Simultaneous selection indices for yield and stability in sugarcane

In Venezuela, sugarcane is grown in distinct environments, including soil categories and cultural practices. This research aimed to identify high-yield and stable sugarcane (Saccharum spp., hybrid) genotypes using selection indices. The experimental material consisted of sixteen genotypes and two commercial varieties as control. The genotypes were evaluated in five locations and by two harvest cycles. The yield in Ton Pol per hectare (TPH) was subjected to an analysis of variance according to the AMMI model. Methodologies of adaptability, stability, and indices that combine both stability and yield were determined. It was possible to distinguish the indices in three groups in the biplot. The superiority index (Pi), geometric adaptability index (GEI), and reliability index (Ii) were located in group 1 (G1). This group coincided in classifying genotypes CR87-339, C323-68, and V98-76 as the most stable and the best yield. The second group (G2) consisted of Kang's rank-sum (RS), Stability index (I), Sustainability index (SI), and geometric adaptability index (GDI) and located the genotypes CR87-339 and C323-68 as the most desired. The third group (G3) was constituted by the Ecovalence statistics (W), Shukla’s unbiased stability variance (σ2i) and the AMMI value (ASV) and classified the genotypes CP87-1762, V90-6 and CP 92-1641 as the best. The indices that best discriminated the genotypes and most associated with yield were PI, GAI and Ii

The decline of autochthonous leprosy in the Valencia Region of Spain: patterns and trends 1940-2015

Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe the patterns and trends of autochthonous leprosy in the Valencia Region (Spain). Methods: We included all new leprosy cases originating from the Valencia Region between the years 1940 and 2015. Patients originating from other countries or other Spanish regions were excluded. New cases were analysed by age, sex, clinical type, occupation, and geographic distribution. Results: A total of 442 patients with presumably autochthonous leprosy were included. Incidence rates consistently declined over the study period. Mean age at onset gradually increased from 34.2 years during the period 1940-1949 to 59.5 years during 2000-2015. There were no cases with clinical onset after 2006 and no cases born after 1973. Patients were predominantly males (57.7%) and 85.4% had multibacillary leprosy. The proportion of multibacillary cases increased gradually after 1970. The majority of male patients (67.9%) worked in agriculture. Most of the cases, especially during the later periods, were concentrated in the coastal regions. Conclusions: Our findings are consistent with trends described in other regions with declining leprosy incidence rates and suggest that the transmission of M. leprae infection in this area may well have now stopped. Autochthonous leprosy in this region has had a male predominance and a high proportion of multibacillary cases. The geographic distribution and the high incidence in agricultural workers suggest that environmental factors should be further explored

Effects of condensed tannins of Schinopsis balansae in dairy goat’s productive performance

La utilización de taninos condensados de quebracho (TCQ) puede resultar beneficiosa, inocua o perjudicial en el comportamiento productivo de los rumiantes. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue el de evaluar los efectos de la inclusión de TCQ al 2% del consumo estimado de materia seca (CMS) en la dieta de cabras lecheras sobre el consumo, la producción y la composición de leche. Se emplearon 16 cabras Saanen en inicio de lactancia. El periodo experimental fue de 11 semanas. Los tratamientos fueron: sin suministro de taninos condensados de quebracho (STQ) y con suministro (CTQ). El diseño experimental fue un diseño completamente al azar con mediciones repetidas en el tiempo. El análisis estadístico de los datos se realizó a través del programa InfoStat versión 2017p. No se registraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas para ninguno de los parámetros productivos considerados. Por lo que es posible concluir que la inclusión de TCQ en las condiciones y dosis empleada no reportó beneficio alguno en los parámetros evaluados.The inclusion of quebracho condensed tannins (TCQ) can be beneficial, innocuous or harmful in ruminant’s productive performance. The aim of these work was to evaluate the effects on intake, milk production and composition of TCQ inclusion in dairy goat’s diet at a concentration of 2% of estimated dry matter intake (CMS). Sixteen Saanen goats in early lactation were used. The experimental period was 11 weeks. The treatments were: no supply of quebracho condensed tannins (STQ) and with supply (CTQ). The experimental design was a completely randomized design with measurements repeated over time. Infostat program, 2017p has been used to carry out the statistical analysis. No statistically significant differences were registered for any of the productive parameters considered. So it is possible to conclude that TCQ inclusion in the conditions and dose used did not report any benefit in the parameters evaluated).EEA SaltaFil: Martinez, Gabriela Marcela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; ArgentinaFil: Suarez, Victor Humberto. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Investigación Animal Chaco Semiarido; ArgentinaFil: Olmos, L.H. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Investigación Animal Chaco Semiarido; ArgentinaFil: Alfaro, Rodolfo Jose. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; ArgentinaFil: Alfaro, Emilio Jose. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; ArgentinaFil: Yanes, Ramon Pedro. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; ArgentinaFil: Orosco, Silvia Marisol. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Investigación Animal Chaco Semiarido; Argentin

Natural User Interfaces for Human-Drone Multi-Modal Interaction

Personal drones are becoming part of every day life. To fully integrate them into society, it is crucial to design safe and intuitive ways to interact with these aerial systems. The recent advances on User-Centered Design (UCD) applied to Natural User Interfaces (NUIs) intend to make use of human innate features, such as speech, gestures and vision to interact with technology in the way humans would with one another. In this paper, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and several NUI methods are studied and implemented, along with computer vision techniques, in a single software framework for aerial robotics called Aerostack which allows for intuitive and natural human-quadrotor interaction in indoor GPS-denied environments. These strategies include speech, body position, hand gesture and visual marker interactions used to directly command tasks to the drone. The NUIs presented are based on devices like the Leap Motion Controller, microphones and small size monocular on-board cameras which are unnoticeable to the user. Thanks to this UCD perspective, the users can choose the most intuitive and effective type of interaction for their application. Additionally, the strategies proposed allow for multi-modal interaction between multiple users and the drone by being able to integrate several of these interfaces in one single application as is shown in various real flight experiments performed with non-expert users

A Flexible and Dynamic Mission Planning Architecture For UAV Swarm Coordination

In this paper a scalable and flexible Architecture for real-time mission planning and dynamic agent-to-task assignment for a swarm of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) is presented. The proposed mission planning architecture consists of a Global Mission Planner (GMP) which is responsible of assigning and monitoring different high-level missions through an Agent Mission Planner (AMP), which is in charge of providing and monitoring each task of the mission to each UAV in the swarm. The objective of the proposed architecture is to carry out high-level missions such as autonomous multiagent exploration, automatic target detection and recognition, search and rescue, and other different missions with the ability of dynamically re-adapt the mission in real-time. The proposed architecture has been evaluated in simulation and real indoor flights demonstrating its robustness in different scenarios and its flexibility for real-tim

Accuracy of transcutaneous bilirubin on covered skin in preterm and term newborns receiving phototherapy using a JM-105 bilirubinometer

OBJECTIVE: Determine the suitability of transcutaneous bilirubin (TCB) as a tool to assess the effectiveness of phototherapy on patched skin. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective observational study was conducted. We covered a fragment of skin (sternum) with a photo-opaque patch. Several simultaneous TCB and TSB measurements were performed with the JM-105 bilirubinometer. Bland and Altman test evaluated the agreement between bilirubin levels. RESULT: A total of 217 patients were studied, 48.8% were preterm. The mean difference between TSB and TCB before the start of treatment was 1.07 mg/dL. During phototherapy, differences on covered skin were 0.52, 0.27, and 0.39 mg/dL at 24, 48, and 72 h of therapy respectively. The best correlation was observed at 48 h in preterm infants. CONCLUSION: The measurement of TCB on patched skin (PTCB) is useful for monitoring the response to phototherapy in term and preterm infants. We use a patch with a removable flap that eases successive measures without disturbing the patients

Enfrentando los riesgos socionaturales

El objetivo del libro es comprender la magnitud de los Riesgos Socionaturales en México y Latinoamérica, para comprender el peligro que existe por algún tipo de desastre, ya sea inundaciones, sismos, remoción en masa, entre otros, además conocer qué medidas preventivas, correctivas y de contingencias existen para estar atentos ante alguna señal que la naturaleza esté enviando y así evitar alguna catástrofe. El libro se enfoca en los aspectos básicos de análisis de los peligros, escenarios de riesgo, vulnerabilidad y resiliencia, importantes para la gestión prospectiva o preventiva

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London