Climatological moisture sources for the Western North American Monsoon through a Lagrangian approach: their influence on precipitation intensity

This work examines the origin of atmospheric water vapor arriving to the western North American monsoon (WNAM) region over a 34-year period (1981–2014) using a Lagrangian approach. This methodology computes budgets of evaporation minus precipitation (E−P) by calculating changes in the specific humidity of thousands of air particles advected into the study area by the observed winds. The length of the period analyzed (34 years) allows the method to identify oceanic and terrestrial sources of moisture to the WNAM region from a climatological perspective. During the wet season, the WNAM region itself is on average the main evaporative source, followed by the Gulf of California. However, water vapor originating from the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and terrestrial eastern Mexico is found to influence regional-scale rainfall generation. Enhanced (reduced) moisture transport from the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico from 4 to 6 days before precipitation events seems to be responsible for increased (decreased) rainfall intensity on regional scales during the monsoon peak. Westward propagating mid- to upper-level inverted troughs (IVs) seem to favor these water vapor fluxes from the east. In particular, a 200 % increase in the moisture flux from the Caribbean Sea to the WNAM region is found to be followed by the occurrence of heavy precipitation in the WNAM area a few days later. Low-level troughs off the coast of northwestern Mexico and upper-level IVs over the Gulf of Mexico are also related to these extreme rainfall eventsMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. CGL2016- 78562-

Colorimetric detection of the potent carcinogen aflatoxin B1 based on the aggregation of L-lysine-functionalized gold nanoparticles in the presence of copper ions

L-lysine functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs-Lys) have been widely used for the detection of worldwide interest analytes. In this work, a colorimetric assay for the detection of the carcinogen aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) based on the aggregation of AuNPs-Lys in the presence of copper ions was developed. For this purpose, AuNPs were synthesized in citrate aqueous solution, functionalized, and further characterized by UV–Vis, fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In general, AuNPS-Lys (~2.73 × 1011 particles) offered a clear colorimetric response in the presence of AFB1 and Cu2+ ions showing linearity in the range of 6.25 to 200 ng AFB1/mL, with a detection limit of 4.18 ng AFB1/mL via photometric inspection. Moreover, the performance of the proposed methodology was tested using the 991.31 AOAC official procedure based on monoclonal antibodies in maize samples artificially contaminated with AFB1. There was a good agreement between the measured AFB1 concentrations in both assays, the average recoveries for the colorimetric and immunoaffinity assays were between 91.2–98.4% and 96.0–99.2%, respectively. These results indicated that the colorimetric assay could be used as a rapid, eco-friendly, and cost-effective platform for the quantification of AFB1 in maize-based products

Evaluación de la ganancia de peso, en el desarrollo de núcleos de abejas (apis mellífera), mediante alimentación artificial

Food, in the bee is a technique that each day progresses more and more, in the development of new formulations, as well as energy foods, such as in protein foods, looking for the final result of the development of colonies of healthy bees, transcending directly in the nutrition of the colonies and directly influencing the nutrition of the larvae mainly. These larvae are dependent on the protein and the production of the breeding is strongly affected by the availability of this nutrient. The objective of this work was to evaluate the development of cores of bees on the basis of cores of two racks, feeding them with a power supply (Bee Pro), the treated group and a liquid feeding based on sugar, 1:1, the control group. The technique used to evaluate the development of the nuclei, it was through the weight gain (g), at the beginning of the experiment, an intermediate weight and a final weight, after three weeks. The results that were generated, show daily weight gains of 331,158 g for the control group and the control group of 165,248 g. Finally we can mention that the treated group showed significant differences with regard to the interesting witness group, being the supply of protein, essential for the development of cores of bees observing, a higher rate of oviposition by Queen, greater development in the work of beeswax and therefore the greater population. To conclude, the nuclei treaties had to be changed to breeding chambers at the end of the study, reaching the wintering grounds with very good population and observing positive effects on honey harvest of spring, being able to arrive to harvest averages of 32 kg per hive with respect to the untreated who had a production of 18 kg per hive, located in the same geographical area.La alimentación, en la apicultura es una técnica que cada día va avanzando más y más, en el desarrollo de nuevas formulaciones, tanto como alimentos energéticos, como en alimentos proteicos, buscando como resultado final el desarrollo de colonias de abejas sanas, trascendiendo directamente en la nutrición de las colonias e influyendo directamente en la nutrición de las larvas principalmente. Estas larvas son dependientes de las proteínas y la producción de la cría se encuentra fuertemente afectada por la disponibilidad de este nutriente. El objetivo de este trabajo, fue evaluar el desarrollo de núcleos de abejas partiendo de núcleos de dos bastidores, alimentándolos con una alimentación energética (Bee Pro), el grupo tratado y una alimentación liquida a base de azúcar 1:1, el grupo testigo. La técnica empleada para evaluar el desarrollo de los núcleos, fue mediante la ganancia de peso (g), al inicio del experimento, un peso intermedio y un peso final, después de tres semanas. Los resultados que se generaron, muestran ganancias de peso diarias de 331.158 g para el grupo control y para el grupo testigo de 165.248 g. Finalmente podemos mencionar que el grupo tratado mostro diferencias significativas interesantes respecto al grupo testigo, siendo la alimentación proteica, fundamental para el desarrollo de núcleos de abejas observando, una mayor tasa de oviposición por parte de la reina, mayor desarrollo en el trabajo de cera estampada y por lo tanto mayor población. Para concluir, los núcleos tratados tuvieron que ser cambiados a cámaras de cría al final del estudio, llegando a la invernada con muy buena población y observando efectos positivos en la cosecha de miel de primavera, pudiendo llegar a cosechar promedios de 32 kg por colmena con respecto a los no tratados que tuvieron una producción de 18 kg por colmena, situados en la misma zona geográfica

Lead, Cadmium and Cobalt (Pb, Cd, and Co) Leaching of Glass-Clay Containers by pH Effect of Food

Recent studies have shown that handcrafted glass-clay containers are a health risk because they can be contaminated by heavy metals, which can be transferred to food, thus reaching the human body to potentially cause illness. Therefore, in the present work, we evaluate the leaching of lead, cadmium, and cobalt from glass-clay containers into two types of food: tomato sauce (salsa), and chickpea puree. The containers were obtained from four regions in the Mexican state of Hidalgo. Repetitive extractions from the containers were carried out to quantify the leaching of the heavy metals into the salsa, the chickpea puree, and acetic acid using the technique proposed by the USFDA. The results show that greater use of the containers leads to more leaching of heavy metals into both types of food and into the acetic acid, with the greatest metal extraction recorded for the Ixmiquilpan vessels. These results indicate that the metals present in the glass-clay containers leach into the food and that increased reuse increases the risk to the people who use them in food preparation

Prostate response to prolactin in sexually active male rats

BACKGROUND: The prostate is a key gland in the sexual physiology of male mammals. Its sensitivity to steroid hormones is widely known, but its response to prolactin is still poorly known. Previous studies have shown a correlation between sexual behaviour, prolactin release and prostate physiology. Thus, here we used the sexual behaviour of male rats as a model for studying this correlation. Hence, we developed experimental paradigms to determine the influence of prolactin on sexual behaviour and prostate organization of male rats. METHODS: In addition to sexual behaviour recordings, we developed the ELISA procedure to quantify the serum level of prolactin, and the hematoxilin-eosin technique for analysis of the histological organization of the prostate. Also, different experimental manipulations were carried out; they included pituitary grafts, and haloperidol and ovine prolactin treatments. Data were analyzed with a One way ANOVA followed by post hoc Dunnet test if required. RESULTS: Data showed that male prolactin has a basal level with two peaks at the light-dark-light transitions. Consecutive ejaculations increased serum prolactin after the first ejaculation, which reached the highest level after the second, and started to decrease after the third ejaculation. These normal levels of prolactin did not induce any change at the prostate tissue. However, treatments for constant elevations of serum prolactin decreased sexual potency and increased the weight of the gland, the alveoli area and the epithelial cell height. Treatments for transient elevation of serum prolactin did not affect the sexual behaviour of males, but triggered these significant effects mainly at the ventral prostate. CONCLUSION: The prostate is a sexual gland that responds to prolactin. Mating-induced prolactin release is required during sexual encounters to activate the epithelial cells in the gland. Here we saw a precise mechanism controlling the release of prolactin during ejaculations that avoid the detrimental effects produced by constant levels. However, we showed that minor elevations of prolactin which do not affect the sexual behaviour of males, produced significant changes at the prostate epithelium that could account for triggering the development of hyperplasia or cancer. Thus, it is suggested that minute elevations of serum prolactin in healthy subjects are at the etiology of prostate abnormal growth

Submicron dispersions of hexosomes based on novel glycerate surfactants

Glycerate-based surfactants are a new class of swelling amphiphiles which swell to a finite degree with water. Among this class of surfactants, oleyl (cis-octadec-9-enyl) glycerate is very similar in structure to a well characterized mesophase-forming lipid, glyceryl monooleate (GMO). Despite the similar structural characteristics, a subtle change in connectivity of the ester bond substantially alters the binary surfactant-water phase behaviour. Whereas the phase behaviour of GMO is diverse and dominated by cubic phases, the phase behaviour of oleyl glycerate and a terpenoid analogue phytanyl (3,7,11,15-tetramethyl-hexadecane) glycerate is much simplified. Both exhibit an inverse hexagonal phase (H-II), which is stable to dilution with excess water, and an inverse micellar phase (L-II) at ambient temperatures. The inverse hexagonal phases formed by oleyl glycerate and phytanyl glycerate have been characterized using SAXS. Analogous to GMO cubosomes, the inverse hexagonal phase of phytanyl glycerate has been dispersed to form hexagonally facetted particles, termed hexosomes, whose structure has been verified using cryo-TEM