Searching for Lyme disease in Colombia: a preliminary study on the vector

Since ageing is accompanied by various alterations of the immune system, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of age on the expression of surface markers in peripheral blood monocytes. We studied 28 healthy young subjects and 28 elderly subjects fulfilling the criteria of the SENIEUR protocol. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated and the expression of various surface markers was analysed by double colour flow cytometry. The mean fluorescence intensity of the intercellular adhesion molecule- (CD54), CD29, CD45RO and CD32 was increased significantly in CD14+ cells of elderly people when compared with the young subjects. No significant differences were found in the expression of CD11a, CD11b, CD15, CD26, CD27, CD33, CD45RA, CD45RB, CD49d, HLA-DR and CD65. In summary, we demonstrated significant increase in four monocyte surface markers in subjects of old age; this finding may be related to certain immune phenomena observed in ageing subjects such as auto-immunity.     

Differential colocalization of estrogen receptor beta (ERbeta) with oxytocin and vasopressin in the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei of the female rat brain: an immunocytochemical study

Evidence exists for the localization of the newly identified estrogen receptor beta (ERbeta) within the rat paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and supraoptic nucleus (SON), regions which lack ERalpha. Presently, we investigate whether ERbeta-like-immunoreactivity (-ir) is found within cells of several major neuropeptide systems of these regions. Young adult Sprague-Dawley rats were ovariectomized (OVX), and 1 week later half of the animals received estradiol-17beta (E). Dual-label immunocytochemistry was performed on adjacent sections by using an ERbeta antibody, followed by an antibody to either oxytocin (OT), arginine-vasopressin (AVP), or corticotropin releasing hormone. Nuclear ERbeta-ir was identified within SON and retrochiasmatic SON, and in specific PVN subnuclei: medial parvicellular part, ventral and dorsal zones, dorsal and lateral parvicellular parts, and in the posterior magnocellular part, medial and lateral zones. However, the ERbeta-ir within magnocellular areas was noticeably less intense. OT-/ERbeta-ir colocalization was confirmed in neurons of the parvicellular subnuclei, in both OVX and OVX+E brains ( approximately 50% of OT and 25% of ERbeta-labeled cells between bregma -1.78 and -2.00). In contrast, few PVN parvicellular neurons contained both AVP- and ERbeta-ir. As well, very little overlap was observed in the distribution of cells containing corticotropin releasing hormone- or ERbeta-ir. In the SON, most nuclear ERbeta-ir colocalized with AVP-ir, whereas few OT-/ERbeta-ir dual-labeled cells were observed. These findings suggest that estrogen can directly modulate specific OT and AVP systems through an ERbeta-mediated mechanism, in a tissue-specific manner.     

The central pixel of the MAGIC telescope for optical observations

The MAGIC telescope has been designed for the observation of Cherenkov light generated in Extensive Air Showers initiated by cosmic particles. However, its 17 m diameter mirror and optical design makes the telescope suitable for direct optical observations as well. In this paper, we report about the development of a system based on the use of a dedicated photo-multiplier (PMT) for optical observations. This PMT is installed in the centre of the MAGIC camera (the so-called central pixel). An electro-to-optical system has been developed in order to transmit the PMT output signal by an optical fibre to the counting room, where it is digitized and stored for off-line analysis. The performance of the system using the optical pulsation of the Crab nebula as calibration source is presented. The time required for a 5σ detection of the Crab pulsar in the optical band is less than 20 s. The central pixel will be mainly used to perform simultaneous observations of the Crab pulsar both in the optical and γ-ray regimes. It will also allow for periodic testing of the precision of the MAGIC timing system using the Crab rotational optical pulses as a very precise timing reference.     

Cost-adaptive motion estimation strategy for high-performance video encoders

An adaptive cost block matching (ACBM) motion estimation technique is proposed to achieve a good compromise between the visual quality of decoded video sequences and the computational cost. Simulation results demonstrate that the ACBM algorithm is able to obtain a better rate-distortion performance that the one given by the full-search algorithm, with reductions of up to 90% in the computational cost.     

Determination of mass transport properties in food/packaging systems by local measurement with Raman microspectroscopy

A fast, nondestructive method based on the determination of local concentration profiles in the polymer thickness with Raman microspectroscopy is presented here. It was used to assess the diffusivity of a model molecule (p‐terphenyl) in amorphous polystyrene films at 95°C (2.38 ± 1.08 × 10^?17 m²/s). This methodology was validated by comparison with a more classical destructive approach based on the monitoring of the concentration evolution in the whole of the film with gas chromatography (89.4 × 10^?17 m²/s). These values were in agreement with data available in the literature for molecules of the same molecular weight and temperature range determined with local measurement and were significantly lower than those determined by global measurement. Raman microspectroscopy was found to be adapted to slow diffusion speeds typically found in high‐barrier polymers; this allowed diffusivity to be obtained long before the equilibrium was reached and, thus, without the need for the partition coefficient. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40958.     

SCF-ChemBio: Chemical Biology Tour de France

Chemical biology is a steadily growing field that has traditionally struggled to clearly define its boundaries in a short sentence. However, it can be stated that through the development of chemical and physicochemical tools, concepts and methods, chemical biology aims to address or stimulate biological questions at the molecular level in living organisms. Chemical biologists design and develop molecular tools that can probe or modulate biological processes, in order to understand their function, and sometimes to modify it for specific applications, but also to observe and analyze these tools in complex biological environments. Essentially positioned as a fundamental approach, chemical biology often remains very close to potential applications as it builds molecular objects capable of reacting to a significant biological stimulus. Chemical biology therefore finds natural development in fields such as health for the design of drugs and diagnostic systems or the environment for applications in crop science and ecology.     

Pulverisierung hochviskoser Flüssigkeiten

Different processes for pulverizing malt extract are compared in view of quality and hygroscopicity. Three different processes with and without carriers are verified and it is demonstrated that processes without carriers (spray‐drying) yield very hygroscopic powders. Processes with carriers, i.e., flour, using fluidised bed agglomeration are proved to be reasonable.     

THIN-LAYER DRYING BEHAVIOUR OF VEGETABLE WASTES FROM WHOLESALE MARKET

ABSTRACT

The thin-layer drying behaviour of vegetable wastes (as a mix of lettuce and cauliflower leaves) from wholesale market for a temperature range of 50-150^°C was determined. Drying of this material was found to take part only in the falling-rate period. The experimental data were fitted to the simple exponential model and the Page model. Both models have good prediction capability, Effective diffusion coefficient varied from 6.03*10^-9to 3.15*10^-8m3/s with an activation energy of diffusion of 19.82 kJ/mol. The temperature dependence of the effective diffusion coefficient was expressed by an Arrhenius-type relationship.     

Expanding and Reducing Complexity in Materials Science Models with Relevance in Catalysis and Energy

Over the past decades, the theoretical aspects of heterogeneous catalysis have grown in importance in this field with high industrial and societal implications. The present review is devoted to the increased complexity in the theoretical models employed in atomistic simulations. To this end, we describe the state-of-the-art studies of complex materials relevant for gas storage. After crystal complexity, the effect of the environment and impurities on the structural and chemical properties are presented. The third point discussed concerns the catalyst reactivity for the complex reaction networks. The analysis of reaction rates or selectivities directly comparable to experiments is shown in view of the information from individual reaction steps. Next, the origin of simplification rules is introduced. Finally, the challenges ahead of us are summarized showing possible future developments of theoretical simulations of materials with relevance in catalysis and energy conversion or storage.