Notes on the Turbellarian, Procotyla fluviatilis Leidy

The observations here briefly presented should help solve a question in the literature, regarding the cocoon of Procotyla fluviatilis. The results also indicate that the breeding season of this species may be longer than heretofore reported. A few additional observations on the young worms, and on food habits of the adult are also included

Adsorption of 2-Ketogluconate by Gibbsite, Goethite, and Kaolinite

In rhizosphere soil, the low-molecular mass organic acid (LMMOA) anions 2-ketogluconate (kG) is produced via microbial activity and exists in significant and sustained concentrations. One of the mechanisms in which this LMMOA anion may influence the chemistry of soil systems is through adsorption by constant-potential minerals. This study examines the adsorption of kG onto gibbsite, kaolinite and goethite in the presence of absence of phosphate (PO4), arsenate (AsO4) and sulfate (SO4) as a function of pH and ionic strength. The adsorption of kG by gibbsite, goethite, and kaolinite is a function of solution pH and independent of solution ionic strength. The adsorption data supports the conclusion that kG is adsorbed by ligand exchange mechanisms. The adsorption of kG was decreased at all pH values in the presence of PO4 and AsO4, and was not significantly affected by the presence of SO4 at pH values above 6. The decrease in kG adsorption in the presence of AsO4 and PO4 is further evidence that Kg is adsorbed via specific retention mechanisms. The addition of kG to gibbsite containing preadsorbed PO4 did not result in PO4 displacement, regardless of the concentration of kG. However, the addition of PO4 to gibbsite containing preadsorbed kG resulted in the displacement of preadsorbed kG. These results indicate that kG is not held as strongly as PO4 to gibbsite surfaces, and that the ability of PO4 to displace adsorbed kG is greater than the ability of kG to displace adsorbed PO4. The adsorption of kG, PO4, AsO4, and SO4 to gibbsite was modeled using the adsorption edge data and the CD-MUSIC surface complexation model. The kG adsorption data in both the 0.001 M and 0.01 M NaCl gibbsite systems were described by the formation of two monodentate-mononuclear inner-sphere complexes: ≡AlkG1/2- and ≡AlkGH-13/2-. Phosphate adsorption by gibbsite was modeled by the formation of ≡AlOPO3H3/2- and ≡AlOPO3H21/2- in the low ionic strength systems (0.001 M NaCl), and by ≡AlOPO35/2- and ≡AlOPO3H21/2- in the high ionic strength systems (0.01 M NaCl). Arsenate adsorption by gibbsite in both ionic strengths was modeled using the ≡AlOAsO35/2- and ≡AlOAsO3H21/2- inner-sphere surface complexes. Sulfate adsorption was described by the formation of the outer-sphere ≡AlOH21/2+--SO42- species. The adsorption of kG by goethite in both the 0.001 M and 0.01 M NaCl systems was best described by the formation of the monodentate-mononuclear and bidentate-binuclear inner-sphere surface complexes: ≡FekG1/2- and ≡Fe2kGH-11. Both PO4 and AsO4 were completely adsorbed by goethite; therefore, chemical adsorption models could not be derived. However, SO4adsorption by goethite was described with the ≡FeOH21/2+--SO42- species. The chemical models and associated intrinsic equilibrium constants developed for ligand adsorption from the single ligand systems were employed to predict ligand retention in the kaolinite and binary ligand systems. In general, particularly at pH values greater than 7, the predicted adsorption behavior did not adequately predict the experimental adsorption data in the gibbsite or kaolinite systems. This finding suggests that the surface complexation reactions derived for pH \u3e7 systems may have been incorrect. The adsorption behavior Kg establishes the potential for this ligand to significantly impact rhizosphere chemistry. Ketogluconate is specifically retained by common soil minerals and may impact the phytoavailability of PO4 and other specifically-retained ligands in the rhizosphere

Disparity between General Symptom Relief and Remission Criteria in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS): A Post-treatment Bifactor Item Response Theory Model.

Objective: Total scale scores derived by summing ratings from the 30-item PANSS are commonly used in clinical trial research to measure overall symptom severity, and percentage reductions in the total scores are sometimes used to document the efficacy of treatment. Acknowledging that some patients may have substantial changes in PANSS total scores but still be sufficiently symptomatic to warrant diagnosis, ratings on a subset of 8 items, referred to here as the "Remission set," are sometimes used to determine if patients' symptoms no longer satisfy diagnostic criteria. An unanswered question remains: is the goal of treatment better conceptualized as reduction in overall symptom severity, or reduction in symptoms below the threshold for diagnosis? We evaluated the psychometric properties of PANSS total scores, to assess whether having low symptom severity post-treatment is equivalent to attaining Remission. Design: We applied a bifactor item response theory (IRT) model to post-treatment PANSS ratings of 3,647 subjects diagnosed with schizophrenia assessed at the termination of 11 clinical trials. The bifactor model specified one general dimension to reflect overall symptom severity, and five domain-specific dimensions. We assessed how PANSS item discrimination and information parameters varied across the range of overall symptom severity (θ), with a special focus on low levels of symptoms (i.e., θ<-1), which we refer to as "Relief" from symptoms. A score of θ=-1 corresponds to an expected PANSS item score of 1.83, a rating between "Absent" and "Minimal" for a PANSS symptom. Results: The application of the bifactor IRT model revealed: (1) 88% of total score variation was attributable to variation in general symptom severity, and only 8% reflected secondary domain factors. This implies that a general factor may provide a good indicator of symptom severity, and that interpretation is not overly complicated by multidimensionality; (2) Post-treatment, 534 individuals (about 15% of the whole sample) scored in the "Relief" range of general symptom severity, but more than twice that number (n = 1351) satisfied Remission criteria (37%). 2 in 3 Remitted patients had scores that were not in a low symptom range (corresponding to Absent or Minimal item scores); (3) PANSS items vary greatly in their ability to measure the general symptom severity dimension; while many items are highly discriminating and relatively "pure" indicators of general symptom severity (delusions, conceptual disorganization), others are better indicators of specific dimensions (blunted affect, depression). The utility of a given PANSS item for assessing a patient depended on the illness level of the patient. Conclusion: Satisfying conventional Remission criteria was not strongly associated with low levels of symptoms. The items providing the most information for patients in the symptom Relief range were Delusions, Preoccupation, Suspiciousness Persecution, Unusual Thought Content, Conceptual Disorganization, Stereotyped Thinking, Active Social Avoidance, and Lack of Judgment and Insight. Lower scores on these items (item scores ≤2) were strongly associated with having a low latent trait θ or experiencing overall symptom relief. The inter-rater agreement between Remission and Relief subjects suggested that these criteria identified different subsets of patients. Alternative subsets of items may offer better indicators of general symptom severity and provide better discrimination (and lower standard errors) for scaling individuals and judging symptom relief, where the "best" subset of items ultimately depends on the illness range and treatment phase being evaluated

Targeted antimicrobial therapy against Streptococcus mutans establishes protective non-cariogenic oral biofilms and reduces subsequent infection.

AimDental biofilms are complex communities composed largely of harmless bacteria. Certain pathogenic species including Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) can become predominant when host factors such as dietary sucrose intake imbalance the biofilm ecology. Current approaches to control S. mutans infection are not pathogen-specific and eliminate the entire oral community along with any protective benefits provided. Here, we tested the hypothesis that removal of S. mutans from the oral community through targeted antimicrobial therapy achieves protection against subsequent S. mutans colonization.MethodologyControlled amounts of S. mutans were mixed with S. mutans-free saliva, grown into biofilms and visualized by antibody staining and cfu quantization. Two specifically-targeted antimicrobial peptides (STAMPs) against S. mutans were tested for their ability to reduce S. mutans biofilm incorporation upon treatment of the inocula. The resulting biofilms were also evaluated for their ability to resist subsequent exogenous S. mutans colonization.ResultsS. mutans colonization was considerably reduced ( +/- 0.4 fold reduction, P=0.01) when the surface was preoccupied with saliva-derived biofilms. Furthermore, treatment with S. mutans-specific STAMPs yielded S. mutans-deficient biofilms with significant protection against further S. mutans colonization (5 minutes treatment: 38 +/- 13 fold reduction P=0.01; 16 hours treatment: 96 +/- 28 fold reduction P=0.07).ConclusionS. mutans infection is reduced by the presence of existing biofilms. Thus maintaining a healthy or "normal" biofilm through targeted antimicrobial therapy (such as the STAMPs) could represent an effective strategy for the treatment and prevention of S. mutans colonization in the oral cavity and caries progression

Low-Cost Radiator for Fission Power Thermal Control

NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) is developing fission power system technology for future Lunar surface power applications. The systems are envisioned in the 10 to 100kW(sub e) range and have an anticipated design life of 8 to 15 years with no maintenance. NASA GRC is currently setting up a 55 kW(sub e) non-nuclear system ground test in thermal-vacuum to validate technologies required to transfer reactor heat, convert the heat into electricity, reject waste heat, process the electrical output, and demonstrate overall system performance. Reducing the radiator mass, size, and cost is essential to the success of the program. To meet these goals, Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) and Vanguard Space Technologies, Inc. (VST) are developing a single facesheet radiator with heat pipes directly bonded to the facesheet. The facesheet material is a graphite fiber reinforced composite (GFRC) and the heat pipes are titanium/water. By directly bonding a single facesheet to the heat pipes, several heavy and expensive components can be eliminated from the traditional radiator design such as, POC(TradeMark) foam saddles, aluminum honeycomb, and a second facesheet. A two-heat pipe radiator prototype, based on the single facesheet direct-bond concept, was fabricated and tested to verify the ability of the direct-bond joint to withstand coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) induced stresses during thermal cycling. The thermal gradients along the bonds were measured before and after thermal cycle tests to determine if the performance degraded. Overall, the results indicated that the initial uniformity of the adhesive was poor along one of the heat pipes. However, both direct bond joints showed no measureable amount of degradation after being thermally cycled at both moderate and aggressive conditions

Genomic approaches in the search for molecular biomarkers in chronic kidney disease

Abstract Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is recognised as a global public health problem, more prevalent in older persons and associated with multiple co-morbidities. Diabetes mellitus and hypertension are common aetiologies for CKD, but IgA glomerulonephritis, membranous glomerulonephritis, lupus nephritis and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease are also common causes of CKD. Main body Conventional biomarkers for CKD involving the use of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) derived from four variables (serum creatinine, age, gender and ethnicity) are recommended by clinical guidelines for the evaluation, classification, and stratification of CKD. However, these clinical biomarkers present some limitations, especially for early stages of CKD, elderly individuals, extreme body mass index values (serum creatinine), or are influenced by inflammation, steroid treatment and thyroid dysfunction (serum cystatin C). There is therefore a need to identify additional non-invasive biomarkers that are useful in clinical practice to help improve CKD diagnosis, inform prognosis and guide therapeutic management. Conclusion CKD is a multifactorial disease with associated genetic and environmental risk factors. Hence, many studies have employed genetic, epigenetic and transcriptomic approaches to identify biomarkers for kidney disease. In this review, we have summarised the most important studies in humans investigating genomic biomarkers for CKD in the last decade. Several genes, including UMOD, SHROOM3 and ELMO1 have been strongly associated with renal diseases, and some of their traits, such as eGFR and serum creatinine. The role of epigenetic and transcriptomic biomarkers in CKD and related diseases is still unclear. The combination of multiple biomarkers into classifiers, including genomic, and/or epigenomic, may give a more complete picture of kidney diseases

COMMODITY AID AND COUNTERPART FUNDS IN SUB?SAHARAN AFRICA: SOME MACROECONOMIC ASPECTS

Summary Commodity (especially food) aid, counterpart funds from recipient sale of external aid (commodities or import support forex) and the macroeconomics of structural adjustment in sub?Sanaran Africa have become an academically and operationally prominent interlocking cluster of issues. Standard present analysis is both incomplete (especially on multiplier and production linkage impact) and too general (on sectoral and commodity specificities). As a result, CA/CF analysis and practice is rarely integrated into macro/sectoral strategy and policy; and procedures are discussed without adequate attention to their impact on national analytical and accountability capacity. These are not inherent limitations of CA/CF and can be addressed by acting within a clearer conceptual framework, elements toward which are set out. Résumé L'aide en matières premières et les fonds de contrepartie en Afrique sous?saharienne: une discussion des aspects macro?économiques Toute une série de questions: l'aide en matières premières (surtout alimentaires), les fonds de contrepartie dérivés des ventes de l'aide extérieure (par ex. les matières premières, le soutien à l'importation) par le donataire et les aspects macroéconomiques de l'ajustement structurel en afrique sous?saharienne seront désormais imbriquées en raison de leur proéminence tant au niveau intellectuel qu'au niveau opérationnel. Actuellement, l'explication conventionnelle est à la fois incomplète (surtour au niveau de l'impact sur la production et de l'impact multiplicateur) et trop généralisée (relativement aux aspects spécifiquement ‘secteur’ et ‘matières premières’). En conséquence, l'analyse et la pratique relatives à l'aide en matières premières et aux fonds de contrepartie ne sont que rarement intégrées dans les stratégies et les politiques macro/secteur. Qui plus est, les procédures sont souvent discutées sans réfléchir à leur impact sur les capacités d'analyse et de comptabilité au niveau national. Il ne s'agit aucunement de limitations intrinsèques de l'aide en matières premières ou des fonds de contrepartie, ainsi peut?on s'y adresser en agissant au sein de paramètres conceptuels mieux définis: tels que ceux que mentionne l'article. Resumen La asistencia en especie y los fondos de contrapartida en Africa sub?Sahariana; algunos aspectos macroeconómicos La asistencia en especie (especialmente alimentario), los fondos de contrapartida provenientes de la venta de asistencia externa, (productos o apoyo a las importaciones) y la macroeconomía del ajuste estructural en Africa sub?Sahariana, se han transformado en un conjunto de cuestiones entrelazadas operacional y académicamente. El análisis corriente actual es al mismo tiempo incompleto (especialmente en lo que se refiere al impacto de la conexión productiva), y demasiado general (en especificaciones sectorales y de producción). Como resultado, el análisis y la práctica de estos dos aspectos raramente son integrados en las políticas y estrategias macro/sectorales; y se discuten procedimientos sin atención adecuada a su impacto en la capacidad de responsabilidad analítica nacional. Estas no son limitaciones inherentes a las dos cuestiones, y pueden ser encaradas actuando dentro de una estructura conceptual más clara, para la cual se exponen algunos elementos en el presente artículo

Hongos micorrízicos arbusculares en plantaciones de café (coffea arabica l.) a diferentes altitudes en Shumbana - Santa Rosa - Jaén - Perú

La investigación tuvo como finalidad la caracterización de las clases de hongos micorrízicos arbusculares hallados en la rizosfera de plantaciones de café (Coffea arabica L.) a diferentes altitudes en Shumbana - Santa Rosa – Jaén; esto fue a los 1400 m.s.n.m., 1600 m.s.n.m. y los 1800 m.s.n.m. por lo que se evaluó el porcentaje de colonización micorrízica, número de esporas, identificación de géneros y especies de hongos micorrízicos arbusculares. Se identificaron hongos microrrízicos arbusculares (HMA) en tres fincas de cafetales cuya edad de crecimiento fue de tres años de edad, diferenciadas entre ellas a 200 metros de altitud. A 1400 m.s.n.m. se identificaron Funneliformis geosporus, Acaulospora morrowiae, Glomus glomerulatum, Funneliformis geosporus y Septoglomus constrictum; a 1600 m.s.n.m. se identificaron Funneliformis geosporus, Claroideoglomus etunicatum, Glomus brohultii y Acaulospora inmadura y a 1800 m.s.n.m. se identificaron Glomus brohultii, Funneliformis geosporus y Claroideoglomus etunicatum. Al realizar una cuantificación del volumen biológico por piso altitudinal, se encontró que a 1400 m.s.n.m. se halló el mayor promedio 88 esporas Glomus microcarpum y Acaulospora morrowiae/gramo de suelo. A 1600 m.s.n.m. se determinó el mayor promedio 72.3 esporas Glomus brohultii y Acaulospora morrowiae/gramo de suelo y a 1800 m.s.n.m. se determinó el mayor promedio 89 esporas Acaulospora morrowiae y Funneliformis geosporu/gramo de suelo. Identificados los hongos microrrízicos arbusculares (HMA) se encontró que el mayor porcentaje de colonización fue a 1800 m.s.n.m. con un 87.7 % (formación de 1081 esporas, 720 hifas y 42 arbúsculos), el segundo lugar para la colonización fue a 1600 m.s.n.m. con un 86.6 % (formación de 893 esporas, 899 hifas y 27 arbúsculos) y en tercer lugar se determinó la menor colonización de esporas a 1400 m.s.n.m. con un 82.8 % (formación de 949 esporas, 779 hifas y 6 arbúsculos. Finalmente, la presencia de los HMA favoreció la calidad del suelo agrícola cafetalero

Sistema Distribu?do de Diagn?stico, solicita??o de Informa??es e Controle Automatizado de Velocidade M?xima Permitida para Carros Inteligentes

? um sistema distribu?do de diagn?stico, socializa??o de informa??es e controle automatizado de velocidade m?xima permitida para carros inteligentes, que conjuga v?rias fun??es: a de verificar continuamente os estados dos sistemas mec?nicos, hidr?ulicos, el?tricos e de utilit?rios de um ve?culo automotivo. A inven??o gerencia a comunica??o concorrente em tempo real de ve?culos interligados atrav?s da rede mundial, a Internet, para um ?nico e centralizado sistema da fabricante e do departamento de tr?nsito. O sistema tamb?m poder? indicar aos usu?rios dos ve?-culos as oficinas mec?nicas mais pr?ximas, especializadas no reparo da avaria diagnosticada. Tamb?m permitir? ao propriet?rio conhecer o estado dos mais variados componentes do ve?culo atrav?s de seu computador pessoal, telefone inteligente (smartphone) ou rel?gio inteligente (smartwatch), bem como tamb?m poder? enviar comandos ao ve?culo atrav?s destes dispositivos e de um anel inteligente. Este anel tamb?m ir? identificar o condutor e destravar? o funcionamento do motor. Ir? tamb?m solucionar o problema de excesso de velocidade, realizando uma consulta aos meta-dados da via em que o ve?culo se encontra, limitando automaticamente a velocidade do ve?culo, n?o permitindo que o ultrapasse. Ir? transmitir informa??es sobre excessos e identifica??o do condutor ao departamento de tr?nsito, caso o ve?culo tenha o delimitador destravado.N?o Possu

Sistema Distribu?do de Diagn?stico Veicular em Tempo Real

Na ocorr?ncia de avarias ou alertas relevantes, o sistema implantado em um ve?culo automotivo informar? imediatamente aos sistemas dos fabricantes, concession?rias ou oficinas mec?nicas cadastradas, os resultados dos diagn?sticos realizados em tempo real de milh?es de autom?veis, podendo estas comunicarem aos propriet?rios a necessidade de reparos em seus ve?culos.N?o possu