Technical Note: Design of a large variable temperature chamber for heat stress studies in rabbits

[EN] One of the major constraint factors for rabbit production consists of the environmental conditions and especially high temperatures that negatively affect reproduction and growth performance. For this reason, several studies have addressed the effects of heat stress and possible solutions to alleviate its impact on rabbit performance. This article describes the design and operating features of a large temperature chamber (13x4.7x3.1 m) configured to house 42 rabbits. The probes consisted of temperature sensor model DS2438 and humidity sensor model HIH-5031. The system was controlled by an Arduino platform programmed by its Integrated Development Environment (IDE) software. The system takes a decision every minute: it connects the heating if the temperature is lower than programmed and connects exhaust fans if the temperature is over the programmed setting. To renew the indoor air, every 5 min the system switches off the heating and switches on the exhaust fans for 15 sec. Two experiments (with and without animals) were carried out to test the temperature control accuracy. Firstly, without animals, two tests were performed: (i) adjusting the temperature of the climatic chamber to the control house temperature plus 10ºC and (ii) based on daily minimum (32ºC) and maximum (37ºC) temperatures. Secondly, with animals, does were maintained (i) between a daily minimum (32ºC) and maximum (37ºC) for 48 h and (ii) between a daily minimum (25ºC) and maximum (35ºC) temperatures for 105 d. Mortality rates were noted in both tests. The results of comparing the measured temperature deviation from programmed temperature reported a coefficient of determination of 0.9850 and 0.9947, for plus 10ºC and 32-37ºC curves, respectively. In the animal tests, the determination coefficients were 0.9926 and 0.9928 for programmed curve in the range of 32 to 37ºC and 0.9859, 0.9900 and 0.9901 for programmed curve in the range of 25 to 35ºC. Survival of females in the temperature chamber was as expected for reproductive rabbit does: 100 and 82% in the 2 and 105 d trials, respectively. Results indicate that the chamber provided precise temperature control for the development of heat stress studies in rabbits.This work was supported by the Spanish Research Project (CICYT AGL2008-03274) and the Spanish "Ministry of Science and Innovation" HAR2010-21944-C02-01 and HAR2010-21944-C02-02.García Diego, FJ.; Pascual Amorós, JJ.; Marco Jiménez, F. (2011). Technical Note: Design of a large variable temperature chamber for heat stress studies in rabbits. World Rabbit Science. 19(4). https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2011.938SWORD19

New Findings on GLRT Radar Detection of Nonfluctuating Targets via Phased Arrays

This paper addresses the standard generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) detection problem of weak signals in background noise. In so doing, we consider a nonfluctuating target embedded in complex white Gaussian noise (CWGN), in which the amplitude of the target echo and the noise power are assumed to be unknown. Important works have analyzed the performance for the referred scenario and proposed GLRT-based detectors. Such detectors are projected at an early stage (i.e., prior to the formation of a post-beamforming scalar waveform), thereby imposing high demands on hardware, processing, and data storage. From a hardware perspective, most radar systems fail to meet these strong requirements. In fact, due to hardware and computational constraints, most radars use a combination of analog and digital beamformers (sums) before any estimation or further pre-processing. The rationale behind this study is to derive a GLRT detector that meets the hardware and system requirements. In this work, we design and analyze a more practical and easy-to-implement GLRT detector, which is projected after the analog beamforming. The performance of the proposed detector is analyzed and the probabilities of detection (PD) and false alarm (PFA) are derived in closed form. Moreover, we show that in the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime, the post-beamforming GLRT detector performs better than both the classic pre-beamforming GLRT detector and the square-law detector. This finding suggests that if the signals are weak, instead of processing the signals separately, we first must to reinforce the overall signal and then assembling the system's detection statistic. At last, the SNR losses are quantified, in which the superiority of the post-beamforming GLRT detector was evidenced as the number of antennas and samples increase.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, 1 tabl

Manual de Procedimientos de Reclutamiento, Selección, Contratación e Inducción de Personal para mejorar la Idoneidad del Recurso Humano de la Empresa Pettenati Centro América, S.A. de C.V., del municipio de Coatepeque, departamento de Santa Ana.

El origen de la investigación parte con la asignación de temas para realizar el trabajo de especialización, aprovechando un proceso de contratación de un miembro del equipo, quien observo ciertas inconsistencias en el proceso de reclutamiento, se tomó a bien tomar la experiencia para llevar a cabo el trabajo de investigación. La investigación tiene por objetivo diseñar un manual de procedimientos de reclutamiento, selección, contratación e inducción de personal que ayude a mejorar la idoneidad del recurso humano para la empresa Pettenati Centro América, S.A. de C.V dedicada a la elaboración de telas de alta tecnología. Se efectuaron los contactos con Pettenati Centro América S.A. de C.V. y se dio el acercamiento con el gerente de recursos humanos. En las visitas realizadas a Pettenati Centro América S.A. de C.V., el gerente de recursos humanos expresó las distintas necesidades del área de recursos humanos, mencionando como la principal: un manual de procedimientos de reclutamiento, selección, contratación e inducción de personal. Si bien, hizo notar que existía un procedimiento implícito, era necesario plasmarlo en un documento oficial, dado la exigencia y no conformidades que han señalado auditorias internacionales. Los procesos arriba señalados ayudan a las empresas desde el inicio a tener el personal idóneo y más aún, garantizar la permanencia y arraigo, por ende, generar compromiso de los trabajadores hacia la compañía. Es por ello, la necesidad de un manual de reclutamiento, selección, contratación e inducción de personal. En la metodología de la investigación fue necesario apoyarse en el método científico y sus métodos auxiliares: análisis y síntesis, utilizando el tipo de investigación descriptiva, en cuanto al diseño se utilizó el método no experimental ya que no se manipuló ninguna variable, además se hizo uso de las fuentes de información primarias como: guía de entrevista al Gerente de Recursos Humanos de Pettenati Centro América S.A. de C.V. y cuestionarios dirigidos a los colaboradores de dicha empresa, y las fuentes secundarias para realizar ésta investigación fueron mediante consultas bibliográficas en libros de texto, folletos, sitios web, leyes, revistas relacionadas al tema de estudio y documentación proporcionada por el personal de Pettenati Centro América S.A. de C.V. ii Entre las principales conclusiones están: • Pettenati Centro América S.A. de C.V. posee un departamento de recursos humanos semi estructurado que aplica un proceso de reclutamiento, selección, contratación e inducción empírico, lo realizan sin el apoyo de un manual escrito que describa el procedimiento. • El desarrollo del proceso lo lleva a cabo el encargado de reclutamiento y selección, lo que lo vuelve lento y tedioso; sobre todo en temporada de ingresos masivos de personal, para cubrir la demanda de elaboración del producto. • En la empresa no se realizan pruebas psicométricas durante la entrevista, lo que es al menos llamativo, ya que se entiende que aplicar al menos una prueba le da una idea al encargado del proceso, las habilidades que el aspirante posee. Lo que conlleva a desconocer por parte de la empresa si está contratando al personal idóneo para el puesto de trabajo o no. Tampoco sabe si se colocó en el puesto correcto donde pueda desempeñarse y explotar sus habilidades. Se realizaron algunas recomendaciones tales como: • Elaborar un manual que tenga por escrito los procedimientos que la empresa requiere para llevar a cabo el reclutamiento, la selección, la contratación y la inducción de nuevos colaboradores. • Para que el proceso se agilice y sea más eficiente es necesario que el departamento de recursos humanos destine a una persona adicional que cumpla las funciones de asistente técnico para el encargado de los procedimientos, dividiendo la carga laboral, volviéndolo más eficiente y ágil. • Para realizar una contratación de talento humano más eficiente lo mejor es conocer sus habilidades y destrezas, Por tanto, es necesario aplicar pruebas psicométricas, físicas y técnicas que le den una idea al encargado del proceso de cuál sería el mejor puesto para el aspirante o si vale la pena contratarlo

A group II intron-encoded protein interacts with the cellular replicative machinery through the ß-sliding clamp

Group II introns are self-splicing mobile genetic retroelements. The spliced intron RNA and the intron-encoded protein (IEP) form ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs) that recognize and invade specific DNA target sites. The IEP is a reverse transcriptase/maturase that may bear a C-terminal endonuclease domain enabling the RNP to cleave the target DNA strand to prime reverse transcription. However, some mobile introns, such as RmInt1, lack the En domain but nevertheless retrohome efficiently to transient single-stranded DNA target sites at a DNA replication fork. Their mobility is associated with host DNA replication, and they use the nascent lagging strand as a primer for reverse transcription. We searched for proteins that interact with RmInt1 RNPs and direct these RNPs to the DNA replication fork. Co-immunoprecipitation assays suggested that DnaN (the ß-sliding clamp), a component of DNA polymerase III, interacts with the protein component of the RmInt1 RNP. Pulldown assays, far-western blots and biolayer interferometry supported this interaction. Peptide binding assays also identified a putative DnaN-interacting motif in the RmInt1 IEP structurally conserved in group II intron IEPs. Our results suggest that intron RNP interacts with the ß-sliding clamp of the DNA replication machinery, favouring reverse splicing into the transient ssDNA at DNA replication forks

El derecho de la sociedad en red

El objetivodel libro espresentar a lectores (juristas o no) interesados varias impresiones sobrelas características del Derecho y el Estado de la sociedad en red en estos momentos, iniciada la segunda década del siglo XXI, según la libre visión de los autoresexpresada desdesu respectivo contexto y experiencia: trabajan, conjuntamente, en Facultades de Derecho en Europa (España, Reino Unido y Finlandia) y Brasil

Full Time Domain EMI Measurement system applied to Railway emissions according to IEC 62236-3-1/EN 50121-3-1 standards

© 2018 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes,creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.This paper studies the advantages of applying time-domain based instrumentation to conduct electromagnetic interference emissions from rolling-stock. In IEC 62236-3-1 or EN 50121-3-1 standards, it is mandatory to measure the railway vehicle in static and in-motion conditions. When conventional frequency sweep instrumentation is employed, difficulties regarding ambient noise variation and the short-duration of worst-case emission modes take place. In Annex B of the standard, a test procedure is described to acquire the worst-case EMI, however, as it is explained at the paper the effective measured time at each frequency is only 0.08 ms in some frequency bands. Hence, multiple movements of the vehicle are needed increasing the uncertainty of the measured source and making difficult to distinguish vehicle EMI from background noise interference. To solve this problem, a Full-TDEMI measurement system is proposed with the availability to increase the effective measured time, reduced the ambient noise variation, the usage of multiple antennas at the same time and the possibility to discard transient interference that should not be evaluated. At the end of the paper, measurements carried out with the time-domain system are shown demonstrating the effectivity of the methodology. © 2018 IEEE.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

An elevated parametric thyroid feedback quantile-based index is associated with atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is associated with hyperthyroidism. Within the euthyroid range, it is also associated with high thyroxine (fT4), but not with thyrotropin (TSH). We aim to describe differences in thyroid regulation, measured by the Parametric Thyroid Feedback Quantile-Based Index (PTFQI), between patients with atrial fibrillation and the general population. Materials and methods: Thyroid parameters (PTFQI, TSH, and fT4) of a sample of 84 euthyroid subjects with atrial fibrillation (cases) were compared to a reference sample of euthyroid healthcare patients (controls). We calculated age and sex adjusted ORs for atrial fibrillation across tertiles of these parameters. Also, within cases, we studied thyroid parameters association with clinical characteristics of the atrial fibrillation. Results: After adjusting for age and sex, fT4 and PTFQI were higher in subjects with atrial fibrillation when compared to the general sample (p<0.01 and p=0.01, respectively). Atrial fibrillation ORs of the third versus the first PTFQI tertile was 1.88(95%CI 1.07,3.42), and there was a gradient across tertiles (p trend=0.02). Among atrial fibrillation patients, we observed that higher PTFQI was associated with sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAS) (p=0.03), higher fT4 was associated with the presence of an arrhythmogenic trigger (p=0.02) and with heart failure (p<0.01), and higher TSH was also associated with OSAS (p<0.01). Conclusions: Euthyroid subjects with atrial fibrillation have an elevation of the pituitary TSH-inhibition threshold, measured by PTFQI, with respect to the general population. Within atrial fibrillation patients, high PTFQI was associated with OSAS, and high fT4 with heart failure. These results hint of the existence of a relationship between thyroid regulation and atrial fibrillation

El abordaje transapofisario en las fracturas complejas del extremo distal femoral y proximal tibial

Los autores presentan las ventajas e inconvenientes, así como los distintos pasos de la técnica quirúrgica en el abordaje transapofisario, para resolver aquellas fracturas complejas tanto del extremo distal femoral como del extremo proximal tibial, en donde una amplia exposición del foco fracturario es imprescindible para lograr la restauración lo más anatómica posible de la superficie articular, que le permita a los pacientes reiniciar una movilización articular precoz. Consideran a este tipo de abordaje quirúrgico como muy beneficioso e imprescindible en estas fracturas tan complejas, presentando su experiencia al respecto.The authors show the advantages and disadvantages, as well as somo differents points of the surgical technique at the transapophyseal approach, for complex fractures of the distal end of the femur and proximal tibial plateau, when an extensible exposur e is essential to obtain an anatomic restitution of the articular surface, and to allow to the patient to mobilize the joint at once. They consider this type of surgical approach as very beneficial and essentia] in these fractures so complex. They present their experience

Dataset on water–glycerol flow in a horizontal pipeline with and without leaks

The dataset presented in this article was collected in a laboratory flow circuit, which was designed to investigate highviscosity flows. The data set is composed of 1200 s (equivalent to 12,000 samples) of mass flow and pressure measurements taken at five points along the pipeline. The first 300 s were recorded when the flow in the loop was composed only of glycerol. The remaining data were acquired when the flow was composed of a water–glycerol mixture. During the data acquisition, two extractions were produced. The research reported in [1] uses 160 s of the data provided here. This article explains in detail the experimental set-up and the principal instruments used for obtaining the dataset. The dataset is in the form of seven columns: Time, Mass Flow, Pressure 1, Pressure 2, Pressure 3, Pressure 4, Pressure 5, in supplementary Excel and Matlab files

Emulsiones aceite-en-agua basadas en proteínas de garbanzo

Las emulsiones aceite-en-agua han sido habitualmente estabilizadas usando proteína de huevo. Sin embargo, en los últimos años se ha incrementado considerablemente el uso de proteínas vegetales para reemplazar a las proteínas de origen animal. Esta tendencia es debida a los nuevos hábitos alimentarios de los consumidores, que demandan una mayor presencia de proteínas de origen vegetal. Por otro lado, la incorporación de sustancias bioactivas a estas nuevas emulsiones responde a una línea comercial emergente que tiene como base el concepto de “nutrición saludable”, cuestión en la que se halla cada vez más interesada un mayor número de personas. El trabajo presentado abordó la evaluación del uso de proteína de garbanzo como agente emulsificante para la formulación y optimización de emulsiones de aceiteen- agua. También se evaluó el efecto de la concentración de proteína y el pH de la emulsión sobre la estabilidad de la emulsión. Para ello, se usó harina y concentrado proteico de garbanzo en diferentes concentraciones (2, 4 y 6 % p/p) y se eligieron valores de pH (2,5 y 8) para elaborar las emulsiones (10% aceite, 90% agua). Para favorecer la estabilidad de la emulsión se incorporó goma xantana y, una vez obtenida la pre-emulsión, se finalizó la preparación de las mismas usando un homogeneizador de alta presión. Las emulsiones preparadas se caracterizaron mediante distribución del tamaño de gota, potencial Z, e índice de estabilidad, siendo también evaluadas sus propiedades reológicas. Las mejores propiedades se correspondieron con la emulsión preparada a pH2 con un 4% p/p de concentrado proteico de garbanzo y 0.01% p/p de goma xantana. Los resultados presentados revelan un gran potencial de uso para la elaboración de nuevas emulsiones basadas en legumbres como ingrediente proteico en sustitución de las proteínas de origen animal