Use of ultrasonography exams to determinate the parturition day by Yorkshire canine breed

The purpose of this study was verify the efficacy of ultrasonography to determinate the parturitionday by Yorkshire canine breed also to determinate a measures pattern embryonic vesicle diameter crown rumplenght biparietal diameter body diameter torax diameter abdomen diameter and femur length and also toestablish the linear regression formula to be used by veterinarians for this breed. The length of pregnancy fromthe date of the first mated to the first parturition signs resulted in 63,57 days. So to predict the date of parturitionwas used a multiple linear regression analyses. It was possible determinate a formula to predict the date ofparturition utilizing crown-rump length, biparietal diameter and femur length obtained a major correlation(R 0,998)., ,²Oobjetivo deste trabalho foi verificar a eficácia do método ultra-sonografico visando prever a data departo em cadelas da raça Yorkshire. Também foi objetivo determinar um padrão de mensurações de vesículagestacional, comprimento do feto, diâmetro biparietal, diâmetro do corpo, diâmetro do tórax, diâmetro deabdome e comprimento do fêmur, além de estabelecer uma fórmula de regressão linear para ser utilizada poroutros veterinários ultra-sonografistas nesta raça.Aduração da gestação a partir da data de primeira cópula atéos primeiros sinais de parto resultou numa média de 63,57 dias. Para poder predizer a data de gestação foirealizada uma análise de regressão linear multivariada. Foi possível determinar uma fórmula para prever a datade parturição em cadelas da raça Yorkshire utilizando o comprimento fetal diâmetro biparietal e comprimentodo fêmur obtendo-se significativa correlação (R =0,998)

Metastable chaos in the ammonia ring laser

We report experimental studies of metastable chaos in the far-infrared ammonia ring: laser. When the laser pump power is switched from above chaos threshold to slightly below, chaotic intensity pulsations continue for a varying time afterward before decaying to either periodic or cw emission. The behavior is in good qualitative agreement with that predicted by the Lorenz equations, previously used to describe this laser. The statistical distribution of the duration of the chaotic transient is measured and shown to be in excellent agreement with the Lorenz equations in showing a modified exponential distribution. We also give a brief numerical analysis and graphical visualization of the Lorenz equations in phase space illustrating the boundary between the metastable chaotic and the stable fixed point basins of attraction. This provides an intuitive understanding of the metastable dynamics of the Lorenz equations and the experimental system

Use of transgenic Aedes aegypti in Brazil: risk perception and assessment.

The OX513A strain of Aedes aegypti, which was developed by the British company Oxitec, expresses a self-limiting transgene that prevents larvae from developing to adulthood. In April 2014, the Brazilian National Technical Commission on Biosafety completed a risk assessment of OX513A and concluded that the strain did not present new biological risks to humans or the environment and could be released in Brazil. At that point, Brazil became the first country to approve the unconstrained release of a genetically modified mosquito. During the assessment, the commission produced a comprehensive list of ? and systematically analysed ? the perceived hazards. Such hazards included the potential survival to adulthood of immature stages carrying the transgene ? should the transgene fail to be expressed or be turned off by exposure to sufficient environmental tetracycline. Other perceived hazards included the potential allergenicity and/or toxicity of the proteins expressed by the gene, the potential for gene flow or increased transmission of human pathogens and the occupation of vacant breeding sites by other vector species. The Zika epidemic both elevated the perceived importance of Ae. aegypti as a vector ? among policy-makers and regulators as well as the general public ? and increased concerns over the release of males of the OX513A strain. We have therefore reassessed the potential hazards. We found that release of the transgenic mosquitoes would still be both safe and of great potential value in the control of diseases spread by Ae. aegypti, such as the chikungunya, dengue and Zika virus disease

Large-scale unit commitment under uncertainty: an updated literature survey

The Unit Commitment problem in energy management aims at finding the optimal production schedule of a set of generation units, while meeting various system-wide constraints. It has always been a large-scale, non-convex, difficult problem, especially in view of the fact that, due to operational requirements, it has to be solved in an unreasonably small time for its size. Recently, growing renewable energy shares have strongly increased the level of uncertainty in the system, making the (ideal) Unit Commitment model a large-scale, non-convex and uncertain (stochastic, robust, chance-constrained) program. We provide a survey of the literature on methods for the Uncertain Unit Commitment problem, in all its variants. We start with a review of the main contributions on solution methods for the deterministic versions of the problem, focussing on those based on mathematical programming techniques that are more relevant for the uncertain versions of the problem. We then present and categorize the approaches to the latter, while providing entry points to the relevant literature on optimization under uncertainty. This is an updated version of the paper "Large-scale Unit Commitment under uncertainty: a literature survey" that appeared in 4OR 13(2), 115--171 (2015); this version has over 170 more citations, most of which appeared in the last three years, proving how fast the literature on uncertain Unit Commitment evolves, and therefore the interest in this subject

Association of kidney disease measures with risk of renal function worsening in patients with type 1 diabetes

Background: Albuminuria has been classically considered a marker of kidney damage progression in diabetic patients and it is routinely assessed to monitor kidney function. However, the role of a mild GFR reduction on the development of stage 653 CKD has been less explored in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic role of kidney disease measures, namely albuminuria and reduced GFR, on the development of stage 653 CKD in a large cohort of patients affected by T1DM. Methods: A total of 4284 patients affected by T1DM followed-up at 76 diabetes centers participating to the Italian Association of Clinical Diabetologists (Associazione Medici Diabetologi, AMD) initiative constitutes the study population. Urinary albumin excretion (ACR) and estimated GFR (eGFR) were retrieved and analyzed. The incidence of stage 653 CKD (eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) or eGFR reduction > 30% from baseline was evaluated. Results: The mean estimated GFR was 98 \ub1 17 mL/min/1.73m2 and the proportion of patients with albuminuria was 15.3% (n = 654) at baseline. About 8% (n = 337) of patients developed one of the two renal endpoints during the 4-year follow-up period. Age, albuminuria (micro or macro) and baseline eGFR < 90 ml/min/m2 were independent risk factors for stage 653 CKD and renal function worsening. When compared to patients with eGFR > 90 ml/min/1.73m2 and normoalbuminuria, those with albuminuria at baseline had a 1.69 greater risk of reaching stage 3 CKD, while patients with mild eGFR reduction (i.e. eGFR between 90 and 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) show a 3.81 greater risk that rose to 8.24 for those patients with albuminuria and mild eGFR reduction at baseline. Conclusions: Albuminuria and eGFR reduction represent independent risk factors for incident stage 653 CKD in T1DM patients. The simultaneous occurrence of reduced eGFR and albuminuria have a synergistic effect on renal function worsening

Self - consistent simulation and manufacturing of spice - doped GaAs field effect transistors

The concept of a linear transistor, called d-FET, was developed. The device conduction path is formed by a two-dimensional electron gas, and has a simpler construction in comparison to heterostructure devices, such as the High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMTS). A computer program was developed so as to self-consistently simulate the electrical and physical characteristics under the gate region. By using this simulations, the semiconductor film to be grown by MOCVD was optimised. The film showed a two-dimensional density of 1.1012 cm-2 and FWHM of only 3O A. The fabricated device characteristics were in good agreement with the simulated ones, with a transconduct once of 130 mS/mm. and cut-off frequency of 8 GHz. The promising features of this type of device are presented and analysed