Effects of Feeding and Mating on Pheromone Release in the Southern Pine Beetle

Response of field populations of Delldroetoll1lS frontalis Zimmermann to their aggregating pheromone was correlated with pheromone content of dissectted hindgut tissues of adult beetles a determined by the gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) technique. Adult beetles in various stages of feeding activity and reproductive states were used for this purpose. Two major components of the aggregating pheromones, frontalin and trans-verbenol, were found in the largest quantities in emergent unfed females. After 48 hours of feeding, frontal in content of the hindguts was 29% and trans-verbeno content was only 5% of that of emergent females. Continuous bioassays of females feeding in host material showed increasing response of field populations to the beetle until 24-48 hours after feeding had begun, then response declined. The fact that pheromone content declined steadily following beetle attack while field response increased was thought to be due to capture of the pheromone in frass particles, thus slowing its rate of release. The decline of pheromone components in hindguts of mated females was not precipitous or abrupt a suggested by behavioral studies on other species of DendroctollllS. Field bioassays confirmed the GLC studies and showed that in both virgin and mated females peak attractiveness occurred 24-48 hours after the tree was attacked the beetles

An Embedded System Design for Data Collection and Analysis for Smart Fitness Centers

The application of embedded systems in fitness centers is limited. Therefore, this paper proposes a system that can be integrated into weight machines to incorporate the benefits of the Internet of Things by collecting exercise routine data. A prototype consisting of a FRDM-K64 development board, NFC and distance sensors is proposed. Data of exercise routines such as repetition distance and time intervals were successfully measured by the prototype. Future applications include expanding this concept to cardiovascular or resistance equipment.ITESO, A. C

Comparison Among Booth’s and Pekmestzi’s Algorithms for the Multiplication of Two Numbers

A comparison between two different methods of multiplication of two 8-bit numbers is presented. This methods are the Booth’s algorithm and the algorithm proposed by Kiamal Z. Pekmestzi [1]. The general objective is to show the benefits and the advantages obtained if it’s used one of this algorithms over the other. This multipliers have low circuit complexity permitting high-speed operations and the interconnections of the cells are regular. This is the reason why the results shown was obtained using VHDL realization on a FPGA XC4010XL by Xilinx.Consejo de Ciencia y Tecnología del Estado de GuanajuatoConsejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaUniversidad de GuanajuatoXili

The nutraceutical antihypertensive action of C-phycocyanin in chronic kidney disease is related to the prevention of endothelial dysfunction

C-phycocyanin (CPC) is an antihypertensive that is not still wholly pharmacologically described. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether CPC counteracts endothelial dysfunction as an antihypertensive mechanism in rats with 5/6 nephrectomy (NFx) as a chronic kidney disease (CKD) model. Twenty-four male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: sham control, sham-treated with CPC (100 mg/Kg/d), NFx, and NFx treated with CPC. Blood pressure was measured each week, and renal function evaluated at the end of the treatment. Afterward, animals were euthanized, and their thoracic aortas were analyzed for endothelium functional test, oxidative stress, and NO production. 5/6 Nephrectomy caused hypertension increasing lipid peroxidation and ROS production, overexpression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), reduction in the first-line antioxidant enzymes activities, and reduced-glutathione (GSH) with a down-expression of eNOS. The vasomotor response reduced endothelium-dependent vasodilation in aorta segments exposed to acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside. However, the treatment with CPC prevented hypertension by reducing oxidative stress, NO system disturbance, and endothelial dysfunction. The CPC treatment did not prevent CKD-caused disturbance in the antioxidant enzymes activities. Therefore, CPC exhibited an antihypertensive activity while avoiding endothelial dysfunction

Efficiency Maximization of a Jet Pump for an Hydraulic Artificial Lift System

In science and engineering, mathematical modeling serves as a tool to understand processes and systems acting as a testing bed for several hypotheses. The selection of a specific model, as well as its variables and parameters, depends on the nature of the system under analysis and the acceptable simplifying assumptions. Therefore, it must allow for a good fit between both the hypothesis and the available data. Opposite to other design approaches based on experimental data or/and complex models, this work presents a simpler numerical design method for efficiency maximization of an Hydraulic Jet Pump (HJP) for oil-well extraction process, considering its hydraulic and geometric parameters. The design process consists in setting and solving a constrained non-linear optimization problem by taking into account the hydraulic model of the HJP in terms four design variables: throat area, nozzle area, injection flow, and injection pressure to the oil-well. The objective function of this case aims to maximize the HJP's efficiency avoiding to approach cavitation condition as well fulfilling technical constraints. A numerical technique, Differential Evolution Algorithm (DEA), has been implemented to solve the optimization problem. The proposed methodology leads to a solution set by considering only commercial geometries and feasible operating conditions for the HJP, which facilitates its practical implementation. A set of ten oil-wells with land production data, operating in the southeaster of Mexico, is used to compare and validate several Jet pump designs, i. e., through comparison with actual oil-well's operation condition.Peer Reviewe

Multi-institutional application of Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) to CyberKnife Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT)

Background A multidisciplinary and multi-institutional working group applied the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) approach to assess the risks for patients undergoing Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) treatments for lesions located in spine and liver in two CyberKnife\uae Centres. Methods The various sub-processes characterizing the SBRT treatment were identified to generate the process trees of both the treatment planning and delivery phases. This analysis drove to the identification and subsequent scoring of the potential failure modes, together with their causes and effects, using the risk probability number (RPN) scoring system. Novel solutions aimed to increase patient safety were accordingly considered. Results The process-tree characterising the SBRT treatment planning stage was composed with a total of 48 sub-processes. Similarly, 42 sub-processes were identified in the stage of delivery to liver tumours and 30 in the stage of delivery to spine lesions. All the sub-processes were judged to be potentially prone to one or more failure modes. Nineteen failures (i.e. 5 in treatment planning stage, 5 in the delivery to liver lesions and 9 in the delivery to spine lesions) were considered of high concern in view of the high RPN and/or severity index value. Conclusions The analysis of the potential failures, their causes and effects allowed to improve the safety strategies already adopted in the clinical practice with additional measures for optimizing quality management workflow and increasing patient safety

Bone Marrow Transplantation for Feline Mucopolysaccharidosis I

Severe mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I) is a fatal neuropathic lysosomal storage disorder with significant skeletal involvement. Treatment involves bone marrow transplantation (BMT), and although effective, is suboptimal, due to treatment sequelae and residual disease. Improved approaches will need to be tested in animal models and compared to BMT. Herein we report on bone marrow transplantation to treat feline mucopolysaccharidosis I (MPS I). Five MPS I stably engrafted kittens, transplanted with unfractionated bone marrow (6.3 × 107–1.1 × 109 nucleated bone marrow cells per kilogram) were monitored for 13–37 months post-engraftment. The tissue total glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content was reduced to normal levels in liver, spleen, kidney, heart muscle, lung, and thyroid. Aorta GAG content was between normal and affected levels. Treated cats had a significant decrease in the brain GAG levels relative to untreated MPS I cats and a paradoxical decrease relative to normal cats. The α-l-iduronidase (IDUA) activity in the livers and spleens of transplanted MPS I cats approached heterozygote levels. In kidney cortex, aorta, heart muscle, and cerebrum, there were decreases in GAG without significant increases in detectable IDUA activity. Treated animals had improved mobility and decreased radiographic signs of disease. However, significant pathology remained, especially in the cervical spine. Corneal clouding appeared improved in some animals. Immunohistochemical and biochemical analysis documented decreased central nervous system ganglioside storage. This large animal MPS I study will serve as a benchmark of future therapies designed to improve on BMT