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Sample records for haw var hookeri

  1. Performance of CASTORR HAW Cask Cold Trials for Loading, Transport and Storage of HAW canisters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilmsmeier, Marco; Vossnacke, Andre

    2008-01-01

    On the basis of reprocessing contracts, concluded between the German Nuclear Utilities (GNUs) and the reprocessing companies in France (AREVA NC) and the UK (Nuclear Decommissioning Authority), GNS has the task to return the resulting residues to Germany. The high active waste (HAW) residuals from nuclear fuel reprocessing are vitrified and filled into steel cans, the HAW canisters. According to reprocessing contracts the equivalent number of HAW canisters to heavy metals delivered has to be returned to the country of origin and stored at an interim storage facility where applicable. The GNS' CASTOR R HAW casks are designed and licensed to fulfil the requirements for transport and long-term storage of HAW canisters. The new cask type CASTOR R HAW28M is capable of storing 28 HAW canisters with a maximum thermal power of 56 kW in total. Prior to the first active cask loading at a reprocessing facility it is required to demonstrate all important handling steps with the CASTOR R HAW28M cask according to a specific and approved sequence plan (MAP). These cold trials have to be carried out at the cask loading plant and at the reception area of an interim storage facility in Gorleben (TBL-G), witnessed by the licensing authorities and their independent experts. At transhipment stations GNS performs internal trials to demonstrate safe handling. A brand-new, empty CASTOR R HAW28M cask has been shipped from the GNS cask assembly facility in Muelheim to the TBL-G for cold trials. With this cask, GNS has to demonstrate the transhipment of casks at the Dannenberg transfer station from rail to road, transport to and reception at the TBL-G as well as incoming dose rate and contamination measurements and preparation for storage. After removal of all shock absorbers with a cask specific handling frame, tilting operation and assembly of the secondary lid with a pressure sensor, the helium leak tightness and 'Block-mass' tests have to be carried out as well. GNS long-term CASTOR R

  2. Antioxidant and Hepatoprotective Activities of Flavonoids from Bauhinia hookeri

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eman Al-Sayed

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available In a previous study, the total ethanol extract of Bauhinia hookeri showed a significant hepatoprotective effect in CCl 4-induced toxicity model in mice. However, the active components responsible for the activity were not identified. Therefore, this study was undertaken to determine if the activity of B. hookeri extract is due to its flavonoid content. The hepatoprotective activity of B. hookeri flavonoids was determined by measuring the activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT and aspartate aminotransferase (AST in the culture medium of HepG2 cells challenged with CCl 4. The lipid peroxidation and antioxidant parameters, superoxide dismutase (SOD and glutathione (GSH were estimated in the cell lysates. The isolated flavonoids were identified by mass, UV and NMR spectral data. This study revealed that B. hookeri flavonoid fraction and its pure compounds ( kaempferol 3-O-β- D-glucoside, quercetin 3-O-β- D-glucoside and c atechin 3-O-α- L-rhamnoside possess a promising hepatoprotective activity as evidenced from the normalized levels of ALT and AST. This was attributed partly to their potent antioxidant activity as demonstrated by the increased GSH levels, SOD activity and reduced lipid peroxidation. The whole flavonoid fraction showed the highest cytoprotective activity and was more effective than silymarin. This study highlights a promising natural hepatoprotective remedy derived from B. hookeri.

  3. Performance of CASTOR{sup R} HAW Cask Cold Trials for Loading, Transport and Storage of HAW canisters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilmsmeier, Marco; Vossnacke, Andre [GNS Gesellschaft fuer Nuklear-Service mbH, Hollestrasse 7A, D-45127 Essen (Germany)

    2008-07-01

    On the basis of reprocessing contracts, concluded between the German Nuclear Utilities (GNUs) and the reprocessing companies in France (AREVA NC) and the UK (Nuclear Decommissioning Authority), GNS has the task to return the resulting residues to Germany. The high active waste (HAW) residuals from nuclear fuel reprocessing are vitrified and filled into steel cans, the HAW canisters. According to reprocessing contracts the equivalent number of HAW canisters to heavy metals delivered has to be returned to the country of origin and stored at an interim storage facility where applicable. The GNS' CASTOR{sup R} HAW casks are designed and licensed to fulfil the requirements for transport and long-term storage of HAW canisters. The new cask type CASTOR{sup R} HAW28M is capable of storing 28 HAW canisters with a maximum thermal power of 56 kW in total. Prior to the first active cask loading at a reprocessing facility it is required to demonstrate all important handling steps with the CASTOR{sup R} HAW28M cask according to a specific and approved sequence plan (MAP). These cold trials have to be carried out at the cask loading plant and at the reception area of an interim storage facility in Gorleben (TBL-G), witnessed by the licensing authorities and their independent experts. At transhipment stations GNS performs internal trials to demonstrate safe handling. A brand-new, empty CASTOR{sup R} HAW28M cask has been shipped from the GNS cask assembly facility in Muelheim to the TBL-G for cold trials. With this cask, GNS has to demonstrate the transhipment of casks at the Dannenberg transfer station from rail to road, transport to and reception at the TBL-G as well as incoming dose rate and contamination measurements and preparation for storage. After removal of all shock absorbers with a cask specific handling frame, tilting operation and assembly of the secondary lid with a pressure sensor, the helium leak tightness and 'Block-mass' tests have to be carried out

  4. Comparative Evaluation of Sulfur Compounds Contents and Antiobesity Properties of Allium hookeri Prepared by Different Drying Methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Min Hye Yang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Despite the nutritional and medicinal values of Allium hookeri, its unique flavor (onion or garlic taste and smell coming from sulfur containing compounds limits its usage as functional food. For comparative study, A. hookeri roots were prepared under two different drying conditions, namely, low-temperature drying that minimizes the volatilization of sulfur components and hot-air drying that minimizes the garlic odor and spicy taste of A. hookeri. In GC/MS olfactory system, the odorous chemicals and organosulfur compounds such as diallyl trisulfide, dimethyl trisulfide, and dipropyl trisulfide were significantly decreased in hot-air drying compared to low-temperature drying. The spiciness and saltiness taste were noticeably reduced, while sourness, sweetness, and umami taste were significantly increased in hot-air dried A. hookeri according to electronic tongue. Although the content of volatile sulfur components was present at lower level, the administration of hot-air dried A. hookeri extract (100 mg/kg p.o. apparently prevented the body weight gain and improved insulin resistance in C57BL/6J obese mice receiving high fat diet. Results suggested that the hot-air dried A. hookeri possessing better taste and odor might be available as functional crop and bioactive diet supplement for the prevention and/or treatment of obesity.

  5. Morphological variation, management and domestication of 'maguey alto' (Agave inaequidens) and 'maguey manso' (A. hookeri) in Michoacán, México.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Figueredo, Carmen Julia; Casas, Alejandro; Colunga-GarcíaMarín, Patricia; Nassar, Jafet M; González-Rodríguez, Antonio

    2014-09-16

    Agave inaequidens and A. hookeri are anciently used species for producing the fermented beverage 'pulque', food and fiber in central Mexico. A. inaequidens is wild and cultivated and A. hookeri only cultivated, A. inaequidens being its putative wild relative. We analysed purposes and mechanisms of artificial selection and phenotypic divergences between wild and managed populations of A. inaequidens and between them and A. hookeri, hypothesizing phenotypic divergence between wild and domesticated populations of A. inaequidens in characters associated to domestication, and that A. hookeri would be phenotypically similar to cultivated A. inaequidens. We studied five wild and five cultivated populations of A. inaequidens, and three cultivated populations of A. hookeri. We interviewed agave managers documenting mechanisms of artificial selection, and measured 25 morphological characters. Morphological similarity and differentiation among plants and populations were analysed through multivariate methods and ANOVAs. People recognized 2-8 variants of A. inaequidens; for cultivation they select young plants collected in wild areas recognized as producing the best quality mescal agaves. Also, they collect seeds of the largest and most vigorous plants, sowing seeds in plant beds and then transplanting the most vigorous plantlets into plantations. Multivariate methods classified separately the wild and cultivated populations of A. inaequidens and these from A. hookeri, mainly because of characters related with plant and teeth size. The cultivated plants of A. inaequidens are significantly bigger with larger teeth than wild plants. A. hookeri are also significatly bigger plants with larger leaves but lower teeth density and size than A. inaequidens. Some cultivated plants of A. inaequidens were classified as A. hookeri, and nearly 10% of A. hookeri as cultivated A. inaequidens. Wild and cultivated populations of A. inaequidens differed in 13 characters, whereas A. hookeri

  6. Haw River PFCs Data Set

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — PFAS concentrations in river and drinking water in and around the Haw River in North Carolina. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Sun, M., E....

  7. Morphological and genetic divergence between Agave inaequidens, A. cupreata and the domesticated A. hookeri. Analysis of their evolutionary relationships.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carmen J Figueredo-Urbina

    Full Text Available Agave inaequidens and A. cupreata are wild species with some populations under incipient management, while A. hookeri is exclusively cultivated, used for producing the fermented beverage pulque. These species are closely related and sympatric members of the Crenatae group, but taxonomists have previously hypothesized that A. inaequidens is the most probable ancestor of A. hookeri. Our study aims at evaluating patterns of morphological and genetic divergence among populations of the three species, in order to analyze their ecological and possible evolutionary relationships. We studied 24 agave populations, 16 of them of Agave inaequidens, four of A. cupreata and four of A. hookeri. Population morphometric and genetics studies were performed using 39 morphological characters and 10 nuclear microsatellites, respectively. We estimated levels of morphological and genetic diversity and dissimilarity, as well as genetic structure and gene flow among populations and species. The three species were clearly differentiated by general plant size, lateral teeth, terminal spines, flowers and fruit size. The largest plants were those of A. hookeri followed by A. inaequidens and the smallest were A. cupreata. Multivariate analyses indicated greater morphological similarity between A. hookeri and cultivated A. inaequidens, while A. cupreata consistently appeared as a separate group. We identified similar levels of morphological diversity index (MDI in the three species, but higher genetic diversity in A. inaequidens (MDI = 0.401-0.435; HE = 0.704-0.733, than in A. cupreata (MDI = 0.455-0.523; HE = 0.480-0.510 and the predominantly vegetative propagated crop A. hookeri (MDI = 0.335-0.688; HE = 0.450-0.567, a pattern consistent with our expectations. The morphological and genetic similarities between cultivated A. inaequidens and A. hookeri support the hypothetical evolutionary relationships among these species, but studies with cpDNA and SNPs, and including other

  8. Morphological and genetic divergence between Agave inaequidens, A. cupreata and the domesticated A. hookeri. Analysis of their evolutionary relationships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Figueredo-Urbina, Carmen J; Casas, Alejandro; Torres-García, Ignacio

    2017-01-01

    Agave inaequidens and A. cupreata are wild species with some populations under incipient management, while A. hookeri is exclusively cultivated, used for producing the fermented beverage pulque. These species are closely related and sympatric members of the Crenatae group, but taxonomists have previously hypothesized that A. inaequidens is the most probable ancestor of A. hookeri. Our study aims at evaluating patterns of morphological and genetic divergence among populations of the three species, in order to analyze their ecological and possible evolutionary relationships. We studied 24 agave populations, 16 of them of Agave inaequidens, four of A. cupreata and four of A. hookeri. Population morphometric and genetics studies were performed using 39 morphological characters and 10 nuclear microsatellites, respectively. We estimated levels of morphological and genetic diversity and dissimilarity, as well as genetic structure and gene flow among populations and species. The three species were clearly differentiated by general plant size, lateral teeth, terminal spines, flowers and fruit size. The largest plants were those of A. hookeri followed by A. inaequidens and the smallest were A. cupreata. Multivariate analyses indicated greater morphological similarity between A. hookeri and cultivated A. inaequidens, while A. cupreata consistently appeared as a separate group. We identified similar levels of morphological diversity index (MDI) in the three species, but higher genetic diversity in A. inaequidens (MDI = 0.401-0.435; HE = 0.704-0.733), than in A. cupreata (MDI = 0.455-0.523; HE = 0.480-0.510) and the predominantly vegetative propagated crop A. hookeri (MDI = 0.335-0.688; HE = 0.450-0.567), a pattern consistent with our expectations. The morphological and genetic similarities between cultivated A. inaequidens and A. hookeri support the hypothetical evolutionary relationships among these species, but studies with cpDNA and SNPs, and including other member of the

  9. Notes on the typification of some species of Aloe (Asphodelaceae/Aloaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. F. Glen

    1995-10-01

    Full Text Available Lecto- or neotypes are designated for Aloe thompsoniae Groenew.. A. micracantha Haw .. A. schmidticma Regel (a synonym of/4,  cooperi Baker. A. longistyla Baker. A. aristata Haw., A. longiaristata Schult. & Schult. f„ (a synonym of the preceding name, A. humilis (L. Mill. var.  incurva Haw.. A. glauca Mill., A. niuricata Schult. (a synonym of the preceding name. A. saponaria (Aiton Haw. var.  latifolia Haw. (a new synonym of A. maculata All. and A. pluridens Haw. The confusing citation of the type of A. thomcroftii Pole Evans is clarified.

  10. The effects of an instant haw beverage on lipid levels, antioxidant enzyme and immune function in hyperlipidemia patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jidi; Xue, Bin; Li, Keji; Shi, Jingda; Krempin, D; Zhu, M; Garland, C

    2002-05-01

    To determine the effectiveness of an instant haw beverage in regulating lipid disturbance, enhancing antioxidant enzyme activity and immune function. Data was collected from 60 hyperlipidemic subjects. In this crossover design, each subject randomly received either the instant haw beverage (100 ml corresponding to 3 g of haw powder or 30 g of fresh haw fruit plus the carrier-guar gum plus some starch) or placebo (guar gum 1.5 g plus some starch as the carrier of the beverage) twice daily. Each supplementation lasted 31 days with a 28-day washout period between treatments. The instant haw beverage significantly reduced total serum cholesterol (9.6%), triglyceride (12.1%), LDLC (18%) while significantly increased SOD activities (7.5%). The placebo was shown to have positive results in some of the lipid profiles, though the effects of the instant haw beverage demonstrated greater significance. Serum triglyceride levels were significantly decreased and SOD activity significantly increased only as subjects were supplemented with the instant haw beverage while no significant changes were seen with placebo. Supplementation with the instant haw beverage positively affects blood lipid profile, antioxidant status and immune function in individuals with hyperlipidemia.

  11. Assembling large genomes: analysis of the stick insect (Clitarchus hookeri) genome reveals a high repeat content and sex-biased genes associated with reproduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Chen; Twort, Victoria G; Crowhurst, Ross N; Newcomb, Richard D; Buckley, Thomas R

    2017-11-16

    Stick insects (Phasmatodea) have a high incidence of parthenogenesis and other alternative reproductive strategies, yet the genetic basis of reproduction is poorly understood. Phasmatodea includes nearly 3000 species, yet only the genome of Timema cristinae has been published to date. Clitarchus hookeri is a geographical parthenogenetic stick insect distributed across New Zealand. Sexual reproduction dominates in northern habitats but is replaced by parthenogenesis in the south. Here, we present a de novo genome assembly of a female C. hookeri and use it to detect candidate genes associated with gamete production and development in females and males. We also explore the factors underlying large genome size in stick insects. The C. hookeri genome assembly was 4.2 Gb, similar to the flow cytometry estimate, making it the second largest insect genome sequenced and assembled to date. Like the large genome of Locusta migratoria, the genome of C. hookeri is also highly repetitive and the predicted gene models are much longer than those from most other sequenced insect genomes, largely due to longer introns. Miniature inverted repeat transposable elements (MITEs), absent in the much smaller T. cristinae genome, is the most abundant repeat type in the C. hookeri genome assembly. Mapping RNA-Seq reads from female and male gonadal transcriptomes onto the genome assembly resulted in the identification of 39,940 gene loci, 15.8% and 37.6% of which showed female-biased and male-biased expression, respectively. The genes that were over-expressed in females were mostly associated with molecular transportation, developmental process, oocyte growth and reproductive process; whereas, the male-biased genes were enriched in rhythmic process, molecular transducer activity and synapse. Several genes involved in the juvenile hormone synthesis pathway were also identified. The evolution of large insect genomes such as L. migratoria and C. hookeri genomes is most likely due to the

  12. 27 CFR 9.214 - Haw River Valley.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... significance. (b) Approved maps. The two United States Geological Survey 1:100,000-scale metric topographic...) Greensboro, North Carolina, 1984; and (2) Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1984. (c) Boundary. The Haw River... line southeast 2 miles to the intersection of North Carolina State Highway 49 and an unnamed, light...

  13. Which Specialized Metabolites Does the Native Subantarctic Gastropod Notodiscus hookeri Extract from the Consumption of the Lichens Usnea taylorii and Pseudocyphellaria crocata?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gadea, Alice; Le Pogam, Pierre; Biver, Grichka; Boustie, Joël; Le Lamer, Anne-Cécile; Le Dévéhat, Françoise; Charrier, Maryvonne

    2017-03-08

    Notodiscus hookeri is the only representative of terrestrial gastropods on Possession Island and exclusively feeds on lichens. The known toxicity of various lichen metabolites to plant-eating invertebrates led us to propose that N. hookeri evolved means to protect itself from their adverse effects. To validate this assumption, the current study focused on the consumption of two lichen species: Usnea taylorii and Pseudocyphellaria crocata . A controlled feeding experiment was designed to understand how the snail copes with the unpalatable and/or toxic compounds produced by these lichen species. The occurrence of two snail ecophenotypes, represented by a mineral shell and an organic shell, led to address the question of a metabolic response specific to the phenotype. Snails were fed for two months with one of these lichens and the chemical profiles of biological samples of N. hookeri (i.e., crop, digestive gland, intestine, and feces) were established by HPLC-DAD-MS and compared to that of the lichens. N. hookeri appears as a generalist lichen feeder able to consume toxic metabolite-containing lichens, independently of the ecophenotype. The digestive gland did not sequester lichen metabolites. The snail metabolism might be based on four non-exclusive processes according to the concerned metabolites (avoidance, passive transport, hydrolysis, and excretion).

  14. Which Specialized Metabolites Does the Native Subantarctic Gastropod Notodiscus hookeri Extract from the Consumption of the Lichens Usnea taylorii and Pseudocyphellaria crocata?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alice Gadea

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Notodiscus hookeri is the only representative of terrestrial gastropods on Possession Island and exclusively feeds on lichens. The known toxicity of various lichen metabolites to plant-eating invertebrates led us to propose that N. hookeri evolved means to protect itself from their adverse effects. To validate this assumption, the current study focused on the consumption of two lichen species: Usnea taylorii and Pseudocyphellaria crocata. A controlled feeding experiment was designed to understand how the snail copes with the unpalatable and/or toxic compounds produced by these lichen species. The occurrence of two snail ecophenotypes, represented by a mineral shell and an organic shell, led to address the question of a metabolic response specific to the phenotype. Snails were fed for two months with one of these lichens and the chemical profiles of biological samples of N. hookeri (i.e., crop, digestive gland, intestine, and feces were established by HPLC-DAD-MS and compared to that of the lichens. N. hookeri appears as a generalist lichen feeder able to consume toxic metabolite-containing lichens, independently of the ecophenotype. The digestive gland did not sequester lichen metabolites. The snail metabolism might be based on four non-exclusive processes according to the concerned metabolites (avoidance, passive transport, hydrolysis, and excretion.

  15. [Litter decomposition and lignocellulose enzyme activities of Actinothuidium hookeri and Cys- topteris montana in alpine timberline ecotone of western Sichuan, China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ya-mei; He, Run-lian; Deng, Chang-chun; Yang, Wan-qin; Zhang, Jian; Yang, Lin; Liu, Yang

    2015-11-01

    The mass loss and lignocellulose enzyme activities of Actinothuidium hookeri residues and Cystopteris montana leaf litter in coniferous forest and timberline of western Sichuan, China were investigated. The results showed that both the mass loss rates of A. hookeri and C. Montana in timberline were higher than those in coniferous forest, while enzyme activities in timberline were lower than those in coniferous forest which was contrast with the hypothesis. The mass loss of two ground covers had significant differences in different seasons. The mass loss rate of A. hookeri in snow-covered season accounted for 69.8% and 83.0% of the whole year' s in timberline and coniferous forest, while that of C. montana in the growing season accounted for 82.6% and 83.4% of the whole year' s in timberline and coniferous forest, respectively. C. montana leaf litter decayed faster in the growing season, which was consistent with its higher cellulase activity in the growing season. The result illustrated that the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose might be the main driving force for the early stage of litter decomposition. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that environmental factors and initial litter quality could explain 45.8%-85.1% variation of enzyme activity. The enzyme activities of A. hookeri and C. montana in the process of decomposition were mainly affected by the freeze-thaw cycle in snow-covered season.

  16. Extraction of Opuntia dillenii Haw. Polysaccharides and Their Antioxidant Activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heng Li

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Use of natural polysaccharides in medicine and food has wide interest in research. In this study, we extracted and purified some polysaccharides from cactus Opuntia dillenii Haw. (ODP. Some preliminary functions of these products were characterized. Under the optimal purification conditions, the yield of ODP extracted from the 2–4 month-old Opuntia dillenii Haw. (T-ODP was 30.60% ± 0.40%, higher than that of ODP from the 5–10 month-old materials (O-ODP (18.97% ± 0.58%. The extracted ODP was purified by DEAE sepharose fast flow anion exchange and Sephacryl S-400 chromatography with four fractions obtained (ODP-Ia, ODP-Ib, ODP-IIa and ODP-IIb. Analysis with UV-vis chromatography indicated that ODP-Ia and ODP-IIa were relatively homogeneous molecules with a molecular weight of 339 kD and 943 kD, respectively. Results of infrared spectroscopy indicated that ODP, ODP-Ia, and ODP-IIa were acidic polysaccharides. Further, the antioxidant activity against DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical, hydroxyl radicals, and superoxide radical in vitro demonstrated that the T-ODP exhibited higher antioxidant activity than the O-ODP, and the purified fraction (ODP-Ia was superior to the ODP. These results will offer a theoretical basis for further research on the structure-function relationship of ODP and the rational utilization of Opuntia dillenii Haw.

  17. Experiments in the HAW project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vonka, V.; Middleton, D.W.; Ruiter, A. de.

    1993-12-01

    This data report is the eighth of a series intended to document the data obtained from the HAW in situ experiment (at Asse) and to make these data available to potential users. During this experiment a considerable number of thermocouples was damaged so that their signals are lost. In some cases it resulted in plots with no signal but empty frames. In the previous report we tried to change our procedure and remove these frames from the report. This action was not completely successful because, as it turned out, also some of the not empty plots were removed wrongly as well. (orig.)

  18. Sample preparation for the HAW project and experimental results from the HFR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia Celma, A.; Wees, H. van; Miralles, L.

    1990-09-01

    This report deals with the preparation and analysis of samples, during the period May 1989-November 1989, for the High-Active Waste (HAW) project, a large-scale in situ test being performed underground in the Asse salt mine, Remlingen FRG. The development of the technical procedures required, and the scientific results, which regard mostly characterization of Potasas del Llobregat sample, are reported. Prior to using the samples in both the H.A.W. and the H.F.R. experiments they have to be machined to fit their holders. Technical improvements for machining samples of salt are reported. (H.W.). 9 refs.; 68 figs.; 10 tabs

  19. Technical Status Report: Preliminary Glass Formulation Report for INEEL HAW

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peeler, D.; Reamer, I.; Vienna, J.; Crum, J.A.

    1998-03-01

    This study was performed by a team comprising experts in glass chemistry, glass technology, and statistics at both SRTC and PNNL. This joint effort combined the strengths of each discipline and site to quickly develop a glass formulation for specific INEEL HAW

  20. Variabilidad genética y morfológica y estructuración poblacional en Alstroemeria hookeri subsp. hookeri (Alstroemeriaceae, endémica de Chile Genetic and morphological variation and population structure in Alstroemeria hookeri subsp. hookeri (Alstroemeriaceae, endemic to Chile

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    EDUARDO RUIZ

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available El género Alstroemeria es exclusivamente sudamericano y consta de 82 taxa distribuyéndose, principalmente en Chile y Brasil. La gran importancia económica que han adquirido las Alstroemerias chilenas como plantas ornamentales ha despertado gran interés en la variabilidad morfológica de las flores y variabilidad genética en especies con potencial valor económico. Una de ellas es Alstroemeria hookeri que posee cuatro subespecies, de las cuales, la subespecie tipo, es endémica de las regiones del Maule y Biobio. Su distribución geográfica consiste de dos rangos, separados por la Cordillera de la Costa. Así, existen poblaciones costeras, creciendo, entre los 5-20 m de altura en las provincias de Arauco, Concepción, Nuble y Cauquenes y poblaciones del interior creciendo entre los 100-150 m de altura, en las provincias de Biobio y Nuble. Evidencias preliminares señalan diferencias fenotípicas entre poblaciones costeras y del interior, relacionadas con el color y forma de los tépalos. Por esta razón, se realizó un estudio morfológico comparativo en el rango completo de distribución de esta subespecie y estudiar su genética poblacional, especialmente los niveles de estructuración poblacional. Se analizaron 33 caracteres florales, mediante métodos de ordenación. El estudio morfológico indica una tendencia a separar las poblaciones en dos grupos, coincidiendo con los extremos de la variación morfológica y con ambos rangos de distribución, existiendo caracteres que aportan a ello. Los índices de variabilidad genética fueron determinados usando 17 loci aloenzimáticos. Además, se estimaron los valores de estructuración poblacional y se realizó un análisis de AMOVA. Se estimaron valores de distancia genética de Nei, entre todos los pares de poblaciones para construir un dendrograma que refleje las relaciones de similitud genética. Los resultados indican altos valores de estructuración entre poblaciones y baja variabilidad

  1. Ethnoarchaeological Investigations of the Mountain Creek Area, North Central Texas. Volume 2. Historic Farming on the Hogwallow Prairies

    Science.gov (United States)

    1988-05-01

    species. Once an item recovered from sites 41DL183, 41DL196, and 41TR45. was identified to genus or species, it was labeled and When viewed from the...Gray Red Haw Diospyros virginiana L. Persimmon Sapindus saponaria L. var. Wild China/ Soapberry Cercis canadensis L. Redbud Juglans spp. Walnut 15.4...spp. Plum .3 Crataegus mollis Torr. & Gray Red Haw .9 .8 .3 Diospyros virginiana L. Persimmon .3 Sapindus saponaria L. var. Wild China/ Soapberry .8 1.9

  2. Verification of Vitrified High-Activity Waste Stored in a CASTOR HAW 20/28 CG Cask by Simulated Baseline Comparison

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shephard, A.; Arenas-Carrasco, J.; Dratschmidt, H.; De-Baere, P.; Af Ekenstam, G.; Lebrun, A.

    2010-01-01

    The verification process for the vitrification of high-activity waste (HAW) focuses on maintaining the continuity-of-knowledge of special nuclear material (SNM) as it traverses a vitrification facility. However, the inaccessible nature of a vitrification facility presents an obstacle to the deployment of conventional safeguards, albeit the process area of a vitrification facility is effectively a hot cell. The employment of remotely operated NDA hardware/DA sample equipment inside the process area would be problematic-at-best and the alternative of continuous monitoring would draw heavily on the critical resource of inspector time. In response to the aforementioned constraints, the IAEA and Euratom opted to develop a new method which focuses on the verification of SNM after the vitrified HAW has been sealed in storage casks. The new method verifies the presence of the vitrified HAW through the comparison of total neutron count rates collected at points around a cask with those predicted by Monte Carlo simulation. The model includes a dual N50 neutron slab detector (custom design by Euratom) and a CASTOR HAW 20/28 CG storage cask configured with the operator declared contents. By comparison of the simulated neutron emission pattern and field measurements, the displacement of Pu and U is evident from a detectable neutron signal defect. Because the spontaneous fission of 244 Cm is the dominant neutron source in vitrified HAW, the 244 Cm/Pu and 244 Cm/U mass ratios must be known in order to relate the neutron signal outside the cask to the amounts of Pu and U stored inside. These mass ratios can be determined from HAW samples collected by the inspectorates from the accountability tanks and analyzed by DA. The absence of separation of SNM from the HAW is verified by other measures. To ensure the validity of the simulation, sources of uncertainty were systematically addressed and quantified. This new verification method effectively removes the need for NDA equipment

  3. First report and characterization of adult Uncinaria spp. in New Zealand Sea Lion (Phocarctos hookeri) pups from the Auckland Islands, New Zealand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castinel, A; Duignan, P J; Pomroy, W E; Lyons, E T; Nadler, S A; Dailey, M D; Wilkinson, I S; Chilvers, B L

    2006-03-01

    Two species of hookworms (Uncinaria lucasi and Uncinaria hamiltoni) have been formally described from pinnipeds, but dissimilar types are noted from these hosts. This report is the first description of hookworms (Uncinaria spp.) from the New Zealand sea lion, Phocarctos hookeri. The nematodes were collected from dead pups on Enderby Island (Auckland Islands, 50 degrees 30', 166 degrees 17') during January and February, 2004. Standard measurements of male and female hookworms were obtained, providing a general morphometric characterization of the hookworm species in P. hookeri. Considerable variations in the body length of adult hookworms were noted within the same host. The arrangement of some of the bursal rays differs from that described for U. lucasi and U. hamiltoni.

  4. Experiments in the HAW project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vonka, V.; Middleton, D.W.; Ruiter, A. de.

    1993-04-01

    Data are presented from the High Active Waste (HAW) experiment, a large-scale, in situ test being performed underground at the Asse salt mine in Remlingen, FRG. These data include selected field information, the test configuration, instrumentation activities and comprehensive results from a large number of gauges. The results are measured data obtained from gap meters, thermocouples, linear displacement transducers, extensometers, inclinometers and pressure gauges. Data certification practices have been described together with the quality assurance of the data reduction and of the data base management system. The experiment began on November 8, 1988 and will continue for five years. Data in this report cover the ECN contribution in the period from January 1st, 1992 to June 30th, 1992. (orig.)

  5. Experiments in the HAW project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vonka, V.; Middleton, D.W.; Ruiter, A. de.

    1992-12-01

    Data are presented from the High Active Waste (HAW) experiment, a large-scale, in situ test being performed underground at the Asse salt mine in Remlingen, FRG. These data include selected field information, the test configuration, instrumentation activities and comprehensive results from a large number of gauges. The results are measured data obtained from gap meters, thermocouples, linear displacement transducers, extensometers, inclinometers and pressure gauges. Data certification practices have been described together with the quality assurance of the data reduction and of the data base management system. The experiment began on November 8, 1988 and will continue for five years. Data in this report cover the ECN contribution in the period from July 1st, 1991 to December 31th, 1991. (orig.)

  6. Caracterización morfoanatómica comparativa entre Aloe vera (L. Burm. F., Aloe arborescens Mill., Aloe saponaria Haw. y Aloe ciliaris Haw. (Aloeaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stella Maris Carpano

    Full Text Available Aloe vera (L. Burm. F. (= Aloe barbadensis Miller conhecida como "a planta da imortalidade" no antigo Egito é utilizada em fitoterapia como humectante, antibacteriana, antifúngica, antiviral e antioxidante. Com a finalidade de contribuir para identificação da droga vegetal, foram realizados estudos morfoanatômicos da folha. A utilização de plantas com características terapêuticas reconhecidas determina que, por analogia, popularmente sejam utilizadas com a mesma finalidade outras espécies do mesmo gênero. Isto é o que ocorre com três espécies de Aloe spp., que se cultivam ou crescem acidentalmente na Argentina: A. arborescens Mill., A. saponaria Haw. e A. ciliaris Haw. (Aloaceae. Estabeleceram-se os caracteres morfoanatômicos de diagnóstico por microscopia óptica e microscopia eletrônica de varredura (apresentam-se desenhos e fotomicrografias dos mesmos. Obtiveram-se valores numéricos dos elementos histológicos de diagnóstico: magnitudes lineares e proporcionais. Realizaram-se reações histoquímicas de identificação dos princípios ativos para sua localização "in situ".

  7. In situ-experiments on the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes (HAW) at the Asse salt mine Federal Republic of Germany

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuhn, K.; Rothfuchs, T.

    1989-01-01

    Deep geological salt formations are considered as being the most suitable medium for the disposal of radioactive wastes in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). This paper reports how, in order to develop and to prove the necessary disposal techniques, the Asse Salt Mine in the northern part of Germany is being used as a national R and D facility for the execution of representative in situ-tests. Besides the test-wise disposal of low-and medium-level radioactive waste, a series of in situ experiments was performed on the disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HAW). The so-called HAW repository is being performed from 1983 through 1994 will be the most important pilot test for the HAW repository in the FRG. During this experiment, 30 vitrified high-level radioactive heat and radiation sources will be emplaced in six underground boreholes. The duration of testing will be approximately five years. In addition to the investigations of the interactions of the heat and radiation sources and the host rock, a complete handling system for HAW-canisters is being developed and proved

  8. Distribution of pectins in the pollen apertures of Oenothera hookeri.velans ster/+ster.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noher de Halac, I; Cismondi, I A; Rodriguez-Garcia, M I; Famá, G

    2003-04-01

    Cell wall pectins are some of the most complex biopolymers known, and yet their functions remain largely mysterious. The aim of this paper was to deepen the study of the spatial pattern of pectin distribution in the aperture of Oenothera hookeri.velans ster/+ster fertile pollen. We used "in situ" immunocytochemical techniques at electron microscopy, involving monoclonal antibodies JIM5 and JIM7 directed against pectin epitopes in fertile pollen grains of Oenothera hookeri.velans ster/+ster. The same region was also analyzed by classical cytochemistry for polysaccharide detection. Immunogold labelling at the JIM7 epitope showed only in mature pollen labelling mainly located at the intine endo-aperture region. Cytoplasmic structures near the plasma membrane of the vegetative cell showed no labelling gold grains. In the same pollen stge the labelling at the JIM5 epitope was mostly confined to a layer located in the limit between the endexine and the ektexine at the level of the border of the oncus. Some tubuli at the base of the ektexine showed also an accumulation of gold particles. No JIM5 label was demonstrated in the aperture chamber and either in any cytoplasmic structure of the pollen grains. The immunocytochemical technique, when compared with the traditional methods for non-cellulose polysaccharide cytochemistry is fare more sensitive and allows the univocal determination of temporal and spatial location of pectins recognized by the JIM7 and JIM5 MAbs.

  9. Petrogenesis and geochemical characterisation of ultramafic cumulate rocks from Hawes Head, Fiordland, New Zealand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Daczko, N.R.; Emami, S.; Allibone, A.H.; Turnbull, I.M.

    2012-01-01

    Early Cretaceous parts of the western Median Batholith (Western Fiordland Orthogneiss) represent the exposed root of a magmatic arc of dioritic to monzodioritic composition (SiO 2 = 51-55 wt%; Na 2 O/K 2 O = 3.7-8.8 in this study). We characterise for the first time the field relationships, petrography, mineralogy and geochemistry of ultramafic and mafic cumulates at Hawes Head, the largest exposure of ultramafic rocks in western Fiordland. We distinguish three related rock types at Hawes Head: hornblende peridotite (MgO = 21-35 wt%); hornblendite (MgO = 15-16 wt%); and pyroxenite (MgO = 21 wt%). Petrogenetic relationships between the ultramafic rocks and the surrounding Misty Pluton of the Western Fiordland Orthogneiss are demonstrated by: (i) mutually cross-cutting relationships; (ii) similar mafic phases (e.g. pyroxene and amphibole) with elevated Mg-numbers (e.g. olivine Mg/(Mg+Fe) = 0.77-0.82); (iii) fractionation trends in mineral geochemistry; and (iv) shared depleted heavy rare earth element patterns. In addition, the application of solid/liquid partition coefficients indicates that olivine in the ultramafic rocks at Hawes Head crystallised from a magma with Mg/(Mg+Fe) = 0.54-0.57. The olivine grains therefore represent a plausible early crystallising phase of the adjacent Western Fiordland Orthogneiss (Mg/(Mg+Fe) = 0.51-0.55). (author). 42 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.

  10. High-active waste (HAW) data report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duijves, K.A.

    1991-06-01

    Data are presented from the High Active Waste (HAW) experiment, a large-scale, in situ test being performed underground at the Asse salt mine in Remlingen, FRG. These data include selected field information, the test configuration, instrumentation activities and comprehensive results from a large number of gauges. The results are measured data obtained from gap meters, thermocouples, linear displacement trans-ducers, extensometers, inclinometers and pressure gauges. Data certification practices have been described together with the quality assurance of the data reduction and of the data base management system. The experiment began on November 8, 1988 and will continue for five years. Data in this report cover the period from July 1st, 1990 to December 31, 1990. (author). 4 refs.; 100 figs.; 8 tabs

  11. The HAW project: demonstration facility for the disposal of high-level waste in salt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rothfuchs, T.

    1991-01-01

    This publication is the interim report 1988-89 of the international HAW project performed in the 800 m level of the Asse salt mine in the Federal Republic of Germany. The major objective of this project is the pilot testing and demonstration of safe methods for the final disposal of high-level radioactive waste in geological salt deposits. The HAW-project is carried out by the GSF-Institut fuer Tieflagerung (IFT) in cooperation with the French Agence Nationale pour la Gestion des Dechets Radioactifs (ANDRA); the Spanish Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radiactivos S.A. (ENRESA) and the Netherlands Energy Research Foundation (ECN). After some delays in the licensing procedure the emplacement of 30 vitrified highly radioactive canisters (containers) is now envisaged for early 1991. 20 refs.; 92 figs.; 14 tabs

  12. CASTOR registered HAW28M - a high heat load cask for transport and storage of vitrified high level waste containers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vossnacke, A.; Klein, K.; Kuehne, B.

    2004-01-01

    Within the German return programme for vitrified high level waste (HLW) from reprocessing at COGEMA and BNFL up to now 39 casks loaded with 28 containers each were transported back to Germany and are stored in the Interim Storage Facility Gorleben (TBL-G) for up to 40 years. For transport and storage in all but one case the GNB casks CASTOR registered HAW 20/28 CG have been used. This cask type is designed to accommodate 20 or 28 HLW containers with a total thermal power of 45 kW maximum. In the near future, among the high level waste, which has to be returned to Germany, there will be an increasing number of containers of which the heat capacity and radioactive inventory will exceed the technical limits of the CASTOR registered HAW 20/28 CG. Therefore GNB has started the development of a new cask generation, named CASTOR registered HAW28M, meeting these future requirements. The CASTOR registered HAW28M is especially developed for the transport of vitrified residues from France and Great Britain to Germany. It complies with the international regulations for type B packages according to IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency). It is thus guaranteed that even in case of any accident the cask body and the lid system remain functional and the safe confinement of the radioactive contents remains intact during transport. The CASTOR registered HAW28M fulfills not only the requirements for transport but also the acceptance criteria of interim storage: radiation shielding, heat dissipation, safe confinement under both normal and hypothetical accident conditions. Storage buildings such as the TBL-G simply support the safety functions of the cask. The challenge for the development results from higher requirements of the technical specification, particularly related to fuel which is reprocessed. As a consequence of the reprocessing of fuel with increased enrichment and burn up, higher heat capacity and sophisticated shielding measures have to be considered. For the CASTOR

  13. Technical Status Report: Preliminary Glass Formulation Report for INEEL HAW. Revision 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peeler, D.; Reamer, I.; Vienna, J.; Crum, J.A.

    1998-03-01

    Preliminary glass formulation work has been initiated at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) to support immobilization efforts of Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) high activity waste (HAW). Based on current pretreatment flow sheet assumptions, several glasses were fabricated and tested using an average 'All Blend' waste stream composition which is dominated by the presence of ZrO 2 (i.e., approximately 80 wt percent). The results of this initial work show that immobilization via vitrification is a viable option for a specific INEEL HAW waste stream. Waste loadings of at least 19 wt percent can be achieved for the 'All Blend' stream while maintaining targeted processing and product performance criteria. This waste loading translates into a ZrO 2 content in excess of 15 wt percent in the final glass waste form. Frits developed for this work are based in the alkali borosilicate system. Although the results indicate that vitrification can be used to immobilize the 'All Blend' waste stream, the glass compositions are by no means optimized

  14. The HAW project: demonstration facility for the disposal of high-level waste in salt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rothfuchs, T.

    1991-01-01

    This report is the so-called Synthesis report 1985-1989 of the international HAW project performed in the 800 m level of the ASSE salt mine in the Federal Republic of Germany. The major objective of this project is the pilot testing and demonstration of safe methods for the final disposal of high-level radioactive waste in geological salt-deposits. The HAW-project is carried out by the GSF-Institut fuer Tieflagerung (IFT) in cooperation with the French Agence Nationale pour la Gestion des Dechets Radioactifs (ANDRA); the Spanish Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radioactivos S.A (ENRESA) and the Netherlands Energy Research Foundation (ECN). During the years 1985 to 1989 the underground test field was excavated and after some delays in the licensing procedure, the emplacement of 30 vitrified highly radioactive canisters (containers) is now envisaged for early 1991. 32 refs; 76 figs., 11 tabs

  15. CASTOR {sup registered} HAW28M - a high heat load cask for transport and storage of vitrified high level waste containers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vossnacke, A.; Klein, K.; Kuehne, B. [GNS Gesellschaft fuer Nuklear-Service mbH/GNB, Essen (Germany)

    2004-07-01

    Within the German return programme for vitrified high level waste (HLW) from reprocessing at COGEMA and BNFL up to now 39 casks loaded with 28 containers each were transported back to Germany and are stored in the Interim Storage Facility Gorleben (TBL-G) for up to 40 years. For transport and storage in all but one case the GNB casks CASTOR {sup registered} HAW 20/28 CG have been used. This cask type is designed to accommodate 20 or 28 HLW containers with a total thermal power of 45 kW maximum. In the near future, among the high level waste, which has to be returned to Germany, there will be an increasing number of containers of which the heat capacity and radioactive inventory will exceed the technical limits of the CASTOR {sup registered} HAW 20/28 CG. Therefore GNB has started the development of a new cask generation, named CASTOR {sup registered} HAW28M, meeting these future requirements. The CASTOR {sup registered} HAW28M is especially developed for the transport of vitrified residues from France and Great Britain to Germany. It complies with the international regulations for type B packages according to IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency). It is thus guaranteed that even in case of any accident the cask body and the lid system remain functional and the safe confinement of the radioactive contents remains intact during transport. The CASTOR {sup registered} HAW28M fulfills not only the requirements for transport but also the acceptance criteria of interim storage: radiation shielding, heat dissipation, safe confinement under both normal and hypothetical accident conditions. Storage buildings such as the TBL-G simply support the safety functions of the cask. The challenge for the development results from higher requirements of the technical specification, particularly related to fuel which is reprocessed. As a consequence of the reprocessing of fuel with increased enrichment and burn up, higher heat capacity and sophisticated shielding measures have to be

  16. Irradiation effects on the rock-salt HAW-Asse Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palut, J.M.

    1991-01-01

    Since 1988 ANDRA is involved in the HAW project, a test disposal of high level radioactive canisters in a salt dome, at Asse in FRG. ANDRA is responsible of in situ measurements, laboratory analyses and predictive calculations. Thus are delayed in situ dose measurements. Two methods have been developed, one is based on thermoluminescent dosemeters and measure an integrated dose, the other uses ionization chambers and gives a dose rate. Specific equipments had to be developed: manufacturing and testing. Geomechanics is also concerned by in situ measurement, especially rocksalt deformation, induced by the heat production of the canisters. Three groups of tiltmeters have been installed, providing informations on both natural creeping of rocksalt and effect of electrical heating in two boreholes. Laboratory studies consist in analyzing gases released by Asse salt samples irradiated under various conditions. Most of the 150 sample irradiations are completed. The last topic to the project intends to predict gamma ray flux and spectrum in the HAW test field using computer models. The work carried out and discussed includes digitalization of test data (sources, borehole lining, rocksalt), Bremsstrahlung sensitivity analysis, and calculation of both energy deposited and dose rate around the sources. This calculation was performed for 50 points, requiring 400 runs of Mercure-5 models. Interpolation functions are also provided in order to give values between these 50 points. The next step aim to determine gamma spectrum in salt and also energy deposited at various locations in the dummy canister where samples are intended to be emplaced. TRIPOLI-2 Model will be used for these purposes [fr

  17. Performance of CASTOR {sup registered} HAW cask cold trials for loading, Transport and storage of HAW canisters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilmsmeier, Marco; Horn, Thomas; Graf, Wilhelm [GNS Gesellschaft fuer Nuklear-Service mbH (Germany)

    2009-07-01

    With over 30 years of experience in the design, manufacturing, assembly and loading of CASTOR {sup registered} casks, GNS is one of the worldwide leading suppliers of casks for the transport and storage of spent fuel assemblies as well as for canisters with vitrified high active wastes (meanwhile over 1.000 casks loaded and stored and more than 1.500 ordered). GNS's products are used at around 30 sites worldwide for a wide range of inventories from pressurised and boiling water reactor fuels (PWR, VVER and BWR, RBMK), thorium high-temperature reactor fuels (THTR) and research reactor fuels (MTR) to vitrified high active wastes (HAW) from reprocessing plants. GNS is responsible for all nuclear wastes resulting from German Nuclear Power Plants and assists and/or performs in the loading and dispatch of CASTOR {sup registered} casks as well as their transport to and storage at central interim storage facilities and local interim storage areas. (orig.)

  18. Response of Opuntia stricta Haw micropropagated plants in acclimatization and field

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marina Medeiros de Araújo Silva

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Forage palm (Opuntia stricta Haw. is a great important crop for the semi-arid region of Brasil. It has been propagated through in vitro culture, by areole activation. This work aimed to determine the response of Opuntia stricta Haw. variety ‘Oreja de Elefante Mexicana’ micropropagated plants during its acclimatization and field planting. Plants were acclimatized in tubes and plastic bags with a mixture of soil and manure, and it were kept in greenhouse for 130 days. Later, the plants kept in tubes were divided into nine treatments, according to their size (between 6 to 14 cm, and transfer to the field. The use of tubes provided a higher survival, height, fresh and dry mass of the cladodes. There was no significant differences between the recipients used for root development. At the end of acclimatization it was observed that plants did not have a uniform development, presenting size variation. After the first 15 days in the field, the majority of the plants with primary shoots were larger than 10 cm. At 60 days the survival was 100%, and all plants presented shoots, even the smallest. However, is recommended that plants larger than 10 cm will be used, due to the better establishment to field conditions. The results demonstrate the feasibility in the use of micropropagated plants for the establishment of forage palm fields. Keywords: cladodes, forage palm, in vitro culture, semi-arid region

  19. Microchoerus hookeri nov. sp., a new late Eocene European microchoerine (Omomyidae, Primates): New insights on the evolution of the genus Microchoerus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minwer-Barakat, Raef; Marigó, Judit; Femenias-Gual, Joan; Costeur, Loïc; De Esteban-Trivigno, Soledad; Moyà-Solà, Salvador

    2017-01-01

    The study of Eocene primates is crucial for understanding the evolutionary steps undergone by the earliest members of our lineage and the relationships between extinct and extant taxa. Recently, the description of new material from Spain has improved knowledge of European Paleogene primates considerably, particularly regarding microchoerines. Here we describe the remains of Microchoerus from Sossís (late Eocene, Northern Spain), consisting of more than 120 specimens and representing the richest sample of Microchoerus from Spain. This primate was first documented in Sossís during the 1960s, on the basis of scarce specimens that were ascribed to Microchoerus erinaceus. However, the studied material clearly differs from M. erinaceus at its type locality, Hordle Cliff, and shows some characters that allow the erection of a new species, Microchoerus hookeri. This new species is characterized by its medium size, moderate enamel wrinkling, generally absent mesoconid and small hypoconulid in the M 1 and M 2 , single paracone in the upper molars and premolars and, particularly, by the lack of mesostyle in most M 1 and M 2 , a trait not observed in any other species of Microchoerus. Some specimens from Eclépens B (late Eocene, Switzerland), determined previously to be Microcherus aff. erinaceus, are also ascribed to M. hookeri. M. hookeri represents the first step of a lineage that differentiated from Necrolemur antiquus and, later, gave rise to several unnamed forms of Microchoerus, such as those from Euzet and Perrière, finally leading to M. erinaceus. This discovery sheds new light on the complex evolutionary scheme of Microchoerus, indicating that it is most probably a paraphyletic group. A detailed revision of the age of the localities containing remains of Microchoerus and the description of the still unpublished material from some European localities, are necessary to clarify the phylogenetic relationships among the members of this microchoerine group

  20. Factors influencing bank geomorphology and erosion of the Haw River, a high order river in North Carolina, since European settlement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macfall, Janet; Robinette, Paul; Welch, David

    2014-01-01

    The Haw River, a high order river in the southeastern United States, is characterized by severe bank erosion and geomorphic change from historical conditions of clear waters and connected floodplains. In 2014 it was named one of the 10 most threatened rivers in the United States by American Rivers. Like many developed areas, the region has a history of disturbance including extensive upland soil loss from agriculture, dams, and upstream urbanization. The primary objective of this study was to identify the mechanisms controlling channel form and erosion of the Haw River. Field measurements including bank height, bankfull height, bank angle, root depth and density, riparian land cover and slope, surface protection, river width, and bank retreat were collected at 87 sites along 43.5 km of river. A Bank Erosion Hazard Index (BEHI) was calculated for each study site. Mean bank height was 11.8 m, mean width was 84.3 m, and bank retreat for 2005/2007-2011/2013 was 2.3 m. The greatest bank heights, BEHI values, and bank retreat were adjacent to riparian areas with low slope (<2). This is in contrast to previous studies which identify high slope as a risk factor for erosion. Most of the soils in low slope riparian areas were alluvial, suggesting sediment deposition from upland row crop agriculture and/or flooding. Bank retreat was not correlated to bank heights or BEHI values. Historical dams (1.2-3 m height) were not a significant factor. Erosion of the Haw River in the study section of the river (25% of the river length) contributed 205,320 m3 of sediment and 3759 kg of P annually. Concentration of suspended solids in the river increased with discharge. In conclusion, the Haw River is an unstable system, with river bank erosion and geomodification potential influenced by riparian slope and varied flows.

  1. Physics of the mechanical toy Gee-Haw Whammy Diddle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marek, Martin; Badin, Matej; Plesch, Martin

    2018-02-27

    Gee-Haw Whammy Diddle is a seemingly simple mechanical toy consisting of a wooden stick and a second stick that is made up of a series of notches with a propeller at its end. When the wooden stick is pulled over the notches, the propeller starts to rotate. Despite its simplicity, physical principles governing the motion of the stick and the propeller are rather complicated and interesting. Here we provide a thorough analysis of the system and parameters influencing the motion. We show that contrary to the results published on this topic so far, neither elliptic motion of the stick nor frequency synchronization is needed for starting a stable motion of the propeller.

  2. Loading and transport of high-active waste (HAW) with the TN85 flask in 2008

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rys, Michael; Horn, Thomas; Graf, Wilhelm; Bonface, Jean-Michael

    2009-01-01

    As a part of the operation of nuclear power plants, it is essential to safely manage the radioactive waste. With new developments in science and technology, it is a dynamic process to adapt procedures, equipment and flasks to be used in the future. This is a task for specialists - a task for GNS Gesellschaft fuer Nuklear-Service mbH and for TN International. Until 1994 reprocessing of spent fuel from German nuclear power plants was mandatory for the Utilities (EVU) in Germany. Basis for the reprocessing was the German Atomic Act. The German Utilities concluded contracts on reprocessing with Compagnie Generale des Matieres Nucleaires (COGEMA, now AREVA NC) in France and British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL, now INS) in England. The total amount to be reprocessed comes to 5309 t HM contracted to AREVA NC and 768 t HM contracted to INS. The waste generated from reprocessing - or an equivalent amount of radioactive material - has to be returned to the country of origin. In 1979 already an exchange of notes took place between the German and the French government with the obligation of both sides to enable and support the return of reprocessing residues or equivalents. The return of high-active waste (HAW) from France has started in 1996 with the first attribution of 28 glass canisters (one flask) to German Utilities by AREVA NC. Until 2007, 75 flasks loaded with vitrified residue (VR) canisters have been transported to Gorleben. For these transports CASTOR registered HAW 20/28 CG flasks have been used. This presentation will give some background information about the last HAW transport in 2008 with the new flask generation of the type TN85. It will also describe the assembly of the new flask, the preparation of the flask for the loading campaign as well as the loading procedure. (orig.)

  3. Loading and transport of high-active waste (HAW) with the TN85 flask in 2008

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rys, Michael; Horn, Thomas; Graf, Wilhelm [GNS Gesellschaft fuer Nuklear-Service mbH (Germany); Bonface, Jean-Michael [TN International, Montigny-le-Bretonneux (France)

    2009-07-01

    As a part of the operation of nuclear power plants, it is essential to safely manage the radioactive waste. With new developments in science and technology, it is a dynamic process to adapt procedures, equipment and flasks to be used in the future. This is a task for specialists - a task for GNS Gesellschaft fuer Nuklear-Service mbH and for TN International. Until 1994 reprocessing of spent fuel from German nuclear power plants was mandatory for the Utilities (EVU) in Germany. Basis for the reprocessing was the German Atomic Act. The German Utilities concluded contracts on reprocessing with Compagnie Generale des Matieres Nucleaires (COGEMA, now AREVA NC) in France and British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL, now INS) in England. The total amount to be reprocessed comes to 5309 t HM contracted to AREVA NC and 768 t HM contracted to INS. The waste generated from reprocessing - or an equivalent amount of radioactive material - has to be returned to the country of origin. In 1979 already an exchange of notes took place between the German and the French government with the obligation of both sides to enable and support the return of reprocessing residues or equivalents. The return of high-active waste (HAW) from France has started in 1996 with the first attribution of 28 glass canisters (one flask) to German Utilities by AREVA NC. Until 2007, 75 flasks loaded with vitrified residue (VR) canisters have been transported to Gorleben. For these transports CASTOR {sup registered} HAW 20/28 CG flasks have been used. This presentation will give some background information about the last HAW transport in 2008 with the new flask generation of the type TN85. It will also describe the assembly of the new flask, the preparation of the flask for the loading campaign as well as the loading procedure. (orig.)

  4. Commentary - Physiological variation and phenotypic plasticity: a response to 'Platicity in arthropod cryotypes' by Hawes and Bale

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chown, S.L.; Sørensen, Jesper Givskov; Sinclair, B.J.

    2008-01-01

    In a recent publication, Hawes and Bale provide an extended discussion of phenotypic plasticity in the context of low temperature responses of animals. They argue that phenotypic plasticity may be partitioned phylogenetically at several levels and go on to explore these levels, and cold hardiness...

  5. High active waste (HAW) data report January-June 1991

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duijves, K.A.

    1992-04-01

    Data are presented from the High Active Waste (HAW) experiment, a large-scale, in situ test being performed underground at the Asse salt mine in Remlingen, FRG. These data include selected field information, the test configuration, instrumentation activities and comprehensive results from a large number of gauges. The results are measured data obtained from gap meters, thermocouples, linear displacement transducers, extensometers, inclinometers and pressure gauges. Data certification practices have been described together with the quality assurance of the data reduction and of the data base management system. The experiment began on November 8, 1988 and will continue for five years. Data in this report cover the period from January 1st, 1991 to June 30, 1991. (author). 4 refs.; 43 figs.; 8 tabs

  6. The HAW Project. Test disposal of highly radioactive radiation sources in the Asse salt mine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rothfuchs, T.; Mueller-Lyda, I.; Raynal, M.; Major, J.C.

    1993-01-01

    In order to prove the safe disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HAW) in salt a five years test disposal of thirty highly radioactive canisters is planned in the Asse salt mine in the Federal Republic of Germany. The thirty canisters containing the radionuclides Caesium 137 and Strontium 90 in quantities sufficient to cover the bandwith of heat generation and gamma radiation of real HAW will be emplaced in six boreholes located in two galleries at the 800-m-level. Two electrical heater tests were already started in November 1988 and are continuously surveyed in respect of the thermomechanical and geochemical response of the rock mass. Also the handling system necessary for the emplacement of the radioactive canisters was developed and successfully tested. A laboratory investigation programme on radiation effects in salt is being performed in advance to the radioactive canister emplacement. This programme includes the investigation of thermally and radiolytically induced water and gas release from the rock salt and the radiolytical decomposition of salt minerals. For gamma dose and dose rate measurements in the test field measuring systems consisting of ionization chambers as well as solid state dosemeters were developed and tested. 70 refs

  7. Manipulation technology optimization for the interim storage of HAW transport and storage containers; Optimierung der Handhabungstechnik zur Zwischenlagerung von HAW-Transport- und Lagerbehaeltern

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Emmrich, Uwe; Krueger, Michael; Schulze, Hartmut [GNS Gesellschaft fuer Nuklear-Service mbH, Essen (Germany)

    2011-07-01

    The handling of high-level radioactive waste transport and storage containers from reprocessing plants is determined by the cask configuration and the radiation protection measures with respect to the safe enclosure of the radioactive inventory and shielding of gamma and neutron radiation. The new of CASTOR {sup registered} HAW28M was designed for higher radioactive inventories, the heat generation is has rarely been changed with respect to the former design. The essential structural modifications are shock absorbers that have to be demounted before storage in the interim storage facility Gorleben. Due to public acceptance forcings the ALARA principle is not the only basis for manipulation technology optimizations, the minimization of dose rate for the operational personnel is of increasing importance. The authors describe the optimizations and the resulting dose reductions.

  8. Soil calcium availability influences shell ecophenotype formation in the sub-antarctic land snail, Notodiscus hookeri.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryvonne Charrier

    Full Text Available Ecophenotypes reflect local matches between organisms and their environment, and show plasticity across generations in response to current living conditions. Plastic responses in shell morphology and shell growth have been widely studied in gastropods and are often related to environmental calcium availability, which influences shell biomineralisation. To date, all of these studies have overlooked micro-scale structure of the shell, in addition to how it is related to species responses in the context of environmental pressure. This study is the first to demonstrate that environmental factors induce a bi-modal variation in the shell micro-scale structure of a land gastropod. Notodiscus hookeri is the only native land snail present in the Crozet Archipelago (sub-Antarctic region. The adults have evolved into two ecophenotypes, which are referred to here as MS (mineral shell and OS (organic shell. The MS-ecophenotype is characterised by a thick mineralised shell. It is primarily distributed along the coastline, and could be associated to the presence of exchangeable calcium in the clay minerals of the soils. The Os-ecophenotype is characterised by a thin organic shell. It is primarily distributed at high altitudes in the mesic and xeric fell-fields in soils with large particles that lack clay and exchangeable calcium. Snails of the Os-ecophenotype are characterised by thinner and larger shell sizes compared to snails of the MS-ecophenotype, indicating a trade-off between mineral thickness and shell size. This pattern increased along a temporal scale; whereby, older adult snails were more clearly separated into two clusters compared to the younger adult snails. The prevalence of glycine-rich proteins in the organic shell layer of N. hookeri, along with the absence of chitin, differs to the organic scaffolds of molluscan biominerals. The present study provides new insights for testing the adaptive value of phenotypic plasticity in response to spatial

  9. Measurement of the CP-violation parameter Re(var-epsilon '/var-epsilon)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gibbons, L.K.; Barker, A.R.; Briere, R.A.; Makoff, G.; Papadimitriou, V.; Patterson, J.R.; Schwingenheuer, B.; Somalwar, S.V.; Wah, Y.W.; Winstein, B.; Winston, R.; Woods, M.; Yamamoto, H.; Swallow, E.C.; Bock, G.J.; Coleman, R.; Enagonio, J.; Hsiung, Y.B.; Ramberg, E.; Stanfield, K.; Tschirhart, R.; Yamanaka, T.; Gollin, G.D.; Karlsson, M.; Okamitsu, J.K.; Debu, P.; Peyaud, B.; Turlay, R.; Vallage, B.

    1993-01-01

    A measurement of the CP-violation parameter Re(var-epsilon '/var-epsilon) has been made using the full E731 data set. We find Re(var-epsilon '/var-epsilon)=(7.4±5.2±2.9)x10 -4 where the first error is statistical and the second systematic

  10. Propagação por sementes de Schlumbergera truncata (Haw. Moran (flor-de-maio em diferentes substratos = Propagation by seeds of Schlumbergera truncata (Haw. Moran (florde- maio in different substrates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Renato Soares Nunes

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available Schlumbergera truncata (Haw. Moran (Cactaceae, conhecida como flor-demaio, é uma espécie herbácea epífita, nativa no Brasil, muito apreciada como planta ornamental pela beleza de suas flores. Esta espécie multiplica-se por sementes, mas comercialmente é propagada por estacas e enxertia. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a germinação de quatro variedades de cores desta espécie (rosa, vermelha, branca e amarela em cinco substratos (vermiculita de granulometria média, xaxim desfibrado, areia, substrato comercial Rendmax® Floreiras e mistura de 50% do substrato comercial Rendmax®Floreiras + 50% xaxim desfibrado. Os resultados mostraram que a espécie pode ser reproduzida com facilidade por sementes. O substrato comercial Rendmax® Floreiras proporcionou os melhores resultados.Schlumbergera truncata (Haw. Moran (Cactaceae, known as “flor-de-maio”, is a Brazilian endogenous herbaceous epiphytic species, muchappreciated as ornamental for the beauty of its flowers. This species is multiplied by seeds, but commercially it is propagated by cuttings and grafting. The aim of this research was to evaluate the germination of four varieties of colors of this species (pink, red, white and yellow in five substrates (vermiculite, de-fibered tree ferns, sand, commercial substrate Rendmax® Floreiras and a mixture of 50% of the commercial substrate Rendmax® Floreiras + 50% tree ferns. The results showed that this species can be easily reproduced by seeds. The commercial substrate Rendmax® Floreiras provided the best germination result.

  11. arXiv Observation of the $\\varXi^{-}_{b}\\to J/\\psi\\varLambda K^{-}$ decay

    CERN Document Server

    Aaij, Roel; Adinolfi, Marco; Ajaltouni, Ziad; Akar, Simon; Albrecht, Johannes; Alessio, Federico; Alexander, Michael; Ali, Suvayu; Alkhazov, Georgy; Alvarez Cartelle, Paula; Alves Jr, Antonio Augusto; Amato, Sandra; Amerio, Silvia; Amhis, Yasmine; An, Liupan; Anderlini, Lucio; Andreassi, Guido; Andreotti, Mirco; Andrews, Jason; Appleby, Robert; Archilli, Flavio; d'Argent, Philippe; Arnau Romeu, Joan; Artamonov, Alexander; Artuso, Marina; Aslanides, Elie; Auriemma, Giulio; Baalouch, Marouen; Babuschkin, Igor; Bachmann, Sebastian; Back, John; Badalov, Alexey; Baesso, Clarissa; Baker, Sophie; Balagura, Vladislav; Baldini, Wander; Barlow, Roger; Barschel, Colin; Barsuk, Sergey; Barter, William; Baryshnikov, Fedor; Baszczyk, Mateusz; Batozskaya, Varvara; Batsukh, Baasansuren; Battista, Vincenzo; Bay, Aurelio; Beaucourt, Leo; Beddow, John; Bedeschi, Franco; Bediaga, Ignacio; Bel, Lennaert; Bellee, Violaine; Belloli, Nicoletta; Belous, Konstantin; Belyaev, Ivan; Ben-Haim, Eli; Bencivenni, Giovanni; 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Carson, Laurence; Carvalho Akiba, Kazuyoshi; Casse, Gianluigi; Cassina, Lorenzo; Castillo Garcia, Lucia; Cattaneo, Marco; Cavallero, Giovanni; Cenci, Riccardo; Chamont, David; Charles, Matthew; Charpentier, Philippe; Chatzikonstantinidis, Georgios; Chefdeville, Maximilien; Chen, Shanzhen; Cheung, Shu-Faye; Chobanova, Veronika; Chrzaszcz, Marcin; Cid Vidal, Xabier; Ciezarek, Gregory; Clarke, Peter; Clemencic, Marco; Cliff, Harry; Closier, Joel; Coco, Victor; Cogan, Julien; Cogneras, Eric; Cogoni, Violetta; Cojocariu, Lucian; Collazuol, Gianmaria; Collins, Paula; Comerma-Montells, Albert; Contu, Andrea; Cook, Andrew; Coombs, George; Coquereau, Samuel; Corti, Gloria; Corvo, Marco; Costa Sobral, Cayo Mar; Couturier, Benjamin; Cowan, Greig; Craik, Daniel Charles; Crocombe, Andrew; Cruz Torres, Melissa Maria; Cunliffe, Samuel; Currie, Robert; D'Ambrosio, Carmelo; Da Cunha Marinho, Franciole; Dall'Occo, Elena; Dalseno, Jeremy; David, Pieter; Davis, Adam; De Bruyn, Kristof; De Capua, Stefano; De Cian, Michel; De Miranda, Jussara; De Paula, Leandro; De Serio, Marilisa; De Simone, Patrizia; Dean, Cameron Thomas; Decamp, Daniel; Deckenhoff, Mirko; Del Buono, Luigi; Demmer, Moritz; Dendek, Adam; Derkach, Denis; Deschamps, Olivier; Dettori, Francesco; Dey, Biplab; Di Canto, Angelo; Dijkstra, Hans; Dordei, Francesca; Dorigo, Mirco; Dosil Suárez, Alvaro; Dovbnya, Anatoliy; Dreimanis, Karlis; Dufour, Laurent; Dujany, Giulio; Dungs, Kevin; Durante, Paolo; Dzhelyadin, Rustem; Dziurda, Agnieszka; Dzyuba, Alexey; Déléage, Nicolas; Easo, Sajan; Ebert, Marcus; Egede, Ulrik; Egorychev, Victor; Eidelman, Semen; Eisenhardt, Stephan; Eitschberger, Ulrich; Ekelhof, Robert; Eklund, Lars; Ely, Scott; Esen, Sevda; Evans, Hannah Mary; Evans, Timothy; Falabella, Antonio; Farley, Nathanael; Farry, Stephen; Fay, Robert; Fazzini, Davide; Ferguson, Dianne; Fernandez Prieto, Antonio; Ferrari, Fabio; Ferreira Rodrigues, Fernando; Ferro-Luzzi, Massimiliano; Filippov, Sergey; Fini, Rosa Anna; Fiore, Marco; Fiorini, Massimiliano; Firlej, Miroslaw; Fitzpatrick, Conor; Fiutowski, Tomasz; Fleuret, Frederic; Fohl, Klaus; Fontana, Marianna; Fontanelli, Flavio; Forshaw, Dean Charles; Forty, Roger; Franco Lima, Vinicius; Frank, Markus; Frei, Christoph; Fu, Jinlin; Funk, Wolfgang; Furfaro, Emiliano; Färber, Christian; Gallas Torreira, Abraham; Galli, Domenico; Gallorini, Stefano; Gambetta, Silvia; Gandelman, Miriam; Gandini, Paolo; Gao, Yuanning; Garcia Martin, Luis Miguel; García Pardiñas, Julián; Garra Tico, Jordi; Garrido, Lluis; Garsed, Philip John; Gascon, David; Gaspar, Clara; Gavardi, Laura; Gazzoni, Giulio; Gerick, David; Gersabeck, Evelina; Gersabeck, Marco; Gershon, Timothy; Ghez, Philippe; Gianì, Sebastiana; Gibson, Valerie; Girard, Olivier Göran; Giubega, Lavinia-Helena; Gizdov, Konstantin; Gligorov, Vladimir; Golubkov, Dmitry; Golutvin, Andrey; Gomes, Alvaro; Gorelov, Igor Vladimirovich; Gotti, Claudio; Graciani Diaz, Ricardo; Granado Cardoso, Luis Alberto; Graugés, Eugeni; Graverini, Elena; Graziani, Giacomo; Grecu, Alexandru; Griffith, Peter; Grillo, Lucia; Gruberg Cazon, Barak Raimond; Grünberg, Oliver; Gushchin, Evgeny; Guz, Yury; Gys, Thierry; Göbel, Carla; Hadavizadeh, Thomas; Hadjivasiliou, Christos; Haefeli, Guido; Haen, Christophe; Haines, Susan; Hamilton, Brian; Han, Xiaoxue; Hansmann-Menzemer, Stephanie; Harnew, Neville; Harnew, Samuel; Harrison, Jonathan; Hatch, Mark; He, Jibo; Head, Timothy; Heister, Arno; Hennessy, Karol; Henrard, Pierre; Henry, Louis; van Herwijnen, Eric; Heß, Miriam; Hicheur, Adlène; Hill, Donal; Hombach, Christoph; Hopchev, P H; Hulsbergen, Wouter; Humair, Thibaud; Hushchyn, Mikhail; Hutchcroft, David; Idzik, Marek; Ilten, Philip; Jacobsson, Richard; Jaeger, Andreas; Jalocha, Pawel; Jans, Eddy; Jawahery, Abolhassan; Jiang, Feng; John, Malcolm; Johnson, Daniel; Jones, Christopher; Joram, Christian; Jost, Beat; Jurik, Nathan; Kandybei, Sergii; Karacson, Matthias; Kariuki, James Mwangi; Karodia, Sarah; Kecke, Matthieu; Kelsey, Matthew; Kenzie, Matthew; Ketel, Tjeerd; Khairullin, Egor; Khanji, Basem; Khurewathanakul, Chitsanu; Kirn, Thomas; Klaver, Suzanne; Klimaszewski, Konrad; Koliiev, Serhii; Kolpin, Michael; Komarov, Ilya; Koopman, Rose; Koppenburg, Patrick; Kosmyntseva, Alena; Kozachuk, Anastasiia; Kozeiha, Mohamad; Kravchuk, Leonid; Kreplin, Katharina; Kreps, Michal; Krokovny, Pavel; Kruse, Florian; Krzemien, Wojciech; Kucewicz, Wojciech; Kucharczyk, Marcin; Kudryavtsev, Vasily; Kuonen, Axel Kevin; Kurek, Krzysztof; Kvaratskheliya, Tengiz; Lacarrere, Daniel; Lafferty, George; Lai, Adriano; Lanfranchi, Gaia; Langenbruch, Christoph; Latham, Thomas; Lazzeroni, Cristina; Le Gac, Renaud; van Leerdam, Jeroen; Leflat, Alexander; Lefrançois, Jacques; Lefèvre, Regis; Lemaitre, Florian; Lemos Cid, Edgar; Leroy, Olivier; Lesiak, Tadeusz; Leverington, Blake; Li, Tenglin; Li, Yiming; Likhomanenko, Tatiana; Lindner, Rolf; Linn, Christian; Lionetto, Federica; Liu, Xuesong; Loh, David; Longstaff, Iain; Lopes, Jose; Lucchesi, Donatella; Lucio Martinez, Miriam; Luo, Haofei; Lupato, Anna; Luppi, Eleonora; Lupton, Oliver; Lusiani, Alberto; Lyu, Xiao-Rui; Machefert, Frederic; Maciuc, Florin; Maev, Oleg; Maguire, Kevin; Malde, Sneha; Malinin, Alexander; Maltsev, Timofei; Manca, Giulia; Mancinelli, Giampiero; Manning, Peter Michael; Maratas, Jan; Marchand, Jean François; Marconi, Umberto; Marin Benito, Carla; Marinangeli, Matthieu; Marino, Pietro; Marks, Jörg; Martellotti, Giuseppe; Martin, Morgan; Martinelli, Maurizio; Martinez Santos, Diego; Martinez Vidal, Fernando; Martins Tostes, Danielle; Massacrier, Laure Marie; Massafferri, André; Matev, Rosen; Mathad, Abhijit; Mathe, Zoltan; Matteuzzi, Clara; Mauri, Andrea; Maurice, Emilie; Maurin, Brice; Mazurov, Alexander; McCann, Michael; McNab, Andrew; McNulty, Ronan; Meadows, Brian; Meier, Frank; Meissner, Marco; Melnychuk, Dmytro; Merk, Marcel; Merli, Andrea; Michielin, Emanuele; Milanes, Diego Alejandro; Minard, Marie-Noelle; Mitzel, Dominik Stefan; Mogini, Andrea; Molina Rodriguez, Josue; Monroy, Ignacio Alberto; Monteil, Stephane; Morandin, Mauro; Morawski, Piotr; Mordà, Alessandro; Morello, Michael Joseph; Morgunova, Olga; Moron, Jakub; Morris, Adam Benjamin; Mountain, Raymond; Muheim, Franz; Mulder, Mick; Mussini, Manuel; Müller, Dominik; Müller, Janine; Müller, Katharina; Müller, Vanessa; Naik, Paras; Nakada, Tatsuya; Nandakumar, Raja; Nandi, Anita; Nasteva, Irina; Needham, Matthew; Neri, Nicola; Neubert, Sebastian; Neufeld, Niko; Neuner, Max; Nguyen, Thi Dung; Nguyen-Mau, Chung; Nieswand, Simon; Niet, Ramon; Nikitin, Nikolay; Nikodem, Thomas; Nogay, Alla; Novoselov, Alexey; O'Hanlon, Daniel Patrick; Oblakowska-Mucha, Agnieszka; Obraztsov, Vladimir; Ogilvy, Stephen; Oldeman, Rudolf; Onderwater, Gerco; Otalora Goicochea, Juan Martin; Otto, Adam; Owen, Patrick; Oyanguren, Maria Aranzazu; Pais, Preema Rennee; Palano, Antimo; Palombo, Fernando; Palutan, Matteo; Papanestis, Antonios; Pappagallo, Marco; Pappalardo, Luciano; Parker, William; Parkes, Christopher; Passaleva, Giovanni; Pastore, Alessandra; Patel, Girish; Patel, Mitesh; Patrignani, Claudia; Pearce, Alex; Pellegrino, Antonio; Penso, Gianni; Pepe Altarelli, Monica; Perazzini, Stefano; Perret, Pascal; Pescatore, Luca; Petridis, Konstantinos; Petrolini, Alessandro; Petrov, Aleksandr; Petruzzo, Marco; Picatoste Olloqui, Eduardo; Pietrzyk, Boleslaw; Pikies, Malgorzata; Pinci, Davide; Pistone, Alessandro; Piucci, Alessio; Placinta, Vlad-Mihai; Playfer, Stephen; Plo Casasus, Maximo; Poikela, Tuomas; Polci, Francesco; Poluektov, Anton; Polyakov, Ivan; Polycarpo, Erica; Pomery, Gabriela Johanna; Popov, Alexander; Popov, Dmitry; Popovici, Bogdan; Poslavskii, Stanislav; Potterat, Cédric; Price, Eugenia; Price, Joseph David; Prisciandaro, Jessica; Pritchard, Adrian; Prouve, Claire; Pugatch, Valery; Puig Navarro, Albert; Punzi, Giovanni; Qian, Wenbin; Quagliani, Renato; Rachwal, Bartolomiej; Rademacker, Jonas; Rama, Matteo; Ramos Pernas, Miguel; Rangel, Murilo; Raniuk, Iurii; Ratnikov, Fedor; Raven, Gerhard; Redi, Federico; Reichert, Stefanie; dos Reis, Alberto; Remon Alepuz, Clara; Renaudin, Victor; Ricciardi, Stefania; Richards, Sophie; Rihl, Mariana; Rinnert, Kurt; Rives Molina, Vicente; Robbe, Patrick; Rodrigues, Ana Barbara; Rodrigues, Eduardo; Rodriguez Lopez, Jairo Alexis; Rodriguez Perez, Pablo; Rogozhnikov, Alexey; Roiser, Stefan; Rollings, Alexandra Paige; Romanovskiy, Vladimir; Romero Vidal, Antonio; Ronayne, John William; Rotondo, Marcello; Rudolph, Matthew Scott; Ruf, Thomas; Ruiz Valls, Pablo; Saborido Silva, Juan Jose; Sadykhov, Elnur; Sagidova, Naylya; Saitta, Biagio; Salustino Guimaraes, Valdir; Sanchez Mayordomo, Carlos; Sanmartin Sedes, Brais; Santacesaria, Roberta; Santamarina Rios, Cibran; Santimaria, Marco; Santovetti, Emanuele; Sarti, Alessio; Satriano, Celestina; Satta, Alessia; Saunders, Daniel Martin; Savrina, Darya; Schael, Stefan; Schellenberg, Margarete; Schiller, Manuel; Schindler, Heinrich; Schlupp, Maximilian; Schmelling, Michael; Schmelzer, Timon; Schmidt, Burkhard; Schneider, Olivier; Schopper, Andreas; 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Swientek, Krzysztof; Syropoulos, Vasileios; Szczekowski, Marek; Szumlak, Tomasz; T'Jampens, Stephane; Tayduganov, Andrey; Tekampe, Tobias; Tellarini, Giulia; Teubert, Frederic; Thomas, Eric; van Tilburg, Jeroen; Tilley, Matthew James; Tisserand, Vincent; Tobin, Mark; Tolk, Siim; Tomassetti, Luca; Tonelli, Diego; Topp-Joergensen, Stig; Toriello, Francis; Tournefier, Edwige; Tourneur, Stephane; Trabelsi, Karim; Traill, Murdo; Tran, Minh Tâm; Tresch, Marco; Trisovic, Ana; Tsaregorodtsev, Andrei; Tsopelas, Panagiotis; Tully, Alison; Tuning, Niels; Ukleja, Artur; Ustyuzhanin, Andrey; Uwer, Ulrich; Vacca, Claudia; Vagnoni, Vincenzo; Valassi, Andrea; Valat, Sebastien; Valenti, Giovanni; Vazquez Gomez, Ricardo; Vazquez Regueiro, Pablo; Vecchi, Stefania; van Veghel, Maarten; Velthuis, Jaap; Veltri, Michele; Veneziano, Giovanni; Venkateswaran, Aravindhan; Vernet, Maxime; Vesterinen, Mika; Viana Barbosa, Joao Vitor; Viaud, Benoit; Vieira, Daniel; Vieites Diaz, Maria; Viemann, Harald; Vilasis-Cardona, Xavier; Vitti, Marcela; Volkov, Vladimir; Vollhardt, Achim; Voneki, Balazs; Vorobyev, Alexey; Vorobyev, Vitaly; Voß, Christian; de Vries, Jacco; Vázquez Sierra, Carlos; Waldi, Roland; Wallace, Charlotte; Wallace, Ronan; Walsh, John; Wang, Jianchun; Ward, David; Wark, Heather Mckenzie; Watson, Nigel; Websdale, David; Weiden, Andreas; Whitehead, Mark; Wicht, Jean; Wilkinson, Guy; Wilkinson, Michael; Williams, Mark Richard James; Williams, Matthew; Williams, Mike; Williams, Timothy; Wilson, Fergus; Wimberley, Jack; Wishahi, Julian; Wislicki, Wojciech; Witek, Mariusz; Wormser, Guy; Wotton, Stephen; Wraight, Kenneth; Wyllie, Kenneth; Xie, Yuehong; Xing, Zhou; Xu, Zhirui; Yang, Zhenwei; Yao, Yuezhe; Yin, Hang; Yu, Jiesheng; Yuan, Xuhao; Yushchenko, Oleg; Zarebski, Kristian Alexander; Zavertyaev, Mikhail; Zhang, Liming; Zhang, Yanxi; Zhang, Yu; Zhelezov, Alexey; Zheng, Yangheng; Zhu, Xianglei; Zhukov, Valery; Zucchelli, Stefano

    2017-09-10

    The observation of the decay $\\varXi_{b}^{-}\\to J/\\psi\\varLambda K^{-}$ is reported, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $3~\\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$, collected by the LHCb detector in $pp$ collisions at centre-of-mass energies of $7$ and $8~\\mathrm{TeV}$. The production rate of $\\varXi_{b}^{-}$ baryons detected in the decay $\\varXi_{b}^{-}\\to J/\\psi\\varLambda K^{-}$ is measured relative to that of $\\varLambda_{b}^{0}$ baryons using the decay $\\varLambda_{b}^{0}\\to J/\\psi \\varLambda$. Integrated over the $b$-baryon transverse momentum $p_{\\rm T}<25~\\mathrm{GeV/}c $ and rapidity $2.0 < y < 4.5$, the measured ratio is \\begin{equation*} \\frac{f_{\\varXi_{b}^{-}}}{f_{\\varLambda_{b}^{0}}}\\frac{\\mathcal{B}(\\varXi_{b}^{-}\\to J/\\psi\\varLambda K^{-})}{\\mathcal{B}(\\varLambda_{b}^{0}\\to J/\\psi \\varLambda)}=(4.19\\pm 0.29~(\\mathrm{stat})\\pm0.14~(\\mathrm{syst}))\\times 10^{-2}, \\end{equation*}where $f_{\\varXi_{b}^{-}}$ and $f_{\\varLambda_{b}^{0}}$ are the fragmentation fractions of $b\\to\\varXi_{...

  12. Zoochoric and hydrochoric maritime dispersal of the Opuntia monacantha (Willd. Haw. (Cactaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angelo Martins Fraga

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Evolutionary adaptations in the morphology and physiology of cactus species have been associated to their mechanisms of dispersal and colonization. The dispersal mechanisms and modes of Opuntia monacantha (Willd. Haw. (Cactaceae were characterized in two beaches in Florianopolis, SC, Brazil. A marsupial from the genus Didelphis (Mammalia: Didelphidae was the only frugivorous and, thus, disperser of fruits, presenting specific eating places. The maritime hydrochory was due to the overwash on restinga vegetation, it is characterized by the dispersal of cladodes and fruits at various times of the year. It is here firstly described the sea action as a potential disperser for a cactus species.

  13. HAW project. Demonstrative disposal of high-level radioactive wastes in the Asse salt mine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rothfuchs, T.; Duijves, K.; Stippler, R.

    1988-01-01

    Since 1968 the GSF has been carrying out research and development programs for the final disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HAW) in salt formations. The heat producing waste has been simulated so far by means of electrical heaters and also cobalt-60-sources. In order to improve the final concept for HAW disposal in salt formations the complete technical system of an underground repository is to be tested in an one-to-one scale test facility. To satisfy the test objectives thirty high radioactive canisters containing the radionuclides Cs-137 and Sr-90 will be emplaced in six boreholes located in two test galleries at the 800 m-level in the Asse salt mine. The duration of testing will be approximately five years. For the handling of the radioactive canisters and their emplacement into the boreholes a system consisting of transportation casks, transportation vehicle, disposal machine, and borehole slider will be developed and tested. The actual scientific investigation program is based on the estimation and observation of the interaction between the radioactive canisters and the rock salt. This program includes measurement of thermally and radiolytically induced water and gas release from the rock salt and the radiolytical decomposition of salt minerals. Also the thermally induced stress and deformation fields in the surrounding rock mass will be investigated carefully. The project is funded by the BMFT and the CEC and carrier out in close co-operation with the Netherlands Energy Research Foundation (ECN)

  14. The HAW-project: Demonstration facility for the disposal of high-level waste in salt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rothfuchs, T.; Duijves, K.A.

    1990-04-01

    The HAW-project plants the testwise emplacement of 30 vitrified highly radioactive canisters containing Cs-137 and Sr-90 at the 800 m level of the Asse salt mine for a testing period of approximately five years. The major objective of this project is the pilot testing and demonstration of safe methods for the final disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HAW) in geological salt formations. During the years 1985 to 1989 the underground test field was excavated, the measuring equipment installed, and two preceedings inactive electrical tests taken into operation. Furthermore, the components of a system for transportation and emplacement of highly radioactive canisters was fabricated, installed, and preliminarily tested. After some delays in the licensing procedure the emplacement of the 30 radioactive canisters is now envisaged for early 1991. For handling of the radioactive canisters and their emplacement into the boreholes a system consisting of a transport cask, a transport vehicle, a disposal machine, and of a borehole slider has been developed and will be tested. The actual scientific investigation programme is based on the estimation and observation of the interaction between the radioactive canisters and the rock salt. This programme includes measurement of thermally and radiolytically induced water and gas release from the rock salt and the radiolytical decomposition of salt minerals. Also the thermally induced stress and deformation fields in the surrounding rock mass will be investigated carefully. (orig./HP)

  15. Phase transformations in lithium bearing sodiumborosilicate base glass melts for the solidification of HAW

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goettlicher, J.

    1994-10-01

    Metastable phase separation has been observed in the Li-bearing basic glass SM58. This observation gave rise to examine the exsolution behaviour in model glasses by chemical substitution. It is impossible to produce metastable phase separation in the Li-free HAW-glasses VG98/12 and VG98/12.2. However, one can't exclude textural changes of Li-bearing glasses, because in a HAW-container the central temperature remains at about 300 C for more than 50 years. For the first time it has been tried to find a relationship between glass textures and structural parameters by combining textural investigations (electron microscopy) with structural determinations (NMR, WAXS). Modell glasses belong to the system (Li, Na) 2 O.B 2 O 3 , (Al 2 O 3 ).n(TO 2 ), with T=Si, Ge and n=2, 4, 6. Furthermore glasses from the KfK and from Mol (PAMELA) were investigated. A newly built apparatus was used to prepare glasses by replica technique (PtIrC oblique shadowing) for TEM investigations. This method turned out to be well suited to study glass textures with features down to 5 nm. Sometimes direct examinations of ion-thinned glasses showed that their textures were affected by radiation damage, caused by accelerated electrons. LVSE-(Low Voltage Scanning Electron)- and AF-(Atomic Force)- microscopy seems to be a promising method for studying glass surfaces and their textures directly. (orig./MM) [de

  16. The HAW project. Demonstrative disposal of high-level radioactive wastes in the Asse salt mine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rothfuchs, T.; Duijves, K.

    1988-04-01

    Since 1968 the GSF has been carrying out research and development programs for the final disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HAW) in salt formations. The heat producing waste has been simulated so far by means of electrical heaters and also cobalt-60-sources. In order to improve the final concept for HAW disposal in salt formations the complete technical system of an underground repository is to be tested in a one-to-one scale test facility. To satisfy the test objectives thirty high radioactive canisters containing the radionuclides Cs-137 and Sr-90 will be emplaced in six boreholes located in two test galleries at the 800 m-level in the Asse salt mine. The duration of testing will be approximately five years. For the handling of the radioactive canisters and their emplacement into the boreholes a system consisting of transportation casks, transportation vehicle, disposal machine, and borehole slider will be developed and tested. The actual scientific investigation program is based on the estimation and observation of the interaction between the radioactive canisters and the rock salt. This program includes measurement of thermally and radiolytically induced water and gas release from the rock salt and the radiolytical decomposition of salt minerals. Also the thermally induced stress and deformation fields in the surrounding rock mass will be investigated carefully. (orig./HP)

  17. Experiments in the HAW project. Data report. ECN contribution July-December 1993

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vonka, V.; Middleton, D.W.; Ruiter, A. de

    1994-09-01

    Data are presented from the High Active Waste (HAW) experiment, a large-scale, in situ test being performed underground at the Asse salt mine in Remlingen, FRG. These data include selected field information, the test configuration, instrumentation activities and comprehensive results from a large number of gauges. The results are measured data obtained from gap meters, thermocouples, linear displacement transducers, voltage and electric current meters and pressure gauges. Data certification practices have been described together with the quality assurance of the data reduction and of the data base management system. The experiment began on November 8, 1988 and will continue for five years. Data in this report cover the ECN contribution in the period from July 1st, 1993 to December 31th, 1993. (orig.).

  18. Experiments in the HAW project. Data report. ECN contribution January - June 1993

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vonka, V.; Middleton, D.W.; Ruiter, A. de

    1994-09-01

    Data are presented from the High Active Waste (HAW) experiment, a large-scale, in situ test being performed underground at the Asse salt mine in Remlingen, FRG. These data include selected field information, the test configuration, instrumentation activities and comprehensive results from a large number of gauges. The results are measured data obtained from gap meters, thermocouples, linear displacement transducers, voltage and electric current meters and pressure gauges. Data certification practices have been described together with the quality assurance of the data reduction and of the data base management system. The experiment began on November 8, 1988 and will continue for five years. Data in this report cover the ECN contribution in the period from January 1st, 1993 to June 30th, 1993. (orig.).

  19. Experiments in the HAW project. Data report. ECN contribution July-December 1993

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vonka, V.; Middleton, D.W.; Ruiter, A. de.

    1994-09-01

    Data are presented from the High Active Waste (HAW) experiment, a large-scale, in situ test being performed underground at the Asse salt mine in Remlingen, FRG. These data include selected field information, the test configuration, instrumentation activities and comprehensive results from a large number of gauges. The results are measured data obtained from gap meters, thermocouples, linear displacement transducers, voltage and electric current meters and pressure gauges. Data certification practices have been described together with the quality assurance of the data reduction and of the data base management system. The experiment began on November 8, 1988 and will continue for five years. Data in this report cover the ECN contribution in the period from July 1st, 1993 to December 31th, 1993. (orig.)

  20. Experiments in the HAW project. Data report. ECN contribution January - June 1993

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vonka, V.; Middleton, D.W.; Ruiter, A. de.

    1994-09-01

    Data are presented from the High Active Waste (HAW) experiment, a large-scale, in situ test being performed underground at the Asse salt mine in Remlingen, FRG. These data include selected field information, the test configuration, instrumentation activities and comprehensive results from a large number of gauges. The results are measured data obtained from gap meters, thermocouples, linear displacement transducers, voltage and electric current meters and pressure gauges. Data certification practices have been described together with the quality assurance of the data reduction and of the data base management system. The experiment began on November 8, 1988 and will continue for five years. Data in this report cover the ECN contribution in the period from January 1st, 1993 to June 30th, 1993. (orig.)

  1. Megaspore competition in F1 and F2 hybrids between Oenothera hookeri and Oe. suaveolens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renata Śnieżko

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Megasporogenesis and development of the embryo sac were investigated in F1 and F2 hybrids from crosses of Oe. hookeri and Oe. suaveolens. All hybrids form heteropolar and homopolar magaspore tetrads; the embryo sac, however, usually develops from the micropylar megaspore. Its development may occur immediately after degeneration of three other megaspores or after a period of competition between both apical megaspores. They develop simultaneously for a relatively short time, after which the growth of the chalazal megaspore is inhibited, although the latter does not degenerate. The micropylar megaspore as a rule develops without disturbances into the embryo sac, but in some ovules it is formed from the chalazal megaspore or double ones arise from both apical megaspores of the tetrad. The frequency of the micropylar embryo sac formation seems to be dependent above all on the hybrid plant genome and not on the haploid genome of the megaspore.

  2. Spanish participation in the Haw Project: Laboratory investigations on Gamma irradiation effects in rock salt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cuevas, C. de las; Miralles, L.; Teixidor, P.; Garcia Veigas, J.; Dies, X.; Ortega, X.; Pueyo, J.J.

    1993-01-01

    In order to prove the safe disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HAW) in salt rock, a five years test disposal of thirty highly radioactive radiation sources is planned in the Asse salt mine, in the Federal Republic of Germany. The thirty radiation sources consist of steel canisters containing the vitrified radionuclides Caesium 137 and Strontium 90 in quantities sufficient to cover the bandwidth of heat generation and gamma radiation of real HAW. The radiation sources will be emplaced in six boreholes located in two galleries at the 800 m level. Two electrical heater tests were already started in November 1988 and are continuosly surveyed in respect of the rock mass. Also the handling system necessary for the emplacement of the radioactive canisters was developed and succesfully tested. A laboratory investigation programme on radiation effects in salt is being performed in advance to the radioactive canister emplacement. This programme includes the investigation of thermally and radiolytically induced water and gas release from the rock salt and the radiolytical decomposition of salt minerals. Part of this programme has been carried out since 1988 at the University of Barcelona, basically what refers to colloidal sodium determinations by light absorption measurements and microstructural studies on irradiated salt samples. For gamma dose and dose rate measurements in the test field, measuring systems consisting of ionisation chambers as well as solid state dosemeters were developed and tested. Thermomechanical computer code validation is performed by calculational predictions and parallel investigation of the stress and displacement fields in the underground test field

  3. Arsenophonus nasoniae and Rickettsiae Infection of Ixodes ricinus Due to Parasitic Wasp Ixodiphagus hookeri.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monika Bohacsova

    Full Text Available Arsenophonus nasoniae, a male-killing endosymbiont of chalcid wasps, was recently detected in several hard tick species. Following the hypothesis that its presence in ticks may not be linked to the direct occurrence of bacteria in tick's organs, we identified A. nasoniae in wasps emerging from parasitised nymphs. We confirmed that 28.1% of Ixodiphagus hookeri wasps parasitizing Ixodes ricinus ticks were infected by A. nasoniae. Moreover, in examined I. ricinus nymphs, A. nasoniae was detected only in those, which were parasitized by the wasp. However, in part of the adult wasps as well as in some ticks that contained wasp's DNA, we did not confirm A. nasoniae. We also found, that in spite of reported male-killing, some newly emerged adult wasp males were also infected by A. nasoniae. Additionally, we amplified the DNA of Rickettsia helvetica and Rickettsia monacensis (known to be Ixodes ricinus-associated bacteria in adult parasitoid wasps. This may be related either with the digested bacterial DNA in wasp body lumen or with a role of wasps in circulation of rickettsiae among tick vectors.

  4. Weinig VVT-instellingen met VAR : onderzoek naar VAR's in Nederland

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Corina de Feijter; Pieterbas Lalleman

    V&VN is op zoek gegaan naar alle actieve Verpleegkundige en/of Verzorgende Adviesraden (VAR) in Nederland. Het blijkt dat in totaal 144 zorginstellingen (24%) een VAR hebben. Vooral in de VVT-sector is het aantal VAR’s laag: 13%.

  5. Preparation and characterization of an improved borosilicate glass matrix for the incorporation of high level radioactive waste (HAW). Pt. 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guber, W.; Hussain, M.; Kahl, L.; Ondracek, G.; Saidl, J.; Dippel, T.

    1979-08-01

    On the basis of laboratory and technical experience with the preparation and the characterization of borosilicate glasses as solidification matrix for high level radioactive waste solution (HAW), a borosilicate glass composition with optimum properties has been developed. Keeping in view the technical and final storage requirements, a number of glass compositions with varying proportions of influential components as Al, Mg, Na were prepared and thoroughly investigated for certain parameters as specific gravity, thermal conductivity, impact resistance, thermal expansion, viscosity, characteristic temperature points, specific heat, evaporation losses from the melt, electrical conductivity, leach resistance, tendency toward recrystallization and second phase formation. All the compositions (some with different amounts of Gd 2 O 3 , an expected neutron poision) contained 15 wt. % simulated HAW oxides. Samples for investigation were fabricated very close to the actual process conditions of vitrification. Two glass products GP12 and GP26 (3.7% Gd 2 O 3 ) have been selected out of 25 glasses as the optimised products for further thorough investigations. Leach resistance, viscosity at 1420 K, tendency towards recrystallization and second phase formation were the most important deciding factors. (orig.) [de

  6. New var reconstruction algorithm exposes high var sequence diversity in a single geographic location in Mali.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dara, Antoine; Drábek, Elliott F; Travassos, Mark A; Moser, Kara A; Delcher, Arthur L; Su, Qi; Hostelley, Timothy; Coulibaly, Drissa; Daou, Modibo; Dembele, Ahmadou; Diarra, Issa; Kone, Abdoulaye K; Kouriba, Bourema; Laurens, Matthew B; Niangaly, Amadou; Traore, Karim; Tolo, Youssouf; Fraser, Claire M; Thera, Mahamadou A; Djimde, Abdoulaye A; Doumbo, Ogobara K; Plowe, Christopher V; Silva, Joana C

    2017-03-28

    Encoded by the var gene family, highly variable Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein-1 (PfEMP1) proteins mediate tissue-specific cytoadherence of infected erythrocytes, resulting in immune evasion and severe malaria disease. Sequencing and assembling the 40-60 var gene complement for individual infections has been notoriously difficult, impeding molecular epidemiological studies and the assessment of particular var elements as subunit vaccine candidates. We developed and validated a novel algorithm, Exon-Targeted Hybrid Assembly (ETHA), to perform targeted assembly of var gene sequences, based on a combination of Pacific Biosciences and Illumina data. Using ETHA, we characterized the repertoire of var genes in 12 samples from uncomplicated malaria infections in children from a single Malian village and showed them to be as genetically diverse as vars from isolates from around the globe. The gene var2csa, a member of the var family associated with placental malaria pathogenesis, was present in each genome, as were vars previously associated with severe malaria. ETHA, a tool to discover novel var sequences from clinical samples, will aid the understanding of malaria pathogenesis and inform the design of malaria vaccines based on PfEMP1. ETHA is available at: https://sourceforge.net/projects/etha/ .

  7. Loading, transport and storage of casks of the type CASTOR registered HAW28M in the frame of vitrified high-level waste repatriation from France

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horn, Thomas; Graf, Wilhelm; Gosch-Warning, Michaela

    2011-01-01

    Until 2005 the German nuclear power plant operators have contracts with AREVA NC (former COGEMA) and NDA (former BNFL) concerning the reprocessing of spent fuel elements. The reprocessed and vitrified radioactive waste has to be repatriated to Germany. Due to the reprocessing of spent fuel elements with increased burnup and the repatriation after shorter cooling time the total activity and the Cm-244 content of the high-level-waste coquilles have increased since 2008. Consequently the heat output has increased to 2 kW/coquille. Therefore the new transport cask type CASTOR registered HAW28M was developed. The authors describe the design of the casks, the licensing according to the German transport regulations, loading procedures, radiation measurements and shipment completion. In autumn 2011 the repatriation of vitrified high-level waste from France is supposed to be completed with the transport of eleven CASTOR registered HAW28M.

  8. Delice(Olea europea var. oleaster L.) ile zeytin (Olea europea var.sativa) arasında anatomik ve palinojik ayrıcalıklar (The Anatomic And Palynological Differences Between Olea europea var. oleaster L. AND Olea europea var.sativa)

    OpenAIRE

    Kaya, Zafer

    1991-01-01

    Delice(Olea europea var. oleaster L.) ile zeytin (Olea europea var.sativa) arasında anatomik ve palinojik ayrıcalıklar (The Anatomic And Palynological Differences Between Olea europea var. oleaster L. AND Olea europea var.sativa)

  9. Phenolic content and antioxidant activity of Pereskia grandifolia Haw. (Cactaceae) extracts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sim, K. S.; Nurestri, A. M. Sri; Norhanom, A. W.

    2010-01-01

    The leaves of Pereskia grandifolia Haw. (Cactaceae), commonly known as “Jarum Tujuh Bilah” in Malaysia, have been traditionally used as natural remedy in folk medicine by the locals. In the present study, the antioxidant potential of P. grandifolia crude methanol and its fractionated extracts (hexane, ethyl acetate and water) have been investigated, employing three different established testing systems, such as scavenging activity on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals, reducing power assay and β-carotene method. The total phenolic content of the P. grandifolia extracts was also assessed by the Folin-Ciocalteau’s method. The ethyl acetate extract showed significantly the highest total phenolic content, DPPH scavenging ability and antioxidant activity in β-carotene bleaching assay while the hexane extract possessed significantly strongest reducing power. The data obtained in these testing systems clearly establish the antioxidant potency of P. grandifolia. As such, this is the first report on the antioxidant activities of P. grandifolia. PMID:20931088

  10. Molecular and physiological diversity among Verticillium fungicola var. fungicola and var. aleophilum

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Largeteau, M.L.; Baars, J.J.P.; Savoie, J.M.

    2006-01-01

    The genetic and physiological variability of Verticillium fungicola var. aleophilum responsible for Agaricus bisporus dry bubble disease in North America is well documented but little is known about the var. fungicola affecting European crops. Variability was assessed within this variety and

  11. Protective role of polyphenols from Bauhinia hookeri against carbon tetrachloride-induced hepato- and nephrotoxicity in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Sayed, Eman; Abdel-Daim, Mohamed M; Kilany, Omnia E; Karonen, Maarit; Sinkkonen, Jari

    2015-08-01

    The hepatoprotective and nephroprotective activity of a polyphenol-rich fraction (BHPF) obtained from Bauhinia hookeri was investigated against CCl4-induced acute hepatorenal toxicity in mice. BHPF was administered (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg/day) for 5 days, then CCl4 was administered. BHPF pretreatment significantly (p < 0.001) inhibited the CCl4-induced increase in ALT, AST, ALP, LDH, total bilirubin, cholesterol, creatinine, uric acid, urea and malondialdehyde in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast, BHPF pretreatment markedly increased the contents of glutathione and superoxide dismutase in the liver and kidney tissues, indicating the strong in vivo antioxidant activity of BHPF. Pretreatment with BHPF preserved the hepatic architecture and conferred marked protection against necrosis and ballooning degeneration. Pretreatment with BHPF reduced the inflammatory cell aggregation and degenerative changes in the lining epithelium of the kidney tubules. It can be concluded that BHPF has a remarkable hepato- and nephroprotective activity by enhancing the antioxidant defense status, reducing lipid peroxidation and protecting against the histopathological changes induced by CCl4 in the liver and kidney tissues.

  12. Finite element analyses of a heater-interruption in the HAW test field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horn, B.A. van den.

    1991-09-01

    In this report the results of two finite element analyses of the HAW field are presented. The determination of the influence of a heater-interruption on the tube load as well as the differences in the evaluation of the tube load for both types of boreholes (type A and type B) are the main objectives of this report. Axisymmetric models are made for both type of boreholes in order to simulate this heater-interruption. It appeared that a heater-interruption of 4 hours leads to a temperature drop of 17.2deg C at the borehole wall and to a maximum reduction of the tube load of 1.76 MPa. About 20 days after reparation of the heaters of the heaters the evolution of the maximum temperature and the maximum tube load will be rehabilitated; the difference with the corresponding evolutions due to an uninterrupted heat-production are negligible. (author). 9 refs.; 25 figs.; 5 tabs

  13. Nonlinear models applied to seed germination of Rhipsalis cereuscula Haw (Cactaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Terezinha Aparecida Guedes

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this analysis was to fit germination data of Rhipsalis cereuscula Haw seeds to the Weibull model with three parameters using Frequentist and Bayesian methods. Five parameterizations were compared using the Bayesian analysis to fit a prior distribution. The parameter estimates from the Frequentist method were similar to the Bayesian responses considering the following non-informative a priori distribution for the parameter vectors: gamma (10³, 10³ in the model M1, normal (0, 106 in the model M2, uniform (0, Lsup in the model M3, exp (μ in the model M4 and Lnormal (μ, 106 in the model M5. However, to achieve the convergence in the models M4 and M5, we applied the μ from the estimates of the Frequentist approach. The best models fitted by the Bayesian method were the M1 and M3. The adequacy of these models was based on the advantages over the Frequentist method such as the reduced computational efforts and the possibility of comparison.

  14. Taxonomical studies on endemic scorzonera pygmaea var. pygmaea and var. nutans stat. nov. (asteraceae) from turkey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koyuncu, O.; Kus, G.

    2014-01-01

    The taxonomic status of Scorzonera pygmaea var. pygmaea and var. nutans belonging to the tribe. cichoreae (Asteraceae). S. pygmaea samples were collected from Arayit mountain. We suggest that these two subspecies should be classified as varietes because of their morphological and anatomical characteristics, ecological and geographical similarities. Moreover being together in the same localities of these under species taxa supports our opinion, i.e. S. pygmaea Sibth. and Sm. var. pygmaea stat. nov. and S. pygmaea Sibth. and Sm. var. nutans (Czeczott) O. Koyuncu and Yaylac, stat. nov. (author)

  15. Physiological differences and changes in global DNA methylation levels in Agave angustifolia Haw. albino variant somaclones during the micropropagation process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duarte-Aké, Fátima; Castillo-Castro, Eduardo; Pool, Felipe Barredo; Espadas, Francisco; Santamaría, Jorge M; Robert, Manuel L; De-la-Peña, Clelia

    2016-12-01

    Global DNA methylation changes caused by in vitro conditions are associated with the subculturing and phenotypic variation in Agave angustifolia Haw. While the relationship between the development of albinism and in vitro culture is well documented, the role of epigenetic processes in this development leaves some important questions unanswered. During the micropropagation of Agave angustifolia Haw., we found three different phenotypes, green (G), variegated (V) and albino (A). To understand the physiological and epigenetic differences among the somaclones, we analyzed several morphophysiological parameters and changes in the DNA methylation patterns in the three phenotypes during their in vitro development. We found that under in vitro conditions, the V plantlets maintained their CAM photosynthetic capacity, while the A variant showed no pigments and lost its CAM photosynthetic ability. Epigenetic analysis revealed that global DNA methylation increased in the G phenotype during the first two subcultures. However, after that time, DNA methylation levels declined. This hypomethylation correlated with the appearance of V shoots in the G plantlets. A similar correlation occurred in the V phenotype, where an increase of 2 % in the global DNA methylation levels was correlated with the generation of A shoots in the V plantlets. This suggests that an "epigenetic stress memory" during in vitro conditions causes a chromatin shift that favors the generation of variegated and albino shoots.

  16. Morfoanatomia vegetativa de Opuntia brasiliensis (Willd Haw / Vegetative morphology and anatomy of Opuntia brasiliensis (Willd Haw

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Camila Firmino de Azevedo

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Opuntia brasiliensis (Willd Haw. é uma Cactaceae nativa do Brasil utilizada como ornamental, que apresenta caracteres morfológicos semelhantes a outras espécies do gênero, o que dificulta sua identificação. Dessa forma, foi realizado uma descrição morfoanatômica de O. brasiliensis com o objetivo de ampliar o conhecimento sobre a organização estrutural do gênero e fornecer subsídios para a identificação da espécie, bem como observar caracteres importantes na adaptação a ambientes xerófilos. Foram feitas secções transversais e paradérmicas da raiz, caule principal e cladódios com espécimes coletados na zona rural da cidade de Serra Branca (PB, localizada na região do cariri ocidental. O. brasiliensis apresenta raiz ramificada e caule clorofilado formando um eixo principal de onde partem inúmeros cladódios delgados. Observamse pelos e epiderme unisseriada irregular na raiz, que possui córtex formado por parênquima, seguido de endoderme multisseriada e periciclo. No cilindro central da raiz, ocorrem tecidos vasculares formando cinco pólos seguidos de medula. O caule e o cladódio apresentam epiderme com paredes sinuosas, em que encontram-se estômatos paralelocíticos que apresentam câmara subestomática; e na camada subsequente, hipoderme com grande quantidade de drusas de oxalato de cálcio. O córtex é formado por parênquimas clorofiliano e aquífero, onde observam-se feixes vasculares, com raios de floema voltados para o lado externo, seguido de xilema helicoidal. Porém, nos cladódios, o parênquima clorofiliano é bem mais denso e os feixes vasculares são dispostos irregularmente, enquanto no caule estão distribuídos no sentido radial. O. brasiliensis apresenta várias características importantes na sua identificação, bem como adaptações estruturais a ambientes xerófilos

  17. Analysis list: Su(var)205 [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available Su(var)205 Adult,Embryo,Larvae + dm3 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3.../target/Su(var)205.1.tsv http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3/target/Su(var)205.5.tsv http://dbarc...hive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3/target/Su(var)205.10.tsv http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3/c...olo/Su(var)205.Adult.tsv,http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3/colo/Su(var)205.Embryo.tsv,http:...//dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3/colo/Su(var)205.Larvae.tsv http://dbarchive

  18. 4D-Var Developement at GMAO

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelc, Joanna S.; Todling, Ricardo; Akkraoui, Amal El

    2014-01-01

    The Global Modeling and Assimilation Offce (GMAO) is currently using an IAU-based 3D-Var data assimilation system. GMAO has been experimenting with a 3D-Var-hybrid version of its data assimilation system (DAS) for over a year now, which will soon become operational and it will rapidly progress toward a 4D-EnVar. Concurrently, the machinery to exercise traditional 4DVar is in place and it is desirable to have a comparison of the traditional 4D approach with the other available options, and evaluate their performance in the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) DAS. This work will also explore the possibility for constructing a reduced order model (ROM) to make traditional 4D-Var computationally attractive for increasing model resolutions. Part of the research on ROM will be to search for a suitably acceptable space to carry on the corresponding reduction. This poster illustrates how the IAU-based 4D-Var assimilation compares with our currently used IAU-based 3D-Var.

  19. New prediction for the direct CP-violating parameter var-epsilon prime/var-epsilon and the ΔI=1/2 rule

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Yue-Liang

    2001-01-01

    The low-energy dynamics of QCD is investigated with special attention paid to the matching between QCD and chiral perturbation theory (ChPT), and also to some useful algebraic chiral operator relations which survive even when we include chiral loop corrections. It then allows us to evaluate the hadronic matrix elements below the energy scale Λ χ ≅1GeV. Based on the new analyses, we present a consistent prediction for both the direct CP-violating parameter var-epsilonprime/var-epsilon and the ΔI=1/2 rule in kaon decays. In the leading 1/N c approximation, the isospin amplitudes A 0 and A 2 are found to agree well with the data, and the direct CP-violating parameter var-epsilonprime/var-epsilon is predicted to be large, which also confirms our earlier conclusion. Its numerical value is var-epsilonprime/var-epsilon=23.6 -7.8 +12.4 x10 -4 (Imλ t /= 1.2x10 -4 ) which is no longer sensitive to the strange quark mass due to the matching conditions. Taking into account a simultaneous consistent analysis on the isospin amplitudes A 0 and A 2 , the ratio var-epsilonprime/var-epsilon is in favor of the values var-epsilonprime/var-epsilon=(20±9)x10 -4

  20. Survival and infectivity of Sarcoptes scabiei var. canis and var. hominis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arlian, L G; Runyan, R A; Achar, S; Estes, S A

    1984-08-01

    Sarcoptes scabiei var. canis served as a suitable model for the study of S. scabiei var. hominis survival. S. scabiei var. canis and var. hominis mites were found to survive off the host for 24 to 36 hours at room conditions (21 degrees C and 40% to 80% relative humidity [RH]), and the canine variety survived 19 days at 10 degrees C and 97% RH. Female mites survived decidedly longer than male mites at comparable conditions. Generally, higher RH values and lower temperatures favored survival, whereas higher temperature and lower RH led to early death. Most canine scabies mites that were held off the host for 36 hours at 75% RH and 22 degrees to 24 degrees C remained infective and penetrated when returned to the host. Live mites of the human variety that were recovered from bed linen slept on by infested patients would also penetrate a host after being held off a host for 96 hours in alternating 12-hour periods of room conditions and refrigeration. Penetration required less than 30 minutes for all life stages of both varieties, and it was accomplished by a mite secretion that dissolved the host tissue. Dislodged mites, particularly those in close proximity to the source, can be a likely source of infestation.

  1. Teucrium pruinosum var. aksarayense var. nov. (Lamiaceae from Central Anatolia, Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhittin Dinç

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Teucrium pruinosum var. aksarayense M. Dinç & S. Doğu (Lamiaceae, a new variety from Aksaray in Central Anatolia, is described and illustrated. The new variety is similar to the typical one in its calyx teeth uncinate at tip and subequal to the tube with conspicious midvein. It is readily distinguished from var. pruinosum by its general appearance, indumentum, and floral organ pigmentation. The map showing the distributions of the varieties was given.

  2. First report of systemic toxoplasmosis in a New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roe, W D; Michael, S; Fyfe, J; Burrows, E; Hunter, S A; Howe, L

    2017-01-01

    A 1-year-old female New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) was intermittently observed in the Otago region of New Zealand over an 11-month period, always dragging her hind flippers. In December 2012 the sea lion was found dead, after a period of several days being observed to be harassed by male sea lions. At gross postmortem examination the sea lion was in moderate body condition with signs of recent bite wounds and bruising. The lungs were dark and poorly inflated. Histological findings included meningoencephalomyelitis, radiculomyelitis of the cauda equina, myocarditis and myositis. Toxoplasmosis gondii organisms were detected histologically and following immunohistochemistry in the brain, spinal cord, spinal nerves and pelvic muscles. Nested PCR analysis and sequencing confirmed the presence of T. gondii DNA in uterine and lung tissue. A variant type II T. gondii genotype was identified using multilocus PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Systemic toxoplasmosis. Infection with T. gondii involving the spinal cord and nerves was the likely cause of the paresis observed in this sea lion before death. Ultimately, death was attributed to crushing and asphyxiation by a male sea lion, presumably predisposed by impaired mobility. Diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in a New Zealand sea lion highlights the possibility that this disease could play a role in morbidity and mortality in this endangered species, particularly in the recently established mainland populations that are close to feline sources of T. gondii oocysts.

  3. Hvem var morderen?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Lene Vinther

    2014-01-01

    Folkemindesamleren og forfatteren Helene Strange (1874-1943) skrev flere gange om et giftmord på en præst på Nordfalster i 1755. Hun satte spørgsmålstegn ved højesteretsdommen og hævdede, at en uskyldig pige blev dømt, mens den virkelige morder slap fri. Det var folkets uskrevne dom, som i over...... hundrede år var blevet fortalt mundtligt videre på egnen, og hun forsøgte – med forskellige midler – at få bragt denne version af historien frem i offentligheden....

  4. The Vibrio cholerae var regulon encodes a metallo-β-lactamase and an antibiotic efflux pump, which are regulated by VarR, a LysR-type transcription factor.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hong-Ting Victor Lin

    Full Text Available The genome sequence of V. cholerae O1 Biovar Eltor strain N16961 has revealed a putative antibiotic resistance (var regulon that is predicted to encode a transcriptional activator (VarR, which is divergently transcribed relative to the putative resistance genes for both a metallo-β-lactamase (VarG and an antibiotic efflux-pump (VarABCDEF. We sought to test whether these genes could confer antibiotic resistance and are organised as a regulon under the control of VarR. VarG was overexpressed and purified and shown to have β-lactamase activity against penicillins, cephalosporins and carbapenems, having the highest activity against meropenem. The expression of VarABCDEF in the Escherichia coli (ΔacrAB strain KAM3 conferred resistance to a range of drugs, but most significant resistance was to the macrolide spiramycin. A gel-shift analysis was used to determine if VarR bound to the promoter regions of the resistance genes. Consistent with the regulation of these resistance genes, VarR binds to three distinct intergenic regions, varRG, varGA and varBC located upstream and adjacent to varG, varA and varC, respectively. VarR can act as a repressor at the varRG promoter region; whilst this repression was relieved upon addition of β-lactams, these did not dissociate the VarR/varRG-DNA complex, indicating that the de-repression of varR by β-lactams is indirect. Considering that the genomic arrangement of VarR-VarG is strikingly similar to that of AmpR-AmpC system, it is possible that V. cholerae has evolved a system for resistance to the newer β-lactams that would prove more beneficial to the bacterium in light of current selective pressures.

  5. VaR Methodology Application for Banking Currency Portfolios

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Armeanu

    2007-02-01

    Full Text Available VaR has become the standard measure that financial analysts use to quantify market risk. VaR measures can have many applications, such as in risk management, to evaluate the performance of risk takers and for regulatory requirements, and hence it is very important to develop methodologies that provide accurate estimates. In particular, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision at the Bank for International Settlements imposes to financial institutions such as banks and investment firms to meet capital requirements based on VaR estimates. In this paper we determine VaR for a banking currency portfolio and respect rules of National Bank of Romania regarding VaR report.

  6. [Physiological characteristics of Pinus densiflora var. zhangwuensis and Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica seedlings on sandy lands under salt-alkali stresses].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Peng; Li, Yu-Ling; Zhang, Bai-xi

    2013-02-01

    For the popularization of Pinus densiflora var. zhangwuensis, a new afforestation tree species on the desertified and salinized-alkalized lands in Northern China, and to evaluate the salinity-alkalinity tolerance of the tree species and to better understand the tolerance mechanisms, a pot experiment with 4-year old P. densiflora var. zhangwuensis and P. sylvestris var. mongolica was conducted to study their seedlings growth and physiological and biochemical indices under the effects of three types salt (NaCl, Na2CO3, and NaHCO3 ) stresses and of alkali (NaOH) stress. Under the salt-alkali stresses, the injury level of P. densiflora var. zhangwuensis was lower, and the root tolerance index was higher. The leaf catalase (CAT) activity increased significantly by 22. 6 times at the most, as compared with the control; the leaf malondialdehyde (MDA) content had no significant increase; the leaf chlorophyll (Chl) content had a smaller decrement; and the leaf water content (LWC) increased slightly. P. sylvestris var. mongolica responded differently to the salt-alkali stresses. Its leaf CAT activity had less change, MDA content increased significantly, Chl content had significant decrease, and LWC decreased slightly. It was suggested that P. densi-flora var. zhangwuensis had a greater salinity-alkalinity tolerance than P. sylvestris var. mongolica. The higher iron concentration in P. densiflora var. zhangwuensis needles enhanced the CAT activity and Chl content, whereas the higher concentrations of zinc and copper were associated with the stronger salinity-alkalinity tolerance.

  7. dbVar

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — dbVar is a database of genomic structural variation. It accepts data from all species and includes clinical data. It can accept diverse types of events, including...

  8. HAW simulation experiments with cobalt-60 radiation sources in the Asse salt mine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rothfuchs, T.; Wieczorek, K.; Feddersen, H.K.

    1986-01-01

    The report describes the experimental work and the measured data of the joint German-American project for the HAW simulation experiment with cobalt-60 radiation sources in the Asse salt mine, covering the period up to the end of the third quarter 1986. The experiment is intended to yield information on the synergistic effects of heat and ionizing radiation on the salt rock under representative waste repository conditions. The investigations aim at the migration, release, and radiolytic decomposition of the water and gas components in the rock salt, and at the thermally induced strain and deformation processes. In addition, corrosion tests are planned to be made on various container test materials, and analyses of salt rock core samples for assessing the effect of heat and radiation on the rock. The report in hand presents all data obtained during the experiment. The results of the subsequent evaluation and verification studies will be presented in another report, the programme being given in an annex to the report in hand. (orig./RB) [de

  9. Amylase production by endophytic fungi Cylindrocephalum sp. isolated from medicinal plant Alpinia calcarata (Haw. Roscoe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. H. Sunitha.

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Amylases are among the most important enzymes used in modern biotechnology particularly in the process involving starch hydrolysis. Fungal amylase has large applications in food and pharmaceutical industries. Considering these facts, endophytic fungi isolated from the plant Alpinia calcarata (Haw. Roscoe were screened for amylolytic activity on glucose yeast extract peptone agar (GYP medium. Among thirty isolates of endophytic fungi, isolate number seven identified as Cylindrocephalum sp. (Ac-7 showed highest amylolytic activity and was taken for further study. Influence of various physical and chemical factors such as pH, temperature, carbon and nitrogen sources on amylase production in liquid media were studied. The maximal amylase production was found to be at 30ºC and at pH 7.0 of the growth medium. Among the various carbon and nitrogen sources tested, maltose at 1.5% and Sodium nitrate at 0.3% respectively gave optimum amylase production.

  10. Paulus var kristendommens Lenin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thyssen, Ole

    2017-01-01

    En af Luthers inspirationskilder var Paulus, hvis løsning på lokale problemer fik globale konsekvenser. Han trak en skarp grænse mellem det snavsede kød og den rene sjæl og mellem vantro og tro.......En af Luthers inspirationskilder var Paulus, hvis løsning på lokale problemer fik globale konsekvenser. Han trak en skarp grænse mellem det snavsede kød og den rene sjæl og mellem vantro og tro....

  11. B. oleracea var. capitata monosomic and disomic alien

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Five monosomic alien addition lines (MAALs) of Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis – B. oleracea var. capitata were obtained by hybridization and backcrossing between B. rapa ssp. pekinensis (female parent) and B. oleracea var. capitata. The alien linkage groups were identified using 42 B. oleracea var. capitata linkage ...

  12. Da Danmark var en slavenation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Peters, Rikke Louise Alberg; Brunbech, Peter Johan Yding; Poulsen, Jens Aage

    I mere end 250 år var Danmark en stor kolonimagt. Skt. Jan, Skt. Thomas og Skt. Croix, eller U.S. Virgin Islands, som de kaldes i dag, var danske kolonier, hvor der bl.a. blev dyrket sukkerrør og bomuld. Det hårde arbejde blev udført af slaver, som man fra slutningen af 1600-tallet begyndte at tr...

  13. ESTIMASI NILAI VaR PORTOFOLIO MENGGUNAKAN FUNGSI ARCHIMEDEAN COPULA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    AULIA ATIKA PRAWIBTA SUHARTO

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Value at Risk explains the magnitude of the worst losses occurred in financial products investments with a certain level of confidence and time interval. The purpose of this study is to estimate the VaR of portfolio using Archimedean Copula family. The methods for calculating the VaR are as follows: (1 calculating the stock return; (2 calculating descriptive statistics of return; (3 checking for the nature of autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity effects on stock return data; (4 checking for the presence of extreme value by using Pareto tail; (5 estimating the parameters of Achimedean Copula family; (6 conducting simulations of Archimedean Copula; (7 estimating the value of the stock portfolio VaR. This study uses the closing price of TLKM and GGRM. At 90% the VaR obtained using Clayton, Gumbel, Frank copulas are 0.9562%, 1.0189%, 0.9827% respectively. At 95% the VaR obtained using Clayton, Gumbel, Frank copulas are 1.2930%, 1.2522%, 1.3152% respectively. At 99% the VaR obtained using Clayton, Gumbel, Frank copulas are 2.0327%, 1.9164%, is 1.8678% respectively. In conclusion estimation of VaR using Clayton copula yields the highest VaR.

  14. Over de verspreiding binnen Nederland van Bidens connata var. fallax (Warnst.) Sherf en var. anomala Farw

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ballintijn, Koos (J.) F.

    1997-01-01

    On the basis of recent observations and study of herbarium material it might tentatively be concluded that var. anomala (with erecto-patent barb hairs on achenes as well as on the bristles) is becoming more common since 1954 and might be locally replacing the hitherto more common var. fallax (with

  15. Propagação por sementes de Schlumbergera truncata (Haw. Moran (flor-de-maio em diferentes substratos - DOI: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v29i3.480 Propagation by seeds of Schlumbergera truncata (Haw. Moran (florde- maio in different substrates - DOI: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v29i3.480

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela Biondi

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Schlumbergera truncata (Haw. Moran (Cactaceae, conhecida como flor-demaio, é uma espécie herbácea epífita, nativa no Brasil, muito apreciada como planta ornamental pela beleza de suas flores. Esta espécie multiplica-se por sementes, mas comercialmente é propagada por estacas e enxertia. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a germinação de quatro variedades de cores desta espécie (rosa, vermelha, branca e amarela em cinco substratos (vermiculita de granulometria média, xaxim desfibrado, areia, substrato comercial Rendmax® Floreiras e mistura de 50% do substrato comercial Rendmax® Floreiras + 50% xaxim desfibrado. Os resultados mostraram que a espécie pode ser reproduzida com facilidade por sementes. O substrato comercial Rendmax® Floreiras proporcionou os melhores resultados.Schlumbergera truncata (Haw. Moran (Cactaceae, known as “flor-de-maio”, is a Brazilian endogenous herbaceous epiphytic species, much appreciated as ornamental for the beauty of its flowers. This species is multiplied by seeds, but commercially it is propagated by cuttings and grafting. The aim of this research was to evaluate the germination of four varieties of colors of this species (pink, red, white and yellow in five substrates (vermiculite, de-fibered tree ferns, sand, commercial substrate Rendmax® Floreiras and a mixture of 50% of the commercial substrate Rendmax® Floreiras + 50% tree ferns. The results showed that this species can be easily reproduced by seeds. The commercial substrate Rendmax® Floreiras provided the best germination result.

  16. Hybrid VAR compensator with improved efficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. V. Burlaka

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available In modern electrical networks thyristor-switched capacitors (TSC are most used devices for VAR compensation. These devices don’t contain rotating parts and mechanical contacts, provide a stepwise control of reactive power and no generation of harmonics to the network. However, with the help of TSC it’s not possible to ensure smooth control of reactive power and capacitor banks (CB are exposed to the negative impact of higher harmonic components of the network voltage. Hybrid VAR compensator don’t have such drawbacks. It consists of active filter (AF and capacitor bank with discrete regulation. The main drawback of such systems is the necessity of accessing all six terminals of CB, while most of them are manufactured with three terminals, internally delta-connected. In the article, the topology and control system of hybrid VAR compensator free from beforementioned drawback, is proposed. The control system provides operating modes of overcompensation or undercompensation reactive power. VAR distribution regulator performs redistribution of reactive power between active filter and capacitor banks with the condition to minimize active filter’s power. Scheme of the hybrid VAR compensator, which includes a three-phase three-terminal delta-connected capacitor banks, is shown. Proposed approach allows to provide smooth control of reactive power, isolate the capacitor bank from harmonic currents and use a more effective low-voltage power components

  17. The HAW project. Test storage of high-level radiation sources in the Asse salt mine. Documentation and assessment of the storage system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, K.; Rothfuchs, T.

    1994-01-01

    The HAW project aimed primarily at studying the interaction between high-level radioactive waste moulds and rock salt as the respository medium. Another priority was the prototype development and testing of a technical system for the emplacement of high-level radioactive moulds in deep storage boreholes. To simulate real high-level radioactive wastes, special high-level radiation sources (Cs-137, Sr-90) were produced in the United States of America under a German-American cooperation contract, for carrying out the tests at the Asse salt mine. The components of the storage system are described, their position and task within the entire handling procedure explained. Questions of radiation protection and accident protection, of functioning and operating reliability, of quality assurance and examination of documents, materials, of manufacture and functioning, and of documentation are dealt with in detail. With a view to the planning of storage techniques for a mine respository, the experience of development and operation is recorded, and recommendation of further developments are given. Problems which arose during work on the HAW project were partly due to test-specific reasons and will not or not in this form occur in a mine respository. It was planned to start the test emplacement in 1987, and it could have been executed in 1993 after appropriate preparation and approval of the storage system by the mining authority and the Hanover TUEV in 1991. In December 1992, however, the Federal Government decided to give up to the project due to the uncertain licensing situation, and to immediately stop all preparatory work. (orig./HP) [de

  18. Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in mainland and sub-Antarctic New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael, S A; Howe, L; Chilvers, B L; Morel, Pch; Roe, W D

    2016-09-01

    To investigate the seroprevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in New Zealand sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri), as a potential contributor to reproductive failure. Archived sera were sourced from New Zealand sea lions from two recolonising mainland populations in the Otago Peninsula (n=15) and Stewart Island (n=12), as well as a declining population at Enderby Island (n=28) in the New Zealand sub-Antarctic. Sera were tested for antibodies to T. gondii using a commercially available ELISA (with samples considered positive if the sample to positive ratio was >30%), and latex agglutination test (LAT; with titres ≥1:32 considered positive). Western blot analysis was used to validate the results of a subset of 14 samples. Five samples from sea lions in mainland locations were confirmed positive for antibodies to T. gondii. Two adult females exhibited high LAT antibody titres (min 1:2048, max 1:4096) on both occasions when sampled 1 and 2 years apart, respectively. No animals from Enderby Island were seropositive. Toxoplasma gondii infection is unlikely to be a major contributor to poor reproductive success in New Zealand sea lions. However, continued surveillance is pertinent to assess subclinical and clinical impacts of the parasite on these threatened populations. The commercial tests evaluated here, with further species-specific threshold refinement could provide a fast, inexpensive and reliable indicator of T. gondii exposure in New Zealand sea lions.

  19. Var der noget kapløb?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gimpel, Denise; Nielsen, Bent

    2006-01-01

    Hvorfor faldt Kina bagud i kapløbet med Vesten?« spørger David Favrholdt i sidste nummer af Weekendavisen. Var der overhovedet noget kapløb? Forudsætter et kapløb ikke, at man har et fælles mål? Spørgsmålet implicerer, at Vesten har vundet og indplacerer samtidig klodens øvrige kulturer i forhold....... Som en af 1900-tallets største sinologer A. C. Graham skriver i sin bog Disputers of the Tao (La Salle, Ill., 1989) var den videnskabelige revolution »en unik og kompleks begivenhed, som var afhængig af en mangfoldighed af sociale og andre betingelser, herunder et sammenfald af opdagelser (græske......, indiske, kinesiske, arabiske, næsten ingen romerske) koncentreret om kombinationen af indiske tal og aritmetik og græsk logik og geometri« (s. 317). En unik begivenhed, som er forekommet én gang i verdenshistorien. Det giver derfor ingen mening at spørge, hvorfor det ikke skete andre steder. Hvis det var...

  20. Pathology and Epidemiology of Stillbirth in New Zealand Sea Lions (Phocarctos hookeri) From Enderby Island, Auckland Islands, 1998-2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael, S A; Chilvers, B L; Hunter, S A; Duignan, P; Roe, W

    2016-11-01

    Stillbirth is a small and often cryptic fraction of neonatal mortality in mammals including pinnipeds. As part of an investigation into the poor reproductive success of the endangered New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri), archived tissues from 37 stillborn pups born on Enderby Island between 1998 and 2012 were examined using histopathological techniques. Apart from bronchopneumonia with neutrophilic infiltration in 4 cases, few inflammatory conditions were identified in stillborn pups. However, 27/32 (84%) stillborn pups had aspirated squames present in the respiratory tract, without meconium. It is unclear if this finding represents fetal distress during parturition or whether it is a normal finding for this species. Three pups lacked histological evidence of hepatic glycogen storage, which may indicate placental defects or maternal undernutrition. No evidence of infectious disease was found on histopathological analysis, consistent with the low seroprevalence in New Zealand of infections known to cause reproductive failure in other pinniped species. This study forms an important baseline for further examination of stillborn New Zealand sea lion pups, as pup mortality is investigated as a contributor to the species' decline. © The Author(s) 2016.

  1. Anti-adipogenic effects of extracts of Ficus deltoidea var. deltoidea and var. angustifolia on 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woon, Shiau Mei; Seng, Yew Wei; Ling, Anna Pick Kiong; Chye, Soi Moi; Koh, Rhun Yian

    2014-03-01

    This study examined the anti-adipogenic effects of extracts of Ficus deltoidea var. deltoidia and var. angustifolia, a natural slimming aid, on 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Methanol and water extracts of leaves of the F. deltoidea varieties were analyzed to determine their total flavonoid content (TFC) and total phenolic content (TPC), respectively. The study was initiated by determining the maximum non-toxic dose (MNTD) of the methanol and water extracts for 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Possible anti-adipogenic effects were then examined by treating 2-d post confluent 3T3-L1 preadipocytes with either methanol extract or water extract at MNTD and half MNTD (½MNTD), after which the preadipocytces were induced to form mature adipocytes. Visualisation and quantification of lipid content in mature adipocytes were carried out through oil red O staining and measurement of optical density (OD) at 520 nm, respectively. The TFCs of the methanol extracts were 1.36 and 1.97 g quercetin equivalents (QE)/100 g dry weight (DW), while the TPCs of the water extracts were 5.61 and 2.73 g gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/100 g DW for var. deltoidea and var. angustilofia, respectively. The MNTDs determined for methanol and water extracts were (300.0 ± 28.3) and (225.0 ± 21.2) µg/ml, respectively, for var. deltoidea, while much lower MNTDs [(60.0 ± 2.0) µg/ml for methanol extracts and (8.0 ± 1.0) µg/ml for water extracts] were recorded for var. angustifolia. Studies revealed that the methanol extracts of both varieties and the water extracts of var. angustifolia at either MNTD or ½MNTD significantly inhibited the maturation of preadipocytes. The inhibition of the formation of mature adipocytes indicated that leaf extracts of F. deltoidea could have potential anti-obesity effects.

  2. Comparison between 3D-Var and 4D-Var data assimilation methods for the simulation of a heavy rainfall case in central Italy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazzarella, Vincenzo; Maiello, Ida; Capozzi, Vincenzo; Budillon, Giorgio; Ferretti, Rossella

    2017-08-01

    This work aims to provide a comparison between three dimensional and four dimensional variational data assimilation methods (3D-Var and 4D-Var) for a heavy rainfall case in central Italy. To evaluate the impact of the assimilation of reflectivity and radial velocity acquired from Monte Midia Doppler radar into the Weather Research Forecasting (WRF) model, the quantitative precipitation forecast (QPF) is used.The two methods are compared for a heavy rainfall event that occurred in central Italy on 14 September 2012 during the first Special Observation Period (SOP1) of the HyMeX (HYdrological cycle in Mediterranean EXperiment) campaign. This event, characterized by a deep low pressure system over the Tyrrhenian Sea, produced flash floods over the Marche and Abruzzo regions, where rainfall maxima reached more than 150 mm 24 h-1.To identify the best QPF, nine experiments are performed using 3D-Var and 4D-Var data assimilation techniques. All simulations are compared in terms of rainfall forecast and precipitation measured by the gauges through three statistical indicators: probability of detection (POD), critical success index (CSI) and false alarm ratio (FAR). The assimilation of conventional observations with 4D-Var method improves the QPF compared to 3D-Var. In addition, the use of radar measurements in 4D-Var simulations enhances the performances of statistical scores for higher rainfall thresholds.

  3. VAR Methodology Used for Exchange Risk Measurement and Prevention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florentina Balu

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available In this article we discuss one of the modern risk measuring techniques Value-at-Risk (VaR. Currently central banks in major money centers, under the auspices of the BIS Basle Committee, adopt the VaR system to evaluate the market risk of their supervised banks. Banks regulators ask all commercial banks to report VaRs with their internal models. Value at risk (VaR is a powerful tool for assessing market risk, but it also imposes a challenge. Its power is its generality. Unlike market risk metrics such as the Greeks, duration and convexity, or beta, which are applicable to only certain asset categories or certain sources of market risk, VaR is general. It is based on the probability distribution for a portfolio’s market value. Value at Risk (VAR calculates the maximum loss expected (or worst case scenario on an investment, over a given time period and given a specified degree of confidence. There are three methods by which VaR can be calculated: the historical simulation, the variance-covariance method and the Monte Carlo simulation. The variance-covariance method is easiest because you need to estimate only two factors: average return and standard deviation. However, it assumes returns are well-behaved according to the symmetrical normal curve and that historical patterns will repeat into the future. The historical simulation improves on the accuracy of the VAR calculation, but requires more computational data; it also assumes that “past is prologue”. The Monte Carlo simulation is complex, but has the advantage of allowing users to tailor ideas about future patterns that depart from historical patterns.

  4. VAR Methodology Used for Exchange Risk Measurement and Prevention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ion Stancu

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available In this article we discuss one of the modern risk measuring techniques Value-at-Risk (VaR. Currently central banks in major money centers, under the auspices of the BIS Basle Committee, adopt the VaR system to evaluate the market risk of their supervised banks. Banks regulators ask all commercial banks to report VaRs with their internal models. Value at risk (VaR is a powerful tool for assessing market risk, but it also imposes a challenge. Its power is its generality. Unlike market risk metrics such as the Greeks, duration and convexity, or beta, which are applicable to only certain asset categories or certain sources of market risk, VaR is general. It is based on the probability distribution for a portfolio’s market value. Value at Risk (VAR calculates the maximum loss expected (or worst case scenario on an investment, over a given time period and given a specified degree of confidence. There are three methods by which VaR can be calculated: the historical simulation, the variance-covariance method and the Monte Carlo simulation. The variance-covariance method is easiest because you need to estimate only two factors: average return and standard deviation. However, it assumes returns are well-behaved according to the symmetrical normal curve and that historical patterns will repeat into the future. The historical simulation improves on the accuracy of the VAR calculation, but requires more computational data; it also assumes that “past is prologue”. The Monte Carlo simulation is complex, but has the advantage of allowing users to tailor ideas about future patterns that depart from historical patterns.

  5. Morphological and genetic differences between Coptis japonica var. anemonifolia H. Ohba and Coptis japonica var. major Satake in Hokuriku area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kitamura, Masashi; Ando, Hirokazu; Sasaki, Yohei

    2018-03-01

    Coptis japonica is widely distributed in Japan, and its dried rhizome is a source of the domestic herbal medicine Coptidis Rhizoma ( Oren). There are three varieties of C. japonica, two of which, namely, C. japonica var. anemonifolia and C. japonica var. major, are important as sources of traditional medicines. Coptis japonica var. anemonifolia and C. japonica var. major are distinguishable on the basis of their ternate or biternate compound leaves, respectively. In the Hokuriku area, where both C. japonica var. anemonifolia and C. japonica var. major grow naturally, some individual plants cannot be identified unambiguously on the basis of leaf morphology because changes in leaf morphology may occur due to intra-variety variation or crossbreeding between the two varieties. In addition, genetic differences between the two varieties have remained unclear. In this study, we employed new genetic and morphological classification approaches to discriminate between the two varieties. Based on the single nucleotide polymorphisms of the tetrahydroberberine oxidase gene, we found four conserved SNPs between the two varieties and were able to classify C. japonica into two varieties and crossbreeds. Furthermore, we introduced a new leaf type index based on the overall degree of leaflet dissection calculated by surface area of a leaflet and length of leaflet margin and petiolule. Using our new index we were able to discriminate between the two varieties and their crossbreeds more accurately than is possible with the conventional discrimination method. Our genetic and morphological classification methods may be used as novel benchmarks to discriminate between the two varieties and their crossbreeds.

  6. Some tests for parameter constancy in cointegrated VAR-models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Henrik; Johansen, Søren

    1999-01-01

    Some methods for the evaluation of parameter constancy in vector autoregressive (VAR) models are discussed. Two different ways of re-estimating the VAR model are proposed; one in which all parameters are estimated recursively based upon the likelihood function for the first observations, and anot...... be applied to test the constancy of the long-run parameters in the cointegrated VAR-model. All results are illustrated using a model for the term structure of interest rates on US Treasury securities. ......Some methods for the evaluation of parameter constancy in vector autoregressive (VAR) models are discussed. Two different ways of re-estimating the VAR model are proposed; one in which all parameters are estimated recursively based upon the likelihood function for the first observations......, and another in which the cointegrating relations are estimated recursively from a likelihood function, where the short-run parameters have been concentrated out. We suggest graphical procedures based on recursively estimated eigenvalues to evaluate the constancy of the long-run parameters in the model...

  7. Foliar flavonoids from Tanacetum vulgare var. boreale and their geographical variation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uehara, Ayumi; Akiyama, Shinobu; Iwashina, Tsukasa

    2015-03-01

    Foliar flavonoids of Tanacetum vulgare var. boreale were isolated. Eight flavonoid glycosides, 7-O-glucosides of apigenin, luteolin, scutellarein and 6- hydroxyluteolin, and 7-O-glucuronides of apigenin, luteolin, chrysoeriol and eriodictyol were identified. Moreover, eight flavonoid aglycones, apigenin, luteolin, hispidulin, nepetin, eupatilin, jaceosidin, pectolinarigenin and axillarin were also isolated and identified. The flavonoid composition of two varieties of T. vulgare, i.e. var. boreale and var. vulgare, were compared. All samples of var. boreale and one sample of var. vulgare had the same flavonoid pattern, and could be distinguished from almost all the samples of var. vulgare. Thus, the occurrence of chemotypes, which are characterized by either the presence or absence of scutellarein 7-O-glucoside, eriodictyol 7-O-glucuronide and pectolinarigenin was shown in T. vulgare sensu lato.

  8. Activation and clustering of a Plasmodium falciparum var gene are affected by subtelomeric sequences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duffy, Michael F; Tang, Jingyi; Sumardy, Fransisca; Nguyen, Hanh H T; Selvarajah, Shamista A; Josling, Gabrielle A; Day, Karen P; Petter, Michaela; Brown, Graham V

    2017-01-01

    The Plasmodium falciparum var multigene family encodes the cytoadhesive, variant antigen PfEMP1. P. falciparum antigenic variation and cytoadhesion specificity are controlled by epigenetic switching between the single, or few, simultaneously expressed var genes. Most var genes are maintained in perinuclear clusters of heterochromatic telomeres. The active var gene(s) occupy a single, perinuclear var expression site. It is unresolved whether the var expression site forms in situ at a telomeric cluster or whether it is an extant compartment to which single chromosomes travel, thus controlling var switching. Here we show that transcription of a var gene did not require decreased colocalisation with clusters of telomeres, supporting var expression site formation in situ. However following recombination within adjacent subtelomeric sequences, the same var gene was persistently activated and did colocalise less with telomeric clusters. Thus, participation in stable, heterochromatic, telomere clusters and var switching are independent but are both affected by subtelomeric sequences. The var expression site colocalised with the euchromatic mark H3K27ac to a greater extent than it did with heterochromatic H3K9me3. H3K27ac was enriched within the active var gene promoter even when the var gene was transiently repressed in mature parasites and thus H3K27ac may contribute to var gene epigenetic memory. © 2016 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

  9. Rediscovery of Impatiens laevigata var. grandifolia (Balsaminaceae from NE India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Gogoi

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Impatiens laevigata var. grandifolia Hook.f. rediscovered after a lapse of 139 years from Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh. Earlier it was known only – from its type locality in Manipur. Detailed morphological description of I. laevigata var. laevigata and var. grandifolia have been provided based on fresh plant collections.

  10. Genetic analisys of a cross of gaillon (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra) with cauliflower (B.oleracea var. botrytis)

    OpenAIRE

    Spini, Vanessa B.M.G.; Kerr, Warwick Estevam

    2000-01-01

    The cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) is an annual vegetable cultivated in Southern and Southwestern Brazil with limited production in the Northeast and Centralwest. A variety of Chinese kale, "kaai laan" or "gaillon" (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra), produces seeds at high temperatures and therefore can do so in North and Northeastern Brazil. Gaillon and cauliflower were crossed 55 times using 10 gaillon plants as mothers and 4 cauliflower plants as pollen donors. From these c...

  11. Larvicidal Activity of Isodon japonicus var. glaucocalyx (Maxim ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    HP

    Purpose: To determine the larvicidal activity of the essential oil derived from Isodon japonicus var. ... Methods: The essential oil of I. japonicus var. glaucocalyx aerial parts was obtained by ..... µg/mL; G. silvatica leaves, LC50 = 117.9 µg/mL.

  12. ClinVar data parsing [version 1; referees: 2 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaolei Zhang

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available This software repository provides a pipeline for converting raw ClinVar data files into analysis-friendly tab-delimited tables, and also provides these tables for the most recent ClinVar release. Separate tables are generated for genome builds GRCh37 and GRCh38 as well as for mono-allelic variants and complex multi-allelic variants. Additionally, the tables are augmented with allele frequencies from the ExAC and gnomAD datasets as these are often consulted when analyzing ClinVar variants. Overall, this work provides ClinVar data in a format that is easier to work with and can be directly loaded into a variety of popular analysis tools such as R, python pandas, and SQL databases.

  13. Pitfalls in VAR based return decompositions: A clarification

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Engsted, Tom; Pedersen, Thomas Quistgaard; Tanggaard, Carsten

    in their analysis is not "cashflow news" but "inter- est rate news" which should not be zero. Consequently, in contrast to what Chen and Zhao claim, their decomposition does not serve as a valid caution against VAR based decompositions. Second, we point out that in order for VAR based decompositions to be valid......Based on Chen and Zhao's (2009) criticism of VAR based return de- compositions, we explain in detail the various limitations and pitfalls involved in such decompositions. First, we show that Chen and Zhao's interpretation of their excess bond return decomposition is wrong: the residual component...

  14. What is Orobanche haenseleri var. deludens Beck?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pujadas Salvà, Antonio J.

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available Orobanche haenseleri var. deludens Beck (Orobanchaceae, a problematic taxon described from Algeciras (Cádiz, S Spain is here identified after studying the original material of Wolley-Dod (BM 4476. It is considered to be the same as O. austrohispanica M.J.Y. Foley and better included, as a variety, under O. gracilis Sm. The new combination O. gracilis var. deludens (Beck A. Pujadas is consequently proposed. It mainly parasites Ulex (Fabaceae in the western Mediterranean Region (Iberian Peninsula and NW Africa.Se identifica Orobanche haenseleri var. deludens Beck (Orobanchaceae, un taxon conflictivo descrito de Algeciras (Cádiz, sur de España, a partir del análisis del material original de Wolley-Dod (BM 4476. Se considera que es lo mismo que O. austrohispanica M.J.Y. Foley, y se incluye en O. gracilis Sm. con rango varietal. Se propone la nueva combinación O. gracilis var. deludens (Beck A. Pujadas. Parasita principalmente a especies del género Ulex (Fabaceae en la Región Mediterránea Occidental (Península Ibérica y noroeste de África.

  15. Foraging behaviour of juvenile female New Zealand sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri in contrasting environments.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elaine S Leung

    Full Text Available Foragers can show adaptive responses to changes within their environment through morphological and behavioural plasticity. We investigated the plasticity in body size, at sea movements and diving behaviour of juvenile female New Zealand (NZ sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri in two contrasting environments. The NZ sea lion is one of the rarest pinnipeds in the world. Most of the species is based at the subantarctic Auckland Islands (AI; considered to be marginal foraging habitat, with a recolonizing population on the Otago Peninsula, NZ mainland (considered to be more optimal habitat. We investigated how juvenile NZ sea lions adjust their foraging behaviour in contrasting environments by deploying satellite-linked platform transmitting terminals (PTTs and time-depth recorders (TDRs on 2-3 year-old females at AI (2007-2010 and Otago (2009-2010. Juvenile female NZ sea lions exhibited plasticity in body size and behaviour. Otago juveniles were significantly heavier than AI juveniles. Linear mixed effects models showed that study site had the most important effect on foraging behaviour, while mass and age had little influence. AI juveniles spent more time at sea, foraged over larger areas, and dove deeper and longer than Otago juveniles. It is difficult to attribute a specific cause to the observed contrasts in foraging behaviour because these differences may be driven by disparities in habitat/prey characteristics, conspecific density levels or interseasonal variation. Nevertheless, the smaller size and increased foraging effort of AI juveniles, combined with the lower productivity in this region, support the hypothesis that AI are less optimal habitat than Otago. It is more difficult for juveniles to forage in suboptimal habitats given their restricted foraging ability and lower tolerance for food limitation compared to adults. Thus, effective management measures should consider the impacts of low resource environments, along with changes that can

  16. Growth and provenance variation of Pinus caribaea var ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    CAMCORE has visited 33 populations of Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Quintana Roo, Mexico. Seed collections have been made in 29 provenances from 1, 325 mother trees. A total of 21 provenances and sources of Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis were ...

  17. Nuevos taxones vegetales alóctonos de jardinería en el área continental de NE de España: comportamiento e historia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    GUILLOT, D

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides information about two topics rarely found in literature on invasions: 1-the record of succulent species naturalised within a continental-type climate area (Teruel, NE Spain, 2-the distinction between taxonomical varieties of invasive taxa. Besides, historical information on introduction, area of origin and taxonomical consideration is provided for each taxa. A. americana var. marginata Trel, Agave ingens Berger, Malephora purpureo-crocea (Haw. Schwantes and Sedum dendroideum DC. subsp. praealtum (A. DC. R. T. Clausen are recorded for the first time in the area.

  18. Prebiotic Potential of Agave angustifolia Haw Fructans with Different Degrees of Polymerization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Rodolfo Velázquez-Martínez

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Inulin-type fructans are the most studied prebiotic compounds because of their broad range of health benefits. In particular, plants of the Agave genus are rich in fructans. Agave-derived fructans have a branched structure with both β-(2→1 and β-(2→6 linked fructosyl chains attached to the sucrose start unit with a degree of polymerization (DP of up to 80 fructose units. The objective of this work was to assess the prebiotic potential of three Agave angustifolia Haw fructan fractions (AFF with different degrees of polymerization. The three fructan fractions were extracted from the agave stem by lixiviation and then purified by ultrafiltration and ion exchange chromatography: AFF1, AFF2 and AFF3 with high (3–60 fructose units, medium (2–40 and low (2–22 DP, respectively. The fructan profile was determined with high-performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD, which confirmed a branched fructan structure. Structural elucidation was performed by Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy. The AFF spectrum shows characteristic fructan bands. The prebiotic effect of these fractions was assessed in vitro through fermentation by Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus strains. Four growth patterns were observed. Some bacteria did not grow with any of the AFF, while other strains grew with only AFF3. Some bacteria grew according to the molecular weight of the AFF and some grew indistinctly with the three fructan fractions.

  19. Empirical analysis on future-cash arbitrage risk with portfolio VaR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Rongda; Li, Cong; Wang, Weijin; Wang, Ze

    2014-03-01

    This paper constructs the positive arbitrage position by alternating the spot index with Chinese Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) portfolio and estimating the arbitrage-free interval of futures with the latest trade data. Then, an improved Delta-normal method was used, which replaces the simple linear correlation coefficient with tail dependence correlation coefficient, to measure VaR (Value-at-risk) of the arbitrage position. Analysis of VaR implies that the risk of future-cash arbitrage is less than that of investing completely in either futures or spot market. Then according to the compositional VaR and the marginal VaR, we should increase the futures position and decrease the spot position appropriately to minimize the VaR, which can minimize risk subject to certain revenues.

  20. Quercetin - A Flavonoid Compound from Sarcopyramis bodinieri var ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DAPI staining and PARP SDS-PAGE tests showed 60 μM quercetin could induce potential apoptotic activity in HepG2 liver cancer cells. Conclusion: Quercetin was the major cytotoxicity constituent in S. bodinieri var. delicate. Keywords: Apoptotic activity, Quercetin, Sarcopyramis bodinieri var. delicate, HepG2 liver cancer ...

  1. Identification of the relationship between Chinese Adiantum reniforme var. sinense and Canary Adiantum reniforme.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ai-Hua; Sun, Ye; Schneider, Harald; Zhai, Jun-Wen; Liu, Dong-Ming; Zhou, Jin-Song; Xing, Fu-Wu; Chen, Hong-Feng; Wang, Fa-Guo

    2015-02-05

    There are different opinions about the relationship of two disjunctively distributed varieties Adiantum reniforme L. var. sinense Y.X.Lin and Adiantum reniforme L. Adiantum reniforme var. sinense is an endangered fern only distributed in a narrowed region of Chongqing city in China, while Adiantum reniforme var. reniforme just distributed in Canary Islands and Madeira off the north-western African coast. To verify the relationship of these two taxa, relative phylogenetic analyses, karyotype analyses, microscopic spore observations and morphological studies were performed in this study. Besides, divergence time between A. reniforme var. sinense and A. reniforme var. reniforme was estimated using GTR model according to a phylogeny tree constructed with the three cpDNA markers atpA, atpB, and rbcL. Phylogenetic results and divergence time analyses--all individuals of A. reniforme var. sinense from 4 different populations (representing all biogeographic distributions) were clustered into one clade and all individuals of A. reniforme var. reniforme from 7 different populations (all biogeographic distributions are included) were clustered into another clade. The divergence between A. reniforme var. reniforme and A. reniforme var. sinense was estimated to be 4.94 (2.26-8.66) Myr. Based on karyotype analyses, A. reniforme var. reniforme was deduced to be hexaploidy with 2n = 180, X = 30, while A. reniforme var. sinense was known as tetraploidy. Microscopic spore observations suggested that surface ornamentation of A. reniforme var. reniforme is psilate, but that of A. reniforme var. sinense is rugate. Leaf blades of A. reniforme var. sinense are membranous and reniform and with several obvious concentric rings, and leaves of A. reniforme var. reniforme are pachyphyllous and coriaceous and are much rounder and similar to palm. Adiantum reniforme var. sinense is an independent species rather than the variety of Adiantum reniforme var. reniforme. As a result, we

  2. Foco de leishmaniasis en El Hobo, municipio de El Carmen de Bolívar, Bolívar, Colombia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Alberto Cortés

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Introducción. Se describen las características epidemiológica e importancia de la especies de Lutzomyia presentes en un foco de leishmaniasis en la vereda El Hobo Carmen de Bolívar, departamento de Bolívar. Objetivos. Obtener un conocimiento preliminar de la transmisión de leishmaniasis en la vereda El Hobo Carmen de Bolívar. Materiales y métodos. Se analizaron datos epidemiológicos y se realizaron capturas de flebótomos con trampas CDC y cebo humano en la vereda El Hobo. Para establecer la sero prevalencia de leishmaniasis visceral canina se hizo un estudio en perros mediante la técnica de inmunofluorescencia indirecta. Resultados. Se capturaron nueve especies de Lutzomyia: L. trinidadensis, L. evansi, L .cayennensis, L. venezuelensis, L. gomezi,L. dubitans, L. ylephiletor, L. yuilli, y L. walkeri. Las especie de mayor importancia por sus implicaciones en la transmisión de leishmaniasis cutánea y visceral fueron L. gomezi, y L. evansi respectivamente. Se reporta por primera vez para Bolívar especimenes de L. venezuelensis, L. dubitans, L. ylephiletor, L. yuilli, y L. walkeri. Se determinó una prevalencia de leishmaniasis visceral del 36% en los caninos estudiados. Según los reportes epidemiológicos, en el 2002 en el municipio de Carmen de Bolívar la leishmaniasis cutánea mostró un aumento del 40% y la leishmaniasis visceral canina del 80% de los casos con respecto al 2001, debido al brote presentado en la vereda El Hobo Conclusiones. Los resultados determinan a la vereda El Hobo como una zona de riesgo potencial de transmisión de leishmaniasis cutánea y visceral.

  3. Phosphorylation of SU(VAR3-9 by the chromosomal kinase JIL-1.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joern Boeke

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available The histone methyltransferase SU(VAR3-9 plays an important role in the formation of heterochromatin within the eukaryotic nucleus. Several studies have shown that the formation of condensed chromatin is highly regulated during development, suggesting that SU(VAR3-9's activity is regulated as well. However, no mechanism by which this may be achieved has been reported so far. As we and others had shown previously that the N-terminus of SU(VAR3-9 plays an important role for its activity, we purified interaction partners from Drosophila embryo nuclear extract using as bait a GST fusion protein containing the SU(VAR3-9 N-terminus. Among several other proteins known to bind Su(VAR3-9 we isolated the chromosomal kinase JIL-1 as a strong interactor. We show that SU(VAR3-9 is a substrate for JIL-1 in vitro as well as in vivo and map the site of phosphorylation. These findings may provide a molecular explanation for the observed genetic interaction between SU(VAR3-9 and JIL-1.

  4. 21 CFR 173.145 - Alpha-Galactosidase derived from Mortierella vinaceae var. raffinoseutilizer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... vinaceae var. raffinoseutilizer. 173.145 Section 173.145 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION... Alpha-Galactosidase derived from Mortierella vinaceae var. raffinoseutilizer. The food additive alpha-galactosidase and parent mycelial microorganism Mortierella vinaceae var. raffinoseutilizer may be safely used...

  5. Comparative ozone responses of cutleaf coneflowers (Rudbeckia laciniata var. digitata, var. ampla) from Rocky Mountain and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks, USA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neufeld, Howard S; Johnson, Jennifer; Kohut, Robert

    2018-01-01

    Cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata L. var. digitata) is native to Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM) and an ozone bioindicator species. Variety ampla, whose ozone sensitivity is less well known, is native to Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO). In the early 2000s, researchers found putative ozone symptoms on var. ampla and rhizomes were sent to Appalachian State University to verify that the symptoms were the result of ozone exposure. In 2011, potted plants were exposed to ambient ozone from May to August. These same plants were grown in open-top chambers (OTCs) in 2012 and 2013, and exposed to charcoal-filtered (CF), non-filtered (NF), elevated ozone (EO), NF+50ppb in 2012 for 47days and NF+30/NF+50ppb ozone in 2013 for 36 and 36days, respectively. Ozone symptoms similar to those found in ROMO (blue-black adaxial stippling) were reproduced both in ambient air and in the OTCs. Both varieties exhibited foliar injury in the OTCs in an exposure-dependent manner, verifying that symptoms resulted from ozone exposure. In two of the three study years, var. digitata appeared more sensitive than var. ampla. Exposure to EO caused reductions in ambient photosynthetic rate (A) and stomatal conductance (g s ) for both varieties. Light response curves indicated that ozone reduced A, g s , and the apparent quantum yield while it increased the light compensation point. In CF air, var. ampla had higher light saturated A (18.2±1.04 vs 11.6±0.37μmolm -2 s -1 ), higher light saturation (1833±166.7 vs 1108±141.7μmolm -2 s -1 ), and lower Ci/Ca ratio (0.67±0.01 vs 0.77±0.01) than var. digitata. Coneflowers in both Parks are adversely affected by exposure to ambient ozone and if ozone concentrations increase in the Rocky Mountains, greater amounts of injury on var. ampla can be expected. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. VAr reserve concept applied to a wind power plant

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Martinez, Jorge; Kjær, Philip C.; Rodriguez, Pedro

    2011-01-01

    to wind power plants. This paper proposes two different VAr reserve control strategies for a wind power plant. The amount of dynamic VAr available most of the operation time, makes the wind power plant (WPP) a good candidate to include a VAr reserve management system. Two different ways of implementing...... a VAr management system are proposed and analyzed. Such a reactive power reserve may be provided by the wind power plant since the amount of reactive power installed for most active power working points exceeds the demand required by the grid operator. Basically, this overrated reactive power capacity...... is a consequence of sizing wind turbine facilities for maximum active power level. The reactive power losses, due to active power transportation inside the plant (normally two transformers), and P-Q wind turbine characteristics define the P-Q reserve chart. By utilizing the intrinsic overrated reactive power...

  7. A comprehensive market-based scheme for VAR management and pricing in the electricity markets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    El-Araby, E.E. [Qassim Univ., Alqassim, Meldia (Saudi Arabia). Dept. of Electrical Engineering

    2009-07-01

    In order to enable a power system to operate within an acceptable degree of reliability and security, the provision of VAR ancillary services from the VAR sources in electricity markets is the most effective method. The procurement of VAR services is particularly problematic for transmission operators as it relates to pricing mechanism and various technical issues during system operation. This paper proposed an integrated market-based approach for pricing VAR service in the electricity market. The paper was an extension of the authors' proposal for the provision of the VAR service from dynamic VAR sources in a competitive market-based environment. The formulation was modified to include VAR utilization payment and possible power system transition states multiple base cases and contingencies with their associated occurrence probabilities. The paper discussed the basic terms of the proposed approach including the VAR market objective and generator VAR output and its compensation. The mathematical formulation that considered VAR capacity payment, utilization payment and operating costs under the previous transition states in a unified single problem were introduced. The overall problem formulation and solution algorithm were also presented as a large-scale mixed integer nonlinear optimization problem. It was concluded that the proposed method was suited for the simulation and analysis of the existing VAR market. 8 refs., 3 tabs., 5 figs., 2 appendices.

  8. METODE VECTOR AUTOREGRESSIVE (VAR DALAM PERAMALAN JUMLAH WISATAWAN MANCANEGARA KE BALI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    TJOK GDE SAHITYAHUTTI RANANGGA

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The purposes of this research were to model and to forecast the number of foreign tourists (Australia, China, and Japan arrival to Bali using vector autoregressive (VAR method. The estimated of VAR model obtained to forecast the number of foreign tourists to Bali is the sixth order VAR (VAR(6.We used multivariate least square method to estimate the VAR(6’s parameters.The mean absolute percentage error (MAPE in this model were as follows 6.8% in predicting the number of Australian tourists, 15.9% in predicting the number of Chinese tourists, and 9% in predicting the number of Japanese tourists. The prediction of Australian, Chinese, and Japanese tourists arrival to Bali for July 2017 to December 2017 tended  to experience up and downs that were not too high compared to the previous months.

  9. To the issue of increasing efficiency of VAR compensation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Світлана Костянтинівна Поднебенна

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available This article describes the features of VAR compensation of variable loads. One of the most common non-symmetric non-linear power consumers are welding power sources. Time and duration of the work of these sources vary randomly. To compensate the consumption of reactive power on the basis of consumption data from the three-phase electricity meters is inefficient. Compensation devices power should be calculated taking into account the asymmetrical consumption/generation of reactive power per phase and changing consumption patterns. Thyristor-controlled reactor, thyristor-switched capacitors, hybrid VAR compensators, active compensators (STATCOMs, «dynamic capacitors» can be used as the VAR compensation devices. Thyristor-controlled reactors can provide smooth regulation of reactive power, but they have high weight and size parameters and are additional sources of higher harmonics. Thyristor-switched capacitors provide stepwise adjustment of reactive power and are subject to the current higher harmonics. Hybrid VAR compensators make it possible to isolate capacitors from the higher harmonics and ensure smooth regulation, which is achieved by active filter introduction to the reactive power compensation devices based on thyristor-switched capacitors. However, this increases the cost of a compensator and complicates its control system. STATCOMs provide smooth regulation of reactive power, but they are too expensive.Perspective direction in the development of effective VAR compensation devices is «dynamic capacitor». As a result of a feasibility study the prospects for further research of electrical grids power efficiency through the development of effective devices for VAR compensation have been established

  10. How can the origin of the decay var-phi →3π be determined?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Achasov, N.N.; Kozhevnikov, A.A.

    1992-01-01

    It is shown that the interference pattern in the region √s = 1.05 GeV in the reaction e + e - →ω, var-phi →3π can be used to determine unambiguously whether the decay var-phi →3π occurs because of var-phi ω mixing, var-phi →ω→3π, or because of the direct transition var-phi →3π. 8 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab

  11. VAR, stress-testing and supplementary methodologies: uses and constraints in energy risk management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Senior, Brian

    1999-01-01

    This chapter lists some of the special risks associated with a range of energy markets, and questions what is risk. Market risk, the use of value-at-risk (VAR) for measuring and managing market risk, use of VAR in the banking sector, back-testing of VAR, the corporate sector, making investment decisions, and the need for additional methods of risk analysis are discussed. Scenario analysis and stress testing, liquidity, and combining VAR and stress-testing are described. Credit risk and the quantitative analysis of credit risk are addressed, and operational risk, and organisational challenges are considered. Panels present examples of a simple VAR calculation and give descriptions of VAR in corporate decisions, the measurement of liquidity, and the use of the Greeks in decisions on day to day trading and risk management

  12. Computing level-impulse responses of log-specified VAR systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wieringa, J.E.; Horvath, C.

    2005-01-01

    Impulse response functions (IRFs) are often used to analyze the dynamic behavior of a vector autoregressive (VAR) system. In many applications of VAR modelling, the variables are log-transformed before the model is estimated. If this is the case, the results of the IRFs do not have a direct

  13. EFEITO FUNGITÓXICO DO ÓLEO DE NIM SOBRE Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum e Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Álison Bruno da Silva Santos

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Plague control is based almost exclusively on application of chemical substances, however these products are toxic to men and animals and cause odd effects on environment quality. In Plague Integrated Management (PIM, the use of selected insecticides and entomopathogenic fungi should be considered as one viable strategy for plague control in agriculture. This work aimed to evaluate, in laboratory, the compatibility of the entomopathogenic fungi Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum and Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae with the oil of Nim. The addition of the product was made to the potato-dextrose-agar medium still liquid (±45°C, in a way that the final concentration obeyed 50% of the producer's recommendation. After fungi inoculation, the dishes were incubated in a cimatized room at 28°C, photophase of 12 hours and relative humidity of 75±5% for 12 day period. The number of conidia per colonie was counted with a Neubauer chamber. Statistic delineament was entirely in random, with two treatments (PDA with insecticide, and a control group (PDA without insecticide, and 9 repetitions for each treatment. The results showed that the insecticide inhibited conidial production in Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae strains when compared to the control group. The diameter of Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum colonies suffered significative reduction in its size, compared to control. The tested insecticide, in the concentration and formulation used, presented compatibility with the tested strains.

  14. Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii fungemia following probiotic treatment

    OpenAIRE

    Appel-da-Silva, Marcelo C.; Narvaez, Gabriel A.; Perez, Leandro R.R.; Drehmer, Laura; Lewgoy, Jairo

    2017-01-01

    Probiotics are commonly prescribed as an adjuvant in the treatment of antibiotic-associated diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile. We report the case of an immunocompromised 73-year-old patient on chemotherapy who developed Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii fungemia in a central venous catheter during treatment of antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis with the probiotic Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii. Fungemia was resolved after interruption of probiotic administrat...

  15. Genomic resources and draft assemblies of the human and porcine varieties of scabies mites, Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis and var. suis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mofiz, Ehtesham; Holt, Deborah C; Seemann, Torsten; Currie, Bart J; Fischer, Katja; Papenfuss, Anthony T

    2016-06-02

    The scabies mite, Sarcoptes scabiei, is a parasitic arachnid and cause of the infectious skin disease scabies in humans and mange in other animal species. Scabies infections are a major health problem, particularly in remote Indigenous communities in Australia, where secondary group A streptococcal and Staphylococcus aureus infections of scabies sores are thought to drive the high rate of rheumatic heart disease and chronic kidney disease. We sequenced the genome of two samples of Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis obtained from unrelated patients with crusted scabies located in different parts of northern Australia using the Illumina HiSeq. We also sequenced samples of Sarcoptes scabiei var. suis from a pig model. Because of the small size of the scabies mite, these data are derived from pools of thousands of mites and are metagenomic, including host and microbiome DNA. We performed cleaning and de novo assembly and present Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis and var. suis draft reference genomes. We have constructed a preliminary annotation of this reference comprising 13,226 putative coding sequences based on sequence similarity to known proteins. We have developed extensive genomic resources for the scabies mite, including reference genomes and a preliminary annotation.

  16. [Autotoxicity of aqueous extracts from plant of cultivated Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xin-Hui; Lang, Duo-Yong; Chen, Jing; Zhao, Yun-Sheng; Wu, Xiu-Li; Fu, Xue-Yan

    2014-02-01

    To exploring the relationship between continuous cropping obstacle and autotoxicity of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus, autotoxic effect of plant aqueous extract were determined. Distilled water (CK), aqueous extract of plant, including root, stem and leaf (12.5, 25, 50 and 100 mg/mL respectively)were applied to testing their effect on early growth of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus. Specifically, seed germination rate, germination index, emergence rate, elongation of radical and embryo, and seedling vigor index were determined. The aqueous extract of root, stem, and leaf at 25 mg/mL significantly inhibited the seed germination and seedling growth of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus, and this inhibitory effect generally increased with the increase of the concentration of aqueous extracts. To the comprehensive allelopathic effect, the extracts from Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus stem were more inhibitory than those from leaf and root. The germination index and seedling vigor index were more sensitive to extract than other determined parameters. Aqueous extracts from Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus plant gave inhibitory effects on Astragalus. membranaceus var. mongholicus germination and seedling growth, and this inhibitory effect generally increased with the increases of aqueous extract concentration at a certain ranges. In conclusion, there is an autotoxicity in continuous cropping of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus.

  17. [Photosynthetic parameters and physiological indexes of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis influenced by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Zheng-xin; Guo, Dong-qin; Li, Hai-feng; Ding, Bo; Zhang, Jie; Zhou, Nong; Yu, Jie

    2015-10-01

    Through potted inoculation test at room temperature and indoor analysis, the photosynthetic parameters and physiological and biochemical indexes of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis were observed after 28 arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi were injected into the P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis growing in a sterile soil environment. The results showed that AM fungi established a good symbiosis with P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. The AM fungi influenced the photosynthetic parameters and physiological and biochemical indexes of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. And the influences were varied depending on different AM fungi. The application of AM fungi improved photosynthesis intensity of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis mesophyll cells, the contents of soluble protein and soluble sugar, protective enzyme activity of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis leaf, which was beneficial to resist the adverse environment and promote the growth of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. Otherwise, there was a certain mutual selectivity between P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis and AM fungi. From the comprehensive effect of inoculation, Racocetra coralloidea, Scutellospora calospora, Claroideoglomus claroideum, S. pellucida and Rhizophagus clarus were the most suitable AM fungi to P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis when P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis was planted in the field.

  18. Dispersão zoocórica e hidrocórica marítima de Opuntia monacantha (Willd. Haw. (Cactaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maurício Lenzi

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-7925.2012v25n1p47 Adaptações evolutivas na morfologia e fisiologia das cactáceas têm sido associadas aos seus mecanismos de dispersão e colonização. Os mecanismos e modos de dispersão de Opuntia monacantha (Willd. Haw. (Cactaceae foram caracterizados em duas praias de Florianópolis, SC, Brasil. Um marsupial do gênero Didelphis (Mammalia: Didelphidae foi o único frugívoro e, portanto, dispersor de frutos, apresentando locais específicos para alimentação. A hidrocoria marítima ocorreu após a invasão marinha sobre a vegetação de restinga, caracterizando-se pela dispersão de cladódios e frutos em várias épocas do ano. Descreve-se pela primeira vez a ação do mar como potencial dispersor para uma espécie de cactos.

  19. Dynamic of biochemical soil properties in rainfed agave angustifolia haw. fields in semiard zone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cruz, A. B.; Cervantes, T. L.; Pacheco, R. P.; Martinez, M. D. L. R.; Perez, A. B.

    2015-01-01

    This study determined (a) the activity of the selected enzymes of C (invertase and cellulase), N (urease), P (acid phosphatase, AcP and alkaline phosphatase, AlkP) cycling, as well as soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) in the rhizosphere of Agave angustifolia Haw. (maguey espadin) cultivated in valley, hill and mountain soils in Tlacolula, Oaxaca (Mexico), and (b) changes in selected biochemical soil properties associated with seasonality and plant age. Three maguey espadin plantations with two replicates per topography were selected. Rhizosphere soil sampling was carried out for one year. AcP and urease activities were highest in mountain sites. AlkP and cellulase activities were highest in hill and mountain sites. Invertase activity and SMBC were not different among sites. Phosphatase activity showed no temporal changes. Cellulase and invertase activities were highest in December; maximum urease activity was in October and February. SMBC was highest in August. AcP activity was highest in 0-2 years old plants. AlkP activity and SMBC were highest in 2.1-4 years old plants. Urease, cellulase and invertase activity was not affected by plant age. Significant effects for the site*seasonality*plant age interaction suggest that biochemical soil properties were influenced by site. Mountain soils displayed the highest enzyme activity, which can accelerate soil organic matter turnover and contribute to the longterm sustainability of maguey espadin cropping under rainfed conditions. (author)

  20. Effect of phosphate solubilizing bacteria on the growth of Agave angustifolia Haw (Maguey Espadin)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cruz, A.B.; Gutierrez, G.M.

    2015-01-01

    Experiments were conducted to evaluate the potential effects of phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) on the growth of maguey espadin (Agave angustifolia Haw.). A total of nine strains of PSB, previously isolated in the maguey rhizosphere and identified as PSBVa, PSBVb, PSBVf, PSBHa, PSBHc, PSBHd, PSBMg, PSBMh and PSBMi were tested on maguey plants grown in phosphorus-deficient sterilized and unsterilized soils of three sites where maguey is grown (valley, hill and mountain) under greenhouse conditions. Aerial dry weight and the total weight of maguey plants inoculated with PSBMh in unsterile mountain soil increased by 12.14% and 10.99% respectively, compared with the uninoculated control. Total root dry weight increased by 17.85% with PSBMh in sterile mountain soils and by 11.64% with PSBMg in unsterile mountain soils, with respect to the uninoculated sterile and unsterile control respectively. Plant stem diameter increased by 13.61% with PSBVb in unsterile valley soil, compared to the uninoculated control. Root length was 56.84% higher with PSBMi in unsterile mountain soils than the uninoculated control. Plant leaf number increased by 35% with PSBHd in unsterile hill soil, with respect to the uninoculated control. In all treatments, the available phosphorus at harvest was higher than pre-planting levels. This study suggests that isolated PSBMh, PSBMg and PSBMi are the most efficient biofertilizers for maguey espadin cultivation. (author)

  1. The Haw in-situ test at Asse - its conception and goals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gies, H.; Hinsch, H.; Monig, J.

    1989-01-01

    The HAW-disposal test is a demonstration and a R and D test utilizing nearly full-size waste canisters with vitrified Cs-137 and Sr-90 as heat and radiation sources in a repository-like setting. It is, however, not intended as an in-situ experiment for testing the glass product of the vitrified waste. The entire test field comprises two separate rooms, A and B, each having four boreholes. The maximum salt temperatures are planned to be 250 0 C (electric heating) and 250/200/200 0 C (γ radiative heating), with essentially the same maximum dose rates for two pairs of boreholes (∼5·10 5 rad/h). The loaded test canisters are now available and do not completely meet the intended specification. Heat loadings as well as dose rates are, for several reasons, lower than planned by about 30%. The designs of the emplacement boreholes in each of the two test rooms are basically the same. For retrievability reasons, all boreholes will have a liner. The only significant difference will be, that the room A-boreholes will have a backfilling of inert alumina pebbles between liner and the salt, whereas these in room B will have a free annulus that allows the salt to converge freely onto the liner surfaces, thus simulating the salt converging onto canisters in an actual repository. Gas sampling from the boreholes will mainly be done in the annular regions. A special dosimetry program, as well as an extensive radiolytic effects program, both in situ and laboratory, are under preparation. A special radiation effects study will be performed with Dummy canisters located at the top of the canister stacks. The entire test is a joint European project with the financial contribution of the CEC and the close cooperation with ECN, ANDRA and ENRESA

  2. Evaluation of the chemical composition of Dacryodes edulis and Raphia hookeri Mann and Wendl exudates used in herbal medicine in south eastern Nigeria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okwu, D E; Nnamdi, Fred U

    2008-01-22

    The phytochemical contents and medicinal values of Dacroydes edulis and Raphia hookeri exudates were investigated. Phytochemical screening of the plant showed that they contain the presence of bioactive compounds comprising saponins (2.08-3.98 mg 100 g(-1)), alkaloids (0.28-0.49 mg 100 g(-1)), tannins (0.47-0.72 mg 100 g(-1)), flavonoids (0.26-0.39 mg 100 g(-1)), and phenolic compounds (0.01-0.05 mg 100 g(-1)). The carbohydrates, lipids and protein content were 77.42-78.90%, 2.02-4.185% and 16.63-18.38% respectively. The exudates are a good source of water soluble vitamins; ascorbic acid (7.04-26.40 mg 100 g(-1)), niacin (3.12-4.00 mg 100 g(-1)), riboflavin (0.14-0.54 mg 100 g(-1)) and thiamine (0.15-0.22 mg 100 g(-1)). Both plants exudates are good sources of minerals such as Ca, Mg, P, Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn while Cr and Co were trace. These results indicate that exudates can be potential sources of feedstock for the pharmaceutical industry.

  3. Haavelmo's Probability Approach and the Cointegrated VAR

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Juselius, Katarina

    Some key econometric concepts and problems addressed by Trygve Haavelmo and Ragnar Frisch are discussed within the general frame- work of a cointegrated VAR. The focus is on problems typical of time- series data such as multicollinearity, spurious correlation and regres- sion results, time......) the plausibility of the multivari- ate normality assumption underlying the VAR, (3) cointegration as a solution to the problem of spurious correlation and multicollinearity when data contain deterministic and stochastic trends, (4) the exis- tence of a universe, (5) the association between Frisch’s con...

  4. Comparison of historically simulated VaR: Evidence from oil prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Costello, Alexandra; Asem, Ebenezer; Gardner, Eldon

    2008-01-01

    Cabedo and Moya [Cabedo, J.D., Moya, I., 2003. Estimating oil price 'Value at Risk' using the historical simulation approach. Energy Economics 25, 239-253] find that ARMA with historical simulation delivers VaR forecasts that are superior to those from GARCH. We compare the ARMA with historical simulation to the semi-parametric GARCH model proposed by Barone-Adesi et al. [Barone-Adesi, G., Giannopoulos, K., Vosper, L., 1999. VaR without correlations for portfolios of derivative securities. Journal of Futures Markets 19 (5), 583-602]. The results suggest that the semi-parametric GARCH model generates VaR forecasts that are superior to the VaR forecasts from the ARMA with historical simulation. This is due to the fact that GARCH captures volatility clustering. Our findings suggest that Cabedo and Moya's conclusion is mainly driven by the normal distributional assumption imposed on the future risk structure in the GARCH model. (author)

  5. Antisense long noncoding RNAs regulate var gene activation in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amit-Avraham, Inbar; Pozner, Guy; Eshar, Shiri; Fastman, Yair; Kolevzon, Netanel; Yavin, Eylon; Dzikowski, Ron

    2015-03-03

    The virulence of Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of the deadliest form of human malaria, is attributed to its ability to evade human immunity through antigenic variation. These parasites alternate between expression of variable antigens, encoded by members of a multicopy gene family named var. Immune evasion through antigenic variation depends on tight regulation of var gene expression, ensuring that only a single var gene is expressed at a time while the rest of the family is maintained transcriptionally silent. Understanding how a single gene is chosen for activation is critical for understanding mutually exclusive expression but remains a mystery. Here, we show that antisense long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) initiating from var introns are associated with the single active var gene at the time in the cell cycle when the single var upstream promoter is active. We demonstrate that these antisense transcripts are incorporated into chromatin, and that expression of these antisense lncRNAs in trans triggers activation of a silent var gene in a sequence- and dose-dependent manner. On the other hand, interference with these lncRNAs using complement peptide nucleic acid molecules down-regulated the active var gene, erased the epigenetic memory, and induced expression switching. Altogether, our data provide evidence that these antisense lncRNAs play a key role in regulating var gene activation and mutually exclusive expression.

  6. Mosquito Passage Dramatically Changes var Gene Expression in Controlled Human Plasmodium falciparum Infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bachmann, Anna; Petter, Michaela; Krumkamp, Ralf; Esen, Meral; Held, Jana; Scholz, Judith A M; Li, Tao; Sim, B Kim Lee; Hoffman, Stephen L; Kremsner, Peter G; Mordmüller, Benjamin; Duffy, Michael F; Tannich, Egbert

    2016-04-01

    Virulence of the most deadly malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is linked to the variant surface antigen PfEMP1, which is encoded by about 60 var genes per parasite genome. Although the expression of particular variants has been associated with different clinical outcomes, little is known about var gene expression at the onset of infection. By analyzing controlled human malaria infections via quantitative real-time PCR, we show that parasite populations from 18 volunteers expressed virtually identical transcript patterns that were dominated by the subtelomeric var gene group B and, to a lesser extent, group A. Furthermore, major changes in composition and frequency of var gene transcripts were detected between the parental parasite culture that was used to infect mosquitoes and Plasmodia recovered from infected volunteers, suggesting that P. falciparum resets its var gene expression during mosquito passage and starts with the broad expression of a specific subset of var genes when entering the human blood phase.

  7. Genome-wide analysis of SU(VAR)3-9 distribution in chromosomes of Drosophila melanogaster.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maksimov, Daniil A; Laktionov, Petr P; Posukh, Olga V; Belyakin, Stepan N; Koryakov, Dmitry E

    2018-03-01

    Histone modifications represent one of the key factors contributing to proper genome regulation. One of histone modifications involved in gene silencing is methylation of H3K9 residue. Present in the chromosomes across different eukaryotes, this epigenetic mark is controlled by SU(VAR)3-9 and its orthologs. Despite SU(VAR)3-9 was discovered over two decades ago, little is known about the details of its chromosomal distribution pattern. To fill in this gap, we used DamID-seq approach and obtained high-resolution genome-wide profiles for SU(VAR)3-9 in two somatic (salivary glands and brain ganglia) and two germline (ovarian nurse cells and testes) tissues of Drosophila melanogaster. Analysis of tissue and developmental expression of SU(VAR)3-9-bound genes indicates that in the somatic tissues tested, as well as in the ovarian nurse cells, SU(VAR)3-9 tends to associate with transcriptionally silent genes. In contrast, in the testes, SU(VAR)3-9 shows preferential association with testis-specific genes, and its binding appears dynamic during spermatogenesis. In somatic cells, the mere presence/absence of SU(VAR)3-9 binding correlates with lower/higher expression. No such correlation is found in the male germline. Interestingly, transcription units in piRNA clusters (particularly flanks thereof) are frequently targeted by SU(VAR)3-9, and Su(var)3-9 mutation affects the expression of select piRNA species. Our analyses suggest a context-dependent role of SU(VAR)3-9. In euchromatin, SU(VAR)3-9 may serve to fine-tune the expression of individual genes, whereas in heterochromatin, chromosome 4, and piRNA clusters, it may act more broadly over large chromatin domains.

  8. Twenty novel polymorphic microsatellite primers in the critically endangered Melastoma tetramerum var. tetramerum (Melastomataceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narita, Ayu; Izuno, Ayako; Komaki, Yoshiteru; Tanaka, Takefumi; Murata, Jin; Isagi, Yuji

    2016-09-01

    Microsatellite markers were identified for Melastoma tetramerum var. tetramerum (Melastomataceae), a critically endangered shrub endemic to the Bonin Islands, to reveal genetic characteristics in wild and restored populations. Using next-generation sequencing, 27 microsatellite markers were identified. Twenty of these markers were polymorphic in M. tetramerum var. tetramerum, with two to nine alleles per locus and expected heterozygosity ranging from 0.10 to 0.71. Among the 20 polymorphic markers, 15 were applicable to other closely related taxa, namely M. tetramerum var. pentapetalum, M. candidum var. candidum, and M. candidum var. alessandrense. These markers can be potentially useful to investigate the genetic diversity, population genetic structure, and reproductive ecology of M. tetramerum var. tetramerum as well as of the three related taxa to provide appropriate genetic information for conservation.

  9. Semi-nonparametric VaR forecasts for hedge funds during the recent crisis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Del Brio, Esther B.; Mora-Valencia, Andrés; Perote, Javier

    2014-05-01

    The need to provide accurate value-at-risk (VaR) forecasting measures has triggered an important literature in econophysics. Although these accurate VaR models and methodologies are particularly demanded for hedge fund managers, there exist few articles specifically devoted to implement new techniques in hedge fund returns VaR forecasting. This article advances in these issues by comparing the performance of risk measures based on parametric distributions (the normal, Student’s t and skewed-t), semi-nonparametric (SNP) methodologies based on Gram-Charlier (GC) series and the extreme value theory (EVT) approach. Our results show that normal-, Student’s t- and Skewed t- based methodologies fail to forecast hedge fund VaR, whilst SNP and EVT approaches accurately success on it. We extend these results to the multivariate framework by providing an explicit formula for the GC copula and its density that encompasses the Gaussian copula and accounts for non-linear dependences. We show that the VaR obtained by the meta GC accurately captures portfolio risk and outperforms regulatory VaR estimates obtained through the meta Gaussian and Student’s t distributions.

  10. Comparative anatomy of the leaves of Piper lepturum(Kunth) C.DC. var. lepturum and Piper lepturum var. angustifolium (C.DC.) Yunck.

    OpenAIRE

    Machado, Nelson Santana de Oliveira; Pereira, Flaviane Gomes; Santos, Paulo Roberto Dias dos; Costa, Cecília Gonçalves; Guimarães, Elsie Franklin

    2015-01-01

    This study showed anatomical differences related to Piper lepturumvar. lepturum and P. lepturum var. angustifolium species, sometimes considered varieties and in other cases synonyms. For histological analysis, fully expanded leaves were collected and for analysis by scanning electron microscope (SEM), fragments from the midrib were fixed on both leaf surfaces. The two species revealed differences in plant anatomy and it was observed that the stem of P. lepturum var. lepturum showed persisten...

  11. Resistance to Southern Root-knot Nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) in Wild Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. citroides).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thies, Judy A; Ariss, Jennifer J; Kousik, Chandrasekar S; Hassell, Richard L; Levi, Amnon

    2016-03-01

    Southern root-knot nematode (RKN, Meloidogyne incognita) is a serious pest of cultivated watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus) in southern regions of the United States and no resistance is known to exist in commercial watermelon cultivars. Wild watermelon relatives (Citrullus lanatus var. citroides) have been shown in greenhouse studies to possess varying degrees of resistance to RKN species. Experiments were conducted over 2 yr to assess resistance of southern RKN in C. lanatus var. citroides accessions from the U.S. Watermelon Plant Introduction Collection in an artificially infested field site at the U.S. Vegetable Laboratory in Charleston, SC. In the first study (2006), 19 accessions of C. lanatus var. citroides were compared with reference entries of Citrullus colocynthis and C. lanatus var. lanatus. Of the wild watermelon accessions, two entries exhibited significantly less galling than all other entries. Five of the best performing C. lanatus var. citroides accessions were evaluated with and without nematicide at the same field site in 2007. Citrullus lanatus var. citroides accessions performed better than C. lanatus var. lanatus and C. colocynthis. Overall, most entries of C. lanatus var. citroides performed similarly with and without nematicide treatment in regard to root galling, visible egg masses, vine vigor, and root mass. In both years of field evaluations, most C. lanatus var. citroides accessions showed lesser degrees of nematode reproduction and higher vigor and root mass than C. colocynthis and C. lanatus var. lanatus. The results of these two field evaluations suggest that wild watermelon populations may be useful sources of resistance to southern RKN.

  12. ESTIMATING RISK ON THE CAPITAL MARKET WITH VaR METHOD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sinisa Bogdan

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The two basic questions that every investor tries to answer before investment are questions about predicting return and risk. Risk and return are generally considered two positively correlated sizes, during the growth of risk it is expected increase of return to compensate the higher risk. The quantification of risk in the capital market represents the current topic since occurrence of securities. Together with estimated future returns it represents starting point of any investment. In this study it is described the history of the emergence of VaR methods, usefulness in assessing the risks of financial assets. Three main Value at Risk (VaR methodologies are decribed and explained in detail: historical method, parametric method and Monte Carlo method. After the theoretical review of VaR methods it is estimated risk of liquid stocks and portfolio from the Croatian capital market with historical and parametric VaR method, after which the results were compared and explained.

  13. Comparison of historically simulated VaR: Evidence from oil prices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Costello, Alexandra [Seminole Canada Energy, Calgary, AB (Canada); Asem, Ebenezer; Gardner, Eldon [Faculty of Management, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB (Canada)

    2008-09-15

    Cabedo and Moya [Cabedo, J.D., Moya, I., 2003. Estimating oil price 'Value at Risk' using the historical simulation approach. Energy Economics 25, 239-253] find that ARMA with historical simulation delivers VaR forecasts that are superior to those from GARCH. We compare the ARMA with historical simulation to the semi-parametric GARCH model proposed by Barone-Adesi et al. [Barone-Adesi, G., Giannopoulos, K., Vosper, L., 1999. VaR without correlations for portfolios of derivative securities. Journal of Futures Markets 19 (5), 583-602]. The results suggest that the semi-parametric GARCH model generates VaR forecasts that are superior to the VaR forecasts from the ARMA with historical simulation. This is due to the fact that GARCH captures volatility clustering. Our findings suggest that Cabedo and Moya's conclusion is mainly driven by the normal distributional assumption imposed on the future risk structure in the GARCH model. (author)

  14. PREVALENCIA DE Strongyloides stercoralis Y OTROS PARÁSITOS INTESTINALES EN INDIGENTES ALCOHÓLICOS DE CIUDAD BOLÍVAR, ESTADO BOLÍVAR, VENEZUELA | PREVALENCE OF Strongyloides stercoralis AND OTHER INTESTINAL PARASITES IN ALCOHOLIC HOMELESS FROM CIUDAD BOLÍVAR, BOLÍVAR STATE, VENEZUELA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodolfo Devera

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Between may and july 2010 a study was performed in order to determine the prevalence of Strongyloides stercoralis and other intestinal parasites in alcoholic homeless who attend two Alcoholics Anonymous Centers in Ciudad Bolívar, Bolívar State, Venezuela. Eighty stool samples were collected, which were analyzed using the techniques of direct examination, Kato, micro-Baermann, Rugai and agar plate culture. An estimate of 61.3% of the evaluated population was parasitized. The intestinal parasite most prevalent was the chromist Blastocystis (33.8%. Among the protozoan, the most common was Endolimax nana (21.3% and among the helminths it was Strongyloides stercoralis (12.5%.

  15. EFFECTS OF MONETARY POLICY IN ROMANIA - A VAR APPROACH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iulian Popescu

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Understanding how monetary policy decisions affect inflation and other economic variables is particularly important. In this paper we consider the implications of monetary policy under the inflation targeting regime in Romania, based on an autoregressive vector method including recursive VAR and structural VAR (SVAR. Therefore, we focus on assessing the extent and persistence of monetary policy effects on gross domestic product (GDP, price level, extended monetary aggregate (M3 and exchange rate. The main results of VAR analysis reflect a negative response of consumer price index (CPI, GDP and M3 and positive nominal exchange rate behaviour to a monetary policy shock, and also a limited impact of a short-term interest rate shock in explaining the consumer prices, production and exchange rate fluctuations.

  16. Da abort ikke var en sag for kvinden

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schultz, Annette Østergaard

    2013-01-01

    Case fra tiden før 1973, hvor der ikke var fri abort i Danmark. Sagen er fundet i Mødrehjælpens arkiv og giver som andre sager indblik i kvindens situation. Led i serien: Nyt i arkivet.......Case fra tiden før 1973, hvor der ikke var fri abort i Danmark. Sagen er fundet i Mødrehjælpens arkiv og giver som andre sager indblik i kvindens situation. Led i serien: Nyt i arkivet....

  17. Optimizing expression of the pregnancy malaria vaccine candidate, VAR2CSA in Pichia pastoris.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avril, Marion; Hathaway, Marianne J; Cartwright, Megan M; Gose, Severin O; Narum, David L; Smith, Joseph D

    2009-06-29

    VAR2CSA is the main candidate for a vaccine against pregnancy-associated malaria, but vaccine development is complicated by the large size and complex disulfide bonding pattern of the protein. Recent X-ray crystallographic information suggests that domain boundaries of VAR2CSA Duffy binding-like (DBL) domains may be larger than previously predicted and include two additional cysteine residues. This study investigated whether longer constructs would improve VAR2CSA recombinant protein secretion from Pichia pastoris and if domain boundaries were applicable across different VAR2CSA alleles. VAR2CSA sequences were bioinformatically analysed to identify the predicted C11 and C12 cysteine residues at the C-termini of DBL domains and revised N- and C-termimal domain boundaries were predicted in VAR2CSA. Multiple construct boundaries were systematically evaluated for protein secretion in P. pastoris and secreted proteins were tested as immunogens. From a total of 42 different VAR2CSA constructs, 15 proteins (36%) were secreted. Longer construct boundaries, including the predicted C11 and C12 cysteine residues, generally improved expression of poorly or non-secreted domains and permitted expression of all six VAR2CSA DBL domains. However, protein secretion was still highly empiric and affected by subtle differences in domain boundaries and allelic variation between VAR2CSA sequences. Eleven of the secreted proteins were used to immunize rabbits. Antibodies reacted with CSA-binding infected erythrocytes, indicating that P. pastoris recombinant proteins possessed native protein epitopes. These findings strengthen emerging data for a revision of DBL domain boundaries in var-encoded proteins and may facilitate pregnancy malaria vaccine development.

  18. Optimizing expression of the pregnancy malaria vaccine candidate, VAR2CSA in Pichia pastoris

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Narum David L

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background VAR2CSA is the main candidate for a vaccine against pregnancy-associated malaria, but vaccine development is complicated by the large size and complex disulfide bonding pattern of the protein. Recent X-ray crystallographic information suggests that domain boundaries of VAR2CSA Duffy binding-like (DBL domains may be larger than previously predicted and include two additional cysteine residues. This study investigated whether longer constructs would improve VAR2CSA recombinant protein secretion from Pichia pastoris and if domain boundaries were applicable across different VAR2CSA alleles. Methods VAR2CSA sequences were bioinformatically analysed to identify the predicted C11 and C12 cysteine residues at the C-termini of DBL domains and revised N- and C-termimal domain boundaries were predicted in VAR2CSA. Multiple construct boundaries were systematically evaluated for protein secretion in P. pastoris and secreted proteins were tested as immunogens. Results From a total of 42 different VAR2CSA constructs, 15 proteins (36% were secreted. Longer construct boundaries, including the predicted C11 and C12 cysteine residues, generally improved expression of poorly or non-secreted domains and permitted expression of all six VAR2CSA DBL domains. However, protein secretion was still highly empiric and affected by subtle differences in domain boundaries and allelic variation between VAR2CSA sequences. Eleven of the secreted proteins were used to immunize rabbits. Antibodies reacted with CSA-binding infected erythrocytes, indicating that P. pastoris recombinant proteins possessed native protein epitopes. Conclusion These findings strengthen emerging data for a revision of DBL domain boundaries in var-encoded proteins and may facilitate pregnancy malaria vaccine development.

  19. Waarnemingen aan Equisetum arvense L. var. serotinum F.W. Meyer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoek, van L.

    1978-01-01

    Observations during six successive years in a cultivated clone of Equisetum arvense L. var. serotinum F. W. Meyer made it possible to study various types of fertile, sterile, and homophyadic stems developing in this clone. As E. arvense var. varium Milde, E. arvense f. sanguineum Luerss., and E.

  20. Een nieuwe naam voor Arenaria serpyllifolia L. var. macrocarpa Lloyd

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gutermann, W.; Mennema, J.

    1983-01-01

    The name Arenaria serpyllifoiia L. var. macrocarpa Lloyd is illegitimate, because of the existence of the earlier non-synonymous A. serpyllifolia0 macrocarpa Godron. As on the level of variety no other name is available, we call the taxon A renaria serpylli/olia L. var. Iloydn (Jord.) Gutermann et

  1. Exact eigenstates and open-quotes trivialityclose quotes of λ(var-phi *var-phi)2 theory in the Feshbach-Villars formulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Darewych, J.W.

    1997-01-01

    The complex scalar (Klein-Gordon) quantum field theory (QFT) with a λ(var-phi * var-phi) 2 interaction is considered in the Feshbach-Villars formulation. It is shown that exact few-particle eigenstates of the QFT Hamiltonian can be obtained. The resulting relativistic few-body equations correspond to Klein-Gordon particles interacting via delta-function, or open-quotes contact,close quotes potentials. Momentum-space solutions of the two-body equation yield a open-quotes trivialclose quotes unity S matrix. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

  2. Phyllactinia mali and Podosphaera tridactyla var. tridactyla – new hosts of Ampelomyces quisqualis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beata Czerniawska

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available In 2002, the occurrence of fungi of the order Erysiphales on plants of the Słowiański Park located in Goorzów Wielkopolski was investigated. Plant samples were collected once a month, from August to November. The samples examined were above ground plant parts colonized by powdery mildew fungi. A total of 78 samples were collected. Apart from 14 species of the order Erysiphales, Ampelomyces quisqualis parasitizing on Erysiphe cichoracearum var. cichoracearum, Phyllactinia mali and Podosphaera tridactyl var. tridactyla was found. Ampelomyces quisqualis affected hyphae, oidia, and young cleistothecia of P. mali. In contrast, in E. cichoracearum var. cichoracearum, Po. tridactyle var. tridactyla, this hyperparasite colonized only hyphae and oidia. This paper for the first trime informs of A. quisqualis parasitizing on P. mali and Po. tridactyla var. tridactyla.

  3. "Var Teatre"--A Pioneer Turns 40.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Pamela L.

    1984-01-01

    Describes the Stockholm Municipal Youth and Children's theatre ("Var Teatre"), an institution of 14 theatres and attendant professional staff devoted exclusively to drama activities for children and teenagers. (PD)

  4. Somatic Embryogenesis in Olive (Olea europaea L. subsp. europaea var. sativa and var. sylvestris).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rugini, Eddo; Silvestri, Cristian

    2016-01-01

    Protocols for olive somatic embryogenesis from zygotic embryos and mature tissues have been described for both Olea europaea sub. europaea var. sativa and var. sylvestris. Immature zygotic embryos (no more than 75 days old), used after fruit collection or stored at 12-14 °C for 2-3 months, are the best responsive explants and very slightly genotype dependent, and one single protocol can be effective for a wide range of genotypes. On the contrary, protocols for mature zygotic embryos and for mature tissue of cultivars are often genotype specific, so that they may require many adjustments according to genotypes. The use of thidiazuron and cefotaxime seems to be an important trigger for induction phase particularly for tissues derived from cultivars. Up to now, however, the application of this technique for large-scale propagation is hampered also by the low rate of embryo germination; it proves nonetheless very useful for genetic improvement.

  5. VAR Portfolio Optimal: Perbandingan Antara Metode Markowitz dan Mean Absolute Deviation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Agus Sartono

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Portfolio selection method which have been introduced by Harry Markowitz (1952 used variance or deviation standard as a measure of risk. Kanno and Yamazaki (1991 introduced another method and used mean absolute deviation as a measure of risk instead of variance. The Value-at Risk (VaR is a relatively new method to capitalized risk that been used by financial institutions. The aim of this research is compare between mean variance and mean absolute deviation of two portfolios. Next, we attempt to assess the VaR of two portfolios using delta normal method and historical simulation. We use the secondary data from the Jakarta Stock Exchange – LQ45 during 2003. We find that there is a weak-positive correlation between deviation standard and return in both portfolios. The VaR nolmal delta based on mean absolute deviation method eventually is higher than the VaR normal delta based on mean variance method. However, based on the historical simulation the VaR of two methods is statistically insignificant. Thus, the deviation standard is sufficient measures of portfolio risk.Keywords: optimalisasi portofolio, mean-variance, mean-absolute deviation, value-at-risk, metode delta normal, metode simulasi historis

  6. Efficient transformation and expression of gfp gene in Valsa mali var. mali.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Liang; Sun, Gengwu; Wu, Shujing; Liu, Huixiang; Wang, Hongkai

    2015-01-01

    Valsa mali var. mali, the causal agent of valsa canker of apple, causes great loss of apple production in apple producing regions. The pathogenic mechanism of the pathogen has not been studied extensively, thus a suitable gene marker for pathogenic invasion analysis and a random insertion of T-DNA for mutants are desirable. In this paper, we reported the construction of a binary vector pKO1-HPH containing a positive selective gene hygromycin phosphotransferase (hph), a reporter gene gfp conferring green fluorescent protein, and an efficient protocol for V. mali var. mali transformation mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. A transformation efficiency up to about 75 transformants per 10(5) conidia was achieved when co-cultivation of V. mali var. mali and A. tumefaciens for 48 h in A. tumefaciens inductive medium agar plates. The insertions of hph gene and gfp gene into V. mali var. mali genome verified by polymerase chain reaction and southern blot analysis showed that 10 randomly-selected transformants exhibited a single, unique hybridization pattern. This is the first report of A. tumefaciens-mediated transformation of V. mali var mali carrying a 'reporter' gfp gene that stably and efficiently expressed in the transformed V. mali var. mali species.

  7. Dynamics of anti-VAR2CSA immunoglobulin G response in a cohort of senegalese pregnant women

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tuikue Ndam, N G; Salanti, A; Le-Hesran, J-Y

    2006-01-01

    demonstrated that a single P. falciparum infection was able to trigger a VAR2CSA-specific antibody response. Among women with infected placentas, women with high anti-VAR2CSA IgG levels at enrollment were more likely to present with a past infection than with an acute/chronic infection. CONCLUSIONS: Anti-VAR2...... (VSAPAM). Several studies have shown that 1 var gene, var2csa, is transcribed at high levels and expressed in CSA-binding Plasmodium falciparum parasites. METHODS: Plasma levels of anti-VAR2CSA immunoglobulin G (IgG) in Senegalese women were measured during pregnancy by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay......, using 3 recombinant proteins representing 3 domains of the var2csa gene product. RESULTS: The 3 recombinant proteins were specifically recognized by plasma from pregnant women but not by control plasma. A parity-dependent recognition pattern was observed with 2 of the 3 VAR2CSA antigens. A kinetic study...

  8. Murine Model for Preclinical Studies of Var2CSA-Mediated Pathology Associated with Malaria in Pregnancy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dechavanne, Sebastien; Sousa, Patrícia M.; Barateiro, André; Cunha, Sónia F.; Nunes-Silva, Sofia; Lima, Flávia A.; Murillo, Oscar; Marinho, Claudio R. F.; Gangnard, Stephane; Srivastava, Anand; Braks, Joanna A.; Janse, Chris J.; Gamain, Benoit; Penha-Gonçalves, Carlos

    2016-01-01

    Plasmodium falciparum infection during pregnancy leads to abortions, stillbirth, low birth weight, and maternal mortality. Infected erythrocytes (IEs) accumulate in the placenta by adhering to chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) via var2CSA protein exposed on the P. falciparum IE membrane. Plasmodium berghei IE infection in pregnant BALB/c mice is a model for severe placental malaria (PM). Here, we describe a transgenic P. berghei parasite expressing the full-length var2CSA extracellular region (domains DBL1X to DBL6ε) fused to a P. berghei exported protein (EMAP1) and characterize a var2CSA-based mouse model of PM. BALB/c mice were infected at midgestation with different doses of P. berghei-var2CSA (P. berghei-VAR) or P. berghei wild-type IEs. Infection with 104 P. berghei-VAR IEs induced a higher incidence of stillbirth and lower fetal weight than P. berghei. At doses of 105 and 106 IEs, P. berghei-VAR-infected mice showed increased maternal mortality during pregnancy and fetal loss, respectively. Parasite loads in infected placentas were similar between parasite lines despite differences in maternal outcomes. Fetal weight loss normalized for parasitemia was higher in P. berghei-VAR-infected mice than in P. berghei-infected mice. In vitro assays showed that higher numbers of P. berghei-VAR IEs than P. berghei IEs adhered to placental tissue. Immunization of mice with P. berghei-VAR elicited IgG antibodies reactive to DBL1-6 recombinant protein, indicating that the topology of immunogenic epitopes is maintained between DBL1-6–EMAP1 on P. berghei-VAR and recombinant DBL1-6 (recDBL1-6). Our data suggested that impairments in pregnancy caused by P. berghei-VAR infection were attributable to var2CSA expression. This model provides a tool for preclinical evaluation of protection against PM induced by approaches that target var2CSA. PMID:27045035

  9. Epidemiology of hookworm (Uncinaria spp.) infection in New Zealand (Hooker's) sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) pups on Enderby Island, Auckland Islands (New Zealand) during the breeding seasons from 1999/2000 to 2004/2005.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castinel, A; Duignan, P J; Lyons, E T; Pomroy, W E; Gibbs, N; López-Villalobos, N; Chilvers, B L; Wilkinson, I S

    2007-06-01

    This is the first investigation of the epidemiology of hookworm (Uncinaria spp.) infection in New Zealand sea lions (NZSLs; Phocarctos hookeri) on Enderby Island, Auckland Islands. The examination of faeces for hookworm eggs in various age categories of sea lions revealed that only pups up to at least 3 months of age harboured adult hookworms in their intestines. Gross necropsy of more than 400 pups from 1999/2000 to 2004/2005 showed that the prevalence of hookworm infection varied significantly between years and was higher from mid-January to the end of February when the majority of pups were between 3 and 9 weeks old. The average burden of adult parasites per pup was not influenced by the host's sex and body condition or by year. This study also provided evidence for transmission occurring by the transmammary route in NZSLs.

  10. Fast Responding Voltage Regulator and Dynamic VAR Compensator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Divan, Deepak [Varentec, Incorporated, San Jose, CA (United States); Moghe, Rohit [Varentec, Incorporated, San Jose, CA (United States); Tholomier, Damien [Varentec, Incorporated, San Jose, CA (United States)

    2014-12-31

    The objectives of this project were to develop a dynamic VAR compensator (DVC) for voltage regulation through VAR support to demonstrate the ability to achieve greater levels of voltage control on electricity distribution networks, and faster response compared to existing grid technology. The goal of the project was to develop a prototype Fast Dynamic VAR Compensator (Fast DVC) hardware device, and this was achieved. In addition to developing the dynamic VAR compensator device, Varentec in partnership with researchers at North Carolina State University (NCSU) successfully met the objectives to model the potential positive impact of such DVCs on representative power networks. This modeling activity validated the ability of distributed dynamic VAR compensators to provide fast voltage regulation and reactive power control required to respond to grid disturbances under high penetration of fluctuating and intermittent distributed energy resources (DERs) through extensive simulation studies. Specifically the following tasks were set to be accomplished: 1) Development of dynamic VAR compensator to support dynamic voltage variations on the grid through VAR control 2) Extensive testing of the DVC in the lab environment 3) Present the operational DVC device to the DOE at Varentec’s lab 4) Formulation of a detailed specification sheet, unit assembly document, test setup document, unit bring-up plan, and test plan 5) Extensive simulations of the DVC in a system with high PV penetration. Understanding the operation with many DVC on a single distribution system 6) Creation and submittal of quarterly and final reports conveying the design documents, unit performance data, modeling simulation charts and diagrams, and summary explanations of the satisfaction of program goals. This report details the various efforts that led to the development of the Fast DVC as well as the modeling & simulation results. The report begins with the introduction in Section II which outlines the

  11. Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii fungemia following probiotic treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcelo C. Appel-da-Silva

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Probiotics are commonly prescribed as an adjuvant in the treatment of antibiotic-associated diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile. We report the case of an immunocompromised 73-year-old patient on chemotherapy who developed Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii fungemia in a central venous catheter during treatment of antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis with the probiotic Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii. Fungemia was resolved after interruption of probiotic administration without the need to replace the central venous line. Keywords: Saccharomyces, Probiotics, Fungemia, Critical illness, Clostridium difficile

  12. Computing Conditional VaR using Time-varying CopulasComputing Conditional VaR using Time-varying Copulas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beatriz Vaz de Melo Mendes

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available It is now widespread the use of Value-at-Risk (VaR as a canonical measure at risk. Most accurate VaR measures make use of some volatility model such as GARCH-type models. However, the pattern of volatility dynamic of a portfolio follows from the (univariate behavior of the risk assets, as well as from the type and strength of the associations among them. Moreover, the dependence structure among the components may change conditionally t past observations. Some papers have attempted to model this characteristic by assuming a multivariate GARCH model, or by considering the conditional correlation coefficient, or by incorporating some possibility for switches in regimes. In this paper we address this problem using time-varying copulas. Our modeling strategy allows for the margins to follow some FIGARCH type model while the copula dependence structure changes over time.

  13. MODEL NON LINIER GARCH (NGARCH UNTUK MENGESTIMASI NILAI VALUE at RISK (VaR PADA IHSG

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I KOMANG TRY BAYU MAHENDRA

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available In investment, risk measurement is important. One of risk measure is Value at Risk (VaR. There are many methods that can be used to estimate risk based on VaR framework. One of them Non Linier GARCH (NGARCH model. In this research, determination of VaR used NGARCH model. NGARCH model allowed for asymetric behaviour in the volatility such that “good news” or positive return and “bad news” or negative return. Based on calculations of VaR, the higher of the confidence level and the longer the investment period, the risk was greater. Determination of VaR using NGARCH model was less than GARCH model.

  14. Neonatal mortality in New Zealand sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri) at Sandy Bay, Enderby Island, Auckland Islands from 1998 to 2005.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castinel, A; Duignan, P J; Pomroy, W E; López-Villalobos, N; Gibbs, N J; Chilvers, B L; Wilkinson, I S

    2007-07-01

    As part of a health survey of New Zealand sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri) on Enderby Island, Auckland Islands (50 degrees 30'S, 166 degrees 17'E), neonatal mortality was closely monitored at the Sandy Bay colony for seven consecutive years. Throughout the breeding seasons 1998-99 to 2004-05, more than 400 postmortem examinations were performed on pups found dead at this site. The primary causes of death were categorized as trauma (35%), bacterial infections (24%), hookworm infection (13%), starvation (13%), and stillbirth (4%). For most pups, more than one diagnosis was recorded. Every year, two distinct peaks of trauma were observed: the first associated with mature bulls fighting within the harem and the second with subadult males abducting pups. In 2001-02 and 2002-03, epidemics caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae increased mortality by three times the mean in nonepidemic years (10.2%). The increased mortality was attributed directly to acute suppurative infection due to the bacterium and also to an increase in traumatic deaths of debilitated pups. Parasitic infection with the hookworm Uncinaria spp. was a common finding in all pups older than three weeks of age and debilitation by the parasite may have contributed to increased susceptibility to other pathogens such as Klebsiella sp. or Salmonella sp. This study provides valuable quantitative data on the natural causes of neonatal mortality in New Zealand sea lions that can be used in demographic models for management of threatened species.

  15. [Gene cloning and bioinformatics analysis of SABATH methyltransferase in Lonicera japonica var. chinensis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Xiao-Dan; Jiang, Chao; Huang, Lu-Qi; Qin, Shuang-Shuang; Zeng, Xiang-Mei; Chen, Ping; Yuan, Yuan

    2013-08-01

    To clone SABATH methyltransferase (rLjSABATHMT) gene in Lonicera japonica var. chinensis, and compare the gene expression and intron sequence of SABATH methyltransferase orthologous in L. japonica with L. japonica var. chinensis. It provide a basis for gene regulate the formation of L. japonica floral scents. The cDNA and genome sequences of LjSABATHMT from L. japonica var. chinensis were cloned according to the gene fragments in cDNA library. The LjSABATHMT protein was characterized by bioinformatics analysis. SABATH family phylogenetic tree were built by MEGA 5.0. The transcripted level of SABATHMT orthologous were analyzed in different organs and different flower periods of L. japonica and L. japonica var. chinensis using RT-PCR analysis. Intron sequences of SABATHMT orthologous were also analyzied. The cDNA of LjSABATHMT was 1 251 bp, had a complete coding frame with 365 amino acids. The protein had the conservative SABATHMT domain, and phylogenetic tree showed that it may be a salicylic acid/benzoic acid methyltransferase. Higher expression of SABATH methyltransferase orthologous was found in flower. The intron sequence of L. japonica and L. japonica var. chinensis had rich polymorphism, and two SNP are unique genotype of L. japonica var. chinensis. The motif elements in two orthologous genes were significant differences. The intron difference of SABATH methyltransferase orthologous could be inducing to difference of gene expression between L. japonica and L. japonica var. chinensis. These results will provide important base on regulating active compounds of L. japonica.

  16. A hybrid PSO technique for procuring VAR ancillary service in the deregulated electricity markets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    El-Araby, E.E. [Department of Electrical Engineering, Suez Canal University (Egypt); Yorino, Naoto [Department of Artificial Complex Systems Engineering, Hiroshima University (Japan)

    2010-07-15

    This paper develops a new market-based technique for acquiring VAR ancillary service in the electricity market. The main objective of the developed market is to enable transmission operator ''TO'' to procure VAR service in a long term contract from the critical VAR providers that satisfy minimum VAR service payment while maintaining system security. Reactive power control problem for voltage stability is introduced into the VAR market problem in an explicit manner for normal and emergency states. An integration of particle swarm optimization ''PSO'' is presented with successive linear programming ''SLP'' for dealing with the VAR ancillary service problem. The problem is formulated as a large-scale nonlinear constrained optimization problem with a non-differentiable objective function representing VAR payment and operational costs. This type of problem is hard to be treated straightforwardly by the classical optimization methods. Therefore, we propose here a two-layer hybrid PSO/SLP approach, which is suited for carrying out the difficulties associated with non-differentiable and discontinuous objective functions. The proposed method has been examined on the standard IEEE 57 bus-system and compared with GA/SLP method to demonstrate its capability. (author)

  17. Arundina graminifolia var. revoluta (Arethuseae, Orchidaceae) has fern-type rheophyte characteristics in the leaves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yorifuji, Eri; Ishikawa, Naoko; Okada, Hiroshi; Tsukaya, Hirokazu

    2015-03-01

    Morphological and molecular variation between Arundina graminifolia var. graminifolia and the dwarf variety, A. graminifolia var. revoluta, was examined to assess the validity of their taxonomic characteristics and genetic background for identification. Morphological analysis in combination with field observations indicated that A. graminifolia var. revoluta is a rheophyte form of A. graminifolia characterized by narrow leaves, whereas the other morphological characteristics described for A. graminifolia var. revoluta, such as smaller flowers and short stems, were not always accompanied by the narrower leaf phenotype. Molecular analysis based on matK sequences indicated that only partial differentiation has occurred between A. graminifolia var. graminifolia and A. graminifolia var. revoluta. Therefore, we should consider the rheophyte form an ecotype rather than a variety. Anatomical observations of the leaves revealed that the rheophyte form of A. graminifolia possessed characteristics of the rheophytes of both ferns and angiosperms, such as narrower palisade tissue cells and thinner spongy tissue cells, as well as fewer cells in the leaf-width direction and fewer mesophyll cell layers.

  18. An orientin derivative isolated from Passiflora tripartita var. mollissima

    OpenAIRE

    Ramos, Freddy A.; Castellanos, Leonardo; López, César; Palacios, Lizeth; Duque, Carmenza; Pacheco, Ricardo; Guzmán, Antonio

    2010-01-01

    Passiflora tripartita var. mollisima (banana passion fruit) is an edible fruit widespread in the Andean highlands of Colombia and Ecuador. The fruit is used for juices as well as for the sedative properties of the leaves. As a contribution to the chemical characterization of this species, a new compound, 4'- methoxyluteolin-8-C-6”acetylglucopyranoside, was isolated from the ethanolic extract of Passiflora tripartita var. mollisima leaves and identified by spectroscopical data (NMR, MS, UV).

  19. Plasmodium falciparum var Gene Silencing Is Determined by cis DNA Elements That Form Stable and Heritable Interactions ▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swamy, Lakshmi; Amulic, Borko; Deitsch, Kirk W.

    2011-01-01

    Antigenic variation in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum depends on the transcriptional regulation of the var gene family. In each individual parasite, mRNA is expressed exclusively from 1 var gene out of ∼60, while the rest of the genes are transcriptionally silenced. Both modifications to chromatin structure and DNA regulatory elements associated with each var gene have been implicated in the organization and maintenance of the silent state. Whether silencing is established at the level of entire chromosomal regions via heterochromatin spreading or at the level of individual var promoters through the action of a silencing element within each var intron has been debated. Here, we consider both possibilities, using clonal parasite lines carrying chromosomally integrated transgenes. We confirm a previous finding that the loss of an adjacent var intron results in var promoter activation and further show that transcriptional activation of a var promoter within a cluster does not affect the transcriptional activity of neighboring var promoters. Our results provide more evidence for the hypothesis that var genes are primarily silenced at the level of an individual gene, rather than by heterochromatin spreading. We also tested the intrinsic directionality of an intron's silencing effect on upstream or downstream var promoters. We found that an intron is capable of silencing in either direction and that, once established, a var promoter-intron pair is stably maintained through many generations, suggesting a possible role in epigenetic memory. This study provides insights into the regulation of endogenous var gene clusters. PMID:21317310

  20. Can reported VaR be used as an indicator of the volatility of share prices? Evidence from UK banks.

    OpenAIRE

    Ou, Shian Kao

    2006-01-01

    Value at Risk (VaR) is used as an indicator to measure the risks contained in a firm. With the uprising development of VaR theory and computational techniques, the VaR is nowadays adopted by banks and reported in annual reports. Since the method to calculate VaR is questioned, and the reported VaR can not be thoroughly audited, this paper attempts to find the relationship between the reported VaR and the volatility of share price for UK listed banks. This paper reviews literature about VaR an...

  1. A novel virus-like particle based vaccine platform displaying the placental malaria antigen VAR2CSA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thrane, Susan; Janitzek, Christoph M; Agerbæk, Mette Ø

    2015-01-01

    , this difference was not statistically significant after 3rd immunization. Importantly, the VLP-VAR2CSA induced antibodies were functional in inhibiting the binding of parasites to CSA. This study demonstrates that the described Avi-L1 VLP-platform may serve as a versatile system for facilitating optimal VLP......SA-VAR2CSA vaccines induced higher antibody titers than the soluble naked VAR2CSA vaccine after three immunizations. The VAR2CSA Avi-L1 VLP vaccine induced statistically significantly higher endpoint titres compared to the soluble mSA-VAR2CSA vaccine, after 1st and 2nd immunization; however...

  2. iVAR: a program for imputing missing data in multivariate time series using vector autoregressive models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Siwei; Molenaar, Peter C M

    2014-12-01

    This article introduces iVAR, an R program for imputing missing data in multivariate time series on the basis of vector autoregressive (VAR) models. We conducted a simulation study to compare iVAR with three methods for handling missing data: listwise deletion, imputation with sample means and variances, and multiple imputation ignoring time dependency. The results showed that iVAR produces better estimates for the cross-lagged coefficients than do the other three methods. We demonstrate the use of iVAR with an empirical example of time series electrodermal activity data and discuss the advantages and limitations of the program.

  3. Population genomics of the immune evasion (var genes of Plasmodium falciparum.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alyssa E Barry

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Var genes encode the major surface antigen (PfEMP1 of the blood stages of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Differential expression of up to 60 diverse var genes in each parasite genome underlies immune evasion. We compared the diversity of the DBLalpha domain of var genes sampled from 30 parasite isolates from a malaria endemic area of Papua New Guinea (PNG and 59 from widespread geographic origins (global. Overall, we obtained over 8,000 quality-controlled DBLalpha sequences. Within our sampling frame, the global population had a total of 895 distinct DBLalpha "types" and negligible overlap among repertoires. This indicated that var gene diversity on a global scale is so immense that many genomes would need to be sequenced to capture its true extent. In contrast, we found a much lower diversity in PNG of 185 DBLalpha types, with an average of approximately 7% overlap among repertoires. While we identify marked geographic structuring, nearly 40% of types identified in PNG were also found in samples from different countries showing a cosmopolitan distribution for much of the diversity. We also present evidence to suggest that recombination plays a key role in maintaining the unprecedented levels of polymorphism found in these immune evasion genes. This population genomic framework provides a cost effective molecular epidemiological tool to rapidly explore the geographic diversity of var genes.

  4. Sporozoite Route of Infection Influences In Vitro var Gene Transcription of Plasmodium falciparum Parasites From Controlled Human Infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimonte, Sandra; Bruske, Ellen I; Hass, Johanna; Supan, Christian; Salazar, Carmen L; Held, Jana; Tschan, Serena; Esen, Meral; Flötenmeyer, Matthias; Koch, Iris; Berger, Jürgen; Bachmann, Anna; Sim, Betty K L; Hoffman, Stephen L; Kremsner, Peter G; Mordmüller, Benjamin; Frank, Matthias

    2016-09-15

    Antigenic variation in Plasmodium falciparum is mediated by the multicopy var gene family. Each parasite possesses about 60 var genes, and switching between active var loci results in antigenic variation. In the current study, the effect of mosquito and host passage on in vitro var gene transcription was investigated. Thirty malaria-naive individuals were inoculated by intradermal or intravenous injection with cryopreserved, isogenic NF54 P. falciparum sporozoites (PfSPZ) generated from 1 premosquito culture. Microscopic parasitemia developed in 22 individuals, and 21 in vitro cultures were established. The var gene transcript levels were determined in early and late postpatient cultures and in the premosquito culture. At the early time point, all cultures preferentially transcribed 8 subtelomeric var genes. Intradermal infections had higher var gene transcript levels than intravenous infections and a significantly longer intrahost replication time (P = .03). At the late time point, 9 subtelomeric and 8 central var genes were transcribed at the same levels in almost all cultures. Premosquito and late postpatient cultures transcribed the same subtelomeric and central var genes, except for var2csa  The duration of intrahost replication influences in vitro var gene transcript patterns. Differences between premosquito and postpatient cultures decrease with prolonged in vitro growth. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Disruption of var2csa gene impairs placental malaria associated adhesion phenotype.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicola K Viebig

    Full Text Available Infection with Plasmodium falciparum during pregnancy is one of the major causes of malaria related morbidity and mortality in newborn and mothers. The complications of pregnancy-associated malaria result mainly from massive adhesion of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes (IE to chondroitin sulfate A (CSA present in the placental intervillous blood spaces. Var2CSA, a member of the P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1 family is the predominant parasite ligand mediating CSA binding. However, experimental evidence suggests that other host receptors, such as hyaluronic acid (HA and the neonatal Fc receptor, may also support placental binding. Here we used parasites in which var2csa was genetically disrupted to evaluate the contribution of these receptors to placental sequestration and to identify additional adhesion receptors that may be involved in pregnancy-associated malaria. By comparison to the wild-type parasites, the FCR3delta var2csa mutants could not be selected for HA adhesion, indicating that var2csa is not only essential for IE cytoadhesion to the placental receptor CSA, but also to HA. However, further studies using different pure sources of HA revealed that the previously observed binding results from CSA contamination in the bovine vitreous humor HA preparation. To identify CSA-independent placental interactions, FCR3delta var2csa mutant parasites were selected for adhesion to the human placental trophoblastic BeWo cell line. BeWo selected parasites revealed a multi-phenotypic adhesion population expressing multiple var genes. However, these parasites did not cytoadhere specifically to the syncytiotrophoblast lining of placental cryosections and were not recognized by sera from malaria-exposed women in a parity dependent manner, indicating that the surface molecules present on the surface of the BeWo selected population are not specifically expressed during the course of pregnancy-associated malaria. Taken

  6. Does animal-mediated seed dispersal facilitate the formation of Pinus armandii-Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata forests?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Fei; Wang, Dexiang; Yi, Xianfeng; Shi, Xiaoxiao; Huang, Yakun; Zhang, Hongwu; Zhang, XinPing

    2014-01-01

    The Pinus armandii and Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata mixed forest is one of the major forest types in the Qinling Mountains, China. P. armandii is considered to be a pioneer species during succession and it is usually invaded by late successional Q. aliena var. acuteserrata. However, the mechanism that underlies its invasion remains unclear. In the present study, we tracked seed dispersal of P. armandii and Q. aliena var. acuteserrata using coded plastic tags in the western, middle and eastern Qinling Mountains to elucidate the invasion process in the mixed forests. Our results indicated that the seeds of both P. armandii and Q. aliena var. acuteserrata were removed rapidly in the Qinling Mountains, and there were no differences in the seed removal rates between the two species. There were significant differences in rodent seed-eating and caching strategies between the two tree species. For P. armandii, seeds were more likely to be eaten in situ than those of Q. aliena var. acuteserrata in all plots. By contrast, the acorns of Q. aliena var. acuteserrata were less frequently eaten in situ, but more likely to be removed and cached. Q. aliena var. acuteserrata acorns had significantly longer dispersal distances than P. armandii seeds in all plots. Although P. armandii seeds were less likely to be dispersed into the Q. aliena var. acuteserrata stands, over 30% of the released acorns were transported into the P. armandii stands where they established five seedlings. Based on the coupled recruitment patterns of P. armandii and Q. aliena var. acuteserrata, we suggest that the animal-mediated seed dispersal contributes to the formation of Pinus armandii-Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata forests.

  7. Kalman Filter or VAR Models to Predict Unemployment Rate in Romania?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simionescu Mihaela

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper brings to light an economic problem that frequently appears in practice: For the same variable, more alternative forecasts are proposed, yet the decision-making process requires the use of a single prediction. Therefore, a forecast assessment is necessary to select the best prediction. The aim of this research is to propose some strategies for improving the unemployment rate forecast in Romania by conducting a comparative accuracy analysis of unemployment rate forecasts based on two quantitative methods: Kalman filter and vector-auto-regressive (VAR models. The first method considers the evolution of unemployment components, while the VAR model takes into account the interdependencies between the unemployment rate and the inflation rate. According to the Granger causality test, the inflation rate in the first difference is a cause of the unemployment rate in the first difference, these data sets being stationary. For the unemployment rate forecasts for 2010-2012 in Romania, the VAR models (in all variants of VAR simulations determined more accurate predictions than Kalman filter based on two state space models for all accuracy measures. According to mean absolute scaled error, the dynamic-stochastic simulations used in predicting unemployment based on the VAR model are the most accurate. Another strategy for improving the initial forecasts based on the Kalman filter used the adjusted unemployment data transformed by the application of the Hodrick-Prescott filter. However, the use of VAR models rather than different variants of the Kalman filter methods remains the best strategy in improving the quality of the unemployment rate forecast in Romania. The explanation of these results is related to the fact that the interaction of unemployment with inflation provides useful information for predictions of the evolution of unemployment related to its components (i.e., natural unemployment and cyclical component.

  8. PERHITUNGAN VaR PORTOFOLIO SAHAM MENGGUNAKAN DATA HISTORIS DAN DATA SIMULASI MONTE CARLO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    WAYAN ARTHINI

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Value at Risk (VaR is the maximum potential loss on a portfolio based on the probability at a certain time.  In this research, portfolio VaR values calculated from historical data and Monte Carlo simulation data. Historical data is processed so as to obtain stock returns, variance, correlation coefficient, and variance-covariance matrix, then the method of Markowitz sought proportion of each stock fund, and portfolio risk and return portfolio. The data was then simulated by Monte Carlo simulation, Exact Monte Carlo Simulation and Expected Monte Carlo Simulation. Exact Monte Carlo simulation have same returns and standard deviation  with historical data, while the Expected Monte Carlo Simulation satistic calculation similar to historical data. The results of this research is the portfolio VaR  with time horizon T=1, T=10, T=22 and the confidence level of 95 %, values obtained VaR between historical data and Monte Carlo simulation data with the method exact and expected. Value of VaR from both Monte Carlo simulation is greater than VaR historical data.

  9. Generation of antigenic diversity in Plasmodium falciparum by structured rearrangement of Var genes during mitosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Claessens, Antoine; Hamilton, William L; Kekre, Mihir; Otto, Thomas D; Faizullabhoy, Adnan; Rayner, Julian C; Kwiatkowski, Dominic

    2014-12-01

    The most polymorphic gene family in P. falciparum is the ∼60 var genes distributed across parasite chromosomes, both in the subtelomeres and in internal regions. They encode hypervariable surface proteins known as P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) that are critical for pathogenesis and immune evasion in Plasmodium falciparum. How var gene sequence diversity is generated is not currently completely understood. To address this, we constructed large clone trees and performed whole genome sequence analysis to study the generation of novel var gene sequences in asexually replicating parasites. While single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were scattered across the genome, structural variants (deletions, duplications, translocations) were focused in and around var genes, with considerable variation in frequency between strains. Analysis of more than 100 recombination events involving var exon 1 revealed that the average nucleotide sequence identity of two recombining exons was only 63% (range: 52.7-72.4%) yet the crossovers were error-free and occurred in such a way that the resulting sequence was in frame and domain architecture was preserved. Var exon 1, which encodes the immunologically exposed part of the protein, recombined in up to 0.2% of infected erythrocytes in vitro per life cycle. The high rate of var exon 1 recombination indicates that millions of new antigenic structures could potentially be generated each day in a single infected individual. We propose a model whereby var gene sequence polymorphism is mainly generated during the asexual part of the life cycle.

  10. [Correlation between distribution of rhizospheric microorganisms and contents of steroidal saponins of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Nong; Qi, Wen-hua; Xiao, Guo-sheng; Ding, Bo; Zhang, Hua; Guo, Dong-qin; Shen, Wei

    2015-03-01

    In this paper, the varying pattern of the amount of rhizospheric microorganisms, including bacteria, actinomycetes and fungus, was observed during the cultivation of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis. And the correlations between number of rhizospheric microorganisms and the quality of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis were also studied. The results showed that the rhizospheric microorganism source of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis was rich. The distribution of rhizospheric microorganisms (soil bacteria, fungus, actinomycetes, potassium-solubilizing bacteria, inorganic phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria, organic phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria) collected from different origin places existed significant difference (P the amount of actinomycetes > the amount of fungus. The medicinal quality of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis was influenced by their habits, and the increase of cultivation years caused the obvious decrease of the quality of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. Therefore, the increase of cultivation years will cause the variation of the soil micro-ecology flora, and decrease the nutrient absorption and the utilization of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis, which will make the decrease of the medical quality of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis.

  11. A molecular epidemiological study of var gene diversity to characterize the reservoir of Plasmodium falciparum in humans in Africa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donald S Chen

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available The reservoir of Plasmodium infection in humans has traditionally been defined by blood slide positivity. This study was designed to characterize the local reservoir of infection in relation to the diverse var genes that encode the major surface antigen of Plasmodium falciparum blood stages and underlie the parasite's ability to establish chronic infection and transmit from human to mosquito.We investigated the molecular epidemiology of the var multigene family at local sites in Gabon, Senegal and Kenya which differ in parasite prevalence and transmission intensity. 1839 distinct var gene types were defined by sequencing DBLα domains in the three sites. Only 76 (4.1% var types were found in more than one population indicating spatial heterogeneity in var types across the African continent. The majority of var types appeared only once in the population sample. Non-parametric statistical estimators predict in each population at minimum five to seven thousand distinct var types. Similar diversity of var types was seen in sites with different parasite prevalences.Var population genomics provides new insights into the epidemiology of P. falciparum in Africa where malaria has never been conquered. In particular, we have described the extensive reservoir of infection in local African sites and discovered a unique var population structure that can facilitate superinfection through minimal overlap in var repertoires among parasite genomes. Our findings show that var typing as a molecular surveillance system defines the extent of genetic complexity in the reservoir of infection to complement measures of malaria prevalence. The observed small scale spatial diversity of var genes suggests that var genetics could greatly inform current malaria mapping approaches and predict complex malaria population dynamics due to the import of var types to areas where no widespread pre-existing immunity in the population exists.

  12. A Molecular Epidemiological Study of var Gene Diversity to Characterize the Reservoir of Plasmodium falciparum in Humans in Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leliwa-Sytek, Aleksandra; Smith, Terry-Ann; Peterson, Ingrid; Brown, Stuart M.; Migot-Nabias, Florence; Deloron, Philippe; Kortok, Moses M.; Marsh, Kevin; Daily, Johanna P.; Ndiaye, Daouda; Sarr, Ousmane; Mboup, Souleymane; Day, Karen P.

    2011-01-01

    Background The reservoir of Plasmodium infection in humans has traditionally been defined by blood slide positivity. This study was designed to characterize the local reservoir of infection in relation to the diverse var genes that encode the major surface antigen of Plasmodium falciparum blood stages and underlie the parasite's ability to establish chronic infection and transmit from human to mosquito. Methodology/Principal Findings We investigated the molecular epidemiology of the var multigene family at local sites in Gabon, Senegal and Kenya which differ in parasite prevalence and transmission intensity. 1839 distinct var gene types were defined by sequencing DBLα domains in the three sites. Only 76 (4.1%) var types were found in more than one population indicating spatial heterogeneity in var types across the African continent. The majority of var types appeared only once in the population sample. Non-parametric statistical estimators predict in each population at minimum five to seven thousand distinct var types. Similar diversity of var types was seen in sites with different parasite prevalences. Conclusions/Significance Var population genomics provides new insights into the epidemiology of P. falciparum in Africa where malaria has never been conquered. In particular, we have described the extensive reservoir of infection in local African sites and discovered a unique var population structure that can facilitate superinfection through minimal overlap in var repertoires among parasite genomes. Our findings show that var typing as a molecular surveillance system defines the extent of genetic complexity in the reservoir of infection to complement measures of malaria prevalence. The observed small scale spatial diversity of var genes suggests that var genetics could greatly inform current malaria mapping approaches and predict complex malaria population dynamics due to the import of var types to areas where no widespread pre-existing immunity in the population

  13. Feasibility of Stochastic Voltage/VAr Optimization Considering Renewable Energy Resources for Smart Grid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Momoh, James A.; Salkuti, Surender Reddy

    2016-06-01

    This paper proposes a stochastic optimization technique for solving the Voltage/VAr control problem including the load demand and Renewable Energy Resources (RERs) variation. The RERs often take along some inputs like stochastic behavior. One of the important challenges i. e., Voltage/VAr control is a prime source for handling power system complexity and reliability, hence it is the fundamental requirement for all the utility companies. There is a need for the robust and efficient Voltage/VAr optimization technique to meet the peak demand and reduction of system losses. The voltages beyond the limit may damage costly sub-station devices and equipments at consumer end as well. Especially, the RERs introduces more disturbances and some of the RERs are not even capable enough to meet the VAr demand. Therefore, there is a strong need for the Voltage/VAr control in RERs environment. This paper aims at the development of optimal scheme for Voltage/VAr control involving RERs. In this paper, Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) method is used to cover full range of variables by maximally satisfying the marginal distribution. Here, backward scenario reduction technique is used to reduce the number of scenarios effectively and maximally retain the fitting accuracy of samples. The developed optimization scheme is tested on IEEE 24 bus Reliability Test System (RTS) considering the load demand and RERs variation.

  14. The Burr X Pareto Distribution: Properties, Applications and VaR Estimation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mustafa Ç. Korkmaz

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a new three-parameter Pareto distribution is introduced and studied. We discuss various mathematical and statistical properties of the new model. Some estimation methods of the model parameters are performed. Moreover, the peaks-over-threshold method is used to estimate Value-at-Risk (VaR by means of the proposed distribution. We compare the distribution with a few other models to show its versatility in modelling data with heavy tails. VaR estimation with the Burr X Pareto distribution is presented using time series data, and the new model could be considered as an alternative VaR model against the generalized Pareto model for financial institutions.

  15. Testing popular VaR models in EU new member and candidate states

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saša Žiković

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available The impact of allowing banks to calculate their capital requirement based on their internal VaR models, and the impact of regulation changes on banks in transitional countries has not been well studied. This paper examines whether VaR models that are created and suited for developed markets apply to the volatile stock markets of EU new member and candidate states (Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Turkey. Nine popular VaR models are tested on five stock indexes from EU new member and candidate states. Backtesting results show that VaR models commonly used in developed stock markets are not well suited for measuring market risk in these markets. Presented findings bear very important implications that have to be addressed by regulators and risk practitioners operating in EU new member andcandidate states. Risk managers have to start thinking outside the frames set by their parent companies or else investors present in these markets may find themselves in serious trouble, dealing with losses that they have not been expecting. National regulators have to take into consideration that simplistic VaR models that are widely used in some developed countries are not well suited for these illiquid and developing stock markets.

  16. Comparison of the specificity of antibodies to VAR2CSA in Cameroonian multigravidae with and without placental malaria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Babakhanyan, Anna; Fang, Rui; Wey, Andrew

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Antibodies (Ab) to VAR2CSA prevent Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes from sequestrating in the placenta, i.e., prevent placental malaria (PM). The specificity of Ab to VAR2CSA associated with absence of PM is unknown. Accordingly, differences in the specificity of Ab to VAR2......CSA were compared between multigravidae with and without PM who had Ab to VAR2CSA. METHODS: In a retrospective case-control study, plasma collected from Cameroonian multigravidae with (n = 96) and without (n = 324) PM were screened in 21 assays that measured antibody levels to full length VAR2CSA (FV2......), individual VAR2CSA DBL domains, VAR2CSA domains from different genetic backgrounds (variants), as well as proportion of high avidity Ab to FV2. RESULTS: Multigravidae with and without PM had similar levels of Ab to FV2, the six VAR2CSA DBL domains and different variants, while the proportion of high avidity...

  17. Cloning of the Repertoire of Individual Plasmodium falciparum var Genes Using Transformation Associated Recombination (TAR)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmid, Christoph D.; Bühlmann, Tobias; Louis, Edward J.; Beck, Hans-Peter

    2011-01-01

    One of the major virulence factors of the malaria causing parasite is the Plasmodium falciparum encoded erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1). It is translocated to It the membrane of infected erythrocytes and expressed from approximately 60 var genes in a mutually exclusive manner. Switching of var genes allows the parasite to alter functional and antigenic properties of infected erythrocytes, to escape the immune defense and to establish chronic infections. We have developed an efficient method for isolating VAR genes from telomeric and other genome locations by adapting transformation-associated recombination (TAR) cloning, which can then be analyzed and sequenced. For this purpose, three plasmids each containing a homologous sequence representing the upstream regions of the group A, B, and C var genes and a sequence homologous to the conserved acidic terminal segment (ATS) of var genes were generated. Co-transfection with P. falciparum strain ITG2F6 genomic DNA in yeast cells yielded 200 TAR clones. The relative frequencies of clones from each group were not biased. Clones were screened by PCR, as well as Southern blotting, which revealed clones missed by PCR due to sequence mismatches with the primers. Selected clones were transformed into E. coli and further analyzed by RFLP and end sequencing. Physical analysis of 36 clones revealed 27 distinct types potentially representing 50% of the var gene repertoire. Three clones were selected for sequencing and assembled into single var gene containing contigs. This study demonstrates that it is possible to rapidly obtain the repertoire of var genes from P. falciparum within a single set of cloning experiments. This technique can be applied to individual isolates which will provide a detailed picture of the diversity of var genes in the field. This is a powerful tool to overcome the obstacles with cloning and assembly of multi-gene families by simultaneously cloning each member. PMID:21408186

  18. Complete mitochondrial genome of Xingguo red carp (Cyprinus carpio var. singuonensis) and purse red carp (Cyprinus carpio var. wuyuanensis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Guang-Fu; Liu, Xiang-Jiang; Li, Zhong; Liang, Hong-Wei; Hu, Shao-Na; Zou, Gui-Wei

    2016-01-01

    The complete mitochondrial genomes of Xingguo red carp (Cyprinus carpio var. singuonensis) and purse red carp (Cyprinus carpio var. wuyuanensis) were sequenced. Comparison of these two mitochondrial genomes revealed that the mtDNAs of these two common carp varieties were remarkably similar in genome length, gene order and content, and AT content. However, size variation between these two mitochondrial genomes presented here showed 39 site differences in overall length. About 2 site differences were located in rRNAs, 3 in tRNAs, 3 in the control region, 31 in protein-coding genes. Thirty-one variable bases in the protein-coding regions between the two varieties mitochondrial sequences led to three variable amino acids, which were mainly located in the protein ND5 and ND4.

  19. Trans-acting GC-rich non-coding RNA at var expression site modulates gene counting in malaria parasite.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guizetti, Julien; Barcons-Simon, Anna; Scherf, Artur

    2016-11-16

    Monoallelic expression of the var multigene family enables immune evasion of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum in its human host. At a given time only a single member of the 60-member var gene family is expressed at a discrete perinuclear region called the 'var expression site'. However, the mechanism of var gene counting remains ill-defined. We hypothesize that activation factors associating specifically with the expression site play a key role in this process. Here, we investigate the role of a GC-rich non-coding RNA (ncRNA) gene family composed of 15 highly homologous members. GC-rich genes are positioned adjacent to var genes in chromosome-central gene clusters but are absent near subtelomeric var genes. Fluorescence in situ hybridization demonstrates that GC-rich ncRNA localizes to the perinuclear expression site of central and subtelomeric var genes in trans. Importantly, overexpression of distinct GC-rich ncRNA members disrupts the gene counting process at the single cell level and results in activation of a specific subset of var genes in distinct clones. We identify the first trans-acting factor targeted to the elusive perinuclear var expression site and open up new avenues to investigate ncRNA function in antigenic variation of malaria and other protozoan pathogens. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  20. Orientation of the Fiscal Policy in Tunisia: Structural VAR Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wissem Khanfir

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to indicate the orientation of fiscal policy in Tunisia, using the structural budget balance, during the period 1972-2014. For this purpose, we estimate a structural VAR model consisting of the fiscal deficit to current GDP ratio and the volume of economic activity represented by the real GDP. We estimate bivariate structural VAR in order to decompose fiscal deficit fluctuations into different disturbances.

  1. Generation of antigenic diversity in Plasmodium falciparum by structured rearrangement of Var genes during mitosis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antoine Claessens

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The most polymorphic gene family in P. falciparum is the ∼60 var genes distributed across parasite chromosomes, both in the subtelomeres and in internal regions. They encode hypervariable surface proteins known as P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1 that are critical for pathogenesis and immune evasion in Plasmodium falciparum. How var gene sequence diversity is generated is not currently completely understood. To address this, we constructed large clone trees and performed whole genome sequence analysis to study the generation of novel var gene sequences in asexually replicating parasites. While single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs were scattered across the genome, structural variants (deletions, duplications, translocations were focused in and around var genes, with considerable variation in frequency between strains. Analysis of more than 100 recombination events involving var exon 1 revealed that the average nucleotide sequence identity of two recombining exons was only 63% (range: 52.7-72.4% yet the crossovers were error-free and occurred in such a way that the resulting sequence was in frame and domain architecture was preserved. Var exon 1, which encodes the immunologically exposed part of the protein, recombined in up to 0.2% of infected erythrocytes in vitro per life cycle. The high rate of var exon 1 recombination indicates that millions of new antigenic structures could potentially be generated each day in a single infected individual. We propose a model whereby var gene sequence polymorphism is mainly generated during the asexual part of the life cycle.

  2. Reversal of cisplatin resistance in non-small cell lung cancer stem cells by Taxus chinensis var.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Y Q; Xu, X P; Guo, Q M; Xu, X C; Liu, Q Y; An, S H; Xu, J L; Su, F; Tai, J B

    2016-09-02

    Drug resistance in cells is a major impedance to successful treatment of lung cancer. Taxus chinensis var. inhibits the growth of tumor cells and promotes the synthesis of interleukins 1 and 2 and tumor necrosis factor, enhancing immune function. In this study, T. chinensis var.-induced cell death was analyzed in lung cancer cells (H460) enriched for stem cell growth in a defined serum-free medium. Taxus-treated stem cells were also analyzed for Rhodamine 123 (Rh-123) expression by flow cytometry, and used as a standard functional indicator of MDR. The molecular basis of T. chinensis var.-mediated drug resistance was established by real-time PCR analysis of ABCC1, ABCB1, and lung resistance-related protein (LRP) mRNA, and western blot analysis of MRP1, MDR1, and LRP. Our results revealed that stem cells treated with higher doses of T. chinensis var. showed significantly lower growth inhibition rates than did H460 cells (P var. and cisplatin was also significantly inhibited (P var. (P var.-treated stem cells showed significant downregulation of the ABCC1, ABCB1, and LRP mRNA and MRP1, MDR1, and LRP (P var.-mediated downregulation of MRP1, MDR1, and LRP might contribute to the reversal of drug resistance in non-small cell lung cancer stem cells.

  3. Metabolomic variation of brassica rapa var. rapa (var. raapstelen) and raphanus sativus l. at different developmental stages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jahangir, M.; Farid, I.B.A.

    2014-01-01

    Brassica rapa (var. raapstelen) and Raphanus sativus (red radish) are being used as food and fodder while also known as model in recent plant research due to the diversity of metabolites as well as genetic resemblance to Arabidopsis. This study explains the change in metabolites (amino acids, organic acids, chlorophyll, carotenoids, tocopherols, ascorbic acid, sucrose, phenylpropanoids and glucosinolates) during plant development. In present study the metabolomic variation in relation to plant growth has been evaluated, for Brassica rapa (var. raapstelen) and red radish (Raphanus sativus) at three different developmental stages. A non-targeted and targeted metabolomic approach by NMR and HPLC in combination with Principal component analysis (PCA) of the data was used to identify phytochemicals being influenced by plant growth. The results lead to the better understanding of metabolic changes during plant development and show the importance of plant age with respect to the metabolomic profile of vegetables. (author)

  4. (Bio)degradation of RDX and HMX in Marine/Estuarine Water and Sediments

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-09-01

    four fungal strains Rhodotorula sp . HAW-OCF1, Bullera sp . HAW-OCF2, Acremonium sp . HAW-OCF3 and Penicillium sp . HAW-OCF5, were isolated as RDX...represent four novel species of Shewanella described as follows: Shewanella sediminis sp . nov.: Strain HAW-EB3T contains lysine decarboxylase that is...We proposed Shewanella sediminis sp . nov. with HAW-EB3T (= NCIMB 14036T = DSM 17055T) as the type strain (Zhao et al. 2005). Shewanella halifaxensis

  5. Considerations on the construction testing of the CASTOR registered HAW 28M cask with respect to the traffic law in the view of the responsible authority BAM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wille, Frank; Droste, Bernhard; Zencker, Uwe; Komann, Steffen

    2010-01-01

    The authors reflect the construction testing of the CASTOR registered HAW 28M cask with respect to the traffic law in the view of the responsible authority BAM. The test procedures are based on the recommendations of the IAEA and the respective national and international legal regulations for the transport of radioactive materials. BAM is performing mechanical and thermal tests to investigate the safety of the containers in case of a severe accident. The radionuclide release has to be restricted to a defined limiting value, the radiation shielding and the nuclear safety have to be ensured. The component test is performed using prototypes of model containers combined with calculations or transferability considerations. The safety evaluation is usually based on experimental tests and numerical analyses.

  6. Clinical development of a VAR2CSA-based placental malaria vaccine PAMVAC

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gbédandé, Komi; Fievet, Nadine; Viwami, Firmine

    2017-01-01

    Background  The antigen VAR2CSA plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM) caused by Plasmodium falciparum. A VAR2CSA-based vaccine candidate, PAMVAC, is under development by an EU-funded multi-country consortium (PlacMalVac project). As part of PAMVAC...

  7. In vitro antioxidant and anticancer effects of solvent fractions from Prunella vulgaris var. lilacina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Yu-Jin; Lee, Eun-Ju; Kim, Haeng-Ran; Hwang, Kyung-A

    2013-11-09

    Recently, considerable attention has been focused on exploring the potential antioxidant properties of plant extracts or isolated products of plant origin. Prunella vulgaris var. lilacina is widely distributed in Korea, Japan, China, and Europe, and it continues to be used to treat inflammation, eye pain, headache, and dizziness. However, reports on the antioxidant activities of P. vulgaris var. lilacina are limited, particularly concerning the relationship between its phenolic content and antioxidant capacity. In this study, we investigated the antioxidant and anticancer activities of an ethanol extract from P. vulgaris var. lilacina and its fractions. Dried powder of P. vulgaris var. lilacina was extracted with ethanol, and the extract was fractionated to produce the hexane fraction, butanol fraction, chloroform fraction and residual water fraction. The phenolic content was assayed using the Folin-Ciocalteu colorimetric method. Subsequently, the antioxidant activities of the ethanol extract and its fractions were analyzed employing various antioxidant assay methods including DPPH, FRAP, ABTS, SOD activity and production of reactive oxygen species. Additionally, the extract and fractions were assayed for their ability to exert cytotoxic activities on various cancer cells using the MTT assay. We also investigated the expression of genes associated with apoptotic cell death by RT-PCR. The total phenolic contents of the ethanol extract and water fraction of P. vulgaris var. lilacina were 303.66 and 322.80 mg GAE/g dry weight (or fractions), respectively. The results showed that the ethanol extract and the water fraction of P. vulgaris var. lilacina had higher antioxidant content than other solvent fractions, similar to their total phenolic content. Anticancer activity was also tested using the HepG2, HT29, A549, MKN45 and HeLa cancer cell lines. The results clearly demonstrated that the P. vulgaris var. lilacina ethanol extract induced significant cytotoxic effects

  8. Subcellular distribution and chemical forms of thorium in Brassica juncea var. foliosa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Sai; Kai, Hailu; Zha, Zhongyong; Fang, Zhendong; Wang, Dingna; Du, Liang; Zhang, Dong; Feng, Xiaojie; Jin, Yongdong; Xia, Chuanqin

    2016-01-01

    Brassica juncea var. foliosa (B. juncea var. foliosa) is a promising species for thorium (Th) phytoextraction due to its large biomass, fast growth rate and high tolerance toward Th. To further understand the mechanisms of Th tolerance, the present study investigated the subcellular distribution and chemical forms of Th found in B. juncea var. foliosa Our results indicated that in both roots and leaves, Th contents in different parts of the cells follow the order of cell wall > membranes and soluble fraction > organelles. In particular, Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) analysis showed that Th was abundantly located in cell walls of the roots. Additionally, when plants were exposed to different concentrations of Th, we have found that Th existed in B. juncea var. foliosa with different chemical forms. Much of the Th extracted by 2% acetic acid (HAc), 1 M NaCl and HCl in roots with the percentage distribution varied from 47.2% to 62.5%, while in leaves, most of the Th was in the form of residue and the subdominant amount of Th was extracted by HCl, followed by 2% HAc. This suggested that Th compartmentation in cytosol and integration with phosphate or proteins in cell wall might be responsible for the tolerance of B. juncea var. foliosa to the stress of Th. - Highlights: • Brassica juncea var. foliosa can adapt to the stress of Th(<200 μM) under hydroponic condition. • Th was selectively distributed on cell wall, membranes and soluble fraction. • Th mainly existed in low-toxicity forms which were benefit for Th tolerance.

  9. Silence, Metaperformance, and Communication in Pedro Almodóvar's "Hable con ella"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fellie, Maria C.

    2016-01-01

    Many scenes in Pedro Almodóvar's "Hable con ella" (2002) include shots of metaperformances such as silent films, dances, television shows, concerts, and bullfights. Spectators often observe passive characters who are in turn observing. By presenting these performances within cinematic performance, Almodóvar highlights our role as viewers…

  10. Chemopreventive and Anticancer Activities of Allium victorialis var. platyphyllum Extracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyun-Jeong; Park, Min Jeong; Park, Hee-Juhn; Chung, Won-Yoon; Kim, Ki-Rim; Park, Kwang-Kyun

    2014-09-01

    Allium victorialis var. platyphyllum is an edible perennial herb and has been used as a vegetable or as a Korean traditional medicine. Allium species have received much attention owing to their diverse pharmacological properties, including antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. However, A. victorialis var. platyphyllum needs more study. The chemopreventive potential of A. victorialis var. platyphyllum methanol extracts was examined by measuring 12-O-tetra-decanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA)-induced superoxide anion production in the differentiated HL-60 cells, TPA-induced mouse ear edema, and Ames/Salmonella mutagenicity. The apoptosis-inducing capabilities of the extracts were evaluated by the 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide assay, 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining, and the DNA fragmentation assay in human colon cancer HT-29 cells. Antimetastatic activities of the extracts were also investigated in an experimental mouse lung metastasis model. The methanol extracts of A. victorialis var. platyphyllum rhizome (AVP-R) and A. victorialis var. platyphyllum stem (AVP-S) dose-dependently inhibited the TPA-induced generation of superoxide anion in HL-60 cells and TPA-induced ear edema in mice, as well as 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) and tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BOOH) -induced bacterial mutagenesis. AVP-R and AVP-S reduced cell viability in a dose-related manner and induced apoptotic morphological changes and internucleosomal DNA fragmentation in HT-29 cells. In the experimental mouse lung metastasis model, the formation of tumor nodules in lung tissue was significantly inhibited by the treatment of the extracts. AVP-R and AVP-S possess antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, proapoptotic, and antimetastatic activities. Therefore, these extracts can serve as a beneficial supplement for the prevention and treatment of cancer.

  11. Amanitin and phallotoxin concentration in Amanita phalloides var. alba mushroom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaya, Ertugrul; Yilmaz, Ismail; Sinirlioglu, Zeynep Aydin; Karahan, Selim; Bayram, Recep; Yaykasli, Kursat Oguz; Colakoglu, Serdar; Saritas, Ayhan; Severoglu, Zeki

    2013-12-15

    Although rarely seen, Amanita phalloides var. alba, a variety of A. phalloides type mushrooms, causes mushroom poisoning resulting in death. Since it is frequently confused with some edible mushrooms due to its white colored cap and macroscopic appearance, it becomes important in toxicological terms. Knowledge of the toxin amount contained in this mushroom type is invaluable in the treatment of cases involving poisoning. In this study, we examined the toxin levels of various parts of the A. phalloides var. alba mushroom growing Duzce region of Turkey. Toxin analyses were carried out for A. phalloides var. alba, which were collected from the forests Duzce region of Turkey in 2011, as a whole and also separately in its spore, pileus, gills, stipe and volva parts. The alpha amanitin, beta amanitin, gamma amanitin, phalloidin and phallacidine analyses of the mushrooms were carried out using the RP-HPLC method. A genetic analysis of the mushroom showed that it had similar genetic characteristics as A. phalloides and was a variety of it. The lowest toxins quantity was detected in spores, volva and stipe among all parts of the mushroom. The maximum amount of amatoxins was measured in the gills. The pileus also contained a high amount of amatoxins. Generally, amatoxins and phallotoxin concentrations were lower as compared to A. phalloides, but interestingly all toxins other than gamma toxin were higher in the spores of A. phalloides var. alba. The amount of toxin in all of its parts had sufficient concentrations to cause death. With this study, the amatoxin and phallotoxin concentrations in A. phalloides var. alba mushroom and in its parts have been revealed in detail for the first time. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Subcellular distribution and chemical forms of thorium in Brassica juncea var. foliosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Sai; Kai, Hailu; Zha, Zhongyong; Fang, Zhendong; Wang, Dingna; Du, Liang; Zhang, Dong; Feng, Xiaojie; Jin, Yongdong; Xia, Chuanqin

    2016-06-01

    Brassica juncea var. foliosa (B. juncea var. foliosa) is a promising species for thorium (Th) phytoextraction due to its large biomass, fast growth rate and high tolerance toward Th. To further understand the mechanisms of Th tolerance, the present study investigated the subcellular distribution and chemical forms of Th found in B. juncea var. foliosa Our results indicated that in both roots and leaves, Th contents in different parts of the cells follow the order of cell wall > membranes and soluble fraction > organelles. In particular, Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) analysis showed that Th was abundantly located in cell walls of the roots. Additionally, when plants were exposed to different concentrations of Th, we have found that Th existed in B. juncea var. foliosa with different chemical forms. Much of the Th extracted by 2% acetic acid (HAc), 1 M NaCl and HCl in roots with the percentage distribution varied from 47.2% to 62.5%, while in leaves, most of the Th was in the form of residue and the subdominant amount of Th was extracted by HCl, followed by 2% HAc. This suggested that Th compartmentation in cytosol and integration with phosphate or proteins in cell wall might be responsible for the tolerance of B. juncea var. foliosa to the stress of Th. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Taxonomic study on Japanese Salvia (Lamiaceae): Phylogenetic position of S. akiensis, and polyphyletic nature of S. lutescens var. intermedia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takano, Atsuko

    2017-01-01

    Both Salvia akiensis and S. lutescens (Lamiaceae) are endemic to Japan. Salvia akiensis was recently described in 2014 in the Chugoku (= SW Honshu) region, and each four varieties of S. lutescens distributed allopatrically. Among varieties in S. lutescens , var. intermedia show a disjunctive distribution in the Kanto (=E Honshu) and Kinki (= W Honshu) regions. Recent field studies of S. lutescens var. intermedia revealed several morphological differences between the Kanto and Kinki populations. Here, I evaluated these differences among Salvia lutescens var. intermedia and its allies with morphological analysis and molecular phylogenetic analyses of nuclear ribosomal DNA (internal and external transcribed spacer regions) and plastid DNA ( ycf1-rps15 spacer, rbcL , and trnL-F ) sequences. Both morphological analysis and molecular phylogenetic analyses showed that S. lutescens var. intermedia from the Kinki region and var. lutescens were closely related to each other. However, var. intermedia from the Kanto region exhibited an association with S. lutescens var. crenata and var. stolonifera, which also grew in eastern Japan, rather than var. intermedia in the Kinki region. These results indicated that S. lutescens var. intermedia is not a taxon with a disjunctive distribution, but a combination of two or more allopatric taxa. Present study also suggested that S. akiensis was most closely related to S. omerocalyx .

  14. Metabolomic variation of brassica rapa var. rapa (var. raapstelen) and raphanus sativus l. at different developmental stages

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jahangir, M.; Abdel-Farid, I.B.; Vos, de C.H.R.; Jonker, H.H.; Choi, Y.H.; Verpoorte, R.

    2014-01-01

    Brassica rapa (var. raapstelen) and Raphanus sativus (red radish) are being used as food and fodder while also known as model in recent plant research due to the diversity of metabolites as well as genetic resemblance to Arabidopsis. This study explains the change in metabolites (amino acids,

  15. A Novel Virus-Like Particle Based Vaccine Platform Displaying the Placental Malaria Antigen VAR2CSA.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan Thrane

    Full Text Available Placental malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum is a major cause of mortality and severe morbidity. Clinical testing of a soluble protein-based vaccine containing the parasite ligand, VAR2CSA, has been initiated. VAR2CSA binds to the human receptor chondroitin sulphate A (CSA and is responsible for sequestration of Plasmodium falciparum infected erythrocytes in the placenta. It is imperative that a vaccine against malaria in pregnancy, if administered to women before they become pregnant, can induce a strong and long lasting immune response. While most soluble protein-based vaccines have failed during clinical testing, virus-like particle (VLP based vaccines (e.g., the licensed human papillomavirus vaccines have demonstrated high efficacy, suggesting that the spatial assembly of the vaccine antigen is a critical parameter for inducing an optimal long-lasting protective immune response. We have developed a VLP vaccine display platform by identifying regions of the HPV16 L1 coat protein where a biotin acceptor site (AviTagTM can be inserted without compromising VLP-assembly. Subsequent biotinylation of Avi-L1 VLPs allow us to anchor monovalent streptavidin (mSA-fused proteins to the biotin, thereby obtaining a dense and repetitive VLP-display of the vaccine antigen. The mSA-VAR2CSA antigen was delivered on the Avi-L1 VLP platform and tested in C57BL/6 mice in comparison to two soluble protein-based vaccines consisting of naked VAR2CSA and mSA-VAR2CSA. The mSA-VAR2CSA Avi-L1 VLP and soluble mSA-VAR2CSA vaccines induced higher antibody titers than the soluble naked VAR2CSA vaccine after three immunizations. The VAR2CSA Avi-L1 VLP vaccine induced statistically significantly higher endpoint titres compared to the soluble mSA-VAR2CSA vaccine, after 1st and 2nd immunization; however, this difference was not statistically significant after 3rd immunization. Importantly, the VLP-VAR2CSA induced antibodies were functional in inhibiting the binding of

  16. Parasitosis intestinales en vendedores ambulantes de comida en Ciudad Bolívar, estado Bolívar, Venezuela | Intestinal parasitosis in food handlers from ciudad Bolívar, Bolívar state, Venezuela

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ixora Requena

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available A descriptive study was performed to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites in a sample of apparently healthy individuals who sold food in streets in Los Proceres of Ciudad Bolívar, Bolívar State. Fecal samples were collected from 85 individuals, which were analyzed by means of direct examination, qualitative Kato, spontaneous sedimentation and Kinyoun staining. Each individual was filled a clinical epidemiological record and underwent anamnesis and oriented clinical examination. The assessed group comprised 50 women and 35 men with ages 14 to 57 years (mean 15.25 ± 4.21 years. From this group, 50 persons (58.82% were parasitized mainly by Blastocystis spp. (42.22%, Endolimax nana (11.11%, Entamoeba coli (6.67%, Giardia intestinalis (11.11%, Cryptosporidium spp. (11.11% and Cystoisospora belli (4.44%. There was no preference for gender or age (p > 0.05, and persons aged 20 to 25 years were the most affected group. Monoparasitism was observed in 56% (n = 28 cases and 44% (n = 22 of cases had other associated parasites, being the most frequent association between Blastocystis spp with Entamoeba coli and Endolimax nana. It is concluded that there is a high prevalence of intestinal parasitosis among street food handlers.

  17. Evidence for in vitro and in vivo expression of the conserved VAR3 (type 3) plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Christian W; Lavstsen, Thomas; Bengtsson, Dominique C

    2012-01-01

    ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Members of the Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) adhesion antigen family are major contributors to the pathogenesis of P. falciparum malaria infections. The PfEMP1-encoding var genes are among the most diverse sequences in nature, but three genes......, var1, var2csa and var3 are found conserved in most parasite genomes. The most severe forms of malaria disease are caused by parasites expressing a subset of antigenically conserved PfEMP1 variants. Thus the ubiquitous and conserved VAR3 PfEMP1 is of particular interest to the research field. Evidence...... of VAR3 expression on the infected erythrocyte surface has never been presented, and var3 genes have been proposed to be transcribed and expressed differently from the rest of the var gene family members. METHODS: In this study, parasites expressing VAR3 PfEMP1 were generated using anti-VAR3 antibodies...

  18. Influence of LAR and VAR on Para-Aminopyridine Antimalarials Targetting Haematin in Chloroquine-Resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warhurst, David C; Craig, John C; Raheem, K Saki

    2016-01-01

    Antimalarial chloroquine (CQ) prevents haematin detoxication when CQ-base concentrates in the acidic digestive vacuole through protonation of its p-aminopyridine (pAP) basic aromatic nitrogen and sidechain diethyl-N. CQ export through the variant vacuolar membrane export channel, PFCRT, causes CQ-resistance in Plasmodium falciparum but 3-methyl CQ (sontochin SC), des-ethyl amodiaquine (DAQ) and bis 4-aminoquinoline piperaquine (PQ) are still active. This is determined by changes in drug accumulation ratios in parasite lipid (LAR) and in vacuolar water (VAR). Higher LAR may facilitate drug binding to and blocking PFCRT and also aid haematin in lipid to bind drug. LAR for CQ is only 8.3; VAR is 143,482. More hydrophobic SC has LAR 143; VAR remains 68,523. Similarly DAQ with a phenol substituent has LAR of 40.8, with VAR 89,366. In PQ, basicity of each pAP is reduced by distal piperazine N, allowing very high LAR of 973,492, retaining VAR of 104,378. In another bis quinoline, dichlorquinazine (DCQ), also active but clinically unsatisfactory, each pAP retains basicity, being insulated by a 2-carbon chain from a proximal nitrogen of the single linking piperazine. While LAR of 15,488 is still high, the lowest estimate of VAR approaches 4.9 million. DCQ may be expected to be very highly lysosomotropic and therefore potentially hepatotoxic. In 11 pAP antimalarials a quadratic relationship between logLAR and logResistance Index (RI) was confirmed, while log (LAR/VAR) vs logRI for 12 was linear. Both might be used to predict the utility of structural modifications.

  19. BRINE SHRIMP LETHALITY BIOASSAY OF GLAUCIUM GRANDIFLORUM VAR. GRANDIFLORUM

    OpenAIRE

    A. SARI, Ç. ÜNSAL, İ. SARIOĞLU, A. SARI, Ç. ÜNSAL, İ. SARIOĞLU

    2013-01-01

    Türkiye'nin 3 farklı bölgesinden toplanan Glaucium grandiflorum Boiss. et Huet var. grandiflorum örneklerinin toprak üstü kısımlarından elde edilen alkaloit ekstreleri ve bu ekstrelerden elde edilen majör alkaloitler allokriptopin, protopİn, (+)-izokoridin, (+)-korİdin üzerinde brİne shrimp lethality testi yapılarak sitotoksisiteleri İncelenmiştir. Glaucium grandiflorum var. grandiflorum türünün 3 örneği de önemli oranda sitotoksik aktİvite göstermiştir. Allokriptopin, protopin, (+)-izok...

  20. Involvement of arginine-vasopressin in the diuretic and hypotensive effects of Pereskia grandifolia Haw. (Cactaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazama, Caroline Calixto; Uchida, Denise Thiemi; Canzi, Karina Natally; de Souza, Priscila; Crestani, Sandra; Gasparotto, Arquimedes; Laverde, Antonio

    2012-10-31

    Pereskia grandifolia Haw. (Cactaceae), popularly known as "ora-pro-nobis" is well recognized in Brazilian traditional medicine as a diuretic agent, although no scientific data have been published to support this effect. The aim of this work is to evaluate the diuretic and hypotensive activities of the infusion (INFPG) and the ethanol extract (HEPG) of Pereskia grandifolia and possible mechanism of action. The infusions (2.5-10%) and the HEPG (3-100 mg/kg) were orally administered in a single dose or daily (for seven days) to rats. The urine excretion rate, pH, density, conductivity and content of Na(+), K(+), Cl(-) and HCO(3)(-) were measured in the urine of saline-loaded animals. In collected serum samples the concentration of electrolytes, urea, creatinine, aldosterone, vasopressin and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) activity were evaluated. The involvement of V(2) vasopressin receptor in the diuretic activity and the hypotensive effect of HEPG were also determined. Water excretion rate was significantly increased by HEPG, while the urinary K(+) and Cl(-) excretion was significantly reduced in acute and prolonged treatment. The oral administration of the HEPG (30mg/kg) significantly reduced serum levels of vasopressin and the mean arterial pressure (MAP) in normotensive rats. All other evaluated parameters have not been affected by any treatment. The results showed that HEPG could present compound(s) responsible for aquaretic activities with no signs of toxicity, and this effect could involve a reduction in the arginine-vasopressin release. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Antioxidant potency of white (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata) and Chinese (Brassica rapa L. var. pekinensis (Lour.)) cabbage: The influence of development stage, cultivar choice and seed selection

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šamec, D.; Piljac-Žegarac, J.; Bogovic, M.; Habjanic, K.; Grúz, Jiří

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 128, č. 2 (2011), s. 78-83 ISSN 0304-4238 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KAN200380801; GA ČR GA301/08/1649 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50380511 Keywords : Antimicrobial activity * Antioxidant capacity * Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata * rapa L. var. pekinensis Lour * Cabbage Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 1.527, year: 2011

  2. Influence of beetroot (Beta vulgaris var. cruenta) on mice leukocytes increase

    OpenAIRE

    Amaro, Jony

    2014-01-01

    Background: Beetroot is a flavonoid-containing Mediterranean plant used for food and medicinal purposes. Objectives: To determine the influence of Beta vulgaris var. cruenta extract consumption in increasing albino mice leukocytes. Design: Experimental study. Setting: School N° 1182 bioterium. Biologic material: Twenty male Balb/c albino mice weighing 24 g average. Interventions: Two groups of ten mice each were formed; the experimental group received Beta vulgaris var. cruenta extract at 250...

  3. [Content and distribution of active components in cultivated and wild Taxus chinensis var. mairei plants].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Shao-Shuai; Sun, Qi-Wu; Zhang, Xiao-Ping; Tian, Sheng-Ni; Bo, Pei-Lei

    2012-10-01

    Taxus chinensis var. mairei is an endemic and endangered plant species in China. The resources of T. chinensis var. mairei have been excessively exploited due to its anti-cancer potential, accordingly, the extant T. chinensis var. mairei population is decreasing. In this paper, ultrasonic extraction and HPLC were adopted to determine the contents of active components paclitaxel, 7-xylosyltaxol and cephalomannine in cultivated and wild T. chinensis var. mairei plants, with the content distribution of these components in different parts of the plants having grown for different years and at different slope aspects investigated. There existed obvious differences in the contents of these active components between cultivated and wild T. chinensis var. mairei plants. The paclitaxel content in the wild plants was about 0.78 times more than that in the cultivated plants, whereas the 7-xylosyltaxol and cephalomannine contents were slishtly higher in the cultivated plants. The differences in the three active components contents between different parts and tree canopies of the plants were notable, being higher in barks and upper tree canopies. Four-year old plants had comparatively higher contents of paclitaxel, 7-xylosyltaxol and cephalomannine (0.08, 0.91 and 0.32 mg x g(-1), respectively), and the plants growing at sunny slope had higher contents of the three active components, with significant differences in the paclitaxel and 7-xylosyltaxol contents and unapparent difference in the cephalomannine content of the plants at shady slope. It was suggested that the accumulation of the three active components in T. chinensis var. mairei plants were closely related to the sunshine conditions. To appropriately increase the sunshine during the artificial cultivation of T. chinensis var. mairei would be beneficial to the accumulation of the three active components in T. chinensis var. mairei plants.

  4. Scleria neesii Kunth var. gadchiroliensis (Cyperaceae, a New Variety from Central India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milind M. Sardesai

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available A new variety of Scleria P. J. Bergius (Cyperaceae S. neesii Kunth var. gadchiroliensis from Central India is described here with description, line-drawing, photographic illustration and notes. It resembles with S. neesii Kunth var. neesii in overall morphology but differs in having milky white nuts covered with ribbon like hairs on distinct stalk.

  5. Utilizing nanobody technology to target non-immunodominant domains of VAR2CSA.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sisse B Ditlev

    Full Text Available Placental malaria is a major health problem for both pregnant women and their fetuses in malaria endemic regions. It is triggered by the accumulation of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes (IE in the intervillous spaces of the placenta and is associated with foetal growth restriction and maternal anemia. IE accumulation is supported by the binding of the parasite-expressed protein VAR2CSA to placental chondroitin sulfate A (CSA. Defining specific CSA-binding epitopes of VAR2CSA, against which to target the immune response, is essential for the development of a vaccine aimed at blocking IE adhesion. However, the development of a VAR2CSA adhesion-blocking vaccine remains challenging due to (i the large size of VAR2CSA and (ii the extensive immune selection for polymorphisms and thereby non-neutralizing B-cell epitopes. Camelid heavy-chain-only antibodies (HcAbs are known to target epitopes that are less immunogenic to classical IgG and, due to their small size and protruding antigen-binding loop, able to reach and recognize cryptic, conformational epitopes which are inaccessible to conventional antibodies. The variable heavy chain (VHH domain is the antigen-binding site of camelid HcAbs, the so called Nanobody, which represents the smallest known (15 kDa intact, native antigen-binding fragment. In this study, we have used the Nanobody technology, an approach new to malaria research, to generate small and functional antibody fragments recognizing unique epitopes broadly distributed on VAR2CSA.

  6. Controlling Kuka Industrial Robots : Flexible Communication Interface JOpenShowVar.

    OpenAIRE

    Sanfilippo, Filippo; Hatledal, Lars Ivar; Zhang, Houxiang; Fago, Massimiliano; Pettersen, Kristin Ytterstad

    2015-01-01

    JOpenShowVar is a Java open-source cross-platform communication interface to Kuka industrial robots. This novel interface allows for read-write use of the controlled manipulator variables and data structures. JOpenShowVar, which is compatible with all the Kuka industrial robots that use KUKA Robot Controller version 4 (KR C4) and KUKA Robot Controller version 2 (KR C2), runs as a client on a remote computer connected with the Kuka controller via TCP/IP. Even though only soft real-time applica...

  7. Working alliance inventory applied to virtual and augmented reality (WAI-VAR): psychometrics and therapeutic outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miragall, Marta; Baños, Rosa M; Cebolla, Ausiàs; Botella, Cristina

    2015-01-01

    This study examines the psychometric properties of the Working Alliance Inventory-Short (WAI-S) adaptation to Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) therapies (WAI-VAR). The relationship between the therapeutic alliance (TA) with VR and AR and clinically significant change (CSC) is also explored. Seventy-five patients took part in this study (74.7% women, M age = 34.41). Fear of flying and adjustment disorder patients received VR therapy, and cockroach phobia patients received AR therapy. Psychometric properties, CSC, one-way ANOVA, Spearman's Correlations and Multiple Regression were calculated. The WAI-VAR showed a unidimensional structure, high internal consistency and adequate convergent validity. "Not changed" patients scored lower on the WAI-VAR than "improved" and "recovered" patients. Correlation between the WAI-VAR and CSC was moderate. The best fitting model for predicting CSC was a linear combination of the TA with therapist (WAI-S) and the TA with VR and AR (WAI-VAR), due to the latter variable slightly increased the percentage of variability accounted for in CSC. The WAI-VAR is the first validated instrument to measure the TA with VR and AR in research and clinical practice. This study reveals the importance of the quality of the TA with technologies in achieving positive outcomes in the therapy.

  8. On Setting Day-Ahead Equity Trading Risk Limits: VaR Prediction at Market Close or Open?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana-Maria Fuertes

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates the information content of the ex post overnight return for one-day-ahead equity Value-at-Risk (VaR forecasting. To do so, we deploy a univariate VaR modeling approach that constructs the forecast at market open and, accordingly, exploits the available overnight close-to-open price variation. The benchmark is the bivariate VaR modeling approach proposed by Ahoniemi et al. that constructs the forecast at the market close instead and, accordingly, it models separately the daytime and overnight return processes and their covariance. For a small cap portfolio, the bivariate VaR approach affords superior predictive ability than the ex post overnight VaR approach whereas for a large cap portfolio the results are reversed. The contrast indicates that price discovery at the market open is less efficient for small capitalization, thinly traded stocks.

  9. Koolipärimuse kogumisest Noarootsis ja Vormsis 2006. aasta kevadel : Rootsi-Eesti lastenaljade kogumik Det var en ko och det var poängen / Piret Voolaid

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Voolaid, Piret, 1971-

    2007-01-01

    Autor käsitleb artiklis Ahvenamaa Põhjamaade Instituudi (Nordens Institut på Åland) eestvedamisel korraldatud lastepärimuse projekti, mille käigus koguti koolipärimust Soomest Ahvenamaalt ja Rootsist Gotlandilt ning Eestist endistelt rannarootsi aladelt. Kogutu põhjal ilmus rootsikeelne antoloogiline naljakogumik Det var en ko och det var poängen. Artiklis keskendutakse välitööde kogumismetoodikale ja tulemustele Eestis. Välitööd toimusid Noarootsi Koolis ja Vormsi Põhikoolis

  10. Penetration, Post-penetration Development, and Reproduction of Meloidogyne incognita on Cucumis melo var. texanus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faske, T R

    2013-03-01

    Cucumis melo var. texanus, a wild melon commonly found in the southern United States and two accessions, Burleson Co. and MX 1230, expressed resistance to Meloidogyne incognita in preliminary experiments. To characterize the mechanism of resistance, we evaluated root penetration, post-penetration development, reproduction, and emigration of M. incognita on these two accessions of C. melo var. texanus. Additionally, we evaluated 22 accessions of C. melo var. texanus for their reaction against M. incognita in a greenhouse experiment. Fewer (P ≤ 0.05) J2 penetrated the root system of C. melo var. texanus accessions (Burleson Co. and MX 1230) and C. metuliferus (PI 482452) (resistant control), 7 days after inoculation (DAI) than in C. melo 'Hales Best Jumbo' (susceptible control). A delayed (P ≤ 0.05) rate of nematode development was observed at 7, 14, and 21 DAI that contributed to lower (P ≤ 0.05) egg production on both accessions and C. metuliferus compared with C. melo. Though J2 emigration was observed on all Cucumis genotypes a higher (P ≤ 0.05) rate of J2 emigration was observed from 3 to 6 DAI on accession Burleson Co. and C. metuliferus than on C. melo. The 22 accessions of C. melo var. texanus varied relative to their reaction to M. incognita with eight supporting similar levels of nematode reproduction to that of C. metuliferus. Cucumis melo var. texanus may be a useful source of resistance against root-knot nematode in melon.

  11. Comparative study on the microbiology and shelf life stability of palm ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The microbiological and biochemical changes and shelf life stability of Elaeis guineensis and Raphia hookeri brands of palm wine were determined. R. hookeri brands were found to habour more heterotrophic and coliform population than the E. guineensis, whereas the later haboured more yeast species. Identification tests ...

  12. INDUCING RESISTANCE IN COTTON AGAINST COLLETOTRICHUM GOSSYPII VAR. CEPHALOSPORIOIDES WITH ESSENTIAL OILS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. T. Santos

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to evaluate the potential of essential oils of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis, baccharis (Baccharis trimera, lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus, basil (Ocimum basilicum and eucalyptus (Corymbia citriodora in inducing resistance in cotton plants against C. gossypii var. cephalosporioides. The inductive effect of the essential oils was evaluated in plants growing in pots in the environment, which were treated with 1% essential oil at 47 days of age. 24 hours after elicitor treatment the plants were inoculated with a suspension of 1.5 x 105 conidia mL-1 of C. gossypii var. cephalosporioides. Five evaluations were performed disease and calculated the area under the disease progress curve. All essential oils showed potential for inducing resistance against cotton C. gossypii var. cephalosporioides.

  13. Application of superconducting coils to VAR control in electric power systems: a proposal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boenig, H.J.; Hassenzahl, W.V.

    1979-11-01

    During the last eight years, static VAR-control systems with thyristor-controlled, room-temperature reactors have been used in electrical systems for voltage control and system stabilization. In this proposal, we describe a new static VAR-control system that uses an asymmetrically controlled Graetz bridge and a superconducting dc coil. Preliminary studies indicate that the proposed system will have lower overall losses and that its capital cost and electrical characteristics are comparable to those of a conventional system. Three- and four-year programs for developing the electronic circuitry and superconducting coils for VAR control, culminating in the installation and testing of an approx. 40-MVAR system, are proposed

  14. Numerical and structural chromosome aberrations in cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) and Arabidopsis thaliana

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ji, X.

    2014-01-01

    Numerical and structural chromosome aberrations in cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) and Arabidopsis thaliana.

    I studied numerical and structural chromosome aberrations in cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) and

  15. [Diversity and community structure of endophytic fungi from Taxus chinensis var. mairei].

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-07-01

    A total of 628 endophytic fungi were isolated from 480 tissue segments of needles and branches of Taxus chinensis var. mairei. According to morphological characteristics and ITS sequences, they represented 43 taxa in 28 genera, of which 10 Hyphomycetes, 20 Coelomycetes, 12 Ascomycetes and 1 unknown fungus. Phomopsis mali was confirmed as the dominant species. In accordance with relative frequency, Alternaria alternata, Aureobasidium pullulans, Colletotrichum boninense, C. gloeosporioides, Epicoccum nigrum , Fungal sp., Fusarium lateritium, Glomerella cingulata, Magnaporthales sp. , Nigrospora oryzae, Pestalotiopsis maculiformans, P. microspora, Peyronellaea glomerata and Xylaria sp. 1 were more common in T. chinensis var. mairei. T. chinensis var. mairei were severely infected by endophytic fungi. Endophytic fungi were found in 81 percent of plant tissues with a high diversity. Distribution ranges of endophytic fungi were influenced by tissue properties. The colonization rate, richness, diversity of endophytic fungi in needles were obviously lower than in branches, and kinds of endophytic fungi between branches were more similar than those in needles, thus endophytic fungi had tissue preference. In addition, tissue age influenced the community structure of endophytic fungi. The elder branch tissues were, the higher colonization rate, richness, diversity of endophytic fungi were. Systematic studying the diversity and community structure of endophytic fungi in T. chinensis var. mairei and clarifying their distribution regularity in plant tissues would offer basic data and scientific basis for their development and utilization. Discussing the presence of fungal pathogens in healthy plant tissues would be of positive significance for source protection of T. chinensis var. mairei.

  16. Essays on Imperfect Knowledge Economics, Structural Change, and Persistence in the Cointegrated VAR Model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tabor, Morten Nyboe

    2014-01-01

    conrm the original intuition behind the attempt to combine IKE and the econometric approach based on the cointegrated VAR model, that the parameter-instability of IKE models could potentially be an important source of the persistence found empirically in estimated cointegrated VAR models...

  17. [A survey on ecological environment of wild Adiantum reniforme var. sinense in Three Gorges Reservoir region].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Zhong-de; Jia, Han; Fu, Shao-Zhi; Gao, Wen-Yuan; Zhang, Zhi-Wei; Sun, Wei

    2017-11-01

    The study aims at investigating the ecological environment Adiantum reniforme var. sinense of in Three Gorges Reservoir region, and providing a reference basis for the protection of resources and artificial cultivation of A. reniforme var. sinense. By using the method of investigation, field survey and experimental analysis, the vegetation, natural geographical environment, climate, soil nutrients of A. reniforme var. sinense were studied and analyzed. The survey found that A. reniforme var. sinense distribution area reduced fast in Three Gorges region, a lot of distribution has diminished and vanished due to excessive digging, currently only in 3 towns of Wanzhou there exist 4 wild distribution areas. The growth of A. reniforme var. sinense needs an environment with low altitude, steep slope and thin soil, northeast slope, canopy height and warm and humid climate characteristics, and the soil in distribution has the characteristics of high organic matter, available nitrogen, available potassium, and low available phosphorus content. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

  18. Potential for wind extraction from 4D-Var assimilation of aerosols and moisture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaplotnik, Žiga; Žagar, Nedjeljka

    2017-04-01

    We discuss the potential of the four-dimensional variational data assimilation (4D-Var) to retrieve the unobserved wind field from observations of atmospheric tracers and the mass field through internal model dynamics and the multivariate relationships in the background-error term for 4D-Var. The presence of non-linear moist dynamics makes the wind retrieval from tracers very difficult. On the other hand, it has been shown that moisture observations strongly influence both tropical and mid-latitude wind field in 4D-Var. We present an intermediate complexity model that describes nonlinear interactions between the wind, temperature, aerosols and moisture including their sinks and sources in the framework of the so-called first baroclinic mode atmosphere envisaged by A. Gill. Aerosol physical processes, which are included in the model, are the non-linear advection, diffusion and sources and sinks that exist as dry and wet deposition and diffusion. Precipitation is parametrized according to the Betts-Miller scheme. The control vector for 4D-Var includes aerosols, moisture and the three dynamical variables. The former is analysed univariately whereas wind field and mass field are analysed in a multivariate fashion taking into account quasi-geostrophic and unbalanced dynamics. The OSSE type of studies are performed for the tropical region to assess the ability of 4D-Var to extract wind-field information from the time series of observations of tracers as a function of the flow nonlinearity, the observations density and the length of the assimilation window (12 hours and 24 hours), in dry and moist environment. Results show that the 4D-Var assimilation of aerosols and temperature data is beneficial for the wind analysis with analysis errors strongly dependent on the moist processes and reliable background-error covariances.

  19. [Investigation on Main Cultivation of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus and Commercial Specifications Grades].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, He-ting; Wang, Jian; Cheng, Ming-en; Duan, Hai-yan; Peng, Hua-sheng

    2015-12-01

    To investigate the main cultivation areas of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus, and to clarify its present cultivation status and commercial specification grades. Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus cultivated in Hunyuan and Ying County of Shanxi, Longxi, Weiyuan and Min County of Gansu and Wuchuan, Guyang and Chifeng of Inner Mongolia were investigated, including their ecological environment, cultivation history and present situation, harvesting and processing as well as commercial specification grades. The cultivation methods of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus changed greatly in the main cultivation areas. In Gansu and Inner Mongolia, the current major cultivation method was 2 - 3 years of seedling transplantation method, while the 3 - 5 years of seed-directly-sowed method in Inner Mongolia had been almost abandoned, and the 6 - 8 years of mountain direct seeding method was still in application in Hunyuan county of Shanxi province. On the other hand, the harvest method of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus had been gradually changed from manual harvesting in ancient times to the current mechanical harvesting although the latter method did more damage to environment of cultivation areas and the resource of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus in regions Hunyuan county of Shanxi. Through investigating the processing methods of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus in different cultivation areas, it was found that processing method varied from area to area, and no unified specifications had been formulated on processing methods in market. In addition, the current processing method was too complicated in processing the slices of prepared Astragali Radix and most were self processing by farmers themselves, creating market disorders. Moreover, the Astragali Radix products were basically without grading classification but sold as bulk cargo. It is urgent to unify the specifications and grades of Astragali Radix product, and standardize

  20. Anatomical element localization by EDXS in Grevillea exul var. exul under nickel stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rabier, J.; Laffont-Schwob, I.; Notonier, R.; Fogliani, B.; Bouraima-Madjebi, S.

    2008-01-01

    Grevillea exul var. exul, an endemic serpentinic Proteaceae of New Caledonia, was chosen to study the spatial distribution of Ni because this species supports strong content of metals, which can allow important absorptions thus detectable by microanalysis. Fine transversal sections of axenic G. exul var. exul plants grown during 15 days on nickel sulphate medium were examined by EDXS microanalysis. It showed that in Ni treated plants, Ni was concentrated mostly in the phloem compared to the xylem and the epidermis, either in roots or in the basal part of the stems and was mostly in the epidermis in the upper part of the stems and not detectable in the leaves. This metal took the place of P and K in the treated plants whereas the localization of these macroelements was quite uniform in control sections. We assume that a mechanism of phloem loading is implicated to restrict Ni accumulation in G. exul var. exul. - Ni resistance mechanism in Grevillea exul var. exul plants depends on a basipetal export mechanism

  1. Anatomical element localization by EDXS in Grevillea exul var. exul under nickel stress

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rabier, J. [Equipe Biomarqueurs et Bioindicateurs Environnementaux, Institut Mediterraneen d' Ecologie et de Paleoecologie, UMR CNRS 6116, Universite de Provence, Case 17, 3 Place Victor Hugo, 13331 Marseille Cedex 3 (France)], E-mail: Jacques.Rabier@univ-provence.fr; Laffont-Schwob, I. [Equipe Biomarqueurs et Bioindicateurs Environnementaux, Institut Mediterraneen d' Ecologie et de Paleoecologie, UMR CNRS 6116, Universite de Provence, Case 17, 3 Place Victor Hugo, 13331 Marseille Cedex 3 (France)], E-mail: Isabelle.Schwob@univ-provence.fr; Notonier, R. [Service commun de microscopie electronique, Universite de Provence, Case 76, 3 Place Victor Hugo, 13331 Marseille Cedex 3 (France)], E-mail: Roger.Notonier@univ-provence.fr; Fogliani, B. [MABioM, Universite de la Nouvelle-Caledonie, BP R4, 98847 Noumea, New Caledonia (France)], E-mail: bfoglian@univ-nc.nc; Bouraima-Madjebi, S. [MABioM, Universite de la Nouvelle-Caledonie, BP R4, 98847 Noumea, New Caledonia (France)], E-mail: bouraima@univ-nc.nc

    2008-12-15

    Grevillea exul var. exul, an endemic serpentinic Proteaceae of New Caledonia, was chosen to study the spatial distribution of Ni because this species supports strong content of metals, which can allow important absorptions thus detectable by microanalysis. Fine transversal sections of axenic G. exul var. exul plants grown during 15 days on nickel sulphate medium were examined by EDXS microanalysis. It showed that in Ni treated plants, Ni was concentrated mostly in the phloem compared to the xylem and the epidermis, either in roots or in the basal part of the stems and was mostly in the epidermis in the upper part of the stems and not detectable in the leaves. This metal took the place of P and K in the treated plants whereas the localization of these macroelements was quite uniform in control sections. We assume that a mechanism of phloem loading is implicated to restrict Ni accumulation in G. exul var. exul. - Ni resistance mechanism in Grevillea exul var. exul plants depends on a basipetal export mechanism.

  2. Forecasting VaR and ES of stock index portfolio: A Vine copula method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Bangzheng; Wei, Yu; Yu, Jiang; Lai, Xiaodong; Peng, Zhenfeng

    2014-12-01

    Risk measurement has both theoretical and practical significance in risk management. Using daily sample of 10 international stock indices, firstly this paper models the internal structures among different stock markets with C-Vine, D-Vine and R-Vine copula models. Secondly, the Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Expected Shortfall (ES) of the international stock markets portfolio are forecasted using Monte Carlo method based on the estimated dependence of different Vine copulas. Finally, the accuracy of VaR and ES measurements obtained from different statistical models are evaluated by UC, IND, CC and Posterior analysis. The empirical results show that the VaR forecasts at the quantile levels of 0.9, 0.95, 0.975 and 0.99 with three kinds of Vine copula models are sufficiently accurate. Several traditional methods, such as historical simulation, mean-variance and DCC-GARCH models, fail to pass the CC backtesting. The Vine copula methods can accurately forecast the ES of the portfolio on the base of VaR measurement, and D-Vine copula model is superior to other Vine copulas.

  3. Abelmoschus manihot var. pungens (Roxburgh Hochreutiner (Malvaceae, A Newly Naturalized Plant in Taiwan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Szu-I Hsieh

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Abelmoschus manihot var. pungens (Roxburgh Hochreutiner is naturalized in abandoned land of central Taiwan. The distinguished characteristics of A. manihot var. pungens include the ovate-lanceolate epicalyx lobes, distinct prickly hairs all over the plant, and even over the margins of its epicalyx lobes. Descriptions, line drawings and photos of this species are provided.

  4. [Study on quality standard of Mucuna pruriens var. utilis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Shi-Hong; Jiang, Wei-Zhe; Lv, Li; Wu, Ling-Ling; Lv, Cong; Shi, Xiao-Xia; Su, Gui-Liang

    2009-03-01

    To provide scientific basis for the utilization and development of Mucuna pruriens var. utilis by establishing its quality control standard. The bioactive constituents were analyzed by TLC and HPLC. Moisture, ash and the extracts of Mucuna pruriens var. utilis were all determined. The TLC spots of levodopa had similar color with the control group at the same position. The results of HPLC quantitative analysis showed that the linear range of levodopa was 26.45 to approximately 132.25 microg/mL, r = 0.9992, and the average recovery rate was 103.8%, RSD = 1.85%. This method is convenient, accurate, reliable with good reproducibility, so it can be used to establish quality standard for the medicinal material.

  5. A Stochastic Dominance Approach to the Basel III Dilemma: Expected Shortfall or VaR?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    C-L. Chang (Chia-Lin); J.A. Jiménez-Martín (Juan-Ángel); E. Maasoumi (Esfandiar); M.J. McAleer (Michael); T. Pérez-Amaral (Teodosio)

    2015-01-01

    markdownabstract__Abstract__ The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) (2013) recently proposed shifting the quantitative risk metrics system from Value-at-Risk (VaR) to Expected Shortfall (ES). The BCBS (2013) noted that “a number of weaknesses have been identified with using VaR for

  6. Genetic analisys of a cross of gaillon (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra with cauliflower (B.oleracea var. botrytis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vanessa B.M.G. Spini

    2000-03-01

    Full Text Available The cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis is an annual vegetable cultivated in Southern and Southwestern Brazil with limited production in the Northeast and Centralwest. A variety of Chinese kale, "kaai laan" or "gaillon" (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra, produces seeds at high temperatures and therefore can do so in North and Northeastern Brazil. Gaillon and cauliflower were crossed 55 times using 10 gaillon plants as mothers and 4 cauliflower plants as pollen donors. From these crosses, in the F2 generation, 612 plants with inflorescence like gaillon and 48 plants with inflorescence like cauliflower were obtained, in a proportion similar to 15:1, implying that 2 pairs of genes entered into formation of the cauliflower inflorescence type. In order to study flower color, 339 plants were analyzed: 274 presented white flowers and 65, yellow flowers, denoting that this caracter is determined by 1 pair of genes, white being dominant over yellow; white flowers had a slighly higher adaptive value in our population. The characteristic waxy leaf showed a proportion of 3 waxy plants for 1 not waxy, indicating the action of one pair of genes.A couve-flor (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis é um vegetal anual e tem seu cultivo no Brasil limitado às regiões Sul e Sudeste, com pequena produção no Nordeste e Centro-Oeste. Uma variedade de couve da China, "kaai laan" ou "gaillon" (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra, produz sementes em altas temperaturas e, portanto, é apta a produzir sementes no Norte e Nordeste do Brasil. Gaillon e couve-flor foram cruzados. Foram feitos 55 cruzamentos usando 10 plantas de gaillon como mãe e 4 plantas de couve-flor como doadores de pólen. Desses cruzamentos, na geração F2, 612 plantas com inflorescência tipo gaillon e 48 plantas com inflorescência tipo couve-flor foram obtidas, em proporção similar a 15:1, demonstrando que 2 pares de genes estão envolvidos na formação da inflorescência em couve

  7. Larvicidal activity of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis Cry11Aa toxin against Haemonchus contortus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DE Lara, Ana Paula DE Souza Stori; Lorenzon, Lucas Bigolin; Vianna, Ana Muñoz; Santos, Francisco Denis Souza; Pinto, Luciano Silva; Aires Berne, Maria Elisabeth; Leite, Fábio Pereira Leivas

    2016-10-01

    Effective control of gastrointestinal parasites is necessary in sheep production. The development of anthelmintics resistance is causing the available chemically based anthelmintics to become less effective. Biological control strategies present an alternative to this problem. In the current study, we tested the larvicidal effects of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis Cry11Aa toxin against Haemonchus contortus larvae. Bacterial suspensions [2 × 108 colony-forming units (CFU) g-1 of the feces] of B. thuringiensis var. israelensis and recombinant Escherichia coli expressing Cry11Aa toxin were added to naturally H. contortus egg-contaminated feces. The larvae were quantified, and significant reductions of 62 and 81% (P var. israelensis and recombinant E. coli expressing Cry11Aa toxin were then orally administered to lambs naturally infected with H. contortus. Twelve hours after administration, feces were collected and submitted to coprocultures. Significant larvae reductions (P var. israelensis is a promising new class of biological anthelmintics for treating sheep against H. contortus.

  8. Hepatoprotective and antioxidant effect of Bauhinia hookeri extract against carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity in mice and characterization of its bioactive compounds by HPLC-PDA-ESI-MS/MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Sayed, Eman; Martiskainen, Olli; Seif el-Din, Sayed H; Sabra, Abdel-Nasser A; Hammam, Olfat A; El-Lakkany, Naglaa M; Abdel-Daim, Mohamed M

    2014-01-01

    The hepatoprotective and antioxidant activity of Bauhinia hookeri ethanol extract (BHE) against CCl4-induced liver injury was investigated in mice. BHE was administered (500 and 1000 mg/kg/day) along with CCl4 for 6 weeks. The hepatic marker enzymes: alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were determined in the serum. The antioxidant parameters: glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione transferase (GST), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were estimated in the liver homogenate. BHE treatment significantly inhibited the CCl4-induced increase in ALT (44 and 64%), AST (36 and 46%), ALP (28 and 42%), and MDA (39 and 51%) levels at the tested doses, respectively. Moreover, BHE treatment markedly increased the activity of antioxidant parameters GSH, GPx, GR, GST, and SOD. Histological observations confirmed the strong hepatoprotective activity. These results suggest that a dietary supplement of BHE could exert a beneficial effect against oxidative stress and various liver diseases by enhancing the antioxidant defense status, reducing lipid peroxidation, and protecting against the pathological changes of the liver. The hepatoprotective activity of BHE is mediated, at least in part, by the antioxidant effect of its constituents. The active constituents of BHE were identified by HPLC-PDA-ESI/MS/MS.

  9. Characterization of the antigenicity of Cpl1, a surface protein of Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Jian-Piao; Liu, Ling-Li; To, Kelvin K W; Lau, Candy C Y; Woo, Patrick C Y; Lau, Susanna K P; Guo, Yong-Hui; Ngan, Antonio H Y; Che, Xiao-Yan; Yuen, Kwok-Yung

    2015-01-01

    Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans is an important fungal pathogen. The capsule is a well established virulence factor and a target site for diagnostic tests. The CPL1 gene is required for capsular formation and virulence. The protein product Cpl1 has been proposed to be a secreted protein, but the characteristics of this protein have not been reported. Here we sought to characterize Cpl1. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the Cpl1 of C. neoformans var. neoformans and the Cpl1 orthologs identified in C. neoformans var. grubii and C. gattii formed a distinct cluster among related fungi; while the putative ortholog found in Trichosporon asahii was distantly related to the Cryptococcus cluster. We expressed Cpl1 abundantly as a secreted His-tagged protein in Pichia pastoris. The protein was used to immunize guinea pigs and rabbits for high titer mono-specific polyclonal antibody that was shown to be highly specific against the cell wall of C. neoformans var. neoformans and did not cross react with C. gattii, T. asahii, Aspergillus spp., Candida spp. and Penicillium spp. Using the anti-Cpl1 antibody, we detected Cpl1 protein in the fresh culture supernatant of C. neoformans var. neoformans and we showed by immunostaining that the Cpl1 protein was located on the surface. The Cpl1 protein is a specific surface protein of C. neoformans var. neoformans. © 2015 by The Mycological Society of America.

  10. Carbon dioxide evolution and temperature factors in early growth of plastic mulched plants. [Cucumis melo L. var. reticulatus; Lactuca sativa L. var. crispa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Betts, C.; Ruf, R.H. Jr.

    1966-01-01

    Cantaloupe (Cucumis melo L. var. reticulatus) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. crispa) were grown in the greenhouse in redwood boxes with bare and plastic mulched soil. Soil temperature in the bare boxes was equated to the plastic mulch with buried temperature coils. Bottled CO/sub 2/ was used to bring the concentration around the plants in bare soil up to the concentration around mulched plants. Carbon dioxide was sampled in leaf canopy. The temperature treatment increased the yields of the bare soil so that they were comparable to those of the plastic mulched soil. Yields from the soil with the auxiliary CO/sub 2/ were lower than those of the mulched treatment.

  11. Bioactivity-guided isolation of antioxidant triterpenoids from Betula platyphylla var. japonica bark.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eom, Hee Jeong; Kang, Hee Rae; Kim, Ho Kyong; Jung, Eun Bee; Park, Hyun Bong; Kang, Ki Sung; Kim, Ki Hyun

    2016-06-01

    The bark of Betula platyphylla var. japonica (Betulaceae) has been used to treat pneumonia, choloplania, nephritis, and chronic bronchitis. This study aimed to investigate the bioactive chemical constituents of the bark of B. platyphylla var. japonica. A bioassay-guided fractionation and chemical investigation of the bark of B. platyphylla var. japonica resulted in the isolation and identification of a new lupane-type triterpene, 27-hydroxybetunolic acid (1), along with 18 known triterpenoids (2-19). The structure of the new compound (1) was elucidated on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data analysis as well as HR-ESIMS. Among the known compounds, chilianthin B (17), chilianthin C (18), and chilianthin A (19) were triterpene-lignan esters, which are rarely found in nature. Compounds 4, 6, 7, 17, 18, and 19 showed significant antioxidant activities with IC50 values in the range 4.48-43.02μM in a DPPH radical-scavenging assay. However, no compound showed significant inhibition of acetylcholine esterase (AChE). Unfortunately, the new compound (1) exhibited no significance in both biological activities. This study strongly suggests that B. platyphylla var. japonica bark is a potential source of natural antioxidants for use in pharmaceuticals and functional foods. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. [Effect of Water Extracts from Rhizosphere Soil of Cultivated Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus on It's Seed Germination and Physiological Characteristics].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, Duo-yong; Fu, Xue-yan; Rong, Jia-wang; Zhang, Xin-hui

    2015-01-01

    To explore the relationship between continuous cropping obstacle and autotoxicity of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus. Distilled water(CK), water extracts of rhizosphere soil(50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/mL) were applied to test their effect on early growth and physiological characteristics of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus. The water extracts from rhizospher soil of cultivated Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus significantly increased seedling emergence rate, root length and vigor index of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus seedling when at the concentration of 100 mg/mL or below, however,there was no significant effect at 200 mg/mL or higher. The water extracts from rhizosphere soil of cultivated Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus significantly reduced the SOD activity in Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus seedling at 400 mg/mL and POD activity at 200 mg/mL and 400 mg/mL,while significantly increased the MDA content. Water extracts from Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus rhizosphere soil significantly affected Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus germination and seedling growth in a concentration-dependent manner, generally, low concentrations increased the SOD and POD activity which improved seed germination and seedling growth, while high concentrations caused cell membrane damage of the seedling.

  13. Cryptococcus neoformans in the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus): colonization by C n. var. gattii and investigation of environmental sources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krockenberger, M B; Canfield, P J; Malik, R

    2002-06-01

    This study is the one in a series looking at the relationship among Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii, koalas and the environment. The koala was used as a natural biological sampler in an attempt to understand the dynamics of C. neoformans var. gattii in Australian environments. Evidence of asymptomatic nasal and skin colonization for extended periods by large numbers of C. n. var. gattii was obtained and geographical factors assessed. The key finding was the ability of koalas to amplify numbers of C. n. var. gattii in certain environments. Koalas were not found to be obligatory for the survival of the organism in all environments. Geographical factors alone could not explain differing rates of nasal and skin colonization in koalas in different environments. A strong association between healthy koalas and C. n. var. gattii was confirmed and C n. var. gattii was isolated from novel sources, including the turpentine gum tree (Syncarpia glomulifera), tallowwood (Eucalyptus microcorys) and flooded gum (E. grandis). It seems likely that as yet undiscovered environmental sources of C. n. var. gattii exist in eastern Australia. Further investigation of host, environmental and organism factors integral to the hostpathogen relationship will assist an understanding of the progression from colonization to tissue invasion and cryptococcosis in all species.

  14. Occurrence of pathotypes of Phoma medicaginis var. pinodella (Jones Boerema in the Olsztyn district

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helena Furgał-Węgrzycka

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The causal agents of leaves and pods spot-pot of peas and field peas in the Olsztyn district was the fungus Phoma medicaginis var. pinodella. Investigated isolates of P. medicaginis var. pinodella differed by macroscopic and microscopic features. From diseases leaves and pods of peas and field peas obtained also saprophytic fungi among which Alternaria alternata, Botrytis cinerea, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Epicoccum purpurascens, Stemphylium botryosum, Sordaria fimicola and mycelia sterilia were dominated. In the study on the identification and distribution of pathotypes of P. medicaginis var. pinodella six pathotypes were identified among which pathotype 3 were dominated. The identified pathotypes differed by macroscopic and microscopic features.

  15. Is Solanum ferox var. ferox (Solanaceae) extinct?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heiser, C.B.

    2001-01-01

    In 1995 I wrote letters to over 50 people (botanists, agricultural scientists, and former students of Indiana University) in south-eastern Asia trying to obtain a few seeds of Solanumferox L. var. ferox (S. involucratum Blume). I had over 25 replies, five of which included seeds, but none of the

  16. Erasing the Epigenetic Memory and Beginning to Switch—The Onset of Antigenic Switching of var Genes in Plasmodium falciparum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fastman, Yair; Noble, Robert; Recker, Mario; Dzikowski, Ron

    2012-01-01

    Antigenic variation in Plasmodium falciparum is regulated by transcriptional switches among members of the var gene family, each expressed in a mutually exclusive manner and encoding a different variant of the surface antigens collectively named PfEMP1. Antigenic switching starts when the first merozoites egress from the liver and begin their asexual proliferation within red blood cells. By erasing the epigenetic memory we created parasites with no var background, similar to merozoites that egress from the liver where no var gene is expressed. Creating a null-var background enabled us to investigate the onset of antigenic switches at the early phase of infection. At the onset of switching, var transcription pattern is heterogeneous with numerous genes transcribed at low levels including upsA vars, a subtype that was implicated in severe malaria, which are rarely activated in growing cultures. Analysis of subsequent in vitro switches shows that the probability of a gene to turn on or off is not associated with its chromosomal position or promoter type per se but on intrinsic properties of each gene. We concluded that var switching is determined by gene specific associated switch rates rather than general promoter type or locus associated switch rates. In addition, we show that fine tuned reduction in var transcription increases their switch rate, indicating that transcriptional perturbation can alter antigenic switching. PMID:22461905

  17. [Effects of low-light stress on photosynthetic characteristics of Paris polyphylla var. chinensis in artificial domestication cultivation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Shun-lin; Tian, Meng-liang; Liu, Jin-liang; Zhao, Ting-ting; Zhang, Zhong

    2014-09-01

    To decide on the optimum artificial domestication cultivation light environment for Paris polyphylla var. chinensis through investigating the effect of light intensity on leaf's gas exchange parameters, photosynthetic parameters, light saturation point and compensation point of Paris polyphylla var. chinensis. Different low-light stress gradients' effect on the growth of Paris polyphylla var. chinensis was compared with no low-light stress treatment through calculating leaf's gas exchange parameters, photosynthetic parameters, light saturation point and compensation point, and then all these parameters were statistically analyzed. Light intensity had significant influence on the photosynthetic characteristics of Paris polyphylla var. chinensis. With the strengthening of the low-light stress, chlorophyll content, gas exchange parameters, photosynthetic parameters P., AQY and light saturation point all gradually increased at first, and then decreased. However, both photosynthetic parameters Rd and light compensation point firstly decreased and then rose again. These results showed that too strong or too weak light intensity affected the optimization of photosynthetic parameters of Paris polyphylla var. chinensis. The optimal illuminance for each parameter was not completely same, but they could all reach a relative ideal state when the shading ranges between 40% and 60%. However, photosynthetic parameters deteriorated rapidly when the shading surpass 80%. For artificially cultivating Paris polyphylla var. chinensis in Baoxing,Sichuan or the similar ecological region, shading 40%-60% is the optimal light environment, which can enhance the photosynthesis of Paris polyphylla var. chinensis and promote the accumulation of photosynthetic products.

  18. Antidepressant-like Effect of Kaempferol and Quercitirin, Isolated from Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Soo-Hyun; Sim, Yun-Beom; Han, Pyung-Lim; Lee, Jin-Koo; Suh, Hong-Won

    2010-06-01

    Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten. is widely cultivated in Jeju Island (South Korea) for use in manufacture of health foods. This study described antidepressant effect of two flavonoids (kaempferol and quercitrin) isolated from the Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten. The expression of the hypothalamic POMC mRNA or plasma β-endorphin levels were increased by extract of Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten or its flavoniods administered orally. In addition, antidepressant activity was studied using tail suspension test (TST), forced swimming test (FST) and rota-rod test in chronically restraint immobilization stress group in mice. After restraint stress (2 hrs/day for 14 days), animals were kept in cage for 14 days without any further stress, bet with drugs. Mice were fed with a diet supplemented for 14 days and during the behavioral test period with kaempferol or quercitrin (30 mg/kg/day). POMC mRNA or plasma β-endorphin level was increased by extract of Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten and its flavoniods. In addition, immobility time in TST and FST was significantly reduced by kaempferol or quercitrin. In rota-rod test, the time of permanence was maintained to the semblance of control group in turning at 15 rpm. Our results suggest that two flavonoids (kaempferol and quercitrin) isolated from the Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten. show a potent antidepressant effect.

  19. Antidepressant-like Effect of Kaempferol and Quercitirin, Isolated from Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Soo-Hyun; Sim, Yun-Beom; Han, Pyung-Lim; Lee, Jin-Koo

    2010-01-01

    Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten. is widely cultivated in Jeju Island (South Korea) for use in manufacture of health foods. This study described antidepressant effect of two flavonoids (kaempferol and quercitrin) isolated from the Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten. The expression of the hypothalamic POMC mRNA or plasma β-endorphin levels were increased by extract of Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten or its flavoniods administered orally. In addition, antidepressant activity was studied using tail suspension test (TST), forced swimming test (FST) and rota-rod test in chronically restraint immobilization stress group in mice. After restraint stress (2 hrs/day for 14 days), animals were kept in cage for 14 days without any further stress, bet with drugs. Mice were fed with a diet supplemented for 14 days and during the behavioral test period with kaempferol or quercitrin (30 mg/kg/day). POMC mRNA or plasma β-endorphin level was increased by extract of Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten and its flavoniods. In addition, immobility time in TST and FST was significantly reduced by kaempferol or quercitrin. In rota-rod test, the time of permanence was maintained to the semblance of control group in turning at 15 rpm. Our results suggest that two flavonoids (kaempferol and quercitrin) isolated from the Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten. show a potent antidepressant effect. PMID:22110339

  20. The cross-ecosystem impact of deer on an endangered submerged macrophyte, Ranunculus nipponicus var. submersus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hino Takafumi

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Macrophytes are a critical component of freshwater ecosystems and are often eaten by cervids. However, the impact of cervids on macrophytes is not well known. In this study, we investigated the effect of sika deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis on the endangered macrophyte Ranunculus nipponicus var. submersus in a spring stream in southwestern Hokkaido, Japan. We monitored the frequency of stream habitat use by deer by using sensor cameras in photography mode for four seasons. We also monitored deer feeding behavior on R. nipponicus var. submersus using sensor cameras in movie mode. To quantitatively evaluate the impact of deer on R. nipponicus var. submersus, we conducted a field experiment in which deer were excluded from part of the stream. We selected 10 pairs of adjacent patches of R. nipponicus var. submersus and set up exclosures covering one patch in each pair. We assessed the frequency of deer feeding and trampling on the control patches using the sensor cameras in photography mode and measured the mean macrophyte stem length in the exclosure and control patches every month for four seasons. To compare abiotic conditions between the exclosure and control patches, we investigated canopy openness, water depth, water temperature, electrical conductivity, pH, current velocity, and water quality at each patch during the growing season. The frequency of deer in the stream habitat was higher from spring to summer than in other seasons. Direct evidence of deer feeding behavior on R. nipponicus var. submersus was recorded using the sensor cameras. Deer often fed on and trampled on the control patches, particularly from spring to summer. The R. nipponicus var. submersus stem length was longer in the exclosure patches than in control patches (P 0.189. Stem growth of R. nipponicus var. submersus differed among seasons (P <0.001, and was low from winter to spring. In addition, exclosure and seasonality significantly affected stem length (P <0.001, and the

  1. Probiotic Activity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii Against Human Pathogens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katarzyna Rajkowska

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Infectious diarrhoea is associated with a modification of the intestinal microflora and colonization of pathogenic bacteria. Tests were performed for seven probiotic yeast strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii, designated for the prevention and treatment of diarrhoea. To check their possible effectiveness against diarrhoea of different etiologies, the activity against a variety of human pathogenic or opportunistic bacteria was investigated in vitro. In mixed cultures with S. cerevisiae var. boulardii, a statistically significant reduction was observed in the number of cells of Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, by even 55.9 % in the case of L. monocytogenes compared with bacterial monocultures. The influence of yeasts was mostly associated with the shortening of the bacterial lag phase duration, more rapid achievement of the maximum growth rates, and a decrease by 4.4–57.1 % (L. monocytogenes, P. aeruginosa, or an increase by 1.4–70.6 % (Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Salmonella Typhimurium in the exponential growth rates. Another issue included in the research was the ability of S. cerevisiae var. boulardii to bind pathogenic bacteria to its cell surface. Yeasts have shown binding capacity of E. coli, S. Typhimurium and additionally of S. aureus, Campylobacter jejuni and E. faecalis. However, no adhesion of L. monocytogenes and P. aeruginosa to the yeast cell wall was noted. The probiotic activity of S. cerevisiae var. boulardii against human pathogens is related to a decrease in the number of viable and active cells of bacteria and the binding capacity of yeasts. These processes may limit bacterial invasiveness and prevent bacterial adherence and translocation in the human intestines.

  2. The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Dianthus superbus var. longicalycinus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurusamy, Raman; Lee, Do-Hyung; Park, SeonJoo

    2016-05-01

    The complete chloroplast genome (cpDNA) sequence of Dianthus superbus var. longicalycinus is an economically important traditional Chinese medicine was reported and characterized. The cpDNA of Dianthus superbus var. longicalycinus is 149,539 bp, with 36.3% GC content. A pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 24,803 bp is separated by a large single-copy region (LSC, 82,805 bp) and a small single-copy region (SSC, 17,128 bp). It encodes 85 protein-coding genes, 36 tRNA genes and 8 rRNA genes. Of 129 individual genes, 13 genes encoded one intron and three genes have two introns.

  3. Anogeissus sericea var. nummalaria King ex Duthie

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 8; Issue 4. Anogeissus sericea var. nummalaria King ex Duthie. Flowering Trees Volume 8 Issue 4 April 2003 pp 89-89. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link: https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/reso/008/04/0089-0089. Resonance ...

  4. Identification and characterization of microsatellite markers in Pinus kesiya var. langbianensis (Pinaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Nian-Hui; Xu, Yu-Lan; Wang, Da-Wei; Chen, Shi; Li, Gen-Qian

    2017-02-01

    Microsatellite primers were developed in Pinus kesiya var. langbianensis (Pinaceae), a species native to southwestern China, to investigate its genetic diversity and population structure in order to provide information for the conservation and management of this species. Using next-generation sequencing, a total of 2349 putative simple sequence repeat primer pairs were designed. Eighteen polymorphic markers in 60 individuals belonging to four populations of P. kesiya var. langbianensis were identified and characterized with two to 11 alleles per locus. The observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.000 to 0.800 and 0.000 to 0.840, respectively. Each of these loci cross-amplified in the closely related species P. massoniana , P. densata , P. tabuliformis , and P. yunnanensis , with one to seven alleles per locus. The new markers are promising tools to study the population genetics of P. kesiya var. langbianensis and related species.

  5. Positive selection of Plasmodium falciparum parasites with multiple var2csa-type PfEMP1 genes during the course of infection in pregnant women

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sander, Adam F; Salanti, Ali; Lavstsen, Thomas

    2011-01-01

    multiple genes coding for different VAR2CSA proteins, and parasites with >1 var2csa gene appear to be more common in pregnant women with placental malaria than in nonpregnant individuals. We present evidence that, in pregnant women, parasites containing multiple var2csa-type genes possess a selective...... advantage over parasites with a single var2csa gene. Accumulation of parasites with multiple copies of the var2csa gene during the course of pregnancy was also correlated with the development of antibodies involved in blocking VAR2CSA adhesion. The data suggest that multiplicity of var2csa-type genes...

  6. VaR: Exchange Rate Risk and Jump Risk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fen-Ying Chen

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Incorporating the Poisson jumps and exchange rate risk, this paper provides an analytical VaR to manage market risk of international portfolios over the subprime mortgage crisis. There are some properties in the model. First, different from past studies in portfolios valued only in one currency, this model considers portfolios not only with jumps but also with exchange rate risk, that is vital for investors in highly integrated global financial markets. Second, in general, the analytical VaR solution is more accurate than historical simulations in terms of backtesting and Christoffersen's independence test (1998 for small portfolios and large portfolios. In other words, the proposed model is reliable not only for a portfolio on specific stocks but also for a large portfolio. Third, the model can be regarded as the extension of that of Kupiec (1999 and Chen and Liao (2009.

  7. [Effects of mycorrhizal colonization and medicine quality of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis inoculated by different foreign AM fungi species].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou Nong; Ding, Bo; Feng, Yuan; Qi, Wen-hua; Zhang, Hua; Guo, Dong-qin; Xiang, Jun

    2015-08-01

    After 28 foreign species of AM fungi were inoculated in sterilized soil, the effects of the AM mycorrhizal colonization and the medicine quality of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis were observed by combination of inoculation test in pot at room temperature and instrumental analysis. The results showed that, compared with control group (CK), the inoculation of foreign AM fungi in the soil influenced the spore density, mycorrhizal infection rate, and colonization intensity of AM fungi in root system of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. The inoculation of foreign AM fungi enhanced the mycorrhiza viability of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis by increasing the activity of succinic dehydrogenase (SDH) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in intraradical hyphae. The content of single steroid saponin in rhizome of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis showed variation after P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis was inoculated by different foreign species of AM fungi, which was beneficial for increasing the medicine quality; however, the kinds of steroid saponin showed no difference. In a degree, there was a selectivity of symbiosis between P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis and foreign AM fungi. And we found that the Claroideoglomus claroideum and Racocetra coralloidea were best foreign AM fungi species for cultivating P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis under field condition.

  8. The effect of extract of Punica granatum var. pleniflora for treatment of minor recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gavanji, Shahin; Larki, Behrouz; Bakhtari, Azizollah

    2014-06-01

    Herbal drugs are considered alternative agents and have been used for several years around the world. Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is one of the most common problems recognized by dentists and skin specialists. This problem is characterized by recurring, painful, small oral mucosal ulcers with a round or oval aspect that mostly appear in keratinized mucosa, cheeks, and on the surface of the mouth under the tongue. In our experiment, the alcoholic and water extracts of Punica granatum var. pleniflora, P. granatum var. Sweet Alak, and P. granatum var. Saveh Black were tested on minor RAS. The study was carried out using the double-blind method. The study population consisted of 210 participants, of whom 69 were females (32%) and 141 were males (68%). In addition to checking several factors, the pain and the degree of the participant's satisfaction had been determined based on visual analog scale. Data analysis was done in the form of a nonparametric method using Kruskal-Wallis test and SPSS version 20 software. The results show that the alcoholic and water extracts of P. granatum var. pleniflora have a meaningful therapeutic effect on minor RAS. Results from the antioxidant activity and its relation to total phenolics show that P. granatum var. pleniflora and P. granatum var. Sweet Alak are rich in phenols. The water and alcoholic extracts of P. granatum varpleniflora decreased the entire time of complete treatment, and the treatment was meaningfully satisfactory for patients who participated in this experiment.

  9. LitVar: a semantic search engine for linking genomic variant data in PubMed and PMC.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allot, Alexis; Peng, Yifan; Wei, Chih-Hsuan; Lee, Kyubum; Phan, Lon; Lu, Zhiyong

    2018-05-14

    The identification and interpretation of genomic variants play a key role in the diagnosis of genetic diseases and related research. These tasks increasingly rely on accessing relevant manually curated information from domain databases (e.g. SwissProt or ClinVar). However, due to the sheer volume of medical literature and high cost of expert curation, curated variant information in existing databases are often incomplete and out-of-date. In addition, the same genetic variant can be mentioned in publications with various names (e.g. 'A146T' versus 'c.436G>A' versus 'rs121913527'). A search in PubMed using only one name usually cannot retrieve all relevant articles for the variant of interest. Hence, to help scientists, healthcare professionals, and database curators find the most up-to-date published variant research, we have developed LitVar for the search and retrieval of standardized variant information. In addition, LitVar uses advanced text mining techniques to compute and extract relationships between variants and other associated entities such as diseases and chemicals/drugs. LitVar is publicly available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/CBBresearch/Lu/Demo/LitVar.

  10. Further elucidation of the taxonomic relationships and geographic distribution of Escobaria sneedii var. sneedii, E. sneedii var. leei, and E. guadalupensis (Cactaceae)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marc A. Baker

    2007-01-01

    Individuals of E. sneedii var. sneedii were found to occur in greater abundance within the Guadalupe Mountains than was previously recorded. No additional populations morphologically intermediate between E. guadalupensis and E. sneedii were found. Taxonomic affiliation and geographic...

  11. Efficient gene replacements in ku70 disruption strain of Aspergillus chevalieri var. intermedius

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qingqing Huang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Aspergillus chevalieri var. intermedius is a dominant filamentous fungal species in Fuzhuan tea and is associated with the quality and health benefits of this tea. The sexual or asexual reproduction of this fungus depends on the osmotic pressure of the tea. Efforts to enhance the beneficial effects of A. chevalieri var. intermedius are hampered by difficulties in disrupting its genes. To address this issue, we identified the A. chevalieri var. intermedius homolog (Acku70 of human Ku70 and generated an Acku70 disruption strain (ΔAcku70, aiming to improve the gene replacement efficiency. ΔAcku70 grew at a slightly lower rate in vitro than the wild-type strain; however, the two strains exhibited similar sensitivity to temperature, osmotic pressure and the effects of ethyl methane sulphonate and H2O2. The replacement efficiency of veA and flbA dramatically increased in ΔAcku70 compared to that in the wild type. The efficiency of flbA replacement increased from 2.6% to 80%, whereas the frequency of veA disruption increased from 15.2% to 83.9% and from 30.8% to 86.8%. Thus, ΔAcku70 is suitable for use as a type strain for large-scale functional genomic analysis of A. chevalieri var. intermedius.

  12. RBF neural network prediction on weak electrical signals in Aloe vera var. chinensis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Lanzhou; Zhao, Jiayin; Wang, Miao

    2008-10-01

    A Gaussian radial base function (RBF) neural network forecast on signals in the Aloe vera var. chinensis by the wavelet soft-threshold denoised as the time series and using the delayed input window chosen at 50, is set up to forecast backward. There was the maximum amplitude at 310.45μV, minimum -75.15μV, average value -2.69μV and Aloe vera var. chinensis respectively. The electrical signal in Aloe vera var. chinensis is a sort of weak, unstable and low frequency signals. A result showed that it is feasible to forecast plant electrical signals for the timing by the RBF. The forecast data can be used as the preferences for the intelligent autocontrol system based on the adaptive characteristic of plants to achieve the energy saving on the agricultural production in the plastic lookum or greenhouse.

  13. Mutations in the Arabidopsis AtMRS2-11/AtMGT10/VAR5 Gene Cause Leaf Reticulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuang Liang

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available In higher plants, the development of functional chloroplasts is essential for photosynthesis and many other physiological processes. With a long-term goal of elucidating the genetic regulation of chloroplast development, we identified two allelic leaf variegation mutants, variegated5-1 (var5-1 and var5-2. Both mutants showed a distinct leaf reticulation phenotype of yellow paraveinal regions and green interveinal regions, and the leaf reticulation phenotype correlated with photosynthetic defects. Through the identification of mutation sites in the two mutant alleles and the molecular complementation, we confirmed that VAR5 encodes a CorA family of Mg2+ transporters also known as AtMRS2-11/AtMGT10. Using protoplast transient expression and biochemical fractionation assays, we demonstrated that AtMRS2-11/AtMGT10/VAR5 likely localizes to the chloroplast envelope. Moreover, we established that AtMRS2-11/AtMGT10/VAR5 forms large molecular weight complexes in the chloroplast and the sizes of these complexes clearly exceed those of their bacterial counterparts, suggesting the compositions of CorA Mg2+ transporter complex is different between the chloroplast and bacteria. Our findings indicate that AtMRS2-11/AtMGT10/VAR5 plays an important role in the tissue specific regulation of chloroplast development.

  14. RİSK ÖLÇÜMÜNDE ALTERNATİF YAKLAŞIMLAR: RİSKE MARUZ DEĞER (VaR ve BEKLENEN KAYIP (ES UYGULAMALARI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SEZER BOZKUŞ

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This article shows that Value-at-Risk (VaR, the most popular risk measure in practice, has a considerable positive bias when used for a portfolio with fat-tail distribution. Numerical examples, i.e. USD/Euro daily prices and ISE-100 Index monthly returns, are given to demonstrate the use of our method. In the search for a suitable alternative to VaR, Expected Shortfall (ES or conditional VaR has been characterized as the coherent risk measure to dominate VaR. We discuss properties of VaR and ES and compare them in terms of consistency with elimination of tail risk, strengths and weaknesses. We conclude that ES is more applicable than VaR since ES is free of tail risk and consistent under more lenient conditions than VaR is.

  15. Micropropagation of Caralluma stalagmifera var. longipetala : A rare ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    An efficient in vitro protocol has been developed for the multiplication of shoots and conservation of a rare succulent medicinal plant Caralluma stalagmifera var. longipetala growing wildly in Karnataka State. Proliferation of multiple shoots was achieved on Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium supplemented with various ...

  16. A measurement of the $C\\!P$ asymmetry difference in $\\varLambda_{c}^{+} \\to pK^{-}K^{+}$ and $p\\pi^{-}\\pi^{+}$ decays

    CERN Document Server

    Aaij, Roel; LHCb Collaboration; Adinolfi, Marco; Ajaltouni, Ziad; Akar, Simon; Albrecht, Johannes; Alessio, Federico; Alexander, Michael; Alfonso Albero, Alejandro; Ali, Suvayu; Alkhazov, Georgy; Alvarez Cartelle, Paula; Alves Jr, Antonio Augusto; Amato, Sandra; Amerio, Silvia; Amhis, Yasmine; An, Liupan; Anderlini, Lucio; Andreassi, Guido; Andreotti, Mirco; Andrews, Jason; Appleby, Robert; Archilli, Flavio; d'Argent, Philippe; Arnau Romeu, Joan; Artamonov, Alexander; Artuso, Marina; Aslanides, Elie; Atzeni, Michele; Auriemma, Giulio; Baalouch, Marouen; Babuschkin, Igor; Bachmann, Sebastian; Back, John; Badalov, Alexey; Baesso, Clarissa; Baker, Sophie; Balagura, Vladislav; Baldini, Wander; Baranov, Alexander; Barlow, Roger; Barschel, Colin; Barsuk, Sergey; Barter, William; Baryshnikov, Fedor; Batozskaya, Varvara; Battista, Vincenzo; Bay, Aurelio; Beaucourt, Leo; Beddow, John; Bedeschi, Franco; Bediaga, Ignacio; Beiter, Andrew; Bel, Lennaert; Beliy, Nikita; Bellee, Violaine; Belloli, Nicoletta; Belous, Konstantin; Belyaev, Ivan; Ben-Haim, Eli; Bencivenni, Giovanni; Benson, Sean; Beranek, Sarah; Berezhnoy, Alexander; Bernet, Roland; Berninghoff, Daniel; Bertholet, Emilie; Bertolin, Alessandro; Betancourt, Christopher; Betti, Federico; Bettler, Marc-Olivier; van Beuzekom, Martinus; Bezshyiko, Iaroslava; Bifani, Simone; Billoir, Pierre; Birnkraut, Alex; Bizzeti, Andrea; Bjørn, Mikkel; Blake, Thomas; Blanc, Frederic; Blusk, Steven; Bocci, Valerio; Boettcher, Thomas; Bondar, Alexander; Bondar, Nikolay; Bordyuzhin, Igor; Borghi, Silvia; Borisyak, Maxim; Borsato, Martino; Bossu, Francesco; Boubdir, Meriem; Bowcock, Themistocles; Bowen, Espen Eie; Bozzi, Concezio; Braun, Svende; Brodzicka, Jolanta; Brundu, Davide; Buchanan, Emma; Burr, Christopher; Bursche, Albert; Buytaert, Jan; Byczynski, Wiktor; Cadeddu, Sandro; Cai, Hao; Calabrese, Roberto; Calladine, Ryan; Calvi, Marta; Calvo Gomez, Miriam; Camboni, Alessandro; Campana, Pierluigi; Campora Perez, Daniel Hugo; Capriotti, Lorenzo; Carbone, Angelo; Carboni, Giovanni; Cardinale, Roberta; Cardini, Alessandro; Carniti, Paolo; Carson, Laurence; Carvalho Akiba, Kazuyoshi; Casse, Gianluigi; Cassina, Lorenzo; Cattaneo, Marco; Cavallero, Giovanni; Cenci, Riccardo; Chamont, David; Chapman, Matthew George; Charles, Matthew; Charpentier, Philippe; Chatzikonstantinidis, Georgios; Chefdeville, Maximilien; Chen, Shanzhen; Cheung, Shu Faye; Chitic, Stefan-Gabriel; Chobanova, Veronika; Chrzaszcz, Marcin; Chubykin, Alexsei; Ciambrone, Paolo; Cid Vidal, Xabier; Ciezarek, Gregory; Clarke, Peter; Clemencic, Marco; Cliff, Harry; Closier, Joel; Coco, Victor; Cogan, Julien; Cogneras, Eric; Cogoni, Violetta; Cojocariu, Lucian; Collins, Paula; Colombo, Tommaso; Comerma-Montells, Albert; Contu, Andrea; Coombs, George; Coquereau, Samuel; Corti, Gloria; Corvo, Marco; Costa Sobral, Cayo Mar; Couturier, Benjamin; Cowan, Greig; Craik, Daniel Charles; Crocombe, Andrew; Cruz Torres, Melissa Maria; Currie, Robert; D'Ambrosio, Carmelo; Da Cunha Marinho, Franciole; Da Silva, Cesar Luiz; Dall'Occo, Elena; Dalseno, Jeremy; Davis, Adam; De Aguiar Francisco, Oscar; De Bruyn, Kristof; De Capua, Stefano; De Cian, Michel; De Miranda, Jussara; De Paula, Leandro; De Serio, Marilisa; De Simone, Patrizia; Dean, Cameron Thomas; Decamp, Daniel; Del Buono, Luigi; Dembinski, Hans Peter; Demmer, Moritz; Dendek, Adam; Derkach, Denis; Deschamps, Olivier; Dettori, Francesco; Dey, Biplab; Di Canto, Angelo; Di Nezza, Pasquale; Dijkstra, Hans; Dordei, Francesca; Dorigo, Mirco; Dosil Suárez, Alvaro; Douglas, Lauren; Dovbnya, Anatoliy; Dreimanis, Karlis; Dufour, Laurent; Dujany, Giulio; Durante, Paolo; Durham, John Matthew; Dutta, Deepanwita; Dzhelyadin, Rustem; Dziewiecki, Michal; Dziurda, Agnieszka; Dzyuba, Alexey; Easo, Sajan; Ebert, Marcus; Egede, Ulrik; Egorychev, Victor; Eidelman, Semen; Eisenhardt, Stephan; Eitschberger, Ulrich; Ekelhof, Robert; Eklund, Lars; Ely, Scott; Esen, Sevda; Evans, Hannah Mary; Evans, Timothy; Falabella, Antonio; Farley, Nathanael; Farry, Stephen; Fazzini, Davide; Federici, Luca; Ferguson, Dianne; Fernandez, Gerard; Fernandez Declara, Placido; Fernandez Prieto, Antonio; Ferrari, Fabio; Ferreira Lopes, Lino; Ferreira Rodrigues, Fernando; Ferro-Luzzi, Massimiliano; Filippov, Sergey; Fini, Rosa Anna; Fiorini, Massimiliano; Firlej, Miroslaw; Fitzpatrick, Conor; Fiutowski, Tomasz; Fleuret, Frederic; Fontana, Marianna; Fontanelli, Flavio; Forty, Roger; Franco Lima, Vinicius; Frank, Markus; Frei, Christoph; Fu, Jinlin; Funk, Wolfgang; Furfaro, Emiliano; Färber, Christian; Gabriel, Emmy; Gallas Torreira, Abraham; Galli, Domenico; Gallorini, Stefano; Gambetta, Silvia; Gandelman, Miriam; Gandini, Paolo; Gao, Yuanning; Garcia Martin, Luis Miguel; García Pardiñas, Julián; Garra Tico, Jordi; Garrido, Lluis; Gascon, David; Gaspar, Clara; Gavardi, Laura; Gazzoni, Giulio; Gerick, David; Gersabeck, Evelina; Gersabeck, Marco; Gershon, Timothy; Ghez, Philippe; Gianì, Sebastiana; Gibson, Valerie; Girard, Olivier Göran; Giubega, Lavinia-Helena; Gizdov, Konstantin; Gligorov, Vladimir; Golubkov, Dmitry; Golutvin, Andrey; Gomes, Alvaro; Gorelov, Igor Vladimirovich; Gotti, Claudio; Govorkova, Ekaterina; Grabowski, Jascha Peter; Graciani Diaz, Ricardo; Granado Cardoso, Luis Alberto; Graugés, Eugeni; Graverini, Elena; Graziani, Giacomo; Grecu, Alexandru; Greim, Roman; Griffith, Peter; Grillo, Lucia; Gruber, Lukas; Gruberg Cazon, Barak Raimond; Grünberg, Oliver; Gushchin, Evgeny; Guz, Yury; Gys, Thierry; Göbel, Carla; Hadavizadeh, Thomas; Hadjivasiliou, Christos; Haefeli, Guido; Haen, Christophe; Haines, Susan; Hamilton, Brian; Han, Xiaoxue; Hancock, Thomas Henry; Hansmann-Menzemer, Stephanie; Harnew, Neville; Harnew, Samuel; Hasse, Christoph; Hatch, Mark; He, Jibo; Hecker, Malte; Heinicke, Kevin; Heister, Arno; Hennessy, Karol; Henrard, Pierre; Henry, Louis; van Herwijnen, Eric; Heß, Miriam; Hicheur, Adlène; Hill, Donal; Hopchev, Plamen Hristov; Hu, Wenhua; Huang, Wenqian; Huard, Zachary; Hulsbergen, Wouter; Humair, Thibaud; Hushchyn, Mikhail; Hutchcroft, David; Ibis, Philipp; Idzik, Marek; Ilten, Philip; Jacobsson, Richard; Jalocha, Pawel; Jans, Eddy; Jawahery, Abolhassan; Jiang, Feng; John, Malcolm; Johnson, Daniel; Jones, Christopher; Joram, Christian; Jost, Beat; Jurik, Nathan; Kandybei, Sergii; Karacson, Matthias; Kariuki, James Mwangi; Karodia, Sarah; Kazeev, Nikita; Kecke, Matthieu; Keizer, Floris; Kelsey, Matthew; Kenzie, Matthew; Ketel, Tjeerd; Khairullin, Egor; Khanji, Basem; Khurewathanakul, Chitsanu; Kirn, Thomas; Klaver, Suzanne; Klimaszewski, Konrad; Klimkovich, Tatsiana; Koliiev, Serhii; Kolpin, Michael; Kopecna, Renata; Koppenburg, Patrick; Kosmyntseva, Alena; Kotriakhova, Sofia; Kozeiha, Mohamad; Kravchuk, Leonid; Kreps, Michal; Kress, Felix Johannes; Krokovny, Pavel; Krzemien, Wojciech; Kucewicz, Wojciech; Kucharczyk, Marcin; Kudryavtsev, Vasily; Kuonen, Axel Kevin; Kvaratskheliya, Tengiz; Lacarrere, Daniel; Lafferty, George; Lai, Adriano; Lanfranchi, Gaia; Langenbruch, Christoph; Latham, Thomas; Lazzeroni, Cristina; Le Gac, Renaud; Leflat, Alexander; Lefrançois, Jacques; Lefèvre, Regis; Lemaitre, Florian; Lemos Cid, Edgar; Leroy, Olivier; Lesiak, Tadeusz; Leverington, Blake; Li, Pei-Rong; Li, Tenglin; Li, Yiming; Li, Zhuoming; Liang, Xixin; Likhomanenko, Tatiana; Lindner, Rolf; Lionetto, Federica; Lisovskyi, Vitalii; Liu, Xuesong; Loh, David; Loi, Angelo; Longstaff, Iain; Lopes, Jose; Lucchesi, Donatella; Lucio Martinez, Miriam; Luo, Haofei; Lupato, Anna; Luppi, Eleonora; Lupton, Oliver; Lusiani, Alberto; Lyu, Xiao-Rui; Machefert, Frederic; Maciuc, Florin; Macko, Vladimir; Mackowiak, Patrick; Maddrell-Mander, Samuel; Maev, Oleg; Maguire, Kevin; Maisuzenko, Dmitrii; Majewski, Maciej Witold; Malde, Sneha; Malecki, Bartosz; Malinin, Alexander; Maltsev, Timofei; Manca, Giulia; Mancinelli, Giampiero; Marangotto, Daniele; Maratas, Jan; Marchand, Jean François; Marconi, Umberto; Marin Benito, Carla; Marinangeli, Matthieu; Marino, Pietro; Marks, Jörg; Martellotti, Giuseppe; Martin, Morgan; Martinelli, Maurizio; Martinez Santos, Diego; Martinez Vidal, Fernando; Massafferri, André; Matev, Rosen; Mathad, Abhijit; Mathe, Zoltan; Matteuzzi, Clara; Mauri, Andrea; Maurice, Emilie; Maurin, Brice; Mazurov, Alexander; McCann, Michael; McNab, Andrew; McNulty, Ronan; Mead, James Vincent; Meadows, Brian; Meaux, Cedric; Meier, Frank; Meinert, Nis; Melnychuk, Dmytro; Merk, Marcel; Merli, Andrea; Michielin, Emanuele; Milanes, Diego Alejandro; Millard, Edward James; Minard, Marie-Noelle; Minzoni, Luca; Mitzel, Dominik Stefan; Mogini, Andrea; Molina Rodriguez, Josue; Mombächer, Titus; Monroy, Igancio Alberto; Monteil, Stephane; Morandin, Mauro; Morello, Michael Joseph; Morgunova, Olga; Moron, Jakub; Morris, Adam Benjamin; Mountain, Raymond; Muheim, Franz; Mulder, Mick; Müller, Dominik; Müller, Janine; Müller, Katharina; Müller, Vanessa; Naik, Paras; Nakada, Tatsuya; Nandakumar, Raja; Nandi, Anita; Nasteva, Irina; Needham, Matthew; Neri, Nicola; Neubert, Sebastian; Neufeld, Niko; Neuner, Max; Nguyen, Thi Dung; Nguyen-Mau, Chung; Nieswand, Simon; Niet, Ramon; Nikitin, Nikolay; Nikodem, Thomas; Nogay, Alla; O'Hanlon, Daniel Patrick; Oblakowska-Mucha, Agnieszka; Obraztsov, Vladimir; Ogilvy, Stephen; Oldeman, Rudolf; Onderwater, Gerco; Ossowska, Anna; Otalora Goicochea, Juan Martin; Owen, Patrick; Oyanguren, Maria Aranzazu; Pais, Preema Rennee; Palano, Antimo; Palutan, Matteo; Papanestis, Antonios; Pappagallo, Marco; Pappalardo, Luciano; Parker, William; Parkes, Christopher; Passaleva, Giovanni; Pastore, Alessandra; Patel, Mitesh; Patrignani, Claudia; Pearce, Alex; Pellegrino, Antonio; Penso, Gianni; Pepe Altarelli, Monica; Perazzini, Stefano; Pereima, Dmitrii; Perret, Pascal; Pescatore, Luca; Petridis, Konstantinos; Petrolini, Alessandro; Petrov, Aleksandr; Petruzzo, Marco; Picatoste Olloqui, Eduardo; Pietrzyk, Boleslaw; Pietrzyk, Guillaume; Pikies, Malgorzata; Pinci, Davide; Pisani, Flavio; Pistone, Alessandro; Piucci, Alessio; Placinta, Vlad-Mihai; Playfer, Stephen; Plo Casasus, Maximo; Polci, Francesco; Poli Lener, Marco; Poluektov, Anton; Polyakov, Ivan; Polycarpo, Erica; Pomery, Gabriela Johanna; Ponce, Sebastien; Popov, Alexander; Popov, Dmitry; Poslavskii, Stanislav; Potterat, Cédric; Price, Eugenia; Prisciandaro, Jessica; Prouve, Claire; Pugatch, Valery; Puig Navarro, Albert; Pullen, Hannah Louise; Punzi, Giovanni; Qian, Wenbin; Qin, Jia-Jia; Quagliani, Renato; Quintana, Boris; Rachwal, Bartlomiej; Rademacker, Jonas; Rama, Matteo; Ramos Pernas, Miguel; Rangel, Murilo; Raniuk, Iurii; Ratnikov, Fedor; Raven, Gerhard; Ravonel Salzgeber, Melody; Reboud, Meril; Redi, Federico; Reichert, Stefanie; dos Reis, Alberto; Remon Alepuz, Clara; Renaudin, Victor; Ricciardi, Stefania; Richards, Sophie; Rihl, Mariana; Rinnert, Kurt; Robbe, Patrick; Robert, Arnaud; Rodrigues, Ana Barbara; Rodrigues, Eduardo; Rodriguez Lopez, Jairo Alexis; Rogozhnikov, Alexey; Roiser, Stefan; Rollings, Alexandra Paige; Romanovskiy, Vladimir; Romero Vidal, Antonio; Rotondo, Marcello; Rudolph, Matthew Scott; Ruf, Thomas; Ruiz Valls, Pablo; Ruiz Vidal, Joan; Saborido Silva, Juan Jose; Sadykhov, Elnur; Sagidova, Naylya; Saitta, Biagio; Salustino Guimaraes, Valdir; Sanchez Mayordomo, Carlos; Sanmartin Sedes, Brais; Santacesaria, Roberta; Santamarina Rios, Cibran; Santimaria, Marco; Santovetti, Emanuele; Sarpis, Gediminas; Sarti, Alessio; Satriano, Celestina; Satta, Alessia; Saunders, Daniel Martin; Savrina, Darya; Schael, Stefan; Schellenberg, Margarete; Schiller, Manuel; Schindler, Heinrich; Schmelling, Michael; Schmelzer, Timon; Schmidt, Burkhard; Schneider, Olivier; Schopper, Andreas; Schreiner, HF; Schubiger, Maxime; Schune, Marie Helene; Schwemmer, Rainer; Sciascia, Barbara; Sciubba, Adalberto; Semennikov, Alexander; Sepulveda, Eduardo Enrique; Sergi, Antonino; Serra, Nicola; Serrano, Justine; Sestini, Lorenzo; Seyfert, Paul; Shapkin, Mikhail; Shapoval, Illya; Shcheglov, Yury; Shears, Tara; Shekhtman, Lev; Shevchenko, Vladimir; Siddi, Benedetto Gianluca; Silva Coutinho, Rafael; Silva de Oliveira, Luiz Gustavo; Simi, Gabriele; Simone, Saverio; Sirendi, Marek; Skidmore, Nicola; Skwarnicki, Tomasz; Smith, Iwan Thomas; Smith, Jackson; Smith, Mark; Soares Lavra, Lais; Sokoloff, Michael; Soler, Paul; Souza De Paula, Bruno; Spaan, Bernhard; Spradlin, Patrick; Sridharan, Srikanth; Stagni, Federico; Stahl, Marian; Stahl, Sascha; Stefko, Pavol; Stefkova, Slavomira; Steinkamp, Olaf; Stemmle, Simon; Stenyakin, Oleg; Stepanova, Margarita; Stevens, Holger; Stone, Sheldon; Storaci, Barbara; Stracka, Simone; Stramaglia, Maria Elena; Straticiuc, Mihai; Straumann, Ulrich; Sun, Jiayin; Sun, Liang; Swientek, Krzysztof; Syropoulos, Vasileios; Szumlak, Tomasz; Szymanski, Maciej Pawel; T'Jampens, Stephane; Tayduganov, Andrey; Tekampe, Tobias; Tellarini, Giulia; Teubert, Frederic; Thomas, Eric; van Tilburg, Jeroen; Tilley, Matthew James; Tisserand, Vincent; Tobin, Mark; Tolk, Siim; Tomassetti, Luca; Tonelli, Diego; Tourinho Jadallah Aoude, Rafael; Tournefier, Edwige; Traill, Murdo; Tran, Minh Tâm; Tresch, Marco; Trisovic, Ana; Tsaregorodtsev, Andrei; Tsopelas, Panagiotis; Tully, Alison; Tuning, Niels; Ukleja, Artur; Usachov, Andrii; Ustyuzhanin, Andrey; Uwer, Ulrich; Vacca, Claudia; Vagner, Alexander; Vagnoni, Vincenzo; Valassi, Andrea; Valat, Sebastien; Valenti, Giovanni; Vazquez Gomez, Ricardo; Vazquez Regueiro, Pablo; Vecchi, Stefania; van Veghel, Maarten; Velthuis, Jaap; Veltri, Michele; Veneziano, Giovanni; Venkateswaran, Aravindhan; Verlage, Tobias Anton; Vernet, Maxime; Vesterinen, Mika; Viana Barbosa, Joao Vitor; Vieira, Daniel; Vieites Diaz, Maria; Viemann, Harald; Vilasis-Cardona, Xavier; Vitti, Marcela; Volkov, Vladimir; Vollhardt, Achim; Voneki, Balazs; Vorobyev, Alexey; Vorobyev, Vitaly; Voß, Christian; de Vries, Jacco; Vázquez Sierra, Carlos; Waldi, Roland; Walsh, John; Wang, Jianchun; Wang, Yilong; Ward, David; Wark, Heather Mckenzie; Watson, Nigel; Websdale, David; Weiden, Andreas; Weisser, Constantin; Whitehead, Mark; Wicht, Jean; Wilkinson, Guy; Wilkinson, Michael; Williams, Mark Richard James; Williams, Mike; Williams, Timothy; Wilson, Fergus; Wimberley, Jack; Winn, Michael Andreas; Wishahi, Julian; Wislicki, Wojciech; Witek, Mariusz; Wormser, Guy; Wotton, Stephen; Wyllie, Kenneth; Xie, Yuehong; Xu, Menglin; Xu, Qingnian; Xu, Zehua; Xu, Zhirui; Yang, Zhenwei; Yang, Zishuo; Yao, Yuezhe; Yin, Hang; Yu, Jiesheng; Yuan, Xuhao; Yushchenko, Oleg; Zarebski, Kristian Alexander; Zavertyaev, Mikhail; Zhang, Liming; Zhang, Yanxi; Zhelezov, Alexey; Zheng, Yangheng; Zhu, Xianglei; Zhukov, Valery; Zonneveld, Jennifer Brigitta; Zucchelli, Stefano

    2017-01-01

    The difference between the $C\\!P$ asymmetries in the decays $\\varLambda_{c}^{+} \\to pK^{-}K^{+}$ and $\\varLambda_{c}^{+} \\to p\\pi^{-}\\pi^{+}$ is presented. Proton-proton collision data taken at centre-of-mass energies of $7$ and $8\\,\\mathrm{TeV}$ collected by the LHCb detector in 2011 and 2012 are used, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $3\\,\\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$. The $\\varLambda_{c}^{+}$ candidates are reconstructed as part of the $\\varLambda_{b}^{0} \\to \\varLambda_{c}^{+}\\mu^{-}X$ decay chain. In order to maximize the cancellation of production and detection asymmetries in the difference, the final-state kinematic distributions of the two samples are aligned by applying phase-space-dependent weights to the \\mbox{$\\varLambda_{c}^{+} \\to p\\pi^{-}\\pi^{+}$} sample. This alters the definition of the integrated $C\\!P$ asymmetry to $A_{C\\!P}^{\\text{wgt}}(p\\pi^{-}\\pi^{+})$. Both samples are corrected for reconstruction and selection efficiencies across the five-dimensional $\\varLambda_{c}^{+}$ decay phase s...

  17. VarR controls colonization and virulence in the marine macroalgal pathogen Nautella italica R11

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa eGardiner

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available There is increasing evidence to suggest that macroalgae (seaweeds are susceptible to infectious disease. However, to date, little is known about the mechanisms that facilitate the colonization and virulence of microbial seaweed pathogens. One well-described example of a seaweed disease is the bleaching of the red alga Delisea pulchra, which can be caused by the bacterium Nautella italica R11, a member of the Roseobacter clade. This pathogen contains a unique luxR-type gene, varR, which we hypothesize controls its colonization and virulence. We show here that a varR knock-out strain is deficient in its ability to cause disease in D. pulchra and is defective in biofilm formation and attachment to a common algal polysaccharide. Moreover complementation of the varR gene in trans can restore these functions to the wild type levels. Proteomic analysis of bacterial cells in planktonic and biofilm growth highlight the potential importance of nitrogen scavenging, mobilization of energy reserves, and stress resistance in the biofilm lifestyle of N. italica R11. Moreover, we show that VarR regulates the expression of a specific subset of biofilm-associated proteins. Taken together these data suggest that VarR controls colonization and persistence of N. italica R11 on the surface of a macroalgal host and that it is an important regulator of virulence.

  18. VAR IPP-IPC Model Simulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan P. Pérez Monsalve

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This work analyzed the relationship of the two main Price indicators in the Colombian economy, the IPP and the IPC. For this purpose, we identified the theory comprising both indexes to then develop a vector autoregressive model, which shows the reaction to shocks both in itself as in the other variable, whose impact continues propagating in the long term. Additionally, the work presents a simulation of the VAR model through the Monte Carlo method, verifying the coincidence in distributions of probability and volatility levels, as well as the existence correlation over time

  19. Induction of adhesion-inhibitory antibodies against placental Plasmodium falciparum parasites by using single domains of VAR2CSA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Morten A; Pinto, Vera V; Resende, Mafalda

    2009-01-01

    between a parasite protein expressed on erythrocytes named variant surface antigen 2-chondroitin sulfate A (VAR2CSA) and CSA on syncytiotrophoblasts. VAR2CSA is a large polymorphic protein consisting of six Duffy binding-like (DBL), domains and with current constraints on recombinant protein production...... which induce antibodies that inhibit CSA binding of different parasite strains. In this study, we produced a large panel of VAR2CSA proteins and raised antibodies against these antigens. We show that antibodies against the DBL4 domain effectively inhibit parasite binding. As the inhibition...... was not limited to homologous parasite strains, it seems feasible to base a protective malaria vaccine on a single VAR2CSA DBL domain....

  20. [Leishmaniasis transmission focus in El Hobo, Carmen de Bolívar, Bolívar, Colombia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cortés, Luis Alberto

    2006-10-01

    The epidemiological characteristics and the importance of the Lutzomyia species present in a leishmaniasis focus in the village El Hobo, Carmen de Bolívar, Department of Bolivar, Colombia, are described. To obtain a preliminary assessment of leishmaniasis transmission in the village of El Hobo, Carmen de Bolívar. Epidemiological data were analyzed and sandflies were collected with CDC traps and on protected human volunteers in the village of El Hobo. Sero prevalence of canine visceral leishmaniasis in dogs was evaluated using indirect inmunofluorescence (IFAT). Nine Lutzomyia species were collected: L. trinidadensis, L. evansi, L. cayennensis, L. venezuelensis, L. gomezi, L. dubitans, L. ylephiletor, L. yuilli, and L. walkeri. The species of greater importance based on their implication in the transmission of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis were L. gomezi, and L. evansi respectively. Specimens of L. venezuelensis, L. dubitans, L. ylephiletor, L. yuilli, and L. walkeri are reported for the first time for the Department of Bolivar. The sero prevalence of visceral leishmaniasis in dogs was 36%. According to the epidemiological records, in 2002 the municipality of Carmen de Bolivar presented a 40% increase in cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis and an 80% increase in canine visceral leishmaniasis as compared to 2001, due to the outbreak in the village of El Hobo. The results indicate that the village of El Hobo is an area of potential risk for transmission of both cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis.

  1. Expression of P. falciparum var Genes Involves Exchange of the Histone Variant H2A.Z at the Promoter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petter, Michaela; Lee, Chin Chin; Byrne, Timothy J.; Boysen, Katja E.; Volz, Jennifer; Ralph, Stuart A.; Cowman, Alan F.; Brown, Graham V.; Duffy, Michael F.

    2011-01-01

    Plasmodium falciparum employs antigenic variation to evade the human immune response by switching the expression of different variant surface antigens encoded by the var gene family. Epigenetic mechanisms including histone modifications and sub-nuclear compartmentalization contribute to transcriptional regulation in the malaria parasite, in particular to control antigenic variation. Another mechanism of epigenetic control is the exchange of canonical histones with alternative variants to generate functionally specialized chromatin domains. Here we demonstrate that the alternative histone PfH2A.Z is associated with the epigenetic regulation of var genes. In many eukaryotic organisms the histone variant H2A.Z mediates an open chromatin structure at promoters and facilitates diverse levels of regulation, including transcriptional activation. Throughout the asexual, intraerythrocytic lifecycle of P. falciparum we found that the P. falciparum ortholog of H2A.Z (PfH2A.Z) colocalizes with histone modifications that are characteristic of transcriptionally-permissive euchromatin, but not with markers of heterochromatin. Consistent with this finding, antibodies to PfH2A.Z co-precipitate the permissive modification H3K4me3. By chromatin-immunoprecipitation we show that PfH2A.Z is enriched in nucleosomes around the transcription start site (TSS) in both transcriptionally active and silent stage-specific genes. In var genes, however, PfH2A.Z is enriched at the TSS only during active transcription in ring stage parasites. Thus, in contrast to other genes, temporal var gene regulation involves histone variant exchange at promoter nucleosomes. Sir2 histone deacetylases are important for var gene silencing and their yeast ortholog antagonises H2A.Z function in subtelomeric yeast genes. In immature P. falciparum parasites lacking Sir2A or Sir2B high var transcription levels correlate with enrichment of PfH2A.Z at the TSS. As Sir2A knock out parasites mature the var genes are

  2. Impacts of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis and Bacillus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study assessed the impact of bio-larvicides- Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) and B. sphaericus (Bs) on anopheline mosquito larval densities in four selected areas of Lusaka urban district. Larval densities were determined using a standard WHO protocol at each study area prior to and after larviciding.

  3. Scalable and Flexible Multiview MAX-VAR Canonical Correlation Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Xiao; Huang, Kejun; Hong, Mingyi; Sidiropoulos, Nicholas D.; So, Anthony Man-Cho

    2017-08-01

    Generalized canonical correlation analysis (GCCA) aims at finding latent low-dimensional common structure from multiple views (feature vectors in different domains) of the same entities. Unlike principal component analysis (PCA) that handles a single view, (G)CCA is able to integrate information from different feature spaces. Here we focus on MAX-VAR GCCA, a popular formulation which has recently gained renewed interest in multilingual processing and speech modeling. The classic MAX-VAR GCCA problem can be solved optimally via eigen-decomposition of a matrix that compounds the (whitened) correlation matrices of the views; but this solution has serious scalability issues, and is not directly amenable to incorporating pertinent structural constraints such as non-negativity and sparsity on the canonical components. We posit regularized MAX-VAR GCCA as a non-convex optimization problem and propose an alternating optimization (AO)-based algorithm to handle it. Our algorithm alternates between {\\em inexact} solutions of a regularized least squares subproblem and a manifold-constrained non-convex subproblem, thereby achieving substantial memory and computational savings. An important benefit of our design is that it can easily handle structure-promoting regularization. We show that the algorithm globally converges to a critical point at a sublinear rate, and approaches a global optimal solution at a linear rate when no regularization is considered. Judiciously designed simulations and large-scale word embedding tasks are employed to showcase the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

  4. Molt disruption and mortality of Locusta migratoria var. manilensis ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    IGRs) on the oriental migratory locust Locusta migratoria var. manilensis were assessed. Under laboratory conditions, at the highest tested dose rate of 300 ppm, the percent mortality and molt inhibition after two weeks for the five tested ...

  5. Immunogenic Properties of Ricinus Communis Var Minor Seed on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Prof. Ogunji

    1College of Health Technology, Zawan, Plateau State.2Department of ... Ricinus communis var minor seed included in their feed (5g/100g body weight). ... White Blood cell Count (WBC) count and lymphocytosis in the differential count.

  6. A var gene promoter implicated in severe malaria nucleates silencing and is regulated by 3' untranslated region and intronic cis-elements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muhle, Rebecca A; Adjalley, Sophie; Falkard, Brie; Nkrumah, Louis J; Muhle, Michael E; Fidock, David A

    2009-11-01

    Questions surround the mechanism of mutually exclusive expression by which Plasmodium falciparum mediates activation and silencing of var genes. These encode PfEMP1 proteins, which function as cytoadherent and immunomodulatory molecules at the surface of parasitised erythrocytes. Current evidence suggests that promoter silencing by var introns might play a key role in var gene regulation. To evaluate the impact of cis-acting regulatory regions on var silencing, we generated P. falciparum lines in which luciferase was placed under the control of an UpsA var promoter. By utilising the Bxb1 integrase system, these reporter cassettes were targeted to a genomic region that was not in apposition to var subtelomeric domains. This eliminated possible effects from surrounding telomeric elements and removed the variability inherent in episomal systems. Studies with highly synchronised parasites revealed that the UpsA element possessed minimal activity in comparison with a heterologous (hrp3) promoter. This may result from the integrated UpsA promoter being largely silenced by the neighbouring cg6 promoter. Our analyses also revealed that the DownsA 3' untranslated region further decreased the luciferase activity from both cassettes, whereas the var A intron repressed the UpsA promoter specifically. By applying multivariate analysis over the entire cell cycle, we confirmed the significance of these cis-elements and found the parasite stage to be the major factor regulating UpsA-promoter activity. Additionally, we observed that the UpsA promoter was capable of nucleating reversible silencing that spread to a downstream promoter. We believe these studies are the first to analyse promoter activity of Group A var genes, which have been implicated in severe malaria, and support the model that var introns can further suppress var expression. These data also suggest an important suppressive role for the DownsA terminator. Our findings imply the existence of multiple levels of var

  7. Assimilation of Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) Profiles using WRF-Var

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zavodsky, Brad; Jedlovec, Gary J.; Lapenta, William

    2008-01-01

    The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model contains a three-dimensional variational (3DVAR) assimilation system (WRF-Var), which allows a user to join data from multiple sources into one coherent analysis. WRF-Var combines observations with a background field traditionally generated using a previous model forecast through minimization of a cost function. In data sparse regions, remotely-sensed observations may be able to improve analyses and produce improved forecasts. One such source comes from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), which together with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU), represents one of the most advanced space-based atmospheric sounding systems. The combined AIRS/AMSU system provides radiance measurements used as input to a sophisticated retrieval scheme which has been shown to produce temperature profiles with an accuracy of 1 K over 1 km layers and humidity profiles with accuracy of 15% in 2 km layers in both clear and partly cloudy conditions. The retrieval algorithm also provides estimates of the accuracy of the retrieved values at each pressure level, allowing the user to select profiles based on the required error tolerances of the application. The purpose of this paper is to describe a procedure to optimally assimilate high-resolution AIRS profile data into a regional configuration of the Advanced Research WRF (ARW) version 2.2 using WRF-Var. The paper focuses on development of background error covariances for the regional domain and background field type using gen_be and an optimal methodology for ingesting AIRS temperature and moisture profiles as separate overland and overwater retrievals with different error characteristics in the WRF-Var. The AIRS thermodynamic profiles are obtained from the version 5.0 Earth Observing System (EOS) science team retrieval algorithm and contain information about the quality of each temperature layer. The quality indicators are used to select the highest quality temperature and moisture

  8. Several domains from VAR2CSA can induce Plasmodium falciparum adhesion-blocking antibodies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Salanti, Ali; Resende, Mafalda; Ditlev, Sisse B

    2010-01-01

    . In this study, it is demonstrated that other domains of VAR2CSA also can induce antibodies with inhibitory activity. METHODS: All VAR2CSA domains from the 3D7 and HB3 parasites were produced in Baculovirus-transfected insect cells. Groups of three rats per protein were immunized and anti-sera were tested...

  9. Transcription of the var genes from a freshly-obtained field isolate of Plasmodium falciparum shows more variable switching patterns than long laboratory-adapted isolates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Run; Zhang, Dongmei; Chen, Biaobang; Zhu, Yongqiang; Zhang, Yilong; Wang, Shengyue; Pan, Weiqing

    2015-02-07

    Antigenic variation in Plasmodium falciparum involves switching among multicopy var gene family and is responsible for immune evasion and the maintenance of chronic infections. Current understanding of var gene expression and switching patterns comes from experiments conducted on long laboratory-adapted strains, with little known about their wild counterparts. Genome sequencing was used to obtain 50 var genes from a parasite isolated from the China-Myanmar border. Four clones with different dominant var genes were cultured in vitro in replicates for 50 generations. Transcription of the individual var gene was detected by real-time PCR and then the switching process was analysed. The expression of multicopy var genes is mutually exclusive in clones of a wild P. falciparum isolate. The activation of distinct primary dominant var genes leads to different and favoured switching patterns in the four clones. The on/off rates of individual var genes are variable and the choice of subsequent dominant var genes are random, which results in the different switching patterns among replicates of each clonal wild P. falciparum isolate with near identical initial transcription profiles. This study suggests that the switching patterns of var genes are abundant, which consist of both conserved and random parts.

  10. A re-assessment of gene-tag classification approaches for describing var gene expression patterns during human Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Githinji, George; Bull, Peter C

    2017-01-01

    PfEMP1 are variant parasite antigens that are inserted on the surface of Plasmodium falciparum infected erythrocytes (IE). Through interactions with various host molecules, PfEMP1 mediate IE sequestration in tissues and play a key role in the pathology of severe malaria. PfEMP1 is encoded by a diverse multi-gene family called var . Previous studies have shown that that expression of specific subsets of var genes are associated with low levels of host immunity and severe malaria. However, in most clinical studies to date, full-length var gene sequences were unavailable and various approaches have been used to make comparisons between var gene expression profiles in different parasite isolates using limited information. Several studies have relied on the classification of a 300 - 500 base-pair "DBLα tag" region in the DBLα domain located at the 5' end of most var genes. We assessed the relationship between various DBLα tag classification methods, and sequence features that are only fully assessable through full-length var gene sequences. We compared these different sequence features in full-length var gene from six fully sequenced laboratory isolates. These comparisons show that despite a long history of recombination,   DBLα sequence tag classification can provide functional information on important features of full-length var genes. Notably, a specific subset of DBLα tags previously defined as "group A-like" is associated with CIDRα1 domains proposed to bind to endothelial protein C receptor. This analysis helps to bring together different sources of data that have been used to assess var gene expression in clinical parasite isolates.

  11. Putative DNA G-quadruplex formation within the promoters of Plasmodium falciparum var genes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rowe J

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Guanine-rich nucleic acid sequences are capable of folding into an intramolecular four-stranded structure called a G-quadruplex. When found in gene promoter regions, G-quadruplexes can downregulate gene expression, possibly by blocking the transcriptional machinery. Here we have used a genome-wide bioinformatic approach to identify Putative G-Quadruplex Sequences (PQS in the Plasmodium falciparum genome, along with biophysical techniques to examine the physiological stability of P. falciparum PQS in vitro. Results We identified 63 PQS in the non-telomeric regions of the P. falciparum clone 3D7. Interestingly, 16 of these PQS occurred in the upstream region of a subset of the P. falciparum var genes (group B var genes. The var gene family encodes PfEMP1, the parasite's major variant antigen and adhesin expressed at the surface of infected erythrocytes, that plays a key role in malaria pathogenesis and immune evasion. The ability of the PQS found in the upstream regions of group B var genes (UpsB-Q to form stable G-quadruplex structures in vitro was confirmed using 1H NMR, circular dichroism, UV spectroscopy, and thermal denaturation experiments. Moreover, the synthetic compound BOQ1 that shows a higher affinity for DNA forming quadruplex rather than duplex structures was found to bind with high affinity to the UpsB-Q. Conclusion This is the first demonstration of non-telomeric PQS in the genome of P. falciparum that form stable G-quadruplexes under physiological conditions in vitro. These results allow the generation of a novel hypothesis that the G-quadruplex sequences in the upstream regions of var genes have the potential to play a role in the transcriptional control of this major virulence-associated multi-gene family.

  12. Transient Stability Enhancement in Power System Using Static VAR Compensator (SVC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Youssef MOULOUDI

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, an indirect adaptive fuzzy excitation and static VAR (unit of reactive power, volt-ampere reactive compensator (SVC controller is proposed to enhance transient stability for the power system, which based on input-output linearization technique. A three-bus system, which contains a generator and static VAR compensator (SVC, is considered in this paper, the SVC is located at the midpoint of the transmission lines. Simulation results show that the proposed controller compared with a controller based on tradition linearization technique can enhance the transient stability of the power system under a large sudden fault, which may occur nearly at the generator bus terminal.

  13. MANAGEMENT OF Amburana cearensis var. acreana IN ACRE STATE, BRAZIL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evaldo Muñoz Braz

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/1980509814586This work has as its objectives: a to assess the geographical distribution and population structure of Amburana cearensis var. acreana; b to calculate sustainable cutting rates, according to stipulated cutting cycles, and c to simulate the projected recovery potential in volume based on the calculated cutting rate. It was used data from sustainable forest management plans, and the results will contribute for future decisions about its endangered condition. The results did not corroborate the information that Amburana cearensis var. acreana is endangered in Acre state. However the management sustainability will only be feasible if considered the ideal remaining population structure and the estimative of the optimal cutting rate according to the cutting cycle.

  14. Anogeissus sericea var. nummalaria King ex Duthie (Combretaceae ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Anogeissus sericea var. nummalaria King ex Duthie (Combretaceae) is moderate sized multipurpose hard wood tree of dry deciduous forests with drooping branches and yellow to brownish-yellow flowers. it is endemic to Rajasthan and is considered to be a threatened tree of the region due to over exploitation for timber ...

  15. Spatial and temporal variations of Cocconeis placentula var. euglypta (Ehrenb. 1854 Grunow, 1884 in drift and periphyton

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    EN. Gari

    Full Text Available Spatial and temporal variations of Cocconeis placentula var. euglypta in drift and periphyton were studied in mountain streams of the Córdoba Province (Argentina. The sampling program was conducted in study sites located on a confluence between different order streams during an annual cycle. Samples were also taken every two hours during the daylight period in high and low water conditions. The relationship between drift and cellular reproduction was evaluated by valve length biometrics analysis. C. placentula var. euglypta drift was continuous; its density was not always dependent on periphyton density in each locality. C. placentula var. euglypta drift could be related to abiotic factors such as temperature and flow during the annual cycle. There were significant differences between periphyton and drift valve lengths. Moreover, drift can be associated with cellular reproduction because density was higher when valve lengths were shorter at different hours of the day. C. placentula var. euglypta epiphytims on Cladophora glomerata also influenced drift density and size distribution, modifying the relationship between periphyton and drift during the late spring when C. placentula var. euglypta was detached from senescent mats.

  16. Clinical laboratories collaborate to resolve differences in variant interpretations submitted to ClinVar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrison, Steven M; Dolinsky, Jill S; Knight Johnson, Amy E; Pesaran, Tina; Azzariti, Danielle R; Bale, Sherri; Chao, Elizabeth C; Das, Soma; Vincent, Lisa; Rehm, Heidi L

    2017-10-01

    Data sharing through ClinVar offers a unique opportunity to identify interpretation differences between laboratories. As part of a ClinGen initiative, four clinical laboratories (Ambry, GeneDx, Partners Healthcare Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, and University of Chicago Genetic Services Laboratory) collaborated to identify the basis of interpretation differences and to investigate if data sharing and reassessment resolve interpretation differences by analyzing a subset of variants. ClinVar variants with submissions from at least two of the four participating laboratories were compared. For a subset of identified differences, laboratories documented the basis for discordance, shared internal data, independently reassessed with the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics-Association for Molecular Pathology (ACMG-AMP) guidelines, and then compared interpretations. At least two of the participating laboratories interpreted 6,169 variants in ClinVar, of which 88.3% were initially concordant. Laboratories reassessed 242/724 initially discordant variants, of which 87.2% (211) were resolved by reassessment with current criteria and/or internal data sharing; 12.8% (31) of reassessed variants remained discordant owing to differences in the application of the ACMG-AMP guidelines. Participating laboratories increased their overall concordance from 88.3 to 91.7%, indicating that sharing variant interpretations in ClinVar-thereby allowing identification of differences and motivation to resolve those differences-is critical to moving toward more consistent variant interpretations.Genet Med advance online publication 09 March 2017.

  17. Value at risk (VaR in uncertainty: Analysis with parametric method and black & scholes simulations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Humberto Banda Ortiz

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available VaR is the most accepted risk measure worldwide and the leading reference in any risk management assessment. However, its methodology has important limitations which makes it unreliable in contexts of crisis or high uncertainty. For this reason, the aim of this work is to test the VaR accuracy when is employed in contexts of volatility, for which we compare the VaR outcomes in scenarios of both stability and uncertainty, using the parametric method and a historical simulation based on data generated with the Black & Scholes model. VaR main objective is the prediction of the highest expected loss for any given portfolio, but even when it is considered a useful tool for risk management under conditions of markets stability, we found that it is substantially inaccurate in contexts of crisis or high uncertainty. In addition, we found that the Black & Scholes simulations lead to underestimate the expected losses, in comparison with the parametric method and we also found that those disparities increase substantially in times of crisis. In the first section of this work we present a brief context of risk management in finance. In section II we present the existent literature relative to the VaR concept, its methods and applications. In section III we describe the methodology and assumptions used in this work. Section IV is dedicated to expose the findings. And finally, in Section V we present our conclusions.

  18. Sub-grouping of Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 var genes based on sequence analysis of coding and non-coding regions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lavstsen, Thomas; Salanti, Ali; Jensen, Anja T R

    2003-01-01

    and organization of the 3D7 PfEMP1 repertoire was investigated on the basis of the complete genome sequence. METHODS: Using two tree-building methods we analysed the coding and non-coding sequences of 3D7 var and rif genes as well as var genes of other parasite strains. RESULTS: var genes can be sub...

  19. JIL-1 and Su(var)3-7 Interact Genetically and Counteract Each Other's Effect on Position-Effect Variegation in Drosophila

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Huai; Cai, Weili; Wang, Chao; Lerach, Stephanie; Delattre, Marion; Girton, Jack; Johansen, Jørgen; Johansen, Kristen M.

    2010-01-01

    The essential JIL-1 histone H3S10 kinase is a key regulator of chromatin structure that functions to maintain euchromatic domains while counteracting heterochromatization and gene silencing. In the absence of the JIL-1 kinase, two of the major heterochromatin markers H3K9me2 and HP1a spread in tandem to ectopic locations on the chromosome arms. Here we address the role of the third major heterochromatin component, the zinc-finger protein Su(var)3-7. We show that the lethality but not the chromosome morphology defects associated with the null JIL-1 phenotype to a large degree can be rescued by reducing the dose of the Su(var)3-7 gene and that Su(var)3-7 and JIL-1 loss-of-function mutations have an antagonistic and counterbalancing effect on position-effect variegation (PEV). Furthermore, we show that in the absence of JIL-1 kinase activity, Su(var)3-7 gets redistributed and upregulated on the chromosome arms. Reducing the dose of the Su(var)3-7 gene dramatically decreases this redistribution; however, the spreading of H3K9me2 to the chromosome arms was unaffected, strongly indicating that ectopic Su(var)3-9 activity is not a direct cause of lethality. These observations suggest a model where Su(var)3-7 functions as an effector downstream of Su(var)3-9 and H3K9 dimethylation in heterochromatic spreading and gene silencing that is normally counteracted by JIL-1 kinase activity. PMID:20457875

  20. Multiple var2csa-type PfEMP1 genes located at different chromosomal loci occur in many Plasmodium falciparum isolates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sander, Adam F; Salanti, Ali; Lavstsen, Thomas

    2009-01-01

    in the VAR2CSA protein, sequence variation in the DBL2X region of var2csa genes in 54 P.falciparum samples was analyzed. Chromosome mapping of var2csa loci was carried out and a quantitative PCR assay was developed to estimate the number of var2csa genes in P.falciparum isolates from the placenta of pregnant....... falciparum isolates. One gene is on chromosome 12 but additional var2csa-type genes are on different chromosomes in different isolates. Multiplicity of var2csa genes appears more common in infected placentae than in samples from non-pregnant donors indicating a possible advantage of this genotype...

  1. Analysis of simple sequence repeats in the Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici genome and the development of microsatellite markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wei; Feng, Yanxia; Sun, Haiyan; Deng, Yuanyu; Yu, Hanshou; Chen, Huaigu

    2014-11-01

    Understanding the genetic structure of Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici is essential for the establishment of efficient disease control strategies. It is becoming clear that microsatellites, or simple sequence repeats (SSRs), play an important role in genome organization and phenotypic diversity, and are a large source of genetic markers for population genetics and meiotic maps. In this study, we examined the G. graminis var. tritici genome (1) to analyze its pattern of SSRs, (2) to compare it with other plant pathogenic filamentous fungi, such as Magnaporthe oryzae and M. poae, and (3) to identify new polymorphic SSR markers for genetic diversity. The G. graminis var. tritici genome was rich in SSRs; a total 13,650 SSRs have been identified with mononucleotides being the most common motifs. In coding regions, the densities of tri- and hexanucleotides were significantly higher than in noncoding regions. The di-, tri-, tetra, penta, and hexanucleotide repeats in the G. graminis var. tritici genome were more abundant than the same repeats in M. oryzae and M. poae. From 115 devised primers, 39 SSRs are polymorphic with G. graminis var. tritici isolates, and 8 primers were randomly selected to analyze 116 isolates from China. The number of alleles varied from 2 to 7 and the expected heterozygosity (He) from 0.499 to 0.837. In conclusion, SSRs developed in this study were highly polymorphic, and our analysis indicated that G. graminis var. tritici is a species with high genetic diversity. The results provide a pioneering report for several applications, such as the assessment of population structure and genetic diversity of G. graminis var. tritici.

  2. Fiscal developments and financial stress: a threshold VAR analysis

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Afonso, A.; Baxa, Jaromír; Slavík, M.

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 2011, č. 1319 (2011), s. 1-60 ISSN 1725-2806 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : fiscal policy * financial markets * threshold VAR Subject RIV: AH - Economics http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2011/E/baxa-0364091.pdf

  3. Technology of VAr Compensators for Induction Generator Applications in Wind Energy Conversion Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. F. Zobaa

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available Many of today utility interconnected wind farms use induction generator (IG to convert the captured wind mechanical power into electricity. Induction generator has some advantages over the synchronous generator (SG. The main advantages are its robustness and its capability to be synchronized directly to the grid. The main disadvantage, however, is its dependency on the grid for supplying its own reactive power ‘VAr’. Whether fixed or adjustable VAr systems are connected across its terminal, IG must operate at unity power factor at the rated loading while the wind power varies. With supervised control and appropriate coordination, VAr can be used to the benefits of both the wind farm developer and the hosting utility. The incorporation of today adjustable reactive power compensators such as the Static VAr Compensation (SVC and Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM with IG are vital ingredient toward a successful penetration of wind energy in today distribution grid to ensure voltage stability during the steady state and transient periods.

  4. Antioxidant properties and global metabolite screening of the probiotic yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Datta, Suprama; Timson, David J; Annapure, Uday S

    2017-07-01

    Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii is the only yeast species with probiotic properties. It is considered to have therapeutic significance in gastrointestinal disorders. In the present study, a comparative physiological study between this yeast and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (BY4742) was performed by evaluating two prominent traits of probiotic species, responses to different stress conditions and antioxidant capacity. A global metabolite profile was also developed aiming to identify which therapeutically important secondary metabolites are produced. Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii showed no significant difference in growth patterns but greater stress tolerance compared to S. cerevisiae. It also demonstrated a six- to 10-fold greater antioxidant potential (judged by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl assay), with a 70-fold higher total phenolic content and a 20-fold higher total flavonoid content in the extracellular fraction. These features were clearly differentiated by principal component analysis and further indicated by metabolite profiling. The extracellular fraction of the S. cerevisiae var. boulardii cultures was found to be rich in polyphenolic metabolites: vanillic acid, cinnamic acid, phenyl ethyl alcohol (rose oil), erythromycin, amphetamine and vitamin B 6 , which results in the antioxidant capacity of this strain. The present study presents a new perspective for differentiating the two genetically related strains of yeast, S. cerevisiae and S. cerevisiae var. boulardii by assessing their metabolome fingerprints. In addition to the correlation of the phenotypic properties with the secretory metabolites of these two yeasts, the present study also emphasizes the potential to exploit S. cerevisiae var. boulardii in the industrial production of these metabolites. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  5. Transcriptome analysis of Panax vietnamensis var. fuscidicus discovers putative ocotillol-type ginsenosides biosynthesis genes and genetic markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Guang-Hui; Ma, Chun-Hua; Zhang, Jia-Jin; Chen, Jun-Wen; Tang, Qing-Yan; He, Mu-Han; Xu, Xiang-Zeng; Jiang, Ni-Hao; Yang, Sheng-Chao

    2015-03-08

    P. vietnamensis var. fuscidiscus, called "Yesanqi" in Chinese, is a new variety of P. vietnamensis, which was first found in Jinping County, the southern part of Yunnan Province, China. Compared with other Panax plants, this species contains higher content of ocotillol-type saponin, majonoside R2. Despite the pharmacological importance of ocotillol-type saponins, little is known about their biosynthesis in plants. Hence, P. vietnamensis var. fuscidiscus is a suitable medicinal herbal plant species to study biosynthesis of ocotillol-type saponins. In addition, the available genomic information of this important herbal plant is lacking. To investigate the P. vietnamensis var. fuscidiscus transcriptome, Illumina HiSeq™ 2000 sequencing platform was employed. We produced 114,703,210 clean reads, assembled into 126,758 unigenes, with an average length of 1,304 bp and N50 of 2,108 bp. Among these 126,758 unigenes, 85,214 unigenes (67.23%) were annotated based on the information available from the public databases. The transcripts encoding the known enzymes involved in triterpenoid saponins biosynthesis were identified in our Illumina dataset. A full-length cDNA of three Squalene epoxidase (SE) genes were obtained using reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and the expression patterns of ten unigenes were analyzed by reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). Furthermore, 15 candidate cytochrome P450 genes and 17 candidate UDP-glycosyltransferase genes most likely to involve in triterpenoid saponins biosynthesis pathway were discovered from transcriptome sequencing of P. vietnamensis var. fuscidiscus. We further analyzed the data and found 21,320 simple sequence repeats (SSRs), 30 primer pairs for SSRs were randomly selected for validation of the amplification and polymorphism in 13 P. vietnamensis var. fuscidiscus accessions. Meanwhile, five major triterpene saponins in roots of P. vietnamensis var. fuscidicus were determined using high performance

  6. Utilizing nanobody technology to target non-immunodominant domains of VAR2CSA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ditlev, Sisse B; Florea, Raluca; Nielsen, Morten A

    2014-01-01

    adhesion. However, the development of a VAR2CSA adhesion-blocking vaccine remains challenging due to (i) the large size of VAR2CSA and (ii) the extensive immune selection for polymorphisms and thereby non-neutralizing B-cell epitopes. Camelid heavy-chain-only antibodies (HcAbs) are known to target epitopes...... that are less immunogenic to classical IgG and, due to their small size and protruding antigen-binding loop, able to reach and recognize cryptic, conformational epitopes which are inaccessible to conventional antibodies. The variable heavy chain (VHH) domain is the antigen-binding site of camelid HcAbs, the so...

  7. Differential recognition of terminal extracellular Plasmodium falciparum VAR2CSA domains by sera from multigravid, malaria-exposed Malian women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Travassos, Mark A; Coulibaly, Drissa; Bailey, Jason A; Niangaly, Amadou; Adams, Matthew; Nyunt, Myaing M; Ouattara, Amed; Lyke, Kirsten E; Laurens, Matthew B; Pablo, Jozelyn; Jasinskas, Algis; Nakajima, Rie; Berry, Andrea A; Takala-Harrison, Shannon; Kone, Abdoulaye K; Kouriba, Bourema; Rowe, J Alexandra; Doumbo, Ogobara K; Thera, Mahamadou A; Laufer, Miriam K; Felgner, Philip L; Plowe, Christopher V

    2015-06-01

    The Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) family mediates parasite sequestration in small capillaries through tissue-specific cytoadherence. The best characterized of these proteins is VAR2CSA, which is expressed on the surface of infected erythrocytes that bind to chondroitin sulfate in the placental matrix. Antibodies to VAR2CSA prevent placental cytoadherence and protect against placental malaria. The size and complexity of the VAR2CSA protein pose challenges for vaccine development, but smaller constitutive domains may be suitable for subunit vaccine development. A protein microarray was printed to include five overlapping fragments of the 3D7 VAR2CSA extracellular region. Malian women with a history of at least one pregnancy had antibody recognition of four of these fragments and had stronger reactivity against the two distal fragments than did nulliparous women, children, and men from Mali, suggesting that the C-terminal extracellular VAR2CSA domains are a potential focus of protective immunity. With carefully chosen sera from longitudinal studies of pregnant women, this approach has the potential to identify seroreactive VAR2CSA domains associated with protective immunity against pregnancy-associated malaria. © The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

  8. A var gene promoter implicated in severe malaria nucleates silencing and is regulated by 3’ untranslated region and intronic cis-elements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muhle, Rebecca A.; Adjalley, Sophie; Falkard, Brie; Nkrumah, Louis J.; Muhle, Michael E.; Fidock, David A.

    2009-01-01

    Questions surround the mechanism of mutually exclusive expression by which Plasmodium falciparum mediates activation and silencing of var genes. These encode PfEMP1 proteins, which function as cytoadherent and immunomodulatory molecules at the surface of parasitized erythrocytes. Current evidence suggests that promoter silencing by var introns might play a key role in var gene regulation. To evaluate the impact of cis-acting regulatory regions on var silencing, we generated P. falciparum lines in which luciferase was placed under the control of an UpsA var promoter. By utilizing the Bxb1 integrase system, these reporter cassettes were targeted to a genomic region that was not in apposition to var sub-telomeric domains. This eliminated possible effects from surrounding telomeric elements and removed the variability inherent in episomal systems. Studies with highly synchronized parasites revealed that the UpsA element possessed minimal activity in comparison with a heterologous (hrp3) promoter. This may well result from the integrated UpsA promoter being largely silenced by the neighboring cg6 promoter. Our analyses also revealed that the DownsA 3’ untranslated region further decreased the luciferase activity from both cassettes, whereas the var A intron repressed the UpsA promoter specifically. By applying multivariate analysis over the entire cell cycle, we confirmed the significance of these cis-elements and found the parasite stage to be the major factor regulating UpsA promoter activity. Additionally, we observed that the UpsA promoter was capable of nucleating reversible silencing that spread to a downstream promoter. We believe these studies are the first to analyze promoter activity of Group A var genes which have been implicated in severe malaria, and support the model that var introns can further suppress var expression. These data also suggest an important suppressive role for the DownsA terminator. Our findings imply the existence of multiple levels of

  9. Characterization of flavonoids in Millettia nitida var. hirsutissima by HPLC/DAD/ESI-MS n

    OpenAIRE

    Ye, Min; Yang, Wen-Zhi; Liu, Ke-Di; Qiao, Xue; Li, Bei-Jia; Cheng, Jun; Feng, Jie; Guo, De-An; Zhao, Yu-Ying

    2011-01-01

    Millettia nitida var. hirsutissima is a Chinese herbal medicine used for the treatment of gynecological diseases. An HPLC/DAD/ESI-MSn method was established for the rapid separation and characterization of bioactive flavonoids in M. nitida var. hirsutissima. A total of 32 flavonoids were detected, of which 14 compounds were unambiguously characterized by comparing their retention time, UV, and MS spectra with those of the reference standards, and the others were tentatively identified based o...

  10. The HAW-Project. Test disposal of highly radioactive radiation sources in the Asse salt mine. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rothfuchs, T.; Cuevas, C. de las; Donker, H.; Feddersen, H.K.; Garcia-Celma, A.; Gies, H.; Goreychi, M.; Graefe, V.; Heijdra, J.; Hente, B.; Jockwer, N.; LeMeur, R.; Moenig, J.; Mueller, K.; Prij, J.; Regulla, D.; Smailos, E.; Staupendahl, G.; Till, E.; Zankl, M.

    1995-01-01

    In order to improve the final concept for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HAW) in boreholes drilled into salt formation plans were developed a couple of years ago for a full scale testing of the complete technical system of an underground repository. To satisfy the test objectives, thirty highly radioactive radiation sources were planned to be emplaced in six boreholes located in two test galleries at the 800-m-level in the Asse salt mine. A duration of testing of approximately five years was envisaged. Because of licensing uncertainties the German Federal Government decided on December 3rd, 1992 to stop all activities for the preparation of the test disposal immediately. In the course of the preparation of the test disposal, however, a system, necessary for handling of the radiation sources was developed and installed in the Asse salt mine and two non-radioactive reference tests with electrical heaters were started in November 1988. These tests served for the investigation of thermal effects in comparison to the planned radioactive tests. An accompanying scientific investigation programme performed in situ and in the laboratory comprises the estimation and observation of the thermal, radiation-induced, and mechanical interaction between the rock salt and the electrical heaters and the radiation sources, respectively. The laboratory investigations are carried out at Braunschweig (FRG), Petten (NL), Saclay (F) and Barcelona (E). As a consequence of the premature termination of the project the working programme was revised. The new programme agreed to by the project partners included a controlled shutdown of the heater tests in 1993 and a continuation of the laboratory activities until the end of 1994. (orig.)

  11. Description of rainfall variability in Br hat -samhita of Varâha-mihira

    OpenAIRE

    Iyengar, RN

    2004-01-01

    Br hat -samhita of Varâha-mihira (5–6th century AD) provides valuable information on the approach in ancient India towards monsoon rainfall, including its measurement and forecasting. In this context, we come across a description of the expected amount of total seasonal rainfall depending on the first rains under the 27 naks atras of Indian astronomy. This provides a rough statistical picture of what might have been the rainfall and its variability in the region around Ujjain, where Varâha-mi...

  12. Bolívar, primer diplomático de la libertad americana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael Gómez Hoyos

    1969-03-01

    Full Text Available Don Miguel Luis Amunátegui, primer biógrafo de don Andrés Bello, recopilador y comentarista meritorio de sus obras, nos dejó una falsa visión de Bolívar como diplomático de la libertad. Basado en los recuerdos del anciano humanista, cuando ya le flaqueaba la memoria, o gracias a un error suyo de apreciación, al comentar los incidentes de la misión encomendada ante el gobierno británico por la Junta Suprema de Caracas, nos relata increíble falta de tacto y descuido imperdonable en Simón Bolívar, Jefe de la Misión.

  13. Evidence that the human pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii may have evolved in Africa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anastasia P Litvintseva

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Most of the species of fungi that cause disease in mammals, including Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii (serotype A, are exogenous and non-contagious. Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii is associated worldwide with avian and arboreal habitats. This airborne, opportunistic pathogen is profoundly neurotropic and the leading cause of fungal meningitis. Patients with HIV/AIDS have been ravaged by cryptococcosis--an estimated one million new cases occur each year, and mortality approaches 50%. Using phylogenetic and population genetic analyses, we present evidence that C. neoformans var. grubii may have evolved from a diverse population in southern Africa. Our ecological studies support the hypothesis that a few of these strains acquired a new environmental reservoir, the excreta of feral pigeons (Columba livia, and were globally dispersed by the migration of birds and humans. This investigation also discovered a novel arboreal reservoir for highly diverse strains of C. neoformans var. grubii that are restricted to southern Africa, the mopane tree (Colophospermum mopane. This finding may have significant public health implications because these primal strains have optimal potential for evolution and because mopane trees contribute to the local economy as a source of timber, folkloric remedies and the edible mopane worm.

  14. Testing for Granger causality in large mixed-frequency VARs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Götz, T.B.; Hecq, A.W.

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we analyze Granger causality testing in a mixed-frequency VAR, originally proposed by Ghysels (2012), where the difference in sampling frequencies of the variables is large. In particular, we investigate whether past information on a low-frequency variable help in forecasting a

  15. 40 CFR 180.1243 - Bacillus subtilis var. amyloliquefaciens strain FZB24; exemption from the requirement of a...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Bacillus subtilis var... EXEMPTIONS FOR PESTICIDE CHEMICAL RESIDUES IN FOOD Exemptions From Tolerances § 180.1243 Bacillus subtilis... the requirement of a tolerance for residues of the Bacillus subtilis var. amyloliquefaciens strain...

  16. Accumulation of trehalose in the thermophilic fungus Chaetomium thermophilum var. coprophilum in response to heat or salt stress

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jepsen, Helene Friborg; Jensen, B.

    2004-01-01

    The disaccharide trehalose, known to be an effective protectant against various kinds of stress, was observed to accumulate in the cytosol of Chaetomium thermophilum var. coprophilum during heat stress. Trehalose was apparently neither involved in the defence of C. thermophilum var. coprophilum...... against high concentrations of sodium chloride nor directly linked to thermophily. In C. thermophilum var. coprophilum three different trehalose hydrolyzing activities were eluted from a mono Q anion exchange column by sodium chloride concentrations of 0.10, 0.15 and 0.24 M, respectively....

  17. Modeling and Analysis of a Three-Phase Solid-State Var ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Modeling and Analysis of a Three-Phase Solid-State Var Compensator (SSVC) ... Nigerian Journal of Technology. Journal Home ... The problems associated with the flow of reactive power in transmission and distribution lines are well known.

  18. Cyclanthera pedata (L. Schrad. var. edulis (Naud. Cogn. - uma Cucurbitaceae pouco conhecida na alimentação humana Cyclanthera pedata (L. Schrad. var. edulis (Naud. Cogn. (Cucurbitaceae[ign

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vera Lúcia Gomes Klein

    1989-01-01

    Full Text Available São mencionados os diversos usos como alimento dos frutos de Cyclanthera pedata (L. Schrad. var. edulis (Naud. Cogn., além de sua descrição morfológica e de seus nomes vulgares, objetivando um melhor conhecimento e ou divulgação dessa nova opção entre as fontes já bastantes conhecidas de alimentos.On mention here the food uses of the fruits of "Cyclanthera pedata (L. var. edulis (Naud. Cogn. besides the its morphology description and common families having in view the knowing or else the divulgation of new options among the sourrées already wellknown.

  19. Changes in var gene mRNA levels during erythrocytic development in two phenotypically distinct Plasmodium falciparum parasites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dahlbäck, Madeleine; Lavstsen, Thomas; Salanti, Ali

    2007-01-01

    , consistent with previous studies of other PfEMP1. Transcription of the pseudogene var1csa could not be detected in NF54VAR2CSA cells. CONCLUSION: The optimal sampling point for analysis of var transcripts using quantitative real-time PCR is the ring-stage, which is encouraging for the analysis of fresh...

  20. A Structured VAR under Changing Monetary Policy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Juselius, Katarina

    The empirical analysis is mainly concerned with the aggregate demand for money relation as part of a small macroeconomic system. Using the theory of cointegrated VAR models for I(2) data the long-run relationships in the data are first investigated, and the ML-estimates of the corresponding coint...... the effects of capital liberalization on the determination of money, income, prices, and interest rates in a small open economy...

  1. Molecular dissection of placental malaria protein VAR2CSA interaction with a chemo-enzymatically synthesized chondroitin sulfate library.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugiura, Nobuo; Clausen, Thomas Mandel; Shioiri, Tatsumasa; Gustavsson, Tobias; Watanabe, Hideto; Salanti, Ali

    2016-12-01

    Placental malaria, a serious infection caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, is characterized by the selective accumulation of infected erythrocytes (IEs) in the placentas of the pregnant women. Placental adherence is mediated by the malarial VAR2CSA protein, which interacts with chondroitin sulfate (CS) proteoglycans present in the placental tissue. CS is a linear acidic polysaccharide composed of repeating disaccharide units of D-glucuronic acid and N-acetyl-D-galactosamine that are modified by sulfate groups at different positions. Previous reports have shown that placental-adhering IEs were associated with an unusually low sulfated form of chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) and that a partially sulfated dodecasaccharide is the minimal motif for the interaction. However, the fine molecular structure of this CS chain remains unclear. In this study, we have characterized the CS chain that interacts with a recombinant minimal CS-binding region of VAR2CSA (rVAR2) using a CS library of various defined lengths and sulfate compositions. The CS library was chemo-enzymatically synthesized with bacterial chondroitin polymerase and recombinant CS sulfotransferases. We found that C-4 sulfation of the N-acetyl-D-galactosamine residue is critical for supporting rVAR2 binding, whereas no other sulfate modifications showed effects. Interaction of rVAR2 with CS is highly correlated with the degree of C-4 sulfation and CS chain length. We confirmed that the minimum structure binding to rVAR2 is a tri-sulfated CSA dodecasaccharide, and found that a highly sulfated CSA eicosasaccharide is a more potent inhibitor of rVAR2 binding than the dodecasaccharides. These results suggest that CSA derivatives may potentially serve as targets in therapeutic strategies against placental malaria.

  2. Antibody levels to recombinant VAR2CSA domains vary with Plasmodium falciparum parasitaemia, gestational age, and gravidity, but do not predict pregnancy outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fried, Michal; Kurtis, Jonathan D; Swihart, Bruce; Morrison, Robert; Pond-Tor, Sunthorn; Barry, Amadou; Sidibe, Youssoufa; Keita, Sekouba; Mahamar, Almahamoudou; Andemel, Naissem; Attaher, Oumar; Dembele, Adama B; Cisse, Kadidia B; Diarra, Bacary S; Kanoute, Moussa B; Narum, David L; Dicko, Alassane; Duffy, Patrick E

    2018-03-09

    Maternal malaria is a tropical scourge associated with poor pregnancy outcomes. Women become resistant to Plasmodium falciparum pregnancy malaria as they acquire antibodies to the variant surface antigen VAR2CSA, a leading vaccine candidate. Because malaria infection may increase VAR2CSA antibody levels and thereby confound analyses of immune protection, gravidity-dependent changes in antibody levels during and after infection, and the effect of VAR2CSA antibodies on pregnancy outcomes were evaluated. Pregnant women enrolled in a longitudinal cohort study of mother-infant pairs in Ouelessebougou, Mali provided plasma samples at enrollment, gestational week 30-32, and delivery. Antibody levels to VAR2CSA domains were measured using a multiplex bead-based assay. Antibody levels to VAR2CSA were higher in multigravidae than primigravidae. Malaria infection was associated with increased antibody levels to VAR2CSA domains. In primigravidae but not in secundigravidae or multigravidae, antibodies levels sharply declined after an infection. A relationship between any VAR2CSA antibody specificity and protection from adverse pregnancy outcomes was not detected. During malaria infection, primigravidae acquire short-lived antibodies. The lack of an association between VAR2CSA domain antibody reactivity and improved pregnancy outcomes suggests that the recombinant proteins may not present native epitopes targeted by protective antibodies.

  3. An optimization approach for online identification of harmonic resonance due to pending Volt/VAr operation

    Science.gov (United States)

    McBee, Kerry D.

    The emphasis on creating a more efficient distribution system has led many utility companies to employ dynamic voltage and VAr compensation (Volt/VAr) applications that reduce energy demand, generation, and losses associated with the transmission and distribution of energy. To achieve these benefits, Volt/VAr applications rely upon algorithms to control voltage support equipment, such as transformer load tap changers, voltage regulators, and capacitor banks. The majority of these algorithms utilize metaheuristic programming methods to determine the Volt/VAr scheme that produces the most energy efficient operating conditions. It has been well documented that the interaction between capacitor bank reactance and the inductive reactance of a distribution system can produce parallel harmonic resonance that can damage utility and customer equipment. The Volt/VAr controlling algorithms that account for harmonics do so in an indirect manner that can mask harmonic resonance conditions. Unlike previous research endeavors, the primary focus of the method described within this dissertation is to identify Volt/VAr schemes that prevent harmonic resonance due to capacitor bank operation. Instead of a metaheuristic approach, the harmonic resonance identification algorithm relies upon constrained mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP), which is more suited for analyzing impedance characteristics created by the energized states of a system of capacitor banks. Utilizing a numerical approach improves the accuracy of identifying harmonic resonance conditions, while also reducing the complexity of the process by exclusively relying upon the system's admittance characteristics. The novel harmonic resonance identification method is applicable to distribution systems that are dynamically reconfigured, which can result in a number of unknown harmonic resonance producing conditions, a feature unavailable with existing controlling algorithms. The ability to identify all harmonic

  4. Chloroplast microsatellite markers for Pseudotaxus chienii developed from the whole chloroplast genome of Taxus chinensis var. mairei (Taxaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Qi; Zhang, Hanrui; He, Yipeng; Wang, Ting; Su, Yingjuan

    2017-03-01

    Pseudotaxus chienii (Taxaceae) is an old rare species endemic to China that has adapted well to ecological heterogeneity with high genetic diversity in its nuclear genome. However, the genetic variation in its chloroplast genome is unknown. Eighteen chloroplast microsatellite markers (cpSSRs) were developed from the whole chloroplast genome of Taxus chinensis var. mairei and successfully amplified in four P. chienii populations and one T. chinensis var. mairei population. Of these loci, 10 were polymorphic in P. chienii , whereas six were polymorphic in T. chinensis var. mairei . The unbiased haploid diversity per locus ranged from 0.000 to 0.641 and 0.000 to 0.545 for P. chienii and T. chinensis var. mairei , respectively. The 18 cpSSRs will be used to further investigate the chloroplast genetic structure and adaptive evolution in P. chienii populations.

  5. Development of the WRF-CO2 4D-Var assimilation system v1.0

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Tao; French, Nancy H. F.; Baxter, Martin

    2018-05-01

    Regional atmospheric CO2 inversions commonly use Lagrangian particle trajectory model simulations to calculate the required influence function, which quantifies the sensitivity of a receptor to flux sources. In this paper, an adjoint-based four-dimensional variational (4D-Var) assimilation system, WRF-CO2 4D-Var, is developed to provide an alternative approach. This system is developed based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) modeling system, including the system coupled to chemistry (WRF-Chem), with tangent linear and adjoint codes (WRFPLUS), and with data assimilation (WRFDA), all in version 3.6. In WRF-CO2 4D-Var, CO2 is modeled as a tracer and its feedback to meteorology is ignored. This configuration allows most WRF physical parameterizations to be used in the assimilation system without incurring a large amount of code development. WRF-CO2 4D-Var solves for the optimized CO2 flux scaling factors in a Bayesian framework. Two variational optimization schemes are implemented for the system: the first uses the limited memory Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno (BFGS) minimization algorithm (L-BFGS-B) and the second uses the Lanczos conjugate gradient (CG) in an incremental approach. WRFPLUS forward, tangent linear, and adjoint models are modified to include the physical and dynamical processes involved in the atmospheric transport of CO2. The system is tested by simulations over a domain covering the continental United States at 48 km × 48 km grid spacing. The accuracy of the tangent linear and adjoint models is assessed by comparing against finite difference sensitivity. The system's effectiveness for CO2 inverse modeling is tested using pseudo-observation data. The results of the sensitivity and inverse modeling tests demonstrate the potential usefulness of WRF-CO2 4D-Var for regional CO2 inversions.

  6. Development of the WRF-CO2 4D-Var assimilation system v1.0

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Zheng

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Regional atmospheric CO2 inversions commonly use Lagrangian particle trajectory model simulations to calculate the required influence function, which quantifies the sensitivity of a receptor to flux sources. In this paper, an adjoint-based four-dimensional variational (4D-Var assimilation system, WRF-CO2 4D-Var, is developed to provide an alternative approach. This system is developed based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF modeling system, including the system coupled to chemistry (WRF-Chem, with tangent linear and adjoint codes (WRFPLUS, and with data assimilation (WRFDA, all in version 3.6. In WRF-CO2 4D-Var, CO2 is modeled as a tracer and its feedback to meteorology is ignored. This configuration allows most WRF physical parameterizations to be used in the assimilation system without incurring a large amount of code development. WRF-CO2 4D-Var solves for the optimized CO2 flux scaling factors in a Bayesian framework. Two variational optimization schemes are implemented for the system: the first uses the limited memory Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno (BFGS minimization algorithm (L-BFGS-B and the second uses the Lanczos conjugate gradient (CG in an incremental approach. WRFPLUS forward, tangent linear, and adjoint models are modified to include the physical and dynamical processes involved in the atmospheric transport of CO2. The system is tested by simulations over a domain covering the continental United States at 48 km  ×  48 km grid spacing. The accuracy of the tangent linear and adjoint models is assessed by comparing against finite difference sensitivity. The system's effectiveness for CO2 inverse modeling is tested using pseudo-observation data. The results of the sensitivity and inverse modeling tests demonstrate the potential usefulness of WRF-CO2 4D-Var for regional CO2 inversions.

  7. Penurunan Garam Klorida Air Laut Dengan Memanfaatkan Modifikasi Pati Dari Limbah Bonggol Pisang Ambon (Musa Paradisiaca Var Sapientum)

    OpenAIRE

    Rabbani, Aulia Husna; -, Alimuddin; Saleh, Chairul

    2015-01-01

    The research of desalination the sea water by utilization of the strach bump a “Pisang Ambon (Musa paradisiaca var sapientum)” modification has been done. Modification of starch bump “Pisang Ambon (Musa paradisiaca var sapientum)” had be a ability better than starch bump “Pisang Ambon (Musa paradisiaca var sapientum)” in the levels of chloride. The variation upon which to do to absorb chloride of sea water which are starch, starch been activated NaOH and starch acetate bump of a “Pisang Ambon...

  8. Positive Selection of Plasmodium falciparum Parasites With Multiple var2csa-Type PfEMP1 Genes During the Course of Infection in Pregnant Women

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salanti, Ali; Lavstsen, Thomas; Nielsen, Morten A.; Theander, Thor G.; Leke, Rose G. F.; Lo, Yeung Y.; Bobbili, Naveen; Arnot, David E.; Taylor, Diane W.

    2011-01-01

    Placental malaria infections are caused by Plasmodium falciparum–infected red blood cells sequestering in the placenta by binding to chondroitin sulfate A, mediated by VAR2CSA, a variant of the PfEMP1 family of adhesion antigens. Recent studies have shown that many P. falciparum genomes have multiple genes coding for different VAR2CSA proteins, and parasites with >1 var2csa gene appear to be more common in pregnant women with placental malaria than in nonpregnant individuals. We present evidence that, in pregnant women, parasites containing multiple var2csa-type genes possess a selective advantage over parasites with a single var2csa gene. Accumulation of parasites with multiple copies of the var2csa gene during the course of pregnancy was also correlated with the development of antibodies involved in blocking VAR2CSA adhesion. The data suggest that multiplicity of var2csa-type genes enables P. falciparum parasites to persist for a longer period of time during placental infections, probably because of their greater capacity for antigenic variation and evasion of variant-specific immune responses. PMID:21592998

  9. [Susceptibility of Aedes aegypti (L.) strains from Havana to a Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menéndez Díaz, Zulema; Rodríguez Rodríguez, Jinnay; Gato Armas, René; Companioni Ibañez, Ariamys; Díaz Pérez, Manuel; Bruzón Aguila, Rosa Yirian

    2012-01-01

    the integration of chemical and biological methods is one of the strategies for the vector control, due to the existing environmental problems and the concerns of the community as a result of the synthetic organic insecticide actions. The bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis in liquid formulation has been widely used in the vector control programs in several countries and has shown high efficacy at lab in Cuba. to determine the susceptibility of Aedes aegypti collected in the municipalities of La Habana province to Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis. fifteen Aedes aegypti strains, one from each municipality, were used including larvae and pupas collected in 2010 and one reference strain known as Rockefeller. The aqueous formulation of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bactivec, Labiofam, Cuba) was used. The bioassays complied with the World Health Organization guidelines for use of bacterial larvicides in the public health sector. The larval mortality was read after 24 hours and the results were processed by the statistical system SPSS (11.0) through Probit analysis. the evaluated mosquito strains showed high susceptibility to biolarvicide, there were no significant differences in LC50 values of Ae. aegypti strains, neither in the comparison of these values with those of the reference strain. the presented results indicate that the use of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis continues to be a choice for the control of Aedes aegypti larval populations in La Habana province.

  10. Multilocus sequence typing analysis reveals that Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans is a recombinant population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cogliati, Massimo; Zani, Alberto; Rickerts, Volker; McCormick, Ilka; Desnos-Ollivier, Marie; Velegraki, Aristea; Escandon, Patricia; Ichikawa, Tomoe; Ikeda, Reiko; Bienvenu, Anne-Lise; Tintelnot, Kathrin; Tore, Okan; Akcaglar, Sevim; Lockhart, Shawn; Tortorano, Anna Maria; Varma, Ashok

    2016-02-01

    Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans (serotype D) represents about 30% of the clinical isolates in Europe and is present less frequently in the other continents. It is the prevalent etiological agent in primary cutaneous cryptococcosis as well as in cryptococcal skin lesions of disseminated cryptococcosis. Very little is known about the genotypic diversity of this Cryptococcus subtype. The aim of this study was to investigate the genotypic diversity among a set of clinical and environmental C. neoformans var. neoformans isolates and to evaluate the relationship between genotypes, geographical origin and clinical manifestations. A total of 83 globally collected C. neoformans var. neoformans isolates from Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Turkey, Thailand, Japan, Colombia, and the USA, recovered from different sources (primary and secondary cutaneous cryptococcosis, disseminated cryptococcosis, the environment, and animals), were included in the study. All isolates were confirmed to belong to genotype VNIV by molecular typing and they were further investigated by MLST analysis. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic as well as network analysis strongly suggested the existence of a recombinant rather than a clonal population structure. Geographical origin and source of isolation were not correlated with a specific MLST genotype. The comparison with a set of outgroup C. neoformans var. grubii isolates provided clear evidence that the two varieties have different population structures. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. A significant positive correlation between endogenous trans-zeatin content and total arsenic in arsenic hyperaccumulator Pteris cretica var. nervosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xuemei; Yang, Xiaoyan; Wang, Hongbin; Li, Qinchun; Wang, Haijuan; Li, Yanyan

    2017-04-01

    A pot experiment was conducted to compare the content of endogenous trans-zeatin (Z), plant arsenic (As) uptake and physiological indices in the fronds of As-hyperaccumulator (Pteris cretica var. nervosa) and non-hyperaccumulator (Pteris ensiformis). Furthermore, a stepwise regression method was used to study the relationship among determined indices, and the time-course effect of main indices was also investigated under 100mg/kg As stress with time extension. In the 100-200mg/kg As treatments, plant height showed no significant difference and endogenous Z content significantly increased in P. cretica var. nervosa compared to the control, but a significant decrease of height and endogenous Z was observed in P. ensiformis. The concentrations of As (III) and As (V) increased significantly in the fronds of two plants, but this increase was much higher in P. cretica var. nervosa. Compared to the control, the contents of chlorophyll and soluble protein were significantly increased in P. cretica var. nervosa but decreased in P. ensiformis in the 200mg/kg As treatment, respectively. A significant positive correlation was found between the contents of endogenous Z and total As in P. cretica var. nervosa, but such a correlation was not found in P. ensiformis. Additionally, in the time-course effect experiment, a peak value of each index was appeared in the 43rd day in two plants, except for chlorophyll in P. ensiformis, but this value was significantly higher in P. cretica var. nervosa than that in P. ensiformis. In conclusion, a higher endogenous Z content contributed to As accumulation of P. cretica var. nervosa under As stress. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Chemical constituents of leaves of Senna spectabilis (DC) Irwin and Barneby var. excelsa (Schard.) Irwin and Barneby; Constituintes quimicos das folhas de Senna spectabilis (DC) Irwin and Barneby var. excelsa (Schrad.) Irwin and Barneby

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Silva, Fabio de Oliveira; Oliveira, Irvila Ricarte de; Silva, Maria Goretti de Vasconcelos, E-mail: mgvsilva@ufc.b [Universidade Federal do Ceara (UFC), Fortaleza, CE (Brazil). Dept. de Quimica Organica e Inorganica; Braz Filho, Raimundo [Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense (UENF), Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ (Brazil)

    2010-07-01

    From leaves of Senna spectabilis var. excelsa were isolated caffeine, the triterpenes lupeol, {alpha}-amyrin, {beta}-amyrin, cycloeucalenol, friedelin and ursolic, oleanolic and betulinic acids, besides the steroids sitosterol and stigmasterol and their respective glucosides. The structures of these compounds were established by spectroscopic analysis including two-dimensional NMR methods and comparison with published spectral data. This paper deals with the first report of these compounds in S. spectabilis var. excelsa. (author)

  13. Chemical composition of essential oil of Psidium cattleianum var ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The aim of this study was to investigate the essential oil composition of Psidium cattleianum var. lucidum from South Africa. The essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation and the components were identified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to determine the chemical composition of the ...

  14. The identity of zostera marina var. angustifolia Hornemann (Potamogetonaceae)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hartog, den C.

    1972-01-01

    Since Hornemann (Fl. Dan. 9, 1816, p. 3, pl. 1501) published the name Zostera marina var. angustifolia together with a very poor drawing and the extremely short diagnosis ‘foliis subenerviis’ several interpretations of the identity of this taxon have been given. Some authors regarded it as a

  15. The complete chloroplast genome of traditional Chinese medical plants Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Yun; Xu, Jin; Chen, NaiZhong; Li, MingFu

    2017-03-01

    Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis is a perennial medical plant widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. Here, we report the complete chloroplast genome of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. The genome is 157 675 bp in length including a small single-copy region (SSC, 18 319 bp) and a large single-copy region (LSC, 84 108 bp) separated by a pair of inverted repeats (IRs, 27 624 bp). The genome contained 115 genes, including 81 protein-coding genes, 4 ribosomal RNA genes, and 30 tRNA genes. Among these genes, 13 harbored a single intron and 2 contained a couple of introns. The overall G + C content of the cpDNA is 37.4%, while the corresponding values of the LSC, SSC, and IR regions are 35.71%, 31.43%, and 41.87%, respectively. A Maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis suggested that genus Trillium, Paris, Fritillaria, and Lilium were strongly supported as monophyletic and the P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis is closely related to Trillium.

  16. Examining the role of components of Slc11a1 (Nramp1 in the susceptibility of New Zealand sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri to disease.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amy J Osborne

    Full Text Available The New Zealand sea lion (NZSL, Phocarctos hookeri is a Threatened marine mammal with a restricted distribution and a small, declining, population size. The species is susceptible to bacterial pathogens, having suffered three mass mortality events since 1998. Understanding the genetic factors linked to this susceptibility is important in mitigating population decline. The gene solute carrier family 11 member a1 (Slc11a1 plays an important role in mammalian resistance or susceptibility to a wide range of bacterial pathogens. At present, Slc11a1 has not been characterised in many taxa, and despite its known roles in mediating the effects of infectious disease agents, has not been examined as a candidate gene in susceptibility or resistance in any wild population of conservation concern. Here we examine components of Slc11a1 in NZSLs and identify: i a polymorphic nucleotide in the promoter region; ii putative shared transcription factor binding motifs between canids and NZSLs; and iii a conserved polymorphic microsatellite in the first intron of Slc11a1, which together suggest conservation of Slc11a1 gene structure in otariids. At the promoter polymorphism, we demonstrate a shift away from normal allele frequency distributions and an increased likelihood of death from infectious causes with one allelic variant. While this increased likelihood is not statistically significant, lack of significance is potentially due to the complexity of genetic susceptibility to disease in wild populations. Our preliminary data highlight the potential significance of this gene in disease resistance in wild populations; further exploration of Slc11a1 will aid the understanding of susceptibility to infection in mammalian species of conservation significance.

  17. Nuclear pores and perinuclear expression sites of var and ribosomal DNA genes correspond to physically distinct regions in Plasmodium falciparum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guizetti, Julien; Martins, Rafael Miyazawa; Guadagnini, Stéphanie; Claes, Aurélie; Scherf, Artur

    2013-05-01

    The human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum modifies the erythrocyte it infects by exporting variant proteins to the host cell surface. The var gene family that codes for a large, variant adhesive surface protein called P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) plays a particular role in this process, which is linked to pathogenesis and immune evasion. A single member of this gene family is highly transcribed while the other 59 members remain silenced. Importantly, var gene transcription occurs at a spatially restricted, but yet undefined, perinuclear site that is distinct from repressed var gene clusters. To advance our understanding of monoallelic expression, we investigated whether nuclear pores associate with the var gene expression site. To this end, we studied the nuclear pore organization during the asexual blood stage using a specific antibody directed against a subunit of the nuclear pore, P. falciparum Nup116 (PfNup116). Ring and schizont stage parasites showed highly polarized nuclear pore foci, whereas in trophozoite stage nuclear pores redistributed over the entire nuclear surface. Colocalization studies of var transcripts and anti-PfNup116 antibodies showed clear dissociation between nuclear pores and the var gene expression site in ring stage. Similar results were obtained for another differentially transcribed perinuclear gene family, the ribosomal DNA units. Furthermore, we show that in the poised state, the var gene locus is not physically linked to nuclear pores. Our results indicate that P. falciparum does form compartments of high transcriptional activity at the nuclear periphery which are, unlike the case in yeast, devoid of nuclear pores.

  18. Análisis morfológico y toxicológico de cultivos de Pseudo-nitzschia pungens var. pungens (Bacillariophyceae Morphological and toxicological analysis of cultures of Pseudo-nitzschia pungens var. pungens (Bacillariophyceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eugenia A. Sar

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available En el marco de un proyecto de monitoreo de especies de diatomeas nocivas llevado a cabo en el área norte del Golfo San Matías (Provincia de Río Negro, Argentina hemos encontrado a Pseudo-nitzschia pungens (Grunow ex. P.T. Cleve Hasle var. pungens y establecido cultivos monoclonales de esta variedad. Las cepas aisladas a partir de muestras tomadas con red, provenientes de Las Grutas y Piedras Coloradas (Golfo San Matías, fueron cultivadas en medio F/2 con adición de silicatos, y mantenidas a 20 ºC con luz continua, blanca, fría. Los cultivos fueron analizados mediante Cromatografía Líquida de Alta Resolución (HPLC para determinar si la variedad aislada era productora de ácido domoico (DA en el área bajo estudio. Material procedente de campo y de cultivo fue estudiado con microscopios óptico y electrónico de barrido. Una comparación con los taxa más allegados, P . pungens var. cingulata Villac y P . multiseries (Hasle Hasle, y datos sobre la morfología fina del material procedente de los cultivos, son presentados y discutidos. A pesar de que P . pungens var. pungens ha sido reportada como productora de ácido domoico, los resultados del análisis para detección de las toxinas fueron negativos para las cultivos chequeados.In the framework of a project of monitoring of harmful diatom species carried out in the Northern area of the Golfo San Matías (Provincia de Río Negro, Argentina we found and established cultures of Pseudo-nitzschia pungens (Grunow ex. P.T. Cleve Hasle var. pungens . The strains isolated from net phytoplankton samples obtained in Las Grutas and Piedras Coloradas, (Golfo San Matías were cultured in F/2 medium, with silica added, and maintained at 20 ºC, under continuous light supplied by cool-white fluorescent tubes. Cultures were essayed for domoic acid (DA by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC. Materials from field and cultures were studied with light and scanning electron microscopy. Comparison

  19. Potential utilization of Citrullus lanatus var. Colocynthoides waste as a novel source of pectin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korish, Mohamed

    2015-04-01

    The Citrullus lanatus var. Colocynthoides is an ancestor type of watermelon. It was investigated as a new source of pectin. It was cultivated in Egypt for seeds only, while the remaining fruits are discarded as waste. Effect of different extraction conditions such as pH, solid: liquid ratio, temperature and extraction time on pectin yield of Citrullus lanatus var. Colocynthoides waste was investigated in the present study. The highest yield (19.75 % w/w) was achieved at pH 2, solid: liquid ratio1:15 and 85 °C, for 60 min. Methylation degree and galacturonic acid content of extracted pectin were 55.25 %, w/w and 76.84 %, w/w. The main neutral sugars were galactose followed by arabinose and rhamnose. In addition, glucose, xylose and mannose existed as constituents in the pectin hydrolysate. The results indicated that Citrullus lanatus var. Colocynthoide waste is a potential new source of pectin.

  20. High avidity antibodies to full-length VAR2CSA correlate with absence of placental malaria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tutterrow, Yeung Lo; Salanti, Ali; Avril, Marion

    2012-01-01

    VAR2CSA mediates sequestration of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes in the placenta, increasing the risk of poor pregnancy outcomes. Naturally acquired antibodies (Ab) to placental parasites at delivery have been associated with improved pregnancy outcomes, but Ab levels and how early...... in pregnancy Ab must be present in order to eliminate placental parasites before delivery remains unknown. Antibodies to individual Duffy-binding like domains of VAR2CSA have been studied, but the domains lack many of the conformational epitopes present in full-length VAR2CSA (FV2). Thus, the purpose...... of this study was to describe the acquisition of Ab to FV2 in women residing in high and low transmission areas and determine how Ab levels during pregnancy correlate with clearance of placental parasites. Plasma samples collected monthly throughout pregnancy from pregnant women living in high and low...

  1. Application of static var compensator on large synchronous motors based on linear optimization control design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soltani, J.; Fath Abadi, A.M.

    2003-01-01

    This paper describes the application of static var compensators, on an electrical distribution network containing two large synchronous motors, one of which is excited via a three-phase thyristor bridge rectifier. The second machine is excited via a diode bridge rectifier. Based on linear optimization control, the measurable feedback signals are applied to the control system loops of static var compensators and the excitation control loop of the first synchronous motor. The phase equations method was used to develop a computer program to model the distribution network. Computer results were obtained to demonstrate the system performance for some abnormal modes of operation. These results show that employing static var compensators based on the linear optimization control design for electrical distribution networks containing large synchronous motors is beneficial and may be considered a first stage of the system design

  2. JST Thesaurus Headwords and Synonyms: Brassica rapa var. peruviridis [MeCab user dictionary for science technology term[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available MeCab user dictionary for science technology term Brassica rapa var. peruviridis 名詞... 一般 * * * * コマツナ コマツナ コマツナ Thesaurus2015 200906099324987960 C LS06/LS72 UNKNOWN_2 Brassica rapa var . peruviridis

  3. DGA-based VAR rescheduling for transmission loss reduction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mishra, S. [Indian Inst. of Technology, Delhi (India); Taylor, G.A. [Brunel Univ., London (United Kingdom). Brunel Inst. of Power Systems; Reddy, J.B.V. [Government of India, New Delhi (India). Dept. of Science and Technology; Naeem, M.H. [Multimedia Univ. (Malaysia). Faculty of Engineering

    2009-07-01

    Power losses in power transmission lines can be minimized by adjusting transformer taps and switchable VAR sources. Optimal power flow (OPF) is a static, nonlinear, multi-objective optimization challenge in which the optimal settings of control variables must be determined for minimizing the cost of generation, emissions, transmission losses and voltage and power flow deviations. OPF is important in power system operation because a small savings per hour can mean a large annual savings. This paper presented a method to reduce transmission power losses using a Differential Genetic Algorithm (DGA) for VAR rescheduling. The New England 39-bus power system was used as a test case. Power losses were minimized by changing the tap settings of various transformers and by varying the injected reactive power. The paper showed that certain buses in the system can improve the voltage profile and reduce transmission losses through reactive power injections from capacitor banks. In this study, minimum reactive power output of generators was maintained at zero to ensure that the generators did not draw reactive power. The DGA was shown to produce better results than the Conventional Genetic Algorithm in terms of power loss minimization. 12 refs., 1 tab., 2 figs.

  4. Phylogeography of var gene repertoires reveals fine-scale geospatial clustering of Plasmodium falciparum populations in a highly endemic area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tessema, Sofonias K; Monk, Stephanie L; Schultz, Mark B; Tavul, Livingstone; Reeder, John C; Siba, Peter M; Mueller, Ivo; Barry, Alyssa E

    2015-01-01

    Plasmodium falciparum malaria is a major global health problem that is being targeted for progressive elimination. Knowledge of local disease transmission patterns in endemic countries is critical to these elimination efforts. To investigate fine-scale patterns of malaria transmission, we have compared repertoires of rapidly evolving var genes in a highly endemic area. A total of 3680 high-quality DBLα-sequences were obtained from 68 P. falciparum isolates from ten villages spread over two distinct catchment areas on the north coast of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Modelling of the extent of var gene diversity in the two parasite populations predicts more than twice as many var gene alleles circulating within each catchment (Mugil = 906; Wosera = 1094) than previously recognized in PNG (Amele = 369). In addition, there were limited levels of var gene sharing between populations, consistent with local parasite population structure. Phylogeographic analyses demonstrate that while neutrally evolving microsatellite markers identified population structure only at the catchment level, var gene repertoires reveal further fine-scale geospatial clustering of parasite isolates. The clustering of parasite isolates by village in Mugil, but not in Wosera was consistent with the physical and cultural isolation of the human populations in the two catchments. The study highlights the microheterogeneity of P. falciparum transmission in highly endemic areas and demonstrates the potential of var genes as markers of local patterns of parasite population structure. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Pollination ecology of Swartzia apetala Raddi var. apetala (leguminosae-papilionoideae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Cecília de Chiara Moço

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available The pollination ecology of Swartzia apetala Raddi var. apetala was studied in the restinga of Maricá, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. S. apetala var. apetala is a shrub with asynchronic annual blooming, between the months of November and April (hot-rainy season. Each plant can exhibit more than one blooming episode in this period. Their flowers are hermaphrodites, apetalous, heterantherous, odoriferous, and the pollen represents the only reward offered to visitors. It is pollinized by species of Centris and Xylocopa, solitary and polyletic bees, which collect the pollen by means of vibratory movements. Other bees such as Apis mellifera, Pseudaugochloropsis graminea and Trigona spinipes are only pollen-thieves. In this variety of Swartzia vibrating is an efficient method to collect pollen from the anthers despite non-poricidal dehiscence.. The flowering phenology and the behavior of visitors influence the rate of outcrossing.A ecologia da polinização de Swartzia apetala Raddi var. apetala foi estudada na restinga de Maricá, Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. S. apetala var. apetala é um arbusto com floração do tipo anual assincrônica, entre os meses de novembro e abril (estação quente- chuvosa. Cada planta pode apresentar mais de um episódio de floração neste período. As flores são hermafroditas, apétalas, heterândricas, odoríferas e o polem constitui a única recompensa oferecida aos visitantes. É polinizada por espécies de Centris e Xylocopa, abelhas solitárias e poliléticas, que coletam o polem através do método de vibração. Nesta variedade de Swartzia a vibração é um método eficiente de coleta de polem apesar das anteras apresentarem deiscência rimosa. Outras abelhas, como Apis mellifera, Pseudaugochloropsis graminea e Trigona spinipes, são pilhadoras de pólen. A fenologia da floração e o comportamento dos visitantes florais influenciam a taxa de fertilização cruzada.

  6. 1D-Var temperature retrievals from microwave radiometer and convective scale model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pauline Martinet

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper studies the potential of ground-based microwave radiometers (MWR for providing accurate temperature retrievals by combining convective scale numerical models and brightness temperatures (BTs. A one-dimensional variational (1D-Var retrieval technique has been tested to optimally combine MWR and 3-h forecasts from the French convective scale model AROME. A microwave profiler HATPRO (Humidity and Temperature PROfiler was operated during 6 months at the meteorological station of Bordeaux (Météo France. MWR BTs were monitored against simulations from the Atmospheric Radiative Transfer Simulator 2 radiative transfer model. An overall good agreement was found between observations and simulations for opaque V-band channels but large errors were observed for channels the most affected by liquid water and water vapour emissions (51.26 and 52.28 GHz. 1D-Var temperature retrievals are performed in clear-sky and cloudy conditions using a screening procedure based on cloud base height retrieval from ceilometer observations, infrared radiometer temperature and liquid water path derived from the MWR observations. The 1D-Var retrievals were found to improve the AROME forecasts up to 2 km with a maximum gain of approximately 50 % in root-mean-square-errors (RMSE below 500 m. They were also found to outperform neural network retrievals. A static bias correction was proposed to account for systematic instrumental errors. This correction was found to have a negligible impact on the 1D-Var retrievals. The use of low elevation angles improves the retrievals up to 12 % in RMSE in cloudy-sky in the first layers. The present implementation achieved a RMSE with respect to radiosondes within 1 K in clear-sky and 1.3 K in cloudy-sky conditions for temperature.

  7. Evidence of strain structure in Plasmodium falciparum var gene repertoires in children from Gabon, West Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Day, Karen P; Artzy-Randrup, Yael; Tiedje, Kathryn E; Rougeron, Virginie; Chen, Donald S; Rask, Thomas S; Rorick, Mary M; Migot-Nabias, Florence; Deloron, Philippe; Luty, Adrian J F; Pascual, Mercedes

    2017-05-16

    Existing theory on competition for hosts between pathogen strains has proposed that immune selection can lead to the maintenance of strain structure consisting of discrete, weakly overlapping antigenic repertoires. This prediction of strain theory has conceptual overlap with fundamental ideas in ecology on niche partitioning and limiting similarity between coexisting species in an ecosystem, which oppose the hypothesis of neutral coexistence. For Plasmodium falciparum , strain theory has been specifically proposed in relation to the major surface antigen of the blood stage, known as Pf EMP1 and encoded by the multicopy multigene family known as the var genes. Deep sampling of the DBLα domain of var genes in the local population of Bakoumba, West Africa, was completed to define whether patterns of repertoire overlap support a role of immune selection under the opposing force of high outcrossing, a characteristic of areas of intense malaria transmission. Using a 454 high-throughput sequencing protocol, we report extremely high diversity of the DBLα domain and a large parasite population with DBLα repertoires structured into nonrandom patterns of overlap. Such population structure, significant for the high diversity of var genes that compose it at a local level, supports the existence of "strains" characterized by distinct var gene repertoires. Nonneutral, frequency-dependent competition would be at play and could underlie these patterns. With a computational experiment that simulates an intervention similar to mass drug administration, we argue that the observed repertoire structure matters for the antigenic var diversity of the parasite population remaining after intervention.

  8. A Bootstrap Cointegration Rank Test for Panels of VAR Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Callot, Laurent

    functions of the individual Cointegrated VARs (CVAR) models. A bootstrap based procedure is used to compute empirical distributions of the trace test statistics for these individual models. From these empirical distributions two panel trace test statistics are constructed. The satisfying small sample...

  9. Local cabbage ( Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) populations from ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In previous experiments, we were able to augment cabbages (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata L.) with two new local open pollinated (OP) populations and one cultivar. The type of use indicated that these are cabbages with thinner and juicier leaves, which predisposes their heads for fine grating and also makes their ...

  10. Transcriptome sequence analysis of an ornamental plant, Ananas comosus var. bracteatus, revealed the potential unigenes involved in terpenoid and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Jun; Kanakala, S; He, Yehua; Zhang, Junli; Zhong, Xiaolan

    2015-01-01

    Ananas comosus var. bracteatus (Red Pineapple) is an important ornamental plant for its colorful leaves and decorative red fruits. Because of its complex genome, it is difficult to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the growth and development. Thus high-throughput transcriptome sequencing of Ananas comosus var. bracteatus is necessary to generate large quantities of transcript sequences for the purpose of gene discovery and functional genomic studies. The Ananas comosus var. bracteatus transcriptome was sequenced by the Illumina paired-end sequencing technology. We obtained a total of 23.5 million high quality sequencing reads, 1,555,808 contigs and 41,052 unigenes. In total 41,052 unigenes of Ananas comosus var. bracteatus, 23,275 unigenes were annotated in the NCBI non-redundant protein database and 23,134 unigenes were annotated in the Swiss-Port database. Out of these, 17,748 and 8,505 unigenes were assigned to gene ontology categories and clusters of orthologous groups, respectively. Functional annotation against Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes Pathway database identified 5,825 unigenes which were mapped to 117 pathways. The assembly predicted many unigenes that were previously unknown. The annotated unigenes were compared against pineapple, rice, maize, Arabidopsis, and sorghum. Unigenes that did not match any of those five sequence datasets are considered to be Ananas comosus var. bracteatus unique. We predicted unigenes encoding enzymes involved in terpenoid and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. The sequence data provide the most comprehensive transcriptomic resource currently available for Ananas comosus var. bracteatus. To our knowledge; this is the first report on the de novo transcriptome sequencing of the Ananas comosus var. bracteatus. Unigenes obtained in this study, may help improve future gene expression, genetic and genomics studies in Ananas comosus var. bracteatus.

  11. Transcriptome sequence analysis of an ornamental plant, Ananas comosus var. bracteatus, revealed the potential unigenes involved in terpenoid and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Ma

    Full Text Available Ananas comosus var. bracteatus (Red Pineapple is an important ornamental plant for its colorful leaves and decorative red fruits. Because of its complex genome, it is difficult to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the growth and development. Thus high-throughput transcriptome sequencing of Ananas comosus var. bracteatus is necessary to generate large quantities of transcript sequences for the purpose of gene discovery and functional genomic studies.The Ananas comosus var. bracteatus transcriptome was sequenced by the Illumina paired-end sequencing technology. We obtained a total of 23.5 million high quality sequencing reads, 1,555,808 contigs and 41,052 unigenes. In total 41,052 unigenes of Ananas comosus var. bracteatus, 23,275 unigenes were annotated in the NCBI non-redundant protein database and 23,134 unigenes were annotated in the Swiss-Port database. Out of these, 17,748 and 8,505 unigenes were assigned to gene ontology categories and clusters of orthologous groups, respectively. Functional annotation against Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes Pathway database identified 5,825 unigenes which were mapped to 117 pathways. The assembly predicted many unigenes that were previously unknown. The annotated unigenes were compared against pineapple, rice, maize, Arabidopsis, and sorghum. Unigenes that did not match any of those five sequence datasets are considered to be Ananas comosus var. bracteatus unique. We predicted unigenes encoding enzymes involved in terpenoid and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis.The sequence data provide the most comprehensive transcriptomic resource currently available for Ananas comosus var. bracteatus. To our knowledge; this is the first report on the de novo transcriptome sequencing of the Ananas comosus var. bracteatus. Unigenes obtained in this study, may help improve future gene expression, genetic and genomics studies in Ananas comosus var. bracteatus.

  12. Bootstrap Determination of the Co-Integration Rank in Heteroskedastic VAR Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cavaliere, G.; Rahbek, Anders; Taylor, A.M.R.

    2014-01-01

    In a recent paper Cavaliere et al. (2012) develop bootstrap implementations of the (pseudo-) likelihood ratio (PLR) co-integration rank test and associated sequential rank determination procedure of Johansen (1996). The bootstrap samples are constructed using the restricted parameter estimates...... of the underlying vector autoregressive (VAR) model which obtain under the reduced rank null hypothesis. They propose methods based on an independent and individual distributed (i.i.d.) bootstrap resampling scheme and establish the validity of their proposed bootstrap procedures in the context of a co......-integrated VAR model with i.i.d. innovations. In this paper we investigate the properties of their bootstrap procedures, together with analogous procedures based on a wild bootstrap resampling scheme, when time-varying behavior is present in either the conditional or unconditional variance of the innovations. We...

  13. Effect of the irradiation on Salmonella enteretidis var. typhimurium with gamma rays from 60Co

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maliska, C.; Norberg, A.N.; Norberg, J.B.M.; Santos Souza, R.C. dos; Silva Tavares, P.R. da

    1988-01-01

    The use of ionizinf radiation to the destruction of microrganisms responsible for food deterioration, and productive of feeding toxinfections constitute their usefulness for actually peaceful goals of nuclear energy. The feeding toxinfections are, among us, produced in their most part by Salmonella enteritidis var. typhimurim. One hundred nineteen samples of milk containing about 150.000 bacteria per ml, by means doses ranging from 100 to 1.100 gy, two samples of surviving bacteria were again irradiated by doses up to 2.5000 Gy. The bacteria not previously irradiated were throughly killed by means of doses of 1.100 Gy. Salmonella enteritidis var. typhimurium was inactivated by means of 1.200 and 1.900 Gy doses. It was concluded that 60-Cobalt gamma radiation minimal lethal dose to Salmonella enteritidis var. typhimurium is 1.200 Gy; the re-irradiation to the survivors prompts the forthcoming of more resistant germs. (author) [pt

  14. From In Vivo to In Vitro: Dynamic Analysis of Plasmodium falciparum var Gene Expression Patterns of Patient Isolates during Adaptation to Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yufu; Xue, Xiangyang; Yan, He; Sun, Xiaodong; Wang, Jian; McCutchan, Thomas F.; Pan, Weiqing

    2011-01-01

    Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1), encoded by the var gene family, plays a crucial role in disease virulence through its involvement in binding to various host cellular receptors during infection. Growing evidence suggests that differential expression of the various var subgroups may be involved in parasite virulence. To further explore this issue, we have collected isolates from symptomatic patients in south China-Myanmar border, and characterized their sequence diversity and transcription profiles over time of var gene family, and cytoadherence properties from the time of their initial collection and extending through a two month period of adaptation to culture. Initially, we established a highly diverse, DBLα (4 cysteines) subtype-enriched, but unique local repertoire of var-DBL1α sequences by cDNA cloning and sequencing. Next we observed a rapid transcriptional decline of upsA- and upsB-subtype var genes at ring stage through qRT-PCR assays, and a switching event from initial ICAM-I binding to the CD36-binding activity during the first week of adaptive cultivation in vitro. Moreover, predominant transcription of upsA var genes was observed to be correlated with those isolates that showed a higher parasitemia at the time of collection and the ICAM-1-binding phenotype in culture. Taken together, these data indicate that the initial stage of adaptive process in vitro significantly influences the transcription of virulence-related var subtypes and expression of PfEMP1 variants. Further, the specific upregulation of the upsA var genes is likely linked to the rapid propagation of the parasite during natural infection due to the A-type PfEMP1 variant-mediated growth advantages. PMID:21674009

  15. Understanding mechanisms of rarity in pteridophytes: competition and climate change threaten the rare fern Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum (Aspleniaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Testo, Weston L; Watkins, James E

    2013-11-01

    Understanding the ecology of rare species can inform aspects of conservation strategies; however, the mechanisms of rarity remain elusive for most pteridophytes, which possess independent and ecologically distinct gametophyte and sporophyte generations. To elucidate factors contributing to recent declines of the rare fern Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum, we studied the ecology and ecophysiology of its gametophyte generation, focusing on responses to competition, temperature, and water stress. Gametophytes of A. scolopendrium var. americanum, its widespread European relative A. scolopendrium var. scolopendrium, and five co-occurring fern species were grown from spores. Gametophytes were grown at 20°C and 25°C, and germination rates, intra- and interspecific competition, desiccation tolerance, and sporophyte production were determined for all species. Gametophytes of A. scolopendrium var. americanum had the lowest rates of germination and sporophyte production among all species studied and exhibited the greatest sensitivity to interspecific competition, temperature increases, and desiccation. Mature gametophytes of A. scolopendrium var. americanum grown at 25°C were 84.6% smaller than those grown at 20°C, and only 1.5% produced sporophytes after 200 d in culture. Similar responses were not observed in other species studied. The recent declines and current status of populations of A. scolopendrium var. americanum are linked to its gametophyte's limited capacity to tolerate competition and physiological stress linked to climate change. This is the first study to develop a mechanistic understanding of rarity and decline in a fern and demonstrates the importance of considering the ecology of the gametophyte in plants with independent sporophyte and gametophyte generations.

  16. Analysis of the relationship between Chalcone Isomerase gene expression level and rutin production in Ficus deltoidea var. deltoidea and F. deltoidea var. angustifolia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Najid, Najihah Mohd; Zain, Che Radziah Che Mohd; Zainal, Zamri

    2016-11-01

    Ficus deltoidea (moraceae) is a herbal plant with medicinal values. Previous studies reported that the F. deltoidea contains a high level of bioactive compounds such as flavonoids. A cDNA encodes for chalcone isomerase was identified from F. deltoidea, designated as FdCHI, which involved in the isomerization of naringenin chalcone to naringenin. Naringenin is a key branch point for the synthesis of rutin, which is believed involved in defense mechanism in the plant. Therefore, we hypothesized that there might be a direct relationship between FdCHI expression level and rutin production in leaves of F. deltoidea var. deltoidea (FDD) and F. deltoidea var. angustifolia (FDA). Our result showed that expression level of FdCHI in leaves FDD was greater than FDA. Analysis of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) revealed that rutin was only detected in FDA leaves. Based on the results between FdCHI expression and rutin production, this study concluded that there is no relationship between FdCHI expression and rutin production in leaves of FDA and FDD.

  17. Identification of a Major Dimorphic Region in the Functionally Critical N-Terminal ID1 Domain of VAR2CSA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Doritchamou, Justin; Sabbagh, Audrey; Jespersen, Jakob S

    2015-01-01

    The VAR2CSA protein of Plasmodium falciparum is transported to and expressed on the infected erythrocyte surface where it plays a key role in placental malaria (PM). It is the current leading candidate for a vaccine to prevent PM. However, the antigenic polymorphism integral to VAR2CSA poses...... a challenge for vaccine development. Based on detailed analysis of polymorphisms in the sequence of its ligand-binding N-terminal region, currently the main focus for vaccine development, we assessed var2csa from parasite isolates infecting pregnant women. The results reveal for the first time the presence...

  18. Inflows and their Macroeconomic Impact in India a VAR Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Narayan Sethi

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The present study attempts to examine the effects of private foreign capital inflows (FINV on macroeconomic variables in India. The study also examines the trends and composition of capital inflows into India. Using the Vector Autoregression (VAR method, this paper specifically examines effects of private foreign capital inflows (FINV on macroeconomic variables in India. This study is based on the monthly data from 1995:04 to 2011:07 and incorporating the macroeconomic variables such as exchange rate (EXR, inflation, money supply (M3, export (EXPO, import (IMP, foreign exchange reserve (FOREX and economic growth (IIP as proxy of GDP. The important observations emerge from the VAR analysis which shows there is dynamic short and long equilibrium relationship between few macroeconomic variables like exchange rate (EXR, foreign exchange reserve (FOREX, index of industrial production (IIP and money supply (M3 with private foreign capital inflows (FINV during the study period from 1995:04 to 2011:07

  19. Phytoremediation potential of Pityrogramma calomelanos var. austroamericana and Pteris vittata L. grown at a highly variable arsenic contaminated site.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niazi, Nabeel Khan; Singh, Balwant; Van Zwieten, Lukas; Kachenko, Anthony George

    2011-10-01

    This study examined the phytoextraction potential of two arsenic (As) hyperaccumulators, Pteris vittata L. and Pityrogramma calomelanos var. austroamericana at a historical As-contaminated cattle dip site in northern New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Total As concentration in the surface soil (0-20 cm) showed a better spatial structure than phosphate-extractable As in the surface and sub-surface soil at this site. P. calomelanos var. austroamericana produced greater frond dry biomass (mean = 130 g plant(-1)) than P. vittata (mean = 81 g plant(-1)) after 10 months of growth. Arsenic concentration and uptake in fronds were also significantly higher in P. calomelanos var. austroamericana (means = 887 mg kg(-1) and 124 mg plant(-1)) than in P. vittata (means = 674 mg kg(-1) and 57 mg plant(-1)). Our results showed that under the field conditions and highly variable soil As at the site, P. calomelanos var. austroamericana performed better than P. vittata. We predict that P. calomelanos var. austroamericana would take approximately 100 years to reduce the total As to below 20 mg kg(-1) at the site compared to > or =200 years estimated for P. vittata. However, long-term data are required to confirm these observations under field conditions.

  20. Screening of some biological activities of Alyssum fulvescens var. fulvescens known as ege madwort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozay, Cennet; Mammadov, Ramazan

    2017-09-01

    In this research, the phenolic composition, antioxidant, antibacterial and cytotoxic activities of the methanolic extracts obtained from Alyssum fulvescens var. fulvescens aerial parts known as Ege kuduzotu in western Turkey, were firstly investigated. The antioxidant activity of the extract was determined by DPPH, metal chelating, phosphomolybdenum, β-carotene/linoleic acid and ferric reducing power assays. Moreover, total phenolic and flavonoid contents in the extract were investigated. The brine shrimp (Artemia salina L.) lethality test was used to investigate for the possible cytotoxic activity of the extract. Microdilution broth method was used to study antibacterial potency of extract against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The extract exhibited good biological activities. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents in the extract were significantly correlated with antioxidant potentials. HPLC analysis showed that chlorogenic acid was the major phenolic in extract tested. The results indicated that the extract of A. fulvescens var. fulvescens may be considered as a potential source of biological agents and in vivo investigations are needed to test the biological effects of A. fulvescens var. fulvescens.

  1. AFLP analysis of Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. var. dactylon genetic variation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Y Q; Taliaferro, C M; Bai, G H; Anderson, M P

    2004-08-01

    Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. var. dactylon (common bermudagrass) is geographically widely distributed between about lat 45 degrees N and lat 45 degrees S, penetrating to about lat 53 degrees N in Europe. The extensive variation of morphological and adaptive characteristics of the taxon is substantially documented, but information is lacking on DNA molecular variation in geographically disparate forms. Accordingly, this study was conducted to assess molecular genetic variation and genetic relatedness among 28 C. dactylon var. dactylon accessions originating from 11 countries on 4 continents (Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe). A fluorescence-labeled amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) DNA profiling method was used to detect the genetic diversity and relatedness. On the basis of 443 polymorphic AFLP fragments from 8 primer combinations, the accessions were grouped into clusters and subclusters associating with their geographic origins. Genetic similarity coefficients (SC) for the 28 accessions ranged from 0.53 to 0.98. Accessions originating from Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe formed major groupings as indicated by cluster and principal coordinate analysis. Accessions from Australia and Asia, though separately clustered, were relatively closely related and most distantly related to accessions of European origin. African accessions formed two distant clusters and had the greatest variation in genetic relatedness relative to accessions from other geographic regions. Sampling the full extent of genetic variation in C. dactylon var. dactylon would require extensive germplasm collection in the major geographic regions of its distributional range.

  2. Hidrocefalia conseqüente à varíola incidindo no período fetal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gilberto Machado de Almeida

    1964-09-01

    Full Text Available A partir de 1941, muito tem sido escrito a respeito da possibilidade de que uma infecção, incidindo em gestante, determine malformação. O papel da rubéola como causa de embriopatias está comprovado; entretanto, não há, até agora, demonstração cabal de que outras viroses também as determinem. No que diz respeito à possibilidade de existir embriopatia causada por varíola, encontramos apenas o caso de Jellife, para o qual esta etiologia foi sugerida. Com relação às malformações causadas por fetopatias, a toxoplasmose e a citomegalia constituem as únicas bem estudadas e caracterizadas. Morquio, em 1903, registrou três pacientes hidrocefálicos para os quais a etiologia variólica é sugerida; êste trabalho não foi citado na literatura ulterior. A possibilidade de a varíola atingir o feto, determinando hidrocefalia, não foi mais referida, se bem que seja relativamente numerosa a bibliografia a respeito das conseqüências desta virose quando incide durante a gravidez. Dentre 450 pacientes hidrocefálicas que tivemos a oportunidade de examinar, encontramos 15 nos quais pôde ser demonstrado que a varíola, incidindo após o quarto mês de gestação, atingiu o feto determinando fetopatia cujo elemento mais característico foi a hidrocefalia. O quadro clínico e anátomo-patológico apresentado por êstes doentes tem algumas características semelhantes às encontradas em casos de citomegalia e toxoplasmose. O estudo dêstes pacientes e da literatura correlata permitiu chegar às seguintes conclusões: 1. A varíola incidindo em gestante, nos dois últimos trimestres da gravidez, pode atingir o feto determinando lesões encefálicas graves e hidrocefalia. 2. Nos casos de crianças que apresentam sinais de hidrocefalia deve ser indagada a ocorrência de doença eruptiva materna, varíola em particular, durante a gestação. Mesmo quando se trate de mães imunes à varíola por vacinação ou por moléstia anterior e que n

  3. winged eye Induces Transdetermination of Drosophila Imaginal Disc by Acting in Concert with a Histone Methyltransferase, Su(var3-9

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keita Masuko

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Summary: Drosophila imaginal disc cells exhibit a remarkable ability to convert cell fates in response to various perturbations, a phenomenon called transdetermination (TD. We previously identified winged eye (wge as a factor that induces eye-to-wing TD upon overexpression in eye imaginal discs, but the molecular mechanisms underlying TD have remained largely unclear. Here, we found that wge induces various histone modifications and enhances the methylation of Lys9 on histone H3 (H3K9, a feature of heterochromatin. A histone methyltransferase, Su(var3-9, is required for wge-mediated H3K9 methylation and eye-to-wing TD. Su(var3-9 is also required for classical wound-induced TD but not for normal development, suggesting its involvement in several types of imaginal disc TDs. Transcriptome analysis revealed that wge represses eye identity genes independently of Su(var3-9 and activates TD-related genes by acting together with Su(var3-9. These findings provide new insights into diverse types of chromatin regulation at progressive steps of cell-fate conversions. : Drosophila imaginal discs switch disc identity by a process known as transdetermination. Masuko et al. demonstrate that expression of the winged eye gene induces transdetermination through histone modifications such as H3K9-methylation. winged eye regulates expression of transdetermination-related genes via a histone methyltransferase, Su(var3-9. Keywords: Drosophila, imaginal disc, transdetermination, heterochromatin, cell fate, winged eye, reprogramming, Su(var3-9

  4. Bootstrap Determination of the Co-integration Rank in Heteroskedastic VAR Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cavaliere, Giuseppe; Rahbek, Anders; Taylor, A.M.Robert

    In a recent paper Cavaliere et al. (2012) develop bootstrap implementations of the (pseudo-) likelihood ratio [PLR] co-integration rank test and associated sequential rank determination procedure of Johansen (1996). The bootstrap samples are constructed using the restricted parameter estimates...... of the underlying VAR model which obtain under the reduced rank null hypothesis. They propose methods based on an i.i.d. bootstrap re-sampling scheme and establish the validity of their proposed bootstrap procedures in the context of a co-integrated VAR model with i.i.d. innovations. In this paper we investigate...... the properties of their bootstrap procedures, together with analogous procedures based on a wild bootstrap re-sampling scheme, when time-varying behaviour is present in either the conditional or unconditional variance of the innovations. We show that the bootstrap PLR tests are asymptotically correctly sized and...

  5. Bootstrap Determination of the Co-Integration Rank in Heteroskedastic VAR Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cavaliere, Giuseppe; Rahbek, Anders; Taylor, A. M. Robert

    In a recent paper Cavaliere et al. (2012) develop bootstrap implementations of the (pseudo-) likelihood ratio [PLR] co-integration rank test and associated sequential rank determination procedure of Johansen (1996). The bootstrap samples are constructed using the restricted parameter estimates...... of the underlying VAR model which obtain under the reduced rank null hypothesis. They propose methods based on an i.i.d. bootstrap re-sampling scheme and establish the validity of their proposed bootstrap procedures in the context of a co-integrated VAR model with i.i.d. innovations. In this paper we investigate...... the properties of their bootstrap procedures, together with analogous procedures based on a wild bootstrap re-sampling scheme, when time-varying behaviour is present in either the conditional or unconditional variance of the innovations. We show that the bootstrap PLR tests are asymptotically correctly sized and...

  6. Yunis-Varón syndrome caused by biallelic VAC14 mutations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lines, Matthew A.; Ito, Yoko; Kernohan, Kristin D.; Mears, Wendy; Hurteau-Miller, Julie; Venkateswaran, Sunita; Ward, Leanne; Khatchadourian, Karine; McClintock, Jeff; Bhola, Priya; Campeau, Philippe M.; Boycott, Kym M.; Michaud, Jean; van Kuilenburg, André Bp; Ferdinandusse, Sacha; Dyment, David A.

    2017-01-01

    Yunis-Varón syndrome (YVS) is an autosomal recessive disorder comprising skeletal anomalies, dysmorphism, global developmental delay and intracytoplasmic vacuolation in brain and other tissues. All hitherto-reported pathogenic variants affect FIG4, a lipid phosphatase involved in

  7. Interspecific hybridization, polyploidization, and backcross of Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra with B. rapa var. purpurea morphologically recapitulate the evolution of Brassica vegetables.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiaohui; Liu, Tongjin; Li, Xixiang; Duan, Mengmeng; Wang, Jinglei; Qiu, Yang; Wang, Haiping; Song, Jiangping; Shen, Di

    2016-01-04

    Brassica oleracea and B. rapa are two important vegetable crops. Both are composed of dozens of subspecies encompassing hundreds of varieties and cultivars. Synthetic B. napus with these two plants has been used extensively as a research model for the investigation of allopolyploid evolution. However, the mechanism underlying the explosive evolution of hundreds of varieties of B. oleracea and B. rapa within a short period is poorly understood. In the present study, interspecific hybridization between B. oleracea var. alboglabra and B. rapa var. purpurea was performed. The backcross progeny displayed extensive morphological variation, including some individuals that phenocopied subspecies other than their progenitors. Numerous interesting novel phenotypes and mutants were identified among the backcross progeny. The chromosomal recombination between the A and C genomes and the chromosomal asymmetric segregation were revealed using Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) markers. These findings provide direct evidence in support of the hypothesis that interspecific hybridization and backcrossing have played roles in the evolution of the vast variety of vegetables among these species and suggest that combination of interspecific hybridization and backcrossing may facilitate the development of new mutants and novel phenotypes for both basic research and the breeding of new vegetable crops.

  8. The Advantages of Hybrid 4DEnVar in the Context of the Forecast Sensitivity to Initial Conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Hyo-Jong; Shin, Seoleun; Ha, Ji-Hyun; Lim, Sujeong

    2017-11-01

    Hybrid four-dimensional ensemble variational data assimilation (hybrid 4DEnVar) is a prospective successor to three-dimensional variational data assimilation (3DVar) in operational weather prediction centers currently developing a new weather prediction model and those that do not operate adjoint models. In experiments using real observations, hybrid 4DEnVar improved Northern Hemisphere (NH; 20°N-90°N) 500 hPa geopotential height forecasts up to 5 days in a NH summer month compared to 3DVar, with statistical significance. This result is verified against ERA-Interim through a Monte Carlo test. By a regression analysis, the sensitivity of 5 day forecast is associated with the quality of the initial condition. The increased analysis skill for midtropospheric midlatitude temperature and subtropical moisture has the most apparent effect on forecast skill in the NH including a typhoon prediction case. Through attributing the analysis improvements by hybrid 4DEnVar separately to the ensemble background error covariance (BEC), its four-dimensional (4-D) extension, and climatological BEC, it is revealed that the ensemble BEC contributes to the subtropical moisture analysis, whereas the 4-D extension does to the midtropospheric midlatitude temperature. This result implies that hourly wind-mass correlation in 6 h analysis window is required to extract the potential of hybrid 4DEnVar for the midlatitude temperature analysis to the maximum. However, the temporal ensemble correlation, in hourly time scale, between moisture and another variable is invalid so that it could not work for improving the hybrid 4DEnVar analysis.

  9. The Drosophila Su(var)3-7 gene is required for oogenesis and female fertility, genetically interacts with piwi and aubergine, but impacts only weakly transposon silencing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basquin, Denis; Spierer, Anne; Begeot, Flora; Koryakov, Dmitry E; Todeschini, Anne-Laure; Ronsseray, Stéphane; Vieira, Cristina; Spierer, Pierre; Delattre, Marion

    2014-01-01

    Heterochromatin is made of repetitive sequences, mainly transposable elements (TEs), the regulation of which is critical for genome stability. We have analyzed the role of the heterochromatin-associated Su(var)3-7 protein in Drosophila ovaries. We present evidences that Su(var)3-7 is required for correct oogenesis and female fertility. It accumulates in heterochromatic domains of ovarian germline and somatic cells nuclei, where it co-localizes with HP1. Homozygous mutant females display ovaries with frequent degenerating egg-chambers. Absence of Su(var)3-7 in embryos leads to defects in meiosis and first mitotic divisions due to chromatin fragmentation or chromosome loss, showing that Su(var)3-7 is required for genome integrity. Females homozygous for Su(var)3-7 mutations strongly impair repression of P-transposable element induced gonadal dysgenesis but have minor effects on other TEs. Su(var)3-7 mutations reduce piRNA cluster transcription and slightly impact ovarian piRNA production. However, this modest piRNA reduction does not correlate with transposon de-silencing, suggesting that the moderate effect of Su(var)3-7 on some TE repression is not linked to piRNA production. Strikingly, Su(var)3-7 genetically interacts with the piwi and aubergine genes, key components of the piRNA pathway, by strongly impacting female fertility without impairing transposon silencing. These results lead us to propose that the interaction between Su(var)3-7 and piwi or aubergine controls important developmental processes independently of transposon silencing.

  10. Phenyl ethers from cultured lichen mycobionts of Graphis scripta var. serpentina and G. rikuzensis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takenaka, Yukiko; Tanahashi, Takao; Nagakura, Naotaka; Hamada, Nobuo

    2003-07-01

    Spore-derived mycobionts of the lichen Graphis scripta var. serpentina and G. rikuzensis were cultivated on a malt-yeast extract medium supplemented with 10% sucrose and their metabolites were investigated. 3,3'-Dihydroxy-5,5'-dimethyldiphenyl ether was isolated from the cultures of the mycobionts of G. scripta var. serpentina, while a new phenyl ether, rikuzenol, along with two known diphenyl ethers, violaceol-I and violaceol-II, were isolated from those of G. rikuzensis. The structure of the new compound was determined by spectroscopic methods. Violaceol-I was chemically synthesized and interconversion between violaceol-I and violaceol-II was proven.

  11. Anti-U-like as an alloantibody in S-s-U- and S-s-U+(var) black people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peyrard, Thierry; Lam, Yin; Saison, Carole; Arnaud, Lionel; Babinet, Jérôme; Rouger, Philippe; Bierling, Philippe; Janvier, Daniel

    2012-03-01

    S, s, and U antigens belong to the MNS system. They are carried by glycophorin B (GPB), encoded by GYPB. Black people with the low-prevalence S-s- phenotype, either U- or U+(var), can make a clinically significant anti-U. Anti-U-like, a cold immunoglobulin G autoantibody quite commonly observed in S-s+U+ black persons, was previously described to be nonreactive with ficin-, α-chymotrypsin-, and pronase-treated red blood cells (RBCs); nonreactive or weakly reactive with papain-treated RBCs; and reactive with trypsin-treated RBCs. Here we describe, in S-s- people from different molecular backgrounds, an alloantibody to a high-prevalence GPB antigen, which presents the same pattern of reactivity with proteases as autoanti-U-like. Four S-s- patients with an alloantibody to a high-prevalence GPB antigen were investigated by serologic and molecular methods. An alloantibody was observed in two S-s-U-/Del GYPB, one S-s-U+(var)/GYPB(P2), and one S-s-U+(var)/GYPB(NY) patients. As this alloantibody showed the same pattern of reactivity with proteases as autoanti-U-like, we decided to name it "anti-U-like." Anti-U-like made by the two S-s-U- patients was reactive with the S-s-U+(var) RBCs of the two other patients. S-s-U-/Del GYPB, S-s-U+(var)/GYPB(P2), and S-s-U+(var)/GYPB(NY) patients can make an alloanti-U-like. Anti-U-like made by S-s-U- people appears reactive with GYPB(P2) and GYPB(NY) RBCs, which both express a weak and partial U-like reactivity. We recommend transfusing S-s-U- RBCs in S-s-U- patients showing alloanti-U-like. Our study contributes to a better understanding of alloimmunization to GPB in black people and confirms importance of genotyping in S-s- patients, especially those with sickle cell disease to be frequently transfused. © 2011 American Association of Blood Banks.

  12. Equisetum hyemale L. var. affine (Engelm.) A.A. Eaton in Schoorl

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Swolfs, Aart G.

    1996-01-01

    A giant form of the Northamerican Equisetum hyemale var. affine has been planted a decade ago near the coast, where it has naturalized since. It is suggested that other Northamerican introductions of this extremely variable taxon may have remained unnoticed.

  13. Homology blocks of Plasmodium falciparum var genes and clinically distinct forms of severe malaria in a local population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rorick, Mary M; Rask, Thomas S; Baskerville, Edward B; Day, Karen P; Pascual, Mercedes

    2013-11-06

    The primary target of the human immune response to the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1), is encoded by the members of the hyper-diverse var gene family. The parasite exhibits antigenic variation via mutually exclusive expression (switching) of the ~60 var genes within its genome. It is thought that different variants exhibit different host endothelial binding preferences that in turn result in different manifestations of disease. Var sequences comprise ancient sequence fragments, termed homology blocks (HBs), that recombine at exceedingly high rates. We use HBs to define distinct var types within a local population. We then reanalyze a dataset that contains clinical and var expression data to investigate whether the HBs allow for a description of sequence diversity corresponding to biological function, such that it improves our ability to predict disease phenotype from parasite genetics. We find that even a generic set of HBs, which are defined for a small number of non-local parasites: capture the majority of local sequence diversity; improve our ability to predict disease severity from parasite genetics; and reveal a previously hypothesized yet previously unobserved parasite genetic basis for two forms of severe disease. We find that the expression rates of some HBs correlate more strongly with severe disease phenotypes than the expression rates of classic var DBLα tag types, and principal components of HB expression rate profiles further improve genotype-phenotype models. More specifically, within the large Kenyan dataset that is the focus of this study, we observe that HB expression differs significantly for severe versus mild disease, and for rosetting versus impaired consciousness associated severe disease. The analysis of a second much smaller dataset from Mali suggests that these HB-phenotype associations are consistent across geographically distant populations, since we find evidence suggesting

  14. Fiscal developments and financial stress: a threshold VAR analysis

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Afonso, A.; Baxa, Jaromír; Slavík, M.

    2018-01-01

    Roč. 54, č. 2 (2018), s. 395-423 ISSN 0377-7332 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GBP402/12/G097 Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : Fiscal policy * Financial markets * Threshold VAR Subject RIV: AH - Economic s OBOR OECD: Applied Economic s, Econometrics Impact factor: 0.645, year: 2016 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2018/E/baxa-0488303.pdf

  15. Neuroprotective effect of Cucumis melo Var. flexuosus leaf extract on the brains of rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibrahim, Doaa S

    2017-02-01

    The central nervous system is one of the most vulnerable organs affected by the oxidative stress associated with diabetes mellitus. Healthy food provides an important source for antioxidants. Therefore, the protective effect of Cucumis melo var. flexuosus (C. melo var. flexuosus) leaf extract on the brains of diabetic rats was investigated. Adult male albino rats divided into 5 groups of 6 rats each were assigned into a normal control group and four diabetic groups. Diabetes was induced in rats by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ; 60 mg/kg bw). One of the four diabetic groups was left untreated and was considered as a diabetic control group while the three other groups were treated with C. melo var. flexuosus leaf extract at the doses of 30, 60 and 120 mg/kg bw for a period of 30 days. After completion of experimental duration plasma and brains were used for evaluating biochemical changes. The obtained data showed that C. melo var. flexuosus leaf extract treatment lowered blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, brain tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin levels, brain malondialdehyde content and caspase-3 activity. Furthermore, the treatment resulted in a marked increase in plasma dopamine, melatonin, brain vascular endothelial growth factor-A levels, brain catalase and superoxide dismutase activities. From the present study, it can be concluded that the C. melo var. flexuosus leaf extract exerts a neuroprotective effect against oxidative damage associated with diabetes.

  16. VarWalker: personalized mutation network analysis of putative cancer genes from next-generation sequencing data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Peilin; Zhao, Zhongming

    2014-02-01

    A major challenge in interpreting the large volume of mutation data identified by next-generation sequencing (NGS) is to distinguish driver mutations from neutral passenger mutations to facilitate the identification of targetable genes and new drugs. Current approaches are primarily based on mutation frequencies of single-genes, which lack the power to detect infrequently mutated driver genes and ignore functional interconnection and regulation among cancer genes. We propose a novel mutation network method, VarWalker, to prioritize driver genes in large scale cancer mutation data. VarWalker fits generalized additive models for each sample based on sample-specific mutation profiles and builds on the joint frequency of both mutation genes and their close interactors. These interactors are selected and optimized using the Random Walk with Restart algorithm in a protein-protein interaction network. We applied the method in >300 tumor genomes in two large-scale NGS benchmark datasets: 183 lung adenocarcinoma samples and 121 melanoma samples. In each cancer, we derived a consensus mutation subnetwork containing significantly enriched consensus cancer genes and cancer-related functional pathways. These cancer-specific mutation networks were then validated using independent datasets for each cancer. Importantly, VarWalker prioritizes well-known, infrequently mutated genes, which are shown to interact with highly recurrently mutated genes yet have been ignored by conventional single-gene-based approaches. Utilizing VarWalker, we demonstrated that network-assisted approaches can be effectively adapted to facilitate the detection of cancer driver genes in NGS data.

  17. Infections with Plasmodium falciparum during pregnancy affect VAR2CSA DBL-5 domain-specific T cell cytokine responses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gbédandé, Komi; Cottrell, Gilles; Vianou, Bertin

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Current knowledge of human immunological responses to pregnancy-associated malaria-specific Plasmodium falciparum protein VAR2CSA concerns almost exclusively B cell-driven antibody-mediated activity. Knowledge of VAR2CSA-specific T cell-mediated activity is minimal by comparison, with...

  18. Controlling liquid pool depth in VAR of a 21.6 cm diameter ingot of Alloy 718

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopez, Felipe; Beaman, Joseph; Williamson, Rodney; Taleff, Eric; Watt, Trevor

    It is believed that the final microstructure in vacuum arc remelted (VAR) ingots is strongly influenced by the molten metal pool profile. Thus, if the pool profile was properly controlled during the melt then defect-free microstructures would be obtained. The recent development of a reduced-order model of VAR solidification allowed the design of a pool depth controller to accomplish this task. The controller used a linear quadratic regulator and a Kalman filter to stabilize the melt pool solidification front under the effect of uncertain process dynamics and noisy measurements. Basic Axisymmetric Remelting (BAR), a high-fidelity VAR ingot model, was used in real time to provide pool depth measurements that were incorporated in the control loop. The controller was tested at Los Alamos National Laboratory in a 21.6 diameter Alloy 718 ingot. Details of the controller design will be presented, along with comparisons to experimentally-measured pool depths.

  19. Kipling var racist og sexist. Men værd at læse

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Møller, Michael

    2017-01-01

    For over 100 år siden fik Rudyard Kipling Nobelprisen i Litteratur. Han var særdeles alsidig. Han skrev både digte, noveller og bøger, og han skrev både for børn, teenagere og voksne. Han skrev krigsdigte, han skrev digte, der hyldede erhvervslivet, han skrev digte for at fremme bedre pensioner t...... gamle soldater, og han skrev digte til børn. Også hans bøger var meget varierede. I dag er det vel hovedsagelig ' Junglebogen', som unge mennesker kender Kipling for, og det udelukkende på grund af Disney-filmen. Kiplings ry faldt umådeligt efter hans død...

  20. Actual Situation and Further Development of Interim Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) and Highly Active Waste (HAW) from the View of the Competent Authority in the Field of section 6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gastl, Christoph; Drobniewski, Christian

    2014-01-01

    According to the German atomic law the storage of nuclear material has to be licensed following section 6 by the competent authority in this field, which is the Federal Office for Radiation Protection. Interim storage in its actual form started in 2002 in the interim storage facility next to the NPP Lingen. Since this time each NPP erected its own storage facilities and three central storage facilities have been built. The spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and the vitrified high level waste (HAW) will be stored there until final disposal. The time span from now on to the point of opening of a final disposal facility shall be presented from a regulators point of view, divided into different phase which could spread from years to decades. Special attention shall be drawn on the different aspects influencing the licensing process and its duration at the moment and in future including the capabilities of the competent authority. (authors)

  1. The design and performance of Static Var Compensators for particle accelerators

    CERN Document Server

    Kahle, Karsten; Genton, Charles-Mathieu

    2015-01-01

    Particle accelerators, and in particular synchrotrons, represent large cycling non-linear loads connected to the electrical distribution network. This paper discusses the typical design and performance of Static Var Compensators (SVCs) to obtain the excellent power quality levels required for particle accelerator operation.

  2. Identification and characterization of the Spodoptera Su(var) 3-9 histone H3K9 trimethyltransferase and its effect in AcMNPV infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Binbin; Li, Sisi; Yin, Juan; Zhong, Jiang

    2013-01-01

    Histone H3-lysine(9) (H3K9) trimethyltransferase gene Su(var) 3-9 was cloned and identified in three Spodoptera insects, Spodopterafrugiperda (S. frugiperda), S. exigua and S. litura. Sequence analysis showed that Spodoptera Su(var) 3-9 is highly conserved evolutionarily. Su(var) 3-9 protein was found to be localized in the nucleus in Sf9 cells, and interact with histone H3, and the heterochromatin protein 1a (HP1a) and HP1b. A dose-dependent enzymatic activity was found at both 27 °C and 37 °C in vitro, with higher activity at 27 °C. Addition of specific inhibitor chaetocin resulted in decreased histone methylation level and host chromatin relaxation. In contrast, overexpression of Su(var) 3-9 caused increased histone methylation level and cellular genome compaction. In AcMNV-infected Sf9 cells, the transcription of Su(var) 3-9 increased at late time of infection, although the mRNA levels of most cellular genes decreased. Pre-treatment of Sf9 cells with chaetocin speeded up viral DNA replication, and increased the transcription level of a variety of virus genes, whereas in Sf9 cells pre-transformed with Su(var) 3-9 expression vector, viral DNA replication slow down slightly. These findings suggest that Su(var) 3-9 might participate in the viral genes expression an genome replication repression during AcMNPV infection. It provided a new insight for the understanding virus-host interaction mechanism.

  3. Analysis of Budget Deficits and Macroeconomic Fundamentals: A VAR-VECM Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manamba Epaphra

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Aim/purpose - This paper examines the relationship between budget deficits and selected macroeconomic variables in Tanzania for the period spanning from 1966 to 2015. Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses Vector autoregression (VAR - Vector Error Correction Model (VECM and variance decomposition techniques. The Johansen's test is applied to examine the long run relationship among the variables under study. Findings - The Johansen's test of cointegration indicates that the variables are cointegrated and thus have a long run relationship. The results based on the VAR-VECM estimation show that real GDP and exchange rate have a negative and significant relationship with budget deficit whereas inflation, money supply and lending interest rate have a positive one. Variance decomposition results show that variances in the budget deficits are mostly explained by the real GDP, followed by inflation and real exchange rate. Research implications/limitations - Results are very indicative, but highlight the importance of containing inflation and money supply to check their effects on budget deficits over the short run and long-run periods. Also, policy recommendation calls for fiscal authorities in Tanzania to adopt efficient and effective methods of tax collection and public sector spending. Originality/value/contribution - Tanzania has been experiencing budget deficit since the 1970s and that this budget deficit has been blamed for high indebtedness, inflation and poor investment and growth. The paper contributes to the empirical debate on the causal relationship between budget deficits and macroeconomic variables by employing VAR-VECM and variance decomposition approaches.

  4. LA REPÚBLICA DEL ORDEN: SIMÓN BOLÍVAR, ANDRÉS BELLO Y LAS TRANSFORMACIONES DEL PENSAMIENTO POLÍTICO DE LA INDEPENDENCIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    IVÁN JAKSIC

    2003-08-01

    Full Text Available This essay explores the relationship between Andrés Bello and Simón Bolívar, arguing that their history of friendship and misunderstandings had a profound impact on Bello's decision to come to Chile. It is furthermore argued that Bello would have avoided any references to Bolívar had it not been for the allegations, aired in the press, that he had betrayed the Libertador. However, in the process of responding to the accusations, he conveyed a view of Bolívar that fit well with his own desire to promote the rule of law in Chile and beyond. It is not coincidental, then, that he transmitted highly negative views of Bolívar at the same time that he was about to launch the Civil Code. The essay concludes by suggesting that Bolívar and Bello represent two different perspectives on post-independence republicanism, one informed by classical sources, and the other drawing on emerging liberal views on the centrality of civil legislation for the consolidation of the new order in the continent.

  5. Llama immunization with full-length VAR2CSA generates cross-reactive and inhibitory single-domain antibodies against the DBL1X domain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nunes-Silva, Sofia; Gangnard, Stéphane; Vidal, Marta; Vuchelen, Anneleen; Dechavanne, Sebastien; Chan, Sherwin; Pardon, Els; Steyaert, Jan; Ramboarina, Stephanie; Chêne, Arnaud; Gamain, Benoît

    2014-12-09

    VAR2CSA stands today as the leading vaccine candidate aiming to protect future pregnant women living in malaria endemic areas against the severe clinical outcomes of pregnancy associated malaria (PAM). The rational design of an efficient VAR2CSA-based vaccine relies on a profound understanding of the molecular interactions associated with P. falciparum infected erythrocyte sequestration in the placenta. Following immunization of a llama with the full-length VAR2CSA recombinant protein, we have expressed and characterized a panel of 19 nanobodies able to recognize the recombinant VAR2CSA as well as the surface of erythrocytes infected with parasites originating from different parts of the world. Domain mapping revealed that a large majority of nanobodies targeted DBL1X whereas a few of them were directed towards DBL4ε, DBL5ε and DBL6ε. One nanobody targeting the DBL1X was able to recognize the native VAR2CSA protein of the three parasite lines tested. Furthermore, four nanobodies targeting DBL1X reproducibly inhibited CSA adhesion of erythrocytes infected with the homologous NF54-CSA parasite strain, providing evidences that DBL1X domain is part or close to the CSA binding site. These nanobodies could serve as useful tools to identify conserved epitopes shared between different variants and to characterize the interactions between VAR2CSA and CSA.

  6. De novo characterization of the Iris lactea var. chinensis transcriptome and an analysis of genes under cadmium or lead exposure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Chun-Sun; Liu, Liang-Qin; Deng, Yan-Ming; Zhang, Yong-Xia; Wang, Zhi-Quan; Yuan, Hai-Yan; Huang, Su-Zhen

    2017-10-01

    Iris lactea var. chinensis (I. lactea var. chinensis) is tolerant to accumulations of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb). In this study, the transcriptome of I. lactea var. chinensis was investigated under Cd or Pb stresses. Using the gene ontology database, 31,974 unigenes were classified into biological process, cellular component and molecular function. In total, 13,132 unigenes were involved in enriched Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) metabolic pathways, and the expression levels of 5904 unigenes were significantly changed after exposure to Cd or Pb stresses. Of these, 974 were co-up-regulated and 1281 were co-down-regulated under the two stresses. The transcriptome expression profiles of I. lactea var. chinensis under Cd or Pb stresses obtained in this study provided a resource for identifying common mechanisms in the detoxification of different heavy metals. Furthermore, the identified unigenes may be used for the genetic breeding of heavy-metal tolerant plants. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Methods for Detection of Phytophthora fragariae var. rubi on Raspberry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirjana Koprivica

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Phytophthora fragariae var. rubi (Wilcox & Duncan, a causal agent of raspberry root rot, is a serious soil-borne pathogen listed by EPPO as an A2 quarantine pest. Root samples were collected from badly diseased raspberry plants showing a variety of characteristic and often dramatic symptoms during surveys carried out in western Serbia in 2002. Identification of the causal agent was performed in collaboration work with the Scottish Crop Research Institute (S.C.R.I., Dundee, UK. Necrotic roots were plated on selective French bean agar (incorporating ampicilin, ryfamicin, bavistin and hymexasol. Detection of isolates was based on cultural and morphological features compared with referent cultures. DNA was extracted directly from the sampled roots using extraction buffer (200 mM Tris- HCl pH 8.5, 250 mM NaCl, 25 mM EDTA, 0.5% SDS, purified by multi spin separation columns [Thistle Scientific (Axygen] or in 24:1 mixture of chlorophorm- iso-amyl alcohol and amplified by nested PCR (ITS4 and DC6 for first round, DC1and DC5 for second round. Diluted DNA extracts were also amplified by conventional PCR with modified ”universal” Phytophthora primers (ITS 6, ITS 7 and ITS 8, Cooke et al., 2000 and digested with Msp1. Digestion patterns of the universal primers PCR product from infected roots matched those of Scottish strains. P. fragariae var. rubi occured on 8 out of 14 sites. Our results indicate that nested PCR (ITS4 and DC6 for first round, DC1 and DC5 for second round or digestion of the ”universal” Phytophthora primers PCR product for detection of P. fragariae var. rubi are more sensitive and less time-consuming and therefore recommended for use.

  8. Simón Bolívar's Republic: a bulwark against the "Tyranny" of the Majority

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aline Helg

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Based on Bolívar's speeches, decrees, and correspondence as well as on Gran Colombia's constitutions and laws, this essay examines the tensions within Bolívar's vision of Venezuela's and New Granada's society produced by his republican, yet authoritarian and hierarchical ideas, his concern for keeping the lower classes of African descent in check, and his denial of Indian agency. It shows that even in Peru, Bolívar's main concern was to prevent the racial war and social disintegration that allegedly slaves and free Afro-descended people would bring to the newly independent nations. To prevent such an outcome, he advocated all along legal equality through the abolition of the colonial privileges and, since mid-1816, the abolition of slavery, but simultaneously the preservation of the monopole of power by the white creole elite. He secured the perpetuation of the socioracial hierarchy inherited from Spain by a two-edged citizenship: an active citizenship restricted to a tiny literate and skilled minority and an inactive citizenship for the immense majority of (mostly nonwhite men.

  9. Tamarix arborea var. arborea and Tamarix parviflora: Two species valued for their adaptability to stress conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grisafi, Francesca; Oddo, Elisabetta; Gargano, Maria Letizia; Inzerillo, Simone; Russo, Gianni; Venturella, Giuseppe

    2016-03-01

    The choice of stress resistant and highly adaptable species is a fundamental step for landscaping and ornamental purposes in arid and coastal environments such as those in the Mediterranean basin. The genus Tamarix L. includes about 90 species with a high endurance of adversity. We investigated the water relations and photosynthetic response of Tamarix arborea (Sieb. ex Ehrenb.) Bge. var. arborea and T. parviflora DC. growing in an urban environment. Both species showed no evidence of drought or salt stress in summer, and appeared to follow two strategies with T. arborea var. arborea investing in high carbon gain at the beginning of the summer, and then reducing photosynthetic activity at the end of the season, and T. parviflora showing lower but constant levels of photosynthetic activity throughout the vegetative season. For landscaping and ornamental purposes, we suggest T. arborea var. arborea when a fast-growing, high-cover species is necessary, and T. parviflora when less-invasive species are required.

  10. Ochratoxin A production by strains of Aspergillus niger var. niger.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abarca, M L; Bragulat, M R; Castellá, G; Cabañes, F J

    1994-01-01

    In a survey of the occurrence of ochratoxin A (OA)-positive strains isolated from feedstuffs, two of the 19 isolates of Aspergillus niger var. niger that were studied produced OA in 2% yeast extract-15% sucrose broth and in corn cultures. This is the first report of production of OA by this species. PMID:8074536

  11. Baculovirus-expressed constructs induce immunoglobulin G that recognizes VAR2CSA on Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barfod, Lea; Nielsen, Morten A; Turner, Louise

    2006-01-01

    We raised specific antisera against recombinant VAR2CSA domains produced in Escherichia coli and in insect cells. All were reactive in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, but only insect cell-derived constructs induced immunoglobulin G (IgG) that was reactive with native VAR2CSA on the surface...

  12. Identification and Characterization of the Spodoptera Su(var) 3-9 Histone H3K9 trimethyltransferase and Its Effect in AcMNPV Infection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Binbin; Li, Sisi; Yin, Juan; Zhong, Jiang

    2013-01-01

    Histone H3-lysine9 (H3K9) trimethyltransferase gene Su(var) 3-9 was cloned and identified in three Spodoptera insects, Spodoptera frugiperda ( S . frugiperda ), S . exigua and S . litura . Sequence analysis showed that Spodoptera Su(var) 3-9 is highly conserved evolutionarily. Su(var) 3-9 protein was found to be localized in the nucleus in Sf9 cells, and interact with histone H3, and the heterochromatin protein 1a (HP1a) and HP1b. A dose-dependent enzymatic activity was found at both 27 °C and 37 °C in vitro, with higher activity at 27 °C. Addition of specific inhibitor chaetocin resulted in decreased histone methylation level and host chromatin relaxation. In contrast, overexpression of Su(var) 3-9 caused increased histone methylation level and cellular genome compaction. In AcMNV-infected Sf9 cells, the transcription of Su(var) 3-9 increased at late time of infection, although the mRNA levels of most cellular genes decreased. Pre-treatment of Sf9 cells with chaetocin speeded up viral DNA replication, and increased the transcription level of a variety of virus genes, whereas in Sf9 cells pre-transformed with Su(var) 3-9 expression vector, viral DNA replication slow down slightly. These findings suggest that Su(var) 3-9 might participate in the viral genes expression an genome replication repression during AcMNPV infection. It provided a new insight for the understanding virus–host interaction mechanism. PMID:23894480

  13. The Complete Chloroplast Genome of a Key Ancestor of Modern Roses, Rosa chinensis var. spontanea, and a Comparison with Congeneric Species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hong-Ying Jian

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Rosa chinensis var. spontanea, an endemic and endangered plant of China, is one of the key ancestors of modern roses and a source for famous traditional Chinese medicines against female diseases, such as irregular menses and dysmenorrhea. In this study, the complete chloroplast (cp genome of R. chinensis var. spontanea was sequenced, analyzed, and compared to congeneric species. The cp genome of R. chinensis var. spontanea is a typical quadripartite circular molecule of 156,590 bp in length, including one large single copy (LSC region of 85,910 bp and one small single copy (SSC region of 18,762 bp, separated by two inverted repeat (IR regions of 25,959 bp. The GC content of the whole genome is 37.2%, while that of LSC, SSC, and IR is 42.8%, 35.2% and 31.2%, respectively. The genome encodes 129 genes, including 84 protein-coding genes (PCGs, 37 transfer RNA (tRNA genes, and eight ribosomal RNA (rRNA genes. Seventeen genes in the IR regions were found to be duplicated. Thirty-three forward and five inverted repeats were detected in the cp genome of R. chinensis var. spontanea. The genome is rich in SSRs. In total, 85 SSRs were detected. A genome comparison revealed that IR contraction might be the reason for the relatively smaller cp genome size of R. chinensis var. spontanea compared to other congeneric species. Sequence analysis revealed that the LSC and SSC regions were more divergent than the IR regions within the genus Rosa and that a higher divergence occurred in non-coding regions than in coding regions. A phylogenetic analysis showed that the sampled species of the genus Rosa formed a monophyletic clade and that R. chinensis var. spontanea shared a more recent ancestor with R. lichiangensis of the section Synstylae than with R. odorata var. gigantea of the section Chinenses. This information will be useful for the conservation genetics of R. chinensis var. spontanea and for the phylogenetic study of the genus Rosa, and it might also

  14. The Complete Chloroplast Genome of a Key Ancestor of Modern Roses, Rosa chinensis var. spontanea, and a Comparison with Congeneric Species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jian, Hong-Ying; Zhang, Yong-Hong; Yan, Hui-Jun; Qiu, Xian-Qin; Wang, Qi-Gang; Li, Shu-Bin; Zhang, Shu-Dong

    2018-02-12

    Rosa chinensis var. spontanea , an endemic and endangered plant of China, is one of the key ancestors of modern roses and a source for famous traditional Chinese medicines against female diseases, such as irregular menses and dysmenorrhea. In this study, the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of R. chinensis var. spontanea was sequenced, analyzed, and compared to congeneric species. The cp genome of R. chinensis var. spontanea is a typical quadripartite circular molecule of 156,590 bp in length, including one large single copy (LSC) region of 85,910 bp and one small single copy (SSC) region of 18,762 bp, separated by two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 25,959 bp. The GC content of the whole genome is 37.2%, while that of LSC, SSC, and IR is 42.8%, 35.2% and 31.2%, respectively. The genome encodes 129 genes, including 84 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 37 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and eight ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes. Seventeen genes in the IR regions were found to be duplicated. Thirty-three forward and five inverted repeats were detected in the cp genome of R. chinensis var. spontanea. The genome is rich in SSRs. In total, 85 SSRs were detected. A genome comparison revealed that IR contraction might be the reason for the relatively smaller cp genome size of R. chinensis var. spontanea compared to other congeneric species. Sequence analysis revealed that the LSC and SSC regions were more divergent than the IR regions within the genus Rosa and that a higher divergence occurred in non-coding regions than in coding regions. A phylogenetic analysis showed that the sampled species of the genus Rosa formed a monophyletic clade and that R. chinensis var. s pontanea shared a more recent ancestor with R. lichiangensis of the section Synstylae than with R. odorata var. gigantea of the section Chinenses . This information will be useful for the conservation genetics of R. chinensis var. spontanea and for the phylogenetic study of the genus Rosa , and it might also facilitate the

  15. Influencia de la betarraga (Beta vulgaris var. cruenta en el aumento de leucocitos, en ratones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jony Amaro

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Introducción: La betarraga es una planta oriunda del Mediterráneo utilizada para fines alimenticios y medicinales. Contiene flavonoides. Objetivos: Determinar la influencia del consumo del extracto de Beta vulgaris var. cruenta en el incremento de leucocitos, en el ratón albino. Diseño: Estudio experimental. Lugar: Bioterio de la Institución Educativa 1182. Material biológico: Veinte ratones albinos de la cepa balb/c, machos, de peso promedio 24 g. Intervenciones: Se formó dos grupos, experimental y control, cada uno de diez ratones. Al grupo experimental se le administró vía oral extracto de Beta vulgaris var. cruenta en dosis de 250 mg/kg, volumen de 2 mL, cada cinco horas durante una semana, alternando con nutrientes, y al grupo control solo se le administró nutrientes. Principales medidas de resultados: Recuento de leucocitos. Resultados: Dentro del periodo de acondicionamiento, se observó un ligero incremento en la media de leucocitos del grupo control (3 681 ± 431,1 frente al grupo experimental (3 579 ± 473,5, cuya diferencia no fue significativa. Luego de administrar al grupo experimental el extracto de Beta vulgaris var. cruenta, alternando con sus nutrientes respectivos, se observó diferencia significativa de la media (7 961 ± 275,4 frente al grupo control (3 693 ± 414,7 (t student p<0,05. Conclusiones: En condiciones experimentales, el consumo del extracto de Beta vulgaris var. cruenta incrementó significativamente el número de leucocitos.

  16. El gasto militar en el Estado de Bolívar 1859-1886

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Miguel Pardo Bueno

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available En el presente artículo, estudio la evolución del gasto militar en el Estado de Bolívar, entre los años de 1859 y 1886, durante los gobiernos del liberalismo radical en los Estados Unidos de Colombia. Para ello, compilé a través de la Gaceta de Bolívar y otros documentos oficiales, los presupuestos públicos anuales del Estado, centrando mi interés en analizar el gasto en el departamento administrativo de la milicia. Mi objetivo principal es mostrar, cómo las políticas del liberalismo radical se enfocaron en la descentralización fiscal y militar, con el fin de fortalecer a los poderes locales, cediéndole a las élites regionales el control y la administración de los recursos del Estado de Bolívar y de su milicia. Para lograr este objetivo, indagué por las formas de financiación de la milicia del Estado y los gastos internos para su funcionamiento, dando cuenta de la escasa partida presupuestal para pagar sueldos, material de guerra, educación y sanidad militar, lo que conllevó a que en la práctica la milicia estatal reclamara de la sociedad a través de recursos privados, las expropiaciones y los empréstitos, los rubros necesarios para su organización y funcionamiento.

  17. The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Gentiana lawrencei var. farreri (Gentianaceae) and comparative analysis with its congeneric species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Peng-Cheng; Zhang, Yan-Zhao; Geng, Hui-Min; Chen, Shi-Long

    2016-01-01

    The chloroplast (cp) genome is useful in plant systematics, genetic diversity analysis, molecular identification and divergence dating. The genus Gentiana contains 362 species, but there are only two valuable complete cp genomes. The purpose of this study is to report the characterization of complete cp genome of G. lawrencei var. farreri , which is endemic to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). Using high throughput sequencing technology, we got the complete nucleotide sequence of the G. lawrencei var. farreri cp genome. The comparison analysis including genome difference and gene divergence was performed with its congeneric species G. straminea . The simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and phylogenetics were studied as well. The cp genome of G. lawrencei var. farreri is a circular molecule of 138,750 bp, containing a pair of 24,653 bp inverted repeats which are separated by small and large single-copy regions of 11,365 and 78,082 bp, respectively. The cp genome contains 130 known genes, including 85 protein coding genes (PCGs), eight ribosomal RNA genes and 37 tRNA genes. Comparative analyses indicated that G. lawrencei var. farreri is 10,241 bp shorter than its congeneric species G. straminea. Four large gaps were detected that are responsible for 85% of the total sequence loss. Further detailed analyses revealed that 10 PCGs were included in the four gaps that encode nine NADH dehydrogenase subunits. The cp gene content, order and orientation are similar to those of its congeneric species, but with some variation among the PCGs. Three genes, ndhB , ndhF and clpP , have high nonsynonymous to synonymous values. There are 34 SSRs in the G. lawrencei var. farreri cp genome, of which 25 are mononucleotide repeats: no dinucleotide repeats were detected. Comparison with the G. straminea cp genome indicated that five SSRs have length polymorphisms and 23 SSRs are species-specific. The phylogenetic analysis of 48 PCGs from 12 Gentianales taxa cp genomes clearly identified

  18. RareVar: A Framework for Detecting Low-Frequency Single-Nucleotide Variants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Yangyang; Xuei, Xiaoling; Li, Lang; Nakshatri, Harikrishna; Edenberg, Howard J; Liu, Yunlong

    2017-07-01

    Accurate identification of low-frequency somatic point mutations in tumor samples has important clinical utilities. Although high-throughput sequencing technology enables capturing such variants while sequencing primary tumor samples, our ability for accurate detection is compromised when the variant frequency is close to the sequencer error rate. Most current experimental and bioinformatic strategies target mutations with ≥5% allele frequency, which limits our ability to understand the cancer etiology and tumor evolution. We present an experimental and computational modeling framework, RareVar, to reliably identify low-frequency single-nucleotide variants from high-throughput sequencing data under standard experimental protocols. RareVar protocol includes a benchmark design by pooling DNAs from already sequenced individuals at various concentrations to target variants at desired frequencies, 0.5%-3% in our case. By applying a generalized, linear model-based, position-specific error model, followed by machine-learning-based variant calibration, our approach outperforms existing methods. Our method can be applied on most capture and sequencing platforms without modifying the experimental protocol.

  19. The Drosophila Su(var)3–7 Gene Is Required for Oogenesis and Female Fertility, Genetically Interacts with piwi and aubergine, but Impacts Only Weakly Transposon Silencing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Begeot, Flora; Koryakov, Dmitry E.; Todeschini, Anne-Laure; Ronsseray, Stéphane; Vieira, Cristina; Spierer, Pierre; Delattre, Marion

    2014-01-01

    Heterochromatin is made of repetitive sequences, mainly transposable elements (TEs), the regulation of which is critical for genome stability. We have analyzed the role of the heterochromatin-associated Su(var)3–7 protein in Drosophila ovaries. We present evidences that Su(var)3–7 is required for correct oogenesis and female fertility. It accumulates in heterochromatic domains of ovarian germline and somatic cells nuclei, where it co-localizes with HP1. Homozygous mutant females display ovaries with frequent degenerating egg-chambers. Absence of Su(var)3–7 in embryos leads to defects in meiosis and first mitotic divisions due to chromatin fragmentation or chromosome loss, showing that Su(var)3–7 is required for genome integrity. Females homozygous for Su(var)3–7 mutations strongly impair repression of P-transposable element induced gonadal dysgenesis but have minor effects on other TEs. Su(var)3–7 mutations reduce piRNA cluster transcription and slightly impact ovarian piRNA production. However, this modest piRNA reduction does not correlate with transposon de-silencing, suggesting that the moderate effect of Su(var)3–7 on some TE repression is not linked to piRNA production. Strikingly, Su(var)3–7 genetically interacts with the piwi and aubergine genes, key components of the piRNA pathway, by strongly impacting female fertility without impairing transposon silencing. These results lead us to propose that the interaction between Su(var)3–7 and piwi or aubergine controls important developmental processes independently of transposon silencing. PMID:24820312

  20. Influence of intermittent preventive treatment on antibodies to VAR2CSA in pregnant Cameroonian women

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Babakhanyan, Anna; Tutterrow, Yeung L; Bobbili, Naveen

    2016-01-01

    Intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) and insecticide-treated bed nets are the standard of care for preventing malaria in pregnant women. Since these preventive measures reduce exposure to malaria, their influence on the antibody (Ab) response to the parasite antigen VAR2CSA was evaluated...... in pregnant Cameroonian women exposed to holoendemic malaria. Ab levels to full-length VAR2CSA (FV2), variants of the six Duffy binding like (DBL) domains, and proportion of high avidity Ab to FV2 were measured longitudinally in 92 women before and 147 women after IPT. As predicted, reduced exposure...

  1. Effects of indole-3-acetic acid on arsenic uptake and antioxidative enzymes in Pteris cretica var. nervosa and Pteris ensiformis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Shujuan; Hu, Yongjun; Wang, Hongbin; Wang, Haijuan; Li, Qinchun

    2017-03-04

    A hydroponic experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) on arsenic (As) uptake and antioxidative enzymes in fronds of Pteris cretica var. nervosa (As hyperaccumulator) and Pteris ensiformis (non-hyperaccumulator). Plants were exposed to 2 mg L -1 As(III), As(V) or dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) and IAA concentrations for 14 d. The biomass and total As in the plants significantly increased at 30 mg L -1 IAA. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities significantly increased with IAA addition. Catalase (CAT) activities showed a significant increase in P. ensiformis exposed to three As species at 30 or 50 mg L -1 IAA but varied in P. cretica var. nervosa. Peroxidase (POD) activities were unchanged in P. ensiformis except for a significant decrease at 50 mg L -1 IAA under As(III) treatment. However, a significant increase was observed in P. cretica var. nervosa at 10 mg L -1 IAA under As(III) or DMA treatment and at 50 mg L -1 IAA under As(V) treatment. Under DMA stress, malondialdehyde contents in fronds of P. cretica var. nervosa showed a significant decrease at 10 mg L -1 IAA but remained unchanged in P. ensiformis. Therefore, IAA enhanced As uptake and frond POD activity in P. cretica var. nervosa under As stress.

  2. In vitro screening of probiotic properties of Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii and food-borne Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    van der Aa Kuhle, Alis; Skovgaard, Kerstin; Jespersen, Lene

    2005-01-01

    .6-16.8%) recorded for two isolates from blue veined cheeses. Merely 25% of the S. cerevisiae var. boulardii strains displayed good adhesive properties (16.2-28.0%). The expression of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1α decreased strikingly in IPEC-J2 cells exposed to a Shiga-like toxin 2e producing Escherichia coli...... strain when the cells were pre- and coincubated with S. cerevisiae var. boulardii even though this yeast strain was low adhesive (5.4%), suggesting that adhesion is not a mandatory prerequisite for such a probiotic effect. A strain of S. cerevisiae isolated from West African sorghum beer exerted similar......The probiotic potential of IS Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains used for production of foods or bevel-ages or isolated from such, and eight strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii, was investigated. All strains included were able to withstand pH 2.5 and 0.3% Ox-all. Adhesion...

  3. DC8 and DC13 var genes associated with severe malaria bind avidly to diverse endothelial cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marion Avril

    Full Text Available During blood stage infection, Plasmodium falciparum infected erythrocytes (IE bind to host blood vessels. This virulence determinant enables parasites to evade spleen-dependent killing mechanisms, but paradoxically in some cases may reduce parasite fitness by killing the host. Adhesion of infected erythrocytes is mediated by P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1, a family of polymorphic adhesion proteins encoded by var genes. Whereas cerebral binding and severe malaria are associated with parasites expressing DC8 and DC13 var genes, relatively little is known about the non-brain endothelial selection on severe malaria adhesive types. In this study, we selected P. falciparum-IEs on diverse endothelial cell types and demonstrate that DC8 and DC13 var genes were consistently among the major var transcripts selected on non-brain endothelial cells (lung, heart, bone marrow. To investigate the molecular basis for this avid endothelial binding activity, recombinant proteins were expressed from the predominant upregulated DC8 transcript, IT4var19. In-depth binding comparisons revealed that multiple extracellular domains from this protein bound brain and non-brain endothelial cells, and individual domains largely did not discriminate between different endothelial cell types. Additionally, we found that recombinant DC8 and DC13 CIDR1 domains exhibited a widespread endothelial binding activity and could compete for DC8-IE binding to brain endothelial cells, suggesting they may bind the same host receptor. Our findings provide new insights into the interaction of severe malaria adhesive types and host blood vessels and support the hypothesis that parasites causing severe malaria express PfEMP1 variants with a superior ability to adhere to diverse endothelial cell types, and may therefore endow these parasites with a growth and transmission advantage.

  4. The flexural properties of young Pinus elliottii × Pinus caribaea var ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The objectives of this study were to determine the bending strength and stiffness properties of young Pinus elliottii × P. caribaea var. hondurensis timber from the Southern Cape, South Africa, and to evaluate the predictability of these properties from acoustic measurements on standing trees, logs and their sawn boards.

  5. Aislamiento de poligodial de la corteza de drymis granadensis, var. grandiflora

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jairo Calle

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Del extracto de éter de petróleo (P Eb = 40-60 "O de la corteza de Drymis granadensis, var. grandiflora, se aisló con 8% de rendimiento, poligodial ( I , un sesquiterpeno conocido, cuya estructura se confirmó por métodos espectroscópicos.

  6. Studies on the Cytotoxic Activities of Punica granatum L. var. spinosa (Apple Punice) Extract on Prostate Cell Line by Induction of Apoptosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sineh Sepehr, Koushan; Baradaran, Behzad; Mazandarani, Masoumeh; Khori, Vahid; Shahneh, Fatemeh Zare

    2012-01-01

    The Punica granatum L. var. granatum (pomegranate) has been demonstrated to exert antitumor effects on various types of cancer cells. The present study aimed to evaluate the medicinal herbs Punica granatum L. var. spinosa (apple punice) that are native to Iran. This study was determined to test the possible cytotoxic activity and induction of apoptosis on human prostate cell lines. The effect of ethanol extracts of the herbs on the inhibition of cell proliferation was assessed by MTT colorimetric assay. PC3 cell lines treated with the extracts were analyzed for the induction of apoptosis by cell death detection (ELISA) and TUNEL assay. Dye exclusion analysis was performed for viability rate. Our results demonstrated that the Punica granatum L. var. spinosa extract dose dependently suppressed the proliferation of PC3 cells (IC(50)= 250.21 μg/mL) when compared with a chemotherapeutic anticancer drug (Toxol) (Vesper Pharmaceuticals) with increased nucleosome production from apoptotic cells. The Punica granatum L. var. spinosa extract attenuated the human prostate cell proliferation in vitro possibly by inducing apoptosis. The Punica granatum L. var. spinosa is likely to be valuable for the treatment of some forms of human prostate cell line.

  7. Efek Antijamur Minyak Atsiri Jahe Putih Kecil (Zingiber officinale var. Amarum terhadap Candida Albicans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huanny Satriyani

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The side effects of many antifungal drugs make it necessary to find an herbal alternative with reduced side effects. Many herbals are knwon to have an antifungal effect, including ginger with its volatile oil composition. However, the specific antifungal effect and optimal concentration of the volatile oil from Zingiber officinale var. amarum against C. albicans is not yet known. This research was done to verify the antifungal effect of Zingiber officinale var. amarum volatile oil on C. albicans, to determine its optimal concentration, and to determine the relation between the volatile oil was provided by water and steam distillation of BALITTRO, Bogor. The colonies were double counted in two steps. First, the volatile oil at concentrations of 100%, 50%, 25%, 12.5%, 6.25%, 3.125%, 1.56% and 0.78% were applied for treatment, wheras in the second step concentrations of 100%, 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%, and 50% were used. In the disk diffusion method, the volatile oil concentrations of 100%, 70%, 60%, 50%, 25%, 12.5%, 6.25% and 3.125% were applied in triplicate in Petri dishes containing C. albicans by using 6 mm blank disks. Result: Mann-Whitney test showed the significant decrease of the colonies between 6.25% and 3.125% of the volatile oil concentration (α = 0.021, and also between the volatile oil concentration 6.25% and the control group (α = 0.014. The Spearman test showed a positive and strong correlation between the volatile oil of Zingiber officinale var. amarum and its inhibition zone (r = 0.91. Conclusion: The volatile oil of Zingiber officinale var. amarum has an antifungal effect against C. albicans with an optimal concentration of 6.25%, and increasing volatile oil concentration is followed by increasing inhibition zone.

  8. On the detection of effective marketing instruments and causality in VAR models

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Horváth, C.; Otter, P.W.

    2000-01-01

    Dynamic multivariate models become more and more popular in analyzing the behavior of competive marketing environments. Takada and Bass (1998), Dekimpe, Hanssens and Silva-Rosso (1999), and Dekimpe and Hanssens (1999) recommend to use Vector Autoregressive (VAR) models because they provide

  9. Combining today's technologies provides for comprehensive management of volt/VAr assets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dixon, M. [Beckwith Electric Co., Largo, FL (United States)

    2002-08-01

    Integration, automation and savvy planning are required in today's electric utility industry for the optimization of the distribution Volt/voltage adjusting rheostat (VAr) assets. Distributed intelligence should be considered. The basis of an automation platform for control of voltage and VAr assets at the local level is created by intelligence at the site of the control. The capabilities of the communication media to be used are to be thoroughly investigated when remote bypass or override of the local control is being implemented, preferring a very robust common public carrier network for infrastructure or the utility-owned private network. Such situations would occur in the case of voltage collapse, changes to system field assets after circuit switching when local intelligence needs to move faster, and transmission side support. A good centralized VAr dispatch program can be difficult to select, and the basis should be accurate measurement of system-wide parameters at all strategic locations throughout the distribution system. The minimum to be included is as follows: substation bus voltages and currents, feeder head voltages and currents, substation breaker status, transformer loading, voltages from as far along radial feeders as can be read, end of line voltages, and direction of power flow. The advantages of this optimization are the reduction of system losses, lower operating costs, an improvement of the power quality and the bottom-line profitability. 1 fig.

  10. Microsatellite typing of clinical and environmental Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii isolates from Cuba shows multiple genetic lineages.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria-Teresa Illnait-Zaragozi

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Human cryptococcal infections have been associated with bird droppings as a likely source of infection. Studies toward the local and global epidemiology of Cryptococcus spp. have been hampered by the lack of rapid, discriminatory, and exchangeable molecular typing methods. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We selected nine microsatellite markers for high-resolution fingerprinting from the genome of C. neoformans var. grubii. This panel of markers was applied to a collection of clinical (n = 122 and environmental (n = 68; from pigeon guano C. neoformans var. grubii isolates from Cuba. All markers proved to be polymorphic. The average number of alleles per marker was 9 (range 5-51. A total of 104 genotypes could be distinguished. The discriminatory power of this panel of markers was 0.993. Multiple clusters of related genotypes could be discriminated that differed in only one or two microsatellite markers. These clusters were assigned as microsatellite complexes. The majority of environmental isolates (>70% fell into 1 microsatellite complex containing only few clinical isolates (49 environmental versus 2 clinical. Clinical isolates were segregated over multiple microsatellite complexes. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: A large genotypic variation exists in C. neoformans var. grubii. The genotypic segregation between clinical and environmental isolates from pigeon guano suggests additional source(s of human cryptococcal infections. The selected panel of microsatellite markers is an excellent tool to study the epidemiology of C. neoformans var. grubii.

  11. EFEK PEMBERIAN JUS BUAH PISANG AMBON (Musa paradisiaca var. sapientum (L. Kunt. TERHADAP KADAR GLUKOSA DARAH TIKUS JANTAN GALUR WISTAR YANG TERBEBANI GLUKOSA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katherine Jessica Ariani

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This research is to know the effect of giving Musa paradisiaca var. sapientum (L. Kunt. juice to the blood glucose levels and to know the most effective of giving Musa paradisiaca var. sapientum (L. Kunt. dose to lower the blood glucose levels in rats with oral glucose tolerance. This research was experimental study with one way-complete-random design using 25 male rats were divided into five groups. The rats in group I (negative control were given of CMC 1%, the group II rats were given 0.64mg/kgBW doses of Glibenclamide (positive control, and group III,IV and V were given 5, 10 and 20 ml/kgBW doses of Musa paradisiaca var. sapientum (L. Kunt. juice. The hypoglycemic effect of Musa paradisiaca var. sapientum (L. Kunt. juice was tested by following the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT method. The blood-glucose contents were taken, at 0 minutes before OGTT, and also taken at minutes of 15, 20, 45, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 240 after OGTT, from the tested animal that had been gotten the pre-treatment of negative control, positive control and Musa paradisiaca var. sapientum (L. Kunt. juice. The blood glucose levels was determined by using enzymatis GOD-PAP method. The AUC0-240 was statistically analyzed using one way ANOVA and Scheffe test with 95% convidence level. The result of this research showed that Musa paradisiaca var. sapientum (L. Kunt. can lower on rats in burdened glucose. The effective dose of Musa paradisiaca var. sapientum (L. Kunt. juice can lower glucose blood levels at 5ml/kgBW.

  12. Phenolic constituents and modulatory effects of Raffia palm leaf (Raphia hookeri extract on carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzymes linked to type-2 diabetes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felix A. Dada

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This study sought to investigate the effects of Raffia palm (Raphia hookeri leaf extract on enzymes linked to type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM and pro-oxidant induced oxidative stress in rat pancreas. The extract was prepared and its α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory effects were determined. Radical [2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH] scavenging and Fe2+-chelating abilities, and inhibition of Fe2+-induced lipid peroxidation in rat pancreas homogenate were assessed. Furthermore, total phenol and flavonoid contents, reducing property, and high performance liquid chromatography diode array detector (HPLC-DAD fingerprint of the extract were also determined. Our results revealed that the extract inhibited α-amylase (IC50 = 110.4 μg/mL and α-glucosidase (IC50 = 99.96 μg/mL activities in concentration dependent manners which were lower to the effect of acarbose (amylase: IC50 = 18.30 μg/mL; glucosidase: IC50 = 20.31 μg/mL. The extract also scavenged DPPH radical, chelated Fe2+ and inhibited Fe2+-induced lipid peroxidation in rat pancreas all in concentration dependent manners with IC50 values of 402.9 μg/mL, 108.9 μg/mL and 367.0 μg/mL respectively. The total phenol and flavonoid contents were 39.73 mg GAE/g and 21.88 mg QAE/g respectively, while the reducing property was 25.62 mg AAE/g. The HPLC analysis revealed the presence of chlorogenic acid (4.17 mg/g and rutin (5.11 mg/g as the major phenolic compounds in the extract. Therefore, the ability of the extract to inhibit carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzymes and protect against pancreatic oxidative damage may be an important mechanisms supporting its antidiabetic properties and could make Raffia palm leaf useful in complementary/alternative therapy for management of T2DM. However, further studies such as in vivo should be carried out.

  13. Hybrid Origins of Carex rostrata var. borealis and C. stenolepis, Two Problematic Taxa in Carex Section Vesicariae (Cyperaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    M Pedersen, A Tiril; Nowak, Michael D; Brysting, Anne K; Elven, Reidar; Bjorå, Charlotte S

    2016-01-01

    Hybridization is frequent in the large and ecologically significant genus Carex (Cyperaceae). In four important sections of the northern regions (Ceratocystis, Glareosae, Phacocystis and Vesicariae), the frequent occurrence of hybrids often renders the identification of "pure" species and hybrids difficult. In this study we address the origins and taxonomic rank of two taxa of section Vesicariae: Carex rostrata var. borealis and C. stenolepis. The origin and taxonomic status of C. stenolepis has been the subject of substantial debate over the years, whereas C. rostrata var. borealis has received very little attention in the years since its first description in the 19th century. By performing an extensive sampling of relevant taxa from a broad distribution range, and analyzing data from fifteen microsatellite loci developed specifically for our study together with pollen stainability measures, we resolve the hybrid origins of C. rostrata var. borealis and C. stenolepis and provide new insights into this taxonomically challenging group of sedges. Our results are in accordance with previous findings suggesting that C. stenolepis is a hybrid between C. vesicaria and C. saxatilis. They are also in accordance with a previous proposition that C. rostrata var. borealis is a hybrid between C. rostrata and C. rotundata, and furthermore suggest that both hybrids are the result of multiple, recent (i.e., postglacial) hybridization events. We found little evidence for successful sexual reproduction within C. rostrata var. borealis and C. stenolepis, but conclude that the common and recurrent, largely predictable occurrence of these taxa justifies accepting both hybrids as hybrid species with binomial names. There are, however, complications as to types and priority names, and we therefore choose to address these problems in a separate paper.

  14. Physalis alkekengi L. var. franchetii (Mast.) Makino: An ethnomedical, phytochemical and pharmacological review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ai-Ling; Chen, Bang-Jiao; Li, Guo-Hui; Zhou, Ming-Xing; Li, Yan-Ru; Ren, Dong-Mei; Lou, Hong-Xiang; Wang, Xiao-Ning; Shen, Tao

    2018-01-10

    The calyxes and fruits of Physalis alkekengi L. var. franchetii (Mast.) Makino (Physalis Calyx seu Fructus), have been widely used in traditional and indigenous Chinese medicines for the therapy of cough, excessive phlegm, pharyngitis, sore throat, dysuria, pemphigus, eczema, and jaundice with a long history. The present review aims to achieve a comprehensive and up-to-date investigation in ethnomedical uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicity of P. alkekengi var. franchetii, particularly its calyxes and fruits. Through analysis of these findings, evidences supporting their applications in ethnomedicines are illustrated. Possible perspectives and opportunities for the future research are analyzed to highlight the gaps in our knowledge that deserves further investigation. Information on P. alkekengi var. franchetii was collected via electronic search of major scientific databases (e.g. Web of Science, SciFinder, Google Scholar, Pubmed, Elsevier, SpringerLink, Wiley online and China Knowledge Resource Integrated) for publications on this medicinal plant. Information was also obtained from local classic herbal literature on ethnopharmacology. About 124 chemical ingredients have been characterized from different parts of this plant. Steroids (particularly physalins) and flavonoids are the major characteristic and bioactive constituents. The crude extracts and the isolated compounds have demonstrated various in vitro and in vivo pharmacological functions, such as anti-inflammation, inhibition of tumor cell proliferation, antimicrobial activity, diuretic effect, anti-diabetes, anti-asthma, immunomodulation, and anti-oxidation. P. alkekengi var. franchetii is an important medicinal plant for the ethnomedical therapy of microbial infection, inflammation, and respiratory diseases (e.g. cough, excessive phlegm, pharyngitis). Phytochemical and pharmacological investigations of this plant definitely increased in the past half century. The chemical profiles, including

  15. THE STEERING TOOL OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS: CREDIT VAR (VALUE AT RISK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    BĂRBULESCU MARINELA

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available In order to determine the economic capital, in terms of internal management or of application of regulations, financial institutions need to model the probability of future losses on a loan portfolio. This is generally made applying the Credit VaR method. Thus, unexpected losses can be assessed.

  16. A Vector AutoRegressive (VAR) Approach to the Credit Channel for ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper is an attempt to determine the presence and empirical significance of monetary policy and the bank lending view of the credit channel for Mauritius, which is particularly relevant at these times. A vector autoregressive (VAR) model of order three is used to examine the monetary transmission mechanism using ...

  17. Development and characterization of EST-SSR markers for Ottelia acuminata var. jingxiensis (Hydrocharitaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Zhi-Zhong; Lu, Meng-Xue; Saina, Josphat K; Gichira, Andrew W; Wang, Qing-Feng; Chen, Jin-Ming

    2017-11-01

    Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were derived from transcriptomic data for Ottelia acuminata (Hydrocharitaceae), a species comprising five endemic and highly endangered varieties in China. Sixteen novel SSR markers were developed for O. acuminata var. jingxiensis . One to eight alleles per locus were found, with a mean of 2.896. The observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.000 to 1.000 and 0.000 to 0.793, respectively. Interestingly, in cross-varietal amplification, 13 out of the 16 loci were successfully amplified in O. acuminata var. acuminata , and 12 amplified in each of the other three varieties of O. acuminata . These newly developed SSR markers will facilitate further study of genetic variation and provide important genetic data needed for appropriate conservation of natural populations of all varieties of O. acuminata .

  18. Dynamic VaR Measurement of Gold Market with SV-T-MN Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fenglan Li

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available VaR (Value at Risk in the gold market was measured and predicted by combining stochastic volatility (SV model with extreme value theory. Firstly, for the fat tail and volatility persistence characteristics in gold market return series, the gold price return volatility was modeled by SV-T-MN (SV-T with Mixture-of-Normal distribution model based on state space. Secondly, future sample volatility prediction was realized by using approximate filtering algorithm. Finally, extreme value theory based on generalized Pareto distribution was applied to measure dynamic risk value (VaR of gold market return. Through the proposed model on the price of gold, empirical analysis was investigated; the results show that presented combined model can measure and predict Value at Risk of the gold market reasonably and effectively and enable investors to further understand the extreme risk of gold market and take coping strategies actively.

  19. Data Assimilation of Lightning using 1D+3D/4D WRF Var Assimilation Schemes with Non-Linear Observation Operators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navon, M. I.; Stefanescu, R.; Fuelberg, H. E.; Marchand, M.

    2012-12-01

    NASA's launch of the GOES-R Lightning Mapper (GLM) in 2015 will provide continuous, full disc, high resolution total lightning (IC + CG) data. The data will be available at a horizontal resolution of approximately 9 km. Compared to other types of data, the assimilation of lightning data into operational numerical models has received relatively little attention. Previous efforts of lightning assimilation mostly have employed nudging. This paper will describe the implementation of 1D+3D/4D Var assimilation schemes of existing ground-based WTLN (Worldwide Total Lightning Network) lightning observations using non-linear observation operators in the incremental WRFDA system. To mimic the expected output of GLM, the WTLN data were used to generate lightning super-observations characterized by flash rates/81 km2/20 min. A major difficulty associated with variational approaches is the complexity of the observation operator that defines the model equivalent of lightning. We use Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) as a proxy between lightning data and model variables. This operator is highly nonlinear. Marecal and Mahfouf (2003) have shown that nonlinearities can prevent direct assimilation of rainfall rates in the ECMWF 4D-VAR (using the incremental formulation proposed by Courtier et al. (1994)) from being successful. Using data from the 2011 Tuscaloosa, AL tornado outbreak, we have proved that the direct assimilation of lightning data into the WRF 3D/4D - Var systems is limited due to this incremental approach. Severe threshold limits must be imposed on the innovation vectors to obtain an improved analysis. We have implemented 1D+3D/4D Var schemes to assimilate lightning observations into the WRF model. Their use avoids innovation vector constrains from preventing the inclusion of a greater number of lightning observations Their use also minimizes the problem that nonlinearities in the moist convective scheme can introduce discontinuities in the cost function

  20. The humoral response to Plasmodium falciparum VarO rosetting variant and its association with protection against malaria in Beninese children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bentley Graham

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The capacity of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes to bind uninfected erythrocytes (rosetting is associated with severe malaria in African children. Rosetting is mediated by a subset of the variant surface antigens PfEMP1 targeted by protective antibody responses. Analysis of the response to rosette-forming parasites and their PfEMP1 adhesive domains is essential for understanding the acquisition of protection against severe malaria. To this end, the antibody response to a rosetting variant was analysed in children recruited with severe or uncomplicated malaria or asymptomatic P. falciparum infection. Methods Serum was collected from Beninese children with severe malaria, uncomplicated malaria or P. falciparum asymptomatic infection (N = 65, 37 and 52, respectively and from immune adults (N = 30 living in the area. Infected erythrocyte surface-reactive IgG, rosette disrupting antibodies and IgG to the parasite crude extract were analysed using the single variant Palo Alto VarO-infected line. IgG, IgG1 and IgG3 to PfEMP1-varO-derived NTS-DBL1α1, CIDRγ and DBL2βC2 recombinant domains were analysed by ELISA. Antibody responses were compared in the clinical groups. Stability of the response was studied using a blood sampling collected 14 months later from asymptomatic children. Results Seroprevalence of erythrocyte surface-reactive IgG was high in adults (100% and asymptomatic children (92.3% but low in children with severe or uncomplicated malaria (26.1% and 37.8%, respectively. The IgG, IgG1 and IgG3 antibody responses to the varO-derived PfEMP1 domains were significantly higher in asymptomatic children than in children with clinical malaria in a multivariate analysis correcting for age and parasite density at enrolment. They were essentially stable, although levels tended to decrease with time. VarO-surface reactivity correlated positively with IgG reactivity to the rosetting domain varO-NTS-DBL1α1. None of the

  1. Baccharis megapotamica var. weirii poisoning in water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira-Filho, José C; Carmo, Priscila M S; Lucena, Ricardo B; Pierezan, Felipe; Barros, Claudio S L

    2011-05-01

    An outbreak of an acute disease in buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) caused by the ingestion of Baccharis megapotamica var. weirii occurred in the southern region of Brazil. Ten out of 50 buffalo died 24-48 hr after being introduced into a pasture containing abundant amounts of the plant. Factors influencing the ingestion of the plant and consequent toxicosis included hunger, stress caused by shipment, and unfamiliarity with the plant. Clinical signs included serous ocular discharge, incoordination, mild bloat, and muscle trembling. One buffalo was necropsied. Gross findings included dehydration, abundant liquid in the rumen, reddening of the mucosa of forestomachs, abomasum, and intestine, and edema of the wall of the rumen. The main histologic lesions were superficial to full thickness degeneration and necrosis of the stratified epithelium lining the forestomachs, necrosis of the intestinal mucosa, and widespread lymphoid necrosis. A calf (Bos taurus) was fed a single dose of 5 g/kg/body weight of B. megapotamica var. weirii harvested from the same site where the buffalo died. Twenty hours after the administration of the plant this calf died with clinical signs and lesions similar to those observed in the naturally poisoned buffalo. © 2011 The Author(s)

  2. Choosing Expected Shortfall Over VaR in Basel III Using Stochastic Dominance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    C-L. Chang (Chia-Lin); J.A. Jiménez-Martín (Juan-Ángel); E. Maasoumi (Esfandiar); M.J. McAleer (Michael); T. Pérez-Amaral (Teodosio)

    2016-01-01

    textabstractWe compare Value at Risk (VaR) and Expected Shortfall (ES) following a Stochastic Dominance (SD) approach frequently used to order distributions in terms of welfare and in portfolio selection. Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) recommends bank risk managers to shift the

  3. The essential oil of Cinnamomum camphora (L.) Sieb. var. linaloolifera from Vietnam

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dung, N.X.; Khien, P.V.; Chien, Ho Trung; Leclercq, P.A.

    1993-01-01

    The essential oil of the leaves of Cinnamomum camphora (L.) Sieb. var. linaloolifera of Vietnamese origin has been analyzed by a combination of capillary GC and GC/MS. Seventeen components have been identified, of which the major one was found to be linalool (91.1%)

  4. Choosing Expected Shortfall over VaR in Basel III Using Stochastic Dominance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    C-L. Chang (Chia-Lin); J.A. Jiménez-Martín (Juan-Ángel); E. Maasoumi (Esfandiar); M.J. McAleer (Michael)

    2015-01-01

    textabstractBank risk managers follow the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) recommendations that recently proposed shifting the quantitative risk metrics system from Value-at-Risk (VaR) to Expected Shortfall (ES). The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (2013, p. 3) noted that: “a

  5. Investigations concerning the source term for the emission of fission products and transuranic elements from the highly radioactive waste in the temperature region between 200 and 11000C

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baumgartner, F.; Krebs, K.; Merte, B.

    1984-04-01

    Starting point of these investigations was the research report 290 of the former Institute for Reactor Safety, Cologne. The largely incorrect assumptions made in the chemical statement led to high radioactive doses not only for the closer, but also for the further surroundings of a reprocessing plant in case that the cooling system of the fuel element storage or the storage tank for the highly radioactive waste (HAW) should become inoperative for an extended period of time. However, as a result of this temperature region which we used in our experiments, the investigations concerning the source term of the HAW between 1100 and 1200 0 C became interesting again, because a glass melt of about 1100 0 C is used during the PAMELA-process for the vitrification of the HAW. The aqueous HAW-solution is thereby poured onto a hot glass melt. The solution thereby dries up, the HAW-salt is calcined and finally sinks into the glass melt. From today's point of view an investigation concerning the source term of the fission products and transuranic elements from the HAW at 1100 0 C therefore provides information regarding the fission product- and transuranic element volatilization within the melting furnace during the vitrification process. The results may now therefore also be considered a contribution for the layout of the off-gas purification system during the PAMELA-process

  6. An unusual variant of Trichophyton tonsurans var. sulfureum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padhye, A A; Weitzman, I; Domenech, E

    1994-01-01

    A fungus, recovered from a skin lesion of a patient, produced velvety to powdery, white to deep yellow colonies on Sabouraud glucose agar. Microscopically, it produced a large number of cylindric, smooth-walled, three- to eight-celled macroconidia but failed to produce microconidia on a variety of nutritional media such as rice grains, cornmeal dextrose, potato dextrose, Sabouraud glucose, oatmeal and lactrimel agars. It hydrolysed urea in 7 days, perforated hair in vitro and required thiamine for growth. This isolate represents an atypical variant of Trichophyton tonsurans var. sufureum subvar. perforans.

  7. PHOSPHATE NUTRITION EFFECTS ON ALUMINUM AVOIDANCE OF MUCUNA-PRURIENS VAR UTILIS

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    HAIRIAH, K; VANNOORDWIJK, M; STULEN, [No Value; MEIJBOOM, FW; KUIPER, PJC

    The response of roots of Mucuna pruriens var. utilis to aluminium depends on the duration of exposure and the type of experiment. In a short-term study, the usual reduction of root elongation rate by Al was found. In contrast, a study for a longer period of time, 4 weeks, showed a stimulation of

  8. Pectic polysaccharides extracted from Rauvolfia verticillata (Lour.) Baill. var. hainanensis Tsiang increase LκB-α expression and ameliorate ulcerative colitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miao, X P; Sun, X N; Wei, H; Liu, Z J; Cui, L J; Deng, T Z

    2015-02-01

    The therapeutic potential of pectic polysaccharides extracted from Rauvolfia verticillata (Lour.) Baill. var. hainanensis Tsiang in ulcerative colitis were investigated. This study showed that pectic polysaccharides extracted from Rauvolfia verticillata (Lour.) Baill. var. hainanensis Tsiang ameliorated ulcerative colitis and were proposed to exhibit anti-inflammatory effects via increased expression of IκB-α proteins and suppressing NF-αB translocation.

  9. Radioactivity in a mountain ecosystem: the Haut Bassin du Var; La radioactivite dans un ecosysteme de montagne: le haut bassin du var

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2002-07-01

    After the Chernobyl accident, the IPSN realized a study of the radioactive fallout in the mountain area of the Var (France). Today the main radionuclides are the cesium 134 and 137, others disappeared because of their short half-life. In this paper, the artificial radioactivity of soils and sediments is concerned. The study shows a concentration of the contamination in some specific areas, especially in soils abounding in organic matter. The dose measured can not lead to significant exposures. (A.L.B.)

  10. Cardenolide glycosides from Elaeodendron australe var. integrifolium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butler, Mark S; Towerzey, Leanne; Pham, Ngoc B; Hyde, Edward; Wadi, Sao Khemar; Guymer, Gordon P; Quinn, Ronald J

    2014-02-01

    Extracts from dried leaf and stems of Elaeodendron australe var. integrifolium (Celastraceae) collected in South East Queensland, Australia, were active in an assay that measured Ca(2+) driven expression of IL-2/luciferase designed to identify inhibitors of the ICRAC channel. Bioassay-guided isolation using C18 and polyamide column chromatography, HPLC (Phenyl and C18) and centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) led to the isolation of digitoxigenin (1) and three cardenolide glycosides, glucoside 2, quinovoside 3 and the new natural product xyloside 4, as the active components with low nM activity in the reporter assay. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. AN IMPROVED CONTROL ALGORITHM FOR «DYNAMIC CAPACITOR» VAR COMPENSATOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S.K. Podnebennaya

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. Modern approaches of VAR compensation are: using compensators with stepped regulation, STATCOMs, active power filters. Recently, more attention is paid to VAR compensator’s design based on the direct AC / AC converters, which are called dynamic capacitors. Methodology. The dynamic capacitor (D-CAP is the capacitor bank, which is connected to the mains through direct AC / AC buck converter. By varying the duty cycle of bidirectional switches, smooth control of reactive power can be achieved. However, in case of distorted mains voltage, D-CAP mains current will have a high THD. This is due to the fact that the D-CAP affects the frequency response of electric grid thus leading to the appearance of resonances. With non-sinusoidal mains voltage, capacitors are affected by harmonics. This reduces the reliability of the D-CAP, increasing the probability of their failure. To eliminate these drawbacks it is suggested to improve the D-CAP control system so that the input current of the dynamic capacitor is forced to be close to sinusoidal. This can be achieved if the duty cycle of the switching bi-directional switches is changed according to the proposed expression. Results. The research is done on a single-phase D-CAP with the proposed control system, its input current diagrams are shown. In contrast to the D-CAP with a constant duty cycle control, the resulting THD of its input current is much lower. Thus, the control system provides a form of the input current that is close to a sine wave. This reduces the influence of mains voltage harmonics on the D-CAP operation, increases its reliability and improves power quality. Originality. The proposed D-CAP control system ensures reliable operation with non-sinusoidal mains voltage. Practical value. Application of D-CAPs with the proposed control system allows for improved energy efficiency of electrical mains by providing VAR compensation and improving power quality.

  12. Presencia simultánea de las fases tetraspororangial y carposporangial sobre el mismo talo en Polysiphonia scopulorum var. villum (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta Mixed phases tetrasporangial and carposporangial on the same thallus in Polysiphonia scopulorum var. villum (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raúl Aguilar-Rosas

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Se describe por primera vez la presencia simultánea de las fases tetrasporangial (tetrasporangios y carposporangial (cistocarpos sobre el mismo talo en Polysiphonia scopulorum W.H. Harvey var. villum (J. Agardh Hollenberg. El material fue recolectado en la zona intermareal rocosa de Playa Saldamando, Baja California, México, durante octubre de 2004.Mixed tetrasporangial (tetrasporangia and carposporangial (cistocarps phases on the same thallus in Polysiphonia scopulorum W.H. Harvey var. villum (J. Agardh Hollenberg (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta are described for the first time. The material was collected on Octuber, 2004 in the intertidal zone in Playa Saldamando, Baja California, Mexico.

  13. A Structural VAR Approach to Estimating Budget Balance Targets

    OpenAIRE

    Robert A Buckle; Kunhong Kim; Julie Tam

    2001-01-01

    The Fiscal Responsibility Act 1994 states that, as a principle of responsible fiscal management, a New Zealand government should ensure total Crown debt is at a prudent level by ensuring total operating expenses do not exceed total operating revenues. In this paper a structural VAR model is estimated to evaluate the impact on the government's cash operating surplus (or budget balance) of four independent disturbances: supply, fiscal, real private demand, and nominal disturbances. Based on the...

  14. The Antimicrobial Activity of the Essential Oil of Pistacia lentiscus var. Chia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gkogka, E.; Hazeleger, W.C.; Posthumus, M.A.; Beumer, R.R.

    2013-01-01

    The essential oil of the resin of Pistacia lentiscus var. Chia (mastic oil) was studied in vitro against a wide range of foodborne pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms with a diffusion and a dilution method. Furthermore its chemical composition was analyzed by means of Gas Chromatography-Mass

  15. The phenolic extractives in southern red oak (Quercus falcata Michx. var. falcata)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seiji Ohara; Richard W. Hemingway

    1989-01-01

    The bark of southern red oak (Quercus falcala Michx. var. falcala) is a rich source of quercitrin (quercetin-3-rhamnoside). It contains only low concentrations of (+)-catechin and no significant amounts of epicatechin or gallocatechin. The three major dimeric proanthocyanidins present are epicatechin-(4β→8)-...

  16. El cine en el cine: Los abrazos rotos (Pedro Almodóvar, 2009

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pedro Poyato

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available El cine en el cine, tema recurrente en la filmografía de Pedro Almodóvar, protagoniza también Los abrazos rotos, película que contiene en su interior otra titulada Chicas y maletas. Pero las imágenes de esta segunda película, trasunto de otra anterior del propio Almodóvar, Mujeres al borde un ataque de nervios, coexisten con las de un documental sobre su rodaje. El resultado es una proliferación de imágenes segundas que, incorporadas según una estructura en abismo, el filme va a conjugar de múltiples y variadas maneras. El presente trabajo trata de dar cuenta de la génesis, funcionamiento y declinación de estas imágenes segundas y de los sentidos que de ello emanan.

  17. Recasting the Post-Fascist Male Body: The Films of Germany’s Fassbinder and Spain’s Almodóvar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karl J. Trybus

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Este trabajo analiza la cambiante representación del cuerpo masculino en las obras del alemán Rainer Werner Fassbinder y el español Pedro Almodóvar. Tanto Alemania como España han tenido experiencia con regímenes altamente conservadores y fascistas que obligaron a sus ciudadanos a seguir determinados tipos de conducta en los espacios públicos y privados. Una vez que estos regímenes finalizaron, los ideales para el cuerpo masculino fueron removidos y actitudes más liberales hacia el cuerpo, sexualidad y la representación de ello fueron permitidas. Este artículo trabaja sobre cómo las películas de Fassbinder y Almodóvar representaron exitosamente el rol cambiante del cuerpo masculino.__________________ABSTRACT:This paper investigates the changing representation of the male body in the films of Germany’s Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Spain’s Pedro Almodóvar. Germany and Spain each experienced highly conservative (fascist regimes that outlined proper behavior for all citizens in both the public and private realms. Once these conservative regimes ended, ideals for the male body had been removed and more liberal attitudes towards the body, sexuality, and representation were allowed. This paper investigates how the films of Fassbinder and Almodóvar successfully portray the changing role of the male body in their films.

  18. De novo sequencing, assembly, and analysis of Iris lactea var. chinensis roots' transcriptome in response to salt stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Chunsun; Xu, Sheng; Wang, Zhiquan; Liu, Liangqin; Zhang, Yongxia; Deng, Yanming; Huang, Suzhen

    2018-04-01

    As a halophyte, Iris lactea var. chinensis (I. lactea var. chinensis) is widely distributed and has good drought and heavy metal resistance. Moreover, it is an excellent ornamental plant. I. lactea var. chinensis has extensive application prospects owing to the global impacts of salinization. To better understand its molecular mechanism involved in salt resistance, the de novo sequencing, assembly, and analysis of I. lactea var. chinensis roots' transcriptome in response to salt-stress conditions was performed. On average, 74.17% of the clean reads were mapped to unigenes. A total of 121,093 unigenes were constructed and 56,398 (46.57%) were annotated. Among these, 13,522 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between salt-treated and control samples Compared to the transcriptional level of control, 7037 DEGs were up-regulated and 6539 down-regulated. In addition, 129 up-regulated and 1609 down-regulated genes were simultaneously detected in all three pairwise comparisons between control and salt-stressed libraries. At least 247 and 250 DEGs encoding transcription factors and transporter proteins were identified. Meanwhile, 130 DEGs regarding reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging system were also summarized. Based on real-time quantitative RT-PCR, we verified the changes in the expression patterns of 10 unigenes. Our study identified potential salt-responsive candidate genes and increased the understanding of halophyte responses to salinity stress. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  19. Argania spinosa var. mutica and var. apiculata: variation of fatty-acid composition, phenolic content, and antioxidant and α-amylase-inhibitory activities among varieties, organs, and development stages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Adib, Saifeddine; Aissi, Oumayma; Charrouf, Zoubida; Ben Jeddi, Fayçal; Messaoud, Chokri

    2015-09-01

    Argania spinosa includes two varieties, var. apiculata and var. mutica. These argan varieties were introduced into Tunisia in ancient times and are actually cultivated in some botanic gardens. Little is known about the chemical differentiation among these argan varieties. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the fatty-acid composition, the total phenolic and flavonoid contents, and the antioxidant and α-amylase-inhibitory activities of leaf, seed, and pulp extracts of both argan varieties harvested during the months of January to April. The fatty-acid distribution was found to depend on the argan variety, the plant organ, and the harvest time. Significant variations in the phenolic contents were observed between the investigated varieties as well as between leaves, pulps, and seeds of each variety. As expected, phenolic compounds were found to be contributors to the antioxidant and α-amylase-inhibitory activities of both argan varieties. The chemical differentiation observed among the two argan varieties, based mainly on the fatty-acid composition, might have some chemotaxonomic value. Copyright © 2015 Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta AG, Zürich.

  20. Detecting the influence of ornamental Berberis thunbergii var. atropurpurea in invasive populations of Berberis thunbergii (Berberidaceae) using AFLP1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lubell, Jessica D; Brand, Mark H; Lehrer, Jonathan M; Holsinger, Kent E

    2008-06-01

    Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii DC.) is a widespread invasive plant that remains an important landscape shrub represented by ornamental, purple-leaved forms of the botanical variety atropurpurea. These forms differ greatly in appearance from feral plants, bringing into question whether they contribute to invasive populations or whether the invasions represent self-sustaining populations derived from the initial introduction of the species in the late 19th century. In this study we used amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers to determine whether genetic contributions from B. t. var. atropurpurea are found within naturalized Japanese barberry populations in southern New England. Bayesian clustering of AFLP genotypes and principal coordinate analysis distinguished B. t. var. atropurpurea genotypes from 85 plants representing five invasive populations. While a single feral plant resembled B. t. var. atropurpurea phenotypically and fell within the same genetic cluster, all other naturalized plants sampled were genetically distinct from the purple-leaved genotypes. Seven plants from two different sites possessed morphology consistent with Berberis vulgaris (common barberry) or B. ×ottawensis (B. thunbergii × B. vulgaris). Genetic analysis placed these plants in two clusters separate from B. thunbergii. Although the Bayesian analysis indicated some introgression of B. t. var. atropurpurea and B. vulgaris, these genotypes have had limited influence on extant feral populations of B. thunbergii.

  1. winged eye Induces Transdetermination of Drosophila Imaginal Disc by Acting in Concert with a Histone Methyltransferase, Su(var)3-9.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masuko, Keita; Fuse, Naoyuki; Komaba, Kanae; Katsuyama, Tomonori; Nakajima, Rumi; Furuhashi, Hirofumi; Kurata, Shoichiro

    2018-01-02

    Drosophila imaginal disc cells exhibit a remarkable ability to convert cell fates in response to various perturbations, a phenomenon called transdetermination (TD). We previously identified winged eye (wge) as a factor that induces eye-to-wing TD upon overexpression in eye imaginal discs, but the molecular mechanisms underlying TD have remained largely unclear. Here, we found that wge induces various histone modifications and enhances the methylation of Lys9 on histone H3 (H3K9), a feature of heterochromatin. A histone methyltransferase, Su(var)3-9, is required for wge-mediated H3K9 methylation and eye-to-wing TD. Su(var)3-9 is also required for classical wound-induced TD but not for normal development, suggesting its involvement in several types of imaginal disc TDs. Transcriptome analysis revealed that wge represses eye identity genes independently of Su(var)3-9 and activates TD-related genes by acting together with Su(var)3-9. These findings provide new insights into diverse types of chromatin regulation at progressive steps of cell-fate conversions. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. A VAR Analysis Regarding Tax Evasion and Tax Pressure in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boștină Florin

    2017-01-01

    The main aim of the paper is to identify the relationship that exists between tax evasion and tax pressure in Romania, between 2000 and 2013, using an autoregressive vector type of analysis. The VAR model with 3 lags can be considered as representative in order to describe autoregressive links between tax evasion and fiscal pressure in Romania.

  3. The nutritive value of raw Mucuna pruriens (var. utilis ) for broiler ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The nutritive value of raw Mucuna pruriens (var. utilis) was studied over a 4-week period using 168 broiler chicks at 28 days of age. They were individually weighed and then randomly allocated to four dietary treatments incorporating, respectively, 0, 50, 100, and 150 g M. pruriens per kg of diet. Feed and water were ...

  4. Construction of a reference molecular linkage map of globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Portis, E; Mauromicale, G; Mauro, R; Acquadro, A; Scaglione, D; Lanteri, S

    2009-12-01

    The genome organization of globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus), unlike other species belonging to Asteraceae (=Compositae) family (i.e. sunflower, lettuce and chicory), remains largely unexplored. The species is highly heterozygous and suffers marked inbreeding depression when forced to self-fertilize. Thus a two-way pseudo-testcross represents the optimal strategy for linkage analysis. Here, we report linkage maps based on the progeny of a cross between globe artichoke (C. cardunculus var. scolymus) and cultivated cardoon (C. cardunculus var. altilis). The population was genotyped using a variety of PCR-based marker platforms, resulting in the identification of 708 testcross markers suitable for map construction. The male map consisted of 177 loci arranged in 17 major linkage groups, spanning 1,015.5 cM, while female map was built with 326 loci arranged into 20 major linkage groups, spanning 1,486.8 cM. The presence of 84 loci shared between these maps and those previously developed from a cross within globe artichoke allowed for map alignment and the definition of 17 homologous linkage groups, corresponding to the haploid number of the species. This will provide a favourable property for QTL scanning; furthermore, as 25 mapped markers (8%) correspond to coding regions, it has an additional value as functional map and might represent an important genetic tool for candidate gene studies in globe artichoke.

  5. Isolation of Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans from bird droppings, fruits and vegetables in Mexico City.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-Martínez, R; Castañón-Olivares, L R

    1995-01-01

    The presence of Cryptococcus neoformans in various natural sources, such as bird droppings, fruits and vegetables, was investigated. A total of 711 samples were analyzed; C. neoformans var. neoformans was isolated from seven out of 74 bird droppings (9.5%), with parrots as one of the most significant sources. Fruits were positive in 9.5% of the 169 samples studied, specially citrus fruits, particularly grapefruit, in which the highest frequency was found. From the 468 vegetable samples, only 20 were positive (4.2%). It is emphasized that five of the positive vegetables species are autochthonous to Mexico: avocado (Nectandra salicifolia), beet (Beta vulgaris var. quinopodiace), chayote (Sechium edule), stringbean (Cassia sp), and nopal (Opuntia ficus-indica).

  6. Antibody responses to the full-length VAR2CSA and its DBL domains in Cameroonian children and teenagers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fodjo, Barriere A Y; Atemnkeng, Njika; Esemu, Livo

    2016-01-01

    villages and 160 children with severe malaria from the city.  Results: Low Ab levels to VAR2CSA were detected in children; however, Ab levels to FV2 in teenagers were rare. Children preferentially recognized DBL2 (56-70%) and DBL4 (50-60%), while multigravidae produced high levels of IgG to DBL3, DBL5...... and FV2. Sixty-seven percent of teenage girls (n = 16/24) recognized ID1-ID2a region of VAR2CSA. Children with severe forms of malaria had significantly higher IgG to merozoite antigens (all p 0.05) when compared to the healthy children.  Conclusion: The study...... suggests that children, including teenage girls acquire Ab to VAR2CSA domains and FV2, but Ab levels are much lower than those needed to protect women from placental infections and repertoire of Ab responses to DBL domains is different from those in pregnant women. Interestingly, children with severe...

  7. REDESCUBRIMIENTO DE MYRRHINIUM ATROPURPUREUM VAR. OCTANDRUM (MYRTACEAE: MYRTINAE EN COLOMBIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    PARRA-O. CARLOS

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available Se documenta el redescubrimiento de Myrrhinium atropurpureum var. octandrum(Myrteae DC., Myrtaceae, taxón prácticamente desconocido en Colombia. Se presentala descripción del taxón, así como notas sobre su distribución en Colombia, elhábitat en que se desarrolla y su posible estatus dentro de las categorías de la ListaRoja de la UICN.

  8. Probiotic actions of Bacillus cereus var. toyoi and Saccharomyces boulardii in silver catfish (Rhamdia quelen larvae culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diego Moreira de Souza

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of Bacillus cereus var. toyoi and Saccharomyces boulardii as probiotics to improve Rhamdia quelen culture. Six hundred larvaes (0.16±0.07 g were divided in three replicate tanks (25-L recirculation, 20 ºC, photoperiod of 12 h light/12 h darkness per treatment and were randomly assigned to the following treatments: Bacillus cereus var. toyoi; Saccharomyces boulardii; B. toyoi and S. boulardii; and control (without probiotic addition for a period of 30 days. The fish were fed five times daily (56% crude protein - Supra alevino inicial® and the probiotics were applied in water once a day. The doses of probiotics were 5 × 10(8 and 2 × 10(9 CFU (colony forming unit/mL for B. cereus var. toyoi and S. boulardii, respectively. Both probiotics have an inhibitory effect in vitro against Vibrio carchariae and are able to grow in media prepared with fishery water; however, no effect was observed on growth parameters when they were administered to Rhamdia quelen larvae.

  9. Monoterpenoids from the traditional North Italian vegetable Aruncus dioicus (Walter) Fernald var. vulgaris (Maxim.) H.Hara (Rosaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Granica, Sebastian; Fusani, Pietro; Stanisławska, Iwona; Piwowarski, Jakub P; Melck, Dominique; Motta, Andrea; Zidorn, Christian

    2017-04-15

    Investigations of young shoots of Aruncus dioicus (Walter) Fernald var. vulgaris (Maxim.) H.Hara (Rosaceae), collected from the wild and used as vegetables in alpine provinces of Italy, yielded eight monoterpenoids. Besides known compounds, aruncin A, aruncide A, and cimicifugolide, five previously undescribed substances, aruncins C, D, and E, and aruncides D and E, were identified. Based on results from the full synthesis of aruncin B, structures of aruncin A and aruncide A were revised. Structures were established by HR mass spectrometry and extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and based on data from synthetic aruncin B. An HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS method was developed to investigate the distribution of the monoterpenoids in different organs of Aruncus dioicus var. vulgaris and in aerial parts of A. dioicus var. aethusifolius (H.Lév.) H.Hara [Syn.: Aruncus aethusifolius (H.Lév.) Nakai]. Preliminary bioactivity studies moreover indicated weak cytotoxicity for some of the compounds against human prostrate adenocarcinoma cells. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Algo sobre las relaciones de Pau con Ignacio -y Cándido- Bolívar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laínz, Manuel

    2001-06-01

    Full Text Available Some relationships of considerable interest to the history of Spanish Botany are illustrated based on documents at the author's disposa]. Ignacio's Bolívar leadership in the whole range of our Natural Sciences is well known; a leadership Cándido, his son, inherited early, it seems, and continued up to end of the civil war.Frente a las bases documentales a mi alcance, trato de ilustrar unas relaciones de no poco interés para la historia de la Botánica en España: es notoria la posición rectora de Ignacio Bolívar, durante medio siglo, en todo el ámbito de nuestras Ciencias Naturales, que su hijo Cándido parece haber tempranamente usufructuado, y conservado hasta el fin de la guerra civil.

  11. Hydropus paradoxus var. xerophyticus and a key to the taxa known from Europe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Esteve-Raventós, F.; Villarreal, M.; Heykoop, M.

    2002-01-01

    Hydropus paradoxus var. xerophyticus, characterized by its long cystidia, broad spores and habitat in xerophytic basic pastures with communities of Thymus-Lavandula spp. is described as a new taxon from Spain. In addition, a key to 22 taxa known from Europe is given.

  12. Volatile components of essential oil from cultivated Myrica gale var. tomentosa and its antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakata, Mayuko; Myoda, Takao; Wakita, Yoichi; Sato, Takahiro; Tanahashi, Ikuko; Toeda, Kazuki; Fujimori, Takane; Nishizawa, Makoto

    2013-01-01

    Aromatic components in the essential oil prepared from the leaves of cultivated Myrica gale var. tomentosa were compared with those from oil derived wild plants by using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC/MS). We found that essential oils from both the wild and cultivated plants contained similar aromatic components such as β-elemenone, selina 3,7(11)-diene, myrcene, limonene, cymene, 1,8-cineole, and β-pinene, but the content ratio of the oil was significantly different, which might yield differences in the aromatic properties. The aroma impact components of the essential oils were also determined using GC/MS-Olfactometry (GC/MS-O) and aroma extract dilution analysis. Eight aromatic compounds, including linalool, limonene, and 1,8-cineole, were shown to contribute to the aromatic properties of cultivated M. gale var. tomentosa. The strongest aromatic note was defined as linalool, followed by limonene, 1,8-cineole, and β-elemenone. The essential oil, ethanol (EtOH), 1,3-butylene glycol (BG), and 1,3-propanediol (PD) extracts prepared from the leaves of cultivated M. gale var. tomentosa also showed antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, that is, they demonstrated scavenger activity against hydroxyl and superoxide radicals in the aqueous phase, and showed inhibitory effects on lipid peroxidation. The essential oil extracts also exhibited antimicrobial activity against gram-positive bacteria, with the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration value against Bacillus subtilis. In conclusion, the essential oil and solvent extracts from cultivated M. gala var. tomentosa have a potential for utilization as food and cosmetic ingredients.

  13. The Development and Application of an Integrated VAR Process Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ballantyne, A. Stewart

    2016-07-01

    The VAR ingot has been the focus of several modelling efforts over the years with the result that the thermal regime in the ingot can be simulated quite realistically. Such models provide important insight into solidification of the ingot but present some significant challenges to the casual user such as a process engineer. To provide the process engineer with a tool to assist in the development of a melt practice, a comprehensive model of the complete VAR process has been developed. A radiation heat transfer simulation of the arc has been combined with electrode and ingot models to develop a platform which accepts typical operating variables (voltage, current, and gap) together with process parameters (electrode size, crucible size, orientation, water flow, etc.) as input data. The output consists of heat flow distributions and solidification parameters in the form of text, comma-separated value, and visual toolkit files. The resulting model has been used to examine the relationship between the assumed energy distribution in the arc and the actual energy flux which arrives at the ingot top surface. Utilizing heat balance information generated by the model, the effects of electrode-crucible orientation and arc gap have been explored with regard to the formation of ingot segregation defects.

  14. Adaptive Genetic Divergence Despite Significant Isolation-by-Distance in Populations of Taiwan Cow-Tail Fir (Keteleeria davidiana var. formosana).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shih, Kai-Ming; Chang, Chung-Te; Chung, Jeng-Der; Chiang, Yu-Chung; Hwang, Shih-Ying

    2018-01-01

    Double digest restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq) is a tool for delivering genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers for non-model organisms useful in resolving fine-scale population structure and detecting signatures of selection. This study performs population genetic analysis, based on ddRADseq data, of a coniferous species, Keteleeria davidiana var. formosana , disjunctly distributed in northern and southern Taiwan, for investigation of population adaptive divergence in response to environmental heterogeneity. A total of 13,914 SNPs were detected and used to assess genetic diversity, F ST outlier detection, population genetic structure, and individual assignments of five populations (62 individuals) of K. davidiana var. formosana . Principal component analysis (PCA), individual assignments, and the neighbor-joining tree were successful in differentiating individuals between northern and southern populations of K. davidiana var. formosana , but apparent gene flow between the southern DW30 population and northern populations was also revealed. Fifteen of 23 highly differentiated SNPs identified were found to be strongly associated with environmental variables, suggesting isolation-by-environment (IBE). However, multiple matrix regression with randomization analysis revealed strong IBE as well as significant isolation-by-distance. Environmental impacts on divergence were found between populations of the North and South regions and also between the two southern neighboring populations. BLASTN annotation of the sequences flanking outlier SNPs gave significant hits for three of 23 markers that might have biological relevance to mitochondrial homeostasis involved in the survival of locally adapted lineages. Species delimitation between K. davidiana var. formosana and its ancestor, K. davidiana , was also examined (72 individuals). This study has produced highly informative population genomic data for the understanding of population

  15. Adaptive Genetic Divergence Despite Significant Isolation-by-Distance in Populations of Taiwan Cow-Tail Fir (Keteleeria davidiana var. formosana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kai-Ming Shih

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Double digest restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq is a tool for delivering genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP markers for non-model organisms useful in resolving fine-scale population structure and detecting signatures of selection. This study performs population genetic analysis, based on ddRADseq data, of a coniferous species, Keteleeria davidiana var. formosana, disjunctly distributed in northern and southern Taiwan, for investigation of population adaptive divergence in response to environmental heterogeneity. A total of 13,914 SNPs were detected and used to assess genetic diversity, FST outlier detection, population genetic structure, and individual assignments of five populations (62 individuals of K. davidiana var. formosana. Principal component analysis (PCA, individual assignments, and the neighbor-joining tree were successful in differentiating individuals between northern and southern populations of K. davidiana var. formosana, but apparent gene flow between the southern DW30 population and northern populations was also revealed. Fifteen of 23 highly differentiated SNPs identified were found to be strongly associated with environmental variables, suggesting isolation-by-environment (IBE. However, multiple matrix regression with randomization analysis revealed strong IBE as well as significant isolation-by-distance. Environmental impacts on divergence were found between populations of the North and South regions and also between the two southern neighboring populations. BLASTN annotation of the sequences flanking outlier SNPs gave significant hits for three of 23 markers that might have biological relevance to mitochondrial homeostasis involved in the survival of locally adapted lineages. Species delimitation between K. davidiana var. formosana and its ancestor, K. davidiana, was also examined (72 individuals. This study has produced highly informative population genomic data for the understanding of

  16. Antioxidant capacity and fatty acid profile of Centaurea kotschyi (Boiss. & Heldr. Hayek var. persica (Boiss. Wagenitz from Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aktumsek, Abdurrahman

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available The antioxidant capacity of the methanolic extract and the fatty acid composition of C. kotschyi var. persica were investigated. Six different chemical methods were used to determine the antioxidant capacity. The fatty acid composition was analyzed using gas chromatography. The IC50 value of the extract was determined as 37.09 μg/ml (in the DPPH assay. In the β-carotene/linoleic acid system, the extract exhibited 65.22% inhibition against linoleic acid oxidation. The amount of total phenolic content and total antioxidant capacity were detected as 36.52 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE/g and 74.93 mg ascorbic acid equivalent (AE/g, respectively. The major fatty acid in the composition of C. kotschyi var. persica was found to be C 18:3 ω3 (α-linolenic acid by GC analysis. The results presented here indicate that C. kotschyi var. persica possess strong antioxidant properties. Therefore, the species can be used as a natural additive in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.La capacidad antioxidante de extractos metanólicos y composición de ácidos grasos de C. kotschyi var. pérsica fueron investigados. Seis métodos químicos diferentes fueron realizados para la determinación de la capacidad antioxidante. La composición de ácidos grasos fue analizada por cromatografía de gases. Los valores de IC50 de los extractos fueron 37.09 μg/ml (en el ensayo con DPPH. En el sistema β-carotene/ácido linoleico, el extracto mostró un 65.22% de inhibición frente a la oxidación del ácido linoleico. La cantidad total de contenido fenólico y capacidad antioxidante total fueron 36.52 mg equivalentes de ácido gallico (GAE/g y 74.93 mg equivalentes de ácido ascórbico (AE/g, respectivamente. El principal ácidos graso encontrado, por análisis de CG, en C. kotschyi var. pérsica fue el C 18:3 ω3 (ácido α-linolenico. Los resultados presentados aquí indican que C. kotschyi var. pérsica posee unas fuertes propiedades antioxidantes. Adem

  17. Metabolites from roots of Colubrina greggii var. yucatanensis and evaluation of their antiprotozoan, cytotoxic and antiproliferative activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dominguez-Carmona, Dafne B.; Escalante-Erosa, Fabiola; Garcia-Sosa, Karlina; Pena-Rodriguez, Luis M.

    2011-01-01

    Purification of the root extract of Colubrina greggii var. yucatanensis resulted in the isolation and identification of 3-O-acetyl ceanothic acid as a new natural ceanothane triterpene, together with the known metabolites ceanothic acid, cenothenic acid, betulinic acid, discarine B and chrysophanein. The natural products and the semisynthetic esters acetyl dimethyl ceanothate, dimethyl ceanothate and chrysophanein peracetate showed moderate to low leishmanicidal and trypanocidal activities. None of the metabolites showed cytotoxic or antiproliferative effects. The results also suggested that betulinic acid contributes to the antiplasmodial activity originally detected in the crude root extract of C. greggii var. yucatanensis. (author)

  18. Metabolites from roots of Colubrina greggii var. yucatanensis and evaluation of their antiprotozoan, cytotoxic and antiproliferative activities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dominguez-Carmona, Dafne B.; Escalante-Erosa, Fabiola; Garcia-Sosa, Karlina; Pena-Rodriguez, Luis M., E-mail: lmanuel@cicy.m [Centro de Investigacion Cientifica de Yucatan (Mexico). Unidad de Biotecnologia; Ruiz-Pinell, Grace; Gutierrez-Yapu, David; Gimenez-Turba, Alberto [Universidad Mayor de San Andres, La Paz (Bolivia, Plurinational State of). Inst. de Investigaciones Farmaco-Bioquimicas; Chan-Bacab, Manuel J. [Universidad Autonoma de Campeche (Mexico). Dept. de Microbiologia Ambiental y Biotecnologia; Moo-Puc, Rosa E. [Centro Medico Ignacio Garcia Tellez, Col. Industrial, Merida, Yucatan (Mexico). Unidad de Investigacion Medica Yucatan y Unidad Medica de Alta Especialidad; Veitch, Nigel C. [Jodrell Laboratory, Richmond, Surrey (United Kingdom)

    2011-07-01

    Purification of the root extract of Colubrina greggii var. yucatanensis resulted in the isolation and identification of 3-O-acetyl ceanothic acid as a new natural ceanothane triterpene, together with the known metabolites ceanothic acid, cenothenic acid, betulinic acid, discarine B and chrysophanein. The natural products and the semisynthetic esters acetyl dimethyl ceanothate, dimethyl ceanothate and chrysophanein peracetate showed moderate to low leishmanicidal and trypanocidal activities. None of the metabolites showed cytotoxic or antiproliferative effects. The results also suggested that betulinic acid contributes to the antiplasmodial activity originally detected in the crude root extract of C. greggii var. yucatanensis. (author)

  19. Bolívar ante la política de Cartagena en 1812

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuel José Forero

    1961-11-01

    Full Text Available Veintinueve años contaba Simón Bolívar en los días de su llegada a Cartagena. Imaginación ardiente, ojos vivos, ademanes colmados de actividad eran los dones visibles al instante en el futuro Libertador. Traía en el alma un gran dolor.

  20. Return predictability and intertemporal asset allocation: Evidence from a bias-adjusted VAR model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Engsted, Tom; Pedersen, Thomas Quistgaard

    with quarterly data from 1952 to 2006. The results show that correcting the VAR parameters for small-sample bias has both quantitatively and qualitatively important e¤ects on the strategic intertemporal part of optimal portfolio choice, especially for bonds: for intermediate values of risk...

  1. COMPARATIVE ANATOMICAL ASPECTS OF EUPHORBIA MILLI VAR. SPLENDENS (BOJER EX HOOK. URSCH & LEANDRI AND EUPHORBIA PULCHERRIMA WILLD. EX KLOTZSCH SPECIES LEAVES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodica BERCU

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents a comparative study concerning the leaf structure of two Euphorbia species belonging to Euphorbiaceae family: Euphorbia milli var. splendens (Bojer ex Hook. Ursch & Leandri and Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch. Anatomically, the leaves of the studied species are quite similar in the basic structure. The petiole has a single-layered epidermis, a collenchyma tissue – hypodermis - and three collateral bundles embedded in a basic tissue. Differences occur concerning the relationship between the collateral bundles. The Euphorbia pulcherrima bract petiole has almost the same structure as those of the leaf petiole. The blade is amphistomatic for Euphorbia milli var. splendes and hipostomatic for E. pulcherrima. The heterogeneous mesophyll is isobilateral in Euphorbia milli var. splendens blade and bifacial in E. pulcherrima. The vascular system of the mid rib is represented by one collateral bundle for both species, more developed in Euphorbia milli var. splendens blade. Differences appear concerning the epidermal cells cuticle thickness, the type of mesophyll, the abundance of the non-articulated laticifers and the development of the vascular system. The Euphorbia pulcherrima bract has the same organization plan structure as the leaf blade but some features differences occur.

  2. Phytochemical study of the flavonoids of acacia nilotica var astringens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El Gazali, N. A.

    2006-08-01

    The barks of acaica nilotica var astringens were extracted with 95% ethanol. Qualitative tests on the alcoholic extractives were negative for alkaloids and positive for steroids, tannins and flavonoids. Fractionation of the alcoholic extract over silica gel using acetone: methanol (4:1) gave a pure compound-compound 1. The structure of compound 1 was deduced on the basis of its IR, UV, NMR and mass spectra and the following structure was suggested.(Author)

  3. VaR and CVaR Implied in Option Prices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giovanni Barone Adesi

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available VaR (Value at Risk and CVaR (Conditional Value at Risk are implied by option prices. Their relationships to option prices are derived initially under the pricing measure. It does not require assumptions about the distribution of portfolio returns. The effects of changes of measure are modest at the short horizons typically used in applications. The computation of CVaR from option price is very convenient, because this measure is not elicitable, making direct comparisons of statistical inferences from market data problematic.

  4. Lupus eritematoso sistémico, en un paciente varón: a propósito de un caso

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Franco Romaní

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available El lupus eritematoso sistémico es una enfermedad que afecta predominantemente a mujeres, presentándose con manifestaciones variables. Esta comunicación de caso trata sobre un paciente varón joven, que debuta con artropatía lúpica, variedad artropatía de Jaccoud. Se realiza una revisión de la literatura acerca de las características clínicas del lupus en el varón y sus diferencias con el cuadro clínico en la mujer.

  5. Rapid discrimination of geographical origin and evaluation of antioxidant activity of Salvia miltiorrhiza var. alba by Fourier transform near infrared spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duan, Xiaoju; Zhang, Danlu; Nie, Lei; Zang, Hengchang

    2014-03-25

    Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge. var. alba C.Y. Wu and H.W. Li and Radix S. miltrorrhiza belong to the same genus. S. miltiorrhiza var. alba has a unique effectiveness for thromboangiitis besides therapeutical efficay of S. miltrorrhiza. It exhibits antioxidant activity (AA), while its quality and efficacy also vary with geographic locations. Therefore, a rapid and nondestructive method based on Fourier transform near infrared spectroscopy (FT-NIRS) was developed for discrimination of geographical origin and evaluation of AA of S. miltiorrhiza var. alba. The discrimination of geographical origin was achieved by using discriminant analysis and the accuracy was 100%. Partial least squares (PLS) regression was employed to establish the model for evaluation of AA by NIRS. The spectral regions were selected by interval PLS (i-PLS) method. Different pre-treated methods were compared for the spectral pre-processing. The final optimal results of PLS model showed that correlation coefficients in the calibration set (Rc) and the prediction set (Rp), root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) and residual prediction deviation (RPD) were 0.974, 0.950, 0.163 mg mL(-1) and 2.66, respectively. The results demonstrated that NIRs combined with chemometric methods could be a rapid and nondestructive tool to discriminate geographical origin and evaluate AA of S. miltiorrhiza var. alba. The developed NIRS method might have a potential application to high-throughput screening of a great number of raw S. miltiorrhiza var. alba samples for AA. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Comparative genomics of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii associated with meningitis in HIV infected and uninfected patients in Vietnam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Day, Jeremy N; Qihui, Seet; Thanh, Lam Tuan; Trieu, Phan Hai; Van, Anh Duong; Thu, Nha Hoang; Chau, Tran Thi Hong; Lan, Nguyen P H; Chau, Nguyen Van Vinh; Ashton, Philip M; Thwaites, Guy E; Boni, Maciej F; Wolbers, Marcel; Nagarajan, Niranjan; Tan, Patrick B O; Baker, Stephen

    2017-06-01

    The vast burden of cryptococcal meningitis occurs in immunosuppressed patients, driven by HIV, and is caused by Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii. We previously reported cryptococcal meningitis in Vietnam arising atypically in HIV uninfected, apparently immunocompetent patients, caused by a single amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) cluster of C. neoformans var. grubii (VNIγ). This variant was less common in HIV infected individuals; it remains unclear why this lineage is associated with apparently immunocompetent patients. To study this host tropism we aimed to further our understanding of clinical phenotype and genomic variation within Vietnamese C. neoformans var. grubii. After performing MLST on C. neoformans clinical isolates we identified 14 sequence types (STs); ST5 correlated with the VNIγ cluster. We next compared clinical phenotype by lineage and found HIV infected patients with cryptococcal meningitis caused by ST5 organisms were significantly more likely to have lymphadenopathy (11% vs. 4%, p = 0.05 Fisher's exact test) and higher blood lymphocyte count (median 0.76 versus 0.55 X109 cells/L, p = 0.001, Kruskal-Wallis test). Furthermore, survivors of ST5 infections had evidence of worse disability outcomes at 70 days (72.7% (40/55) in ST5 infections versus 57.1% (52/91) non-ST5 infections (OR 2.11, 95%CI 1.01 to 4.41), p = 0.046). To further investigate the relationship between strain and disease phenotype we performed genome sequencing on eight Vietnamese C. neoformans var. grubii. Eight genome assemblies exhibited >99% nucleotide sequence identity and we identified 165 kbp of lineage specific to Vietnamese isolates. ST5 genomes harbored several strain specific regions, incorporating 19 annotated coding sequences and eight hypothetical proteins. These regions included a phenolic acid decarboxylase, a DEAD-box ATP-dependent RNA helicase 26, oxoprolinases, a taurine catabolism dioxygenase, a zinc finger protein, membrane transport proteins

  7. [Inhibitory effect and underlying mechanism of total saponins from Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis on the proliferation of salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma ACC-83 cells].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiumin, He; Biao, Xu; Weihong, Wang; Chongyun, Bao; Shaowei, Hu

    2017-06-01

    To investigate the inhibitory effect and underlying mechanism of total saponins from Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis on the proliferation of salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma ACC-83 cells. In vitro cell culture was performed. The proliferation of ACC-83 cells treated with different concentrations (5, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 μg·mL⁻¹) of total saponins from Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis was observed using CCK-8 assay. Meanwhile, the apoptosis of ACC-83 cells treated with different concentrations (25, 50, 100 μg·mL⁻¹) of the total saponins was observed using flow cytometry. The expression levels of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and CD74 were measured using Western blot and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The total saponins from Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis induced apoptosis and expressed dose-effect relationship. ACC-83 cells expressed MIF and CD74, and the total saponins suppressed MIF and CD74 expression in ACC-83 cells. The total saponins from Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis can significantly inhibit the proliferation, suppress MIF and CD74 expression, and promote apoptosis in ACC-83 cells. This study provides a theoretical basis for the treatment of salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma using Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis.
.

  8. Soil type affects Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum (Pinaceae) seedling growth in simulated drought experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindsey, Alexander J; Kilgore, Jason S

    2013-08-01

    Effects of drought stress and media type interactions on growth of Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum germinants were investigated. • Soil properties and growth responses under drought were compared across four growth media types: two native soils (dolomitic limestone and granite), a soil-less industry standard conifer medium, and a custom-mixed conifer medium. After 35 d of growth, the seedlings under drought stress (reduced watering) produced less shoot and root biomass than watered control seedlings. Organic media led to decreased root biomass, but increased root length and shoot biomass relative to the mineral soils. • Media type affected root-to-shoot biomass partitioning of P. ponderosa var. scopulorum, which may influence net photosynthetic rates, growth, and long-term seedling survival. Further work should examine how specific soil properties like bulk density and organic matter influence biomass allocation in greenhouse studies.

  9. The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Taxus chinensis var. mairei (Taxaceae): loss of an inverted repeat region and comparative analysis with related species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yanzhen; Ma, Ji; Yang, Bingxian; Li, Ruyi; Zhu, Wei; Sun, Lianli; Tian, Jingkui; Zhang, Lin

    2014-05-01

    Taxus chinensis var. mairei (Taxaceae) is a domestic variety of yew species in local China. This plant is one of the sources for paclitaxel, which is a promising antineoplastic chemotherapy drugs during the last decade. We have sequenced the complete nucleotide sequence of the chloroplast (cp) genome of T. chinensis var. mairei. The T. chinensis var. mairei cp genome is 129,513 bp in length, with 113 single copy genes and two duplicated genes (trnI-CAU, trnQ-UUG). Among the 113 single copy genes, 9 are intron-containing. Compared to other land plant cp genomes, the T. chinensis var. mairei cp genome has lost one of the large inverted repeats (IRs) found in angiosperms, fern, liverwort, and gymnosperm such as Cycas revoluta and Ginkgo biloba L. Compared to related species, the gene order of T. chinensis var. mairei has a large inversion of ~110kb including 91 genes (from rps18 to accD) with gene contents unarranged. Repeat analysis identified 48 direct and 2 inverted repeats 30 bp long or longer with a sequence identity greater than 90%. Repeated short segments were found in genes rps18, rps19 and clpP. Analysis also revealed 22 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci and almost all are composed of A or T. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. 40 CFR 80.170 - Volumetric additive reconciliation (VAR), equipment calibration, and recordkeeping requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Volumetric additive reconciliation... ADDITIVES Detergent Gasoline § 80.170 Volumetric additive reconciliation (VAR), equipment calibration, and...) For a facility which uses a gauge to measure the inventory of the detergent storage tank, the total...

  11. Updates of the HbVar database of human hemoglobin variants and thalassemia mutations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    B. Giardine (Belinda); J. Borg (Joseph); E. Viennas (Emmanouil); C. Pavlidis (Cristiana); K. Moradkhani (Kamran); P. Joly (Philippe); M. Bartsakoulia (Marina); C. Riemer (Cathy); W. Miller (Webb); G. Tzimas (Giannis); H. Wajcman (Henri); R.C. Hardison (Ross); G.P. Patrinos (George)

    2014-01-01

    textabstractHbVar (http://globin.bx.psu.edu/hbvar) is one of the oldest and most appreciated locus-specific databases launched in 2001 by a multi-center academic effort to provide timely information on the genomic alterations leading to hemoglobin variants and all types of thalassemia and

  12. Syringa oblata Lindl var. alba as a source of oleuropein and related compounds

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nenadis, N.; Vervoort, J.J.M.; Boeren, J.A.; Tsimidou, M.Z.

    2007-01-01

    The leaf methanol extract of Syringa oblata Lindl var. alba was investigated as a source of oleuropein and related compounds. The extract had a high total phenol content and a radical scavenging activity similar to that of the respective extract from Olea europaea leaves. HPLC-DAD characterisation

  13. Structural Insight into Epitopes in the Pregnancy-Associated Malaria Protein VAR2CSA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, P; Nielsen, MA; Resende, M

    2008-01-01

    Pregnancy-associated malaria is caused by Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites binding specifically to chondroitin sulfate A in the placenta. This sequestration of parasites is a major cause of low birth weight in infants and anemia in the mothers. VAR2CSA, a polymorphic multi-domain protein o...

  14. Antioxidant capacity and fatty acid profile of Centaurea kotschyi (Boiss. and Heldr.) Hayek var. persica (Boiss.) Wagenitz from Turkey

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zengin, G.; Guler, G.O.; Cakmak, Y.S.; Aktumseka, A.

    2011-07-01

    The antioxidant capacity of the methanolic extract and the fatty acid composition of C. kotschyi var. persica were investigated. Six different chemical methods were used to determine the antioxidant capacity. The fatty acid composition was analyzed using gas chromatography. The IC50 value of the extract was determined as 37.09 ig/ml (in the DPPH assay). In the {beta}carotene/linoleic acid system, the extract exhibited 65.22% inhibition against linoleic acid oxidation. The amount of total phenolic content and total antioxidant capacity were detected as 36.52 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g and 74.93 mg ascorbic acid equivalent (AE)/g, respectively. The major fatty acid in the composition of C. kotschyi var. persica was found to be C 18:3 u3 ({beta}-linolenic acid) by GC analysis. The results presented here indicate that C. kotschyi var. persica possess strong antioxidant properties. Therefore, the species can be used as a natural additive in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. (Author).

  15. Physicochemical traits of Dekoko (Pisum sativum var. abyssinicum) seeds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yemane, Asgedom; Skjelvåg, Arne O

    2003-01-01

    Dekoko (Pisum sativum var. abyssinicum) has high appreciation for its taste and obtains a premium price in local markets compared to Ater (Pisum sativum var. sativum). However, data on the physicochemical traits of Dekoko seeds were lacking. This paper reports on the physicochemical features of Dekoko and compares the results with that of Ater. Seed weight and seed volume were 36 and 30%, respectively, higher in Ater, while water absorption, percent seed swelling, and percent husk were higher in Dekoko. Cooking time was shorter for Dekoko than Ater seeds. Decortication reduced cooking time on average by 39 and 45 min in Dekoko and Ater, respectively. Cotyledon flour of Dekoko contained 251 g crude protein, 19 g fat, 31.7 g total sugars, 370 g starch, and 130 g neutral detergent fiber per kilogram DM. These traits were significantly higher in Dekoko than in Ater, except for starch, which was higher in the latter. Arginine, asparagine, and glutamine occurred in larger proportions, and collectively contributed about 39% to the total amino acids in both varieties. Lysine contributed about 7%, while sulfur containing amino acids constituted about 3.0 and 2.3% of the total amino acids in Dekoko and Ater, respectively. Ca and Mg were higher in Ater, while P was higher in Dekoko. Based on the observations it was concluded that Dekoko is a suitable supplementary protein source for a cereal-based diet.

  16. Expression of Genes Related to Phenylpropanoid Biosynthesis in Different Organs of Ixeris dentata var. albiflora.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sang-Hoon; Park, Yun-Ji; Park, Sang Un; Lee, Sang-Won; Kim, Seong-Cheol; Jung, Chan-Sik; Jang, Jae-Ki; Hur, Yoonkang; Kim, Yeon Bok

    2017-05-30

    Members of the genus Ixeris have long been used in traditional medicines as stomachics, sedatives, and diuretics. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), cinnamate-4-hydroxylase (C4H), 4-coumarate: coenzyme-A (CoA) ligase (4CL), chalcone synthase (CHS), and dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR) are important enzymes in the phenylpropanoid pathway. In this study, we analyzed seven genes from Ixeris dentata var. albiflora that are involved in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, using an Illumina/Solexa HiSeq 2000 platform. The amino acid sequence alignments for IdPAL s, IdC4H, Id4CL s, IdCHS , and IdDFR showed high identity to sequences from other plants. We also investigated transcript levels using quantitative real-time PCR, and analyzed the accumulation of phenylpropanoids in different organs of I. dentata var. albiflora using high-performance liquid chromatography. The transcript levels of IdC4H, Id4CL1 , IdCHS , and IdDFR were highest in the leaf. The catechin, chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, and quercetin contents were also highest in the leaf. We suggest that expression of IdC4H, Id4CL1 , IdCHS , and IdDFR is associated with the accumulation of phenylpropanoids. Our results may provide baseline information for elucidating the mechanism of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis in different organs of I. dentata var. albiflora .

  17. β-Carotene from Yeasts Enhances Laccase Production of Pleurotus eryngii var. ferulae in Co-culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Chaolin; Zhao, Liting; Wang, Feng; Lu, Jian; Ding, Zhongyang; Shi, Guiyang

    2017-01-01

    Laccase is widely used in several industrial applications and co-culture is a common method for enhancing laccase production in submerged fermentation. In this study, the co-culture of four yeasts with Pleurotus eryngii var. ferulae was found to enhance laccase production. An analysis of sterilization temperatures and extraction conditions revealed that the stimulatory compound in yeasts was temperature-sensitive, and that it was fat-soluble. An LC-MS analysis revealed that the possible stimulatory compound for laccase production in the four yeast extracts was β-carotene. Moreover, the addition of 4 mg β-carotene to 150 mL of P. eryngii var. ferulae culture broth improved laccase production by 2.2-fold compared with the control (i.e., a monoculture), and was similar to laccase production in co-culture. In addition, the enhanced laccase production was accompanied by an increase of lac gene transcription, which was 6.2-time higher than the control on the fifth day. Therefore, it was concluded that β-carotene from the co-cultured yeasts enhanced laccase production in P. eryngii var. ferulae , and strains that produce β-carotene could be selected to enhance fungal laccase production in a co-culture. Alternatively, β-carotene or crude extracts of β-carotene could be used to induce high laccase production in large scale.

  18. Phytochemical, antioxidant and antidiabetic evaluation of eight Bauhinia L. species from Egypt using UHPLC-PDA-qTOF-MS and chemometrics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farag, Mohamed A; Sakna, Sarah T; El-Fiky, Nabaweya M; Shabana, Marawan M; Wessjohann, Ludger A

    2015-11-01

    Bauhinia L. (Fabaceae) comprises ca. 300-350 plant species, many of which are traditionally used in folk medicine for their antidiabetic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Bauhinia s.l. recently has been subdivided into 9 genera based on phylogenetic data: Bauhinia s.str., Barklya, Brenierea, Gigasiphon, Lysiphyllum, Phanera, Piliostigma, Schnella (American Phanera) and Tylosema. The aerial parts of 8 species corresponding to 5 genera were analyzed: Bauhinia forficata, Bauhinia variegata, B. variegata var. candida, Bauhinia galpinii, Schnella glabra, Piliostigma racemosa, Phanera vahlii and Lysiphyllum hookeri. Leaves and shoots were subjected to metabolite profiling via UHPLC-PDA-qTOF-MS coupled to multivariate data analyzes to identify compound compositional differences. A total of 90 metabolites were identified including polyphenols and fatty acids; flavonoid conjugates accounted for most of the metabolite variation observed. This study provides a comprehensive map of polyphenol composition in Bauhinia and phytochemical species aggregations are consistent with recent Bauhinia genus taxonomic relationship derived from phylogenetic studies. DPPH radical scavenging and α-glucosidase inhibitory assays were also performed to assess selected aspects of the antioxidant and antidiabetic potential for the examined species with respect to metabolite profiles. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Targeting the Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii Cell Wall Using Lectins: Study of the Carbohydrate-Binding Domain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pamella de Brito Ximenes

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii is considered to be the major cause of cryptococcosis in immunosuppressed patients. Understanding cell wall glycoproteins using lectins is of medical interest and can contribute to specific therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the carbohydrates on the cell wall of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii clinical isolates, using a fluorescein isothiocyanate-lectin binding protocol. Thirty yeast strains stocked in the culture collection were cultivated for 2 days at 30 °C with shaking. Cells were obtained by centrifugation, washed in phosphate-buffered saline, and a suspension of 107 cells/mL was obtained. To determine the binding profile of lectins, concanavalin A (Con A, wheat germ agglutinin (WGA, Ulex europaeus agglutinin I (UEA-I, and peanut agglutinin (PNA conjugated to fluorescein were used. All the tested clinical isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii were intensely stained by WGA, moderately stained by Con A, and weakly stained by PNA and UEA-I. Thus, Cryptococcus can be detected in clinical specimens such as blood and cerebrospinal fluid using the fluorescent lectin WGA, which may be considered as an option for detection in cases of suspected cryptococcosis with low laboratory sensitivity. Future applications may be developed using this basic tool.

  20. Laboratory Trials of Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum (Green Muscle® Against the Saxaul Locust, Dericorys albidula Serville (Orthoptera: Dericorythidae Ensayos de Laboratorio de Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum (Green muscle® contra la Langosta de Saxaul, Dericorys albidula Serville (Orthoptera: Dericorythidae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heydar Valizadeh

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The saxaul locust, Dericorys albidula Serville (Orthoptera: Dericorythidae is a major pest of saxaul plants in Qom province of Iran. During 2005-2006, different nymphal instars of bands of D. albidula were treated by aerial spraying of Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum (Green Muscle®. The gasoline formulation of M. anisopliae var. acridum isolate IMI 330189 was applied in different conidial concentrations (10(6, 10(7, 10(8, 10(9, 10(10 and 10(13 spores mL-1 that were prepared in sterile distilled gasoline. Results showed that various concentrations significantly affected the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th nymphal instars of D. albidula compared to control. In addition, there were no differences in the effects of the different concentrations in 2005, but the differences were significant in 2006. Concentration 10(10 killed 100% of tested insects 15 d after treatment. Comparing the results of the two years showed that the susceptibility of nymphs in the second year (2006 was higher than in the first year (2005. In conclusion, the results of this study indicated that the fungal insecticide M. anisopliae var. acridum, diluted in gasoline, was efficacious with the nymphal instars of locust D. albidula in 2005 and 2006.La langosta del saxaul, Dericorys albidula Serville (Orthoptera: Dericorythidae, es la principal plaga de plantas de saxaul de las provincias Qom, Irán. Durante 2005-2006, diferentes instars ninfales de D. albidula se asperjaron con Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum (Green Muscle®. La formulación de gasolina de M. anisopliae var. acridum aislamiento IMI 330189 se aplicó en diferentes concentraciones conidiales (10(6, 10(7, 10(8, 10(9, 10(10 and 10(13 esporas mL-1 preparadas en gasolina destilada estéril. Los resultados demostraron que varias concentraciones afectaron significativamente los nstars ninfales de D. albidula comparado con el control. Además el efecto de concentraciones no fue diferente en 2005 pero sí significativamente en

  1. Labor Costs and Foreign Direct Investment: A Panel VAR Approach

    OpenAIRE

    Bahar Bayraktar-Sağlam; Selin Sayek Böke

    2017-01-01

    This paper examines the endogenous interaction between labor costs and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the OECD countries via the Panel VAR approach under system GMM estimates for the period 1995–2009. The available data allows identifying the relevance of the components of labor costs, and allows a detailed analysis across different sectors. Empirical findings have revealed that sectoral composition of FDI and the decomposition of labor costs play a significant role in investigating the d...

  2. A clarified position for solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme in the evolutionary history of tomatoes (solanaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Causse Mathilde

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The natural phenotypic variability present in the germplasm of cultivated plants can be linked to molecular polymorphisms using association genetics. However it is necessary to consider the genetic structure of the germplasm used to avoid false association. The knowledge of genetic structure of plant populations can help in inferring plant evolutionary history. In this context, we genotyped 360 wild, feral and cultivated accessions with 20 simple sequence repeat markers and investigated the extent and structure of the genetic variation. The study focused on the red fruited tomato clade involved in the domestication of tomato and confirmed the admixture status of cherry tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme. We used a nested sample strategy to set-up core collection maximizing the genetic diversity with a minimum of individuals. Results Molecular diversity was considerably lower in S. lycopersicum i.e. the domesticated form. Model-based analysis showed that the 144 S. lycopersicum var. cerasiforme accessions were structured into two groups: one close to the domesticated group and one resulting from the admixture of the S. lycopersicum and S. pimpinellifolium genomes. SSR genotyping also indicates that domesticated and wild tomatoes have evolved as a species complex with intensive level of hybridization. We compiled genotypic and phenotypic data to identify sub-samples of 8, 24, 32 and 64 cherry tomato accessions that captured most of the genetic and morphological diversity present in the entire S. lycopersicum var. cerasiforme collection. Conclusion The extent and structure of allelic variation is discussed in relation to historical events like domestication and modern selection. The potential use of the admixed group of S. lycopersicum var. cerasiforme for association genetics studies is also discussed. Nested core collections sampled to represent tomato diversity will be useful in diversity studies. Molecular and

  3. β-Galactomannan and Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii modulate the immune response against Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in porcine intestinal epithelial and dendritic cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badia, Roger; Brufau, M Teresa; Guerrero-Zamora, Ana Maria; Lizardo, Rosil; Dobrescu, Irina; Martin-Venegas, Raquel; Ferrer, Ruth; Salmon, Henri; Martínez, Paz; Brufau, Joaquim

    2012-03-01

    Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is a facultative intracellular pathogen that causes inflammation, necrosis, and diarrhea in pigs, as well as being an important source of food-borne diseases in humans. Probiotics and prebiotics are promising alternatives to antibiotics to control and prevent intestinal infections. The present work investigated a recently developed β-galactomannan (βGM) prebiotic compared to the proven probiotic Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii on porcine ileum intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) of the IPI-2I line and monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) cocultured in vitro with Salmonella. We observed that both S. cerevisiae var. boulardii and βGM inhibited the association of Salmonella with IECs in vitro. Our data indicated that βGM has a higher ability than S. cerevisiae var. boulardii to inhibit Salmonella-induced proinflammatory mRNA (cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α], interleukin-1α [IL-1α], IL-6, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor [GM-CSF] and chemokines CCL2, CCL20, and CXCL8) and at protein levels (IL-6 and CXCL8). Additionally, βGM and S. cerevisiae var. boulardii induced some effects on DCs that were not observed on IECs: βGM and S. cerevisiae var. boulardii showed slight upregulation of mRNA for TNF-α, GM-CSF, and CCR7 receptor on porcine monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs). Indeed, the addition of βGM or S. cerevisiae var. boulardii on DCs cocultured with Salmonella showed higher gene expression (mRNA) for TNF-α, GM-CSF, and CXCL8 compared to that of the control with Salmonella. In conclusion, the addition of βGM inhibits Salmonella-induced proinflammatory profiles in IECs but may promote DC activation, although associated molecular mechanisms remain to be elucidated.

  4. Transcriptome Sequence Analysis of an Ornamental Plant, Ananas comosus var. bracteatus, Revealed the Potential Unigenes Involved in Terpenoid and Phenylpropanoid Biosynthesis

    OpenAIRE

    Ma, Jun; Kanakala, S.; He, Yehua; Zhang, Junli; Zhong, Xiaolan

    2015-01-01

    Background Ananas comosus var. bracteatus (Red Pineapple) is an important ornamental plant for its colorful leaves and decorative red fruits. Because of its complex genome, it is difficult to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the growth and development. Thus high-throughput transcriptome sequencing of Ananas comosus var. bracteatus is necessary to generate large quantities of transcript sequences for the purpose of gene discovery and functional genomic studies. Results The Anana...

  5. Efek Antijamur Minyak Atsiri Jahe Merah (Zingiber officinale Var. Rubrum terhadap Candida albicans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hermina Karuna Atmaja

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The prevalence of Candida albicans infections is increasing in the society. Therefore, an effective and affordable antifungal drug with minimal side effect is needed. Ginger (Zingiber officinale is a traditional herb which has an antifungal effect in its volatile oil. Objective: To investigate antifungal effect of volatile oil from Zingiber officinale var rubrum against C. albicans in vitro, to determine the optimum concentration, and finally to determine the correlation between the various concentrations of the oil and the inhibition zone. Material and method: Strain C. albicans tested was obtained from the Department of Parasitology, Medical Faculty, University of Indonesia. Volatile oil of Zingiber officinale var. rubrum was produced from water and steam distillation of fresh ginger in BALLITRO, Bogor. Concentrations of the volatile oil used were 100%, 50%, 25%, 12,5% 6.25%, 3.125%, 1.56% and 0.78%. Methods used were colony counting and disk diffusion method (by using 6 mm blank disk. The specimens were divided into two groups, treatment group (C. albicans with application of volatile oil and control group (C. albicans without application of volatile oil. Result: There was a significant decrease in the amount of C. albicans colonies from 3.125% to 6.25% of concentration. The amount of C. albicans colonies at concentration 6.25% was also significantly lower than in the control group. Moreover, there was strong and positive correlation between the concentration of the volatile oil and the inhibition zone. Conclusion: Volatile oil from Zingiber officinale var. rubrum has an antifungal effect against C. albicans in vitro with optimum concentration at 6.25%. Increasing concentrations of the oil correlates with increasing inhibition zome.

  6. Chromosome Doubling of Microspore-Derived Plants from Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) and Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Suxia; Su, Yanbin; Liu, Yumei; Li, Zhansheng; Fang, Zhiyuan; Yang, Limei; Zhuang, Mu; Zhang, Yangyong; Lv, Honghao; Sun, Peitian

    2015-01-01

    Chromosome doubling of microspore-derived plants is an important factor in the practical application of microspore culture technology because breeding programs require a large number of genetically stable, homozygous doubled haploid plants with a high level of fertility. In the present paper, 29 populations of microspore-derived plantlets from cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) and broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) were used to study the ploidy level and spontaneous chromosome doubling of these populations, the artificial chromosome doubling induced by colchicine, and the influence of tissue culture duration on the chromosomal ploidy of the microspore-derived regenerants. Spontaneous chromosome doubling occurred randomly and was genotype dependent. In the plant populations derived from microspores, there were haploids, diploids, and even a low frequency of polyploids and mixed-ploidy plantlets. The total spontaneous doubling in the 14 cabbage populations ranged from 0 to 76.9%, compared with 52.2 to 100% in the 15 broccoli populations. To improve the rate of chromosome doubling, an efficient and reliable artificial chromosome doubling protocol (i.e., the immersion of haploid plantlet roots in a colchicine solution) was developed for cabbage and broccoli microspore-derived haploids. The optimal chromosome doubling of the haploids was obtained with a solution of 0.2% colchicine for 9-12 h or 0.4% colchicine for 3-9 h for cabbage and 0.05% colchicine for 6-12 h for broccoli. This protocol produced chromosome doubling in over 50% of the haploid genotypes for most of the populations derived from cabbage and broccoli. Notably, after 1 or more years in tissue culture, the chromosomes of the haploids were doubled, and most of the haploids turned into doubled haploid or mixed-ploidy plants. This is the first report indicating that tissue culture duration can change the chromosomal ploidy of microspore-derived regenerants.

  7. Insight into Antigenic Diversity of VAR2CSA-DBL5 epsilon Domain from Multiple Plasmodium falciparum Placental Isolates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gnidehou, Sedami; Jessen, Leon Ivar; Gangnard, Stephane

    2010-01-01

    on the surface of placental parasites. Despite high DBL5e sequence homology among parasite isolates, sequence analyses identified motifs in DBL5e that discriminate parasites according to donor's parity. Moreover, recombinant proteins of two VAR2CSA DBL5e variants displayed diverse recognition patterns by plasma...... from malaria-exposed women, and diverse proteoglycan binding abilities. Conclusions/Significance: This study provides insights into conserved and exposed B cell epitopes in DBL5e that might be a focus for cross reactivity. The importance of sequence variation in VAR2CSA as a critical challenge...

  8. Proposition of a modification to the VAR process and its application in the consolidation of pressed zircaloy chips and the evaluation of the dynamical system of the electric arc; Proposicao de um processo alternativo a fusao via forno VAR para a consolidacao de cavacos prensados de zircaloy e estudo do sistema dinamico do arco eletrico

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mucsi, Cristiano Stefano

    2005-07-01

    The objective of this work is the investigation of a new process as an alternative to the Vacuum Arc Remelting technology in the consolidation of Zircaloy chips. A procedure is proposed for the recycling of primary Zircaloy scraps by means of a modified VAR furnace. The performed studies were made in order to optimise the low cost new devices added to existing VAR furnace prototype, find ideal operational conditions, evaluate data acquisition system and the electric arc dynamical system in order to made viable the automated control of the modified VAR prototype. A funnel-crucible special device was developed and installed in a VAR prototype furnace allowing ingots to be obtained from pressed chips. This indicated the viability of creation of a new process for the consolidation of Zircaloy chips. The voltage of the electric arc during the melting runs was digitally recorded allowing the evaluation of the electric arc dynamics by using the topological invariant of the system: correlation dimension and the higher Liapunov exponent. (author)

  9. Soil Type Affects Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum (Pinaceae Seedling Growth in Simulated Drought Experiments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander J. Lindsey

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Premise of the study: Effects of drought stress and media type interactions on growth of Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum germinants were investigated. Methods and Results: Soil properties and growth responses under drought were compared across four growth media types: two native soils (dolomitic limestone and granite, a soil-less industry standard conifer medium, and a custom-mixed conifer medium. After 35 d of growth, the seedlings under drought stress (reduced watering produced less shoot and root biomass than watered control seedlings. Organic media led to decreased root biomass, but increased root length and shoot biomass relative to the mineral soils. Conclusions: Media type affected root-to-shoot biomass partitioning of P. ponderosa var. scopulorum, which may influence net photosynthetic rates, growth, and long-term seedling survival. Further work should examine how specific soil properties like bulk density and organic matter influence biomass allocation in greenhouse studies.

  10. The model of television in Pedro Almodóvar. Cinema vs. Televisión

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agustín GÓMEZ GÓMEZ

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we analyze the TV model presented by Pedro Almodóvar in his filmography. Of the eighteen movies, but three, all contain, one way or another, a reference to TV in a critical sense. Through the analysis of all his films, we observe the way in which TV appears and focus on four models or functions of the TV in his work. The first one has to do with the viewing mode, which we have named “domestic model”. A second function, which we will call “realistic”, is one which means that only what appears on screen exists, but Almodóvar desecrates reality through parody. A third model is a critique of so-called junk televisión. Finally, a fourth function is the presence of other films through the TV screen to establish an intertextual relationship with a narrative purpose.

  11. [Responses of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica radial growth to climate warming in Great Xing' an Mountins: a case study in Mangui].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xing-Liang; He, Xing-Yuan; Chen, Zhen-Ju; Cui, Ming-Xing; Li, Na

    2011-12-01

    Based on the theory and methodology of dendrochronology, the tree ring width chronology of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica in Mangui of Great Xing' an Mountains was developed, and the relationships between the standardized tree ring width chronology and local climate factors (temperature and precipitation) as well as the effects of climate factors on the P. sylvestris var. mongolica radial growth were analyzed. In this region, the mean monthly temperature in April-August of current year was the main factor limiting the radial growth, and the increasing mean monthly temperature from April to August had negative effects to the radial growth. The simulation of the variations of the radial growth by the mean monthly temperature change in April-August showed that the radial growth of P. sylvestris var. mongolica would present a declining trend accompanied with the warmer and drier regional climate condition.

  12. Programmed transcription of the var gene family, but not of stevor, in Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sharp, Sarah; Lavstsen, Thomas; Fivelman, Quinton L

    2006-01-01

    are expressed in gametocytes, the transmissible parasite stage, but the role of these proteins in the biology of sexual-stage parasites remains unknown. PfEMP1 may continue to mediate antigenic variation in gametocytes, which need to persist in the host for many days before reaching maturity. Using quantitative...... reverse transcription-PCR and Northern hybridization, we demonstrate that transcription of a defined subset of type C var loci occurs during gametocyte development in vitro. This transcriptional program occurs in gametocytes regardless of the var expression phenotype of their asexual progenitors...

  13. Placental Sequestration of Plasmodium falciparum Malaria Parasites Is Mediated by the Interaction Between VAR2CSA and Chondroitin Sulfate A on Syndecan-1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Yang; Resende, Mafalda; Daugaard, Mads; Riis Kristensen, Anders; Damm, Peter; G. Theander, Thor; R. Hansson, Stefan; Salanti, Ali

    2016-01-01

    During placental malaria, Plasmodium falciparum infected erythrocytes sequester in the placenta, causing health problems for both the mother and fetus. The specific adherence is mediated by the VAR2CSA protein, which binds to placental chondroitin sulfate (CS) on chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) in the placental syncytium. However, the identity of the CSPG core protein and the cellular impact of the interaction have remain elusive. In this study we identified the specific CSPG core protein to which the CS is attached, and characterized its exact placental location. VAR2CSA pull-down experiments using placental extracts from whole placenta or syncytiotrophoblast microvillous cell membranes showed three distinct CSPGs available for VAR2CSA adherence. Further examination of these three CSPGs by immunofluorescence and proximity ligation assays showed that syndecan-1 is the main receptor for VAR2CSA mediated placental adherence. We further show that the commonly used placental choriocarcinoma cell line, BeWo, express a different set of proteoglycans than those present on placental syncytiotrophoblast and may not be the most biologically relevant model to study placental malaria. Syncytial fusion of the BeWo cells, triggered by forskolin treatment, caused an increased expression of placental CS-modified syndecan-1. In line with this, we show that rVAR2 binding to placental CS impairs syndecan-1-related Src signaling in forskolin treated BeWo cells, but not in untreated cells. PMID:27556547

  14. Ultraestructura del bambú Guadua angustifolia var. bicolor (Poaceae: Bambusoideae, presente en Costa Rica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mayra Montiel

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Se estudió la ultraestructura anatómica de la lámina y la vaina de la hoja, así como de la bráctea del culmo, de Guadua angustifolia var. bicolor, por medio del microscopio electrónico de barrido. Se encontraron similitudes con otras guaduas: estomas de alto domo, células largas con paredes sinuosas y células de sílice. Son propios de la var. bicolor el patrón estomático en la zona abaxial de la hoja cerca de la vaina, con la presencia de gran cantidad de tricomas ganchudos y sin papilas; las brácteas de color café dorado que cubren los culmos y tienen tricomas papilares que cubren el haz; y el abundante número de tricomas auriculares, en grupos de 12.The anatomy of several parts of Guadua angustifolia var. bicolor was analyzed and characterized under a scanning electron icroscope. any similarities ere observed with other Guadua species, particularly the presence of high dome stomata, of large cells with sinuous walls and of silica cells. Specific bicolor characteristics include (1 a different stomatal pattern in the adaxial zone of the leaf base (close to the sheath; (2 the abundance of hook-sshaped trichomes without papilla; (3 the distinctive golden brown color of the bract that covers the culm (caused by papillar trichomes that cover the adaxial sheath; and (4 the size of the groups of auricular trichomes (formed by 12 trichomes. Rev. Biol. Trop. 54(Suppl. 2: 13-19. Epub 2006 Dec. 01.

  15. Eficiência do Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Berliner, 1915 no controle da traça da cera Galleria mellonella (Linnaeus, 1758 (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae Efficiency of Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Berliner, 1915 for control of the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella (Linnaeus, 1758 (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deodoro Magno Brighenti

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available Objetivou-se avaliar a eficiência do Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Berliner no controle de Galleria mellonella (Linnaeus. Os experimentos foram realizados no Laboratório de Biologia de Insetos do Departamento de Entomologia da Universidade Federal de Lavras - UFLA, Lavras, MG, a 28±2ºC, UR 70±10% e fotofase de 12 horas. Aplicou-se formulação comercial de B. thuringiensis var. kurstaki por meio de pulverização, imersão dos favos e também foi incorporada à dieta artificial fornecida às lagartas de terceiro ínstar da traça da cera. A aplicação do produto fitossanitário por meio da pulverização dos favos mostrou-se eficiente no controle de lagartas, atingindo níveis iguais ou superiores a 85% de mortalidade quando foram utilizados 5 g/100 mL de água. Na aplicação por imersão dos favos, todas as dosagens testadas foram eficientes atingindo até 100% de mortalidade. Adicionada à dieta artificial, a concentração com maior porcentagem de mortalidade foi de 10g/60g de dieta. Sintomas de infecção pelo B. thuringiensis foram identificados nas lagartas e o isolamento da bactéria, por meio de uma cultura de Bacillus, comprovou a causa da morte desses insetos em todas as dosagens da formulação comercial do B. thuringiensis var. kurstaki utilizadas.This research aim at evaluating the efficiency of Bacillus thruringiensis var. kurstaki (Berliner in the control of Galleria mellonella (Linnaeus.The experiments were conducted in the Insect Biology Laboratory of the Entomology Department of the Universidade Federal de Lavras - UFLA, Lavras, MG, Brazil, at 28±2ºC, RH 70±10% and 12-hour photophase. Commercial formulation of B. thuringiensis. var. kurstaki was applied through spraying, comb soaking and also incorporated into the artificial diet fed to third instar caterpillars of the greater wax moth. Application of B. thuringiensis var. kurstaki through the spraying of the combs was efficient for control, reaching levels

  16. Radioactivity in a mountain ecosystem: the Haut Bassin du Var

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    After the Chernobyl accident, the IPSN realized a study of the radioactive fallout in the mountain area of the Var (France). Today the main radionuclides are the cesium 134 and 137, others disappeared because of their short half-life. In this paper, the artificial radioactivity of soils and sediments is concerned. The study shows a concentration of the contamination in some specific areas, especially in soils abounding in organic matter. The dose measured can not lead to significant exposures. (A.L.B.)

  17. Var??n de 30 a??os con dolor pretibial bilateral

    OpenAIRE

    Vargas-Hitos, Jos?? Antonio; Garc??a-Castro, Jos?? Miguel; Ja??n- ??guila, Fernando; Jim??nez-Alonso, Juan

    2012-01-01

    Var??n de 30 a??os que consultaba por dolor intenso y progresivo de dos meses de evoluci??n localizado en la cara anterior y distal de ambas piernas sin factor desencadenante aparente y mala respuesta a tratamiento analg??sico convencional. El paciente negaba otros s??ntomas a excepci??n de un rash eritematoso no pruriginoso generalizado que hab??a afectado tronco, palmas y plantas y que hab??a sido considerado como una reacci??n de hipersensibilidad a alguna de las medicaciones p...

  18. 1D-VAR Retrieval Using Superchannels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xu; Zhou, Daniel; Larar, Allen; Smith, William L.; Schluessel, Peter; Mango, Stephen; SaintGermain, Karen

    2008-01-01

    Since modern ultra-spectral remote sensors have thousands of channels, it is difficult to include all of them in a 1D-var retrieval system. We will describe a physical inversion algorithm, which includes all available channels for the atmospheric temperature, moisture, cloud, and surface parameter retrievals. Both the forward model and the inversion algorithm compress the channel radiances into super channels. These super channels are obtained by projecting the radiance spectra onto a set of pre-calculated eigenvectors. The forward model provides both super channel properties and jacobian in EOF space directly. For ultra-spectral sensors such as Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) and the NPOESS Airborne Sounder Testbed Interferometer (NAST), a compression ratio of more than 80 can be achieved, leading to a significant reduction in computations involved in an inversion process. Results will be shown applying the algorithm to real IASI and NAST data.

  19. Invasive alien plant species used for the treatment of various ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Results: The study revealed that Schinus molle L., Catharanthus roseus (L.), Datura stramonium L., Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw., Opuntia ficus- indica, Sambucus canadensis L., Ricinus communis L., Melia azedarch L., Argemone ochroleuca and Eriobotrya japonica are used for treatment of various diseases such as chest ...

  20. Response of the Cottonwood Leaf Beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) to Bacillus thuringiensis var. san diego

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leah S. Bauer

    1990-01-01

    A standardized laboratory bioassay was used to quantify the lethal and sub-lethal responses of larval and adult cottonwood leaf beetles, Chrysomela scripta F., to Bacillus thuringiensis var. san diego, formulated as M-One standard powder (Mycogen Corporation, San Diego). The median lethal concentration (LC