Corpora Amylacea of Brain Tissue from Neurodegenerative Diseases Are Stained with Specific Antifungal Antibodies

The origin and potential function of corpora amylacea (CA) remains largely unknown. Low numbers of CA are detected in the aging brain of normal individuals but they are abundant in the central nervous system of patients with neurodegenerative diseases. In the present study, we show that CA from patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) contain fungal proteins as detected by immunohistochemistry analyses. Accordingly, CA were labeled with different anti-fungal antibodies at the external surface, whereas the central portion composed of calcium salts contain less proteins. Detection of fungal proteins was achieved using a number of antibodies raised against different fungal species, which indicated cross-reactivity between the fungal proteins present in CA and the antibodies employed. Importantly, these antibodies do not immunoreact with cellular proteins. Additionally, CNS samples from patients diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson's disease (PD) also contained CA that were immunoreactive with a range of antifungal antibodies. However, CA were less abundant in ALS or PD patients as compared to CNS samples from AD. By contrast, CA from brain tissue of control subjects were almost devoid of fungal immunoreactivity. These observations are consistent with the concept that CA associate with fungal infections and may contribute to the elucidation of the origin of CAThe financial support of Fundación ONCE (Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles) is acknowledged. We acknowledge an institutional grant to Centro de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa” from the Fundación Ramón Arece

Identifying the Comparative Advantage of Products and Industries of South Africa’s Mpumalanga Province

Knowledge of a region’s comparative advantage may dictate its industrial development agenda and realistic export opportunities. Through the effective targeting of specific sectors and industries within the South African provinces, provincial government entities can determine which sector or industry could gain the most from effective targeting for industrial development, development planning and export promotion. This study determined the comparative advantage of South Africa’s Mpumalanga province by estimating the Revealed Comparative Advantage Index (RCA). The study revealed that the products with the highest comparative advantage (RCA) and realistic export opportunities (REO) are manganese products, salted meat (beef), frozen fish, chewing gum, tomatoes, soups and broths. In addition, the results of the RCA analysis were matched to the export opportunities identified by the decision support model (TRADE-DSM) to determine which of the comparative advantage products have realistic export opportunities. Eight of the top 15 comparative advantage products were found to have realistic export opportunities according to the TRADE-DSM.Keywords: Competitiveness, Decision Support Model (DSM), Export, Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA), Mpumalanga Province, Trade, South Afric

A Double Fourier-Transform Imaging Algorithm for a 24 GHz FMCW Short-Range Radar

A frequency-modulated continuous-wave radar for short-range target imaging, assembling a transceiver, a PLL, an SP4T switch, and a serial patch antenna array, was realized. A new algorithm based on a double Fourier transform (2D-FT) was developed and compared with the delay and sum (DAS) and multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithms proposed in the literature for target detection. The three reconstruction algorithms were applied to simulated canonical cases evidencing radar resolutions close to the theoretical ones. The proposed 2D-FT algorithm exhibits an angle of view greater than 25° and is five times faster than DAS and 20 times faster than the MUSIC one. The realized radar shows a range resolution of 55 cm and an angular resolution of 14° and is able to correctly identify the positions of single and multiple targets in realistic scenarios, with errors lower than 20 cm

The spatial trend associations between socio-economic factors and households’ travel pattern in Gauteng

It is widely believed that public transport alternatives, income levels and employment influence households’ travel patterns and modal choice. In particular, the level of employment and disposable income influences trip generation rates as well as the type of trips that are undertaken. The dual nature of Gauteng’s and South Africa’s economy creates a diverse socio-economic landscape and it is expected that this has varying effects on household travel patterns and modal choice. However, not enough is known about the relationship between socio-economic factors and households’ travel patterns in South Africa. The aim of this study is to describe the spatial trend associations between socio-economic factors and households’ travel patterns in Gauteng by analyzing data from the Gauteng Household Travel Survey. The results revealed trend associations between 1) income, employment, possession of a driver’s license and car ownership 2) income, employment and trip generation rates 3) income, employment and mode choice and 4) income, employment and type of trip. The results suggest that private cars are the preferred mode above a certain income threshold and that public transport alternatives are limited and not preferred. This study highlights that improvements in public transport alternatives can significantly influence households’ travel patternsPapers Presented at the 2018 37th Southern African Transport Conference 9-12 July 2018 Pretoria, South Africa. Theme "Towards a desired transport future: safe, sufficient and affordable"

Límites en el uso de balances de exergía en los sistemas de cogeneración.

El balance exergético de un proceso de cogeneración de Fuerza Motriz (o Energía Eléctrica) y vapor para procesos industriales de calefacción (calentamiento, evaporación, cocimiento, destilación, etc), resulta útil cuando se trata de optimizar las instalaciones. No obstante, para evaluar los probables beneficios, es necesaria la comparación de los balances energéticos globales del proceso.\ud En este trabajo, se toman como ejemplos dos casos:\ud a) Análisis de las pérdidas de exergía debidas a la caída de presión en la tubería que conduce vapor desde la caldera hasta la turbina y la incidencia de la reducción de las mismas en las necesidades energéticas del sector de calefacción.\ud b) Análisis de un sistema de evaporación de múltiples efectos con extracciones de vapor para calefacción de jugo.\ud De este estudio se concluye que considerar solamente el balance exergético para valorar los beneficios de las modificaciones propuestas en estos casos, puede conducir a confusiones en la interpretación de los resultados o resultar un trabajo superfluo

A case study of a density structure over a vertical magnetic field region in the Martian ionosphere

One of the discoveries made by the radar sounder on the Mars Express spacecraft is the existence of magnetically controlled structures in the ionosphere of Mars, which result in bulges in the ionospheric electron density contours. These bulges lead in turn to oblique echoes, which show up as hyperbola-shaped features in the echograms. A hyperbola-shaped feature observed over an isolated region of strong crustal magnetic field is associated with a plasma cavity in the upper ionosphere and a corresponding density enhancement in the lower levels of the ionosphere. We suggest that along open magnetic field lines, the solar wind electrons are accelerated downward and the ionospheric ions are accelerated upward in a manner similar to the field line-driven auroral acceleration at Earth. This heating due to precipitating electrons may cause an increase in the scale height and may drive a loss of ionospheric plasma at high altitudes

Fabrication of CZTSe/CIGS Nanowire Arrays by One-Step Electrodeposition for Solar-Cell Application

The paper reports some preliminary results concerning the manufacturing process of CuZnSnSe (CZTSe) and CuInGaSe (CIGS) nanowire arrays obtained by one-step electrodeposition for p-n junction fabrication. CZTSe nanowires were obtained through electrodeposition in a polycarbonate membrane by applying a rectangular pulsed current, while their morphology was optimized by appropriately setting the potential and the electrolyte composition. The electrochemical parameters, including pH and composition of the solution, were optimized to obtain a mechanically stable array of nanowires. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and energy-dispersion spectroscopy. The nanostructures obtained showed a cylindrical shape with an average diameter of about 230 nm and a length of about 3 m, and were interconnected due to the morphology of the polycarbonate membrane. To create the p-n junctions, first a thin film of CZTSe was electrodeposited to avoid direct contact between the ZnS and Mo. Subsequently, an annealing process was carried out at 500 °C in a S atmosphere for 40 min. The ZnS was obtained by chemical bath deposition at 95 °C for 90 min. Finally, to complete the cell, ZnO and ZnO:Al layers were deposited by magnetron-sputtering

Numerical and experimental comparison among a new hybrid FT-music technique and existing algorithms for through-the-wall radar imaging

A fast low-cost through-the-wall radar imaging (TWRI) system, based on a vector network analyzer (VNA), a couple of switches and an array of Vivaldi antennas, has been designed, realized, and tested. To solve the TWRI inversion problem, an original theoretical modeling for a class of TWRI techniques whose basic functions are the cross-range Fourier transform (FT) of the scattered field and its covariance operator has been proposed. Using these functions, four conventional algorithms, namely the delay and sum (DAS), the FT, the multiple signal classification (MUSIC), the hybrid DAS-MUSIC and a new algorithm, the hybrid FT-MUSIC, have been derived. All these techniques have been implemented and their accuracy and field of view have been tested on canonical scatterers. Then, the algorithms have been applied to measured data collected in different scenarios constituted by a metallic bar or a human subject in the absence and in the presence of a wall between the antenna and the considered targets. Using the proposed TWRI system, it has been possible to detect a subject located up to 5-m away from the radar antenna array through a tuff wall. The proposed FT-MUSIC algorithm has evidenced performances similar to those of the DAS-MUSIC but with significantly lower execution times. Finally, FT-MUSIC performances in terms of field of view and immunity to disturbances are better compared to those of the MUSIC algorithm