11,802 research outputs found
Kinetics and Penetration into Inflammatory Tissue Cage Fluid of Cefepime Administered to Rabbits
The kinetics and penetration of cefepime into inflammatory tissue cage fluid were determined in rabbits. Ten adult healthy rabbits were used. Concentrations of cefepime were measured in serum and induced inflammatory exudate by biological methods. The kinetic analysis was performed by mean of a non-compartmental model. Pharmacokinetic results in serum (S) and inflammatory tissue cage fluid (ITCF) (means ± standard error) were: half life of elimination [t1\2 (S) ]= 1.6 ± 0.2 and (ITCF) 3.7 ± 0.3 h; area under the curve [AUC (S)]= 225.3 ± 21.4 and (ITCF) 208.0 ± 13.6 (μg/ml/h]; maximum concentration [Cmax (ITCF)]= 37.7 ± 3.6 μg/ml and time to reach Cmax [tmax (ITCF)]= 1.8 ± 0.4 h and the penetration into inflammatory tissue cage fluid [P (ITCF)] = 92.3 ± 8.7 %. In conclusion, the cefepime administered to rabbits penetrate rapidly and nearly completely into inflammatory tissue cage fluid.
Fungal environment in different rabbit intensive farms
Many environmental factors (for example, temperature, relative humidity, ventilation, NH3 concentration) can influence the health and welfare of rabbits reared in intensive farms. Among these elements, microorganisms and, in particular, fungi play a pivotal role in the spreading of potential pathogenic and zoonotic diseases. Aim of our work was to evaluate the fungal contamination in two different rabbit rearing (A and B). SAS System® (PBI International, Italy) and opened plates, filled with cultural media for fungal growth (environmental and dermatophytes) have been used. The data collected in both the farms showed that, for environmental fungi, Aspergillus, Alternaria and Penicillium were the most spread. On the contrary, for dermatophytes, there was a difference between farm A and B. In fact, in the first one Microsporum canis (a known zoonotic agent) has been recovered in high concentration, while in the second rearing we have isolated Microsporum gypseum a geophilic fungus with a very low pathogenic potential
Three years field trials to assess the effect of kaolin made particles and copper on olive-fruit fly (B.oleae Gmelin) infestations in Sicily
In most countries of Mediterranean Basin, Bactrocera oleae (Gmel), the olive fruit fly, is the key pest insect on olives. In Sicily this pest causes losses of fruits and a poor quality olive oil. Many researchers have recently carried out some field studies which were based on the use of kaolin and copper against the olive-fruit fly. In the last years these products have been effective several times in reducing olive fly infestation. Kaolin had, also, some important effect in reducing heat-stress in fruit crops and olive-trees.
The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of kaolin and copper treatment on olive infestations in Sicily and to evaluate chemical and sensory parameters of oils extracted. For this reason, within 2003-2005, the IX Servizio of Assessorato Regionale Agricoltura e Foreste, selected some olive groves where to carry out trials with kaolin and copper and to realize information and divulgation activities
EUVE J0425.6-5714: A Newly Discovered AM Herculis Star
We detected a new AM Her star serendipitously in a 25 day observation with
the EUVE satellite. A coherent period of 85.82 min is present in the EUVE Deep
Survey imager light curve of this source. A spectroscopic identification is
made with a 19th magnitude blue star that has H and He emission lines, and
broad cyclotron humps typical of a magnetic cataclysmic variable. A lower limit
to the polar magnetic field of 46 MG is estimated from the spacing of the
cyclotron harmonics. EUVE J0425.6-5714 is also detected in archival ROSAT HRI
observations spanning two months, and its stable and highly structured light
curve permits us to fit a coherent ephemeris linking the ROSAT and EUVE data
over a 1.3 yr gap. The derived period is 85.82107 +/- 0.00020 min, and the
ephemeris should be accurate to 0.1 cycles until the year 2005. A narrow but
partial X-ray eclipse suggests that this object belongs to the group of Am Her
stars whose viewing geometry is such that the accretion stream periodically
occults the soft X-ray emitting accretion spot on the surface of the white
dwarf. A non-detection of hard X-rays from ASCA observations that are
contemporaneous with the ROSAT HRI shows that the soft X-rays must dominate by
at least an order of magnitude, which is consistent with a known trend among AM
Her stars with large magnetic field. This object should not be confused with
the Seyfert galaxy 1H 0419-577 (= LB 1727), another X-ray/EUV source which lies
only 4' away, and was the principal target of these monitoring observations.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, to appear in PASP, Dec. 1998 issu
Statistical mechanics of the mixed majority-minority game with random external information
We study the asymptotic macroscopic properties of the mixed majority-minority
game, modeling a population in which two types of heterogeneous adaptive
agents, namely ``fundamentalists'' driven by differentiation and
``trend-followers'' driven by imitation, interact. The presence of a fraction f
of trend-followers is shown to induce (a) a significant loss of informational
efficiency with respect to a pure minority game (in particular, an efficient,
unpredictable phase exists only for f<1/2), and (b) a catastrophic increase of
global fluctuations for f>1/2. We solve the model by means of an approximate
static (replica) theory and by a direct dynamical (generating functional)
technique. The two approaches coincide and match numerical results
convincingly.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figure
Towards Optimal Energy-Water Supply System Operation for Agricultural and Metropolitan Ecosystems
The energy-water demands of metropolitan regions and agricultural ecosystems
are ever-increasing. To tackle this challenge efficiently and sustainably, the
interdependence of these interconnected resources has to be considered. In this
work, we present a holistic decision-making framework which takes into account
simultaneously a water and energy supply system with the capability of
satisfying metropolitan and agricultural resource demands. The framework
features: (i) a generic large-scale planning and scheduling optimization model
to minimize the annualized cost of the design and operation of the energy-water
supply system, (ii) a mixed-integer linear optimization formulation, which
relies on the development of surrogate models based on feedforward artificial
neural networks and first-order Taylor expansions, and (iii) constraints for
land and water utilization enabling multi-objective optimization. The framework
provides the operational profiles of all energy-water system elements over a
given time horizon, which uncover potential synergies between the essential
food, energy, and water resource supply systems.Comment: Part of the Foundations of Computer-Aided Process Operations and
Chemical Process Control (FOCAPO/CPC) 2023 Proceeding
The autism brain imaging data exchange: towards a large-scale evaluation of the intrinsic brain architecture in autism
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) represent a formidable challenge for psychiatry and neuroscience because of their high prevalence, lifelong nature, complexity and substantial heterogeneity. Facing these obstacles requires large-scale multidisciplinary efforts. Although the field of genetics has pioneered data sharing for these reasons, neuroimaging had not kept pace. In response, we introduce the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE)—a grassroots consortium aggregating and openly sharing 1112 existing resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI) data sets with corresponding structural MRI and phenotypic information from 539 individuals with ASDs and 573 age-matched typical controls (TCs; 7–64 years) (http://fcon_1000.projects.nitrc.org/indi/abide/). Here, we present this resource and demonstrate its suitability for advancing knowledge of ASD neurobiology based on analyses of 360 male subjects with ASDs and 403 male age-matched TCs. We focused on whole-brain intrinsic functional connectivity and also survey a range of voxel-wise measures of intrinsic functional brain architecture. Whole-brain analyses reconciled seemingly disparate themes of both hypo- and hyperconnectivity in the ASD literature; both were detected, although hypoconnectivity dominated, particularly for corticocortical and interhemispheric functional connectivity. Exploratory analyses using an array of regional metrics of intrinsic brain function converged on common loci of dysfunction in ASDs (mid- and posterior insula and posterior cingulate cortex), and highlighted less commonly explored regions such as the thalamus. The survey of the ABIDE R-fMRI data sets provides unprecedented demonstrations of both replication and novel discovery. By pooling multiple international data sets, ABIDE is expected to accelerate the pace of discovery setting the stage for the next generation of ASD studies
Mechanical Systems: Symmetry and Reduction
Reduction theory is concerned with mechanical systems with symmetries. It constructs a
lower dimensional reduced space in which associated conservation laws are taken out and
symmetries are \factored out" and studies the relation between the dynamics of the given
system with the dynamics on the reduced space. This subject is important in many areas,
such as stability of relative equilibria, geometric phases and integrable systems
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