Are Purple Hermit Crabs (Coenobita brevimanus) Seed Dispersers or Predators?

Vertebrate frugivores play an important role in forests by dispersing seeds and helping improve germination through gut passage. Some frugivores may also be seed predators, where the seed is destroyed through gut passage. On the island of Saipan, the native frugivores are birds, bats, and crabs. This experiment focused on purple hermit crabs, Coenobita brevimanus, which are known to consume fruits, but it is unknown whether purple hermit crabs disperse or predate the seeds they consume. A maximum of ten purple hermit crabs, ranging in size from medium to large individuals, were captured from the forest and kept in captivity. In captivity, they were fed native fruits including Premna (Premna mariannarum or Premna paulobarbata), Ficus (Ficus prolixa), Aglaia (Lansium parasiticum), and Guamia (Guamia mariannae) and non-native fruits including papaya (Carica papaya) collected in the wild. The cage was inspected to see if fruits were consumed but the seeds were not ingested, and the fecal matter was searched for damaged seeds (crushed or in pieces) or undamaged seeds (whole or intact). Analysis of predation or dispersal was done using logistic regression. It was hypothesized that purple hermit crabs are beneficial seed dispersers, passing most seeds unharmed for both native and non-native fruiting tree species. As beneficial frugivores, purple hermit crabs could play a significant role in dispersing seeds in the forests of Saipan

The relationship between educational attainment and mindfulness practice

The purpose of this study was to identify what possible correlations exist between education level and the utilization of mindfulness practice with regards to self-care among direct practice mental health professionals and paraprofessionals. Data were gathered from surveys distributed to mental health practitioners in San Bernardino County. The sampling for this study included 63 subjects currently providing mental health services in San Bernardino County

Alzheimer's disease in people with Down's syndrome: the prospects for and the challenges of developing preventative treatments.

People with Down's syndrome (DS) are at high risk for developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) at a relatively young age. This increased risk is not observed in people with intellectual disabilities for reasons other than DS and for this reason it is unlikely to be due to non-specific effects of having a neurodevelopmental disorder but, instead, a direct consequence of the genetics of DS (trisomy 21). Given the location of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene on chromosome 21, the amyloid cascade hypothesis is the dominant theory accounting for this risk, with other genetic and environmental factors modifying the age of onset and the course of the disease. Several potential therapies targeting the amyloid pathway and aiming to modify the course of AD are currently being investigated, which may also be useful for treating AD in DS. However, given that the neuropathology associated with AD starts many years before dementia manifests, any preventative treatment must start well before the onset of symptoms. To enable trials of such interventions, plasma, CSF, brain, and retinal biomarkers are being studied as proxy early diagnostic and outcome measures for AD. In this systematic review, we consider the prospects for the development of potential preventative treatments of AD in the DS population and their evaluation.We would like to acknowledge the following organisations that have provided financial support: the Brazilian National Council of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq), the Medical Research Council (MRC), Alzheimer’s Research UK (AR-UK), the Health Foundation, the UK Down’s Syndrome Association, the NIHR CLARHC for the East of England, and Research Capacity Funding from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation NHS Trust. Shahid Zaman and Anthony Holland hold clinical consultant contracts with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. Paula Castro is a medical student from the Faculty of Medicine of Jundiai, Brazil, and was on attachment to Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, and undertook an internship with the Cambridge Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Group in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge

Estudio de Viabilidad de un Turbogenerador de 6 Mega Watts en el Ingenio El General Milton Fonseca.

Proyecto Final de Graduación (Licenciatura en Ingeniería en Mantenimiento Industrial) Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Escuela de Ingeniería Electromecánica, 2018.In the present project, a viability study was developed for the installation of a 6MW turbo generator in the sugar mill, General Milton Fonseca. The main objective of the project is to separate the company from the national electricity grid and also to avoid consumption and demand expenses, contemplating projected extensions. The main problem is that there is not enough steam available to generate more electricity, which is why loads must be handled to define which equipment (turbines) to replace with electric motors, to take the steam from the turbines and redirect it to the new generation equipment, the electrification of motors leads to an increase in power, which must be supported by the turbo generator. The present work contemplates four great works. Charges balance of the steam network. Charges balance of the electric network. Equipment selection. Total cost of the work. Once the option that best adapts to the needs and conditions of the company has been selected, the economic analysis is carried out in which the financial viability of the project is determined. Finally, the technical, economic and reliability case are evaluated to determine if it is viable to invest in the project

Interference microscopy highlights properties and peculiarities of SAPO STA-7 crystals: Interference microscopy highlights properties and peculiarities ofSAPO STA-7 crystals

In the framework of this study a new generation of SAPO STA-7 crystals has been investigated with the help of Interference Microscopy. The ability of the abovementioned technique to record intracrystalline concentration profiles during uptake/release of guest molecules revealed oddities of the system under study. In other words, these crystals have the tendency to break in the middle, enhancing in this way diffusion. On the other hand, molecules have to confront high surface barriers when they try to diffuse through the other sides of the crystal, where it is not broken

Servosistema de tiraje, corte y sellado para máquina convertidora de bolsas plásticas

Proyecto de Graduación (Licenciatura en Ingeniería Electrónica). Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica. Escuela de Ingeniería Electrónica, 2008.El presente proyecto busca incrementar la capacidad de producción, sin disminuir la calidad del producto terminado, de una máquina convertidora de bolsas plásticas, para la empresa Empaques Universal S.A. ubicada en San Rafael de Alajuela. Para la fabricación de bolsas plásticas, esta empresa posee un total de 10 máquinas convertidoras. Este proyecto se centraliza en solamente una de ellas, para implementarle un nuevo control automatizado del arrastre de la película plástica, que sea capaz de sincronizarse con la cuchilla que realiza la operación de sellado y corte, para la elaboración de la bolsa. El nuevo control se basa en un servosistema, utilizado para controlar el movimiento con alta precisión. Este nuevo sistema viene a sustituir un control electromecánico que requiere de excesivo mantenimiento debido al desgaste mecánico que sufre. El servosistema reduce el tiempo de puesta en marcha de la máquina, y le facilita al operador el cambio de la producción de un producto a otro, debido a que ya no es necesario realizar ajustes mecánicos para darle la longitud a la bolsa, como sí lo requiere el sistema electromecánico. Desde una pantalla touch screen, el operador de la máquina podrá regular todos los parámetros necesarios para iniciar correctamente el proceso productivo. Adicionalmente, el sistema puede llevar un control semanal de la cantidad de producción, brindando la posibilidad de observar el rendimiento real de la máquina.Empaques Universal Sociedad Anónim