Observation of Sex Chromatin in Exhumed Bones, Evaluation of their Diagnosis Value

Munoz, P (Munoz, Patricia); Roa, I (Roa, Ignacio). Univ Talca, Dept Ciencias Basicas Biomed, Talca, ChileObservation of sexual chromatin has shown to be very helpful in gender forensic diagnosis. In the present study we analyzed the diagnosis performance of the method in, non-treated or treated with conventional bone techniques, exhumed bone pieces. We used long bones of male and female individuals, the method applied is described in Suazo et al. (2010). In the non-treated exhumed pieces, the general accuracy of the method was 75%, while in the treated pieces the method was inapplicable due to the lack of cells in the tissue. Our results suggest that it is possible to determine the sex of aged human bones buried under different conditions through a fast and simple histological method, but the treatment with physical and chemical means eliminates the remaining cells in the bone tissue

Backyard poultry production in Chile: animal health management and contribution to food access in an upper middle-income country

Backyard production systems (BPS) that involve poultry are a good way to improve food security and poverty alleviation. Few studies have been carried out to quantify the contribution of poultry production to these households and the constraints they might face if a priority animal disease enters these systems. This study aims to characterize the poultry-rearing BPS in central Chile and to identify socio-economic factors associated to households’ consumption of poultry. Data was collected from 384 BPS through a face-to-face semi-structured questionnaire. Value chain framework associated with BPS poultry rearing and cash flow analysis of BPS was done to identify the inputs/outputs of the system and to know the profitability of the system. Multiple linear regression was performed to identify the BPS and household factors associated to poultry consumption. The results of this study suggest that BPS in central Chile have biosecurity deficiencies such as: lack of confinement, lack of veterinary assistance and incorrect handling of dead animals. Cash flow analysis indicated that 62% of the BPS had a positive balance from production. Distance to closest market and per capita income were factors associated to poultry value to farmers. Different factors were significant predictors of household poultry consumption. Positive predictors of consumption were identified as: (i) older owners, (ii) higher transportation price to closest market, (iii) larger flock size (iv) birds raised by women and (v) owning a car. On the contrary, (i) higher per capita income and (ii) bigger household size predicted a reduction in consumption. The results indicate the importance of BPS to low-income families and those living in remote areas while also highlighting the vulnerability of these systems to disease risks

Variations of the Vocal Fold Epithelium in a Menopause Induced Model

During menopause, changes occur in the laryngeal structures that have implications for the voice. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of induced menopause on the morphological parameters of the vocal fold mucosa in rats. Ten adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were used as samples and divided into two groups: 5 were surgically oophorectomized (OVX), and 5 underwent a surgical procedure similar to oophorectomy but without removal of the ovaries (SHAM). After 30 days surgery, the characteristics of the epithelium that forms the vocal fold mucosa in terms of cellular arrangement and organization of the epithelium were observed. Through the Morphometrics XS software, the epithelial height and the number and density of cellular layers were determined. Our results indicate that there were alterations in the number of cell layers that constitute the epithelium, as well as features, such as cellular cohesion and increased extracellular matrix. The number of cell layers was significantly higher (p<0.01) in the SHAM group with 6.66 (SD 1.07), whereas in the OVX was 3.2 (SD 0.83). The average thickness of the epithelium was 534.71 mm (SD 119.89), whereas in the SHAM group was 486.84 mm (SD 82.95); these differences were not statistically significant (p = 0.112). Changes in the characteristics of the epithelium covering the vocal folds can be related to clinical abnormalities, such as reduced voice quality and degeneration of the vocal folds in postmenopausal women

Improving Search Engine Performance Through Dynamic Caching

Web search engines process several millions of queries per second over several billions of documents. Without any optimization, this process can be very expensive in terms of processing times. In this regard, appropriate use of computing power is essential. One way to tackle this problem is through the use of caching mechanisms. Keep in mind, most research based on caching mechanisms uses repetitive queries-it means queries syntactically equals-to conform caches. Furthermore, the universe of repetitive queries is small in comparison with a set of similar semantically queries. This paper presents a dynamic cache that relies on an online algorithm, which performs a semantic match between the user's query and queries stored in the cache. Broadly speaking, the algorithm employs a priority queue, where popular queries are stored along with their relevant documents. Empirical results show that our proposed approach improves the response times and precision. Moreover, the use of semantically related keywords proves to be a key contribution that had been overlooked in previous research

Automatic Routing System for Intelligent Warehouses

Automation of logistic processes is essential to improve productivity and reduce costs. In this context, intelligent warehouses are becoming a key to logistic systems thanks to their ability of optimizing transportation tasks and, consequently, reducing costs. This paper initially presents briefly routing systems applied on intelligent warehouses. Then, we present the approach used to develop our router system. This router system is able to solve traffic jams and collisions, generate conflict-free and optimized paths before sending the final paths to the robotic forklifts. It also verifies the progress of all tasks. When a problem occurs, the router system can change the task priorities, routes, etc. in order to avoid new conflicts. In the routing simulations, each vehicle executes its tasks starting from a predefined initial pose, moving to the desired position. Our algorithm is based on Dijkstra's shortest path and the time window approaches and it was implemented in C language. Computer simulation tests were used to validate the algorithm efficiency under different working conditions. Several simulations were carried out using the Player/Stage Simulator to test the algorithms. Thanks to the simulations, we could solve many faults and refine the algorithms before embedding them in real robots.Comment: 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, International workshop on Robotics and Intelligent Transportation System, Full Day Workshop, May 7th 2010, Anchorage, Alaska. Organizers,Christian Laugier (INRIA, France), Ming Lin (University of North Carolina, USA), Philippe Martinet IFMA and LASMEA, France),Urbano Nunes (ISR, Portugal

Chilean sport sciences scientific production indexed in the Web of Science (1981-2016)

9 p.Objetivo: realizar un análisis bibliométrico de la producción científica chilena de Ciencias del deporte indexada en la Web of Science hasta 2016. Métodos: se analizaron los artículos y revisiones de Ciencias del deporte de Chile incluidos en los índices de la Colección principal de Web of Science hasta 2016. Los datos se recopilaron y filtraron en el programa Endnote X6 y luego se exportaron a Excel 2013, Bibexcel e Histcite para su análisis. La bibliometría se centró en la productividad, los sujetos y los patrones de colaboración. Resultados: Se encontraron un total de 152 documentos publicados desde 1981 hasta 2016. Las ciencias de la vida fueron el área de investigación principal (104), mientras que la fisiología (36) y la teoría del entrenamiento deportivo (30) fueron los sujetos más representados. La media de autores por artículo fue de 5,26 y el porcentaje de colaboración estuvo principalmente entre el 94% y el 100%. Ramírez-Campillo fue el autor más prolífico (24) y Caniuqueo logró el mayor índice de colaboración (10.83). Se descubrieron dos redes, con 20 y 10 académicos respectivamente y que representan 19 instituciones diferentes. Un grupo de 53 revistas diferentes ha difundido publicaciones de Ciencias del Deporte de Chile, pero 12 de ellas recolectaron el 60.53% de la producción total. Conclusión: la producción científica chilena de Ciencias del Deporte indexada en la Web of Science muestra el desarrollo progresivo y el fortalecimiento de este campo del conocimiento, claramente orientado a las Ciencias de la Vida, el trabajo en equipo y la colaboración internacional. También se debe destacar el establecimiento de una red que incluye académicos de Australia, Brasil, Canadá, Chile y España, que está impulsando la investigación de Ciencias del Deporte en este paísS

Aneurisma de la arteria comunicante posterior y parálisis del III nervio craneal. Caso clínico y revisión de la literatura

Objective: Case report of posterior communicating artery aneurysm (ACoP) related unilateral oculomotor nerve palsy (ONP). Introduction: The ACoP aneurysms represents the 25% of all aneurysms. It could cause ONP because of his close relation of the aneurysm and the oculomotor nerve. The treatment in symptomatic patients should be the exclusion of the aneurysm. Case report: 38-year-old woman with headache of 15 days of evolution and acute ONP. CT angiography shows a 3x7 mm ACoP aneurysm. Microsurgery and clipping were considered the best treatment and were realized without complications. The patient evolves with complete recovery of his ONP with complete exclusion of the aneurysm. Discussion: ACoP aneurysm should be considered in ONP working diagnosis. The treatment is exclusion of the aneurism either by endovascular or microsurgical techniques. Microsurgical clipping has shown better functional outcomes than endovascular therapy

Maximization of the docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids content in concentrates obtained from a by-product of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) processing

This study was focused on a by-product (i.e., belly muscle) resulting from the commercial processing of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). In it, n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) concentrates were obtained from the belly oil by optimization of the urea-complexation process variables. Thus, the effect of urea:fatty acids (FA) ratio (0-6, w/w), crystallization temperature (- 30 to 30 degrees C), crystallization time (3.0-48.0 h) and stirring speed (0-1000 rpm) on the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6n-3) contents in concentrates was analyzed by response surface methodology. As a result, high values were obtained for total FA yield recovered, and contents on LCPUFA, EPA and DHA in the non-urea complexing fraction, as well as a great retention of saturated and monounsaturated FA in the urea-crystal adducts. After validation of the model obtained, the combination of process variables levels that maximizes the desirability function (0.91 score) for response variables was 4.21, -15 degrees C, 24 h and 1000 rpm, respectively. In agreement with the great significance and availability of farmed rainbow trout, belly muscle by-product confirmed to be a profitable source of n-3 LCPUFA to be commercialized as an added-value component.FONDECYT-CONICYT (Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Cientifico y Tecnologico-Comision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica) program 112062