Goat production systems of the central highlands of Veracruz, Mexico

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to characterize the goat production units of the central mountainous area of the state of Veracruz. A multiple case study was carried out considering socioeconomic aspects, type of forage, goat feeding, reproduction, improvement, and health. The results showed that goat farming and cheese production represent between 50 and 100% of the producers' income. The cultivated forages and the type of goat feed of the production units in the mountainous area are King grass CT-115, Maralfalfa, African Star, Alfalfa and Corn. Animal reproduction is carried out by controlled mating and births occur at the beginning and end of each year. The goat herds do not exceed 150 heads with a predominance of Saanen and Alpine breeds. The average daily production of milk ranges between 16-90 L and with a production of 2-3 L milk for animal/day. The activity is family-type and involves cultivation, animal management, milk production and the manufacturing of artisanal cheeses. Studies are required to confirm individual milk production.Objective: This study was to characterize the goat production units of the central mountain area of the state of Veracruz, Mexico. Disign/methodology/approach: A multiple case study was carried out taking into consideration socioeconomic aspects, type of forage, goat feeding, reproduction, improvement, and health. Results: The results showed that goat and cheese production account for 50-100% of the producers' income. The forages grown and the type of goat feed used in the production units of the mountain area are: King grass, CT-115, maralfalfa, giant star grass, alfalfa, and corn. Animal reproduction is carried out by controlled mating and births take place at the beginning and end of each year. Flocks do not exceed 150 heads; the predominant breeds are Saanen and Alpine. The average daily production of milk ranges from 16 to 90 L, with a production of 0.75-3 L milk animal-1 day-1. Study limitations/implications: None Findings/conclusions: The activity is family-based and involves cultivation, animal management, and milk and artisanal cheese production. Further studies are required to confirm individual milk production

Validación de un sistema de medición aplicado a un estudio de termografía sensorial para la detección de desórdenes de traumas acumulados

En el presente trabajo se muestra la aplicación del estudio de Repetibilidad y Reproducibilidad (R y R), realizado para evaluar el Sistema de Medición (SM) utilizado en un estudio de termografía sensorial en seres humanos, para la detección de Desórdenes de Traumas Acumulados (DTA’s). La termografía es una técnica no invasiva en los seres humanos y que no los dañará en ningún momento. La termografía sensorial, a diferencia de la infrarroja, basa su funcionamiento en monitoreo por sensores para capturar temperaturas y buscar anomalías que pudieran dar indicio en el desarrollo de enfermedades. Por tal motivo la confiabilidad al obtener temperaturas es vital. Para ello se seleccionó al estudio R y R como herramienta para la validación del sistema de medición.Este estudio hace un análisis comparativo en la validación del sistema de medición que ayudará a predecir DTA’s; utilizando en el primer experimento a dos operadores que manejan el instrumento de medición y toman las lecturas a diez personas, las cuales son consideradas como las diez partes diferentes a que hace referencia la literatura en los estudios R y R clásicos, en las cuáles se mide en dos ocasiones diferentes su temperatura cutánea en el área de la muñeca en mano derecha por cada operador. Y después, en un segundo experimento, se utilizan tres operadores y diez personas, midiéndose en tres ocasiones diferentes su temperatura en la misma región que el primer experimento. Los resultados obtenidos en esta aplicación por los dos experimentos mostraron -en general-, que el sistema de medición es excelente según los parámetros establecidos por la Automobile Industries Action Group (AIAG), lo que permite seguir adelante con las otras fases de la investigación principal.This paper shows the implementation of the study of Repeatability and Reproducibility (R & R) conducted to evaluate the Measurement System (MS) used in a study of sensorial thermography in humans, to detect Cumulatives Traumas Disorders (CTD’s). Thermography is a noninvasive technique on humans and not harm at all times. Thermography unlike sensory bases its operation on infrared sensors to capture monitoring temperatures and look for abnormalities that could give evidence in the development of disease. For this reason reliability is vital to obtain temperatures for this study was selected R & R as a tool for the validation of the measurement system.This study makes a comparative analysis in the validation of the measurement system to help to predict CTD’s, used in the first experiment two operators who handle the meter and take readings at ten persons, which are considered as ten different parts referred to literature in the conventional R & R studies, in which is measured at two different times their skin temperature in the area of the right wrist by each operator. And then, in a second experiment using three operators and ten persons, measured on three different occasions the temperature in the same region as the first experiment. The results obtained in this application by the two experiments showed, in general, the measurement system is excellent according to parameters established by the Automobile Industries Action Group (AIAG), which allows proceeding with the other phases of primary research

HabEx Baseline Telescope: Design & Performance Analysis

HabEx is one of four missions under study for 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Survey. It will directly image and spectroscopically characterize planetary systems in the habitable zone of Sun-like stars. Additionally, HabEx will perform a broad range of general astrophysics science enabled by 115 to 2500 nm spectral range and 3 x 3 arc-minute FOV

The Habitable Exoplanet Observatory (HabEx) Mission Concept Study Final Report

The Habitable Exoplanet Observatory, or HabEx, has been designed to be the Great Observatory of the 2030s. For the first time in human history, technologies have matured sufficiently to enable an affordable space-based telescope mission capable of discovering and characterizing Earthlike planets orbiting nearby bright sunlike stars in order to search for signs of habitability and biosignatures. Such a mission can also be equipped with instrumentation that will enable broad and exciting general astrophysics and planetary science not possible from current or planned facilities. HabEx is a space telescope with unique imaging and multi-object spectroscopic capabilities at wavelengths ranging from ultraviolet (UV) to near-IR. These capabilities allow for a broad suite of compelling science that cuts across the entire NASA astrophysics portfolio. HabEx has three primary science goals: (1) Seek out nearby worlds and explore their habitability; (2) Map out nearby planetary systems and understand the diversity of the worlds they contain; (3) Enable new explorations of astrophysical systems from our own solar system to external galaxies by extending our reach in the UV through near-IR. This Great Observatory science will be selected through a competed GO program, and will account for about 50% of the HabEx primary mission. The preferred HabEx architecture is a 4m, monolithic, off-axis telescope that is diffraction-limited at 0.4 microns and is in an L2 orbit. HabEx employs two starlight suppression systems: a coronagraph and a starshade, each with their own dedicated instrument

The Habitable Exoplanet Observatory (HabEx) Mission Concept Study Final Report

The Habitable Exoplanet Observatory, or HabEx, has been designed to be the Great Observatory of the 2030s. For the first time in human history, technologies have matured sufficiently to enable an affordable space-based telescope mission capable of discovering and characterizing Earthlike planets orbiting nearby bright sunlike stars in order to search for signs of habitability and biosignatures. Such a mission can also be equipped with instrumentation that will enable broad and exciting general astrophysics and planetary science not possible from current or planned facilities. HabEx is a space telescope with unique imaging and multi-object spectroscopic capabilities at wavelengths ranging from ultraviolet (UV) to near-IR. These capabilities allow for a broad suite of compelling science that cuts across the entire NASA astrophysics portfolio. HabEx has three primary science goals: (1) Seek out nearby worlds and explore their habitability; (2) Map out nearby planetary systems and understand the diversity of the worlds they contain; (3) Enable new explorations of astrophysical systems from our own solar system to external galaxies by extending our reach in the UV through near-IR. This Great Observatory science will be selected through a competed GO program, and will account for about 50% of the HabEx primary mission. The preferred HabEx architecture is a 4m, monolithic, off-axis telescope that is diffraction-limited at 0.4 microns and is in an L2 orbit. HabEx employs two starlight suppression systems: a coronagraph and a starshade, each with their own dedicated instrument.Comment: Full report: 498 pages. Executive Summary: 14 pages. More information about HabEx can be found here: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/habex

The habitable exoplanet observatory (HabEx) mission concept study interim report

For the first time in human history, technologies have matured sufficiently to enable a mission capable of discovering and characterizing habitable planets like Earth orbiting sunlike stars other than the Sun. At the same time, such a platform would enable unique science not possible from ground-based facilities. This science is broad and exciting, ranging from new investigations of our own solar system to a full range of astrophysics disciplines. The Habitable Exoplanet Observatory, or HabEx, is one of four studies currently being undertaken by NASA in preparation for the 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Survey. HabEx has been designed to be the Great Observatory of the 2030s, with community involvement through a competed and funded Guest Observer (GO) program. This interim report describes the HabEx baseline concept, which is a space-based 4-meter diameter telescope mission concept with ultraviolet (UV), optical, and near-infrared (near-IR) imaging and spectroscopy capabilities. More information on HabEx can be found at https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/habexPublished versio

Herpes simplex encephalitis is linked with selective mitochondrial damage; a post-mortem and in vitro study

Herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) encephalitis (HSE) is the most commonly diagnosed cause of viral encephalitis in western countries. Despite antiviral treatment, HSE remains a devastating disease with high morbidity and mortality. Improved understanding of pathogenesis may lead to more effective therapies. Mitochondrial damage has been reported during HSV infection in vitro. However, whether it occurs in the human brain and whether this contributes to the pathogenesis has not been fully explored. Minocycline, an antibiotic, has been reported to protect mitochondria and limit brain damage. Minocycline has not been studied in HSV infection. In the first genome-wide transcriptomic study of post-mortem human HSE brain tissue, we demonstrated a highly preferential reduction in mitochondrial genome (MtDNA) encoded transcripts in HSE cases (n = 3) compared to controls (n = 5). Brain tissue exhibited a significant inverse correlation for immunostaining between cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1), a MtDNA encoded enzyme subunit, and HSV-1; with lower abundance for mitochondrial protein in regions where HSV-1 was abundant. Preferential loss of mitochondrial function, among MtDNA encoded components, was confirmed using an in vitro primary human astrocyte HSV-1 infection model. Dysfunction of cytochrome c oxidase (CO), a mitochondrial enzyme composed predominantly of MtDNA encoded subunits, preceded that of succinate dehydrogenase (composed entirely of nuclear encoded subunits). Minocycline treated astrocytes exhibited higher CO1 transcript abundance, sustained CO activity and cell viability compared to non-treated astrocytes. Based on observations from HSE patient tissue, this study highlights mitochondrial damage as a critical and early event during HSV-1 infection. We demonstrate minocycline preserves mitochondrial function and cell viability during HSV-1 infection. Minocycline, and mitochondrial protection, offers a novel adjunctive therapeutic approach for limiting brain cell damage and potentially improving outcome among HSE patients

SEIS: Insight’s Seismic Experiment for Internal Structure of Mars

By the end of 2018, 42 years after the landing of the two Viking seismometers on Mars, InSight will deploy onto Mars’ surface the SEIS (Seismic Experiment for Internal Structure) instrument; a six-axes seismometer equipped with both a long-period three-axes Very Broad Band (VBB) instrument and a three-axes short-period (SP) instrument. These six sensors will cover a broad range of the seismic bandwidth, from 0.01 Hz to 50 Hz, with possible extension to longer periods. Data will be transmitted in the form of three continuous VBB components at 2 sample per second (sps), an estimation of the short period energy content from the SP at 1 sps and a continuous compound VBB/SP vertical axis at 10 sps. The continuous streams will be augmented by requested event data with sample rates from 20 to 100 sps. SEIS will improve upon the existing resolution of Viking’s Mars seismic monitoring by a factor of ∼ 2500 at 1 Hz and ∼ 200 000 at 0.1 Hz. An additional major improvement is that, contrary to Viking, the seismometers will be deployed via a robotic arm directly onto Mars’ surface and will be protected against temperature and wind by highly efficient thermal and wind shielding. Based on existing knowledge of Mars, it is reasonable to infer a moment magnitude detection threshold of Mw ∼ 3 at 40◦ epicentral distance and a potential to detect several tens of quakes and about five impacts per year. In this paper, we first describe the science goals of the experiment and the rationale used to define its requirements. We then provide a detailed description of the hardware, from the sensors to the deployment system and associated performance, including transfer functions of the seismic sensors and temperature sensors. We conclude by describing the experiment ground segment, including data processing services, outreach and education networks and provide a description of the format to be used for future data distribution