Proper Motions of the Radio Source Orion MR, Formerly Known as Orion n, and New Sources with Large Proper Motions in Orion BN/KL

The infrared source known as Orion n was detected in 1980 with observations made with the 3.8-m United Kingdom Infrared Telescope. About two decades later, sensitive observations made with the Very Large Array revealed the presence of a mJy double radio source apparently coincident in position with the infrared source n. The radio source was assumed to be the counterpart of the infrared source. However, over the years it has been concluded that the radio source shows large proper motions to the south while the infrared source n is stationary. Here we reanalyze the proper motions of the radio source adding both older and newer VLA observations than previously used. We confirm the proper motions of the radio source that at present no longer coincides positionally with the infrared source. The solution to this problem is, most probably, that the infrared source n and the radio source are not the same object: the infrared source is a stationary object in the region while the radio counterpart is moving as a result of the explosion that took place in this region some 500 years ago and that expelled large amounts of molecular gas as well as several compact sources. Considering the paper where it was first reported, we refer to this double radio source as Orion MR. In addition, we use these new observations to fully confirm the large proper motions of the sources IRc23 and Zapata 11. Together with sources BN, I, Orion MR, and x, there are at least six compact sources that recede from a point in common in Orion BN/KL. However, IRc23 is peculiar in that its ejection age appears to be only $\sim$300 years. The relatively large number of sources rules out as a possible mechanism the classic three-body scenario since then only two escaping bodies are expected: a tight binary plus the third star involved in the encounter.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, to appear in The Astrophysical Journa

Resistance of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) against Pseudocercospora opuntiae through β‑1,3‑glucanase activity and polyphenolic compounds in cladodes

Black spot disease, caused by the hemibiotrophic fungus Pseudocercospora opuntiae, is one of the main phytosanitary problems of cactus (Opuntia spp.). Through mass selection, one cultivar of Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. resistant to colonization by P. opuntiae was identified. The ethanolic extract of resistant cladodes showed higher levels of total condensed tannins, flavonoids and polyphenols than those of the susceptible genotypes, generating 93% inhibition of P. opuntiae conidial germination in vitro. The total protein in the resistant genotype showed 300% higher β-1,3-glucanase than the susceptible genotype. This increased activity was able to inhibit germination of conidia by 90%, a similar effect to that of the fungicide Captan® (N‑trichloromethylthio-4-cyclohexene 1,2-dicarboximide). It was shown, for the first time, that the combined action of cactus polyphenols and β-1,3-glucanase contributes significantly to resistance against P. opuntiae. Activity of this enzyme and the phytochemical profile can be used as criteria to predict and detect cactus germplasm with resistance to black spot.Fil: Ochoa, Maria Judith. Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero. Facultad de Agronomía y Agroindustrias; ArgentinaFil: González Flores, L. M.. Instituto Tecnológico de Tlajomulco; MéxicoFil: Cruz Rubio, J. M.. Instituto Tecnológico de Tlajomulco; MéxicoFil: Rivera López, L. A.. Instituto Tecnológico de Tlajomulco; MéxicoFil: Rodriguez, Sergio A.. Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero; ArgentinaFil: Nazareno, Mónica Azucena. Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero. Facultad de Agronomía y Agroindustrias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Gómez Leyva, J. F.. Instituto Tecnológico de Tlajomulco; Méxic

Microsphere-Based Rapamycin Delivery, Systemic Versus Local Administration in a Rat Model of Renal Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

The increasing prevalence and treatment costs of kidney diseases call for innovative therapeutic strategies that prevent disease progression at an early stage. We studied a novel method of subcapsular injection of monodisperse microspheres, to use as a local delivery system of drugs to the kidney. We generated placebo- and rapamycin monodisperse microspheres to investigate subcapsular delivery of drugs. Using a rat model of acute kidney injury, subcapsular injection of placebo and rapamycin monodisperse microspheres (monospheres) was compared to subcutaneous injection, mimicking systemic administration. We did not find any adverse effects related to the delivery method. Irrespective of the injection site, a similar low dose of rapamycin was present in the circulation. However, only local intrarenal delivery of rapamycin from monospheres led to decreased macrophage infiltration and a significantly lower amount of myofibroblasts in the kidney, where systemic administration did not. Local delivery of rapamycin did cause a transient increase in the deposition of collagen I, but not of collagen III. We conclude that therapeutic effects can be increased when rapamycin is delivered subcapsularly by monospheres, which, combined with low systemic concentrations, may lead to an effective intrarenal delivery method

Dual PD Control Regulation with Nonlinear Compensation for a Ball and Plate System

The normal proportional derivative (PD) control is modified to a new dual form for the regulation of a ball and plate system. First, to analyze this controller, a novel complete nonlinear model of the ball and plate system is obtained. Second, an asymptotic stable dual PD control with a nonlinear compensation is developed. Finally, the experimental results of ball and plate system are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed methodology

Clinical validation of a novel postural support device for hospitalized sub-acute post stroke wheelchair users

Purpose: We present a novel wheelchair posture support device (WPSD) and its clinical validation. The device was developed in order to assure correct sitting posture and to reduce the time spent by caregivers for re-positioning of hospitalized, wheelchair-bound, post-acute stroke patients. Method: The device was validated with 16 subjects during a period of 5 days in which use of the device was compared with regular care practice. Results: The device was used for the five consecutive days in 69% of patients, while for 6% it was not suitable; 25% did not complete the 5 days for reasons unrelated to the device. Caregivers needed to re-position the patients that used the device for the full 5 days (n=11) on an average 52% less often when using the device, as compared to regular practice. Furthermore, the device was rated as usable and functional by the caregivers while significantly reducing perception of trunk and shoulder pain in patients during its use. Conclusions: The newly designed WPSD is a valuable system for the improvement of medical assistance to wheelchair-bound post-stroke patients by reducing pain and number of re-positioning manoeuvres. The WPSD might be applicable to any group of patients who need posture control in either wheelchair or common chair with arms support.The FIK initiative; funding the development of the Varstiff material technology. Fundaci on Bot ın’s ‘‘Mind the Gap’’ program co-funding the design process of the WPSD. Spherium Biomed co-funding the study with the WPSD

Tomography of Galactic star-forming regions and spiral arms with the Square Kilometer Array

© 2014 Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/. Published by Proceedings of Science http://pos.sissa.it/Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) at radio wavelengths can provide astrometry accurate to 10 micro-arcseconds or better (i.e. better than the target GAIA accuracy) without being limited by dust obscuration. This means that unlike GAIA, VLBI can be applied to star-forming regions independently of their internal and line-of-sight extinction. Low-mass young stellar objects (particularly T Tauri stars) are often non-thermal compact radio emitters, ideal for astrometric VLBI radio continuum experiments. Existing observations for nearby regions (e.g. Taurus, Ophiuchus, or Orion) demonstrate that VLBI astrometry of such active T Tauri stars enables the reconstruction of both the regions' 3D structure (through parallax measurements) and their internal kinematics (through proper motions, combined with radial velocities). The extraordinary sensitivity of the SKA telescope will enable similar "tomographic mappings" to be extended to regions located several kpc from Earth, in particular to nearby spiral arm segments. This will have important implications for Galactic science, galactic dynamics and spiral structure theories