Nutrition affects onset and duration of wandering behavior in tobacco hornworms

Insects that undergo complete metamorphosis (including egg, larval, pupal, and adult stages) obtain no nutrition in the &me between the last larval stage and emergence from the pupa as an adult. In the final larval stage of burrowing insects, such as the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta), larvae wander to find soil or detritus in which to burrow, and then burrow, pupate, emerge as fully-­‐formed adults, and return to the surface, relying solely on energy stored during the larval stage. I examined the effects of larval nutri&on on wandering behavior and expected that dietary manipulation would delay wandering in both underfed and overfed treatments. I anticipated that duration of wandering behavior decreases in underfed larvae because they need to reserve energy. I predicted increased wandering behavior in overfed larvae because they could use excess stored energy to be more selective in where they burrow. To manipulate energy reserves, I manipulated diet and measured onset and duration of wandering behavior. Weight varied significantly across treatments, with overfed weighing the most and underfed weighing the least. Onset of wandering also differed, occurring first in the control animals and last in overfed larvae. Underfed larvae wandered for a lower percentage of &me than both control and overfed larvae. This study confirmed that nutrition impacts wandering behavior and demonstrates the balance between energetic cost and nutritional benefit. Al

Layoutförändring på SCA Förpackningsservice Värnamo

Fabriken vid SCA Packaging Förpackningsservice i Värnamo har under en längre tid haft en layout som inte har varit ändamalsenlig till dess funktion. För att kunna möta ökad konkurrens och interna krav pa effektivisering behövdes en ny lösning för maskinuppställning och flödeshantering. 1 oktober 2005 inleddes examensarbetet vid SCA i Värnamo, då det hade beslutats att en limmaskin skulle flyttas in i de redan trångbodda lokalerna. Examensarbetarna fick i uppgift att, med gängse metoder, ta fram en ny layout som dels var möjlig ur ett rent praktiskt perspektiv, och dels sa effektiv att den nya maskinen kunde installeras utan att nyanställningar skulle behövas göras. 1 inledningsfasen gjordes en flödeskartläggning av produktionen vid företaget med hjälp av de produktionskort som används i tillverkningen. Denna flödesanalys låg senare till grund för hur den nya layouten utformades. Med metoden systematisk lokalplanläggning arbetades en ny maskinuppställning fram. Beslut togs även gällande placering av in och uttransporter och var mellanlagren skall vara placerade. De många begränsningar som den nuvarande fabrikslokalen besatt i form av utformning, takhöjd och väggplacering gjorde arbetet med den nya layouten långt mer komplex än vid en mer flexibel lokal. Da en ny layout ar framtagen, användes simuleringsverktyget AutoMod för att modellera och simulera den tänkta produktionen. Intervjuer och idare datainsamling genomfördes för att modellen skulle representera verkligheten så äl som möjligt. När modellen senare var verifierad och validerade kunde simuleringen ta vid, September manads produktionskort låg till grund för hur layouten skulle testas. Denna manad rekommenderades ifran produktionsledningen, och sades vara representativ för hur produktionen ser ut pa årsbasis, Simuleringen visade pa goda förutsättningar för den framtagna lavouten och att inga större störningar fanns. Slutligen gjordes en design-of-experiment där kritiska faktorer utvärderades mot varandra för att analysera vilka faktorer som paverkar genomloppstiden mest. Resultatet av experimentet visade att de mest betydande faktorerna för variationen 1 ledtid var körhastigheten i maskin 752, följt av körhastigheten i maskin 753 och maskin 73735. Det prognostiserade resultatet för examensarbetet betder en besparing på 2,1 miljoner krono

Experimental testing of reciprocal effects of nutrition and parasitism in wild black capuchin monkeys

Nutritional stress may predispose individuals to infection, which in turn can have further detrimental effects on physical condition, thus creating an opportunity for reciprocal effects between nutrition and parasitism. Little experimental investigation has been conducted on this "vicious circle" hypothesis in wild animals, especially under natural conditions. We evaluated the reciprocal effects of nutritional status and parasitism using an experimental approach in two groups of wild black capuchin monkeys (Sapajus nigritus). Across two consecutive winters, we collected faecal samples from identified capuchins to determine presence and load of gastrointestinal helminthes, and measured individual body mass as a proxy of physical condition. Food availability was manipulated by provisioning monkeys with bananas, and parasite burdens by applying anti-parasitic drugs to selected individuals. We found no effect of anti-parasitic drugs on physical condition, but parasite loads decreased in response to high levels of food availability. Our results represent the first experimental evidence that the nutritional status may drive parasite dynamics in a primate.Fil: Agostini, Ilaria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical; Argentina. Centro de Investigaciones del Bosque Atlántico; ArgentinaFil: Vanderhoeven, Ezequiel Andres. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentina. Ministerio de Salud. Instituto Nacional de Medicina Tropical; Argentina. Centro de Investigaciones del Bosque Atlántico; ArgentinaFil: Di Bitetti, Mario Santiago. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical; Argentina. Centro de Investigaciones del Bosque Atlántico; ArgentinaFil: Beldomenico, Pablo Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Santa Fe. Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral; Argentina. Laboratorio de Ecología de Enfermedades; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral; Argentin

Structure-based inhibitors halt prion-like seeding by Alzheimer’s disease–and tauopathy–derived brain tissue samples

In Alzheimer's disease (AD) and tauopathies, tau aggregation accompanies progressive neurodegeneration. Aggregated tau appears to spread between adjacent neurons and adjacent brain regions by prion-like seeding. Hence, inhibitors of this seeding offer a possible route to managing tauopathies. Here, we report the 1.0 Å resolution micro-electron diffraction structure of an aggregation-prone segment of tau with the sequence SVQIVY, present in the cores of patient-derived fibrils from AD and tauopathies. This structure illuminates how distinct interfaces of the parent segment, containing the sequence VQIVYK, foster the formation of distinct structures. Peptide-based fibril-capping inhibitors designed to target the two VQIVYK interfaces blocked proteopathic seeding by patient-derived fibrils. These VQIVYK inhibitors add to a panel of tau-capping inhibitors that targets specific polymorphs of recombinant and patient-derived tau fibrils. Inhibition of seeding initiated by brain tissue extracts differed among donors with different tauopathies, suggesting that particular fibril polymorphs of tau are associated with certain tauopathies. Donors with progressive supranuclear palsy exhibited more variation in inhibitor sensitivity, suggesting that fibrils from these donors were more polymorphic and potentially vary within individual donor brains. Our results suggest that a subset of inhibitors from our panel could be specific for particular disease-associated polymorphs, whereas inhibitors that blocked seeding by extracts from all of the tauopathies tested could be used to broadly inhibit seeding by multiple disease-specific tau polymorphs. Moreover, we show that tau-capping inhibitors can be transiently expressed in HEK293 tau biosensor cells, indicating that nucleic acid–based vectors can be used for inhibitor delivery