Tunable Sensitivity in Long Period Fiber Gratings During Mode Transition With Low Refractive Index Intermediate Layer

Double-clad fibers where the second cladding has a lower refractive index than the first cladding, prove to be ideal structures for potentiating and tuning the sensitivity in long-period fiber gratings (LPFGs) operating in mode transition. When a thin film is deposited on the optical fiber, the second cladding performs acts as a barrier that initially prevents the transition to guidance in the thin film of one of the modes guided in the first cladding. Finally, the transition to guidance occurs with a sensitivity increase, in analogy to the tunnel effect observed in semiconductors. This improvement has been demonstrated both as a function of the thin film thickness and the surrounding medium refractive index, with enhancement factors of 4 and 2, respectively. This idea reinforces the performance of LPFGs, adding a new degree of freedom to the mode transition and the dispersion turning point phenom- ena. Moreover, the control of the variation of the effective index of cladding modes could be applied in other structures, such as tilted-fiber gratings or evanescent wave sensors

The impact of silent vascular brain burden in cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease

White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain are associated with dementia and cognitive impairment in the general population and in Alzheimer's disease. Their effect in cognitive decline and dementia associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) is still unclear. METHODS: We studied the relationship between WMHs and cognitive state in 111 patients with PD classified as cognitively normal (n = 39), with a mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n = 46) or dementia (n = 26), in a cross-sectional and follow-up study. Cognitive state was evaluated with a comprehensive neuropsychological battery, and WMHs were identified in FLAIR and T2-weighted MRI. The burden of WMHs was rated using the Scheltens scale. RESULTS: No differences in WMHs were found between the three groups in the cross-sectional study. A negative correlation was observed between semantic fluency and the subscore for WMHs in the frontal lobe. Of the 36 non-demented patients re-evaluated after a mean follow-up of 30 months, three patients converted into MCI and 5 into dementia. Progression of periventricular WMHs was associated with an increased conversion to dementia. A marginal association between the increase in total WMHs burden and worsening in the Mini Mental State Examination was encountered. CONCLUSIONS: White matter hyperintensities do not influence the cognitive status of patients with PD. Frontal WMHs have a negative impact on semantic fluency. Brain vascular burden may have an effect on cognitive impairment in patients with PD as WMHs increase overtime might increase the risk of conversion to dementia. This finding needs further confirmation in larger prospective studies

Cultivation Systems of Microalgae for the Production of Biofuels

As reported in the study, the high-oil/ha-year productivity of microalgae has raised a lot of interest in their use as a source of raw materials for biofuels. However, the high costs of production and maintenance of closed culture systems (photobioreactor type) and the problems of contamination that lead to lower productivity of open systems (of the “open-pond” type) have become important limitations in evaluating the sustainability of producing biofuels from microalgae.In the view of the favorable prospects of employing microalgae as an economically viable source of raw materials for the production of biofuels, this chapter outlines the different ways microalgae are cultivated, the required nutritional conditions and the main procedures used for increasing their scale. Additionally, those more commonly used on a large scale are described and their advantages and disadvantages are pointed out. This analysis results in a proposal of a new type of photobioreactor, of the cylindrical container type, constructed of polyethylene, a non-transparent material that is cheaper and more durable than the ones that are commonly used (polycarbonate, glass or polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)). Internal illumination of the photobioreactor is provided by a beam from plastic optical fibers that receive sunlight focused at the extremity of the beam

Stem cell niche organization in the Drosophila ovary requires the ECM component Perlecan.

Stem cells reside in specialized microenvironments or niches that balance stem cell proliferation and differentiation.1,2 The extracellular matrix (ECM) is an essential component of most niches, because it controls niche homeostasis, provides physical support, and conveys extracellular signals.3-11 Basement membranes (BMs) are thin ECM sheets that are constituted mainly by Laminins, Perlecan, Collagen IV, and Entactin/Nidogen and surround epithelia and other tissues.12 Perlecans are secreted proteoglycans that interact with ECM proteins, ligands, receptors, and growth factors such as FGF, PDGF, VEGF, Hedgehog, and Wingless.13-18 Thus, Perlecans have structural and signaling functions through the binding, storage, or sequestering of specific ligands. We have used the Drosophila ovary to assess the importance of Perlecan in the functioning of a stem cell niche. Ovarioles in the adult ovary are enveloped by an ECM sheath and possess a tapered structure at their anterior apex termed the germarium. The anterior tip of the germarium hosts the germline niche, where two to four germline stem cells (GSCs) reside together with a few somatic cells: terminal filament cells (TFCs), cap cells (CpCs), and escort cells (ECs).19 We report that niche architecture in the developing gonad requires trol, that niche cells secrete an isoform-specific Perlecan-rich interstitial matrix, and that DE-cadherin-dependent stem cell-niche adhesion necessitates trol. Hence, we provide evidence to support a structural role for Perlecan in germline niche establishment during larval stages and in the maintenance of a normal pool of stem cells in the adult niche

A High-Throughput Screening Plattform of Microbial Natural Products for the Discovery of Moleculaes with Antibiofilm Properties against Salmonella

In this report, we describe a High-Throughput Screening (HTS) to identify compounds that inhibit biofilm formation or cause the disintegration of an already formed biofilm using the Salmonella Enteritidis 3934 strain. Initially, we developed a new methodology for growing Salmonella biofilms suitable for HTS platforms. The biomass associated with biofilm at the solid-liquid interface was quantified by staining both with resazurin and crystal violet, to detect living cells and total biofilm mass, respectively. For a pilot project, a subset of 1120 extracts from the Fundación MEDINA's collection was examined to identify molecules with antibiofilm activity. This is the first validated HTS assay of microbial natural product extracts which allows for the detection of four types of activities which are not mutually exclusive: inhibition of biofilm formation, detachment of the preformed biofilm and antimicrobial activity against planktonic cells or biofilm embedded cells. Currently, several extracts have been selected for further fractionation and purification of the active compounds. In one of the natural extracts patulin has been identified as a potent molecule with antimicrobial activity against both, planktonic cells and cells within the biofilm. These findings provide a proof of concept that the developed HTS can lead to the discovery of new natural compounds with antibiofilm activity against Salmonella and its possible use as an alternative to antimicrobial therapies and traditional disinfectants

The biology and behavior of the longhorned beetle, Dectes texanus on sunflower and soybean

The biology and behavior of the longhorned beetle Dectes texanus LeConte (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) was studied on two host plants that suffer economic losses from this pest; sunflower, Helianthus annuus, and soybean, Glycines max. Reciprocal crosses of D. texanus collected from the two plants all produced viable progeny, indicating that conspecific insects attack both crops. Pupae from soybean stalks weighed about 40% less than those from sunflower, and adults fed on soybean lived a mean of 23 days, compared to a mean of 53 days (males) and 76 days (females) for those fed sunflower. A female's larval host plant had no effect on her tendency to ovipuncture plants of either type in a greenhouse trial. A field-tested population collected exclusively from sunflower contained three types of females in similar proportions: those that laid eggs only on sunflower, those that laid only on soybean, and those that laid equally on both host plants. Females in field trials fed more on the plant they had fed on in the laboratory, but soybean-fed females fed more on soybean than did sunflower-fed females. Females fed soybean also made more ovipunctures on soybean plants in field trials than sunflower-fed females, but their responses to sunflower plants were similar. Females displayed higher total ovipositional activity when they encountered sunflower first in the field, and lower total activity when they encountered soybean first. Feeding scores were significantly correlated with ovipunctures and eggs on both plant types. We conclude that sunflower is the preferred host plant, although females will accept soybean when it is the only available food. The results suggest that D. texanus is still in the initial stages of a host range expansion with female host selection behavior demonstrating both genetic influences and phenotypic flexibility. Sunflower represents a nutritionally superior, ancestral host plant and relatively high fitness costs are still associated with utilization of the novel host plant, soybean, costs that may be offset by benefits such as reduced intraspecific competition. These potential benefits and their consequent implications for D. texanus host range evolution are hypothesized and discussed

Susceptibility of biological stages of the horn fly, Haematobia irritans, to entomopathogenic fungi (Hyphomycetes)

The susceptibility of the egg, pupa, and adult of Haematobia irritans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae) to isolates of the fungi Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) Sor., Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill., and Paecilomyces fumosoroseus (Wize) Brown and Smith, was evaluated under laboratory conditions. Groups of 20 eggs than 4 h old, pupae less than 48h old and adults were sprayed with a conidial suspension of each isolate. Eggs, pupae and adults of horn fly were susceptible to these entomopathogenic fungi. For treated eggs, the isolates Ma3, Ma 15, Ma25, Pfr1, and Pfr8 reduced adult emergence to 3.8% to 6.3% in comparison with the control (72%). The mortality of pupae infected by the isolates Ma2, Ma25, and Pfr10 ranged between 50% and 71.3%. Mortality of adults after treatment with the isolates Ma6, Ma 10, Ma 14, Ma 15, Pfr 1, Pfr 9, Pfr 10, Pfr 11, and Pfr12 were higher than 90%. The isolate Ma6 produced the lowest LC(50) against adult horn flies (8.08 &times 10(2)conidia/ml). These findings supported the hypotheses that isolates of M. anisopliae, and P. fumosoroseus are pathogenic against the different biological stages of horn flies by reducing adult emergence when applied on groups of eggs and pupae, and producing mortality when applied to adults