Efectos del cloruro de cloro colina y el paclobutrazol sobre el crecimiento de plantas y la calidad de raíces tuberosas de mandioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz cv. Rocha)

The effects of chlorocholine chloride (CCC) and paclobutrazol (PBZ) foliar application on shoot and root parameters of cassava field-grown plants were studied (0, 45 and 90 mg active ingredient per plant). CCC and PBZ reduced total plant and first branch height, aerial fresh mass and tuberous root number. PBZ delayed branching and significantly decreased tuberous root fresh mass, while CCC caused no modifications in these parameters. In addition, CCC and PBZ treatments did not modify tuberous root diameter, while PBZ reduced tuberous root length significantly. Starch content was increased by both growth regulators at the lower dose, whereas dry matter content was increased only by CCC. In conclusion, CCC suppresses excessive vegetative growth, favours quality attributes and does not alter yield, hence improving harvest index. Although PBZ at a low dose increases the starch content and harvest index, its effects on other parameters are undesirable.Fil: Medina, Ricardo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; ArgentinaFil: Burgos, A.. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste; ArgentinaFil: Difranco, V.. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste; ArgentinaFil: Mroginski, Luis Amado. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; ArgentinaFil: Cenóz, P.. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste; Argentin

Mapping networks of anti-HIV drug cocktails vs. AIDS epidemiology in the US counties

[Abstract] The implementation of the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and the combination of anti-HIV drugs have resulted in longer survival and a better quality of life for the people infected with the virus. In this work, a method is proposed to map complex networks of AIDS prevalence in the US counties, incorporating information about the chemical structure, molecular target, organism, and results in preclinical protocols of assay for all drugs in the cocktail. Different machine learning methods were trained and validated to select the best model. The Shannon information invariants of molecular graphs for drugs, and social networks of income inequality were used as input. The nodes in molecular graphs represent atoms weighed by Pauling electronegativity values, and the links correspond to the chemical bonds. On the other hand, the nodes in the social network represent the US counties and have Gini coefficients as weights. We obtained the data about anti-HIV drugs from the ChEMBL database and the data about AIDS prevalence and Gini coefficient from the AIDSVu database of Emory University. Box–Jenkins operators were used to measure the shift with respect to average behavior of drugs from reference compounds assayed with/in a given protocol, target, or organism. To train/validate the model and predict the complex network, we needed to analyze 152,628 data points including values of AIDS prevalence in 2310 counties in the US vs. ChEMBL results for 21,582 unique drugs, 9 viral or human protein targets, 4856 protocols, and 10 possible experimental measures. The best model found was a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) with accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity above 0.80 in training and external validation series.Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deportes; AGL2011-30563-C03-0

Serendipitous discovery of RR Lyrae stars in the Leo V ultra-faint galaxy

During the analysis of RR Lyrae stars discovered in the High cadence Transient Survey (HiTS) taken with the Dark Energy Camera at the 4-m telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, we found a group of three very distant, fundamental mode pulsator RR Lyrae (type ab). The location of these stars agrees with them belonging to the Leo V ultra-faint satellite galaxy, for which no variable stars have been reported to date. The heliocentric distance derived for Leo V based on these stars is 173 +/- 5 kpc. The pulsational properties (amplitudes and periods) of these stars locate them within the locus of the Oosterhoff II group, similar to most other ultra-faint galaxies with known RR Lyrae stars. This serendipitous discovery shows that distant RR Lyrae stars may be used to search for unknown faint stellar systems in the outskirts of the Milky Way.Comment: Accepted in ApJ Letter

Mapping chemical structure-activity information of HAART-drug cocktails over complex networks of AIDS epidemiology and socioeconomic data of U.S. counties

[Abstract] Using computational algorithms to design tailored drug cocktails for highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on specific populations is a goal of major importance for both pharmaceutical industry and public health policy institutions. New combinations of compounds need to be predicted in order to design HAART cocktails. On the one hand, there are the biomolecular factors related to the drugs in the cocktail (experimental measure, chemical structure, drug target, assay organisms, etc.); on the other hand, there are the socioeconomic factors of the specific population (income inequalities, employment levels, fiscal pressure, education, migration, population structure, etc.) to study the relationship between the socioeconomic status and the disease. In this context, machine learning algorithms, able to seek models for problems with multi-source data, have to be used. In this work, the first artificial neural network (ANN) model is proposed for the prediction of HAART cocktails, to halt AIDS on epidemic networks of U.S. counties using information indices that codify both biomolecular and several socioeconomic factors. The data was obtained from at least three major sources. The first dataset included assays of anti-HIV chemical compounds released to ChEMBL. The second dataset is the AIDSVu database of Emory University. AIDSVu compiled AIDS prevalence for >2300 U.S. counties. The third data set included socioeconomic data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Three scales or levels were employed to group the counties according to the location or population structure codes: state, rural urban continuum code (RUCC) and urban influence code (UIC). An analysis of >130,000 pairs (network links) was performed, corresponding to AIDS prevalence in 2310 counties in U.S. vs. drug cocktails made up of combinations of ChEMBL results for 21,582 unique drugs, 9 viral or human protein targets, 4856 protocols, and 10 possible experimental measures. The best model found with the original data was a linear neural network (LNN) with AUROC > 0.80 and accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity ≈ 77% in training and external validation series. The change of the spatial and population structure scale (State, UIC, or RUCC codes) does not affect the quality of the model. Unbalance was detected in all the models found comparing positive/negative cases and linear/non-linear model accuracy ratios. Using synthetic minority over-sampling technique (SMOTE), data pre-processing and machine-learning algorithms implemented into the WEKA software, more balanced models were found. In particular, a multilayer perceptron (MLP) with AUROC = 97.4% and precision, recall, and F-measure >90% was found

Experimental verification of extraordinary transmission without surface plasmons

This letter provides an experimental demonstration of extraordinary transmission in a closed waveguide system loaded with an electrically small diaphragm. This is a situation where the standard surface plasmon polariton (SPP) theory does not apply. The theoretical explanation is then based on the concept of impedance matching. This concept has previously been applied by some of the authors to account for enhanced transmission in situations where surface plasmon theory can be used: periodic arrays of small holes or slits in flat metal screens. The experiment in this letter supports the impedance matching model, valid for when SPPs are present or not.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TEC2007-65376, CSD2008- 00066Junta de Andalucía TIC-25

Larval development of the spotfin tonguefish (Symphurus oligomerus Mahadeva and Munroe, 1990) (Pleuronectiformes: Cynoglossidae) from the Gulf of California, Mexico

Larval and early juvenile stages of Symphurus oligomerus are described from 24 specimens from the Gulf of California. Meristic features were 48 – 49 total vertebrae, 87–94 dorsal-fin rays, 73–77 anal-fin rays, 12 caudal-fin rays, and five hypural bones. Seven larvae and one juvenile were cleared and stained to obtain the pterygiophore formula (1-3-2-2-2) that confirmed the identification of S. oligomerus. The pigment pattern from preflexion to juvenile stage consists of three bands on the dorsal margin and two bands on the ventral margin formed by star-shaped melanophores on the left side of the body. The intestine in preflexion to postflexion larvae forms an abdominal projection that ends in a short conical appendix. The intestine is supported by three cartilaginous struts; larvae with these physical attributes are called exterilium larvae. Preflexion larvae have two elongated dorsal-fin rays, and in flexion to postflexion larvae the second to the fourth dorsalfin rays are elongate. We found an apparent connection between the size at metamorphosis of the species of Symphurus and the depth distribution range of adults such that the fish species that metamorphose at a larger size have a deeper distribution as adults and exterilium larvae seem to correspond to species that have deeper distributions

Digestibility of a diet with hydroponic maize (Zea mays L.) green fodder and its effect on lamb growth

Objective: To determine the apparent digestibility (AD) of diets with hydroponic green corn forage (HGCF) and to evaluate its effect on the dry matter (DM) intake and daily weight gain (DWG) of lambs. Design/methodology/approach: Two experiments using four levels of inclusion (0, 20, 40, 60% DM) of HGCF in the diet were carried out. For determine the AD of diet 16 sheep were used and for the growth evaluation 20 male lambs. A completely randomized design in both studies was used. Results: A higher AD of DM and crude protein in diets with 40% and 60% of HGCF was observed (P<0.05; P<0.01). Lambs from 0 and 20% HGCF treatment had a higher DWG. A lower DM intake in 60% HGCF diet was registered (P<0.05). Limitations on study/implications: Currently there are various methods to supplement sheep during dry season, however, few are fully adapted to the needs of farmers. Hydroponic green corn forage is a valuable alternative for fast and constant production of forage with high nutritional value for sheep. Findings/conclusions: Hydroponic green corn forage has high digestibility, therefore, it can be used as an excellent source of forage in the diet of lambs, obtaining appropriate weight gains with rations that include up to 40% in the diet to replace commercial food.Objective: To determine the apparent digestibility (AD) of diets with hydroponic green corn forage (HGCF) and to evaluate its effect on the dry matter (DM) intake and daily weight gain (DWG) of lambs. Design/methodology/approach: Two experiments using four levels of inclusion (0, 20, 40, 60% DM) of HGCF in the diet were carried out. For determine the AD of diet 16 sheep were used and for the growth evaluation 20 male lambs. A completely randomized design in both studies was used. Results: A higher AD of DM and crude protein in diets with 40% and 60% of HGCF was observed (P<0.05; P<0.01). Lambs from 0 and 20% HGCF treatment had a higher DWG. A lower DM intake in 60% HGCF diet was registered (P<0.05). Limitations on study/implications: Currently there are various methods to supplement sheep during dry season, however, few are fully adapted to the needs of farmers. Hydroponic green corn forage is a valuable alternative for fast and constant production of forage with high nutritional value for sheep. Findings/conclusions: Hydroponic green corn forage has high digestibility, therefore, it can be used as an excellent source of forage in the diet of lambs, obtaining appropriate weight gains with rations that include up to 40% in the diet to replace commercial food