A discrete firefly algorithm to solve a rich vehicle routing problem modelling a newspaper distribution system with recycling policy

A real-world newspaper distribution problem with recycling policy is tackled in this work. In order to meet all the complex restrictions contained in such a problem, it has been modeled as a rich vehicle routing problem, which can be more specifically considered as an asymmetric and clustered vehicle routing problem with simultaneous pickup and deliveries, variable costs and forbidden paths (AC-VRP-SPDVCFP). This is the first study of such a problem in the literature. For this reason, a benchmark composed by 15 instances has been also proposed. In the design of this benchmark, real geographical positions have been used, located in the province of Bizkaia, Spain. For the proper treatment of this AC-VRP-SPDVCFP, a discrete firefly algorithm (DFA) has been developed. This application is the first application of the firefly algorithm to any rich vehicle routing problem. To prove that the proposed DFA is a promising technique, its performance has been compared with two other well-known techniques: an evolutionary algorithm and an evolutionary simulated annealing. Our results have shown that the DFA has outperformed these two classic meta-heuristics

Marker-free transgenic rice lines with a defensin gene are potentially active against phytopathogenic fungus Sarocladium oryzae

In this work it was developed marker-free transgenic indica rice plants (cv J-104) by biolistic co-transformation and segregation approach. We attempted to express the NmDef02 antifungal defensin. Primary transformants were regenerated from embryogenic callus on culture medium with 50 mg/L hygromycin. Screening of hpt-marker-free transgenic lines was made by PCR in T1 progeny lines, germinated on semisolid medium without hygromycin. Relative expression of NmDef02 mRNA was examined by quantitative RT-PCR in marker-free T1 plants. In vitro antifungal test was performed by disk diffusion assay against Sarocladium oryzae. PCR assay verified that 15.12% of T1 plants were marker-free (NmDef02+/hpt−). RT-PCR analysis indicated that NmDef02 gene was successfully transcribed and the transgenic lines displayed different expression levels of the NmDef02 cDNA. Protein extracts of marker-free lines with high relative expression of NmDef02 inhibited fungus mycelial growth around disks. In contrast, it was confirmed fungus proliferation on disks impregnated with protein extracts of non-transgenic plants. The results of the present work demonstrated that the expression of the NmDef02 defensin in transgenic rice plants is effective against the phytopathogenic fungus Sarocladium oryzae under in vitro conditions. Thus, NmDef02 defensin could be a useful tool for J-104 rice improvement

Maintaining distances with the engineer: patterns of coexistence in plant communities beyond the patch-bare dichotomy

Two-phase plant communities with an engineer conforming conspicuous patches and affecting the performance and patterns of coexisting species are the norm under stressful conditions. To unveil the mechanisms governing coexistence in these communities at multiple spatial scales, we have developed a new point-raster approach of spatial pattern analysis, which was applied to a Mediterranean high mountain grassland to show how Festuca curvifolia patches affect the local distribution of coexisting species. We recorded 22 111 individuals of 17 plant perennial species. Most coexisting species were negatively associated with F. curvifolia clumps. Nevertheless, bivariate nearest-neighbor analyses revealed that the majority of coexisting species were confined at relatively short distances from F. curvifolia borders (between 0-2 cm and up to 8 cm in some cases). Our study suggests the existence of a fine-scale effect of F. curvifolia for most species promoting coexistence through a mechanism we call 'facilitation in the halo'. Most coexisting species are displaced to an interphase area between patches, where two opposite forces reach equilibrium: attenuated severe conditions by proximity to the F. curvifolia canopy (nutrient-rich islands) and competitive exclusion mitigated by avoiding direct contact with F. curvifolia

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.

Polimorfismos de los genes CCR5, IL-6, IFN-γ e IL-10 en pacientes cubanos con VIH/sidaPolymorphisms of CCR5, IL-6, IFN-γ and IL-10 genes in Cuban HIV/AIDS patients

[EN] Introduction: Genetic studies have shown associations of several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) with different rates of progression and variation in susceptibility to HIV infection. This study aimed to estimate the frequency of ccr5Δ32, IL-6-174G/C, IFN-γ+874T/A and IL-10-1082A/G polymorphisms in Cuban HIV-infected patients and a group of sero-discordant couples to assess their influence on risk and disease progression. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 120 subjects registered at the Institute of Tropical Medicine «Pedro Kour» (IPK) and the Ameijeiras Hospital from June 2018 until December 2019. The amplification of fragments of the ccr5, IL-6, IFN-γ and IL-10 genes was performed by polymerase chain reaction followed by identification of polymorphisms using the restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis for IL-6 with the restriction enzymes Nla III. Amplification refractory mutation system was used for IFN-γ and IL-10 genes. Results: The allelic and genotypic distributions of the genes ccr5, IL-6, IFN-γ and IL-10 did not differ significantly between the two groups. Cell counts and plasma viral load values did not differ significantly between genotypes of the ccr5, IL-6, IFN-γ and IL-10 genes. Only the IL-6 GC genotype was associated with higher viral load values. The combination of alleles of the four considered SNPs showed a highly significant increase in the risk of HIV infection for one of them, but with a very low frequency (< 1%). Conclusion: This study contributes to evaluating the frequency of these polymorphisms and their influence on biomarkers of the progression of HIV infection in the Cuban HIV-population.[ES] Introducción: Los estudios genéticos han demostrado asociaciones de varios polimorfismos de un solo nucleótido (SNP) con diferentes tasas de progresión y variación en la susceptibilidad a la infección por VIH. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo estimar la frecuencia de los polimorfismos ccr5Δ32, IL-6-174G/C, IFN-γ+874T/A e IL-10-1082A/G en pacientes cubanos infectados por VIH y un grupo de parejas serodiscordantes para evaluar su influencia sobre el riesgo y la progresión de la enfermedad. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio transversal en 120 sujetos atendidos en el Instituto de Medicina Tropical «Pedro Kour» (IPK) y el Hospital Hermanos Ameijeiras entre junio de 2018 y diciembre de 2019. La amplificación de los fragmentos de los genes ccr5, IL-6, IFN-γ e IL-10 se realizó mediante reacción en cadena de la polimerasa seguida por el análisis del polimorfismo de fragmentos de restricción utilizando la enzima Nla III para la IL-6. El sistema de mutación refractario a la amplificación por PCR se utilizó en el caso de los genes IFN-γ e IL-10. Resultados: Las distribuciones alélicas y genotípicas de los genes ccr5, IL-6, IFN-γ e IL-10 no difirieron significativamente entre los dos grupos. Los recuentos celulares y los valores de carga viral en plasma no difirieron significativamente entre los genotipos de los genes ccr5, IL-6, IFN-γ e IL-10. Solo el genotipo IL-6 GC se asoció con valores más altos de carga viral. La combinación de alelos de los cuatro SNP considerados mostró un aumento muy significativo del riesgo de infección por VIH para uno de ellos, pero con una frecuencia muy baja (< 1%). Conclusión: Este estudio contribuye a evaluar la frecuencia de estos polimorfismos y su influencia en los biomarcadores de la progresión de la infección por VIH en la población cubana con infección por el VIH.Peer reviewe

Super-resolution with selective filter based on adaptive window and variable macro-block size

Super-resolution (SR) covers a set of techniques whose objective is to improve the spatial resolution of a video sequence or a single frame. In this scope, fusion SR techniques obtain high-resolution (HR) frames taking as a reference several low-resolution (LR) frames contained in a video sequence. This paper is based on a selective filter to decide the best LR frames to be used in the super-resolution process. Additionally, each frame division into macro-blocks (MBs) is analyzed both in a fixed block size approach, which decides which MBs should be used in the process, and in a variable block size approach with an adaptive MB size, which has been developed to set an appropriate frame division into MBs with variable size. These contributions not only improve the quality of video sequences, but also reduce the computational cost of a baseline SR algorithm, avoiding the incorporation of non-correlated data. Furthermore, this paper explains the way in which the enhanced algorithm proposed in it outperforms the quality of typical SR applications, such as underwater imagery, surveillance video, or remote sensing. The results are provided in a test environment to objectively compare the image quality enhancement obtained by bilinear interpolation, by the baseline SR algorithm, and by the proposed methods, thus presenting a quantitative comparison based on peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and Structural SIMilarity (SSIM) index parameters. The comparison has also been extended to other relevant proposals of the state of the art. The proposed algorithm significantly speeds up the previous ones, allowing real-time execution under certain conditions.4063890,3662,588Q2Q2SCI

High co-infection rates of babesia bovis, <em>babesia bigemina</em>, and anaplasma marginale in water buffalo in western cuba

International audienceWater buffalo is important livestock in several countries in the Latin American and Caribbean regions. This buffalo species can be infected by tick-borne hemoparasites and remains a carrier of these pathogens which represent a risk of infection for more susceptible species like cattle. Therefore, studies on the epidemiology of tick-borne hemoparasites in buffaloes are required. In this study, the prevalence of Babesia bovis, Babesia bigemina, and Anaplasma marginale were determined in water buffalo herds of western Cuba. To this aim, a cross-sectional study covering farms with large buffalo populations in the region was performed. Eight buffalo herds were randomly selected, and blood samples were collected from 328 animals, including 63 calves (3-14months), 75 young animals (3-5years), and 190 adult animals (>5years). Species-specific nested PCR and indirect ELISA assays were used to determine the molecular and serological prevalences of each hemoparasite, respectively. The molecular and serological prevalence was greater than 50% for the three hemoparasites. Differences were found in infection prevalence among buffalo herds, suggesting that local epidemiological factors may influence infection risk. Animals of all age groups were infected, with a higher molecular prevalence of B. bigemina and A. marginale in young buffalo and calves, respectively, while a stepwise increase in seroprevalence of B. bovis and B. bigemina from calves to adult buffaloes was found. The co-infection by the three pathogens was found in 12% of animals, and when analyzed by pair, the co-infections of B. bovis and B. bigemina, B. bigemina and A. marginale, and B. bovis and A. marginale were found in 20%, 24%, and 26%, respectively, underlying the positive interaction between these pathogens infecting buffaloes. These results provide evidence that tick-borne pathogen infections can be widespread among water buffalo populations in tropical livestock ecosystems. Further studies should evaluate whether these pathogens affect the health status and productive performance of water buffalo and infection risk of these pathogens in cattle cohabiting with buffalo