Aircraft-crash-locating transmitter features design improvements

Crash locater is automatically ejected from aircraft at time of crash and begins transmitting at emergency radio frequencies monitored by all airports and airport control towers. Advantages are smaller size, simpler design and installation, extended transmitting range and life, greater deployment reliability and increased crash resistance

Intertemporal Substitution in Labor Force Participation: Evidence from Policy Discontinuities

This paper presents new empirical evidence on intertemporal labor supply elasticities. We use administrative data on the census of private sector employees in Austria and variation from mandated discontinuous changes in retirement benefits from the Austrian pension system. We first present graphical evidence documenting delays in retirement in response to the policy discontinuities. Next, based on the empirical evidence, we develop a model of career length decisions. Using an estimator that exploits the graphical evidence, we estimate an intertemporal labor supply elasticity of 0.30; this relatively low estimate reflects that the disutility of labor supply rises relatively quickly with additional years of work.life-cycle labor supply, retirement decisions, intertemporal labor supply elasticity, policy discontinuities

A Novel Biostimulant, Belonging to Protein Hydrolysates, Mitigates Abiotic Stress Effects on Maize Seedlings Grown in Hydroponics

The main challenge to agriculture worldwide is feeding a rapidly growing human population, developing more sustainable agricultural practices that do not threaten human and ecosystem health. An innovative solution relies on the use of biostimulants, as a tool to enhance nutrient use ef\ufb01ciency and crop performances under sub-optimal conditions. In this work a novel biostimulant(APR\uae,ILSAS.p.A.,ArziganoVI,Italy), belongingtothegroupofproteinhydrolysates, wassuppliedtomaizeseedlingsinhydroponicanditseffectswereassessedincontrolconditionsand in the presence of three different kinds of stresses (hypoxia, salt and nutrient de\ufb01ciency) and of their combination. OurresultsindicatethatAPR\uae issolubleandisabletoin\ufb02uencerootandshootgrowth depending on its concentration. Furthermore, its effectiveness is clearly increased in condition of single or combination of abiotic stresses, thus con\ufb01rming the previously hypothesised action of this substance as enhancer of the response to environmental adversities. Moreover, it also regulates the transcription of a set of genes involved in nitrate transport and ROS metabolism. Further work will be needed to try to transfer this basic knowledge in \ufb01eld experiments

Identification and characterization of the BZR transcription factor family and its expression in response to abiotic stresses in Zea mays L.

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are plant specific steroidal hormones that play diverse roles in regulating a broad spectrum of plant growth and developmental processes, as well as, in responding to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Extensive research over the years has established stress-impact-mitigating role of BRs and associated compounds in different plants exposed to various abiotic and biotic stresses, suggesting the idea that they may act as immunomodulators, thus opening new approaches for plant resistance against hazardous environmental conditions. In this research the characterization of the transcriptional response of 11 transcription factors (TFs) belonging to BRASSINAZOLE-RESISTANT 1 (BZR1) TF family of Zea mays L. was analyzed in seedlings subjected to different stress conditions. Being important regulators of the BR synthesis, BZR TFs might have stress resistance related activities. However, no stress resistance related functional study of BZR TFs has been reported in maize so far. In silico analyses of the selected 11 TFs validated the features of their protein domains, where a highest degree of similarity observed with recognized BZR TFs of rice and Sorghum bicolor. Additionally, we investigated the organ-specific expression of 11 ZmBZR in maize seedlings. Five of them did not show any transcript accumulation, suggesting that ZmBZR expression might be regulated in a manner dependent on plant developmental stage. For the remaining six ZmBZR, their ubiquitous expression in the whole plant indicates they could function as growth regulators during maize development. More importantly, in response to various stress conditions, the spatial transcript accumulation of all ZmBZR varies along the plant. All six ZmBZR showed up-regulation against N starvation, hypoxia and salt stress. On the contrary, heat stress clearly down-regulated gene expression of all ZmBZR analysed. Consistently with the expression results, the distribution of stress-related cis-acting elements in the promoter of these genes inferred that the maize BZR TFs might play some roles in regulating the expression of the corresponding genes in response to multifarious stresses. In conclusion, these data reveal that BZR TFs have stress signaling activity in maize, in addition to their confirmed role in regulating plant physiology and morphology

Comparison of Conventional PAP smear and Manual Liquid Based Cytology with P16 marker in screening for cervical cancer in Indian tertiary healthcare setups in Mysuru

In India, there are 20.2 per 100000 new cases of Cervical Cancer diagnosed and 11.1 per 100000 deaths annually accounting for more than one fifths of global cervical cancer deaths. [1] Thus, due to an absence of a national immunization program to cover human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and lack of accessible cervical cancer screening, the disease is characterized by late detection, lack of access to affordable and quality health care, and high mortality rates. [2] Papanicolaou Smear Test was a novel invention by Dr George Papanicolaou in the year 1927 which gained maximum popularity in 1950 as a screening test for Cervical Cancer. Liquid based cytological technique has been recently developed and has gained popularity because in preliminary studies the use of such techniques was associated with a reduction in incidence of inadequate cervical smears. [3, 4] Manual Liquid Based Cytology (MLBC) is a technique that enables cells to be suspended in a monolayer and thus improves detection of precursor lesions and improvement of specimen adequacy. MLBC has been reported to improve the effectiveness of cervical cancer screening in a population by increasing the detection of histologically confirmed neoplastic and preneoplastic disease while simultaneously decreasing over diagnosis of benign processes. [1] Liquid-based cytology (LBC), although claimed to provide clearer background and better preservation of nuclear and cytoplasmic details, have yet to be proven to have better sensitivity and specificity for identification of high-grade cervical intraepithelial lesions compared to the conventional smears.[5] P16 expression, which can be detected immunohistochemically, is directly related to the presence of HPV [8]. Thus, this protein can be used as a biomarker that can add significant diagnostic precision in the assessment of CIN lesions [7, 9]. Add about ancillary technique like use of immunomarker p16 on mlbc. The aim of this study is establishing that MLBC with p16 immunomarker is very effective in screening for cervical cancer as it overcomes the major setbacks like inadequate sampling, drying artefacts and obscuring blood which are seen in conventional PAP smear technique

The effects of processing on performance and utility in plant fibre-based composites

The global concern about the growing consumption of non-recycled plastics has led material scientists to explore alternative materials for the development of environmentally friendly products that can be recycled or re-used. Natural fibres and biodegradable polymers are renewable materials that can be used for composite manufacturing. In this study flax and nettle fibre-reinforced Floreon composites were made using traditional and new developed techniques. Flax and nettle fibres of two different preparation processes were used as reinforcing materials. The physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of industrially and minimally processed flax and nettle fibres were studied, showing a clear species and preparation-based differences on the fibres’ properties. Flax and nettle single fibres were prepared properly and blended with Floreon using extrusion. Flax and nettle fibre-reinforced Floreon composites were then made by injection moulding. The relationship between the fibre type, content, and processing parameters was investigated. It was found that composites consisting of minimally processed fibres had increased mechanical properties compared to composites made by the respective industrially processed fibres. The appropriate processing parameters for composites were established for the different fibre types. The physical and mechanical properties of 3D printed flax and nettle fibre reinforced Floreon composites using fused deposition modelling were also investigated. The 3D printed composites showed greater tensile and flexural strength results compared to the injection moulded composites. The effects of fibre type, content, printing parameters such as nozzle temperature, fill density, layer height thickness and pattern orientation were experimentally studied. It was found that with increasing flax and nettle fibre content, the mechanical properties of composites produced increased. The environmental sustainability of flax and nettle fibres, Floreon, and composites produced were analysed using life cycle assessment methodology. The environmental analysis was used to evaluate the emissions of each raw material used, the energy and materials requirements during composite manufacturing