A Flavanone and Two Phenolic Acids from Chrysanthemum morifolium with Phytotoxic and Insect Growth Regulating Activity

Leaves of Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. Ramat were extracted sequentially with hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol. The methanol fraction, when incorporated into artificial diet was found to reduce the growth of cabbage looper (Trichoplusia ni Hubner) larvae at concentrations between 500 and 5000 ppm of diet. Fractionation of the methanol extract on a Sephadex column yielded five fractions, three of which reduced the weight of larvae relative to the control. One fraction was analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and found to contain three main constituents. These compounds were purified using a combination of gel permeation chromatography on Sephadex LH20 and HPLC, and analyzed by 1H and 13CNMR as well as undergoing chemical and physical analyses. The compounds were identified as: 1, chlorogenic acid (5-O-caffeoylquinic acid); 2, 3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid; and 3, 3', 4',5-trihydroxyflavanone7-O-glucuronide (eriodictyol7-O-glucuronide). At concentrations between 100 to 1000 ppm these compounds reduced both growth and photosynthesis of Lemna gibba L. with the order of efficacy being: flavanone > chlorogenic acid > 3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid. Furthermore, when incorporated separately into artificial diet these compounds, at 10 to 1000 ppm, enhanced or reduced growth of the cabbage looper (Trichoplusia ni) and gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.).     

Two computational regimes of a single-compartment neuron separated by a planar boundary in conductance space

Recent in vitro data show that neurons respond to input variance with varying sensitivities. Here we demonstrate that Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) neurons can operate in two computational regimes: one that is more sensitive to input variance (differentiating) and one that is less sensitive (integrating). A boundary plane in the 3D conductance space separates these two regimes. For a reduced HH model, this plane can be derived analytically from the V nullcline, thus suggesting a means of relating biophysical parameters to neural computation by analyzing the neuron's dynamical system.     

Indoor robot gardening: design and implementation

This paper describes the architecture and implementation of a distributed autonomous gardening system with applications in urban/indoor precision agriculture. The garden is a mesh network of robots and plants. The gardening robots are mobile manipulators with an eye-in-hand camera. They are capable of locating plants in the garden, watering them, and locating and grasping fruit. The plants are potted cherry tomatoes enhanced with sensors and computation to monitor their well-being (e.g. soil humidity, state of fruits) and with networking to communicate servicing requests to the robots. By embedding sensing, computation, and communication into the pots, task allocation in the system is de-centrally coordinated, which makes the system scalable and robust against the failure of a centralized agent. We describe the architecture of this system and present experimental results for navigation, object recognition, and manipulation as well as challenges that lie ahead toward autonomous precision agriculture with multi-robot teams.     

A generalized Petri net modeling approach for the control of re-entrant flow semiconductor wafer fabrication

Re-entrant flow manufacturing lines, such as occur in semiconductor wafer fabrication, are characterized by a product routing that consists of multiple visits to a workstation or group of workstations during the manufacturing process. In this paper, a modeling approach is based on the use of generalized Petri nets for a re-entrant flow manufacturing line is presented. Specifically, three Petri net models representing a re-entrant flow line with three work centers and six machines are modeled. How these models may be used to represent a variety of queuing disciplines and work release policies is discussed.     

Evaluation of a power injection system in the 7‐Tesla MRI environment

The injection of contrast media enables the visualization of various pathologies through X‐ray, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or other medical imaging modalities. Safety and functionality of power injector systems must be evaluated at high magnetic fields (7‐Tesla). The purpose of this study was to evaluate MRI issues for a power injection system (OptiStar Elite MR Contrast Delivery System, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, Hazelwood, MO) at 7‐Tesla including magnetic field interaction and 31 injector performance tests. Additionally, effects of operation of the power injection system on MR images were evaluated through observation of image artifacts and signal to noise analysis. The components of the power injection system (powerhead, syringes) exhibited no translational attraction when close to 7‐Tesla MR system. Translational attraction was detected for the power supply, power control, and cables, therefore there is a requirement to maintain these components fixed outside of the 0.1000 Tesla line. 7‐Tesla MR scanning did not impact power injection performance. The power injection system produced no discernible image artifacts or degradation when the power controls and powerhead were positioned in the worst‐case position. The power injection system tested for MRI issues passed evaluation for safety and operation at 7‐Tesla and is labeled MR Conditional for use at 7‐T. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 25, 50–55, 2015     

Media as Educator,Media as Disruptor: Conceptualizing the Role of Social Context in Media Effects

We document how social contexts serve to refract media effects. We theorized the relationship between media use and individual‐level knowledge (and attitude) would be stronger when community‐level knowledge (and attitude) was low than when it was high. Data come from a national survey (N = 12,608 women and 1,237 men) conducted in Nepal. Knowledge and stigma toward people living with HIV were the 2 dependent variables. Hypotheses were tested 12 times: across the use of 3 media (newspaper, radio, television) × 2 study outcomes (knowledge and attitudes) × 2 genders. Predicted interactions were supported in 9 of the 12 tests. Findings point to the need to take into account the role of community factors in theorizing about media effects.     

An exact solution for surface temperature in down grinding

A model has previously been developed for heat transfer in down grinding. A numerical solution algorithm was used to solve the system of equations. In this paper, an exact solution is found for this set of equations. The effect of the location of heat generation (i.e., at wear flats or shear planes) is explored for three typical grinding conditions: conventional grinding with aluminum oxide abrasives, creep feed grinding with aluminum oxide abrasives, and conventional grinding with cubic boron nitride (CBN) abrasives. It is found that during grinding with CBN, there is a strong effect of the assumed location of heat generation.     

Affect-focused body psychotherapy in patients with generalized anxiety disorder: Evaluation of an integrative method.

The aim of this study was to explore the long-term effects of affect-focused body psychotherapy (ABP) for patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). A group of 61 consecutive patients, 21–55 years old, were randomized to ABP and psychiatric treatment as usual (TAU). The patients were assessed before treatment and followed up 1 and 2 years after inclusion. The ABP patients received one session of treatment per week during 1 year. Three self-report questionnaires were administered; Symptom Checklist—90, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the WHO (Ten) Well-Being Index. In both groups, there was a significant improvement. On termination, the ABP group had improved significantly more on the SCL-90 Global Symptom Index than the TAU group, whereas the differences were short of significance on the other two scales. The integration of bodily techniques with a focus on affects in a psychodynamically informed treatment seems to be a viable treatment alternative for patients with GAD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)