Clinical, hematological, total plasma protein and fibrinogen parameters of magellanic penguins ( Spheniscus magellanicus ) pre- and post-rehabilitation

Abstract: Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) usually arrive in poor body conditions at Brazilian beaches during the winter. Hematology provides valuable information about clinical and immunity status of the animals. The aims of this study were to determine the hematologic, total plasma protein (TPP) and fibrinogen profiles of young and adult magellanic penguins in PROAMAR and CETAS-SC, relating these results with the state of health and survival possibility of the animals. In Paraná 14 animals were evaluated in pre and eight in post-rehabilitation and 29 animals were evaluated in Santa Catarina after rehabilitation. Before rehabilitation, all animals showed weakness. In hematological exams of these animals, we found that anemia was present in 83% of the penguins that died and 50% of those which survived. The heterophils/lymphocytes (H/L) ratio was 3.87±0.57 in animals that died, significantly higher than the average of 2.20±0.30 for animals that survived. These two parameters are useful to assess the survival possibility of animals to rehabilitation. The body condition score was positively correlated with hematocrit and TPP, and negatively correlated with H/L ratio. After rehabilitation, the values were similar to other animals of the family Spheniscidae, with averages ranging from 1.64 to 1.90x106 erythrocytes/μL; 43.38 to 48.80% of hematocrit; 12.45 to 13.52g/dL of hemoglobin; 8,684 to 14,011 leukocytes/μL; 4,767 to 8,041 heterophils/μL; 3,215 to 4,951 lymphocytes/μL; 95 to 655 eosinophils/μl; 179.8 to 277.9 monocytes/μL; 141 to 184.9 basophils/μL; and 1.26 to 1.74 of H/L ratio. These parameters can therefore be used as reference values and release parameters for young and adult Magellanic penguins in captivity on the rehabilitation centers.

Influence of corn sowing density and gliricidia intercropping on weed control

There is interest in the identification of the best seeding density for new corn hybrids and on reduced use of herbicides for weed control. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of seeding density (30, 50, 70, and 90 thousand plants ha-1) and weed control on green ear yield and grain yield in corn cultivar AG 1051. A completely randomized block design was adopted with split-plots (seeding densities assigned to plots) and ten replicates. Weed control was achieved by means of two hoeings and by planting corn intercropped with gliricidia (between corn rows, in pits spaced 0.3 m apart). A "no weeding"treatment was included as well. Increased seeding density increased the total number and weight of marketable green ears and decreased the biomass of both weeds and gliricidia. In non-weeded, intercropped and hoed plots, the maximum grain yield values achieved as seeding density increased were 7,881, 7,021, and 9,213 kg ha-1, respectively, obtained with populations of 67 thousand, 74 thousand, and 67 thousand plants per hectare, respectively. Intercropping did not control weeds (26 species) and provided weed growth, green ear yield, and grain yield (at the lowest densities) similar to those obtained without hoeing, except for total number of green ears, in which no influence of weed control was observed. At densities of 70 thousand and 90 thousand plants per hectare, grain yield with two hoeings was not different from yield values obtained without weeding or in the treatment intercropped with gliricidia, respectively, indicating that increased corn seeding density as well as gliricidiamay help to control weeds.

Competitiveness of alexandergrass or Bengal dayflower with soybean

Weeds compete with field crops mainly for water, light and nutrients, and the degree of competition is affected by the weed density and the intrinsic competitive ability of each plant species in coexistence. The objective of this research was to compare the competitiveness of alexandergrass (Brachiaria plantaginea) or Bengal dayflower (Commelina benghalensis) in coexistence with soybean, cv. M-Soy 8045. A factorial experiment (2 x 5) with two weed species and five competition proportions was carried out in a completely randomized design with four replicates. Proportions were based on a replacement series competition design, always maintaining the total density of four plants per 10 L plastic pots, which corresponded to 60 plants m ². The weed-crop proportions were: 0:4; 1:3; 2:2; 3:1; 4:0; that corresponded to the proportion of 100, 75, 50, 25 and 0% of soybean plants and the opposite for weeds, B. plantaginea or C. benghalensis plants. Leaf area, shoot dry mass of the weeds and soybean and number of soybean trifoliate leaves were evaluated when the soybean reached the phenologic stage of full flowering. B. plantaginea was a better competitor than soybean plants. Otherwise, C. benghalensis revealed a similar competitive ability that of the soybean. In both cases, there were evidences that intraspecific competition was more important.

Weed control in corn via intercropping with gliricidia sown by broadcasting

There has been interest in reducing the use of herbicides for weed control in order to decrease environmental degradation problems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of gliricidia planting density sown by broadcasting and intercopping on green ear and corn grain yield as well as on weed control. A randomized block design with split-plots and five replicates were adopted. Cultivars AG 1051, BM 2022, and BM 3061, assigned to plots, were submitted to the following treatments: no hoeing, two hoeings (at 20 and 40 days after sowing), and intercropped with gliricidia sown at densities of 10 and 20 seeds m-2. Thirty weed species occurred in the experiment area, with Cucumis anguria as the most frequent ones. Cultivar BM 2022 was the best for the total number of ears (TNE) and number (NMHE) and weight of marketable husked ears. Together with cultivar AG 1051, this cultivar had the highest total weight and marketable unhusked ear weight (MUEW). However, the cultivars did not differ with respect to grain yield (GY). The highest green ear and corn grain yield and weed control percentages were obtained with two hoeings; in MUEW, NMHE and GY, intercropping provided intermediate means in comparison with those obtained in hoed and non-hoed plots, indicating that gliricidia was partially beneficial to corn. Increased gliricidia seeding density heightened the benefits to corn (TNE and MUEW). The lack of hoeing produced the poorest green ear and grain yields.

Corn growth and yield in competition with weeds

Although labor is intensive, evaluating the growth of crops may allow a better understanding of crop performance, including the reasons why certain cultivars can compete better with weeds. This study aims at evaluating growth, green ear yield, and grain yield in corn when in competition with weeds. Cultivars AG 1051 and BRS 106 were grown with (two hoeings, at 20 and 40 days after sowing) or without weed control. In order to evaluate crop growth, six collections of the above-ground part and the root system of corn were performed, every 15 days, with the first collection made 30 days after sowing. A randomized complete block design was adopted, with split-split plots (weed control in plots, cultivars in subplots, and collections in sub-subplots) and ten replicates. Eighteen weed species were found in the experiment area. Increased values of corn leaf area, above-ground part and root system, due to plant age function, were smaller in non-hoed plots than in hoed plots and were dependent upon cultivar. The lack of weed control increased dry matter of weeds aboveground part and decreased green ear yield and grain yield. Cultivar AG 1051 had higher increases in leaf area, above-ground part of the plant and root system, due to plant age function, and controlled weeds better than cultivar BRS 106. In addition, cultivar AG 1051 was superior to other cultivars with respect to most traits used for green corn yield and grain yield assessment.

Epäsuoran kysyntätiedon hyödyntäminen verkkokaupan tuotevalikoima- ja hinnoittelupäätöksissä

Tässä diplomityössä tutkitaan, miten verkkokaupan kävijävirran käyttäytymistä analysoimalla voidaan tehdä perusteltuja, tarkoituksenmukaisiin nimikkeisiin ja niiden parametreihin kohdistuvia päätöksiä tilanteessa, jossa laajamittaisemmat historiatiedot toteutuneesta myynnistä puuttuvat. Teoriakatsauksen perusteella muodostettiin ratkaisumalli, joka perustuu potentiaalisten kysyntäajurien muodostamiseen ja testaamiseen. Testisarjan perusteella valittavaa ajuria käytetään estimoimaan nimikkeiden kysyntää, jolloin sitä voidaan käyttää toteutuneen myynnin sijasta esimerkiksi Pareto-analyysissä. Näin huomio on mahdollista keskittää rajattuun määrään merkitykseltään suuria nimikkeitä ja niiden yksityiskohtaisiin parametreihin, joilla on merkitystä asiakkaan ostopäätöstilanteissa. Lisäksi voidaan tunnistaa nimikkeitä, joiden ongelmana on joko huono verkkonäkyvyys tai yhteensopimattomuus asiakastarpeiden kanssa. Ajurien testaamisperiaatteena käytetään kertymäfunktioiden yhdenmukaisuustarkastelua, joka rakentuu kolmesta peräkkäisestä vaiheesta; visuaalisesta tarkastelusta, kahden otoksen 2-suuntaisesta Kolmogorov-Smirnov-yhteensopivuustestistä ja Pearsonin korrelaatiotestistä. Mallia ja sen avulla tuotettua kysynnän ajuria testattiin veneilyalan kuluttaja-asiakkaille suunnatussa verkkokaupassa, jossa sillä tunnistettiin Pareto-jakauman alkupäästä runsaasti nimikkeitä, joiden parametreissa oli myynnin kannalta epäedullisia tekijöitä. Jakauman toisessa päässä tunnistettiin satoja nimikkeitä, joiden ongelmana on ilmeisesti joko huono verkkonäkyvyys tai nimikkeiden yhteensopimattomuus asiakastarpeiden kanssa.

Adaptive Dynamics of Resource Specialization

Ecological specialization in resource utilization has various facades ranging from nutritional resources via host use of parasites or phytophagous insects to local adaptation in different habitats. Therefore, the evolution of specialization affects the evolution of most other traits, which makes it one of the core issues in the theory of evolution. Hence, the evolution of specialization has gained enormous amounts of research interest, starting already from Darwin’s Origin of species in 1859. Vast majority of the theoretical studies has, however, focused on the mathematically most simple case with well-mixed populations and equilibrium dynamics. This thesis explores the possibilities to extend the evolutionary analysis of resource usage to spatially heterogeneous metapopulation models and to models with non-equilibrium dynamics. These extensions are enabled by the recent advances in the field of adaptive dynamics, which allows for a mechanistic derivation of the invasion-fitness function based on the ecological dynamics. In the evolutionary analyses, special focus is set to the case with two substitutable renewable resources. In this case, the most striking questions are, whether a generalist species is able to coexist with the two specialist species, and can such trimorphic coexistence be attained through natural selection starting from a monomorphic population. This is shown possible both due to spatial heterogeneity and due to non-equilibrium dynamics. In addition, it is shown that chaotic dynamics may sometimes inflict evolutionary suicide or cyclic evolutionary dynamics. Moreover, the relations between various ecological parameters and evolutionary dynamics are investigated. Especially, the relation between specialization and dispersal propensity turns out to be counter-intuitively non-monotonous. This observation served as inspiration to the analysis of joint evolution of dispersal and specialization, which may provide the most natural explanation to the observed coexistence of specialist and generalist species.

Aurapten, a coumarin with growth inhibition against Leishmania major promastigotes

Several natural compounds have been identified for the treatment of leishmaniasis. Among them are some alkaloids, chalcones, lactones, tetralones, and saponins. The new compound reported here, 7-geranyloxycoumarin, called aurapten, belongs to the chemical class of the coumarins and has a molecular weight of 298.37. The compund was extracted from the Rutaceae species Esenbeckia febrifuga and was purified from a hexane extract starting from 407.7 g of dried leaves and followed by four silica gel chromatographic fractionation steps using different solvents as the mobile phase. The resulting compound (47 mg) of shows significant growth inhibition with an LD50 of 30 µM against the tropical parasite Leishmania major, which causes severe clinical manifestations in humans and is endemic in the tropical and subtropical regions. In the present study, we investigated the atomic structure of aurapten in order to determine the existence of common structural motifs that might be related to other coumarins and potentially to other identified inhibitors of Leishmania growth and viability. This compound has a comparable inhibitory activity of other isolated molecules. The aurapten is a planar molecule constituted of an aromatic system with electron delocalization. A hydrophobic side chain consisting of ten carbon atoms with two double bonds and negative density has been identified and may be relevant for further compound synthesis.

Modeling the pressure inactivation dynamics of Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli, as a model microorganism, was treated in phosphate-buffered saline under high hydrostatic pressure between 100 and 300 MPa, and the inactivation dynamics was investigated from the viewpoint of predictive microbiology. Inactivation data were curve fitted by typical predictive models: logistic, Gompertz and Weibull functions. Weibull function described the inactivation curve the best. Two parameters of Weibull function were calculated for each holding pressure and their dependence on holding pressure was obtained by interpolation. With the interpolated parameters, inactivation curves were simulated and compared with the experimental data sets.

Leptin is not associated independently with hypertension in Japanese-Brazilian women

We evaluated the relationship of leptin with hypertension adjusted for body mass index (BMI) and/or waist circumference in a population of Japanese-Brazilian women aged > or = 30 years with centrally distributed adiposity. After excluding diabetic subjects, the study subjects - who participated in a population-based study on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome - showed prevalence rates of obesity (BMI > or = 25 kg/m²) and central adiposity (waist > or = 80 cm) of 32.0 and 37.8%, respectively. The hypertensive group (N = 162) was older, had higher BMI (24.9 ± 4.2 vs 23.3 ± 3.4 kg/m², P < 0.001), waist circumference (81.1 ± 10.1 vs 76.3 ± 8.2 cm, P < 0.001) and insulin levels (8.0 ± 6.2 vs 7.1 ± 4.9 µU/mL, P < 0.05) than the normotensive group (N = 322) and showed an unfavorable metabolic profile (higher 2-h plasma glucose, C-reactive protein and non-HDL cholesterol levels). Leptin did not differ between groups (8.2 ± 6.8 vs 7.2 ± 6.6 ng/mL, P = 0.09, for hypertensive vs normotensive, respectively) and its levels correlated significantly with anthropometric variables but not with blood pressure. Logistic regression analysis indicated that age and waist were independently associated with hypertension but not with homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance or leptin levels. The lack of an independent association of hypertension with metabolic parameters (2-h glucose, C-reactive protein and non-HDL cholesterol) after adjustment for central adiposity suggested that visceral fat deposition may be the common mediator of the disturbances of the metabolic syndrome. Our data indicate that age and waist are major determinants of hypertension in this population of centrally obese (waist > or = 80 cm) Japanese-Brazilian women, but do not support a role for leptin in the elevation of blood pressure.

Differential evolution based classification with pool of distances and aggregation operators

The objective of this thesis is to develop and generalize further the differential evolution based data classification method. For many years, evolutionary algorithms have been successfully applied to many classification tasks. Evolution algorithms are population based, stochastic search algorithms that mimic natural selection and genetics. Differential evolution is an evolutionary algorithm that has gained popularity because of its simplicity and good observed performance. In this thesis a differential evolution classifier with pool of distances is proposed, demonstrated and initially evaluated. The differential evolution classifier is a nearest prototype vector based classifier that applies a global optimization algorithm, differential evolution, to determine the optimal values for all free parameters of the classifier model during the training phase of the classifier. The differential evolution classifier applies the individually optimized distance measure for each new data set to be classified is generalized to cover a pool of distances. Instead of optimizing a single distance measure for the given data set, the selection of the optimal distance measure from a predefined pool of alternative measures is attempted systematically and automatically. Furthermore, instead of only selecting the optimal distance measure from a set of alternatives, an attempt is made to optimize the values of the possible control parameters related with the selected distance measure. Specifically, a pool of alternative distance measures is first created and then the differential evolution algorithm is applied to select the optimal distance measure that yields the highest classification accuracy with the current data. After determining the optimal distance measures for the given data set together with their optimal parameters, all determined distance measures are aggregated to form a single total distance measure. The total distance measure is applied to the final classification decisions. The actual classification process is still based on the nearest prototype vector principle; a sample belongs to the class represented by the nearest prototype vector when measured with the optimized total distance measure. During the training process the differential evolution algorithm determines the optimal class vectors, selects optimal distance metrics, and determines the optimal values for the free parameters of each selected distance measure. The results obtained with the above method confirm that the choice of distance measure is one of the most crucial factors for obtaining higher classification accuracy. The results also demonstrate that it is possible to build a classifier that is able to select the optimal distance measure for the given data set automatically and systematically. After finding optimal distance measures together with optimal parameters from the particular distance measure results are then aggregated to form a total distance, which will be used to form the deviation between the class vectors and samples and thus classify the samples. This thesis also discusses two types of aggregation operators, namely, ordered weighted averaging (OWA) based multi-distances and generalized ordered weighted averaging (GOWA). These aggregation operators were applied in this work to the aggregation of the normalized distance values. The results demonstrate that a proper combination of aggregation operator and weight generation scheme play an important role in obtaining good classification accuracy. The main outcomes of the work are the six new generalized versions of previous method called differential evolution classifier. All these DE classifier demonstrated good results in the classification tasks.

Analytic evaluation of three-phase short circuit demagnetization and hysteresis loss risk in rotor-surface-magnet Permanent-Magnet Synchronous Machines

Permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSM) have become widely used in applications because of high efficiency compared to synchronous machines with exciting winding or to induction motors. This feature of PMSM is achieved through the using the permanent magnets (PM) as the main excitation source. The magnetic properties of the PM have significant influence on all the PMSM characteristics. Recent observations of the PM material properties when used in rotating machines revealed that in all PMSMs the magnets do not necessarily operate in the second quadrant of the demagnetization curve which makes the magnets prone to hysteresis losses. Moreover, still no good analytical approach has not been derived for the magnetic flux density distribution along the PM during the different short circuits faults. The main task of this thesis is to derive simple analytical tool which can predict magnetic flux density distribution along the rotor-surface mounted PM in two cases: during normal operating mode and in the worst moment of time from the PM’s point of view of the three phase symmetrical short circuit. The surface mounted PMSMs were selected because of their prevalence and relatively simple construction. The proposed model is based on the combination of two theories: the theory of the magnetic circuit and space vector theory. The comparison of the results in case of the normal operating mode obtained from finite element software with the results calculated with the proposed model shows good accuracy of model in the parts of the PM which are most of all prone to hysteresis losses. The comparison of the results for three phase symmetrical short circuit revealed significant inaccuracy of the proposed model compared with results from finite element software. The analysis of the inaccuracy reasons was provided. The impact on the model of the Carter factor theory and assumption that air have permeability of the PM were analyzed. The propositions for the further model development are presented.

Women with primary ovarian insufficiency have lower bone mineral density

The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of osteoporosis in a sample of 32 patients with spontaneous primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) in comparison to reference groups of 25 pre- and 55 postmenopausal women. Hip (lumbar) and spinal bone mineral density (BMD) measurements were performed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in the three groups. The median age of POI patients at the time of diagnosis was 35 years (interquartile range: 27-37 years). The mean ± SD age of postmenopausal reference women (52.16 ± 3.65 years) was higher than that of POI (46.28 ± 10.38 years) and premenopausal women (43.96 ± 7.08; P = 0.001) at the time of BMD measurement. Twenty-seven (84.4%) POI women were receiving hormone replacement therapy (HRT) at the time of the study. In the postmenopausal reference group, 30.4% were current users of HRT. Lumbar BMD was significantly lower in the POI group (1.050 ± 0.17 g/cm²) compared to the age-matched premenopausal reference group (1.136 ± 0.12 g/cm²; P = 0.040). Moreover, 22 (68.7%) POI women had low bone density (osteopenia/osteoporosis by World Health Organization criteria) versus 47.3% of the postmenopausal reference group (P = 0.042). In conclusion, the present data indicate that BMD is significantly lower in patients with POI than in age-matched premenopausal women. Also, the prevalence of osteopenia/osteoporosis is higher in POI women than in women after natural menopause. Early medical interventions are necessary to ensure that women with POI will maintain their bonemass.

Plasma levels and placental expression of vaspin in pregnant women with diabetes mellitus

The present study aimed to investigate visceral adipose tissue-specific serpin (vaspin) concentrations in serum and term placentas and relate these values to insulin resistance and lipid parameters in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). A total of 30 GDM subjects and 27 age-matched pregnant women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT, control) were included. Serum glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), lipid profile, insulin, and vaspin were measured at the end of pregnancy, and homeostasis model of assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) values were calculated. Vaspin mRNA and protein levels in placentas were measured by real-time fluorescence quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blotting, respectively. Serum vaspin levels were significantly lower in the GDM group than in controls (0.49±0.24 vs 0.83±0.27 ng/mL, respectively; P<0.01). Three days after delivery, serum vaspin levels were significantly decreased in subjects with GDM (0.36±0.13 vs0.49±0.24 ng/mL, P<0.01). However, in the GDM group, serum vaspin levels were not correlated with the parameters evaluated. In contrast, in the control group, serum vaspin levels were positively correlated with triglycerides (TG; r=0.45, P=0.02) and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C; r=0.42, P=0.03). Placental mRNA vaspin (0.60±0.32 vs0.68±0.32, P=0.46) and protein (0.30±0.08 vs0.39±0.26; P=0.33) levels in the GDM group did not differ significantly from those in the control group, but were negatively correlated with neonatal birth weight in the GDM group (r=-0.48, P=0.03; r=-0.88; P<0.01). Our findings indicated that vaspin may be an important adipokine involved in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism and may also play a role in fetal development.

Microencapsulation of babassu coconut milk

The objective of this study was to obtain babassu coconut milk powder microencapsulated by spray drying process using gum Arabic as wall material. Coconut milk was extracted by babassu peeling, grinding (with two parts of water), and vacuum filtration. The milk was pasteurized at 85 ºC for 15 minutes and homogenized to break up the fat globules, rendering the milk a uniform consistency. A central composite rotatable design with a range of independent variables was used: inlet air temperature in the dryer (170-220 ºC) and gum Arabic concentration (10-20%, w/w) on the responses: moisture content (0.52-2.39%), hygroscopicity (6.98-9.86 g adsorbed water/100g solids), water activity (0.14-0.58), lipid oxidation (0.012-0.064 meq peroxide/kg oil), and process yield (20.33-30.19%). All variables influenced significantly the responses evaluated. Microencapsulation was optimized for maximum process yield and minimal lipid oxidation. The coconut milk powder obtained at optimum conditions was characterized in terms of morphology, particle size distribution, bulk and absolute density, porosity, and wettability.