Galaxias maculatus (Galaxiidae, Salmoniformes) infectados com Acanthostomoides apophalliformis (Digenea, Platyhelminthes) no Sul da Argentina: Histopatologia e ausência de mortalidade induzida

Este estudo foi conduzido para analisar ao nível histopatológico, lesões produzidas por Acanthostomoides apophalliformis no peixe nativo Galaxias maculatus, e relacioná-las com os resultados do mortalidade induzida por parasitas na população dessa espécie, no lago Moreno, Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi, Argentina. A ausência de inflamação na maioria das lesões, o fígado sem alterações em uma distância curta do foco das lesões e a aparência viável dos parasitas, sugerem uma boa relação parasita-hospedeiro. Esta hipótese é reforçada pelos dados que mostram a ausência de mortalidade induzida por A. apophalliformis na população dos peixes.This study was conducted to analyze at histopathological level, lesions produced by Acanthostomoides apophalliformis in the native fish Galaxias maculatus, and relate them to quantitative results on parasite- induced fish mortality, in Lake Moreno, Southern, Argentina. Absence in most lesions of inflammatory reaction, unaltered hepatic parenchyma at a short distance from the foci of the lesions and viable appearance of parasites, all suggest a good reciprocal adaptation.. This hypothesis is reinforced by data showing the absence of A. apophalliformis-induced mortality in the fish population

Fiber-diffraction Interferometer using Coherent Fiber Optic Taper

We present a fiber-diffraction interferometer using a coherent fiber optic taper for optical testing in an uncontrolled environment. We use a coherent fiber optic taper and a single-mode fiber having thermally-expanded core. Part of the measurement wave coming from a test target is condensed through a fiber optic taper and spatially filtered from a single-mode fiber to be reference wave. Vibration of the cavity between the target and the interferometer probe is common to both reference and measurement waves, thus the interference fringe is stabilized in an optical way. Generation of the reference wave is stable even with the target movement. Focus shift of the input measurement wave is desensitized by a coherent fiber optic taper

Determination of sulfur and nitrogen compounds during the processing of dry fermented sausages and their relation to amino acid generation

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. The identification of odor-active sulfur and nitrogen compounds formed during the processing of dry fermented sausages was the objective of this study. In order to elucidate their possible origin, free amino acids (FAAs) were also determined. The volatile compounds present in the dry sausages were extracted using solvent assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE) and monitored by one and two-dimensional gas chromatography with different detectors: mass spectrometry (MS), nitrogen phosphorous (NPD), flame photometric (FPD) detectors, as well as gas chromatography-olfactometry. A total of seventeen sulfur and nitrogen compounds were identified and quantified. Among them, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline was the most potent odor active compound, followed by methional, ethylpyrazine and 2,3-dihydrothiophene characterized by toasted, cooked potato, and nutty notes. The degradation of FAAs, generated during processing, was related to the production of aroma compounds, such as methionine forming methional and benzothiazole while ornithine was the precursor compound for 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline and glycine for ethylpyrazine.Financial support from AGL 2012-38884-C02-01 from MINECO (Spain), PROMETEO 2012-001 (GVA) and FEDER funds are fully acknowledged. The predoctoral scholarship and financial support from MINECO (BES-2010-030850 and EEBB-EEBB-I-13-05949) for the stay of S. Corral at Institute of Analytical Chemistry and Food Chemistry (Graz, Austria) is also acknowledged.Peer Reviewe

Hybrid Algorithms Based on Integer Programming for the Search of Prioritized Test Data in Software Product Lines

In Software Product Lines (SPLs) it is not possible, in general, to test all products of the family. The number of products denoted by a SPL is very high due to the combinatorial explosion of features. For this reason, some coverage criteria have been proposed which try to test at least all feature interactions without the necessity to test all products, e.g., all pairs of features (pairwise coverage). In addition, it is desirable to first test products composed by a set of priority features. This problem is known as the Prioritized Pairwise Test Data Generation Problem. In this work we propose two hybrid algorithms using Integer Programming (IP) to generate a prioritized test suite. The first one is based on an integer linear formulation and the second one is based on a integer quadratic (nonlinear) formulation. We compare these techniques with two state-of-the-art algorithms, the Parallel Prioritized Genetic Solver (PPGS) and a greedy algorithm called prioritized-ICPL. Our study reveals that our hybrid nonlinear approach is clearly the best in both, solution quality and computation time. Moreover, the nonlinear variant (the fastest one) is 27 and 42 times faster than PPGS in the two groups of instances analyzed in this work.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and FEDER under contract TIN2014-57341-R, the University of Málaga, Andalucía Tech and the Spanish Network TIN2015-71841-REDT (SEBASENet)

Interleukin-18: A Mediator of Inflammation and Angiogenesis in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a highly regulated inflammatory cytokine that is elevated in synovial tissues and synovial fluids of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and patients with other arthropathies. Within the RA joint, IL-18 can contribute to the inflammatory process by inducing leukocyte extravasation through upregulation of endothelial cell adhesion molecules, the release of chemokines from RA synovial fibroblasts, and directly as a monocytes, lymphocyte, and neutrophil chemoattractant. IL-18 can also help maintain and develop the inflammatory pannus by inducing endothelial cell migration and angiogenesis. IL-18 does this directly by binding and activating endothelial cells and indirectly by inducing RA synovial fibroblasts to produce angiogenic chemokines and vascular endothelial growth factor. IL-18 is present in RA synovial fluid in high levels, where it functions as an angiogenic mediator and leukocyte chemoattractant. IL-18 mediates all these inflammatory processes by binding to its receptor, IL-18 receptor, and initiating the activation of different signaling cascades leading to changes in target cells gene expression and behavior. IL-18 has been identified as a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of RA.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90485/1/jir-2E2011-2E0050.pd

Multi-parameter immune profiling of peripheral blood mononuclear cells by multiplexed single-cell mass cytometry in patients with early multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Studies in rodent models demonstrated an association of CNS-infiltrating monocyte-derived macrophages with disease severity. However, little is known about humans. Here, we performed an exploratory analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from healthy controls and drug-naïve patients with early MS using multiplexed single-cell mass cytometry and algorithm-based data analysis. Two antibody panels comprising a total of 64 antibodies were designed to comprehensively analyse diverse immune cell populations, with particular emphasis on monocytes. PBMC composition and marker expression were overall similar between the groups. However, an increased abundance of CCR7+ and IL-6+ T cells was detected in early MS-PBMCs, whereas NFAT1hiT-bethiCD4+ T cells were decreased. Similarly, we detected changes in the subset composition of the CCR7+ and MIPβhi HLA-DR+ lymphocyte compartment. Only mild alterations were detected in monocytes/myeloid cells of patients with early MS, namely a decreased abundance of CD141hiIRF8hiCXCR3+CD68- dendritic cells. Unlike in Crohn's disease, no significant differences were found in the monocyte fraction of patients with early MS compared to healthy controls. This study provides a valuable resource for future studies designed to characterise and target diverse PBMC subsets in MS

Random walks - a sequential approach

In this paper sequential monitoring schemes to detect nonparametric drifts are studied for the random walk case. The procedure is based on a kernel smoother. As a by-product we obtain the asymptotics of the Nadaraya-Watson estimator and its as- sociated sequential partial sum process under non-standard sampling. The asymptotic behavior differs substantially from the stationary situation, if there is a unit root (random walk component). To obtain meaningful asymptotic results we consider local nonpara- metric alternatives for the drift component. It turns out that the rate of convergence at which the drift vanishes determines whether the asymptotic properties of the monitoring procedure are determined by a deterministic or random function. Further, we provide a theoretical result about the optimal kernel for a given alternative

Tema Con Variazioni: Quantum Channel Capacity

Channel capacity describes the size of the nearly ideal channels, which can be obtained from many uses of a given channel, using an optimal error correcting code. In this paper we collect and compare minor and major variations in the mathematically precise statements of this idea which have been put forward in the literature. We show that all the variations considered lead to equivalent capacity definitions. In particular, it makes no difference whether one requires mean or maximal errors to go to zero, and it makes no difference whether errors are required to vanish for any sequence of block sizes compatible with the rate, or only for one infinite sequence.Comment: 32 pages, uses iopart.cl