A comprehensive study of a versatile magnetic refrigeration demonstrator

A versatile room temperature reciprocating magnetic refrigeration demonstrator has been designed, built and tested in order to evaluate the influence of different running parameters and to check suitable magnetocaloric materials for cooling at room temperature. A comprehensive study has been done with Gd spheres of 0.2-0.4 mm diameter arranged as a double regenerator with 15 g each. A Halbach Nd2e14B permanent magnet with a slot of 10 mm width has been used to generate the magnetic field with a maximum value of 1.4 T. The heat transfer fluid is a mixture of water and ethylene glycol in a 75-25 percentage. The demonstrator achieves a maximum no-load temperature span close to 20 K, with a regeneration ratio of ¿ = 4.1, and a maximum cooling power Qc=6 W at zero temperature span. COP values have been shown and different thermodynamic AMR cycles have been studied looking for the best parameters

To pay or not to pay: measuring risk preferences in lab and field

Measuring risk preferences using monetary incentives is costly. In the field, it might be also unfair and unsafe. The commonly used measure of Holt and Laury (2002) relies on a dozen lottery choices and payments, which make it time consuming and expensive. It also raises moral concerns as a result of the unequal payments generated by good and bad luck. Paying some but not all subjects may also create tensions between the researcher and subjects. In a pre-registered study in Honduras, Nigeria and Spain, we use a short version of Holt and Laury where we address all three concerns. We find in the field that not paying at all or paying with and without probabilistic rules makes no difference. Our hypothetical and short version makes our measurement of risk cheaper, fairer and safer

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION POLICIES: A comparative view between Chile and Colombia from a human rights perspective

The purpose of this article is to analyze comparatively the progress of the digital transformation policy of Chile and Colombia concerning international guidelines to visualize difficulties, challenges, and prospects for the implementation of public policy in Colombia. For the development of this objective, it is important to consider that the policy processes derived or adjusted after the 4.0 or digital revolution, postulate as a problem the incorporation of digitization in the concrete actions of the State and the adaptability, sensitization to government processes, an element that represents a challenge in terms of guaranteeing human rights in a highly technified context. In effect of the above, the present work is approached from a comparative methodological approach, in which the Atlas.ti and Nodexl software are used to establish the identification of patterns or differential factors between the two countries under study, allowing the correlation of characteristic elements of the policies focused on addressing the new normality or "neonormality". This allows concluding that, within the perspective raised, Colombia has not yet developed a full exercise of guarantee of rights articulated to the digitization policies, which is a challenge for the State management, as well as a strategic approach to consolidating good practices that contribute to the improvement of administrative management in the field of digitization and the generation of public value

Rainbow trout surviving infections of viral haemorrhagic septicemia virus (vhsv) show lasting antibodies to recombinant g protein fragments

P. 929-935Rainbow trout antibodies (Abs) binding to recombinant fragments (frgs) derived from the protein G of the viral haemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV)-07.71 strain, could be detected by ELISA (frg-ELISA) in sera from trout surviving laboratory-controlled infections. Abs were detected not only by using sera from trout infected with the homologous VHSV isolate but also with the VHSV-DK-201433 heterologous isolate, which had 13 amino acid changes. Sera from healthy trout and/or from trout surviving infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) infection, were used to calculate cut-off absorbances to differentiate negative from positive sera. Specific anti-VHSV Abs could then be detected by using any of the following frgs: frg11 (56-110), frg15 (65-250), frg16 (252-450) or G21-465. While high correlations were found among the ELISA values obtained with the different frgs, no correlations between any frg- ELISA and complement-dependent 50 % plaque neutralization test (PNT) titres could be demonstrated. Between 4 to 10 weeks after VHSV-infection, more trout sera were detected as positives by using heterologous frg-ELISA rather than homologous PNT. Furthermore, the percentage of positive sera detected by frg11-ELISA increased with time after infection to reach 100 %, while those detected by complement-dependent PNT decreased to 29.4 %, thus confirming that the lack of neutralising Abs does not mean the lack of any anti-VHSV Abs in survivor trout sera. Preliminary results with sera from field samples suggest that further refinements of the frg-ELISA could allow detection of anti-VHSV trout Abs in natural outbreaks caused by different heterologous VHSV isolates.The homologous frg-ELISA method could be useful to follow G immunization attempts during vaccine development and/or to best understand the fish Ab response during VHSV infections. The viral frgs approach might also be used with other fish species and/or viruses.S

A Marketing Plan for Ground Up, Inc.

Marketing Plan is set for motion in the first quarter of 2022. The core objectives are aimed towards increasing the sales and market share of GUP, supplemented further by initiatives that are designed to increase their brand awareness, client acquisition and retention, and website traffic. The strategies presented herewith propose executions supported with key messages that highlight their brand image, their services, and the kind of client servicing they can deliver. More than simply promoting the agency and its services, this plan also puts forward other strategies geared towards strengthening the workforce of GUP in order to further their ability to achieve their objectives

Antibody recognition of the glycoprotein g of viral haemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) purified in large amounts from insect larvae

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are currently no purification methods capable of producing the large amounts of fish rhabdoviral glycoprotein G (gpG) required for diagnosis and immunisation purposes or for studying structure and molecular mechanisms of action of this molecule (ie. pH-dependent membrane fusion). As a result of the unavailability of large amounts of the gpG from viral haemorrhagic septicaemia rhabdovirus (VHSV), one of the most dangerous viruses affecting cultured salmonid species, research interests in this field are severely hampered. Previous purification methods to obtain recombinant gpG from VHSV in <it>E. coli</it>, yeast and baculovirus grown in insect cells have not produced soluble conformations or acceptable yields. The development of large-scale purification methods for gpGs will also further research into other fish rhabdoviruses, such as infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV), spring carp viremia virus (SVCV), hirame rhabdovirus (HIRRV) and snakehead rhabdovirus (SHRV).</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Here we designed a method to produce milligram amounts of soluble VHSV gpG. Only the transmembrane and carboxy terminal-deleted (amino acid 21 to 465) gpG was efficiently expressed in insect larvae. Recognition of G21-465 by ß-mercaptoethanol-dependent neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (N-MAbs) and pH-dependent recognition by sera from VHSV-hyperimmunized or VHSV-infected rainbow trout (<it>Oncorhynchus mykiss</it>) was demonstrated.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Given that the purified G21-465 conserved some of its most important properties, this method might be suitable for the large-scale production of fish rhabdoviral gpGs for use in diagnosis, fusion and antigenicity studies.</p

In vascular smooth muscle cells paricalcitol prevents phosphate-induced Wnt/β-catenin activation

The present study investigates the differential effect of two vitamin D receptor agonists, calcitriol and paricalcitol, on human aortic smooth muscle cells calcification in vitro. Human vascular smooth muscle cells were incubated in a high phosphate (HP) medium alone or supplemented with either calcitriol 10−8M (HP + CTR) or paricalcitol 3·10−8 M (HP + PC). HP medium induced calcification, which was associated with the upregulation of mRNA expression of osteogenic factors such as bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2), Runx2/Cbfa1, Msx2, and osteocalcin. In these cells, activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling was evidenced by the translocation of β-catenin into the nucleus and the increase in the expression of direct target genes as cyclin D1, axin 2, and VCAN/versican. Addition of calcitriol to HP medium (HP + CTR) further increased calcification and also enhanced the expression of osteogenic factors together with a significant elevation of nuclear β-catenin levels and the expression of cyclin D1, axin 2, and VCAN. By contrast, the addition of paricalcitol (HP + PC) not only reduced calcification but also downregulated the expression of BMP2 and other osteoblastic phenotype markers as well as the levels of nuclear β-catenin and the expression of its target genes. The role of Wnt/β-catenin on phosphate- and calcitriol-induced calcification was further demonstrated by the inhibition of calcification after addition of Dickkopf-related protein 1 (DKK-1), a specific natural antagonist of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. In conclusion, the differential effect of calcitriol and paricalcitol on vascular calcification appears to be mediated by a distinct regulation of the BMP and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways