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Sample records for cecropia pachystachya trec

  1. Herança e desequilíbrio de ligação em sete locos isoenzimáticos de Cecropia pachystachya. Inheritance and linkage disequilibrium in sevem isozymes loci of Cecropia pachystachya.

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    Luciano Arruda RIBAS

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available Seis sistemas enzimáticos (ACP,G6PDH, IDH, PGI, PGM e SKDH, codificandosete locos polimórficos (Acp-3, G6pdh-1, Idh-1,Pgi-2, Pgm-1, Pgm-2 e Skdh-1, foram investigadospara a herança e desequilíbrio de ligação emCecropia pachystachya Trec. A herança mendelianafoi confirmada para todos os locos avaliados.Desvios significativos da razão de segregaçãoesperada 1:1 foram detectados apenas em umaprogênies de árvore heterozigótica. O desequilíbriode ligação foi examinado para 21 pares de locosisoenzimáticos, não sendo detectados desequilíbriosentre nenhum deles e, assim, estes podem serutilizados em subseqüentes estudos do sistemade reprodução, diversidade e estrutura genética deC. pachystachya.

  2. PHOSPHATE AND INOCULATION WITH ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI ON THE GROWTH OF Cecropia pachystachya (Trec SEEDLINGS FÓSFORO E INOCULAÇÃO COM FUNGOS MICORRÍZICOS ARBUSCULARES NO ESTABELECIMENTO DE MUDAS DE EMBAÚBA (Cecropia pachystachya Trec

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    Marco Aurélio Carbone Carneiro

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available

    The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (FMA in different levels of P2O5 on the growth of Cecropia pachystachya seedlings in the field. The study consisted of a 5x2 factorial with five levels of P2O5 (zero, 85, 170, 255 and 340 mg.kg-1, with and ithout inoculation with a mixture of FMA. It was used four replications, each one with twelve seedlings. The seeds were sowed in plastic tubes with capacity of 50 cm3 of substratum and stored for 120 days. After this period the seedlings were transplanted to the field, where they remained for another 150 days. Seedling diameter and height were measured at 60 and 120 days, aerial part and root dry matter, and arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization. Diameter, height, leaf area, aerial part dry matter and the number of surviving seedlings were determined after 150 days. None of the factors tested had any effect on seedling growth with one exception; inoculated plants with FMA had more root dry matter. Plants inoculated with smaller doses of P2O5 showed a larger percentage of surviving individuals and more vigorous seedlings. Results suggest that in low fertility soils of and subject to the hydric stress the C. pachystachya seedlings should be inoculated with FMA.

    KEY-WORDS: Native vegetation; mycorrhiza fungi; native species; seedling production; inoculation.

    O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o efeito da inoculação com fungos micorrízicos arbusculares (FMA em diferentes doses de P2O5 na formação de mudas de embaúba (Cecropia pachystachya e no seu estabelecimento em campo. O estudo constou de um experimento fatorial 5x2, sendo cinco doses de P2O5

  3. Nest structure and occurrence of three species of Azteca (Hymenoptera, Formicidae in Cecropia pachystachya (Urticaceae in non-floodable and floodable pantanal areas Arquitetura de ninho e ocorrência de três espécies de Azteca (Hymenoptera, Formicidae em Cecropia pachystachya (Urticaceae em ambiente alagável e não alagável no Pantanal

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    Alexsandro S. Vieira

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Thirty Cecropia pachystachya trees were examined in non-floodable and floodable areas to investigate the association between C. pachystachya and Azteca ants in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The species Azteca ovaticeps, Azteca isthmica, and Azteca alfari were found nesting inside domatia of C. pachystachya. A. ovaticeps was the most frequent species in the trees in the floodable area, while A. isthmica and A. alfari, in the non-floodable area. A. ovaticeps and A. isthmica maintained more entrance/exit holes in comparison to A. alfari. All Azteca species maintained entrance/exit holes in the closest domatia to the apical area of the branch, due to proximity to Müllerian and pearl bodies, suggesting that these species of Azteca were influenced by their environment during evolution and became specialized. All internodal septa of each examined branch were perforated by ants, indicating the branches were inhabited by a single colony.Foram analisadas 30 plantas de Cecropia pachystachya em cada ambiente alagável e não alagável no Pantanal sul-mato-grossense, Brasil, com o objetivo de investigar a associação entre formigas Azteca e C. pachystachya. Foram encontradas as espécies Azteca ovaticeps, Azteca isthmica e Azteca alfari nidificando nas domáceas da planta. A. ovaticeps foi mais frequente em plantas de área alagável, enquanto A. isthmica e A. alfari em plantas em área não alagável. A. ovaticeps e A. isthmica apresentaram maior quantidade de orifícios de entrada/saída em relação à A. alfari e todas as espécies mantêm próximo da região apical do ramo, orifícios de entrada/saída nas domáceas, devido à proximidade com os corpúsculos müellerianos e pérola. Isto é, essas espécies de Azteca especializaram-se ao longo da evolução influenciadas pelo ambientes. Todos os septos internodais de cada ramo analisados apresentaram-se perfurados pelas formigas, sugerindo que os mesmos são habitados por uma única colônia.

  4. An HPLC-DAD method to quantification of main phenolic compounds from leaves of Cecropia species

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Costa, Geison M.; Ortmann, Caroline F.; Schenkel, Eloir P.; Reginatto, Flavio H., E-mail: freginatto@hotmail.co [Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianopolis (Brazil). Centro de Ciencias da Saude. Dept. de Ciencias Farmaceuticas

    2011-07-01

    An efficient and reproducible HPLC-DAD method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of major compounds (chlorogenic acid, isoorientin, orientin and isovitexin) present in the leaves of two Cecropia species, C. glaziovii and C. pachystachya. From the leaves of C. glaziovii and C. pachystachya were isolated the C-glycosylflavones isoorientin and isovitexin and identified on both species chlorogenic acid (3-O-caffeoylquinic acid) and the O-glycosylflavonol isoquercitrin. The C-glycosylflavone orientin was isolated only from C. pachystachya. Chlorogenic acid was the major compound in both species (11.1 mg g{sup -1} of extract of C. glaziovii and 27.2 mg g{sup -1} of extract of C. pachystachya) and for the flavonoids quantified, isovitexin was the main C-glycosylflavonoid for C. glaziovii (4.6 mg g{sup -1} of extract) and isoorientin the main one for C. pachystachya (17.3 mg g{sup -1} of extract). (author)

  5. An HPLC-DAD method to quantification of main phenolic compounds from leaves of Cecropia species

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Costa, Geison M.; Ortmann, Caroline F.; Schenkel, Eloir P.; Reginatto, Flavio H.

    2011-01-01

    An efficient and reproducible HPLC-DAD method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of major compounds (chlorogenic acid, isoorientin, orientin and isovitexin) present in the leaves of two Cecropia species, C. glaziovii and C. pachystachya. From the leaves of C. glaziovii and C. pachystachya were isolated the C-glycosylflavones isoorientin and isovitexin and identified on both species chlorogenic acid (3-O-caffeoylquinic acid) and the O-glycosylflavonol isoquercitrin. The C-glycosylflavone orientin was isolated only from C. pachystachya. Chlorogenic acid was the major compound in both species (11.1 mg g -1 of extract of C. glaziovii and 27.2 mg g -1 of extract of C. pachystachya) and for the flavonoids quantified, isovitexin was the main C-glycosylflavonoid for C. glaziovii (4.6 mg g -1 of extract) and isoorientin the main one for C. pachystachya (17.3 mg g -1 of extract). (author)

  6. Selection of chemical markers for the quality control of medicinal plants of the genus Cecropia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivera-Mondragón, Andrés; Ortíz, Orlando O; Bijttebier, Sebastiaan; Vlietinck, Arnold; Apers, Sandra; Pieters, Luc; Caballero-George, Catherina

    2017-12-01

    Several Cecropia (Cecropiaceae) species are traditionally used in Latin America for the treatment of a variety of diseases including diabetes, arterial hypertension, asthma, bronchitis, anxiety, and inflammation. At present, a number of commercial products based on these plants have been introduced into the market with very little information on methods for guaranteeing their quality and safety. This work proposes potential chemical markers for the quality control of the raw materials of Cecropia obtusifolia Bertol., Cecropia peltata L., Cecropia glaziovii Snethl., Cecropia pachystachya Trécul, and Cecropia hololeuca Miq. The Herbal Chemical Marker Ranking System (Herb MaRS) developed by the National Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM) at the University of Western Sydney was used for selecting chemical markers for the quality control of selected medicinal species of Cecropia. This review covers the period from 1982 to 2016. Chlorogenic acid, flavonoidal glycosides (orientin, isoorientin, vitexin, isovitexin, and rutin), catechin, epicatechin, procyanidins (B2, B5, and C1), steroids (β-sitosterol), and triterpenoids (α-amyrin, pomolic, tormentic and ursolic acids) were selected as chemical markers for the quality control of the leaves. It is necessary to establish comprehensive standards for guaranteeing quality, safety and efficacy of herbal drugs. The selection of adequate chemical markers for quality control purposes requires a good knowledge about the chemical composition of medicinal plants and their associated biological properties. To the best of our knowledge this review article is the first to address the identification and quantitative determination of the chemical markers for the genus Cecropia.

  7. Potencial alelopático de espécies nativas na germinação e crescimento inicial de Lactuca sativa L. (Asteraceae Allelopathic potential of native species in Lactuca sativa L. (Asteraceae germination and initial growth

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    Fabiana Maraschin-Silva

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available A alelopatia caracteriza-se pelos efeitos danosos ou benéficos sobre o desenvolvimento da vegetação, causados por substâncias químicas produzidas e liberadas para o ambiente por uma planta. Com o objetivo de avaliar o potencial alelopático de espécies brasileiras, foram testados extratos foliares de Cecropia pachystachya Trec. (Urticaceae, Peltophorum dubium (Spreng. Taub. (Fabaceae, Psychotria leiocarpa Cham. & Schltdl (Rubiaceae, Sapium glandulatum (Vell. Pax (Euphorbiaceae e Sorocea bonplandii (Baill. Burg., Lanj. & Boer (Moraceae, utilizando-se bioensaios de germinação e crescimento e alface (Lactuca sativa L. como planta alvo. Nesses bioensaios, foram usados extratos foliares aquosos nas concentrações de 2 e 4%, preparados por maceração estática com água fria e quente. Os extratos das cinco espécies causaram atraso na germinação dos aquênios da alface, bem como efeitos tóxicos no crescimento das plântulas, com redução e enfraquecimento das raízes. Os resultados obtidos mostraram a presença de substâncias químicas inibidoras nos extratos, revelando potencial alelopático para as cinco espécies avaliadas.Allelopathy is characterized by harmful or beneficial effects on vegetation development, caused by chemical substances produced and released into the environment by the plant. Aiming to assess the allelopathic potential of Brazilian species, aqueous leaf extracts of Cecropia pachystachya Trec. (Urticaceae, Peltophorum dubium (Spreng. Taub. (Fabaceae, Psychotria leiocarpa Cham. & Schltdl (Rubiaceae, Sapium glandulatum (Vell. Pax (Euphorbiaceae, and Sorocea bonplandii (Baill. Burger, Lanj. & Boer (Moraceae were tested on lettuce using germination and growth bioassays. In these bioassays, aqueous leaf extracts were used at concentrations of 2 and 4%, prepared by static maceration with cold and hot water. The five species extracts delayed lettuce germination and produced toxic effects on seedling growth, with root

  8. Antioxidant activity of Paraguayan plant extracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velázquez, E; Tournier, H A; Mordujovich de Buschiazzo, P; Saavedra, G; Schinella, G R

    2003-02-01

    The antioxidant properties of six medical herbs used in the traditional Paraguayan medicine were studied using free radical-generating systems. The methanol extracts from Aristolochia giberti, Cecropia pachystachya, Eugenia uniflora, Piper fulvescens, Schinus weinmannifolia and Schinus terebinthifolia protected against enzymatic and non-enzymatic lipid peroxidation in microsomal membranes of rat. C. pachystachya, E. uniflora, S. weinmannifolia and S. terebinthifolia showed the highest scavenging activity on the superoxide and DPPH radicals.

  9. Distributional patterns of cecropia (Cecropiaceae: a panbiogeographic analysis

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    Franco Rosselli Pilar

    1997-06-01

    Full Text Available A panbiogeographic analysis of the distributional patterns of 60 species of Cecropia was carried out. Based on the distributional ranges of 36 species, we found eight generalized tracks for Cecropia species. whereas distributional patterns of 24 species were uninformative for the analysis. The major concentration of species of Cecropia is in the Neotropical Andean region. where there are three generalized tracks and two nodes. The northern Andes in Colombia and Ecuador are richer than the Central Andes in Perú. they contain two generalized tracks; one to the west and another to the east, formed by individual tracks of eight species each. There are four generalized tracks outside the Andean region: two in the Amazonian region in Guayana-Pará and in Manaus. one in Roraima. one in Serra do Mar in the Atlantic forest of Brazil and one in Central America. Speciation in Cecropia may be related to the Andean first uplift.Con base en la distribución de 60 especies del género Cecropia, se hizo un análisis panbiogeográfico. Se construyeron 8 trazos generalizados con base en el patrón de distribución de 36 especies; la distribución de las demás especies no aportaba información para la definición de los trazos. La región andina tiene la mayor concentración de especies de Cecropia representada por la presencia de tres trazos generalizados y dos nodos; los dos trazos con mayor número de especies se localizan en su parte norte, en Colombia y Ecuador y el otro en los Andes centrales en Perú. Se encontraron además, cuatro trazos extrandinos: dos en la región amazónica, en Pará-Guayana y en Manaus, uno en Roraima, uno en Serra do Mar en la Selva Atlánfíca del Brasil y uno en Centro América. La especiación en Cecropia parece estar relacionada con el primer levantamiento de los Andes.

  10. Vegetative propagation of Cecropia obtusifolia (Cecropiaceae

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    Louis M. LaPierre

    2001-12-01

    Full Text Available Cecropia is a relatively well-known and well-studied genus in the Neotropics. Methods for the successful propagation of C. obtusifolia Bertoloni. 1840 from cuttings and air layering are described, and the results of an experiment to test the effect of two auxins, naphthalene acetic acid (NAA and indole butyric acid (IBA, on adventitious root production in cuttings are presented. In general. C. obtusifolia cuttings respond well to adventitious root production (58.3 % of cuttings survived to root, but air layering was the better method (93 % of cuttings survived to root. The concentration of auxins used resulted in an overall significantly lower quality of roots produced compared with cuttings without auxin treatment. Future experiments using Cecropia could benefit from the use of isogenic plants produced by vegetative propagationCecropia es un género bien conocido y bien estudiado en los Neotrópicos. Se discuten métodos exitosos para la propagación de C. obtusifolia Bertoloni, 1840 de fragmentos de troncos y acodos aéreos. A continuación se presentan los resultados de un experimento para examinar los efectos de dos tipos de hormonas (NAA e IBA en la producción de raíces adventicias en fragmentos de troncos. En general, los fragmentos de C. abtusifalia responden bien en la producción de raíces adventicias (y sobreviven al azar 58.3% de los cortes, pero el método de acodos aéreos funcionó mejor (sobreviven al azar 93 %. El uso de hormonas resultó en raíces de baja calidad en comparación con cortes sin hormonas. Experimentos en el futuro que usan Cecropia pueden beneficiar al usar plantas isogénicas producidas por propagación vegetativa

  11. Estabelecimento de Espécies Florestais Nativas Via Semeadura Direta no Rio Piauitinga - Sergipe

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    Janisson Batista de Jesus

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available RESUMO A técnica de semeadura direta vem se destacando nos projetos de recuperação florestal pela redução de custos na implantação e tem sido cada vez mais utilizada. Este trabalho foi realizado com o objetivo de avaliar a emergência, sobrevivência e estabelecimento de espécies florestais nativas, por meio de sementes em áreas de mata ciliar no Rio Piauitinga, município de Lagarto, SE. As espécies utilizadas foram Libidibia ferrea var. leiostachya (Benth. L. P. Queiroz, Cassia grandis L. f., Cecropia pachystachya Trec., Enterolobium contortisiliquum (Vell. Morong e Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. O experimento em campo foi implantado em Delineamento em Blocos Casualizados (DBC com quatro repetições, em esquema fatorial, testando-se as cinco espécies com e sem tratamento para superação de dormência. A semeadura direta mostrou-se uma técnica viável para a área de estudo apenas para as espécies L. ferrea var. leiostachya, E. contortisiliquum e Cassia grandis, utilizando-se sementes com e sem dormência.

  12. The Text Retrieval Conferences (TRECs)

    Science.gov (United States)

    1998-10-01

    per- form a monolingual run in the target language to act as a baseline. Thirteen groups participated in the TREC-6 CLIR track. Three major...language; the use of machine-readable bilingual dictionaries or other existing linguistic re- sources; and the use of corpus resources to train or...formance for each method. In general, the best cross- language performance was between 50%-75% as ef- fective as a quality monolingual run. The TREC-7

  13. Differences on post-fire regeneration of the pioneer trees Cecropia glazioui and Trema micrantha in a lowland Brazilian Atlantic Forest

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    Dalva M Silva-Matos

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available A study of natural post-fire succession was carried out in a disturbed vegetation around fragments of the Atlantic Rain Forest (National Biological Reserve of Poço das Antas (22 °30 ’-22 °33 ’S,42 °15 ’-42 °19 ’W, Rio de Janeiro State.All the pre-fire individuals of Cecropia and Trema in the area were numbered with plastic labels.In order to check for the presence of new sprouts and mortality,two other censuses were carried out,at 3 and 12 months after the fire.The dominant species were:Pteridium aquilinum,Panicum maximum,Trema micrantha and Cecropia glazioui. Few days after the passage of fire, grasses and ferns spread their area,while the stands of Trema and Cecropia were completely burned. Most of individuals of Cecropia produced some sprouts while most of individuals of Trema died.However,a great number of seedlings of Trema were recruited while only one single seedling of Cecropia were observed during a period of one year.Most of these seedlings died through the year while the sprouts were already reproducing.The uses of Cecropia in places where fire is recurrent could be more appropriate because of its higher chance of survival and faster recovering ability after fire.Rev.Biol.Trop.53(1-2:1-4.Epub 2005 Jun 24Se realizó un estudio sobre la sucesión natural después del fuego en una vegetación alrededor de fragmentos de la selva lluviosa atlántica (Reserva Biológica Nacional de Poço das Antas (22° 30 ’-22° 33 ’ S, 42° 15’- 42° 19’ W, Estado de Río de Janeiro.Todos los individuos de Cecropia y Trema previos del fuego en el área fueron numerados con marcas plásticas. Se realizaron otros dos censos, 3 y 12 meses después del fuego con el objetivo de detectar mortalidad y buscar la presencia de nuevos brotes. Las especies dominantes fueron: Pteridium aquilinum, Panicum maximum, Trema micrantha y Cecropia glazioui. Pocos días después del paso del fuego,los pastos y helechos se dispersaron por el área, mientras

  14. The genus Cecropia: a biological clock to estimate the age of recently disturbed areas in the Neotropics.

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    Paul-Camilo Zalamea

    Full Text Available Forest successional processes following disturbance take decades to play out, even in tropical forests. Nonetheless, records of vegetation change in this ecosystem are scarce, increasing the importance of the chronosequence approach to study forest recovery. However, this approach requires accurate dating of secondary forests, which until now was a difficult and/or expensive task. Cecropia is a widespread and abundant pioneer tree genus of the Neotropics. Here we propose and validate a rapid and straightforward method to estimate the age of secondary forest patches based on morphological observations of Cecropia trees. We found that Cecropia-inferred ages were highly correlated with known ages of the forest. We also demonstrate that Cecropia can be used to accurately date disturbances and propose twenty-one species distributed all over the geographical range of the genus as potential secondary forest chronometer species. Our method is limited in applicability by the maximal longevity of Cecropia individuals. Although the oldest chronosequence used in this study was 20 years old, we argue that at least for the first four decades after disturbance, the method described in this study provides very accurate estimations of secondary forest ages. The age of pioneer trees provides not only information needed to calculate the recovery of carbon stocks that would help to improve forest management, but also provides information needed to characterize the initial floristic composition and the rates of species remigration into secondary forest. Our contribution shows how successional studies can be reliably and inexpensively extended without the need to obtain forest ages based on expensive or potentially inaccurate data across the Neotropics.

  15. The TREC/KREC assay for the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with DiGeorge syndrome.

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    Eva Froňková

    Full Text Available DiGeorge syndrome (DGS presents with a wide spectrum of thymic pathologies. Nationwide neonatal screening programs of lymphocyte production using T-cell recombination excision circles (TREC have repeatedly identified patients with DGS. We tested what proportion of DGS patients could be identified at birth by combined TREC and kappa-deleting element recombination circle (KREC screening. Furthermore, we followed TREC/KREC levels in peripheral blood (PB to monitor postnatal changes in lymphocyte production.TREC/KREC copies were assessed by quantitative PCR (qPCR and were related to the albumin control gene in dry blood spots (DBSs from control (n = 56, severe immunodeficiency syndrome (SCID, n = 10 and DGS (n = 13 newborns. PB was evaluated in DGS children (n = 32, in diagnostic samples from SCID babies (n = 5 and in 91 controls.All but one DGS patient had TREC levels in the normal range at birth, albeit quantitative TREC values were significantly lower in the DGS cohort. One patient had slightly reduced KREC at birth. Postnatal DGS samples revealed reduced TREC numbers in 5 of 32 (16% patients, whereas KREC copy numbers were similar to controls. Both TREC and KREC levels showed a more pronounced decrease with age in DGS patients than in controls (p < 0.0001 for both in a linear model. DGS patients had higher percentages of NK cells at the expense of T cells (p < 0.0001. The patients with reduced TREC levels had repeated infections in infancy and developed allergy and/or autoimmunity, but they were not strikingly different from other patients. In 12 DGS patients with paired DBS and blood samples, the TREC/KREC levels were mostly stable or increased and showed similar kinetics in respective patients.The combined TREC/KREC approach with correction via control gene identified 1 of 13 (8% of DiGeorge syndrome patients at birth in our cohort. The majority of patients had TREC/KREC levels in the normal range.

  16. CARACTERIZACIÓN BIOQUÍMICA PARCIAL DE PROTEÍNAS ALERGIÉNICAS DE FRAXINUS SINENSIS Y CECROPIA SP.

    OpenAIRE

    Rodríguez, Adriana; Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá; Leal, Francisco; Hospital Infantil Lorenzita Villegas de Santos, Bogotá

    2013-01-01

    The allergenic capabilities ofthe poli en of Fraxinus sinensis (Urapán) and Cecropia sp. (Y arumo) were determined in patients with respiratory allergies in the city ofBogotá. Of a total of207 patients wbo were subjected to therelevant allergy skin tests, 20 (9.66%) were positive for F. sinensis and 6 (2.9%) for the extract from Cecropia sp. The allergenicity was confirmed by the determination of specific Iinmunoglobulin E (lgE). Of the twenty patients positive for F. sinensis, only 6 ofthem ...

  17. Mitre's Qanda at TREC-11

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Burger, John D; Ferro, Lisa; Greiff, Warren; Henderson, John; Light, Marc; Mardis, Scott; Morgan, Alex

    2006-01-01

    .... We report on some success with this in Section 3. We have also performed a detailed categorization of previous TREC results according to answer type and grammatical category, as well as an analysis of Qanda's own question analysis component -- see...

  18. Re-ranking via User Feedback: Georgetown University at TREC 2015 DD Track

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-11-20

    Re-ranking via User Feedback: Georgetown University at TREC 2015 DD Track Jiyun Luo and Hui Yang Department of Computer Science, Georgetown...involved in a search process, the user and the search engine. In TREC DD , the user is modeled by a simulator, called “jig”. The jig and the search engine...simulating user is provided by TREC 2015 DD Track organizer, and is called “jig”. There are 118 search topics in total. For each search topic, a short

  19. The status of Cecropia (Urticaceae) introductions in Malesia: addressing the confusion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Conn, B.J.; Hadiah, J.T.; Webber, B.L.

    2012-01-01

    As part of the great global movement of plants in the 18th and 19th centuries, many valuable and commercial plants were sent from the Neotropics to Europe as seeds or as live specimens. Cecropia (Urticaceae) was in cultivation in England in 1789, yet species delimitation was not well-understood

  20. Abundância e frugivoria da quiropterofauna (Mammalia, chiroptera de um fragmento no noroeste do Estado do Paraná, Brasil = Chiropterofauna abundance and frugivory in a forest remnant in northwestern Paraná State, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    João Eduardo Cavalcanti Brito

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available A abundância e a frugivoria de morcegos que compõem a taxocenose em uma área de mata ripária, à margem esquerda do rio Ivaí, foram foco do presente estudo. O Recanto Marista possui 57,6 hectares, dos quais 40,8 são cobertos por Floresta Estacional Semidecidual, situado no município de Doutor Camargo, região Noroeste do Estado do Paraná. Foram realizadas 14 noites de capturas de morcegos de maio de 2007 a janeiro de 2008, com redesneblina (7 x 2,5 m, totalizando 13.475 m² h de esforço amostral, distribuído em 72h de esforço. Foram capturados 193 indivíduos, representantes de dez espécies, pertencentes a duas famílias: Phyllostomidae (Artibeus lituratus, Sturnira lilium, Carollia perspicillata, Artibeus cf. fimbriatus, Artibeus planirotris, Desmodus rotundus e Pygoderma bilabiatum e Vespertilionidae (Myotis nigricans, Eptesicus sp. e Lasiurus blossevillii. Um representante da família Molossidae (Molossus rufus foi encontrado morto no solo. Foram consumidos frutos pertencentes às famílias Moraceae (Ficus guaranitica, Ficus insipida, Ficus sp. e Maclura tinctoria, Solanaceae (Solanum aspero-lanatum e Solanum sp., Piperaceae (Piper aduncum, Piper amalago e Piper sp. e Urticaceae (Cecropia pachystachya e Cecropia sp..This study aims to evaluate the abundance and frugivory of bats from the Recanto Marista, a small riparian forest remnant in the margins of the Ivaí river. The Recanto Marista has 57.6 ha, of which 40.8 ha are covered by semideciduous seasonal forest and is located in the Doutor Camargo municipality. Collections were conducted from May 2007to January 2008 using mist nets (7 x 2.5 m totaling 13,475 m² h and comprising about 72 hours. Ten species were found pertaining to two families, Phyllostomidae (Artibeus lituratus, Sturnira lilium, Carollia perspicillata, Artibeus cf. fimbriatus, Artibeus planirotris, Desmodus rotundus and Pygoderma bilabiatum and Vespertilionidae (Myotis nigricans, Eptesicus sp. and Lasiurus

  1. Abundância e frugivoria da quiropterofauna (Mammalia, chiroptera de um fragmento no noroeste do Estado do Paraná, Brasil - doi: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v32i3.5351 Chiropterofauna abundance and frugivory in a forest remnant in northwestern Paraná State, Brazil - doi: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v32i3.5351

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janaina Gazarini

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available A abundância e a frugivoria de morcegos que compõem a taxocenose em uma área de mata ripária, à margem esquerda do rio Ivaí, foram foco do presente estudo. O Recanto Marista possui 57,6 hectares, dos quais 40,8 são cobertos por Floresta Estacional Semidecidual, situado no município de Doutor Camargo, região Noroeste do Estado do Paraná. Foram realizadas 14 noites de capturas de morcegos de maio de 2007 a janeiro de 2008, com redes-neblina (7 x 2,5 m, totalizando 13.475 m² h de esforço amostral, distribuído em 72h de esforço. Foram capturados 193 indivíduos, representantes de dez espécies, pertencentes a duas famílias: Phyllostomidae (Artibeus lituratus, Sturnira lilium, Carollia perspicillata, Artibeus cf. fimbriatus, Artibeus planirotris, Desmodus rotundus e Pygoderma bilabiatum e Vespertilionidae (Myotis nigricans, Eptesicus sp. e Lasiurus blossevillii. Um representante da família Molossidae (Molossus rufus foi encontrado morto no solo. Foram consumidos frutos pertencentes às famílias Moraceae (Ficus guaranitica, Ficus insipida, Ficus sp. e Maclura tinctoria, Solanaceae (Solanum aspero-lanatum e Solanum sp. , Piperaceae (Piper aduncum, Piper amalago e Piper sp. e Urticaceae (Cecropia pachystachya e Cecropia sp..This study aims to evaluate the abundance and frugivory of bats from the Recanto Marista, a small riparian forest remnant in the margins of the Ivaí river. The Recanto Marista has 57.6 ha, of which 40.8 ha are covered by semideciduous seasonal forest and is located in the Doutor Camargo municipality. Collections were conducted from May 2007 to January 2008 using mist nets (7 x 2.5 m totaling 13,475 m² h and comprising about 72 hours. Ten species were found pertaining to two families, Phyllostomidae (Artibeus lituratus, Sturnira lilium, Carollia perspicillata, Artibeus cf. fimbriatus, Artibeus planirotris, Desmodus rotundus and Pygoderma bilabiatum and Vespertilionidae (Myotis nigricans, Eptesicus sp. and Lasiurus

  2. Continental-scale patterns of Cecropia reproductive phenology: evidence from herbarium specimens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zalamea, Paul-Camilo; Munoz, François; Stevenson, Pablo R; Paine, C E Timothy; Sarmiento, Carolina; Sabatier, Daniel; Heuret, Patrick

    2011-08-22

    Plant phenology is concerned with the timing of recurring biological events. Though phenology has traditionally been studied using intensive surveys of a local flora, results from such surveys are difficult to generalize to broader spatial scales. In this study, contrastingly, we assembled a continental-scale dataset of herbarium specimens for the emblematic genus of Neotropical pioneer trees, Cecropia, and applied Fourier spectral and cospectral analyses to investigate the reproductive phenology of 35 species. We detected significant annual, sub-annual and continuous patterns, and discuss the variation in patterns within and among climatic regions. Although previous studies have suggested that pioneer species generally produce flowers continually throughout the year, we found that at least one third of Cecropia species are characterized by clear annual flowering behaviour. We further investigated the relationships between phenology and climate seasonality, showing strong associations between phenology and seasonal variations in precipitation and temperature. We also verified our results against field survey data gathered from the literature. Our findings indicate that herbarium material is a reliable resource for use in the investigation of large-scale patterns in plant phenology, offering a promising complement to local intensive field studies.

  3. PolarTREC-Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating: Innovative Science Education from the Poles to the World

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warnick, W. K.; Warburton, J.; Breen, K.; Wiggins, H. V.; Larson, A.; Behr, S.

    2006-12-01

    PolarTREC-Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating is a three-year (2007-2009) teacher professional development program celebrating the International Polar Year (IPY) that will advance polar science education by bringing K-12 educators and polar researchers together in hands-on field experiences in the Arctic and Antarctic. PolarTREC builds on the strengths of the existing TREC program in the Arctic, an NSF supported program managed by the Arctic Research Consortium of the US (ARCUS), to embrace a wide range of activities occurring at both poles during and after IPY. PolarTREC will foster the integration of research and education to produce a legacy of long-term teacher-researcher collaborations, improved teacher content knowledge through experiences in scientific inquiry, and broad public interest and engagement in polar science and IPY. PolarTREC will enable thirty-six teachers to spend two to six weeks in the Arctic or Antarctic, working closely with researchers investigating a wide range of IPY science themed topics such as sea-ice dynamics, terrestrial ecology, marine biology, atmospheric chemistry, and long-term climate change. While in the field, teachers and researchers will communicate extensively with their colleagues, communities, and hundreds of students of all ages across the globe, using a variety of tools including satellite phones, online journals, podcasts and interactive "Live from IPY" calls and web-based seminars. The online outreach elements of the project convey these experiences to a broad audience far beyond the classrooms of the PolarTREC teachers. In addition to field research experiences, PolarTREC will support teacher professional development and a sustained community of teachers, scientists, and the public through workshops, Internet seminars, an e-mail listserve, and teacher peer groups. For further information on PolarTREC, contact Wendy Warnick, ARCUS Executive Director at warnick@arcus.org or 907-474-1600 or visit www.arcus.org/trec/

  4. The Mirror DBMS at TREC-8

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Vries, A.P.; Hiemstra, Djoerd; Voorhees, E.M; Harman, D.K.

    1999-01-01

    The database group at University of Twente participates in TREC8 using the Mirror DBMS, a prototype database system especially designed for multimedia and web retrieval. From a database perspective, the purpose has been to check whether we can get sufficient performance, and to prepare for the very

  5. Newborn Screening for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency-A History of the TREC Assay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mary T. Bausch-Jurken

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Infants born with T cell lymphopenias, especially severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID are at risk for serious, often fatal infections without intervention within the first year or two of life. The majority of these disorders can be detected through the use of the T cell recombination excision circle assay (TREC assay. The TREC assay detects the presence of non-replicating, episomal DNA that is formed during T cell development. This assay initially developed to measure thymic output during aging and HIV infection, has undergone modifications for the purpose of newborn screening (NBS for SCID. To meet the requirements for inclusion on NBS panels, the assay needed to utilize blood from dried blood spots on NBS cards, and be both sensitive and specific, avoiding the costs of false positives. Currently, the assay relies upon real time, quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR to detect TRECs in punches taken from dried blood spots. This review seeks to highlight some of the early work leading up to the initial implementation of the TREC assay for SCID detection, and the subsequent revisions made to optimize the assay.

  6. The Mirror DBMS at TREC-9

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Vries, A.P.; Voorhees, E.M; Harman, D.K.

    2000-01-01

    The Mirror DBMS is a prototype database system especially designed for multimedia and web retrieval. From a database perspective, this year's purpose has been to check whether we can get suffcient effciency on the larger data set used in TREC-9. From an IR perspective, the experiments are limited to

  7. PolarTREC: Successful Methods and Tools for Attaining Broad Educational Impacts with Interdisciplinary Polar Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timm, K. M.; Warburton, J.; Owens, R.; Warnick, W. K.

    2008-12-01

    PolarTREC--Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating, a program of the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS), is a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded International Polar Year (IPY) project in which K-12 educators participate in hands-on field experiences in the polar regions, working closely with IPY scientists as a pathway to improving science education. Developing long-term teacher- researcher collaborations through PolarTREC ensures up-to-date climate change science content will permeate the K-12 education system long after the IPY. By infusing education with the cutting edge science from the polar regions, PolarTREC has already shown an increase in student and public knowledge of and interest in the polar regions and global climate change. Preliminary evaluations have shown that PolarTREC's program activities have many positive impacts on educators and their ability to teach science concepts and improve their teaching methods. Additionally, K-12 students polled in interest surveys showed significant changes regarding the importance of understanding the polar regions as a person in today's world. Researchers have been overwhelmingly satisfied with PolarTREC and cited several specific strengths, including the program's crucial link between the teachers' field research experiences and their classroom and the extensive training provided to teachers prior to their expedition. This presentation will focus on other successful components of the PolarTREC program and how researchers and organizations might use these tools to reach out to the public for long-term impacts. Best practices include strategies for working with educators and the development of an internet-based platform for teachers and researchers to interact with the public, combining several communication tools such as online journals and forums, real-time Internet seminars, lesson plans, activities, audio, and other educational resources that address a broad range of scientific

  8. Mirex and Taily at TREC 2013

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aly, Robin; Hiemstra, Djoerd; Trieschnigg, Rudolf Berend; Demeester, Thomas

    We describe the participation of the Lowlands at the Web Track and the FedWeb track of TREC 2013. For the Web Track we used the Mirex Map-Reduce library with out-of-the- box approaches and for the FedWeb Track we adapted our shard selection method Taily for resource selection. Here, our results were

  9. PolarTREC-Celebrating the Legacy of the IPY Through Researcher-Educator Partnerships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timm, K.; Warburton, J.; Larson, A. M.

    2009-12-01

    Polar TREC-Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating, a three-year (2007-2009) NSF-funded program, has matched over 40 teachers with polar researchers working in multiple scientific disciplines for 2-8 week Teacher Research Experiences (TRE) in the Arctic and Antarctica during the IPY. PolarTREC contributes to the legacy of the IPY through the creation and dissemination of polar education resources, prolonged teacher-researcher relationships, and contributions to scholarly knowledge on the impacts of TRE's. Products developed during PolarTREC are helping to sustain the widespread interest and enthusiasm in the polar regions generated during the IPY. During their expeditions, participating teachers brought science and information about profound changes at the poles to school, community, and professional audiences through web-based communications, journals, discussion forums, multimedia, and live events. PolarTREC teachers constructed nearly 100 classroom lesson plans and activities as products of their experiences. Live events from the field attracted over 11,000 participants, primarily K-12 students. Although the field experience is central to the PolarTREC TRE Model, many participants cite the relationship they built with their teacher/researcher as one of the best outcomes. Through personal communications, presentations at professional conferences, and continued support of each other’s work through classroom visits or joint proposal development, teachers and researchers have maintained the mutually beneficial relationships established during the IPY. Participating scientists gained access to professional educators with expertise in translating research approaches and results into programs. The need for researchers to explain their research and “boil it down to the raw essence” helped many see how their work fits into a bigger picture, often helping them communicate outside their scientific discipline and to diverse public audiences. Teachers, on

  10. ECOLOGICAL FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF RUSTIC SPECIES IN DISTURBED ECOSYSTEMS IN THE ATLANTIC FOREST, PIRAÍ, RIO DE JANEIRO STATE – BRAZIL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiram Feijó Baylão Junior

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/1980509810542 Disturbed ecosystems do not present original floristic composition. Their soils are depleted, shallow, stony, with low infiltration and present erosion with different levels of Geodynamics. The region has areas of pasture with sparse herbaceous vegetation which is weakened in every rain and fire, covering less ground. The individuals that colonized and settled in these environments were considered rustic species. This study raised and identified by census, the rustic species and their structure in the most degraded part (lower third of the watershed of Cacaria’s river at the base of the Serra do Mar, Piraí, Rio de Janeiro state, and evaluated the influence of ecological exposure, slope, elevation, topography and rock outcrops in the establishment and growth of these species. For the vegetation survey it was conducted census in an area of 22 hectares, where it was measured, geo-referenced and identified all spontaneous tree species that were isolated in a pasture area. Ecological factors exposure, elevation and slope were determined with a compass, altimeter and clinometer, respectively. We identified 131 individuals, representing 14 species, grouped into nine families. Tabernaemontana laeta Mart., Sparattosperma leucanthum (Vell. Schum., Machaerium hirtum (Vell. Stellfeld, Tabebuia chrysotricha (Mart. ex DC. Stan., Cecropia pachystachya Trec., Peltophorum dubium (Spreng. Taub., Guarea guidonia (L. Sleumer, Acacia polyphylla DC. and Psidium guajava L.were present in portions of the slope with exposure to the north, with altitudes from 60m to 80m and with slope strongly corrugated (20-45%, indicating a preference of these species for microhabitats with those characteristics. 

  11. Retrospective TREC testing of newborns with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency and other primary immunodeficiency diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Jilkina

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In Manitoba, Canada, the overall incidence of Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID is three-fold higher than the national average, with SCID overrepresented in two population groups: Mennonites and First Nations of Northern Cree ancestries. T-cell receptor excision circle (TREC assay is being used increasingly for neonatal screening for SCID in North America. However, the majority of SCID patients in Manitoba are T-cell-positive. Therefore it is likely that the TREC assay will not identify these infants. The goal of this study was to blindly and retrospectively perform TREC analysis in confirmed SCID patients using archived Guthrie cards. Thirteen SCID patients were tested: 5 T-negative SCID (3 with adenosine deaminase deficiency, 1 with CD3δ deficiency, and 1 unclassified and 8 T-positive SCID (5 with zeta chain-associated protein kinase (ZAP70 deficiency and 3 with inhibitor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells, kinase beta (IKKβ deficiency. As a non-SCID patient group, 5 Primary Immunodeficiency Disease (PID patients were studied: 1 T-negative PID (cartilage-hair hypoplasia and 4 T-positive PID (2 common immune deficiency (CID, 1 Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome, and 1 X-linked lymphoproliferative disease. Both patient groups required hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In addition, randomly-selected de-identified controls (n = 982 were tested. Results: all T-negative SCID and PID had zero TRECs. Low-TRECs were identified in 2 ZAP70 siblings, 1 CID patient as well as 5 preterm, 1 twin, and 4 de-identified controls. Conclusions: TREC method will identify T-negative SCID and T-negative PID. To identify other SCID babies, newborn screening in Manitoba must include supplemental targeted screening for ethnic-specific mutations.

  12. NASA IceBridge and PolarTREC - Education and Outreach Partnership

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartholow, S.; Warburton, J.; Beck, J.; Woods, J. E.

    2015-12-01

    PolarTREC-Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating, a teacher professional development program, began with the International Polar Year in 2004 and continues today in the United States. PolarTREC has worked specifically with OIB for 3 years and looking forward to ongoing collaboration. PolarTREC brings U.S. K­12 educators and polar researchers together through an innovative teacher research experience model. Participating teachers spend 3-6 weeks in the field with research teams conducting surveys and collecting data on various aspects of polar science. During their experience, teachers become research team members filling a variety of roles on the team. They also fulfill a unique role of public outreach officer, conducting live presentations about their field site and research as well as journaling, answering questions, and posting photos. Working with OIB has opened up the nature of science for the participating teachers. In developing the long-term relationship with OIB teams, teachers can now share (1) the diversity of training, backgrounds, and interests of OIB scientists, (2) identify the linkages between Greenlandic culture and community and cryospheric science and evidence of climate change, (3) network with Danish and Greenlandic educators on the mission (4) gain access to the full spectrum of a science project - development, implementation, analysis, networking, and dissemination of information. All aspects help these teachers become champions of NASA science and educational leaders in their communities. Evaluation data shows that PolarTREC has clearly achieved it goals with the OIB partnership and suggests that linking teachers and researchers can have the potential to transform the nature of science education. By giving teachers the content knowledge, pedagogical tools, confidence, understanding of science in the broader society, and experiences with scientific inquiry, participating teachers are using authentic scientific research in their

  13. The 2011-2016 Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (TREC) initiative: rationale and design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patterson, Ruth E; Colditz, Graham A; Hu, Frank B; Schmitz, Kathryn H; Ahima, Rexford S; Brownson, Ross C; Carson, Kenneth R; Chavarro, Jorge E; Chodosh, Lewis A; Gehlert, Sarah; Gill, Jeff; Glanz, Karen; Haire-Joshu, Debra; Herbst, Karen Louise; Hoehner, Christine M; Hovmand, Peter S; Irwin, Melinda L; Jacobs, Linda A; James, Aimee S; Jones, Lee W; Kerr, Jacqueline; Kibel, Adam S; King, Irena B; Ligibel, Jennifer A; Meyerhardt, Jeffrey A; Natarajan, Loki; Neuhouser, Marian L; Olefsky, Jerrold M; Proctor, Enola K; Redline, Susan; Rock, Cheryl L; Rosner, Bernard; Sarwer, David B; Schwartz, J Sanford; Sears, Dorothy D; Sesso, Howard D; Stampfer, Meir J; Subramanian, S V; Taveras, Elsie M; Tchou, Julia; Thompson, Beti; Troxel, Andrea B; Wessling-Resnick, Marianne; Wolin, Kathleen Y; Thornquist, Mark D

    2013-04-01

    Recognition of the complex, multidimensional relationship between excess adiposity and cancer control outcomes has motivated the scientific community to seek new research models and paradigms. The National Cancer Institute developed an innovative concept to establish a center grant mechanism in nutrition, energetics, and physical activity, referred to as the Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (TREC) Initiative. This paper gives an overview of the 2011-2016 TREC Collaborative Network and the 15 research projects being conducted at the centers. Four academic institutions were awarded TREC center grants in 2011: Harvard University, University of California San Diego, University of Pennsylvania, and Washington University in St. Louis. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center is the Coordination Center. The TREC research portfolio includes three animal studies, three cohort studies, four randomized clinical trials, one cross-sectional study, and two modeling studies. Disciplines represented by TREC investigators include basic science, endocrinology, epidemiology, biostatistics, behavior, medicine, nutrition, physical activity, genetics, engineering, health economics, and computer science. Approximately 41,000 participants will be involved in these studies, including children, healthy adults, and breast and prostate cancer survivors. Outcomes include biomarkers of cancer risk, changes in weight and physical activity, persistent adverse treatment effects (e.g., lymphedema, urinary and sexual function), and breast and prostate cancer mortality. The NIH Science of Team Science group will evaluate the value added by this collaborative science. However, the most important outcome will be whether this transdisciplinary initiative improves the health of Americans at risk of cancer as well as cancer survivors.

  14. Secamiento Descendente del Yarumo (Cecropia Tessmanii

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Obregón Botero. Rafael

    1972-12-01

    Full Text Available El estudio de muchas enfermedades que afectan plantas tropicales, como en el caso del género Cecropia, es muy difícil, debido a la carencia de bibliografía, ya que en muchos géneros no se han adelantado estudios, ni siquiera someros, de sus parásitos o de sus dolencias de origen no parasitario. En el caso presente, no fue posible encontrar dato alguno que pudiera encaminarnos en el estudio de esta nueva enfermedad del yarumo. Creemos, a pesar de que el presente trabajo no representa un estudio completo de problema, que tiene dos aspectos importantes: 1.El iniciar el estudio de los enemigos que pueda tener una planta tan poco estudiada y a la vez de tantas posibilidades como fuente de materia prima. 2.Relacionar los parásitos de este género, con enfermedades de otras plantas que viven en esos mismos climas y medios ambientes, esas ya sí, de reconocida importancia económica, como son las del cacao, el caucho y algunos árboles maderables.

  15. PolarTREC-Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating: Science Education from the Poles to the World

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warnick, W. K.; Breen, K.; Warburton, J.; Fischer, K.; Wiggins, H.; Owens, R.; Polly, B.; Wade, B.; Buxbaum, T.

    2007-12-01

    PolarTREC-Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating is a three-year (2007-2009) teacher professional development program celebrating the International Polar Year (IPY) that advances polar science education by bringing K-12 educators and polar researchers together in hands-on field experiences in the Arctic and Antarctic. Currently in its second year, the program fosters the integration of research and education to produce a legacy of long-term teacher-researcher collaborations, improved teacher content knowledge through experiences in scientific inquiry, and broad public interest and engagement in polar science. Through PolarTREC, over 40 U.S. teachers will spend two to six weeks in the Arctic or Antarctic, working closely with researchers in the field as an integral part of the science team. Research projects focus on a wide range of IPY science themed topics such as sea-ice dynamics, terrestrial ecology, marine biology, atmospheric chemistry, and long-term climate change. While in the field, teachers and researchers will communicate extensively with their colleagues, communities, and hundreds of students of all ages across the globe, using a variety of tools including satellite phones, online journals, podcasts and interactive "Live from IPY" calls and web-based seminars. The online outreach elements of the project convey these experiences to a broad audience far beyond the classrooms of the PolarTREC teachers. In addition to field research experiences, PolarTREC will support teacher professional development and a sustained community of teachers, scientists, and the public through workshops, Internet seminars, an e-mail listserve, and teacher peer groups. To learn more about PolarTREC visit the website at: http://www.polartrec.com or contact info@polartrec.com or 907-474-1600. PolarTREC is funded by NSF and managed by the Arctic Research Consortium of the US (ARCUS).

  16. TUW @ TREC Clinical Decision Support Track

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-01

    and the ShARe/CLEF eHealth Evaluation Lab [8,3] running in 2013 and 2014. Here we briefly describe the goals of the first TREC Clinical Decision...Wendy W. Chapman, David Mart́ınez, Guido Zuccon, and João R. M. Palotti. Overview of the share/clef ehealth evalu- ation lab 2014. In Information Access...Zuccon. Overview of the share/clef ehealth evaluation lab 2013. In Information Access Evaluation. Multilinguality, Multimodality, and Visualization

  17. Overview of the TREC 2014 Federated Web Search Track

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Demeester, Thomas; Trieschnigg, Rudolf Berend; Nguyen, Dong-Phuong; Zhou, Ke; Hiemstra, Djoerd

    2014-01-01

    The TREC Federated Web Search track facilitates research in topics related to federated web search, by providing a large realistic data collection sampled from a multitude of online search engines. The FedWeb 2013 challenges of Resource Selection and Results Merging challenges are again included in

  18. WaterlooClarke: TREC 2015 Clinical Decision Support Track

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-11-20

    questions (diagnosis, test and treatment articles). The two different full-text search engines we adopted in order to search over the collection of articles...two different search engines using reciprocal rank fusion. The evaluation of the submitted runs using partially marked results of Text Retrieval Conference (TREC) from the previous year shows that the methodologies are promising.

  19. PolarTREC-Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating: Science Education from the Poles to the World

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timm, K. M.; Warburton, J.; Owens, R.; Warnick, W. K.

    2008-12-01

    PolarTREC--Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating, a program of the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS), is a National Science Foundation (NSF)--funded International Polar Year (IPY) project in which K-12 educators participate in hands-on field experiences, working closely with IPY scientists as a pathway to improving science education. PolarTREC has developed a successful internet-based platform for teachers and researchers to interact and share their diverse experiences and expertise by creating interdisciplinary educational tools including online journals and forums, real-time Internet seminars, lesson plans, activities, audio, and other educational resources that address a broad range of scientific topics. These highly relevant, adaptable, and accessible resources are available to educators across the globe and have connected thousands of students and citizens to the excitement of polar science. By fostering the integration of research and education and infusing education with the thrill of discovery, PolarTREC will produce a legacy of long-term teacher-researcher collaborations and increased student knowledge of and interest in the polar regions well beyond the IPY time period. Educator and student feedback from preliminary evaluations has shown that PolarTREC's comprehensive program activities have many positive impacts on educators and their ability to teach science concepts and improve their teaching methods. Additionally, K-12 students polled in interest surveys showed significant changes in key areas including amount of time spent in school exploring research activities, importance of understanding science for future work, importance of understanding the polar regions as a person in today's world, as well as increased self-reported knowledge and interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics content areas. PolarTREC provides a tested approach and a clear route for researcher participation in the education community

  20. Overview of the TREC 2013 Federated Web Search Track

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Demeester, Thomas; Trieschnigg, Rudolf Berend; Nguyen, Dong-Phuong; Hiemstra, Djoerd

    2014-01-01

    The TREC Federated Web Search track is intended to promote research related to federated search in a realistic web setting, and hereto provides a large data collection gathered from a series of online search engines. This overview paper discusses the results of the first edition of the track, FedWeb

  1. A new look at discontinuous respiration in pupae of Hyalophora cecropia (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae): Haemocoelic pressure, extracardiac pulsations and O2 consumption

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Sláma, Karel

    2010-01-01

    Roč. 107, č. 4 (2010), s. 487-507 ISSN 1210-5759 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50070508 Keywords : Saturniidae * Hyalophora cecropia * respiratory acidaemia Subject RIV: ED - Physiology Impact factor: 0.945, year: 2010 http://www.eje.cz/scripts/viewabstract.php?abstract=1559

  2. Avaliação do potencial de utilização da madeira de Schizolobium amazonicum "Paricá" e Cecropia hololeuca "Embaúba" para produção de painéis aglomerados Evaluation of potential use of the wood of Schizolobium amazonicum "Paricá" and Cecropia hololeuca "Embaúba" to particleboard manufacture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Setsuo Iwakiri

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Esta pesquisa teve por objetivo avaliar o potencial de utilização de madeira de Schizolobium amazonicum (Paricá e Cecropia hololeuca (Embaúba para produção de painéis aglomerados. Foram produzidos painéis experimentais com densidade nominal de 0,70 g/cm³, utilizando a resina uréia-formaldeído e partículas de madeira de Paricá e Embaúba, e mistura destas, em proporções de 75, 50 e 25%. A madeira de Pinus taeda foi utilizada como testemunha. Os painéis foram prensados com pressão específica de 40 kgf/cm², temperatura de 160ºC e tempo de prensagem de 8 minutos. Os resultados das avaliações de propriedades de absorção de água, inchamento em espessura, ligação interna, módulo de elasticidade e módulo de ruptura, indicaram que as madeiras de Schizolobium amazonicum (Paricá e Cecropia hololeuca (Embaúba são tecnicamente viáveis para produção de painéis aglomerados.This research was developed to evaluate the potential use of the woods Schizolobium amazonicum (Paricá and Cecropia hololeuca (Embaúba for manufacturing particleboard. Were made panels with the densities of 0.70 g/cm³, using mixtures of urea-formaldehyde resin and wood particles of Paricá and Embaúba, in proportions of 75, 50 and 25%. The Pinus taeda wood was used as the reference. The panels were pressed at the temperature of 160ºC, pressure of 40 kgf/cm², for 8 minutes. The evaluations of the properties of water absorption, thickness swelling, internal bond, modulus of elasticity and modulus of ruptures, showed that the woods of Schizolobium amazonicum (Paricá e Cecropia hololeuca (Embaúba are technically feasible for particleboard manufacture.

  3. Cecropia peltata l.: Estudios farmacognósticos y de la composición de ácidos grasos libres

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abel A Pardo Concepción

    2000-08-01

    Full Text Available Se inició el estudio de la yagruma (Cecropia peltata L. de uso medicinal en Cuba, con la descripción de los índices farmacognósticos mínimos necesarios para establecer la calidad de las hojas de la planta como droga, así como el estudio de la fracción de desengrase de donde se cristaliza una mezcla de 11 ácidos grasos metilados en forma libre, los cuales se caracterizan mediante cromatografía gaseosa acoplada a masas. El 50 % de estos ácidos son insaturados, lo cual puede favorecer el fundamento del uso de la planta popularmente con fines antiasmáticos.The study of yagruma (Cecropia peltata L. of medicinal use in Cuba was started with the description of the minimum pharmacognostic indexes necessary to establish the quality of the leaves of the plant as a drug, as well as the study of the scouring fraction from where a mix of 11 freely methylated fatty acids is crystallized. These acids are characterized by gas chromatography matched to masses. 50% of these acids are unsaturated, which may favor the popular use of the plant with antiasthmatic ends.

  4. Twenty-One at TREC-8: using Language Technology for Information Retrieval

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kraaij, Wessel; Pohlmann, Renée; Hiemstra, Djoerd; Voorhees, E.M; Harman, D.K.

    2000-01-01

    This paper describes the official runs of the Twenty-One group for TREC-8. The Twenty-One group participated in the Ad-hoc, CLIR, Adaptive Filtering and SDR tracks. The main focus of our experiments is the development and evaluation of retrieval methods that are motivated by natural language

  5. Improving Geoscience Education through the PolarTREC Teacher Research Experience Model (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warburton, J.; Timm, K.; Larson, A. M.

    2010-12-01

    Teacher Research Experiences (TRE’s) are not new. For more than a decade, the National Science Foundation (NSF) as well as other federal agencies have been funding programs that place teachers with researchers in efforts to invigorate science education by bringing educators and researchers together through hands-on experiences. Many of the TRE’s are successful in providing a hands-on field experience for the teachers and researchers however many of the programs lack the resources to continue the collaborations and support the growing network of teachers that have had these field experiences. In 2007, NSF provided funding for PolarTREC—Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating, a program of the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS). PolarTREC is a TRE where K-12 teachers participate in polar field research, working closely with scientists as a pathway to improving science education. In just three years, it has become a successful TRE. What makes PolarTREC different than other the teacher research experience programs and how can others benefit from what we have learned? During this presentation, we will share data collected through the program evaluation and on how PolarTREC contributes to the discipline of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and pedagogy through a model program conceived and organized according to current best practices, such as pre-research training, mentoring, support for classroom transfer, and long-term access to resources and support. Data shows that PolarTREC’s comprehensive program activities have many positive impacts on educators and their ability to teach science concepts and improve their teaching methods. Additionally, K-12 students polled in interest surveys showed significant changes in key areas including amount of time spent in school exploring research activities, importance of understanding science for future work, importance of understanding the polar regions as a person

  6. Distributed Non-Parametric Representations for Vital Filtering: UW at TREC KBA 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-01

    formation about the entity, every new document would drive an update to the entity profile, strongly suggesting vitalness. Figure 3 represents...of the Twenty-Second Text REtrieval Conference (TREC 2013), 2013. Caruana, Richard. Multitask Learning: A Knowledge-Based Source of Inductive Bias. In

  7. University of Twente at TREC 2009: Indexing half a billion web pages

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hauff, C.; Hiemstra, Djoerd; Voorhees, E.M; Buckland, L.P.

    2010-01-01

    This report presents results for the TREC 2009 adhoc task, the diversity task, and the relevance feedback task. We present ideas for unsupervised tuning of search system, an approach for spam removal, and the use of categories and query log information for diversifying search results.

  8. Twenty-One at TREC-7: ad-hoc and cross-language track

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hiemstra, Djoerd; Kraaij, Wessel; Voorhees, E.M; Harman, D.K.

    1999-01-01

    This paper describes the official runs of the Twenty-One group for TREC-7. The Twenty-One group participated in the ad-hoc and the cross-language track and made the following accomplishments: We developed a new weighting algorithm, which outperforms the popular Cornell version of BM25 on the ad-hoc

  9. Overview of the TREC 2014 Federated Web Search Track

    OpenAIRE

    Demeester, Thomas; Trieschnigg, Rudolf Berend; Nguyen, Dong-Phuong; Zhou, Ke; Hiemstra, Djoerd

    2014-01-01

    The TREC Federated Web Search track facilitates research in topics related to federated web search, by providing a large realistic data collection sampled from a multitude of online search engines. The FedWeb 2013 challenges of Resource Selection and Results Merging challenges are again included in FedWeb 2014, and we additionally introduced the task of vertical selection. Other new aspects are the required link between the Resource Selection and Results Merging, and the importance of diversi...

  10. Enemigos naturales de Stenoma cecropia (Lepidoptera: Elachistidae) en palma de aceite, en el suroccidente de Colombia

    OpenAIRE

    SENDOYA-CORRALES, CARLOS ANDRÉS; BUSTILLO-PARDEY, ALEX ENRIQUE

    2016-01-01

    Stenoma cecropia infesta las nuevas siembras del híbrido interespecífico (Elaeis oleifera x E. guineensis) de palma de aceite en la zona de Tumaco (Nariño). Sus infestaciones afectan grandes extensiones de palma y causan defoliaciones de importancia económica. Por tal motivo, el objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar los factores bióticos y abióticos que afectan las poblaciones de la plaga a través de muestreos secuenciales quincenales, siguiendo un sistema móvil de desplazamiento 2 x 2, que...

  11. Overview of the TREC 2013 federated web search track

    OpenAIRE

    Demeester, Thomas; Trieschnigg, D; Nguyen, D; Hiemstra, D

    2013-01-01

    The TREC Federated Web Search track is intended to promote research related to federated search in a realistic web setting, and hereto provides a large data collection gathered from a series of online search engines. This overview paper discusses the results of the first edition of the track, FedWeb 2013. The focus was on basic challenges in federated search: (1) resource selection, and (2) results merging. After an overview of the provided data collection and the relevance judgments for the ...

  12. DETERMINATION OF REFERENCE VALUES FOR TREC AND KREC IN DRY BLOOD SPOTS OF NEWBORNS FROM DIFFERENT GESTATION AGES IN SVERDLOVSK REGION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. S. Deryabina

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available As a preparatory stage for implementation of genetic testing for severe combined immunodeficiency under a neonatal screening program, a study was performed in Sverdlovsk Region which concerned quantitative determination of T and B cell neogenesis markers (TREC and KREC, respectively in blood of conditionally healthy newborns. Archived samples of dry blood spots collected in test-forms for routine neonatal screening were used as biological material for the study of full-term 26 girls and 26 boys who did not exhibit serious illnesses during first year of their life. In addition, we investigated potential effects of foetal gestational age upon the number of TREC and KREC in preterm infants. Blood samples from 55 preterm infants (23 to 36 gestational weeks were also examined. It was shown that the levels of TREC and KREC increased sequentially with the increased gestation terms, but the quantitative changes of markers showed different dynamics. In this respect, the recommended terms of blood sample collection for SCID screening is entirely consistent with timing of blood sampling for routine newborn screening. An alternative result was obtained with a complete absence of TREC or KREC in blood sample of a newborn, irrespectively of prematurity degree (at valid copy numbers of a control gene which should serve as an indication for immediate consulting of the child by immunologist and in-depth immunological examination, because it may be a first prognostic sign of a fatal disease. In order to obtain correct cut-off levels for TREC/KREC, additional studies are needed on a larger sample of newborns (1.000 to 5.000, followed by validation of the obtained reference boundaries in studies involving patients with different forms of primary immunodeficiencies. 

  13. Evaluation of potentical use of the wood of Schizolobium amazonicum “Paricá” and Cecropia hololeuca “Embaúba” for wood cement board manufacture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vinicius Yurk da Rocha

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available This research was developed to evaluate the potential use of Schizolobium amazonicum “Paricá” and Cecropia hololeuca “Embaúba” wood for wood cement board manufacture. Panels with the density of 1.200 kg/m³ were made, using cement CP V ARI as mineral bonding and wood particles without treatment and treated with immersion in cold water, hot water and sodium hydroxide. The panels were pressed at the pressure of 40 kgf/cm², room temperature and press / clipping time of 24 hours and maturation time of 28 days. The evaluation of the properties of water absorption, thickness swelling, internal bond, modulus of elasticity and modulus of rupture, showed that Schizolobium amazonicum “Paricá” and Cecropia hololeuca “Embaúba” wood are technically feasible for wood-cement board manufacture. It was also found that the panels of embaúba exhibit some properties superior to those of the paricá, and the particles do not necessarily need treatment.

  14. Abnormal TREC-Based Newborn Screening Test in a Premature Neonate with Massive Perivillous Fibrin Deposition of the Placenta

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Kostadinov

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID, a primary immunodeficiency arising from variable defects in lymphocyte development and survival, is characterized by significant deficiency of thymus derived (T- lymphocytes and variable defects in the B-lymphocyte population. Newborn screening for SCID is based on detection of low numbers of T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs by real time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR. This screening allows for early identification of individuals with SCID and other disorders characterized by T-lymphopenia. Higher rates of abnormal screens are commonly seen in premature and critically ill neonates, often representing false positives. It is possible that many abnormal screens seen in these populations are result of conditions that are characterized by systemic inflammation or stress, possibly in the context of stress-induced thymic involution. We present a case of a male infant delivered at 27 weeks, 6 days of gestation, with severe intrauterine growth restriction who had an abnormal TREC screen and a massive perivillous fibrin deposition (MPFD of the placenta. This association has not been reported previously. We are raising the awareness to the fact that conditions, such as MPFD, that can create adverse intrauterine environment are capable of causing severe stress-induced thymic involution of the fetus which can present with abnormal TREC results on newborn screening.

  15. Nitrogen use strategies of seedlings from neotropical tree species of distinct successional groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Halley Caixeta; da Silva, Ligia Maria Inocêncio; de Freitas, Letícia Dias; Debiasi, Tatiane Viegas; Marchiori, Nidia Mara; Aidar, Marcos Pereira Marinho; Bianchini, Edmilson; Pimenta, José Antonio; Stolf-Moreira, Renata

    2017-05-01

    Few studies have analyzed the strategies of neotropical tree seedlings for absorbing, translocating and assimilating the nitrogen. Here, we compared the nitrogen use strategies of seedlings from six tree species that are native to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and that belong to different successional groups: Trema micrantha, Heliocarpus popayanensis and Cecropia pachystachya (pioneers), Cariniana estrellensis, Eugenia brasiliensis and Guarea kunthiana (non-pioneers). The effects of cultivating seedlings with nitrate or ammonium on the growth, physiology and nitrogen metabolism were analyzed. Nitrate-grown pioneer species had much higher leaf nitrate reductase activity than non-pioneer ones, but non-pioneer seedlings were also able to use nitrate as a nitrogen source. In addition to this remarkable difference between the groups in the capacity for leaf nitrate assimilation, substantial variations in the nitrogen use strategies were observed within the successional classes. Differently from the other non-pioneers, the canopy species C. estrellensis seemed to assimilate nitrate mainly in the leaves. Morphophysiological analyses showed a gradient of ammonium toxicity response, with E. brasiliensis as the most tolerant species, and T. micrantha and H. popayanensis as the most sensitive ones. Guarea kunthiana showed a relatively low tolerance to ammonium and an unusual high translocation of this cation in the xylem sap. In contrast to the other pioneers, C. pachystachya had a high plasticity in the use of nitrogen sources. Overall, these results suggest that nitrogen use strategies of neotropical tree seedlings were not determined solely by their successional position. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  16. Exploring the link between innate immune activation and thymic function by measuring sCD14 and TRECs in HIV patients living in Belgium.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adrien De Voeght

    Full Text Available Microbial translocation is now viewed as a central event in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammation during HIV infection. Thymic function failure is another crucial factor involved in HIV disease progression. The goal of this study was to explore the hypothesis of potential links between microbial translocation and thymic function in HIV-1 patients living in Belgium. The extent of microbial translocation was assessed through the measurement of soluble CD14 (sCD14. T-cell receptor excision circles (sjTRECs and dβTRECs were used as a measure of thymic function. Data were collected from 75 HIV-infected patients. Simple and complex linear regressions were done to analyze the link between these two processes. We found a statistically relevant negative correlation between thymopoiesis (sjTREC and sCD14 level (p = 0.004. These results suggest a link between thymic function failure, microbial translocation and innate immune activation.

  17. CWI and TU Delft at TREC 2013: Contextual Suggestion, Federated Web Search, KBA, and Web Tracks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    A. Bellogín Kouki (Alejandro); G.G. Gebremeskel (Gebre); J. He (Jiyin); J.J.P. Lin (Jimmy); A. Said (Alan); T. Samar (Thaer); A.P. de Vries (Arjen); J.B.P. Vuurens (Jeroen)

    2014-01-01

    htmlabstractThis paper provides an overview of the work done at the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) and Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) for different tracks of TREC 2013. We participated in the Contextual Suggestion Track, the Federated Web Search Track, the Knowledge Base

  18. A preliminary study measuring the number of T-cell receptor-rearrangement excision circles (TRECs) in peripheral blood T-cell populations of A-bomb survivors and control populations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kubo, Yoshiko; Yamaoka, Mika; Kusunoki, Yoichiro

    2006-01-01

    More than a half century after damage of the immune systems by the radiation from A-bomb, we can still observe significant decreases in the percentages of naieve CD4 and CD8 T cells among the survivors. To investigate whether the observed decreases in the naieve T-cell populations may have resulted from reduction in thymic T-cell production ability of survivors, we established a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method to examine the number of T-cell receptor-rearrangement excision circles (TRECs) in peripheral blood CD4 and CD8 T-cell populations. The real-time PCR quantitatively detected TREC sequences with a good reproducibility in human laboratory controls. In the 445 survivors so far been examined, multiple regression analysis indicated that the number of TRECs in the CD4 T-cell fraction was significantly higher in females than in males and decreased significantly with age in both males and females. This analysis also suggested a possible dose-dependent decrease in the number of TRECs in the CD4 T-cell fraction of the survivors who were less than 20 years of age at the time of bombing (p=0.09). A similar statistically significant trend for gender difference or age was observed in the CD8 T-cell fraction of the survivors. However, there was no effect of radiation exposure on the number of TRECs in the CD8-T cell fraction. The results indicate the possibility that A-bomb radiation exposure may have induced a long-term impairment in thymic CD4 T-cell production. Further investigations in a larger study population are necessary to test this hypothesis. (author)

  19. TNO and RUN at the TREC 2012 Contextual Suggestion Track: Recommending Personalized Touristic Sights Using Google Places

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-01

    TNO and RUN at the TREC 2012 Contextual Suggestion Track: Recommending personalized touristic sights using Google Places Maya Sappelli∗1, Suzan...quite conservative . Figure 1: Accuracies on the ratings and contextual fits (0, 1 and 2) A more detailed look on the distribution of positive, neutral

  20. Levantamento etnobotânico de plantas utilizadas como anti-hiperlipidêmicas e anorexígenas pela população de Nova Xavantina-MT, Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcondes Alves B. da Silva

    Full Text Available O presente trabalho verificou a utilização de plantas medicinais encontradas no Cerrado mato-grossense para o tratamento de hiperlipidemias e obesidade. Entrevistas com 180 pessoas acima de 50 anos foram realizadas em Nova Xavantina-MT. O questionário abordou nome popular, parte utilizada, forma de preparo e uso das espécies citadas, além de informações gerais sobre o uso de plantas. As dez plantas mais citadas foram coletadas, identificadas e estudadas por meio de uma revisão bibliográfica. A maioria dos entrevistados (95,6% declarou utilizar plantas medicinais regularmente, sendo que 71,5% deles herdaram o conhecimento sobre plantas dos pais e avós e 94,20% relataram aconselhar o uso aos mais jovens. Além disso, 93,6% atestaram que as plantas são mais eficazes que os medicamentos de farmácia e 57% consideraram forte o efeito das mesmas, ou seja, sempre resolvem o problema de saúde. Quanto aos efeitos adversos, 95,9% disseram nunca ter sentido após o uso de plantas. Dos entrevistados, 56,7% conheciam ou já haviam utilizado plantas medicinais no tratamento de hiperlipidemias e obesidade, sendo citadas 54 espécies medicinais diferentes pertencentes a 53 gêneros e 38 famílias, com destaque para Fabaceae (13%. As dez plantas mais citadas foram: guatambu (Aspidosperma tomentosum Mart., quina-do-cerrado (Strychnos pseudoquina St. Hil., ipê-roxo [Tabebuia impetiginosa (Mart. Ex DC. Standl], embaúba (Cecropia pachystachya Trec., calunga (Simaba sp., pata-de-vaca [Bauhinia rufa (Bong. Steud.], mangaba (Hancornia speciosa Gomez, batata-de-tiú [Jatropha elliptica (Pohl. Muell. Arg.], folha-de-carne (Casearia sylvestris Sw. e manacá (Spiranthera odoratissima A. St.-Hil.. A folha foi a parte mais utilizada (46% e o preparo das plantas ocorre principalmente por meio de infusão citado por 36,5% dos entrevistados. Apesar do uso popular destas plantas no combate as hiperlipidemias e obesidade, há necessidade de estudos fitoquímicos e

  1. Evaluation of potential use of the wood of Schizolobium amazonicum "Paricá" and Cecropia hololeuca "Embaúba" to particleboard manufacture

    OpenAIRE

    Iwakiri, Setsuo; Zeller, Florian; Pinto, Juliana Afonso; Ramirez, Maria Guadalupe Lomeli; Souza, Marina Moura; Seixas, Rodrigo

    2010-01-01

    Esta pesquisa teve por objetivo avaliar o potencial de utilização de madeira de Schizolobium amazonicum (Paricá) e Cecropia hololeuca (Embaúba) para produção de painéis aglomerados. Foram produzidos painéis experimentais com densidade nominal de 0,70 g/cm³, utilizando a resina uréia-formaldeído e partículas de madeira de Paricá e Embaúba, e mistura destas, em proporções de 75, 50 e 25%. A madeira de Pinus taeda foi utilizada como testemunha. Os painéis foram prensados com pressão específica d...

  2. T-cell receptor excision circles (TREC) in CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell subpopulations in atopic dermatitis and psoriasis show major differences in the emission of recent thymic emigrants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Just, Helle L; Deleuran, Mette; Vestergaard, Christian

    2008-01-01

    . In contrast, both men and women with psoriasis had significantly reduced TREC levels, which were, on average, only 30% of that of healthy persons. In atopic dermatitis the levels of TREC declined with increasing levels of IgE, disease intensity and extent of eczema. Furthermore, patients with atopic......-cells, this indicates that atopic dermatitis patients can have compensatory emissions of thymic emigrants, whereas psoriatic patients do not, thus supporting different thymic function in these two diseases....

  3. Abundance and frugivory of the toco toucan (Ramphastos toco in a gallery forest in Brazil's Southern Pantanal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Ragusa-Netto

    Full Text Available Unlike other toucan species, the Toco toucan (Ramphastos toco - the largest Ramphastidae - usually inhabits dry semi-open areas. This conspicuous canopy frugivore uses a large home range that includes a variety of vegetation types, among which gallery forests are widely cited as important to this species. However, the factors relating to the occurrence of Toco toucans in such habitats are unclear. I studied the abundance of Toco toucans as well as the availability of fleshy fruit in a gallery forest in the southern Pantanal (sub-region of Miranda, Brazil, in order to assess the relationship between these parameters. Also, I examined toucan foraging activity to analyze its relationship with both toucan abundance and fruit availability. The presence of the Toco toucan was more common in the gallery forest from the middle to the end of the dry season and during the middle of the wet season. Toucans foraged for fleshy fruits, mainly Genipa americana, Ficus luschnatiana, and Cecropia pachystachya fruits, feeding mostly on G. americana (by far the favorite food resource and F. luschnatiana fruits during the dry season, while C. pachystachya fruits were important in the wet season. Toco toucans foraged particularly heavily (> 80% of foraging activity on G. americana fruits during the latter part of the dry season, when fleshy fruit availability declined sharply. Toco toucan abundance in the gallery forest was associated with the availability of the most commonly consumed fleshy fruits, and also with its foraging activity. This finding suggests that the Toco toucan moved to the gallery forest periodically in response to the availability of abundant food resources, especially the G. americana fruits widely available and exploited during the severely dry season. Therefore, these fruits potentially contribute to Toco toucan persistence in the South Pantanal during the harshest period of the year.

  4. Abundance and frugivory of the Toco toucan (Ramphastos toco) in a gallery forest in Brazil's southern Pantanal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ragusa-Netto, J

    2006-02-01

    Unlike other toucan species, the Toco toucan (Ramphastos toco)--the largest Ramphastidae--usually inhabits dry semi-open areas. This conspicuous canopy frugivore uses a large home range that includes a variety of vegetation types, among which gallery forests are widely cited as important to this species. However, the factors relating to the occurrence of Toco toucans in such habitats are unclear. I studied the abundance of Toco toucans as well as the availability of fleshy fruit in a gallery forest in the southern Pantanal (sub-region of Miranda, Brazil), in order to assess the relationship between these parameters. Also, I examined toucan foraging activity to analyze its relationship with both toucan abundance and fruit availability. The presence of the Toco toucan was more common in the gallery forest from the middle to the end of the dry season and during the middle of the wet season. Toucans foraged for fleshy fruits, mainly Genipa americana, Ficus luschnatiana, and Cecropia pachystachya fruits, feeding mostly on G. americana (by far the favorite food resource) and F. luschnatiana fruits during the dry season, while C. pachystachya fruits were important in the wet season. Toco toucans foraged particularly heavily (> 80% of foraging activity) on G. americana fruits during the latter part of the dry season, when fleshy fruit availability declined sharply. Toco toucan abundance in the gallery forest was associated with the availability of the most commonly consumed fleshy fruits, and also with its foraging activity. This finding suggests that the Toco toucan moved to the gallery forest periodically in response to the availability of abundant food resources, especially the G. americana fruits widely available and exploited during the severely dry season. Therefore, these fruits potentially contribute to Toco toucan persistence in the South Pantanal during the harshest period of the year.

  5. Análise fitossociológica de um remanescente de vegetação na microbacia do Córrego Criminoso (Bacia do Rio Taquari, Coxim, MS, Brasil: subsídios para a recomposição da vegetação Phytosociological analysis of a vegetation remnant in the Córrego Criminoso Basin (Taquari River Basin, Coxim District, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil: data for vegetation recovery studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriana Maria Güntzel

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available O objetivo deste estudo foi realizar a análise florística e fitossociológica preliminar em um remanescente de vegetação na área de entorno do Córrego Criminoso, visando subsidiar futuros projetos de recomposição da vegetação. A área total do remanescente foi determinada com o auxílio de GPS e dos programas Pathfinder e Autocad. Amostragens de indivíduos com CAP maior ou igual a 20 cm foram realizadas em 20 parcelas de 300 m² distribuídas na área. Foram encontradas 26 famílias botânicas contendo 36 gêneros e 49 espécies. A família Leguminosae foi a mais rica em espécies, seguida da família Annonaceae. A espécie Xylopia aromatica foi a mais freqüente, apresentando valores de IVI e IVC de 99,77 e 85,73, respectivamente. Observou-se que mais de 50% das espécies presentes na área são pioneiras ou secundárias, sendo cinco consideradas típicas de matas ciliares: Tapirira guianenses, Cecropia pachystachya, Terminalia argentea, Ocotea pulchellae e Luehea grandiflora. O remanescente de vegetação do entorno do Córrego Criminoso encontra-se fortemente degradado, necessitando de ações de manejo específicos nos fragmentos vegetados e nas áreas destituídas de vegetação, cujas recomendações são propostas.The aim of this study was to complete a preliminary, floristic, phytosociological analyses of a vegetation remnant in the Criminoso Stream Basin, in order to provide data for future projects focusing on vegetation recovery. The total area of the remnant was determined using a GPS and the software Pathfinder and Autocad. Samples of individuals larger or equal to 20 cm CBH were made in 20 quadrats that were 300 m². Thirty-six genera and 49 species, within 26 botanical families, were found. The family Leguminosae was the richest in species, followed by the Annonaceae. Xylopia aromatica was the most frequent species, presenting values of IVI and IVC of 99.77 and 85.73, respectively. More than 50% of the species present

  6. Comparison of the diet of Alouatta caraya (Primates: Atelidae between a riparian island and mainland on the Upper Parana River, southern Brazil Comparação da dieta de Alouatta caraya (Primates: Atelidae em mata ciliar insular e continental na região do Alto rio Paraná, Sul do Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriela Ludwig

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Howler monkeys (Alouatta Lacèpéde, 1799 are folivores-frugivores with flexible diets depending on conditions. Here, we compare the diets of Alouatta caraya (Humboldt, 1812 in two riparian forests (island and mainland, in Porto Rico region, Upper Paraná River, Southern Brazil. Howlers were followed from October 2004 to September 2005 in the riparian forest of a 1,050 ha island and in the continuous riparian forest on the mainland (left bank of the river. The "scan sampling" method with instantaneous samples every 15 minutes was used. Besides vines, diet breadth was similar: 17 species consumed on the island versus 16 species on the mainland. Both consumed leaves followed by fruits more than any other food type (leaves: island - 65%, mainland - 49%, fruits: island - 24%, mainland - 46%. Even though the plant Cecropia pachystachya Trécul is less abundant in the mainland it was the item most consumed in both locations all year long, which suggests its importance for the howlers. Diet also varied both seasonally and between the island and mainland, apparently following changes in local abundance of each item and due to plant phenologies.Os bugios (Alouatta Lacèpéde, 1799 são primatas folívoros-frugívoros que podem adaptar suas dietas dependendo das condições do ambiente. O presente trabalho compara a dieta de grupos de Alouatta caraya (Humboldt, 1812 presentes em matas ciliares estruturalmente diferentes (ilha e continente, na região de Porto Rico, Alto rio Paraná, sul do Brasil. Os bugios-pretos foram seguidos de outubro de 2004 a setembro de 2005 em mata ciliar de uma ilha fluvial de 1050 ha e em mata ciliar contínua da margem esquerda do rio. Foi utilizado o método "scan sampling" em amostragens instantâneas com intervalos de 15 minutos. Além das lianas, 17 espécies foram consumidas na ilha versus 16 espécies no continente. Ambos os grupos consumiram mais folhas seguido de frutos do que qualquer outro tipo de alimento (folhas

  7. Bringing Antarctic Weddell seals to the classroom through PolarTREC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eilers, A. A.

    2017-12-01

    PolarTREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating) is an NSF funded professional development opportunity in which K-12 teachers and informal educators participated in hands-on field research experiences in the Polar Regions. The program goal is to invigorate polar science education and understanding by bringing together educators and polar researchers. This unique opportunity for educators has two main components: a 4-6 week field experience and a classroom/community connection piece. In preparation for these experiences, museum educator Alex Eilers and science team lead Dr. Jennifer Burns planned, developed and executed extensive outreach efforts for both students and the community to highlight the Weddell seal research project during the 2012, 2014 and 2016 seasons. The following outreach activities summarize the team's most successful attempts at engaging schoolchildren, teachers and the public, creating a broader impact of the Weddell seal scientific project. On-line Daily journal entries were uploaded to the PolarTREC website encouraging an active interaction between the science team and participants. A Polar Connect event offered participants a real-time, interactive internet presentation with the team. Schools A multitude of on-site presentations were made in classrooms, at teacher workshops and faculty meetings. Two 45 minute labs were developed for students visiting the museum, Animals of the Antarctic and Journey to the Poles, the latter is now included in our ongoing program repertoire. Two travelling kits, Extreme Cold Weather Gear and The Weddell Seal, were developed by museum staff and continue to circulate through schools. A multi-lesson educational module was developed by museum staff to bridge the gap between the scientific research conducted in the field and students in grades 3-8. It contains curriculum-based lessons, field data and strategic methods to assist students in analyzing the data. Community Community-wide interest

  8. KISTI at TREC 2014 Clinical Decision Support Track: Concept-based Document Re-ranking to Biomedical Information Retrieval

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-01

    sematic type. Injury or Poisoning inpo T037 Anatomical Abnormality anab T190 Given a document D, a concept vector = {1, 2, … , ...integrating biomedical terminology . Nucleic acids research 32, Database issue (2004), 267–270. 5. Chapman, W.W., Hillert, D., Velupillai, S., et...Conference (TREC), (2011). 9. Koopman, B. and Zuccon, G. Understanding negation and family history to improve clinical information retrieval. Proceedings

  9. TREC 2010 legal track: method and results of the ELK collaboration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Spearing, Shelly [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Roman, Jorge [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Mc Kay, Bain [KAYVIUM; Lindquist, Eric [EWA-IIT

    2010-10-25

    The ELK team ([E]WA-IIT, [L]os Alamos National laboratory (LANL), and [K]ayvium Corporation (ELK)) used the legal Track task 302 as an opportunity to compare and integrate advanced semantic-automation strategies. The team members believe that enabling parties to discover, consume, analyze, and make decisions in a noisy and information-overloaded environment requires new tools. Together, as well as independently, they are actively developing these tools and view the TREC exercise as an opportunity to test, compare, and complement tools and approaches. Our collaboration is new to TREC, brought together by a shared interest in document relevance, concept-in-context identification and annotation, and the recognition that words out-of-context do not a match make. The team's intent was to lay the foundation for automating the mining and analysis of large volumes of electronic information by litigants and their lawyers, not only in the context of document discovery, but also to support litigation strategy, motion practice, deposition, trial tactics, etc. The premise was that a Subject Matter Expert- (SME-) built model can be automatically mapped onto various search engines for document retrieval, organization, relevance scoring, analysis and decision support. In the end, we ran nearly a dozen models, mostly, but not exclusively, with Kayvium Corporation's knowledge automation technology. The Sal Database Search Engine we used had a bug in its proximity feature, requiring that we develop a workaround. While the work-around was successful, it left us with insufficient time to converge the models to achieve expected quality. However, with optimized proximity processing in place, we would be able to run the model many more times, and believe repeatable quality would be a matter of working through a few requests to get the approach right. We believe that with more time, the results we would achieve might point towards a new way of processing documents for litigation

  10. Antioxidant properties of species from the Brazilian cerrado by different assays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K.S. Farias

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to screen the antioxidant activity of medicinal plant extracts from the Brazilian cerrado, through other methods than the total phenolic content and its correlation with the antioxidant activity. Ethanolic extracts of ten species were evaluated through three antioxidant assays, in vitro, including 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH, total antioxidant activity and reducing power; and by using the Folin-Ciocalteu method the total phenolic content was determined. Ethanolic extracts of Stryphnodendron obovatum, Cecropia pachystachya and Duguetia furfuraceae showed strong antioxidant activity (IC50<5 µg mL-1 in the DPPH free radical scavenging assay; the species Vernonia phosphorea, Hymenaea stignocarpa and Jacaranda ulei may also be highlighted. These results were confirmed in the assays of total antioxidant capacity and reducing power. The extracts of S. obovatum and V. phosphorea showed an abundant phenolic content; therefore, the phenolic content may play a role in the antioxidant activity. These two species, traditionally used in Brazil, showed great power in these assay systems and may be a promising source for the development of natural antioxidants and future candidates for phytochemical and pharmacological studies in related diseases.

  11. Mining Tasks from the Web Anchor Text Graph: MSR Notebook Paper for the TREC 2015 Tasks Track

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-11-20

    Mining Tasks from the Web Anchor Text Graph: MSR Notebook Paper for the TREC 2015 Tasks Track Paul N. Bennett Microsoft Research Redmond, USA pauben...anchor text graph has proven useful in the general realm of query reformulation [2], we sought to quantify the value of extracting key phrases from...anchor text in the broader setting of the task understanding track. Given a query, our approach considers a simple method for identifying a relevant

  12. El enojo en madres y padres de hijas adolescentes: propuesta de orientación desde la TREC y la inteligencia emocional / The anger in parents of teenage daughters: propose of guidance since the TREC and emotional intelligence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Murillo Aguilar, Osvaldo

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Resumen: Este artículo, basado en la tesis de grado denominada “Expresión del Enojo en Madres y Padres de Hijas Adolescentes: Propuesta de Orientación desde el Enfoque de la TREC”, realizada por Jessie Arroyo Zúñiga y Osvaldo Murillo Aguilar, para optar por el grado de licenciatura en Orientación en el año 2008, ofrece desde esta disciplina, una integración entre la teoría de la Inteligencia Emocional y el enfoque de la Terapia Racional Emotivo – Conductual (TREC, para comprender y abordar la expresión del enojo en estas madres y padres de hijas adolescentes. Por ello, como recomendación, se presenta una propuesta de Orientación que pretende fortalecer los vínculos de las madres y padres con sus hijas adolescentes, por medio de un proceso que propicie formas de expresión emocionalmente saludables del enojo, basado en la integración de la teoría de la inteligencia emocional y el enfoque de la TREC. Para la elaboración del presente trabajo se establecieron los siguientes objetivos: 1. Analizar las formas en las que expresan el enojo las madres y los padres de familia del Liceo María Auxiliadora.2. Elaborar estrategias de Orientación dirigidas a madres y padres de hijas adolescentes que promuevan una expresión saludable del enojo. La metodología se estableció bajo la perspectiva cualitativa, que permitió la comprensión de las experiencias de las madres y los padres, sus emociones, pensamientos y conductas. La principal técnica de recolección de información fueron los grupos focales, y se analizó a partir de la organización y codificación de datos, por medio de categorías de análisis.Abstract: This article, based on the thesis entitled "Expression of Anger in Mothers and Fathers of Daughters Teens: proposed of Guidance since the TREC" performed by Jessie Arroyo Zúñiga and Osvaldo Murillo Aguilar, to graduate in Guidance in the 2008; offers from this discipline, an integration between the theory of Emotional

  13. DEVELOPMENT OF REAL-TIME MULTIPLEX PCR FOR THE QUANTITATIVE DETERMINATION OF TREC'S AND KREC'S IN WHOLE BLOOD AND IN DRIED BLOOD SPOTS

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    M. A. Gordukova

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Primary immunodeficiencies (PID such as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID and X-linked agammaglobulinemia are characterized by the lack of functional Tand B-cells, respectively. Without early diagnosis and prompt treatment children with PID suffer from severe infectious diseases, leading to their death or disability. Our purpose was developing of simple, inexpensive, high throughput technique based on the quantitative determination of TREC and KREC molecules by real-time PCR, and its validation in a group of children with a verified diagnosis of SCID and X-linked agammaglobulinemia.In this study, we developed and validated multiplex real-time PCR for the TREC’s and KREC’s quantitative analysis. We have shown that linear range of Ct changes depending on the concentrations of targets with a correlation coefficient R2 not worse than 0.98 was observed at concentrations from 109 to 5 × 104 copies per ml. The lowest amount of targets reliably detected in a reaction volume was 10 TREC’s copies, 5 KREC ‘s copies and 5 copies of internal control (IL17RA. We determined the age-depended reference values of TRECs and KRECs in whole blood in 29 boys and 27 girls with normal immunological parameters. The normal cut-offs for TRECs and KRECs were defined in dry blood spots depending on the method of extraction.The proposed method showed 100% diagnostic sensitivity and specificity in the studied group. The method can be proposed as a screening tool for the diagnosis of SCID and X-linked agammaglobulinemia both in whole blood and in the dry blood spots. The further investigation is required with larger number of samples. 

  14. Some triterpenic compounds in extracts of Cecropia and Bauhinia species for different sampling years

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    Marcella Emilia Pietra Schmidt

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to provide an overview on the chemical composition of triterpenes in widespread used folk medicine species, through the development and validation of eleven compounds using HPLC-UV detection. The compounds were separated using isocratic elution, on a reverse phase column (Kinetex C18, 250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 µm with mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile:tetrahydrofuran (90:10, v/v, flow-rate of 0.5 ml/min and detection in 210 nm. Diverse validation parameters were successfully evaluated. The samples of Bauhinia variegata L., B. variegata var. candida Voigt, Fabaceae, Cecropia palmata Willd. and C. obtusa Trécul, Urticaceae, collected in 2012, 2013 and 2014 from Amazon were treated with two different solvents (ethyl acetate and chloroform and analyzed by the proposed method. Stigmasterol, lupeol, β-sitosterol, β-amirin and α-amirin were found in all the studied plants. Highlighting the presence of oleanolic acid, maslinic acid in C. obtusa and C. palmata extracts, erythrodiol only in C. palmata, stigmasteol in B. variegata and α-amirin in B. variegata var. candida. Overall, ethyl acetate showed better performance as the extractor solvent than chloroform. Moreover, it could be used for the quality control of medicinal plants and to assess potential marker compounds.

  15. Estrutura fitossociológia de um fragmento natural de floresta inundável em área de orizicultura irrigada, município de Lagoa da Confusão, Tocantins Phytosociologial structure of a natural fragment of floodplain forest in area of irrigated rice cultivation, municipal district of Lagoa da Confusão, Tocantins, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth Rodrigues Brito

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Os fragmentos naturais de florestas inundáveis conhecidos como ipucas localizam-se na planície do Araguaia, sob a forma de depressões naturais, que no Estado do Tocantins estão situados em áreas de planícies de inundação, que favorece seu alagamento e, conseqüentemente, o maior tempo de retenção da água em épocas de elevada precipitação. O presente estudo foi desenvolvido na fazenda Lago Verde, Município de Lagoa da Confusão, Tocantins, situado entre as coordenadas UTM: 643586 e 644060 leste e 8792795 e 8799167 norte. O objetivo do trabalho foi caracterizar a estrutura de um fragmento de floresta inundável de aproximadamente um hectare, inserido em área de orizicultura irrigada. Para o levantamento fitossociológico, foram amostrados todos os indivíduos arbustivo-arbóreos com perímetro a 1,30 m do solo (PAP > 15 cm. Ao todo, foram encontrados 807 indivíduos, 35 famílias e 70 espécies. As espécies com maior VC, em ordem decrescente, foram Hirtella racemosa Lam., Qualea multiflora Mart. e Cecropia pachystachya Trécul. As famílias mais ricas em espécies foram Fabaceae (9, Vochysiaceae (6, Annonaceae e Malvaceae (4. O índice de diversidade de Shannon (H' foi de 3,44. A distribuição de classes de diâmetro apresentou curva na forma de "J" invertido, estando a maioria dos indivíduos na primeira classe.The natural fragments of floodplain forests known as "ipucas" are located in the Araguaia plain, in form of natural depressions, which are located in areas of floodplains in the State of Tocantins, favoring its flooding and, consequently, the largest period of water retention during periods of high precipitation. The present study was developed at Lagoa Verde farm, municipal district of Lagoa da Confusão, Tocantins between the coordinates UTM: 643586 and 644060 east and 8792795 and 8799167 north. The objective of the work was to characterize the structure of a floodplain forest fragment of approximately one-hectare area

  16. Life history and environment of Cecropia latiloba in Amazonian floodplains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pia Parolin

    2002-06-01

    Full Text Available Cecropia latiloba can be considered to be one of the most efficient colonizers of open areas in the nutrient-rich whitewater floodplains of the Amazon river. Its main strategy to be successful is the high tolerance towards waterlogging and submergence, and the fast vertical growth and reiteration capacity. This, and the tolerance of high irradiation and sediment deposition allow C. latiloba to form large monospecific stands on open sites, and thus the first closed canopy which represents the initial phase of a successional sequence which leads to highly diverse forests. This tree is extremely well adapted to the adverse growth conditions in Amazonian floodplains with prolongued periods of flooding and seedling submergence. The species occurs on the lowest levels in the flooding gradient. Although it belongs to the most often cited species under aspects of taxonomy, species distribution and general descriptions of the ecosystem, little has been published about its ecology. In the present paper the ecological, physiological and phenological characteristics of C. latiloba are described. It is an evergreen species which constantly produces new leaves. With flooding, leaf production is reduced but new leaves are flushed also with prolongued flooding. The peak of flowering and fruiting are in the flooded period. When mature, the fruits are dispersed mainly by water and fish. Seed germination occurs, without dormancy, within 5-13 days after water retreat. In the 7 months before the first flooded period seedlings reach 1 m of height, and height growth increases until a height of 15-20 m is achieved. Photosynthetic assimilation is high, with values of up to 21 mmol CO2m-2s-1 . C. latiloba is a very flood tolerant species, and waterlogged seedlings continuously produce new leaves and adventitiuos rootsCecropia latiloba puede ser considerada una de las especies colonizadoras más eficientes de áreas abiertas en las llanuras inundadas de agua dulce, rica

  17. Tracheal volume in the pupa of the Saturniid moth Hyalophora cecropia determined with inert gases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bridges, C R; Kestler, P; Scheid, P

    1980-06-01

    Tracheal volume (VTr) was measured in pupae of the Giant silkworm moth Hyalophora cecropia (Saturniidae, Lepidoptera, Insecta) using inert gas wash-out techniques. The animal was placed in a small vessel that was continuously ventilated (rate, V) by a gas mixture containing 20% O2 in N2; the inflowing (F1) and outflowing gas fractions (FE) of the vessel could be continuously measured by a respiratory mass spectrometer. At the onset of a spiracular constriction period, which was evidenced from the FECO2 trace, the mixture was rapidly replaced by pure Ar. At the subsequent burst, the amount of N2 emerging from the animal, MN2, was calculated from V and the difference (FE--F1)N2. VTr was calculated from MN2 and the N2 concentration in the tracheal system before constriction (assumed to equal that in the ventilating gas before replacement by Ar). Measurements were repeated with N2 and Ar replacing each other. VTr average 48 microliter . g-1 (range 39 to 59) for animals of 5.8 g average body weight (range 3.4 to 9.9), when inert gas solubility in body fluids was accounted for. Both size and stage in pupal development appear to affect VTr. These values show reasonable agreement with literature data, mostly obtained by emptying the tracheal gas space by mechanical compression.

  18. Feeding ecology of the Green-cheeked parakeet (Pyrrhura molinae in dry forests in western Brazil Ecologia alimentar da Tiriba-de-cara-suja (Pyrrhura molinae em matas secas do oeste brasileiro

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Ragusa-Netto

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available The genus Pyrrhura includes small to medium-sized parakeets, which inhabit both low and dry alongside tall rainforests, mainly in South America. Pyrrhura molinae is still common, year round, in the markedly seasonal forests of western Brazil. This parakeet, as well as most Neotropical parrots, continues to be poorly understood. Hence, in the present study I examined their foraging ecology both in a highly deciduous and in a semi-deciduous forest in western Brazil. In addition, I assessed the relationship between food resource production (flowers and fruits, and the diet of this parakeet. Pyrrhura molinae exhibited a flexible diet consisting of 16 tree species, from which it consumed flowers (three species, seeds (three species, fruit pulp or aril (four species, and both pulp and seeds (six species. Parakeets consumed a wide array of fleshy fruits in the semi-deciduous forest, especially Cecropia pachystachya catkins. Conversely, in the highly deciduous forest they extensively foraged for figs (70% of the diet, in addition to nectar and seeds from dry fruits. Ficus calyptroceras, besides being abundant, bore fruits year round, and was substantially used by parakeets every month. Potentially, by exploiting a diverse set of plant food resources, and particularly due to the substantial use of figs, asynchronously produced, Pyrrhura molinae persists during the long dry season in the markedly seasonal forests of western Brazil.O gênero Pyrrhura é constituido de pequenos periquitos comuns tanto em matas secas quanto úmidas, sobretudo da América do Sul. Pyrrhura molinae ocorre durante o ano todo em florestas altamente sazonais do oeste brasileiro. Essa espécie, bem como a maioria dos psitacídeo, permanece pouco conhecida. Portanto, nesse estudo, foi examinada a ecologia alimentar de P. molinae em dois tipos de florestas secas (altamente decídua e semidecídua, do oeste brasileiro, bem como as relações entre a produção de flores frutos e a

  19. Review of Theoretical Prediction Models for Organic Extract Metabolites, Effect of Drying Temperature on Smooth Muscle Relaxing Activity Induced by Organic Extracts Specially Cecropia Obtusifolia Portal and Web Server Predictors of Drug-Protein Interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguirre-Crespo, Francisco; García-Mera, Xerardo; Guillén-Poot, Mónica Anahi; May-Díaz, Héctor Fernado; Tun-Suárez, Adrián; Aguirre-Crespo, A; Hernández-Rodríguez, J; Vergara-Galicia, Jorge; Rodríguez-López, V; Prado-Prado, Francisco J

    2015-02-19

    Cecropia obtusifolia bertol is medicinal specie used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus and hypertension and it has scientific studies that support the traditional use. However, it is required to understand the influence of drying temperature on the yield and pharmacological activity. Drying rate, extraction efficiency, changes in the UV-Vis spectrum and estimating chlorophylls were stimulated with the increasing temperature. Finally, relaxant activity of vascular smooth muscle is increased by 70ºC and reducing ability by the method of CARF increases with temperature. Analytical studies are required to identify changes in the metabolic content and those that ensure the safety and efficacy for human consumption. In this sense, bioinformatic studies may be helpful. Studies such as QSAR can help us to study these metabolites derived from natural products. MIND-BETS model and NL MIND-BETS model to predict DPIs was introduced using MARCH-INSIDE (MI) software to calculate structural parameters for drugs and enzymes respectively. We firstly revised the state-of-art on the design with review of previous works with hypertension activity based on theoretical studies. A study, evaluating the effect of drying temperature of leaves of C. obtusifolia on the relaxing of vascular smooth muscle, antioxidant activity and the presence of chlorophylls, with a focus on Cecropia metabolites. Last, we carried out QSAR studies using MIND-BEST and NL MIND-BEST web servers in order to understand the essential metabolites structural requirement for binding with receptors for FDA proteins.

  20. Avaliação do efeito mutagênico do extrato hidroalcoólico bruto, por meio de bioensaios in vivo e prospecção fitoquímica de Cecropia glaziovii Sneth (embaúba), Cecropiaceae

    OpenAIRE

    Stange, Victor S.; Gomes, Tarsila D. U. H.; Andrade, Marcieni A. de; Batitucci, Maria do Carmo P.

    2009-01-01

    O gênero Cecropia é conhecido popularmente por "embaúba" e apresenta várias espécies medicinais, sendo que estudos com a espécie C. glaziovii Sneth indicam que o extrato aquoso apresenta efeitos broncodilatador, anti-hipertensivo e antidepressivo, provavelmente, atribuídos às catequinas, procianidinas e flavonóides. O presente estudo objetivou avaliar os potenciais efeitos tóxico, citotóxicos, clastogênicos e aneugênicos do extrato bruto hidroalcoólico de folhas de C. glaziovii, por meio da d...

  1. The effect of symbiotic ant colonies on plant growth: a test using an Azteca-Cecropia system.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karla N Oliveira

    Full Text Available In studies of ant-plant mutualisms, the role that ants play in increasing the growth rates of their plant partners is potentially a key beneficial service. In the field, we measured the growth of Cecropia glaziovii saplings and compared individuals that were naturally colonized by Azteca muelleri ants with uncolonized plants in different seasons (wet and dry. We also measured light availability as well as attributes that could be influenced by the presence of Azteca colonies, such as herbivory, leaf nutrients (total nitrogen and δ(15N, and investments in defense (total phenolics and leaf mass per area. We found that colonized plants grew faster than uncolonized plants and experienced a lower level of herbivory in both the wet and dry seasons. Colonized plants had higher nitrogen content than uncolonized plants, although the δ(15N, light environment, total phenolics and leaf mass per area, did not differ between colonized and uncolonized plants. Since colonized and uncolonized plants did not differ in the direct defenses that we evaluated, yet herbivory was lower in colonized plants, we conclude that biotic defenses were the most effective protection against herbivores in our system. This result supports the hypothesis that protection provided by ants is an important factor promoting plant growth. Since C. glaziovii is widely distributed among a variety of forests and ecotones, and since we demonstrated a strong relationship with their ant partners, this system can be useful for comparative studies of ant-plant interactions in different habitats. Also, given this study was carried out near the transition to the subtropics, these results help generalize the geographic distribution of this mutualism and may shed light on the persistence of the interactions in the face of climate change.

  2. Flowers, fruits, and the abundance of the yellow-chevroned parakeet (Brotogeris chiriri at a gallery forest in the South Pantanal (Brazil Flores, frutos e abundância do periquito-de-asa-amarela (Brotogeris chiriri em uma mata ciliar do Pantanal Sul (Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Ragusa-Netto

    2004-11-01

    Full Text Available Parakeets usually forage for massive and ephemeral plant resources at forest canopies. Fruit pulp is widely cited as a major food resource for these birds, which often eat seeds and nectar. In this study, I assessed flower and fruit production at a gallery forest in the Pantanal flood plain (Brazil in order to evaluate the relationship between food resource production and abundance of a common parakeet, Brotogeris chiriri. Also, I evaluated the relationship between food resource production and foraging activity. Parakeet abundance varied markedly along the year, coinciding with massive episodes of flower and fleshy fruit availability. Inga vera nectar, intensely used during the latter part of dry season, was by far the most exploited food item by parakeets when they were very abundant. The nectar comprised 34% of the parakeets' diet (N = 131 feeding records at the gallery forest, while fleshy fruits made up the rest. Parakeets principally exploited fruits of Cecropia pachystachya and Ficus luschnathiana, besides palm fruits and Inga vera arils. The consistent relationship between foraging activity and parakeet abundance, as well as the coincidence between fluctuations of these parameters and availability of major food resources, suggests that food availability mostly influenced B. chiriri occurrence in the gallery forest. Furthermore, I found no evidence for gallery forest use for roosting and/or breeding, in spite of the fact that such factors usually influence local parakeet abundance.Periquitos normalmente exploram recursos massivos e efêmeros no dossel das florestas tropicais. Dentre os itens alimentares mais utilizados está a polpa de frutos, embora sementes e néctar também sejam consumidos. Neste estudo, foi avaliada a produção de flores e frutos em uma mata ciliar do Pantanal (Brasil e sua relação com a abundância do periquito Brotogeris chiriri. Além disso, avaliaram-se as relações entre a produção de flores e frutos e o

  3. Tissue culture of Cecropia glaziovii Sneth (urticaceae: vegetative micropropagation and plant regeneration from callus Cultura de tecidos de Cecropia glaziovii Sneth (Urticaceae: micropropagação vegetativa e regeneração de plantas via calos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcos Nopper Alves

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Cecropia glaziovii is a tree with used in Brazilian popular medicine. Methods allowing the clonal propagation of this species are of great interest for superior genotype multiplication and perpetuation. For this reason, we examined the effect of different culture media and different types of explants on adventitious shoot regeneration from callus and buds of C. glaziovii. Leaves, petioles and stipules obtained from aseptically grown seedlings or from pre-sterilized plants were used to initiate cultures. Adventitious shoot regeneration was achieved when apical and axillary buds were inoculated on gelled Murashige & Skoog (MS medium supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine alone (BAP (1.0, 5.0 or 10.0 mg L-1 or combined with -naphthalene acetic acid (NAA (1.0 or 2.0 mg L-1, after 40 days of culture. Best callus production was obtained after 30 days of petioles' culture on gelled MS medium with 2,4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D (5.0 mg L-1 combined with BAP (1.0 mg L-1. Successful shoot regeneration from callus was achieved when MS medium supplemented with zeatin (ZEA (0.1 mg L-1 alone or combined with 2,4-D (1.0 or 5.0 mg L-1 was inoculated with friable callus obtained from petioles. All shoots were rooted by inoculation on MS medium supplemented with indole-3-acetic acid (IAA (1.0 mg L-1. Rooted plants transferred to potting soil were successfully established. All in vitro regenerated plantlets showed to be normal, without morphological variations, being also identical to the source plant. Our study has shown that C. glaziovii can be propagated by tissue culture methods, allowing large scale multiplication of superior plants for pharmacological purposes.Cecropia glaziovii é uma planta lenhosa, popularmente usada no Brasil como medicinal. Métodos que visem a sua propagação clonal podem ser de grande utilidade na preservação de seus genótipos de elite. Foram examinados efeitos de diferentes reguladores de crescimento e explantes na forma

  4. Study protocol for the translating research in elder care (TREC: building context – an organizational monitoring program in long-term care project (project one

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cummings Greta G

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background While there is a growing awareness of the importance of organizational context (or the work environment/setting to successful knowledge translation, and successful knowledge translation to better patient, provider (staff, and system outcomes, little empirical evidence supports these assumptions. Further, little is known about the factors that enhance knowledge translation and better outcomes in residential long-term care facilities, where care has been shown to be suboptimal. The project described in this protocol is one of the two main projects of the larger five-year Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC program. Aims The purpose of this project is to establish the magnitude of the effect of organizational context on knowledge translation, and subsequently on resident, staff (unregulated, regulated, and managerial and system outcomes in long-term care facilities in the three Canadian Prairie Provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba. Methods/Design This study protocol describes the details of a multi-level – including provinces, regions, facilities, units within facilities, and individuals who receive care (residents or work (staff in facilities – and longitudinal (five-year research project. A stratified random sample of 36 residential long-term care facilities (30 urban and 6 rural from the Canadian Prairie Provinces will comprise the sample. Caregivers and care managers within these facilities will be asked to complete the TREC survey – a suite of survey instruments designed to assess organizational context and related factors hypothesized to be important to successful knowledge translation and to achieving better resident, staff, and system outcomes. Facility and unit level data will be collected using standardized data collection forms, and resident outcomes using the Resident Assessment Instrument-Minimum Data Set version 2.0 instrument. A variety of analytic techniques will be employed including descriptive

  5. Atlantic frugivory: a plant-frugivore interaction data set for the Atlantic Forest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bello, Carolina; Galetti, Mauro; Montan, Denise; Pizo, Marco A; Mariguela, Tatiane C; Culot, Laurence; Bufalo, Felipe; Labecca, Fabio; Pedrosa, Felipe; Constantini, Rafaela; Emer, Carine; Silva, Wesley R; da Silva, Fernanda R; Ovaskainen, Otso; Jordano, Pedro

    2017-06-01

    The data set provided here includes 8,320 frugivory interactions (records of pairwise interactions between plant and frugivore species) reported for the Atlantic Forest. The data set includes interactions between 331 vertebrate species (232 birds, 90 mammals, 5 fishes, 1 amphibian, and 3 reptiles) and 788 plant species. We also present information on traits directly related to the frugivory process (endozoochory), such as the size of fruits and seeds and the body mass and gape size of frugivores. Data were extracted from 166 published and unpublished sources spanning from 1961 to 2016. While this is probably the most comprehensive data set available for a tropical ecosystem, it is arguably taxonomically and geographically biased. The plant families better represented are Melastomataceae, Myrtaceae, Moraceae, Urticaceae, and Solanaceae. Myrsine coriacea, Alchornea glandulosa, Cecropia pachystachya, and Trema micrantha are the plant species with the most animal dispersers (83, 76, 76, and 74 species, respectively). Among the animal taxa, the highest number of interactions is reported for birds (3,883) followed by mammals (1,315). The woolly spider monkey or muriqui, Brachyteles arachnoides, and Rufous-bellied Thrush, Turdus rufiventris, are the frugivores with the most diverse fruit diets (137 and 121 plants species, respectively). The most important general patterns that we note are that larger seeded plant species (>12 mm) are mainly eaten by terrestrial mammals (rodents, ungulates, primates, and carnivores) and that birds are the main consumers of fruits with a high concentration of lipids. Our data set is geographically biased, with most interactions recorded for the southeast Atlantic Forest. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

  6. Can we Save the rectum by watchful waiting or TransAnal microsurgery following (chemo) Radiotherapy versus Total mesorectal excision for early REctal Cancer (STAR-TREC study)?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rombouts, Anouk J M; Al-Najami, Issam; Abbott, Natalie L

    2017-01-01

    INTRODUCTION: Total mesorectal excision (TME) is the highly effective standard treatment for rectal cancer but is associated with significant morbidity and may be overtreatment for low-risk cancers. This study is designed to determine the feasibility of international recruitment in a study...... comparing organ-saving approaches versus standard TME surgery. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: STAR-TREC trial is a multicentre international randomised, three-arm parallel, phase II feasibility study in patients with biopsy-proven adenocarcinoma of the rectum. The trial is coordinated from Birmingham, UK...... endpoint of this phase II study is to demonstrate sufficient international recruitment in order to sustain a phase III study incorporating pelvic failure as the primary endpoint. Success in phase II is defined as randomisation of at least four cases per month internationally in year 1, rising to at least...

  7. Plantas hipoglicemiantes utilizadas por comunidades tradicionais na Bacia do Alto Paraguai e Vale do Guaporé, Mato Grosso - Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Macedo

    Full Text Available No Brasil, com inúmeras espécies tropicais, evidencia-se o conhecimento e uso da vegetação medicinal pelas comunidades quilombolas, ribeirinhas, rurais, tradicionais e indígenas, que são praticadas até os dias atuais. O Estado de Mato Grosso pela sua localização no Planalto Central brasileiro possui uma variedade destas comunidades, que utilizam estas plantas medicinais, levando em consideração o conhecimento popular passado de geração em geração. Esta pesquisa visa identificar a forma de coleta e os usos desse grupo vegetal indicados pelos usuários. O estudo foi realizado em 15 comunidades tradicionais (não indígenas na Bacia do Alto Paraguai e 2 (duas no Vale do Guaporé. A coleta de dados deu-se através de líderes comunitários, benzedeiras, parteiras e usuários utilizando o método qualitativo, mediante abordagem qualitativa, com auxílio de entrevistas estruturadas, semi-estruturadas e abertas. Dentre as espécies identificadas 17 estacam-se para o tratamento do Diabetes, dentre elas citam-se: Anacadium humile; Bauhinia glabra; Cecropia pachystachya; Hancornia speciosa; Heteropteris aphrodisiaca; Leonotis nepetifolia; Momordica charantia; Solanum lycocarpum. Registra-se ainda que as partes mais utilizadas desses vegetais são: folhas, casca do caule, raiz, planta toda, brotos, óleos dos frutos e polvilho dos frutos. De acordo com os usuários a maioria das plantas não podem ser colhidas após o nascer do sol e o preparo deve ser feito com folhas secas ou que tenham sido submetidas ao processo de secagem sobre o fogão de lenha ou em local abafado.

  8. Estrutura da comunidade de morcegos (Mammalia, Chiroptera da Estação Experimental de Itirapina, estado de São Paulo, Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Therys M. Sato

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A estrutura de comunidades de morcegos no Brasil ainda é pouco estudada e vêm sofrendo sérias modificações devido à perda de habitats. O principal objetivo do presente trabalho foi estudar a comunidade de morcegos da Estação Experimental de Itirapina, município de Itirapina, Estado de São Paulo. Nesta Estação, além das espécies cultivadas de Eucalyptus e Pinus, há diversas plantas que podem fornecer alimento aos morcegos. Entre julho de 2001 e julho de 2006, foram realizadas 58 sessões noturnas de captura de morcegos com 4 a 12 redes-de-neblina dispostas a cada sessão. Nesse período, foram capturados 720 indivíduos de 16 espécies de morcegos dos quais 13 pertencem à família Phyllostomidae, duas à Vespertilionidae e uma à Molossidae. A curva cumulativa de espécies atingiu o equilíbrio, no qual apenas espécies raras são acrescentadas. Cinco espécies (Artibeus lituratus, Platyrrhinus lineatus, Carollia perspicillata, Glossophaga soricina e Sturnira lilium representaram 80% dos morcegos capturados na Estação Experimental, onde se alimentavam de frutos de plantas pioneiras, tais como Cecropia pachystachya, Solanum spp. e Piper spp. A prevalência do vírus rábico foi zero na amostragem das 10 espécies analisadas. Apesar de estar muito modificada, a Estação Experimental de Itirapina pode ser uma importante área de abrigo e alimento para os morcegos e tem potencial de atuar como corredor entre áreas de Cerrado e Mata Atlântica.

  9. Neonatal screening for severe combined immunodeficiency in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marilia Pyles Patto Kanegae

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To apply, in Brazil, the T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs quantification technique using real-time polymerase chain reaction in newborn screening for severe combined immunodeficiency and assess the feasibility of implementing it on a large scale in Brazil. Methods: 8715 newborn blood samples were collected on filter paper and, after DNA elution, TRECs were quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The cutoff value to determine whether a sample was abnormal was determined by ROC curve analysis, using SSPS. Results: The concentration of TRECs in 8,682 samples ranged from 2 to 2,181 TRECs/μL of blood, with mean and median of 324 and 259 TRECs/μL, respectively. Forty-nine (0.56% samples were below the cutoff (30 TRECs/μL and were reanalyzed. Four (0.05% samples had abnormal results (between 16 and 29 TRECs/μL. Samples from patients previously identified as having severe combined immunodeficiency or DiGeorge syndrome were used to validate the assay and all of them showed TRECs below the cutoff. Preterm infants had lower levels of TRECs than full-term neonates. The ROC curve showed a cutoff of 26 TRECs/μL, with 100% sensitivity for detecting severe combined immunodeficiency. Using this value, retest and referral rates were 0.43% (37 samples and 0.03% (3 samples, respectively. Conclusion: The technique is reliable and can be applied on a large scale after the training of technical teams throughout Brazil. Resumo: Objetivo: aplicar no Brasil a técnica de quantificação de T-cell Receptor Excision Circles (TRECs por polymerase chain reaction em tempo real para triagem neonatal de imunodeficiência combinada grave (SCID e avaliar se é possível realizá-la em larga escala em nosso país. Métodos: foram coletadas 8.715 amostras de sangue de recém-nascidos em papel filtro e, após eluição do DNA, os TRECs foram quantificados por polymerase chain reaction em tempo real. O valor de corte para determinar se uma

  10. Barriers to retrieving patient information from electronic health record data: failure analysis from the TREC Medical Records Track.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edinger, Tracy; Cohen, Aaron M; Bedrick, Steven; Ambert, Kyle; Hersh, William

    2012-01-01

    Secondary use of electronic health record (EHR) data relies on the ability to retrieve accurate and complete information about desired patient populations. The Text Retrieval Conference (TREC) 2011 Medical Records Track was a challenge evaluation allowing comparison of systems and algorithms to retrieve patients eligible for clinical studies from a corpus of de-identified medical records, grouped by patient visit. Participants retrieved cohorts of patients relevant to 35 different clinical topics, and visits were judged for relevance to each topic. This study identified the most common barriers to identifying specific clinic populations in the test collection. Using the runs from track participants and judged visits, we analyzed the five non-relevant visits most often retrieved and the five relevant visits most often overlooked. Categories were developed iteratively to group the reasons for incorrect retrieval for each of the 35 topics. Reasons fell into nine categories for non-relevant visits and five categories for relevant visits. Non-relevant visits were most often retrieved because they contained a non-relevant reference to the topic terms. Relevant visits were most often infrequently retrieved because they used a synonym for a topic term. This failure analysis provides insight into areas for future improvement in EHR-based retrieval with techniques such as more widespread and complete use of standardized terminology in retrieval and data entry systems.

  11. Crecimiento y mortalidad en juveniles de siete especies arbóreas en un bosque muy húmedo tropical intervenido de Costa Rica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grace Sáenz

    1999-06-01

    Full Text Available Se estudiaron por un período de cuatro años los patrones de crecimiento en diámetro y altura, así como la mortalidad de brinzales (individuos e 0.30 m altura y Diameter and height growth patterns, as well as the incidence of seedling (individuals e0.3 m and <1.5 m in height and sapling (individual e1.5 m in height and 9.9 cm DBH mortality were studied for four years in a forest under two types of silvicultural intervention. The study is based on anual measurements of individuals from the two size categories marked one year after harvest. In the case of the seedlings, the parameters evaluated were: total height and diameter at 10 cm from the base. For the sapling category, the diameter at 1.30 m was also measured. The Clark and Clark methodology was used to evaluate the crown illumination index of all individuals. Seven tree species were studied: Cecropia (two species, Cecropia insignis Liebm. and Cecropia obtusifolia Bertol., Laetia procera (Poepp. Eichler, Rollinia pittieri Saff, Apeiba membranacea Spruce ex Benth., Virola koschnyi Warb. y Virola sebifera Aubl. The Cecropia spp. seedlings showed the highest diameter and height growth rates, with annual mean increments in diameter of 7.8 mm/years and height of 188 cm/years. The L. procera saplings had the greatest diameter and height growth, with rates of 7.0 mm/year and 86 cm/year, respectively. Only in the case of Cecropia spp. and V. sebifera are diameter and height growth significantly correlated with the crown light index. Seedlings had the highest mortality rates in all species except Cecropia spp. and R. pittieri, where the sapling mortality was greater.

  12. Consumption of Mullerian Bodies by Golden-olive Woodpecker (Colaptes rubiginosus) in Nicaragua's Highlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    M.A. Torrez; Wayne Arendt; L. Diaz

    2016-01-01

    The Golden-olive Woodpecker is a generalist species found in a wide range of habitats, being particularly common in coffee plantations within Nicaraguan cloud forests. Observations of an individual feeding at the base of Cecropia leaves revealed it was consuming Mullerian bodies that the Cecropia produces to feed Azteca ants as part of a host-inhabitant mutualistic...

  13. Bringing Experience from the Field into the Classroom with the NOAA Teacher at Sea and PolarTREC Teacher Research Experience Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eubanks, E. D.; Kohin, S.; Oberbauer, S.

    2008-12-01

    As a participant of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Teacher at Sea (2007) and the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S., PolarTREC (2008) programs, I have had the opportunity to participate in hands-on research with leading scientific researchers from the tropics to the Arctic. These Teacher Researcher Experiences (TRE's) and the resulting relationships that have developed with the scientific community have been an asset to my professional development and have greatly enhanced my students' learning. The opportunity to participate in data collection and hands-on research with a NOAA researcher, Dr. Kohin, helped me bring shark, ocean, and ship science from my expedition onboard the NOAA Ship David Starr Jordan in the Channel Island region into my classroom. The new knowledge, experiences, and resources that I brought back allowed me to create lesson plans and host Shark Month--an activity that involved all 300 students in my school. My students were able to link real data regarding the location of sharks to practical application and still meet state standards. Likewise, the scientist from my PolarTREC expedition, Dr. Oberbauer, is assisting me in a long-term plan to incorporate his data into my classroom curricula. Already, my experiences from Barrow, Alaska, have been shared through webinars with my community and as a keynote speaker to over 600 Palm Beach County science teachers. We are also working together to develop a yearlong curriculum, in which my entire school of 300 students will discover interdisciplinary polar science. Participation in TRE's has been beneficial for my students and my community, but what is the return on the investment for the scientists who invited me to participate in their research? Both scientists have transferred their knowledge out of the laboratory and made a link between their research and a different generation--our future scientists. They become instrumental science leaders in a community of young

  14. PRESERVANDO CECROPIAIS NATIVOS EM PAISAGENS AMAZÔNICAS: UMA ESTRATÉGIA ECOLÓGICA EM SOLOS DEFICIENTES POR FÓSFORO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia Chaves de Oliveira

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available A conservação de espécies prestadoras de serviços ecológicos em paisagens amazônicas como os agros-ecossistemas locais do Baixo Amazonas é de extrema importância no input de minerais através da serrapilheira produzida por estas espécies. Os cecropiais nativos, formados pela espécie Cecropia palmata, dentre outras, a qual é acumuladora de fósforo (P em tecidos foliares e cascas podem prestar um serviço ecológico em paisagens amazônicas com deficiência por fósforo. Os objetivos desta pesquisa foram a observação da translocação do fósforo em folhas ontogeneticamentes diferentes de Cecropia palmata; bem como, a análise da dinâmica do fósforo em solos sob conglomerados de Cecropia palmata. Os teores de fósforo (P em tecidos foliares de Cecropia palmata demonstraram valores elevados, em torno de 8.4 mg/kg em folhas novas e 5,6mg/kg em folhas com maturação fisiológica, sugerindo serrapilheira de alta qualidade para o ambiente. Além disso, os solos sob influência da rizosfera desta espécie apresentaram importantes hot spots de fósforo.

  15. Across the Arctic Teachers Experience Field Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warnick, W. K.; Warburton, J.; Wiggins, H. V.; Marshall, S. A.; Darby, D. A.

    2005-12-01

    From studying snow geese on the North Slope of Alaska to sediment coring aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy in the Arctic Ocean, K-12 teachers embark on scientific expeditions as part of a program that strives to make science in the Arctic a "virtual" reality. In the past two years, seventeen K-12 teachers have participated in Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating (TREC), a program that pairs teachers with researchers to improve science education through arctic field experiences. TREC builds on the scientific and cultural opportunities of the Arctic, linking research and education through topics that naturally engage students and the wider public. TREC includes expeditions as diverse as studying plants at Toolik Field Station, a research facility located 150 miles above the Arctic Circle; climate change studies in Norway's Svalbard archipelago; studying rivers in Siberia; or a trans-arctic expedition aboard the USCGC Healy collecting an integrated geophysical data set. Funded by the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs, TREC offers educators experiences in scientific inquiry while encouraging the public and students to become active participants in the scientific inquiry by engaging them virtually in arctic research. TREC uses online outreach elements to convey the research experience to a broad audience. While in remote field locations, teachers and researchers interact with students and the public through online seminars and live calls from the field, online journals with accompanying photos, and online bulletin boards. Since the program's inception in 2004, numerous visitors have posted questions or interacted with teachers, researchers, and students through the TREC website (http://www.arcus.org/trec). TREC teachers are required to transfer their experience of research and current science into their classroom through the development of relevant activities and resources. Teachers and researchers are encouraged to participate

  16. Pollen analysis of honey and pollen collected by Apis mellifera linnaeus, 1758 (Hymenoptera, Apidae), in a mixed environment of Eucalyptus plantation and native cerrado in Southeastern Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simeão, C M G; Silveira, F A; Sampaio, I B M; Bastos, E M A F

    2015-11-01

    Eucalyptus plantations are frequently used for the establishment of bee yards. This study was carried on at Fazenda Brejão, northwestern region of the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This farm is covered both with native Cerrado vegetation (Brazilian savanna) and eucalyptus plantations. This paper reports on the botanic origin of pollen pellets and honey collected from honeybee (Apis mellifera) hives along a thirteen-month period (January 2004 to January 2005). The most frequent pollen types found in the pollen pellets during the rainy season were Trema micrantha (Ulmaceae), Copaifera langsdorffii (Fabaceae), an unidentified Poaceae, unidentified Asteraceae-2, Cecropia sp. 1 (Cecropiaceae) and Eucalyptus spp. (Myrtaceae); during the dry season the most frequent pollen types were Acosmium dasycarpum (Fabaceae), Cecropia sp. 1 (Cecropiaceae) and Eucalyptus spp. (Myrtaceae). Pollen grains of Baccharis sp. (Asteraceae), Cecropia sp. 1 (Cecropiaceae), Copaifera langsdorffii (Fabaceae), Mimosa nuda (Fabaceae), Eucalyptus spp. (Myrtaceae) and Trema micrantha (Ulmaceae) were present in the honey samples throughout the study period.

  17. Pollen analysis of honey and pollen collected by Apis mellifera linnaeus, 1758 (Hymenoptera, Apidae, in a mixed environment of Eucalyptus plantation and native cerrado in Southeastern Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. M. G. Simeão

    Full Text Available Abstract Eucalyptus plantations are frequently used for the establishment of bee yards. This study was carried on at Fazenda Brejão, northwestern region of the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This farm is covered both with native Cerrado vegetation (Brazilian savanna and eucalyptus plantations. This paper reports on the botanic origin of pollen pellets and honey collected from honeybee (Apis mellifera hives along a thirteen-month period (January 2004 to January 2005. The most frequent pollen types found in the pollen pellets during the rainy season were Trema micrantha (Ulmaceae, Copaifera langsdorffii (Fabaceae, an unidentified Poaceae, unidentified Asteraceae-2, Cecropia sp. 1 (Cecropiaceae and Eucalyptus spp. (Myrtaceae; during the dry season the most frequent pollen types were Acosmium dasycarpum (Fabaceae, Cecropia sp. 1 (Cecropiaceae and Eucalyptus spp. (Myrtaceae. Pollen grains of Baccharis sp. (Asteraceae, Cecropia sp. 1 (Cecropiaceae, Copaifera langsdorffii (Fabaceae, Mimosa nuda (Fabaceae, Eucalyptus spp. (Myrtaceae and Trema micrantha (Ulmaceae were present in the honey samples throughout the study period.

  18. A New Species of Neotropical Carpenter Ant in the Genus Camponotus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae, Apparently without Major Workers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William Mackay

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available We describe a new species of carpenter ants from Ecuador, which apparently has an obligatory relationship with the ant plants Cecropia membranacea Trécul, C. herthae Diels and C. marginalis Cuatrec. The workers are relatively small and hairy, and based on a number of collections, it does not appear to have major workers. We compare the new species to Camponotus balzani, to which it appears to be similar and which has normal major workers, and also lives in Cecropia spp.

  19. Detection of newly produced T and B lymphocytes by digital PCR in blood stored dry on nylon flocked swabs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tessitore, Marion Vaglio; Sottini, Alessandra; Roccaro, Aldo M; Ghidini, Claudia; Bernardi, Simona; Martellosio, Giovanni; Serana, Federico; Imberti, Luisa

    2017-04-05

    A normal number of T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) and K-deleting recombination excision circles (KRECs) is considered a biomarker for adequate new T- and B-cell production. In newborns, detection of TRECs and KRECs by real time PCR from dried blood spotted on filter paper is used for the screening of severe immunodeficiency. In adults, elderly and during diseases, where the number of TRECs is lower than in newborns and children, a large amount of DNA and a sensitive method of amplification are necessary to identify newly produced lymphocytes. DNA was prepared from blood of 203 healthy adults (range: 18-91 years old) absorbed for 10 s on flocked swabs and let to dry, or from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. DNA was subjected to digital PCR and to well established conventional real time PCR-based method using TREC- and KREC-specific primers and probes. The number of TRECs and KRECs was expressed per mL of blood. Statistical analysis was performed by nested ANOVA, Pearson coefficient of determination, and by linear regression tests. The novel method for the storage of dried blood on nylon flocked swabs and the use of digital PCR allow quantification of TRECs and KRECs with high degree of sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and precision. TRECs and KRECs were amplified by digital PCR in all tested blood samples, including those obtained from elderly individuals (>70 years old) and that were negative by real time PCR. Furthermore, values of TRECs and KRECs obtained by digital PCR were in the range of those acquired by real time PCR. Our findings demonstrate that DNA isolation from dried blood on flocked swabs followed by digital PCR-based analysis represents a useful tool for studying new lymphocyte production in adults and elderly individuals. This suggests the potential use of the methodology when monitoring of clinical variables is limited by the number of molecules that can be amplified and detected, such as in patients with immunodeficiency or under

  20. Avaliação do efeito mutagênico do extrato hidroalcoólico bruto, por meio de bioensaios in vivo e prospecção fitoquímica de Cecropia glaziovii Sneth (embaúba, Cecropiaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victor S. Stange

    Full Text Available O gênero Cecropia é conhecido popularmente por "embaúba" e apresenta várias espécies medicinais, sendo que estudos com a espécie C. glaziovii Sneth indicam que o extrato aquoso apresenta efeitos broncodilatador, anti-hipertensivo e antidepressivo, provavelmente, atribuídos às catequinas, procianidinas e flavonóides. O presente estudo objetivou avaliar os potenciais efeitos tóxico, citotóxicos, clastogênicos e aneugênicos do extrato bruto hidroalcoólico de folhas de C. glaziovii, por meio da dose letal média (DL50, da análise de micronúcleo em células de medula óssea de roedores e do teste com Allium cepa e realizar a prospecção fitoquímica. Os resultados demonstraram que as concentrações testadas não causaram toxicidade aguda, nem apresentaram atividade clastogênica e aneugênica, sugerindo que o extrato de C. glaziovii não interferem na divisão celular. A prospecção fitoquímica indicou a presença de taninos, flavonóides, fenóis, antraquinonas, cumarinas, catequinas, proteínas, açúcares redutores, depsídeos/depsidonas e triterpenos. Mesmo assim, esses resultados não prescrevem o consumo terapêutico da espécie, sem continuidade da sua avaliação e do cumprimento de todas as etapas pré-clínicas e clínicas.

  1. Morphological and physio-chemical characterization of five Canistel accessions at the subtropical horticulture research station in Miami Florida

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fruit of five canistel cultivars, 'Fairchild','E11', 'Keisau', 'TREC#3' and 'TREC 3680' were evaluated and characterized at the National Germplasm Repository, Subtropical horticulture Research Station (SHRS) Miami, Florida. Thirty fruits were harvested from clonal accessions during July and August, ...

  2. Increased cell division but not thymic dysfunction rapidly affects the T-cell receptor excision circle content of the naive T cell population in HIV-1 infection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hazenberg, Mette D.; Borleffs, J.C.C.; Otto, S.A.; Cohen Stuart, J.W.T. (James Willem Theodoor); Verschuren, M.C.M. (Martie); Boucher, C.A.B.; Coutinho, R.A.; Lange, Joep M.A.; Rinke de Wit, T.F. (Tobias); Tsegaye, A. (Aster); Dongen, J.J.M. (Jaques) van; Hamann, D. (Dörte); Boer, R.J. de; Miedema, F.

    2000-01-01

    Recent thymic emigrants can be identified by T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) formed during T-cell receptor rearrangement. Decreasing numbers of TRECs have been observed with aging and in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infected individuals, suggesting for thymic impairment. Here,

  3. Inverse associations between obesity indicators and thymic T-cell production levels in aging atomic-bomb survivors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kengo Yoshida

    Full Text Available Reduction of the naive T-cell population represents a deteriorating state in the immune system that occurs with advancing age. In animal model studies, obesity compromises the T-cell immune system as a result of enhanced adipogenesis in primary lymphoid organs and systemic inflammation. In this study, to test the hypothesis that obesity may contribute to the aging of human T-cell immunity, a thousand atomic-bomb survivors were examined for obesity status and ability to produce naive T cells, i.e., T-cell receptor excision circle (TREC numbers in CD4 and CD8 T cells. The number of TRECs showed a strong positive correlation with naive T cell numbers, and lower TREC numbers were associated with higher age. We found that the TREC number was inversely associated with levels of obesity indicators (BMI, hemoglobin A1c and serum CRP levels. Development of type-2 diabetes and fatty liver was also associated with lower TREC numbers. This population study suggests that obesity with enhanced inflammation is involved in aging of the human T-cell immune system. Given the fact that obesity increases the risk of numerous age-related diseases, attenuated immune competence is a possible mechanistic link between obesity and disease development among the elderly.

  4. Inverse associations between obesity indicators and thymic T-cell production levels in aging atomic-bomb survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshida, Kengo; Nakashima, Eiji; Kubo, Yoshiko; Yamaoka, Mika; Kajimura, Junko; Kyoizumi, Seishi; Hayashi, Tomonori; Ohishi, Waka; Kusunoki, Yoichiro

    2014-01-01

    Reduction of the naive T-cell population represents a deteriorating state in the immune system that occurs with advancing age. In animal model studies, obesity compromises the T-cell immune system as a result of enhanced adipogenesis in primary lymphoid organs and systemic inflammation. In this study, to test the hypothesis that obesity may contribute to the aging of human T-cell immunity, a thousand atomic-bomb survivors were examined for obesity status and ability to produce naive T cells, i.e., T-cell receptor excision circle (TREC) numbers in CD4 and CD8 T cells. The number of TRECs showed a strong positive correlation with naive T cell numbers, and lower TREC numbers were associated with higher age. We found that the TREC number was inversely associated with levels of obesity indicators (BMI, hemoglobin A1c) and serum CRP levels. Development of type-2 diabetes and fatty liver was also associated with lower TREC numbers. This population study suggests that obesity with enhanced inflammation is involved in aging of the human T-cell immune system. Given the fact that obesity increases the risk of numerous age-related diseases, attenuated immune competence is a possible mechanistic link between obesity and disease development among the elderly.

  5. Cold-Water Immersion for Hyperthermic Humans Wearing American Football Uniforms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Kevin C; Swartz, Erik E; Long, Blaine C

    2015-08-01

    Current treatment recommendations for American football players with exertional heatstroke are to remove clothing and equipment and immerse the body in cold water. It is unknown if wearing a full American football uniform during cold-water immersion (CWI) impairs rectal temperature (Trec) cooling or exacerbates hypothermic afterdrop. To determine the time to cool Trec from 39.5°C to 38.0°C while participants wore a full American football uniform or control uniform during CWI and to determine the uniform's effect on Trec recovery postimmersion. Crossover study. Laboratory. A total of 18 hydrated, physically active, unacclimated men (age = 22 ± 3 years, height = 178.8 ± 6.8 cm, mass = 82.3 ± 12.6 kg, body fat = 13% ± 4%, body surface area = 2.0 ± 0.2 m(2)). Participants wore the control uniform (undergarments, shorts, crew socks, tennis shoes) or full uniform (control plus T-shirt; tennis shoes; jersey; game pants; padding over knees, thighs, and tailbone; helmet; and shoulder pads). They exercised (temperature approximately 40°C, relative humidity approximately 35%) until Trec reached 39.5°C. They removed their T-shirts and shoes and were then immersed in water (approximately 10°C) while wearing each uniform configuration; time to cool Trec to 38.0°C (in minutes) was recorded. We measured Trec (°C) every 5 minutes for 30 minutes after immersion. Time to cool from 39.5°C to 38.0°C and Trec. The Trec cooled to 38.0°C in 6.19 ± 2.02 minutes in full uniform and 8.49 ± 4.78 minutes in control uniform (t17 = -2.1, P = .03; effect size = 0.48) corresponding to cooling rates of 0.28°C·min(-1) ± 0.12°C·min(-1) in full uniform and 0.23°C·min(-1) ± 0.11°C·min(-1) in control uniform (t17 = 1.6, P = .07, effect size = 0.44). The Trec postimmersion recovery did not differ between conditions over time (F1,17 = 0.6, P = .59). We speculate that higher skin temperatures before CWI, less shivering, and greater conductive cooling explained the faster cooling

  6. Gains from an integrated market for tradable renewable energy credits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mozumder, Pallab; Marathe, Achla

    2004-01-01

    Decoupling the environmental attributes of renewable energy (RE) generation from the physical unit of energy is an innovative mechanism for marketing green or renewable power. The introduction of 'Tradable Renewable Energy Credits' (TRECs) allows the green power attributes of energy to be sold or traded separately from the physical unit of energy. Since the green power certificate system removes potential locational and physical bottlenecks, both suppliers and consumers gain flexibility in the marketplace. The TREC is also an efficient tool to meet 'Renewable Portfolio Standard' (RPS) required by different states in the US. This paper discusses the RPS requirements for different states and examines the implications of an integrated TREC market. It offers a competitive setting to the consumers to pay for renewable energy and a cost effective tool to support renewable energy generation [Grace and Wiser, 2002]. This paper also highlights some practical difficulties that should be addressed in order to establish an efficient integrated TREC market

  7. Florística e estrutura de fragmento florestal em área de transição na Amazônia Matogrossense no município de Sinop Floristics and structure of a forest fragment at a transitional zone at the Amazon in Mato Grosso State, Municipality of Sinop

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosalia de Aguiar Araujo

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available A fragmentação do ambiente é intensa na amazônia matogrossense e é esperado como consequência, além do desaparecimento da vegetação original, que a flora dos fragmentos seja transicional, com elementos de floresta amazônica e de cerrado e que já apresentem elevada presença de famílias e espécies pioneiras. Este trabalho objetivou avaliar a composição florística e obter parâmetros fitossociológicos de componentes arbóreos presentes em um fragmento urbano no município de Sinop, Mato Grosso com vistas a confirmar sua classificação como vegetação de transição e detectar indícios de perturbação pela fragmentação. A vegetação foi amostrada pela instalação de 25 parcelas permanentes de 20 x 20m, onde foram amostrados os indivíduos com CAP igual ou superior a 15 cm à altura de 1,30m do solo. A densidade total da área foi de 1555 ind./ha, distribuídos em 37 famílias botânicas, 81 gêneros e 113 espécies. A família mais representativa foi Leguminosae com 14 espécies. As espécies que mais contribuíram em abundância e apresentaram maior frequência foram: Cecropia sciadophylla, Cecropia sp., Bellucia grossularioides e Vismia guianensis. O índice de Shannon (H' foi de 3,55, considerado alto para uma floresta de transição. A equabilidade de Pielou foi de 0,75, sugerindo grande dominância de poucas espécies. As espécies que mais se destacaram em ordem decrescente de VI (% foram Cecropia sp., Bellucia grossularioides, Qualea ingens, Cecropia sciadophylla, Vismia guianensis, Miconia prasina, Trattinickia burserifolia, Unonopsis guatterioides e Schefflera vinosa. O remanescente apresenta uma flora mista amazônica e de cerrado, confirmando ser ecótono e a abundância de pioneiras sugere distúrbios. Esta floresta protege espécies madeireiras e frutíferas com grande potencial para uso múltiplo, podendo ser um espaço educativo com vistas a conservação e manejo sustentável.Fragmentation is intense in

  8. Objective and automated protocols for the evaluation of biomedical search engines using No Title Evaluation protocols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campagne, Fabien

    2008-02-29

    The evaluation of information retrieval techniques has traditionally relied on human judges to determine which documents are relevant to a query and which are not. This protocol is used in the Text Retrieval Evaluation Conference (TREC), organized annually for the past 15 years, to support the unbiased evaluation of novel information retrieval approaches. The TREC Genomics Track has recently been introduced to measure the performance of information retrieval for biomedical applications. We describe two protocols for evaluating biomedical information retrieval techniques without human relevance judgments. We call these protocols No Title Evaluation (NT Evaluation). The first protocol measures performance for focused searches, where only one relevant document exists for each query. The second protocol measures performance for queries expected to have potentially many relevant documents per query (high-recall searches). Both protocols take advantage of the clear separation of titles and abstracts found in Medline. We compare the performance obtained with these evaluation protocols to results obtained by reusing the relevance judgments produced in the 2004 and 2005 TREC Genomics Track and observe significant correlations between performance rankings generated by our approach and TREC. Spearman's correlation coefficients in the range of 0.79-0.92 are observed comparing bpref measured with NT Evaluation or with TREC evaluations. For comparison, coefficients in the range 0.86-0.94 can be observed when evaluating the same set of methods with data from two independent TREC Genomics Track evaluations. We discuss the advantages of NT Evaluation over the TRels and the data fusion evaluation protocols introduced recently. Our results suggest that the NT Evaluation protocols described here could be used to optimize some search engine parameters before human evaluation. Further research is needed to determine if NT Evaluation or variants of these protocols can fully substitute

  9. Insights into the impact and use of research results in a residential long-term care facility: a case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cranley Lisa A

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Engaging end-users of research in the process of disseminating findings may increase the relevance of findings and their impact for users. We report findings from a case study that explored how involvement with the Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC study influenced management and staff at one of 36 TREC facilities. We conducted the study at ‘Restwood’ (pseudonym nursing home because the Director of Care engaged actively in the study and TREC data showed that this site differed on some areas from other nursing homes in the province. The aims of the case study were two-fold: to gain a better understanding of how frontline staff engage with the research process, and to gain a better understanding of how to share more detailed research results with management. Methods We developed an Expanded Feedback Report for use during this study. In it, we presented survey results that compared Restwood to the best performing site on all variables and participating sites in the province. Data were collected regarding the Expanded Feedback Report through interviews with management. Data from staff were collected through interviews and observation. We used content analysis to derive themes to describe key aspects related to the study aims. Results We observed the importance of understanding organizational routines and the impact of key events in the facility’s environment. We gleaned additional information that validated findings from prior feedback mechanisms within TREC. Another predominant theme was the sense that the opportunity to engage in a research process was reaffirming for staff (particularly healthcare aides—what they did and said mattered, and TREC provided a means of having one’s voice heard. We gained valuable insight from the Director of Care about how to structure and format more detailed findings to assist with interpretation and use of results. Conclusions Four themes emerged regarding staff engagement with

  10. Power Relative to Body Mass Best Predicts Change in Core Temperature During Exercise-Heat Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibson, Oliver R; Willmott, Ashley G B; James, Carl A; Hayes, Mark; Maxwell, Neil S

    2017-02-01

    Gibson, OR, Willmott, AGB, James, CA, Hayes, M, and Maxwell, NS. Power relative to body mass best predicts change in core temperature during exercise-heat stress. J Strength Cond Res 31(2): 403-414, 2017-Controlling internal temperature is crucial when prescribing exercise-heat stress, particularly during interventions designed to induce thermoregulatory adaptations. This study aimed to determine the relationship between the rate of rectal temperature (Trec) increase, and various methods for prescribing exercise-heat stress, to identify the most efficient method of prescribing isothermic heat acclimation (HA) training. Thirty-five men cycled in hot conditions (40° C, 39% R.H.) for 29 ± 2 minutes. Subjects exercised at 60 ± 9% V[Combining Dot Above]O2peak, with methods for prescribing exercise retrospectively observed for each participant. Pearson product moment correlations were calculated for each prescriptive variable against the rate of change in Trec (° C·h), with stepwise multiple regressions performed on statistically significant variables (p ≤ 0.05). Linear regression identified the predicted intensity required to increase Trec by 1.0-2.0° C between 20- and 45-minute periods and the duration taken to increase Trec by 1.5° C in response to incremental intensities to guide prescription. Significant (p ≤ 0.05) relationships with the rate of change in Trec were observed for prescriptions based on relative power (W·kg; r = 0.764), power (%Powermax; r = 0.679), rating of perceived exertion (RPE) (r = 0.577), V[Combining Dot Above]O2 (%V[Combining Dot Above]O2peak; r = 0.562), heart rate (HR) (%HRmax; r = 0.534), and thermal sensation (r = 0.311). Stepwise multiple regressions observed relative power and RPE as variables to improve the model (r = 0.791), with no improvement after inclusion of any anthropometric variable. Prescription of exercise under heat stress using power (W·kg or %Powermax) has the strongest relationship with the rate of change in

  11. First Year of Israeli Newborn Screening for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency—Clinical Achievements and Insights

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erez Rechavi

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID, the most severe form of T cell immunodeficiency, is detectable through quantification of T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs in dried blood spots obtained at birth. Herein, we describe the results of the first year of the Israeli SCID newborn screening (NBS program. This important, life-saving screening test is available at no cost for every newborn in Israel. Eight SCID patients were diagnosed through the NBS program in its first year, revealing an incidence of 1:22,500 births in the Israeli population. Consanguine marriages and Muslim ethnic origin were found to be a risk factor in affected newborns, and a founder effect was detected for both IL7Rα and DCLRE1C deficiency SCID. Lymphocyte subset analysis and TREC quantification in the peripheral blood appear to be sufficient for confirmation of typical and leaky SCID and ruling out false positive (FP results. Detection of secondary targets (infants with non-SCID lymphopenia did not significantly affect the management or outcomes of these infants in our cohort. In the general, non-immunodeficient population, TREC rises along with gestational age and birth weight, and is significantly higher in females and the firstborn of twin pairs. Low TREC correlates with both gestational age and birth weight in extremely premature newborns. Additionally, the rate of TREC increase per week consistently accelerates with gestational age. Together, these findings mandate a lower cutoff or a more lenient screening algorithm for extremely premature infants, in order to reduce the high rate of FPs within this group. A significant surge in TREC values was observed between 28 and 30 weeks of gestation, where median TREC copy numbers rise by 50% over 2 weeks. These findings suggest a maturational step in T cell development around week 29 gestation, and imply moderate to late preterms should be screened with the same cutoff as term infants. The SCID NBS program is still

  12. "Live from IPY"--Connecting Students, Teachers and the Public to Polar Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breen, K.; Warnick, W. K.; Warburton, J.; Fischer, K.; Wiggins, H.

    2007-12-01

    PolarTREC-Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating is a three-year (2007-2009) teacher professional development program of the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS) that pairs K-12 teachers with researchers to improve science education through authentic polar research experiences. Each year of PolarTREC, approximately 15 teachers spend two to six weeks in the Arctic or Antarctic, working closely with researchers investigating a wide range of topics such as sea-ice dynamics, terrestrial ecology, marine biology, atmospheric chemistry, and long-term climate change. PolarTREC is funded by the National Science Foundation. While in the field, teachers and researchers communicate extensively with their colleagues, communities, and hundreds of students of all ages across the globe, using a variety of communication technologies and tools to appeal to broad student and public engagement in polar science. Through the PolarTREC website (www.polartrec.com) teachers connect from the field through the use of online journals and forums, photo galleries, podcasts, and learning resources. "Live from IPY," a key activity of PolarTREC, is a free, interactive, distance-learning experience that virtually transports students and the public to unique and remote polar locations through a live Internet interface. Rather than relying solely on the asynchronous elements of online journals, forums, photo albums, and podcasts, "Live from IPY" allows real-time interaction by adding elements including live voice, video, chat, application sharing, polling, and whiteboards, but requires only telephone and/or Internet access for participants and presenters to connect. "Live from IPY" and the online outreach elements of PolarTREC convey the excitement of polar research experiences to a broad audience far beyond the classrooms of the PolarTREC teachers, allowing anyone to join a global network of scientists, teachers, students, and communities and actively participate in the

  13. Storage hexamer utilization in two lepidopterans: differences correlated with the timing of egg formation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.L. Pan

    2001-04-01

    Full Text Available Most insects produce two or more storage hexamers whose constituents and developmental profiles are sufficiently different to suggest specialization in the ways that they support metamorphosis and reproduction. Hexamerin specializations are compared here in the Cecropia moth (Hyalophora cecropia, which produces eggs during the pupal-adult molt, and the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus, which produces eggs under long-day conditions after adult eclosion. In both sexes of both species, reserves of arylphorin (ArH were exhausted by the end of metamorphosis. In Cecropia, the same was true for the high-methionine hexamerins, V-MtH and M-MtH. But in short day Monarch females 20-30% of the pupal reserves of V-MtH and M-MtH survived metamorphosis, persisting until long-day conditions were imposed to stimulate egg formation. Differences in storage sites have been documented in other lepidopterans, with MtH reserves being found primarily in fat body protein granules and the ArH reserve being found primarily in the hemolymph. Similar differences could explain how a fraction of the MtH's, but not of ArH, escapes utilization during metamorphosis in a species with post-eclosion egg formation. No differences in utilization schedules were detected between V- and M-MtH, despite divergent compositions and antigenic reactivity.

  14. Scientific Participation at the Poles: K-12 Teachers in Polar Science for Careers and Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crowley, S.; Warburton, J.

    2012-12-01

    PolarTREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded program in which K-12 teachers participate in hands-on field research experiences in the polar regions. PolarTREC highlights the importance of involving teachers in scientific research in regards to their careers as educators and their ability to engage students in the direct experience of science. To date, PolarTREC has placed over 90 teachers with research teams in the Arctic and Antarctic. Published results of our program evaluation quantify the effect of the field experience on the teachers' use of the real scientific process in the classroom, the improvement in science content taught in classrooms, and the use of non-fiction texts (real data and science papers) as primary learning tools for students. Teachers and students both report an increase of STEM literacy in the classroom content, confidence in science education, as well as a markedly broadened outlook of science as essential to their future. Research conducted with science teams affirms that they are achieving broader impacts when PolarTREC teachers are involved in their expeditions. Additionally, they reported that these teachers making vital contributions to the success of the scientific project.

  15. Tandem mass spectrometry, but not T-cell receptor excision circle analysis, identifies newborns with late-onset adenosine deaminase deficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    la Marca, Giancarlo; Canessa, Clementina; Giocaliere, Elisa; Romano, Francesca; Duse, Marzia; Malvagia, Sabrina; Lippi, Francesca; Funghini, Silvia; Bianchi, Leila; Della Bona, Maria Luisa; Valleriani, Claudia; Ombrone, Daniela; Moriondo, Maria; Villanelli, Fabio; Speckmann, Carsten; Adams, Stuart; Gaspar, Bobby H; Hershfield, Michael; Santisteban, Ines; Fairbanks, Lynette; Ragusa, Giovanni; Resti, Massimo; de Martino, Maurizio; Guerrini, Renzo; Azzari, Chiara

    2013-06-01

    Adenosine deaminase (ADA)-severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) is caused by genetic variants that disrupt the function of ADA. In its early-onset form, it is rapidly fatal to infants. Delayed or late-onset ADA-SCID is characterized by insidious progressive immunodeficiency that leads to permanent organ damage or death. Quantification of T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) or tandem mass spectrometry (tandem-MS) analysis of dried blood spots (DBSs) collected at birth can identify newborns with early-onset ADA-SCID and are used in screening programs. However, it is not clear whether these analyses can identify newborns who will have delayed or late-onset ADA-SCID before symptoms appear. We performed a retrospective study to evaluate whether tandem-MS and quantitative TREC analyses of DBSs could identify newborns who had delayed-onset ADA-SCID later in life. We tested stored DBSs collected at birth from 3 patients with delayed-onset ADA-SCID using tandem-MS (PCT EP2010/070517) to evaluate levels of adenosine and 2'-deoxyadenosine and real-time PCR to quantify TREC levels. We also analyzed DBSs from 3 newborns with early-onset ADA-SCID and 2 healthy newborn carriers of ADA deficiency. The DBSs taken at birth from the 3 patients with delayed-onset ADA-SCID had adenosine levels of 10, 25, and 19 μmol/L (normal value, <1.5 μmol/L) and 2'-deoxyadenosine levels of 0.7, 2.7, and 2.4 μmol/L (normal value, <0.07 μmol/L); the mean levels of adenosine and 2'-deoxyadenosine were respectively 12.0- and 27.6-fold higher than normal values. DBSs taken at birth from all 3 patients with delayed-onset ADA deficiency had normal TREC levels, but TRECs were undetectable in blood samples taken from the same patients at the time of diagnosis. Tandem-MS but not TREC quantification identifies newborns with delayed- or late-onset ADA deficiency. Copyright © 2013 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. A Call to Include Severe Combined Immunodeficiency in Newborn Screening Program

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raz Somech

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Quantification of the T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs has recently emerged as a useful non-invasive clinical and research tool to investigate thymic activity. It allows the identification of T cell production by the thymus. Quantification of TREC copies has recently been implemented as the preferred test to screen neonates with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID or significant lymphopenia. Neonatal genetic screening for SCID is highly important in countries with high rates of consanguinous marriages, such as Israel, and can be used for early diagnosis, enabling prompt therapeutic intervention that will save lives and improve the outcome of these patients. TREC measurement is also applicable in clinical settings where T cell immunity is involved, including any T cell immunodeficiencies, HIV infection, the aging process, autoimmune diseases, and immune reconstitution after bone marrow transplantation.

  17. A Call to Include Severe Combined Immunodeficiency in Newborn Screening Program

    OpenAIRE

    Raz Somech; Amos Etzioni

    2014-01-01

    Quantification of the T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) has recently emerged as a useful non-invasive clinical and research tool to investigate thymic activity. It allows the identification of T cell production by the thymus. Quantification of TREC copies has recently been implemented as the preferred test to screen neonates with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) or significant lymphopenia. Neonatal genetic screening for SCID is highly important in countries with high rates of co...

  18. Sentence Level Information Patterns for Novelty Detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-07-01

    had new discourse entities that were not found in the growing history list of discourse entities. Eichmann et al [38] considered the number of new...TREC2002: Question Answering and Novelty Tracks”, TREC 2002. [10] D. Eichmann and P. Srinivasan. “Novel Results and Some Answers, The University...D. Eichmann , P. Srinivasan, M. Light, H. Wang, X. Y. Qiu, R. J. Arens, and A. Sehgal, “Experiments in Novelty, Genes and Questions at the

  19. Quantitative near-infrared spectroscopy on patients with peripheral vascular disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franceschini, Maria-Angela; Fantini, Sergio; Palumbo, Renato; Pasqualini, Leonella; Vaudo, Gaetano; Franceschini, Edoardo; Gratton, Enrico; Palumbo, Barbara; Innocente, Salvatore; Mannarino, Elmo

    1998-01-01

    We have used near-infrared spectroscopy to measure the hemoglobin saturation at rest and during exercise on patients affected by peripheral vascular disease (PVD). The instrument used in our study is a frequency-domain tissue oximeter which employs intensity modulated (110 MHz) laser diodes. We examined 9 subjects, 3 of which were controls and 6 were patients affected by stage II PVD. The optical probe was located on the calf muscle of the subjects. The measurement protocol consisted of: (1) baseline (approximately 5 min); (2) stationary bicycle exercise (approximately 5 min); (3) recovery (approximately 15 min). The change in hemoglobin saturation during exercise ((Delta) Y) and the recovery time after exercise (trec) were significantly greater in the PVD patients ((Delta) Y equals -21 +/- 3%, trec equals 5.9 +/- 3.8 min) than in the control subjects ((Delta) Y equals 2 +/- 3%, trec equals 0.6 +/- 0.1 min).

  20. Comparison of an in-helmet temperature monitor system to rectal temperature during exercise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wickwire, P Jason; Buresh, Robert J; Tis, Laurie L; Collins, Mitchell A; Jacobs, Robert D; Bell, Marla M

    2012-01-01

    Body temperature monitoring is crucial in helping to decrease the amount and severity of heat illnesses; however, a practical method of monitoring temperature is lacking. In response to the lack of a practical method of monitoring the temperature of athletes, Hothead Technologies developed a device (HOT), which continuously monitors an athlete's fluctuations in body temperature. HOT measures forehead temperature inside helmets. The purpose of this study was to compare HOT against rectal temperature (Trec). Male volunteers (n = 29, age = 23.5 ± 4.5 years, weight = 83.8 ± 10.4 kg, height = 180.1 ± 5.8 cm, body fat = 12.3 ± 4.5%) exercised on a treadmill at an intensity of 60-75% heart rate reserve (HRR) (wet bulb globe temperature [WBGT] = 28.7° C) until Trec reached 38.7° C. The correlation between Trec and HOT was 0.801 (R = 0.64, standard error of the estimate (SEE) = 0.25, p = 0.00). One reason for this relatively high correlation is the microclimate that HOT is monitoring. HOT is not affected by the external climate greatly because of its location in the helmet. Therefore, factors such as evaporation do not alter HOT temperature to a great degree. HOT was compared with Trec in a controlled setting, and the exercise used in this study was moderate aerobic exercise, very unlike that used in football. In a controlled laboratory setting, the relationship between HOT and Trec showed favorable correlations. However, in applied settings, helmets are repeatedly removed and replaced forcing HOT to equilibrate to forehead temperature every time the helmet is replaced. Therefore, future studies are needed to mimic how HOT will be used in field situations.

  1. Simultaneous topography and recognition imaging: physical aspects and optimal imaging conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Preiner, Johannes; Ebner, Andreas; Zhu Rong; Hinterdorfer, Peter; Chtcheglova, Lilia

    2009-01-01

    Simultaneous topography and recognition imaging (TREC) allows for the investigation of receptor distributions on natural biological surfaces under physiological conditions. Based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) in combination with a cantilever tip carrying a ligand molecule, it enables us to sense topography and recognition of receptor molecules simultaneously with nanometre accuracy. In this study we introduce optimized handling conditions and investigate the physical properties of the cantilever-tip-sample ensemble, which is essential for the interpretation of the experimental data gained from this technique. In contrast to conventional AFM methods, TREC is based on a more sophisticated feedback loop, which enables us to discriminate topographical contributions from recognition events in the AFM cantilever motion. The features of this feedback loop were investigated through a detailed analysis of the topography and recognition data obtained on a model protein system. Single avidin molecules immobilized on a mica substrate were imaged with an AFM tip functionalized with a biotinylated IgG. A simple procedure for adjusting the optimal amplitude for TREC imaging is described by exploiting the sharp localization of the TREC signal within a small range of oscillation amplitudes. This procedure can also be used for proving the specificity of the detected receptor-ligand interactions. For understanding and eliminating topographical crosstalk in the recognition images we developed a simple theoretical model, which nicely explains its origin and its dependence on the excitation frequency.

  2. A hybrid system using a regenerative electrochemical cycle to harvest waste heat from the proton exchange membrane fuel cell

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Long, Rui; Li, Baode; Liu, Zhichun; Liu, Wei

    2015-01-01

    A new hybrid system consisting of a PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) subsystem and a TREC (thermally regenerative electrochemical cycle) subsystem is proposed to convert the waste heat produced by the PEMFC system into electricity. The performance of the hybrid system and its corresponding subsystems is analyzed. Results reveal that there exists optimal current densities of the PEMFC and TREC systems leading to the maximum power output of the hybrid system. With the maximum power output as the objective function, an optimization of the hybrid system based on genetic algorithm method is conducted under different operating temperatures of the PEMFC subsystem. The power output of the hybrid system is 6.85%–20.59% larger than that of the PEMFC subsystem. And the total electrical efficiency is improved by 2.74%–8.27%. The corresponding electrical efficiency of the TREC is 4.56%–13.81%. The hybrid system proposed in this paper could contribute to utilizing the fuel energy more efficiently and sufficiently. - Highlights: • A hybrid power system consisting of a PEMFC and a TREC subsystems is proposed. • Parameters' impacts on performance of the hybrid system have been analyzed. • The maximum power output of the hybrid system is investigated based on genetic algorithm. • Total power output of the hybrid system is 7.63%–18.84% larger than that of the PEMFC subsystem.

  3. Moraceae

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Berg, C.C.

    1980-01-01

    Trees or shrubs, in Ficus often epiphytic and strangling, in Dorstenia herbs, laticiferous except for Cecropia. Leaves alternate, lamina entire or lobed, venation pinnate, palmate or radiate, stipules often amplexicaul. Plants monoecious or dioecious, flowers unisexual, close together in bisexual or

  4. Plantas de ocorrência espontânea como substratos alternativos para fitoseídeos (Acari, Phytoseiidae em cultivos de seringueira Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg. (Euphorbiaceae Weeds as alternative substrates to phytoseiids (Acari, Phytoseiidae in rubber tree Hevea brasilienis, Muell. Arg. (Euphorbiaceae cultivation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcos Roberto Bellini

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar as espécies de plantas espontâneas em áreas de cultivo de seringueira que poderiam servir com reservatório de ácaros predadores. O trabalho foi conduzido em Olímpia, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil, em dois cultivos de seringueira. A cada três meses, cerca de 1.000 cm³ de folhas de cada uma das cinco espécies de plantas espontâneas dominantes em cada cultivo foi tomada para determinar os fitoseídeos. Como as plantas espontâneas dominantes variaram durante o estudo, um total de 20 espécies foi verificado. Somente Cecropia sp. foi dominante em todo estudo, em ambos os cultivos. Um total de 336 fitoseídeos pertencentes às seguintes espécies foi encontrado: Euseius citrifolius Denmark & Muma, 1970, E. concordis (Chant, 1959, Galendromus annectens (DeLeon, 1958, Iphiseiodes zuluagai Denmark & Muma, 1972, Neoseiulus anonymus (Chant & Baker, 1965 e N. tunus (DeLeon, 1967. E. citrifolius (189 espécimes e N. tunus (138 espécimes foram os mais abundantes. A maior abundância (231espécimes e diversidade (5 espécies foram observadas sobre Cecropia sp. Sobre esta planta foi encontrado o maior número de ácaros por amostra (29 espécimes, seguida por Piper duncum Linnaeus (22, Guarea sp. (18 e Ageratum conyzoides Linnaeus (12. E. citrifolius tem sido determinado como um dos ácaros predadores mais abundantes sobre seringueiras cultivadas na região onde este trabalho foi conduzido. Cecropia sp. parece ser uma das plantas espontâneas mais importantes consideradas como reservatório de E. citrifolius porque está continuamente presente nos cultivos. Estudos complementares poderiam indicar a viabilidade de se manejar esta planta nas áreas de cultivo de seringueira para permitir o controle biológico dos ácaros-praga desta cultura.The objective of this study was to determine weed species of rubber tree cultivation areas that could serve as reservoirs of predatory mites. The work was conducted in Ol

  5. Should we feed back research results in the midst of a study?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Estabrooks Carole A

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background This report is an introduction to a series of three research papers that describe the evolution of the approaches taken by the Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC research team during its first four years to feed back the research findings to study participants. TREC is an observational multi-method health services research project underway in 36 nursing homes in the prairie provinces of Canada. TREC has actively involved decision makers from the sector in all stages from initial planning, through data collection to dissemination activities. However, it was not planned as a fully integrated knowledge translation project. These three papers describe our progress towards fully integrated knowledge translation—with respect to timely and requested feedback processes. The first paper reports on the process and outcomes of creating and evaluating the feedback of research findings to healthcare aides (unregulated health professionals. These aides provide over 80% of the direct care in our sample and actively requested the feedback as a condition of their continued cooperation in the data acquisition process. The second paper describes feedback from nursing home administrators on preliminary research findings (a facility annual report and evaluation of the reports’ utility. The third paper discusses an approach to providing a more in-depth form of feedback (expanded feedback report at one of the TREC nursing homes. Findings Survey and interview feedback from healthcare aides is presented in the first paper. Overall, healthcare aides’ opinions about presentation of the feedback report and the understand ability, usability, and usefulness of the content were positive. The second paper describes the use of telephone interviews with facility administrators and indicates that the majority of contextual areas (e.g., staff job satisfaction addressed in facility annual report to be useful, meaningful, and understandable. More than

  6. Long-range correlations in rectal temperature fluctuations of healthy infants during maturation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georgette Stern

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Control of breathing, heart rate, and body temperature are interdependent in infants, where instabilities in thermoregulation can contribute to apneas or even life-threatening events. Identifying abnormalities in thermoregulation is particularly important in the first 6 months of life, where autonomic regulation undergoes critical development. Fluctuations in body temperature have been shown to be sensitive to maturational stage as well as system failure in critically ill patients. We thus aimed to investigate the existence of fractal-like long-range correlations, indicative of temperature control, in night time rectal temperature (T(rec patterns in maturing infants. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We measured T(rec fluctuations in infants every 4 weeks from 4 to 20 weeks of age and before and after immunization. Long-range correlations in the temperature series were quantified by the correlation exponent, alpha using detrended fluctuation analysis. The effects of maturation, room temperature, and immunization on the strength of correlation were investigated. We found that T(rec fluctuations exhibit fractal long-range correlations with a mean (SD alpha of 1.51 (0.11, indicating that T(rec is regulated in a highly correlated and hence deterministic manner. A significant increase in alpha with age from 1.42 (0.07 at 4 weeks to 1.58 (0.04 at 20 weeks reflects a change in long-range correlation behavior with maturation towards a smoother and more deterministic temperature regulation, potentially due to the decrease in surface area to body weight ratio in the maturing infant. alpha was not associated with mean room temperature or influenced by immunization CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that the quantification of long-range correlations using alpha derived from detrended fluctuation analysis is an observer-independent tool which can distinguish developmental stages of night time T(rec pattern in young infants, reflective of maturation of

  7. Local failure after radical radiotherapy of non-small cell lung cancer in relation to the planning FDG-PET/CT

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kandi, M; Hoffmann, L; Sloth Moeller, D

    2018-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: Local recurrence (rec) in lung cancer is associated with poor survival. This study examined whether the pattern of failure is associated with the most PET avid volume in the planning-FDG-PET/CT scan (p-PET/CT). METHODS: 162 consecutive inoperable NSCLC patients (pts) receiving...... 50% of SUVpeak on p-PET/CT and the volume of T-rec was calculated: OF = (SUVp50∩T-rec)/min(SUVp50, T-rec). Similarly for the GTV on the p-CT: OF = (GTV∩T-rec)/min(GTV, T-rec). OF was based on a rigid registration between p-PET/CT and rec-CT with PET guided delineation of T- rec. For lymph nodes (LN...... in these stations; 4R (55%) and 7 (83%). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that the most PET active volume on p-PET-CT is a driver for rec at T-site. LN-recurrences predominantly appear in station 2R, 4R, 7 and right hilum. Additional confirmatory studies regarding lymph node mapping and selective lymph node...

  8. Efficiency improvement of an all-vanadium redox flow battery by harvesting low-grade heat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynard, Danick; Dennison, C. R.; Battistel, Alberto; Girault, Hubert H.

    2018-06-01

    Redox flow batteries (RFBs) are rugged systems, which can withstand several thousand cycles and last many years. However, they suffer from low energy density, low power density, and low efficiency. Integrating a Thermally Regenerative Electrochemical Cycle (TREC) into the RFB, it is possible to mitigate some of these drawbacks. The TREC takes advantage of the temperature dependence of the cell voltage to convert heat directly into electrical energy. Here, the performance increase of a TREC-RFB is investigated using two kinds of all-vanadium electrolyte chemistries: one containing a typical concentration of sulfuric acid and one containing a large excess of hydrochloric acid. The results show that the energy density of the system was increased by 1.3Wh L-1 and 0.8Wh L-1, respectively and the overall energy efficiency also increased by 9 and 5 percentage points, respectively. The integration of the heat exchangers necessary to change the battery temperature is readily facilitated by the design of the redox flow battery, which already utilizes fluid circulation loops.

  9. Learning from our mistakes: minimizing problems with invasive biofuel plants

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Richardson, DM

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available -legume service trees (e.g., Cecropia spp.); 168  Fast-growing timber trees (e.g., Eucalyptus spp., Casuarina spp.); 169  High-value timber trees (e.g., Cedrela odorata, Cordia alliodora); 170  Fruit trees (e.g., Citrus spp., Psidium guajava). 171 172...

  10. Triagem fitoquímica e avaliação das atividades trombolítica e citotóxica de Cecropia hololeuca Miq. (Urticaceae, Lippia alba (Mill. N.E.Br. ex P. Wilson (Verbenaceae e Zanthoxylum rhoifolium Lam (Rutaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    João Victor Dutra GOMES1 ; Rafael Destefani FAITANIN

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Cecropia hololeuca, Lippia alba, e Zanthoxylum rhoifolium são espécies vegetais de ocorrência natural no Brasil, características de regiões de Mata Atlântica e, dentro de suas finalidades medicinais, estão incluídas ação anti-hipertensiva, digestiva e no tratamento de malária. Neste estudo, foram avaliados o perfil fitoquímico e as atividades citotóxica e trombolítica do extrato etanólico das folhas destas espécies vegetais. O perfil químico dos extratos foi obtido por meio de ensaios fitoquímicos clássicos, a fim de identificar as classes químicas presentes. A toxicidade preliminar foi avaliada frente Artemia salina e a atividade trombolítica foi determinada in vitro a partir da lise de coágulo de sangue humano. Os testes fitoquímicos indicaram a presença de alcaloides e flavonoides nos três extratos investigados. Saponinas, triterpenos e naftoquinonas foram detectados apenas em C. hololeuca. Essa não demonstrou toxicidade frente Artemia salina (DL50 >1000 ppm, enquanto Z. rhoifolium apresentou DL50 igual a 719,44 ppm e L. alba <250 ppm, o que indica atenção quanto à segurança no uso desta planta medicinal. A atividade trombolítica de L. alba e C. hololeuca foi de 6,43 ±2,08 e 9,64 ±1,83 %, respectivamente, mostrando baixa atividade. Por sua vez, Z. rhoifolium alcançou lise de 24,71 ±10,52 %, indicando promissora atividade (p <0,001. A atividade trombolítica de Z. rhoifolium justifica novos estudos, a fim de investigar os componentes responsáveis pela atividade. Perante a literatura, este é o primeiro relato da avaliação da atividade trombolítica destas espécies vegetais. Os resultados encontrados neste trabalho contribuem para o conhecimento químico-biológico das respectivas espécies.

  11. Multi-objective optimization of a continuous thermally regenerative electrochemical cycle for waste heat recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Long, Rui; Li, Baode; Liu, Zhichun; Liu, Wei

    2015-01-01

    An optimization analysis of a continuous TREC (thermally regenerative electrochemical cycle) was conducted with maximum power output and exergy efficiency as the objective functions simultaneously. For comparison, the power output, exergy efficiency, and thermal efficiency under the corresponding single-objective optimization schematics were also calculated. Under different optimization methods it was observed that the power output and the thermal efficiency increase with increasing inlet temperature of the heat source, whereas the exergy efficiency increases with increasing inlet temperature, reaches a maximum value, and then decreases. Results revealed that the optimal power output under the multi-objective optimization turned out to be slightly less than that obtained under the single-objective optimization for power output. However, the exergy and thermal efficiencies were much greater. Furthermore, the thermal exergy and exergy efficiency by single-objective optimization for energy efficiency shows no dominant advantage than that obtained under multi-objective optimization, comparing with the increase amplitude of the power output. This suggests that the multi-objective optimization could coordinate well both the power output and the exergy efficiency of the TREC system, and may serve as a more promising guide for operating and designing TREC systems. - Highlights: • An optimal analysis of a continuous TREC is conducted based on multi-objective optimization. • Performance under corresponding single-objective optimizations has also been calculated and compared. • Power under multi-objective optimization is slightly less than the maximum power. • Exergy and thermal efficiencies are much larger than that under the single-objective optimization.

  12. Revolutionizing Climate Science: Using Teachers as Communicators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warburton, J.; Crowley, S.; Wood, J.

    2012-12-01

    PolarTREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded program in which K-12 teachers participate in hands-on field research experiences in the Polar Regions. Teachers are the dynamic conduits for communicating climate science. In the PolarTREC final report, researchers found that teachers were vital in refining the language of their science and have shaped the goals of the scientific project. Program data demonstrates that science in classrooms is better understood when teachers have a full-spectrum grasp of project intricacies from defining the project, to field data collection, encountering situations for creativity and critical thinking, as well as participating in data and project analysis. Teachers' translating the authentic scientific process is integral in communicating climate science to the broader public. Teachers playing a major role in polar science revolutionize the old paradigm of "in-school learning". Through daily online journaling and forums, social media communication, live webinars with public, and professional development events, these teachers are moving beyond classrooms to communicate with society. Through teachers, climate policy can be shaped for the future by having scientifically literate students as well as assessable science. New paradigms come as teachers attain proficient levels of scientific understanding paired with the expert abilities for communication with years of experience. PolarTREC teachers are a model for new interactions peer-to-peer learning and mentorship for young scientists. Our programmatic goal is to expand the opportunities for PolarTREC teachers to share their involvement in science with additional formal and informal educators. 'Teaching the teachers' will reach exponential audiences in media, policy, and classrooms. Modeling this program, we designed and conducted a teacher training on climate science in Denali National Park. Utilizing expert university

  13. T-cell receptor and K-deleting recombination excision circles in newborn screening of T- and B-cell defects: review of the literature and future challenges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco Chiarini

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Since its introduction as a public health programme in the United States in the early 1960s, newborn blood screening (NBS has evolved from the detection of phenylalanine levels on filter paper to the application of DNA-based technologies to identify T-cell lymphopenia in infants with severe combined immunodeficiency. This latter use of NBS has required the development of an assay for T-cell lymphopenia based on the quantification of T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs that could be performed on dried blood spots routinely collected from newborn infants. The TREC-based NBS was developed six years ago, and there have already been 7 successful pilot studies since then. Similarly, efforts are now being made to establish a screen for B-cell defects, in particular agammaglobulinaemia, taking advantage of the introduction of the method for the quantification of K-deleting recombination excision circles (KRECs. A further achievement of NBS could be the simultaneous recognition of T- and B-cell defects using the combined quantification of TRECs and KRECs from Guthrie card blood spots. This approach may help the early identification of infants with T- and B-cell deficiencies so that they can then be referred to specialised paediatric centres, where a precise diagnosis of severe combined immunodeficiency and agammaglobulinaemia can be performed, and where then they can immediately receive specific therapy. Simultaneous TREC and KREC quantification should also allow classification of patients into subgroups and help identify children with less serious primary immunodeficiencies. This would help avoid the opportunistic infections and frequent hospitalisations that result from a late or lack of diagnosis.

  14. Caterpillars and fungal pathogens: two co-occurring parasites of an ant-plant mutualism.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olivier Roux

    Full Text Available In mutualisms, each interacting species obtains resources from its partner that it would obtain less efficiently if alone, and so derives a net fitness benefit. In exchange for shelter (domatia and food, mutualistic plant-ants protect their host myrmecophytes from herbivores, encroaching vines and fungal pathogens. Although selective filters enable myrmecophytes to host those ant species most favorable to their fitness, some insects can by-pass these filters, exploiting the rewards supplied whilst providing nothing in return. This is the case in French Guiana for Cecropia obtusa (Cecropiaceae as Pseudocabima guianalis caterpillars (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae can colonize saplings before the installation of their mutualistic Azteca ants. The caterpillars shelter in the domatia and feed on food bodies (FBs whose production increases as a result. They delay colonization by ants by weaving a silk shield above the youngest trichilium, where the FBs are produced, blocking access to them. This probable temporal priority effect also allows female moths to lay new eggs on trees that already shelter caterpillars, and so to occupy the niche longer and exploit Cecropia resources before colonization by ants. However, once incipient ant colonies are able to develop, they prevent further colonization by the caterpillars. Although no higher herbivory rates were noted, these caterpillars are ineffective in protecting their host trees from a pathogenic fungus, Fusarium moniliforme (Deuteromycetes, that develops on the trichilium in the absence of mutualistic ants. Therefore, the Cecropia treelets can be parasitized by two often overlooked species: the caterpillars that shelter in the domatia and feed on FBs, delaying colonization by mutualistic ants, and the fungal pathogen that develops on old trichilia. The cost of greater FB production plus the presence of the pathogenic fungus likely affect tree growth.

  15. Improving Broader Impacts through Researcher-Educator Partnerships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timm, K.; Warburton, J.; Larson, A. M.

    2009-12-01

    Since 1998, the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS) has designed and implemented successful Teacher Research Experience (TRE) programs enabling teachers to work directly with polar scientists in the field and bring their experience back to their classrooms and communities. The PolarTREC TRE model, administered during the International Polar Year (2007-2009), is most effective, exhibiting far-reaching broader impacts when ideas are shared, each partners’ expertise is respected, and both work toward the common goal of delivering high-quality information. Between 2004 and 2009, ARCUS has selected, trained, and supported 77 teachers on polar teacher research experiences. Although a limited number of teachers are able to participate in a field experience, selected teachers have expertise in translating research approaches and results into widely shared learning tools and programs. Between 2007-2009, PolarTREC teachers have constructed nearly 100 classroom lesson plans and activities as a result of their experience. Selected teachers are usually well connected within their schools, communities, and professions, bringing the science to numerous followers during their expedition. Live events with teachers and researchers in the field have attracted over 11,000 participants, primarily K-12 students. The PolarTREC TRE Model includes numerous methods to support outreach activities while teachers and researchers are in the field. These include web-based communications, journals, discussion forums, multimedia, and live events—all easily replicable activities with the potential to affect large numbers of people. In addition, the TRE experience continues to produce broader impacts far into the future of the teacher and researcher’s careers through ongoing communications, presentations at professional conferences, and continued support of each other’s work through activities including classroom visits, joint proposal development, and much more

  16. Inquery and TREC-9

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Allan, James; Connell, Margaret E; Croft, W. B; Feng, Fang-Fang; Fisher, David; Li, Xiaoyan

    2000-01-01

    ...: the Inquery search engine, query processing, and a query expansion technique known as LCA. All three tracks used Inquery as the search engine, sometimes for training, and always for generating the final ranked lists for the test...

  17. Pioneering the Transdisciplinary Team Science Approach: Lessons Learned from National Cancer Institute Grantees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vogel, Amanda L; Stipelman, Brooke A; Hall, Kara L; Nebeling, Linda; Stokols, Daniel; Spruijt-Metz, Donna

    2014-01-01

    The National Cancer Institute has been a leader in supporting transdisciplinary (TD) team science. From 2005-2010, the NCI supported Transdisciplinary Research on Energetic and Cancer I (TREC I), a center initiative fostering the TD integration of social, behavioral, and biological sciences to examine the relationships among obesity, nutrition, physical activity and cancer. In the final year of TREC I, we conducted qualitative in-depth-interviews with 31 participating investigators and trainees to learn more about their experiences with TD team science, including challenges, facilitating factors, strategies for success, and impacts. Five main challenges emerged: (1) limited published guidance for how to engage in TD team science, when TREC I was implemented; (2) conceptual and scientific challenges inherent to efforts to achieve TD integration; (3) discipline-based differences in values, terminology, methods, and work styles; (4) project management challenges involved in TD team science; and (5) traditional incentive and reward systems that do not recognize or reward TD team science. Four main facilitating factors and strategies for success emerged: (1) beneficial attitudes and beliefs about TD research and team science; (2) effective team processes; (3) brokering and bridge-building activities by individuals holding particular roles in a research center; and (4) funding initiative characteristics that support TD team science. Broad impacts of participating in TD team science in the context of TREC I included: (1) new positive attitudes about TD research and team science; (2) new boundary-crossing collaborations; (3) scientific advances related to research approaches, findings, and dissemination; (4) institutional culture change and resource creation in support of TD team science; and (5) career advancement. Funding agencies, academic institutions, and scholarly journals can help to foster TD team science through funding opportunities, institutional policies on

  18. Diagnosis of immunodeficiency caused by a purine nucleoside phosphorylase defect by using tandem mass spectrometry on dried blood spots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    la Marca, Giancarlo; Canessa, Clementina; Giocaliere, Elisa; Romano, Francesca; Malvagia, Sabrina; Funghini, Silvia; Moriondo, Maria; Valleriani, Claudia; Lippi, Francesca; Ombrone, Daniela; Della Bona, Maria Luisa; Speckmann, Carsten; Borte, Stephan; Brodszki, Nicholas; Gennery, Andrew R; Weinacht, Katja; Celmeli, Fatih; Pagel, Julia; de Martino, Maurizio; Guerrini, Renzo; Wittkowski, Helmut; Santisteban, Ines; Bali, Pawan; Ikinciogullari, Aydan; Hershfield, Michael; Notarangelo, Luigi D; Resti, Massimo; Azzari, Chiara

    2014-07-01

    Purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) deficiency is a rare form of autosomal recessive combined primary immunodeficiency caused by a enzyme defect leading to the accumulation of inosine, 2'-deoxy-inosine (dIno), guanosine, and 2'-deoxy-guanosine (dGuo) in all cells, especially lymphocytes. Treatments are available and curative for PNP deficiency, but their efficacy depends on the early approach. PNP-combined immunodeficiency complies with the criteria for inclusion in a newborn screening program. This study evaluate whether mass spectrometry can identify metabolite abnormalities in dried blood spots (DBSs) from affected patients, with the final goal of individuating the disease at birth during routine newborn screening. DBS samples from 9 patients with genetically confirmed PNP-combined immunodeficiency, 10,000 DBS samples from healthy newborns, and 240 DBSs from healthy donors of different age ranges were examined. Inosine, dIno, guanosine, and dGuo were tested by using tandem mass spectrometry (TMS). T-cell receptor excision circle (TREC) and kappa-deleting recombination excision circle (KREC) levels were evaluated by using quantitative RT-PCR only for the 2 patients (patients 8 and 9) whose neonatal DBSs were available. Mean levels of guanosine, inosine, dGuo, and dIno were 4.4, 133.3, 3.6, and 3.8 μmol/L, respectively, in affected patients. No indeterminate or false-positive results were found. In patient 8 TREC levels were borderline and KREC levels were abnormal; in patient 9 TRECs were undetectable, whereas KREC levels were normal. TMS is a valid method for diagnosis of PNP deficiency on DBSs of affected patients at a negligible cost. TMS identifies newborns with PNP deficiency, whereas TREC or KREC measurement alone can fail. Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. To the Extremes! A Teacher Research Experience Program in the Polar Regions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warburton, J.; Bartholow, S.

    2014-12-01

    PolarTREC-Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating, a teacher professional development program, began with the International Polar Year in 2004 and continues today in the United States. In 2007, the National Science Foundation designated PolarTREC as potentially transformative, meaning that the "research results often do not fit within established models or theories and may initially be unexpected or difficult to interpret; their transformative nature and utility might not be recognized until years later." PolarTREC brings U.S. K-12 educators and polar researchers together through an innovative teacher research experience model. Teachers spend three to six weeks in remote arctic and Antarctic field camps. Since 2007, over 100 teachers have been placed in field experiences throughout the Arctic and Antarctic and with half of them participating in field experiences in Antarctica. During their experience, teachers become research team members filling a variety of roles on the team. They also fulfil a unique role of public outreach officer, conducting live presentations about their field site and research as well as journaling, answering questions, and posting photos. Evaluation data collected over the past eight years on program participants shows that PolarTREC has clearly achieved it goals and strongly suggests programs that link teachers and researchers can have the potential to transform the nature of science education. By giving teachers the content knowledge, pedagogical tools, confidence, understanding of science in the broader society, and experiences with scientific inquiry, participating teachers are using authentic scientific research in their classrooms. Not surprisingly this has also led to increases in student interest and knowledge about the Polar Regions. In this presentation, we will highlight the best practices of teacher research experiences as well as discuss why it is vital to have teachers and researchers work together to communicate

  20. A new record of fungus-beetle symbiosis in Scolytodes bark beetles (Scolytinae, Curculionidae, Coleoptera)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hulcr, J.; Kolařík, Miroslav; Kirkendall, L.

    2007-01-01

    Roč. 43, - (2007), s. 151-159 ISSN 0334-5114 Grant - others:GA ČR(CZ) GD206/03/H034 Program:GD Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50200510 Source of funding: V - iné verejné zdroje Keywords : scolytodes unipunctatus * cecropia * raffaela Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology Impact factor: 0.598, year: 2007

  1. Creative market development : marketing on a shoestring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McLeod, D.

    2004-01-01

    The initiatives that led to the development, construction and financing of Toronto's wind turbine by the Toronto Renewable Energy Co-op (TREC) were outlined in this PowerPoint presentation. The initiative for this first urban-based turbine in North America stemmed from a lack of green power in Ontario's energy market and a strong push from the public for more green power. TREC researched a variety of potential wind tower sites in Toronto and submitted a pre-feasibility report. The construction of the wind turbine involved a joint venture between WindShare and Toronto Hydro Energy Services. The basic principals behind co-operative financing were reviewed along with the challenges of marketing the project

  2. Creating a 21st Century Community through the Teacher Research Experience (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkening, E.; Beine, H. J.

    2009-12-01

    In the spring of 2009, I participated in PolarTREC - Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating, a Teacher Research Experience (TRE) funded by the National Science Foundation and managed by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States. I assisted in hands-on research being performed by scientists with OASIS (Ocean, Atmosphere, Sea Ice and Snowpack) during their field campaign in Barrow, Alaska. Although I was in the field for only 3 weeks, it was merely a beginning to a transformation that took place not only in me, but also among all of those involved. The PolarTREC program embodies the principles fundamental to the 21st Century skill-set that we want our students to possess. The job market is changing for graduates, and education is striving to provide students with the skills necessary to thrive in the future. To ensure the success of students the International Society for Technology Education (ISTE) has defined 21st Century Skills. They are incorporated into many educational standards (such as the Arizona Educational Technology Standards) and they are practiced by the teachers, researchers, students and the PolarTREC community. They are: Creativity and Innovation Communication and Collaboration Research and Information Literacy Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making Digital Citizenship Technology Operations and Concepts

  3. Association between thymic function and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation outcome: results of a pediatric study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saglio, Francesco; Cena, Silvia; Berger, Massimo; Quarello, Paola; Boccasavia, Viola; Ferrando, Federica; Pittana, Laura; Bruno, Benedetto; Fagioli, Franca

    2015-06-01

    Robust T cell function recovery has been shown to be crucial in determining allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) outcome, and there is growing evidence that the thymus plays a central role in regulating this process. We performed a long-term analysis of the role of thymic activity recovery in a population of pediatric patients undergoing allogeneic HSCT by signal joint T cell receptor excision circle (sjTREC) quantification. In this study, characterized by a long-term follow-up (median, 72 months), we found patients with higher levels of sjTRECs before transplantation had a statistically significant reduced risk of death compared with patients with lower values (relative risk, .31; 95% confidence interval, .30 to .32; P = .02), showing this different outcome was mainly related to a reduction of relapse incidence (14% versus 43%, P = .02). Unlike previous reports, we observed no correlation between sjTREC levels and lymphocyte recovery. Moreover, we confirmed that only graft-versus-host disease influenced thymic activity after transplantation. In conclusion, our results suggest an association between pretransplantation thymic activity and the long-term outcome of pediatric patients undergoing HSCT, mainly through a reduction of relapse opportunities. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Quality Climate Change Professional Development Translates into Quality Climate Change Education (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holzer, M. A.

    2013-12-01

    Perhaps one of the reasons we have so many climate change deniers in the United States is that to them climate change is not occurring. This is a valid claim about climate change deniers considering that the effects of climate change in the mid-latitudes are quite subtle as compared to those found in low-latitude and high-latitude regions. A mid-latitude classroom teacher is saddled with the challenge of enlightening students about our changing climate and empowering students to assist in making necessary lifestyle changes, all the while the students don't understand the urgency in doing so. Quality climate change data and resources from the Polar Regions and low latitudes, as well as connections to researchers from these regions help to bridge the understanding of our changing climate from the extreme latitudes to the mid-latitudes. Connecting science teachers with data, resources, and researchers is one way of ensuring our mid-latitude students understand the urgency in taking appropriate actions to adapt, mitigate, and show resilience. This presentation will highlight a few of the many impacts of an authentic research experience for teachers that not only provides teachers with data, resources, and researchers, but changes the way a science teacher teaches where the methods they use mirror the methods used by scientists. National projects like PolarTREC connect educators with the science of climate change as well as the reality of impacts of climate change. For example, research expeditions in the Arctic and in Antarctica connect teachers with the content and practices of climate change science preparing them to replicate their experiences with their students. A PolarTREC experience does not end with the close of the expedition. Teachers continue their connections with the program through their educator network, the integration of PolarTREC resources into their curriculums, and communications with their principal investigators either virtually or with school

  5. Advanced portrayal of SMIL coating by allying CZE performance with in-capillary topographic and charge-related surface characterization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stock, Lorenz G. [Division of Chemistry and Bioanalytics, University Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg (Austria); Christian Doppler Laboratory for Innovative Tools for the Characterization of Biosimilars, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg (Austria); Leitner, Michael; Traxler, Lukas [Institute of Biophysics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Gruberstrasse 40, 4020 Linz (Austria); Bonazza, Klaus [Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics, Vienna University of Technology, Getreidemarkt 9/164, 1060 Vienna (Austria); Leclercq, Laurent; Cottet, Hervé [Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (IBMM), UMR 5247, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Montpellier, Place Eugène Bataillon, CC 1706, 34095 Montpellier (France); Friedbacher, Gernot [Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics, Vienna University of Technology, Getreidemarkt 9/164, 1060 Vienna (Austria); Ebner, Andreas [Institute of Biophysics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Gruberstrasse 40, 4020 Linz (Austria); Stutz, Hanno, E-mail: hanno.stutz@sbg.ac.at [Division of Chemistry and Bioanalytics, University Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg (Austria); Christian Doppler Laboratory for Innovative Tools for the Characterization of Biosimilars, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg (Austria)

    2017-01-25

    A successive multiple ionic polymer layer (SMIL) coating composed of four layers improved the capillary electrophoretic separation of a recombinant major birch pollen allergen and closely related variants when poly(acrylamide-co-2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propansulfonate) (55% PAMAMPS) replaced dextran sulfate as terminal SMIL layer. 55% PAMAMPS decelerated the electroosmotic flow (EOF) due to its lower charge density. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to investigate SMIL properties directly on the inner capillary surface and to relate them to EOF measurements and results of associated CZE separations of a mixture of model proteins and peptides that were performed in the same capillary. For the first time, AFM-based biosensing topography and recognition imaging mode (TREC) under liquid conditions was applied for a sequential characterization of the inner surface of a SMIL coated capillary after selected treatments including pristine SMIL, SMIL after contact with the model mixture, after alkaline rinsing, and the replenishment of the terminal polyelectrolyte layer. A cantilever with tip-tethered avidin was used to determine the charge homogeneity of the SMIL surface in the TREC mode. SMIL coated rectangular capillaries with 100 μm internal diameter assured accessibility of the inner surface for this cantilever type. Observed changes in CZE performance and EOF mobility during capillary treatment were also reflected by alterations in surface roughness and charge distribution of the SMIL coating. A renewal of the terminal SMIL layer restored the original surface properties of SMIL and the separation performance. The alliance of the novel TREC approach and CZE results allows for an improved understanding and a comprehensive insight in effects occurring on capillary coatings. - Highlights: • SMIL coating with a terminal layer of reduced charge density improves CZE separation. • Capillaries with rectangular diameter allow for in-capillary TREC-AFM measurement.

  6. Food niche overlap among neotropical frugivorous bats in Costa Rica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge E Lopez

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Food habits of 15 species of frugivorous bats were studied at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. Eight hundred and fifty-four (854 fecal samples and 169 samples from fruit parts and seeds discarded by bats beneath feeding roosts were analyzed. During eight months of study, 47 fruit species consumed by bats were identified. Five plant genera (Cecropia, Ficus, Piper, Solanum, and Vismia constituted 85% of all plants found in fecal samples. Feeding niche breadth differed significantly among the six most common species of frugivorous bats (Artibeus jamaicensis, Carollia sowelli, C. castanea, C. perspicillata, Dermanura sp., and Glossophaga commissarisi. All species, except for Dermanura sp., showed a diet dominated by one or two plant species. This suggests a pattern of resource partitioning at a generic level, in which Carollia consumed mainly Piper, Artibeus consumed Ficus and Cecropia, and Glossophaga consumed Vismia. Cluster analysis revealed higher values of food niche overlap in congeneric species than among species of different genera. Results show that if food is a limiting factor, mechanisms other than trophic selection must reduce interspecific interference or competition for food in this frugivorous bat guild. Rev. Biol. Trop. 55 (1: 301-313. Epub 2007 March. 31.Estudiamos los hábitos alimentarios de 15 especies de murciélagos frugívoros en la Estación Biológica La Selva. Se analizó 854 muestras de heces y 169 muestras de restos de frutos y semillas en comederos. Durante ocho meses de estudio, se identificó 47 especies de frutos, que fueron consumidos por los murciélagos. Cinco géneros de plantas (Cecropia, Ficus, Piper, Solanum y Vismia constituyeron el 85% de los hallazgos en las muestras de heces y los comederos. La amplitud de nicho trófico difirió significativamente entre las seis especies de murciélagos frugívoros más frecuentemente capturados (Artibeus jamaicensis, Carollia sowelli, C. castanea, C. perspicillata

  7. TREC 2013 Web Track Overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-30

    history of the Roosevelt Island tram?</subtopic> <subtopic number=Ř" type="nav">Find a map of Roosevelt Island (NY).</subtopic> <subtopic number=ř...like queries, but a number had potentially multiple answers (e.g. [dark chocolate health benefits]). This led to many pages being partially relevant

  8. Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by Ribeirinhos in the North Araguaia microregion, Mato Grosso, Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ribeiro, Reginaldo Vicente; Bieski, Isanete Geraldini Costa; Balogun, Sikiru Olaitan; Martins, Domingos Tabajara de Oliveira

    2017-06-09

    Currently, in many traditional communities, such as the riverine community in the North Araguaia microregion (Mato Grosso, Brazil), plant knowledge and use represent the main, if not the only, therapeutic resource for the maintenance of health and/or treatment of diseases. This study aimed to identify and document species of medicinal plants used by local experts from riverine communities in the North Araguaia microregion in Mato Grosso State, and to further chemical and pharmacological studies on species selected based on searches in the relevant literature. This is a cross-sectional ethnobotanical study, with non-probabilistic sampling (n =60), that applied the snowball method to select local riverine experts who understand medicinal plant use. Socio-demographic, ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological data (vernacular name, uses, geographical origin, habit, method of preparation and part used) on medicinal plants were collected during semi-structured interviews. The results were analyzed by descriptive and quantitative means: indices of use-report (UR) were used to select plant species with therapeutic potential. In total, 309 plant species belonging to 86 botanical families were cited; 73% were native to Brazil, and Fabaceae was the most representative family (11.3%). Arboreal was the predominant life form (37.2%). The leaf was the most used part (28.9%). Infusion was the most commonly reported method of preparation (31.3%). The plants reported in the survey were indicated for 18 of the 22 ICD-10 disease categories. The disease categories most commonly cited were the infectious and parasitic diseases (IPD, 718 UR), digestive system diseases (DSD, 565 UR) and respiratory system diseases (RSD, 504 UR), representing 16.6%, 13.1% and 11.7%, respectively of the total UR. Dysphania ambrosioides L. was the most sighted in the IPD category 50 UR. Copaifera langsdorffii Desf. (133), Lafoensia pacari A. St.-Hil. (131), and Cecropia pachystachya Trécul (126) were the

  9. Improved localization of cellular membrane receptors using combined fluorescence microscopy and simultaneous topography and recognition imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duman, M; Pfleger, M; Chtcheglova, L A; Neundlinger, I; Bozna, B L; Ebner, A; Schuetz, G J; Hinterdorfer, P; Zhu, R; Mayer, B; Rankl, C; Moertelmaier, M; Kada, G; Kienberger, F; Salio, M; Shepherd, D; Polzella, P; Cerundolo, V; Dieudonne, M

    2010-01-01

    The combination of fluorescence microscopy and atomic force microscopy has a great potential in single-molecule-detection applications, overcoming many of the limitations coming from each individual technique. Here we present a new platform of combined fluorescence and simultaneous topography and recognition imaging (TREC) for improved localization of cellular receptors. Green fluorescent protein (GFP) labeled human sodium-glucose cotransporter (hSGLT1) expressed Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells and endothelial cells (MyEnd) from mouse myocardium stained with phalloidin-rhodamine were used as cell systems to study AFM topography and fluorescence microscopy on the same surface area. Topographical AFM images revealed membrane features such as lamellipodia, cytoskeleton fibers, F-actin filaments and small globular structures with heights ranging from 20 to 30 nm. Combined fluorescence and TREC imaging was applied to detect density, distribution and localization of YFP-labeled CD1d molecules on α-galactosylceramide (αGalCer)-loaded THP1 cells. While the expression level, distribution and localization of CD1d molecules on THP1 cells were detected with fluorescence microscopy, the nanoscale distribution of binding sites was investigated with molecular recognition imaging by using a chemically modified AFM tip. Using TREC on the inverted light microscope, the recognition sites of cell receptors were detected in recognition images with domain sizes ranging from ∼ 25 to ∼ 160 nm, with the smaller domains corresponding to a single CD1d molecule.

  10. Atomic force microscopy-based antibody recognition imaging of proteins in the pathological deposits in Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Creasey, Rhiannon [School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Flinders University of SA, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001 (Australia); Sharma, Shiwani [School of Medicine, Ophthalmology, Flinders University of SA, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001 (Australia); Gibson, Christopher T. [School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Flinders University of SA, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001 (Australia); Craig, Jamie E. [School of Medicine, Ophthalmology, Flinders University of SA, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001 (Australia); Ebner, Andreas [Institute for Biophysics, Johannes Kepler Universitaet Linz, Altenbergerstr. 69, A-4040 Linz (Austria); Becker, Thomas [Nanochemistry Research Institute, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, 6845 WA (Australia); Hinterdorfer, Peter [Institute for Biophysics, Johannes Kepler Universitaet Linz, Altenbergerstr. 69, A-4040 Linz (Austria); Voelcker, Nicolas H., E-mail: nico.voelcker@flinders.edu.au [School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Flinders University of SA, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001 (Australia)

    2011-07-15

    The phenomenon of protein aggregation is of considerable interest to various disciplines, including the field of medicine. A range of disease pathologies are associated with this phenomenon. One of the ocular diseases hallmarked by protein aggregation is the Pseudoexfoliation (PEX) Syndrome. This condition is characterized by the deposition of insoluble proteinaceous material on the anterior human lens capsule. Genomic and proteomic analyses have revealed an association of specific genetic markers and various proteins, respectively, with PEX syndrome. However, the ultrastructure of the protein aggregates is poorly characterized. This study seeks to build capacity to determine the molecular nature of PEX aggregates on human lens capsules in their native state by AFM-based antibody recognition imaging. Lysyl oxidase-Like 1 (LOXL1), a protein identified as a component of PEX aggregates, is detected by an antibody-modified AFM probe. Topographical AFM images and antibody recognition images are obtained using three AFM-based techniques: TREC, phase and force-volume imaging. LOXL1 is found to be present on the lens capsule surface, and is localized around fibrous protein aggregates. Our evaluation shows that TREC imaging is best suited for human tissue imaging and holds significant potential for imaging of human disease tissues in their native state. -- Highlights: {yields} Atomic force microscopy techniques were applied to diseased human tissues. {yields} LOXL1 protein was detected on the small fibers of Pseudoexfoliation deposits. {yields} PicoTREC was the optimum technique for investigating protein aggregates.

  11. Improved localization of cellular membrane receptors using combined fluorescence microscopy and simultaneous topography and recognition imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Duman, M; Pfleger, M; Chtcheglova, L A; Neundlinger, I; Bozna, B L; Ebner, A; Schuetz, G J; Hinterdorfer, P [Institute for Biophysics, University of Linz, Altenbergerstrasse 69, A-4040 Linz (Austria); Zhu, R; Mayer, B [Christian Doppler Laboratory for Nanoscopic Methods in Biophysics, Institute for Biophysics, University of Linz, Altenbergerstrasse 69, A-4040 Linz (Austria); Rankl, C; Moertelmaier, M; Kada, G; Kienberger, F [Agilent Technologies Austria GmbH, Aubrunnerweg 11, A-4040 Linz (Austria); Salio, M; Shepherd, D; Polzella, P; Cerundolo, V [Cancer Research UK Tumor Immunology Group, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS (United Kingdom); Dieudonne, M, E-mail: ferry_kienberger@agilent.com [Agilent Technologies Belgium, Wingepark 51, Rotselaar, AN B-3110 (Belgium)

    2010-03-19

    The combination of fluorescence microscopy and atomic force microscopy has a great potential in single-molecule-detection applications, overcoming many of the limitations coming from each individual technique. Here we present a new platform of combined fluorescence and simultaneous topography and recognition imaging (TREC) for improved localization of cellular receptors. Green fluorescent protein (GFP) labeled human sodium-glucose cotransporter (hSGLT1) expressed Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells and endothelial cells (MyEnd) from mouse myocardium stained with phalloidin-rhodamine were used as cell systems to study AFM topography and fluorescence microscopy on the same surface area. Topographical AFM images revealed membrane features such as lamellipodia, cytoskeleton fibers, F-actin filaments and small globular structures with heights ranging from 20 to 30 nm. Combined fluorescence and TREC imaging was applied to detect density, distribution and localization of YFP-labeled CD1d molecules on {alpha}-galactosylceramide ({alpha}GalCer)-loaded THP1 cells. While the expression level, distribution and localization of CD1d molecules on THP1 cells were detected with fluorescence microscopy, the nanoscale distribution of binding sites was investigated with molecular recognition imaging by using a chemically modified AFM tip. Using TREC on the inverted light microscope, the recognition sites of cell receptors were detected in recognition images with domain sizes ranging from {approx} 25 to {approx} 160 nm, with the smaller domains corresponding to a single CD1d molecule.

  12. Late Holocene paleoenvironments of the floodplain of the Solimões River, Central Amazonia, based on the palynological record of Lake Cabaliana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natália de Paula Sá

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT The core PD-67 of 160 cm depth was collected from the delta of Lake Cabaliana situated on the Solimões River. Seventeen samples were removed for palynological and sedimentological analysis and three for radiocarbon analysis. Two dry periods, both in the Late Holocene, were observed (2800-2550 cal yr BP, 1450-550 cal yr BP separated by a wetter phase (2550-1450 cal yr BP. In 2800-2550 cal yr BP, varzea forests of Alchornea, Symmeria, Cecropia, Alternanthera and Asteraceae were predominant. Beginning in 2,550-1450 cal yr BP, the varzea was characterized by pioneer elements, such as Cassia, Laetia, Mabea, Symmeria and Cecropia, and by the expansion of Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Sagittaria, Montrichardia and Asteraceae. In 1450-550 cal yr BP the succession of varzea continued with Pseudobombax, Laetia, Luehea/Lueheopsis and Ryanaea increasing simultaneously with the terra firme vegetation of Rutaceae, Sapotaceae, Styrax, Scleronema, Anthurium, Araceae, pteridophytes and Pariana. The successional dynamics at Lake Cabaliana indicated that the local varzea had become established recently, and is composed of a mosaic of different successional stages of vegetation influenced mainly by flood pulse and variation in rainfall. It is therefore possible to propose that the recent climate history of Central Amazonia reflects changes in rainfall patterns in the basin.

  13. A Part-Of-Speech term weighting scheme for biomedical information retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yanshan; Wu, Stephen; Li, Dingcheng; Mehrabi, Saeed; Liu, Hongfang

    2016-10-01

    In the era of digitalization, information retrieval (IR), which retrieves and ranks documents from large collections according to users' search queries, has been popularly applied in the biomedical domain. Building patient cohorts using electronic health records (EHRs) and searching literature for topics of interest are some IR use cases. Meanwhile, natural language processing (NLP), such as tokenization or Part-Of-Speech (POS) tagging, has been developed for processing clinical documents or biomedical literature. We hypothesize that NLP can be incorporated into IR to strengthen the conventional IR models. In this study, we propose two NLP-empowered IR models, POS-BoW and POS-MRF, which incorporate automatic POS-based term weighting schemes into bag-of-word (BoW) and Markov Random Field (MRF) IR models, respectively. In the proposed models, the POS-based term weights are iteratively calculated by utilizing a cyclic coordinate method where golden section line search algorithm is applied along each coordinate to optimize the objective function defined by mean average precision (MAP). In the empirical experiments, we used the data sets from the Medical Records track in Text REtrieval Conference (TREC) 2011 and 2012 and the Genomics track in TREC 2004. The evaluation on TREC 2011 and 2012 Medical Records tracks shows that, for the POS-BoW models, the mean improvement rates for IR evaluation metrics, MAP, bpref, and P@10, are 10.88%, 4.54%, and 3.82%, compared to the BoW models; and for the POS-MRF models, these rates are 13.59%, 8.20%, and 8.78%, compared to the MRF models. Additionally, we experimentally verify that the proposed weighting approach is superior to the simple heuristic and frequency based weighting approaches, and validate our POS category selection. Using the optimal weights calculated in this experiment, we tested the proposed models on the TREC 2004 Genomics track and obtained average of 8.63% and 10.04% improvement rates for POS-BoW and POS

  14. Nursing home administrators’ perspectives on a study feedback report: a cross sectional survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boström Anne-Marie

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background This project is part of the Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC program of research, a multi-level and longitudinal research program being conducted in 36 nursing homes in three Canadian Prairie Provinces. The overall goal of TREC is to improve the quality of care for older persons living in nursing homes and the quality of work life for care providers. The purpose of this paper is to report on development and evaluation of facility annual reports (FARs from facility administrators’ perspectives on the usefulness, meaningfulness, and understandability of selected data from the TREC survey. Methods A cross sectional survey design was used in this study. The feedback reports were developed in collaboration with participating facility administrators. FARs presented results in four contextual areas: workplace culture, feedback processes, job satisfaction, and staff burnout. Six weeks after FARs were mailed to each administrator, we conducted structured telephone interviews with administrators to elicit their evaluation of the FARs. Administrators were also asked if they had taken any actions as a result of the FAR. Descriptive and inferential statistics, as well as content analysis for open-ended questions, were used to summarize findings. Results Thirty-one facility administrators (representing thirty-two facilities participated in the interviews. Six administrators had taken action and 18 were planning on taking action as a result of FARs. The majority found the four contextual areas addressed in FAR to be useful, meaningful, and understandable. They liked the comparisons made between data from years one and two and between their facility and other TREC study sites in their province. Twenty-two indicated that they would like to receive information on additional areas such as aggressive behaviours of residents and information sharing. Twenty-four administrators indicated that FARs contained enough information, while eight

  15. Micropropagation of caçari under different nutritive culture media ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Tuoyo Aghomotsegin

    2016-08-17

    Aug 17, 2016 ... 2Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), Brazil. ... 4Tropical Research and Education Center, Homestead (TREC-UF), University of .... higher and better use of the nutrients by the explant. ..... affect the establishment and development of the cultures. ..... Teaching, Research and Extension.

  16. Direct analysis of thymic function in children with Down's syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meschiari Liviana

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Down's syndrome (DS is characterized by several immunological defects, especially regarding T cell compartment. DS is considered the best example of accelerated ageing in humans. Direct observations of the thymus have shown that in DS this organ undergoes severe histological and morphological changes. However, no data on its capacity to generate T cells are present in the literature. Here, using a new technology based upon real time PCR, we have investigated the capacity of the thymus to produce and release newly generated T lymphocytes (the so called "recent thymic emigrants", RTE in children with DS. Methods We studied 8 children affected by DS, aged 2–7 years, compared with 8 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Flow cytometry was used to determine different lymphocytes subsets. Real time PCR with the Taqman system was used to quantify the amount of RTE, i.e. peripheral blood lymphocytes that express the T cell receptor rearrangement excision circles (TREC. Results In comparison with control children, those with DS had a significant lower number of TREC+ peripheral blood cells. Moreover, in DS children but not in controls, a strong negative correlation between age and the levels of TREC+ cells was found. Conclusions The direct measure of thymic output indicates that the impairment of the organ results in a reduced production of newly generated T cells. This observation could suggest that cytokines able to modulate thymic function, such as interleukins, could be useful to improve the functionality of the organ and to treat the immunodeficiency present in DS subjects.

  17. Africa Sanguine - Vol 16, No 2 (2013)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    T-REC: Strengthening capacity for blood transfusion research in Ghana and Zimbabwe · EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. A Dunn, D Ansong, D Mvere, J Ansah, S Owusu-Ofori, E Gomo, I Bates, 14-18 ...

  18. On the reusability of open test collections

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hashemi, S.H.; Clarke, C.L.A.; Dean-Hall, A.; Kamps, J.; Kiseleva, Y.

    2015-01-01

    Creating test collections for modern search tasks is increasingly more challenging due to the growing scale and dynamic nature of content, and need for richer contextualization of the statements of request. To address these issues, the TREC Contextual Suggestion Track explored an open test

  19. Evaluating Mobile Proactive Context-Aware Retrieval

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Menegon, Davide; Mizzaro, Stefano; Nazzi, Elena

    We present the evaluation of a novel application for Web content perusal by means of context-aware mobile devices that proactively query an external search engine. To this aim, we develop a TREC-like benchmark and we use it to evaluate different strategies for automatic query construction...

  20. FedWeb Greatest Hits: Presenting the New Test Collection for Federated Web Search

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Demeester, Thomas; Trieschnigg, Rudolf Berend; Zhou, Ke; Nguyen, Dong-Phuong; Hiemstra, Djoerd

    This paper presents 'FedWeb Greatest Hits', a large new test collection for research in web information retrieval. As a combination and extension of the datasets used in the TREC Federated Web Search Track, this collection opens up new research possibilities on federated web search challenges, as

  1. Low-Dose Growth Hormone for 40 Weeks Induces HIV-1-Specific T-Cell Responses in Patients on Effective Combination Antiretroviral Therapy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Herasimtschuk, Anna A; Hansen, Birgitte R; Langkilde, Anne

    2013-01-01

    changes. Subjects with the most robust responses in the ELISpot assays had improved thymic function following rhGH administration, as determined using CD4(+) T-cell receptor rearrangement excision circle (TREC) and thymic density data from the original study. T cells from these robust responders were...

  2. Low thymic output in the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome measured by CCR9+CD45RA+ T cell counts and T cell receptor rearrangement excision circles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lima, K; Abrahamsen, Gitte Meldgaard; Foelling, I

    2010-01-01

    Thymic hypoplasia is a frequent feature of the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, but we know little about patients' age-related thymic output and long-term consequences for their immune system. We measured the expression of T cell receptor rearrangement excision circles (TREC) and used flow cytometry...

  3. Adaptive distributional extensions to DFR ranking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Casper; Simonsen, Jakob Grue; Järvelin, Kalervo

    2016-01-01

    -fitting distribution. We call this model Adaptive Distributional Ranking (ADR) because it adapts the ranking to the statistics of the specific dataset being processed each time. Experiments on TREC data show ADR to outperform DFR models (and their extensions) and be comparable in performance to a query likelihood...

  4. A cohesive page ranking and depth-first crawling scheme for ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Documents or corpora of known measures in query types, recalls and precision from the Text Retrieval Conference (TREC), the Initiative for Evaluation of XML retrieval (INEX) and REUTERs collection, were used as work bench for evaluation of the system. The results obtained showed significant improvement from results if ...

  5. External query expansion in the blogosphere

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Weerkamp, W.; de Rijke, M.; Voorhees, E.M.; Buckland, L.P.

    2009-01-01

    We describe the participation of the University of Amsterdam’s ILPS group in the blog track at TREC 2008. We mainly explored different ways of using external corpora to expand the original query. In the blog post retrieval task we did not succeed in improving over a simple baseline (equal weights

  6. Nutrient fluxes in litterfall of a secondary successional alluvial rain forest in Southern Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maurício Bergamini Scheer

    2011-12-01

    (principalmente de N y P de la vegetación menos desarrollada fue superior a la eficiencia de una más desarrollada, debido a la alta proporción de tres especies nativas dominantes (Myrsine coriacea, Tibouchina pulchra y Cecropia pachystachya en la primera. Si bien la hojarasca de esas especies presenta menor concentración de nutrientes que las otras especies arbóreas, el flujo de nutrientes fue mayor (para ambos sitios, marcando una cierta independencia de los nutrientes esenciales del suelo. Las cantidades de esas especies deberían ser consideradas con mayor atención para su uso en programas de restauración forestal.

  7. From blogs to news: identifying hot topics in the blogosphere

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Weerkamp, W.; Tsagkias, M.; de Rijke, M.

    2010-01-01

    We describe the participation of the University of Amsterdam’s ILPS group in the blog track at TREC 2009. We focus on the top stories identification task, and take an approach that does not require the headlines of top stories to be known beforehand. We explore the feasibility of a so-called blogs

  8. Is Wikipedia link structure different?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kamps, J.; Koolen, M.; Baeza-Yates, R.; Boldi, P.; Ribeiro-Neto, B.; Cambazoglu, B.B.

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, we investigate the difference between Wikipedia and Web link structure with respect to their value as indicators of the relevance of a page for a given topic of request. Our experimental evidence is from two IR test-collections: the .GOV collection used at the TREC Web tracks and the

  9. Using anchor text, spam filtering and Wikipedia for web search and entity ranking

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kamps, J.; Kaptein, R.; Koolen, M.; Voorhees, E.M.; Buckland, L.P.

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, we document our efforts in participating to the TREC 2010 Entity Ranking and Web Tracks. We had multiple aims: For the Web Track we wanted to compare the effectiveness of anchor text of the category A and B collections and the impact of global document quality measures such as

  10. DMIR on Microblog Track 2011

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    W. Li; A.P. de Vries (Arjen); C. Eickhoff (Carsten)

    2011-01-01

    htmlabstractIn this paper we present our work on Microblog Track of TREC 2011. We tried two methods to tackle the problem of tweets retrieval, namely EMAX and RTB. The first method EMAX is mainly based on the intuition that not only should retrieved tweets contain the keywords in given queries but

  11. Evaluating Combinations of Ranked Lists and Visualizations of Inter-Document Similarity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allan, James; Leuski, Anton; Swan, Russell; Byrd, Donald

    2001-01-01

    Considers how ideas from document clustering can be used to improve retrieval accuracy of ranked lists in interactive systems and how to evaluate system effectiveness. Describes a TREC (Text Retrieval Conference) study that constructed and evaluated systems that present the user with ranked lists and a visualization of inter-document similarities.…

  12. Author Details

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Dunn, A. Vol 16, No 2 (2013) - Articles T-REC: Strengthening capacity for blood transfusion research in Ghana and Zimbabwe Abstract. ISSN: 1560-8646. AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors · FAQ's · More about AJOL · AJOL's Partners · Terms and Conditions of ...

  13. Hematological alterations and thymic function in newborns of HIV-infected mothers receiving antiretroviral drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wongnoi, Rotjanee; Penvieng, Nawaporn; Singboottra, Panthong; Kingkeow, Doungnapa; Oberdorfer, Peninnah; Sirivatanapa, Pannee; Pornprasert, Sakorn

    2013-06-08

    To investigate the effects of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs on hematological parameters and thymic function in HIV-uninfected newborns of HIV-infected mothers. Cross sectional study. Chiang-Mai University Hospital, Chiang-Mai, Thailand. 49 HIV-uninfected and 26 HIV-infected pregnancies. Cord blood samples of newborns from HIV-uninfected and HIV-infected mothers were collected. Hematological parameters were measured using automatic blood cell count. T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) levels in cord blood mononuclear cells (CBMCs), CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells were quantified using real-time PCR.. Hemotological parameters and thymic function. Newborn of HIV-infected mother tended to have lower mean levels of hemoglobin than those of HIV-uninfected mother (137 ±22 vs 146 ±17 g/L, P = 0.05). Furthermore, mean of red blood cell (RBC) counts and hematocrit and median of TRECs in CD4+ T-cells in the newborns of the former were significantly lower than those of the latter [3.6 ±0.7 vs 4.8 ±0.6 x 1012 cells/L, P cells) in HIV-uninfected newborns of HIV-infected mothers.

  14. Newborn Screening for Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases: The Past, the Present and the Future

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jovanka King

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID are a heterogeneous group of disorders caused by inborn errors of immunity, with affected children presenting with severe, recurrent or unusual infections. Over 300 distinct genetic molecular abnormalities resulting in PID have been identified, and this number continues to rise. Newborn screening for PID has been established in many countries, with the majority of centers using a PCR-based T cell receptor excision circle (TREC assay to screen for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID and other forms of T cell lymphopenia. Multiplexed screening including quantitation of kappa-recombining exclusion circles (KREC has also been described, offering advantages over TREC screening alone. Screening technologies are also expanding to include protein-based assays to identify complement deficiencies and granulocyte disorders. Given the rapid advances in genomic medicine, a potential future direction is the application of next-generation sequencing (NGS technologies to screen infants for a panel of genetic mutations, which would enable identification of a wide range of diseases. However, several ethical and economic issues must be considered before moving towards this screening strategy.

  15. A DYNAMIC FEATURE SELECTION METHOD FOR DOCUMENT RANKING WITH RELEVANCE FEEDBACK APPROACH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Latha

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Ranking search results is essential for information retrieval and Web search. Search engines need to not only return highly relevant results, but also be fast to satisfy users. As a result, not all available features can be used for ranking, and in fact only a small percentage of these features can be used. Thus, it is crucial to have a feature selection mechanism that can find a subset of features that both meets latency requirements and achieves high relevance. In this paper we describe a 0/1 knapsack procedure for automatically selecting features to use within Generalization model for Document Ranking. We propose an approach for Relevance Feedback using Expectation Maximization method and evaluate the algorithm on the TREC Collection for describing classes of feedback textual information retrieval features. Experimental results, evaluated on standard TREC-9 part of the OHSUMED collections, show that our feature selection algorithm produces models that are either significantly more effective than, or equally effective as, models such as Markov Random Field model, Correlation Co-efficient and Count Difference method

  16. NASA Operation IceBridge Flies Into the Classroom!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kane, M.

    2017-12-01

    Field research opportunities for educators is leveraged as an invaluable tool to increase public engagement in climate research and the geosciences. We investigate the influence of educator's authentic fieldwork by highlighting the post-field impacts of a PolarTREC Teacher who participated in two campaigns, including NASA Operation IceBridge campaign over Antarctica in 2016. NASA's Operation IceBridge has hosted PolarTREC teachers since 2012, welcoming five teachers aboard multiple flights over the Arctic and one over Antarctica. The continuity of teacher inclusion in Operation IceBridge campaigns has facilitated a platform for collaborative curriculum development and revision, integration of National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) data into multiple classrooms, and given us a means whereby students can interact with science team members. I present impacts to my teaching and classrooms as I grapple with "Big Data" to allow students to work directly with lidar and radar data, I examine public outreach impacts through analytics from virtual networking tools including social media, NASA's Mission Tools Suite for Education, and field blog interactions.

  17. Incidence of severe combined immunodeficiency through newborn screening in a Chinese population

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yin-Hsiu Chien

    2015-01-01

    Conclusion: Newborn screening to measure the number of TREC copies successfully identifies newborns with T-cell lymphopenia, 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome, and other high-risk conditions. Taken together, the incidence of T-cell lymphopenia in apparently healthy newborns is more than 1 in 11,821, and further attention to their immune functions is warranted.

  18. Valuing soil conservation benefits of agroforestry: contour hedgerows in the Eastern Visayas, Philippines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subhrendu Patanayak; D. Evan Mercer

    1998-01-01

    Trecs can he considered as investments made by economic agents to prevent depreciation of natural assets such as stocks of top soil and water. In agroforestq systems farmers use trees in this manner by deliberately combining them with agricultural crops on the same unit of land. Although advocates of agroforestry have asserted that soil conservation is one of its...

  19. PolarTREC—A Model Program for Taking Polar Literacy into the Future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warburton, J.; Timm, K.; Larson, A. M.

    2009-12-01

    Polar TREC—Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating, is a three-year (2007-2009) NSF-funded International Polar Year (IPY) teacher professional development program that advances Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education by improving teacher content knowledge and instructional practices through Teacher Research Experiences (TRE) in the Arctic and Antarctic. Leveraging profound changes and fascinating science taking place in the polar regions, PolarTREC broadly disseminates activities and products to students, educators, researchers, and the public, connecting them with the Arctic and Antarctica and sustaining the widespread interest in the polar regions and building on the enthusiasm that was generated through IPY. Central to the PolarTREC Teacher Research Experience Model, over 40 teachers have spent two to eight weeks participating in hands-on research in the polar regions and sharing their experiences with diverse audiences via live events, online multimedia journals, and interactive bulletin boards. The Connecting Arctic/Antarctic Researchers and Educators (CARE) Network unifies learning community members participants, alumni, and others, developing a sustainable association of education professionals networking to share and apply polar STEM content and pedagogical skills. Educator and student feedback from preliminary results of the program evaluation has shown that PolarTREC’s comprehensive program activities have many positive impacts on educators and their ability to teach science concepts and improve their teaching methods. Additionally, K-12 students polled in interest surveys showed significant changes in key areas including amount of time spent in school exploring research activities, importance of understanding science for future work, importance of understanding the polar regions as a person in today’s world, as well as increased self-reported knowledge and interest in numerous science content areas. Building

  20. TUW @ TREC Clinical Decision Support Track 2015

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-11-20

    between 2003 and 2013, and the ShARe/CLEF eHealth Evaluation Lab [15,3,11,12] running since 2013. Here we briefly describe the participation of Vienna...Mart́ınez, G. Zuccon, and J. R. M. Palotti. Overview of the share/clef ehealth evaluation lab 2014. In Information Access Evaluation. Mul- tilinguality...Symposium, IIiX ’14, pages 283–286. ACM, 2014. 11. J. Palotti, G. Zuccon, L. Goeuriot, L. Kelly, A. Hanbury, G. Jones, M. Lupu, and P. Pecina. Clef ehealth

  1. Overview of the TREC-2014 Microblog Track

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-01

    tweets as part of writing a retrospective piece about the impact of social media on the Egyptian revolution. The topic is temporally-anchored in the...imagined that participants would tackle the TTG task in a pipelined architecture that begins with ad hoc retrieval followed by summary generation...random selection of 100 tweets per topic from each TTG run. Although we envisioned a sys- tem architecture consisting of ad hoc retrieval followed by

  2. IRIT at TREC 2012 Contextual Suggestion Track

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-01

    the 2nd International Conference on Software and Data Technologies, volume 3, pages 166–171. INSTICC Press, 2007. [HM09] Gilles Hubert and Josiane...geographic information retrieval systems: Evaluation framework and case study. Int. J. Digit. Libr ., pages 91–109, 2010. [PSC+12] Damien Palacio, Christian

  3. NLM at TREC 2012 Medical Records Track

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-01

    automatic runs are not significantly above the medians. As in 2011, we conclude that the existing search engines are mature enough to support cohort selection tasks, and the quality of the queries could be

  4. The University of Amsterdam at TREC 2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-01

    lady , weight, ap, loss, major, insurance, rate, role, response, plays, atlanta, rising, oprah, childhood, crescent Table 5: Example topics and their...by the CLARIN-nl program, the Dutch national program COMMIT, the ESF Research Net- work Program ELIAS, the Elite Network Shifts project funded by the...Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences (KNAW), and the Netherlands eScience Center under project number 027.012.105. 6 References [1] Balasubramanian, N. and

  5. Cetane Scale Evaluation and Possible Modification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1987-12-23

    Rings dw dTk Trec - r~k, mr( Tk2 - )- 0.65). The mass flow (Mb) is found by examining dt dO each pair of adjacent volumes in turn. The mass and...Engine Dynamics for 1960. the Diagnosis of Deficient Energy Conver- 37. S. Furahama, and T. Tada, "On the Flow of the sion", Ph.D Thesis, Mechanical

  6. Botanical profile of bee pollen from the southern coastal region of Bahia, Brazil Perfil botânico do pólen apícola proveniente do litoral sul da Bahia, Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcos da Costa Dórea

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to identify the botanical origin of pollen loads collected by Apis mellifera L. in Canavieiras municipality, Bahia state. It provides a list of polliniferous plant species from the Atlantic Forest biome that are important for the development of regional apiculture. Using the acetolysis method, 35 bee-pollen samples were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Results showed that pollen types Elaeis (23.99%, Mimosa pudica (22.78% and Cecropia (13.68% were the most abundant among the samples. These also showed the highest relative frequencies of the material studied and were important pollen sources for bees in the study area.O presente trabalho teve por objetivo identificar a origem botânica das bolotas de pólen coletadas pelas abelhas Apis mellifera L. no município de Canavieiras, Bahia, gerando uma lista de plantas poliníferas pertencentes ao bioma Mata Atlântica e importantes para o desenvolvimento da apicultura regional. Foram analisadas palinologicamente 35 amostras de pólen apícola, utilizando-se o processo de acetólise para, em seguida, serem feitas análises qualitativas e quantitativas. Os resultados revelaram que os tipos polínicos Elaeis (23,99%, Mimosa pudica (22,78% e Cecropia (13,68% foram os mais abundantes no pólen apícola analisado. Estes tipos polínicos também apresentaram as maiores frequências relativas de todo o material estudado e representam importantes plantas fontes de pólen para as abelhas na área estudada.

  7. Leptin and leptin-related gene polymorphisms, obesity, and influenza A/H1N1 vaccine-induced immune responses in older individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ovsyannikova, Inna G; White, Sarah J; Larrabee, Beth R; Grill, Diane E; Jacobson, Robert M; Poland, Gregory A

    2014-02-07

    Obesity is a risk factor for complicated influenza A/H1N1 disease and poor vaccine immunogenicity. Leptin, an adipocyte-derived hormone/cytokine, has many immune regulatory functions and therefore could explain susceptibility to infections and poor vaccine outcomes. We recruited 159 healthy adults (50-74 years old) who were immunized with inactivated TIV influenza vaccine that contained A/California/7/2009/H1N1 virus. We found a strong correlation between leptin concentration and BMI (r=0.55, pGHRL genes that were associated with leptin levels and four SNPs in the PTPN1/LEPR/STAT3 genes associated with peripheral blood TREC levels (p<0.05). Heterozygosity of the synonymous variant rs2230604 in the PTPN1 gene was associated with a significantly lower (531 vs. 259, p=0.005) TREC level, as compared to the homozygous major variant. We also found eight SNPs in the LEP/PPARG/CRP genes associated with variations in influenza-specific HAI and B-cell responses (p<0.05). Our results suggest that specific allelic variations in the leptin-related genes may influence adaptive immune responses to influenza vaccine. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Utilizing Multi-Field Text Features for Efficient Email Spam Filtering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wuying Liu

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Large-scale spam emails cause a serious waste of time and resources. This paper investigates the text features of email documents and the feature noises among multi-field texts, resulting in an observation of a power law distribution of feature strings within each text field. According to the observation, we propose an efficient filtering approach including a compound weight method and a lightweight field text classification algorithm. The compound weight method considers both the historical classifying ability of each field classifier and the classifying contribution of each text field in the current classified email. The lightweight field text classification algorithm straightforwardly calculates the arithmetical average of multiple conditional probabilities predicted from feature strings according to a string-frequency index for labeled emails storing. The string-frequency index structure has a random-sampling-based compressible property owing to the power law distribution and can largely reduce the storage space. The experimental results in the TREC spam track show that the proposed approach can complete the filtering task in low space cost and high speed, whose overall performance 1-ROCA exceeds the best one among the participators at the trec07p evaluation.

  9. Image Information Retrieval: An Overview of Current Research

    OpenAIRE

    Abby A. Goodrum

    2000-01-01

    This paper provides an overview of current research in image information retrieval and provides an outline of areas for future research. The approach is broad and interdisciplinary and focuses on three aspects of image research (IR): text-based retrieval, content-based retrieval, and user interactions with image information retrieval systems. The review concludes with a call for image retrieval evaluation studies similar to TREC.

  10. Prospective Study of a Cohort of Russian Nijmegen Breakage Syndrome Patients Demonstrating Predictive Value of Low Kappa-Deleting Recombination Excision Circle (KREC Numbers and Beneficial Effect of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Deripapa

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available BackgroundNijmegen breakage syndrome (NBS is a combined primary immunodeficiency with DNA repair defect, microcephaly, and other phenotypical features. It predominantly occurs in Slavic populations that have a high frequency of carriers with the causative NBN gene c.657_661del5 mutation. Due to the rarity of the disease in the rest of the world, studies of NBS patients are few. Here, we report a prospective study of a cohort of Russian NBS patients.Methods35 Russian NBS patients of ages 1–19 years, referred to our Center between years 2012 and 2016, were prospectively studied.ResultsDespite the fact that in 80% of the patients microcephaly was diagnosed at birth or shortly thereafter, the average delay of NBS diagnosis was 6.5 years. Though 80% of the patients had laboratory signs of immunodeficiency, only 51% of the patients experienced significant infections. Autoimmune complications including interstitial lymphocytic lung disease and skin granulomas were noted in 34%, malignancies—in 57% of the patients. T-cell excision circle (TREC/kappa-deleting recombination excision circle (KREC levels were low in the majority of patients studied. Lower KREC levels correlated with autoimmune and oncological complications. Fifteen patients underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT, 10 of them were alive and well, with good graft function. Three patients in the HSCT group and five non-transplanted patients died; tumor progression being the main cause of death. The probability of the overall survival since NBS diagnosis was 0.76 in the HSCT group and 0.3 in the non-transplanted group.ConclusionBased on our findings of low TRECs in most NBS patients, independent of their age, TREC detection can be potentially useful for detection of NBS patients during neonatal screening. KREC concentration can be used as a prognostic marker of disease severity. HSCT is a viable treatment option in NBS and should be especially considered in patients with

  11. Arctic Collaboration: Developing a Successful Researcher/Teacher Expedition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skotnicki, S.; Loranty, M. M.

    2016-12-01

    Are you a researcher working in the polar regions of the world or a K-12 science teacher who would like to be part of a field research expedition in the polar regions? Researchers and K-12 science teachers can apply for funding from PolarTREC, a program that pairs researchers and teachers to conduct field science in Antarctica and the Arctic. Our poster presentation will offer details of one such successful researcher/teacher partnership. During the summer of 2016, Science Teacher Stan Skotnicki (Cheektowaga Central Middle School in Buffalo, NY) was teamed up with Assistant Professor Mike Loranty (Colgate University) to study vegetation and ecosystem impacts on permafrost vulnerability. Stan joined Mike and his research team in Northeastern Siberia preparing field sites, collecting data, processing samples, discussing methods, and planning daily activities. In order to raise awareness and broaden the impact of the research being conducted, Stan communicated the science through a series of journals on the PolarTREC website with his students, staff, and members of the community. Additionally, Mike and Stan held a live webinar from Siberia discussing the content of the research, the nature of the fieldwork, and why it was important to travel so far for this information. This expedition allowed Stan to experience working with a field research team for an extended period of time. Mike benefited from having a team member dedicated to learning about and communicating project details that also provided valuable field assistance. Stan gets to bring his hands-on experience back to his classroom in Buffalo and Mike has the opportunity to share his research with a new and different audience, including presenting to students at Cheektowaga Central with the help of his undergraduate students. This model of collaboration provides a number of valuable benefits for both teachers and researchers. While the PolarTREC program provides necessary logistics and funding to conduct these

  12. Exploration of Opinion-aware Approach to Contextual Suggestion

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-01

    effectiveness of the proposed method. 1 Introduction TREC 1014 Contextual Suggestion Track gives researchers the chance to test their methods on providing...each category. Information including the name, average rating, address, business hour, all ratings and the associated text reviews of the candidate...Annals of Statistics , 29:1189–1232, 2000. 5. K. Ganesan, C. Zhai, and J. Han. Opinosis: a graph-based approach to abstractive summarization of highly

  13. NudtMDP at TREC 2015 LiveQA Track

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-11-20

    Language Processing(NLP) method to choose the best answer, because there are many user behaviors can be used. We employed the users behavioral analysis to...and adaptive clustering algorithms for ttg. Technical report, DTIC Document, 2014. 4. George A Miller. Wordnet: a lexical database for english

  14. Drexel at TREC 2014 Federated Web Search Track

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-01

    of its input RS results. 1. INTRODUCTION Federated Web Search is the task of searching multiple search engines simultaneously and combining their...or distributed properly[5]. The goal of RS is then, for a given query, to select only the most promising search engines from all those available. Most...result pages of 149 search engines . 4000 queries are used in building the sample set. As a part of the Vertical Selection task, search engines are

  15. RMIT at the TREC 2015 LiveQA Track

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-11-20

    recipient of an Australian Research Council DECRA Research Fellowship (DE140100275). REFERENCES [1] Michael Collins. Head-driven statistical models for...18th Australasian Document Computing Symposium, pages 58–65. ACM, 2013. [4] Matthias Petri, Alistair Moffat, and J Shane Culpepper. Score-safe term

  16. Overview of the TREC 2014 Contextual Suggestion Track

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-01

    into Washington on the metro to see the National Mall . The primary goal of this track is to develop evaluation methodologies for such systems. This...activities, restaurant, shopping , and nightlife). The number of venues in the top 50 suggestions from each category is determined by this probability

  17. Characterizing T Cells in SCID Patients Presenting with Reactive or Residual T Lymphocytes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Atar Lev

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Patients with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID may present with residual circulating T cells. While all cells are functionally deficient, resulting in high susceptibility to infections, only some of these cells are causing autoimmune symptoms. Methods. Here we compared T-cell functions including the number of circulating CD3+ T cells, in vitro responses to mitogens, T-cell receptor (TCR repertoire, TCR excision circles (TREC levels, and regulatory T cells (Tregs enumeration in several immunodeficinecy subtypes, clinically presenting with nonreactive residual cells (MHC-II deficiency or reactive cells. The latter includes patients with autoreactive clonal expanded T cell and patients with alloreactive transplacentally maternal T cells. Results. MHC-II deficient patients had slightly reduced T-cell function, normal TRECs, TCR repertoires, and normal Tregs enumeration. In contrast, patients with reactive T cells exhibited poor T-cell differentiation and activity. While the autoreactive cells displayed significantly reduced Tregs numbers, the alloreactive transplacentally acquired maternal lymphocytes had high functional Tregs. Conclusion. SCID patients presenting with circulating T cells show different patterns of T-cell activity and regulatory T cells enumeration that dictates the immunodeficient and autoimmune manifestations. We suggest that a high-tolerance capacity of the alloreactive transplacentally acquired maternal lymphocytes represents a toleration advantage, yet still associated with severe immunodeficiency.

  18. Clinical, Immunological, and Molecular Findings in Five Patients with Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II Deficiency from India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jahnavi Aluri

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Major histocompatibility complex (MHC class II deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive form of primary immunodeficiency disorder (PID characterized by the deficiency of MHC class II molecules. This deficiency affects the cellular and humoral immune response by impairing the development of CD4+ T helper (Th cells and Th cell-dependent antibody production by B cells. Affected children typically present with severe respiratory and gastrointestinal tract infections. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT is the only curative therapy available for treating these patients. This is the first report from India wherein we describe the clinical, immunological, and molecular findings in five patients with MHC class II deficiency. Our patients presented with recurrent lower respiratory tract infection as the most common clinical presentation within their first year of life and had a complete absence of human leukocyte antigen-antigen D-related (HLA-DR expression on B cells and monocytes. Molecular characterization revealed novel mutations in RFAXP, RFX5, and CIITA genes. Despite genetic heterogeneity, these patients were clinically indistinguishable. Two patients underwent HSCT but had a poor survival outcome. Detectable level of T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs were measured in our patients, highlighting that this form of PID may be missed by TREC-based newborn screening program for severe combined immunodeficiency.

  19. Citogenética de Angiospermas coletadas em Pernambuco: V Cytogenetics of Angiosperms collected in the State of Pernambuco: V

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Pedrosa

    1999-04-01

    Full Text Available Foram analisadas 33 espécies, entre nativas e introduzidas, pertencentes a 20 famílias de angiospermas ocorrentes no Estado de Pernambuco. A caracterização cariotípica da maioria das espécies foi baseada no número e morfologia cromossômica, padrão de condensação de cromossomos profásicos e estrutura de núcleo interfásico. Cinco espécies tiveram seus números cromossômicos determinados pela primeira vez, sendo elas: Cereus jamacaru (2n=22, Clitoria fairchildiana (2n=22, Eugenia luschnathiana (2n=22, Licania tomentosa (2n=22 e Spondias tuberosa (n=16. No caso de Licania tomentosa esta é a primeira citação de número cromossômico para o gênero. Das outras 28 espécies, três (Cecropia cf. palmata, 2n=26; Crinum erubescens, 2n=70; e Schinus terebentifolius, 2n=28 apresentaram números cromossômicos diferentes dos registrados previamente na literatura.Thirty three native and introduced species from 20 families of angiosperms collected in the State of Pernambuco were analysed. The karyotype description of the majority of the species was based on chromosome number and morphology, condensation pattern of prophase chromosomes as well as interphase nuclear structure. In five species (Cereus jamacaru, 2n=22; Clitoria fairchildiana, 2n=22; Eugenia luschnathiana, 2n=22; Licania tomentosa, 2n=22; and Spondias tuberosa, n=16 the chromosome number is reported here for the first time. In the case of Licania tomentosa, this is also the first report for the genus. Among the other 28 species, three (Cecropia cf. palmata, 2n=26; Crinum erubescens, 2n=70; and Schinus terebentifolius, 2n=28 showed chromosome numbers different from what has previously been reported.

  20. Domain Adaptation of Translation Models for Multilingual Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-04-01

    employed. In the past two years, domain adaptation for NLP tasks has become an active research area [3, 38, 25, 23]. New domain adaptation tasks have...and unlabeled data in the target domain and learn a mixture model to adapt from the source domain. Other NLP tasks where domain adaptation has been...evaluation forum, http://www.clef-campaign.org. [13] K. Darwish and D. Oard, CLIR experiments at maryland for TREC-2002: Evidence combination for arabic

  1. Quantification of newly produced B and T lymphocytes in untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caimi Luigi

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The immune defects occurring in chronic lymphocytic leukemia are responsible for the frequent occurrence of infections and autoimmune phenomena, and may be involved in the initiation and maintenance of the malignant clone. Here, we evaluated the quantitative defects of newly produced B and T lymphocytes. Methods The output of B and T lymphocytes from the production and maturation sites was analyzed in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients and healthy controls by quantifying kappa-deleting recombination excision circles (KRECs and T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs by a Real-Time PCR assay that simultaneously detects both targets. T-lymphocyte subsets were analyzed by six-color flow cytometric analysis. Data comparison was performed by two-sided Mann-Whitney test. Results KRECs level was reduced in untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients studied at the very early stage of the disease, whereas the release of TRECs+ cells was preserved. Furthermore, the observed increase of CD4+ lymphocytes could be ascribed to the accumulation of CD4+ cells with effector memory phenotype. Conclusions The decreased number of newly produced B lymphocytes in these patients is likely related to a homeostatic mechanism by which the immune system balances the abnormal B-cell expansion. This feature may precede the profound defect of humoral immunity characterizing the later stages of the disease.

  2. Wow, My Science Teacher Does Real Research! Engaging and Motivating Students Using Experiences from the Field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, C.

    2013-12-01

    Students respond to personal connections. When K-12 science teachers are able to participate as field assistants on research projects, their students can benefit greatly from the stories, pictures, and video transmitted or brought back from the field. Teachers can translate and tailor their learning while in the field to the level of their students. Students are ';hooked' into science content by seeing their own teacher out there actually ';doing' science. The teacher is able to provide a direct content connection for the student, an avenue for understanding why ';learning this' is relevant and important. This presentation provides a case for why science teachers and researchers should collaborate as much as possible. The NSF funded PolarTREC program (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating) is an excellent example of how to make this collaboration work. The presentation will also provide a look into how teachers can make an effective connection for their students between field science and classroom learning. Alaskan secondary science teacher Carol Scott spent a month at the Kevo Research Station in northern Finland in May/June 2013 as a PolarTREC teacher, and is translating this experience for students. She has also worked on an NSF Research Experience for Teachers grant in Prince William Sound, AK, and has successfully used this work to engage students in the classroom.

  3. Long-Lasting Production of New T and B Cells and T-Cell Repertoire Diversity in Patients with Primary Immunodeficiency Who Had Undergone Stem Cell Transplantation: A Single-Centre Experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monica Valotti

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Levels of Kappa-deleting recombination excision circles (KRECs, T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs, and T-cell repertoire diversity were evaluated in 1038 samples of 124 children with primary immunodeficiency, of whom 102 (54 with severe combined immunodeficiency and 48 with other types of immunodeficiency underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Twenty-two not transplanted patients with primary immunodeficiency were used as controls. Only data of patients from whom at least five samples were sent to the clinical laboratory for routine monitoring of lymphocyte reconstitutions were included in the analysis. The mean time of the follow-up was 8 years. The long-lasting posttransplantation kinetics of KREC and TREC production occurred similarly in patients with severe combined immunodeficiency and with other types of immunodeficiency and, in both groups, the T-cell reconstitution was more efficient than in nontransplanted children. Although thymic output decreased in older transplanted patients, the degree of T-cell repertoire diversity, after an initial increase, remained stable during the observation period. However, the presence of graft-versus-host disease and ablative conditioning seemed to play a role in the time-related shaping of T-cell repertoire. Overall, our data suggest that long-term B- and T-cell reconstitution was equally achieved in children with severe combined immunodeficiency and with other types of primary immunodeficiency.

  4. TUW at the First Total Recall Track

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-11-20

    TUW AT THE FIRST TOTAL RECALL TRACK MIHAI LUPU Abstract. For the first participation in the TREC Total Recall track, we set out to try some basic...significantly and consistently outperformed it. 1. Introduction As the organizers point out, the focus of the Total Recall Track is to evaluate methods to...TUW AT THE FIRST TOTAL RECALL TRACK 3 The only change we made was at a higher level. The Sofia ML library provides 5 more ML algorithms. The following

  5. Overview of the TREC 2014 Federated Web Search Track

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-01

    Pictures e021 Dailymotion Video e123 Picsearch Photo/Pictures e022 YouTube Video e124 Wikimedia Photo/Pictures e023 Google Blogs Blogs e126 Funny or...song of ice and fire 7045 Natural Parks America 7072 price gibson howard roberts custom 7092 How much was a gallon of gas during depression 7111 what is

  6. Condicionamento térmico primário de instalações rurais por meio de diferentes tipos de cobertura

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thaisa A. Carneiro

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available RESUMOObjetivou-se, com este trabalho, avaliar o conforto térmico proporcionado por diferentes tipos de cobertura, com base nas análises térmicas e nos índices de conforto térmico humano e zootécnico. A pesquisa foi realizada no período de 20 de março a 29 de maio de 2014, na UFRPE, no município de Recife, PE. Os tipos de cobertura analisados foram: telha de fibrocimento (Tfib, telha reciclada (Trec, telhado verde, grama, Zoysia japonica (Tgra e telhado verde, amendoim, Arachis repens (Tame, com quatro repetições cada um; as variáveis meteorológicas foram registradas interna e externamente aos modelos. A análise térmica das coberturas foi realizada por meio de imagens termográficas e o conforto térmico das instalações foi obtido por meio dos índices de conforto, carga térmica radiante, índice de temperatura de globo negro e umidade, índice de conforto humano, índice de temperatura e umidade e temperatura efetiva. Os telhados verdes (Tame; Tgra reduziram a temperatura da superfície interna das coberturas (5,3 e 4,4 ºC, promoveram maior atenuação da temperatura dos ambientes (1,37 e 1,35 ºC e, consequentemente, promoveram também maior conforto térmico, em comparação com a Tfib e Trec.

  7. Evidence That Androgens Modulate Human Thymic T Cell Output

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olsen, Nancy J.; Kovacs, William J.

    2010-01-01

    Background The thymus has long been recognized as a target for the actions of androgenic hormones, but it has only been recently recognized that alterations in circulating levels of gonadal steroids might affect thymic output of T cells. We had the opportunity to examine parameters of thymic cellular output in several hypogonadal men undergoing androgen replacement therapy. Methods Circulating naive (CD4+CD45RA+) T cells were quantitated by flow cytometric analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Cells bearing T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) were quantitated using real-time PCR amplification of DNA isolated from PBMCs from normal men and from hypogonadal men before and after testosterone replacement therapy. Results CD4+CD45+ (“naïve”) T cells comprised 10.5% of lymphocytes in normal males; this proportion was greatly increased in two hypogonadal men (35.5% and 44.4%). One man was studied sequentially during treatment with physiologic doses of testosterone. CD4+CD45RA+ cells fell from 37.36% to 20.05% after one month and to 12.51% after 7 months of normalized androgen levels. In two hypogonadal patients TREC levels fell by 83% and 78% after androgen replacement therapy. Conclusions Our observations indicate that the hypogonadal state is associated with increased thymic output of T cells and that this increase in recent thymic emigrants in peripheral blood is reversed by androgen replacement. PMID:21218609

  8. Common Variable Immunodeficiency Caused by FANC Mutations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sekinaka, Yujin; Mitsuiki, Noriko; Imai, Kohsuke; Yabe, Miharu; Yabe, Hiromasa; Mitsui-Sekinaka, Kanako; Honma, Kenichi; Takagi, Masatoshi; Arai, Ayako; Yoshida, Kenichi; Okuno, Yusuke; Shiraishi, Yuichi; Chiba, Kenichi; Tanaka, Hiroko; Miyano, Satoru; Muramatsu, Hideki; Kojima, Seiji; Hira, Asuka; Takata, Minoru; Ohara, Osamu; Ogawa, Seishi; Morio, Tomohiro; Nonoyama, Shigeaki

    2017-07-01

    Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most common adult-onset primary antibody deficiency disease due to various causative genes. Several genes, which are known to be the cause of different diseases, have recently been reported as the cause of CVID in patients by performing whole exome sequencing (WES) analysis. Here, we found FANC gene mutations as a cause of adult-onset CVID in two patients. B cells were absent and CD4 + T cells were skewed toward CD45RO + memory T cells. T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) and signal joint kappa-deleting recombination excision circles (sjKRECs) were undetectable in both patients. Both patients had no anemia, neutropenia, or thrombocytopenia. Using WES, we identified compound heterozygous mutations of FANCE in one patient and homozygous mutation of FANCA in another patient. The impaired function of FANC protein complex was confirmed by a monoubiquitination assay and by chromosome fragility test. We then performed several immunological evaluations including quantitative lymphocyte analysis and TRECs/sjKRECs analysis for 32 individuals with Fanconi anemia (FA). In total, 22 FA patients (68.8%) were found to have immunological abnormalities, suggesting that such immunological findings may be common in FA patients. These data indicate that FANC mutations are involved in impaired lymphogenesis probably by the accumulation of DNA replication stress, leading to CVID. It is important to diagnose FA because it drastically changes clinical management. We propose that FANC mutations can cause isolated immunodeficiency in addition to bone marrow failure and malignancy.

  9. Rhetorical relations for information retrieval

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lioma, Christina; Larsen, Birger; Lu, Wei

    2012-01-01

    -called discourse structure has been applied successfully to several natural language processing tasks. This work studies the use of rhetorical relations for Information Retrieval (IR): Is there a correlation between certain rhetorical relations and retrieval performance? Can knowledge about a document’s rhetorical...... relations be useful to IR? We present a language model modification that considers rhetorical relations when estimating the relevance of a document to a query. Empirical evaluation of different versions of our model on TREC settings shows that certain rhetorical relations can benefit retrieval effectiveness...

  10. Ressecção de bolsa hiperfuncionante para tratamento de hipotonia ocular crônica: relato de casos

    OpenAIRE

    Cronemberger,Sebastião; Santos,Daniel Vítor de Vasconcelos; Oliveira,Ana Cláudia Monteiro; Maestrini,Heloísa Andrade; Calixto,Nassim

    2004-01-01

    Relatar os resultados obtidos com a ressecção de bolsa hiperfuncionante pós-trabeculectomia (TREC) com mitomicina C (MMC) para o tratamento da hipotonia ocular crônica. Cinco pacientes portadores de hipotonia ocular crônica causada por hiperfunção de bolsa fistulante pós- trabeculectomia com mitomicina foram tratados pela ressecção da bolsa. O diagnóstico de hiperfunção da bolsa foi feito com base em critérios estabelecidos pelos autores. A hipotonia ocular foi revertida nos cinco pacientes, ...

  11. Resection of overfiltration bleb for the treatment of chronic ocular hypotony: case reports

    OpenAIRE

    Cronemberger, Sebastião; Santos, Daniel Vítor de Vasconcelos; Oliveira, Ana Cláudia Monteiro; Maestrini, Heloísa Andrade; Calixto, Nassim

    2004-01-01

    Relatar os resultados obtidos com a ressecção de bolsa hiperfuncionante pós-trabeculectomia (TREC) com mitomicina C (MMC) para o tratamento da hipotonia ocular crônica. Cinco pacientes portadores de hipotonia ocular crônica causada por hiperfunção de bolsa fistulante pós- trabeculectomia com mitomicina foram tratados pela ressecção da bolsa. O diagnóstico de hiperfunção da bolsa foi feito com base em critérios estabelecidos pelos autores. A hipotonia ocular foi revertida nos cinco pacientes, ...

  12. Thymic involvement in immune recovery during antiretroviral treatment of HIV infection in adults; comparison of CT and sonographic findings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kolte, Lilian; Strandberg, Charlotte; Dreves, Anne-Mette

    2002-01-01

    In adult HIV-infected patients, thymic size evaluated from CT scans seems to be important to the degree of immune reconstitution obtainable during treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). To examine whether ultrasound is as reliable as CT for estimating thymic size...... and predicting immune recovery, CT and ultrasound scans were performed in 25 adult HIV-infected patients and 10 controls. CD4 counts and naive CD4 counts were measured in order to determine immune reconstitution. Furthermore, the CD4+ T-cell receptor excision circle (TREC) frequency and T-cell receptor (TCR...

  13. Espectro polínico de amostras de mel de Apis mellifera L., coletadas na Bahia Pollen spectrum of samples of Apis mellifera L., honey collected in Bahia State, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    AUGUSTA CAROLINA DE CAMARGO CARMELLO MORETI

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available O espectro polínico encontrado em amostras de mel provenientes de seis municípios do Estado da Bahia foi analisado com o objetivo de contribuir para o conhecimento da flora visitada por Apis mellifera L. 1758 (Hymenoptera: ApidaeA identificação dos tipos polínicos foi feita por meio de literatura especializada e de informações de campo. Foram encontrados 43 tipos de pólen, sendo consideradas como dominantes as espécies Eucalyptus sp. (Myrtaceae, Mimosa verrucosa Benth. (Mimosaceae, M. scabrella Benth. (Mimosaceae e Bauhinia sp. (Caesalpiniaceae. Os tipos acessórios foram Alternanthera ficoidea R.Br. (Amaranthaceae, tipo Compositae (Asteraceae e Cecropia sp. (Moraceae. Destacou-se a participação de Mimosa sp. (Mimosaceae e de outras espécies silvestres na composição dos méis nos municípios considerados, registrando-se ainda a espécie Eucalyptus sp. (Myrtaceae como uma das principais fontes de alimento das abelhas dessa região.Pollen spectrum found in honey samples from six localities of Bahia State, Brazil, was analyzed with the objective to contribute for the knowledge of the plants used by Apis mellifera L., 1758 (Hymenoptera: Apidae. The identification of the pollen types was made by specialized literature and by field information. Two hundred pollen grains were studied in order to determine the percentage and the occurrence of each type. Forty three pollen types were identified, being considered as the predominant types Eucalyptus sp. (Myrtaceae, Mimosa verrucosa Benth. (Mimosaceae, M. scabrella Benth. (Mimosaceae and Bauhinia sp. (Caesalpiniaceae. The accessory pollen types were Alternanthera ficoidea R.Br. (Amaranthaceae, Compositae type (Asteraceae and Cecropia sp. (Moraceae. It is intense the participation of Mimosa sp. (Mimosaceae and other wild species in the honey composition of the six localities considered. Eucalyptus sp. (Myrtaceae is one of the dominant sources of bee food in some regions of Bahia State.

  14. Ethnomedicines used in Trinidad and Tobago for urinary problems and diabetes mellitus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lans, Cheryl A

    2006-10-13

    This paper is based on ethnobotanical interviews conducted from 1996-2000 in Trinidad and Tobago with thirty male and female respondents. A non-experimental validation was conducted on the plants used for urinary problems and diabetes mellitus: This is a preliminary step to establish that the plants used are safe or effective, to help direct clinical trials, and to inform Caribbean physicians of the plants' known properties to avoid counter-prescribing. The following plants are used to treat diabetes: Antigonon leptopus, Bidens alba, Bidens pilosa, Bixa orellana, Bontia daphnoides, Carica papaya, Catharanthus roseus, Cocos nucifera, Gomphrena globosa, Laportea aestuans, Momordica charantia, Morus alba, Phyllanthus urinaria and Spiranthes acaulis. Apium graviolens is used as a heart tonic and for low blood pressure. Bixa orellana, Bontia daphnoides, Cuscuta americana and Gomphrena globosa are used for jaundice. The following plants are used for hypertension: Aloe vera, Annona muricata, Artocarpus altilis, Bixa orellana, Bidens alba, Bidens pilosa, Bonta daphnoides, Carica papaya, Cecropia peltata, Citrus paradisi, Cola nitida, Crescentia cujete, Gomphrena globosa, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Kalanchoe pinnata, Morus alba, Nopalea cochinellifera, Ocimum campechianum, Passiflora quadrangularis, Persea americana and Tamarindus indicus. The plants used for kidney problems are Theobroma cacao, Chamaesyce hirta, Flemingia strobilifera, Peperomia rotundifolia, Petiveria alliacea, Nopalea cochinellifera, Apium graveolens, Cynodon dactylon, Eleusine indica, Gomphrena globosa, Pityrogramma calomelanos and Vetiveria zizanioides. Plants are also used for gall stones and for cooling. Chamaesyce hirta, Cissus verticillata, Kalanchoe pinnata, Peperomia spp., Portulaca oleraceae, Scoparia dulcis, and Zea mays have sufficient evidence to support their traditional use for urinary problems, "cooling" and high cholesterol. Eggplant extract as a hypocholesterolemic agent has some support but

  15. Resistance of particleboard panels made of agricultural residues and bonded with synthetic resins or PVC plastic to wood-rotting fungi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Divino Eterno Teixeira

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to evaluate the resistance of three types of particleboard panel to biodeterioration, two of which bonded with synthetic resins and one bonded with PVC plastic. Composite panels were made using sugar cane straw particles as raw material which were bonded together with urea-formaldehyde (UF, tannin-formaldehyde (TANI and PVC plastic (PVC resins. Decay tests were performed following procedures outlined in the ASTM D2017-81/1994 standard, whereby sample specimens were subjected to attack by white rot fungus Trametes versicolor and brown rot fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum using pine (Pinus sp. and embaúba (Cecropia sp. as reference timber. Panels bonded with PVC resin were rated ‘resistant’ to attack by both fungi while those bonded with UF and TANI resins were rated ‘slightly resistant’ to their attack.

  16. UTD at TREC 2014: Query Expansion for Clinical Decision Support

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-01

    infiltration. Summary: 62-year-old man with progressive memory loss and in- voluntary leg movements. Brain MRI reveals cortical atrophy, and cortical...first fif- teen words and their weights in some of the inferred latent topics. We then used our trained LDA model to represent each query and document...the key-phrases “memory loss”, “ brain MRI”, “atro- phy”, “gray matter”, “astrocytosis”, “neurologist”, “jerking”, “lower extremities”, “neurologic

  17. TREC2002 Web, Novelty and Filtering Track Experiments Using PIRCS

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Kwok, K. L; Deng, P; Dinstl, N; Chan, M

    2006-01-01

    .... The Web track has two tasks: distillation and named-page retrieval. Distillation is a new utility concept for ranking documents, and needs new design on the output document ranked list after an ad-hoc retrieval from the web (.gov) collection...

  18. Mapping molecular adhesion sites inside SMIL coated capillaries using atomic force microscopy recognition imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leitner, Michael [Institute of Biophysics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Gruberstrasse 40, 4020 Linz (Austria); Stock, Lorenz G. [Division of Chemistry and Bioanalytics, Department of Molecular Biology, University Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg (Austria); Christian Doppler Laboratory for Innovative Tools for the Characterization of Biosimilars, University Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg (Austria); Traxler, Lukas [Institute of Biophysics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Gruberstrasse 40, 4020 Linz (Austria); Leclercq, Laurent [Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (IBMM, UMR 5247, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Montpellier), Place Eugène Bataillon, CC 1706, 34095 Montpellier (France); Bonazza, Klaus; Friedbacher, Gernot [Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics, Vienna University of Technology, Getreidemarkt 9/164, 1060 Vienna (Austria); Cottet, Hervé [Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (IBMM, UMR 5247, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Montpellier), Place Eugène Bataillon, CC 1706, 34095 Montpellier (France); Stutz, Hanno [Division of Chemistry and Bioanalytics, Department of Molecular Biology, University Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg (Austria); Christian Doppler Laboratory for Innovative Tools for the Characterization of Biosimilars, University Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg (Austria); Ebner, Andreas, E-mail: andreas.ebner@jku.at [Institute of Biophysics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Gruberstrasse 40, 4020 Linz (Austria)

    2016-08-03

    Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) is a powerful analytical technique for fast and efficient separation of different analytes ranging from small inorganic ions to large proteins. However electrophoretic resolution significantly depends on the coating of the inner capillary surface. High technical efforts like Successive Multiple Ionic Polymer Layer (SMIL) generation have been taken to develop stable coatings with switchable surface charges fulfilling the requirements needed for optimal separation. Although the performance can be easily proven in normalized test runs, characterization of the coating itself remains challenging. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) allows for topographical investigation of biological and analytical relevant surfaces with nanometer resolution and yields information about the surface roughness and homogeneity. Upgrading the scanning tip to a molecular biosensor by adhesive molecules (like partly inverted charged molecules) allows for performing topography and recognition imaging (TREC). As a result, simultaneously acquired sample topography and adhesion maps can be recorded. We optimized this technique for electrophoresis capillaries and investigated the charge distribution of differently composed and treated SMIL coatings. By using the positively charged protein avidin as a single molecule sensor, we compared these SMIL coatings with respect to negative charges, resulting in adhesion maps with nanometer resolution. The capability of TREC as a functional investigation technique at the nanoscale was successfully demonstrated. - Highlights: • SMIL coating allows generation of homogeneous ultra-flat surfaces. • Molecular electrostatic adhesion forces can be determined in the inner wall of CZE capillary with picoNewton accuracy. • Topographical images and simultaneously acquired adhesion maps yield morphological and chemical information at the nanoscale.

  19. Trehalose Liposomes Suppress the Growth of Tumors on Human Lung Carcinoma-bearing Mice by Induction of Apoptosis In Vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ichihara, Hideaki; Kuwabara, Keiji; Matsumoto, Yoko

    2017-11-01

    Previous evidence demonstrates that trehalose liposomes (DMTreC14) composed of L-α-dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and α-D-glycopyranosyl-α-D-glucopyranoside monomyristate (TreC14) inhibit proliferation and invasion on lung carcinoma (A549 cells) in vitro. Here, we aimed to investigate suppressive effects of DMTreC14 on the growth of tumor on human lung carcinoma bearing mice. DMTreC14 composed of 30 mol% DMPC and 70 mol% TreC14 were prepared by the sonication method. Anti-tumor activities of DMTreC14 using the subcutaneous and orthotopic graft-bearing mice of A549 cells were investigated in vivo. The remarkable reduction of volume and weight in subcutaneous tumors on subcutaneous lung carcinoma-bearing mice topically administrated with DMTreC14 were obtained. Apoptotic-positive cells in the subcutaneous tumor slice of subcutaneous lung carcinoma-bearing mice topically administrated with DMTreC14 were observed using TUNEL staining. Lung weights on the orthotopic graft-bearing mice of lung carcinoma intravenously administrated with DMTreC14 were markedly decreased compared to those of the control group. Remarkable decrease in dimensions of tumor area of lung on the orthotopic graft-bearing mice of lung carcinoma intravenously administrated with DMTreC14 was obtained in histological analysis using the hematoxylin and eosin staining. Remarkably high anti-tumor activities of DMTreC14 for the subcutaneous and orthotopic graft-bearing mice of lung carcinoma accompanied with apoptosis were revealed for the first time in vivo. Copyright© 2017, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.

  20. Endocytosis of the major yolk proteins of the silkmoth, Hyalophora cecropia: Uptake kinetics and interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kulakosky, P.C.

    1989-01-01

    The oocytes of Lepidopteran insects take up several yolk proteins in defined proportions even though their relative availability in the hemolymph changes during the several days required to complete yolk formation in all the eggs. There are three hemolymph yolk precursors, vitellogenin, microvitellogenin and lipophorin; one precursor, paravitellogenin is produced in the ovary. The control mechanism for their proportional endocytosis is not known. In this thesis, the author describe the purification of all four proteins and the radiolabeling of the hemolymph precursors. The radiolabeled proteins were tested with an in vitro incubation system to assess the biological activity of the proteins and the reliability of the incubation methods. All of the labeled probes were transferred from the incubation medium to yolk spheres within the oocyte in a saturable, energy-dependent, and stage-specific manner. The rates of uptake were similar to the estimated rates of uptake in situ. The concentration dependence of in vitro uptake was investigated and found to be consistent with in situ concentrations and the composition of yolk in mature eggs. Two precursors, vitellogenin and lipophorin, competed for uptake indicating that they share a common binding site while the third, microvitellin, did not compete with the others. Though vitellogenin and lipophorin competed for uptake, only vitellogenin displayed the unique ability to increase the uptake rate of microvitellin and fluid in vitro

  1. EFFECTS OF PALM VITAMIN E SUPPLEMENTATION ON EXERCISE-INDUCED OXIDATIVE STRESS AND ENDURANCE PERFORMANCE IN THE HEAT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen Chee Keong

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available This study investigates the effects of tocotrienol-rich palm vitamin E supplementation on exercise-induced lipid peroxidation and endurance performance in the heat. In a double blind, cross-over study, eighteen healthy, male recreational athletes completed two endurance running trials, until exhaustion, on a motorized treadmill at 70% VO2max on two separate occasions following a 6-week supplementation regimen of either tocotrienol-rich palm vitamin E (E or placebo (P. Both trials were conducted in the heat (31oC, 70% relative humidity. During the trials, rectal temperature (Trec, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE and oxygen uptake (VO2 were recorded. Blood samples were collected for the determination of plasma volume changes (PVC, malondialdehyde (MDA, creatine kinase (CK, total antioxidant status (TAS and vitamin E. After the supplementation regimen, serum alpha-tocopherol increased ~33% but serum concentrations of tocotrienols were negligible. No significant differences were evident in mean Trec, RPE, VO2 or in the time to exhaustion between the E-supplemented and the placebo- supplemented groups. Similarly, mean PVC, CK and TAS were also not different between the two groups. Resting plasma mean MDA concentration in the E-supplemented group was significantly lower than that in the placebo-supplemented group. At exhaustion, plasma mean MDA was higher than the resting values in both groups. Although tocotrienol-rich palm vitamin E supplementation decreased lipid peroxidation at rest and, to some extent, during exercise in the heat, as evident from the lower MDA levels, it however did not enhance endurance running performance or prevent exercise-induced muscle damage or influenced body core temperature or plasma volume changes during exercise in the heat

  2. Field-enhanced route to generating anti-Frenkel pairs in HfO2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schie, Marcel; Menzel, Stephan; Robertson, John; Waser, Rainer; De Souza, Roger A.

    2018-03-01

    The generation of anti-Frenkel pairs (oxygen vacancies and oxygen interstitials) in monoclinic and cubic HfO2 under an applied electric field is examined. A thermodynamic model is used to derive an expression for the critical field strength required to generate an anti-Frenkel pair. The critical field strength of EaFcr˜101GVm-1 obtained for HfO2 exceeds substantially the field strengths routinely employed in the forming and switching operations of resistive switching HfO2 devices, suggesting that field-enhanced defect generation is negligible. Atomistic simulations with molecular static (MS) and molecular dynamic (MD) approaches support this finding. The MS calculations indicated a high formation energy of Δ EaF≈8 eV for the infinitely separated anti-Frenkel pair, and only a decrease to Δ EaF≈6 eV for the adjacent anti-Frenkel pair. The MD simulations showed no defect generation in either phase for E <3 GVm-1 , and only sporadic defect generation in the monoclinic phase (at E =3 GVm-1 ) with fast (trec<4 ps ) recombination. At even higher E but below EaFcr both monoclinic and cubic structures became unstable as a result of field-induced deformation of the ionic potential wells. Further MD investigations starting with preexisting anti-Frenkel pairs revealed recombination of all pairs within trec<1 ps , even for the case of neutral vacancies and charged interstitials, for which formally there is no electrostatic attraction between the defects. In conclusion, we find no physically reasonable route to generating point-defects in HfO2 by an applied field.

  3. The Benefits of Being a Student of Teacher Researchers Experiences (sotre)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eubanks, E.; Guinan, E.; Chiste, M.; Lavoie, A.

    2016-02-01

    Being a Student of Teacher Researcher Experiences (SoTRE), gets students excited for science. Eubanks brings real, current science to the classroom because of time spent in Teacher Researcher Experiences (TRE), where she works with researchers in and out of the field. She involves students in many programs including the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Polar TREC (Teachers and Researchers & Exploring & Collaboration), National Science Foundation (NSF) funded researchers, (EARTH) Education and Research: Testing Hypothesis, the RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program, C-DEBI (Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations and (STARS) Sending Teachers Aboard Research Ships. Being in these programs gives students special privileges such as understanding unique research ideas, tracking tagged sharks, following daily journals written on location, taking part in cross-continental experiments, tracking real time data, exploring current research via posters or visiting universities. Furthermore, contacts made by a TRE give students an added set of resources. When doing experiments for class or advancing their education or career goals, Mrs. Eubanks helps students connect with scientists. This gives students a unique opportunity to learn from real scientists. Being part of these relationships with NOAA, Polar TREC, EARTH, RJ Dunlap, STARS and NSF funded scientists who are actively working, makes being SoTRE the ultimate learning experience. Many students have felt so strongly about the TRE relationship that they have presented at several local and international science conferences. Their message is to encourage scientists to partner with teachers. The benefits of participation in such conferences have included abstract writing and submission, travel, poster creation, networking and presentation, all tools that they will carry with them for a lifetime.

  4. Ethnomedicines used in Trinidad and Tobago for urinary problems and diabetes mellitus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lans, Cheryl A

    2006-01-01

    Background This paper is based on ethnobotanical interviews conducted from 1996–2000 in Trinidad and Tobago with thirty male and female respondents. Methods A non-experimental validation was conducted on the plants used for urinary problems and diabetes mellitus: This is a preliminary step to establish that the plants used are safe or effective, to help direct clinical trials, and to inform Caribbean physicians of the plants' known properties to avoid counter-prescribing. Results The following plants are used to treat diabetes: Antigonon leptopus, Bidens alba, Bidens pilosa, Bixa orellana, Bontia daphnoides, Carica papaya, Catharanthus roseus, Cocos nucifera, Gomphrena globosa, Laportea aestuans, Momordica charantia, Morus alba, Phyllanthus urinaria and Spiranthes acaulis. Apium graviolens is used as a heart tonic and for low blood pressure. Bixa orellana, Bontia daphnoides, Cuscuta americana and Gomphrena globosa are used for jaundice. The following plants are used for hypertension: Aloe vera, Annona muricata, Artocarpus altilis, Bixa orellana, Bidens alba, Bidens pilosa, Bonta daphnoides, Carica papaya, Cecropia peltata, Citrus paradisi, Cola nitida, Crescentia cujete, Gomphrena globosa, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Kalanchoe pinnata, Morus alba, Nopalea cochinellifera, Ocimum campechianum, Passiflora quadrangularis, Persea americana and Tamarindus indicus. The plants used for kidney problems are Theobroma cacao, Chamaesyce hirta, Flemingia strobilifera, Peperomia rotundifolia, Petiveria alliacea, Nopalea cochinellifera, Apium graveolens, Cynodon dactylon, Eleusine indica, Gomphrena globosa, Pityrogramma calomelanos and Vetiveria zizanioides. Plants are also used for gall stones and for cooling. Conclusion Chamaesyce hirta, Cissus verticillata, Kalanchoe pinnata, Peperomia spp., Portulaca oleraceae, Scoparia dulcis, and Zea mays have sufficient evidence to support their traditional use for urinary problems, "cooling" and high cholesterol. Eggplant extract as a

  5. Ethnomedicines used in Trinidad and Tobago for urinary problems and diabetes mellitus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lans Cheryl A

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background This paper is based on ethnobotanical interviews conducted from 1996–2000 in Trinidad and Tobago with thirty male and female respondents. Methods A non-experimental validation was conducted on the plants used for urinary problems and diabetes mellitus: This is a preliminary step to establish that the plants used are safe or effective, to help direct clinical trials, and to inform Caribbean physicians of the plants' known properties to avoid counter-prescribing. Results The following plants are used to treat diabetes: Antigonon leptopus, Bidens alba, Bidens pilosa, Bixa orellana, Bontia daphnoides, Carica papaya, Catharanthus roseus, Cocos nucifera, Gomphrena globosa, Laportea aestuans, Momordica charantia, Morus alba, Phyllanthus urinaria and Spiranthes acaulis. Apium graviolens is used as a heart tonic and for low blood pressure. Bixa orellana, Bontia daphnoides, Cuscuta americana and Gomphrena globosa are used for jaundice. The following plants are used for hypertension: Aloe vera, Annona muricata, Artocarpus altilis, Bixa orellana, Bidens alba, Bidens pilosa, Bonta daphnoides, Carica papaya, Cecropia peltata, Citrus paradisi, Cola nitida, Crescentia cujete, Gomphrena globosa, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Kalanchoe pinnata, Morus alba, Nopalea cochinellifera, Ocimum campechianum, Passiflora quadrangularis, Persea americana and Tamarindus indicus. The plants used for kidney problems are Theobroma cacao, Chamaesyce hirta, Flemingia strobilifera, Peperomia rotundifolia, Petiveria alliacea, Nopalea cochinellifera, Apium graveolens, Cynodon dactylon, Eleusine indica, Gomphrena globosa, Pityrogramma calomelanos and Vetiveria zizanioides. Plants are also used for gall stones and for cooling. Conclusion Chamaesyce hirta, Cissus verticillata, Kalanchoe pinnata, Peperomia spp., Portulaca oleraceae, Scoparia dulcis, and Zea mays have sufficient evidence to support their traditional use for urinary problems, "cooling" and high cholesterol

  6. Thymic involvement in immune recovery during antiretroviral treatment of HIV infection in adults; comparison of CT and sonographic findings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kolte, Lilian; Strandberg, Charlotte; Dreves, Anne-Mette

    2002-01-01

    ) repertoire were determined. The study demonstrated no correlation between the 2 scanning methods (r = 0.201, p = 0.358 in patients and r = 0.457, p = 0.184 in controls). Among the patients, no association was found between the sonographically estimated thymic size and immunological parameters such as CD4...... count (r = 0.083, p = 0.706), naive CD4 count (r = 0.067, p = 0.762), CD4 + TREC frequency (r = 0.028, p = 0.900) and CD4 + TCR repertoire (r = -0.057, p = 0.828). These findings show that CT remains superior for assessing thymic size in adults and is preferable to ultrasound when evaluating...

  7. Assimilation of radar-based nowcast into HIRLAM NWP model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, David Getreuer; Petersen, Claus; Rasmussen, Michael R.

    2015-01-01

    The present study introduces a nowcast scheme that assimilates radar extrapolation data (RED) into a nowcasting version of the high resolution limited area model (HIRLAM) numerical weather prediction (NWP) model covering the area of Denmark. The RED are based on the Co-TREC (tracking radar echoes...... by correlation) methodology and are generated from cleaned radar mosaics from the Danish weather radar network. The assimilation technique is a newly developed method that increases model precipitation by increasing low-level convergence and decreasing convergence aloft in order to increase the vertical velocity....... The level of improved predictability relies on the RED quality, which again relies on the type of event....

  8. TREC Microblog 2012 Track: Real-Time Algorithm for Microblog Ranking Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-01

    such as information about the tweet and the user profile. We collected those tweets by means of web crawler and extract several features from the raw...Mining Text Data. 2012. [5] D. Feltoni. Twittersa: un sistema per l’analisi del sentimento nelle reti sociali. Master’s thesis, Roma Tre University...Morris. Twittersearch: a comparison of microblog search and web search. Proceedings of the fourth ACM international conference on Web search, 2011

  9. UMass Amherst and UT Austin @ The TREC 2009 Relevance Feedback Track

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-11-01

    number of terms to select com- pared to our case. We chose AdaRank [Xu and Li, 2007] for the following reasons . It directly optimizes retrieval performance...and the number of topics containing at least one relevant document. query car parts dinosaurs espn sports atari cell phone hoboken dogs adoption auto...infraorder disney activision ringtone nj puppy body bird abc sega forum ny pet lowest extinct channel hardware wireless brook rottweiler cost

  10. Collaborative Approaches to Increase the Utility of Spatial Data for the Wildfire Management Community Through NASA's Applied Remote Sensing Training Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCullum, A. J. K.; Schmidt, C.; Blevins, B.; Weber, K.; Schnase, J. L.; Carroll, M.; Prados, A. I.

    2015-12-01

    The utility of spatial data products and tools to assess risk and effectively manage wildfires has increased, highlighting the need for communicating information about these new capabilities to decision makers, resource managers, and community leaders. NASA's Applied Remote Sensing Training (ARSET) program works directly with agencies and policy makers to develop in-person and online training courses that teach end users how to access, visualize, and apply NASA Earth Science data in their profession. The expansion of ARSET into wildfire applications began in 2015 with a webinar and subsequent in-person training hosted in collaboration with Idaho State University's (ISU) GIS Training and Research Center (TReC). These trainings featured presentations from the USDA Forest Service's Remote Sensing Training and Applications Center, the Land Processes DAAC, Northwest Nazarene University, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and ISU's GIS TReC. The webinar focused on providing land managers, non-governmental organizations, and international management agencies with an overview of 1) remote sensing platforms for wildfire applications, 2) products for pre- and post-fire planning and assessment, 3) the use of terrain data, 4) new techniques and technologies such as Unmanned Aircraft Systems and the Soil Moisture Active Passive Mission (SMAP), and 5) the RECOVER Decision Support System. This training highlighted online tools that engage the wildfire community through collaborative monitoring and assessment efforts. Webinar attendance included 278 participants from 178 organizations in 42 countries and 33 US states. The majority of respondents (93%) from a post-webinar survey indicated they displayed improvement in their understanding of specific remote-sensing data products appropriate for their work needs. With collaborative efforts between federal, state, and local agencies and academic institutions, increased use of NASA Earth Observations may lead to improved near real

  11. Novel precooling strategy enhances time trial cycling in the heat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Megan L R; Garvican, Laura A; Jeacocke, Nikki A; Laursen, Paul B; Abbiss, Chris R; Martin, David T; Burke, Louise M

    2011-01-01

    To develop and investigate the efficacy of a new precooling strategy combining external and internal techniques on the performance of a cycling time trial (TT) in a hot and humid environment. Eleven well-trained male cyclists undertook three trials of a laboratory-based cycling TT simulating the course characteristics of the Beijing Olympic Games event in a controlled hot and humid environment (32°C-35°C at 50%-60% relative humidity). The trials, separated by 3-7 d, were undertaken in a randomized crossover design and consisted of the following: 1) CON-no treatment apart from the ad libitum consumption of cold water (4°C), 2) STD COOL-whole-body immersion in cold (10°C) water for 10 min followed by wearing a cooling jacket, or 3) NEW COOL-combination of consumption of 14 g of ice slurry ("slushie") per kilogram body mass made from a commercial sports drink while applying iced towels. There was an observable effect on rectal temperature (T(rec)) before the commencement of the TT after both precooling techniques (STD COOL < NEW COOL < CON, P < 0.05), but pacing of the TT resulted in similar T(rec), HR, and RPE throughout the cycling protocol in all trials. NEW COOL was associated with a 3.0% increase in power (approximately 8 W) and a 1.3% improvement in performance time (approximately 1:06 min) compared with the CON trial, with the true likely effects ranging from a trivial to a large benefit. The effect of the STD COOL trial compared with the CON trial was "unclear." This new precooling strategy represents a practical and effective technique that could be used by athletes in preparation for endurance events undertaken in hot and humid conditions.

  12. Stem cell mobilization in idiopathic steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lapillonne, Hélène; Leclerc, Annelaure; Ulinski, Tim; Balu, Laurent; Garnier, Arnaud; Dereuddre-Bosquet, Nathalie; Watier, Hervé; Schlageter, Marie-Hélène; Deschênes, Georges

    2008-08-01

    Steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS) is classically thought to be a T-cell disorder. The aim of this study was to examine whether or not thymus homeostasis was affected in SSNS. Mature and naive T cell recent thymic emigrants were quantified in the peripheral blood of nephrotic patients and controls. Because the generation of new T cells by the thymus ultimately depends on hematopoietic stem cells, CD34+ cells were also included in the study. Nineteen patients with SSNS during relapse, 13 with SSNS during proteinuria remission, and 18 controls were studied. Cell-surface markers (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19, CD16, CD56, CD45RA, CD62L, CD34, and CD38) were analyzed by flow cytometric analysis. T-cell rearrangement excision circles (TRECs) were quantified in CD2+ cells by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Stroma cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) genotype and metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) plasma levels were also determined. Mature T cells (CD4+ and CD8+), circulating naive T cells (CD62L+ and CD3+ CD62L+), and recent thymic emigrants (CD45RA+) as well as TRECs, that measure thymus production, had a similar level in the three groups of patients. Conversely, CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells displayed a two-fold increase in SSNS patients during relapse either compared with controls or SSNS patients at remission. In addition, compared with controls, SSNS patients at remission displayed (1) a decrease in CD19+ cells (B cells) and (2) an increase in CD16CD56+ cells [natural killer (NK) cells]. In conclusion, thymus homeostasis is not significantly affected in nephrotic patients. Hematopoietic stem-cell mobilization at proteinuria relapse, as well as changes in B and NK cells during remission, suggest that SSNS might be due to a general disturbance of hematopoietic and immune cell trafficking.

  13. A MID-INFRARED VIEW OF THE HIGH MASS STAR FORMATION REGION W51A

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barbosa, C. L. [Laboratório Nacional de Astrofísica, R. dos Estados Unidos, Bairro das Nações, CEP 37504-364, Itajubá—MG (Brazil); Blum, R. D. [National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States); Damineli, A. [Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas, Universidade de São Paulo, R. do Matão, 1226, Cid. Universitária, São Paulo 05508-900 (Brazil); Conti, P. S. [JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0440 (United States); Gusmão, D. M., E-mail: cassio.barbosa@pq.cnpq.br, E-mail: rblum@noao.edu, E-mail: augusto.damineli@iag.usp.br, E-mail: pconti@jila.colorado.edu, E-mail: danilo@univap.br [IP and D—Universidade do Vale do Paraíba, Av. Shishima Hifumi, 2911. São José dos Campos, SP, 12244-000 (Brazil)

    2016-07-01

    In this paper we present the results of a mid-infrared study of G49.5-0.4, or W51A, part of the massive starbirth complex W51. Combining public data from the Spitzer IRAC camera, and Gemini mid-infrared camera T-ReCS at 7.73, 9.69, 12.33, and 24.56 μ m, with a spatial resolution of ∼0.″5, we have identified the mid-infrared counterparts of eight ultracompact H ii regions, showing that two radio sources are deeply embedded in molecular clouds and another is a cloud of ionized gas. From the T-ReCS data we have unveiled the central core of the W51 region, revealing massive young stellar candidates. We modeled the spectral energy distribution of the detected sources. The results suggest that the embedded objects are sources with spectral types ranging from B3 to O5, but the majority of the fits indicate stellar objects with B1 spectral types. We also present an extinction map of IRS 2, showing that a region with lower extinction corresponds to the region where a proposed jet of gas has impacted the foreground cloud. From this map, we also derived the total extinction toward the enigmatic source IRS 2E, which amounts to ∼60 mag in the V band. We calculated the color temperature due to thermal emission of the circumstellar dust of the detected sources; the temperatures are in the interval of ∼100–150 K, which corresponds to the emission of dust located at 0.1 pc from the central source. Finally, we show a possible mid-infrared counterpart of a detected source at millimeter wavelengths that was found by Zapata et al. to be a massive young stellar object undergoing a high accretion rate.

  14. The structure and function of cell membranes studied by atomic force microscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Yan; Cai, Mingjun; Zhou, Lulu; Wang, Hongda

    2018-01-01

    The cell membrane, involved in almost all communications of cells and surrounding matrix, is one of the most complicated components of cells. Lack of suitable methods for the detection of cell membranes in vivo has sparked debates on the biochemical composition and structure of cell membranes over half a century. The development of single molecule techniques, such as AFM, SMFS, and TREC, provides a versatile platform for imaging and manipulating cell membranes in biological relevant environments. Here, we discuss the latest developments in AFM and the progress made in cell membrane research. In particular, we highlight novel structure models and dynamic processes, including the mechanical properties of the cell membranes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Trigona corvina: An Ecological Study Based on Unusual Nest Structure and Pollen Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David W. Roubik

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available We found that the nest of Trigona corvina (Apidae; Meliponini consists mainly of pollen exines from bee excrement, forming a scutellum shield encasing the colony. A 20-year-old nest (1980–2000 from a lowland Panama forested habitat was sawed in half longitudinally, and a 95 cm transect was systematically sampled each 5 cm. Samples subjected to detailed pollen analysis held 72 botanical species belonging to 65 genera in 41 families. Over 90% of scutellum pollen volume was Cecropiaceae and Arecaceae, among >1013 grains. Potentially the oldest samples, in the middle of the nest, indicate that Mimosoideae, Euphorbiaceae, and Bombacaceae (now Malvaceae were lost when Africanized honey bee competitors colonized Panama in 1984. Cecropia deposited in the nest increased markedly after landscape-level vegetation disturbance. Pollen from Cavanillesia demonstrated that the foraging range encompassed 3 km2 and perhaps 500 plant species. Trigona corvina primarily foraged on plants with large inflorescences, consistent with foraging theory considering their aggressive behavior.

  16. BJUT at TREC 2015 Microblog Track: Real Time Filtering Using Knowledge Base

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-11-20

    all non- English language tweeter are supposed to be junk, thus we reduce that once we detect a non- English Unicode character in it. • Corpus Generation...new query. According to the new query, we use it to generate Lemur Query Parameter File. Noted that we simply select the unigram Language Model with...learning to rank of tweets. In Proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Computational Linguistics , pages 295–303. Association for Computational

  17. Finding Related Entities by Retrieving Relations: UIUC at TREC 2009 Entity Track

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-11-01

    classes, depending on the categories they belong to. A music album could have any generic name, whereas a laptop model has a more generalizable name. A...names of music albums are simply plain text often capitalized, and so on. Thus, we feel that a better ap- proach would be to first identify the...origin domain of the text to be tagged (e.g., pharmaceutical, music , journal, etc.), and then apply tagging rules that are specific to that domain

  18. Citotoxicidad de extractos de plantas medicinales sobre la línea celular de carcinoma de pulmón humano A549 Cytotoxicity of medicinal plant extracts on the human lung carcinoma cell line A549

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexis Díaz García

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: evaluar el efecto de 10 extractos de plantas medicinales sobre el crecimiento de la línea celular humana de carcinoma de pulmón A549. METODOS: el efecto de los extractos sobre la células tumorales se midió a través de un ensayo colorimétrico mediante el empleo del bromuro de 3-(4,5-dimetil-tiazol-2-yl-2,5-difenil tetrazolio a concentraciones entre 3,9-250 µg/mL durante 72 h y se calculó la concentración citotóxica media para cada uno. RESULTADOS: del total de los extractos evaluados solo cuatro (Parthenium hysterophorus, Bixa orellana, Momordica charantia y Cucurbita maxima evidenciaron concentraciones citotóxicas medias inferiores a 100 µg/mL. Excepto Parthenium hysterophorus, las restantes se emplean en la medicina tradicional para el tratamiento del cáncer. Los extractos de Cecropia peltata, Melia azedarach, Annona glabra, Artemisia absintium, Lepidium virginicum y Bidens pilosa no mostraron efectos citotóxicos significativos. CONCLUSIONES: Los extractos de plantas que se emplean en la medicina tradicional para el tratamiento del cáncer, mostraron citotoxicidad sobre las células tumorales. El conocimiento etnobotánico representa una herramienta importante en la selección de plantas medicinales, en la búsqueda de nuevos compuestos para el tratamiento del cáncer.OBJECTIVES: to evaluate the effect of 10 Cuban medicinal plant extracts on the human lung tumor cell line A549. METHODS: the effect of the plant extracts on tumor cells was determined by a colorimetric assay using the 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT at concentrations ranging from 3,9-250 µg/mL for 72 hours and the mean cytotoxic concentration was calculated for each of them. RESULTS: the ethanolic extracts of Parthenium hysterophorus, Bixa orellana, Momordica charantia and Cucurbita maxima showed mean cytotoxic concentrations under 100 µg/mL. Except for P. hysterophorus, the others are used in traditional medicine to fight

  19. A LDA-based approach to promoting ranking diversity for genomics information retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yan; Yin, Xiaoshi; Li, Zhoujun; Hu, Xiaohua; Huang, Jimmy Xiangji

    2012-06-11

    In the biomedical domain, there are immense data and tremendous increase of genomics and biomedical relevant publications. The wealth of information has led to an increasing amount of interest in and need for applying information retrieval techniques to access the scientific literature in genomics and related biomedical disciplines. In many cases, the desired information of a query asked by biologists is a list of a certain type of entities covering different aspects that are related to the question, such as cells, genes, diseases, proteins, mutations, etc. Hence, it is important of a biomedical IR system to be able to provide relevant and diverse answers to fulfill biologists' information needs. However traditional IR model only concerns with the relevance between retrieved documents and user query, but does not take redundancy between retrieved documents into account. This will lead to high redundancy and low diversity in the retrieval ranked lists. In this paper, we propose an approach which employs a topic generative model called Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to promoting ranking diversity for biomedical information retrieval. Different from other approaches or models which consider aspects on word level, our approach assumes that aspects should be identified by the topics of retrieved documents. We present LDA model to discover topic distribution of retrieval passages and word distribution of each topic dimension, and then re-rank retrieval results with topic distribution similarity between passages based on N-size slide window. We perform our approach on TREC 2007 Genomics collection and two distinctive IR baseline runs, which can achieve 8% improvement over the highest Aspect MAP reported in TREC 2007 Genomics track. The proposed method is the first study of adopting topic model to genomics information retrieval, and demonstrates its effectiveness in promoting ranking diversity as well as in improving relevance of ranked lists of genomics search

  20. Modeling and mining term association for improving biomedical information retrieval performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Qinmin; Huang, Jimmy Xiangji; Hu, Xiaohua

    2012-06-11

    The growth of the biomedical information requires most information retrieval systems to provide short and specific answers in response to complex user queries. Semantic information in the form of free text that is structured in a way makes it straightforward for humans to read but more difficult for computers to interpret automatically and search efficiently. One of the reasons is that most traditional information retrieval models assume terms are conditionally independent given a document/passage. Therefore, we are motivated to consider term associations within different contexts to help the models understand semantic information and use it for improving biomedical information retrieval performance. We propose a term association approach to discover term associations among the keywords from a query. The experiments are conducted on the TREC 2004-2007 Genomics data sets and the TREC 2004 HARD data set. The proposed approach is promising and achieves superiority over the baselines and the GSP results. The parameter settings and different indices are investigated that the sentence-based index produces the best results in terms of the document-level, the word-based index for the best results in terms of the passage-level and the paragraph-based index for the best results in terms of the passage2-level. Furthermore, the best term association results always come from the best baseline. The tuning number k in the proposed recursive re-ranking algorithm is discussed and locally optimized to be 10. First, modelling term association for improving biomedical information retrieval using factor analysis, is one of the major contributions in our work. Second, the experiments confirm that term association considering co-occurrence and dependency among the keywords can produce better results than the baselines treating the keywords independently. Third, the baselines are re-ranked according to the importance and reliance of latent factors behind term associations. These latent

  1. PPARgamma Deficiency Counteracts Thymic Senescence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Ernszt

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Thymic senescence contributes to increased incidence of infection, cancer and autoimmunity at senior ages. This process manifests as adipose involution. As with other adipose tissues, thymic adipose involution is also controlled by PPARgamma. This is supported by observations reporting that systemic PPARgamma activation accelerates thymic adipose involution. Therefore, we hypothesized that decreased PPARgamma activity could prevent thymic adipose involution, although it may trigger metabolic adverse effects. We have confirmed that both human and murine thymic sections show marked staining for PPARgamma at senior ages. We have also tested the thymic lobes of PPARgamma haplo-insufficient and null mice. Supporting our working hypothesis both adult PPARgamma haplo-insufficient and null mice show delayed thymic senescence by thymus histology, thymocyte mouse T-cell recombination excision circle qPCR and peripheral blood naive T-cell ratio by flow-cytometry. Delayed senescence showed dose–response with respect to PPARgamma deficiency. Functional immune parameters were also evaluated at senior ages in PPARgamma haplo-insufficient mice (null mice do not reach senior ages due to metabolic adverse affects. As expected, sustained and elevated T-cell production conferred oral tolerance and enhanced vaccination efficiency in senior PPARgamma haplo-insufficient, but not in senior wild-type littermates according to ELISA IgG measurements. Of note, humans also show increased oral intolerance issues and decreased protection by vaccines at senior ages. Moreover, PPARgamma haplo-insufficiency also exists in human known as a rare disease (FPLD3 causing metabolic adverse effects, similar to the mouse. When compared to age- and metabolic disorder-matched other patient samples (FPLD2 not affecting PPARgamma activity, FPLD3 patients showed increased human Trec (hTrec values by qPCR (within healthy human range suggesting delayed thymic senescence, in accordance with

  2. Effects of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor on central and peripheral T lymphocyte reconstitution after sublethal irradiation in mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Hongxia; Guo Mei; Sun Xuedong; Ai Huisheng; Sun Wanjun; Hu Hailan; Wei Li

    2013-01-01

    Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is one of the most critical cytokines used for the treatment of acute radiation syndrome (ARS). In addition to the hematopoietic effects of G-CSF on the differentiation and proliferation of myeloid progenitor cells, G-CSF is also known to have immunomodulatory effects. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether G-CSF could accelerate central and peripheral T lymphocyte recovery after a sublethal dose of irradiation. Female BALB/c mice were subjected to 6 Gy of total body irradiation and then were treated with either 100 μg/kg G-CSF or an equal volume of PBS once daily for 14 days. Percentages of thymocyte subpopulations including CD4- CD8-, CD4+ CD8+, CD4+ CD8- and CD4- CD8+ T cells, peripheral CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. Recent thymic emigrants (RTEs) were assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers specific to the 257-bp T cell receptor rearrangement excision circles (sjTRECs). The proliferative capacity of splenic mononuclear cells upon exposure to ConA was measured by using the Cell Count Kit-8 (CCK-8). G-CSF treatment promoted thymocyte regeneration, accelerated the recovery of CD4+ CD8+ cells and increased the frequency of thymocyte sjTRECs. These effects were more prominent at early time points (Day 28) after irradiation. G-CSF also increased the rate of recovery of peripheral CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ cells and shortened the period of severe lymphopenia following irradiation. G-CSF also increased the splenic mononuclear cell mitotic responsiveness to ConA more than control-treated cells. Our results show that G-CSF accelerates T cell recovery through both thymic-dependent and thymic-independent pathways, which could be used to increase the rate of immune reconstitution after sublethal irradiation. (author)

  3. Thermoregulatory and Perceptual Effects of a Percooling Garment Worn Underneath an American Football Uniform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keen, Megan L; Miller, Kevin C; Zuhl, Micah N

    2017-11-01

    Keen, ML, Miller, KC, and Zuhl, MN. Thermoregulatory and perceptual effects of a percooling garment worn underneath an American football uniform. J Strength Cond Res 31(11): 2983-2991, 2017-American football athletes are at the highest risk of developing exertional heat illness (EHI). We investigated whether percooling (i.e., cooling during exercise) garments affected perceptual or physiological variables in individuals exercising in the heat while wearing football uniforms. Twelve male participants (age = 24 ± 4 year, mass = 80.1 ± 8.5 kg, height = 182.5 ± 10.4 cm) completed this cross-over, counterbalanced study. On day 1, we measured peak oxygen consumption (V[Combining Dot Above]O2). On days 2 and 3, participants wore percooling garments with (ICE) or without (CON) ice packs over the femoral and brachial arteries. They donned a football uniform and completed 3, 20-minute bouts of treadmill exercise at ∼50% of peak V[Combining Dot Above]O2 (∼33° C, ∼42% relative humidity) followed by a 10-minute rest period. Ice packs were replaced every 20 minutes. Rating of perceived exertion (RPE), thermal sensation, and thirst sensation were measured before and after each exercise bout. Environmental symptoms questionnaire (ESQ) responses and urine specific gravity (Usg) were measured pretesting and after the last exercise bout. V[Combining Dot Above]O2, change in heart rate (ΔHR), and change in rectal temperature (ΔTrec) were measured every 5 minutes. Sweat rate, sweat volume, and percent hypohydration were calculated. No interactions (F17,187 ≤ 1.6, p ≥ 0.1) or main effect of cooling condition (F1,11 ≤ 1.4, p ≥ 0.26) occurred for ΔTrec, ΔHR, thermal sensation, thirst, RPE, ESQ, or Usg. No differences between conditions occurred for sweat volume, sweat rate, or percent hypohydration (t11 ≤ 0.7, p ≥ 0.25). V[Combining Dot Above]O2 differed between conditions over time (F15,165 = 3.3, p football athletes.

  4. Late glacial and Holocene history of the dry forest area in south Colombian Cauca Valley from sites Quilichao and la Teta

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berrio, Juan Carlos; Hooghiemstra, Henry; Marchant, Rob; Rangel Orlando

    2002-01-01

    Two sedimentary cores with records of pollen and charcoal content within a chronology provided by radiocarbon are presented from the southern Cauca Valley in Colombia (1020 m). These records document the late glacial and Holocene dry forest vegetation, fire and environment history. Specifically, core Quilichao -1 (640 cm; 3 degrade 6' N, 76 degrade 31' W) represents the periods of 13/150-7720 14 C yr BP and following a hiatus from 2880 14 C yr BP to recent. Core la Teta - 2 (250 cm; 3 degrade 5' N, 76 degrade 32' W) provides a record from 8700 14 C yr BP around 13/150 21 4 C yr BP Quilichao shown an active late glacial drainage system and presence of dry forest. From 11/465-10/520 14 C yr BP dry forest consists mainly of Crotalaria Moraceae Urticaceae, Melastomataceae, Piper and low stature trees, such as Acalypha, Alchornea, Cecropia and Celtis. At higher elevation on the slopes Andean forest with Quercus, Hedyosmum, Myrica and Alnus are common

  5. Palynological Origin, Phenolic Content, and Antioxidant Properties of Honeybee-Collected Pollen from Bahia, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco A. R. Santos

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine the palynological origin, phenolic and flavonoid content, and antioxidant properties of twenty-five samples of bee pollen harvested during a nine-month period (February–November from the Canavieiras municipality (northeastern Brazil. Of the 25 samples analyzed, only two (February 01 and 02 were heterofloral. The predominant pollens in the samples analyzed during that month were: Cecropia, Eucalyptus, Elaeis, Mimosa pudica, Eupatorium, and Scoparia. Ethyl acetate fractions were analyzed by HPLC-DAD. The flavonoids isoquercetin, myricetin, tricetin, quercetin, luteolin, selagin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin were detected. The flavonoid present in all 22 samples was isolated and identified as isorhamnetin 3-O-b-neohesperidoside. The total phenolic contents determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent ranged from 41.5 to 213.2 mg GAE/g. Antioxidant activities based on the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH, 2,2-azinobis 3-ethylbenzothiozoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS, and Fe2+ ion chelating activity assays were observed for all extracts, and correlated with the total phenolic content.

  6. ANÁLISIS DE LAS FUERZAS DEL MERCADO DENDROENERGÉTICO EN LA VEREDA CAJETE DEL MUNICIPIO DE POPAYÁN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ALEX ENRIQUE ORDOÑEZ HOYOS

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an analysis of the wood energy market forces in the village of Cajete the municipality of Popayan. The methodology led to the realization of a random sampling of wood used as woodfuel and proceeded on which the application of a stratified survey of 64 selected users according to previously identified patterns of consumption. They were found to be the most commonly used species such as fuelwood in the sidewalk coffee (Coffea arabica with 22%, pine (Pinus sp 18%, Cúcharo (Myrsine guianensis 15% and the Yarumo (Cecropia peltata 15%. The total demand for fuelwood estimated for the sidewalk was 122,7 m3 per month, being households that represent the highest proportion 96,2%, while ovens and restaurants represent 3,8%. With respect to the offer found that 63% of users collect firewood from the forests and farms of the area, while 37% buy the product that comes mainly from sawmills located in the urban area of the municipality of Popayán.

  7. UMass at TREC WEB 2014: Entity Query Feature Expansion using Knowledge Base Links

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-01

    task on the category A subset and demonstrate the benefit of entity-centric approaches even for non-entity queries like “dark chocolate health benefits ...category A subset and demonstrate the benefit of entity-centric approaches even for non-entity queries like ???dark chocolate health benefits ???. 15...rogers 289 benefits of yoga Model MAP ERR@20 NDCG@20 SDM 4.18 9.15 12.61 WikiRM1 4.00 9.31 12.80 SDM-RM3 3.53 7.61 11.00 EQFE 4.67 10.00 14.61 (a) Results

  8. The waterfront windmill project and TREC's windshare model for community-based renewables development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Young, B.

    2002-01-01

    Plans have been developed for building two wind turbines on Toronto's waterfront, on the grounds of the exhibition for the project called Waterfront Windmill Project. The electricity generated by each individual turbine, 1,400,000 kilowatt hours per year, could meet the needs of 250 four-person homes. This project represents an emissions-free power generation, and the energy will be distributed to the hydropower grid of the City of Toronto. The requirement for nuclear and coal-generated energy will therefore be reduced while reducing the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The creation of an urban-based community-owned turbine fits well with the policy of the Toronto Renewable Energy Coop, which is committed to working with the marketplace. The lower cost to the consumer of the market deregulation coal generated energy is a concern. figs

  9. CMU OAQA at TREC 2015 LiveQA: Discovering the Right Answer with Clues

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-11-20

    between question and answer passage, we employ a recurrent neural network based approach [6, 7] that uses a multilayer stacked bidirectional Long...similarity scoring over the title and body texts, and b) a recurrent neural network approach that estimates the relevance of a candi- date answer text given a...Di Wang and Eric Nyberg. A recurrent neural network based answer ranking model for web question answering. In SIGIR Workshop on Web Question

  10. The AMTEX Partnership. Third quarter report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1994-06-01

    The AMTEX Partnership is a collaborative research and development program among the U.S. Integrated Textile Industry, the Department of Energy, The DOE laboratories, other federal agencies and laboratories, and universities. The goal of AMTEX is to strengthen the competitiveness of this vital U.S. industry and thereby preserve and create American jobs. During the third quarter of 1994 all the Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) were completed and work initiated for three additional projects: Computer Aided Fabric Evaluation (CAFE), Textile Resource Conservation (TReC), and Sensors for Agile Manufacturing (SFAM). The plan for a Cotton Biotechnology project was completed and reviewed by the Industry Technical Advisory Committee. In addition, an `impact study` on the topic of flexible fiber production was conducted by an industry group led by the fiber manufacturers.

  11. Impaired progenitor cell function in HIV-negative infants of HIV-positive mothers results in decreased thymic output and low CD4 counts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, S. D.; Jeppesen, D. L.; Kolte, L.

    2001-01-01

    and fetal thymic organ cultures (FTOCs). Lower naive CD4 counts (459.3 +/- 68.9 vs 1128.9 +/- 146.8 cells/microL, P mothers were found (frequency of CD4(+) cells with TRECs was 3.6% +/- 0.7% compared with 14.3% +/- 2.2% in controls, P ...). In combination with lower red blood cell counts in infants of HIV-positive mothers, this finding suggested impairment of progenitor cell function. Indeed, progenitors from infants of HIV-positive mothers had decreased cloning efficiency (15.7% +/- 2.6% vs 55.8% +/- 15.9%, P =.009) and seemed to generate fewer T...... cells in FTOCs. In conclusion, lower numbers of naive CD4(+) cells and reduced thymic output in HIV-negative infants of HIV-positive mothers may be due to impaired progenitor cell function....

  12. Cluster-based query expansion using external collections in medical information retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Heung-Seon; Jung, Yuchul

    2015-12-01

    Utilizing external collections to improve retrieval performance is challenging research because various test collections are created for different purposes. Improving medical information retrieval has also gained much attention as various types of medical documents have become available to researchers ever since they started storing them in machine processable formats. In this paper, we propose an effective method of utilizing external collections based on the pseudo relevance feedback approach. Our method incorporates the structure of external collections in estimating individual components in the final feedback model. Extensive experiments on three medical collections (TREC CDS, CLEF eHealth, and OHSUMED) were performed, and the results were compared with a representative expansion approach utilizing the external collections to show the superiority of our method. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Ocorrência do pólen de Podocarpus sp. (Podocarpaceae nas coletas de Frieseomelitta varia Lepeletier 1836 (Apidae: Meliponinae em uma área de Manaus, AM, Brasil Occurrence of Podocarpus sp. (Podocarpaceae pollen on Frieseomelitta varia Lepeletier 1836 (Apidae: Meliponinae in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Carlos Marques-Souza

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Durante o período de doze meses, o pólen transportado por Frieseomelitta varia Lepeletier 1836 foi coletado das corbículas das operárias, logo após o fechamento da entrada das colméias. Feita a identificação polínica dos grãos de pólen e sua frequência mensal nas amostras, constatou-se que as espécies das famílias mais visitadas pela ordem de coleta, foram: Cecropiaceae, Sapotaceae, Myrtaceae e Moraceae. As operárias coletaram o pólen de 79 espécies de plantas distribuídas em 60 gêneros e 37 famílias, sendo as mais frequentes: Cecropia sp. visitada o ano todo com atratividade em janeiro de 82,03%, Morus sp. com atratividade de 37,46% em dezembro; Myrcia amazonica DC. com atratividade em abril de 32,34% e Pouteria macrophylla (A.DC. Eyma em junho com atratividade de 36,54%. Quanto a Podocarpus sp. esse é o primeiro relato da presença do pólen dessa espécie em coletas de meliponíneos, o que não deixa de ser um fato curioso, uma vez que se trata de uma gimnosperma encontrada em áreas específicas da região amazônica e que apresentou atratividade para Frieseomelitta varia Lepeletier 1836 de 4,94% no mês de março.Over a 12 month period, pollen was sampled from the corbiculae of workers of the stingless bee Frieseomelitta varia Lepeletier 1836. Collections were obtained immediately after sealing the hives, located in a forest fragment in the city of Manaus. Pollen was identified and monthly frequency of each type was tallied. The most-visited plant families in decreasing order of frequency were Cecropiaceae, Sapotaceae, Myrtaceae and Moraceae. Identified pollen was harvested from 79 plant species in 60 genera and 37 families. The most frequent species were: Cecropia sp., visited year-round but with highest attractiveness (82% in January; Morus sp., with peak attractiveness (37% in December; Myrcia amazonica DC. with 32% peak attractiveness in April; and Pouteria macrophylla (A.DC. Eyma, with 37% peak attractiveness in

  14. Data fusion according to the principle of polyrepresentation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Birger; Ingwersen, Peter; Lund, Berit

    2009-01-01

    logical data fusion combinations compared to the performance of the four individual models and their intermediate fusions when following the principle of polyrepresentation. This principle is based on cognitive IR perspective (Ingwersen & Järvelin, 2005) and implies that each retrieval model is regarded...... that only the inner disjoint overlap documents between fused models are ranked. The second set of experiments was based on traditional data fusion methods. The experiments involved the 30 TREC 5 topics that contain more than 44 relevant documents. In all tests, the Borda and CombSUM scoring methods were...... the individual models at DCV100. At DCV15, however, the results of polyrepresentative fusion were less predictable.The traditional fusion method based on polyrepresentation principles demonstrates a clear picture of performance at both DCV levels and verifies the polyrepresentation predictions for data fusion...

  15. BJUT at TREC 2015 Microblog Track: Real-Time Filtering Using Non-negative Matrix Factorization

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-11-20

    query accurate ambiguity intergration Tweets Vector Preprocessing W-d matrix Feature vector Similarity ranking Recommended twittres Get...recommendation tech- nique based on product category attributes[J]. Expert Systems with Applications, 2009, 36(9): 11480-11488. [5] Sobecki J, Babiak E,Sanina M

  16. Medicinal and ethnoveterinary remedies of hunters in Trinidad

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georges Karla

    2001-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Ethnomedicines are used by hunters for themselves and their hunting dogs in Trinidad. Plants are used for snakebites, scorpion stings, for injuries and mange of dogs and to facilitate hunting success. Results Plants used include Piper hispidum, Pithecelobium unguis-cati, Bauhinia excisa, Bauhinia cumanensis, Cecropia peltata, Aframomum melegueta, Aristolochia rugosa, Aristolochia trilobata, Jatropha curcas, Jatropha gossypifolia, Nicotiana tabacum, Vernonia scorpioides, Petiveria alliacea, Renealmia alpinia, Justicia secunda, Phyllanthus urinaria,Phyllanthus niruri,Momordica charantia, Xiphidium caeruleum, Ottonia ovata, Lepianthes peltata, Capsicum frutescens, Costus scaber, Dendropanax arboreus, Siparuma guianensis, Syngonium podophyllum, Monstera dubia, Solanum species, Eclipta prostrata, Spiranthes acaulis, Croton gossypifolius, Barleria lupulina, Cola nitida, Acrocomia ierensis (tentative ID. Conclusion Plant use is based on odour, and plant morphological characteristics and is embedded in a complex cultural context based on indigenous Amerindian beliefs. It is suggested that the medicinal plants exerted a physiological action on the hunter or his dog. Some of the plants mentioned contain chemicals that may explain the ethnomedicinal and ethnoveterinary use. For instance some of the plants influence the immune system or are effective against internal and external parasites. Plant baths may contribute to the health and well being of the hunting dogs.

  17. Vascular epiphytes as regeneration indicators of disturbed forests of the Colombian Amazon region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Triana Moreno, Luz Amparo; Garzon Venegas, Nelson Javier; Sanchez Zambrano, Jairo; Vargas Orlando

    2003-01-01

    In order to compare how the distribution and composition of vascular epiphytes varies, in three disturbed forests with different recovery times, and to verify whether these factors can indicate the regeneration state, three stubbles that had been abandoned during 12, 18 and 22 years were selected in the neighborhood of Leticia City (Amazons, Colombia). In each stubble 7 Cecropia sciadophylla (Cecropiaceae) individuals were selected, and a sampling of epiphytes was made in the first 3 m of each tree. The number of species, their abundance and covering were used as criteria to compare the three stubbles, because the sensitivity of epiphytes to environmental changes. The results show that the evaluated factors are useful for the characterization of the forest regeneration process. In spite of the fact that the number of species in the there stubbles was similar, the composition varied in such ways that about half the species of each stubble, were exclusive. The dominance of Monstera obliqua (Araceae) was evident, constituting more than 80% of the epiphytic covering of the total sample. The youngest stubble presented a denser covering and a high diversity index, whereas in the oldest stubbles these values diminish drastically

  18. Predation and aggressiveness in host plant protection: a generalization using ants from the genus Azteca

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dejean, Alain; Grangier, Julien; Leroy, Céline; Orivel, Jerôme

    2009-01-01

    In studying the ant genus Azteca, a Neotropical group of arboreal species, we aimed to determine the extent to which the ants use predation and/or aggressiveness to protect their host plants from defoliating insects. We compared a territorially dominant, carton-nester, Azteca chartifex, and three plant-ant species. Azteca alfari and Azteca ovaticeps are associated with the myrmecophyte Cecropia (Cecropiaceae) and their colonies shelter in its hollow branches; whereas Azteca bequaerti is associated with Tococa guianensis (Melastomataceae) and its colonies shelter in leaf pouches situated at the base of the laminas. Whereas A. bequaerti workers react to the vibrations transmitted by the lamina when an alien insect lands on a leaf making it unnecessary for them to patrol their plant, the workers of the three other species rather discover prey by contact. The workers of all four species use a predatory behaviour involving spread-eagling alien insects after recruiting nestmates at short range, and, in some cases, at long range. Because A. alfari and A. ovaticeps discard part of the insects they kill, we deduced that the workers’ predatory behaviour and territorial aggressiveness combine in the biotic defence of their host tree.

  19. Medicinal and ethnoveterinary remedies of hunters in Trinidad.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lans, C; Harper, T; Georges, K; Bridgewater, E

    2001-01-01

    Ethnomedicines are used by hunters for themselves and their hunting dogs in Trinidad. Plants are used for snakebites, scorpion stings, for injuries and mange of dogs and to facilitate hunting success. Plants used include Piper hispidum, Pithecelobium unguis-cati, Bauhinia excisa, Bauhinia cumanensis, Cecropia peltata, Aframomum melegueta, Aristolochia rugosa, Aristolochia trilobata, Jatropha curcas, Jatropha gossypifolia, Nicotiana tabacum, Vernonia scorpioides, Petiveria alliacea, Renealmia alpinia, Justicia secunda, Phyllanthus urinaria,Phyllanthus niruri,Momordica charantia, Xiphidium caeruleum, Ottonia ovata, Lepianthes peltata, Capsicum frutescens, Costus scaber, Dendropanax arboreus, Siparuma guianensis, Syngonium podophyllum, Monstera dubia, Solanum species, Eclipta prostrata, Spiranthes acaulis, Croton gossypifolius, Barleria lupulina, Cola nitida, Acrocomia ierensis (tentative ID). Plant use is based on odour, and plant morphological characteristics and is embedded in a complex cultural context based on indigenous Amerindian beliefs. It is suggested that the medicinal plants exerted a physiological action on the hunter or his dog. Some of the plants mentioned contain chemicals that may explain the ethnomedicinal and ethnoveterinary use. For instance some of the plants influence the immune system or are effective against internal and external parasites. Plant baths may contribute to the health and well being of the hunting dogs.

  20. Estrutura fitossociológica do componente arbóreo de um fragmento de Floresta Ombrófila Densa na mata sul de Pernambuco, nordeste do Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberto Felix Costa

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available This work aimed to describe physiognomy and structure of a Dense Ombrophyllous Forest fragment located in Catende, Pernambuco. All trees with DAP (breast height diameter ≥ 4.77 cm were measured in 40 10 x 25 m plots, systematically installed in five transects. A total of 1049 individuals were observed, distributed in 91 species, 64 genera and 37 botanical families. Mimosaceae and Lauraceae were the families with higher species number, while Anacardiaceae and Moraceae had the highest individuals numbers. Shannon index (H´ was 3.83 nats/ind. Total basal area, height and diameter (average and maximum were 23.59 m²/ha, 13.57 m (± 7.13, 45 m, 13.20 cm (± 10.60 and 127.32 cm, respectively. The species with higher importance values were Tapirira guianensis Aubl., Dialium guianense (Aubl. Sandwith, Helicostylis tomentosa (Poepp. & Endl. Rusby, Thyrsodium spruceanum Benth., Plathymenia foliolosa Benth., Brosimum discolor Schott, Parkia pendula (Willd. Benth. ex Walp., Schefflera morototoni (Aubl. Maguire, Steyerm. & Frodin, Eschweilera ovata (Cambess. Miers and Cecropia palmata Willd. Diametric distribution had an inverted-J-like curve, predicted for a forest unequal in ages in a secondary succession stage.

  1. Newborn Screening for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency in 11 Screening Programs in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwan, Antonia; Abraham, Roshini S.; Currier, Robert; Brower, Amy; Andruszewski, Karen; Abbott, Jordan K.; Baker, Mei; Ballow, Mark; Bartoshesky, Louis E.; Bonagura, Vincent R.; Bonilla, Francisco A.; Brokopp, Charles; Brooks, Edward; Caggana, Michele; Celestin, Jocelyn; Church, Joseph A.; Comeau, Anne Marie; Connelly, James A.; Cowan, Morton J.; Cunningham-Rundles, Charlotte; Dasu, Trivikram; Dave, Nina; De La Morena, Maria T.; Duffner, Ulrich; Fong, Chin-To; Forbes, Lisa; Freedenberg, Debra; Gelfand, Erwin W.; Hale, Jaime E.; Celine Hanson, I.; Hay, Beverly N.; Hu, Diana; Infante, Anthony; Johnson, Daisy; Kapoor, Neena; Kay, Denise M.; Kohn, Donald B.; Lee, Rachel; Lehman, Heather; Lin, Zhili; Lorey, Fred; Abdel-Mageed, Aly; Manning, Adrienne; McGhee, Sean; Moore, Theodore B.; Naides, Stanley J.; Notarangelo, Luigi D.; Orange, Jordan S.; Pai, Sung-Yun; Porteus, Matthew; Rodriguez, Ray; Romberg, Neil; Routes, John; Ruehle, Mary; Rubenstein, Arye; Saavedra-Matiz, Carlos A.; Scott, Ginger; Scott, Patricia M.; Secord, Elizabeth; Seroogy, Christine; Shearer, William T.; Siegel, Subhadra; Silvers, Stacy K.; Stiehm, E. Richard; Sugerman, Robert W.; Sullivan, John L.; Tanksley, Susan; Tierce, Millard L.; Verbsky, James; Vogel, Beth; Walker, Rosalyn; Walkovich, Kelly; Walter, Jolan E.; Wasserman, Richard L.; Watson, Michael S.; Weinberg, Geoffrey A.; Weiner, Leonard B.; Wood, Heather; Yates, Anne B.; Puck, Jennifer M.

    2015-01-01

    IMPORTANCE Newborn screening for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) using assays to detect T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) began in Wisconsin in 2008, and SCID was added to the national recommended uniform panel for newborn screened disorders in 2010. Currently 23 states, the District of Columbia, and the Navajo Nation conduct population-wide newborn screening for SCID. The incidence of SCID is estimated at 1 in 100 000 births. OBJECTIVES To present data from a spectrum of SCID newborn screening programs, establish population-based incidence for SCID and other conditions with T-cell lymphopenia, and document early institution of effective treatments. DESIGN Epidemiological and retrospective observational study. SETTING Representatives in states conducting SCID newborn screening were invited to submit their SCID screening algorithms, test performance data, and deidentified clinical and laboratory information regarding infants screened and cases with nonnormal results. Infants born from the start of each participating program from January 2008 through the most recent evaluable date prior to July 2013 were included. Representatives from 10 states plus the Navajo Area Indian Health Service contributed data from 3 030 083 newborns screened with a TREC test. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Infants with SCID and other diagnoses of T-cell lymphopenia were classified. Incidence and, where possible, etiologies were determined. Interventions and survival were tracked. RESULTS Screening detected 52 cases of typical SCID, leaky SCID, and Omenn syndrome, affecting 1 in 58 000 infants (95%CI, 1/46 000-1/80 000). Survival of SCID-affected infants through their diagnosis and immune reconstitution was 87%(45/52), 92%(45/49) for infants who received transplantation, enzyme replacement, and/or gene therapy. Additional interventions for SCID and non-SCID T-cell lymphopenia included immunoglobulin infusions, preventive antibiotics, and avoidance of live vaccines. Variations in

  2. The use of ambient audio to increase safety and immersion in location-based games

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurczak, John Jason

    The purpose of this thesis is to propose an alternative type of interface for mobile software being used while walking or running. Our work addresses the problem of visual user interfaces for mobile software be- ing potentially unsafe for pedestrians, and not being very immersive when used for location-based games. In addition, location-based games and applications can be dif- ficult to develop when directly interfacing with the sensors used to track the user's location. These problems need to be addressed because portable computing devices are be- coming a popular tool for navigation, playing games, and accessing the internet while walking. This poses a safety problem for mobile users, who may be paying too much attention to their device to notice and react to hazards in their environment. The difficulty of developing location-based games and other location-aware applications may significantly hinder the prevalence of applications that explore new interaction techniques for ubiquitous computing. We created the TREC toolkit to address the issues with tracking sensors while developing location-based games and applications. We have developed functional location-based applications with TREC to demonstrate the amount of work that can be saved by using this toolkit. In order to have a safer and more immersive alternative to visual interfaces, we have developed ambient audio interfaces for use with mobile applications. Ambient audio uses continuous streams of sound over headphones to present information to mobile users without distracting them from walking safely. In order to test the effectiveness of ambient audio, we ran a study to compare ambient audio with handheld visual interfaces in a location-based game. We compared players' ability to safely navigate the environment, their sense of immersion in the game, and their performance at the in-game tasks. We found that ambient audio was able to significantly increase players' safety and sense of immersion compared to a

  3. Using Replicates in Information Retrieval Evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voorhees, Ellen M; Samarov, Daniel; Soboroff, Ian

    2017-09-01

    This article explores a method for more accurately estimating the main effect of the system in a typical test-collection-based evaluation of information retrieval systems, thus increasing the sensitivity of system comparisons. Randomly partitioning the test document collection allows for multiple tests of a given system and topic (replicates). Bootstrap ANOVA can use these replicates to extract system-topic interactions-something not possible without replicates-yielding a more precise value for the system effect and a narrower confidence interval around that value. Experiments using multiple TREC collections demonstrate that removing the topic-system interactions substantially reduces the confidence intervals around the system effect as well as increases the number of significant pairwise differences found. Further, the method is robust against small changes in the number of partitions used, against variability in the documents that constitute the partitions, and the measure of effectiveness used to quantify system effectiveness.

  4. ADAPT.DCU at TREC LiveQA: A Sentence Retrieval based Approach to Live Question Answering

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-11-20

    task organizers and available on request http://webscope. sandbox.yahoo.com/catalog.php? datatype =l 2 http://webscope.sandbox.yahoo.com/catalog.php... datatype =l 3 http://lucene.apache.org/ 4In our initial experiments, we also used the body of a question for query formulation but it produced worse

  5. UCLA at TREC 2014 Clinical Decision Support Track: Exploring Language Models, Query Expansion, and Boosting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-01

    qualitative benet to the retrieved results compared to lower and higher boost factors. 3 Query terms Comments right lower quadrant abdominal pain ... pain for hours, decreased appetite, and enlarged appendix on abdominal ultrasound. Table 1 describes the query terms for an example patient summary. The...the diagnostic process. For example, pediatric cases, women of child- bearing age, and geriatic populations each have a distinct set of possible

  6. California Energy Incentive Programs: An Annual Update on Key Energy Issues and Financial Opportunities for Federal Sites in California

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    2011-12-01

    A spate of recently enacted energy legislation and associated program changes is providing numerous opportunities to help California federal energy managers cut costs and meet their renewables, energy efficiency and GHG emissions goals. In April 2011, Governor Jerry Brown approved the nation’s most ambitious renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which requires 33% of the state’s electricity to come from renewable energy sources by 2020. Policy changes that will support the RPS include expanded eligibility rules that fill previous gaps in incentives for certain sizes of on-site renewable energy systems. Program updates described in this document include: $200 million more in funding for California Solar Initiative rebates to commercial and industrial customers; an increase in the eligible system size for the Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) from 1.5MW to 3MW; and pending changes that may allow customer-side systems to sell tradable renewable energy credits (TRECs) to entities with RPS compliance obligations in California.

  7. Deinococcus gobiensis cold shock protein improves salt stress tolerance of escherichia coli

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang Shijie; Wang Jin; Yang Mingkun; Chen Ming; Zhang Wei; Luo Xuegang

    2013-01-01

    The Deinococcus gobiensis I-0, an extremely radiation-resistant bacterium, isolated from the Gobi, has superior resistance to abiotic stress (e.g radiation, oxidation, dehydration and so on). The two cold-shock proteins encoded by csp1 (Dgo_CA1136) and csp2 (Dgo_PA0041) were identified in the complete genome sequence of D. gobiensis. In this study, we showed that D. gobiensis Csp1 protected Escherichia coli cells against cold shock and other abiotic stresses such as salt and osmotic shocks. The quantitative real-time PCR assay shows that the expression of trehalose synthase (otsA, otsB) was up-regulated remarkably under salt stress in the csp1-expressing strain, while no difference in the expression of the genes involved in trehalose degradation (treB and treC). The results suggested that Csp1 caused the accumulation of the trehalose was a major feature for improving tolerance to salt stress in E. coli. (authors)

  8. Plants used traditionally to treat malaria in Brazil: the archives of Flora Medicinal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Botsaris Alexandros S

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The archives of Flora Medicinal, an ancient pharmaceutical laboratory that supported ethnomedical research in Brazil for more than 30 years, were searched for plants with antimalarial use. Forty plant species indicated to treat malaria were described by Dr. J. Monteiro da Silva (Flora Medicinal leader and his co-workers. Eight species, Bathysa cuspidata, Cosmos sulphureus, Cecropia hololeuca, Erisma calcaratum, Gomphrena arborescens, Musa paradisiaca, Ocotea odorifera, and Pradosia lactescens, are related as antimalarial for the first time in ethnobotanical studies. Some species, including Mikania glomerata, Melampodium divaricatum, Galipea multiflora, Aspidosperma polyneuron, and Coutarea hexandra, were reported to have activity in malaria patients under clinical observation. In the information obtained, also, there were many details about the appropriate indication of each plant. For example, some plants are indicated to increase others' potency. There are also plants that are traditionally employed for specific symptoms or conditions that often accompany malaria, such as weakness, renal failure or cerebral malaria. Many plants that have been considered to lack activity against malaria due to absence of in vitro activity against Plasmodium can have other mechanisms of action. Thus researchers should observe ethnomedical information before deciding which kind of screening should be used in the search of antimalarial drugs.

  9. Tropical rainforest biome of Biosphere 2. Structure, composition and results of the first 2 years of operation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leigh, Linda S. [Systems Ecology and Energy Analysis Program, Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States); Burgess, Tony; Marino, Bruno D.V.; Wei, Yong Dan [Biosphere 2 Center, Inc. P.O. Box 689, Oracle, AZ (United States)

    1999-06-01

    The tropical rainforest biome in the Biosphere 2 mesocosm was managed with rainfall and temperature conditions to simulate a natural rainforest typical of the new world tropics. The establishment of the biome was based on the introduction of excessive numbers of species allowing self-organization of an ecologically unique rainforest. Over 282 species of plants from rainforest areas were planted within the topographically diverse rainforest biome (area of 1900 m{sup 2}, volume of 35,000 m{sup 3}), just before the Biosphere 2 closure in 1991. Approximately 61% of these species survived when counted in 1993, representing a plant species richness reduction to 172 species in 0.19 hectare. Rank order graphs show that a high diversity community resulted not unlike insular rainforests. The plants of the rainforest mesocosm, however, grew under anomalous conditions of soil (amended desert grassland soil), atmospheric composition (CO{sub 2} up to 4500 ppm by volume (ppmv)) and rainwater composition (high salinity and nutrients). Stem growth rates of a dominant canopy tree, Cecropia, were up to four times higher but had reduced diameter at breast height compared to natural counterparts. Human intervention in plant succession was also an important factor in shaping the ecology of the rainforest biome of Biosphere 2

  10. Non-experimental validation of ethnoveterinary plants and indigenous knowledge used for backyard pigs and chickens in Trinidad and Tobago.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lans, C; Georges, K; Brown, G

    2007-06-01

    This paper presents the findings of an exploratory study on ethnoveterinary medicines used for backyard pigs and backyard chickens in Trinidad and Tobago. Research data was collected from 1995 to September 2000. Six plants are used for backyard pigs. Crushed leaves of immortelle (Erythrina pallida, E. micropteryx) are used to remove dead piglets from the uterus. Leaf decoctions of bois canôt (Cecropia peltata) and bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris) are used for labour pains or leaves are fed as a postpartum cleanser. Boiled green papaya fruit (Carica papaya) is fed to pigs to induce milk let-down. The leaves and flowers of male papaya plants (Carica papaya) are fed to deworm pigs. Sour orange juice (Citrus aurantium) is given to pigs to produce lean meat, and coffee grounds are used for scours. Eyebright and plantain leaves (Plantago major) are used for eye injuries of backyard chickens. Worm grass (Chenopodium ambrosioides) and cotton bush (Gossypium species) are used as anthelmintics. Aloe gel (Aloe vera) is used for internal injuries and the yellow sap from the cut Aloe vera leaf or the juice of Citrus limonia is used to purge the birds. A literature review revealed few toxicity concerns and the potential usefulness of the plants.

  11. The potential sensitivity of tropical plants to increased ultraviolet-B radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ziska, L.H.

    1996-01-01

    Little is known concerning the impact of stratospheric ozone depletion and increasing ultraviolet (UV)-B radiation on the phenology and growth of tropical plants. This is because, ostensibly, tropical plants are already exposed to relatively high levels of UV-B radiation (relative to a temperate environment) and should, therefore, possess a greater degree of tolerance to increased UV-B radiation. In this brief review I hope to show that, potentially, direct and indirect effects on photosynthesis, assimilate partitioning, phenology and biomass could occur in both tropical crops (e.g. cassava, rice) and native species (e.g. Cecropia obtusifolia (Bertol. Fl)., Tetramolopium humile (Gray), Nana sandwicensis L.). However, it should be noted that differences in sensitivity to UV-B radiation can be related to experimental conditions, and care should be taken to ensure that the quantity and quality of background solar radiation remains at near ambient conditions. Nevertheless, by integrating current and past studies on the impact of UV-B radiation on tropical species, I hope to be able to demonstrate that photosynthesis, morphology and growth in tropical plants could be directly affected by UV-B radiation and that UV-B radiation may be a factor in species and community dynamics in natural plant populations in the tropics

  12. Self-anointing behavior in free-ranging spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) in Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laska, Matthias; Bauer, Verena; Salazar, Laura Teresa Hernandez

    2007-04-01

    During 250 h of observation, a total of 20 episodes of self-anointing, that is, the application of scent-bearing material onto the body, were recorded in a group of free-ranging Mexican spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi). The animals used the leaves of three species of plants (Brongniartia alamosana, Fabaceae; Cecropia obtusifolia, Cecropiaceae; and Apium graveolens, Umbelliferae) two of which have not been reported so far in this context in any New World primate species. The findings that only two males displayed self-anointing, that only the sternal and axillary regions of the body were rubbed with the mix of saliva and plant material, and a lack of correlation between the occurrence of self-anointing and time of day, season of the year, ambient temperature or humidity do not fit the hypothesis that this behavior functions in repelling insects and/or mitigating topical skin infections in this species. Rather, the data and the observation that the leaves of all three plant species spread an intensive and aromatic odor when crushed, support the hypothesis that self-anointing in A. geoffroyi may play a role in the context of social communication, possibly for signaling of social status or to increase sexual attractiveness.

  13. Geographical and Botanical Origin of Apis mellifera (Apidae) Honey in four Colombian Departments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nates Parra, Guiomar; Montoya, Paula Maria; Chamorro, Fermin J; Ramirez, Nedy; Giraldo, Catalina; Obregon, Diana

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this work was to find palynological markers which permit differentiate honeys from the departments of Boyaca, Cundinamarca, Santander and Magdalena, by its geographical and botanical origin. Melissopalynological analyses were made of 184 honey samples obtained from 131 localities. A discriminant analysis and comparisons between the species composition of honey samples were made to find geo-graphical and botanical origin differences. A total of 297 pollen species distributed in 69 families was found, being Mimosa sp., Cecropia sp., Eucalyptus sp., Piper sp. and Quercus humboldtii the most representatives. The major families were Fabaceae, Asteraceae, Myrtaceae, Rubiaceae, Fagaceae and Melastomataceae. Six honey groups differentiated by its geographical origin were found: Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Medio Chicamocha, Sumapaz, Bajo Chicamocha, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and Comunera Province. In a broader scale, honeys from the Andean and sub-Andean regions could be differentiated as well. Between the honey types differentiated by its botanical origin, the most important were monofloral honeys of Trifolium pratense, Coffea arabica, Eucalyptus sp., Inga sp. and Heliocarpus americanus, Asteraceae oligofloral honeys and mixtures of Q. humboldtii honeydew and floral nectar (Eucalyptussp., Brassicaceae Type, Asteraceae). This information in addition to the obtained by physico-chemical and sensorial analysis, may be the basis to acquire honeys' origin denomination.

  14. The impact of immunosenescence on humoral immune response variation after influenza A/H1N1 vaccination in older subjects.

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    Iana H Haralambieva

    Full Text Available Although influenza causes significant morbidity and mortality in the elderly, the factors underlying the reduced vaccine immunogenicity and efficacy in this age group are not completely understood. Age and immunosenescence factors, and their impact on humoral immunity after influenza vaccination, are of growing interest for the development of better vaccines for the elderly.We assessed associations between age and immunosenescence markers (T cell receptor rearrangement excision circles - TREC content, peripheral white blood cell telomerase - TERT expression and CD28 expression on T cells and influenza A/H1N1 vaccine-induced measures of humoral immunity in 106 older subjects at baseline and three timepoints post-vaccination.TERT activity (TERT mRNA expression was significantly positively correlated with the observed increase in the influenza-specific memory B cell ELISPOT response at Day 28 compared to baseline (p-value=0.025. TREC levels were positively correlated with the baseline and early (Day 3 influenza A/H1N1-specific memory B cell ELISPOT response (p-value=0.042 and p-value=0.035, respectively. The expression and/or expression change of CD28 on CD4+ and/or CD8+ T cells at baseline and Day 3 was positively correlated with the influenza A/H1N1-specific memory B cell ELISPOT response at baseline, Day 28 and Day 75 post-vaccination. In a multivariable analysis, the peak antibody response (HAI and/or VNA at Day 28 was negatively associated with age, the percentage of CD8+CD28 low T cells, IgD+CD27- naïve B cells, and percentage overall CD20- B cells and plasmablasts, measured at Day 3 post-vaccination. The early change in influenza-specific memory B cell ELISPOT response was positively correlated with the observed increase in influenza A/H1N1-specific HAI antibodies at Day 28 and Day 75 relative to baseline (p-value=0.007 and p-value=0.005, respectively.Our data suggest that influenza-specific humoral immunity is significantly influenced by

  15. Identifying Patients for Clinical Studies from Electronic Health Records: TREC 2012 Medical Records Track at OHSU

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-01

    report_text:infectious OR report_text:meningitis OR report_text:cefdinir OR report_text:encephalitis OR report_text:"brain abscess " OR...sertraline|zyprexa|olanza pine" 178 Patients with metastatic breast cancer ((report_text:metast* OR discharge_icd_codes_tx:196* OR...report_text:"metastatic breast cancer" 179 Patients taking atypical antipsychotics without a diagnosis schizophrenia or bipolar depression

  16. Monitoring every last trace

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN Bulletin

    2014-01-01

    The LHC is set to reach a record energy of 6.5 TeV per beam next year and will therefore be producing high energy radiation, as will the injectors supplying it. When exposed to this radiation, some equipment could potentially become radioactive and must therefore be carefully identified and monitored... this is where TREC comes in: software developed by CERN and currently being deployed in our accelerators.   If it becomes slightly radioactive, some of the equipment that makes up CERN’s accelerators may potentially become a hazard to the people who handle or work near it. Even though the risk is usually very low, CERN is obliged to record the location of this equipment, identify it and deal with it in an appropriate manner. During LS1 for example, almost 30,000 radiation protection checks were carried out on more than 2,500 tonnes of equipment! In 2009, going one step further in monitoring this equipment and making the Laboratory even safer, Luca Bruno, then the Radiation Safety Of...

  17. Biomarkers to assess potential developmental immunotoxicity in children

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luster, Michael I.; Johnson, Victor J.; Yucesoy, Berran; Simeonova, Petia P.

    2005-01-01

    Clinical tests are readily available for assessing severe loss of immune function in children with diseases such as AIDS or primary immunodeficiency. However tests that could reliably identify subtle immune changes, as might be expected to result from exposure to developmental immunotoxic agents, are not readily available. A number of tests are described which we believe have potential applicability for epidemiological studies involving developmental immunotoxicity. Several of the tests, such as T cell receptor rearrangement excision circles (TRECs) and cytokine measurements, while highly relevant from a biological standpoint, may be precluded from use at the current time, for either technical issues or insufficient validation. Immunophenotyping and measurement of serum immunoglobulin levels, on the other hand, are well validated. Yet they may require extraordinary care in experimental design and technical performance in order to obtain data that would consistently detect subtle changes, as these tests are not generally considered highly sensitive. Quantification of the immune response to childhood vaccine, while up to the present used sparingly, may represent an excellent indicator for developmental immunotoxicity when conducted under appropriate conditions

  18. VizieR Online Data Catalog: Mid-infrared-X-ray correlation for local AGNs (Asmus+, 2015)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asmus, D.; Gandhi, P.; Honig, S. F.; Smette, A.; Duschl, W. J.

    2018-01-01

    We start with the total sample from the AGN MIR atlas of 253 objects (Asmus et al. 2014, J/MNRAS/439/1648). Note that sample is a combination of a hard X-ray (14-195 keV) selected and a quasi-MIR selected sample as explained in Asmus et al. (2014, J/MNRAS/439/1648). The MIR continuum fluxes are the unresolved nuclear fluxes extracted from ground-based multifilter photometry obtained with the instruments VISIR (Lagage et al. 2004Msngr.117...12L), T-ReCS (Telesco et al. 1998SPIE.3354..534T), Michelle (Glasse, Atad-Ettedgui & Harris 1997SPIE.2871.1197G), and COMICS; (Kataza et al. 2000SPIE.4008.1144K). We collect observed 14-195 keV fluxes, Fobs(14-195 keV), measured with Swift/BAT (Burst Alert Telescope) by combining the data of the 54 and 70 month source catalogues with preference for the latter (Cusumano et al. 2010, J/A+A/524/A64; Baumgartner et al. 2013, J/ApJS/207/19). (2 data files).

  19. Citotoxicidad de extractos de plantas medicinales sobre la línea celular de carcinoma de pulmón humano A549

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexis Díaz García

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: evaluar el efecto de 10 extractos de plantas medicinales sobre el crecimiento de la línea celular humana de carcinoma de pulmón A549. METODOS: el efecto de los extractos sobre la células tumorales se midió a través de un ensayo colorimétrico mediante el empleo del bromuro de 3-(4,5-dimetil-tiazol-2-yl-2,5-difenil tetrazolio a concentraciones entre 3,9-250 µg/mL durante 72 h y se calculó la concentración citotóxica media para cada uno. RESULTADOS: del total de los extractos evaluados solo cuatro (Parthenium hysterophorus, Bixa orellana, Momordica charantia y Cucurbita maxima evidenciaron concentraciones citotóxicas medias inferiores a 100 µg/mL. Excepto Parthenium hysterophorus, las restantes se emplean en la medicina tradicional para el tratamiento del cáncer. Los extractos de Cecropia peltata, Melia azedarach, Annona glabra, Artemisia absintium, Lepidium virginicum y Bidens pilosa no mostraron efectos citotóxicos significativos. CONCLUSIONES: Los extractos de plantas que se emplean en la medicina tradicional para el tratamiento del cáncer, mostraron citotoxicidad sobre las células tumorales. El conocimiento etnobotánico representa una herramienta importante en la selección de plantas medicinales, en la búsqueda de nuevos compuestos para el tratamiento del cáncer.

  20. Dieta de Traupíneos (Passeriformes, Emberizidae no Parque Estadual do Ibitipoca, Minas Gerais, Brasil Diet of Tanagers (Passeriformes, Emberizidae in Ibitipoca State Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco A. Manhães

    Full Text Available Eleven species of tanagers in Ibitipoca State Park, Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, were studied for 12 months and the birds diet was described. Fruits of 52 plant species were the main item consumed for all tanagers, representing 59.70% of all items in 1330 events, although different proportions in the use of this resource have been found among the bird species. The main plant families found were Myrtaceae with eight species accounting for 22.29% (n=177, and Melastomataceae with seven species accounting for 22.29% (n=177 of fruit intake. The most frequent plant species in the diet was Cecropia glaziovi Snethl. (Cecropiaceae, which made up 17.76% (n=141 of fruit intake of all species of tanagers. Arthropod consumption came second with 22.63% (n=301, but flowers, leaves, nectar, food remains left by tourists and galls were also represented. Several environmental features influenced diet composition. An Asteraceae, Vanillosmopsis erythropappa Schultz, very common in the park, was important for some birds as its flowers attracted arthropods and its branches and leaves were used as a substrate for insectivory. Fruit intake rate, some bird-plant interaction and features of food-handling were also discussed, pointing to the importance of these birds for the structure of the heterogeneous local landscape, possibly through the spread of seeds of different plant species.

  1. Catálogo sistemático dos polens das plantas arbóreas do Brasil meridional: XXIII. Moraceae Catalogue of southern Brazilian pollen grains: XXIII. Moraceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ortrud Monika Barth

    1976-01-01

    Full Text Available Foi estudada a morfologia polínica de espécies pertencentes a oito gêneros. Os diferentes tipos polínicos econtrados, correspondendo aos gêneros, bem como as variações das estruturas dentro de alguns deles, confirmam as relações filogenéticas nesta família. Os de morfologia mais simples correspondem a árvores ou arbustos dos gêneros Brosimum, Cecropia, Chlorophora e Coussapoa, seguindo-se Ficus, Pourouma e Sorocea; os grãos do gênero herbáceo Dorstenia apresentam uma complexa morfologia polínica. A estrutura dos esporodermas e das aberturas dos grãos de pólen comprova o seu relacionamento com outras famílias das Urticales.The pollen morphology from some species of eight genera of Moraceae has been studied. The different pollen types found, corresponding to the genera, as well as the structural variations in some of them, confirm the phylogenetic relations in this family. The specimens with a less complex pollen morphology were the trees or shrubs from the genera Brosimum, Cepropia, Chlorophora and Coussapoa, followed by Ficus, Pourouma and Sorocea; the pollen grains from the herbaceous Dorstenia show a complex pollen morphology. The structures of the sporoderm and the apertures of the pollen grains point out the relationship between these genera and other families from the Urticales.

  2. Measuring the Interestingness of Articles in a Limited User Environment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pon, Raymond K. [Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

    2008-01-01

    Search engines, such as Google, assign scores to news articles based on their relevancy to a query. However, not all relevant articles for the query may be interesting to a user. For example, if the article is old or yields little new information, the article would be uninteresting. Relevancy scores do not take into account what makes an article interesting, which varies from user to user. Although methods such as collaborative filtering have been shown to be effective in recommendation systems, in a limited user environment, there are not enough users that would make collaborative filtering effective. A general framework, called iScore, is presented for defining and measuring the 'interestingness' of articles, incorporating user-feedback. iScore addresses various aspects of what makes an article interesting, such as topic relevancy, uniqueness, freshness, source reputation, and writing style. It employs various methods to measure these features and uses a classifier operating on these features to recommend articles. The basic iScore configuration is shown to improve recommendation results by as much as 20%. In addition to the basic iScore features, additional features are presented to address the deficiencies of existing feature extractors, such as one that tracks multiple topics, called MTT, and a version of the Rocchio algorithm that learns its parameters online as it processes documents, called eRocchio. The inclusion of both MTT and eRocchio into iScore is shown to improve iScore recommendation results by as much as 3.1% and 5.6%, respectively. Additionally, in TREC11 Adaptive Filter Task, eRocchio is shown to be 10% better than the best filter in the last run of the task. In addition to these two major topic relevancy measures, other features are also introduced that employ language models, phrases, clustering, and changes in topics to improve recommendation results. These additional features are shown to improve recommendation results by iScore by

  3. Effect of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor on murine thymic emigration and subsets reconstitution after a sublethal dose of irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Hongxia; Guo Mei; Sun Xuedong; Ai Huisheng

    2011-01-01

    Objective: To investigate the effects of recombinant human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) on murine thymic emigration and subsets reconstitution after a sublethal dose of irradiation. Methods: Female BALB/c mice were irradiated with a 6.0 Gy of γ-ray total-body irradiation and then randomly divided into GCSF group and control group. For mice in the GCSF group, recombinant human G-CSF 100 μg · kg -1 · d -1 was injected subcutaneously once daily for 14 continuous days and mice in the control group were given the same volume of phosphate buffered solution (PBS). At 7, 14, 21 and 28 days later, mice were killed and thymus mononuclear cell suspension were analyzed by flow cytometry for the percentage of the four stages of thymic CD4 - CD8 - double negative cells (DN1-4) and the CD4 + CD8 + double positive ( CD4 + CD8 + DP), CD4 + CD8 - single positive (CD4 + SP), CD4 - CD8 + single positive cells (CD8 + SP).Real-time PCR was used for detection and quantitation of murine T cell receptor rearrangement excision circles (sjTRECs) of the thymic cells of 30 and 60 d after irradiation. Results: The percentage of thymic DN1 cells in GCSF group was significantly higher than that of the control group 7 d after irradiation (t=9.59, P<0.05). 21 d later, the proportion of thymic DN3 and DN4 cells were higher than those of the control group (t=16.37, 7.6, P<0.05). The percentage of thymic CD4 + CD8 + DP cells decreased 7 d after irradiation,increased at 14 d, decreased again at 21 days,and then got a permanent recover. The percentage of thymic CD4 + CD8 + DP cells in the GCSF group recovered to normal and was significantly higher than that of the control group 28 days after irradiation (t=12.22, P<0.05). The percentage of thymic CD8 + SP cells of the GCSF group was significantly higher than that of the control group 21 d after irradiation (t=3.77, P<0.05), while G-CSF had no obvious influence on the percentage of the thymic CD4 + SP cells. The sjTRECs copies in the

  4. Resultados da associação trabeculotomia-trabeculectomia em pacientes não idosos Results of trabeculotomy-trabeculectomy in not elderly patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angelo Ferreira Passos

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Objetivo: Avaliar os resultados da associação trabeculotomia-trabeculectomia (Tro-Trec em pacientes de 12 a 50 anos, com glaucoma moderado ou avançado. Métodos: estudo prospectivo de 19 olhos de 13 pacientes, de 12 a 50 anos (média de 33,77 ± 11,43, submetidos à Tro-Trec e seguidos por 21,6 ± 7,2 (5,1 a 29,7 meses. Resultados: A pressão intraocular, (PIO média inicial de 32,03 ± 10,01 mmHg (variando de 12 a 50, foi reduzida para 9,42 mmHg ± 3,50 (2 e 16, com redução da medicação tópica de 1,47 ± 1,54 (0 a 4 para 0,16 ± 0,37 (0 a 1 medicamentos. A PIO alvo foi atingida em 15 (78,94% olhos. Houve acentuada redução da PIO mesmo em olhos sem bolhas significativas. O procedimento resultou em hipotonia persistente em três olhos. Conclusão: A cirurgia proposta foi eficaz. A acentuada redução da PIO em olhos sem bolhas significativas sugere que, na faixa etária analisada, a trabeculotomia isolada pode ser suficiente para controle da PIO em alguns pacientes. A incidência de hipotonia foi significativa, porém não superior à relacionada à trabeculectomia isolada, para a mesma faixa etária.Purpose: To evaluate the results of the trabeculotomy-trabeculectomy combined procedure in 12 to 50 years old patients with moderate and advanced glaucoma. Methods: Nineteen eyes of thirteen patients underwent a trabeculotomy-trabeculectomy procedure and were prospectively analyzed and followed up for 21,6 ± 7,2 (5,1 a 29,7 months. Results: IOP was reduced from 32,03 ± 10,01 (12 to 50 mmHg to 9,42 ± 3,50 (2 e 16 mmHg with the number of topical medications being reduced from 1,47 ± 1,54 (0 a 4 to 0,16 ± 0,37 (0 a 1. The target IOP was obtained in 15 of the eyes (78,94%. A great IOP reduction was obtained in eyes without significant blebs. Three eyes developed persistent hipotony. Conclusion: The procedure proved to be effective. The IOP reduction in eyes without significant blebs make us to infer that isolated trabeculotomy should be

  5. Polliniferous plants aud foraging strategles Of Apis mellifera (Hyínenoptera: Apidae in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rogel Villanueva-G

    2002-12-01

    Full Text Available A study of the most important polliniferous plants for European and Africanized honeybees (Apis mellifera L. was made in Quintana Roo state. Comparisons were made between the plants visited by both bee types in order to determine whether there were qualitative or quantitative differences in their choice of plant species. Also some foraging strategies of the honeybees were analysed. Pollen from pollen load samples was acetolysed and mounted on slides. Subsequently the polien grains were identified, counted and photographed. A total of 206 pollen load samples were collected at Palmas and St. Teresa during two years. The most frequent species in the ponen load samples from European and Africanized honeyhees were Cecropia peltata, Metopium brownei, Lonchocarpus sp. 2, Viguiera dentata, Eragrostis sp. 1, Bursera simaruba and Eupatorium albicaule. Both types of honey bees show a high reliance on pollen from only a few species, the first five named above comprised around 50% of all the mean percentage frequencies. Families that contributed with the largest number of polien species were Fabaceae, Asteraceac, Boraginaceae, Convolvulaecae, Euphorbiaceae, Sapindaceae, Poaceac, Myrtaceae, Sapotaceae and Tiliaceae. C. peltata, Trema micrantha, B. simaruba, Eugenia sp. 1, Thouinia canesceras, Pouteria sp. 1, Mimosa bahamensis and V. dentata, were the pollen species with the largest percentages of oceurrence in both European and Africanized bee pollen load samples, and also represent a "long-term" food resources during the year.Un estudio de las plantas poliníferas más importantes para las abejas europeas y africanizadas (Apis melifera L. se realizó en el estado de Quintana Roo. Se hicieron comparaciones entre plantas visitadas por ambos tipos de abejas, con el objetivo de determinar si hay diferencias cualitativas o cuantitativas en la elección de la especie de planta. Adicionalmente, se analizaron algunas estrategias de forrajeo de las abejas. Muestras

  6. Revision of the Neotropical spider genus Gephyroctenus (Araneae: Ctenidae: Calocteninae Revisão do gênero de aranhas neotropicais Gephyroctenus Mello-Leitão (Araneae: Ctenidae: Calocteninae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniele Polotow

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Gephyroctenus Mello-Leitão, 1936 (type species G. philodromoides Mello-Leitão, 1936 is revised. Three species formerly described in this genus are synonymized with species from other genera: G. kolosvaryi Caporiacco, 1947, with Acanthoctenus spinipes Keyserling, 1877, G. parvus Caporiacco, 1947, with Phymatoctenus comosus Simon, 1897, and G. vachoni Caporiacco, 1955, with Caloctenus gracilitarsis Simon, 1897. Eight new species are described: G. portovelho sp. nov., from the States of Rondônia and Amazonas, Brazil; G. divisor sp. nov. and G. acre sp. nov., from the State of Acre, Brazil; G. atininga sp. nov., G. esteio sp. nov. and G. mapia sp. nov., from the State of Amazonas, Brazil; G. juruti sp. nov., from the Department of Loreto, Peru and the State of Pará, Brazil; G. panguana sp. nov., from the Department of Huanuco, Peru. The genus can be distinguished by the presence of a cymbial retrolateral groove, retrolateral origin of embolus, embolus long and thin, median apophysis with a subdistal hook, and hyaline projection close to the embolus base in the male palp and by the fused median and lateral fields in a single epigynal plate, copulatory opening located dorsally in an atrium, and elongated copulatory ducts surrounding the spermathecae in the female epigynum. Field observations on the hunting behavior on ants in trumpet trees (Cecropia are provided for two species, G. philodromoides and G. mapia sp. nov.Gephyroctenus Mello-Leitão, 1936 (espécie-tipo G. philodromoides Mello-Leitão, 1936, é revisado. Três espécies descritas neste gênero são sinonimizadas com espécies de outros gêneros: G. kolosvaryi Caporiacco, 1947, com Acanthoctenus spinipes Keyserling, 1877, G. parvus Caporiacco, 1947, com Phymatoctenus comosus Simon, 1897, e G. vachoni Caporiacco, 1955, com Caloctenus gracilitarsis Simon, 1897. Oito novas espécies são descritas: G. portovelho sp. nov., dos Estados de Rondônia e Amazonas, Brasil; G. divisor sp. nov. e G

  7. Newborn Screening for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency in Israel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erez Rechavi

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Newborn screening (NBS programs for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID, the most severe type of primary immunodeficiency, are being implemented in more and more countries with every passing year. Since October 2015, SCID screening via T cell receptor excision circle (TREC quantification in dried blood spots (DBS has been part of the Israeli NBS program. As an NBS program in its infancy, SCID screening is still evolving, making gathering input from the various programs crucial for compiling an ideal screening algorithm. The relatively high rate of consanguineous marriages in Israel, especially among non-Jews, correlates with an increased incidence of SCID. The Israeli algorithm uses a commercial kit and consists of a two-Guthrie card confirmation system prior to referral to a national immunology center. Preliminary data from the first year and a half of SCID screening in Israel has identified a surprisingly high prevalence of DNA cross-link repair protein 1c (DCLRE1C; ARTEMIS mutations as the cause of SCID in Israel. The clinically unbiased nature of SCID screening helps unearth mild/leaky SCID phenotypes, resulting in a better understanding of true SCID prevalence and etiology.

  8. PageRank without hyperlinks: Reranking with PubMed related article networks for biomedical text retrieval

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lin Jimmy

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Graph analysis algorithms such as PageRank and HITS have been successful in Web environments because they are able to extract important inter-document relationships from manually-created hyperlinks. We consider the application of these techniques to biomedical text retrieval. In the current PubMed® search interface, a MEDLINE® citation is connected to a number of related citations, which are in turn connected to other citations. Thus, a MEDLINE record represents a node in a vast content-similarity network. This article explores the hypothesis that these networks can be exploited for text retrieval, in the same manner as hyperlink graphs on the Web. Results We conducted a number of reranking experiments using the TREC 2005 genomics track test collection in which scores extracted from PageRank and HITS analysis were combined with scores returned by an off-the-shelf retrieval engine. Experiments demonstrate that incorporating PageRank scores yields significant improvements in terms of standard ranked-retrieval metrics. Conclusion The link structure of content-similarity networks can be exploited to improve the effectiveness of information retrieval systems. These results generalize the applicability of graph analysis algorithms to text retrieval in the biomedical domain.

  9. PageRank without hyperlinks: reranking with PubMed related article networks for biomedical text retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Jimmy

    2008-06-06

    Graph analysis algorithms such as PageRank and HITS have been successful in Web environments because they are able to extract important inter-document relationships from manually-created hyperlinks. We consider the application of these techniques to biomedical text retrieval. In the current PubMed(R) search interface, a MEDLINE(R) citation is connected to a number of related citations, which are in turn connected to other citations. Thus, a MEDLINE record represents a node in a vast content-similarity network. This article explores the hypothesis that these networks can be exploited for text retrieval, in the same manner as hyperlink graphs on the Web. We conducted a number of reranking experiments using the TREC 2005 genomics track test collection in which scores extracted from PageRank and HITS analysis were combined with scores returned by an off-the-shelf retrieval engine. Experiments demonstrate that incorporating PageRank scores yields significant improvements in terms of standard ranked-retrieval metrics. The link structure of content-similarity networks can be exploited to improve the effectiveness of information retrieval systems. These results generalize the applicability of graph analysis algorithms to text retrieval in the biomedical domain.

  10. Energy extraction and water treatment in one system: The idea of using a desalination battery in a cooling tower

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shapira, Barak; Cohen, Izaak; Penki, Tirupathi Rao; Avraham, Eran; Aurbach, Doron

    2018-02-01

    The use of sodium manganese oxide as an intercalation electrode for water treatment was recently explored, and referred to as a "desalination battery" and "hybrid capacitive deionization". Here, we examine the feasibility of using such a desalination battery, comprising crystalline Na4Mn9O18 as the cathode and Ag/AgCl/Cl- electrode as the anode, to extract energy from low-grade waste heat sources. Sodium manganese oxide electrode's material was produced via a solid-state synthesis. Electrodes were produced by spray-coated onto graphite foils, and showed a temperature dependence of the electrode potential, namely, ∂ E / ∂ T , of -0.63 mV/K (whereas, the Ag/AgCl/Cl- mesh electrode showed much lower temperature dependence, < 0.1 mV/K). In order to demonstrate ion-removal capabilities together with the feasibility of thermal-energy conversion, a flow battery system was constructed. Thermally regenerative electrochemical cycles (TREC) were constructed for the flow battery cell. The thermal energy conversion, in this particular system, was shown to be feasible at relatively low C-rate (C/19) with temperatures varying between 30 °C and 70 °C.

  11. Tracking Multiple Topics for Finding Interesting Articles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pon, R K; Cardenas, A F; Buttler, D J; Critchlow, T J

    2008-01-03

    We introduce multiple topic tracking (MTT) for iScore to better recommend news articles for users with multiple interests and to address changes in user interests over time. As an extension of the basic Rocchio algorithm, traditional topic detection and tracking, and single-pass clustering, MTT maintains multiple interest profiles to identify interesting articles for a specific user given user-feedback. Focusing on only interesting topics enables iScore to discard useless profiles to address changes in user interests and to achieve a balance between resource consumption and classification accuracy. iScore is able to achieve higher quality results than traditional methods such as the Rocchio algorithm. We identify several operating parameters that work well for MTT. Using the same parameters, we show that MTT alone yields high quality results for recommending interesting articles from several corpora. The inclusion of MTT improves iScore's performance by 25% in recommending news articles from the Yahoo! News RSS feeds and the TREC11 adaptive filter article collection. And through a small user study, we show that iScore can still perform well when only provided with little user feedback.

  12. Augmenting performance feedback does not affect 4 km cycling time-trials in the heat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waldron, Mark; Villerius, Vincent; Murphy, Aron

    2015-01-01

    We compared the effects of (1) accurate and (2) surreptitiously augmented performance feedback on power output and physiological responses to a 4000 m time-trial in the heat. Nine cyclists completed a baseline (BaseL) 4000 m time-trial in ambient temperatures of 30°C, followed by two further 4000 m time-trials at the same temperature, randomly assigning the participants to an accurate (ACC; accurate feedback of baseline) or deceived (DEC; 2% increase above baseline) feedback group. The total power output (PO) and aerobic (Paer) and anaerobic (Pan) contributions were determined at 0.4 km stages during the time-trials, alongside measurements of rectal (Trec) and skin (Tskin) temperatures. There were no differences (P > 0.05) in any of the variables between BaseL, ACC and DEC, despite increases (P 0.05) between feedback condition and time-trial stage. Providing surreptitiously augmented performance feedback to well-trained cyclists did not alter their performance or physiological responses to a 4000 m time-trial in a hot environment. The assumed influence of augmented performance feedback was nullified in the heat, perhaps reflecting a central down-regulation of exercise intensity in response to an increased body temperature.

  13. Mining Sequential Update Summarization with Hierarchical Text Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chunyun Zhang

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The outbreak of unexpected news events such as large human accident or natural disaster brings about a new information access problem where traditional approaches fail. Mostly, news of these events shows characteristics that are early sparse and later redundant. Hence, it is very important to get updates and provide individuals with timely and important information of these incidents during their development, especially when being applied in wireless and mobile Internet of Things (IoT. In this paper, we define the problem of sequential update summarization extraction and present a new hierarchical update mining system which can broadcast with useful, new, and timely sentence-length updates about a developing event. The new system proposes a novel method, which incorporates techniques from topic-level and sentence-level summarization. To evaluate the performance of the proposed system, we apply it to the task of sequential update summarization of temporal summarization (TS track at Text Retrieval Conference (TREC 2013 to compute four measurements of the update mining system: the expected gain, expected latency gain, comprehensiveness, and latency comprehensiveness. Experimental results show that our proposed method has good performance.

  14. The physical activity climate in Minnesota middle and high schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samuelson, Anne; Lytle, Leslie; Pasch, Keryn; Farbakhsh, Kian; Moe, Stacey; Sirard, John Ronald

    2010-11-01

    This article describes policies, practices, and facilities that form the physical activity climate in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota metro area middle and high schools and examines how the physical activity climate varies by school characteristics, including public/private, school location and grade level. Surveys examining school physical activity practices, policies and environment were administered to principals and physical education department heads from 115 middle and high schools participating in the Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer-Identifying Determinants of Eating and Activity (TREC-IDEA) study. While some supportive practices were highly prevalent in the schools studied (such as prohibiting substitution of other classes for physical education); other practices were less common (such as providing opportunity for intramural (noncompetitive) sports). Public schools vs. private schools and schools with a larger school enrollment were more likely to have a school climate supportive of physical activity. Although schools reported elements of positive physical activity climates, discrepancies exist by school characteristics. Of note, public schools were more than twice as likely as private schools to have supportive physical activity environments. Establishing more consistent physical activity expectations and funding at the state and national level is necessary to increase regular school physical activity.

  15. Arboreal Ants Use the “Velcro® Principle” to Capture Very Large Prey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dejean, Alain; Leroy, Céline; Corbara, Bruno; Roux, Olivier; Céréghino, Régis; Orivel, Jérôme; Boulay, Raphaël

    2010-01-01

    Plant-ants live in a mutualistic association with host plants known as “myrmecophytes” that provide them with a nesting place and sometimes with extra-floral nectar (EFN) and/or food bodies (FBs); the ants can also attend sap-sucking Hemiptera for their honeydew. In return, plant-ants, like most other arboreal ants, protect their host plants from defoliators. To satisfy their nitrogen requirements, however, some have optimized their ability to capture prey in the restricted environment represented by the crowns of trees by using elaborate hunting techniques. In this study, we investigated the predatory behavior of the ant Azteca andreae which is associated with the myrmecophyte Cecropia obtusa. We noted that up to 8350 ant workers per tree hide side-by-side beneath the leaf margins of their host plant with their mandibles open, waiting for insects to alight. The latter are immediately seized by their extremities, and then spread-eagled; nestmates are recruited to help stretch, carve up and transport prey. This group ambush hunting technique is particularly effective when the underside of the leaves is downy, as is the case for C. obtusa. In this case, the hook-shaped claws of the A. andreae workers and the velvet-like structure of the underside of the leaves combine to act like natural Velcro® that is reinforced by the group ambush strategy of the workers, allowing them to capture prey of up to 13,350 times the mean weight of a single worker. PMID:20593032

  16. Biodiversidad florística del Jardín Botánico de la Universidad Nacional de Ucayali

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Víctor Araujo Abanto

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available El objetivo fue la clasificación taxonómica y descripciones botánicas de 36 especies (23 familias y 33 géneros, árboles, arbustos, lianas y hierbas en el Jardín Botánico y Campus de la Universidad Nacional de Ucayali. De las 36 especies, 6 son ornamentales: Sanchezia tigrina, Crinum augustum, Sansevieria trifasciata, Dracaena fragans, Costus guanaiensis y Vitex cymosa; Rhynchosia phaseoloides cuyas semillas son cotizadas como artesanal; 7 podrían tener uso ornamental: Tabernaemontana heteropylla, Sparattosperma leucanthum, Cayaponia ophthalmica, Gurania eriantha, Gurania spinulosa, Stigmaphyllon florosum y Capirona decorticans; 3 son medicinales: Euphorbia umbellata (tratamiento del cáncer y otros males, Uncaria guianensis (refuerza el sistema inmunológico y Pilocarpus peruvianus contiene Pilocarpina de uso oftalmológico; Pourouma guianensis tiene fuerte olor a mentol; 3 con frutos alimenticios Tamarindus indica, Bunchosia armeniaca y Physalis angulata, conteniendo este último alto contenido en pro vitamina A; 10 son maderables: Dipteryx odorata, Vitex cymosa, Tectona grandis, Ocotea bofo, Perebea xanthochyma, Virola pavonis, Calycophyllum spruceanum, Capirona decorticans, Guazuma ulmifolia y Bambusa arundinacea; Pueraria phaseoloides usado como forraje, en el Jardín Botánico está como maleza al igual que Davilla nítida y Urena lobata, que podría servir como ornamental, su corteza tiene propiedades similares al yute verdadero; Cecropia membranácea, C. concolor, C. sciadophylla y Gouania lupuloides que pueden servir como alimento de la fauna silvestre.

  17. Arboreal ants use the "Velcro(R principle" to capture very large prey.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alain Dejean

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Plant-ants live in a mutualistic association with host plants known as "myrmecophytes" that provide them with a nesting place and sometimes with extra-floral nectar (EFN and/or food bodies (FBs; the ants can also attend sap-sucking Hemiptera for their honeydew. In return, plant-ants, like most other arboreal ants, protect their host plants from defoliators. To satisfy their nitrogen requirements, however, some have optimized their ability to capture prey in the restricted environment represented by the crowns of trees by using elaborate hunting techniques. In this study, we investigated the predatory behavior of the ant Azteca andreae which is associated with the myrmecophyte Cecropia obtusa. We noted that up to 8350 ant workers per tree hide side-by-side beneath the leaf margins of their host plant with their mandibles open, waiting for insects to alight. The latter are immediately seized by their extremities, and then spread-eagled; nestmates are recruited to help stretch, carve up and transport prey. This group ambush hunting technique is particularly effective when the underside of the leaves is downy, as is the case for C. obtusa. In this case, the hook-shaped claws of the A. andreae workers and the velvet-like structure of the underside of the leaves combine to act like natural Velcro that is reinforced by the group ambush strategy of the workers, allowing them to capture prey of up to 13,350 times the mean weight of a single worker.

  18. Evaluating Stream Filtering for Entity Profile Updates in TREC 2012, 2013, and 2014 (KBA Track Overview, Notebook Paper)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-01

    possible future directions that build on the KBA experience.   Data Assets   In addition to the three hundred run submissions from diverse systems...form name of an entity and assigning a confidence score based on the number of matches of tokens in the name. See code in github [6]. macro-P...131 64 GENDER 4 2 FoundedBy     56 30 NAME 2 2 DateOfDeath     54 12 TOP_MEMBERS_EMPLOYEES 2 1 EmployeeOf     44 19 WON_AWARD 1 1

  19. Leaf litter breakdown rates and associated fauna of native and exotic trees used in Neotropical Riparia Reforestation; Tasas de perdida de masa de la hojarasca y fauna asociada en especies de arboles comunmente utilizados en la Reforestacion de Riberas Neotropicales

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gutierrez Isaza, Nataly; Blanco, Juan Felipe

    2014-07-01

    A signature of globalization is the prevalence of exotic trees along reforested urban and rural riparian zones in the neotropics, but little is known about the instream processing of its leaf litter. In this study, leaf litter breakdown rates were measured during 35 days using mesh bags within a reference headwater stream for seven exotic and three native tree species commonly used in urban and rural reforestation. Artocarpus altilis, Schefflera actinophylla and Terminalia catappa scored the highest mass loss rates (>85 %; mean life: t50 <15 d), while Cecropia sp. and Cespedesia macrophylla (mass loss =36 and 15 %; t50 =58 and 172 d, respectively) scored the lowest rates. However, a broad range of rates was observed among the ten species studied. The carbon to phosphorus ratio (c:p) and toughness of the leaf litter were the best predictors of breakdown rates. However, these leaf properties were not correlated with the very low values of macro invertebrates abundance and diversity, and the few morpho classified as shredders. Therefore physical rather than biological controls seem to best explain the observed variability of mass loss rates, and thus slow decomposing leaf litter species seems to provide a habitat rather than a food resource, particularly to collectors. This study suggests that riparian reforestation will propagate species-specific ecological influences on instream processes such as leaf litter processing depending on leaf quality properties, therefore ecosystem-wide influences should be considered for improving reforestation strategies. Future studies should test for differences in breakdown rates and colonization by macro invertebrates relative for leaf litter species origin (native vs. exotic).

  20. Leaf litter breakdown rates and associated fauna of native and exotic trees used in Neotropical Riparia Reforestation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gutierrez Isaza, Nataly; Blanco, Juan Felipe

    2014-01-01

    A signature of globalization is the prevalence of exotic trees along reforested urban and rural riparian zones in the neotropics, but little is known about the instream processing of its leaf litter. In this study, leaf litter breakdown rates were measured during 35 days using mesh bags within a reference headwater stream for seven exotic and three native tree species commonly used in urban and rural reforestation. Artocarpus altilis, Schefflera actinophylla and Terminalia catappa scored the highest mass loss rates (>85 %; mean life: t50 <15 d), while Cecropia sp. and Cespedesia macrophylla (mass loss =36 and 15 %; t50 =58 and 172 d, respectively) scored the lowest rates. However, a broad range of rates was observed among the ten species studied. The carbon to phosphorus ratio (c:p) and toughness of the leaf litter were the best predictors of breakdown rates. However, these leaf properties were not correlated with the very low values of macro invertebrates abundance and diversity, and the few morpho classified as shredders. Therefore physical rather than biological controls seem to best explain the observed variability of mass loss rates, and thus slow decomposing leaf litter species seems to provide a habitat rather than a food resource, particularly to collectors. This study suggests that riparian reforestation will propagate species-specific ecological influences on instream processes such as leaf litter processing depending on leaf quality properties, therefore ecosystem-wide influences should be considered for improving reforestation strategies. Future studies should test for differences in breakdown rates and colonization by macro invertebrates relative for leaf litter species origin (native vs. exotic).

  1. Recovery after 25 years of the tree and palms species diversity on a selectively logged forest in a Venezuelan lowland ecosystem

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lozada, J.R.; Arends, E.; Sánchez, D.; Villarreal, A.; Guevara, J.; Soriano, P.; Costa, M.

    2016-07-01

    Aim of the study: We evaluate palm and tree species diversity in a floodplain forest and the changes affecting the plots subjected to different intensities of selective logging. Area of study: The western alluvial plains of Venezuela. Materials and Methods: A randomized complete blocks design was established 25 years ago with three felling treatments (trees with diameter greater than 20 cm, 40 cm and 60 cm). Each treatment had three replications, using 1 ha permanent plots. We have measured all trees and palms bigger than over 10 cm in diameter. The data set was used to calculate the Importance Value Index of each species, the Shannon-Wiener index, the Hill Numbers and the Chao-Sørensen index. Main results: Disturbance increases the importance value index of pioneer species like Cecropia peltata, Ochroma pyramidale and Triplaris americana. All treatments produce changes on the floristic diversity but most of them are not significant. Only the high impact treatment causes a decrease in the species richness, but after 5 year of recovery this parameter is close to its previous levels (N0= 43.5). In logged forests, species loss (9.2%) is lower than in the control plots (11.7%) and is also lower than the rate of occurrence of species input (14.6%). Research highlights: In these logged forests restoration of diversity is acceptable because is higher than 91% (Chao-Sørensen index). Selective logging, with low and medium intensity, is a disturbance that works in a similar way to natural disturbances. All the diversity indexes recovered the pre-harvest level values. (Author)

  2. ORIGEN GEOGRÁFICO Y BOTÁNICO DE MIELES DE Apis mellifera (APIDAE EN CUATRO DEPARTAMENTOS DE COLOMBIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guiomar Nates Parra

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available El objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar marcadores palinológicos que permitieran caracterizar el origen geográfico y botánico de mieles provenientes de los departamentos de Boyacá, Cundinamarca, Santander y Magdalena. Se realizaron análisis melisopalinológicos de 184 muestras de miel procedentes de 131 apiarios. Se determinaron diferencias significativas entre tipos de mieles mediante un análisis discriminante y comparando la composición de especies entre las muestras. En total se encontraron 297 especies distribuidas en 69 familias, dentro de las cuales las más representativas fueron Mimosa sp., Cecropia sp., Eucalyptus sp., Piper sp. y Quercus humboldtii. Las familias más importantes fueron Fabaceae, Asteraceae,Myrtaceae, Rubiaceae, Fagaceae, y Melastomataceae. Se lograron determinar seis grupos de mieles diferenciadas por su origen geográfico: Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Medio Chicamocha, Sumapaz, Bajo Chicamocha, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta y Provincia Comunera; también se encontraron diferencias entre las mieles de las regiones andinas y subandinas. Dentro de los tipos de mieles diferenciadas por origen botánico predominaron las mieles monoflorales de Trifolium pratense, Coffea arabica, Eucalyptus sp., Inga sp.y Heliocarpus americanus, mieles oligoflorales de asteráceas y mezclas de mielato de Q. humboldtii y néctar floral (Eucalyptus sp. tipo Brassicaceae, asteráceas. La información de este trabajo junto con la obtenida en análisis fisicoquímicos y sensoriales servirá de base para que los apicultores puedan solicitar la denominación de origen de estas mieles.

  3. Evaluación de la capacidad antioxidante y metabolitos secundarios de extractos de dieciséis plantas medicinales

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Echavarría, Ana

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This study evaluated the antioxidant capacity of sixteen medicinal plants: Escoba amarga (Parthenium hysterophons, ajenjo (Artemisia absinthium, guarumo (Cecropia obtusifolia, chaya (Cnidoscolus chayamansa, borraja (Borago officinalis, balsa (Ochroma sp., linaza (Linum usitatissimum, hierba Luisa (Cymbopogon citratus, toronjil (Melissa officinalis, buganvilla (Bougainvillea spectabilis, alcachofa (Cynara scolymus, guaviduca (Piper carpunya, altamisa (Ambrosia cumanensis, diente de León (Taxacum officinales, buscapina (Parietaria officinalisand moringa (Moringa oleifera. For this, the DPPH (radical 1, 1-difenil-2-picrilhidrazil method was used; furthermore, recognition assays of secondary metabolites were performed, in order to obtain the first signs of phytochemical compounds of interest. The free radical scavenging activity of the extracts was expressed as IC value (g/mL (necessary amount to inhibit the formation of 50% of DPPH radical. The low value of IC50 reflects better free radical scavenging action. Although most of the samples tested showed good antioxidant capacity with this method (DPPH, tests of hydroalcoholic extracts show that alcachofa (IC50 9.89 mg/mL, moringa (IC50 11.4 mg/mL and borraja (IC50 14.0 mg/mL were those with higher antioxidant capacity. Through chemical characterization tests, the presence of flavonoids, tannins, triterpenes, alkaloids and saponins were detected in most of the analyzed species (approximately 56-69%; only 20% of them showed the presence of polyphenols, cyanogenic glycosides, lactones, coumarins, anthraquinones and sterols. According to the results obtained, these plants might be considered as promising sources of secondary metabolites with antioxidant activity.

  4. Preparation of High Modulus Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate: Influence of Molecular Weight, Extrusion, and Drawing Parameters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jian Min Zhang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Poly(ethylene terephthalate (PET which is one of the most commercially important polymers, has for many years been an interesting candidate for the production of high performance fibres and tapes. In current study, we focus on investigating the effects of the various processing variables on the mechanical properties of PET produced by a distinctive process of melt spinning and uniaxial two-stage solid-state drawing (SSD. These processing variables include screw rotation speed during extrusion, fibre take-up speed, molecular weight, draw-ratio, and drawing temperature. As-spun PET production using a single-screw extrusion process was first optimized to induce an optimal polymer microstructure for subsequent drawing processes. It was found that less crystallization which occurred during this process would lead to better drawability, higher draw-ratio, and mechanical properties in the subsequent SSD process. Then the effect of drawing temperature (DT in uniaxial two-stage SSD process was studied to understand how DT (Trec would affect the crystallization, draw-ratio, and final mechanical properties of PET. The designed process in current work is simulated to an industrial production process for PET fibres; therefore, results and analysis in this paper have significant importance for industrial production.

  5. Improve Biomedical Information Retrieval using Modified Learning to Rank Methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Bo; Lin, Hongfei; Lin, Yuan; Ma, Yunlong; Yang, Liang; Wang, Jian; Yang, Zhihao

    2016-06-14

    In these years, the number of biomedical articles has increased exponentially, which becomes a problem for biologists to capture all the needed information manually. Information retrieval technologies, as the core of search engines, can deal with the problem automatically, providing users with the needed information. However, it is a great challenge to apply these technologies directly for biomedical retrieval, because of the abundance of domain specific terminologies. To enhance biomedical retrieval, we propose a novel framework based on learning to rank. Learning to rank is a series of state-of-the-art information retrieval techniques, and has been proved effective in many information retrieval tasks. In the proposed framework, we attempt to tackle the problem of the abundance of terminologies by constructing ranking models, which focus on not only retrieving the most relevant documents, but also diversifying the searching results to increase the completeness of the resulting list for a given query. In the model training, we propose two novel document labeling strategies, and combine several traditional retrieval models as learning features. Besides, we also investigate the usefulness of different learning to rank approaches in our framework. Experimental results on TREC Genomics datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework for biomedical information retrieval.

  6. A multiple relevance feedback strategy with positive and negative models.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yunlong Ma

    Full Text Available A commonly used strategy to improve search accuracy is through feedback techniques. Most existing work on feedback relies on positive information, and has been extensively studied in information retrieval. However, when a query topic is difficult and the results from the first-pass retrieval are very poor, it is impossible to extract enough useful terms from a few positive documents. Therefore, the positive feedback strategy is incapable to improve retrieval in this situation. Contrarily, there is a relatively large number of negative documents in the top of the result list, and it has been confirmed that negative feedback strategy is an important and useful way for adapting this scenario by several recent studies. In this paper, we consider a scenario when the search results are so poor that there are at most three relevant documents in the top twenty documents. Then, we conduct a novel study of multiple strategies for relevance feedback using both positive and negative examples from the first-pass retrieval to improve retrieval accuracy for such difficult queries. Experimental results on these TREC collections show that the proposed language model based multiple model feedback method which is generally more effective than both the baseline method and the methods using only positive or negative model.

  7. The Impact of Scientist-Educator Collaborations: an early-career scientist's perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roop, H. A.

    2017-12-01

    A decade ago, a forward-thinking faculty member exposed a group of aspiring scientists to the impacts and career benefits of working directly with K-12 students and educators. Ten years later, as one of those young scientists, it is clear that the relationships born out of this early experience can transform a researcher's impact and trajectory in science. Connections with programs like the NSF-funded PolarTREC program, the teacher-led Scientists in the Classroom effort, and through well-coordinated teacher training opportunities there are clear ways in which these partnerships can a) transform student learning; b) serve as a powerful and meaningful way to connect students to authentic research and researchers; and c) help researchers become more effective communicators by expanding their ability to connect their work to society. The distillation of science to K-12 students, with the expert eye of educators, makes scientists better at their work with tangible benefits to skills that matter in academia - securing funding, writing and communicating clearly and having high-value broader impacts. This invited abstract is submitted as part of this session's panel discussion and will explore in detail, with concrete examples, the mutual benefits of educator-scientist partnerships and how sustained engagement can transform the reach, connection and application of research science.

  8. Real-time PCR based on SYBR-Green I fluorescence: An alternative to the TaqMan assay for a relative quantification of gene rearrangements, gene amplifications and micro gene deletions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Puisieux Alain

    2003-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Real-time PCR is increasingly being adopted for RNA quantification and genetic analysis. At present the most popular real-time PCR assay is based on the hybridisation of a dual-labelled probe to the PCR product, and the development of a signal by loss of fluorescence quenching as PCR degrades the probe. Though this so-called 'TaqMan' approach has proved easy to optimise in practice, the dual-labelled probes are relatively expensive. Results We have designed a new assay based on SYBR-Green I binding that is quick, reliable, easily optimised and compares well with the published assay. Here we demonstrate its general applicability by measuring copy number in three different genetic contexts; the quantification of a gene rearrangement (T-cell receptor excision circles (TREC in peripheral blood mononuclear cells; the detection and quantification of GLI, MYC-C and MYC-N gene amplification in cell lines and cancer biopsies; and detection of deletions in the OPA1 gene in dominant optic atrophy. Conclusion Our assay has important clinical applications, providing accurate diagnostic results in less time, from less biopsy material and at less cost than assays currently employed such as FISH or Southern blotting.

  9. Evidence for exploitative competition: Comparative foraging behavior and roosting ecology of short-tailed fruit bats (Phyllostomidae)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonaccorso, F.J.; Winkelmann, J.R.; Shin, D.; Agrawal, C.I.; Aslami, N.; Bonney, C.; Hsu, A.; Jekielek, P.E.; Knox, A.K.; Kopach, S.J.; Jennings, T.D.; Lasky, J.R.; Menesale, S.A.; Richards, J.H.; Rutland, J.A.; Sessa, A.K.; Zhaurova, L.; Kunz, T.H.

    2007-01-01

    Chestnut short-tailed bats, Carollia castanea, and Seba's short-tailed bats, C. perspicillata (Phyllostomidae), were radio-tracked (N = 1593 positions) in lowland rain forest at Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Orellana Province, Ecuador. For 11 C. castanea, mean home range was 6.8 ?? 2.2 ha, mean core-use area was 1.7 ?? 0.8 ha, and mean long axis across home range was 438 ?? 106 m. For three C. perspicillata, mean home range was 5.5 ?? 1.7 ha, mean core-use area was 1.3 ?? 0.6 ha, and mean long axis was 493 ?? 172 m. Groups of less than five C. castanea occupied day-roosts in earthen cavities that undercut banks the Tiputini River. Carollia perspicillata used tree hollows and buildings as day-roosts. Interspecific and intraspecific overlap among short-tailed bats occurred in core-use areas associated with clumps of fruiting Piper hispidum (peppers) and Cecropia sciadophylla. Piper hispidum seeds were present in 80 percent of the fecal samples from C. castanea and 56 percent of samples from C. perspicillata. Carollia perspicillata handled pepper fruits significantly faster than C. castanea; however, C. castanea commenced foraging before C. perspicillata emerged from day-roosts. Evidence for exploitative competition between C. castanea and C. perspicillata is suggested by our observations that 95 percent of ripe P. hispidum fruits available at sunset disappear before sunrise (N = 74 marked fruits). Piper hispidum plants produced zero to 12 ripe infructescences per plant each night during peak production. Few ripe infructescences of P. hispidum were available during the dry season; however, ripe infructescences of C. sciadophylla, remained abundant. ?? 2007 The Author(s) Journal compilation ?? 2007 by The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation.

  10. Local ecological knowledge and its relationship with biodiversity conservation among two Quilombola groups living in the Atlantic Rainforest, Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conde, Bruno Esteves; Ticktin, Tamara; Fonseca, Amanda Surerus; Macedo, Arthur Ladeira; Orsi, Timothy Ongaro; Chedier, Luciana Moreira; Rodrigues, Eliana; Pimenta, Daniel Sales

    2017-01-01

    Information on the knowledge, uses, and abundance of natural resources in local communities can provide insight on conservation status and conservation strategies in these locations. The aim of this research was to evaluate the uses, knowledge and conservation status of plants in two Quilombolas (descendants of slaves of African origin) communities in the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil, São Sebastião da Boa Vista (SSBV) and São Bento (SB). We used a combination of ethnobotanical and ecological survey methods to ask: 1) What ethnobotanical knowledge do the communities hold? 2) What native species are most valuable to them? 3) What is the conservation status of the native species used? Thirteen local experts described the names and uses of 212 species in SSBV (105 native species) and 221 in SB (96 native species). Shannon Wiener diversity and Pielou's Equitability indices of ethnobotanical knowledge of species were very high (5.27/0.96 and 5.28/0.96, respectively). Species with the highest cultural significance and use-value indexes in SSBV were Dalbergia hortensis (26/2.14), Eremanthus erythropappus (6.88/1), and Tibouchina granulosa (6.02/1); while Piptadenia gonoacantha (3.32/1), Sparattosperma leucanthum (3.32/1) and Cecropia glaziovii (3.32/0.67) were the highest in SB. Thirty-three native species ranked in the highest conservation priority category at SSBV and 31 at SB. D. hortensis was noteworthy because of its extremely high cultural importance at SSBV, and its categorization as a conservation priority in both communities. This information can be used towards generating sustainable use and conservation plans that are appropriate for the local communities.

  11. Floristic composition and soil fertility in gold mining of Lavrinha, Pontes and Lacerda, MT, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiani Botini Pires

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The mining activities cause intense environmental degradation, especially to the soil and vegetation. This study evaluated attributes of floristic composition and soil fertility in areas of open gold mining areas. One hundred plots of 10 × 10 m were distributed in the area effectively mined and in its surroundings. Stem circunference measures (AGC of all identified woody individuals with greater than or equal to 9 cm were taken at 0.3 m height above the ground. In all plots soil samples at 0-20 cm depth were collected for analysis of fertility attributes that are routinely evaluated. In total we observed the occurrence of 92 species and 43 families. The most abundant families were Myrtaceae, Fabaceae and Dilleniaceae; and families that had the greatest numbers of species were Fabaceae (10, Malpighiaceae (7 and Vochysiaceae (5. In the area effectively mined the species with higher importance value index (IVI were Curatella americana (89.1 Cecropia hololeuca (40.9, Roupala montana (12.5 and Pouteria ramiflora (10.2 while in surrounding of the mined area the species with the highest IVI were Myrcia multiflora (25.6, Caryocar brasiliense (15.7, Magonia pubescens (14.8 and Vatareia macrocarpa (14.4. In both areas, the soil had low pH, low availability of P, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ and high Al3+ saturation. In spite of the low soil fertility of the studied area, it was able to maintain an overall density of vegetation with AGC > 9 cm of 430 individuals per hectare in the effectively mined area and of 2,220 individuals per hectare in their surroundings.

  12. Vegetation changes and human impact inferred from an oxbow lake in southwestern Amazonia, Brazil since the 19th century

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez-Zorro, Paula A.; Enters, Dirk; Hermanowski, Barbara; da Costa, Marcondes Lima; Behling, Hermann

    2015-10-01

    Pollen and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) analyses from a 272 cm-long sediment core of Lago Amapá, an oxbow lake in western Amazonia, reveal the first palaeoecological investigation of late Holocene sediments in Acre state, Brazil. Radiocarbon dating of older sediments failed due to re-deposition of organic material but a historical map suggests that lacustrine deposition started at 1900 AD. We detected two periods of changes in sediment and vegetation, dominated by pioneer taxa especially Cecropia. The first period around 1900 AD is documenting an initial oxbow lake, with regular fluvial input (high Ti) and low accumulation of organic matter (low inc/coh ratio). During that period Andean pollen taxa originating from Peruvian Andean headwaters were deposited. A fully lacustrine phase started about 1950 AD and is characterized by prolonged periods of stagnant water (low Fe/Mn ratio). The increase of pioneer taxa, sedimentation rates and a reduction of most of the XRF element counts point to a period during which Lago Amapá was a more isolated lake which was flooded only during exceptional severe flood events and is catching mainly anthropogenic disturbances. The extensive human influence during this period was assumed by 1) the high occurrence of pioneer taxa and the absence of charcoal which could indicate changes in vegetation possibly as a result of logging, 2) the Ca and Ti/K ratio which reflect changes to a local sediment source, and 3) comparison of Landsat images from the last 30 years which shows broad changes in vegetation cover and land transformation in the peripheral areas of the oxbow lake.

  13. INVASIVE WEEDS IN BOGOR BOTANIC GARDENS, INDONESIA AND ITS IMPLICATION ON SURROUNDING LANDSCAPES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edi Santosa

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Conservation areas with the objective for collection and exchange plant materials have been speculated as weed bank for surrounding areas. Objective of this study was to identify and characterize ruderal invasive weeds in the Bogor Botanic Gardens (BBG. Observations were conducted in all vak (collection blocks in the BBG in order to identify the weeds species, determine their invasiveness, dominance and distribution. Weeds associations with host plants were observed. Current weed control program and data of dead trees collection were analyzed in relevant to weed. Distribution of weeds outside BBG was observed by transects method following river and road directions. Results showed that there were seven invasive weeds, i.e., Cecropia adenopus (Cecropiaceae, Cissus nodosa Blume (Vitaceae, Cissus sicyoides Blume (Vitaceae, Dioscorea bulbifera L. (Dioscoreaceae, Ficus elastica Roxb. (Moraceae, Mikania micrantha H.B.K. (Asteraceae and Paraserianthes falcataria (L. Nielsen (Fabaceae. These seven weeds species invaded 41 out of 215 plant families in BBG. Six species of weeds, i.e., C. adenopus, C. nodosa Blume., C. sicyoides Blume., D. bulbifera L., M. micrantha H.B.K. and P. falcataria (L. Nielsen, were introduced as BBG collections for the first time while the F. elastica Roxb was considered as native. It is most likely that the weeds dispersal agents are the wind, birds, bats, visitors, and waters. All of these weeds existed in surrounding areas outside BBG. Given the detrimental impact of invasive weeds on the plant collection in BBG, it is necessary to develop long–term comprehensive control measures both inside and neighboring areas by involving other government authorities beyond BBG.

  14. Cardiovascular responses to locomotor activity and feeding in unrestrained three-toed sloths, Bradypus variegatus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D.P.F. Duarte

    2004-10-01

    Full Text Available Heart rate (HR and systolic (SBP, diastolic (DBP and mean (MBP blood pressure were recorded by biotelemetry in nine conscious unrestrained sloths for 1 min every 15 min over a 24-h period. The animals were allowed to freely move in an acoustically isolated and temperature-controlled (24 ± 1ºC experimental room with light-dark cycle (12/12 h. Behavior was closely monitored through a unidirectional visor and classified as resting (sitting or suspended, feeding (chewing and swallowing embauba leaves, Cecropia adenops, or locomotor activity around the tree trunk or on the room floor. Locomotor activity caused statistically significant increases in SBP (+8%, from 121 ± 22 to 131 ± 18 mmHg, DBP (+7%, from 86 ± 17 to 92 ± 10 mmHg, MBP (+8%, from 97 ± 19 to 105 ± 12 mmHg, and HR (+14%, from 84 ± 15 to 96 ± 15 bpm compared to resting values, indicating a possible major influence of the autonomic nervous system on the modulation of cardiac function during this behavior. During feeding, the increase in blood pressure was even higher (SBP +27%, from 119 ± 21 to 151 ± 21 mmHg; DBP +21%, from 85 ± 16 to 103 ± 15 mmHg; MBP +24%, from 96 ± 17 to 119 ± 17 mmHg, while HR remained at 14% (from 84 ± 15 to 96 ± 10 bpm above resting values. The proportionally greater increase in blood pressure than in HR during feeding suggests an increase in peripheral vascular resistance as part of the overall response to this behavior.

  15. SoTRE's Speak Up: Students Share the Benefits of Teacher Researcher Experiences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eubanks, E.; Allen, S.; Farmer, S.; Jones, K.

    2016-12-01

    Being Students of Teacher Researcher Experiences (SoTRE) gives students special advantages that most students do not get. Teachers Elizabeth Eubanks and Steve Allen share their knowledge gained via partnerships with Teacher Researcher Experiences (TRE's) such as the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Teacher at Sea program (NOAA- TAS), Polar TREC (Teachers and Researchers & Exploring & Collaboration), National Science Foundation (NSF) funded researchers, (EARTH) Education and Research: Testing Hypothesis, the RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program, C-DEBI (Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations and (STARS) Sending Teachers Aboard Research Ships, The Maury Project and Mate. Students gain special privileges such as understanding unique research ideas, tracking tagged sharks, following daily journals written on location, taking part in cross-continental experiments, tracking real time data, exploring current research via posters or visiting universities. Furthermore, contacts made by a TRE give students an added set of resources. When doing experiments for class or advancing their education or career goals Eubanks and Allen help students connect with scientists. Many students have felt so strongly about the TRE relationship that they have presented at several local and international science conferences. Their message is to encourage scientists to partner with teachers. The benefits of participation in such conferences have included abstract writing and submission, travel, poster creation, oral presentation, networking and personal research presentation, all tools that they will carry with them for a lifetime.

  16. TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS THAT METHANOL MASER RINGS TRACE CIRCUMSTELLAR DISKS: HIGH-RESOLUTION NEAR-INFRARED AND MID-INFRARED IMAGING

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Buizer, James M.; Bartkiewicz, Anna; Szymczak, Marian

    2012-01-01

    Milliarcsecond very long baseline interferometry maps of regions containing 6.7 GHz methanol maser emission have lead to the recent discovery of ring-like distributions of maser spots and the plausible hypothesis that they may be tracing circumstellar disks around forming high-mass stars. We aimed to test this hypothesis by imaging these regions in the near- and mid-infrared at high spatial resolution and compare the observed emission to the expected infrared morphologies as inferred from the geometries of the maser rings. In the near-infrared we used the Gemini North adaptive optics system of ALTAIR/NIRI, while in the mid-infrared we used the combination of the Gemini South instrument T-ReCS and super-resolution techniques. Resultant images had a resolution of ∼150 mas in both the near-infrared and mid-infrared. We discuss the expected distribution of circumstellar material around young and massive accreting (proto)stars and what infrared emission geometries would be expected for the different maser ring orientations under the assumption that the masers are coming from within circumstellar disks. Based upon the observed infrared emission geometries for the four targets in our sample and the results of spectral energy distribution modeling of the massive young stellar objects associated with the maser rings, we do not find compelling evidence in support of the hypothesis that methanol masers rings reside in circumstellar disks.

  17. NUDTSNA at TREC 2015 Microblog Track: A Live Retrieval System Framework for Social Network based on Semantic Expansion and Quality Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-11-20

    github.com/shuyo/ldig in a tweet. A tweet is structured as JSON format, it is convenient to get social attributes we need, such as the user who post...110. [6] K. Bollacker, C. Evans, P. Paritosh, T. Sturge, and J. Taylor, “Free- base: a collaboratively created graph database for structuring human

  18. WSU-IR at TREC 2015 Clinical Decision Support Track: Joint Weighting of Explicit and Latent Medical Query Concepts from Diverse Sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-11-20

    Iron Deficiency Anemia ” was represented using the Indri query language as follows: 1.00...weight( 0.40 #combine( Iron Deficiency Anemia ) 0.35 #combine( #od4( Iron Deficiency ) #od4( Deficiency Anemia ) ) 0.45 #combine( #uw17( Iron Deficiency ...uw17( Deficiency Anemia ) ) ) where 0.40, 0.35 and 0.45 are the weights of the corresponding concept types. The window sizes for ordered

  19. Aspectos estructurales y tipos de vegetación de la isla Mocagua, río Amazonas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prieto Adriana

    1995-06-01

    Full Text Available An analysis of some parameters of vegetation structure (coberture -%-, density and specific diversity is presented for plant formations in the Mocagua island (Colombian Amazonia. The structure of the vegetation types ranging from simple river beach zone, aquatic and floodplain environments, to complex arrangement in forest formations. The average number of individuals with DAP > 10 cm (58/0.1 ha is lower than other similar regions. In addition, we describe the types of vegetation founded according with floristic affinities, wich is related to the water content in the sustrata.Tha natural vegetation comprise from aquatic communities of Oxyearyum eubense - Pontederia rotundifolia, to continental ones of Rheedia madruno- Palieourea eroeea, Triehilia pallida - Sommera sabiceoides, phases of Montriehardia arboreseens and Ceeropia latíloba, Paspalum repens and Ceeropia latíloba, and Leptochloa seabra and Torulinium maeroeephalum.Se presentan los resultados de los análisis sobre parámetros estructurales de la vegetación (cobertura-%-, densidad y diversidad específica de las formaciones vegetales de la isla Mocagua (Amazonas, Colombia. La estructura de los tipos de vegetación diferenciados cubre desde los arreglos simples como la de las zonas de playa, ambientes lacustres e inundables, hasta arreglos complejos con diferentes estratos en formaciones boscosas. El número de individuos con DAP > 10 cm (prom.=58/0.1 ha en comparación con los valores en otras zonas es bajo. Los tipos de vegetación descritos obedecen en su distribución esencialmente al contenido de agua en el sustrato; la vegetación natural comprende desde comunidades acuáticas de Oxycaryum cubense - Pontederia rotundifolia, hasta las continentales de Rheedia. madruno - Palieourea eroeea, Triehilia pallida - Sommera sabieeoides y las fases de Montriehardia arboreseens y Ceeropia latiloba, Paspalum repens y Cecropia latiloba, y la de Leptochloa scabra y Torulinium maerocephalum.

  20. Plant-based medicines for anxiety disorders, Part 1: a review of preclinical studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarris, Jerome; McIntyre, Erica; Camfield, David A

    2013-03-01

    Research in the area of herbal psychopharmacology has revealed a variety of promising medicines that may provide benefit in the treatment of general anxiety and specific anxiety disorders. However, a comprehensive review of plant-based anxiolytics has been absent to date. This article (part 1) reviews herbal medicines for which only preclinical investigations for anxiolytic activity have been performed. In part 2, we review herbal medicines for which there have been clinical investigations for anxiolytic activity. An open-ended, language-restricted (English) search of MEDLINE (PubMed), CINAHL, Scopus and the Cochrane Library databases was conducted (up to 28 October 2012) using specific search criteria to identify herbal medicines that have been investigated for anxiolytic activity. This search of the literature revealed 1,525 papers, from which 53 herbal medicines were included in the full review (having at least one study using the whole plant extract). Of these plants, 21 had human clinical trial evidence (reviewed in part 2), with another 32 having solely preclinical studies (reviewed here in part 1). Preclinical evidence of anxiolytic activity (without human clinical trials) was found for Albizia julibrissin, Sonchus oleraceus, Uncaria rhynchophylla, Stachys lavandulifolia, Cecropia glazioui, Magnolia spp., Eschscholzia californica, Erythrina spp., Annona spp., Rubus brasiliensis, Apocynum venetum, Nauclea latifolia, Equisetum arvense, Tilia spp., Securidaca longepedunculata, Achillea millefolium, Leea indica, Juncus effusus, Coriandrum sativum, Eurycoma longifolia, Turnera diffusa, Euphorbia hirta, Justicia spp., Crocus sativus, Aloysia polystachya, Albies pindrow, Casimiroa edulis, Davilla rugosa, Gastrodia elata, Sphaerathus indicus, Zizyphus jujuba and Panax ginseng. Common mechanisms of action for the majority of botanicals reviewed primarily involve GABA, either via direct receptor binding or ionic channel or cell membrane modulation; GABA transaminase

  1. Effects of insect and decapod exclusion and leaf litter species identity on breakdown rates in a tropical headwater stream

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Rincón

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available La gran variedad de especies vegetales junto a los ríos tropicales afecta la diversidad de detritos orgánicos que llegan a los arroyos, creando variaciones temporales en cantidad y calidad de hojarasca. Examinamos la influencia de las especies vegetales y de la exclusión de macroinvertebrados sobre la descomposición de hojarasca en la parte alta de un arroyo en las montañas Luquillo de Puerto Rico. Incubamos hojarasca de Dacryodes excelsa (Burseraceae, Guarea guidonia (Meliaceae, Cecropia scheberiana (Moraceae, Manilkara bidentata (Sapotaceae y Prestoea acuminata (Palmae en bolsas descomposición que colocamos en una poza de Quebrada Prieta. Usamos bolsas de malla fina para excluir los macroinvertebrados y de malla gruesa para permitir la entrada a crustáceos decápodos (camarones y cangrejos jóvenes e insectos acuáticos (principalmente efemerópteros, quironómidos y tricópteros. D. excelsa y G. guidonia (en ambos tipos de malla tuvieron tasas de descomposición más altas que C. scheberiana, M. bidentata y P. acuminata. La descomposición fue más rápida para todas las especies de hoja con la malla gruesa, resaltando el papel de los descomponedores en este hábitat. Tras 42 días de esta incubación, las densidades totales de invertebrados, efemerópteros y tricópteros fueron mayores en las bolsas con hojas de D. excelsa y G. guidonia, e inferiores en P. acuminata, C. scheberiana y M. bidentata. A mayor densidad de insectos hubo mayor tasa de descomposición. Nuestros resultados indican la importancia de la especie de las hojas y de la presencia de macroinvertebrados en el proceso de descomposición de hojarasca en partes altas de arroyos tropicales.

  2. Native trees show conservative water use relative to invasive trees: results from a removal experiment in a Hawaiian wet forest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavaleri, Molly A; Ostertag, Rebecca; Cordell, Susan; Sack, Lawren

    2014-01-01

    While the supply of freshwater is expected to decline in many regions in the coming decades, invasive plant species, often 'high water spenders', are greatly expanding their ranges worldwide. In this study, we quantified the ecohydrological differences between native and invasive trees and also the effects of woody invasive removal on plot-level water use in a heavily invaded mono-dominant lowland wet tropical forest on the Island of Hawaii. We measured transpiration rates of co-occurring native and invasive tree species with and without woody invasive removal treatments. Twenty native Metrosideros polymorpha and 10 trees each of three invasive species, Cecropia obtusifolia, Macaranga mappa and Melastoma septemnervium, were instrumented with heat-dissipation sap-flux probes in four 100 m(2) plots (two invaded, two removal) for 10 months. In the invaded plots, where both natives and invasives were present, Metrosideros had the lowest sap-flow rates per unit sapwood, but the highest sap-flow rates per whole tree, owing to its larger mean diameter than the invasive trees. Stand-level water use within the removal plots was half that of the invaded plots, even though the removal of invasives caused a small but significant increase in compensatory water use by the remaining native trees. By investigating the effects of invasive species on ecohydrology and comparing native vs. invasive physiological traits, we not only gain understanding about the functioning of invasive species, but we also highlight potential water-conservation strategies for heavily invaded mono-dominant tropical forests worldwide. Native-dominated forests free of invasive species can be conservative in overall water use, providing a strong rationale for the control of invasive species and preservation of native-dominated stands.

  3. What Can Pictures Tell Us About Web Pages? Improving Document Search Using Images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez-Vaamonde, Sergio; Torresani, Lorenzo; Fitzgibbon, Andrew W

    2015-06-01

    Traditional Web search engines do not use the images in the HTML pages to find relevant documents for a given query. Instead, they typically operate by computing a measure of agreement between the keywords provided by the user and only the text portion of each page. In this paper we study whether the content of the pictures appearing in a Web page can be used to enrich the semantic description of an HTML document and consequently boost the performance of a keyword-based search engine. We present a Web-scalable system that exploits a pure text-based search engine to find an initial set of candidate documents for a given query. Then, the candidate set is reranked using visual information extracted from the images contained in the pages. The resulting system retains the computational efficiency of traditional text-based search engines with only a small additional storage cost needed to encode the visual information. We test our approach on one of the TREC Million Query Track benchmarks where we show that the exploitation of visual content yields improvement in accuracies for two distinct text-based search engines, including the system with the best reported performance on this benchmark. We further validate our approach by collecting document relevance judgements on our search results using Amazon Mechanical Turk. The results of this experiment confirm the improvement in accuracy produced by our image-based reranker over a pure text-based system.

  4. Eukaryotic expression system Pichia pastoris affects the lipase catalytic properties: a monolayer study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madiha Bou Ali

    Full Text Available Recombinant DNA methods are being widely used to express proteins in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells for both fundamental and applied research purposes. Expressed protein must be well characterized to be sure that it retains the same properties as the native one, especially when expressed protein will be used in the pharmaceutical field. In this aim, interfacial and kinetic properties of native, untagged recombinant and tagged recombinant forms of a pancreatic lipase were compared using the monomolecular film technique. Turkey pancreatic lipase (TPL was chosen as model. A kinetic study on the dependence of the stereoselectivity of these three forms on the surface pressure was performed using three dicaprin isomers spread in the form of monomolecular films at the air-water interface. The heterologous expression and the N-His-tag extension were found to modify the pressure preference and decrease the catalytic hydrolysis rate of three dicaprin isomers. Besides, the heterologous expression was found to change the TPL regioselectivity without affecting its stereospecificity contrary to the N-tag extension which retained that regioselectivity and changed the stereospecificity at high surface pressures. The study of parameters, termed Recombinant expression Effects on Catalysis (REC, N-Tag Effects on Catalysis (TEC, and N-Tag and Recombinant expression Effects on Catalysis (TREC showed that the heterologous expression effects on the catalytic properties of the TPL were more deleterious than the presence of an N-terminal tag extension.

  5. Ressecção de bolsa hiperfuncionante para tratamento de hipotonia ocular crônica: relato de casos Resection of overfiltration bleb for the treatment of chronic ocular hypotony: case reports

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastião Cronemberger

    2004-08-01

    Full Text Available Relatar os resultados obtidos com a ressecção de bolsa hiperfuncionante pós-trabeculectomia (TREC com mitomicina C (MMC para o tratamento da hipotonia ocular crônica. Cinco pacientes portadores de hipotonia ocular crônica causada por hiperfunção de bolsa fistulante pós- trabeculectomia com mitomicina foram tratados pela ressecção da bolsa. O diagnóstico de hiperfunção da bolsa foi feito com base em critérios estabelecidos pelos autores. A hipotonia ocular foi revertida nos cinco pacientes, sem medicação num seguimento mínimo de cinco e máximo de 26 meses (média de 14,0 ± 7,9 meses. A ressecção da bolsa foi procedimento eficaz para reverter a hipotonia ocular crônica causada pela hiperfunção da mesma pós-trabeculectomia com mitomicina.To present the results of bleb resection for the treatment of overfiltering bleb after trabeculectomy with mitomycin C (MMC associated with chronic ocular hypotony. Five patients with chronic ocular hypotony caused by overfiltering bleb underwent bleb resection. The authors established the criteria for the diagnosis of overfiltering bleb. Ocular hypotony was reversed in all patients without medication. The mean follow-up was 14.0 ± 7.9 months. Bleb resection is a good approach for the treatment of chronic ocular hypotony secondary to overfiltering bleb.

  6. Secrets of the Sediments: Using ANDRILL's Scientific Adventure on Ice to Transfer Climate Change Science to K-12 Audiences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huffman, L. T.; Dahlman, L.; Frisch-Gleason, R.; Harwood, D.; Pound, K.; Rack, F.; Riesselman, C.; Trummel, E.; Tuzzi, E.; Winter, D.

    2008-12-01

    Antarctica's harsh environment and the compelling story of living and working there, provides the backdrop for hooking the interest of young learners on science research and the nature of science. By using the adventure stories of today's researcher-explorers, teachers accompanying the ANDRILL team have taken the technical science of drilling rock cores to understand the history of climate change and the advance and retreat of the Antarctic ice sheet, and translated it for non-technical audiences from K-12 school children, to adult community groups. In order to understand the important issues surrounding global climate change, members of the public need access to accurate and relevant information, high quality educational materials, and a variety of learning opportunities in different learning environments. By taking lessons learned from early virtual polar adventure learning expeditions like Will Steger's Trans-Antarctic Expedition, coupled with educators-in-the-field programs like TEA (Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic), ARMADA and Polar Trec, ANDRILL's Education and Outreach Program has evolved into successful and far-reaching integrated education projects including 1) the ARISE (ANDRILL Research Immersion for Science Educators) Program, 2) Climate Change Student Summits, 3) the development of Flexhibit (flexible exhibit) teaching resources, 4) virtual online learning communities, and 5) partnering young researchers with teachers and classrooms. Formal evaluations indicate lasting interest in science studies on the part of students and an increase in teachers' scientific background knowledge.

  7. Mining Specific and General Features in Both Positive and Negative Relevance Feedback. QUT E-Discovery Lab at the TREC󈧍 Relevance Feedback Track

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-11-01

    relevance feedback algo- rithm. Four methods, εMap [1], MapA , P10A, and StatAP [2], were used in the track to measure the performance of Phase 2 runs...εMap and StatAP were applied to the runs us- ing the testing set of only ClueWeb09 Category-B, whereas MapA and P10A were applied to those using the...whole ClueWeb09 English set. Because our experiments were based on only ClueWeb09 Category-B, measuring our per- formance by MapA and P10A might not

  8. Semantic concept-enriched dependence model for medical information retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Sungbin; Choi, Jinwook; Yoo, Sooyoung; Kim, Heechun; Lee, Youngho

    2014-02-01

    In medical information retrieval research, semantic resources have been mostly used by expanding the original query terms or estimating the concept importance weight. However, implicit term-dependency information contained in semantic concept terms has been overlooked or at least underused in most previous studies. In this study, we incorporate a semantic concept-based term-dependence feature into a formal retrieval model to improve its ranking performance. Standardized medical concept terms used by medical professionals were assumed to have implicit dependency within the same concept. We hypothesized that, by elaborately revising the ranking algorithms to favor documents that preserve those implicit dependencies, the ranking performance could be improved. The implicit dependence features are harvested from the original query using MetaMap. These semantic concept-based dependence features were incorporated into a semantic concept-enriched dependence model (SCDM). We designed four different variants of the model, with each variant having distinct characteristics in the feature formulation method. We performed leave-one-out cross validations on both a clinical document corpus (TREC Medical records track) and a medical literature corpus (OHSUMED), which are representative test collections in medical information retrieval research. Our semantic concept-enriched dependence model consistently outperformed other state-of-the-art retrieval methods. Analysis shows that the performance gain has occurred independently of the concept's explicit importance in the query. By capturing implicit knowledge with regard to the query term relationships and incorporating them into a ranking model, we could build a more robust and effective retrieval model, independent of the concept importance. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Is searching full text more effective than searching abstracts?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Jimmy

    2009-02-03

    With the growing availability of full-text articles online, scientists and other consumers of the life sciences literature now have the ability to go beyond searching bibliographic records (title, abstract, metadata) to directly access full-text content. Motivated by this emerging trend, I posed the following question: is searching full text more effective than searching abstracts? This question is answered by comparing text retrieval algorithms on MEDLINE abstracts, full-text articles, and spans (paragraphs) within full-text articles using data from the TREC 2007 genomics track evaluation. Two retrieval models are examined: bm25 and the ranking algorithm implemented in the open-source Lucene search engine. Experiments show that treating an entire article as an indexing unit does not consistently yield higher effectiveness compared to abstract-only search. However, retrieval based on spans, or paragraphs-sized segments of full-text articles, consistently outperforms abstract-only search. Results suggest that highest overall effectiveness may be achieved by combining evidence from spans and full articles. Users searching full text are more likely to find relevant articles than searching only abstracts. This finding affirms the value of full text collections for text retrieval and provides a starting point for future work in exploring algorithms that take advantage of rapidly-growing digital archives. Experimental results also highlight the need to develop distributed text retrieval algorithms, since full-text articles are significantly longer than abstracts and may require the computational resources of multiple machines in a cluster. The MapReduce programming model provides a convenient framework for organizing such computations.

  10. Automatic Decision Support for Clinical Diagnostic Literature Using Link Analysis in a Weighted Keyword Network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Shuqing; Sun, Ying; Soergel, Dagobert

    2017-12-23

    We present a novel approach to recommending articles from the medical literature that support clinical diagnostic decision-making, giving detailed descriptions of the associated ideas and principles. The specific goal is to retrieve biomedical articles that help answer questions of a specified type about a particular case. Based on the filtered keywords, MeSH(Medical Subject Headings) lexicon and the automatically extracted acronyms, the relationship between keywords and articles was built. The paper gives a detailed description of the process of by which keywords were measured and relevant articles identified based on link analysis in a weighted keywords network. Some important challenges identified in this study include the extraction of diagnosis-related keywords and a collection of valid sentences based on the keyword co-occurrence analysis and existing descriptions of symptoms. All data were taken from medical articles provided in the TREC (Text Retrieval Conference) clinical decision support track 2015. Ten standard topics and one demonstration topic were tested. In each case, a maximum of five articles with the highest relevance were returned. The total user satisfaction of 3.98 was 33% higher than average. The results also suggested that the smaller the number of results, the higher the average satisfaction. However, a few shortcomings were also revealed since medical literature recommendation for clinical diagnostic decision support is so complex a topic that it cannot be fully addressed through the semantic information carried solely by keywords in existing descriptions of symptoms. Nevertheless, the fact that these articles are actually relevant will no doubt inspire future research.

  11. Transient nature of long-term nonprogression and broad virus-specific proliferative T-cell responses with sustained thymic output in HIV-1 controllers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samantha J Westrop

    Full Text Available HIV-1(+ individuals who, without therapy, conserve cellular anti-HIV-1 responses, present with high, stable CD4(+ T-cell numbers, and control viral replication, facilitate analysis of atypical viro-immunopathology. In the absence of universal definition, immune function in such HIV controllers remains an indication of non-progression.CD4 T-cell responses to a number of HIV-1 proteins and peptide pools were assessed by IFN-gamma ELISpot and lymphoproliferative assays in HIV controllers and chronic progressors. Thymic output was assessed by sjTRECs levels. Follow-up of 41 HIV-1(+ individuals originally identified as "Long-term non-progressors" in 1996 according to clinical criteria, and longitudinal analysis of two HIV controllers over 22 years, was also performed. HIV controllers exhibited substantial IFN-gamma producing and proliferative HIV-1-specific CD4 T-cell responses to both recombinant proteins and peptide pools of Tat, Rev, Nef, Gag and Env, demonstrating functional processing and presentation. Conversely, HIV-specific T-cell responses were limited to IFN-gamma production in chronic progressors. Additionally, thymic output was approximately 19 fold higher in HIV controllers than in age-matched chronic progressors. Follow-up of 41 HIV-1(+ patients identified as LTNP in 1996 revealed the transitory characteristics of this status. IFN-gamma production and proliferative T-cell function also declines in 2 HIV controllers over 22 years.Although increased thymic output and anti-HIV-1 T-cell responses are observed in HIV controllers compared to chronic progressors, the nature of nonprogressor/controller status appears to be transitory.

  12. Is searching full text more effective than searching abstracts?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lin Jimmy

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background With the growing availability of full-text articles online, scientists and other consumers of the life sciences literature now have the ability to go beyond searching bibliographic records (title, abstract, metadata to directly access full-text content. Motivated by this emerging trend, I posed the following question: is searching full text more effective than searching abstracts? This question is answered by comparing text retrieval algorithms on MEDLINE® abstracts, full-text articles, and spans (paragraphs within full-text articles using data from the TREC 2007 genomics track evaluation. Two retrieval models are examined: bm25 and the ranking algorithm implemented in the open-source Lucene search engine. Results Experiments show that treating an entire article as an indexing unit does not consistently yield higher effectiveness compared to abstract-only search. However, retrieval based on spans, or paragraphs-sized segments of full-text articles, consistently outperforms abstract-only search. Results suggest that highest overall effectiveness may be achieved by combining evidence from spans and full articles. Conclusion Users searching full text are more likely to find relevant articles than searching only abstracts. This finding affirms the value of full text collections for text retrieval and provides a starting point for future work in exploring algorithms that take advantage of rapidly-growing digital archives. Experimental results also highlight the need to develop distributed text retrieval algorithms, since full-text articles are significantly longer than abstracts and may require the computational resources of multiple machines in a cluster. The MapReduce programming model provides a convenient framework for organizing such computations.

  13. Temporal and spatial resource use by female three-toed sloths and their young in an agricultural landscape in Costa Rica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oscar Ramirez

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The information on ecological behavior of wild sloths is very scarce. In this study we determined the home ranges and resources used by three adult female three-toed sloths (Bradypus variegatus and their four young in an agricultural matrix of cacao (Theobroma cacao, pasture, riparian forests and living fencerows in Costa Rica. Births occurred during November-December and the young became independent at five to seven months of age. Initially, mothers remained fixed in one or a few trees, but expanded their use of resources as young sloths became independent from them. Mothers initially guided the young to preferred food and cover resources, but they gradually left their young in small nucleus areas and colonized new areas for themselves. Home range sizes for young sloths (up to seven months of age varied between 0.04-0.6 hectares, while home range sizes for mothers varied from 0.04-25.0 hectares. During the maternal care period, 22 tree species were used, with the most common being Cecropia obtusifolia (30.9%, Coussapoa villosa (25.6%, Nectandra salicifolia (12.1%, Pterocarpus officinalis (5.8% and Samanea saman (5.4%. However, young sloths used only 20 tree species, with the most common being C. villosa (18.4%, S. saman (18.5 % and N. salicifolia (16.7%. The cacao agroforest was used only by mother sloths and never by their young following separation. However, in the riparian forest, both mother sloths and young used the tree species. A total of 28 tree species were used by the mother sloth; including the food species: C. obtusifolia, C. villosa, N. salicifolia and P. officinalis. However, the young used 18 trees species in this habitat with N. salicifolia and S. saman most commonly used, although they rested and fed during the day in C. obtusifolia, C. villosa and O. sinnuata. The cacao agroforest with adjacent riparian forests and fencerows provides an important habitat type that links the smaller secondary forests and other patches. Rev

  14. The bandit, a new DNA transposon from a hookworm-possible horizontal genetic transfer between host and parasite.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thewarach Laha

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available An enhanced understanding of the hookworm genome and its resident mobile genetic elements should facilitate understanding of the genome evolution, genome organization, possibly host-parasite co-evolution and horizontal gene transfer, and from a practical perspective, development of transposon-based transgenesis for hookworms and other parasitic nematodes.A novel mariner-like element (MLE was characterized from the genome of the dog hookworm, Ancylostoma caninum, and termed bandit. The consensus sequence of the bandit transposon was 1,285 base pairs (bp in length. The new transposon was flanked by perfect terminal inverted repeats of 32 nucleotides in length with a common target site duplication TA, and it encoded an open reading frame (ORF of 342 deduced amino acid residues. Phylogenetic comparisons confirmed that the ORF encoded a mariner-like transposase, which included conserved catalytic domains, and that the bandit transposon belonged to the cecropia subfamily of MLEs. The phylogenetic analysis also indicated that the Hsmar1 transposon from humans was the closest known relative of bandit, and that bandit and Hsmar1 constituted a clade discrete from the Tc1 subfamily of MLEs from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Moreover, homology models based on the crystal structure of Mos1 from Drosophila mauritiana revealed closer identity in active site residues of the catalytic domain including Ser281, Lys289 and Asp293 between bandit and Hsmar1 than between Mos1 and either bandit or Hsmar1. The entire bandit ORF was amplified from genomic DNA and a fragment of the bandit ORF was amplified from RNA, indicating that this transposon is actively transcribed in hookworms.A mariner-like transposon termed bandit has colonized the genome of the hookworm A. caninum. Although MLEs exhibit a broad host range, and are identified in other nematodes, the closest phylogenetic relative of bandit is the Hsmar1 element of humans. This surprising finding suggests

  15. Mid-Holocene to Present Climate Transition in Tropical South America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turcq, B.; Cordeiro, R.; Sifeddine, A.; Braconnot, P.; Dias, P. S.; Costa, R.; Jorgetti, T.

    2008-12-01

    The classical illustration of Holocene climate changes in tropical South America is the huge rising of Titicaca lake level from 4400 to 4000 cal BP. Because the Amazon basin is the source of Andean rainfalls we have explored Amazonian data of climate changes during the Holocene to better understand the cause of this abrupt transition. Amazonian data confirm the existence of mid-Holocene dryness: (1) lacustrine level studies show a lower precipitation/evaporation budget than present, with the lowest lake levels between 8500 and 6800 cal BP; (2) although the dominant Holocene vegetation has always been the rainforest in the heart of Amazonia, this forest expanded towards the northwestern and southwestern regions from 6800 to 1550 cal BP, moreover, pioneer elements of the rainforest developed during the mid-Holocene and the best example is those of Cecropia, between 9000 and 5000 cal BP. (3) soil d13C indicates a forest expansion over savannas areas in Roraima (north), Mato Grosso and Rondonia (southwest), during the Holocene. (4) the mid-Holocene (8000- 4000 cal BP) is characterized by repeated occurrences of forest fires, marked by the presence of charcoals in soils and lacustrine sediments. However these different records are not characterized by abrupt transitions at the end of the Middle Holocene in Amazonia. In the Andean records there is a clear north-south shift in the timing of the transition. Analysis of coupled Ocean Atmosphere Model simulations suggest that convection in Amazon basin is directly controlled by insolation leading to an almost linear response of local climate to the global forcing. Differently, in the eastern and south-western regions where the rain is brought by the South American Monsoon, the climate transition appears more abrupt. It may be because the involved climate mechanisms are more complex and depend on Ocean/Atmosphere/Vegetation coupled process (ITCZ position, ZCAS formation, etc.). Tectonic movements or threshold links to

  16. Energy scaling of the "heartbeat" pulse width of GRS 1915+105, IGR J17091-3624, and MXB 1730-335 from Rossi-XTE observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maselli, A.; Capitanio, F.; Feroci, M.; Massa, F.; Massaro, E.; Mineo, T.

    2018-04-01

    We investigate some key aspects of the "heartbeat" variability consisting of series of bursts with a slow rise and a fast decay, thus far detected only in GRS 1915+105, IGR J17091-3624, and MXB 1730-335. A previous analysis based on BeppoSAX data of GRS 1915+105 revealed a hard-X delay (HXD), that is a lag of the burst rise at higher energies with respect to lower ones; this leads to narrower pulse widths, w, at higher energies. We here use some light curves of Rossi-XTE observations of GRS 1915+105 for a deeper analysis of this effect and search for its presence in those extracted from some IGR J17091-3624 and MXB 1730-335 observations performed with the same satellite. Our results show that, at variance with GRS 1915+105, no HXD is evident in the light curves of MXB 1730-335 and only a marginal HXD may be argued for IGR J17091-3624. For GRS 1915+105 we find a decreasing trend of the pulse width with energy following a power law w = A ṡ E-s with an index s ≈ 0.8. Furthermore, we confirm the increase of the HXD with the recurrence time Trec of the bursts in each series that was already found in previous works using BeppoSAX data. Based on a spectral analysis of these three sources we conclude that the differences highlighted in the properties of the "heartbeat" variability are probably related to the different accreting compact object and the eventual presence of a corona in these binary interacting systems.

  17. Optimisation and validation of a remote monitoring system (Onco-TreC) for home-based management of oral anticancer therapies: an Italian multicentre feasibility study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Passardi, Alessandro; Rizzo, Mimma; Maines, Francesca; Tondini, Carlo; Zambelli, Alberto; Vespignani, Roberto; Andreis, Daniele; Massa, Ilaria; Dianti, Marco; Forti, Stefano; Piras, Enrico Maria; Eccher, Claudio

    2017-05-29

    Despite the growing number of oral agents available for cancer treatment, their efficacy may be reduced due to the lack of adherence, inappropriate adverse event self-management and arbitrary dose adjustment. The management of anticancer therapies could exponentially benefit from the introduction of mobile health technologies in a highly integrated electronic oncology system. We plan to customise and fine-tune an existing monitoring TreC platform used in different chronic diseases in the oncology setting. This project follows a multistep approach with two major purposes: 1. participatory design techniques driven by Health Literacy and Patient Reported Outcomes principles in order to adapt the system to the oncology setting involving patients and healthcare providers; 2. a prospective training-validation, interventional, non-pharmacological, multicentre study on a series of consecutive patients with cancer (20 and 60 patients in the training and validation steps, respectively) in order to assess system capability, usability and acceptability. The novel Onco-TreC 2.0 is expected to contribute to improving the adherence and safety of cancer care, promoting patient empowerment and patient-doctor communication. Ethical approval was obtained from the Independent Ethics Committees of the participating institutions (CEIIAV protocol Number 2549/2015; reference Number 1315-PU). Informed consent will be obtained from all study participants. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, conferences and event presentations. ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02921724); (Pre-results). Other study ID Number: IRST100.18. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  18. Multilevel predictors of adolescent physical activity: a longitudinal analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hearst Mary O

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background To examine how factors from a social ecologic model predict physical activity (PA among adolescents using a longitudinal analysis. Methods Participants in this longitudinal study were adolescents (ages 10-16 at baseline and one parent enrolled in the Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer-Identifying Determinants of Eating and Activity (TREC-IDEA and the Etiology of Childhood Obesity (ECHO. Both studies were designed to assess a socio-ecologic model of adolescent obesity risk. PA was collected using ActiGraph activity monitors at two time points 24 months apart. Other measures included objective height and weight, adolescent and parent questionnaires on multilevel psychological, behavioral and social determinants of PA, and a home PA equipment inventory. Analysis was conducted using SAS, including descriptive characteristics, bivariate and stepped multivariate mixed models, using baseline adjustment. Models were stratified by gender. Results There were 578 adolescents with complete data. Results suggest few statistically significant longitudinal associations with physical activity measured as minutes of MVPA or total counts from accelerometers. For boys, greater self-efficacy (B = 0.75, p = 0.01 and baseline MVPA (B = 0.55, p p = 0.01 and barriers (B = -0.32, p = 0.05 significantly predicted MVPA at follow-up in the full model. The full multilevel model explained 30% of the variance in PA among boys and 24% among girls. Conclusions PA change in adolescents is a complex issue that is not easily understood. Our findings suggest early PA habits are the most important predictor of PA levels in adolescence. Intervention may be necessary prior to middle school to maintain PA through adolescence.

  19. Oral supplementation with Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus 8481 enhances systemic immunity in elderly subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moro-García, Marco Antonio; Alonso-Arias, Rebeca; Baltadjieva, Maria; Fernández Benítez, Carlos; Fernández Barrial, Manuel Amadeo; Díaz Ruisánchez, Enrique; Alonso Santos, Ricardo; Alvarez Sánchez, Magdalena; Saavedra Miján, Juan; López-Larrea, Carlos

    2013-08-01

    Throughout life, there is an aging of the immune system that causes impairment of its defense capability. Prevention or delay of this deterioration is considered crucial to maintain general health and increase longevity. We evaluated whether dietary supplementation with Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus 8481 could enhance the immune response in the elderly. This multi-center, double-blind, and placebo controlled study enrolled 61 elderly volunteers who were randomly assigned to receive either placebo or probiotics. Each capsule of probiotics contained at least 3 × 10(7)  L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus 8481. Individuals in the study were administered three capsules per day for 6 months. Blood samples were obtained at baseline (time 0), end of month 3, and month 6. We characterized cell subpopulations, measured cytokines by flow cytometry, quantified T cell receptor excision circle (TREC) by real-time PCR (RT-PCR), and determined human β-defensin-2 (hBD-2) concentrations and human cytomegalovirus (CMV) titers by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Elderly responded to the intake of probiotic with an increase in the percentage of NK cells, an improvement in the parameters defining the immune risk profile (IRP), and an increase in the T cell subsets that are less differentiated. The probiotic group also showed decreased concentrations of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-8 but increased antimicrobial peptide hBD-2. These effects disappeared within 6 months of stopping the probiotic intake. Immunomodulation induced by L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus 8481 could favor the maintenance of an adequate immune response, mainly by slowing the aging of the T cell subpopulations and increasing the number of immature T cells which are potential responders to new antigens.

  20. 跨語言資訊檢索:理論、技術與應用 | Cross-Language Information Retrieval: Theories and Technologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    陳信希 Hsin-His Chen

    2002-04-01

    Full Text Available

    頁次:19-32

    多語性是網路社會的重要特徵之一,如何將網路資源,介紹給不同語言的使用者,同時吸收其他語言所呈現的資訊,都是資訊國際化不能忽略的重要課題。跨語言資訊檢索,提供使用者以某種語言檢索另外一種語言表達的文件,為近年來很活躍的研究題目之一。本文嘗試將這個研究主題相關的理論和技術,介紹給有興趣的讀者。首先探討詢問翻譯、文件翻譯、和不翻譯等三類基本方法。接著考慮翻譯歧義性和目標多義性,以及專有名詞音譯等進階方法。評估是促進技術進步的必要工作,本文最後也介紹跨語言資訊檢索三大評比:TREC CLEF、與 NTCIR

    Multilinguality is one

  1. Temporal and spatial resource use by female three-toed sloths and their young in an agricultural landscape in Costa Rica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oscar Ramirez

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The information on ecological behavior of wild sloths is very scarce. In this study we determined the home ranges and resources used by three adult female three-toed sloths (Bradypus variegatus and their four young in an agricultural matrix of cacao (Theobroma cacao, pasture, riparian forests and living fencerows in Costa Rica. Births occurred during November-December and the young became independent at five to seven months of age. Initially, mothers remained fixed in one or a few trees, but expanded their use of resources as young sloths became independent from them. Mothers initially guided the young to preferred food and cover resources, but they gradually left their young in small nucleus areas and colonized new areas for themselves. Home range sizes for young sloths (up to seven months of age varied between 0.04-0.6 hectares, while home range sizes for mothers varied from 0.04-25.0 hectares. During the maternal care period, 22 tree species were used, with the most common being Cecropia obtusifolia (30.9%, Coussapoa villosa (25.6%, Nectandra salicifolia (12.1%, Pterocarpus officinalis (5.8% and Samanea saman (5.4%. However, young sloths used only 20 tree species, with the most common being C. villosa (18.4%, S. saman (18.5 % and N. salicifolia (16.7%. The cacao agroforest was used only by mother sloths and never by their young following separation. However, in the riparian forest, both mother sloths and young used the tree species. A total of 28 tree species were used by the mother sloth; including the food species: C. obtusifolia, C. villosa, N. salicifolia and P. officinalis. However, the young used 18 trees species in this habitat with N. salicifolia and S. saman most commonly used, although they rested and fed during the day in C. obtusifolia, C. villosa and O. sinnuata. The cacao agroforest with adjacent riparian forests and fencerows provides an important habitat type that links the smaller secondary forests and other patches. Rev

  2. Sviluppi di Ricevitori E di Componentistica Per Banda 3 mm Ad INAF-OA Cagliari

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navarrini, Alessandro

    2017-11-01

    L'INAF-OA Cagliari (OACa) sta sviluppando un ricevitore criogenico a basso rumore basato su un mixer SSB (Single Side Band) a superconduttore SIS (Superconductor-Insulator-Superconductor) per la banda 3 mm. Il ricevitore, acquistato da IRAM, è stato fortemente modificato per essere adattato al fuoco Gregoriano di SRT (Sardinia Radio Telescope). Lo strumento è caratterizzato da una nuova criogenia a ciclo chiuso 4 K (per evitare l'uso di elio liquido in antenna), da un nuovo oscillatore locale (di tipo ALMA Banda 3) e da un nuovo sistema di controllo e di monitoraggio basato su schede Raspberry ed Arduino sviluppato ad OACa. Verranno presentati i recenti sviluppi sul ricevitore, inclusi i risultati preliminari della misura della temperatura di rumore, che raggiunge un valore pari a Trec=66 K alla frequenza di 86 GHz, nonostante la criogenia non sia ancora ottimizzata. L'INAF-OACa è coinvolto nel progetto AETHRA (Advanced European Technologies for Heterodyne Receivers for Astronomy) nel quadro del programma Radionet/Horizon2020 per il quale sta contribuendo al WP1 (Work Package 1). Lo scopo del WP1 è di sviluppare e costruire un dimostratore di un array di ricevitori a doppia polarizzazione per la banda 3 mm basato su amplificatori criogenici a basso rumore (LNA) in tecnologia a semiconduttore MMIC. Nell'ambito del WP1 l'OACa ha in carico il progetto di un OrthomodeTransducer (OMT) in guida d'onda o in tecnologia planare per la banda 72-116 GHz che sia integrabile con amplificatori MMICs ed adatto all'integrazione in un array da installare nel piano focale di un radiotelescopio. Verranno presentati i design preliminari degli OMT per AETHRA, che sono basati su prototipi sviluppati in passato da OACa.

  3. From the field to classrooms: Scientists and educators collaborating to develop K-12 lessons on arctic carbon cycling and climate change that align with Next Generation Science Standards, and informal outreach programs that bring authentic data to informal audiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brinker, R.; Cory, R. M.

    2014-12-01

    Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) calls for students across grade levels to understand climate change and its impacts. To achieve this goal, the NSF-sponsored PolarTREC program paired an educator with scientists studying carbon cycling in the Arctic. The data collection and fieldwork performed by the team will form the basis of hands-on science learning in the classroom and will be incorporated into informal outreach sessions in the community. Over a 16-day period, the educator was stationed at Toolik Field Station in the High Arctic. (Toolik is run by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Institute of Arctic Biology.) She participated in a project that analyzed the effects of sunlight and microbial content on carbon production in Artic watersheds. Data collected will be used to introduce the following NGSS standards into the middle-school science curriculum: 1) Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence. 2) Develop a model to explain cycling of water. 3) Develop and use a model to describe phenomena. 4) Analyze and interpret data. 5) A change in one system causes and effect in other systems. Lessons can be telescoped to meet the needs of classrooms in higher or lower grades. Through these activities, students will learn strategies to model an aspect of carbon cycling, interpret authentic scientific data collected in the field, and conduct geoscience research on carbon cycling. Community outreach sessions are also an effective method to introduce and discuss the importance of geoscience education. Informal discussions of firsthand experience gained during fieldwork can help communicate to a lay audience the biological, physical, and chemical aspects of the arctic carbon cycle and the impacts of climate change on these features. Outreach methods will also include novel use of online tools to directly connect audiences with scientists in an effective and time-efficient manner.

  4. Connecting polar research to NGSS STEM classroom lessons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brinker, R.; Kast, D.

    2016-12-01

    Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are designed to bring consistent, rigorous science teaching across the United States. Topics are categorized as Performance Expectations (PE), Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI), Cross-Cutting Concepts (CCC), and Science and Engineering Practices (SEP). NGSS includes a focus on environmental science and climate change across grade levels. Earth and planetary sciences are required at the high school level. Integrating polar science lessons into NGSS classrooms brings relevant, rigorous climate change curriculum across grade levels. Polar science provides opportunities for students to use current data during lessons, conduct their own field work, and collaborate with scientists. Polar science provides a framework of learning that is novel to most students. Inquiry and engagement are high with polar science lessons. Phenomenon related to polar science provide an excellent tool for science teachers to use to engage students in a lesson, stimulate inquiry, and promote critical thinking. When taught effectively, students see the connections between their community, polar regions and climate change, regardless of where on the planet students live. This presentation describes examples of how to effectively implement NGSS lessons by incorporating polar science lessons and field research. Examples of introductory phenomenon and aligned PEs, CCCs, DCIs, and SEPs are given. Suggested student activities, assessments, examples of student work, student research, labs, and PolarTREC fieldwork, use of current science data, and connections to scientists in the field are provided. The goals of the presentation are to give teachers a blueprint to follow when implementing NGSS lessons, and give scientists an understanding of the basics of NGSS so they may be better able to relate their work to U.S. science education and be more effective communicators of their science findings.

  5. Everybody Wins: How the IceCube Collaboration Capitalizes Teacher Deployments to the South Pole

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madsen, J.

    2017-12-01

    Over the last fifteen years, the IceCube Collaboration and its predecessor AMANDA have hosted eight teachers at South Pole with the ninth scheduled to deploy in the upcoming 2017-18 season. These deployments have been organized in conjunction with NSF funded programs that pair polar researchers with teachers. Teachers Experiencing the Arctic and Antarctica in the early years, and now PolarTREC, provide valuable structure, general training, build community among polar researchers and teachers, and archive resources developed by participants. The IceCube Collaboration has developed a successful team building approach for newly selected teachers that utilizes past polar teachers. For about a decade, we have provided a two week summer residential science course for a diverse group of ninth to twelve grade students in the University of Wisconsin-River Falls Upward Bound program. An authentic research experience is delivered by focusing on the process of science using a different accessible and meaningful project each year. For example, this summer students learned about design and construction by creating their own LED-embedded clothing. They programmed a microcontroller so the LEDs responded to an external input such as motion or sound. This panel presentation in the K-12 Education/Outreach: Effective Partnerships between Scientists and K-12 Teachers/Informal Educators including Authentic Student Research session will describe how this is a win for all involved. It gives the new teacher extensive opportunities to learn about living and working at the South Pole from past teachers, experience integrating into to an established team as they will do when they deploy, and lets them see creative ways to incorporate IceCube research into the classroom. It also provides a rich active learning experience for the UWRF Upward Bound students, and a way to keep engaged with teachers who have deployed in the past.

  6. MeSH: a window into full text for document summarization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhattacharya, Sanmitra; Ha-Thuc, Viet; Srinivasan, Padmini

    2011-07-01

    Previous research in the biomedical text-mining domain has historically been limited to titles, abstracts and metadata available in MEDLINE records. Recent research initiatives such as TREC Genomics and BioCreAtIvE strongly point to the merits of moving beyond abstracts and into the realm of full texts. Full texts are, however, more expensive to process not only in terms of resources needed but also in terms of accuracy. Since full texts contain embellishments that elaborate, contextualize, contrast, supplement, etc., there is greater risk for false positives. Motivated by this, we explore an approach that offers a compromise between the extremes of abstracts and full texts. Specifically, we create reduced versions of full text documents that contain only important portions. In the long-term, our goal is to explore the use of such summaries for functions such as document retrieval and information extraction. Here, we focus on designing summarization strategies. In particular, we explore the use of MeSH terms, manually assigned to documents by trained annotators, as clues to select important text segments from the full text documents. Our experiments confirm the ability of our approach to pick the important text portions. Using the ROUGE measures for evaluation, we were able to achieve maximum ROUGE-1, ROUGE-2 and ROUGE-SU4 F-scores of 0.4150, 0.1435 and 0.1782, respectively, for our MeSH term-based method versus the maximum baseline scores of 0.3815, 0.1353 and 0.1428, respectively. Using a MeSH profile-based strategy, we were able to achieve maximum ROUGE F-scores of 0.4320, 0.1497 and 0.1887, respectively. Human evaluation of the baselines and our proposed strategies further corroborates the ability of our method to select important sentences from the full texts. sanmitra-bhattacharya@uiowa.edu; padmini-srinivasan@uiowa.edu.

  7. A COMPREHENSIVE DUST MODEL APPLIED TO THE RESOLVED BETA PICTORIS DEBRIS DISK FROM OPTICAL TO RADIO WAVELENGTHS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ballering, Nicholas P.; Su, Kate Y. L.; Rieke, George H.; Gáspár, András, E-mail: ballerin@email.arizona.edu [Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

    2016-06-01

    We investigate whether varying the dust composition (described by the optical constants) can solve a persistent problem in debris disk modeling—the inability to fit the thermal emission without overpredicting the scattered light. We model five images of the β Pictoris disk: two in scattered light from the Hubble Space Telescope ( HST )/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph at 0.58 μ m and HST /Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC 3) at 1.16 μ m, and three in thermal emission from Spitzer /Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS) at 24 μ m, Herschel /PACS at 70 μ m, and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array at 870 μ m. The WFC3 and MIPS data are published here for the first time. We focus our modeling on the outer part of this disk, consisting of a parent body ring and a halo of small grains. First, we confirm that a model using astronomical silicates cannot simultaneously fit the thermal and scattered light data. Next, we use a simple generic function for the optical constants to show that varying the dust composition can improve the fit substantially. Finally, we model the dust as a mixture of the most plausible debris constituents: astronomical silicates, water ice, organic refractory material, and vacuum. We achieve a good fit to all data sets with grains composed predominantly of silicates and organics, while ice and vacuum are, at most, present in small amounts. This composition is similar to one derived from previous work on the HR 4796A disk. Our model also fits the thermal spectral energy distribution, scattered light colors, and high-resolution mid-IR data from T-ReCS for this disk. Additionally, we show that sub-blowout grains are a necessary component of the halo.

  8. Placental transfer of maternally-derived IgA precludes the use of guthrie card eluates as a screening tool for primary immunodeficiency diseases.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephan Borte

    Full Text Available There is a need for neonatal screening tools to improve the long-term clinical outcome of patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID. Recently, a PCR-based screening method for both TRECs and KRECs using Guthrie card samples has been developed. However, the applicability of these excision circle assays is limited to patients with severe T or B cell lymphopenia (SCID, XLA and A-T, whereas the most common forms of PID are not detected. Absence of serum IgA is seen in a major fraction of patients with immunological defects. As serum IgA in newborns is considered to be of fetal origin, eluates from routinely collected dried blood spot samples might thus be suitable for identification of children with PID. To assess the applicability of such screening assays, stored Guthrie card samples were obtained from 47 patients with various forms of primary immunodeficiency diseases (SCID, XLA, A-T, HIGM and IgAD, 20 individuals with normal serum IgA levels born to IgA-deficient mothers and 51 matched healthy newborns. Surprisingly, normal serum IgA levels were found in all SCID, XLA, A-T and HIGM patients and, additionally, in all those IgAD patients born to IgA-sufficient mothers. Conversely, no serum IgA was found in any of the 16 IgAD patients born by IgA-deficient mothers. Moreover, half of the IgA-sufficient individuals born by IgA-deficient mothers also lacked IgA at birth whereas no IgA-deficient individuals were found among the controls. IgA in neonatal dried blood samples thus appears to be of both maternal and fetal origin and precludes its use as a reliable marker for neonatal screening of primary immunodeficiency diseases.

  9. Placental transfer of maternally-derived IgA precludes the use of guthrie card eluates as a screening tool for primary immunodeficiency diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borte, Stephan; Janzi, Magdalena; Pan-Hammarström, Qiang; von Döbeln, Ulrika; Nordvall, Lennart; Winiarski, Jacek; Fasth, Anders; Hammarström, Lennart

    2012-01-01

    There is a need for neonatal screening tools to improve the long-term clinical outcome of patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID). Recently, a PCR-based screening method for both TRECs and KRECs using Guthrie card samples has been developed. However, the applicability of these excision circle assays is limited to patients with severe T or B cell lymphopenia (SCID, XLA and A-T), whereas the most common forms of PID are not detected. Absence of serum IgA is seen in a major fraction of patients with immunological defects. As serum IgA in newborns is considered to be of fetal origin, eluates from routinely collected dried blood spot samples might thus be suitable for identification of children with PID. To assess the applicability of such screening assays, stored Guthrie card samples were obtained from 47 patients with various forms of primary immunodeficiency diseases (SCID, XLA, A-T, HIGM and IgAD), 20 individuals with normal serum IgA levels born to IgA-deficient mothers and 51 matched healthy newborns. Surprisingly, normal serum IgA levels were found in all SCID, XLA, A-T and HIGM patients and, additionally, in all those IgAD patients born to IgA-sufficient mothers. Conversely, no serum IgA was found in any of the 16 IgAD patients born by IgA-deficient mothers. Moreover, half of the IgA-sufficient individuals born by IgA-deficient mothers also lacked IgA at birth whereas no IgA-deficient individuals were found among the controls. IgA in neonatal dried blood samples thus appears to be of both maternal and fetal origin and precludes its use as a reliable marker for neonatal screening of primary immunodeficiency diseases.

  10. Hyperactivity and Dust Composition of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 During the EPOXI Encounter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harker, David E.; Woodward, Charles E.; Kelley, Michael S. P.; Wooden, Diane H.

    2018-05-01

    Short-period comet 103P/Hartley 2 (103P) was the flyby target of the Deep Impact eXtended Investigation on 2010 November 4 UT. This comet has a small hyperactive nucleus, i.e., it has a high water production rate for its surface area. The underlying cause of the hyperactivity is unknown; the relative abundances of volatiles in the coma of 103P are not unusual. However, the dust properties of this comet have not been fully explored. We present four epochs of mid-infrared spectra and images of comet 103P observed from Gemini-South +T-ReCS on 2010 November 5, 7, 21 and December 13 UT, near and after the spacecraft encounter. Comet 103P exhibited a weak 10 μm emission feature ≃1.14 ± 0.01 above the underlying local 10 μm continuum. Thermal dust grain modeling of the spectra shows the grain composition (mineralogy) was dominated by amorphous carbon and amorphous pyroxene with evidence for Mg-rich crystalline olivine. The grain size has a peak grain radius range of a peak ∼ 0.5–0.9 μm. On average, the crystalline silicate mass fraction is ≃0.24, fairly typical of other short-period comets. In contrast, the silicate-to-carbon ratio of ≃0.48–0.64 is lower compared to other short-period comets, which indicates that the flux measured in the 10 μm region of 103P was dominated by amorphous carbon grains. We conclude that the hyperactivity in comet 103P is not revealing dust properties similar to the small grains seen with the Deep Impact experiment on comet 9P/Tempel 1 or from comet C/1995 O1 (Hale–Bopp).

  11. Different profiles of immune reconstitution in children and adults with HIV-infection after highly active antiretroviral therapy

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    Leal Manuel

    2006-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent advances in characterizing the immune recovery of HIV-1-infected people have highlighted the importance of the thymus for peripheral T-cell diversity and function. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in immune reconstitution profiles after highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART between HIV-children and adults. Methods HIV patients were grouped according to their previous clinical and immunological status: 9 HIV-Reconstituting-adults (HIV-Rec-adults and 10 HIV-Reconstituting-children (HIV-Rec-children on HAART with viral load (VL ≤400 copies/ml and CD4+ ≥500 cells/μL at least during 6 months before the study and CD4+ ≤300 cells/μL anytime before. Fifteen healthy-adults and 20 healthy-children (control subjects were used to calculate Z-score values to unify value scales between children and adults to make them comparable. Results HIV-Rec-children had higher T-cell receptor excision circles (TREC and lower interleukin (IL-7 levels than HIV-Rec-adults (p + (CD4+CD45RA hi+CD27+, naïve CD8+ (CD8+CD45RA hi+CD27+, and memory CD8+ (CD8+CD45RO+ cells/μl than HIV-Rec-adults, but similar memory CD4+ (CD4+CD45RO+ counts. HIV-Rec-children had lower naïve CD8+ Z-score values than HIV-Rec-adults (p = 0.05. Conclusion Our data suggest that HIV-Rec-children had better thymic function than HIV-Rec-adults and this fact affects the peripheral T-cell subsets. Thus, T-cell recovery after HAART in HIV-Rec-adults could be the consequence of antigen-independent peripheral T-cell expansion while in HIV-Rec-children thymic output could play a predominant role in immune reconstitution.

  12. Deficient innate immunity, thymopoiesis, and gene expression response to radiation in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, Wing; Neale, Geoffrey; Behm, Fred; Iyengar, Rekha; Finkelstein, David; Kastan, Michael B; Pui, Ching-Hon

    2010-06-01

    Survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are at an increased risk of developing secondary malignant neoplasms. Radiation and chemotherapy can cause mutations and cytogenetic abnormalities and induce genomic instability. Host immunity and appropriate DNA damage responses are critical inhibitors of carcinogenesis. Therefore, we sought to determine the long-term effects of ALL treatment on immune function and response to DNA damage. Comparative studies on 14 survivors in first complete remission and 16 siblings were conducted. In comparison to siblings on the cells that were involved in adaptive immunity, the patients had either higher numbers (CD19+ B cells and CD4+CD25+ T regulatory cells) or similar numbers (alphabetaT cells and CD45RO+/RA- memory T cells) in the blood. In contrast, patients had lower numbers of all lymphocyte subsets involved in innate immunity (gammadeltaT cells and all NK subsets, including KIR2DL1+ cells, KIR2DL2/L3+ cells, and CD16+ cells), and lower natural cytotoxicity against K562 leukemia cells. Thymopoiesis was lower in patients, as demonstrated by less CD45RO-/RA+ naïve T cell and less SjTREC levels in the blood, whereas the Vbeta spectratype complexity score was similar. Array of gene expression response to low-dose radiation showed that about 70% of the probesets had a reduced response in patients. One of these genes, SCHIP-1, was also among the top-ranked single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) during the whole-genome scanning by SNP microarray analysis. ALL survivors were deficient in innate immunity, thymopoiesis, and DNA damage responses to radiation. These defects may contribute to their increased likelihood of second malignancy. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. IceBridge: Bringing a Field Campaign Home

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woods, J.; Beck, J.; Bartholow, S.

    2015-12-01

    IceBridge, a six-year NASA mission, is the largest airborne survey of Earth's polar ice ever flown. It will yield an unprecedented three-dimensional view of Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets, ice shelves and sea ice. These flights will provide a yearly, multi-instrument look at the behavior of the rapidly changing features of the Greenland and Antarctic ice. Data collected during IceBridge will help scientists bridge the gap in polar observations between NASA's Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) -- in orbit since 2003 -- and ICESat-2, planned for 2017. ICESat stopped collecting science data in 2009, making IceBridge critical for ensuring a continuous series of observations. IceBridge will use airborne instruments to map Arctic and Antarctic areas once a year at a minimum, with new campaigns being developed during the Arctic melt season. IceBridge flights are conducted in the spring and summer for the Arctic and in the fall over Antarctica. Other smaller airborne surveys around the world are also part of the IceBridge campaign. IceBridge actively engages the public and educators through a variety of outlets ranging from communications strategies through social media outlets, to larger organized efforts such as PolarTREC. In field activities include blog posts, photo updates, in flight chat sessions, and more intensive live events to include google hangouts, where field team members can interact with the public during a scheduled broadcast. The IceBridge team provides scientists and other team members with the training and support to become communicators in their own right. There is an exciting new initiative where IceBridge will be collaborating with Undergraduate and Graduate students to integrate the next generation of scientists and communicators into the Science Teams. This will be explored through partnerships with institutions that are interested in mentoring through project based initiatives.

  14. Investigation of the viscous reconnection phenomenon of two vortex tubes through spectral simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beardsell, Guillaume; Dufresne, Louis; Dumas, Guy

    2016-09-01

    This paper aims to shed further light on the viscous reconnection phenomenon. To this end, we propose a robust and efficient method in order to quantify the degree of reconnection of two vortex tubes. This method is used to compare the evolutions of two simple initial vortex configurations: orthogonal and antiparallel. For the antiparallel configuration, the proposed method is compared with alternative estimators and it is found to improve accuracy since it can account properly for the formation of looping structures inside the domain. This observation being new, the physical mechanism for the formation of those looping structures is discussed. For the orthogonal configuration, we report results from simulations that were performed at a much higher vortex Reynolds number (ReΓ ≡ circulation/viscosity = 104) and finer resolution (N3 = 10243) than previously presented in the literature. The incompressible Navier-stokes equations are solved directly (Direct Numerical Simulation or DNS) using a Fourier pseudospectral algorithm with triply periodic boundary conditions. The associated zero-circulation constraint is circumvented by solving the governing equations in a proper rotating frame of reference. Using ideas similar to those behind our method to compute the degree of reconnection, we split the vorticity field into its reconnected and non-reconnected parts, which allows to create insightful visualizations of the evolving vortex topology. It also allows to detect regions in the vorticity field that are neither reconnected nor non-reconnected and thus must be associated to internal looping structures. Finally, the Reynolds number dependence of the reconnection time scale Trec is investigated in the range 500 ≤ ReΓ ≤ 10 000. For both initial configurations, the scaling is generally found to vary continuously as ReΓ is increased from T rec ˜ R eΓ - 1 to T rec ˜ R eΓ - 1 / 2 , thus providing quantitative support for previous claims that the reconnection

  15. Leaf quality and insect herbivory in model tropical plant communities after long-term exposure to elevated atmospheric CO2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnone, J A; Zaller, J G; Körner, Ch; Ziegler, C; Zandt, H

    1995-09-01

    Results from laboratory feeding experiments have shown that elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide can affect interactions between plants and insect herbivores, primarily through changes in leaf nutritional quality occurring at elevated CO 2 . Very few data are available on insect herbivory in plant communities where insects can choose among species and positions in the canopy in which to feed. Our objectives were to determine the extent to which CO 2 -induced changes in plant communities and leaf nutritional quality may affect herbivory at the level of the entire canopy. We introduced equivalent populations of fourth instar Spodoptera eridania, a lepidopteran generalist, to complex model ecosystems containing seven species of moist tropical plants maintained under low mineral nutrient supply. Larvae were allowed to feed freely for 14 days, by which time they had reached the seventh instar. Prior to larval introductions, plant communities had been continuously exposed to either 340 μl CO 2 l -1 or to 610 μl CO 2 l -1 for 1.5 years. No major shifts in leaf nutritional quality [concentrations of N, total non-structural carbohydrates (TNC), sugar, and starch; ratios of: C/N, TNC/N, sugar/N, starch/N; leaf toughness] were observed between CO 2 treatments for any of the species. Furthermore, no correlations were observed between these measures of leaf quality and leaf biomass consumption. Total leaf area and biomass of all plant communities were similar when caterpillars were introduced. However, leaf biomass of some species was slightly greater-and for other species slightly less (e.g. Cecropia peltata)-in communities exposed to elevated CO 2 . Larvae showed the strongest preference for C. peltata leaves, the plant species that was least abundant in all communites, and fed relatively little on plants species which were more abundant. Thus, our results indicate that leaf tissue quality, as described by these parameters, is not necessarily affected by elevated CO 2 under

  16. Recuperação inteligente de jurisprudência: uma avaliação do raciocínio baseado em casos aplicado a recuperação de jurisprudências no Tribunal Regional Eleitoral do Distrito Federal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Symball Rufino de Oliveira

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Trata-se de uma pesquisa cujo objeto é avaliar a medida de precisão de um sistema de recuperação de informação jurídica (jurisprudência que utiliza técnica de inteligência artificial conhecida como Raciocínio Baseado em Casos (RBC. Nesse modelo as jurisprudências são organizadas sob a forma de casos jurídicos concretos. O raciocínio baseado em casos tem como princípio a idéias de que um caso jurídico passado pode ser útil para resolver um problema atual, desde que exista entre eles algum grau de semelhança. Para estabelecer semelhanças entre casos atuais e passados o modelo estudado propõe o uso de cálculo de similaridade que é realizado com base na comparação de índices temáticos obtidos a partir do processo de indexação realizado por especialistas utilizando-se como apoio um tesauro jurídico. Esta pesquisa utiliza como universo as jurisprudências produzidas pelo Tribunal Regional Eleitoral do Distrito Federal. A amostra foi composta, considerando o recorte dado à pesquisa, por jurisprudências eleitorais produzidas nas eleições gerais de 2006 no Distrito Federal. Para realizar a avaliação do modelo, foi construído um protótipo do sistema de recuperação de informação baseado em casos. Em seguida, avaliou-se o protótipo quanto ao grau de precisão obtido no resultado de um conjunto de buscas. O método adotado para as avaliações foi o mesmo utilizado na Text REtrieval Conference (TREC de 2007, tarefa Legal Track. Após a coleta dos dados foi elaborado um relatório discutindo a possibilidade do sistema de recuperação de informação baseado em casos ser considerado um paradigma para a recuperação de informação jurídica eleitoral.

  17. Thymic function and T cell parameters in a natural human experimental model of seasonal infectious diseases and nutritional burden

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    Morgan Gareth

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The study exploits a natural human experimental model of subsistence farmers experiencing chronic and seasonally modified food shortages and infectious burden. Two seasons existed, one of increased deprivation and infections (Jul-Dec, another of abundance and low infections (Jan-Jun; referred to as the hungry/high infection and harvest/low infection seasons respectively. Prior analysis showed a 10-fold excess in infectious disease associated mortality in young adults born in the hungry/high infection versus harvest/low infection season, and reduced thymic output and T cell counts in infancy. Here we report findings on the role of early life stressors as contributors to the onset of T cell immunological defects in later life. Methods We hypothesised that season of birth effects on thymic function and T cell immunity would be detectable in young adults since Kaplan-Meier survival curves indicated this to be the time of greatest mortality divergence. T cell subset analyses by flow-cytometry, sjTRECs, TCRVβ repertoire and telomere length by PCR, were performed on samples from 60 males (18-23 y selected to represent births in the hungry/high infection and harvest/low infection Results Total lymphocyte counts were normal and did not differ by birth season. CD3+ and CD4+ but not CD8+ counts were lower for those born during the hungry/high infection season. CD8+ telomere length also tended to be shorter. Overall, CD8+ TCRVβ repertoire skewing was observed with 'public' expressions and deletions seen in TCRVβ12/22 and TCRVβ24, respectively but no apparent effect of birth season. Conclusions We conclude that, although thymic function was unchanged, the CD4+ and CD3+ counts, and CD8+ telomere length results suggested that aspects of adult T cell immunity were under the influence of early life stressors. The endemicity of CMV and HBV suggested that chronic infections may modulate immunity through T cell repertoire development. The

  18. Modern Process Studies in Kongsfjord, Svalbard: Arctic Geoscience Research Experience for U.S. Undergraduates (Svalbard REU)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powell, R. D.; Brigham-Grette, J.

    2011-12-01

    resourceful due to instrumentation failures or weather-related delays. Self-confidence and problem solving skills emerge from both field and laboratory research operations when students draw upon and expand their base of practical knowledge via trial and error. Logistical facilities in Ny Alesund offer an international experience with opportunities for dialog with scientists of a wide variety of disciplines working at research stations representing more than 12 different European and Asian countries. The program is funded by the NSF's Office of Polar Programs and has close ties and collaboration with the Norwegian University in Svalbard (UNIS) and Norsk Polar Institute scientists. NSF also funds a science teacher as a PolarTREC participant.

  19. Nasa's Operation Icebridge and Remote Sensing Techniques in the K-12 Classroom as a STEM Integration Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCarthy, K.

    2017-12-01

    NASA's Operation IceBridge (OIB), the largest airborne survey of Earth's polar ice uses remote sensing methods to collect data on changing sea and land ice. PolarTREC teacher Kelly McCarthy joined the team during the 2016 Spring Arctic Campaign. This presentation explores ways in which k-12 students were engaged in the work being done by OIB through classroom learning experiences, digital communications, and independent research. Initially, digital communication including chats via NASA's Mission Tools Suite for Education (MTSE) platform was leveraged to engage students in the daily work of OIB. Two lessons were piloted with student groups during the 2016-2017 academic year both for students who actively engaged in communications with the team during the expedition and those who had no prior connections to the field. All of the data collected on OIB missions is stored for public use in a digital portal on the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) website. In one lesson, 10th-12th grade students were guided through a tutorial to learn how to access data and begin to develop a story about Greenland's Jakobshavn Glacier using pre-selected data sets, Google's MyMaps app, and independent research methods. In the second lesson, 8th grade students were introduced to remote sensing, first through a discussion on vocabulary using productive talk moves and then via a demonstration using Vernier motion detectors and a graph matching simulation. Students worked in groups to develop procedures to map a hidden surface region (boxed assortment of miscellaneous objects) using a Vernier motion sensor to simulate sonar. Students translated data points collected from the motion sensor into a vertical profile of the simulated surface region. Both lessons allowed students a way to engage in two of the most important components of OIB. The ability to work with real data collected by the OIB team provided a unique context through which students gained skill and overcame challenges in

  20. Expanding Horizons Teachers and Scientists Collabortaing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teres, A.

    2017-12-01

    As a participant in PolarTrec, I joined the crew of NASA's Operation IceBridge in Greenland for the month of April 2017. As an active member of the team I learned the ins and outs of field research, and I learned about the work done by Operation IceBridge. As a result of participating in this project, I grew as a teacher and a scientist. I took my experiences and shared them with my classroom through stories, pictures, videos, and my lesson plans. By seeing the Artic through my experiences the class became enraptured by the subject matter. I was no longer talking about a distant or abstract place instead I was talking about an experience. This enabled my students to take an active part in the discussion and to feel like the cryosphere was part of their life too. Not only did I learn about the science but I leaned about logistics of field research. I reached out to my community and local communications outlets before and after my trip to Greenland to familiarize whomever I could connect with about my experience. I contacted a local news station and they did an interview with me about my trip. I emailed a local newspaper about my trip and was interviewed before I left and after I returned. Due to the newscast, I was contacted by my college sorority and was interviewed for the sorority's national newsletter which is distributed throughout the United States. Each connection helped to spread the word. I'm continuing to spread the word by volunteering to present my experience to schools throughout Broward County in Florida. I've already connected with teachers and schools to set up my presentation in the calendar. Having these types of experiences is critical for teachers to continue their growth within the scientific field and education. Effective teachers are those not constrained by the walls of their classroom. Having the opportunity to work with scientists and do research in the field has expanded my horizons. The people I met I am still in contact with and I am

  1. Physiological responses of horses to a treadmill simulated speed and endurance test in high heat and humidity before and after humid heat acclimation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marlin, D J; Scott, C M; Schroter, R C; Harris, R C; Harris, P A; Roberts, C A; Mills, P C

    1999-01-01

    To investigate whether horses were able to acclimate to conditions of high temperature and humidity, 5 horses of different breeds were trained for 80 min on 15 consecutive days on a treadmill at 30 degrees C and 80%RH. Training consisted of a combination of long duration low-intensity exercise, medium duration medium intensity exercise and short duration high intensity exercise. Between training sessions the horses were maintained at 11+/-3 degrees C and 74+/-2%RH. Before (PRE-ACC) and after acclimation (POST-ACC) the horses undertook a simulated Competition Exercise Test (CET), designed to represent the Speed and Endurance Test of a 3-day event, at 30 degrees C/80%RH. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2PEAK) was not changed following acclimation (PRE-ACC 141+/-8 ml/min/kg bwt vs. POST-ACC 145+/-9 ml/min/kg bwt [STPD], P>0.05). Following acclimation, 4 of the 5 horses were able to complete a significantly greater amount of Phase D in the CET (PRE-ACC 6.3+/-0.3 min vs. POST-ACC 7.3+/-0.3 min, P<0.05; target time = 8 min). Resting body temperatures (pulmonary artery [TPA], rectal [TREC] and tail-skin [TTSK] temperatures) were all significantly lower following acclimation. During exercise, metabolic heat production (M) and heat dissipation (HD), for the same exercise duration, were both significantly lower following acclimation (P<0.05), although heat storage (HS) was significantly higher (P<0.05). The higher heat storage following acclimation was associated with a lower TTSK for a given TPA and a decreased total fluid loss (% bodyweight, P<0.05). Plasma volume was not changed following acclimation. The relationship of sweating rate (SR) to TPA or TTSK on either the neck or the gluteal region was not significantly altered by acclimation, although the onset of sweating occurred at a lower TPA or TTSK following acclimation (P<0.05). The horses in the present study showed a number of physiological adaptations to a period of 15 days of exposure to high heat and humidity consistent

  2. Antarctica Day: An International Celebration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pope, A.; Hambrook Berkman, J.; Berkman, P. A.

    2013-12-01

    For more than half a century, the 1959 Antarctic Treaty continues to shine as a rare beacon of international cooperation. To celebrate this milestone of peace in our civilization with hope and inspiration for future generations, Antarctica Day is celebrated each year on December 1st , the anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty signing. As an annual event - initiated by the Foundation for the Good Governance of International Spaces (www.internationalspaces.org/) in collaboration with the Association of Polar Early Carer Scientists (www.apecs.is) - Antarctica Day encourages participation from around the world. The Antarctic Treaty set aside 10% of the earth, 'forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes in the interest of mankind.' It was the first nuclear arms agreement and the first institution to govern all human activities in an international region beyond sovereign jurisdictions. In this spirit, Antarctica Day aims to: - Demonstrate how diverse nations can work together peacefully, using science as a global language of cooperation for decision making beyond national boundaries, - Provide strategies for students learning about Antarctica through art, science and history at all school levels, - Increase collaboration and communication between classrooms, communities, researchers and government officials around the world, and - Provide a focus for polar educators to build on each year. Through close collaboration with a number of partners. Antarctica Day activities have included: a Polar Film Festival convened by The Explorers Club; live sessions connecting classrooms with scientists in Antarctica thanks to PolarTREC and ARCUS; an international activity that involved children from 13 countries who created over 600 flags which exemplify Antarctica Day (these were actually flown in Antarctica with signed certificates then returned to the classes); a map where Antarctica Day participants all over the world could share what they were doing; an Antarctic bird count

  3. Existing data sources in clinical epidemiology: the Scandinavian Thrombosis and Cancer Cohort

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jensvoll H

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Hilde Jensvoll,1,2 Marianne T Severinsen,3,4 Jens Hammerstrøm,5 Sigrid K Brækkan,1,2 Søren R Kristensen,4,6 Suzanne C Cannegieter,7 Kristine Blix,1,2 Anne Tjønneland,8 Frits R Rosendaal,1,7,9 Olga Dziewiecka,1 Kim Overvad,10,11 Inger Anne Næss,12 John-Bjarne Hansen1,21Department of Clinical Medicine, KG Jebsen – Thrombosis Research and Expertise Center (TREC, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, 2Division of Internal Medicine, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway; 3Department of Hematology, Aalborg University Hospital, 4Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark; 5Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; 6Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark; 7Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands; 8Diet, Genes and Environment, Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark; 9Department of Thrombosis and Hemostasis, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands; 10Department of Cardiology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, 11Department of Public Health, Section for Epidemiology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; 12Department of Hematology, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, NorwayBackground: Although venous thromboembolism (VTE is a known common complication in cancer patients, there is limited knowledge on patient-related and cancer-specific risk factors in the general population. The Scandinavian Thrombosis and Cancer (STAC Cohort was established by merging individual data from three large Scandinavian cohorts (The Tromsø Study, the second Nord-Trøndelag Health Study, and the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health Study. Here, we present the profile of the STAC cohort and provide age-specific incidence rates of VTE and cancerMethods: The STAC cohort includes 144,952 subjects aged 19–101 years

  4. Spectroscopic Evidence for the Asteroidal Nature of the July 2009 Jovian Impactor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lisse, Carey; Orton, Glenn; Yanamandra-Fisher, Padma; Fletcher, Leigh; Depater, Imke; Hammel, Heidi

    2010-05-01

    The collision of a large object with Jupiter on July 19, 2009, heated its atmosphere, modified its composition and generated a prominent field of deposited particulate debris. Low-resolution 7-24 μm spectroscopy of the impact field obtained using the T-ReCS mid-infrared camera/spectrometer on Gemini/South on 24 July 2009 has revealed an excess 9-μm absorption in the impact debris in addition to that supplied by hot ammonia created in the impact. We have searched for candidate materials that would best fit the spectral feature near 9 μm, and find that the feature cannot be matched with candidate materials in Jupiter's atmosphere. A search through a large suite of gaseous and solid absorption spectra (c.f Lisse et al. 2008, 2009) revealed that the major competent matches were for (a) obsidian, a glassy silica, and (b) quartz and cristobalite, crystalline silicas, kinetic alteration products of primitive body ferromagnesian silicates formed at high pressures and temperatures over 1500 K. There are also weak features at 10 - 11 um consistent with olivine absorptions. While the high temperatures required to create silicas are also high enough to destroy the non-refractory water and organics dominating icy cometary bodies, and thus destroy their spectral signal, there was no detectable absorption due to pyroxene materials, which, along with olivines in roughly equal measure, comprise the majority of refractory silicaceous species found in comets (Lisse et al. 2007). This suggests that the impacting body was not a comet, but an olivine-rich differentiated body similar to asteroids that are abundant in the outer regions of the main asteroid belt (Lodders and Fegley 1998). We speculate that the weak structural strength of bulk cometary material causes a comet impactor to catastrophically disrupt at higher altitudes and lower temperatures than a strong, dense asteroidal body, so that the cometary refractory dust component remains relatively cold and unaltered through

  5. 中文檢索評估系統可行性研究 | Proposing a Prototype for Chinese Corpus Test Collection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    吳美美 Mei-Mei Wu

    1999-04-01

    Full Text Available

    頁次:68-87

    本研究主要在探討建置一個中文檢索評估系統的可行性。數位化成為必要的趨勢之後,世界上各重要語言都受到其使用國家的重視與贊助而開始進行研究。1992年起美國國家標準暨技術局(NIST和美國國防部尖端研究企畫署的資訊科技室(DARPA閒始組織一系列的文獻檢索會議(Text Retrieval Conference, TREC,每年舉辦一次評比研討會議,至今已有TREC 9的召開。日本在籌畫五年之後,亦在今年(1999開始推展日文的檢索評比研討活動。本文提出建置一個中文檢索評估系統可行性研究,並期望政府重視支持而能建設一個良好的中文檢索研究環境,以便鼓勵更多的研究者參與中文資訊檢索的研究。

    Chinese language retrieval evaluation has caught the attention of researchers studying cross language retrieval techniques internationally. The importance of Chinese language in information retrieval ( IR has been recognized, however, the evaluation tool and research environment is limited. Given the importance of Networked Information Retrieval (NIR and the accelerating development of Digital Library (DL, a Chinese corpus test collection and a set of evaluation criteria for IR evaluation is

  6. Editorial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    André Luis Calado Araújo

    2010-07-01

    alternativa (georremediação aditivada, GAD para melhorar substancialmente a degradação da matéria orgânica recalcitrante contida no chorume, associada a uma redução significativa nas concentrações de alguns metais pesados do efluente. O quinto trabalho, elaborado por pesquisadores da UFOPA, discorre sobre os Cepropiais nativos formados pela espécie Cecropia palmata, dentre outras, que, acumulando fósforo (P em tecidos foliares e cascas, podem prestar um serviço ecológico em paisagens amazônicas com deficiência desse elemento químico. De autoria de pesquisadores do IFRN, o artigo de número seis trata do diagnóstico da qualidade sanitária de plantas medicinais comercializadas em Currais Novos/RN. Os resultados mostram contaminações por grupos, contagens de bactérias do grupo dos coliformes totais, e os níveis de contaminação registrados apontam o material analisado como potencialmente danoso à saúde humana. O sétimo artigo, por sua vez, é fruto de uma cooperação entre pesquisadores do IFRN e da UFPE, que apresentam resultados de estudos no controle ambiental de perfuração de poços de petróleo no Campo de Porto Carão, Carnaubais/RN. O trabalho analisa as limitações do Relatório de Controle Ambiental. Voltado para o desenvolvimento sustentável do turismo, o oitavo artigo discute o tema e verifica que a atividade turística de Natal se constitui em alternativa viável de desenvolvimento, observando, no entanto, que o novo poder local deve desempenhar o seu papel de fomentador e protagonista do desenvolvimento socioeconômico. O artigo seguinte traz uma discussão sobre os resíduos eletrônicos de computadores nas Instituições de ensino superior em Natal/RN, observando que sua gestão é incipiente. Os autores são oriundos da UFRN, da UnP e da UNESP. Apresentado por pesquisadores da UFRN, o décimo artigo examinam conceitos e aspectos da Gerência do Conhecimento que possam contribuir no desenvolvimento de ferramentas mais adaptadas para