Sugarcane response to nitrogen rates, measured by a canopy reflectance sensor

Abstract:The objective of this work was to evaluate whether a canopy sensor is capable of estimating sugarcane response to N, as well as to propose strategies for handling the data generated by this device during the decision-making process for crop N fertilization. Four N rate-response experiments were carried out, with N rates varying from 0 to 240 kg ha-1. Two evaluations with the canopy sensor were performed when the plants reached average stalk height of 0.3 and 0.5 m. Only two experiments showed stalk yield response to N rates. The canopy sensor was able to identify the crop response to different N rates and the relationship of the nutrient with sugarcane yield. The response index values obtained from the canopy sensor readings were useful in assessing sugarcane response to the applied N rate. Canopy reflectance sensors can help to identify areas responsive to N fertilization and, therefore, improve sugarcane fertilizer management.

Vaccines safety; effect of supervision or SMS on reporting rates of adverse events following immunization (AEFI) with meningitis vaccine (MenAfriVac?): a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: To ensure vaccines safety, given the weaknesses of the national pharmacovigilance system in Cameroon, there is a need to identify effective interventions that can contribute to improving AEFI reporting. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of: (i) sending weekly SMS, or (ii) weekly supervisory visits on AEFI reporting rate during a meningitis immunization campaign conducted in Cameroon in 2012 using the meningitis A conjugate vaccine (MenAfriVac?). METHODS: Health facilities that met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to receive: (i) a weekly standardized SMS, (ii) a weekly standardized supervisory visits or (iii) no intervention. The primary outcome was the reported AEFI incidence rate from week 5 to 8 after the immunization campaign. Poisson regression model was used to estimate the effect of interventions after adjusting for health region, type of health facility, type and position of health workers as well as the cumulative number of AEFI reported from weeks 1 to 4. RESULTS: A total of 348 (77.2%) of 451 health facility were included, and 116 assigned to each of three groups. The incidence rate of reported AEFI per 100 health facility per week was 20.0 (15.9-24.1) in the SMS group, 40.2 (34.4-46.0) in supervision group and 13.6 (10.1-16.9) in the control group. Supervision led to a significant increase of AEFI reporting rate compared to SMS [adjusted RR=2.1 (1.6-2.7); p<0.001] and control [RR=2.8(2.1-3.7); p<0.001)] groups. The effect of SMS led to some increase in AEFI reporting rate compared to the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant [RR=1.4(0.8-1.6); p=0.07)]. CONCLUSION: Supervision was more effective than SMS or routine surveillance in improving AEFI reporting rate. It should be part of any AEFI surveillance system. SMS could be useful in improving AEFI reporting rates but strategies need to be found to improve its effectiveness, and thus maximize its benefits.

Deposition rates of sidestream tobacco smoke particles in an experimental chamber

The natural dissipation rates of sidestream smoke (SS) particles dispersed in a chamber were studied from the standpoint of a static atmosphere and were expressed as half-lives of residence in the air. The half-lives for particles less than 0.3 micron, 0.3-0.5 micron and 0.5-1 micron were found to be 25.5, 12.8 and 4.9 h, respectively. Total particulate matter (TPM) decreases by half after 6.2 h. Other data on diluted SS in the indoor air were also reported.

Abnormal social behaviors and altered gene expression rates in a mouse model for Potocki-Lupski syndrome.

The Potocki-Lupski syndrome (PTLS) is associated with a microduplication of 17p11.2. Clinical features include multiple congenital and neurobehavioral abnormalities and autistic features. We have generated a PTLS mouse model, Dp(11)17/+, that recapitulates some of the physical and neurobehavioral phenotypes present in patients. Here, we investigated the social behavior and gene expression pattern of this mouse model in a pure C57BL/6-Tyr(c-Brd) genetic background. Dp(11)17/+ male mice displayed normal home-cage behavior but increased anxiety and increased dominant behavior in specific tests. A subtle impairment in the preference for a social target versus an inanimate target and abnormal preference for social novelty (the preference to explore an unfamiliar mouse versus a familiar one) was also observed. Our results indicate that these animals could provide a valuable model to identify the specific gene(s) that confer abnormal social behaviors and that map within this delimited genomic deletion interval. In a first attempt to identify candidate genes and for elucidating the mechanisms of regulation of these important phenotypes, we directly assessed the relative transcription of genes within and around this genomic interval. In this mouse model, we found that candidates genes include not only most of the duplicated genes, but also normal-copy genes that flank the engineered interval; both categories of genes showed altered expression levels in the hippocampus of Dp(11)17/+ mice.

Early, low-level auditory-somatosensory multisensory interactions impact reaction time speed.

Several lines of research have documented early-latency non-linear response interactions between audition and touch in humans and non-human primates. That these effects have been obtained under anesthesia, passive stimulation, as well as speeded reaction time tasks would suggest that some multisensory effects are not directly influencing behavioral outcome. We investigated whether the initial non-linear neural response interactions have a direct bearing on the speed of reaction times. Electrical neuroimaging analyses were applied to event-related potentials in response to auditory, somatosensory, or simultaneous auditory-somatosensory multisensory stimulation that were in turn averaged according to trials leading to fast and slow reaction times (using a median split of individual subject data for each experimental condition). Responses to multisensory stimulus pairs were contrasted with each unisensory response as well as summed responses from the constituent unisensory conditions. Behavioral analyses indicated that neural response interactions were only implicated in the case of trials producing fast reaction times, as evidenced by facilitation in excess of probability summation. In agreement, supra-additive non-linear neural response interactions between multisensory and the sum of the constituent unisensory stimuli were evident over the 40-84 ms post-stimulus period only when reaction times were fast, whereas subsequent effects (86-128 ms) were observed independently of reaction time speed. Distributed source estimations further revealed that these earlier effects followed from supra-additive modulation of activity within posterior superior temporal cortices. These results indicate the behavioral relevance of early multisensory phenomena.

Comparing potentially avoidable hospitalization rates related to ambulatory care sensitive conditions in Switzerland: the need to refine the definition of health conditions and to adjust for population health status.

BACKGROUND: Regional rates of hospitalization for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) are used to compare the availability and quality of ambulatory care but the risk adjustment for population health status is often minimal. The objectives of the study was to examine the impact of more extensive risk adjustment on regional comparisons and to investigate the relationship between various area-level factors and the properly adjusted rates. METHODS: Our study is an observational study based on routine data of 2 million anonymous insured in 26 Swiss cantons followed over one or two years. A binomial negative regression was modeled with increasingly detailed information on health status (age and gender only, inpatient diagnoses, outpatient conditions inferred from dispensed drugs and frequency of physician visits). Hospitalizations for ACSC were identified from principal diagnoses detecting 19 conditions, with an updated list of ICD-10 diagnostic codes. Co-morbidities and surgical procedures were used as exclusion criteria to improve the specificity of the detection of potentially avoidable hospitalizations. The impact of the adjustment approaches was measured by changes in the standardized ratios calculated with and without other data besides age and gender. RESULTS: 25% of cases identified by inpatient main diagnoses were removed by applying exclusion criteria. Cantonal ACSC hospitalizations rates varied from to 1.4 to 8.9 per 1,000 insured, per year. Morbidity inferred from diagnoses and drugs dramatically increased the predictive performance, the greatest effect found for conditions linked to an ACSC. More visits were associated with fewer PAH although very high users were at greater risk and subjects who had not consulted at negligible risk. By maximizing health status adjustment, two thirds of the cantons changed their adjusted ratio by more than 10 percent. Cantonal variations remained substantial but unexplained by supply or demand. CONCLUSION: Additional adjustment for health status is required when using ACSC to monitor ambulatory care. Drug-inferred morbidities are a promising approach.

Adverse tissue reaction to corrosion at the neck-stem junction after modular primary total hip arthroplasty.

Complications related to the neck-stem junction of modular stems used for total hip arthroplasty (THA) are generating increasing concern. A 74-year-old male had increasing pain and a cutaneous reaction around the scar 1 year after THA with a modular neck-stem. Imaging revealed osteolysis of the calcar and a pseudo-tumour adjacent to the neck-stem junction. Serum cobalt levels were elevated. Revision surgery to exchange the stem and liner and to resect the pseudo-tumour was performed. Analysis of the stem by scanning electron microscopy and by energy dispersive X-ray and white light interferometry showed fretting corrosion at the neck-stem junction contrasting with minimal changes at the head-neck junction. Thus, despite dry assembly of the neck and stem on the back table at primary THA, full neck-stem contact was not achieved, and the resulting micromotion at the interface led to fretting corrosion. This case highlights the mechanism of fretting corrosion at the neck-stem interface responsible for adverse local tissue reactions. Clinical and radiological follow-up is mandatory in patients with dual-modular stems.

Syttyminen ja palamisen eteneminen partikkelikerroksessa

Syttymistä ja palamisen etenemistä partikkelikerroksessa tutkitaan paloturvallisuuden parantamista sekä kiinteitä polttoaineita käyttävien polttolaitteiden toiminnan tuntemista ja kehittämistä varten. Tässä tutkimuksessa on tavoitteena kerätä yhteen syttymiseen ja liekkirintaman etenemiseen liittyviä kokeellisia ja teoreettisia tutkimustuloksia, jotka auttavat kiinteäkerrospoltto- ja -kaasutus-laitteiden kehittämisessä ja suunnittelussa. Työ on esitutkimus sitä seuraavalle kokeelliselle ja teoreettiselle osalle. Käsittelyssä keskitytään erityisesti puuperäisiin polttoaineisiin. Hiilidioksidipäästöjen vähentämistavoitteet sekä kiinteiden jätteiden energiakäytön lisääminen ja kaatopaikalle viennin vähentäminen aiheuttavat lähitulevaisuudessa kerrospolton lisääntymistä. Kuljetusmatkojen optimoinnin takia joudutaan rakentamaan melko pieniä polttolaitoksia, joissa kerrospolttotekniikka on edullisin vaihtoehto. Syttymispisteellä tarkoitetaan Semenovin määritelmän mukaan tilaa ja ajankohtaa, jolloin polttoaineen ja hapen reaktioissa muodostuva nettoenergia aikayksikössä on yhtäsuuri kuin ympäristöön siirtyvä nettoenergiavirta. Itsesyttyminen tarkoittaa syttymistä ympäristön lämpötilan tai paineen suurenemisen seurauksena. Pakotettu syttyminen tapahtuu, kun syttymispisteen läheisyydessä on esimerkiksi liekki tai hehkuva kiinteä kappale, joka aiheuttaa paikallisen syttymisen ja syttymisrintaman leviämisen muualle polttoaineeseen. Kokeellinen tutkimus on osoittanut tärkeimmiksi syttymiseen ja syttymisrintaman etenemiseen vaikuttaviksi tekijöiksi polttoaineen kosteuden, haihtuvien aineiden pitoisuuden ja lämpöarvon, partikkelikerroksen huokoisuuden, partikkelien koon ja muodon, polttoaineen pinnalle tulevan säteilylämpövirran tiheyden, kaasun virtausnopeuden kerroksessa, hapen osuuden ympäristössä sekä palamisilman esilämmityksen. Kosteuden lisääntyminen suurentaa syttymisenergiaa ja -lämpötilaa sekä pidentää syttymisaikaa. Mitä enemmän polttoaine sisältää haihtuvia aineita sitä pienemmässä lämpötilassa se syttyy. Syttyminen ja syttymisrintaman eteneminen ovat sitä nopeampia mitä suurempi on polttoaineen lämpöarvo. Kerroksen huokoisuuden kasvun on havaittu suurentavan palamisen etenemisnopeutta. Pienet partikkelit syttyvät yleensä nopeammin ja pienemmässä lämpötilassa kuin suuret. Syttymisrintaman eteneminen nopeutuu partikkelien pinta-ala - tilavuussuhteen kasvaessa. Säteilylämpövirran tiheys on useissa polttosovellutuksissa merkittävin lämmönsiirtotekijä, jonka kasvu luonnollisesti nopeuttaa syttymistä. Ilman ja palamiskaasujen virtausnopeus kerroksessa vaikuttaa konvektiiviseen lämmönsiirtoon ja hapen pitoisuuteen syttymisvyöhykkeellä. Ilmavirtaus voi jäähdyttää ja kuumankaasun virtaus lämmittää kerrosta. Hapen osuuden kasvaminen nopeuttaa syttymistä ja liekkirintaman etenemistä kunnes saavutetaan tila, jota suuremmilla virtauksilla ilma jäähdyttää ja laimentaa reaktiovyöhykettä. Palamisilman esilämmitys nopeuttaa syttymisrintaman etenemistä. Syttymistä ja liekkirintaman etenemistä kuvataan yleensä empiirisillä tai säilyvyysyhtälöihin perustuvilla malleilla. Empiiriset mallit perustuvat mittaustuloksista tehtyihin korrelaatioihin sekä joihinkin tunnettuihin fysikaalisiin lainalaisuuksiin. Säilyvyysyhtälöihin perustuvissa malleissa systeemille määritetään massan, energian, liikemäärän ja alkuaineiden säilymisyhtälöt, joiden nopeutta kuvaavien siirtoyhtälöiden muodostamiseen käytetään teoreettisella ja kokeellisella tutkimuksella saatuja yhtälöitä. Nämä mallinnusluokat ovat osittain päällekkäisiä. Pintojen syttymistä kuvataan usein säilyvyysyhtälöihin perustuvilla malleilla. Partikkelikerrosten mallinnuksessa tukeudutaan enimmäkseen empiirisiin yhtälöihin. Partikkelikerroksia kuvaavista malleista Xien ja Liangin hiilipartikkelikerroksen syttymiseen liittyvä tutkimus ja Gortin puun ja jätteen polttoon liittyvä reaktiorintaman etenemistutkimus ovat lähimpänä säilyvyysyhtälöihin perustuvaa mallintamista. Kaikissa malleissa joudutaan kuitenkin yksinkertaistamaan todellista tapausta esimerkiksi vähentämällä dimensioita, reaktioita ja yhdisteitä sekä eliminoimalla vähemmän merkittävät siirtomekanismit. Suoraan kerrospolttoa ja -kaasutusta palvelevia syttymisen ja palamisen etenemisen tutkimuksia on vähän. Muita tarkoituksia varten tehtyjen tutkimusten polttoaineet, kerrokset ja ympäristöolosuhteet poikkeavat yleensä selvästi polttolaitteiden vastaavista olosuhteista. Erikokoisten polttoainepartikkelien ja ominaisuuksiltaan erilaisten polttoaineiden seospolttoa ei ole tutkittu juuri ollenkaan. Polttoainepartikkelien muodon vaikutuksesta on vain vähän tutkimusta.Ilman kanavoitumisen vaikutuksista ei löytynyt tutkimuksia.

Three essays on the determinants of output, inflation and interest rates

Résumé: Output, inflation and interest rates are key macroeconomic variables, in particular for monetary policy. In modern macroeconomic models they are driven by random shocks which feed through the economy in various ways. Models differ in the nature of shocks and their transmission mechanisms. This is the common theme underlying the three essays of this thesis. Each essay takes a different perspective on the subject: First, the thesis shows empirically how different shocks lead to different behavior of interest rates over the business cycle. For commonly analyzed shocks (technology and monetary policy errors), the patterns square with standard models. The big unknown are sources of inflation persistence. Then the thesis presents a theory of monetary policy, when the central bank can better observe structural shocks than the public. The public will then seek to infer the bank's extra knowledge from its policy actions and expectation management becomes a key factor of optimal policy. In a simple New Keynesian model, monetary policy becomes more concerned with inflation persistence than otherwise. Finally, the thesis points to the huge uncertainties involved in estimating the responses to structural shocks with permanent effects.

Particle transport method for convection-diffusion-reaction problems

Convective transport, both pure and combined with diffusion and reaction, can be observed in a wide range of physical and industrial applications, such as heat and mass transfer, crystal growth or biomechanics. The numerical approximation of this class of problemscan present substantial difficulties clue to regions of high gradients (steep fronts) of the solution, where generation of spurious oscillations or smearing should be precluded. This work is devoted to the development of an efficient numerical technique to deal with pure linear convection and convection-dominated problems in the frame-work of convection-diffusion-reaction systems. The particle transport method, developed in this study, is based on using rneshless numerical particles which carry out the solution along the characteristics defining the convective transport. The resolution of steep fronts of the solution is controlled by a special spacial adaptivity procedure. The serni-Lagrangian particle transport method uses an Eulerian fixed grid to represent the solution. In the case of convection-diffusion-reaction problems, the method is combined with diffusion and reaction solvers within an operator splitting approach. To transfer the solution from the particle set onto the grid, a fast monotone projection technique is designed. Our numerical results confirm that the method has a spacial accuracy of the second order and can be faster than typical grid-based methods of the same order; for pure linear convection problems the method demonstrates optimal linear complexity. The method works on structured and unstructured meshes, demonstrating a high-resolution property in the regions of steep fronts of the solution. Moreover, the particle transport method can be successfully used for the numerical simulation of the real-life problems in, for example, chemical engineering.

Wet Oxidation of Concentrated Wastewaters: Process Combination and Reaction Kinetic Modeling

The accumulation of aqueous pollutants is becoming a global problem. The search for suitable methods and/or combinations of water treatment processes is a task that can slow down and stop the process of water pollution. In this work, the method of wet oxidation was considered as an appropriate technique for the elimination of the impurities present in paper mill process waters. It has been shown that, when combined with traditional wastewater treatment processes, wet oxidation offers many advantages. The combination of coagulation and wet oxidation offers a new opportunity for the improvement of the quality of wastewater designated for discharge or recycling. First of all, the utilization of coagulated sludge via wet oxidation provides a conditioning process for the sludge, i.e. dewatering, which is rather difficult to carry out with untreated waste. Secondly, Fe2(SO4)3, which is employed earlier as a coagulant, transforms the conventional wet oxidation process into a catalytic one. The use of coagulation as the post-treatment for wet oxidation can offer the possibility of the brown hue that usually accompanies the partial oxidation to be reduced. As a result, the supernatant is less colored and also contains a rather low amount of Fe ions to beconsidered for recycling inside mills. The thickened part that consists of metal ions is then recycled back to the wet oxidation system. It was also observed that wet oxidation is favorable for the degradation of pitch substances (LWEs) and lignin that are present in the process waters of paper mills. Rather low operating temperatures are needed for wet oxidation in order to destruct LWEs. The oxidation in the alkaline media provides not only the faster elimination of pitch and lignin but also significantly improves the biodegradable characteristics of wastewater that contains lignin and pitch substances. During the course of the kinetic studies, a model, which can predict the enhancements of the biodegradability of wastewater, was elaborated. The model includes lumped concentrations suchas the chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen demand and reflects a generalized reaction network of oxidative transformations. Later developments incorporated a new lump, the immediately available biochemical oxygen demand, which increased the fidelity of the predictions made by the model. Since changes in biodegradability occur simultaneously with the destruction of LWEs, an attempt was made to combine these two facts for modeling purposes.

The biological basis of the aging process

El procés biològic bàsic subjacent de l’envelliment va ésser avançat per la teoria de l’envelliment basada en els radicals lliures l’any 1954: la reacció dels radicals lliures actius, produïts fisiològicament en l’organisme, amb els constituents cel·lulars inicia els canvis associats a l’envelliment. La implicació dels radicals lliures en l’envelliment està relacionada amb el seu paper clau en l’origen i l’evolució de la vida. La informació disponible avui en dia ens mostra que la composició específica de les macromolècules cel·lulars (proteïnes, àcids nucleics, lípids i carbohidrats) en les espècies animals longeves tenen intrínsicament una resistència elevada a la modificació oxidativa, la qual cosa probablement contribueix a la longevitat superior d’aquestes espècies. Les espècies longeves també mostren unes taxes reduïdes de producció de radicals lliures i de lesió oxidativa. D’altra banda, la restricció dietària disminueix la producció de radicals lliures i la lesió molecular oxidativa. Aquests canvis estan directament associats a la reducció de la ingesta de proteïnes dels animals sotmesos a restricció, que alhora sembla que són deguts específicament a la reducció de la ingesta de metionina. En aquesta revisió s’emfatitza que una taxa baixa de generació de lesió endògena i una resistència intrínsecament elevada a la modificació de les macromolècules cel·lulars són trets clau de la longevitat de les espècies animals.

Heat shock response in yeast involves changes in both transcription rates and mRNA stabilities

We have analyzed the heat stress response in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae by determining mRNA levels and transcription rates for the whole transcriptome after a shift from 25uC to 37uC. Using an established mathematical algorithm, theoretical mRNA decay rates have also been calculated from the experimental data. We have verified the mathematical predictions for selected genes by determining their mRNA decay rates at different times during heat stress response using the regulatable tetO promoter. This study indicates that the yeast response to heat shock is not only due to changes in transcription rates, but also to changes in the mRNA stabilities. mRNA stability is affected in 62% of the yeast genes and it is particularly important in shaping the mRNA profile of the genes belonging to the environmental stress response. In most cases, changes in transcription rates and mRNA stabilities are homodirectional for both parameters, although some interesting cases of antagonist behavior are found. The statistical analysis of gene targets and sequence motifs within the clusters of genes with similar behaviors shows that both transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulons apparently contribute to the general heat stress response by means of transcriptional factors and RNA binding proteins.