Computer vision approach for the determination of microbial concentration and growth kinetics using a low cost sensor system

The measurement of microbial contamination is of primary importance in different fields, from environmental monitoring to food safety and clinical analysis. Today, almost all microbiology laboratories make microbial concentration measurements using the standard Plate Count Technique (PCT), a manual method that must be performed by trained personnel. Since manual PCT analysis can result in eye fatigue and errors, in particular when hundreds of samples are processed every day, automatic colony counters have been built and are commercially available. While quick and reliable, these instruments are generally expensive, thus, portable colony counters based on smartphones have been developed and are of low cost but also not accurate as the commercial benchtop instruments. In this paper, a novel computer vision sensor system is presented that can measure the microbial concentration of a sample under test and also estimate the microbial growth kinetics by monitoring the colonies grown on a Petri dish at regular time intervals. The proposed method has been in-house validated by performing PCT analysis in parallel under the same conditions and using these results as a reference. All the measurements have been carried out in a laboratory using benchtop instruments, however, such a system can also be realized as an embedded sensor system to be deployed for microbial analysis outside a laboratory environment

Características das espécies vegetais dispersas por aves e morcegos e suas implicações na recuperação ou manutenção de ambientes florestais.

Editores técnicos: Marcílio José Thomazini, Elenice Fritzsons, Patrícia Raquel Silva, Guilherme Schnell e Schuhli, Denise Jeton Cardoso, Luziane Franciscon. EVINCI. Resumos

Dieta frugívora dos gêneros de morcegos Artibeus, Carollia e Sturnira (Phyllostomidae, Chiroptera) ao longo de sua distribuição geográfica.

Editores técnicos: Marcílio José Thomazini, Elenice Fritzsons, Patrícia Raquel Silva, Guilherme Schnell e Schuhli, Denise Jeton Cardoso, Luziane Franciscon. EVINCI. Resumos

Consistency in fruit preferences across the geographical range of the frugivorous bats Artibeus, Carollia and Sturnira (Chiroptera).

Os filostomídeos frugívoros Artibeus, Carollia e Sturnira são importantes dispersores de sementes na região Neotropical, se destacando por possuírem uma suposta preferência por frutos dos gêneros Ficus, Piper e Solanum, respectivamente. Nós realizamos uma metanálise para testar a hipótese de que as interações entre esses morcegos e plantas são consistentes ao longo de toda sua distribuição geográfi ca. Por meio de uma extensa revisão bibliográfi ca, foram compilados 4.448 registros de consumo de frutos provenientes de 180 publicações. Estes dados foram organizados por espécie de morcego e país, testando quais gêneros de frutos foram mais frequentes na região neotropical como um todo e em cada um dos seus países componentes. Num panorama geral, os resultados demonstraram alta frequência no consumo de Ficus (24,0%) por Artibeus, Piper (38,7%) por Carollia e Solanum (31,0%) por Sturnira, considerando 176 gêneros botânicos citados. O estudo corrobora, assim, a hipótese da consistência da dieta desses morcegos ao longo de toda a sua distribuição geográfi ca, sendo esta relacionada à ampla distribuição dos grupos (morcegos e plantas) envolvidos, à fenologia das espécies zoocóricas consumidas e à fi delidade espacial dos morcegos, esta, por sua vez, moldada pela capacidade de voo das diferentes espécies

The Role of the Honors College Dean in the Future of Honors Education

In this chapter, four honors deans reflect on the unique aspects of the honors dean\u27s role. The authors argue that by being responsive to the challenges, opportunities, and responsibilities they face daily, honors deans can enable honors to deliver on its promises to students and to serve the whole university community. Attentive to changing dynamics in honors education nationwide, the authors address how deans must confront myths about honors that bear the legacy of past realities while actively tending to justice in the admissions process, to recruiting and serving diverse populations, and to supporting an honors environment that addresses the needs of the whole student. Doing so, honors deans can be at the forefront of transforming higher education. The authors explore the honors dean’s transformative role of promoting interdisciplinarity, institutional nimbleness, and innovative approaches to fundraising, in addition to the imperative of developing powerful new strategies for telling the story of honors and the value it provides. The authors argue, finally, that honors deans have the critical task of leading honorably, which means that a modern concept of honor, focusing on justice, accessibility, well-being, and empowerment, should lie at the heart of every honors enterprise

Development and Characterization of Azithromycin-Loaded Microemulsions: A Promising Tool for the Treatment of Bacterial Skin Infections

In recent years, the treatment of bacterial skin infections has been considered a major healthcare issue due to the growing emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus. The incorporation of antibiotics in appropriate nanosystems could represent a promising strategy, able to overcome several drawbacks of the topical treatment of infections, including poor drug retention within the skin. The present work aims to develop microemulsions containing azithromycin (AZT), a broad-spectrum macrolide antibiotic. Firstly, AZT solubility in various oils, surfactants and co-surfactants was assessed to select the main components. Subsequently, microemulsions composed of vitamin E acetate, Labrasol (R) and Transcutol (R) P were prepared and characterized for their pH, viscosity, droplet size, zeta potential and ability to release the drug and to promote its retention inside porcine skin. Antimicrobial activity against S. aureus methicillin-resistant strains (MRSA) and the biocompatibility of microemulsions were evaluated. Microemulsions showed an acceptable pH and were characterized by different droplet sizes and viscosities depending on their composition. Interestingly, they provided a prolonged release of AZT and promoted its accumulation inside the skin. Finally, microemulsions retained AZT efficacy on MRSA and were not cytotoxic. Hence, the developed AZT-loaded microemulsions could be considered as useful nanocarriers for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections of the skin

How chemical compounds affect fruit bats' plant interactions.

Fruit bats are known to be able to discriminate, select, and track the essential oils of their preferred fruits. A few years ago, our research group hypothesized, experimented, and confirmed that these bats can be attracted with essential oils only – concentrated volatile aromas – of their preferred fruits both in forested and open areas. These findings led to the proposal of a restoration tool that uses essential oils of chiropterochoric fruits (fruits eaten by bats) to attract seed-dispersing bats to degraded areas with the objective to increase seed arrival and germination.bitstream/item/206340/1/How-Chemical-Compounds-Affect-Fruit-Bats-Plant-Interactions.pd