A revision of the striatella species group of the genus Rhagoletis (Diptera: Tephritidae)

A taxonomic revision of species of the striatella group, including descriptions ofthree new species from Mexico, Nicaragua and Costa Rica is presented. To date we recognize 6 species in this group: Rhagoletis striatella, R. jamaicensis, R. macquartii, R. triangularis n. sp., R. nicaraguensis n. sp., and R. solanophaga n. sp. Information and records about their distribution, known host plants, and morphological relationships among the species are discussed. A key to the species within the group is presented.Se presenta una revision taxonomic a de las especies del grupo striatella, la cual incluye descripciones de tres nuevas especies provenientes de Mexico, Nicaragua y Costa Rica. Ala fecha reconocemos 6 especies en este grupo: Rhagoletis striatella, R. jamaicensis, R. macquartii, R. triangularis n. sp., R. nicaraguensis n. sp., and R. solanophaga n. sp .. Se discute informacion sobre su distribucion, plantas hospederas conocidas, y las relaciones morfologicas entre sus especies. Ademas se presenta una clave para separar todas las especies del grupo

Shear banding in nematogenic fluids with oscillating orientational dynamics

We investigate the occurrence of shear banding in nematogenic fluids under planar Couette flow, based on mesoscopic dynamical equations for the orientational order parameter and the shear stress. We focus on parameter values where the sheared homogeneous system exhibits regular oscillatory orientational dynamics, whereas the equilibrium system is either isotropic (albeit close to the isotropic--nematic transition) or deep in its nematic phase. The numerical calculations are restricted to spatial variations in shear gradient direction. We find several new types of shear banded states characterized by regions with regular oscillatory orientational dynamics. In all cases shear banding is accompanied by a non--monotonicity of the flow curve of the homogeneous system; however, only in the case of the initially isotropic system this curve has the typical $S$--like shape. We also analyze the influence of different orientational boundary conditions and of the spatial correlation length.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure

Improving photon-hadron discrimination based on cosmic ray surface detector data

The search for photons at EeV energies and beyond has considerable astrophysical interest and will remain one of the key challenges for ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) observatories in the near future. Several upper limits to the photon flux have been established since no photon has been unambiguously observed up to now. An improvement in the reconstruction efficiency of the photon showers and/or better discrimination tools are needed to improve these limits apart from an increase in statistics. Following this direction, we analyze in this work the ability of the surface parameter Sb, originally proposed for hadron discrimination, for photon search. Semi-analytical and numerical studies are performed in order to optimize Sb for the discrimination of photons from a proton background in the energy range from 10^18.5 to 10^19.6 eV. Although not shown explicitly, the same analysis has been performed for Fe nuclei and the corresponding results are discussed when appropriate. The effects of different array geometries and the underestimation of the muon component in the shower simulations are analyzed, as well as the Sb dependence on primary energy and zenith angle.Comment: 9 pages, 19 Figures. Accepted in Astroparticle Physics on May 31th, 201

Stromal vascular fraction obtained from subcutaneous adipose tissue: ex-obese and older population as main clinical targets

Introduction Human adipose tissue contains a heterogeneous and synergistic mixture of cells called stromal vascular fraction (SVF) with highly proliferative and angiogenic properties, conferring promising applicability in the field of regenerative medicine. This study aims to investigate if age, body mass index (BMI), history of obesity and massive weight loss, and harvest site are related to SVF cell marker expression. Methods A total of 26 samples of subcutaneous adipose tissue were harvested from patients admitted to the Plastic and Reconstructive department in University Hospital Center of São João, Porto, Portugal, for body contouring surgery. The percentage of cells expressing CD31, CD34, CD45, CD73, CD90, and CD105 was assessed and compared with patient's age, BMI, history of obesity and massive weight loss (ex-obese group), and harvest site. Results In the ex-obese group, a significantly higher number of cells expressing CD90 (P = 0.002) was found. BMI, harvest site, and age appear to have no association with SVF subpopulations

Interfollicular epidermal stem cells: boosting and rescuing from adult skin

Publicado na série "Methods in Molecular Biology", vol. 989 (2013), ISSN 1064-3745Epidermal stem cells isolation struggle remains, mainly due to the yet essential requirement of well-defined approaches and markers. The herein proposed methodology integrates an assemblage of strategies to accomplish the enrichment of the interfollicular epidermal stem cells multipotent fraction and their subsequent separation from the remaining primary human keratinocytes culture. Those include rapid adherence of freshly isolated human keratinocytes to collagen type IV through the β 1-integrin ligand and Rho- Associated Protein Kinase Inhibitor Y- 27632 administration to the cultures, followed by an immunomagnetic separation to obtain populations based in the combined CD49f bri /CD71 dim expression. Flow cytometry is the supporting method to analyze the effect of the treatments over the expression rate of early epidermal markers keratins19/5/14 and in correlation to CD49f bri /CD71 dim subpopulations. The stepby- step methodology herein described indulges the boosting and consecutive puri fi cation and separation of interfollicular epidermal stem cells from human keratinocytes cultures.(undefined

Optimal scan planning for surveying large sites with static and mobile mapping systems

Since the last two decades, the use of laser scanners for generating accurate and dense 3D models has been rapidly growing in multiple disciplines. The reliance on human-expertise to perform an efficient scanning in terms of completeness and quality encouraged the researchers to develop strategies for carrying out an optimized and automated scan planning. Nevertheless, due to the predominant use of static terrestrial laser scanners (TLS), the most of developed methods have been focused on scan optimization by fixing standpoints on basis of static scanning. The increasing use of portable mobile laser scanning systems (MLS) enables faster non-stop acquisition which demands the planning of optimal scan trajectories. Therefore, a novel method addressing the absence of dynamic scan planning is proposed considering specific MLS constraints such as maximum acquisition time or closed-loops requirement. First, an initial analysis is carried out to determinate key-positions to reach during data acquisition. From these positions a navigable graph is generated to compute routes satisfying specific MLS constraints by a three-step process. This starts by estimating the number of routes necessary to subsequently carry out a coarse graph partition based on Kmedoids clustering. Next, a balancing algorithm was implemented to compute a balanced graph partition by node exchanging. Finally, partitions are extended by adding key nodes from their adjacent ones in order to provide a desirable overlapping between scans. The method was tested by simulating three laser scanner configurations in four indoor and outdoor real case studies. The acquisition quality of the computed scan planning was evaluated in terms of 3D completeness and point cloud density with the simulator Helios++