respectively), with protocol-directed dose interruptions and/or reductions. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) were reported in 2 and 6 niraparib-treated patients, respectively, and in 1 placebo patient each. Treatment discontinuations due to TEAEs were <5% in each month and time interval measured. CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate the importance of appropriate dose reduction according to toxicity criteria and support the safe long-term use of niraparib for maintenance treatment in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01847274