Venus Atmosphere Profile from a Maximum Entropy Principle

The variational method with constraints recently developed by Verkley and Gerkema to describe maximum-entropy atmospheric profiles is generalized to ideal gases but with temperature-dependent specific heats. In so doing, an extended and non standard potential temperature is introduced that is well suited for tackling the problem under consideration. This new formalism is successfully applied to the atmosphere of Venus. Three well defined regions emerge in this atmosphere up to a height of $100 km$ from the surface: the lowest one up to about $35 km$ is adiabatic, a transition layer located at the height of the cloud deck and finally a third region which is practically isothermal.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Introduccion de acciones de mejoras basado en datos obtenidos de analisis de lubricante de equipos de mineria subterranea

59 p.El presente trabajo es realizado en la empresa Zublin Gmbh obra Candelaria norte lugar en donde me desempeño en el área mantenimiento de maquinaria pesada de minería subterránea y mis estudio de ingeniería de ejecución en mecánica y experiencia en el rubro me permitió tomar una serie datos, de resultados de pruebas realizadas a los lubricantes que se encontraban dispersos, para establecer acciones de mejoras sobre los motores Detroit serie 50 que me permitieron mejorar la disponibilidad de los equipos en un 18%, disminuir la cantidad de horas de falla a un 5% y disminuir las emisiones de gases de escape evacuados hacia el ambiente

A bending cell for small batches

This article presents the study that is done for the conception of an automated bending cell devoted to the processing of parts in small batches, gathering the real necessities of potential customers. Joining the maximum of possible information, on the present cells, is has been able to conceive an automated bending cell devoted to the bending of parts, with dif-ferent form, weight, thickness, etc., in small batches. To be able to reach the proposed objec-tives, the cell is equipped with auxiliary systems, such as ATC (Automatic Tool Change) allied to a tool warehouse, AGC (Automatic Gripper Change) with three different grippers, a repo-sition station, and a dedicated 7th axis in the press brake designed to dock a standard 6 axes robot, that provide to cell a sufficient grade of autonomy. Allied with the idea of creating a cell for small batches, is introduced the target of getting this cell at lower price as possible. Thus the cell acquires an extended application range very important for potential customers. To get real perception of the money saving when working with this automated bending cell comparisons between Man work times vs. machine work times in production of small batches have been made

Blood parasites infecting the Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin), a unique neotropical folivorous bird

The Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) is the only extant member of the order Opisthocomiformes. This unique South American bird lives in the riparian lowland vegetation characteristic of the Amazon and Orinoco basins. Hoatzins nest in communal social units close to water bodies; they are strictly folivores being the only bird with pregastric fermentation in the crop. Because of the complex logistics involved in capturing this bird, there is a knowledge gap on its parasites. This study documents two distant lineages of haemosporidian parasites (Plasmodium spp.) in a juvenile and two adults sampled in the Cojedes state, Venezuela. Although negative by microscopy, the parasite identification was possible by using molecular methods. We estimated the phylogenetic relationships on the parasite cytochrome b (cytb, 480 bp) gene and the mitochondrial DNA. We found one of the parasites lineages in two individuals (nestling and adult), and the corresponding fragment of cytb was identical to a one found in Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) from Brazil. The other lineage, found in an adult, has an identity of 469 out of 478 bp (98%) with Plasmodium sp. GAL-2012 (isolate THAMB08) from Brazil. Although a morphological description of these parasites was not possible, this is the first molecular study focusing on Hoatzin haemosporidian parasites and the first documentation of Plasmodium infections in the Hoatzin from Venezuela. Furthermore, we reported microfilaria in two adults as well as hematological parameters for six individuals. Information on hematological parameters could contribute to establishing the necessary baseline to detect underlying conditions, such as infections, in this bird species

Cuantificación y valoración económica del conflicto humano-puma en San Onofre, departamento de Sucre, Colombia

The puma (Puma concolor) is a feline native to America that is occasionally responsible for opportunistic attacks and predation of domestic animals of productive interest in Colombia, which is why it is considered an animal that generates conflicts. However, it is also a key species in the dynamics and balance of its ecosystems, for which the maintenance of its populations is transcendental. In this study, we present the first characterization and economic valuation of damage caused by P. concolor in the Colombian ecoregion of Montes de María. Specifically, we report a quantification of the losses of sheep and pigs in some rural localities of the municipality of San Onofre, department of Sucre, carried out through a semi-structured interview that was applied to producers between 2018 and 2020. Additionally, we present a bibliographic review of the evidence on the human-puma conflict in the Colombian Caribbean region. We found that the human-puma conflict situation is underrepresented in studies for the Caribbean region. Puma attacks in San Onofre were mainly linked to the vulnerability of the prey and the management of the enclosures. Losses for sheep producers ranged from $540.000 to$2.465.000, while for hog producers they ranged from $292.500 to$1.560.000. Given the importance of the region for the persistence of the species and the dependence of local producers on agricultural activities to support their families, interdisciplinary efforts must be combined to better understand this problem and propose viable and comprehensive solutions.El puma (Puma concolor) es un felino nativo de América que, ocasionalmente, es responsable de ataques y depredación oportunista de animales domésticos de interés productivo en Colombia, razón por la que es considerado como un animal que genera conflictos. Sin embargo, es también una especie clave en la dinámica y el equilibrio de sus ecosistemas, por lo que el mantenimiento de sus poblaciones es trascendental. En este estudio presentamos la primera caracterización y valoración económica de daños ocasionados por P. concolor en la ecorregión colombiana de Montes de María. Específicamente, reportamos una cuantificación de las pérdidas de ovinos y porcinos en algunas localidades rurales del municipio de San Onofre, departamento de Sucre, realizada por medio de una entrevista semiestructurada que se aplicó a productores entre 2018 y 2020. Adicionalmente, presentamos una revisión bibliográfica de la evidencia sobre el conflicto humano-puma en la región del Caribe colombiano. Encontramos que la situación del conflicto humano-puma está subrepresentada en los estudios para la región Caribe. Los ataques de puma en San Onofre se vincularon principalmente a la vulnerabilidad de las presas y el manejo de los encierros. Las pérdidas para los productores de ovinos oscilaron entre $540,000 y$2,465,000, mientras que para los productores de porcinos estuvieron entre $29,500 y$1,560,000. Dada la importancia de la región para la persistencia de la especie y la dependencia de los productores locales de las actividades agropecuarias para el sostenimiento de sus familias, se deben aunar esfuerzos interdisciplinares que permitan comprender mejor esta problemática y proponer soluciones viables e integrales

Encuesta Latinoamericana sobre la Actitud de los Profesionales de la Salud hacia la Prescripción de los Psicofármacos. Estudio comparativo con la Realidad Peruana.

Son pocos los estudios realizados sobre la imagen de los psicofármacos. Objetivo: Describir la actitud de los profesionales de la salud latinoamericanos (médicos psiquiatras, no psiquiatras y psicólogos) hacia la prescripción de Psicofármacos, la preferencia de tratamiento para las enfermedades mentales y la actitud de los pacientes ante la prescripción de los psicofármacos según la opinión de los médicos. Material y métodos: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo, transversal, comparativo y prospectivo. Se efectuó una encuesta para las siguientes enfermedades mentales: Depresión, esquizofrenia, ansiedad, trastorno bipolar, epilepsia, farmacodependencia, alcoholismo, T. obsesivo compulsivo, fobias, T. de la personalidad y T. de la alimentación. Se construyó una escala actitudinal formada por 27 itemes ordinales tipo Lickert. Resultados: En cuanto a los aspectos negativos se encontraron diferencias significativas entre los grupos (p<0.001), los psiquiatras obtuvieron una media de 2.15± 0.58 mientras que la obtenida por los psicólogos fue de 3.05± 0.73 puntos. Para los aspectos positivos también mostraron diferencias significativas entre los grupos (p<0.001); los psiquiatras obtuvieron una media de 3.99±0.52 mientras que la obtenida por los psicólogos fue de 3.20±0.64 puntos. En la actitud hacia la prescripción, los médicos psiquiatras y los psicólogos difirieron de los médicos no psiquiatras, estos últimos mostraron mayor acuerdo en que los psicofármacos son mal administrados. El acuerdo sobre el uso conjunto de la psicoterapia y de la farmacoterapia es aceptado en general por los tres grupos estudiados, mostrando una mayor aceptación por parte de los psicólogos. La preferencia por distintos tratamientos para las enfermedades mentales mostró diferencias significativas entre los tres grupos estudiados en todos los padecimientos. Los médicos indicaron que los pacientes aceptan los psicofármacos con objeciones y aceptan la indicación médica no muy convencidos en primer lugar y segundo lugar, respectivamente. En la actitud de los pacientes ante la prescripción de los psicofármacos, el miedo a ser dependientes ocupó el primer lugar. En segundo lugar, los pacientes abandonan el tratamiento por el consejo de sus familiares y en tercer lugar los pacientes abandonan el tratamiento por los efectos secundarios

A sweetpotato gene index established by de novo assembly of pyrosequencing and Sanger sequences and mining for gene-based microsatellite markers

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sweetpotato (<it>Ipomoea batatas </it>(L.) Lam.), a hexaploid outcrossing crop, is an important staple and food security crop in developing countries in Africa and Asia. The availability of genomic resources for sweetpotato is in striking contrast to its importance for human nutrition. Previously existing sequence data were restricted to around 22,000 expressed sequence tag (EST) sequences and ~ 1,500 GenBank sequences. We have used 454 pyrosequencing to augment the available gene sequence information to enhance functional genomics and marker design for this plant species.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two quarter 454 pyrosequencing runs used two normalized cDNA collections from stems and leaves from drought-stressed sweetpotato clone <it>Tanzania </it>and yielded 524,209 reads, which were assembled together with 22,094 publically available expressed sequence tags into 31,685 sets of overlapping DNA segments and 34,733 unassembled sequences. Blastx comparisons with the UniRef100 database allowed annotation of 23,957 contigs and 15,342 singletons resulting in 24,657 putatively unique genes. Further, 27,119 sequences had no match to protein sequences of UniRef100database. On the basis of this gene index, we have identified 1,661 gene-based microsatellite sequences, of which 223 were selected for testing and 195 were successfully amplified in a test panel of 6 hexaploid (<it>I. batatas</it>) and 2 diploid (<it>I. trifida</it>) accessions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The sweetpotato gene index is a useful source for functionally annotated sweetpotato gene sequences that contains three times more gene sequence information for sweetpotato than previous EST assemblies. A searchable version of the gene index, including a blastn function, is available at <url>http://www.cipotato.org/sweetpotato_gene_index</url>.</p

Prevalence of contagious and environmental mastitis-causing bacteria in bulk tank milk and its relationships with milking practices of dairy cattle herds in São Miguel Island (Azores)

This study aimed to assess the degree of contamination of bulk tank milk (BTM) by Staphylococcus spp. and coliform bacteria and to identify major milking practices that help perpetuate them in dairy cattle herds in São Miguel Island. In July 2014, BTM was sampled and a survey concerning local milking practices was conducted on 100 herds. Semi quantitative multiplex polymerase chain reaction detected coagulase-negative staphylococci, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and other coliform bacteria (Klebsiella oxytoca, Klebsiella pneumoniae, andSerratia marcescens) in 100, 75, 59, and 35 % of BTM, respectively. According to multivariable univariate models, on herds not using hot water for cleaning the milking machine and teat liners, there was at least 3.4 more odds (P<0.01) to have S. aureus or coliform bacteria contamination in BTM. The likelihoodoffinding S.aureus inBTMwas higher(P<0.001)on herds without high hygiene during milking, when milking mastitic cows at the end, on abrupt cessation of milking at dry-off, and official milk control implementation. The glove use also favored (odds ratio (OR) 5.8; P<0.01)thedetection ofcoliformbacteriainBTM.Poormilkingpracticesidentified in this study should be avoided in order to decrease S. aureus and coliform bacteria contamination of BTM. Other factors associated with milk quality in São Miguel Island also should be further investigated

Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO