Nonparametric analysis of the time structure of seismicity in a geographic region

As an alternative to traditional parametric approaches, we suggest nonparametric methods for analyzing temporal data on earthquake occurrences. In particular, the kernel method for estimating the hazard function and the intensity function are presented. One novelty of our approaches is that we take into account the possible dependence of the data to estimate the distribution of time intervals between earthquakes, which has not been considered in most statistics studies on seismicity. Kernel estimation of hazard function has been used to study the occurrence process of cluster centers (main shocks). Kernel intensity estimation, on the other hand, has helped to describe the occurrence process of cluster members (aftershocks). Similar studies in two geographic areas of Spain (Granada and Galicia) have been carried out to illustrate the estimation methods suggested

Serum proteomics of active tuberculosis patients and contacts reveals unique processes activated during Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the most lethal infection among infectious diseases. The specific aim of this study was to establish panels of serum protein biomarkers representative of active TB patients and their household contacts who were either infected (LTBI) or uninfected (EMI-TB Discovery Cohort, Pontevedra Region, Spain). A TMT (Tamdem mass tags) 10plex-based quantitative proteomics study was performed in quintuplicate containing a total of 15 individual serum samples per group. Peptides were analyzed in an LC-Orbitrap Elite platform, and raw data were processed using Proteome Discoverer 2.1. A total of 418 proteins were quantified. The specific protein signature of active TB patients was characterized by an accumulation of proteins related to complement activation, inflammation and modulation of immune response and also by a decrease of a small subset of proteins, including apolipoprotein A and serotransferrin, indicating the importance of lipid transport and iron assimilation in the progression of the disease. This signature was verified by the targeted measurement of selected candidates in a second cohort (EMI-TB Verification Cohort, Maputo Region, Mozambique) by ELISA and nephelometry techniques. These findings will aid our understanding of the complex metabolic processes associated with TB progression from LTBI to active disease

Una nueva especie de Belostoma (Heteroptera: Belostomatidae) de la Laguna Iberá (Corrientes, Argentina)

En este trabajo se describe e ilustra una especie pequeña del género Belostoma, la cual es considerada nueva para la ciencia. B. loprettoae sp. nov. se incluyó en el grupo denticolle. Se presenta una clave del grupo incluyendo a esta especie. Los ejemplares estudiados fueron hallados en la laguna Iberá (Corrientes, Argentina)

Nuevos hallazgos de Hemíptera (Belostomatidae) para la Provincia de Corrientes, Argentina

En el marco del Proyecto de investigación que se lleva a cabo desde el año 2007, y que tiene como objetivo el estudio de la familia Belostomatidae, se realizan recolecciones periódicas en los ambientes lènticos del nordeste argentino, Armúa de Reyes, et al, (2008). Según Lauck & Menke (1961) y Stys & Jansson (1988) la familia mencionada incluye tres subfamilias: Belostomatinae, Lethocerinae y Horvathiniinae. En este trabajo se dan a conocer los hallazgos de ejemplares de Horvathinia pelocoroides y de Lethocerus maximus; ambos fueron extraídos de su ambiente natural. La mayoría de los ejemplares de Horvathinia sp han sido capturados fuera de los cuerpos de agua, atraídos por la luz artificial; en oportunidad de realizar un muestreo en la Laguna Iberá, Lobo Cuá, 28 º 32 ‘ 27. (Carlos Pellegrini, Corrientes), el 6 de noviembre de 2010, fue capturado un ejemplar macho de Horvathinia pelocoroides con una red de 45cm de diámetro, junto a otros belostomátidos como B. elegans y L. annulipes. El conocimiento de los hábitats donde es posible encontrar Horvathinia pelocoroides, dará la posibilidad de acceder a material suficiente para estudiar su comportamiento. En costa arenosa del río Paraná, a la altura de la ciudad de Corrientes, en el Club de Regatas, el 21 de noviembre de 2009, fue hallado un ejemplar macho de Lethocerus maximus, junto otros tres ejemplares de L. annulipes. Con este hallazgo se amplía el rango de distribución de esta especie. Los ejemplares fueron depositados en la colección Hemìptera-Hateroptera de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales y Agrimensura (UNNE)

Mappings preserving locations of movable poles: a new extension of the truncation method to ordinary differential equations

The truncation method is a collective name for techniques that arise from truncating a Laurent series expansion (with leading term) of generic solutions of nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs). Despite its utility in finding Backlund transformations and other remarkable properties of integrable PDEs, it has not been generally extended to ordinary differential equations (ODEs). Here we give a new general method that provides such an extension and show how to apply it to the classical nonlinear ODEs called the Painleve equations. Our main new idea is to consider mappings that preserve the locations of a natural subset of the movable poles admitted by the equation. In this way we are able to recover all known fundamental Backlund transformations for the equations considered. We are also able to derive Backlund transformations onto other ODEs in the Painleve classification.Comment: To appear in Nonlinearity (22 pages

Integrating pressure sensor control into semi-solid extrusion 3D printing to optimize medicine manufacturing

Semi-solid extrusion (SSE) is a three-dimensional printing (3DP) process that involves the extrusion of a gel or paste-like material via a syringe-based printhead to create the desired object. In pharmaceuticals, SSE 3DP has already been used to manufacture formulations for human clinical studies. To further support its clinical adoption, the use of a pressure sensor may provide information on the printability of the feedstock material in situ and under the exact printing conditions for quality control purposes. This study aimed to integrate a pressure sensor in an SSE pharmaceutical 3D printer for both material characterization and as a process analytical technology (PAT) to monitor the printing process. In this study, three materials of different consistency were tested (soft vaseline, gel-like mass and paste-like mass) under 12 different conditions, by changing flow rate, temperature, or nozzle diameter. The use of a pressure sensor allowed, for the first time, the characterization of rheological properties of the inks, which exhibited temperature-dependent, plastic and viscoelastic behaviours. Controlling critical material attributes and 3D printing process parameters may allow a quality by design (QbD) approach to facilitate a high-fidelity 3D printing process critical for the future of personalized medicine

Nueva cita de Horvathinia pelocoroides Montandon (Hemiptera: belostomatidae) para la Provincia de Corrientes, Argentina

Se cita a Horvathinia pelocoroides para Laguna lberá (Corrientes, Argentina) capturada con red en su ambiente natural, se describen parcialmente las condiciones climáticas y del ambiente

B\"{a}cklund transformations for the KP and mKP hierarchies with self-consistent sources

Using gauge transformations for the corresponding generating pseudo-differential operators $L^n$ in terms of eigenfunctions and adjoint eigenfunctions, we construct several types of auto-B\"{a}cklund transformations for the KP hierarchy with self-consistent sources (KPHSCS) and mKP hierarchy with self-consistent sources (mKPHSCS) respectively. The B\"{a}cklund transformations from the KPHSCS to mKPHSCS are also constructed in this way.Comment: 22 pages. to appear in J.Phys.