Letter from Ramon Figueroa to Minor Rootes

A letter from Ramon Figueroa, Administrative Assitant of USO Shows, to Minor Rootes concerning per diem payment from the Gorham State College 1970-1971 USO Tour.https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/theatre-uso-tour/1014/thumbnail.jp

Plan de Negocios : “Proyecto Inmobiliario Sakura”

The SAKURA real estate project is an apartment building developed by the company Ramon & Figueroa, located in the sector of Cumbayá, Quito. The business plan aims to determine the viability of the project by evaluating different criteria, such as the location of the project, the economic environment, architectural analysis, supply and demand of the area, cost analysis and financial analysis...El proyecto Inmobiliario SAKURA, es un edificio de departamentos desarrollado por la constructora Ramon & Figueroa, ubicado en la parroquia de Cumbayá, ciudad de Quito. En el presente Plan de Negocio tiene como objetivo determinar la viabilidad del proyecto mediante la evaluación de diferentes criterios tales como la ubicación del proyecto, entorno macro económico del país, análisis arquitectónico, oferta y demanda de la zona, análisis de costos y análisis financiero..

Taurine Treatment Modulates Circadian Rhythms in Mice Fed A High Fat Diet

Close ties have been made among certain nutrients, obesity, type 2 diabetes and circadian clocks. Among nutrients, taurine has been documented as being effective against obesity and type 2 diabetes. However, the impact of taurine on circadian clocks has not been elucidated. We investigated whether taurine can modulate or correct disturbances in daily rhythms caused by a high-fat diet in mice. Male C57BL/6 mice were divided in four groups: control (C), control + taurine (C+T), high-fat diet (HFD) and HFD + taurine (HFD+T). They were administered 2% taurine in their drinking water for 10 weeks. Mice were euthanized at 6:00, 12:00, 18:00, and 24:00. HFD mice increased body weight, visceral fat and food intake, as well as higher levels of glucose, insulin and leptin, throughout the 24 h. Taurine prevented increments in food intake, body weight and visceral fat, improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity and reduced disturbances in the 24 h patterns of plasma insulin and leptin. HFD downregulated the expression of clock genes Rev-erbα, Bmal1, and Per1 in pancreatic islets. Taurine normalized the gene and protein expression of PER1 in beta-cells, which suggests that it could be beneficial for the correction of daily rhythms and the amelioration of obesity and diabetes

Labeling Generating Matrices

This paper is mainly devoted to generate (special)(super) edge-magic labelings of graphs using matrices. Matrices are used in order to find lower bounds for the number of non-isomorphic (special)(super) edge-magic labelings of certain types of graphs. Also new applications of graph labelings are discussed

Contribution to the knowledge of continental ostracod from Chile

Our knowledge of continental ostracods in South America is still in its infancy with a total of only 260 species (MARTENS & BEHEN, 1994). Particularly in Chile, it is still scarce and scattered, with large voids in the taxonomy and distribution. In Chile, the first records were reported by DADAY (1902), BREHM (1934) and LÖFFLER (1961a, b). Later, SCHWALB & BURNS (1999) cited species of Limnocytheridae and KARANOVIC (2012) provided new records of Candonidae from Chile. The main objective of this work is to provide a checklist of ostracods in Chile with updated distributional records.Fil: Cardenas, Javiera. Universidad de Concepción; ChileFil: Baltanas, Angel. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; EspañaFil: Figueroa, Ricardo. Universidad de Concepción; ChileFil: Cusminsky, Gabriela Catalina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación En Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Laprida, Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos; ArgentinaFil: Ramon Mercau, Josefina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Alvarez, Denisse. Universidad de Concepción; ChileFil: Urrutia, Roberto. Universidad de Concepción; Chil

An RFM Model Customizable to Product Catalogues and Marketing Criteria Using Fuzzy Linguistic Models: Case Study of a Retail Business

In the field of strategic marketing, the recency, frequency and monetary (RFM) variables model has been applied for years to determine how solid a database is in terms of spending and customer activity. Retailers almost never obtain data related to their customers beyond their purchase history, and if they do, the information is often out of date. This work presents a new method, based on the fuzzy linguistic 2-tuple model and the definition of product hierarchies, which provides a linguistic interpretability giving business meaning and improving the precision of conventional models. The fuzzy linguistic 2-tuple RFM model, adapted by the product hierarchy thanks to the analytical hierarchical process (AHP), is revealed to be a useful tool for including business criteria, product catalogues and customer insights in the definition of commercial strategies. The result of our method is a complete customer segmentation that enriches the clusters obtained with the traditional fuzzy linguistic 2-tuple RFM model and offers a clear view of customers’ preferences and possible actions to define cross- and up-selling strategies. A real case study based on a worldwide leader in home decoration was developed to guide, step by step, other researchers and marketers. The model was built using the only information that retailers always have: customers’ purchase ticket details

Involvement of the clock gene Rev-erb alpha in the regulation of glucagon secretion in pancreatic alpha-cells

Disruption of pancreatic clock genes impairs pancreatic beta-cell function, leading to the onset of diabetes. Despite the importance of pancreatic alpha-cells in the regulation of glucose homeostasis and in diabetes pathophysiology, nothing is known about the role of clock genes in these cells. Here, we identify the clock gene Rev-erb alpha as a new intracellular regulator of glucagon secretion. Rev-erb alpha down-regulation by siRNA (60-70% inhibition) in alphaTC1-9 cells inhibited low-glucose induced glucagon secretion (p<0.05) and led to a decrease in key genes of the exocytotic machinery. The Rev-erb alpha agonist GSK4112 increased glucagon secretion (1.6 fold) and intracellular calcium signals in alphaTC1-9 cells and mouse primary alpha-cells, whereas the Rev-erb alpha antagonist SR8278 produced the opposite effect. At 0.5 mM glucose, alphaTC1-9 cells exhibited intrinsic circadian Rev-erb alpha expression oscillations that were inhibited by 11 mM glucose. In mouse primary alpha-cells, glucose induced similar effects (p<0.001). High glucose inhibited key genes controlled by AMPK such as Nampt, Sirt1 and PGC-1 alpha in alphaTC1-9 cells (p<0.05). AMPK activation by metformin completely reversed the inhibitory effect of glucose on Nampt-Sirt1-PGC-1 alpha and Rev-erb alpha. Nampt inhibition decreased Sirt1, PGC-1 alpha and Rev-erb alpha mRNA expression (p<0.01) and glucagon release (p<0.05). These findings identify Rev-erb alpha as a new intracellular regulator of glucagon secretion via AMPK/Nampt/Sirt1 pathway

Altered clock gene expression in obese visceral adipose tissue is associated with metabolic syndrome

Clock gene expression was associated with different components of metabolic syndrome (MS) in human adipose tissue. However, no study has been done to compare the expression of clock genes in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) from lean and obese subjects and its clinical implications. Therefore, we studied in lean and obese women the endogenous 24 h expression of clock genes in isolated adipocytes and its association with MS components. VAT was obtained from lean (BMI 21-25 kg/m2; n = 21) and morbidly obese women (BMI >40 kg/m2; n = 28). The 24 h pattern of clock genes was analyzed every 6 hours using RT-PCR. Correlation of clinical data was studied by Spearman analysis. The 24 h pattern of clock genes showed that obesity alters the expression of CLOCK, BMAL1, PER1, CRY2 and REV-ERB ALPHA in adipocytes with changes found in CRY2 and REV-ERB ALPHA throughout the 24 h period. The same results were confirmed in VAT and stromal cells (SC) showing an upregulation of CRY2 and REV-ERB ALPHA from obese women. A positive correlation was observed for REV-ERB ALPHA gene expression with BMI and waist circumference in the obese population. Expression of ROR ALPHA was correlated with HDL levels and CLOCK with LDL. Obese subjects with MS exhibited positive correlation in the PER2 gene with LDL cholesterol, whereas REV-ERB ALPHA was correlated with waist circumference. We identified CRY2 and REV-ERB ALPHA as the clock genes upregulated in obesity during the 24 h period and that REV-ERB ALPHA is an important gene associated with MS

Evaluacion del efecto de tres protocolos de despanoje sobre el rendimiento de maiz (Zea mays) semillero en una linea precoz

44 p.En éste ensayo se evalúo el efecto sobre variables vegetativas y de rendimiento de tres protocolos de despanoje en una línea precoz fértil y macho estéril, para la producción híbrida de maíz: eliminación de la panoja (flor masculina) en la línea hembra con 2 hojas envueltas (2HP); eliminación de la panoja (flor masculina) con 1 hoja envuelta o panoja expuesta (1 HP); corte mecánico severo en la segunda hoja por sobre la mazorca principal; y testigo sin despanoje en la línea macho estéril. El ensayo se realizó en la localidad de Pelarco en la región del Maule. El diseño estadístico fue de bloques al azar con cuatro repeticiones por tratamiento, cada parcela con 220 a 240 plantas. Las variables medidas en estos ensayos fueron, altura de plantas, número de hojas por planta, rendimiento bruto seco y rendimiento de semillas, tamaño de mazorca, número de hileras por mazorca, número de filas por mazorca, número de granos por mazorca, porcentajes de humedad pos-tratamiento y porcentaje de humedad en cosecha. Los resultados muestran que las variables vegetativas tamaño de planta y número de hojas por planta disminuyeron con el despanoje mecánico, en ambas líneas. El rendimiento de semillas en la línea fértil disminuyó con el despanoje mecánico, no así en la línea estéril, aunque si existe una tendencia a decender el rendimiento en esta última. Los componentes del rendimiento no se vieron afectados por los diferentes protocolos de despanoje utilizados./ ABSTRACT: In this study of three protocols of detasseling on a precocious fertile and malesterile inbreed for hybrid maize: remove of the panicle with two leaves around (manual detasseling); remove of the panicle with one leaf around it (manual detaseling and the most common practice in Chile); mechanical detasseling at two leaves above the main cob; and control without detassaling in the sterile line. Trials were conducted in the town of Pelarco in the Maule region The experimental design was a randomized block with four replicates, each plot with 220-240 plants. Evaluations were plant height, number of leaves per plant, gross and seed yield, cob size, grain lines per cob, number of rows per cob, number of grain per cob, grain humidity after treatment and at harvest,. The results obtained show that the vegetative variables plant size and number of leaves per plant were reduced by the mechanical detasseling in both fertile and malesterile lines. Seed yield in the fertile line decreased with the mechanical detasseling but not in the male-sterile line, although there was a tendency to decrease in the latter. The yield components were not affected by the different protocols of detasseling used

Development of Kraft Lignin Chemically Modified as a Novel Crosslinking Agent for the Synthesis of Active Hydrogels

In this research a chemical modification of kraft lignin was carried out using a basic nucleophilic substitution reaction (NSA) in order to functionalize it as a novel crosslinking agent for the synthesis of active hydrogels. The chemical modification success of the synthesized crosslinker was demonstrated by using several techniques such as volumetry probes, FTIR, 1H-NMR and DSC. Thus, the obtained materials were employed during the synthesis of acrylic acid-based hydrogels, due to its high-water absorption capacity to evaluate their retention potential of heavy metal ions. Characterization of the active hydrogels were performed by FTIR and SEM, showing the specific signals corresponding to the base monomers into the polymer skeleton and the efficiency of modified kraft lignin as a novel crosslinking agent. Additionally, to demonstrate the potential use of these hydrogels in wastewater treatment, metal ions adsorption experiments were conducted, showing adsorption percentages higher than 90% and 80% for Pb2+ and Cu2+, respectively