Observation of the Peach Fruit Moth, Carposina sasakii, Larvae in Young Apple Fruit by Dedicated Micro-Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Infestation of young apple fruits by the larvae of the peach fruit moth, Carposina sasakii Matsumura (Lepidoptera: Carposinidae), was studied by a small dedicated micro-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus using the three-dimensional (3D) gradient-echo method and the two-dimensional (2D) and 3D spin-echo methods. Changes from a young larva at 1.8 mm in length to a mature one ready to leave the fruit were observed in relation to the progression of infestation of the fruit tissues. The trace of larva intrusion was demonstrated by a series of sliced images in the 3D image data of an infested fruit, where it entered from outside the calyx, and migrated to near the vasculature around the carpel through the core. The small, dedicated MRI device was proven useful for ecological studies of the growth and movement of insect larvae in their food fruits. It can also be applied to detect the infestation of small fruits by insect larvae

The Japanese model in retrospective : industrial strategies, corporate Japan and the 'hollowing out' of Japanese industry

This article provides a retrospective look at the Japanese model of industrial development. This model combined an institutional approach to production based around the Japanese Firm (Aoki's, J-mode) and strategic state intervention in industry by the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). For a long period, the alignment of state and corporate interests appeared to match the wider public interest as the Japanese economy prospered. However, since the early 1990s, the global ambitions of the corporate sector have contributed to a significant 'hollowing out' of Japan's industrial base. As the world today looks for a new direction in economic management, we suggest the Japanese model provides policy-makers with a salutary lesson in tying the wider public interest with those of the corporate sector

Human red blood cell behaviour under homogeneous extensional flow in a hyperbolic-shaped microchannel

It is well known that certain pathological conditions result in a decrease of red blood cells (RBCs) deformability and subsequently can significantly alter the blood flow in microcirculation, which may block capillaries and cause ischemia in the tissues. Microfluidic systems able to obtain reliable quantitative measurements of RBC deformability hold the key to understand and diagnose RBC related diseases. In this work, a microfluidic system composed of a microchannel with a hyperbolic-shaped contraction followed by a sudden expansion is presented. We provide a detailed quantitative description of the degree of deformation of human RBCs under a controlled homogeneous extensional flow field. We measured the deformation index (DI) as well as the velocity of the RBCs travelling along the center line of the channel for four different flow rates and analyze the impact of the particle Reynolds number. The results show that human RBC deformation tends to reach a plateau value in the region of constant extensional rate, the value of which depends on the extension rate. Additionally, we observe that the presence of a sudden expansion downstream of the hyperbolic contraction modifies the spatial distribution of cells and substantially increases the cell free layer (CFL) downstream of the expansion plane similarly to what is seen in other expansion flows. Beyond a certain value of flow rate, there is only a weak effect of inlet flow rates on the enhancement of the downstream CFL. These in vitro experiments show the potential of using microfluidic systems with hyperbolic-shaped microchannels both for the separation of the RBCs from plasma and to assess changes in RBC deformability in physiological and pathological situations for clinical purposes. However, the selection of the geometry and the identification of the most suitable region to evaluate the changes on the RBC deformability under extensional flows are crucial if microfluidics is to be used as an in vitro clinical methodology to detect circulatory diseases

Flow of red blood cells suspensions through hyperbolic microcontractions

The present study uses a hyperbolic microchannel with a low aspect ratio (AR) to investigate how the red blood cells (RBCs) deform under conditions of both extensional and shear induced flows. The deformability is presented by the degree of the deformation index (DI) of the flowing RBCs throughout the microchannel at its centerline. A suitable image analysis technique is used for semi-automatic measurements of average DIs, velocity and strain rate of the RBCs travelling in the regions of interest. The results reveal a strong deformation of RBCs under both extensional and shear stress dominated flow conditions

Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) as a Metric of Microbial Biomass in Aquatic Systems: New Simplified Protocols, Laboratory Validation, and a Reflection on Data From the Literature

The use of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as a universal biomass indicator is built on the premise that ATP concentration tracks biomass rather than the physiological condition of cells. However, reportedly high variability in ATP in response to environmental conditions is the main reason the method has not found widespread application. To test possible sources of this variability, we used the diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii as a model and manipulated its growth rate through nutrient limitation and through exposure to three different temperatures (15°C, 20°C, and 25°C). We simplified the ATP protocol with hot‐water or chemical extraction methods, modified a commercially available luciferin‐luciferase assay, and employed single‐photon counting in a scintillation counter, all of which increased sensitivity and throughput. Per‐cell ATP levels remained relatively constant despite changes in growth rates by approximately 10‐fold in the batch culture (i.e., nutrient limitation) experiments, and approximately 2‐fold in response to temperature. The re‐examination of related literature values revealed that average cellular ATP levels differed little among taxonomic groups of aquatic microbes, even at the domain level, and correlated well with bulk properties such as elemental carbon or nitrogen. Fulfilling multiple cellular functions in addition to being the universal energy currency requires ATP to be maintained in a millimolar concentration range. Consequently, ATP relates directly to live cytoplasm volume, while elemental carbon and nitrogen are constrained by an indeterminate pool of detrital material and intracellular storage compounds. The ATP‐biomass indicator is sensitive, economical, and can be readily standardized among laboratories and across environments

Dry Bacterial Cellulose and Carboxymethyl Cellulose formulations with interfacial-active performance: processing conditions and redispersion

Dry or powdered formulations of food additives facilitate transportation, storage, preservation and handling. In this work, dry formulations of bacterial cellulose and carboxymethyl cellulose (BC:CMC), easily redispersible and preserving the functionality of the never-dried dispersions are reported. Different processing parameters and their effect on the materials properties were evaluated, namely: (i) wet-grinding of BC (Hand-blender, Microcut Head Impeller, High-pressure Homogenizer), (ii) drying of BC:CMC mixtures (fast drying at130 °C and slow drying at 80 °C) and subsequent (iii) comminution to different particle sizes. The dispersibility of the obtained BC:CMC powders was evaluated, and their functionality after redispersion was assessed by measuring the dynamic viscosity, the effect in oil/water interfacial tension (liquidliquid system) and the stabilization of cocoa in milk (solidliquid system). The size of BC fibre bundles was of paramount relevance to its stabilizing ability in multiphasic systems. A more extensive wet-grinding of the BC fibres was accompanied by a loss in the BC:CMC functionality, related to the increasingly smaller size of the BC bundles. Indeed, as the Dv (50) of the wet BC bundles was reduced from 1228 to 55 µm, the BC:CMC viscosity profile dropped and the effect on interfacial tension decreased. This effect was observed both on the never-dried and dry BC:CMC formulations. On the other hand, the drying method did not play a major effect in the materials properties. In a benchmarking study, the BC:CMC formulations, at a low concentration (0.15%), had better stabilizing ability of the cocoa particles than several commercial cellulose products.Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-020-03211-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.This study was supported by FCT under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2019 unit and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020-Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. Daniela Martins also gratefully acknowledges FCT for the PhD scholarship, reference SFRH/BD/115917/2016.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio