La guerra de los Estados Unidos contra la inmigración. Efectos paradójicos1

PubMed Central

Massey, Douglas S.; Pren, Karen A.

2016-01-01

Resumen A finales de la década de los cincuenta, Estados Unidos permitía la entrada de aproximadamente medio millón de inmigrantes mexicanos al año, de los cuales 450.000 entraban con visados de trabajo temporal y 50.000 llegaban con visados de residentes permanentes. A mediados de los años sesenta, los cambios en la política migratoria de Estados Unidos realizados en nombre de los derechos civiles redujeron drásticamente las oportunidades de entrada legal a Estados Unidos. Se eliminaron los visados de trabajo temporal y se limitaron los visados de residentes a 20.000 por año. Con las oportunidades de entrada legal restringidas, los flujos migratorios ya establecidos simplemente continuaron, fuera de los límites legales, dando comienzo a una inesperada reacción en cadena de eventos que culminaron en una guerra total contra los inmigrantes y el rápido crecimiento -sin precedentes- de población residente no autorizada en Estados Unidos. El presente artículo demuestra que el aumento de inmigración indocumentada en los Estados Unidos y el crecimiento de la población sin papeles son un producto de políticas migratorias y fronterizas mal concebidas. PMID:27076695

Poblaciones de los niveles atómicos en condiciones de no equilibrio

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cruzado, A.

El objetivo de este trabajo es encontrar la distribución de los átomos en los diferentes niveles de energía. Con el propósito de encontrar resultados generales y de amplia aplicación, hemos planteado las ecuaciones de equilibrio estadístico como función del número atómico del elemento a considerar y de las condiciones físicas del medio (temperatura y densidad). Así también se ha intentado tener en cuenta todos los niveles atómicos considerando explícitamente aquellos con un número cuántico principal menor que un cierto valor n y calculando una expresión aproximada para estimar la influencia de los demás.

Acceptability of an Embodied Conversational Agent-based Computer Application for Hispanic Women

PubMed Central

Wells, Kristen J.; Vázquez-Otero, Coralia; Bredice, Marissa; Meade, Cathy D.; Chaet, Alexis; Rivera, Maria I.; Arroyo, Gloria; Proctor, Sara K.; Barnes, Laura E.

2015-01-01

There are few Spanish language interactive, technology-driven health education programs. Objectives of this feasibility study were to: 1) learn more about computer and technology usage among Hispanic women living in a rural community; and 2) evaluate acceptability of the concept of using an embodied conversational agent (ECA) computer application among this population. A survey about computer usage history and interest in computers was administered to a convenience sample of 26 women. A sample video prototype of a hospital discharge ECA was administered followed by questions to gauge opinion about the ECA. Data indicate women exhibited both a high level of computer experience and enthusiasm for the ECA. Feedback from community is essential to ensure equity in state of the art dissemination of health information. Hay algunos programas interactivos en español que usan la tecnología para educar sobre la salud. Los objetivos de este estudio fueron: 1) aprender más sobre el uso de computadoras y tecnología entre mujeres Hispanas que viven en comunidades rurales y 2) evaluar la aceptabilidad del concepto de usar un programa de computadora utilizando un agente de conversación encarnado (ECA) en esta población. Se administro una encuesta sobre el historial de uso y del interés de aprender sobre computadoras fue a 26 mujeres por muestreo de conveniencia. Un ejemplo del prototipo ECA en forma de video de un alta hospitalaria fue administrado y fue seguido por preguntas sobre la opinión que tenían del ECA. Los datos indican que las mujeres mostraron un alto nivel de experiencia con las computadoras y un alto nivel de entusiasmo sobre el ECA. La retroalimentación de la comunidad es esencial para asegurar equidad en la diseminación de información sobre la salud con tecnología de punta. PMID:26671558

La utilizacion de los mapas conceptuales en la ensenanza de biologia y su efecto sobre el dominio del proceso de fotosintesis en los estudiantes universitarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzalez Rivera, Maria M.

Se investigo el efecto de los mapas conceptuales sobre el dominio del proceso de fotosintesis en estudiantes universitarios. La investigacion utilizo dos estrategias: mapas conceptuales individuales y mapas conceptuales colaborativos, con el fin de investigar si existen diferencias significativas en el dominio del proceso de fotosintesis. El analisis de los datos incluyo aspectos cualitativos y cuantitativos. Se desprende del estudio que el 80% de los estudiantes describen la utilizacion de los mapas conceptuales como una experiencia beneficiosa. El 70% de los estudiantes expreso que los mapas conceptuales son utiles en el aprendizaje del proceso de fotosintesis y el 61% indico que facilitan la comprension de los conceptos. Los hallazgos mas importantes del analisis cuantitativo indican que los estudiantes que utilizaron los mapas conceptuales mejoraron significativamente su desempeno en la posprueba global. Se utilizo la prueba Mann-Whitney para investigar si existian diferencias significativas en la posprueba y preprueba global, el valor de W = 1945.0, para un valor p de 0.00, lo cual establece diferencias significativas. Para determinar si existian diferencias significativas entre la posprueba y preprueba del grupo individual, se realizo la prueba nuevamente. El valor de W correspondio a 490.5, que es significativo, con un valor p de 0.00. Se concluye que existen diferencias significativas entre la ejecucion de la posprueba y preprueba del grupo individual. Los datos proveen suficiente evidencia para sostener que los estudiantes que utilizaron la estrategia de mapas conceptuales individuales mejoraron el dominio del proceso de fotosintesis significativamente. Se realizo nuevamente la prueba para los resultados de posprueba y preprueba del grupo colaborativo. El valor de W correspondio a 446 con un valor p de 0.00. Se concluyo que existen diferencias significativas entre la ejecucion de la posprueba y preprueba del grupo colaborativo. Finalmente, se efectuo una

Apoyo a Estudios Geodinamicos con GPS en Guatemala

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robles, V. R.

2013-05-01

El Instituto Geografico Nacional de Guatemala implemento 17 estaciones GNSS en el año 2009, como un proyecto de credito mixto de donacion de equipamiento del Gobierno de Suiza, el cual, este equipamiento de estaciones CORS GNSS es un sistema de recepción y transmisión de datos crudos GPS RInex que utiliza la tecnologia Spider Web de Leica, asi mismo este sistema esta sirviendo para el espablecimiento de un marco geodesico nacional de coordenadas geodesicas oficiales, el cual se calculan u obtienen las velocidades en tiempos temporales programados de las 17 Estaciones CORS. La infraestructura del marco geodesico de Guatemala esta sirviendo de base para las aplicaciones de estudios geodinamicos como el monitoreo de del desplazamiento de las placas tectonicas por medio de un estudio que se inicio en el año de 1999, llamado medicion con GPS el sistema de Fallas de los rios Polochic Motagua de Guatemala, tambien para un estudio que se implemento para deformación de corteza terrestre local en un Volcan Activo de Guatemala llamado Pacaya. Para el estudio de medicion con GPS en el sistema de falla de los Rios del polochic Motagua se implementaron 16 puntos para medir con GPS de dos frecuencias en el año de 1999, el cual, tres puntos son estaciones geodesicas CORS IGS llamados GUAT, ELEN y HUEH, despues en el año de 2003 se hizo otra medicion en un total de 20 puntos, que permitió calcular las velocidades de desplazamieinto de los puntos en mención, usando como referencia el modelo NUVEL 1A de DeMets de la placa de Norteamerica. Este estudio fue en cooperación internacional por la universidad de Nice de Francia y el IGNde Francia. Para el estudio del monitoreo con GPS del volcan activo de Guatemala, se implementaron cuatro puntos al rededor del volcan, el cual, se realizan cuatro mediciones al año, que permiten determinar axialmente la distancias entre los puntos, y rebisar estadisticamente cual es el comportamiento de las distancias en funcion del tiempo, si

Estudio de la fotoabsorción y fotoionización de la molécula de alta relevancia atmosférica no a través de los estados Rydberg con la metodología MQDO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bustos, E.; Velasco, A. M.; Martín, I.; Lavín, C.

Los procesos de fotoionización son de una importancia fundamental [1] y encuentran aplicación en un gran número de contextos científicos: Astrofísica [2], química de las radiaciones, biología. Los investigadores de dichos campos, necesitan de valores de fiables de secciones eficaces para la fotoionización parcial, la Fotoabsorción, así como para los procesos de fotofragmentación en amplios intervalos espectrales, particularmente en estudios de modelización [3-5]. En este trabajo se ha centrado la atención sobre el oxido nítrico, que se ha considerado apropiado y relevante por varios motivos: por el trascendental papel que representa en la física y química de la alta atmosfera [6], aparte de por estar íntimamente relacionado con los problemas de contaminación. Los procesos de recombinación disociativa [7] del NO, donde los estados Rydberg se encuentran directamente implicados, son relevantes, por ejemplo, en las regiones E y F de la ionosfera [7]. En este trabajo se estudia la fotoionización del NO desde el estado fundamental con la versión molecular del método del orbital de defecto cuántico (MQDO). Para ello se calcula el diferencial de las fuerzas de oscilador parciales que constituyen los canales de fotoionización del NO desde el estado fundamental. La continuidad del diferencial de fuerza de oscilador calculada a través del umbral de fotoionización, esto es, en las regiones del espectro discreta y del continua, se adopta como criterio de calidad la escasez de datos comparativos [8].

Información básica sobre los arrecifes de coral

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Los corales están en todos los océanos del mundo, tanto en las aguas superficiales como en las profundas. Tienen una relación simbiótica con las algas, necesitan aguas transparentes, superficiales, que

La mortalidad en adolescentes con cáncer: características clinicoepidemiológicas de muerte y aspectos éticos emergentes.

PubMed

Cicero-Oneto, Carlo Egysto; Mata-Valderrama, Guadalupe; Valdez-Martínez, Edith

Describir los aspectos epidemiológicos, clínicos y éticos de la mortalidad de los adolescentes con cáncer en -México. Se revisaron 63 expedientes clínicos de adolescentes (de 14 a 18 años de edad) con cáncer, fallecidos entre 2011 y 2014, para obtener información clínica y epidemiológica de su muerte. Los sitios de estudio fueron tres hospitales de concentración en la Ciudad de México. De los 40 adolescentes con criterios de fase terminal, 16 (40%) continuaron recibiendo tratamiento con fines curativos. De los 51 cuyo lugar de muerte era conocido, 45 (88%) murieron en hospital. De los 41 que murieron dentro de los 30 días de su última hospitalización, las muertes fueron principalmente debidas a complicaciones (51%), a progresión de la enfermedad (41%) o bien fueron muertes en tratamiento paliativo (7%, 3/41). La práctica oncológica descansa en lo que es conocido como modelo biomédico. Los resultados del estudio sugieren y apoyan la urgente necesidad de implementar verdaderos servicios de cuidados paliativos, pero más importante que eso, está el ímpetu de poner la ética de la práctica clínica en acción, y de ese modo reforzar la buena práctica de la medicina. Copyright: © 2018 SecretarÍa de Salud

Los manuales de quimica en Espana (1788--1845): Protagonistas, terminologia, clasificaciones y orden pedagogico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munoz Bello, Maria Rosa

La presente tesis doctoral es una investigacion sobre los manuales de quimica utilizados en Espana de 1788 a 1845. Este trabajo proporciona una perspectiva general de un tema relevante en las ultimas decadas en Historia de la Ciencia, el estudio de los libros de texto. De acuerdo con las ultimas investigaciones realizadas en este terreno, el acto pedagogico es considerado como un proceso creativo, como espacio de encuentro de actores e intereses muy diversos, matizando las ideas defendidas por Thomas S. Kuhn. Recordemos que segun Kuhn, los libros de texto ofrecen una vision consensuada y normalizada del estado de la ciencia de su epoca, por lo que sus autores eliminan deliberadamente toda controversia y presentan asi una imagen distorsionada de la actividad cientifica. En cambio, se ha mostrado, por ejemplo, que en la ensenanza participan no solamente profesores y alumnos sino tambien otros muchos actores y todos ellos no unicamente con intereses puramente pedagogicos sino tambien con diversos intereses politicos y economicos que pueden conocerse a traves del estudio de los manuales. En esta tesis se pretende analizar los manuales de quimica en Espana desde 1788 hasta 1845. Para poder llevar a cabo la investigacion ha sido necesario precisar el objeto de estudio (libro de texto de quimica) durante el periodo estudiado (1788-1845) ya que no es adecuado adoptar la imagen actual de una disciplina que sufrio sustanciales cambios durante la epoca estudiada. Esta investigacion se centra en un momento especialmente importante para la quimica y que algunos historiadores han llegado a considerar "revolucionario". Durante estos anos se produjo un cambio importante en las teorias quimicas sobre la combustion y el concepto de elemento, asi como una reforma terminologica que originaron la aparicion de importantes controversias. Ademas, debido a la relacion de la quimica con otras disciplinas como la historia natural o la fisica ha sido necesario restringir el objeto de estudio

El problema de estabilidad de los sistemas Hamiltonianos multidimensionales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cincotta, P. M.

Se revisarán los aspectos básicos del problema de estabilidad de sistemans Hamiltonianos N-dimensionales, haciendo especial énfasis en los posibles mecanismos que dan lugar a la aparición de ``caos": overlap de resonancias, difusión de Arnol'd y otros procesos difusivos alternativos. Se mencionarán los aspectos aún no resueltos sobre la estabilidad de los sistemas con N > 2. Finalmente, se discutirá cuáles de estos mecanismos podrían tener alguna relevancia en la dinámica de sistemas estelares y planetarios.

Encefalitis por anticuerpos contra el receptor de NMDA: experiencia con seis pacientes pediátricos. Potencial eficacia del metotrexato

PubMed Central

Bravo-Oro, Antonio; Abud-Mendoza, Carlos; Quezada-Corona, Arturo; Dalmau, Josep; Campos-Guevara, Verónica

2016-01-01

Introducción La encefalitis por anticuerpos contra el receptor de N-metil-D-aspartato (NMDA) es una entidad cada vez más diagnosticada en edad pediátrica. A diferencia de los adultos, en muchos casos no se asocia a tumores y las manifestaciones iniciales en niños más frecuentes son crisis convulsivas y trastornos del movimiento, mientras que en los adultos predominan las alteraciones psiquiátricas. Casos clínicos Presentamos seis casos pediátricos confirmados con anticuerpos contra la subunidad NR1 del receptor de NMDA en suero y líquido cefalorraquídeo. Cinco de los casos comenzaron con crisis convulsivas como manifestación clínica inicial antes de desarrollar el cuadro clásico de esta entidad. En todos los casos se utilizaron esteroides como primera línea de tratamiento, con los que sólo se observó control de las manifestaciones en uno, por lo que el resto de los pacientes requirió inmunomoduladores de segunda línea. Todos los pacientes recibieron metotrexato como tratamiento inmunomodulador para evitar recaídas y la evolución fue a la mejoría en todos ellos. Conclusiones En nuestra serie de pacientes con encefalitis por anticuerpos contra el receptor de NMDA, ninguno se asoció a tumores. Todos los casos recibieron metotrexato por lo menos durante un año, no observamos eventos adversos clínicos ni por laboratorio, ni hubo secuelas neurológicas ni recaídas durante el tratamiento. Aunque es una serie pequeña y es deseable incrementar el número y tiempo de evolución, consideramos el metotrexato una excelente alternativa como tratamiento inmunomodulador para esta patología. PMID:24150952

Propiedades biomecánicas de la membrana limitante interna tras recibir tratamiento intravítreo con ocriplasmina.

PubMed

Vielmuth, Franziska; Schumann, Ricarda G; Spindler, Volker; Wolf, Armin; Scheler, Renate; Mayer, Wolfgang J; Henrich, Paul B; Haritoglou, Christos

2017-01-01

Objetivo: Evaluar la rigidez de la membrana limitante interna (MLI) humana y evaluar los posibles cambios de las propiedades mecánicas tras administrar una inyección intravítrea de ocriplasmina para tratar la tracción vitreomacular. Métodos: Este estudio se compone de una serie de casos intervencionales y comparativos de 12 muestras de MLI extraídas mediante cirugía y obtenidas de forma consecutiva de 9 ojos de 9 pacientes después de someterse sin éxito a vitreólisis farmacológica con ocriplasmina. Durante el mismo periodo de tiempo, 16 muestras de otros 13 ojos sin tratamiento con ocriplasmina se obtuvieron mediante vitrectomía y sirvieron como controles. Todos los pacientes presentaron agujeros maculares o tracción vitreomacular y se sometieron a vitrectomía con disección de la MLI tanto con tinción con azul brillante (AB) como sin ella. Todas las muestras se analizaron con un microscopio de fuerza atómica con imágenes de las regiones de 25 × 25 μm. En todas las muestras, se analizaron tanto la parte de la retina como la del vítreo de la MLI. Resultados: La microscopia de fuerza atómica no reveló diferencias significativas en cuanto a elasticidad de las muestras de MLI extraídas de ojos con o sin tratamiento con ocriplasmina. Las áreas onduladas de la parte de la retina presentaron una mayor rigidez que la parte del vítreo de la MLI. La cartografía topográfica tanto de la parte del vítreo como de la retina de la MLI no mostró ninguna alteración aparente de la morfología en ojos tratados con ocriplasmina en comparación con los ojos no tratados. La tinción con azul brillante conllevó un aumento de la rigidez tisular. Conclusiones: Las inyecciones intravítreas de ocriplasmina no varían las propiedades biomecánicas de la MLI humana. No existen pruebas de un posible efecto enzimático que interfiera con la rigidez de esta membrana basal. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Genes del receptor variable beta de células T en células circulantes de pacientes con lupus eritematoso generalizado y sus familiares sanos.

PubMed

Jakez-Ocampo, Juan; Paulín-Vera, Carmen María; Rivadeneyra-Espinoza, Liliana; Gómez-Martín, Diana; Carrillo-Maravilla, Eduardo; Lima, Guadalupe; Vargas-Rojas, María Inés; Pérez-Romano, Beatriz; Calva-Cevenini, Gabriella; García-Carrasco, Mario; Ruiz-Argüelles, Alejandro; Llorente, Luis

Se investigó la proporción de la expresión génica del receptor variable beta de células T (Vβ TCR) en linfocitos periféricos CD3+ en pacientes con lupus eritematoso generalizado (LEG) familiar y no familiar. El repertorio de Vβ TCR se estudió en 14 familias que presentaban más de un miembro con LEG. El uso de Vβ TCR en pacientes con LEG (n = 27) se comparó con el de los miembros sanos de estas familias (n = 47), con 37 pacientes con LEG esporádico y con 15 controles sanos. La expresión del repertorio de Vβ TCR se estudió por citometría de flujo multiparamétrica utilizando un arreglo de 24 diferentes anticuerpos monoclonales específicos de genes familiares para Vβ TCR. Se encontró el mismo perfil de expresión en las comparaciones entre los casos de LEG esporádico y familiar, así como en los consanguíneos sanos de las familias multicasos, que incluía una expresión incrementada de Vβ 5.2, Vβ 11 y Vβ 16, y una menor expresión de Vβ 3, Vβ4, Vβ 7.1 y Vβ 7. De manera interesante, solo Vβ 17 se expresó de modo diferente entre casos familiares y esporádicos de LEG. Igualmente, la expresión incrementada de Vβ 9 fue el distintivo entre los casos de LEG familiar (casos y consanguíneos sanos) y los controles sanos. Estos resultados refuerzan la noción de que el perfil final del repertorio Vβ TCR observado en LEG familiar y no familiar parece surgir de la interacción de factores genéticos, ambientales e inmunorreguladores, además de que pueden explicar las alteraciones inmunitarias que se observan en los consanguíneos sanos de pacientes con LEG. Copyright: © 2018 SecretarÍa de Salud

Capital social de los padres de escolares de una zona vulnerable.

PubMed

Cornejo, Susana; Herrera, Ariel; Hilas, Elena; Gigena, Y Pablo

2018-01-01

El capital social supone importantes inversiones materiales, simbólicas y de esfuerzos. Conocer el capital social de una comunidad puede facilitar la comprensión del beneficio de las relaciones comunitarias para la promoción de salud. Con el objetivo de reconocer los componentes del capital social de padres de escolares atendiendo una escuela en una zona vulnerable de la ciudad de Córdoba, Argentina, indagamos a través de grupos focales acerca de elementos esenciales del capital social. La asintonía socio-cultural entre los pobladores originarios y los reubicados, la estigmatización policial y el clientelismo político han generado desconfianza del uno hacia el otro en diferentes aspectos convivenciales, siendo la familia la única red de apoyo. La escuela se reconoce como espacio adonde la gente espontáneamente se organiza para invertir en redes sociales, presentándose así con potencialidad para la promoción de conductas saludables, por el lugar simbólico que ocupa para los padres.

Catálogo de Radio-Fuentes Opticas con Astrolabio Fotoeléctrico PAII

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manrique, W. T.; Podestá, R. C.; Alonso, E.; Actis, E. V.; Pacheco, A. M.; Bustos, G.; Lizhi, L.; Zezhi, W.; Fanmiao, Z.; Hongqi, W.; Perdomo, R.

Usando los datos observados en San Juan con el Astrolabio Fotoeléctrico PAII desde Febrero de 1992 hasta Marzo de 1997, se ha realizado el Catálogo de Radio-Fuentes Opticas de San Juan conteniendo 69 estrellas. Las observaciones de las posiciones de las radio-fuentes están realizadas para la época y equinoccio J2000,0 y en un sistema cercano al del FK5. Las precisiones medias son ± 2,2 ms y ± 0,"035 en ascensión recta y declinación respectivamente. Las magnitudes de las estrellas son desde 0,9 a 10,7 . Las declinaciones son desde --2,5 grados a --60 grados. La época media es 1995,1. Se muestran también los resultados comparados con el Catálogo Hiparcos.

Control de los escombros tras un desastre natural

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

PONER EN LA ACERA LOS ESCOMBROS QUE DEJA UN HURACÁN EN LAS ÁREAS PARTICIPANTES. Si sigue estas pautas específicas (PDF) se acelerará el proceso de recolección. Confirme con las autoridades del gobierno local lo que le corresponda a usted.

La interacción de estrellas WN con el medio circundante

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnal, M.; Cappa, C.; Rizzo, J. R.; Cichovolski, S.

Se presentan resultados preliminares de un estudio de la distribución del hidrógeno neutro en los alrededores de estrellas WR de la serie del nitrógeno. Los datos observacionales de la línea de 21 cm provienen de un relevamineto de baja resolución angular (36'), así como de observaciones de resolución angular intermedia (9') tomadas con el radiotelescopio de Effelsberg. Este análisis ha permitido detectar cavidades y envolturas de H I en expansión vinculadas a las estrellas que componen la muestra.

Impacto metabólico e inflamatorio de una comida rica en grasas saturadas y su relación con la obesidad abdominal.

PubMed

Alayón, Alicia Norma; Rivadeneira, Ana Patricia; Herrera, Carlos; Guzmán, Heidy; Arellano, Dioneris; Echeverri, Isabella

2018-05-01

Introducción. La etapa posprandial se asocia con el incremento de marcadores relacionados con el riesgo cardiovascular, cuya intensidad depende del estado metabólico.Objetivo. Determinar el impacto de la ingestión de una comida rica en grasas saturadas sobre el perfil metabólico e inflamatorio y su relación con la obesidad abdominal.Materiales y métodos. Se hizo un ensayo clínico en 42 individuos (21 con obesidad abdominal). Se midieron, en sangre, la glucosa, la insulina, el perfil lipídico, la proteína C reactiva, los lipopolisacáridos y la interleucina 6, en ayunas y después de la ingestión.Resultados. Además de la obesidad, se registró la presencia de resistencia a la insulina y de niveles elevados de triacilglicéridos y proteína C reactiva en ayunas. Asimismo, se detectaron niveles posprandiales más elevados de glucosa, insulina y triacilglicéridos. La interleucina 6 disminuyó en el grupo de personas sin obesidad y los lipopolisacáridos aumentaron en ambos grupos.Conclusión. La ingestión de una comida rica en grasas saturadas produjo un mayor impacto en las variables glucémicas en el grupo con obesidad y, aunque afectó de forma similar los lípidos en ambos grupos, el incremento de triacilglicéridos fue mayor en presencia de una concentración basal elevada y promovió el aumento de lipopolisacáridos. El estado inflamatorio basal y posprandial afectó en mayor medida al grupo con obesidad. El momento posprandial reflejó el estado más frecuente de los individuos en un día normal y permitió evidenciar la capacidad de respuesta metabólica frente a la ingestión de alimentos, así como los estados tempranos de riesgo metabólico.

Cirugía de los trastornos del comportamiento: el estado del arte

PubMed Central

Yampolsky, Claudio; Bendersky, Damián

2014-01-01

Introducción: La cirugía de los trastornos del comportamiento (CTC) se está convirtiendo en un tratamiento más común desde el desarrollo de la neuromodulación. Métodos: Este artículo es una revisión no sistemática de la historia, indicaciones actuales, técnicas y blancos quirúrgicos de la CTC. Dividimos su historia en 3 eras: la primera comienza en los inicios de la psicocirugía y termina con el desarrollo de las tícnicas estereotácticas, cuando comienza la segunda era. Ésta se caracteriza por la realización de lesiones estereotácticas. Nos encontramos transitando la tercera era, que comienza cuando la estimulación cerebral profunda (ECP) comienza a ser usada en CTC. Resultados: A pesar de los errores graves cometidos en el pasado, hoy en día, la CTC está renaciendo. Los trastornos psiquiátricos que se más frecuentemente se tratan con cirugía son: depresión refractaria, trastorno obsesivo-compulsivo y síndrome de Tourette. Además, algunos pacientes con agresividad fueron tratados quirúrgicamente. Hay varios blancos estereotácticos descriptos para estos trastornos. La estimulación vagal puede ser usada también para depresión. Conclusión: Los resultados de la ECP en estos trastornos parecen alentadores. Sin embargo, se necesitan más estudios randomizados para establecer la efectividad de la CTC. Debe tenerse en cuenta que una apropiada selección de pacientes nos ayudará a realizar un procedimiento más seguro así como también a lograr mejores resultados quirúrgicos, conduciendo a la CTC a ser más aceptada por psiquiatras, pacientes y sus familias. Se necesita mayor investigación en varios temas como: fisiopatología de los trastornos del comportamiento, indicaciones de CTC y nuevos blancos quirúrgicos. PMID:25165612

New hemostatic agents in the combat setting.

PubMed

Cox, E Darrin; Schreiber, Martin A; McManus, John; Wade, Charles E; Holcomb, John B

2009-12-01

Hemorrhage is a leading cause of potentially preventable death in both civilian and military trauma patients. Animal data have shown that hemostatic bandages reduce hemorrhage and improve survival. This article reports recent clinical observations regarding the efficacy and evolution of use of two new hemostatic bandages employed in the global war on terrorism. We performed a retrospective cohort review of soldiers treated with either the QuikClot or HemCon hemostatic bandages between April and October 2006. Hemostatic dressings were placed on wounds either in the field or at the combat support hospital (CSH). During the 6-month study period, 1691 trauma patients were admitted to the CSH. Fifty uses of hemostatic dressings in 44 patients (2.6% of admissions) were identified. Forty patients were treated with HemCon dressings, three patients with QuikClot, and one with both QuikClot and HemCon. Eighteen percent of the dressings were used in the field, predominantly on extremity wounds (7/8). In contrast, most dressings used in the CSH were for truncal wounds (26/36 patients). Hemostatic dressings were applied to extremity wounds in prehospital and hospital settings, either alone or in conjunction with tourniquets. In surviving patients (95%), the treating surgeon determined that the hemorrhage was either stopped or greatly decreased by use of hemostatic dressings. Two of the four patients treated with QuikClot had burns from exothermic reactions, while no adverse reactions were noted with HemCon. Hemostatic agents stop or decrease bleeding. Whereas HemCon appears to be safe, QuikClot may produce superficial burns. These new hemostatic agents have a place in the surgical armamentarium to assist in controlling internal hemorrhage from truncal and pelvic hemorrhage, especially during damage-control surgery.

Fragilidad y su asociación con mortalidad, hospitalizaciones y dependencia funcional en mexicanos de 60 años o más

PubMed Central

de León González, Enrique Díaz; Pérez, Héctor Eloy Tamez; Hermosillo, Hugo Gutiérrez; Rodríguez, Javier Armando Cedillo; Torres, Gabriela

2016-01-01

Fundamento y objetivo Determinar la asociación entre fragilidad y mortalidad, dependencia funcional, caídas y hospitalizaciones en el Estudio Nacional de Salud y Envejecimiento en México (ENASEM). Sujetos y métodos Estudio prospectivo poblacional en México en el que se seleccionaron sujetos de 60 años o más, que fueron evaluados en las variables de fragilidad durante la primera vuelta del estudio en el año 2001 y que incluyó: dificultad para levantarse de una silla después de haber estado sentado(a) durante largo tiempo, pérdida de peso de 5 kilogramos o más en los últimos dos años y falta de energía. Los sujetos fueron catalogados como robustos, prefrágiles y frágiles cuando tenían cero, una o dos de las características anteriores, respectivamente. La mortalidad, hospitalizaciones, caídas y dependencia funcional fueron evaluadas en la segunda vuelta del estudio en el año 2003. Se calculó el riesgo relativo para cada una de las complicaciones, así como análisis multivariado con regresión de Cox para el caso de mortalidad y regresión logística para el resto. Resultados Los estados de prefragilidad y fragilidad se asociaron independientemente con mortalidad, con índices de riesgo ajustados de 1,61 (intervalo de confianza del 95% [IC 95%] 1,01-2,55) y 1,94 (IC 95% 1,20-3,13), respectivamente. Sólo el estado de fragilidad se asoció independientemente con hospitalización y dependencia funcional, con una razón de momios ajustada de 1,53 (IC 95% 1,13-2,07) y 3,07 (IC 95% 1,76-5,34), respectivamente. No hubo asociación entre los estados de prefragilidad y fragilidad con caídas. Conclusión El estado de fragilidad se asocia independientemente con mortalidad, hospitalizaciones y disfuncionalidad en actividades básicas de la vida diaria en los siguientes dos años en población mexicana. PMID:21612803

Angio-OCT de la zona avascular foveal en ojos con oclusión venosa de la retina.

PubMed

Wons, Juliana; Pfau, Maximilian; Wirth, Magdalena A; Freiberg, Florentina J; Becker, Matthias D; Michels, Stephan

2017-07-11

Objetivo: El objetivo del estudio comprendía visualizar y cuantificar las alteraciones patológicas de la zona avascular foveal (ZAF) mediante angio-OCT en ojos con oclusión venosa de la retina (OVR) en comparación con el ojo contralateral sano. Procedimientos: La angio-OCT se llevó a cabo mediante el sistema Avanti® RTVue 100 XR (Optovue Inc., Fremont, Calif., EE. UU.). Los bordes de la capa vascular superficial (CVS) se definieron como 3 μm por debajo de la membrana limitante interna y 15 μm por debajo de la capa plexiforme interna y, para la capa vascular profunda (CVP), como 15 y 70 μm por debajo de la membrana limitante interna y de la capa plexiforme interna, respectivamente. La longitud de la ZAF horizontal, vertical y máxima de la CVS y la CVP en cada ojo se midió de forma manual. Además, se midió el ángulo entre el diámetro máximo de la ZAF y el plano papilomacular. Resultados: La angio-OCT representó los defectos dentro de la vasculatura en el área perifoveal en ojos con oclusión de rama venosa de la retina (ORVR; n = 11) y con oclusión de la vena central de la retina (OVCR; n = 8). Esto resultó en un crecimiento del diámetro máximo de la ZAF en ojos con OVR (n = 19) en comparación con el ojo contralateral (n = 19; 921 ± 213 frente a 724 ± 145 µm; p = 0,008). Además, se observó una correlación significativa entre la mejor agudeza visual corregida (MAVC) y el diámetro máximo de la ZAF en la CVP (ρ de Spearman = -0,423, p < 0,01). Por último, en los ojos con OVR, el ángulo entre el plano papilomacular y el diámetro máximo de la ZAF se dio tan solo en el 21,05% (CVS) y en el 15,79% (CVP) de los casos a 0 ± 15 ó 90 ± 15°, respectivamente. En ojos sanos, estos ángulos (que supuestamente representan una configuración de la ZAF regular) fueron más prevalentes (CVS 68,42 frente a 21,05%, p = 0,003; CVP 73,68 frente a 15,79%, p < 0,001). Conclusiones: La angio-OCT muestra alteraciones morfológicas de la ZAF en ojos con

Preparación de los adultos mayores en los Estados Unidos para hacer frente a los desastres naturales: encuesta a escala nacional*

PubMed Central

Al-rousan, Tala M.; Rubenstein, Linda M.; Wallace, Robert B.

2015-01-01

Objetivos. Nos propusimos determinar el grado de preparación frente a los desastres naturales de los adultos mayores en los Estados Unidos y evaluar los factores que pueden afectar negativamente la salud y la seguridad durante este tipo de incidentes. Métodos. Obtuvimos una muestra de adultos de 50 años en adelante (n = 1 304) de la encuesta del 2010 del Estudio de la Salud y la Jubilación (HRS por su sigla en inglés). La encuesta recogió datos sobre las características demográficas generales, el estado de discapacidad o las limitaciones funcionales, y también sobre factores y comportamientos relacionados con la preparación frente a los desastres. Calculamos una puntuación global de preparación mediante indicadores individuales a fin de evaluar el grado de preparación general. Resultados. La media de la edad de los participantes (n = 1 304) fue de 70 años (desviación estándar [DE] = 9,3). Solo 34,3% informaron que habían participado en un programa formativo o que habían leído materiales sobre la preparación para los desastres. Casi 15% indicaron que usaban dispositivos médicos eléctricos que podían correr riesgo de no funcionar si se interrumpiera el suministro eléctrico. La puntuación de preparación indicó que la edad más avanzada, la discapacidad física y el menor nivel de escolaridad y de ingresos se asociaban independiente y significativamente a un grado de preparación general inferior. Conclusiones. A pesar de la mayor vulnerabilidad ante los desastres y del número cada vez mayor de adultos mayores en los Estados Unidos, muchos de los problemas sustanciales que encontramos son remediables y requieren atención en los sectores de la sociedad dedicados a la atención clínica, a la salud pública y al manejo de situaciones de emergencia.

Medición de placas astrométricas obtenidas con el telescopio Astrográfico de La Plata

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

di Sisto, R. P.; Orellana, R.

El Observatorio de La Plata cuenta con un gran número de placas de asteroides y cometas obtenidas con el telescopio astrográfico, que cubren gran parte del cielo del hemisferio sur. En 1996 se recopilaron y clasificaron 2187 placas (Beca para estudiantes de la AAA 1996) de las cuales 2031 corresponden a asteroides. Los datos de cada placa se volcaron en una base de datos creada para facilitar su manejo y preservar la información. A partir de este trabajo se revisaron los MPC electrónicos y se identificaron aquellas placas de asteroides pertenecientes a nuestra base de datos cuyos resultados no fueron publicados en los mismos. De un total de 400 placas que no aparecían publicadas sobresalía un paquete constituído por 40 placas obtenidas en 1977. Estas últimas fueron reducidas utilizando las posiciones y movimientos propios de las estrellas de referencia obtenidas del catálogo SAO 2000 dadas para el sistema FK5. Las posiciones calculadas fueron enviadas y publicadas en los Minor Planet Circulars (MPC).

Tratamiento Quirúrgico de los Meningiomas del Foramen Óptico, Técnicay Resultados de una Serie de 18 Pacientes

PubMed Central

Goldschmidt, Ezequiel; Ajler, Pablo; Campero, Álvaro; Landriel, Federico; Sposito, Maximiliano; Carrizo, Antonio

2014-01-01

Introducción: los meningiomas del foramen óptico producen un rápido deterioro de la función visual aún cuando su tamaño es pequeño, por eso su diagnóstico y manejo difiere del resto de los meningiomas clinoideos. El propósito de este estudio es presentar la técnica y los resultados de nuestro manejo quirúrgico de meningiomas foraminales (MF). Pacientes y Métodos: se llevó a cabo una revisión de las historias clínicas de 47 pacientes con meningiomas primarios intraorbitarios. Se realizaron 52 cirugías en los pacientes con MF. Se empleó una craneotomía fronto-orbitaria, seguida de una descompresión extradural del canal óptico, resección del componente intraorbitario y exploración intradural del nervio óptico. Resultados: de los 12 pacientes con MF que presentaban la visión conservada, la agudeza visual fue preservada en 7 casos, mejoró en 2, y empeoró en 3. En 18 pacientes, el principal síntoma fue exoftalmos y en 35 pacientes ceguera unilateral. Ocurrieron 6 recurrencias, 2 a 10 años después de la resección quirúrgica. Cinco de ellos fueron reoperados. Se indicó radioterapia después de la recurrencia en 3 pacientes. Conclusión: el manejo de los MF continúa siendo controvertido y frecuentemente se propone un tratamiento conservador. Basados en nuestros hallazgos de frecuente extensión intracraneal, proponemos realizar una resección total o subtotal del tumor, preservando el nervio óptico en pacientes con visión prequirúrgica conservada. PMID:25165616

Cámara CCD Directa con el Telescopio de 2.15 m del CASLEO: algunos diagnósticos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cellone, S. A.

Se efectuaron algunas pruebas con la cámara CCD (+ Reductor Focal) instalada en el foco Cassegrain del Telescopio de 2.15 m del Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito (CASLEO). Las conclusiones más significativas son: Los tiempos de exposición efectivos difieren de los nominales en una fracción apreciable de segundo. En exposiciones de menos de 3 segundos, la iluminación no es pareja en todo el detector. En consecuencia, se recomiendan los pasos a seguir por los astrónomos tanto durante la observación como en la reducción de sus datos.

La inserción en el mercado laboral de los inmigrantes latinos en España y en los Estados Unidos: Diferencias por país de origen y estatus legal

PubMed Central

Connor, Phillip; Massey, Douglas

2013-01-01

Resumen Este artículo compara los resultados económicos entre los inmigrantes latinoamericanos en España y Estados Unidos. Detectamos un efecto de selección por el que la mayoría de los inmigrantes latinoamericanos en España proceden de Sudamérica de un entorno de clases medias, mientras la mayoría de los inmigrantes que van a los Estados Unidos son centroamericanos de clase baja. Este efecto de selección explica las diferencias transnacionales en la probabilidad de empleo, logro ocupacional y salarios obtenidos. A pesar de las diferencias en los orígenes y las características de los latinoamericanos en ambos países, los factores demográficos, humanos y de capital social parecen operar de forma similar en ambos países; y cuando los modelos se estiman separadamente por estatus legal, descubrimos que los efectos se acentúan más entre los inmigrantes irregulares cuando se los compara con los regulares, especialmente en Estados Unidos. PMID:24532857

Violación del Principio de Equivalencia en Teorías con Dilatón de Cuerdas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Landau, S. J.; Sisterna, P. D.; Vucetich, H.

Se estudian las violaciones al Principio de Equivalencia en Teorías con Dilatón de Cuerdas. En estos modelos, algunas de las constantes fundamentales dependen del espacio y del tiempo. Se muestra que los experimentos de caída libre no tienen aún precisión como para poner límites a los parámetros de la teoría.

Trayectoria de los tornillos pediculares lumbares y sacros: Comparación entre el abordaje por linea media versus el abordaje posterolateral tipo wiltse

PubMed Central

Gagliardi, Martín; Guiroy, Alfredo; Molina, Federico Fernández; Fasano, Francisco; Ciancio, Alejandro Morales; Mezzadri, Juan José; Jalón, Pablo

2017-01-01

Resumen Objetivos: El objetivo de este estudio fue comparar, en fusiones lumbosacras cortas, el ángulo de convergencia de los tornillos pediculares entre el abordaje posterolateral tipo Wiltse y el abordaje mediano convencional. Método: Se revisaron en forma retrospectiva los controles en tomografía axial computada (TAC) de 76 tornillos pediculares lumbares y sacros colocados por vía posterior, mediante un abordaje mediano convencional (n: 38) o por vía posterolateral transmuscular tipo Wiltse (n: 38). Se incluyeron fusiones lumbosacras cortas desde L3 a S1, en pacientes adultos, con patología degenerativa. Se excluyeron los tornillos con una brecha ósea >4 mm en cualquier dirección, los casos con instrumentaciones pediculares previas y aquellos con curvas en el plano coronal mayores de 20°. Resultados: Considerando la totalidad de los implantes, el ángulo de convergencia fue de 23,3° (+/- 15,82). La angulación promedio, en el grupo AW, fue de 29,3° (+/- 9,72). En el grupo AC, el grado de convergencia de los implantes fue de 17,2° (+/- 10,58). Esta diferencia fue estadísticamente significativa (P < 0,0001). Para el grupo AW, el grado de convergencia según nivel fue el siguiente: L3: 31,2° (+/- 1,9); L4: 31,4° (+/- 2,76); L5: 31,1° (+/- 5,62); S1: 24,2° (+/- 12,16). El promedio del ángulo del tornillo según nivel para el grupo AC fue: L3: 16° (+/- 7,16); L4: 20,3° (+/- 6,9) L5: 15,9° (+/- 13,38); S1: 15,2° (+/- 14,32). Los implantes del grupo AW tuvieron ángulos significativamente más convergentes que el grupo AC en todos los segmentos explorados. Conclusión: En las fusiones lumbosacras cortas, la utilización del abordaje tipo Wiltse permitió la colocación de tornillos pediculares con más convergencia que en el abordaje mediano convencional. La relevancia clínica de este hecho es desconocida y se requerirían trabajos prospectivos randomizados para determinar la misma. PMID:29142777

Comprension de los conceptos de los enlaces ionico y covalente en estudiantes universitarios del primer curso de quimica general

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ballesteros Benavides, Maria Elvira

participantes no lograron diferenciar los dos enlaces quimicos. Esto implica que reflexionemos sobre la necesidad de revisar tanto las competencias cognoscitivas como la forma de ensenar quimica en el salon de clase. Recomendamos indagar y dar importancia al conocimiento previo de los estudiantes, enfatizar la ensenanza de los conceptos y propiciar el aprendizaje con significado.

Estudio de los Efectos Gravitomagnéticos en Cuerpos Masivos Rotantes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Velandia Heredia, N.; Tejeiro, J. M.

2008-03-01

A partir del estudio de los Efectos Gravitomagnéticos en cuerpos masivos rotantes, planteamos la expresión para medir el desfase en el tiempo, para diferentes observadores, que se dan cuando viajan dos rayos de luz por una guía de onda o de manera libre (geodésicas), en el plano azimutal y en el plano polar. Con lo anterior queremos abordar el experimento tipo Michelson y Morley, de forma que podamos involucrar el valor de la densidad del momento angular (a) en el retraso temporal para los dos haces de luz que viajan por los brazos del interferómetro, cuando este último es ubicado en el plano ecuatorial.

DESAFÍOS ÉTICOS DE LA INVESTIGACIÓN CON ANIMALES, MANIPULACIÓN GENÉTICA

PubMed Central

Yunta, Eduardo Rodríguez

2012-01-01

En la investigación con animales existen cuestionamientos éticos tanto en el uso como modelos de enfermedades humanas y requisito previo para ensayos en humanos como en la introducción de modificaciones genéticas. Algunos de estos cuestionamientos son: no representar exactamente la condición humana como modelos, realizar pruebas de toxicidad con grave daño para los animales, alterar su naturaleza mediante modificaciones genéticas, riesgos de la introducción de organismos genéticamente modificados. El uso de animales en investigación para beneficio humano, impone al ser humano la responsabilidad moral de respetarlo, no haciéndoles sufrir innecesariamente, al estar trabajando con seres vivientes y sentientes. PMID:23338641

Número de ganglios linfáticos metastásicos como determinante de los resultados después de prostatectomía radical de rescate para el cáncer de próstata de radiación recurrente

PubMed Central

Gugliemetti, G; Sukhu, R; Conca Baenas, M A.; Meeks, J; Sjoberg, D D.; Eastham, J A.; Scardino, P T.; Touijer, K

2017-01-01

Resumen Antecedentes La presencia de metástasis en los ganglios linfáticos (MGL) en la prostatectomía radical de rescate (PRs) se asocia con un mal pronóstico. Los factores predictivos de resultados en este contexto siguen siendo indeterminados. El objetivo fue evaluar el papel de número de ganglios linfáticos positivos sobre el resultado de los pacientes con MGL después de PRs y para el cáncer de próstata de radio-recurrente. Material y métodos Se analizaron los datos de una cohorte consecutiva de 215 hombres tratados con PRr en una sola institución. Se utilizaron los modelos de regresión de riesgos proporcionales de Cox univariante para la recurrencia bioquímica (RBQ) y los resultados metastásicos, con el antígeno prostático específico, la puntuación de Gleason, la extensión extraprostática, la invasión de vesículas seminales, el tiempo entre la terapia de radiación y PRr y el número de ganglios positivos como factores predictivos. Resultados De los 47 pacientes con MGL, 37 desarrollaron RBQ, 11 desarrollaron metástasis a distancia y 4 fallecieron con una mediana de seguimiento de 2,3 años para los supervivientes. El riesgo de metástasis aumentó con mayores niveles preoperatorios de PSA (HR 1,19 por 1 ng/ml; IC del 95%: 1,06, 1,34; p = 0,003). Los factores predictivos restantes no alcanzaron niveles convencionales de significación. Sin embargo, la eliminación de 3 o más ganglios linfáticos positivos demostró una asociación positiva, como se esperaba, con enfermedad metastásica (HR 3,44, IC: 0,91, 13,05; p = 0,069) en comparación con uno o dos ganglios positivos. Del mismo modo, la presencia de extensión extraprostática, invasión de vesículas seminales y grado de Gleason superior a 7 también demostraron una asociación positiva con un mayor riesgo de metástasis, con índices de riesgo de 3,97 (IC del 95% 0,50; 31,4; p = 0,2), 3,72 (IC 95% 0,80, 17,26; p = 0,1) y 1,45 (IC del 95% 0,44, 4,76; p = 0,5), respectivamente

FACTORES SOCIO-ESTRUCTURALES Y EL ESTIGMA HACIA EL VIH/SIDA: EXPERIENCIAS DE PUERTORRIQUEÑOS/AS CON VIH/SIDA AL ACCEDER SERVICIOS DE SALUD

PubMed Central

RIVERA-DIAZ, MARINILDA; VARAS-DIAZ, NELSON; REYES-ESTRADA, MARCOS; SURO, BEATRIZ; CORIANO, DORALIS

2013-01-01

RESUMEN El estigma relacionado al VIH/SIDA continúa afectando la prestación de servicios de salud y el bienestar físico y mental de las personas con VIH/SIDA (PVS). Recientemente la literatura científica ha señalado la importancia de comprender las manifestaciones de estigma más allá de las interacciones individuales. Por tal razón, investigaciones recientes en y fuera de Puerto Rico enfatizan la importancia de entender cómo factores socio-estructurales (FSE) influyen en los procesos de estigmatización social. Con el propósito de examinar los FSE que influyen en las manifestaciones de estigma relacionado al VIH/SIDA, realizamos y analizamos nueve grupos focales compuestos por hombres y mujeres en tratamiento para el VIH/SIDA que habían tenido experiencias estigmatizantes. Los participantes identificaron FSE relacionados a las manifestaciones de estigma, tales como el uso de viviendas especializadas, descentralización de los servicios de salud y el desarrollo de protocolos administrativos excluyentes en los servicios de salud. Los resultados demuestran la importancia de considerar los FSE en el desarrollo e implementación de intervenciones dirigidas a la población. PMID:24639599

Relevancia de los grados de Simpson en la resección de meningiomas grado I

PubMed Central

Ajler, Pablo; Beltrame, Sofía; Massa, Daniela; Tramontano, Julian; Baccanelli, Matteo; Yampolsky, Claudio

2017-01-01

Resumen Objetivo: Comparar el porcentaje de recurrencias en pacientes con meningiomas grado I de la OMS sometidos a exéresis microquirúrgica. Introducción: En 1957 Simpson estandarizó 5 grados de resección quirúrgica para los meningiomas intracraneanos y el porcentaje de recurrencia relacionado con cada uno, estableciendo el paradigma de que la remoción agresiva de estos tumores junto con fragmentos durales y óseos era necesario para alcanzar la curación. Los avances principalmente en Resonancia Magnética, anatomía patológica y técnica microqurúrgica nos llevan a plantear la relevancia actual de dicha clasificación. Métodos: Se realizó una revisión retrospectiva de los pacientes operados de meningiomas grado I entre Febrero de 2006 y Diciembre de 2015. Se analizaron las imágenes pre y postoperatorias y la anatomía patológica. Las variables se relacionaron mediante un análisis estadístico multivariado estableciendo como estadísticamente significativo una P < 0.05. Resultados: No se objetivó una diferencia estadísticamente significativa entre el número de recidivas y el grado de resección tumoral según Simpson I, II, III o IV (P = 0,3117). Esto puede afirmarse para los grados Simpson I y II en donde el número de pacientes incluidos en la muestra (n) fue alto. Al analizar como factor de recurrencia la localización tumoral tampoco se encontró una diferencia significativa en cuanto al porcentaje de recidivas entre aquellos tumores localizados en la convexidad, base de cráneo y parasagitales (P = 0,2203). Conclusión: Para los meningiomas grado I la exéresis Simpson I no presenta diferencias significativas con la Simpson II en cuanto a la recurrencia tumoral, por lo que aumentar la morbilidad del procedimiento no tendría justificación. Un replanteo de la escala de resección debería idearse teniendo en cuenta la clasificación de la OMS. PMID:29142775

Discusión de las aproximaciones utilizadas en el estudio de la recombinación dielectrónica de los metales en envolturas estelares

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cruzado, A.; di Rocco, H. O.; Ringuelet, A.

Se calcularon nuevos parámetros atómicos del MgI reemplazando los niveles de energía teóricos por los observados. Con ellos se calculó nuevamente el flujo originado en la Recombinación Dielectrónica (RD) del MgII y se comparó con resultados anteriores. Se evaluó también la posible influencia de diferentes fuentes de opacidad, en el flujo originado en la RD de los metales en atmósferas extendidas de estrellas tempranas. En particular, se calculó la profundidad óptica de las líneas de MgI para diferentes condiciones físicas del medio.

MÉXICO Y ESTADO DE GUANAJUATO: TRANSFERENCIAS INTERGENERACIONALES HACIA LOS ADULTOS MAYORES*

PubMed Central

Montes de Oca, Verónica; Hebrero, Mirna

2017-01-01

RESUMEN En México, las transferencias formales e informales destinadas al apoyo de las personas adultas mayores son diversificadas. En este documento se analizan la tendencia nacional y los resultados de un estudio centrado en la entidad federativa de Guanajuato. La distribución de los apoyos confirma que las transferencias hechas por el sistema de seguridad social tienen un sesgo urbano y que las transferencias formales del gobierno federal se orientan a las áreas menos urbanizadas, particularmente las zonas rurales. A pesar de las transferencias formales (esporádicas e insuficientes), las necesidades económicas y de salud de las personas mayores persisten y ello lleva a que sus familiares realicen transferencias informales de naturaleza ascendente. En México —y más concretamente en Guanajuato— el apoyo de quienes residen con la persona mayor tiene un significativo peso, y lo contrario sucede con el de quienes han migrado. A partir de este material, se analiza el rol que, de acuerdo a su cohorte y su condición migratoria, desempeñan los descendientes. En todo caso, queda de manifiesto que, en cada entidad nacional, las dinámicas de transferencias intergeneracionales son de diversos tipos. PMID:29375179

Incidental Reflector Comparison of Containerized Dry Fire Extinguishing Agents

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chapman, Bryan Scott; Wysong, Andrew Russell

This document addresses the incidental reflector reactivity worth of containerized fire extinguishing agents authorized for use in PF-4 at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The intent of the document is to analyze dry fire extinguishing agent that remains in a container and is not actively being used in a fire emergency. The incidental reflector reactivity worth is determined by comparison to various thicknesses of close fitting water reflection which is commonly used to bound incidental reflectors in criticality safety evaluations. The conclusion is that even in unlimited quantities, when containerized the authorized dry fire extinguishing agents are bound by 0.4more » inches of close fitting water.« less

Sequías Hidrológicas en la República Argentina y su relación con Variables Macroclimáticas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Díaz, Erica Betiana

2016-07-01

Una adecuada planificación y gestión requiere un conocimiento de la distribución temporal y espacial de los recursos hídricos. Una amenaza que afecta al desarrollo y aprovechamiento de los recursos hídricos, y para las cuales la ingeniería debe dar soluciones, son las situaciones de extremos hidrológicos como inundaciones o sequías. Siendo estas últimas un fenómeno hidrológico extremo de gran complejidad del cual aún se conoce poco. Con el objetivo de identificar y caracterizar temporal y espacialmente las sequías hidrológicas en Argentina, esta tesis abordó en primera instancia, la identificación y caracterización de sequías desde el punto de vista hidrológico, abarcando el mayor período de tiempo y espacio, en función de los datos de caudales disponibles. Con el fin de predecir eventos plurianuales de sequías hidrológicas en el mediano y largo plazo se generaron, a través del análisis espectral y armónico de las series históricas de caudales observados, series sintéticas que reproducen las componentes periódicas plurianuales más significativas de las series observadas. Además, para lograr un avance en el conocimiento de los fenómenos climáticos que conducen a las sequías hidrológicas, se identificaron las variables macroclimáticas que tienen una mayor correlación con los caudales escurridos en las distintas cuencas. Esta tesis comprende el estudio de 14 cuencas hidrográficas argentinas, pertenecientes a los ríos Colorado, Mendoza, San Juan, Atuel, Ctalamochita, Anizacate, Xanaes, Suquía, Dulce, Juramento, Salado, Paraná, Bermejo y Pilcomayo. Los resultados a los que se abordaron en esta tesis son de relevancia para la gestión de los recursos hídricos ya que usos tales como el abastecimiento humano, el riego y la producción energética, entre otros, pueden ser seriamente afectados por la ocurrencia de manera simultánea de sequías severas en cuencas que aportan a una región y zonas vecinas.

¿Qué está haciendo la EPA para proteger a los arrecifes de coral?

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

La EPA protege a los arrecifes de coral mediante la implementación de programas de la Ley de Agua Limpia que protegen la calidad del agua en cuencas y zonas costeras de las áreas con arrecifes de coral.

Uso de Sustancias en Mujeres con Desventaja Social: Riesgo para el Contagio de VIH/SIDA

PubMed Central

Cianelli, R.; Ferrer, L; Bernales, M.; Miner, S.; Irarrázabal, L.; Molina, Y.

2009-01-01

Antecedentes La caracterización epidemiológica en Chile apunta a feminización, pauperización y heterosexualización de la epidemia del VIH, lo que implica un mayor riesgo para las mujeres en desventaja social. Si a esto se suma la utilización de sustancias, la vulnerabilidad de este grupo frente al VIH/SIDA aumenta. Objetivo Describir el uso de sustancias en mujeres con desventaja social e identificar factores de riesgo de contagio de VIH, asociados a este consumo. Material y Método 52 mujeres fueron entrevistadas como parte del proyecto “Testeando una intervención en prevención de VIH/SIDA en mujeres chilenas” GRANT # RO1 TW 006977. Se describen variables sociodemográficas y de consumo de sustancias a través de estadísticas descriptivas y se analiza la relación entre variables a través de pruebas de correlación. Resultados Los resultados indican un perfil sociodemográfico que sitúa a las mujeres en situación de vulnerabilidad frente al contagio de VIH/SIDA, con alto índice de uso de sustancias que acentúa el riesgo. Conclusiones Los hallazgos apuntan a la necesidad de considerar intervenciones que se enfoquen en la prevención de VIH en mujeres, abordando los riesgos asociados al consumo de sustancias. PMID:21197380

Soy-Based Therapeutic Baby Formulas: Testable Hypotheses Regarding the Pros and Cons.

PubMed

Westmark, Cara J

2016-01-01

Soy-based infant formulas have been consumed in the United States since 1909, and currently constitute a significant portion of the infant formula market. There are efforts underway to generate genetically modified soybeans that produce therapeutic agents of interest with the intent to deliver those agents in a soy-based infant formula platform. The threefold purpose of this review article is to first discuss the pros and cons of soy-based infant formulas, then present testable hypotheses to discern the suitability of a soy platform for drug delivery in babies, and finally start a discussion to inform public policy on this important area of infant nutrition.

Soy-Based Therapeutic Baby Formulas: Testable Hypotheses Regarding the Pros and Cons

PubMed Central

Westmark, Cara J.

2017-01-01

Soy-based infant formulas have been consumed in the United States since 1909, and currently constitute a significant portion of the infant formula market. There are efforts underway to generate genetically modified soybeans that produce therapeutic agents of interest with the intent to deliver those agents in a soy-based infant formula platform. The threefold purpose of this review article is to first discuss the pros and cons of soy-based infant formulas, then present testable hypotheses to discern the suitability of a soy platform for drug delivery in babies, and finally start a discussion to inform public policy on this important area of infant nutrition. PMID:28149839

Medicina integrativa en América: De qué forma se está practicando la medicina integrativa en los centros clínicos en los Estados Unidos

PubMed Central

Horrigan, Bonnie; Lewis, Sheldon; Abrams, Donald I.; Pechura, Constance

2012-01-01

RESUMEN EJECUTIVO El impulso para desarrollar e implementar estrategias de medicina integrativa está enraizado en el deseo de mejorar la atención al paciente. The Bravewell Collaborative, una organización sin ánimo de lucro dedicada a la mejora de la atención sanitaria, define la medicina integrativa como “un enfoque de la medicina que coloca al paciente en el centro y se dirige al conjunto completo de influencias físicas, emocionales, mentales, sociales, espirituales y ambientales que afectan a la salud de la persona. Con una estrategia personalizada que considera las condiciones, necesidades y circunstancias únicas del paciente, utiliza las intervenciones más apropiadas de una variedad de disciplinas científicas para curar la afección y la enfermedad y ayudar a las personas a recobrar y mantener una salud óptima”. En las pasadas dos décadas, se ha documentado un número creciente de centros clínicos que proporcionan medicina integrativa, el número de facultades y escuelas médicas que enseñan estrategias integrativas, el número de investigadores que estudian intervenciones integrativas, y el número de pacientes que solicitan cuidados integrativos. Pero se desconocía si la medicina integrativa se estaba ofreciendo de manera igual, similar, o dispar. Además, mientras que los estudios anteriores se centraban en la prevalencia y el uso de la medicina complementaria o alternativa (MCA) por parte de los pacientes1,2 o de los médicos en hospitales3, enumerando la utilización de terapias MCA individuales, se había recogido muy poca información con respecto a la práctica real de la medicina integrativa que, por definición, trata a la persona en su conjunto. En 2011, The Bravewell Collaborative encargó una encuesta para determinar la forma en que la medicina integrativa se estaba practicando en los Estados Unidos: (1) describiendo las poblaciones de pacientes y las afecciones sanitarias tratadas más habitualmente; (2) definiendo las pr

Perfiles de luminosidad en galaxias con núcleo tipo Seyfert 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boris, N.; Rodriguez-Ardilla, A. A.; Pastoriza, M. G.

Presentamos imágenes CCD en los filtros BVI y Hα de una muestra de 10 galaxias Seyfert 1 y Narrow Line Seyfert 1. Recientes observaciones muestran que hay una diferencia significante en el índice espectral óptico entre NLS1s y Sy1 normales, siendo para las primeras del orden de 2. Otra característica importante es que la mayor parte de las NLS1s muestran tasas de FeII/Hβ mayores que las observadas en otras Sy1s. Desde el punto de vista fotométrico, estas galaxias no tienenningún tipo de estudio previo. Presentamos magnitudes totales, perfiles de luminosidad y mapas de color junto con un detallado análisis de la formación estelar en estos objetos. Encontramos que la descomposición en bulbo + disco representa adecuadamente los perfiles de luminosidad de las galaxias de la muestra. Sin embargo, en todos los casos es necesario que el disco tenga un agujero en su centro. El radio de este agujero va desde los 3 a los 9 kpc. Si bien no tenemos aún una explicación para este hecho, los agujeros parecen estar asociados a anillos circumnucleares de alto oscurecimiento E(B-V) ~1. Los perfiles presentan también un fuerte gradiente de color, siendo notablemente más azules hacia la región nuclear. Los objetos de la muestra cubren todo el rango de tipos morfológicos, no obstante, no encontramos regiones de formación estelar en las regiones exteriores de las galaxias. La formación estelar está confinada a la región nuclear y se data en alrededor de 5 x 107 años.

Presentación del estudio "Links" de hombres que tienes sexo con hombres en Buenos Aires, Argentina.

PubMed

Carballo-Diéguez, Alex; Avila, María M; Balán, Iván C; Marone, Rubén; Pando, María A; Barreda, Victoria

2011-03-01

Estudios previos en Buenos Aires reportaron altas prevalencias de HIV entre HSH, con valores que oscilan entre 9 y 14% durante casi 10 años de continuo testeo. El objetivo principal de este estudio fue la evaluación de factores relacionados al comportamiento de alto riesgo para transmisión del HIV entre HSH entre los que se incluyen el conocimiento y factores emocionales, socioculturales y ambientales. Por otro lado se realizó la estimación de prevalencia e incidencia de HIV utilizando RDS (Respondent Driven Sampling), así como la presencia de otras infecciones de transmisión sexual. Por último se evaluaron los hábitos de testeo para HIV indagando que factores facilitan o impiden su realización. El estudio constó de dos fases, en primer lugar una fase cualitativa y posteriormente una fase cuantitativa con una duración total de 4 años y medio. Durante la fase cualitativa se realizaron 44 entrevistas individuales en profundidad, 8 grupos focales y 10 observaciones etnográficas (hoteles, baños públicos ("teteras"), cines pornográficos, fiestas privadas, dark rooms y discotecas). Durante la fase cuantitativa del estudio se realizó el reclutamiento de 500 participantes que provinieron de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, así como del Gran Buenos Aires. El reclutamiento se comenzó con 16 participantes llamados semillas. Se realizó el diagnóstico de infección por HIV, hepatitis B y C (HBV y HCV), Treponema pallidum, Virus Papiloma Humano (HPV) y Chlamidias. La colaboración establecida entre los grupos de trabajo enfocados en áreas diversas posibilitó el abordaje conjunto de nuevas estrategias de investigación antes no exploradas en nuestro país. Los resultados más relevantes de esta investigación serán progresivamente publicados en sucesivos números de Actualizaciones en SIDA.

Memorias del tercer simposio internacional sobre economía, planificación, y políticas de los incendios forestales: problemas y enfoques comunes

Treesearch

Armando González-Cabán

2009-01-01

Estas memorias resumen el resultado de un simposio diseñado para discutir los problemas actuales que confrontan las agencias con responsabilidad para la proteccion contra incendios forestales a nivel federal y estadual en los EE.UU., al igual que agencias en la comunidad internacional. Los temas discutidos en el simposio incluyen economía del fuego, teoría y modelos...

Inversor Resonante de Tres Elementos L-LC con Caracteristica Cortocircuitable para Aplicaciones de Calentamiento por Induccion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Espi Huerta, Jose Miguel

Los generadores de calentamiento por induccion son puentes inversores con carga resonante, cuya mision es basicamente crear una corriente sinusoidal de gran amplitud sobre la "bobina de caldeo", que forma parte del tanque resonante. En el interior de esta bobina se introduce la pieza que se desea calentar. EI campo magnetico creado induce corrientes superficiales (corrientes de Foucault) sobre la pieza, que producen su calentamiento. Los tanques resonantes (tambien llamados osciladores) utilizados en la actualidad son el resonante serie y el resonante paralelo. Aunque ya desde hace algun tiempo se vienen construyendo generadores de alta potencia basados en estos dos osciladores, el exito nunca ha. sido completo en ninguno de los dos casos. Tal y como se explica en la introduccion de esta memoria, los puentes inversores utilizados deben operar sobre una carga inductiva (corriente retrasada) para evitar el fenomeno de la recuperacion inversa de sus diodos y la consiguiente ruptura de los transistores. De la restriccion topologica anterior se deduce que el generador paralelo debe conmutar a frecuencias inferiores a la resonancia, y el serie a frecuencias superiores. A esta restriccion topologica hay que unir otra que es exclusiva del calentamiento por induccion: La corriente por la bobina de caldeo debe ser sinusoidal. De no ser asi, resultaria imposible disponer toda la potencia de calentamiento sobre la pieza en el espesor requerido por la aplicacion. Como consecuencia, los inversores no pueden operar por debajo de la frecuencia de resonancia del oscilador, pues en ese caso se amplifican los armonicos de orden superior de la tension/corriente de entrada situados sobre la resonancia, con la consiguiente distorsion de la corriente de salida. La conjuncion de las dos restricciones anteriores obligan al inversor paralelo a funcionar a la frecuencia de resonancia del oscilador. Esto imposibilita un control por variacion de frecuencia, regulandose la potencia desde la

Concanavalin A: A potential anti-neoplastic agent targeting apoptosis, autophagy and anti-angiogenesis for cancer therapeutics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Wen-wen; Yu, Jia-ying; Xu, Huai-long

2011-10-22

Highlights: {yields} ConA induces cancer cell death targeting apoptosis and autophagy. {yields} ConA inhibits cancer cell angiogenesis. {yields} ConA is utilized in pre-clinical and clinical trials. -- Abstract: Concanavalin A (ConA), a Ca{sup 2+}/Mn{sup 2+}-dependent and mannose/glucose-binding legume lectin, has drawn a rising attention for its remarkable anti-proliferative and anti-tumor activities to a variety of cancer cells. ConA induces programmed cell death via mitochondria-mediated, P73-Foxo1a-Bim apoptosis and BNIP3-mediated mitochondrial autophagy. Through IKK-NF-{kappa}B-COX-2, SHP-2-MEK-1-ERK, and SHP-2-Ras-ERK anti-angiogenic pathways, ConA would inhibit cancer cell survival. In addition, ConA stimulates cell immunity and generates an immune memory, resisting to the same genotypic tumor.more » These biological findings shed light on new perspectives of ConA as a potential anti-neoplastic agent targeting apoptosis, autophagy and anti-angiogenesis in pre-clinical or clinical trials for cancer therapeutics.« less

Presentación del estudio “Links” de hombres que tienes sexo con hombres en Buenos Aires, Argentina

PubMed Central

Carballo-Diéguez, Alex; Ávila, María M; Balán, Iván C.; Marone, Rubén; Pando, María A.; Barreda, Victoria

2011-01-01

Resumen Estudios previos en Buenos Aires reportaron altas prevalencias de HIV entre HSH, con valores que oscilan entre 9 y 14% durante casi 10 años de continuo testeo. El objetivo principal de este estudio fue la evaluación de factores relacionados al comportamiento de alto riesgo para transmisión del HIV entre HSH entre los que se incluyen el conocimiento y factores emocionales, socioculturales y ambientales. Por otro lado se realizó la estimación de prevalencia e incidencia de HIV utilizando RDS (Respondent Driven Sampling), así como la presencia de otras infecciones de transmisión sexual. Por último se evaluaron los hábitos de testeo para HIV indagando que factores facilitan o impiden su realización. El estudio constó de dos fases, en primer lugar una fase cualitativa y posteriormente una fase cuantitativa con una duración total de 4 años y medio. Durante la fase cualitativa se realizaron 44 entrevistas individuales en profundidad, 8 grupos focales y 10 observaciones etnográficas (hoteles, baños públicos (“teteras”), cines pornográficos, fiestas privadas, dark rooms y discotecas). Durante la fase cuantitativa del estudio se realizó el reclutamiento de 500 participantes que provinieron de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, así como del Gran Buenos Aires. El reclutamiento se comenzó con 16 participantes llamados semillas. Se realizó el diagnóstico de infección por HIV, hepatitis B y C (HBV y HCV), Treponema pallidum, Virus Papiloma Humano (HPV) y Chlamidias. La colaboración establecida entre los grupos de trabajo enfocados en áreas diversas posibilitó el abordaje conjunto de nuevas estrategias de investigación antes no exploradas en nuestro país. Los resultados más relevantes de esta investigación serán progresivamente publicados en sucesivos números de Actualizaciones en SIDA. PMID:25264397

The Meanings of Astronomical Observation: An Analysis on the Basis of Relationship with Knowledge. (Spanish Title: Los Sentidos de la Observación Astronómica: un Análisis sobre la Base de la Relación con el Saber.) Os Sentidos da Observação Astronômica: Uma Análise com Base na Relação com o Saber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klein, Alberto Eduardo; de Mello Arruda, Sergio; Meneghello Passos, Marinez; Vinicius Domenes Zapparoli, Ferdinando

2010-12-01

This article presents results of a research which aimed to understand the meanings that people construct for astronomical observation. The subjects, students and school teachers, initially received some instruction on how to view astronomical objects through the telescope. After the observation was realized, they were interviewed. The data analysis allowed the creation of 12 categories, later interpreted on the basis of relationship with knowledge (relation to the world, with himself and with others), as presented by Bernard Charlot. Este artículo presenta los resultados de una investigación que tuvo como objetivo comprender los sentidos que las personas construyen para la observación astronómica. Los sujetos, los estudiantes y maestros de escuela, recibieron inicialmente algunas instrucciones sobre cómo ver los objetos astronómicos a través del telescopio. Al término de la observación, fueron entrevistados. El análisis de datos permitió la creación de 12 categorías que más tarde fueron interpretadas sobre la base de la relación con el conocimiento (relación con el mundo, consigo mismo y con los demás), tal como presentado por Bernard Charlot. Este artigo apresenta resultados de uma pesquisa que objetivou entender quais os sentidos que as pessoas constroem para a observação astronômica. Os sujeitos da pesquisa, estudantes e professores do ensino médio, receberam inicialmente alguma instrução sobre como visualizar os objetos astronômicos através do telescópio. Após a realização da observação, eles foram entrevistados. A análise dos dados permitiu a elaboração de 12 categorias que foram posteriormente interpretadas com base nas relações com o saber (relação com o mundo, consigo mesmo e com o outro), conforme apresentadas por Bernard Charlot.

Nanoparticulas basadas en complejos de Fe(II) con transicion de espin: sintesis, caracterizacion y aplicaciones en electronica molecular

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monrabal Capilla, Maria

Esta tesis doctoral esta organizada en 5 capitulos y esta destinada al estudio de sistemas de Fe (II) que presentan el fenomeno de la transicion de espin a escala nanometrica. El capitulo 1 contiene una introduccion general sobre materiales moleculares multifuncionales, destacando aquellos ejemplos mas importantes. Por otro lado, se explicara el fenomeno de la transicion de espin, tratando aspectos conceptuales, los antecedentes mas importantes y la situacion actual. En el capitulo 2 se describen los diferentes procesos existentes para la obtencion de diferentes tipos de nanoparticulas. Ademas, se presenta la sintesis y caracterizacion de nanoparticulas del polimero de coordinacion unidimensional [Fe(Htrz)2(trz)]BF4, obtenidas mediante el metodo de micelas inversas. Estas nanoparticulas, con una estrecha distribucion de tamanos centrada alrededor de los 11 nm, presentan una transicion de espin muy abrupta, con un ancho ciclo de histeresis termica de unos 40K. En el capitulo 3 se describe el proceso de modificacion del tamano de las nanoparticulas descritas en el capitulo anterior, llevado a cabo variando la proporcion de surfactante/H2O en el medio. Ademas, con el objetivo de modificar las propiedades magneticas de las nanoparticulas obtenidas en el capitulo 2, se lleva a cabo la sintesis de nanoparticulas de polimeros de la misma familia del [Fe(Htrz)2(trz)]BF4. En concreto se sintetizaron 3 nuevos tipos de nanoparticulas basadas en el polimero [Fe(Htrz)1-x(NH2trz)x](ClO4)2, siendo x = 0.05, 0.15 y 0.3, en cada caso. Estas nanoparticulas siguen presentando una estrecha distribucion de tamanos y una transicion de espin muy abrupta y con un ancho ciclo de histeresis. Ademas, se observa que este ciclo se desplaza a temperaturas mas proximas a la temperatura ambiente a medida que se aumenta el porcentaje de 4-amino-1, 2, 4- triazol en la muestra. Pero al mismo tiempo se produce una disminucion de la anchura de este ciclo. Por ultimo, en este capitulo se presenta la

Cálculos ab initio con correlación electrónica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Merchán Bonete, M.

Estamos entrando en una era donde la ortogonalidad entre las investigaciones de carácter experimental y de naturaleza teórica se irá difuminando progresivamente y la problemática a resolver quedará en escena como el único actor principal de la obra. Como premisa para una cooperación teórico-experimental de igual a igual, la metodología químico-cuántica utilizada debe ser capaz de ofrecer resultados de carácter predictivo. Sin duda, esta madurez en la metodología químico-cuántica ya la hemos alcanzado hace algunos años, tal y como muestra entre otras muchas, la labor que nuestro grupo ha realizado en el transcurso de la última década, dentro del campo de la Espectroscopía Teórica. Los estudios realizados comprenden una amplia gama de sistemas, variando tanto en tamaño como en complejidad, abordando problemáticas espectroscópicas consideradas tradicionalmente como especialmente controvertidas. Nuestra contribución científica más relevante reside en el carácter cuantitativo de las asignaciones espectroscópicas que hemos propuesto en base a resultados ab initio. Recordemos que en los años noventa los resultados ab initio solían presentar para las energías de excitación de sistemas de tamaño molecular moderado, como el benceno, errores de más de 1 eV. En comparación con el éxito relativo de los métodos semiempíricos, la frustración de la metodología ab initio quedaba todavía más patente. Los estudios que hemos presentado representan una comprensión profunda de los espectros electrónicos en sistemas orgánicos claves, mostrando el camino a seguir para obtener asignaciones espectroscópicas precisas (entre 0.1-0.2 eV). La naturaleza del método CASPT2 junto al diseño de estrategias computacionales nos ha permitido alcanzar el carácter cuantitativo con el que se caracterizan nuestras contribuciones[1,2]. Por todo ello, algunos de los trabajos publicados se consideran clásicos dentro del campo, pues en cierto modo definen el

Nuevas observaciones de 3C10 con el VLA*: estudio de la expansión

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reynoso, E. M.; Moffett, D. A.:; Dubner, G. M.; Giacani, E. B.; Reynolds, S. P.; Goss, W. M.; Dickel, J.

Se presentan nuevos resultados sobre la expansión del remanente de la supernova de Tycho a lo largo de un intervalo de 10.9 años, comparando nuevas observaciones tomadas con el VLA a 1375 y 1635 MHz durante 1994 y 1995, con observaciones previas realizadas entre 1983 y 1984 (Dickel y col. ~1991 AJ 101, 2151), usando las mismas configuraciones, anchos de banda, calibradores y tiempos de integración. El coeficiente de expansión se calcula para sectores radiales de 4o de ancho cada uno, ajustando la correlación cruzada de las derivadas de los perfiles promedio para cada época. A partir de la expansión medida, se estima el índice (parámetro de expansión) de la ley potencial R∝ tm como m≡ d ln R/d ln t . Este valor se compara con coeficientes teóricos para diferentes fases evolutivas de remanentes de supernova.

Probabilidad de colisión de cometas periódicos con partículas interplanetarias

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gil Hutton, R.

Se presentan resultados sobre la probabilidad de colisión de cometas de corto período con la población de partículas interplanetarias presentes en la región del cinturón de asteroides. Se encuentra que este proceso colisional afecta la evolución física de los cometas de manera no despreciable y puede ser el responsable de variaciones de brillo de tipo ``outburst". Se presentan resultados para algunos cometas en particular y se obtiene un límite inferior para el tamaño de los núcleos en función de la distribución de radios del cinturón de asteroides.

Actitudes de los candidatos y maestros de ciencias en servicio acerca del uso de las herramientas computadorizadas en las clases de ciencias

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bayuelo, Ezequiel

Este estudio examino y comparo las actitudes de los candidatos a maestros de ciencias y los maestros de ciencias en servicio acerca de la utilizacion de las herramientas computadorizadas en las clases de ciencias. Tambien identifico y diferencio el uso que ellos dan a estas herramientas en las clases de ciencias. Este estudio presenta un diseno descriptivo exploratorio. Constituyeron la muestra trescientos diez sujetos que fueron candidatos a maestros de ciencias o maestros de ciencias en servicio. Para recoger los datos se construyo y valido un cuestionario de treinta y un itemes. Se utilizaron las pruebas estadisticas no parametricas Kruskal Wallis y Chi-cuadrado (test de homogeneidad) para establecer las diferencias entre las actitudes de los sujetos con relacion al uso de las herramientas computadorizadas en las clases de ciencias. Los hallazgos evidenciaron que son positivas y muy parecidas las actitudes de los candidatos a maestros y maestros en servicio hacia el uso de las herramientas computadorizadas. No hubo diferencias entre los candidatos y maestros en servicio en terminos de las actitudes de confianza y empatia hacia el uso de las herramientas computadorizadas en las clases de ciencias. En aspectos como el uso del banco de datos bibliografico Eric y el uso de las herramientas computadorizadas en actividades educativas como explorar conceptos, conceptuar, aplicar lo aprendido y hacer asignaciones hubo diferencias estadisticamente significativas entre los candidatos y los maestros en servicio. Al comparar las frecuencias observadas con las esperadas hubo mas maestros en servicio y menos candidatos que indicaron usar el anterior banco de datos y las herramientas computadorizadas en las mencionadas actividades educativas.

Estudio de mutaciones en los genes IDH1 e IDH2 en una muestra de gliomas de población colombiana.

PubMed

Ricaurte, Orlando; Neita, Karina; Valero, Danyela; Ortega-Rojas, Jenny; Arboleda-Bustos, Carlos E; Zubieta, Camilo; Penagos, José; Arboleda, Gonzalo

2018-05-01

Introducción. Los gliomas son los tumores primarios más comunes del sistema nervioso central y se clasifican de I a IV según su grado de malignidad. En recientes investigaciones se ha encontrado que su aparición está relacionada con mutaciones en el exón 4 de los genes que codifican las deshidrogenasas de isocitrato 1 y 2 (IDH1: codón 132; IDH2: codón 172).Objetivo. Determinar la frecuencia de mutaciones en los genes IDH1 e IDH2 en una muestra de gliomas de pacientes colombianos.Materiales y métodos. La extracción de ADN se hizo a partir de tejido tumoral. El exón 4 de los genes IDH1 e IDH2 se amplificó mediante PCR utilizando iniciadores específicos y, posteriormente, se secuenciaron. Para la determinación de las mutaciones, se emplearon los programas 4Peaks y MAFFT.Resultados. Se determinó la presencia de mutaciones en el gen IDH1 en el 34 % de las muestras, con predominio de la mutación no sinónima R132H. En el 7,5 % de los casos se detectaron mutaciones en el gen IDH2, principalmente las mutaciones no sinónimas R172K y R172W.Conclusiones. La frecuencia de mutaciones en los genes IDH1 e IDH2 en la muestra fue similar a la reportada en otros estudios. El análisis de estas mutaciones puede ser importante como factor pronóstico y para su uso como potenciales blancos terapéuticos en gliomas.

Los “puntos débiles o sensibles” de los Ensayos Clínicos en niñas/os y adolescentes

PubMed Central

Melamed, Irene N.

2017-01-01

Resumen La revisión ética de un Ensayo Clínico1 que incluye a niñas/os y adolescentes en calidad de participantes, debe centrar su mirada en aspectos relacionados con la vulnerabilidad inherente a esa etapa de la vida, condición que se nutre de elementos biológicos, emocionales, de justicia y de equidad, entre otros. Sin embargo, la visión sugerida en este caso y sin desoír las características mencionadas, es la que busca profundizar en uno de los actores del proceso de investigación: el Ensayo Clínico. El objetivo es poder determinar la presencia o no de “zonas frágiles o de puntos débiles” en su interior, los que al ser individualizados y especialmente considerados, contribuyan a mejorar la calidad de la revisión ética de las investigaciones que son llevadas a cabo en niñas/os y adolescentes. PMID:28757905

Desarrollo de la Escala sobre el Estigma Relacionado con el VIH/SIDA para Profesionales de la Salud mediante el uso de métodos mixtos123

PubMed Central

Varas-Díaz, Nelson; Neilands, Torsten B.; Guilamo-Ramos, Vincent; Cintrón Bou, Francheska N.

2009-01-01

El estigma relacionado con el VIH/SIDA continúa siendo un obstáculo para la prevención primaria y secundaria del VIH. Las consecuencias para las personas que viven con la enfermedad han sido muy documentadas y continúan siendo una gran preocupación para las personas que proveen servicios de salud y para aquellas que investigan el tema. Estas consecuencias son preocupantes cuando el estigma emana de profesionales de la salud porque se puede limitar el acceso a los servicios. Uno de los principales obstáculos para la investigación del estigma relacionado con el VIH en Puerto Rico es la falta de instrumentos cuantitativos para evaluar las manifestaciones del estigma entre profesionales de la salud. El objetivo principal de este estudio fue desarrollar y probar las propiedades psicométricas de una escala sobre el estigma relacionado con el VIH/SIDA culturalmente apropiada para personas que proveen servicios de salud puertorriqueñas y desarrollar una versión corta de la escala que pudiera usarse en escenarios clínicos con tiempo limitado. El instrumento desarrollado estuvo basado en evidencia cualitativa recopilada entre profesionales y estudiantes de profesiones de la salud puertorriqueños/as (n=80) y administrado a una muestra de 421 profesionales de la salud en adiestramiento. La escala contenía 12 dimensiones del estigma relacionado con el VIH/SIDA. El análisis cuantitativo corroboró 11 de ellas, teniendo como resultado un instrumento con validez y confiabilidad satisfactoria. Estas dimensiones, a su vez, fueron subcomponentes de un factor de estigma general superior. PMID:20333258

La preparacion en ciencia de los candidatos a maestros del nivel elemental primario segun la reforma de la educacion cientifica en Puerto Rico: Una propuesta de secuencia curricular

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodriguez Plaza, Evelyn

El proposito de esta investigacion fue identificar los componentes de la preparacion en ciencia que deben recibir los estudiantes del Bachillerato en Artes en Educacion Elemental, Nivel Primario, de acuerdo a los documentos que dirigen la reforma de la educacion cientifica en Puerto Rico. Tambien, se identificaron los componentes de los cursos que forman parte de la preparacion en ciencia de estos estudiantes. Se compararon los componentes de la preparacion en ciencia y los componentes de los cursos para determinar congruencias y discrepancias. Con los datos recopilados se identificaron los componentes de los cursos de una secuencia curricular para la preparacion en ciencia de los candidatos a maestros del nivel elemental primario. La secuencia curricular que se propone en esta investigacion incluye cursos de contenido cientifico y de metodologia en la ensenanza de la ciencia disenados para satisfacer las necesidades de los candidatos. Se recomienda que en los procesos para el diseno, la implantacion y la evaluacion de estos cursos participen profesores de ciencia, profesores de educacion y maestros del nivel elemental primario. Todos los cursos de la secuencia curricular deben tener un enfoque constructivista. Las experiencias educativas que se incluyan en los cursos deben aspirar a desarrollar en los candidatos los atributos de la cultura cientifica y actitudes positivas hacia la ciencia y hacia la ensenanza de esta disciplina. El modelaje por parte de los profesores que ensenen los cursos de la secuencia curricular es fundamental en el desarrollo profesional de los candidatos. Se recomienda que en los cursos de contenido cientifico se estudien los conceptos y los conocimientos cientificos que forman parte del curriculo de Kindergarten a tercer grado de forma integrada y con una profundidad universitaria. Estos cursos deben tener un enfoque interdisciplinario e incluir el estudio de la naturaleza de la ciencia y un componente de laboratorio para desarrollar los

Los Sentimientos, Luchas, y Esperanzas de Cinco Familias Mexicana: The Sentiments, Struggles, and Hopes of Five Mexican Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dueñas, Gilbert

2015-01-01

Within the everyday space of their modest trailer homes, I observed compelling environments in the households of 5 Mexican families. In their homes, there existed "los padres con sus hijos" (parents with their children) who intuitively expressed "cariño," or love, for one another, conversed in multiple languages, practiced…

Obtención de perfiles teóricos de elementos metálicos con velocidades macroscópicas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cirigliano, D.; Costa, A.; Rovira, M.

El propósito de este trabajo es poder establecer -a partir de la modelización de perfiles de distintas especies- patrones de comparación observacional que permitan caracterizar los fenómenos físicos que están presentes en las estructuras que se observan. Para ello se resuelven las ecuaciones de equilibrio de ionización para un determinado átomo y una atmósfera de parámetros determinados. A partir de ello se definen las poblaciones para los distintos grados de ionización. Considerando distintas configuraciones e intensidades de flujos de masa se deducen la función fuente, el espesor óptico y se calculan los perfiles de las distintas líneas. Se obtuvieron perfiles teóricos de líneas del CII, CIV y del OIV para flujos entrante, saliente y pasante. La forma del perfil, las intensidades relativas entre los distintos flujos y el corrimiento Doppler da cuenta de una caracterización teórica a partir de la cual se comparará con observaciones.

Evaluacion de los recursos potenciales del petroleo y gas, en Centro y Suramerica [Evaluation of potential petroleum and gas resources in Central and South America

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, C.S.

2001-01-01

El Servicio Geológico de los Estados Unidos (USGS, por sus siglas en inglés) completó recientemente un estudio evaluativo de recursos potenciales de petróleo y gas en 130 provincias de petróleo seleccionadas en diferentes partes del mundo (USGS, 2000). De estas 130 provincias, 23 se encuentran en Suramérica, Centroamérica, y la región del Caribe (fig. 1). El estudio comprendió desde las provincias de petróleo establecidas con un largo historial de producción, como la Cuenca de Maracaibo, hasta las provincias fronterizas de poca o ninguna producción, como la Cuenca de Guyana-Suriname. No todas las provincias con historial de producción o con potencial de producción fueron evaluadas en el Estudio Evaluativo USGS 2000. Al presente, el USGS está evaluando muchas de las provincias restantes de petróleo y gas, en Centro y Suramérica. En cada provincia hemos (1) definido geológicamente el total de los sistemas de petróleo, (2) definido las unidades evaluadas que forman parte de todos los sistemas de petróleo, y (3) evaluado el volumen potencial de petróleo y gas convencional en cada unidad evaluada. Definimos un total de 26 sistemas de petróleo y 55 unidades evaluadas en las 23 provincias

Natural products as reservoirs of novel therapeutic agents.

PubMed

Mushtaq, Sadaf; Abbasi, Bilal Haider; Uzair, Bushra; Abbasi, Rashda

2018-01-01

Since ancient times, natural products from plants, animals, microbial and marine sources have been exploited for treatment of several diseases. The knowledge of our ancestors is the base of modern drug discovery process. However, due to the presence of extensive biodiversity in natural sources, the percentage of secondary metabolites screened for bioactivity is low. This review aims to provide a brief overview of historically significant natural therapeutic agents along with some current potential drug candidates. It will also provide an insight into pros and cons of natural product discovery and how development of recent approaches has answered the challenges associated with it.

Distribución espacial de órbitas con diferentes grados de caoticidad en modelos autoconsistentes de satélites galácticos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muzzio, J. C.; Mosquera, M.

En trabajos anteriores (Carpintero et al., Cel. Mech. Dynam. Astron. 85, 247, 2003), mostramos que las órbitas caóticas son muy importantes en los satélites galácticos. Sin embargo, los únicos modelos autoconsistentes de los que se disponía para ellos eran los de Heggie-Ramamani, cuya función de distribución depende sólo de la energía por lo que no mostraban diferencias entre las distribuciones de sus órbitas regulares y caóticas. Ahora, mediante una aproximación cuadrupolar, hemos logrado construir modelos autoconsistentes de satélites galácticos con distribuciones de velocidades anisotrópicas (lo que indica que sus funciones de distribución no dependen sólo de la energía) y hemos logrado revelar las diferencias entre las estructuras espaciales de las órbitas de distinta caoticidad.

Aceptabilidad del diagnóstico rápido casero para HIV entre hombres gay y otros hombres que tienen sexo con hombres (G&HSH) de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires

PubMed Central

Balán, Iván C.; Carballo-Diéguez, Alex; Marone, Rubén O.; Pando, María A.; Barreda, Victoria; Ávila, María M.

2011-01-01

Resumen El uso del diagnóstico rápido para HIV en Argentina, así como otros países de Latinoamérica, ha sido limitado hasta el momento. Este trabajo reporta los resultados provenientes de un estudio cualitativo realizado entre hombres gays y otros hombres que tienen sexo con hombres (G&HSH) de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. El objetivo principal del mismo fue conocer las ventajas y desventajas que los hombres G&HSH perciben en relación al diagnóstico rápido casero para HIV. Se realizaron ocho grupos focales con 73 participantes en los cuales se discutió acerca de las ventajas y desventajas del uso de los diagnósticos rápidos. Las respuestas fueron codificadas utilizando un programa para análisis de datos cualitativos (NVivo) y analizadas temáticamente. Los participantes describieron numerosas ventajas sobre el uso del diagnóstico rápido casero, aunque algunos reportaron importantes preocupaciones dentro de las cuales se destaca la posibilidad de impulsos suicidas si alguien recibe un resultado positivo estando solo. En términos generales se observó una gran aceptabilidad para el uso del diagnóstico rápido si el mismo es realizado por personal de salud en lugares acondicionados para este fin. PMID:25284951

Aceptabilidad del diagnóstico rápido casero para HIV entre hombres gay y otros hombres que tienen sexo con hombres (G&HSH) de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires.

PubMed

Balán, Iván C; Carballo-Diéguez, Alex; Marone, Rubén O; Pando, María A; Barreda, Victoria; Avila, María M

2011-03-01

El uso del diagnóstico rápido para HIV en Argentina, así como otros países de Latinoamérica, ha sido limitado hasta el momento. Este trabajo reporta los resultados provenientes de un estudio cualitativo realizado entre hombres gays y otros hombres que tienen sexo con hombres (G&HSH) de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. El objetivo principal del mismo fue conocer las ventajas y desventajas que los hombres G&HSH perciben en relación al diagnóstico rápido casero para HIV. Se realizaron ocho grupos focales con 73 participantes en los cuales se discutió acerca de las ventajas y desventajas del uso de los diagnósticos rápidos. Las respuestas fueron codificadas utilizando un programa para análisis de datos cualitativos (NVivo) y analizadas temáticamente. Los participantes describieron numerosas ventajas sobre el uso del diagnóstico rápido casero, aunque algunos reportaron importantes preocupaciones dentro de las cuales se destaca la posibilidad de impulsos suicidas si alguien recibe un resultado positivo estando solo. En términos generales se observó una gran aceptabilidad para el uso del diagnóstico rápido si el mismo es realizado por personal de salud en lugares acondicionados para este fin.

Genetics and molecular specificity of sialylation of Histophilus somni lipooligosaccharide (LOS) and the effect of LOS sialylation on Toll-like receptor-4 signaling.

PubMed

Howard, Michael D; Willis, Lisa; Wakarchuk, Warren; St Michael, Frank; Cox, Andrew; Horne, William T; Hontecillas, Raquel; Bassaganya-Riera, Josep; Lorenz, Eva; Inzana, Thomas J

2011-11-21

Histophilus somni is an etiologic agent of bovine respiratory and systemic diseases. Most pathogenic strains of H. somni that have been tested (36 of 42) are able to utilize N-acetyl-5-neuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) to sialylate their lipooligosaccharide (LOS). Homologs of all the genes required for transport, metabolism, and regulation of Neu5Ac in Haemophilus influenzae were identified in the sequenced genomes of H. somni. Three open reading frames (ORFs) in H. somni strain 2336 were identified that contained homology to genes required for LOS sialylation in related bacteria. ORF-1 (hssT-I), ORF-2 (hssT-II), and ORF-3 (neuA(Hs)) were predicted to encode for putative proteins with 37% amino acid homology to an α-(2-3)-sialyltransferase in H. influenzae, 43% amino acid homology to an Haemophilus ducreyi sialyltransferase, and 72% amino acid homology to an H. influenzae CMP-Neu5Ac synthetase, respectively. The specific enzyme activity of each ORF was determined using synthetic acceptor substrates. The HssT-I sialyltransferase primarily sialylated N-acetyllactosamine (LacNAc, Gal-β-[1-4]-GlcNAc-R), which is expressed on strain 2336, whereas HssT-II preferentially sialylated lacto-N-biose (LNB, Gal-β-[1-3]-GlcNAc-R), which is expressed on a phase variant of strain 2336: strain 738. Phase variation of the terminal galactose linkage in strain 738 from β-(1-3)-(LNB) to β-(1-4)-(LacNAc) was confirmed using monoclonal antibody reactivity and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Sialylated LOS induced significantly less chemokine response from macrophages derived from Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 knockout mice than from de-sialylated LOS. Furthermore, sialylated LOS induced significantly less NF-κB activity from mouse-derived bone marrow macrophages than de-sialylated LOS. Therefore, sialylation inhibited LOS signaling through TLR-4. In conclusion, H. somni utilizes linkage-specific sialyltransferases to sialylate its LOS to avoid innate host defense mechanisms despite

3. LOS ANGELES RIVER AND FIGUEROA STREET VIADUCTS ACROSS LOS ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

3. LOS ANGELES RIVER AND FIGUEROA STREET VIADUCTS ACROSS LOS ANGELES RIVER. LOOKING 18° N. - Arroyo Seco Parkway, Figueroa Street Viaduct, Spanning Los Angeles River, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Nonspecific Resistance Induced by an Immunopharmacologic Agent Derived from Bordetella pertussis.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-01-31

NONSPECIFIC RESISTANCE INDUCED BY AN IMM1JNOPHAL’-ACOLOGIC AGENT DERIVED FROM a u’seeOG EoTwwE BORDE2’ELLA PERTUSSIS * OTATO RN UU~e AU THOR(*) B OTATO RN...antibodies 20. A 9STRPACT (Con tnue an revwre side It necessary and fdontitlP Ip 5149k IeebffJ LJ..JTreatment of mice with Bordetella pertueeis vaccine...resulted in * resistance to mouse adenovirus infection. Antiviral activity was associated with surface components of B. pertussie . Acellular fractions with

Virulence, Speciation and Antibiotic Susceptibility of Ocular Coagualase Negative Staphylococci (CoNS)

PubMed Central

Priya, Ravindran; Mythili, Arumugam; Singh, Yendremban Randhir Babu; Sreekumar, Haridas; Manikandan, Palanisamy; Panneerselvam, Kanesan

2014-01-01

isolates were identified as S. xylosus (n=8), S. captis (n=16), S. haemolyticus (n=10), S. saccharolyticus (n=2), S. hominis (n=5), S. saprophyticus (n=6) and S. intermedius (n=1). On the other hand, 9 isolates were not identified. In the antibiotic susceptibility analysis, it was found that most of the isolates were sensitive to vancomycin, amikacin and linczolid and resistant to cefatoxime, oxacillin, bacitracin and nalidixic acid. Conclusion: S. epidermidis was found to be predominant in causing the ocular complications. Slime production, heamagglutination, protease and lipase activities could be the putative virulence factors of CoNS. Antibiotic susceptibility patterns of CoNS against antibacterial agents revealed maximum resistance to beta lactam groups, and the resistance was found to be higher to oxacillin, and lowest to vancomycin. PMID:24995181

Memorias del cuarto simposio internacional sobre políticas, planificación y economía de los incendios forestales: cambio climático e incendios forestales; 2012 noviembre 5–11; Ciudad de México, México

Treesearch

Armando González-Cabán

2013-01-01

Trabajos IndividualesEstas memorias resumen el resultado de un simposio diseñado para discutir los problemas actuales que confrontan las agencias con responsabilidad para la protección contra incendios forestales a nivel federal y estadual en los EE.UU., al igual...

Natural products as reservoirs of novel therapeutic agents

PubMed Central

Mushtaq, Sadaf; Abbasi, Bilal Haider; Uzair, Bushra; Abbasi, Rashda

2018-01-01

Since ancient times, natural products from plants, animals, microbial and marine sources have been exploited for treatment of several diseases. The knowledge of our ancestors is the base of modern drug discovery process. However, due to the presence of extensive biodiversity in natural sources, the percentage of secondary metabolites screened for bioactivity is low. This review aims to provide a brief overview of historically significant natural therapeutic agents along with some current potential drug candidates. It will also provide an insight into pros and cons of natural product discovery and how development of recent approaches has answered the challenges associated with it. PMID:29805348

Leyendo con tu hijo: Consejos practicos para los padres... (Reading with Your Child: Practical Advice for Parents...).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colorado State Dept. of Education, Denver.

This brochure (in Spanish) offers some practical tips for Spanish-speaking parents who wish to read to their young children. The brochure first provides general tips, such as "Lea a su hijo en voz alto por lo menos unos 15 minutos todos los dias" (Read to your child aloud for at least 15 minutes daily), and "Estabeleza una rotina y…

"Estudio tribologico de aceros para moldes. Aplicacion al moldeo por inyeccion de polibutilentereftalato reforzado con fibra de vidrio"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez Mateo, Isidoro Jose

fabricacion del molde, tienen una gran influencia sobre su comportamiento en servicio a lo largo de la vida util del molde. En la primera parte del presente estudio, a partir de ensayos punzon sobre disco, se ha determinado la relacion entre la resistencia al desgaste y la dureza de aceros para moldes obtenidos a partir de bloques de gran espesor, estudiando los principales mecanismos de desgaste que tienen lugar. A continuacion, con el fin de determinar el dano superficial que sufren los aceros para moldes en condiciones reales de inyeccion, se han estudiado distintos tipos de aceros utilizados comercialmente en moldes de inyeccion de polimeros y materiales compuestos, seleccionando las condiciones de operacion para determinar la variacion de la rugosidad superficial del acero en funcion del material inyectado, del numero de operaciones sucesivas de inyeccion y de la orientacion del flujo de inyeccion, mediante tecnicas de perfilometria optica y microscopia electronica de barrido. Ademas del dano superficial sufrido por el acero con el numero de piezas inyectadas, tambien se ha determinado la evolucion de la rugosidad superficial de los materiales inyectados, polibutilentereftalato (PBT) puro y materiales compuestos derivados de PBT por adicion de un 20 o un 50% en peso de fibra de vidrio. En el caso de las piezas inyectadas, se ha caracterizado su microestructura en funcion del flujo de inyeccion y de la densidad de fibra, se han determinado sus propiedades termicas y dinamico-mecanicas, asi como la variacion de la rugosidad superficial de las piezas inyectadas con el numero de operaciones de inyeccion y con la geometria de las distintas secciones de las piezas. Finalmente, se ha evaluado la resistencia a la abrasion de PBT reforzado con un 50% de fibra, en funcion del numero de piezas inyectadas y de la direccion de rayado con respecto a la orientacion del flujo de inyeccion.

El rol de Ia colaboracion y el Modelo de Aprendizaje Basado en Proyectos (ABPr) mediante el lente de la Teoria de Actividad (CHAT): un estudio de caso con estudiantes de 9no grado

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delgado, Isabel C.

Los modelos de eensenanza y aprendizaje constructivistas conceptualizan el aprendizaje como un proceso activo. El modelo de Aprendizaje Basado en Proyectos (ABPr) se distingue por una serie de componentes, entre los cuales se destaca el aspecto colaborativo y cooperativo como un reto al momento de su implantacion. Son pocas las investigaciones que se concentran en este aspecto del modelo. En este estudio, se analizaron las diversas interacciones que surgen durante la implantacion de una unidad curricular sobre el tema de Geologia de Puerto Rico, la cual se diseno con el modelo ABPr cuyo enfoque es orientacion a proyectos. Particularmente, se examinaron las interacciones sociales que surgen entre los pares y entre pares y docente durante el proceso de planificacion y desarrollo de los productos finales, al igual que las interacciones entre los estudiantes y el material didactico en estas etapas del modelo. La investigacion es de tipo cualitativo e incorpora como diseno el estudio de caso. Las diversas interacciones constituyen la unidad de analisis. En el estudio participaron 19 estudiantes de 9no grado, a quienes se organizaron en 5 grupos colaborativos por temas de interes (Pangea, Placas tectonicas, Volcanes, Tsunamis y Terremotos). Las tecnicas que se utilizaron para recopilar los datos fueron: observaciones participativas, grupos focales y analisis de documentos (cuadernos reflexivos y respuestas de los estudiantes a la pregunta central del proyecto). Para el analisis de los datos se aplico la teoria de actividad (CHAT) que concentra la unidad de analisis en la actividad humana en un contexto particular. Los resultados del estudio senalan que las interacciones entre pares, entre pares y docente, asi como entre estudiantes y material didactico son fundamentales en el proceso de aprendizaje. Una mayor interaccion entre pares durante las etapas de planificar y desarrollar los productos finales de la unidad, promueve una mejor comprension de los conceptos de la

Neuromuscular blocking agent administration for emergent tracheal intubation is associated with decreased prevalence of procedure-related complications.

PubMed

Wilcox, Susan R; Bittner, Edward A; Elmer, Jonathan; Seigel, Todd A; Nguyen, Nicole Thuy P; Dhillon, Anahat; Eikermann, Matthias; Schmidt, Ulrich

2012-06-01

Emergent intubation is associated with a high rate of complications. Neuromuscular blocking agents are routinely used in the operating room and emergency department to facilitate intubation. However, use of neuromuscular blocking agents during emergent airway management outside of the operating room and emergency department is controversial. We hypothesized that the use of neuromuscular blocking agents is associated with a decreased prevalence of hypoxemia and reduced rate of procedure-related complications. Five hundred sixty-six patients undergoing emergent intubations in two tertiary care centers, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, and the University of California Los Angeles, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, were enrolled in a prospective, observational study. The 112 patients intubated during cardiopulmonary resuscitation were excluded, leaving 454 patients for analysis. All intubations were supervised by attendings trained in Critical Care Medicine. We measured intubating conditions, oxygen saturation during and 5 mins following intubation. We assessed the prevalence of procedure-related complications defined as esophageal intubation, traumatic intubation, aspiration, dental injury, and endobronchial intubation. The use of neuromuscular blocking agents was associated with a lower prevalence of hypoxemia (10.1% vs. 17.4%, p = .022) and a lower prevalence of procedure-related complications (3.1% vs. 8.3%, p = .012). This association persisted in a multivariate analysis, which controlled for airway grade, sedation, and institution. Use of neuromuscular blocking agents was associated with significantly improved intubating conditions (laryngeal view, p = .014; number of intubation attempts, p = .049). After controlling for the number of intubation attempts and laryngoscopic view, muscle relaxant use is an independent predictor of complications associated with emergency intubation (p = .037), and there is a trend towards improvement of

Conózcanos

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Principal de la EPA: información sobre el Administrador o la Administradora, los altos directivos; ubicaciones y direcciones de las oficinas; presupuesto, la planificación y los resultados de rendimiento

[Cambios en la salud sexual de los pacientes obesos tras cirugía bariátrica].

PubMed

Pomares-Callejón, María A; Ferrer-Márquez, Manuel; Solvas-Salmerón, María J

2018-01-01

Los objetivos del estudio fueron: 1) evaluar la salud sexual en pacientes con obesidad grave/mórbida candidatos a cirugía bariátrica; y 2) valorar la evolución de la salud sexual tras 12 meses de la cirugía. Estudio descriptivo, prospectivo desde febrero de 2011 hasta junio de 2014. Se valoró la actividad sexual en los hombres a través del cuestionario EVAS-H y la función sexual en la mujer a través de la escala FSM (44 pacientes). Durante el estudio basal en los hombres, un 21% de la muestra presentó disfunción sexual en diferentes dimensiones, mientras que un 43% presentó problemas de eyaculación precoz. Tras 12 meses de la intervención, se observó un incremento de la actividad sexual global (p = 0.026). En torno al 70-89% de las mujeres, previamente a la cirugía, no presentaban trastorno. En la evolución no se observaron cambios medios relevantes (p > 0.05). Los pacientes con obesidad grave/mórbida candidatos a cirugía bariátrica presentan alteraciones considerables en diversas dimensiones de la salud sexual. Después de 12 meses de seguimiento, la salud sexual parece mejorar en los hombres. The aims of the study were: 1) to assess sexual health patients severe/morbid obesity patients candidates for bariatric surgery; and 2) to assess sexual health evolution after 12 months of surgery. Descriptive, prospective study from February 2011 to June 2014. Sexual activity in men was valued through EVAS-H questionnaire and through FSM scale on women (44 patients). During the basal study in men, a 21% of the sample showed sexual disfunction in different dimensions, while a 43% showed problems with premature ejaculation. 12 months after surgery, global sexual activity was improved significantly (p = 0,026). Approximately 70-89% of women presented no disturbance before surgery. No average relevant changes were observed within the evolution (p > 0.05). Morbid/severe obesity patients candidates to bariatric surgery, show considerable alterations on diverse

Dinámica y crecimiento de los granos de polvo en la nebulosa protoplanetaria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de La Fuente Marcos, Carlos

2001-06-01

corriente no circulares perturba significativamente el movimiento de las partículas alrededor del Sol e incrementa su vida media en la Nebulosa. El flujo medio del gas se modela de forma simple, analizándose la dinámica y el crecimiento de las partículas mediante simulaciones numéricas. Al incrementarse la vida media y la densidad superficial de las partículas sólidas, los mecanismos de confinamiento derivados de la presencia de vórtices y ondas espirales actuan sobre el material sólido de la Nebulosa (mediante agregación colisional o inestabilidades gravitacionales) de manera mucho más eficiente que la previamente considerada. Esto ofrece nuevas posibilidades para la formación de planetesimales y núcleos de planetas gigantes, y puede explicar la formación rápida de planetas extrasolares gigantes. Además, esta Tesis analiza la respuesta de las partículas, en un disco protoplanetario con un radio de 100 UA en torno a una estrella de tipo solar, al campo gravitatorio derivado de la presencia de dos estrellas compañeras ligadas en una órbita relativamente elongada (300-1600 UA). Para llevar a cabo este análisis, se han realizado una serie de simulaciones numéricas de configuraciones jerárquicas coplanares utilizando un programa FORTRAN que integra directamente las ecuaciones del movimiento con el objeto de modelar la presencia de las fuerzas gravitacionales y viscosas. El disco protoplanetario masivo se encuentra en torno a una de las componentes de la binaria. La evolución temporal del subdisco de polvo depende directamente de la naturaleza (directa o retrógrada) de la revolución relativa de la compañera estelar, y de la temperatura y la masa del disco circunestelar.

PubMed

Domínguez, Vanihamín; Aguiñiga, Itzen; Moreno, Leticia; Torres, Beatriz; Santiago-Osorio, Edelmiro

2017-12-01

Introducción. El caseinato de sodio, una sal de la caseína utilizada como agente proinflamatorio en ratones, es capaz de inducir granulopoyesis en vivo e incrementar la producción de citocinas esenciales en dicho evento.Objetivo. Evaluar si el caseinato de sodio es capaz de inducir un efecto biológico en células de origen linfoide y la producción de citocinas involucradas con este linaje.Materiales y métodos: Se utilizaron ratones hembra BALB/c de 8 a 12 semanas de edad. Los animales se inyectaron cuatro veces, con intervalos de 48 horas, por vía intraperitoneal con 1 ml de caseinato de sodio (10 % de SFB p/v). La población de linfocitos B y la incorporación de bromodesoxiuridina (BrdU) se analizaron mediante citometría de flujo. La detección de la interleucina 7 se evaluó mediante la técnica de ELISA.Resultados. Tras la inyección por vía intraperitoneal, el número de linfocitos B 220+ provenientes del bazo de ratones tratados con caseinato de sodio aumentó comparados con los que solo recibieron el vehículo como tratamiento (89,01±1,03 Vs. 75,66±2,08), así como la incorporación de BrdU en células B220+ (38,59±4,48 Vs. 11,82±1,04). Se evidenció, asimismo, el incremento en la concentración de la interleucina 7 (IL-7) en el suero de los ratones tratados con caseinato de sodio, comparados con los que solo recibieron el vehículo (62,1±17,5 Vs. 26,9±4,4 pg/ml).Conclusión. El caseinato de sodio fue capaz de aumentar el número de linfocitos B en bazo de ratones, así como inducir la producción de IL-7, citocina clave para la linfopoyesis B.

Medición de los parámetros cosmológicos q0, ΩM, y ΩΛ, usando supernovas de Tipo Ia distantes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clocchiatti, A.; High-Z Sne Search Team

Las supernovas de tipo Ia son una herramienta de gran precisión para la medición de distancias de interés cosmológico. Los métodos recientes de calibración de su luminosidad intrínseca, que hacen uso de la forma de las curvas de luz en varios colores y permiten diferenciar entre supernovas distantes, intrínsecamente débiles, u oscurecidas por extinción, reducen la dispersión del método que las asume de magnitud absoluta constante de 0.50 mag a 0.15 mag, e incrementa el valor de la constante de Hubble de ~55 km s-1 Mpc-1, a 65 km s-1 Mpc-1. A partir de la calibración de las supernovas cercanas, con redshifts menores que 0.1, se pueden obtener distancias precisas a supernovas que explotan a alto redshift. Hemos aplicado estos métodos a 16 supernovas con 0.16 < Z < 0.97, encontrando que sus distancias son, en promedio, entre 10% y 13% (dependiendo del método empleado) mayores que las que uno esperaría en un universo con poca masa (Ω = 0.2), sin una constante cosmológica. Todos los métodos de ajuste de curvas de luz, y selección de subgrupos de la muestra de supernovas observadas, favorecen consistentemente modelos del universo que se expanden eternamente y que tienen una constante cosmológica positiva (ΩΛ > 0), y una aceleración de la expansión al presente (q0 < 0). Hay distintas fuentes de posibles errores sistemáticos que merecen ser analizadas, entre ellas: evolución de la metalicidad y estrellas progenitoras, extinción, bias en la elección de la muestra, amplificación por gravitational lensing, y contaminación de la muestra. Ninguno de estos efectos alcanza para reconciliar los datos con ΩΛ = 0, o q0 > 0.

Concepciones Alternativas de "Fotosintesis" en estudiantes Universitarios del curso basico de Biologia y posibles correcciones con el Modelo Educativo MODEF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Jesus Roman, Sandra

Concepciones Alternativas de Fotosíntesis en estudiantes Universitariosdel curso básico de Biología y posibles correcciones con el Modelo Educativo MODEF El modelo educativo para la enseñanza de Fotosíntesis (MODEF) se implantó para trabajar el problema de las concepciones alternativas (CA) en un curso de Biología General. Se evaluaron los resultados en cuanto al logro del aprendizaje significativo. La pregunta central de la investigación fue: ¿Cómo aporta el modelo educativo en la didáctica y comprensión del tema de fotosíntesis? Se efectuó una investigación acción con una fase cuantitativa y una cualitativa. Para la fase cuantitativa se elaboró una prueba para determinar las concepciones alternativas, se validó y se sometió a los estudiantes que participaron en el estudio antes y después de ofrecer la unidad de metabolismo celular. Los participantes eran estudiantes de primer año de la Universidad de Puerto Rico en Bayamón (UPRB). Se llevó a cabo un análisis de consistencia interna de la prueba mediante el método Alfa de Cronbach. Se analizaron las contestaciones a cada pregunta mediante la prueba de Ji cuadrado de contingencia, se efectuó la prueba de t y el coeficiente r de Pearson. La fase cualitativa incluyó la observación participativa de la investigadora- profesora, las reflexiones de los estudiantes y la información de las entrevistas semi-estructuradas que se realizaron a tres estudiantes del curso. El análisis se llevó a cabo mediante el Modelo de Wolcott. Se trabajaron diez CA de las cuales siete fueron corregidas mediante el Modelo MODEF. Las actividades más importantes para el proceso de aprendizaje incluyeron el trabajo de investigación o búsqueda de información para hacer una presentación digital, la elaboración de tablas, los mapas de conceptos, el uso de visuales o videos y las analogías para explicar conceptos o procesos. En conclusión: se recomienda el uso del Modelo MODEF para la discusión del tema de

Memorias del segundo simposio internacional sobre políticas, planificación y economía de los programas de protección contra incendios forestales: una visión global; 2004 Abril 19–22; Córdoba, España

Treesearch

Armando González-Cabán

2008-01-01

Estas memorias resumen el resultado de un simposio diseñado para discutir los problemas actuales que confrontan las agencias con responsabilidad para la protección contra incendios forestales a nivel federal y estadual en los EE.UU., al igual que agencias en la comunidad internacional. Los temas discutidos en el simposio incluyen economía del fuego, teoría y modelos...

Forest Service special agents, assistant special agents in charge, senior special agents, and supervisory special agents report: nationwide study

Treesearch

Deborah J. Chavez; Joanne F. Tynon

2007-01-01

This is the fourth in a series of studies to evaluate perceptions of U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service law enforcement personnel of the roles, responsibilities, and issues related to their jobs. An e-mail survey was administered to the 89 Forest Service special agents, assistant special agents in charge, senior special agents, and supervisory special agents...

Linfoma Nasal de Células T/Natural Killer Extranodal Refractario Mal Diagnosticado, Tratado de Manera Exitosa: Informe de Caso.

PubMed

Saavedra Ramírez, José Domingo

2017-01-01

El linfoma de células T/natural killer extranodal ("extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma", ENKL) nasal es un linfoma no Hodgkin (LNH) agresivo y poco común para el cual no se ha establecido un tratamiento de referencia claro, especialmente en el escenario de la enfermedad recidivante/refractaria. Debido a su rareza, no se han llevado a cabo ensayos aleatorizados específicamente en ENKL nasal; sin embargo, los informes de caso y las series de caso pequeñas ofrecen un conocimiento importante sobre nuevos tratamientos potenciales. Presentamos el informe de caso de un paciente con ENKL nasal (previamente mal diagnosticado como una sinusitis crónica recidivante) en quien la enfermedad progresó durante la quimioterapia con múltiples agentes pero respondió al tratamiento de segunda línea con pralatrexato como agente único. Analizamos opciones de tratamiento para el ENKL nasal recidivante/refractario y sugerimos que el pralatrexato se evalúe más a fondo en este escenario clínico.

Linfoma Nasal de Células T/Natural Killer Extranodal Refractario Mal Diagnosticado, Tratado de Manera Exitosa: Informe de Caso

PubMed Central

Saavedra Ramírez, José Domingo

2017-01-01

El linfoma de células T/natural killer extranodal (“extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma”, ENKL) nasal es un linfoma no Hodgkin (LNH) agresivo y poco común para el cual no se ha establecido un tratamiento de referencia claro, especialmente en el escenario de la enfermedad recidivante/refractaria. Debido a su rareza, no se han llevado a cabo ensayos aleatorizados específicamente en ENKL nasal; sin embargo, los informes de caso y las series de caso pequeñas ofrecen un conocimiento importante sobre nuevos tratamientos potenciales. Presentamos el informe de caso de un paciente con ENKL nasal (previamente mal diagnosticado como una sinusitis crónica recidivante) en quien la enfermedad progresó durante la quimioterapia con múltiples agentes pero respondió al tratamiento de segunda línea con pralatrexato como agente único. Analizamos opciones de tratamiento para el ENKL nasal recidivante/refractario y sugerimos que el pralatrexato se evalúe más a fondo en este escenario clínico. PMID:29430232

Segundo Catálogo Estelar del Hemisferio Sur con Astrolabio Fotoeléctrico PAII

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manrique, W. T.; Podestá, R. C.; Alonso, E.; Actis, E. V.; Pacheco, A. M.; Bustos, G.; Lizhi, L.; Zezhi, W.; Fanmiao, Z.; Hongqi, W.; Perdomo, R.

Recordamos que entre el Observatorio Astronómico ``Félix Aguilar'', el Observatorio Astronómico de Beijing y el Observatorio Astronómico de La Plata, se ha convenido en desarrollar un Proyecto de Investigación conjunto, para la observación sistemática de estrellas en el Hemisferio Sur, con el objeto de la elaboración de un Catálogo Estelar Global utilizando un Astrolabio Fotoeléctrico PAII del Observatorio de Beijing, que ha sido usado con éxito en la República de China. En este trabajo se presenta el Segundo Catálogo Estelar del Hemisferio Sur, derivado de las observaciones realizadas con el PAII instalado en el OAFA, durante el períiodo Febrero de 1992 a Marzo de 1997. En este lapso se han observado mas de 400000 pasajes estelares, obteniéndose las correcciones Δ α y Δ δ de 5241 estrellas del FK4, FK5, FK5 Ext., SRS, CAMC y GC. Las precisiones medias son del orden de ± 3,2 ms en ascensión recta y ±0."057 en declinación. Rango de magnitudes : 2,0 a 11,5 Rango de declinaciones : -3o a -60o Epoca Media : 1994.9 Se analizan los residuos en función de la magnitud y tipo espectral, correcciones de grupo y frecuencia de distribución Δ α y Δ δ.

Las dificultades de sentir: el rol de las emociones en la estigmatización del VIH/SIDA

PubMed Central

MARZÁN-RODRÍGUEZ, Melissa; VARAS-DÍAZ, Nelson

2009-01-01

Resumen El Virus de Inmunodeficiencia Humana (VIH) y el Síndrome de Inmunodeficiencia Adquirida (SIDA) han sido motivo de estigmatización para las personas que viven con ellos. Esta estigmatización se ha estudiado consecuentemente desde la perspectiva de opiniones de agentes estigmatizantes. Estas opiniones han obviado sistemáticamente el rol de las emociones en el proceso de estigmatización. Llevamos a cabo este estudio con el propósito de identificar el rol de las emociones en el proceso de estigmatización de las personas que viven con el virus (PVVS) por parte de profesionales de la salud. Para lograr este objetivo utilizamos un diseño exploratorio y cualitativo en el cual utilizamos la técnica de entrevistas semiestructuradas a profundidad. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 80 profesionales de la salud y estudiantes de las siguientes especialidades: psicología, trabajo social, medicina y enfermería. Los resultados reflejaron la existencia de emociones asociadas al VIH/SIDA tales como pena, lástima, compasión, asco, fobia y miedo entre los/as profesionales y estudiantes que participaron. Las personas participantes evidenciaron la necesidad de controlar sus emociones al interactuar con PVVS. Los resultados apuntan a la necesidad de explorar aquellos factores que mediatizan las emociones, tales como el contexto social en que se manifiestan y ante quiénes se revelan, para lograr entender a cabalidad el estigma que rodea al VIH/SIDA. PMID:20212916

PubMed

Marzán-Rodríguez, Melissa; Varas-Díaz, Nelson

2006-01-01

El Virus de Inmunodeficiencia Humana (VIH) y el Síndrome de Inmunodeficiencia Adquirida (SIDA) han sido motivo de estigmatización para las personas que viven con ellos. Esta estigmatización se ha estudiado consecuentemente desde la perspectiva de opiniones de agentes estigmatizantes. Estas opiniones han obviado sistemáticamente el rol de las emociones en el proceso de estigmatización. Llevamos a cabo este estudio con el propósito de identificar el rol de las emociones en el proceso de estigmatización de las personas que viven con el virus (PVVS) por parte de profesionales de la salud. Para lograr este objetivo utilizamos un diseño exploratorio y cualitativo en el cual utilizamos la técnica de entrevistas semiestructuradas a profundidad. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 80 profesionales de la salud y estudiantes de las siguientes especialidades: psicología, trabajo social, medicina y enfermería. Los resultados reflejaron la existencia de emociones asociadas al VIH/SIDA tales como pena, lástima, compasión, asco, fobia y miedo entre los/as profesionales y estudiantes que participaron. Las personas participantes evidenciaron la necesidad de controlar sus emociones al interactuar con PVVS. Los resultados apuntan a la necesidad de explorar aquellos factores que mediatizan las emociones, tales como el contexto social en que se manifiestan y ante quiénes se revelan, para lograr entender a cabalidad el estigma que rodea al VIH/SIDA.

Contaminación por mercurio de leche materna de madres lactantes de municipios de Antioquia con explotación minera de oro.

PubMed

Molina, Carlos Federico; Arango, Catalina María; Sepúlveda, Hernán

2018-05-01

Introducción. La leche materna es esencial para el desarrollo del ser humano, pero puede contener sustancias tóxicas provenientes de la contaminación ambiental, especialmente en las áreas mineras.Objetivo. Determinar la prevalencia de la contaminación con mercurio de la leche materna de mujeres lactantes residentes en los municipios con explotación minera de oro.Materiales y métodos. Se hizo un estudio transversal de 150 madres lactantes de cuatro municipios mineros de Antioquia (El Bagre, Segovia, Remedios y Zaragoza), a quienes se les hizo una encuesta sobre factores sociodemográficos, ocupacionales y ambientales relacionados con el mercurio, y se les tomaron muestras de leche materna, de orina y de cabello. Se calculó el promedio de la concentración de mercurio y las prevalencias municipales de contaminación.Resultados. El promedio de la concentración de mercurio en la leche materna fue de 2,5 (± desviación estándar 9,2) μg/L. La prevalencia de muestras de leche materna con niveles altos de mercurio fue de 11,7 %.Conclusión. En este estudio se evidencia un grave problema en las regiones mineras auríferas de Antioquia por el efecto de la contaminación con mercurio en sectores de la población más vulnerable.

Estereotipos Sexuales y su Relación con Conductas Sexuales Riesgosas1,2,3

PubMed Central

Pérez-Jiménez, David; Orengo-Aguayo, Rosaura E.

2012-01-01

Resumen Los estereotipos sexuales son creencias generalmente aceptadas y poco cuestionadas que podrían contribuir a cómo los hombres y las mujeres debemos expresar nuestra sexualidad. Los objetivos de este estudio eran identificar cuántos hombres y mujeres heterosexuales en Puerto Rico endosaban ciertos estereotipos acerca de la sexualidad masculina y femenina y explorar la relación entre el endoso de estos estereotipos sexuales y las actitudes hacia el condón masculino y su uso en relaciones sexuales vaginales Llevamos a cabo un estudio descriptivo-correlacional mediante el cual le administramos dos escalas, una sobre sexualidad masculina y otra sobre sexualidad femenina a un grupo de 429 personas heterosexuales. Encontramos que los hombres endosaron estereotipos sexuales masculinos y femeninos más que las mujeres y que estos tienden a tener una visión más conservadora respecto a la sexualidad femenina que la que tienen sobre su propia sexualidad. Las mujeres, por otra parte, tienden a ver su propia sexualidad y la sexualidad masculina en términos menos estereotipados y más equitativos. También encontramos que a mayor endoso de creencias tradicionales sobre la sexualidad masculina y femenina, peor la actitud hacia el uso del condón masculino. Sin embargo, el endosar estereotipos sexuales masculinos y/o femeninos no se relacionó con el uso del condón. Estos hallazgos contradicen la literatura que sugiere que estos estereotipos sexuales y de género resultan en conductas sexuales de alto riesgo, lo cual tiene implicaciones importantes para el desarrollo e implementación de programas de prevención. PMID:24575164

The Pros and Cons of Army Automation

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-11-13

The Pros and Cons of Army Automation 1 Running Head: THE PROS AND CONS OF ARMY AUTOMATION The Pros and Cons of Army Automation SGM...TITLE AND SUBTITLE The Pros and Cons of Army Automation 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT...Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18 The Pros and Cons of Army Automation 2 Outline I. Introduction (MSG (P) Dostie) II. Manual skills (MSG (P

Papiloma invertido sinunasal con invasión intracraneal: Reporte de caso y revisión bibliográfica

PubMed Central

Di Pietrantonio, Andrés; Asmus, Humberto; Ingratta, Christian; Brennan, Walter; Schulz, Javier; Carballo, Leandro

2018-01-01

Resumen IntroducciÓn: El papiloma invertido es una neoplasia benigna de los senos paranasales localmente agresiva con alto potencial de recurrencia y de malignización. La extensión intracraneal es infrecuente y más aún, la penetración dural, asociándose a menudo a la recurrencia de la enfermedad o a su degeneración en carcinoma de células escamosas. Caso clínico: Presentamos el caso de una paciente de 32 años que consultó por lesión exofítica en fosa nasal derecha y exoftalmos, asociada a cefalea, anosmia y disgeusia. Se estudió con TC cerebro, macizo facial y RM de encéfalo que evidencian lesión en fosa nasal derecha con ocupación de senos aéreos, osteólisis de pared medial orbitaria y base de cráneo anterior e invasión intracraneal frontal derecha, con efecto de masa y compresión del parénquima encefálico adyacente. Intervención: Se realizó una nasofibroscopía en primer tiempo con diagnóstico anatomopatológico de papiloma invertido y posteriormente resección de la lesión mediante doble abordaje más reconstrucción de la fosa craneal anterior. Se obtuvo diagnóstico definitivo de papiloma invertido de tipo Schneideriano con áreas de transformación atípica in situ. La paciente evolucionó de forma favorable y sin complicaciones, con permeabilidad de vía aérea superior, sin signos de recidiva lesional luego de 4 años de seguimiento. Conclusión: La invasión intracraneal de esta patología es sumamente infrecuente. Cuando existe, es indicador de agresividad y potencial recidiva, por lo que la exéresis completa de la misma define el pronóstico de la enfermedad. PMID:29430328

Pros and cons of phage therapy

PubMed Central

Loc-Carrillo, Catherine

2011-01-01

Many publications list advantages and disadvantages associated with phage therapy, which is the use of bacterial viruses to combat populations of nuisance or pathogenic bacteria. The goal of this commentary is to discuss many of those issues in a single location. In terms of “Pros,” for example, phages can be bactericidal, can increase in number over the course of treatment, tend to only minimally disrupt normal flora, are equally effective against antibiotic-sensitive and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, often are easily discovered, seem to be capable of disrupting bacterial biofilms, and can have low inherent toxicities. In addition to these assets, we consider aspects of phage therapy that can contribute to its safety, economics, or convenience, but in ways that are perhaps less essential to the phage potential to combat bacteria. For example, autonomous phage transfer between animals during veterinary application could provide convenience or economic advantages by decreasing the need for repeated phage application, but is not necessarily crucial to therapeutic success. We also consider possible disadvantages to phage use as antibacterial agents. These “Cons,” however, tend to be relatively minor. PMID:22334867

Experimental and Computational Studies of Carbonyl Diazide (CON6) as a Precursor to Diazirinone (CON2)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Esselman, Brian J.; Amberger, Brent K.; Nolan, Alex M.; Woods, R. Claude; McMahon, R. J.

2011-10-01

Intrigued by the reported 2005 synthesis of diazirinone (1), we carried out further experimental and theoretical studies aimed at the detailed matrix-isolation and millimeter-wave spectroscopic characterizations of 1. Diazirinone (1) is a peculiar isoconjugate of two very stable molecules and may be of astrochemical interest. Unfortunately, the original reported methods of diazirinone (1) generation did not yield this species, rather its decomposition products. Inspired by a more recent gas phase pyrolysis of CON6 (2) to yield CON2 (1), we proposed a new method of generating CON6 (2) in solution as a precursor of diazirinone (1). This new synthesis may allow us to generate larger quantities of both CON6 and CON2 for investigation by millimeter-wave spectroscopy. We are able to safely generate carbonyl diazide (2) in sufficient yield from the reaction of triphosgene (3) and tetrabutylammonium azide in diethyl ether. This has allowed us to obtain both matrix-isolation and gas phase IR spectra of carbonyl diazide (2). After purification, it has a gas-phase lifetime that allows samples to be useable for up to several weeks. However, it is a shock-sensitive material that must be handled with care to prevent violent decomposition. In order to provide better mechanistic insight into the decomposition of carbonyl diazide (2) to diazirinone (1), we have engaged in a DFT and ab initio computational study. We have found a pathway between the two species via the triplet acylnitrene, CON4, and an oxaziridine CON2 species, but not at sufficiently low energies to allow for the trapping and detection of diazirinone (1). Preliminary millimeter-wave spectra have been obtained from several synthesized and purified samples of CON6 (2). However, the assignment of the spectra lines has been unexpectedly problematic. We have placed several CON6 (2) samples, confirmed by IR spectroscopy at the time of sample loading, into our instrument and obtained two different sets of rotational lines

Effects of alcohols and ciclopirox alamine, an anti-fungal agent, on the peripheral blood lymphocyte functions in vitro

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Prabhala, R.H.; Maxey, V.; Hicks, M.J.

1986-03-01

Effects of ethanol (1%), propanol (1%) and ciclopirox alamine, an anti-fungal agent, (4 ..mu..g/well), on the peripheral blood lymphocyte functions, including response to T- (Concanavalin A, ConA) and B-cell (Lipopolysaccharide, LPS) mitogens, and presence of functional T-lymphocyte subsets were determined in vitro. Purified human lymphocytes were incubated at 37/sup 0/C for 48 hours with or without test compounds in presence or absence of ConA and LPS. All three compounds suppress the response to T- or B-cell mitogens. The percentage of T-lymphocytes with T-helper characteristics in the presence of ethanol and ciclopirox alamine was increased. All three compounds suppressed the percentagemore » of T-lymphocytes with E-resetting characteristics. Alcohols enhanced the number of natural killer cells, whereas, ciclopirox alamine exhibited the reverse action. Although the alcohols and the anti-fungal agent enhanced the T-helper subpopulation, their response to mitogens was suppressed. This may be due to the suppression of T-cell activating lymphokines. Alcohol metabolite such as acetaldehyde also suppress the number of T-cells and their functions at 0.01% so may also be part of the explanation for immunoalteration.« less

Preparing Change Agents for Change Agent Roles.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sedlacek, James R.

Seventy-seven Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking agricultural change agents from developing Central and South American countries responded to a questionnaire which sought perceptions of the roles in which the change agents felt they were involved and the roles for which they felt they were being trained. The agents were participating in training…

[Recommendations for selecting antimicrobial agents for in vitro susceptibility studies using automatic and semiautomatic systems].

PubMed

Cantón, Rafael; Alós, Juan Ignacio; Baquero, Fernando; Calvo, Jorge; Campos, José; Castillo, Javier; Cercenado, Emilia; Domínguez, M Angeles; Liñares, Josefina; López-Cerezo, Lorena; Marco, Francesc; Mirelis, Beatriz; Morosini, María-Isabel; Navarro, Ferran; Oliver, Antonio; Pérez-Trallero, Emilio; Torres, Carmen; Martínez-Martínez, Luis

2007-01-01

The number of clinical microbiology laboratories that have incorporated automatic susceptibility testing devices has increased in recent years. The majority of these systems determine MIC values using microdilution panels or specific cards, with grouping into clinical categories (susceptible, intermediate or resistant) and incorporate expert systems to infer resistance mechanisms. This document presents the recommendations of a group of experts designated by Grupo de Estudio de los Mecanismos de Acción y Resistencia a los Antimicrobianos (GEMARA, Study group on mechanisms of action and resistance to antimicrobial agents) and Mesa Española de Normalización de la Sensibilidad y Resistencia a los Antimicrobianos (MENSURA, Spanish Group for Normalizing Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Antimicrobial Resistance), with the aim of including antimicrobial agents and selecting concentrations for the susceptibility testing panels of automatic systems. The following have been defined: various antimicrobial categories (A: must be included in the study panel; B: inclusion is recommended; and C: inclusion is secondary, but may facilitate interpretative reading of the antibiogram) and groups (0: not used in therapeutics but may facilitate the detection of resistance mechanisms; 1: must be studied and always reported; 2: must be studied and selectively reported; 3: must be studied and reported at a second level; and 4: should be studied in urinary tract pathogens isolated in urine and other specimens). Recommended antimicrobial concentrations are adapted from the breakpoints established by EUCAST, CLSI and MENSURA. This approach will lead to more accurate susceptibility testing results with better detection of resistance mechanisms, and allowing to reach the clinical goal of the antibiogram.

[Alkylating agents].

PubMed

Pourquier, Philippe

2011-11-01

With the approval of mechlorethamine by the FDA in 1949 for the treatment of hematologic malignancies, alkylating agents are the oldest class of anticancer agents. Even though their clinical use is far beyond the use of new targeted therapies, they still occupy a major place in specific indications and sometimes represent the unique option for the treatment of refractory diseases. Here, we are reviewing the major classes of alkylating agents and their mechanism of action, with a particular emphasis for the new generations of alkylating agents. As for most of the chemotherapeutic agents used in the clinic, these compounds are derived from natural sources. With a complex but original mechanism of action, they represent new interesting alternatives for the clinicians, especially for tumors that are resistant to conventional DNA damaging agents. We also briefly describe the different strategies that have been or are currently developed to potentiate the use of classical alkylating agents, especially the inhibition of pathways that are involved in the repair of DNA lesions induced by these agents. In this line, the development of PARP inhibitors is a striking example of the recent regain of interest towards the "old" alkylating agents.

Fuentes de variabilidad en el diagnóstico de gastritis atrófica multifocal asociada con la infección por Helicobacter pylori1

PubMed Central

Bravo, Luis Eduardo; Bravo, Juan Carlos; Realpe, José Luis; Zarama, Guillermo; Piazuelo, MarÍa Blanca; Correa, Pelayo

2014-01-01

RESUMEN Introducción El mapeo de las diferentes regiones del estómago y el número de fragmentos de mucosa gástrica disponibles para evaluación histopatológica son fuentes importantes de variación en el momento de clasificar y hacer la gradación de la gastritis crónica. Objetivos Estimar la sensibilidad del número de fragmentos de mucosa gástrica necesarios para establecer los diagnósticos de gastritis atrófica con metaplasia intestinal (MI), displasia y estado de infección por Helicobacter pylori. Además evaluar la variabilidad intra-observador en la clasificación de estas lesiones precursoras del cáncer gástrico. Materiales y métodos En una cohorte de 6 años de seguimiento se evaluaron 1,958 procedimientos de endoscopia realizados por dos gastroenterólogos. En cada procedimiento y de cada participante se obtuvieron 5 biopsias de mucosa gástrica que representaban antro, incisura angularis y cuerpo. Un único patólogo hizo la interpretación histológica de las 5 biopsias y proporcionó un diagnóstico definitivo global que se utilizó como patrón de referencia. Cada fragmento de mucosa gástrica examinado condujo a un diagnóstico individual para cada biopsia que se comparó con el patrón de referencia. La variabilidad intra-observador se evaluó en 127 personas que corresponden a una muestra aleatoria de 20% del total de endoscopias hechas a los 72 meses de seguimiento. Resultados La sensibilidad del diagnóstico de MI y displasia gástrica aumentó de manera significativa con el número de fragmentos de mucosa gástrica evaluados El sitio anatómico de mayor sensibilidad para el diagnóstico de MI y displasia fue la incisura angularis. Para descubrir H. pylori se logró alta sensibilidad con el estudio de un solo fragmento de mucosa gástrica (95.9%) y fue independiente del sitio de obtención de la biopsia. El acuerdo intra-observador para el diagnóstico de gastritis crónica fue 86.1% con valor kappa de 0.79 IC 95% (0.76-0.85). Las

Incorporating BDI Agents into Human-Agent Decision Making Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamphorst, Bart; van Wissen, Arlette; Dignum, Virginia

Artificial agents, people, institutes and societies all have the ability to make decisions. Decision making as a research area therefore involves a broad spectrum of sciences, ranging from Artificial Intelligence to economics to psychology. The Colored Trails (CT) framework is designed to aid researchers in all fields in examining decision making processes. It is developed both to study interaction between multiple actors (humans or software agents) in a dynamic environment, and to study and model the decision making of these actors. However, agents in the current implementation of CT lack the explanatory power to help understand the reasoning processes involved in decision making. The BDI paradigm that has been proposed in the agent research area to describe rational agents, enables the specification of agents that reason in abstract concepts such as beliefs, goals, plans and events. In this paper, we present CTAPL: an extension to CT that allows BDI software agents that are written in the practical agent programming language 2APL to reason about and interact with a CT environment.

Chemical warfare agents.

PubMed

Kuca, Kamil; Pohanka, Miroslav

2010-01-01

Chemical warfare agents are compounds of different chemical structures. Simple molecules such as chlorine as well as complex structures such as ricin belong to this group. Nerve agents, vesicants, incapacitating agents, blood agents, lung-damaging agents, riot-control agents and several toxins are among chemical warfare agents. Although the use of these compounds is strictly prohibited, the possible misuse by terrorist groups is a reality nowadays. Owing to this fact, knowledge of the basic properties of these substances is of a high importance. This chapter briefly introduces the separate groups of chemical warfare agents together with their members and the potential therapy that should be applied in case someone is intoxicated by these agents.

Biological Agents

MedlinePlus

... E-Tools Safety and Health Topics / Biological Agents Biological Agents This page requires that javascript be enabled ... 202) 693-2300 if additional assistance is required. Biological Agents Menu Overview In Focus: Ebola Frederick A. ...

Cobertura de los sistemas de pensiones y factores asociados al acceso a una pensión de jubilación en México

PubMed Central

Murillo-López, Sandra; Venegas-Martínez, Francisco

2016-01-01

Resumen Objetivos: obtener estimaciones de indicadores de cobertura de las pensiones por jubilación o retiro para la población mexicana de 65 y más años, y evaluar el impacto que tienen los sistemas de pensiones en las transiciones al retiro de los adultos en edades medias y avanzadas en México. Para ello se utilizan datos microeconómicos provenientes de la Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Envejecimiento. Mediante análisis econométrico se identifican los factores sociodemográficos, económicos, laborales e institucionales que están asociados al acceso a una pensión de jubilación, o bien, a la dependencia de otras fuentes de ingresos. Se encontró que, en México, las transiciones al retiro del mercado de trabajo en las etapas avanzadas del ciclo de vida son limitadas debido a las características eminentemente contributivas de los esquemas de pensiones, los cuales favorecen a la población con trayectorias laborales formales y más estables asociadas a: características de género, oportunidades educativas y posibilidades de inserción en el mercado laboral. PMID:27524936

Los Alamos Science Facilities

Science.gov Websites

Los Alamos National Laboratory Search Site submit About Mission Business Newsroom Publications Los Innovation in New Mexico Los Alamos Collaboration for Explosives Detection (LACED) SensorNexus Exascale Computing Project (ECP) User Facilities Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT) Los Alamos Neutron

Living in Los Alamos

Science.gov Websites

Los Alamos National Laboratory Search Site submit About Mission Business Newsroom Publications Los Innovation in New Mexico Los Alamos Collaboration for Explosives Detection (LACED) SensorNexus Exascale Computing Project (ECP) User Facilities Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT) Los Alamos Neutron

Remisión de aneurisma luego de exéresis de MAV con aparición de síndrome del acento extranjero

PubMed Central

Sosa, Fidel; Bustamante, Jorge; Rodríguez, Facundo; Argañaraz, Romina; Rubino, Pablo; Lambre, Jorge

2017-01-01

Resumen Introducción: Los aneurismas asociados a malformaciones arteriovenosas (MAV) son lesiones vasculares que suelen encontrarse hasta en el 15% de los casos, incrementando el riesgo global de hemorragia. La conducta frente a los aneurismas asociados es dicotómica en la literatura, mientras existen reportes de la desaparición de los mismos luego de la exéresis de la MAV, otros artículos enfatizan su tratamiento precoz. El síndrome del acento extranjero es un raro trastorno neurológico en el que el paciente habla su lengua materna como lo haría una persona extranjera y suena con “acento” extranjero a oídos de los oyentes nativos. Objetivo: Presentar un paciente que desarrolla el síndrome del acento extranjero posterior a la exéresis de una MAV y la evolución de un aneurisma asociado. Presentación de caso: Paciente pediátrico que luego de la exéresis de una MAV fronto-opercular posterior izquierda remite por completo un aneurisma de hiperflujo asociado, presentando en el postquirúrgico el síndrome del acento extranjero. Conclusión: Queda reportado el caso de este raro síndrome y la resolución espontánea de un aneurisma proximal luego de la exéresis de una MAV. PMID:28480115

Designing Agent Utilities for Coordinated, Scalable and Robust Multi-Agent Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tumer, Kagan

2005-01-01

Coordinating the behavior of a large number of agents to achieve a system level goal poses unique design challenges. In particular, problems of scaling (number of agents in the thousands to tens of thousands), observability (agents have limited sensing capabilities), and robustness (the agents are unreliable) make it impossible to simply apply methods developed for small multi-agent systems composed of reliable agents. To address these problems, we present an approach based on deriving agent goals that are aligned with the overall system goal, and can be computed using information readily available to the agents. Then, each agent uses a simple reinforcement learning algorithm to pursue its own goals. Because of the way in which those goals are derived, there is no need to use difficult to scale external mechanisms to force collaboration or coordination among the agents, or to ensure that agents actively attempt to appropriate the tasks of agents that suffered failures. To present these results in a concrete setting, we focus on the problem of finding the sub-set of a set of imperfect devices that results in the best aggregate device. This is a large distributed agent coordination problem where each agent (e.g., device) needs to determine whether to be part of the aggregate device. Our results show that the approach proposed in this work provides improvements of over an order of magnitude over both traditional search methods and traditional multi-agent methods. Furthermore, the results show that even in extreme cases of agent failures (i.e., half the agents failed midway through the simulation) the system's performance degrades gracefully and still outperforms a failure-free and centralized search algorithm. The results also show that the gains increase as the size of the system (e.g., number of agents) increases. This latter result is particularly encouraging and suggests that this method is ideally suited for domains where the number of agents is currently in the

The scavenging of volatile anesthetic agents in the cardiovascular intensive care unit environment: a technical report.

PubMed

Pickworth, Thomas; Jerath, Angela; DeVine, Rita; Kherani, Nazmin; Wąsowicz, Marcin

2013-01-01

The use of volatile-based sedation within critical care environments has been limited by difficulties of drug administration and safety concerns over environment pollution and staff exposure in an intensive care unit (ICU) with no scavenging. The aim of this study was to develop a simple scavenging system to be used with the Anesthesia Conserving Device (AnaConDa(®)) and to determine whether or not ambient concentrations of residual anesthetic are within current acceptable limits. The scavenging system consists of two Deltasorb(®) canisters attached to the ICU ventilator in series. AnaConDa is a miniature vaporizer designed to provide volatile-based sedation within an ICU. The first ten patients recruited into a larger randomized trial assessing outcomes after elective coronary graft bypass surgery were sedated within the cardiac ICU using either isoflurane or sevoflurane. Sedation was guided by the Sedation Agitation Scale, resulting in an end-tidal minimum anesthetic concentration of volatile agent ranging from 0.1-0.3. At one hour post ICU admission, infrared photometric analysis was used to assess environmental contamination at four points along the ventilator circuit and scavenging system and around the patient's head. All measurements taken within the patient's room were below 1 part per million, which satisfies criteria for occupational exposure. This study shows that volatile agents can be administered safely within critical care settings using a simple scavenging system. Our scavenging system used in conjunction with the AnaConDa device reduced the concentration of environmental contamination to a level that is acceptable to Canadian standards and standards in most Western countries and thus conforms to international safety standards. The related clinical trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01151254).

9 CFR 319.300 - Chili con carne.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Chili con carne. 319.300 Section 319.300 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AGENCY... Products § 319.300 Chili con carne. “Chili con carne” shall contain not less than 40 percent of meat...

22 CFR 51.22 - Passport agents and passport acceptance agents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Passport agents and passport acceptance agents. 51.22 Section 51.22 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE NATIONALITY AND PASSPORTS PASSPORTS Application § 51.22 Passport agents and passport acceptance agents. (a) U.S. citizen employees of the...

22 CFR 51.22 - Passport agents and passport acceptance agents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Passport agents and passport acceptance agents. 51.22 Section 51.22 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE NATIONALITY AND PASSPORTS PASSPORTS Application § 51.22 Passport agents and passport acceptance agents. (a) U.S. citizen employees of the...

22 CFR 51.22 - Passport agents and passport acceptance agents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Passport agents and passport acceptance agents. 51.22 Section 51.22 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE NATIONALITY AND PASSPORTS PASSPORTS Application § 51.22 Passport agents and passport acceptance agents. (a) U.S. citizen employees of the...

22 CFR 51.22 - Passport agents and passport acceptance agents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Passport agents and passport acceptance agents. 51.22 Section 51.22 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE NATIONALITY AND PASSPORTS PASSPORTS Application § 51.22 Passport agents and passport acceptance agents. (a) U.S. citizen employees of the...

22 CFR 51.22 - Passport agents and passport acceptance agents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Passport agents and passport acceptance agents. 51.22 Section 51.22 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE NATIONALITY AND PASSPORTS PASSPORTS Application § 51.22 Passport agents and passport acceptance agents. (a) U.S. citizen employees of the...

Vigilando la Calidad del Agua de los Grandes Rios de la Nacion: El Programa NASQAN del Rio Grande (Rio Bravo del Norte)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lurry, Dee L.; Reutter, David C.; Wells, Frank C.; Rivera, M.C.; Munoz, A.

1998-01-01

La Oficina del Estudio Geologico de los Estados Unidos (U.S. Geological Survey, 0 USGS) ha monitoreado la calidad del agua de la cuenca del Rio Grande (Rio Bravo del Norte) desde 1995 como parte de la rediseiiada Red Nacional para Contabilizar la Calidad del Agua de los Rios (National Stream Quality Accounting Network, o NASOAN) (Hooper and others, 1997). EI programa NASOAN fue diseiiado para caracterizar las concentraciones y el transporte de sedimento y constituyentes quimicos seleccionados, encontrados en los grandes rios de los Estados Unidos - incluyendo el Misisipi, el Colorado y el Columbia, ademas del Rio Grande. En estas cuatro cuencas, el USGS opera actualmente (1998) una red de 40 puntos de muestreo pertenecientes a NASOAN, con un enfasis en cuantificar el flujo en masa (la cantidad de material que pasa por la estacion, expresado en toneladas por dial para cada constituyente. Aplicacando un enfoque consistente, basado en la cuantificacion de flujos en la cuenca del Rio Grande, el programa NASOAN esta generando la informacion necesaria para identificar fuentes regionales de diversos contaminantes, incluyendo sustancias qui micas agricolas y trazas elementos en la cuenca. EI efecto de las grandes reservas en el Rio Grande se puede observar segun los flujos de constituyentes discurren a 10 largo del rio. EI analisis de los flujos de constituyentes a escala de la cuenca proveera los medios para evaluar la influencia de la actividad humana sobre las condiciones de calidad del agua del Rio Grande.

La enumeración de la soltería femenina en los censos de población: sesgo y propuesta de corrección

PubMed Central

McCaa, Robert; Esteve, Albert; Garcia, Joan

2013-01-01

Esta investigación tiene como objetivo investigar el efecto que la disolución de las uniones consensuales tiene en los niveles de soltería que proporciona el Censo de Población, niveles derivados de la variable estado civil. Para ello comparamos los datos censales con los de la Encuestas de Demografía y Salud (de ahora en adelante DHS) en aquellos países y años para los que disponemos de ambas fuentes en el mismo año o años adyacentes (Bolivia, Brasil, Colombia y Perú). Los resultados muestran claramente que las proporciones de nunca unidas derivadas de la variable censal ’Estado civil’ son sistemáticamente más elevadas que las estimadas a partir de las DHS. La razón de esta sobreestimación obedece al hecho de que personas que estuvieron en unión libre en el pasado se declaran solteras en el momento del Censo. La elevada proporción de mujeres solteras que tienen hijos según el Censo es una prueba de ello y a su vez una solución efectiva para corregir el sesgo. PMID:25593515

Mincle Signaling Promotes Con-A Hepatitis

PubMed Central

Greco, Stephanie H.; Torres-Hernandez, Alejandro; Kalabin, Aleksandr; Whiteman, Clint; Rokosh, Rae; Ravirala, Sushma; Ochi, Atsuo; Gutierrez, Johana; Salyana, Muhammad Atif; Mani, Vishnu R.; Nagaraj, Savitha V.; Deutsch, Michael; Seifert, Lena; Daley, Donnele; Barilla, Rocky; Hundeyin, Mautin; Nikifrov, Yuriy; Tejada, Karla; Gelb, Bruce E.; Katz, Steven C.; Miller, George

2016-01-01

Concanavalin-A (Con-A) hepatitis is regarded as a T cell-mediated model of acute liver injury. Mincle is a C-type lectin receptor (CLR) that is critical in the immune response to mycobacteria and fungi, but does not have a well-defined role in pre-clinical models of non-pathogen mediated inflammation. Since Mincle can ligate the cell death ligand SAP130, we postulated that Mincle signaling drives intrahepatic inflammation and liver injury in Con-A hepatitis. Acute liver injury was assessed in the murine Con-A hepatitis model using C57BL/6, Mincle−/−, and Dectin-1−/− mice. The role of C/EBPβ and HIF-1α signaling was assessed using selective inhibitors. We found that Mincle was highly expressed in hepatic innate inflammatory cells and endothelial cells in both mice and humans. Furthermore, sterile Mincle ligands and Mincle signaling intermediates were increased in the murine liver in Con-A hepatitis. Most significantly, Mincle deletion or blockade protected against Con-A hepatitis whereas Mincle ligation exacerbated disease. Bone marrow chimeric and adoptive transfer experiments suggested that Mincle signaling in infiltrating myeloid cells dictates disease phenotype. Conversely, signaling via other CLRs did not alter disease course. Mechanistically, we found that Mincle blockade decreased the NF-κβ related signaling intermediates, C/EBPβ and HIF-1α, both of which are necessary in macrophage-mediated inflammatory responses. Accordingly, Mincle deletion lowered production of nitrites in Con-A hepatitis and inhibition of both C/EBPβ and HIF1-α reduced the severity of liver disease. Our work implicates a novel innate immune driver of Con-A hepatitis and, more broadly, suggests a potential role for Mincle in diseases governed by sterile inflammation. PMID:27559045

Mincle Signaling Promotes Con A Hepatitis.

PubMed

Greco, Stephanie H; Torres-Hernandez, Alejandro; Kalabin, Aleksandr; Whiteman, Clint; Rokosh, Rae; Ravirala, Sushma; Ochi, Atsuo; Gutierrez, Johana; Salyana, Muhammad Atif; Mani, Vishnu R; Nagaraj, Savitha V; Deutsch, Michael; Seifert, Lena; Daley, Donnele; Barilla, Rocky; Hundeyin, Mautin; Nikifrov, Yuriy; Tejada, Karla; Gelb, Bruce E; Katz, Steven C; Miller, George

2016-10-01

Con A hepatitis is regarded as a T cell-mediated model of acute liver injury. Mincle is a C-type lectin receptor that is critical in the immune response to mycobacteria and fungi but does not have a well-defined role in preclinical models of non-pathogen-mediated inflammation. Because Mincle can ligate the cell death ligand SAP130, we postulated that Mincle signaling drives intrahepatic inflammation and liver injury in Con A hepatitis. Acute liver injury was assessed in the murine Con A hepatitis model using C57BL/6, Mincle(-/-), and Dectin-1(-/-) mice. The role of C/EBPβ and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) signaling was assessed using selective inhibitors. We found that Mincle was highly expressed in hepatic innate inflammatory cells and endothelial cells in both mice and humans. Furthermore, sterile Mincle ligands and Mincle signaling intermediates were increased in the murine liver in Con A hepatitis. Most significantly, Mincle deletion or blockade protected against Con A hepatitis, whereas Mincle ligation exacerbated disease. Bone marrow chimeric and adoptive transfer experiments suggested that Mincle signaling in infiltrating myeloid cells dictates disease phenotype. Conversely, signaling via other C-type lectin receptors did not alter disease course. Mechanistically, we found that Mincle blockade decreased the NF-κβ-related signaling intermediates C/EBPβ and HIF-1α, both of which are necessary in macrophage-mediated inflammatory responses. Accordingly, Mincle deletion lowered production of nitrites in Con A hepatitis and inhibition of both C/EBPβ and HIF-1α reduced the severity of liver disease. Our work implicates a novel innate immune driver of Con A hepatitis and, more broadly, suggests a potential role for Mincle in diseases governed by sterile inflammation. Copyright © 2016 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.

Bioética y justicia ambiental en la salud de los pobladores andinos de Perú

PubMed Central

Alcantara Zapata, Diana E.; Mazzei Pimental, Marinella

2018-01-01

Este artículo intenta plasmar el panorama bioético-ambiental de la salud del poblador que habita en la sierra peruana, remarcando la inequidad en el acceso a los servicios de salud que existe en esta región y reflexionando sobre las posibles causas contextuales, históricas y actuales que han originado diferencias entre el poblador andino del incanato y el poblador andino actual, el cambio de cosmovisón sobre el ambiente y los recursos, el deterioro del enfoque de justicia, solidaridad, bienestar y respeto hacia el ser humano y la naturaleza. Además, se describe la salud desde el escenario histórico de esta región, donde la salud pública tiene y tendrá como desafío la aplicación de programas que respondan a las necesidades específicas de esta población, con un enfoque dirigido hacia lo ambiental. PMID:29708219

TACtic- A Multi Behavioral Agent for Trading Agent Competition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khosravi, Hassan; Shiri, Mohammad E.; Khosravi, Hamid; Iranmanesh, Ehsan; Davoodi, Alireza

Software agents are increasingly being used to represent humans in online auctions. Such agents have the advantages of being able to systematically monitor a wide variety of auctions and then make rapid decisions about what bids to place in what auctions. They can do this continuously and repetitively without losing concentration. To provide a means of evaluating and comparing (benchmarking) research methods in this area the trading agent competition (TAC) was established. This paper describes the design, of TACtic. Our agent uses multi behavioral techniques at the heart of its decision making to make bidding decisions in the face of uncertainty, to make predictions about the likely outcomes of auctions, and to alter the agent's bidding strategy in response to the prevailing market conditions.

Women in Combat Pros and Cons

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-04-01

and Cons . Major Thomas H. Cecil 88-0490 "--"insights into tomorrou,"’ ..v- A A 0 PtY-i f(.> i’I,-:::x:’~ --pcr~ j.~ ~~* --. -- iiV • DISCLAIMER The...k. r- r,’ I’. REPORT NUMBER 88-0490 TITLE WOMEN IN COMBAT-PROS AND CONS AUTHOR(S) MAJOR THOMAS H. CEC-IL, USAF -% FACULTY ADVISOR CH, LT COL DAVID W...NUMBERS 11 TITLE (include Security Classification) WOMEN IN COMBAT--PROS AND CONS 12. PERSON4AL AUTHOR(S) Cecil, Thomas H1., Major, USAF 9a YýOF REPORT

Unificando los criterios de sepsis neonatal tardía: propuesta de un algoritmo de vigilancia diagnóstica

PubMed Central

Zea-Vera, Alonso; Turin, Christie G.; Ochoa, Theresa J.

2015-01-01

Las infecciones constituyen una de las principales causas de muerte en el periodo neonatal. El diagnóstico de sepsis neonatal representa un gran desafío ya que los recién nacidos presentan signos clínicos muy inespecíficos y los exámenes auxiliares tienen una baja sensibilidad. Con el objetivo de mejorar el diagnóstico correcto de esta patología proponemos un algoritmo de vigilancia diagnóstica para sepsis neonatal tardía en el Perú y países de la región. El algoritmo permite clasificar a los episodios como sepsis confirmada, probable o posible, y sobretodo busca identificar aquellos episodios que no corresponden a sepsis, evitando calificar otras patologías como “sepsis”. Un mejor diagnóstico permitiría tener tasas más reales de sepsis neonatal, mejorar el uso de antibióticos y evitar sus efectos negativos en el recién nacido, así como una visión más exacta de su impacto en la salud pública. PMID:25123879

Los Angeles Beach Harbors, Los Angeles County, California.

DTIC Science & Technology

1974-10-01

predicted at this time. The presently proposed project is not dependent upon nor contributory to further navigation development in the V" Los Angeles...as Long Beach and Compton. The Los Angeles Harbor probably exhibited similar intensities ranging from VII to IX depending on the soil conditions...the harbor. The water quality in these aquifers is dependent upon the rates of recharge and extraction (natural and otherwise). The Dominguez Gap

Riot Control Agents

MedlinePlus

... Submit What's this? Submit Button Facts About Riot Control Agents Interim document Recommend on Facebook Tweet Share Compartir What riot control agents are Riot control agents (sometimes referred to ...

Consentimiento informado: una praxis dialogica para la investigacion

PubMed Central

Mondragon-Barrios, Liliana

2009-01-01

El consentimiento informado es un proceso, en el que una persona acepta participar en una investigation, conociendo los riesgos, beneficios, consecuencias o problemas que se puedan presenter durante el desarrollo de la misma. El objetivo de este trabajo es reunir las caracteristicas del proceso de consentimiento informado (PCI) pare que su discernimiento y cumplimiento posibilite el ejercicio etc° dialogico, reflexivo y responsable del investigador. Se presentan los resultados de una extensa revision de les elementos del PCI, desde sus cornponentes hasta su fundamento etico y legal, incluyendo los mites y realidades que existen sobre el formato de consentimiento informado come recurso legal de protection. El consentimiento informado no es un formato establecido que los investigadores repliquen, se trata de que la praxis del PCI sea una tarea cotidiana dentro de la investigation con seres humanos, como comunicaciOn deliberative y critica, responsable y comprometida entre dos agentes morales, investigador-investigado. PMID:19507477

Nondestructive Intervention to Multi-Agent Systems through an Intelligent Agent

PubMed Central

Han, Jing; Wang, Lin

2013-01-01

For a given multi-agent system where the local interaction rule of the existing agents can not be re-designed, one way to intervene the collective behavior of the system is to add one or a few special agents into the group which are still treated as normal agents by the existing ones. We study how to lead a Vicsek-like flocking model to reach synchronization by adding special agents. A popular method is to add some simple leaders (fixed-headings agents). However, we add one intelligent agent, called ‘shill’, which uses online feedback information of the group to decide the shill's moving direction at each step. A novel strategy for the shill to coordinate the group is proposed. It is strictly proved that a shill with this strategy and a limited speed can synchronize every agent in the group. The computer simulations show the effectiveness of this strategy in different scenarios, including different group sizes, shill speed, and with or without noise. Compared to the method of adding some fixed-heading leaders, our method can guarantee synchronization for any initial configuration in the deterministic scenario and improve the synchronization level significantly in low density groups, or model with noise. This suggests the advantage and power of feedback information in intervention of collective behavior. PMID:23658695

Ultrasound Contrast Agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cachard, Christian; Basset, Olivier

While the use of contrast agents in other imaging modalities (X ray, MRI, PET, …) has been routinely accepted for many years, the development and commercialization of contrast agents designed specifically for ultrasound imaging has occurred only very recently. As in the other imaging modalities, the injection of contrast agents during an ultrasound examination is intended to facilitate the detection and diagnosis of specific pathologies. Contrast agents efficiency is based on the backscattering of ultrasound by microbubbles. These microparticules are intravenously injected in the blood flow. After an introduction and generalities on ultrasound contrast agents (UCA) the microbubble physics in an acoustic field will be developed. Second, physics characteristics of contrast agents will be compared (bubbles with or without shell, gas nature, size distribution). Influence of acoustic pressure on the behaviour of the microparticules (linear, non linear and destruction) will be discussed. Finally, a review of specific imaging adapted to contrast agent properties as harmonic imaging, pulse inversion imaging will be presented.

Remote Agent Demonstration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dorais, Gregory A.; Kurien, James; Rajan, Kanna

1999-01-01

We describe the computer demonstration of the Remote Agent Experiment (RAX). The Remote Agent is a high-level, model-based, autonomous control agent being validated on the NASA Deep Space 1 spacecraft.

Neuroprotective "agents" in surgery. Secret "agent" man, or common "agent" machine?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Andrews, R. J.

1999-01-01

The search for clinically-effective neuroprotective agents has received enormous support in recent years--an estimated $200 million by pharmaceutical companies on clinical trials for traumatic brain injury alone. At the same time, the pathophysiology of brain injury has proved increasingly complex, rendering the likelihood of a single agent "magic bullet" even more remote. On the other hand, great progress continues with technology that makes surgery less invasive and less risky. One example is the application of endovascular techniques to treat coronary artery stenosis, where both the invasiveness of sternotomy and the significant neurological complication rate (due to microemboli showering the cerebral vasculature) can be eliminated. In this paper we review aspects of intraoperative neuroprotection both present and future. Explanations for the slow progress on pharmacologic neuroprotection during surgery are presented. Examples of technical advances that have had great impact on neuroprotection during surgery are given both from coronary artery stenosis surgery and from surgery for Parkinson's disease. To date, the progress in neuroprotection resulting from such technical advances is an order of magnitude greater than that resulting from pharmacologic agents used during surgery. The progress over the last 20 years in guidance during surgery (CT and MRI image-guidance) and in surgical access (endoscopic and endovascular techniques) will soon be complemented by advances in our ability to evaluate biological tissue intraoperatively in real-time. As an example of such technology, the NASA Smart Probe project is considered. In the long run (i.e., in 10 years or more), pharmacologic "agents" aimed at the complex pathophysiology of nervous system injury in man will be the key to true intraoperative neuroprotection. In the near term, however, it is more likely that mundane "agents" based on computers, microsensors, and microeffectors will be the major impetus to improved

Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor Areas Regional Cultural History, Los Angeles County, California,

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-04-01

which they named islands, such as Mormon Island. The Los ’ Bahia de los Fumos’ on Angeles River, when discovered by the account of the many smokes...value because of its Fermin Francisco de Lasuen, "padre historically valuable fittings of museum quality. presidente" of the Franciscan missions. This...BUREAU OF STANDARDS-1963-k -4 L L LOS ANOELES BEC ABOR AREAS REIONAL GULTAL ISonY 2 Los Angels County, California AD-A144 450 "I~~~ -1lroe its ’ c*1 rpi

Joint Chemical Agent Detector (JCAD): the future of chemical agent detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laljer, Charles E.; Owen, Jeffery L.

2002-06-01

The Joint Chemical Agent Detector (JCAD) will provide state of the art chemical warfare agent detection capability to ground vehicle operators. Intelligence sources estimate that over twenty counties have active chemical weapons programs. The spread of chemical weapons to third world nations, coupled with the potential for US involvement in these areas in an operational or support capacity, increases the probability that the Joint Services may encounter chemical agents and toxic industrial materials anywhere in the world. Currently, fielded chemical agent detectors are bulky, labor intensive, and subject to false readings. No legacy detector is sensitive enough to provide detection and warning of the low dose hazards associated with miosis contamination. The JCAD will provide a small, lightweight chemical agent detector for vehicle interiors, aircraft, individual personnel, shipboard, and fixed site locations. The system provides a common detection components across multi-service platforms. This common detector system will allow the Joint Services to use the same operational and support concept for more efficient utilization of resources. The JCAD will detect, identify, quantify, and warn of the presence of chemical agents prior to onset of miosis. Upon detection of chemical agents, the detector will provide local and remote audible and visual alarms to the operators. Advance warning will provide the vehicle crew with the time necessary to protect themselves from the lethal effects of chemical agents. The JCAD will also be capable of being upgraded to protect against future chemical agent threats. The JCAD will provide the vehicle operators with the warning necessary to survive and fight in a chemical warfare agent threat environment.

Joint chemical agent detector (JCAD): the future of chemical agent detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laljer, Charles E.

2003-08-01

The Joint Chemical Agent Detector (JCAD) has continued development through 2002. The JCAD has completed Contractor Validation Testing (CVT) that included chemical warfare agent testing, environmental testing, electromagnetic interferent testing, and platform integration validation. The JCAD provides state of the art chemical warfare agent detection capability to military and homeland security operators. Intelligence sources estimate that over twenty countries have active chemical weapons programs. The spread of weapons of mass destruction (and the industrial capability for manufacture of these weapons) to third world nations and terrorist organizations has greatly increased the chemical agent threat to U.S. interests. Coupled with the potential for U.S. involvement in localized conflicts in an operational or support capacity, increases the probability that the military Joint Services may encounter chemical agents anywhere in the world. The JCAD is a small (45 in3), lightweight (2 lb.) chemical agent detector for vehicle interiors, aircraft, individual personnel, shipboard, and fixed site locations. The system provides a common detection component across multi-service platforms. This common detector system will allow the Joint Services to use the same operational and support concept for more efficient utilization of resources. The JCAD detects, identifies, quantifies, and warns of the presence of chemical agents prior to onset of miosis. Upon detection of chemical agents, the detector provides local and remote audible and visual alarms to the operators. Advance warning will provide the vehicle crew and other personnel in the local area with the time necessary to protect themselves from the lethal effects of chemical agents. The JCAD is capable of being upgraded to protect against future chemical agent threats. The JCAD provides the operator with the warning necessary to survive and fight in a chemical warfare agent threat environment.

Sunscreening Agents

PubMed Central

Martis, Jacintha; Shobha, V; Sham Shinde, Rutuja; Bangera, Sudhakar; Krishnankutty, Binny; Bellary, Shantala; Varughese, Sunoj; Rao, Prabhakar; Naveen Kumar, B.R.

2013-01-01

The increasing incidence of skin cancers and photodamaging effects caused by ultraviolet radiation has increased the use of sunscreening agents, which have shown beneficial effects in reducing the symptoms and reoccurrence of these problems. Many sunscreen compounds are in use, but their safety and efficacy are still in question. Efficacy is measured through indices, such as sun protection factor, persistent pigment darkening protection factor, and COLIPA guidelines. The United States Food and Drug Administration and European Union have incorporated changes in their guidelines to help consumers select products based on their sun protection factor and protection against ultraviolet radiation, whereas the Indian regulatory agency has not yet issued any special guidance on sunscreening agents, as they are classified under cosmetics. In this article, the authors discuss the pharmacological actions of sunscreening agents as well as the available formulations, their benefits, possible health hazards, safety, challenges, and proper application technique. New technologies and scope for the development of sunscreening agents are also discussed as well as the role of the physician in patient education about the use of these agents. PMID:23320122

Planificación Neuroquirúrgica con Software Osirix

PubMed Central

Jaimovich, Sebastián Gastón; Guevara, Martin; Pampin, Sergio; Jaimovich, Roberto; Gardella, Javier Luis

2014-01-01

Introducción: La individualidad anatómica es clave para reducir el trauma quirúrgico y obtener un mejor resultado. Actualmente, el avance en las neuroimágenes ha permitido objetivar esa individualidad anatómica, permitiendo planificar la intervención quirúrgica. Con este objetivo, presentamos nuestra experiencia con el software Osirix. Descripción de la técnica: Se presentan 3 casos ejemplificadores de 40 realizados. Caso 1: Paciente con meningioma de la convexidad parasagital izquierda en área premotora; Caso 2: Paciente con macroadenoma hipofisario, operada previamente por vía transeptoesfenoidal en otra institución con una resección parcial; Caso 3: Paciente con lesiones en pedúnculo cerebeloso medio bilateral. Se realizó la planificación prequirúrgica con el software OsiriX, fusionando y reconstruyendo en 3D las imágenes de TC e IRM, para analizar relaciones anatómicas, medir distancias, coordenadas y trayectorias, entre otras funciones. Discusión: El software OsiriX de acceso libre y gratuito permite al cirujano, mediante la fusión y reconstrucción en 3D de imágenes, analizar la anatomía individual del paciente y planificar de forma rápida, simple, segura y económica cirugías de alta complejidad. En el Caso 1 se pudo analizar las relaciones del tumor con las estructuras adyacentes para minimizar el abordaje. En el Caso 2 permitió comprender la anatomía post-operatoria previa del paciente, para determinar la trayectoria del abordaje transnasal endoscópico y la necesidad de ampliar su exposición, logrando la resección tumoral completa. En el Caso 3 permitió obtener las coordenadas estereotáxicas y trayectoria de una lesión sin representación tomográfica. Conclusión: En casos de no contar con costosos sistemas de neuronavegación o estereotáxia el software OsiriX es una alternativa a la hora de planificar la cirugía, con el objetivo de disminuir el trauma y la morbilidad operatoria. PMID:25165617

The New Agent: A Qualitative Study to Strategically Adapt New Agent Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Lauri M.; Hadley, Gregg

2014-01-01

The qualitative study reported here assessed the needs of agents related to new agent professional development to improve the current model. Agents who participated in new agent professional development within the last 5 years were selected to participate in focus groups to determine concerns and continued needs. Agents enjoyed networking and…

Estudio de la influencia de la refrigeracion con aire de forma natural e inducida en el comportamiento de instalaciones fotovoltaicas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazon Hernandez, Rocio

panels are analysed to compare and select the best configuration. The presented research provides a deep knowledge of how they work as well as information and results for an improvement in future designs of building integrated photovoltaic systems. Este estudio se centra en analizar la influencia negativa de la temperatura en la produccion electrica de paneles fotovoltaicos al estar emplazados sobre cubierta de acero, como sucede en naves industriales y sobre un invernadero. Se estudian diferentes configuraciones que permitan refrigerar los paneles, reduciendo su temperatura y mejorar su rendimiento. Para abordar este problema, se han construido dos instalaciones experimentales, fieles a plantas solares en funcionamiento. Una instalacion engloba dos paneles fotovoltaicos sobre estructura fija al suelo. Uno de los paneles esta integrado sobre una superficie paralela y metalica. Entre ambas superficies existe un espacio que posibilita circular aire, permitiendo refrigerar el panel por conveccion natural, o conveccion forzada impulsando el aire con un ventilador. El otro panel, libre por su cara posterior y se ha considerado de referencia. Se ha estudiado el comportamiento del panel integrado sobre cubierta para diferentes secciones de aire y velocidades inducidas, comparandolo con el panel de referencia. Se ha desarrollado un modelo experimental que nos permite determinar la temperatura del panel en funcion de las variables que influyen en su refrigeracion. Adicionalmente, se han analizado los datos de una planta solar en funcionamiento, con paneles de igual caracteristicas, obteniendo correlaciones entre la temperatura del panel y las variables electricas y comparandolos con las obtenidas en la instalacion experimental. La segunda instalacion experimental reproduce parte de una instalacion solar sobre un invernadero, formada por cuatro paneles fotovoltaicos colocados sobre el plastico del invernadero, existiendo un canal divergente entre ambas superficies. Se estudia la

Abundancias químicas de ψ Octantis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Medina, M. C.; Pintado, O. I.

Se determinan las abundancias químicas de ψ Oct usando espectros obtenidos con EBASIM en CASLEO. Los valores iniciales de temperatura efectiva y gravedad superficial se calculan con la fotometría uvbyβ. Esta estrella fue estudiada por Pintado y Adelman (1996) usando espectros REOSC y Adelman y otros (1993), este último basado en espectros echelle obtenidos con el Telescopio Anglo Australiano. Comparamos nuestros resultados con los de los trabajos anteriormente mencionados, pudiéndose realizar una evaluación de la calidad de los espectros EBASIM.

Pros and Cons of International Weapons Procurement Collaboration.

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-01-01

ad- vanced U.S. industry. Greater risk of cost growth and schedule slippage. Pro: U.S. and partners share common equip- ment. Con : U.S. require...Mark A., 1947- Pros and cons of international weapons procurement collaboration / Mark Lorell, Julia Lowell, p. cm "Prepared for the Office...one/ Cons of International Weapons Procurement Collaboration Mark Lorell Julia Lowell National Defense Research Institute Prepared for the

Educación sobre sexualidad y prevención del VIH: un diagnóstico para América Latina y el Caribe

PubMed Central

DeMaria, Lisa M.; Galárraga, Omar; Campero, Lourdes; Walker, Dilys M.

2016-01-01

RESUMEN Objetivo Mostrar, a través de un diagnóstico en América Latina y el Caribe, el panorama legislativo y curricular sobre sexualidad y prevención contra el virus de inmunodeficiencia humana (VIH) en el ámbito escolar, contrastándolo con los comportamientos sexuales reportados en encuestas demográficas y de salud. Métodos En mayo de 2008 se realizó, con el apoyo del Fondo de Población de las Naciones Unidas (UNFPA), una encuesta a informantes clave en 34 países de la Región. El cuestionario autoaplicado solicitó información sustantiva de agentes de las diferentes partes interesadas, como ministerios de educación y de salud, sobre los programas de prevención contra el VIH/Sida que se están aplicando en las escuelas. Resultados Respondieron a la encuesta 27 países que representan 95,5% de la población objetivo (6 a 18 años de edad). La mayoría de los países informó tener al menos un libro de texto o un capítulo específico para enseñar los temas de educación sobre sexualidad y prevención del VIH. En la escuela secundaria se cubren la mayor parte de los temas pertinentes relevantes para la educación sobre sexualidad, pero no todos. Por ejemplo, el problema de la discriminación por orientación o preferencia sexual no se incluye en los programas escolares. Conclusiones El material educativo sobre sexualidad debe ser revisado y actualizado periódicamente de modo que refleje los avances en los temas y en la forma de tratar los contenidos. En cada país el currículo debe abordar el tema del respeto a la diversidad sobre orientación, preferencia e identidad sexuales, y en particular el manejo apropiado de la educación para prevenir infecciones de transmisión sexual (ITS) en hombres que tienen sexo con hombres. Los esfuerzos de evaluación de la efectividad de los programas deben contemplar desenlaces tales como marcadores biológicos (incidencia y prevalencia de ITS y embarazo) y no únicamente indicadores de conocimiento y

La Enseñanza/Aprendizaje del Modelo Sol-Tierra Análisis de la Situación Actual y Propuesta de Mejora Para la Formación de los Futuros Profesores de Primaria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martínez Sebastià, Bernat

2004-12-01

This work is an extened summary of the autor's PhD thesis. It deals with the teaching of astronomy (day/night, seasons) in primary school. At first, students teachers' undestanding of astronomical concepts related to Sun-Earth system have been analysed. Taking into account the results of the previous analysis and using a socio-constructivist approach a teaching sequence has been designed. This sequence has been tested with different groups of students teachers showing an improvement in their undestanding of elementary astronomical concepts. El trabajo que presentamos es un resumen extenso de la tesis doctoral del autor. El enfoque utilizado ha sido tratar de ligar la investigación sobre las ideas, razonamientos y obstáculos de los profesores de primaria con la planificación de la enseñanza del modelo Sol-Tierra que permite explicar el ciclo día/noche y las estaciones. En primer lugar, se ha procedido a realizar un análisis crítico de los resultados que se obtienen en el aprendizaje de los contenidos astronómicos en la enseñanza habitual. En segundo lugar se ha diseñado un curriculum potencialmente superador de esta situación desde una orientación que concibe la enseñanza y el aprendizaje como un proceso de construcción de conocimientos en una estructura problematizada. Finalmente, esta secuencia didáctica ha sido experimentada con diferentes grupos de estudiantes de magisterio, mostrando una mejora relevante en la comprensión de los conceptos astronómicos fundamentales.

Relay tracking control for second-order multi-agent systems with damaged agents.

PubMed

Dong, Lijing; Li, Jing; Liu, Qin

2017-11-01

This paper investigates a situation where smart agents capable of sensory and mobility are deployed to monitor a designated area. A preset number of agents start tracking when a target intrudes this area. Some of the tracking agents are possible to be out of order over the tracking course. Thus, we propose a cooperative relay tracking strategy to ensure the successful tracking with existence of damaged agents. Relay means that, when a tracking agent quits tracking due to malfunction, one of the near deployed agents replaces it to continue the tracking task. This results in jump of tracking errors and dynamic switching of topology of the multi-agent system. Switched system technique is employed to solve this specific problem. Finally, the effectiveness of proposed tracking strategy and validity of the theoretical results are verified by conducting a numerical simulation. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mobile Agents Applications.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martins, Rosane Maria; Chaves, Magali Ribeiro; Pirmez, Luci; Rust da Costa Carmo, Luiz Fernando

2001-01-01

Discussion of the need to filter and retrieval relevant information from the Internet focuses on the use of mobile agents, specific software components which are based on distributed artificial intelligence and integrated systems. Surveys agent technology and discusses the agent building package used to develop two applications using IBM's Aglet…

Estudio de eventos dinámicos en ondas milimétricas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cristiani, G.; Martínez, G.; Raulin, J. P.; Giménez de Castro, G.; Rovira, M.

El estudio de la actividad solar con el telescopio para ondas submilimétricas (SST), nos permite, por vez primera, trabajar con una resolución temporal de milisegundos. Este hecho ha permitido observar emisión nunca antes comprobada, pulsos o flashes extremadamente rápidos provenientes de las regiones activas, los cuales parecen preanunciar fulguraciones en dichas regiones. Se muestra, como ejemplo, una fulguración observada con el telescopio HASTA en Hα, y los pulsos rápidos que la preceden observados con el SST. Para cuantificar la influencia de la atmósfera terrestre en los datos registrados, se está estudiando la variabilidad temporal de las opacidades a las frecuecias de trabajo (212 y 405 Ghz), es decir los rangos de tiempo para los cuales la opacidad puede variar apreciablemente. Con este fin se calcula la eficiencia de cada canal multiplicada por la temperatura del Sol a estas frecuencias (estas son conocidas con una incerteza del 20 %). Se muestran los resultados obtenidos para cada canal, en donde se grafica este producto como función de la opacidad.

[Reconstrucción ósea de defectos craneales secundarios a traumatismo con implantes personalizados].

PubMed

Cienfuegos, Ricardo; Fernández, Gerardo; Cruz, Aída; Sierra, Eduardo

2018-01-01

Los defectos craneales secundarios a traumatismos son frecuentes. Por lo común se reparan de forma secundaria por sintomatología como el síndrome del paciente trepanado, por protección cerebral y por el aspecto cosmético. Históricamente se han utilizado diversos materiales para la reconstrucción. Se presentan cinco casos de pacientes reconstruidos con implantes personalizados de polieteretercetona (PEEK) o polimetilmetacrilato poroso (PMMA). Las localizaciones afectaron el frontal, el borde orbitario superior y el techo orbitario en cuatro casos, y la porción lateral del frontal, la zona temporoparietal y el borde del occipital en un caso. La reconstrucción en cuatro pacientes fue entre 6 y 12 meses después de la lesión, y en un caso después de 25 años. En dos casos se requirió expansión tisular antes de colocar el implante. Cuatro pacientes evolucionaron favorablemente, con mejoría de los síntomas neurológicos, forma y contorno adecuados, así como un proceso de cicatrización adecuada de los colgajos de piel cabelluda. Un paciente presentó infección por Staphylococcus aureus, atribuida a la presencia de un mucocele y una fístula de la vía aérea a la cavidad craneal, lo que hizo necesario retirar el implante. Los implantes personalizados son un recurso útil para defectos óseos craneales. Brindan resultados satisfactorios desde el punto de vista funcional y cosmético. Deben tomarse precauciones respecto al tratamiento de las lesiones que afecten el seno frontal, para evitar la comunicación entre la vía aérea y la cavidad craneal. Cranial defects due to trauma are frequent. They are usually repaired in a secondary fashion due to features such as syndrome of the trephined, for brain protection and for cosmetic purposes. Historically, various materials have been used for reconstruction. Five cases of patients reconstructed with customized polyetheretherketone (PEEK) o polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) implants are presented. Defects involved

Biological warfare agents

PubMed Central

Thavaselvam, Duraipandian; Vijayaraghavan, Rajagopalan

2010-01-01

The recent bioterrorist attacks using anthrax spores have emphasized the need to detect and decontaminate critical facilities in the shortest possible time. There has been a remarkable progress in the detection, protection and decontamination of biological warfare agents as many instrumentation platforms and detection methodologies are developed and commissioned. Even then the threat of biological warfare agents and their use in bioterrorist attacks still remain a leading cause of global concern. Furthermore in the past decade there have been threats due to the emerging new diseases and also the re-emergence of old diseases and development of antimicrobial resistance and spread to new geographical regions. The preparedness against these agents need complete knowledge about the disease, better research and training facilities, diagnostic facilities and improved public health system. This review on the biological warfare agents will provide information on the biological warfare agents, their mode of transmission and spread and also the detection systems available to detect them. In addition the current information on the availability of commercially available and developing technologies against biological warfare agents has also been discussed. The risk that arise due to the use of these agents in warfare or bioterrorism related scenario can be mitigated with the availability of improved detection technologies. PMID:21829313

Spacecraft sanitation agent development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The development of an effective sanitizing agent that is compatible with the spacecraft environment and the human occupant is discussed. Experimental results show that two sanitation agents must be used to satisfy mission requirements: one agent for personal hygiene and one for equipment maintenance. It was also recommended that a water rinse be used with the agents for best results, and that consideration be given to using the agents pressure packed or in aerosol formulations.

9 CFR 319.301 - Chili con carne with beans.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Chili con carne with beans. 319.301 Section 319.301 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... Dehydrated Meat Food Products § 319.301 Chili con carne with beans. Chili con carne with beans shall contain...

9 CFR 319.301 - Chili con carne with beans.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Chili con carne with beans. 319.301 Section 319.301 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... Dehydrated Meat Food Products § 319.301 Chili con carne with beans. Chili con carne with beans shall contain...

9 CFR 319.301 - Chili con carne with beans.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Chili con carne with beans. 319.301 Section 319.301 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... Dehydrated Meat Food Products § 319.301 Chili con carne with beans. Chili con carne with beans shall contain...

9 CFR 319.301 - Chili con carne with beans.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Chili con carne with beans. 319.301 Section 319.301 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... Dehydrated Meat Food Products § 319.301 Chili con carne with beans. Chili con carne with beans shall contain...

9 CFR 319.301 - Chili con carne with beans.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Chili con carne with beans. 319.301 Section 319.301 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... Dehydrated Meat Food Products § 319.301 Chili con carne with beans. Chili con carne with beans shall contain...

Agility: Agent - Ility Architecture

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-10-01

existing and emerging standards (e.g., distributed objects, email, web, search engines , XML, Java, Jini). Three agent system components resulted from...agents and other Internet resources and operate over the web (AgentGram), a yellow pages service that uses Internet search engines to locate XML ads for agents and other Internet resources (WebTrader).

CATS-based Agents That Err

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Callantine, Todd J.

2002-01-01

This report describes preliminary research on intelligent agents that make errors. Such agents are crucial to the development of novel agent-based techniques for assessing system safety. The agents extend an agent architecture derived from the Crew Activity Tracking System that has been used as the basis for air traffic controller agents. The report first reviews several error taxonomies. Next, it presents an overview of the air traffic controller agents, then details several mechanisms for causing the agents to err in realistic ways. The report presents a performance assessment of the error-generating agents, and identifies directions for further research. The research was supported by the System-Wide Accident Prevention element of the FAA/NASA Aviation Safety Program.

Effect of certificate of need law on emergency department length of stay.

PubMed

Paul, Jomon Aliyas; Ni, Huan; Bagchi, Aniruddha

2014-10-01

The impact of the Certificate of Need (CON) law on Emergency Department (ED) care remains elusive in the academic literature. We study the impact of CON law on ED Length of Stay (LOS). We examine ED LOS to detect any statistically significant difference between CON and non-CON states. We then estimate the effects of CON law on ED LOS by treating CON as an exogenous (endogenous) variable. We find that the CON legislation positively impacts ED care by reducing ED LOS (95% confidence interval [CI] -61.3 to -10.3), and we can't reject the hypothesis that the CON legislation can be treated as an exogenous variable in our model. An increase in the stringency of the CON law (measured by the threshold on equipment expenditure that is subject to a CON review) tends to diminish this positive impact on ED LOS (95% CI 9.9-68.0). The party affiliation of the Governor (95% CI 10.3-37.5), the political environment as a function of the agreement on voting between state senators (95% CI-64.8 to -12.9), proportion of young population (0-17 years) when compared with the elderly (>65 years) (95% CI-2299.7 to -184.1), proportion of population covered by privately purchased insurance (95% CI-819.3 to -59.9), etc., are found to significantly impact ED LOS in a state. This study provides a better understanding of the impact of CON law on ED care, which extends the previous literature that has mainly focused on CON effects on inpatient care. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Agent Architectures for Compliance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burgemeestre, Brigitte; Hulstijn, Joris; Tan, Yao-Hua

A Normative Multi-Agent System consists of autonomous agents who must comply with social norms. Different kinds of norms make different assumptions about the cognitive architecture of the agents. For example, a principle-based norm assumes that agents can reflect upon the consequences of their actions; a rule-based formulation only assumes that agents can avoid violations. In this paper we present several cognitive agent architectures for self-monitoring and compliance. We show how different assumptions about the cognitive architecture lead to different information needs when assessing compliance. The approach is validated with a case study of horizontal monitoring, an approach to corporate tax auditing recently introduced by the Dutch Customs and Tax Authority.

Science and Innovation at Los Alamos

Science.gov Websites

Los Alamos National Laboratory Search Site submit About Mission Business Newsroom Publications Los Innovation in New Mexico Los Alamos Collaboration for Explosives Detection (LACED) SensorNexus Exascale Computing Project (ECP) User Facilities Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT) Los Alamos Neutron

Moral actor, selfish agent.

PubMed

Frimer, Jeremy A; Schaefer, Nicola K; Oakes, Harrison

2014-05-01

People are motivated to behave selfishly while appearing moral. This tension gives rise to 2 divergently motivated selves. The actor-the watched self-tends to be moral; the agent-the self as executor-tends to be selfish. Three studies present direct evidence of the actor's and agent's distinct motives. To recruit the self-as-actor, we asked people to rate the importance of various goals. To recruit the self-as-agent, we asked people to describe their goals verbally. In Study 1, actors claimed their goals were equally about helping the self and others (viz., moral); agents claimed their goals were primarily about helping the self (viz., selfish). This disparity was evident in both individualist and collectivist cultures, attesting to the universality of the selfish agent. Study 2 compared actors' and agents' motives to those of people role-playing highly prosocial or selfish exemplars. In content (Study 2a) and in the impressions they made on an outside observer (Study 2b), actors' motives were similar to those of the prosocial role-players, whereas agents' motives were similar to those of the selfish role-players. Study 3 accounted for the difference between the actor and agent: Participants claimed that their agent's motives were the more realistic and that their actor's motives were the more idealistic. The selfish agent/moral actor duality may account for why implicit and explicit measures of the same construct diverge, and why feeling watched brings out the better angels of human nature.

In vitro evolution of chemically-modified nucleic acid aptamers: Pros and cons, and comprehensive selection strategies.

PubMed

Lipi, Farhana; Chen, Suxiang; Chakravarthy, Madhuri; Rakesh, Shilpa; Veedu, Rakesh N

2016-12-01

Nucleic acid aptamers are single-stranded DNA or RNA oligonucleotide sequences that bind to a specific target molecule with high affinity and specificity through their ability to adopt 3-dimensional structure in solution. Aptamers have huge potential as targeted therapeutics, diagnostics, delivery agents and as biosensors. However, aptamers composed of natural nucleotide monomers are quickly degraded in vivo and show poor pharmacodynamic properties. To overcome this, chemically-modified nucleic acid aptamers are developed by incorporating modified nucleotides after or during the selection process by Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment (SELEX). This review will discuss the development of chemically-modified aptamers and provide the pros and cons, and new insights on in vitro aptamer selection strategies by using chemically-modified nucleic acid libraries.

In vitro evolution of chemically-modified nucleic acid aptamers: Pros and cons, and comprehensive selection strategies

PubMed Central

Chen, Suxiang; Chakravarthy, Madhuri; Rakesh, Shilpa; Veedu, Rakesh N.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Nucleic acid aptamers are single-stranded DNA or RNA oligonucleotide sequences that bind to a specific target molecule with high affinity and specificity through their ability to adopt 3-dimensional structure in solution. Aptamers have huge potential as targeted therapeutics, diagnostics, delivery agents and as biosensors. However, aptamers composed of natural nucleotide monomers are quickly degraded in vivo and show poor pharmacodynamic properties. To overcome this, chemically-modified nucleic acid aptamers are developed by incorporating modified nucleotides after or during the selection process by Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment (SELEX). This review will discuss the development of chemically-modified aptamers and provide the pros and cons, and new insights on in vitro aptamer selection strategies by using chemically-modified nucleic acid libraries. PMID:27715478

Inverse modeling of groundwater flow in the semiarid evaporitic closed basin of Los Monegros, Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samper-Calvete, F. J.; García-Vera, M. A.

Monegros en la que existen toda una serie de lagunas salinas. La implantación del regadío en esta zona puede alterar el régimen hidrológico de las lagunas, provocar problemas de salinización de suelos y aguas y aumentar la salinidad del río Ebro. Con el fin de evaluar estos efectos se construyó un modelo numérico del flujo subterráneo. Con la información disponible se pueden distinguir dos acuíferos que están conectados mediante un acuitardo. El modelo de flujo se calibró en régimen estacionario utilizando el procedimiento de calibración automática de Carrera y Neuman (1986a) basado en el método de la máxima verosimilitud. El modelo finalmente calibrado es capaz de reproducir los niveles piezométricos medidos y es coherente con los resultados de los balances hidrológicos en las lagunas. La conductividad hidráulica media del modelo es superior en casi dos órdenes de magnitud a la media de las conductividades hidráulicas obtenidas en ensayos de campo a escala local. Este efecto de escala en la conductividad hidráulica es coherente con los resultados de Neuman (1994) y Sánchez-Vila et al. (1996) y confirma que dicho efecto también se observa en medios evaporíticos.

Stockpile Stewardship: Los Alamos

ScienceCinema

McMillan, Charlie; Morgan, Nathanial; Goorley, Tom; Merrill, Frank; Funk, Dave; Korzekwa, Deniece; Laintz, Ken

2018-01-16

"Heritage of Science" is a short video that highlights the Stockpile Stewardship program at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Stockpile Stewardship was conceived in the early 1990s as a national science-based program that could assure the safety, security, and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear deterrent without the need for full-scale underground nuclear testing. This video was produced by Los Alamos National Laboratory for screening at the Lab's Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos, NM and is narrated by science correspondent Miles O'Brien.

New Mexico: Los Alamos

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2014-05-15

article title:  Los Alamos, New Mexico     View Larger JPEG image ... kb) Multi-angle views of the Fire in Los Alamos, New Mexico, May 9, 2000. These true-color images covering north-central New Mexico ...

Liposome encapsulation of chelating agents

DOEpatents

Rahman, Yueh Erh

1976-01-13

A method for transferring a chelating agent across a cellular membrane by encapsulating the charged chelating agent within liposomes and carrying the liposome-encapsulated chelating agent to the cellular membrane where the liposomes containing the chelating agent will be taken up by the cells, thereby transferring the chelating agent across the cellular membrane. A chelating agent can be introduced into the interior of a cell of a living organism wherein the liposomes will be decomposed, releasing the chelating agent to the interior of the cell. The released chelating agent will complex intracellularly deposited toxic heavy metals, permitting the more soluble metal complex to transfer across the cellular membrane from the cell and subsequently be removed from the living organism.

Double agents and secret agents: the emerging fields of exogenous chemical exchange saturation transfer and T2-exchange magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents for molecular imaging.

PubMed

Daryaei, Iman; Pagel, Mark D

2015-01-01

Two relatively new types of exogenous magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents may provide greater impact for molecular imaging by providing greater specificity for detecting molecular imaging biomarkers. Exogenous chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) agents rely on the selective saturation of the magnetization of a proton on an agent, followed by chemical exchange of a proton from the agent to water. The selective detection of a biomarker-responsive CEST signal and an unresponsive CEST signal, followed by the ratiometric comparison of these signals, can improve biomarker specificity. We refer to this improvement as a "double-agent" approach to molecular imaging. Exogenous T 2 -exchange agents also rely on chemical exchange of protons between the agent and water, especially with an intermediate rate that lies between the slow exchange rates of CEST agents and the fast exchange rates of traditional T 1 and T 2 agents. Because of this intermediate exchange rate, these agents have been relatively unknown and have acted as "secret agents" in the contrast agent research field. This review exposes these secret agents and describes the merits of double agents through examples of exogenous agents that detect enzyme activity, nucleic acids and gene expression, metabolites, ions, redox state, temperature, and pH. Future directions are also provided for improving both types of contrast agents for improved molecular imaging and clinical translation. Therefore, this review provides an overview of two new types of exogenous contrast agents that are becoming useful tools within the armamentarium of molecular imaging.

Ferrimagnetic susceptibility contrast agents.

PubMed

Bach-Gansmo, T

1993-01-01

Contrast agents based on superparamagnetic particles have been in clinical development for more than 5 years, and the complexity of their effects is still not elucidated. The relaxivities are frequently used to give an idea of their efficacy, but these parameters can only be used if they are concentration independent. For large superparamagnetic systems, the evolution of the transverse magnetization is biexponential, after an initial loss of magnetization. Both these characteristics of large superparamagnetic systems should lead to prudence in using the relaxivities as indicators of contrast medium efficacy. Susceptibility induced artefacts have been associated with the use of superparamagnetic contrast agents since the first imaging evaluation took place. The range of concentrations where good contrast effect was achieved without inducing artefacts, as well as blurring and metal artefacts were evaluated. The influence of motion on the induction of artefacts was studied, and compared to the artefacts induced by a paramagnetic agent subject to motion. With a suitable concentration of a negative contrast agent, a signal void could be achieved in the region prone to motion, and no artefacts were induced. If the concentration was too high, a displacement of the region close to the contrast agent was observed. The artefacts occurred in a volume surrounding the contrast agent, i.e., also outside the imaging plane. In comparison a positive, paramagnetic contrast agent induced heavy artefacts in the phase encoding direction, appearing as both high intensity regions and black holes, in a mosaic pattern. Clinical trials of the oral contrast agent OMP for abdominal MR imaging showed this agent to be safe and efficacious. OMP increased the diagnostic efficacy of abdominal MR imaging in 2 of 3 cases examined, with a significant decrease in motion artefacts. Susceptibility contrast agents may also be of use in the evaluation of small lesions in the liver. Particulate material

A CSP-Based Agent Modeling Framework for the Cougaar Agent-Based Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gracanin, Denis; Singh, H. Lally; Eltoweissy, Mohamed; Hinchey, Michael G.; Bohner, Shawn A.

2005-01-01

Cognitive Agent Architecture (Cougaar) is a Java-based architecture for large-scale distributed agent-based applications. A Cougaar agent is an autonomous software entity with behaviors that represent a real-world entity (e.g., a business process). A Cougaar-based Model Driven Architecture approach, currently under development, uses a description of system's functionality (requirements) to automatically implement the system in Cougaar. The Communicating Sequential Processes (CSP) formalism is used for the formal validation of the generated system. Two main agent components, a blackboard and a plugin, are modeled as CSP processes. A set of channels represents communications between the blackboard and individual plugins. The blackboard is represented as a CSP process that communicates with every agent in the collection. The developed CSP-based Cougaar modeling framework provides a starting point for a more complete formal verification of the automatically generated Cougaar code. Currently it is used to verify the behavior of an individual agent in terms of CSP properties and to analyze the corresponding Cougaar society.

Evaluation of new antiemetic agents and definition of antineoplastic agent emetogenicity--an update.

PubMed

Grunberg, Steven M; Osoba, David; Hesketh, Paul J; Gralla, Richard J; Borjeson, Sussanne; Rapoport, Bernardo L; du Bois, Andreas; Tonato, Maurizio

2005-02-01

Development of effective antiemetic therapy depends upon an understanding of both the antiemetic agents and the emetogenic challenges these agents are designed to address. New potential antiemetic agents should be studied in an orderly manner, proceeding from phase I to phase II open-label trials and then to randomized double-blind phase III trials comparing new agents and regimens to best standard therapy. Use of placebos in place of antiemetic therapy against highly or moderately emetogenic chemotherapy is unacceptable. Nausea and vomiting should be evaluated separately and for both the acute and delayed periods. Defining the emetogenicity of new antineoplastic agents is a challenge, since such data are often not reliably recorded during early drug development. A four-level classification system is proposed for emetogenicity of intravenous antineoplastic agents. A separate four-level classification system for emetogenicity of oral antineoplastic agents, which are often given over an extended period of time, is also proposed.

Galaxias australes con núcleo doble

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gimeno, G.; Díaz, R.; Carranza, G.

Se estudia una muestra de galaxias australes con núcleo doble a partir de una búsqueda extensiva en la literatura. Se analizan las características morfológicas, fotométricas y espectroscópicas de la muestra. Para algunas galaxias se han realizado observaciones con el espectrógrafo multifunción (EMF) de la Estación Astrofísica de Bosque Alegre a partir de las cuales se determinaron parámetros cinemáticos.

Agent tracking: a psycho-historical theory of the identification of living and social agents.

PubMed

Bullot, Nicolas J

To explain agent-identification behaviours, universalist theories in the biological and cognitive sciences have posited mental mechanisms thought to be universal to all humans, such as agent detection and face recognition mechanisms. These universalist theories have paid little attention to how particular sociocultural or historical contexts interact with the psychobiological processes of agent-identification. In contrast to universalist theories, contextualist theories appeal to particular historical and sociocultural contexts for explaining agent-identification. Contextualist theories tend to adopt idiographic methods aimed at recording the heterogeneity of human behaviours across history, space, and cultures. Defenders of the universalist approach tend to criticise idiographic methods because such methods can lead to relativism or may lack generality. To overcome explanatory limitations of proposals that adopt either universalist or contextualist approaches in isolation, I propose a philosophical model that integrates contributions from both traditions: the psycho-historical theory of agent-identification. This theory investigates how the tracking processes that humans use for identifying agents interact with the unique socio-historical contexts that support agent-identification practices. In integrating hypotheses about the history of agents with psychological and epistemological principles regarding agent-identification, the theory can generate novel hypotheses regarding the distinction between recognition-based, heuristic-based, and explanation-based agent-identification.

Topical antifungal agents: an update.

PubMed

Diehl, K B

1996-10-01

So many topical antifungal agents have been introduced that it has become very difficult to select the proper agent for a given infection. Nonspecific agents have been available for many years, and they are still effective in many situations. These agents include Whitfield's ointment, Castellani paint, gentian violet, potassium permanganate, undecylenic acid and selenium sulfide. Specific antifungal agents include, among others, the polyenes (nystatin, amphotericin B), the imidazoles (metronidazole, clotrimazole) and the allylamines (terbinafine, naftifine). Although the choice of an antifungal agent should be based on an accurate diagnosis, many clinicians believe that topical miconazole is a relatively effective agent for the treatment of most mycotic infections. Terbinafine and other newer drugs have primary fungicidal effects. Compared with older antifungal agents, these newer drugs can be used in lower concentrations and shorter therapeutic courses. Studies are needed to evaluate the clinical efficacies and cost advantages of both newer and traditional agents.

PubMed

Alvarez Padilla, Facundo Nicolás; Schiavoni, Emiliano Nestor; Bustos, Mario Eduardo Francisco

2018-04-20

INTRODUCCIONEl derrame pleural neoplásico (DPN) implica una enfermedad oncológica avanzada. La biopsia pleural por cirugía torácica endoscópica permite el diagnóstico en más del 90% de los casos y la instrumentación del espacio pleural complicado, mejorando los resultados de la técnica.MATERIAL Y METODOSe realizó un análisis retrospectivo de pacientes con DPN operados para la realización de una pleurodesis química con talco. Se formaron dos grupos, uno con derrame pleural neoplásico complicado (DPNC) y otro con derrame pleural neoplásico no complicado (DPNNC). En el grupo con DPNC se realizó "maniobras de liberación - expansión". Se compararon las variables entre ambos grupos para el análisis pertinente.RESULTADOSSe analizaron 28 pacientes con DPN tratados con pleurodesis química por cirugía torácica endoscópica. La edad promedio fue de 62,64 años. El compromiso pleural por patología mamaria fue la forma más frecuente (46,4%). No se hubo diferencia en cuanto a complicaciones (p= 0,31) y riesgo de defunción a los 30 días (p=1,09) con el manejo agresivo del espacio pleural. La demora en la indicación de pleurodesis se relacionó con un mayor índice de complicaciones (p=0,002) y mayor probabilidad de defunción dentro de los 30 días (p=0,008). La mayoría de pacientes se reinsertó a sus tareas diarias, con buena tolerancia a la disnea luego del procedimiento.  CONCLUSIONEn los pacientes con DPNC, las "maniobras de liberación - expansión pulmonar" descriptas, aumentarían las chances de mejorar los resultados con bajo riesgo. La pleurodesis química temprana mejora la calidad de vida de los pacientes portadores de un DPN.

Representation in dynamical agents.

PubMed

Ward, Ronnie; Ward, Robert

2009-04-01

This paper extends experiments by Beer [Beer, R. D. (1996). Toward the evolution of dynamical neural networks for minimally cognitive behavior. In P. Maes, M. Mataric, J. Meyer, J. Pollack, & S. Wilson (Eds.), From animals to animats 4: Proceedings of the fourth international conference on simulation of adaptive behavior (pp. 421-429). MIT Press; Beer, R. D. (2003). The dynamics of active categorical perception in an evolved model agent (with commentary and response). Adaptive Behavior, 11 (4), 209-243] with an evolved, dynamical agent to further explore the question of representation in cognitive systems. Beer's environmentally-situated visual agent was controlled by a continuous-time recurrent neural network, and evolved to perform a categorical perception task, discriminating circles from diamonds. Despite the agent's high levels of discrimination performance, Beer found no evidence of internal representation in the best-evolved agent's nervous system. Here we examine the generality of this result. We evolved an agent for shape discrimination, and performed extensive behavioral analyses to test for representation. In this case we find that agents developed to discriminate equal-width shapes exhibit what Clark [Clark, A. (1997). The dynamical challenge. Cognitive Science, 21 (4), 461-481] calls "weak-substantive representation". The agent had internal configurations that (1) were understandably related to the object in the environment, and (2) were functionally used in a task relevant way when the target was not visible to the agent.

Viviendo Con Incendios: Una guia para los duenos de casas en Nuevo Mexico [Living with Fire: A Guide for the Homeowner-New Mexico

Treesearch

U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management

2008-01-01

La posibilidad de perdidas humanas y de propiedad en Nuevo Mexico debido a un incendio forestal ha ido incrementando. Para responder a este peligro, entidades locales, estatales, federales, particulares y sin fines de lucro se han unido para crear Como Reducir la Amenaza de Incendios Forestales, un programa dirigido a los propietarios de casas. Este no es un programa...

Comportamiento del Helio en estrellas químicamente peculiares

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malaroda, S. M.; López García, Z.; Leone, F.; Catalano, F.

Las estrellas químicamente peculiares (CP) se caracterizan por tener deficiencias y sobreabundancias de algunos elementos químicos de hasta 106 veces la abundancia solar. Además presentan variaciones en las líneas espectrales. Se piensa que ello se debe a que los campos magnéticos presentes en este tipo de estrellas son principalmente dipolares, con un eje de simetría diferente del eje de rotación. La distribución de los elementos sobreabundantes y deficientes no es homogénea sobre la superficie estelar y las variaciones observadas serían una consecuencia directa de la rotación estelar. Entre los elementos con abundancia anómala se encuentra el Helio, cuyas líneas tienen intensidades que no son consistentes con una abundancia normal, que no puede ser determinada del modo usual, o sea, considerando una atmósfera con composición solar. Con el fin de determinar la abundancia de este elemento, se inició un estudio de estrellas anómalas de Helio, Hew y He strong. Además se determinarán las abundancias de otros elementos anómalos como ser el Si, Cr, Mg, Mn y Fe. Las mismas se determinan del modo tradicional, o sea: a) medida de los anchos equivalentes de las líneas de los distintos elementos analizados; b) adopción de la temperatura efectiva, gravedad y abundancia del Helio; c) cálculo del modelo de atmósfera d) comparación con las observaciones y reinicio de un proceso iterativo hasta lograr un acuerdo entre todos los parámetros analizados. Las observaciones se llevaron a cabo en el Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito. Se observaron setenta y ocho estrellas anómalas de Helio. En este momento se está procediendo a calcular las abundancias correspondientes a los distintos elementos químicos. Para ello se hace uso de los modelos de Kurucz, ATLAS9. Los cálculos NLTE de las líneas de Helio se llevan a cabo con el programa MULTI y se compararán con los realizados con el programa WIDTH9 de Kurucz (LTE), con el objeto de resaltar la importancia de

Agent oriented programming

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shoham, Yoav

1994-01-01

The goal of our research is a methodology for creating robust software in distributed and dynamic environments. The approach taken is to endow software objects with explicit information about one another, to have them interact through a commitment mechanism, and to equip them with a speech-acty communication language. System-level applications include software interoperation and compositionality. A government application of specific interest is an infrastructure for coordination among multiple planners. Daily activity applications include personal software assistants, such as programmable email, scheduling, and new group agents. Research topics include definition of mental state of agents, design of agent languages as well as interpreters for those languages, and mechanisms for coordination within agent societies such as artificial social laws and conventions.

PubMed

Morales Guerrero, Josefina Consuelo; Rosas Romero, Reina; García Zepeda, Rodrigo Antonio; Oropeza Hernández, Rodolfo; Ruiz Jiménez, Silvia; Ríos Chávez, Alejandra R; Cervantes Covarrubias, Leticia

2016-09-20

Introducción: el índice glucémico (IG) y la carga glucémica (CG) de productos lácteos fermentados (PLF) con lactobacilos puede ser una recomendación útil para pacientes diabéticos y para la población en general.Objetivo: el objetivo del estudio fue medir el IG y la CG de PLF con lactobacilos en sujetos sedentarios y deportistas, y evaluar si existe diferencia entre ellos.Métodos: el estudio se realizó en México (DF) de acuerdo con la ISO26642:210 (Organización Internacional de Normalización). Los participantes fueron: 10 sedentarios y 10 deportistas. Los PLF analizados fueron: Soful, Yakult, Gastroprotect, BeneGastro, Bonacult, Lala Bio 4 y leche descremada con sacarosa (LDS) y la cantidad de alimento que ingirieron dependió de ajustar a 25 g los HC en la porción.Resultados: el IG de la mayoría de los PLF fue bajo para ambos grupos de sujetos; en los deportistas los PLF Yakult y Bonacult presentaron los mayores IG y solo el Yakult puede considerarse como de IG medio para este grupo; estos dos PLF presentaron la menor relación de proteína/HC. La LDS, lácteo con los HC no fermentados, presentó un IG alto para ambos grupos. La CG de los PLF se encontró entre 4 a 7,6 y solo Gastroprotect presentó estadísticamente la menor CG, lo que pudo deberse a su bajo IG, aun cuando su tamaño de ración no fue la menor, entre los PLF.Conclusión: en general los valores de IG y CG de los PLF fueron bajos para ambos grupos. Por tanto, su consumo puede recomendarse en forma moderada. El IG y CG entre productos lácteos con azúcares fermentados y con azúcares no fermentados fueron diferentes.

Oral hypoglycemic agents for gestational diabetes mellitus?

PubMed

Maymone, Ana Cristina; Baillargeon, Jean-Patrice; Ménard, Julie; Ardilouze, Jean-Luc

2011-03-01

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), the most frequent medical complication of pregnancy, is associated with several adverse outcomes over the short- and long-term for both mother and offspring. Standard treatment for GDM consists of insulin injections. Oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs), on the other hand, are still the subject of controversy. Although OHAs are seemingly as efficient as insulin and may provide better quality of life, congenital malformations and unknown long-term effects are still feared. Recent data on the pharmacokinetics of two OHAs (glyburide and metformin) and their clinical use for GDM are reviewed, with a focus on clinical trials and observational studies comparing insulin with glyburide or metformin (1960 - 2010). The review will provide a comprehensive overview of the pros and cons of OHA usage, an appreciation of OHAs' efficiency for the purpose of controlling glycemia and embryogenetic basics relating to congenital malformations. While insulin treatment is an effective therapy for controlling maternal glycemia, it nevertheless requires sufficient education and skills on the part of the patient to manage properly and may cause hypoglycemia, fear and anxiety. Oral treatment as a more user-friendly alternative may thus facilitate the control of GDM in some patients.

Double agents and secret agents: the emerging fields of exogenous chemical exchange saturation transfer and T2-exchange magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents for molecular imaging

PubMed Central

Daryaei, Iman; Pagel, Mark D

2016-01-01

Two relatively new types of exogenous magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents may provide greater impact for molecular imaging by providing greater specificity for detecting molecular imaging biomarkers. Exogenous chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) agents rely on the selective saturation of the magnetization of a proton on an agent, followed by chemical exchange of a proton from the agent to water. The selective detection of a biomarker-responsive CEST signal and an unresponsive CEST signal, followed by the ratiometric comparison of these signals, can improve biomarker specificity. We refer to this improvement as a “double-agent” approach to molecular imaging. Exogenous T2-exchange agents also rely on chemical exchange of protons between the agent and water, especially with an intermediate rate that lies between the slow exchange rates of CEST agents and the fast exchange rates of traditional T1 and T2 agents. Because of this intermediate exchange rate, these agents have been relatively unknown and have acted as “secret agents” in the contrast agent research field. This review exposes these secret agents and describes the merits of double agents through examples of exogenous agents that detect enzyme activity, nucleic acids and gene expression, metabolites, ions, redox state, temperature, and pH. Future directions are also provided for improving both types of contrast agents for improved molecular imaging and clinical translation. Therefore, this review provides an overview of two new types of exogenous contrast agents that are becoming useful tools within the armamentarium of molecular imaging. PMID:27747191

Proceedings of the Agent 2002 Conference on Social Agents : Ecology, Exchange, and Evolution

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Macal, C., ed.; Sallach, D., ed.

2003-04-10

Welcome to the ''Proceedings'' of the third in a series of agent simulation conferences cosponsored by Argonne National Laboratory and The University of Chicago. The theme of this year's conference, ''Social Agents: Ecology, Exchange and Evolution'', was selected to foster the exchange of ideas on some of the most important social processes addressed by agent simulation models, namely: (1) The translation of ecology and ecological constraints into social dynamics; (2) The role of exchange processes, including the peer dependencies they create; and (3) The dynamics by which, and the attractor states toward which, social processes evolve. As stated in themore » ''Call for Papers'', throughout the social sciences, the simulation of social agents has emerged as an innovative and powerful research methodology. The promise of this approach, however, is accompanied by many challenges. First, modeling complexity in agents, environments, and interactions is non-trivial, and these representations must be explored and assessed systematically. Second, strategies used to represent complexities are differentially applicable to any particular problem space. Finally, to achieve sufficient generality, the design and experimentation inherent in agent simulation must be coupled with social and behavioral theory. Agent 2002 provides a forum for reviewing the current state of agent simulation scholarship, including research designed to address such outstanding issues. This year's conference introduces an extensive range of domains, models, and issues--from pre-literacy to future projections, from ecology to oligopolistic markets, and from design to validation. Four invited speakers highlighted major themes emerging from social agent simulation.« less

Flexible, secure agent development framework

DOEpatents

Goldsmith,; Steven, Y [Rochester, MN

2009-04-07

While an agent generator is generating an intelligent agent, it can also evaluate the data processing platform on which it is executing, in order to assess a risk factor associated with operation of the agent generator on the data processing platform. The agent generator can retrieve from a location external to the data processing platform an open site that is configurable by the user, and load the open site into an agent substrate, thereby creating a development agent with code development capabilities. While an intelligent agent is executing a functional program on a data processing platform, it can also evaluate the data processing platform to assess a risk factor associated with performing the data processing function on the data processing platform.

Do Low Molecular Weight Agents Cause More Severe Asthma than High Molecular Weight Agents?

PubMed

Meca, Olga; Cruz, María-Jesús; Sánchez-Ortiz, Mónica; González-Barcala, Francisco-Javier; Ojanguren, Iñigo; Munoz, Xavier

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to analyse whether patients with occupational asthma (OA) caused by low molecular weight (LMW) agents differed from patients with OA caused by high molecular weight (HMW) with regard to risk factors, asthma presentation and severity, and response to various diagnostic tests. Seventy-eight patients with OA diagnosed by positive specific inhalation challenge (SIC) were included. Anthropometric characteristics, atopic status, occupation, latency periods, asthma severity according to the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) control classification, lung function tests and SIC results were analysed. OA was induced by an HMW agent in 23 patients (29%) and by an LMW agent in 55 (71%). A logistic regression analysis confirmed that patients with OA caused by LMW agents had a significantly higher risk of severity according to the GINA classification after adjusting for potential confounders (OR = 3.579, 95% CI 1.136-11.280; p = 0.029). During the SIC, most patients with OA caused by HMW agents presented an early reaction (82%), while in patients with OA caused by LMW agents the response was mainly late (73%) (p = 0.0001). Similarly, patients with OA caused by LMW agents experienced a greater degree of bronchial hyperresponsiveness, measured as the difference in the methacholine dose-response ratio (DRR) before and after SIC (1.77, range 0-16), compared with patients with OA caused by HMW agents (0.87, range 0-72), (p = 0.024). OA caused by LMW agents may be more severe than that caused by HMW agents. The severity of the condition may be determined by the different mechanisms of action of these agents.

Engaging Community With Promotores de Salud to Support Infant Nutrition and Breastfeeding Among Latinas Residing in Los Angeles County: Salud con Hyland's.

PubMed

Rios-Ellis, Britt; Nguyen-Rodriguez, Selena T; Espinoza, Lilia; Galvez, Gino; Garcia-Vega, Melawhy

2015-01-01

The Salud con Hyland's Project: Comienzo Saludable, Familia Sana [Health With Hyland's Project: Healthy Start, Healthy Family],was developed to provide education and support to Latina mothers regarding healthy infant feeding practices and maternal health. The promotora-delivered intervention was comprised of two charlas (educational sessions) and a supplemental, culturally and linguistically relevant infant feeding and care rolling calendar. Results indicate that the intervention increased intention to breastfeed exclusively, as well as to delay infant initiation of solids by 5 to 6 months. Qualitative feedback identified barriers to maternal and child health education as well as highlighted several benefits of the intervention.

Serial hemodynamic monitoring to guide treatment of maternal hypertension leads to reduction in severe hypertension.

PubMed

Stott, D; Papastefanou, I; Paraschiv, D; Clark, K; Kametas, N A

2017-01-01

at presentation and throughout gestation, demonstrated well-maintained cardiac output and had the lowest rates of fetal growth restriction. The groups that required dual therapy to control their blood pressure had persistently higher blood pressure and rate of fetal growth restriction. The groups that required vasodilator therapy due to high levels of peripheral vascular resistance, either at presentation or later in pregnancy, accounted for 81% of cases with fetal growth restriction. Using serial hemodynamic monitoring in pregnancy to guide treatment of hypertension significantly reduces the rate of severe hypertension and allows identification of high-resistance, low-output hypertensive pregnancies that are associated with an increased rate of fetal growth restriction. Copyright © 2016 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Examinar si el tratamiento para la hipertensión en el embarazo guiado por un seguimiento en serie de las principales constantes hemodinámicas de la madre conduce a una reducción en la tasa de hipertensión grave, definida como presión arterial ≥ 160/110 mmHg; y evaluar los diferentes perfiles hemodinámicos longitudinales asociados a la monoterapia con beta-bloqueantes, la monoterapia con vasodilatadores y la terapia dual, y su relación con los resultados, como la restricción del crecimiento fetal. MÉTODOS: Se realizó un estudio observacional prospectivo en una clínica especializada en hipertensión prenatal de un hospital de atención terciaria del Reino Unido. Se reclutaron consecutivamente a cincuenta y dos mujeres no tratadas que presentaban hipertensión y se comenzó a tratarlas, bien con un beta-bloqueante o bien con un vasodilatador. La elección del agente antihipertensivo inicial se determinó de acuerdo con un modelo elaborado previamente para predecir la respuesta al beta-bloqueante labetalol en mujeres embarazadas que necesitaban tratamiento antihipertensivo. Al inicio se registraron las características demogr

The Procurement of Non Developmental Items: Pros and Cons

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-09-01

commercial way of procurement will bring more advantages than disadvantages to DOD. The list of the pros greatly outweighs the cons . There is practically...AD-A285 009 MH PROCUREMENT OF NON DEVELOPMENTAL ITEMS: PROS AND CONS THES IS Giorgio Scappaticci. Lt. Col., Italian Air Force AFIT/GLMILALj94S-3 I...PROS AND CONS U;narmou,.ced 0 Justification THESIS Giorgio Scappaticci, Lt. Col., Italian Air Force Dist’ibution f Availability Codes AFIT/GLM/LAL

Knowledge focus via software agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henager, Donald E.

2001-09-01

The essence of military Command and Control (C2) is making knowledge intensive decisions in a limited amount of time using uncertain, incorrect, or outdated information. It is essential to provide tools to decision-makers that provide: * Management of friendly forces by treating the "friendly resources as a system". * Rapid assessment of effects of military actions againt the "enemy as a system". * Assessment of how an enemy should, can, and could react to friendly military activities. Software agents in the form of mission agents, target agents, maintenance agents, and logistics agents can meet this information challenge. The role of each agent is to know all the details about its assigned mission, target, maintenance, or logistics entity. The Mission Agent would fight for mission resources based on the mission priority and analyze the effect that a proposed mission's results would have on the enemy. The Target Agent (TA) communicates with other targets to determine its role in the system of targets. A system of TAs would be able to inform a planner or analyst of the status of a system of targets, the effect of that status, adn the effect of attacks on that system. The system of TAs would also be able to analyze possible enemy reactions to attack by determining ways to minimize the effect of attack, such as rerouting traffic or using deception. The Maintenance Agent would scheudle maintenance events and notify the maintenance unit. The Logistics Agent would manage shipment and delivery of supplies to maintain appropriate levels of weapons, fuel and spare parts. The central idea underlying this case of software agents is knowledge focus. Software agents are createad automatically to focus their attention on individual real-world entities (e.g., missions, targets) and view the world from that entities perspective. The agent autonomously monitors the entity, identifies problems/opportunities, formulates solutions, and informs the decision-maker. The agent must be

La importancia de los arrecifes de coral

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Los arrecifes de coral son uno de los ecosistemas más diversos y biológicamente complejos del mundo. Un cuarto de toda la vida marina depende de los arrecifes de coral para obtener alimentos y refugio. Los arrecifes sanos benefician a las comunidades.

Clustering recommendations to compute agent reputation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bedi, Punam; Kaur, Harmeet

2005-03-01

Traditional centralized approaches to security are difficult to apply to multi-agent systems which are used nowadays in e-commerce applications. Developing a notion of trust that is based on the reputation of an agent can provide a softer notion of security that is sufficient for many multi-agent applications. Our paper proposes a mechanism for computing reputation of the trustee agent for use by the trustier agent. The trustier agent computes the reputation based on its own experience as well as the experience the peer agents have with the trustee agents. The trustier agents intentionally interact with the peer agents to get their experience information in the form of recommendations. We have also considered the case of unintentional encounters between the referee agents and the trustee agent, which can be directly between them or indirectly through a set of interacting agents. The clustering is done to filter off the noise in the recommendations in the form of outliers. The trustier agent clusters the recommendations received from referee agents on the basis of the distances between recommendations using the hierarchical agglomerative method. The dendogram hence obtained is cut at the required similarity level which restricts the maximum distance between any two recommendations within a cluster. The cluster with maximum number of elements denotes the views of the majority of recommenders. The center of this cluster represents the reputation of the trustee agent which can be computed using c-means algorithm.

ConKit: a python interface to contact predictions.

PubMed

Simkovic, Felix; Thomas, Jens M H; Rigden, Daniel J

2017-07-15

Recent advances in protein residue contact prediction algorithms have led to the emergence of many new methods and a variety of file formats. We present ConKit , an open source, modular and extensible Python interface which allows facile conversion between formats and provides an interface to analyses of sequence alignments and sets of contact predictions. ConKit is available via the Python Package Index. The documentation can be found at http://www.conkit.org . ConKit is licensed under the BSD 3-Clause. hlfsimko@liverpool.ac.uk or drigden@liverpool.ac.uk. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

Agents Play Mix-game

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gou, Chengling

In recent years, economics and finance see the shift of paradigm from representative agent models to heterogeneous agent models [1, 2]. More and more economists and physicists made efforts in research on heterogeneous agent models for financial markets. Minority game (MG) proposed by D. Challet, and Y. C. Zhang [3] is an example among such efforts. Challet and Zhang's MG model, together with the original bar model of Arthur, attracts a lot of following studies [4-6]. Given MG's richness and yet underlying simplicity, MG has also received much attention as a financial market model [4]. MG comprises an odd number of agents choosing repeatedly between the options of buying (1) and selling (0) a quantity of a risky asset. The agents continually try to make the minority decision, i.e. buy assets when the majority of other agents are selling, and sell when the majority of other agents are buying. Neil F. Johnson [4, 5] and coworkers extended MG by allowing a variable number of active traders at each timestep— they called their modified game as the Grand Canonical Minority Game (GCMG). GCMG, and to a lesser extent the basic MG itself, can reproduce the stylized facts of financial markets, such as volatility clustering and fat-tail distributions.

Efficient Agent-Based Cluster Ensembles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Agogino, Adrian; Tumer, Kagan

2006-01-01

Numerous domains ranging from distributed data acquisition to knowledge reuse need to solve the cluster ensemble problem of combining multiple clusterings into a single unified clustering. Unfortunately current non-agent-based cluster combining methods do not work in a distributed environment, are not robust to corrupted clusterings and require centralized access to all original clusterings. Overcoming these issues will allow cluster ensembles to be used in fundamentally distributed and failure-prone domains such as data acquisition from satellite constellations, in addition to domains demanding confidentiality such as combining clusterings of user profiles. This paper proposes an efficient, distributed, agent-based clustering ensemble method that addresses these issues. In this approach each agent is assigned a small subset of the data and votes on which final cluster its data points should belong to. The final clustering is then evaluated by a global utility, computed in a distributed way. This clustering is also evaluated using an agent-specific utility that is shown to be easier for the agents to maximize. Results show that agents using the agent-specific utility can achieve better performance than traditional non-agent based methods and are effective even when up to 50% of the agents fail.

Agent planning in AgScala

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tošić, Saša; Mitrović, Dejan; Ivanović, Mirjana

2013-10-01

Agent-oriented programming languages are designed to simplify the development of software agents, especially those that exhibit complex, intelligent behavior. This paper presents recent improvements of AgScala, an agent-oriented programming language based on Scala. AgScala includes declarative constructs for managing beliefs, actions and goals of intelligent agents. Combined with object-oriented and functional programming paradigms offered by Scala, it aims to be an efficient framework for developing both purely reactive, and more complex, deliberate agents. Instead of the Prolog back-end used initially, the new version of AgScala relies on Agent Planning Package, a more advanced system for automated planning and reasoning.

ComSciCon: The Communicating Science Workshop for Graduate Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanders, Nathan; Drout, Maria; Kohler, Susanna; Cook, Ben; ComSciCon Leadership Team

2018-01-01

ComSciCon (comscicon.com) is a national workshop series organized by graduate students, for graduate students, focused on leadership and training in science communication. Our goal is to empower young scientists to become leaders in their field, propagating appreciation and understanding of research results to broad and diverse audiences. ComSciCon attendees meet and interact with professional communicators, build lasting networks with graduate students in all fields of science and engineering from around the country, and write and publish original works. ComSciCon consists of both a flagship national conference series run annually for future leaders in science communication, and a series of regional and specialized workshops organized by ComSciCon alumni nationwide. We routinely receive over 1000 applications for 50 spots in our national workshop. Since its founding in 2012, over 300 STEM graduate students have participated in the national workshop, and 23 local spin-off workshops have been organized in 10 different locations throughout the country. This year, ComSciCon is working to grow as a self-sustaining organization by launching as an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit. In this poster we will discuss the ComSciCon program and methods, our results to date, potential future collaborations between ComSciCon and AAS, and how you can become involved.

Benzamide Derivatives as Protective Agents against the Action of Xenotoxic Agents on Human Cells.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-05-31

4D-AlI45 396 BENZAMIDE DERIVATIVES AS PROTECTIVE AGENTS AGAINST THE I/i ACTION OF XENOTOXI..(U) OHIO STATE UNIV RESEARCH I FOUNDATION COLUMBUS G E...AS PROTECTIVE AGENTS AGAINST THE ACTION OF XENOTOXIC AGENTS ON HUMAN CELLS CD George E. Milo * Department of Physiological Chemistry and...TITLE (and Subtitle) S. .YPE OF REPORT & PERIOD COVERED Benzamide Derivatives as Protective Agents Annual Scientific Report 5 Against the Action of

Collaborating Fuzzy Reinforcement Learning Agents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berenji, Hamid R.

1997-01-01

Earlier, we introduced GARIC-Q, a new method for doing incremental Dynamic Programming using a society of intelligent agents which are controlled at the top level by Fuzzy Relearning and at the local level, each agent learns and operates based on ANTARCTIC, a technique for fuzzy reinforcement learning. In this paper, we show that it is possible for these agents to compete in order to affect the selected control policy but at the same time, they can collaborate while investigating the state space. In this model, the evaluator or the critic learns by observing all the agents behaviors but the control policy changes only based on the behavior of the winning agent also known as the super agent.

Protein Supplements: Pros and Cons.

PubMed

Samal, Jay Rabindra Kumar; Samal, Indira R

2018-05-04

To provide a comprehensive analysis of the literature examining the pros and cons of protein supplementation, various articles on protein supplementation were obtained from Google Scholar, PubMed, and National Center for Biotechnology Information. Over the past few years, protein supplementation has become commonplace for gym-goers as well as for the public. A large segment of the general population relies on protein supplementation for meal replacement, weight reduction, and purported health benefits. These protein supplements have varying pros and cons associated with them, which are often overlooked by the public. This review aims to assimilate existing studies and form a consensus regarding the benefits and disadvantages of protein supplementation. The purported health benefits of protein supplementation have led to overuse by both adults and adolescents. Although the pros and cons of protein supplementation is a widely debated topic, not many studies have been conducted regarding the same. The few studies that exist either provide insufficient evidence or have not employed proper conditions for the conduct of the tests. It should be considered that protein supplements are processed materials and often do not contain other essential nutrients required for the sustenance of a healthy lifestyle. It is suggested that the required protein intake should be obtained from natural food sources and protein supplementation should be resorted to only if sufficient protein is not available in the normal diet.

ConSpeciFix: Classifying prokaryotic species based on gene flow.

PubMed

Bobay, Louis-Marie; Ellis, Brian Shin-Hua; Ochman, Howard

2018-05-16

Classification of prokaryotic species is usually based on sequence similarity thresholds, which are easy to apply but lack a biologically-relevant foundation. Here, we present ConSpeciFix, a program that classifies prokaryotes into species using criteria set forth by the Biological Species Concept, thereby unifying species definition in all domains of life. ConSpeciFix's webserver is freely available at www.conspecifix.com. The local version of the program can be freely downloaded from https://github.com/Bobay-Ochman/ConSpeciFix. ConSpeciFix is written in Python 2.7 and requires the following dependencies: Usearch, MCL, MAFFT and RAxML. ljbobay@uncg.edu.

BSL-3 laboratory practices in the United States: comparison of select agent and non-select agent facilities.

PubMed

Richards, Stephanie L; Pompei, Victoria C; Anderson, Alice

2014-01-01

New construction of biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) laboratories in the United States has increased in the past decade to facilitate research on potential bioterrorism agents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention inspect BSL-3 facilities and review commissioning documentation, but no single agency has oversight over all BSL-3 facilities. This article explores the extent to which standard operating procedures in US BSL-3 facilities vary between laboratories with select agent or non-select agent status. Comparisons are made for the following variables: personnel training, decontamination, personal protective equipment (PPE), medical surveillance, security access, laboratory structure and maintenance, funding, and pest management. Facilities working with select agents had more complex training programs and decontamination procedures than non-select agent facilities. Personnel working in select agent laboratories were likely to use powered air purifying respirators, while non-select agent laboratories primarily used N95 respirators. More rigorous medical surveillance was carried out in select agent workers (although not required by the select agent program) and a higher level of restrictive access to laboratories was found. Most select agent and non-select agent laboratories reported adequate structural integrity in facilities; however, differences were observed in personnel perception of funding for repairs. Pest management was carried out by select agent personnel more frequently than non-select agent personnel. Our findings support the need to promote high quality biosafety training and standard operating procedures in both select agent and non-select agent laboratories to improve occupational health and safety.

Agent Persuasion Mechanism of Acquaintance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jinghua, Wu; Wenguang, Lu; Hailiang, Meng

Agent persuasion can improve negotiation efficiency in dynamic environment based on its initiative and autonomy, and etc., which is being affected much more by acquaintance. Classification of acquaintance on agent persuasion is illustrated, and the agent persuasion model of acquaintance is also illustrated. Then the concept of agent persuasion degree of acquaintance is given. Finally, relative interactive mechanism is elaborated.

Security Measures to Protect Mobile Agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dadhich, Piyanka; Govil, M. C.; Dutta, Kamlesh

2010-11-01

The security issues of mobile agent systems have embarrassed its widespread implementation. Mobile agents that move around the network are not safe because the remote hosts that accommodate the agents initiates all kinds of attacks. These hosts try to analyze the agent's decision logic and their accumulated data. So, mobile agent security is the most challenging unsolved problems. The paper analyzes various security measures deeply. Security especially the attacks performed by hosts to the visiting mobile agent (the malicious hosts problem) is a major obstacle that prevents mobile agent technology from being widely adopted. Being the running environment for mobile agent, the host has full control over them and could easily perform many kinds of attacks against them.

BSL-3 Laboratory Practices in the United States: Comparison of Select Agent and Non–Select Agent Facilities

PubMed Central

Pompei, Victoria C.; Anderson, Alice

2014-01-01

New construction of biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) laboratories in the United States has increased in the past decade to facilitate research on potential bioterrorism agents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention inspect BSL-3 facilities and review commissioning documentation, but no single agency has oversight over all BSL-3 facilities. This article explores the extent to which standard operating procedures in US BSL-3 facilities vary between laboratories with select agent or non–select agent status. Comparisons are made for the following variables: personnel training, decontamination, personal protective equipment (PPE), medical surveillance, security access, laboratory structure and maintenance, funding, and pest management. Facilities working with select agents had more complex training programs and decontamination procedures than non–select agent facilities. Personnel working in select agent laboratories were likely to use powered air purifying respirators, while non–select agent laboratories primarily used N95 respirators. More rigorous medical surveillance was carried out in select agent workers (although not required by the select agent program) and a higher level of restrictive access to laboratories was found. Most select agent and non–select agent laboratories reported adequate structural integrity in facilities; however, differences were observed in personnel perception of funding for repairs. Pest management was carried out by select agent personnel more frequently than non–select agent personnel. Our findings support the need to promote high quality biosafety training and standard operating procedures in both select agent and non–select agent laboratories to improve occupational health and safety. PMID:24552359

Mobile agent location in distributed environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fountoukis, S. G.; Argyropoulos, I. P.

2012-12-01

An agent is a small program acting on behalf of a user or an application which plays the role of a user. Artificial intelligence can be encapsulated in agents so that they can be capable of both behaving autonomously and showing an elementary decision ability regarding movement and some specific actions. Therefore they are often called autonomous mobile agents. In a distributed system, they can move themselves from one processing node to another through the interconnecting network infrastructure. Their purpose is to collect useful information and to carry it back to their user. Also, agents are used to start, monitor and stop processes running on the individual interconnected processing nodes of computer cluster systems. An agent has a unique id to discriminate itself from other agents and a current position. The position can be expressed as the address of the processing node which currently hosts the agent. Very often, it is necessary for a user, a processing node or another agent to know the current position of an agent in a distributed system. Several procedures and algorithms have been proposed for the purpose of position location of mobile agents. The most basic of all employs a fixed computing node, which acts as agent position repository, receiving messages from all the moving agents and keeping records of their current positions. The fixed node, responds to position queries and informs users, other nodes and other agents about the position of an agent. Herein, a model is proposed that considers pairs and triples of agents instead of single ones. A location method, which is investigated in this paper, attempts to exploit this model.

Opinion evolution influenced by informed agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Kangqi; Pedrycz, Witold

2016-11-01

Guiding public opinions toward a pre-set target by informed agents can be a strategy adopted in some practical applications. The informed agents are common agents who are employed or chosen to spread the pre-set opinion. In this work, we propose a social judgment based opinion (SJBO) dynamics model to explore the opinion evolution under the influence of informed agents. The SJBO model distinguishes between inner opinions and observable choices, and incorporates both the compromise between similar opinions and the repulsion between dissimilar opinions. Three choices (support, opposition, and remaining undecided) are considered in the SJBO model. Using the SJBO model, both the inner opinions and the observable choices can be tracked during the opinion evolution process. The simulation results indicate that if the exchanges of inner opinions among agents are not available, the effect of informed agents is mainly dependent on the characteristics of regular agents, including the assimilation threshold, decay threshold, and initial opinions. Increasing the assimilation threshold and decay threshold can improve the guiding effectiveness of informed agents. Moreover, if the initial opinions of regular agents are close to null, the full and unanimous consensus at the pre-set opinion can be realized, indicating that, to maximize the influence of informed agents, the guidance should be started when regular agents have little knowledge about a subject under consideration. If the regular agents have had clear opinions, the full and unanimous consensus at the pre-set opinion cannot be achieved. However, the introduction of informed agents can make the majority of agents choose the pre-set opinion.

New agents for prostate cancer.

PubMed

Agarwal, N; Di Lorenzo, G; Sonpavde, G; Bellmunt, J

2014-09-01

The therapeutic landscape of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) has been revolutionized by the arrival of multiple novel agents in the past 2 years. Immunotherapy in the form of sipuleucel-T, androgen axis inhibitors, including abiraterone acetate and enzalutamide, a chemotherapeutic agent, cabazitaxel, and a radiopharmaceutical, radium-223, have all yielded incremental extensions of survival and have been recently approved. A number of other agents appear promising in early studies, suggesting that the armamentarium against castrate-resistant prostate cancer is likely to continue to expand. Emerging androgen pathway inhibitors include androgen synthesis inhibitors (TAK700), androgen receptor inhibitors (ARN-509, ODM-201), AR DNA binding domain inhibitors (EPI-001), selective AR downregulators or SARDs (AZD-3514), and agents that inhibit both androgen synthesis and receptor binding (TOK-001/galeterone). Promising immunotherapeutic agents include poxvirus vaccines and CTLA-4 inhibitor (ipilimumab). Biologic agents targeting the molecular drivers of disease are also being investigated as single agents, including cabozantinib (Met and VEGFR2 inhibitor) and tasquinimod (angiogenesis and immune modulatory agent). Despite the disappointing results seen from studies evaluating docetaxel in combination with other agents, including GVAX, anti-angiogentic agents (bevacizumab, aflibercept, lenalinomide), a SRC kinase inhibitor (dasatinib), endothelin receptor antagonists (atrasentan, zibotentan), and high-dose calcitriol (DN-101), the results from the trial evaluating docetaxel in combination with the clusterin antagonist, custirsen, are eagerly awaited. New therapeutic hurdles consist of discovering new targets, understanding resistance mechanisms, the optimal sequencing and combinations of available agents, as well as biomarkers predictive for benefit. Novel agents targeting bone metastases are being developed following the success of zoledronic acid

Los Alamos offers Fellowships

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is calling for applications for postdoctoral appointments and research fellowships. The positions are available in geoscience as well as other scientific disciplines.The laboratory, which is operated by the University of California for the Department of Energy, awards J. Robert Oppenheimer Research Fellowships to scientists that either have or will soon complete doctoral degrees. The appointments are for two years, are renewable for a third year, and carry a stipend of $51,865 per year. Potential applicants should send a resume or employment application and a statement of research goals to Carol M. Rich, Div. 89, Human Resources Development Division, MS P290, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 by mid-November.

Games Con Men Play: The Semiosis of Deceptive Interaction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hankiss, Agnes

1980-01-01

Analyzes some of the most frequent deceptive interactions as rendered through case histories of male con artists and their victims taken from police records. Discusses the recurrent elements in both the con-games strategies and victims' way of interpreting those strategies. (JMF)

Could simvastatin be considered as a potential therapy for chronic lung diseases? A debate on the pros and cons.

PubMed

Tulbah, Alaa S; Ong, Hui Xin; Colombo, Paolo; Young, Paul M; Traini, Daniela

2016-10-01

Simvastatin (SV) is a drug from the statin class, currently used orally as an anti-cholesterolemic drug. It inhibits the 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-Coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase to reduce cholesterol synthesis. Recently, it has been found that SV also has several other protective pharmacological actions unrelated to its anti-cholesterol effects that might be beneficial in the treatment of chronic airway diseases. This review summarizes the evidence relating to SV as a potential anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and muco-inhibitory agent, administered both orally and via pulmonary inhalation, and discusses its pro and cons. Evidence could potentially be used to support the delivery of SV as inhaled formulation for the treatment of chronic respiratory diseases. The use of SV as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and muco-inhibitory agent for drug delivery to the lung is promising. Inhaled SV formulations could allow the delivery profile to be customized and optimized to take advantage of the rapid onset of action, low systemic side effect and improved physico-chemical stability. This treatment could potentially to be used clinically for the localized treatment of lung diseases where inflammation and oxidative stress production is present.

76 FR 2617 - User Fees Relating to Enrolled Agents and Enrolled Retirement Plan Agents; Hearing Cancellation

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-14

... User Fees Relating to Enrolled Agents and Enrolled Retirement Plan Agents; Hearing Cancellation AGENCY... regulations relating to the imposition of user fees for enrolled agents and enrolled retirement plan agents... FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard A. Hurst of the Publications and Regulations Branch, Legal Processing...

Agent independent task planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, William S.

1990-01-01

Agent-Independent Planning is a technique that allows the construction of activity plans without regard to the agent that will perform them. Once generated, a plan is then validated and translated into instructions for a particular agent, whether a robot, crewmember, or software-based control system. Because Space Station Freedom (SSF) is planned for orbital operations for approximately thirty years, it will almost certainly experience numerous enhancements and upgrades, including upgrades in robotic manipulators. Agent-Independent Planning provides the capability to construct plans for SSF operations, independent of specific robotic systems, by combining techniques of object oriented modeling, nonlinear planning and temporal logic. Since a plan is validated using the physical and functional models of a particular agent, new robotic systems can be developed and integrated with existing operations in a robust manner. This technique also provides the capability to generate plans for crewmembers with varying skill levels, and later apply these same plans to more sophisticated robotic manipulators made available by evolutions in technology.

How do agents represent?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryan, Alex

Representation is inherent to the concept of an agent, but its importance in complex systems has not yet been widely recognised. In this paper I introduce Peirce's theory of signs, which facilitates a definition of representation in general. In summary, representation means that for some agent, a model is used to stand in for another entity in a way that shapes the behaviour of the agent with respect to that entity. Representation in general is then related to the theories of representation that have developed within different disciplines. I compare theories of representation from metaphysics, military theory and systems theory. Additional complications arise in explaining the special case of mental representations, which is the focus of cognitive science. I consider the dominant theory of cognition — that the brain is a representational device — as well as the sceptical anti-representational response. Finally, I argue that representation distinguishes agents from non-representational objects: agents are objects capable of representation.

Los Alamos Climatology 2016 Update

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bruggeman, David Alan

The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL or the Laboratory) operates a meteorology monitoring network to support LANL emergency response, engineering designs, environmental compliance, environmental assessments, safety evaluations, weather forecasting, environmental monitoring, research programs, and environmental restoration. Weather data has been collected in Los Alamos since 1910. Bowen (1990) provided climate statistics (temperature and precipitation) for the 1961– 1990 averaging period, and included other analyses (e.g., wind and relative humidity) based on the available station locations and time periods. This report provides an update to the 1990 publication Los Alamos Climatology (Bowen 1990).

Breath Analysis Science at PittCon 2012, Orlando, Florida

EPA Science Inventory

Breath analysis science was featured in three organized sessions at this year’s Pittsburgh Conference and Exposition, or ‘PittCon 2012’ (http://www.pittcon.org/). As described in previous meeting reports, PittCon is one of the largest international conferences for analytical chem...

Intelligent Agent Architectures: Reactive Planning Testbed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosenschein, Stanley J.; Kahn, Philip

1993-01-01

An Integrated Agent Architecture (IAA) is a framework or paradigm for constructing intelligent agents. Intelligent agents are collections of sensors, computers, and effectors that interact with their environments in real time in goal-directed ways. Because of the complexity involved in designing intelligent agents, it has been found useful to approach the construction of agents with some organizing principle, theory, or paradigm that gives shape to the agent's components and structures their relationships. Given the wide variety of approaches being taken in the field, the question naturally arises: Is there a way to compare and evaluate these approaches? The purpose of the present work is to develop common benchmark tasks and evaluation metrics to which intelligent agents, including complex robotic agents, constructed using various architectural approaches can be subjected.

Agent-Supported Mission Operations Teamwork

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, Jane T.

2003-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the development of software agents to support of mission operations teamwork. The goals of the work was to make automation by agents easy to use, supervise and direct, manage information and communication to decrease distraction, interruptions, workload and errors, reduce mission impact of off-nominal situations and increase morale and decrease turnover. The accomplishments or the project are: 1. Collaborative agents - mixed initiative and creation of instructions for mediating agent 2. Methods for prototyping, evaluating and evolving socio-technical systems 3. Technology infusion: teamwork tools in mISSIons 4. Demonstrations in simulation testbed An example of the use of agent is given, the use of an agent to monitor a N2 tank leak. An incomplete instruction to the agent is handled with mediating assistants, or Intelligent Briefing and Response Assistant (IBRA). The IBRA Engine also watches data stream for triggers and executes Act-Whenever actions. There is also a Briefing and Response Instruction (BRI) which is easy for a discipline specialist to create through a BRI editor.

Alfabetización en Astronomía de docentes de Educación Primaria y de Educación Secundaria en La Plata

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Biasi, M. S.; Orellana, R. B.

2014-10-01

La educación de este siglo tiene como uno de sus retos alcanzar la alfabetización cientfica de todos los ciudadanos para que comprendan y tomen decisiones sobre el mundo natural y sus cambios originados por la actividad humana utilizando el conocimiento científico. En esta misión los docentes de los niveles obligatorios de enseñanza juegan un papel clave por su rol de agentes multiplicadores del conocimiento. Se requiere, entonces de una adecuada alfabetización en ciencias de los docentes o, como mínimo, que dominen los temas científicos a enseñar. En el campo de la Astronomía, numerosas investigaciones han señalado que maestros de primaria y estudiantes de profesorados poseen una escasa formación en estos temas (Camino 1995 y 1999, Gangui 2010), que frecuentemente presentan a los alumnos concepciones alternativas o no científicas de los fenómenos astronómicos cotidianos (Kriner 2004, Vega Navarro 2007, Gangui et al 2010); a lo que se suma la presentación confusa o errónea de algunos temas astronómicos en los textos escolares (Kriner 2004). Desde 2011, la Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas, UNLP, ofrece un curso de capacitación destinado a fortalecer y actualizar los contenidos académicos y didácticos de los docentes del distrito La Plata utilizando diversas estrategias didácticas. Los contenidos comprenden los temas astronómicos de los diseños curriculares vigentes. La evaluación diagnóstica de los conocimientos previos de los docentes cursantes sobre los contenidos de mayor presencia en los diseños curriculares mostró resultados similares a las investigaciones arriba mencionadas. Referente a los movimientos de la Tierra, en promedio, el 54% poseía conceptos erróneos y el 16% no los sabía; con referencia a la Luna el 56% poseía conceptos erróneos y un 4% no los sabía. Los resultados del curso mostraron que el 95% de los docentes revirtió sus conceptos previos erróneos, que adquirió criterios para la búsqueda de

Believable Social and Emotional Agents.

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-05-01

While building tools to support the creation of believable emotional agents, I had to make a number of important design decisions . Before describing...processing systems, it is difficult to give an artist direct control over the emotion - al aspects of the character. By making these decisions explicit, I hope...Woody on “Cheers”). Believable Agents BELIEVABLE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL AGENTS 11 Lesson: We don’t want agent architectures that enforce rationality and

Safe motion planning for mobile agents: A model of reactive planning for multiple mobile agents

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fujimura, Kikuo.

1990-01-01

The problem of motion planning for multiple mobile agents is studied. Each planning agent independently plans its own action based on its map which contains a limited information about the environment. In an environment where more than one mobile agent interacts, the motions of the robots are uncertain and dynamic. A model for reactive agents is described and simulation results are presented to show their behavior patterns. 18 refs., 2 figs.

Time-Coordination Strategies and Control Laws for Multi-Agent Unmanned Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Puig-Navarro, Javier; Hovakimyan, Naira; Allen, B. Danette

2017-01-01

Time-critical coordination tools for unmanned systems can be employed to enforce the type of temporal constraints required in terminal control areas, ensure minimum distance requirements among vehicles are satisfied, and successfully perform coordinated missions. In comparison with previous literature, this paper presents an ampler spectrum of coordination and temporal specifications for unmanned systems, and proposes a general control law that can enforce this range of constraints. The constraint classification presented con- siders the nature of the desired arrival window and the permissible coordination errors to define six different types of time-coordination strategies. The resulting decentralized coordination control law allows the vehicles to negotiate their speeds along their paths in response to information exchanged over the communication network. This control law organizes the different members in the fleet hierarchically per their behavior and informational needs as reference agent, leaders, and followers. Examples and simulation results for all the coordination strategies presented demonstrate the applicability and efficacy of the coordination control law for multiple unmanned systems.

A user-system interface agent

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wakim, Nagi T.; Srivastava, Sadanand; Bousaidi, Mehdi; Goh, Gin-Hua

1995-01-01

Agent-based technologies answer to several challenges posed by additional information processing requirements in today's computing environments. In particular, (1) users desire interaction with computing devices in a mode which is similar to that used between people, (2) the efficiency and successful completion of information processing tasks often require a high-level of expertise in complex and multiple domains, (3) information processing tasks often require handling of large volumes of data and, therefore, continuous and endless processing activities. The concept of an agent is an attempt to address these new challenges by introducing information processing environments in which (1) users can communicate with a system in a natural way, (2) an agent is a specialist and a self-learner and, therefore, it qualifies to be trusted to perform tasks independent of the human user, and (3) an agent is an entity that is continuously active performing tasks that are either delegated to it or self-imposed. The work described in this paper focuses on the development of an interface agent for users of a complex information processing environment (IPE). This activity is part of an on-going effort to build a model for developing agent-based information systems. Such systems will be highly applicable to environments which require a high degree of automation, such as, flight control operations and/or processing of large volumes of data in complex domains, such as the EOSDIS environment and other multidisciplinary, scientific data systems. The concept of an agent as an information processing entity is fully described with emphasis on characteristics of special interest to the User-System Interface Agent (USIA). Issues such as agent 'existence' and 'qualification' are discussed in this paper. Based on a definition of an agent and its main characteristics, we propose an architecture for the development of interface agents for users of an IPE that is agent-oriented and whose resources

Arrecifes de coral en los Estados Unidos

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Los factores de estrés locales y mundiales han afectado considerablemente a los arrecifes de coral del Caribe. Se ha informado una disminución masiva de los corales en toda la región de la cuenca del Caribe,

Deals Among Rational Agents,

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-03-01

ARD-AI57 966 DEALS AMONG RATIONAL AGENTS(U) STANFORD UNIV CA DEPT OF 1/1lit COMPUTER SCIENCE J S ROSENSCHEIN ET AL. MAR 857 STAN-CS-85-1e42 NOO039-83... Rational Agents by Jeffrey S. Rosenschemn Michael R. Genesereth Contract N00039-83-c-0136 Department of Computer Science Stanford University Stanford, CA... Rational Agents Jeffrey S. Rosenschein Michael R. Genesereth COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPARTME NT Stanford University Sta-;!ord, California 94305 A ~ ,2 TA

A T-cell-dependent humoral immune response is preserved during the administration of the nerve agent pre-treatment pyridostigmine bromide in a murine model.

PubMed

Griffiths, Gareth D; Telford, Gary; Hooi, Doreen S W; Cook, David L; Wilkinson, Lucy J; Green, Christopher A; Pritchard, David I

2005-03-01

Immune regulation, either via the autonomic nervous system or by a proposed "non-neuronal" cholinergic system, suggests that the immune system may be susceptible to perturbation by compounds affecting cholinergic function. Here, the current UK and US nerve agent pre-treatment, pyridostigmine bromide (PB) and the related anti-acetylcholinesterase (AChE) compounds physostigmine (PHY) and BW284c51 were tested for their ability to affect mouse splenocyte function in vitro. In addition, PB, at a dose equivalent to that received during pre-treatment for nerve agent poisoning, was tested for its effect on a T-cell-dependent humoral response to antigen in vivo in the mouse. None of the anti-AChEs tested affected concanavalin A (Con A)-, anti-CD3- or lipopolysaccharide LPS-driven splenocyte proliferation, in vitro, at concentrations expected to give effective nerve agent pre-treatment. However, higher concentrations (>100 microM) particularly of PHY caused some inhibition of the proliferative responses. In vivo, PB or saline was administered via 28-day mini-osmotic pumps to give a 25-40% inhibition of whole blood AChE in the PB-treated animals. During PB or saline administration, primary and secondary doses (i.p.) of sheep red blood cells (SRBC) were given and the humoral response determined by monitoring anti-SRBC IgM and IgG levels. Splenocytes isolated from the experimental animals were also examined for their proliferative and cytokine responses to stimulation. No remarkable effects of PB were seen during the period of AChE inhibition on the humoral immune response. However, a modest elevation in IL-2 and IFN(gamma) in Con A-stimulated lymphocytes was seen in PB-treated animals following pump removal. Overall these data suggest that, in vivo, the SRBC stimulated T-cell-dependent immune response is unaffected by the administration of PB at pre-treatment doses.

Knowledge Management in Role Based Agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kır, Hüseyin; Ekinci, Erdem Eser; Dikenelli, Oguz

In multi-agent system literature, the role concept is getting increasingly researched to provide an abstraction to scope beliefs, norms, goals of agents and to shape relationships of the agents in the organization. In this research, we propose a knowledgebase architecture to increase applicability of roles in MAS domain by drawing inspiration from the self concept in the role theory of sociology. The proposed knowledgebase architecture has granulated structure that is dynamically organized according to the agent's identification in a social environment. Thanks to this dynamic structure, agents are enabled to work on consistent knowledge in spite of inevitable conflicts between roles and the agent. The knowledgebase architecture is also implemented and incorporated into the SEAGENT multi-agent system development framework.

Conversational Agents in E-Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kerry, Alice; Ellis, Richard; Bull, Susan

This paper discusses the use of natural language or 'conversational' agents in e-learning environments. We describe and contrast the various applications of conversational agent technology represented in the e-learning literature, including tutors, learning companions, language practice and systems to encourage reflection. We offer two more detailed examples of conversational agents, one which provides learning support, and the other support for self-assessment. Issues and challenges for developers of conversational agent systems for e-learning are identified and discussed.

NARSTO EPA SS LOS ANGELES PM25 NITRATE

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2018-04-09

NARSTO EPA SS LOS ANGELES PM25 NITRATE Project Title:  NARSTO Discipline:  ... Order:   E arthdata Search Parameters:  Nitrate Particles Order Data:  Earthdata Search:   Order ... Guide Documents:  Los Angeles PM25 Nitrate Guide Los Angeles Project Plan  (PDF) Los ...

Determinacion de periodos fundamentales del suelo mediante vibraciones ambientales en el municipio de Humacao, Puerto Rico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cintron Aponte, Rommel

La tecnica de Nakamura ha sido utilizada a nivel mundial para determinar periodos fundamentales del suelo. La tecnica consiste en calcular y graficar cocientes espectrales H/V de vibraciones ambientales registradas sobre el suelo. Mediciones de vibraciones ambientales fueron tomadas en 151 lugares dentro del municipio de Humacao, localizado al este de Puerto Rico. Los datos se procesaron utilizando espectros de Fourier y espectros de potencia. La tecnica fue validada al compararla con los resultados de cocientes espectrales H/V de registros de sismos debiles y tambien con una modelacion numerica realizada con datos de un ensayo "downhole". Las graficas de los cocientes espectrales H/V fueron divididas en casos y grupos, los cuales dependen de la facilidad para identificar el periodo fundamental pico y amplitudes en frecuencias menores de 1 Hz, respectivamente. Los resultados obtenidos con ambos espectros fueron comparados y se concluye que los mismos se complementan para proveer resultados mas confiables. Se crearon mapas de periodos fundamentales, factores de amplitud, isoperiodos y clasificacion sismica de sitio. Los mapas de isoperiodos fueron realizados en las zonas mas pobladas sobre depositos de suelo. El mapa de periodos fundamentales del suelo mostro buena correlacion con la geologia local. El mapa de clasificacion sismica derivado de periodos de sitio fue comparado con el mapa de clasificacion sismica derivado de barrenos geotecnicos. El mapa de clasificacion obtenido de periodos puede sobreestimar un poco algunas clasificaciones del suelo. Sin embargo, este mapa puede proveer un estimado aproximado de la velocidad de onda de corte promedio del suelo hasta una profundidad de 100 pies (30 metros).

Sustainable Society Formed by Unselfish Agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kikuchi, Toshiko

It has been pointed out that if the social configuration of the three relations (market, communal and obligatory relations) is not balanced, a market based society as a total system fails. Using multi-agent simulations, this paper shows that a sustainable society is formed when all three relations are integrated and function respectively. When agent trades are based on the market mechanism (i.e., agents act in their own interest and thus only market relations exist), weak agents who cannot perform transactions die. If a compulsory tax is imposed to enable all weak agents to survive (i.e., obligatory relations exist), then the fiscal deficit increases. On the other hand, if agents who have excess income undertake the unselfish action of distributing their surplus to the weak agents (i.e., communal relations exist), then trade volume increases. It is shown that the existence of unselfish agents is necessary for the realization of a sustainable society. However, the survival of all agents is difficult in a communal society. In an artificial society, for all agents survive and fiscal balance to be maintained, all three social relations need to be fully integrated. These results show that adjusting the balance of the three social relations well lead to the realization of a sustainable society.

Intelligent Agents for the Digital Battlefield

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-11-01

specific outcome of our long term research will be the development of a collaborative agent technology system, CATS , that will provide the underlying...software infrastructure needed to build large, heterogeneous, distributed agent applications. CATS will provide a software environment through which multiple...intelligent agents may interact with other agents, both human and computational. In addition, CATS will contain a number of intelligent agent components that will be useful for a wide variety of applications.

Mother ship and physical agents collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, Stuart H.; Budulas, Peter P.; Emmerman, Philip J.

1999-07-01

This paper discusses ongoing research at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory that investigates the feasibility of developing a collaboration architecture between small physical agents and a mother ship. This incudes the distribution of planning, perception, mobility, processing and communications requirements between the mother ship and the agents. Small physical agents of the future will be virtually everywhere on the battlefield of the 21st century. A mother ship that is coupled to a team of small collaborating physical agents (conducting tasks such as Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (RSTA); logistics; sentry; and communications relay) will be used to build a completely effective and mission capable intelligent system. The mother ship must have long-range mobility to deploy the small, highly maneuverable agents that will operate in urban environments and more localized areas, and act as a logistics base for the smaller agents. The mother ship also establishes a robust communications network between the agents and is the primary information disseminating and receiving point to the external world. Because of its global knowledge and processing power, the mother ship does the high-level control and planning for the collaborative physical agents. This high level control and interaction between the mother ship and its agents (including inter agent collaboration) will be software agent architecture based. The mother ship incorporates multi-resolution battlefield visualization and analysis technology, which aids in mission planning and sensor fusion.

Needs, Pains, and Motivations in Autonomous Agents.

PubMed

Starzyk, Janusz A; Graham, James; Puzio, Leszek

This paper presents the development of a motivated learning (ML) agent with symbolic I/O. Our earlier work on the ML agent was enhanced, giving it autonomy for interaction with other agents. Specifically, we equipped the agent with drives and pains that establish its motivations to learn how to respond to desired and undesired events and create related abstract goals. The purpose of this paper is to explore the autonomous development of motivations and memory in agents within a simulated environment. The ML agent has been implemented in a virtual environment created within the NeoAxis game engine. Additionally, to illustrate the benefits of an ML-based agent, we compared the performance of our algorithm against various reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms in a dynamic test scenario, and demonstrated that our ML agent learns better than any of the tested RL agents.This paper presents the development of a motivated learning (ML) agent with symbolic I/O. Our earlier work on the ML agent was enhanced, giving it autonomy for interaction with other agents. Specifically, we equipped the agent with drives and pains that establish its motivations to learn how to respond to desired and undesired events and create related abstract goals. The purpose of this paper is to explore the autonomous development of motivations and memory in agents within a simulated environment. The ML agent has been implemented in a virtual environment created within the NeoAxis game engine. Additionally, to illustrate the benefits of an ML-based agent, we compared the performance of our algorithm against various reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms in a dynamic test scenario, and demonstrated that our ML agent learns better than any of the tested RL agents.

14 CFR 221.11 - Agent.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Agent. 221.11 Section 221.11 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (AVIATION PROCEEDINGS) ECONOMIC REGULATIONS TARIFFS Who is Authorized To Issue and File Tariffs § 221.11 Agent. An agent may issue and file...

14 CFR 221.11 - Agent.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Agent. 221.11 Section 221.11 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (AVIATION PROCEEDINGS) ECONOMIC REGULATIONS TARIFFS Who is Authorized To Issue and File Tariffs § 221.11 Agent. An agent may issue and file...

14 CFR 221.11 - Agent.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Agent. 221.11 Section 221.11 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (AVIATION PROCEEDINGS) ECONOMIC REGULATIONS TARIFFS Who is Authorized To Issue and File Tariffs § 221.11 Agent. An agent may issue and file...

14 CFR 221.11 - Agent.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Agent. 221.11 Section 221.11 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (AVIATION PROCEEDINGS) ECONOMIC REGULATIONS TARIFFS Who is Authorized To Issue and File Tariffs § 221.11 Agent. An agent may issue and file...

14 CFR 221.11 - Agent.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Agent. 221.11 Section 221.11 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (AVIATION PROCEEDINGS) ECONOMIC REGULATIONS TARIFFS Who is Authorized To Issue and File Tariffs § 221.11 Agent. An agent may issue and file...

Dynamics of three-agent games

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mungan, Muhittin; Rador, Tonguç

2008-02-01

We study the dynamics and resulting score distribution of three-agent games where after each competition a single agent wins and scores a point. A single competition is described by a triplet of numbers p, t and q denoting the probabilities that the team with the highest, middle or lowest accumulated score wins. The three-agent game can be regarded as a social model where a player can be favored or disfavored for advancement, based on his/her accumulated score. We study the full family of solutions in the regime, where the number of agents and competitions is large, which can be regarded as a hydrodynamic limit. Depending on the parameter values (p, q, t), we find six qualitatively different asymptotic score distributions and we provide a qualitative explanation of these results. We also compare our analytical results against numerical simulations of the microscopic model and find these to be in excellent agreement. It is possible to decide the outcome of a three-agent game through a mini-tournament of two-agent competitions among the participating players and it turns out that the resulting possible score distributions are a subset of those obtained for the general three-agent games. We discuss how one can add a steady and democratic decline rate to the model and present a simple geometric construction that allows one to obtain the score evolution equations for n-agent games.

Regulación del flujo sanguíneo uterino. I. Funciones de estrógeno y receptores estrogénicos α/β en el endotelio vascular uterino durante el embarazo

PubMed Central

Mayra, Pastore R.; Rosalina, Villalón L.; López, Gladys; Iruretagoyena, Jesús; Magness, Ronald

2015-01-01

Resumen El estrógeno y los receptores estrogénicos clásicos (REs), RE-α y RE-β, han demostrado ser parcialmente responsable por las adaptaciones endoteliales uterinas durante el embarazo al corto y largo plazo. Las diferencias moleculares y estructurales, junto con los diferentes efectos causados por estos receptores en las células y los tejidos, sugieren que su función varía dependiendo de la manera en la cual el estrógeno se comunica con sus receptores. En ésta revisión bibliográfica se discuten la función del estrógeno y sus receptores clásicos en las adaptaciones cardiovasculares durante el embarazo y la expresión de los Res in vivo e in vitro en el endotelio de la arteria uterina durante el ciclo ovárico y el embarazo, a la vez comparado con la expresión en endotelio arterial de tejidos reproductivos y no reproductivos. Estos temas integran el conocimiento actual de este amplio campo científico con interpretaciones e hipótesis diversas relacionadas con los efectos estrogénicos mediados bien sea por uno o los dos REs. Esta revisión también incluye la relación con las adaptaciones vasodilatadoras y angiogénicas requeridas para modular el dramático incremento fisiológico en la perfusión útero-placentaria observada durante un embarazo normal. PMID:26113750

Los Alamos National Lab: National Security Science

Science.gov Websites

SKIP TO PAGE CONTENT Los Alamos National Laboratory Delivering science and technology to protect Permit for Storm Water Public Reading Room Environment Home News Los Alamos National Lab: National deposition operations for the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies at Los Alamos. Innovation drives his

Limonene and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol cleaning agent

DOEpatents

Bohnert, George W.; Carter, Richard D.; Hand, Thomas E.; Powers, Michael T.

1996-05-07

The present invention is a tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol and limonene or terpineol cleaning agent and method for formulating and/or using the cleaning agent. This cleaning agent effectively removes both polar and nonpolar contaminants from various electrical and mechanical parts and is readily used without surfactants, thereby reducing the need for additional cleaning operations. The cleaning agent is warm water rinsable without the use of surfactants. The cleaning agent can be azeotropic, enhancing ease of use in cleaning operations and ease of recycling.

Limonene and tetrahydrofurfurly alcohol cleaning agent

DOEpatents

Bohnert, George W.; Carter, Richard D.; Hand, Thomas E.; Powers, Michael T.

1997-10-21

The present invention is a tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol and limonene cleaning agent and method for formulating and/or using the cleaning agent. This cleaning agent effectively removes both polar and nonpolar contaminants from various electrical and mechanical parts and is readily used without surfactants, thereby reducing the need for additional cleaning operations. The cleaning agent is warm water rinsable without the use of surfactants. The cleaning agent can be azeotropic, enhancing ease of use in cleaning operations and ease of recycling.

Limonene and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol cleaning agent

DOEpatents

Bohnert, G.W.; Carter, R.D.; Hand, T.E.; Powers, M.T.

1997-10-21

The present invention is a tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol and limonene cleaning agent and method for formulating and/or using the cleaning agent. This cleaning agent effectively removes both polar and nonpolar contaminants from various electrical and mechanical parts and is readily used without surfactants, thereby reducing the need for additional cleaning operations. The cleaning agent is warm water rinsable without the use of surfactants. The cleaning agent can be azeotropic, enhancing ease of use in cleaning operations and ease of recycling.

Agents Technology Research

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-02-01

multi-agent reputation management. State abstraction is a technique used to allow machine learning technologies to cope with problems that have large...state abstrac- tion process to enable reinforcement learning in domains with large state spaces. State abstraction is vital to machine learning ...across a collective of independent platforms. These individual elements, often referred to as agents in the machine learning community, should exhibit both

Hydroxypyridonate and hydroxypyrimidinone chelating agents

DOEpatents

Raymond, Kenneth N.; Doble, Daniel M.; Sunderland, Christopher J.; Thompson, Marlon

2005-01-25

The present invention provides hydroxypyridinone and hydroxypyrimidone chelating agents. Also provides are Gd(III) complexes of these agents, which are useful as contrast enhancing agents for magnetic resonance imaging. The invention also provides methods of preparing the compounds of the invention, as well as methods of using the compounds in magnetic resonance imaging applications.

Effects of Sterilizing Agents on Microorganisms

DTIC Science & Technology

1963-03-01

light increases with the incubation of Escherichia coli at 15, but the rate of in- 85. ESTUDIO DE LOS EFECTOS QUE PRODUCE duction of mutations...between the deoxyribonucleic acid content of a cell and its response to irradiation: 5-fluor- 86. ESTUDIO DE LOS EFECTOS QUE PRODUCE ouracil treated...EFFECTS OF ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT ON 84. ESTUDIO DE LOS EFECTOS QUE PRODUCE BACTERIA. III. ALTERATIONS IN THE LA LUZ ULTRAVIOLETA SOBRE LAS PHYSIOLOGICAL

Persuasive Conversational Agent with Persuasion Tactics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narita, Tatsuya; Kitamura, Yasuhiko

Persuasive conversational agents persuade people to change their attitudes or behaviors through conversation, and are expected to be applied as virtual sales clerks in e-shopping sites. As an approach to create such an agent, we have developed a learning agent with the Wizard of Oz method in which a person called Wizard talks to the user pretending to be the agent. The agent observes the conversations between the Wizard and the user, and learns how to persuade people. In this method, the Wizard has to reply to most of the user's inputs at the beginning, but the burden gradually falls because the agent learns how to reply as the conversation model grows.

The kuru infectious agent is a unique geographic isolate distinct from Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and scrapie agents

PubMed Central

Manuelidis, Laura; Chakrabarty, Trisha; Miyazawa, Kohtaro; Nduom, Nana-Aba; Emmerling, Kaitlin

2009-01-01

Human sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (sCJD), endemic sheep scrapie, and epidemic bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) are caused by a related group of infectious agents. The new U.K. BSE agent spread to many species, including humans, and clarifying the origin, specificity, virulence, and diversity of these agents is critical, particularly because infected humans do not develop disease for many years. As with viruses, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) agents can adapt to new species and become more virulent yet maintain fundamentally unique and stable identities. To make agent differences manifest, one must keep the host genotype constant. Many TSE agents have revealed their independent identities in normal mice. We transmitted primate kuru, a TSE once epidemic in New Guinea, to mice expressing normal and ≈8-fold higher levels of murine prion protein (PrP). High levels of murine PrP did not prevent infection but instead shortened incubation time, as would be expected for a viral receptor. Sporadic CJD and BSE agents and representative scrapie agents were clearly different from kuru in incubation time, brain neuropathology, and lymphoreticular involvement. Many TSE agents can infect monotypic cultured GT1 cells, and unlike sporadic CJD isolates, kuru rapidly and stably infected these cells. The geographic independence of the kuru agent provides additional reasons to explore causal environmental pathogens in these infectious neurodegenerative diseases. PMID:19633190

Multi-Agent Patrolling under Uncertainty and Threats.

PubMed

Chen, Shaofei; Wu, Feng; Shen, Lincheng; Chen, Jing; Ramchurn, Sarvapali D

2015-01-01

We investigate a multi-agent patrolling problem where information is distributed alongside threats in environments with uncertainties. Specifically, the information and threat at each location are independently modelled as multi-state Markov chains, whose states are not observed until the location is visited by an agent. While agents will obtain information at a location, they may also suffer damage from the threat at that location. Therefore, the goal of the agents is to gather as much information as possible while mitigating the damage incurred. To address this challenge, we formulate the single-agent patrolling problem as a Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP) and propose a computationally efficient algorithm to solve this model. Building upon this, to compute patrols for multiple agents, the single-agent algorithm is extended for each agent with the aim of maximising its marginal contribution to the team. We empirically evaluate our algorithm on problems of multi-agent patrolling and show that it outperforms a baseline algorithm up to 44% for 10 agents and by 21% for 15 agents in large domains.

Biomass Pyrolysis Solids as Reducing Agents: Comparison with Commercial Reducing Agents.

PubMed

Adrados, Aitziber; De Marco, Isabel; López-Urionabarrenechea, Alexander; Solar, Jon; Caballero, Blanca M; Gastelu, Naia

2015-12-23

Biomass is one of the most suitable options to be used as renewable energy source due to its extensive availability and its contribution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass under appropriate conditions (slow heating rate and high temperatures) can produce a quality solid product, which could be applicable to several metallurgical processes as reducing agent (biocoke or bioreducer). Two woody biomass samples (olives and eucalyptus) were pyrolyzed to produce biocoke. These biocokes were characterized by means of proximate and ultimate analysis, real density, specific surface area, and porosity and were compared with three commercial reducing agents. Finally, reactivity tests were performed both with the biocokes and with the commercial reducing agents. Bioreducers have lower ash and sulfur contents than commercial reducers, higher surface area and porosity, and consequently, much higher reactivity. Bioreducers are not appropriate to be used as top burden in blast furnaces, but they can be used as fuel and reducing agent either tuyére injected at the lower part of the blast furnace or in non-ferrous metallurgical processes where no mechanical strength is needed as, for example, in rotary kilns.

Biomass Pyrolysis Solids as Reducing Agents: Comparison with Commercial Reducing Agents

PubMed Central

Adrados, Aitziber; De Marco, Isabel; López-Urionabarrenechea, Alexander; Solar, Jon; Caballero, Blanca M.; Gastelu, Naia

2015-01-01

Biomass is one of the most suitable options to be used as renewable energy source due to its extensive availability and its contribution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass under appropriate conditions (slow heating rate and high temperatures) can produce a quality solid product, which could be applicable to several metallurgical processes as reducing agent (biocoke or bioreducer). Two woody biomass samples (olives and eucalyptus) were pyrolyzed to produce biocoke. These biocokes were characterized by means of proximate and ultimate analysis, real density, specific surface area, and porosity and were compared with three commercial reducing agents. Finally, reactivity tests were performed both with the biocokes and with the commercial reducing agents. Bioreducers have lower ash and sulfur contents than commercial reducers, higher surface area and porosity, and consequently, much higher reactivity. Bioreducers are not appropriate to be used as top burden in blast furnaces, but they can be used as fuel and reducing agent either tuyére injected at the lower part of the blast furnace or in non-ferrous metallurgical processes where no mechanical strength is needed as, for example, in rotary kilns. PMID:28787805

[Not Available].

PubMed

San Mauro Martín, Ismael; Garicano Vilar, Elena; León Fernández, Joana; Ciudad Cabañas, María José; Collado Yurrita, Luis

2016-07-19

Introducción: recientemente ha surgido el interés por el posible papel de la microbiota intestinal como agente potenciador del rápido aumento que se está observando en el aumento de la prevalencia de obesidad en todo el mundo.Objetivos: relacionar las modificaciones que puede ocasionar el consumo de antibióticos en la microflora intestinal con la obesidad.Métodos: se extrajeron, de las Encuestas Nacionales de Salud de España, entre los años 2001 y 2011, las cifras de ingesta de antibióticos y la prevalencia (%) de obesidad en el mismo rango de edad, género y año. La media total de encuestados fue de 29.904 participantes.Resultados: se encontraron correlaciones significativas (p=0,09) en la asociación de la prevalencia de obesidad y la ingesta de antibióticos. Además, se objetivó que en el sexo masculino esta influencia es el doble que en el femenino.Conclusiones: los descubrimientos recientes en el campo de la microbiota intestinal y su relación con el huésped abren nuevos caminos en la comprensión de ciertas enfermedades inflamatorias y metabólicas, como la obesidad.

[Not Available].

PubMed

Vio, Fernando; Lera, Lydia; Salinas, Judith

2016-07-19

Objetivo: mediante la técnica de consenso Delphi, conocer la opinión de un grupo de expertos en nutrición, educación y gastronomía para buscar consenso sobre metodologías educativas en alimentación saludable, alumnos de tercero a quinto año básico, sus familias y profesores.Métodos: con los resultados de encuestas y grupos focales realizados previamente a niños, padres y profesores, se elaboró un cuestionario que fue enviado a 51 expertos en nutrición, educación y gastronomía en una primera ronda. Los resultados fueron analizados y reenviados en una segunda ronda con las preguntas no consensuadas, obteniendo 38 respuestas.Resultados: hubo consenso en que se pueden cambiar hábitos en escuelas mediante talleres de cocina con chefs o monitores, educación activo-participativa y huertos escolares. Padres y profesores deben tener habilidades culinarias saludables para educar a los niños. Estos deben hacer uso racional del dinero en la escuela. Para ello es necesario cambiar la oferta del kiosko hacia alimentos saludables, o suprimirlo si no es saludable. Los profesores deben capacitarse con talleres de autocuidado y vida sana para educar en alimentación saludable a los niños en horarios de clase con material educativo, talleres de cocina con recetas y aprovechar horarios de desayuno y almuerzo para actividades educativas. Los padres deben participar en talleres para escoger alimentos saludables en lugares de venta y preparar menús saludables. Los niños deben aprender habilidades culinarias simples, preparando y degustando alimentos saludables. Conclusiones: estos resultados son fundamentales para diseñar materiales educativos en alimentación saludable que cambien los malos hábitos alimentarios actuales.

The agent-based spatial information semantic grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Wei; Zhu, YaQiong; Zhou, Yong; Li, Deren

2006-10-01

Analyzing the characteristic of multi-Agent and geographic Ontology, The concept of the Agent-based Spatial Information Semantic Grid (ASISG) is defined and the architecture of the ASISG is advanced. ASISG is composed with Multi-Agents and geographic Ontology. The Multi-Agent Systems are composed with User Agents, General Ontology Agent, Geo-Agents, Broker Agents, Resource Agents, Spatial Data Analysis Agents, Spatial Data Access Agents, Task Execution Agent and Monitor Agent. The architecture of ASISG have three layers, they are the fabric layer, the grid management layer and the application layer. The fabric layer what is composed with Data Access Agent, Resource Agent and Geo-Agent encapsulates the data of spatial information system so that exhibits a conceptual interface for the Grid management layer. The Grid management layer, which is composed with General Ontology Agent, Task Execution Agent and Monitor Agent and Data Analysis Agent, used a hybrid method to manage all resources that were registered in a General Ontology Agent that is described by a General Ontology System. The hybrid method is assembled by resource dissemination and resource discovery. The resource dissemination push resource from Local Ontology Agent to General Ontology Agent and the resource discovery pull resource from the General Ontology Agent to Local Ontology Agents. The Local Ontology Agent is derived from special domain and describes the semantic information of local GIS. The nature of the Local Ontology Agents can be filtrated to construct a virtual organization what could provides a global scheme. The virtual organization lightens the burdens of guests because they need not search information site by site manually. The application layer what is composed with User Agent, Geo-Agent and Task Execution Agent can apply a corresponding interface to a domain user. The functions that ASISG should provide are: 1) It integrates different spatial information systems on the semantic The Grid

Neonatal nosocomial sepsis in a level-III NICU: evaluation of the causative agents and antimicrobial susceptibilities.

PubMed

Yalaz, Mehmet; Cetin, Hasan; Akisu, Mete; Aydemir, Söhret; Tunger, Alper; Kültürsay, Nilgün

2006-01-01

Despite advances in supportive care and use of antibiotics, sepsis preserves its importance due to its high mortality and morbidity for neonates. Identifying the causative agents and antibiotic resistance yearly in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) helps the physician to choose the most appropriate empirical therapy. In this study we aimed to evaluate positive blood cultures and antibiotic susceptibilities of newborns with proven sepsis during the years 2000-2002 in our NICU. The charts of babies with sepsis were evaluated for clinical characteristics, positive cultures and antimicrobial susceptibilities, retrospectively. Although most of the admitted patients were premature (76.5%), the frequency of proven sepsis was quite low, at 9.1% among 909 newborns. Mortality rate in sepsis was 16%. The most commonly isolated micro-organisms were coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) (31.3%), fungi (19.2%), Staphylococcus aureus (13%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (10.5%). Methicillin resistance for CoNS was 92.3% and for S. aureus was 72.7%. In the last year, a significant increase in the frequency of Klebsiella pneumoniae (8.3 vs 14.2%), CoNS (27.1 vs 37.1%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2.1 vs 8.6%) and fungal infections (18.8 vs 20%) was observed compared to the previous years. An initial empirical antibiotic therapy for late-onset sepsis was designed with teicoplanin + piperacillin-tazobactam/meropenem + antifungal (fluconazole or amphotericin B) as the best combination to cover this spectrum until the culture results arrive. However, this combination is only compatible with our results and may not be applied in all units. Every unit must follow the bacterial spectrum and antibacterial resistance patterns to choose their specific empirical treatment strategy for nosocomial infections.

A multi-agent architecture for geosimulation of moving agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vahidnia, Mohammad H.; Alesheikh, Ali A.; Alavipanah, Seyed Kazem

2015-10-01

In this paper, a novel architecture is proposed in which an axiomatic derivation system in the form of first-order logic facilitates declarative explanation and spatial reasoning. Simulation of environmental perception and interaction between autonomous agents is designed with a geographic belief-desire-intention and a request-inform-query model. The architecture has a complementary quantitative component that supports collaborative planning based on the concept of equilibrium and game theory. This new architecture presents a departure from current best practices geographic agent-based modelling. Implementation tasks are discussed in some detail, as well as scenarios for fleet management and disaster management.

Ambient agents: embedded agents for remote control and monitoring using the PANGEA platform.

PubMed

Villarrubia, Gabriel; De Paz, Juan F; Bajo, Javier; Corchado, Juan M

2014-07-31

Ambient intelligence has advanced significantly during the last few years. The incorporation of image processing and artificial intelligence techniques have opened the possibility for such aspects as pattern recognition, thus allowing for a better adaptation of these systems. This study presents a new model of an embedded agent especially designed to be implemented in sensing devices with resource constraints. This new model of an agent is integrated within the PANGEA (Platform for the Automatic Construction of Organiztions of Intelligent Agents) platform, an organizational-based platform, defining a new sensor role in the system and aimed at providing contextual information and interacting with the environment. A case study was developed over the PANGEA platform and designed using different agents and sensors responsible for providing user support at home in the event of incidents or emergencies. The system presented in the case study incorporates agents in Arduino hardware devices with recognition modules and illuminated bands; it also incorporates IP cameras programmed for automatic tracking, which can connect remotely in the event of emergencies. The user wears a bracelet, which contains a simple vibration sensor that can receive notifications about the emergency situation.

Ambient Agents: Embedded Agents for Remote Control and Monitoring Using the PANGEA Platform

PubMed Central

Villarrubia, Gabriel; De Paz, Juan F.; Bajo, Javier; Corchado, Juan M.

2014-01-01

Ambient intelligence has advanced significantly during the last few years. The incorporation of image processing and artificial intelligence techniques have opened the possibility for such aspects as pattern recognition, thus allowing for a better adaptation of these systems. This study presents a new model of an embedded agent especially designed to be implemented in sensing devices with resource constraints. This new model of an agent is integrated within the PANGEA (Platform for the Automatic Construction of Organiztions of Intelligent Agents) platform, an organizational-based platform, defining a new sensor role in the system and aimed at providing contextual information and interacting with the environment. A case study was developed over the PANGEA platform and designed using different agents and sensors responsible for providing user support at home in the event of incidents or emergencies. The system presented in the case study incorporates agents in Arduino hardware devices with recognition modules and illuminated bands; it also incorporates IP cameras programmed for automatic tracking, which can connect remotely in the event of emergencies. The user wears a bracelet, which contains a simple vibration sensor that can receive notifications about the emergency situation. PMID:25090416

PubMed

Contreras, Kateir; Vargas, María José; García, Paola; González, Camilo A; Rodríguez, Patricia; Castañeda-Cardona, Camilo; Otálora-Esteban, Margarita; Rosselli, Diego

2018-03-15

Introducción. El citomegalovirus es la causa más frecuente de infección en pacientes con trasplante renal. Existen dos estrategias de similar efectividad para prevenirlo: la profilaxis universal con valganciclovir durante 90 días o el tratamiento anticipado verificando la carga viral semanal y aplicándolo solo si esta es positiva.Objetivo. Determinar cuál de estas dos estrategias sería más costo-efectiva en pacientes de riesgo intermedio en Colombia.Materiales y métodos. Se diseñó un árbol de decisiones bajo la perspectiva del tercer pagador considerando únicamente los costos médicos directos en pesos colombianos (COP) del 2014 durante un periodo de un año en una población de pacientes con riesgo intermedio para citomegalovirus (donante positivo y receptor positivo, o donante negativo y receptor positivo). Las probabilidades de transición se extrajeron de los estudios clínicos y se validaron con expertos mediante el método Delphi.Los costos de los procedimientos se basaron en el manual tarifario ISS 2001, con un incremento del 33 % a partir del índice de precios al consumidor (IPC) en salud de 2014, en tanto que los de los medicamentos se extrajeron de las circulares del Ministerio de Salud y del Sistema de Información de Medicamentos (Sismed).Resultados. La profilaxis universal con valganciclovir resultó ser menos costosa y se asoció con una menor probabilidad de infección. El costo promedio del primer año de tratamiento anticipado sería de COP$ 30'961.290, mientras que el universal sería de COP$ 29'967.834, es decir, un costo 'incremental' de COP$ 993.456.Conclusiones. Para los pacientes de riesgo intermedio con trasplante renal en Colombia, la profilaxis universal es la mejor estrategia por ser menos costosa y reducir el riesgo de infección.

Natural chelating agents for radionuclide decorporation

DOEpatents

Premuzic, E.T.

1985-06-11

This invention relates to the production of metal-binding compounds useful for the therapy of heavy metal poisoning, for biological mining and for decorporation of radionuclides. The present invention deals with an orderly and effective method of producing new therapeutically effective chelating agents. This method uses challenge biosynthesis for the production of chelating agents that are specific for a particular metal. In this approach, the desired chelating agents are prepared from microorganisms challenged by the metal that the chelating agent is designed to detoxify. This challenge induces the formation of specific or highly selective chelating agents. The present invention involves the use of the challenge biosynthetic method to produce new complexing/chelating agents that are therapeutically useful to detoxify uranium, plutonium, thorium and other toxic metals. The Pseudomonas aeruginosa family of organisms is the referred family of microorganisms to be used in the present invention to produce the new chelating agent because this family is known to elaborate strains resistant to toxic metals.

Scoping Planning Agents With Shared Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bedrax-Weiss, Tania; Frank, Jeremy D.; Jonsson, Ari K.; McGann, Conor

2003-01-01

In this paper we provide a formal framework to define the scope of planning agents based on a single declarative model. Having multiple agents sharing a single model provides numerous advantages that lead to reduced development costs and increase reliability of the system. We formally define planning in terms of extensions of an initial partial plan, and a set of flaws that make the plan unacceptable. A Flaw Filter (FF) allows us to identify those flaws relevant to an agent. Flaw filters motivate the Plan Identification Function (PIF), which specifies when an agent is is ready hand control to another agent for further work. PIFs define a set of plan extensions that can be generated from a model and a plan request. FFs and PIFs can be used to define the scope of agents without changing the model. We describe an implementation of PIFsand FFswithin the context of EUROPA, a constraint-based planning architecture, and show how it can be used to easily design many different agents.

Los Angeles Tall Buildings Structural Design Council

Science.gov Websites

Los Angeles Tall Buildings Structural Design Council Home News Archives Members Mailing Address LATBSDC c/o John A. Martin & Associates 950 South Grand Ave 4th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90015, USA Phone (213) 483-6490 Fax (213) 483-3084 Welcome Welcome to the Los Angeles Tall Buildings Structural Design

Biologic agents for IBD: practical insights.

PubMed

Danese, Silvio; Vuitton, Lucine; Peyrin-Biroulet, Laurent

2015-09-01

Six biologic agents are currently approved for the treatment of IBD: four anti-TNF agents (infliximab, adalimumab, golimumab and certolizumab pegol) and two anti-integrin agents (natalizumab and vedolizumab). In Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis refractory to standard medications, treatment choice among available biologic agents can be challenging. Several parameters should be taken into account to help physicians through the decision-making process, including the comparative effectiveness and long-term safety profile, availability and labelling in the prescriber's country, international guidelines, and cost, as well as patient preferences (such as the route of administration). Herein, we provide practical insights on the use of biologic agents in IBD. The results of head-to-head trials between biologic agents are eagerly awaited to guide decision-making regarding the choice of first-line biologic agents and to determine whether switching within the same drug class or swapping (switching out of the drug class) is preferable after primary or secondary loss of response to the first biologic agent. In the near future, treatment algorithms might evolve with the launch of new drugs (such as ustekinumab, tofacitinib and etrolizumab) and the increased use of biosimilars.

Human Carboxylesterase 1 Stereoselectively Binds the Nerve Agent Cyclosarin and Spontaneously Hydrolyzes the Nerve Agent Sarin

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hemmert, Andrew C.; Otto, Tamara C.; Wierdl, Monika

Organophosphorus (OP) nerve agents are potent toxins that inhibit cholinesterases and produce a rapid and lethal cholinergic crisis. Development of protein-based therapeutics is being pursued with the goal of preventing nerve agent toxicity and protecting against the long-term side effects of these agents. The drug-metabolizing enzyme human carboxylesterase 1 (hCE1) is a candidate protein-based therapeutic because of its similarity in structure and function to the cholinesterase targets of nerve agent poisoning. However, the ability of wild-type hCE1 to process the G-type nerve agents sarin and cyclosarin has not been determined. We report the crystal structure of hCE1 in complex withmore » the nerve agent cyclosarin. We further use stereoselective nerve agent analogs to establish that hCE1 exhibits a 1700- and 2900-fold preference for the P{sub R} enantiomers of analogs of soman and cyclosarin, respectively, and a 5-fold preference for the P{sub S} isomer of a sarin analog. Finally, we show that for enzyme inhibited by racemic mixtures of bona fide nerve agents, hCE1 spontaneously reactivates in the presence of sarin but not soman or cyclosarin. The addition of the neutral oxime 2,3-butanedione monoxime increases the rate of reactivation of hCE1 from sarin inhibition by more than 60-fold but has no effect on reactivation with the other agents examined. Taken together, these data demonstrate that hCE1 is only reactivated after inhibition with the more toxic P{sub S} isomer of sarin. These results provide important insights toward the long-term goal of designing novel forms of hCE1 to act as protein-based therapeutics for nerve agent detoxification.« less

30 CFR 250.145 - How do I designate an agent or a local agent?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... agent empowered to fulfill your obligations under the Act, the lease, or the regulations in this part... agent empowered to receive notices and submit requests, applications, notices, or supplemental...

Sunspots and the Newcomb-Benford Law. (Spanish Title: Manchas Solares y la Ley de Newcomb-Benford.) Manchas Solares e a Lei de Newcomb-Benford

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alves, Mauro A.; Lyra, Cássia S.

2008-12-01

The Newcomb-Benford's Law (LNB) of first digits is introduced to high school students in an extracurricular activity through the study of sunspots. The LNB establishes that the first digits of various sets of data describing natural occurrences are not distributed uniformly, but according to a logarithmic distribution of probability. The LNB is counter-intuitive and is a good example of how mathematics applied to the study of natural phenomena can provide surprising and unexpected results serving also as a motivating agent in the study of physical sciences. En este trabajo se describe una actividad extracurricular donde se presenta a los estudiantes la ley de los primeros dígitos de Newcomb-Benford (LNB) con el estudio de manchas solares. La LNB establece que los primeros dígitos de algunos tipos de dados de ocurrencia natural no están distribuidos en manera uniforme, pero sí de acuerdo con una distribución logarítmica de probabilidad. La LNB es contra-intuitiva y es un excelente ejemplo de como las matemáticas aplicadas al estudio de fenómenos naturales pueden sorprender al estudiante, sirviendo también como elemento motivador en la educación de ciencias y de matemáticas. Este trabalho descreve uma atividade extracurricular na qual a lei dos primeiros dígitos de Newcomb-Benford (LNB) é introduzida a estudantes através do estudo de manchas solares. A LNB estabelece que os primeiros dígitos de vários tipos de conjunto de dados de ocorrência natural não são distribuídos de maneira uniforme, mas sim de acordo com uma distribuição logarítmica de probabilidade. A LNB é contra-intuitiva e é um ótimo exemplo de como a matemática aplicada ao estudo de fenômenos naturais pode fornecer resultados surpreendentes e inesperados, servindo também como um agente motivador no ensino de ciências e matemática.

Biological Warfare Agents, Toxins, Vectors and Pests as Biological Terrorism Agents

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-07-01

number of positive answers. According to criterion, no effective prophylaxis or therapy, positive answer signifies the absence of effective ...likelihood that the agent will be used. There are not effective prophylaxis and therapy against for the bulk of enlisted agents and toxins if used as...difficult to imagine how it would be looked like mass- vaccination often maybe simultaneously against more than one disease. Toxins are effective and

30 CFR 550.145 - How do I designate an agent or a local agent?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... designate an agent empowered to fulfill your obligations under the Act, the lease, or the regulations in... local agent empowered to receive notices and submit requests, applications, notices, or supplemental...

30 CFR 550.145 - How do I designate an agent or a local agent?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... designate an agent empowered to fulfill your obligations under the Act, the lease, or the regulations in... local agent empowered to receive notices and submit requests, applications, notices, or supplemental...

30 CFR 550.145 - How do I designate an agent or a local agent?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... designate an agent empowered to fulfill your obligations under the Act, the lease, or the regulations in... local agent empowered to receive notices and submit requests, applications, notices, or supplemental...

Transdermal delivery of therapeutic agent

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kwiatkowski, Krzysztof C. (Inventor); Hayes, Ryan T. (Inventor); Magnuson, James W. (Inventor); Giletto, Anthony (Inventor)

2008-01-01

A device for the transdermal delivery of a therapeutic agent to a biological subject that includes a first electrode comprising a first array of electrically conductive microprojections for providing electrical communication through a skin portion of the subject to a second electrode comprising a second array of electrically conductive microprojections. Additionally, a reservoir for holding the therapeutic agent surrounding the first electrode and a pulse generator for providing an exponential decay pulse between the first and second electrodes may be provided. A method includes the steps of piercing a stratum corneum layer of skin with two arrays of conductive microprojections, encapsulating the therapeutic agent into biocompatible charged carriers, surrounding the conductive microprojections with the therapeutic agent, generating an exponential decay pulse between the two arrays of conductive microprojections to create a non-uniform electrical field and electrokinetically driving the therapeutic agent through the stratum corneum layer of skin.

Markov Tracking for Agent Coordination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Washington, Richard; Lau, Sonie (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

Partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) axe an attractive representation for representing agent behavior, since they capture uncertainty in both the agent's state and its actions. However, finding an optimal policy for POMDPs in general is computationally difficult. In this paper we present Markov Tracking, a restricted problem of coordinating actions with an agent or process represented as a POMDP Because the actions coordinate with the agent rather than influence its behavior, the optimal solution to this problem can be computed locally and quickly. We also demonstrate the use of the technique on sequential POMDPs, which can be used to model a behavior that follows a linear, acyclic trajectory through a series of states. By imposing a "windowing" restriction that restricts the number of possible alternatives considered at any moment to a fixed size, a coordinating action can be calculated in constant time, making this amenable to coordination with complex agents.

30 CFR 250.145 - How do I designate an agent or a local agent?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Director may require you to designate an agent empowered to fulfill your obligations under the Act, the... Regional Supervisor's approval a local agent empowered to receive notices and submit requests, applications...

Los plaguicidas y la contaminacion del medio ambiente Venezolano

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stickel, L.F.; Stickel, W.H.

1972-01-01

RESUMEN DE RECOMENDACIONES Recomendaciones para el Programa de Investigacion: 1. Establecer un sistema de muestreo biologico para detectar los niveles tendencias de los productos quimicos toxicos en un peque?o numero de si tios representativos. 2. Mantener continua vigilancia de la contaminacion ambiental, mediante la seleccion acertadamente dirigida de las zonas afectadas y de las fuentes de contaminacion. 3. Realizar estudios acerca de las poblaciones de animales silvestres, y del exito de los procesos reproductivos de las especies o grupos clayes de animales que se consideran mas gravemente afectados. 4. Preparar recomendaciones para una accion gubernamental de proteccion al hombre, a la fauna silvestre y al medio ambiente. Recomendaciones para la Accion Administrativa: 1. Establecer limites a la tolerancia de los residuos de plaguicidas en los alimentos. Constituye una medida clave para disminuir la contaminacion ambiental. 2. Establecer normas de calidad del agua para las corrientes, represas, la gos y otros cuerpos. Es la segunda medida clave para reducir la contaminacion del ambiente 3. Exigir un tratamiento adecuado de los efluentes industriales, especialmente antes de que se construyan las nuevas plantas. 4. Exigir a los agricultores que en el uso de plaguicidas sigan los consejos tecnicos autorizados y negar a los vendedores el derecho a recomendar productos por su cuenta. 5. Tomar medidas para recoger y eliminar los recipientes y sobrantes de los plaguicidas.

Evolución Dinámica de Cúmulos Estelares Abiertos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de La Fuente Marcos, R.

Las estrellas que observamos no se formaron aisladamente, sino que lo hicieron en grupos o cúmulos. Estos sistemas estelares recibenel nombre de cúmulos estelares abiertos o galácticos cuando están constituidos por estrellas de la Población I. Los cúmulos abiertos se localizan preferentemente en el plano galáctico, y en muchos de ellos está teniendo lugar aún una activa formación estelar. El propósito principal de esta tesis doctoral es el estudio de la evolución dinámica de estos sistemas estelares por medio de simulaciones numéricas y de la comparación de sus resultados con datos observacionales. Con este fin se analizan los efectos que, sobre la dinámica de los cúmulos, ejercen varios fenómenos de interés astrofísico tales como el campo gravitatorio galáctico, la pérdida de masa causada por la evolución estelar y la presencia de binarias primordiales. En este trabajo se presentan los resultados de más de un centenar de modelos de cúmulos, con poblaciones comprendidas en el intervalo [100, 10.000] estrellas, calculados con NBODY5, un programa estándar en el campo de la Dinámica Estelar Experimental. De los mismos se deduce que el mecanismo principal que rige la dinámica de los cúmulos abiertos es la evolución estelar de su distribución de masas, encontrándose un comportamiento diferencial fuertemente dependiente de la población inicial del cúmulo. Los mecanismos responsables de la desintegración de los cúmulos abiertos son analizados en detalle, proponiéndose un modelo analítico que ajusta razonablemente los resultados de las simulaciones. Además, y con el fin de explicar el elevado número de sistemas múltiples observados en cúmulos abiertos, se estudian los efectos que, sobre los mismos, ejerce la presencia de una cierta fracción de binarias primordiales. El papel de las binarias tambiín depende de la riqueza del cúmulo y sus efectos se interrelacionan con aquellos debidos a la evolución estelar. Por último, se

Contrast echocardiography: new agents.

PubMed

Miller, Andrew P; Nanda, Navin C

2004-04-01

In this report, we review the history, rationale, current status and future directions of contrast agents in echocardiography. First, we discuss the historic development of contrast agents through a review of important physical principles of microbubbles in ultrasonography. Second, we identify attributes of an ideal contrast agent and review those that are currently available or in the "pipeline" for clinical use. Third, we review indications for contrast echocardiography, including endocardial border detection, perfusion quantification and reperfusion assessment, and validate these observations by comparisons with other imaging modalities. Then, we briefly review different methodologies of performing a contrast study, including interrupted, real-time and a hybrid modality. Finally, we identify novel future applications of the newest contrast agents. These newer concepts in contrast echocardiography should form a foundation for nearly limitless application of echocardiography in improved anatomical assessment, perfusion imaging and even special applications, such as detection of vascular inflammation and site-specific drug delivery.

Introduction to Agent Mining Interaction and Integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Longbing

In recent years, more and more researchers have been involved in research on both agent technology and data mining. A clear disciplinary effort has been activated toward removing the boundary between them, that is the interaction and integration between agent technology and data mining. We refer this to agent mining as a new area. The marriage of agents and data mining is driven by challenges faced by both communities, and the need of developing more advanced intelligence, information processing and systems. This chapter presents an overall picture of agent mining from the perspective of positioning it as an emerging area. We summarize the main driving forces, complementary essence, disciplinary framework, applications, case studies, and trends and directions, as well as brief observation on agent-driven data mining, data mining-driven agents, and mutual issues in agent mining. Arguably, we draw the following conclusions: (1) agent mining emerges as a new area in the scientific family, (2) both agent technology and data mining can greatly benefit from agent mining, (3) it is very promising to result in additional advancement in intelligent information processing and systems. However, as a new open area, there are many issues waiting for research and development from theoretical, technological and practical perspectives.

30 CFR 250.145 - How do I designate an agent or a local agent?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... require you to designate an agent empowered to fulfill your obligations under the Act, the lease, or the... approval a local agent empowered to receive notices and submit requests, applications, notices, or...

30 CFR 250.145 - How do I designate an agent or a local agent?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... require you to designate an agent empowered to fulfill your obligations under the Act, the lease, or the... approval a local agent empowered to receive notices and submit requests, applications, notices, or...

30 CFR 250.145 - How do I designate an agent or a local agent?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... require you to designate an agent empowered to fulfill your obligations under the Act, the lease, or the... approval a local agent empowered to receive notices and submit requests, applications, notices, or...

Agent Reward Shaping for Alleviating Traffic Congestion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tumer, Kagan; Agogino, Adrian

2006-01-01

Traffic congestion problems provide a unique environment to study how multi-agent systems promote desired system level behavior. What is particularly interesting in this class of problems is that no individual action is intrinsically "bad" for the system but that combinations of actions among agents lead to undesirable outcomes, As a consequence, agents need to learn how to coordinate their actions with those of other agents, rather than learn a particular set of "good" actions. This problem is ubiquitous in various traffic problems, including selecting departure times for commuters, routes for airlines, and paths for data routers. In this paper we present a multi-agent approach to two traffic problems, where far each driver, an agent selects the most suitable action using reinforcement learning. The agent rewards are based on concepts from collectives and aim to provide the agents with rewards that are both easy to learn and that if learned, lead to good system level behavior. In the first problem, we study how agents learn the best departure times of drivers in a daily commuting environment and how following those departure times alleviates congestion. In the second problem, we study how agents learn to select desirable routes to improve traffic flow and minimize delays for. all drivers.. In both sets of experiments,. agents using collective-based rewards produced near optimal performance (93-96% of optimal) whereas agents using system rewards (63-68%) barely outperformed random action selection (62-64%) and agents using local rewards (48-72%) performed worse than random in some instances.

Detecting Biological Warfare Agents

PubMed Central

Song, Linan; Ahn, Soohyoun

2005-01-01

We developed a fiber-optic, microsphere-based, high-density array composed of 18 species-specific probe microsensors to identify biological warfare agents. We simultaneously identified multiple biological warfare agents in environmental samples by looking at specific probe responses after hybridization and response patterns of the multiplexed array. PMID:16318712

Los Angeles and Its Mistress Machine

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marx, Wesley

1973-01-01

Los Angeles city has acute air pollution problems because of lack of an adequate mass transit system and the type of local industries. Air pollution in Los Angeles has affected agricultural production, vegetation, and public health in nearby areas. (PS)

Homeostatic Agent for General Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshida, Naoto

2018-03-01

One of the essential aspect in biological agents is dynamic stability. This aspect, called homeostasis, is widely discussed in ethology, neuroscience and during the early stages of artificial intelligence. Ashby's homeostats are general-purpose learning machines for stabilizing essential variables of the agent in the face of general environments. However, despite their generality, the original homeostats couldn't be scaled because they searched their parameters randomly. In this paper, first we re-define the objective of homeostats as the maximization of a multi-step survival probability from the view point of sequential decision theory and probabilistic theory. Then we show that this optimization problem can be treated by using reinforcement learning algorithms with special agent architectures and theoretically-derived intrinsic reward functions. Finally we empirically demonstrate that agents with our architecture automatically learn to survive in a given environment, including environments with visual stimuli. Our survival agents can learn to eat food, avoid poison and stabilize essential variables through theoretically-derived single intrinsic reward formulations.

Agent-Based Scientific Workflow Composition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barker, A.; Mann, B.

2006-07-01

Agents are active autonomous entities that interact with one another to achieve their objectives. This paper addresses how these active agents are a natural fit to consume the passive Service Oriented Architecture which is found in Internet and Grid Systems, in order to compose, coordinate and execute e-Science experiments. A framework is introduced which allows an e-Science experiment to be described as a MultiAgent System.

Learning other agents` preferences in multiagent negotiation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bui, H.H.; Kieronska, D.; Venkatesh, S.

In multiagent systems, an agent does not usually have complete information about the preferences and decision making processes of other agents. This might prevent the agents from making coordinated choices, purely due to their ignorance of what others want. This paper describes the integration of a learning module into a communication-intensive negotiating agent architecture. The learning module gives the agents the ability to learn about other agents` preferences via past interactions. Over time, the agents can incrementally update their models of other agents` preferences and use them to make better coordinated decisions. Combining both communication and learning, as two complementmore » knowledge acquisition methods, helps to reduce the amount of communication needed on average, and is justified in situations where communication is computationally costly or simply not desirable (e.g. to preserve the individual privacy).« less

PubMed

Bueno Vargas, Pilar; Manzano Martín, Manuel; López-Aliaga, Inmaculada; López Pedrosa, José M ª

2016-09-20

Introducción: la gestación y lactancia están relacionadas con pérdidas temporales en la densidad mineral ósea (DMO) materna. Una suplementación con calcio podría resultar beneficiosa para evitar la pérdida de masa ósea del esqueleto materno. Otros nutrientes como los prebióticos han sido identificados como responsables de un incremento en la absorción de minerales, pudiendo condicionar la mineralización ósea.Objetivo: estudiar el efecto de la suplementación de la dieta materna con el prebiótico inulina enriquecida con oligofructosa, durante la gestación y la lactancia sobre el contenido mineral óseo (CMO) y la DMO al final del periodo de lactancia.Métodos: las ratas gestantes fueron alimentadas con dieta estándar (grupo CC), dieta fortificada en calcio (grupo Ca) o enriquecida con el prebiótico inulina enriquecida con oligofructosa (grupo Pre) hasta el final del periodo de lactancia. Posteriormente se evaluó el CMO y DMO por absorciometría de rayos X (DEXA) y el pH del contenido cecal.Resultados:en términos generales, el grupo Pre presenta los mayores valores absolutos de CMO y DMO de entre los tres grupos, siendo en la tibia significativamente diferentes en los grupos CC y Pre frente al grupo Ca. El pH del contenido cecal del grupo Pre es significativamente inferior al de los grupos CC y Ca.Conclusión:la suplementación con inulina enriquecida con oligofructosa, en condiciones nutricionales no deficientes en calcio, durante la gestación y la lactancia, ejerce una protección del esqueleto materno en las ratas y puede ser considerada como una estrategia nutricional para proteger la masa ósea materna en el periodo perinatal.

Launch Commit Criteria Monitoring Agent

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Semmel, Glenn S.; Davis, Steven R.; Leucht, Kurt W.; Rowe, Dan A.; Kelly, Andrew O.; Boeloeni, Ladislau

2005-01-01

The Spaceport Processing Systems Branch at NASA Kennedy Space Center has developed and deployed a software agent to monitor the Space Shuttle's ground processing telemetry stream. The application, the Launch Commit Criteria Monitoring Agent, increases situational awareness for system and hardware engineers during Shuttle launch countdown. The agent provides autonomous monitoring of the telemetry stream, automatically alerts system engineers when predefined criteria have been met, identifies limit warnings and violations of launch commit criteria, aids Shuttle engineers through troubleshooting procedures, and provides additional insight to verify appropriate troubleshooting of problems by contractors. The agent has successfully detected launch commit criteria warnings and violations on a simulated playback data stream. Efficiency and safety are improved through increased automation.

13 CFR 120.952 - Fiscal agent.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Loan Program (504) Debenture Sales and Service Agents § 120.952 Fiscal agent. SBA shall appoint a Fiscal Agent to assess the financial markets, minimize the cost of sales, arrange for the production of... performance of the Trustee and the underwriters. ...

13 CFR 120.952 - Fiscal agent.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Loan Program (504) Debenture Sales and Service Agents § 120.952 Fiscal agent. SBA shall appoint a Fiscal Agent to assess the financial markets, minimize the cost of sales, arrange for the production of... performance of the Trustee and the underwriters. ...

Estudio de la estructura logica utilizada en la ensenanza y el aprendizaje de los conceptos sobre el comportamiento de gases en el curso introductorio de quimica a nivel universitario

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Costa Diaz, Agnes

El estudio que se presenta es de caracter cualitativo, un estudio multicasos donde se estudia la estructura logica utilizada por cuatro (4) profesores universitarios que ensenan el curso introductorio de quimica, en la planificacion, presentacion y evaluacion del tema sobre el comportamiento de los gases. Se utilizaron varias fuentes de informacion como: cuestionarios de profesores y estudiantes, entrevistas, grabaciones videomagnetofonicas, materiales didacticos y una prueba conceptual, entre otros. La informacion recopilada fue analizada de acuerdo al orden logico del contenido presentado, el estilo de ensenanza del profesor, las tecnicas y estrategias utilizadas para el desarrollo de destrezas de pensamiento, el ambiente fisico en el salon de clase y los instrumentos de evaluacion y avaluo. El estudio demuestra que lo que los profesores piensan y planifican para hacer sus presentaciones no necesariamente es lo que ocurre en el salon de clases. El desarrollo de destrezas de pensamiento, que constituye una prioridad de los profesores, no se elaboran efectivamente. El uso de las estrategias de resolucion de problemas numericos predomino. La participacion del estudiante en el salon de clases fue limitada y no se logro demostrar el desarrollo de las destrezas de pensamiento deseadas. Aunque los profesores tienen su propio estilo de ensenanza, el orden logico del contenido presentado en clase fue el mismo o siguio muy de cerca el orden establecido por el libro de texto. Los profesores utilizaron preferentemente la tiza y la pizarra para sus presentaciones y la dinamica en el salon de clases fue esencialmente tradicional. Los profesores hicieron su presentacion y los estudiantes copiaron pasivamente la informacion. Las evaluaciones de los estudiantes fueron esencialmente, pruebas escritas de seleccion multiple de acuerdo con el estilo en que se les enseno. El avaluo fue casi inexistente. La prueba conceptual administrada revela un aprendizaje pobre en los conceptos mas

Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor Areas Prehistory and Early History, Los Angeles County, California,

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-04-01

H - R136 656 LOS ANGELES-LONG BEACH HARBOR ARE AS PREHISTORY AND I/i EARLY HISTORY LO S ANGELES COUNTY CALIFORNIA(U) ARMY ENGINEER DISTRICT LOS...world. The The Early Systems Period (50,000? to 7,000 creation of this megalopolis, unfortunately, years ago) had severe impacts on the natural...called amino acid dating. Using this of early occupation. There is data which system , archeologists determined that human suggests that some of the

ProgrammingRationalAgents in GOAL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hindriks, Koen V.

The agent programming language GOAL is a high-level programming language to program rational agents that derive their choice of action from their beliefsand goals. The language provides the basic building blocks to design and implementrationalagents by meansofa setofprogramming constructs. These programming constructs allow and facilitate the manipulation of an agent’sbeliefs and goals and to structure its decision-making. GOAL agents are called rational because they satisfy a numberof basic rationality constraints and because they decide to perform actions to further their goals based uponareasoning scheme derived from practical reasoning. The programming concepts of belief and goal incorporated into GOAL provide the basis for this form of reasoning and are similarto their common sense counterparts used everyday to explain the actions that we perform. In addition, GOAL provides the means for agents to focus their attention on specic goals and to communicate at the knowledge level. This provides an intuitive basis for writing high-level agent programs. At the same time these concepts and programming constructs have a well-dened, formal semantics. The formal semantics provides the basis for deninga verication framework for GOAL for verifying and reasoning about GOAL agents whichis similar to some of the wellknownagent logics introduced in the literature.

Combining Computational Fluid Dynamics and Agent-Based Modeling: A New Approach to Evacuation Planning

PubMed Central

Epstein, Joshua M.; Pankajakshan, Ramesh; Hammond, Ross A.

2011-01-01

We introduce a novel hybrid of two fields—Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Agent-Based Modeling (ABM)—as a powerful new technique for urban evacuation planning. CFD is a predominant technique for modeling airborne transport of contaminants, while ABM is a powerful approach for modeling social dynamics in populations of adaptive individuals. The hybrid CFD-ABM method is capable of simulating how large, spatially-distributed populations might respond to a physically realistic contaminant plume. We demonstrate the overall feasibility of CFD-ABM evacuation design, using the case of a hypothetical aerosol release in Los Angeles to explore potential effectiveness of various policy regimes. We conclude by arguing that this new approach can be powerfully applied to arbitrary population centers, offering an unprecedented preparedness and catastrophic event response tool. PMID:21687788

Design and Simulation of Material-Integrated Distributed Sensor Processing with a Code-Based Agent Platform and Mobile Multi-Agent Systems

PubMed Central

Bosse, Stefan

2015-01-01

Multi-agent systems (MAS) can be used for decentralized and self-organizing data processing in a distributed system, like a resource-constrained sensor network, enabling distributed information extraction, for example, based on pattern recognition and self-organization, by decomposing complex tasks in simpler cooperative agents. Reliable MAS-based data processing approaches can aid the material-integration of structural-monitoring applications, with agent processing platforms scaled to the microchip level. The agent behavior, based on a dynamic activity-transition graph (ATG) model, is implemented with program code storing the control and the data state of an agent, which is novel. The program code can be modified by the agent itself using code morphing techniques and is capable of migrating in the network between nodes. The program code is a self-contained unit (a container) and embeds the agent data, the initialization instructions and the ATG behavior implementation. The microchip agent processing platform used for the execution of the agent code is a standalone multi-core stack machine with a zero-operand instruction format, leading to a small-sized agent program code, low system complexity and high system performance. The agent processing is token-queue-based, similar to Petri-nets. The agent platform can be implemented in software, too, offering compatibility at the operational and code level, supporting agent processing in strong heterogeneous networks. In this work, the agent platform embedded in a large-scale distributed sensor network is simulated at the architectural level by using agent-based simulation techniques. PMID:25690550

Design and simulation of material-integrated distributed sensor processing with a code-based agent platform and mobile multi-agent systems.

PubMed

Bosse, Stefan

2015-02-16

Multi-agent systems (MAS) can be used for decentralized and self-organizing data processing in a distributed system, like a resource-constrained sensor network, enabling distributed information extraction, for example, based on pattern recognition and self-organization, by decomposing complex tasks in simpler cooperative agents. Reliable MAS-based data processing approaches can aid the material-integration of structural-monitoring applications, with agent processing platforms scaled to the microchip level. The agent behavior, based on a dynamic activity-transition graph (ATG) model, is implemented with program code storing the control and the data state of an agent, which is novel. The program code can be modified by the agent itself using code morphing techniques and is capable of migrating in the network between nodes. The program code is a self-contained unit (a container) and embeds the agent data, the initialization instructions and the ATG behavior implementation. The microchip agent processing platform used for the execution of the agent code is a standalone multi-core stack machine with a zero-operand instruction format, leading to a small-sized agent program code, low system complexity and high system performance. The agent processing is token-queue-based, similar to Petri-nets. The agent platform can be implemented in software, too, offering compatibility at the operational and code level, supporting agent processing in strong heterogeneous networks. In this work, the agent platform embedded in a large-scale distributed sensor network is simulated at the architectural level by using agent-based simulation techniques.

Agents in bioinformatics, computational and systems biology.

PubMed

Merelli, Emanuela; Armano, Giuliano; Cannata, Nicola; Corradini, Flavio; d'Inverno, Mark; Doms, Andreas; Lord, Phillip; Martin, Andrew; Milanesi, Luciano; Möller, Steffen; Schroeder, Michael; Luck, Michael

2007-01-01

The adoption of agent technologies and multi-agent systems constitutes an emerging area in bioinformatics. In this article, we report on the activity of the Working Group on Agents in Bioinformatics (BIOAGENTS) founded during the first AgentLink III Technical Forum meeting on the 2nd of July, 2004, in Rome. The meeting provided an opportunity for seeding collaborations between the agent and bioinformatics communities to develop a different (agent-based) approach of computational frameworks both for data analysis and management in bioinformatics and for systems modelling and simulation in computational and systems biology. The collaborations gave rise to applications and integrated tools that we summarize and discuss in context of the state of the art in this area. We investigate on future challenges and argue that the field should still be explored from many perspectives ranging from bio-conceptual languages for agent-based simulation, to the definition of bio-ontology-based declarative languages to be used by information agents, and to the adoption of agents for computational grids.

Animated Pedagogical Agents: A Review of Agent Technology Software in Electronic Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Govindasamy, Malliga K.

2014-01-01

Agent technology has become one of the dynamic and most interesting areas of computer science in recent years. The dynamism of this technology has resulted in computer generated characters, known as pedagogical agent, entering the digital learning environments in increasing numbers. Commonly deployed in implementing tutoring strategies, these…

Extinguishing agent for combustible metal fires

DOEpatents

Riley, John F.; Stauffer, Edgar Eugene

1976-10-12

A low chloride extinguishing agent for combustible metal fires comprising from substantially 75 to substantially 94 weight percent of sodium carbonate as the basic fire extinguishing material, from substantially 1 to substantially 5 weight percent of a water-repellent agent such as a metal stearate, from substantially 2 to substantially 10 weight percent of a flow promoting agent such as attapulgus clay, and from substantially 3 to substantially 15 weight percent of a polyamide resin as a crusting agent.

Analysis of Nerve Agent Metabolites from Hair for Long-Term Verification of Nerve Agent Exposure

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-09

Analysis of Nerve Agent Metabolites from Hair for Long-Term Verification of Nerve Agent Exposure Amanda S. Appel,† John H. McDonough,‡ Joseph D...feasible. In this study, hair was evaluated as a long-term repository of nerve agent hydrolysis products. Pinacolyl methylphosphonic acid (PMPA...hydrolysis product of soman) and isopropyl methylphosphonic acid (IMPA; hydrolysis product of sarin) were extracted from hair samples with N,N

Petri Nets as Modeling Tool for Emergent Agents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bergman, Marto

2004-01-01

Emergent agents, those agents whose local interactions can cause unexpected global results, require a method of modeling that is both dynamic and structured Petri Nets, a modeling tool developed for dynamic discrete event system of mainly functional agents, provide this, and have the benefit of being an established tool. We present here the details of the modeling method here and discuss how to implement its use for modeling agent-based systems. Petri Nets have been used extensively in the modeling of functional agents, those agents who have defined purposes and whose actions should result in a know outcome. However, emergent agents, those agents who have a defined structure but whose interaction causes outcomes that are unpredictable, have not yet found a modeling style that suits them. A problem with formally modeling emergent agents that any formal modeling style usually expects to show the results of a problem and the results of problems studied using emergent agents are not apparent from the initial construction. However, the study of emergent agents still requires a method to analyze the agents themselves, and have sensible conversation about the differences and similarities between types of emergent agents. We attempt to correct this problem by applying Petri Nets to the characterization of emergent agents. In doing so, the emergent properties of these agents can be highlighted, and conversation about the nature and compatibility of the differing methods of agent creation can begin.

Agent-based models of cellular systems.

PubMed

Cannata, Nicola; Corradini, Flavio; Merelli, Emanuela; Tesei, Luca

2013-01-01

Software agents are particularly suitable for engineering models and simulations of cellular systems. In a very natural and intuitive manner, individual software components are therein delegated to reproduce "in silico" the behavior of individual components of alive systems at a given level of resolution. Individuals' actions and interactions among individuals allow complex collective behavior to emerge. In this chapter we first introduce the readers to software agents and multi-agent systems, reviewing the evolution of agent-based modeling of biomolecular systems in the last decade. We then describe the main tools, platforms, and methodologies available for programming societies of agents, possibly profiting also of toolkits that do not require advanced programming skills.

Agent based models for testing city evacuation strategies under a flood event as strategy to reduce flood risk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Medina, Neiler; Sanchez, Arlex; Nokolic, Igor; Vojinovic, Zoran

2016-04-01

This research explores the uses of Agent Based Models (ABM) and its potential to test large scale evacuation strategies in coastal cities at risk from flood events due to extreme hydro-meteorological events with the final purpose of disaster risk reduction by decreasing human's exposure to the hazard. The first part of the paper corresponds to the theory used to build the models such as: Complex adaptive systems (CAS) and the principles and uses of ABM in this field. The first section outlines the pros and cons of using AMB to test city evacuation strategies at medium and large scale. The second part of the paper focuses on the central theory used to build the ABM, specifically the psychological and behavioral model as well as the framework used in this research, specifically the PECS reference model is cover in this section. The last part of this section covers the main attributes or characteristics of human beings used to described the agents. The third part of the paper shows the methodology used to build and implement the ABM model using Repast-Symphony as an open source agent-based modelling and simulation platform. The preliminary results for the first implementation in a region of the island of Sint-Maarten a Dutch Caribbean island are presented and discussed in the fourth section of paper. The results obtained so far, are promising for a further development of the model and its implementation and testing in a full scale city

Quicker Q-Learning in Multi-Agent Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Agogino, Adrian K.; Tumer, Kagan

2005-01-01

Multi-agent learning in Markov Decisions Problems is challenging because of the presence ot two credit assignment problems: 1) How to credit an action taken at time step t for rewards received at t' greater than t; and 2) How to credit an action taken by agent i considering the system reward is a function of the actions of all the agents. The first credit assignment problem is typically addressed with temporal difference methods such as Q-learning OK TD(lambda) The second credit assi,onment problem is typically addressed either by hand-crafting reward functions that assign proper credit to an agent, or by making certain independence assumptions about an agent's state-space and reward function. To address both credit assignment problems simultaneously, we propose the Q Updates with Immediate Counterfactual Rewards-learning (QUICR-learning) designed to improve both the convergence properties and performance of Q-learning in large multi-agent problems. Instead of assuming that an agent s value function can be made independent of other agents, this method suppresses the impact of other agents using counterfactual rewards. Results on multi-agent grid-world problems over multiple topologies show that QUICR-learning can achieve up to thirty fold improvements in performance over both conventional and local Q-learning in the largest tested systems.

NARSTO EPA SS LOS ANGELES SMPS DATA

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2018-04-09

... Ground Station Instrument:  SMPS - Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer Location:  Los Angeles, ... Get Google Earth Related Data:  Environmental Protection Agency Supersites Los Angeles, California ...

Effect of Two Cancer Chemotherapeutic Agents on the Antibacterial Activity of Three Antimicrobial Agents

PubMed Central

Moody, Marcia R.; Morris, Maureen J.; Young, Viola Mae; Moyé, Lemuel A.; Schimpff, Stephen C.; Wiernik, Peter H.

1978-01-01

Cancer chemotherapeutic agents and antibacterial antibiotics are often given concomitantly. Daunorubicin, cytosine arabinoside, and three antibiotics (gentamicin, amikacin, and ticarcillin) were tested individually and in combinations to determine their antimicrobial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli. These cytotoxic agents are commonly employed in the therapy of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia for remission induction therapy, and these antimicrobial agents are used in infection therapy. The maximum concentrations of the two cytotoxic drugs were chosen to be twice the known peak plasma levels of commonly employed dosage schedules. Neither of the cancer chemotherapeutic agents, alone or in combination, demonstrated bactericidal activity at the levels tested. However, in the presence of these agents, the antimicrobial activity of gentamicin and amikacin, although not that of ticarcillin, was depressed for 11 of 15 K. pneumoniae strains and 8 of 15 P. aeruginosa strains, but for none of the strains of E. coli. This level of decreased activity occasionally resulted in a minimal inhibitory concentration of the tested aminoglycoside well above the standard serum levels. Daunorubicin was more likely to antagonize gentamicin than was cytosine arabinoside. PMID:103494

Temporary plugging agent

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Black, H.N.; Melton, L.L.

1966-01-04

A temporary plugging agent, fracturing fluid and/or channel sealing agent is introduced into a selected area of a formation. The water-gelled fluid agent contains sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, and borax. It also contains a chemical breaker such as benzotrichloride, benzylidene chloride, or benzyl chloride. The water-gelled fluid consists essentially of water and from about 1-3% by weight of water of a finely powdered water-soluble gum of the galactomannan class. The borate compound is included in an amount of about 10% by weight of the gum to delay the reaction with the gel and to form a rubbery jelly-like mass withmore » it. The fluid composition has a delaying solidifying action and after a given interval of time it forms a plug. After a predetermined time, acid is produced upon the hydrolysis of the breaker in the plug and removes the plug from the area.« less

Comportamiento dinámico de asteroides en la región 23 < a < 26 UA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

López García, F.

Los Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) pueden ser una fuente de origen de los cometas de corto período. Muchos de los KBOs observados parecen provenir, al igual que el sistema Pluton-Charonte, de órbitas resonantes con Neptuno. Los Centauros son objetos que dinámicamente provienen de órbitas inestables cuyo semieje mayor se encuentra entre las órbitas de Júpiter y Neptuno. Pudiera ser que estos cuerpos fueron expulsados desde la región del cinturón de Kuiper y se encuentran en un proceso de ``scattering" debido a los efectos gravitacionales de los planetas gigantes. Su tiempo de vida dinámico es de algunos millones de años. La evolución orbital de los objetos trans-Neptunianos nos permite conocer su comportamiento anterior, por eso, es importante su relación dinámica con la evolución orbital de Neptuno. El objeto de este trabajo es estudiar el comportamiento dinámico de partículas test que se encuentran entre las resonancias 3:2 con Neptuno y 2:3 con Urano, las cuales comprenden una región de 2 UA aproximadamente. Los primeros resultados indican que la mayoría de los objetos ficticios son eyectados hacia la parte externa del Sistema Solar, mientras que sólo una parte pequeña del total de objetos estudiados, aproximadamente un 7%, son eyectados hacia la parte interna del Sistema Solar, y en algunos casos sus órbitas pueden cruzar la órbita de los planetas terrestres.

Change Agent Survival Guide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunbar, Folwell L.

2011-01-01

Consulting is a rough racket. Only a tarantula hair above IRS agents, meter maids and used car sales people, the profession is a prickly burr for slings and arrows. Throw in education, focus on dysfunctional schools and call oneself a "change agent," and this bad rap all but disappears. Unfortunately, though, consulting/coaching/mentoring in…

Massive Multi-Agent Systems Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Campagne, Jean-Charles; Gardon, Alain; Collomb, Etienne; Nishida, Toyoaki

2004-01-01

In order to build massive multi-agent systems, considered as complex and dynamic systems, one needs a method to analyze and control the system. We suggest an approach using morphology to represent and control the state of large organizations composed of a great number of light software agents. Morphology is understood as representing the state of the multi-agent system as shapes in an abstract geometrical space, this notion is close to the notion of phase space in physics.

Índice de vulnerabilidad de adultos mayores en Medellín, Barranquilla y Pasto.

PubMed

Cardona, Doris; Segura, Ángela; Segura, Alejandra; Muñoz, Diana; Jaramillo, Daniel; Lizcano, Douglas; Agudelo, Maite Catalina; Arango, Catalina; Morales, Santiago

2018-05-01

Introducción. La vulnerabilidad puede entenderse como la carencia de recursos materiales e inmateriales que impide el aprovechamiento de oportunidades en distintos aspectos de la vida. Estos recursos de bienestar evitan el deterioro de la calidad de vida.Objetivo. Construir un índice de vulnerabilidad con las características de los capitales físico, humano, social y funcional de los adultos mayores de tres ciudades de Colombia en el 2016, y determinar los factores asociados con esta condición.Materiales y métodos. Se hizo un estudio transversal con información primaria mediante 1.514 encuestas a personas de 60 años o más de Medellín, Barranquilla y Pasto. En la construcción del índice se usó el análisis factorial con los métodos de componentes principales y de rotación ortogonal varimax.Resultados. Las condiciones que generaban vulnerabilidad se relacionaron principalmente con el capital humano (calidad de vida, salud mental y hábitos); los demás capitales aportaron un solo componente, así: capital físico (ocupación), capital social (acompañamiento) y capital funcional (independencia funcional). La vulnerabilidad fue mayor en los residentes de Pasto. Los factores asociados con la vulnerabilidad fueron la ciudad de residencia, el sexo, el nivel educativo y el rol en el hogar.Conclusión. En el 58,55 % de las personas mayores, la vulnerabilidad se explicó por el uso del tiempo, la independencia funcional y el bienestar subjetivo. Estos hallazgos aportan elementos para el mejoramiento de la calidad de vida, principalmente en cuanto a la capacidad funcional para mantener la independencia, estar ocupados y fortalecer la salud mental.

Ultrasonic mixing of epoxy curing agents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hodges, W. T.; St.clair, T. L.

1983-01-01

A new technique for mixing solid curing agents into liquid epoxy resins using ultrasonic energy was developed. This procedure allows standard curing agents such as 4,4 prime-diaminodiphenyl sulfone (4,4 prime-DDS) and its 3,3 prime-isomer, (3,3 prime-DDS) to be mixed without prior melting of the curing agent. It also allows curing agents such as 4,4 prime-diaminodiphenyl sulfone (4,4 prime-DDS) and its 3,3 prime-isomer, (3,3 prime-DDS) to be mixed without prior melting of the curing agent. It also allows curing agents with very high melt temperatures such as 4,4 prime-diaminobenzophenone (4,4 prime-DABP) (242 C) to be mixed without premature curing. Four aromatic diamines were ultrasonically blended into MY-720 epoxy resin. These were 4,4 prime-DDS; 3,3 prime-DDA; 4,4 prime-DABP and 3,3 prime-DABP. Unfilled moldings were cast and cured for each system and their physical and mechanical properties compared.

[Supramolecular Agents for Theranostics].

PubMed

Deyev, S M; Lebedenko, E N

2015-01-01

This mini-review summarizes recent data obtained in the process of creation of a versatile module platform suitable for construction of supramolecular theranostic agents. As an example, we consider multifunctional hybrid agents for imaging and elimination of cancer cells. The use of an adapter protein system barnase:barstar for producing targeted multifunctional hybrid structures on the basis of highly specific peptides and mini-antibodies as addressing modules and recombinant proteins and/or nanoparticles of different nature (quantum dots, nanogold, magnetic nanoparticles, nanodiamonds, upconverting nanophosphores, polymer nanoparticles) as agents visualizing and damaging cancer cells is described. New perspectives for creation of selective and highly effective compounds for theranostics and personified medicine are contemplated.

Integrative review of factors related to the nursing diagnosis nausea during antineoplastic chemotherapy.

PubMed

Moysés, Aline Maria Bonini; Durant, Lais Corsino; Almeida, Ana Maria de; Gozzo, Thais de Oliveira

2016-10-10

, objetivos e desfechos encontrados sobre esta temática. identificar los factores relacionados al diagnóstico de enfermería náusea entre pacientes oncológicos durante el tratamiento de quimioterapia. revisión integradora de cuatro bases electrónicas de datos (PUBMED, EMBASE, CINAHL y LILACS) con las palabras clave: neoplasia, agentes antineoplásicos y náusea. de los 1.258 artículos identificados, solamente 30 atendieron los criterios de inclusión. Los factores relacionados más frecuentes fueron: edad abajo de 50 años, enfermedad del movimiento, sexo femenino, potencial emético de la quimioterapia, ansiedad, estímulo condicionado y expectativa de náuseas después del tratamiento. delante de los resultados encontrados y de la incidencia de náusea entre los pacientes oncológicos en tratamiento de quimioterapia, se observó diferencia importante entre las evidencias encontradas y las utilizadas por la NANDA International, Inc. A pesar de que la definición está adecuada entre los factores relacionados, no se menciona a la quimioterapia, inclusive encontrándose datos sobre esta temática en numerosos estudios con diferentes delineamientos, objetivos y resultados.

El Proyecto Gémini: informe actualizado y técnica de observación

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahade, J.; Lapasset, E.; Levato, H.

Se describirá la situación actual en lo que se refiere al desarrollo del Proyecto Gémini en cuanto a su estructura, faz constructiva y programación general. Se informará sobre los planes a desarrollar en el tiempo de verificación científica y puesta a punto del instrumental, a partir de la primera imagen que se obtenga con el telescopio Gemini Norte. Se presentará, además, el plan operativo para observar con los telescopios Gemini tal cual está concebido hasta la fecha, describiéndose el proceso desde el mismo momento en que un investigador decide presentar una propuesta para observar con uno de los telescopios, hasta el archivo y derechos de propiedad sobre los datos. Se decribe también el ``soft" denominado Observing Tool (OT) que es clave en la planificación científica de Gemini y que puede ser utilizado ``off-line" en cualquier PC con un entorno windows.

Travel Agent Course Outline.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

British Columbia Dept. of Education, Victoria.

Written for college entry-level travel agent training courses, this course outline can also be used for inservice training programs offered by travel agencies. The outline provides information on the work of a travel agent and gives clear statements on what learners must be able to do by the end of their training. Material is divided into eight…

Online Deception Detection Using BDI Agents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merritts, Richard A.

2013-01-01

This research has two facets within separate research areas. The research area of Belief, Desire and Intention (BDI) agent capability development was extended. Deception detection research has been advanced with the development of automation using BDI agents. BDI agents performed tasks automatically and autonomously. This study used these…

13 CFR 120.951 - Selling agent.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Selling agent. 120.951 Section 120.951 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BUSINESS LOANS Development Company Loan Program (504) Debenture Sales and Service Agents § 120.951 Selling agent. The CDC, with SBA...

13 CFR 120.951 - Selling agent.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Selling agent. 120.951 Section 120.951 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BUSINESS LOANS Development Company Loan Program (504) Debenture Sales and Service Agents § 120.951 Selling agent. The CDC, with SBA...

13 CFR 120.951 - Selling agent.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Selling agent. 120.951 Section 120.951 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BUSINESS LOANS Development Company Loan Program (504) Debenture Sales and Service Agents § 120.951 Selling agent. The CDC, with SBA...

13 CFR 120.951 - Selling agent.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Selling agent. 120.951 Section 120.951 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BUSINESS LOANS Development Company Loan Program (504) Debenture Sales and Service Agents § 120.951 Selling agent. The CDC, with SBA...

13 CFR 120.951 - Selling agent.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Selling agent. 120.951 Section 120.951 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BUSINESS LOANS Development Company Loan Program (504) Debenture Sales and Service Agents § 120.951 Selling agent. The CDC, with SBA...

RASTREO DEL CANCER COLORRECTAL CONOCIMIENTO Y ACTITUD DE LA POBLACION

PubMed Central

CASAL, ENRIQUE R.; VELAZQUEZ, ELIZABETH N.; MEJIA, RAUL M.; CUNEO, ALDO; PEREZ-STABLE, ELISEO J.

2014-01-01

Resumen El rastreo de cáncer colorrectal (CCR) cuenta con fuertes evidencias en su favor. Datos preliminares indican que a pesar de ello no se lleva a cabo con la frecuencia adecuada. Se intenta aquí determinar, dentro de un Sistema de Salud que cuenta con los recursos necesarios, los elementos que facilitan o generan barreras para concretar esta práctica preventiva, cuántos individuos lo ponen en práctica y qué predice esta conducta. Se realizó una encuesta telefónica a los afiliados de una Obra Social de empleados de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, de los que 132 completaron el cuestionario (tasa de respuesta 70%). Los elementos considerados facilitadores del rastreo obtuvieron respuestas afirmativas en el 64 a 97%, mientras que los que definían barreras un 11 a 27%. En este último grupo, una categoría diferenciada la constituía el miedo a los efectos adversos: 39%, y el sentimiento de vergüenza relacionado con los procedimientos: 30%. Un 33% de los encuestados tenían hecho un método de rastreo, mayoritariamente de sangre oculta (27), sigmoideoscopía (11) y colonoscopía (20). Una mayoría afirmó que “se haría el procedimiento si el médico se lo recomendara” (95%), o “no se lo haría excepto que su médico se lo aconseje” (87%). Contestar afirmativamente que “los médicos hacen lo mejor para los pacientes” se asoció con haberse hecho un método de rastreo de CCR, OR 1.55 (IC 95%: 1.02-2.37) p: 0.04. El grupo de individuos estudiado parece bien predispuesto para el rastreo del CCR, la recomendación médica sería aquí un determinante prominente para ponerlo en práctica. PMID:19414294

[Not Available].

PubMed

Campos Jara, Christian; Delgado Floody, Pedro; Caamaño Navarrete, Felipe; Guzmán Guzmán, Iris; Cesp Barría, Mauricio; Jerez Mayorga, Daniel; Alarcón Hormazábal, Manuel; Osorio Poblete, Aldo

2016-07-19

Antecedentes: la prevalencia de obesidad infantil ha aumentado considerablemente en Chile y el mundo, presentando asociación negativa con el rendimiento físico. Objetivo: el propósito del estudio fue determinar el rendimiento físico en escolares y asociarlos a los niveles de sobrepeso, obesidad y riesgo cardiometabólico.Material y métodos: 342 escolares, entre 11 y 16 años de edad, participaron del estudio, un 44,2% correspondió a mujeres y un 55,8% a hombres. Se evaluaron las siguientes variables: peso, índice de masa corporal, porcentaje de masa grasa, contorno cintura, razón cintura estatura, Test de salto largo, Test de abdominales, Test de flexo-extensiones de brazo, Test de Cafra y Test de Navette.Resultados: s e observó que los escolares con sobrepeso y obesidad (48,3%) mostraron un incremento significativo en las medidas antropométricas, así como una disminución en todas las variables que determinan rendimiento físico. En el análisis de los Test de Cafra y Navette, se observó que la presencia de la alteración de al menos uno de ellos se asoció con riesgo cardiometabólico (OR= 9,29, p<0,001), mientras que la presencia de la alteración de los dos test se asocia fuertemente con la presencia de sobrepeso y obesidad (OR = 11,8, p = 0,003) y con riesgo cardiometabólico (OR = 30, 1, p<0,001).Conclusión: Los escolares con obesidad presentaron disminución en todas las variables que determinaron el rendimiento físico y fue la alteración capacidad cardiorrespiratoria medida a través de los Test de Cafra y Navette los que presentaron mayor asociación y significativa con el sobrepeso, obesidad y riesgo cardiometabólico.

Las ideologias, las ciencias naturales y sus implicaciones en la educacion cientifica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lozada Roldan, Sandra

Este estudio ausculto las concepciones epistemologicas de los docentes de ciencia del nivel secundario con relacion a las ideologias y las ciencias naturales. Tambien examino las posiciones de los docentes ante asuntos publicos relacionados a la ciencia. Para propositos de este estudio se diseno y se valido el cuestionario con el cual se obtuvieron los resultados. La investigacion es de tipo cuantitativa y se utilizo como diseno la encuesta. El cuestionario se administro en varias actividades de desarrollo profesional para maestros de ciencia. Un total de 78 maestros del nivel secundario respondieron el cuestionario. Para analizar los datos obtenidos se utilizaron estadisticas descriptivas como la distribucion de frecuencia y el porciento. Ademas se establecieron codigos y categorias para describir las posiciones de los maestros ante asuntos publicos relacionados a la ciencia. Los analisis demostraron que entre los docentes participantes de este estudio prevalecen ciertas concepciones epistemologicas adecuadas acerca de las ciencias naturales, a la luz de la literatura consultada. Entre estas concepciones se destacan las siguientes: a) la filosofia materialista de las ciencias naturales, b) la naturaleza tentativa y constructivista del conocimiento cientifico, c) el uso de una metodologia que garantiza cierto grado de objetividad y con el que se justifican y validan los enunciados cientificos y d) la funcion instrumental del conocimiento cientifico. Sin embargo, entre los docentes participantes de este estudio prevalecen ciertas concepciones epistemologicas erroneas acerca de las ciencias naturales, a la luz de la literatura consultada. Entre estas concepciones se destacan las siguientes: a) tendencia inductivista en el que las teorias cientificas comienzan con observaciones que establecen generalizaciones, b) secuencia jerarquica de la metodologia cientifica. Ademas, entre los docentes participantes de este estudio prevalecen concepciones epistemologicas adecuadas

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES CITY ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES CITY HALL FIFTH FLOOR NORTH OFFICE AREA, FACING NORTH - Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES CITY ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES CITY HALL NINETEENTH FLOOR MAIN OFFICE AREA, FACING NORTHEAST - Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES CITY ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES CITY HALL NINETEENTH FLOOR MAIN OFFICE AREA, FACING NORTHWEST - Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

24 CFR 232.1011 - Management agents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Management agents. 232.1011 Section... Management agents. (a) An operator or borrower may, with the prior written approval of HUD, execute a management agent agreement setting forth the duties and procedures for matters related to the management of...

24 CFR 232.1011 - Management agents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Management agents. 232.1011 Section... Management agents. (a) An operator or borrower may, with the prior written approval of HUD, execute a management agent agreement setting forth the duties and procedures for matters related to the management of...

21 CFR 181.28 - Release agents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... Release agents. Substances classified as release agents, when migrating from food-packaging material shall... 21 Food and Drugs 3 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Release agents. 181.28 Section 181.28 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) FOOD FOR HUMAN...

21 CFR 181.28 - Release agents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 3 2010-04-01 2009-04-01 true Release agents. 181.28 Section 181.28 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) FOOD FOR HUMAN... Release agents. Substances classified as release agents, when migrating from food-packaging material shall...

21 CFR 181.28 - Release agents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... Release agents. Substances classified as release agents, when migrating from food-packaging material shall... 21 Food and Drugs 3 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Release agents. 181.28 Section 181.28 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) FOOD FOR HUMAN...

21 CFR 181.28 - Release agents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... Release agents. Substances classified as release agents, when migrating from food-packaging material shall... 21 Food and Drugs 3 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Release agents. 181.28 Section 181.28 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) FOOD FOR HUMAN...

1. FIGUEROA STREET AND LOS ANGELES RIVER VIADUCTS AND INTERSTATE ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

1. FIGUEROA STREET AND LOS ANGELES RIVER VIADUCTS AND INTERSTATE 1-5 INTERCHANGE. LOOKING 356°N. - Arroyo Seco Parkway, Figueroa Street Viaduct, Spanning Los Angeles River, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

John Ash, AIA, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

John Ash, AIA, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES CITY HALL FIFTH FLOOR NORTH OFFICE AREA, FACING NORTHEAST - Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Infectious Agents Trigger Trophic Cascades.

PubMed

Buck, Julia C; Ripple, William J

2017-09-01

Most demonstrated trophic cascades originate with predators, but infectious agents can also cause top-down indirect effects in ecosystems. Here we synthesize the literature on trophic cascades initiated by infectious agents including parasitoids, pathogens, parasitic castrators, macroparasites, and trophically transmitted parasites. Like predators, infectious agents can cause density-mediated and trait-mediated indirect effects through their direct consumptive and nonconsumptive effects respectively. Unlike most predators, however, infectious agents are not fully and immediately lethal to their victims, so their consumptive effects can also trigger trait-mediated indirect effects. We find that the frequency of trophic cascades reported for different consumer types scales with consumer lethality. Furthermore, we emphasize the value of uniting predator-prey and parasite-host theory under a general consumer-resource framework. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bruce D. Judd, FAIA, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Bruce D. Judd, FAIA, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES CITY HALL SIXTH FLOOR NORTH OFFICE AREA, FACING NORTH - Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

John Ash, AIA, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

John Ash, AIA, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES CITY HALL TENTH FLOOR SOUTH WING CAFETERIA FOOD LINE, FACING NORTH - Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES CITY ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES CITY HALL FOURTEENTH FLOOR, SERVICE AREA DOOR NEAR ELEVATOR LOBBY, FACING SOUTH - Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Bruce D. Judd, FAIA, Photographer August 1997. DETAIL OF LOS ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Bruce D. Judd, FAIA, Photographer August 1997. DETAIL OF LOS ANGELES CITY HALL SIXTH FLOOR NORTH OFFICE AREA WINDOW, FACING NORTHWEST - Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

PubMed

Gómez, Luis Alberto; Montoya, Gladis; Rivera, Hernán Mauricio; Hernández, Juan Carlos

2017-04-01

Introducción. El virus del Zika (ZIKV) es un flavivirus con envoltura, transmitido a los seres humanos principalmente por el vector Aedes aegypti. La infección por ZIKV se ha asociado con un gran neurotropismo y con efectos neuropáticos, como el síndrome de Guillain-Barré en el adulto y la microcefalia fetal y posnatal, así como con un síndrome de infección congénita similar al producido por el virus de la rubéola (RV).Objetivo. Comparar las estructuras moleculares de la proteína de envoltura E del virus del Zika (E-ZIKV) y de la E1 del virus de la rubéola (E1-RV), y plantear posibles implicaciones en el neurotropismo y en las alteraciones del sistema nervioso asociadas con el ZIKV.Materiales y métodos. La secuencia de aminoácidos de la proteína E-ZIKV (PDB: 5iZ7) se alineó con la de la glucopreteína E1 del virus de la rubéola (PDB: 4ADG). Los elementos de la estructura secundaria se determinaron usando los programas Vector NTI Advance®, DSSP y POSA, así como herramientas de gestión de datos (AlignX®). Uno de los criterios principales de comparación y alineación fue la asignación de residuos estructuralmente equivalentes, con más de 70 % de identidad.Resultados. La organización estructural de la proteína E-ZIKV (PDB: 5iZ7) fue similar a la de E1-RV (PDB: 4ADG) (70 a 80 % de identidad), y se observó una correspondencia con la estructura definida para las glucoproteínas de fusión de membrana de clase II de los virus con envoltura. E-ZIKV y E1-RV exhibieron elementos estructurales de fusión muy conservados en la región distal del dominio II, asociados con la unión a los receptores celulares de entrada del virus de la rubéola (glucoproteína de mielina del oligodendrocito, Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein, MOG), y con los receptores celulares Axl del ZIKV y de otros flavivirus.Conclusión. La comparación de las proteínas E-ZIKV y E1-RV es un paso necesario hacia la definición de otros factores moleculares determinantes del

[Not Available].

PubMed

Vila Nova, Larissa Pessoa; Araújo Tavares de Sá, Cristiane Maria; Freire Clementino da Silva, Maria Cleide; Lustosa, Marinaldo Freire; Batista de Medeiros, Rafael Augusto; Calado Brito, Daniel; De Araújo Burgos, Maria Goretti Pessoa

2016-07-19

Introducción: en los últimos años la importancia de identificar la resistencia a la insulina (RI) en pacientes con enfermedades cardiovasculares isquémicas viene siendo debatida. Métodos alternativos, como los indicadores antropométricos y de composición corporal, han sido señalados como una buena opción y contribuyen para identificar anomalías metabólicas y prevenir complicaciones.Objetivo: asociar indicadores antropométricos y de composición corporal como predictores de la resistencia a la insulina (RI) en pacientes con enfermedad de las arterias coronarias.Métodos: estudio transversal realizado en el hospital de referencia cardiológica de Pernambuco, en el periodo de junio a septiembre de 2014, con pacientes adultos y ancianos hospitalizados, de ambos sexos. Se verificaron los siguientes parámetros: estilo de vida, la presencia del síndrome metabólico (SM) y otras comorbilidades. Se analizó la RI por el cálculo del HOMA-IR. Los pacientes se sometieron a la impedancia bioeléctrica (BIA) y a las verificaciones antropométricas.Resultados: la muestra fue constituida por 75 pacientes con edad media de 63,75 ± 12,43 años, con un 64% de ancianos. Se encontró el diagnóstico de SM en el 65,3% de los pacientes, el 81,3% de sedentarios y el 37,4% con exceso de peso. Se diagnosticó la RI en el 28% de los pacientes. Se observó correlación entre el HOMA-IR y el diámetro abdominal sagital (DAS) (r = 0,476; p = 0,016), el índice de masa corporal (r = 0,233; p = 0,040) y el porcentual de grasa corporal (r = 0,276; p = 0,016).Conclusión: el DAS fue el indicador antropométrico que presentó mejor correlación con la RI en pacientes con enfermedad de las arterias coronarias hospitalizados.

Delay-dependent coupling for a multi-agent LTI consensus system with inter-agent delays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiao, Wei; Sipahi, Rifat

2014-01-01

Delay-dependent coupling (DDC) is considered in this paper in a broadly studied linear time-invariant multi-agent consensus system in which agents communicate with each other under homogeneous delays, while attempting to reach consensus. The coupling among the agents is designed here as an explicit parameter of this delay, allowing couplings to autonomously adapt based on the delay value, and in order to guarantee stability and a certain degree of robustness in the network despite the destabilizing effect of delay. Design procedures, analysis of convergence speed of consensus, comprehensive numerical studies for the case of time-varying delay, and limitations are presented.

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. DETAIL OF LOS ANGELES CITY ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. DETAIL OF LOS ANGELES CITY HALL THIRD FLOOR SHOWING ROTUNDA COLUMN CAPITALS AND LIGHT FIXTURES, FACING SOUTHEAST - Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. DETAIL OF LOS ANGELES CITY ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. DETAIL OF LOS ANGELES CITY HALL NINETEENTH FLOOR MAIN OFFICE AREA SHOWING DEMOLITION OF WEST WALL, FACING WEST - Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. DETAIL OF LOS ANGELES CITY ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. DETAIL OF LOS ANGELES CITY HALL NINETEENTH FLOOR MAIN OFFICE AREA SHOWING DEMOLITION OF SOUTH WALL, FACING SOUTH - Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

John Ash, AIA, Photographer August 1997. DETAIL OF LOS ANGELES ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

John Ash, AIA, Photographer August 1997. DETAIL OF LOS ANGELES CITY HALL SEVENTH FLOOR SOUTH OFFICE AREA SHOWING RADIATOR AND WINDOWS, FACING EAST - Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES CITY ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES CITY HALL FIFTH FLOOR WEST OFFICE AREA THAT WAS ORIGINAL ART COMMISSION ROOMS, FACING NORTHEAST - Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES CITY ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES CITY HALL FIFTH FLOOR WEST OFFICE AREA THAT WAS ORIGINAL ART COMMISSION ROOMS, FACING NORTHWEST. - Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

John Ash, AIA, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

John Ash, AIA, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES CITY HALL SEVENTH FLOOR SOUTH OFFICE AREA SHOWING WOOD AND GLASS PARTITIONS, FACING SOUTHEAST - Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Bruce D. Judd, FAIA, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Bruce D. Judd, FAIA, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES CITY HALL ELEVENTH FLOOR KITCHEN OF EXECUTIVE DINING AREA SHOWING ARCHED STRUCTURE, FACING NORTHWEST - Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

John Ash, AIA, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

John Ash, AIA, Photographer August 1997. VIEW OF LOS ANGELES CITY HALL SEVENTH FLOOR SOUTH OFFICE AREA SHOWING STRUCTURAL PIERS AND FLORESCENT LIGHTS, FACING NORTHWEST - Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

What makes virtual agents believable?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bogdanovych, Anton; Trescak, Tomas; Simoff, Simeon

2016-01-01

In this paper we investigate the concept of believability and make an attempt to isolate individual characteristics (features) that contribute to making virtual characters believable. As the result of this investigation we have produced a formalisation of believability and based on this formalisation built a computational framework focused on simulation of believable virtual agents that possess the identified features. In order to test whether the identified features are, in fact, responsible for agents being perceived as more believable, we have conducted a user study. In this study we tested user reactions towards the virtual characters that were created for a simulation of aboriginal inhabitants of a particular area of Sydney, Australia in 1770 A.D. The participants of our user study were exposed to short simulated scenes, in which virtual agents performed some behaviour in two different ways (while possessing a certain aspect of believability vs. not possessing it). The results of the study indicate that virtual agents that appear resource bounded, are aware of their environment, own interaction capabilities and their state in the world, agents that can adapt to changes in the environment and exist in correct social context are those that are being perceived as more believable. Further in the paper we discuss these and other believability features and provide a quantitative analysis of the level of contribution for each such feature to the overall perceived believability of a virtual agent.

Investigational Antimicrobial Agents of 2013

PubMed Central

Pucci, Michael J.

2013-01-01

SUMMARY New antimicrobial agents are always needed to counteract the resistant pathogens that continue to be selected by current therapeutic regimens. This review provides a survey of known antimicrobial agents that were currently in clinical development in the fall of 2012 and spring of 2013. Data were collected from published literature primarily from 2010 to 2012, meeting abstracts (2011 to 2012), government websites, and company websites when appropriate. Compared to what was reported in previous surveys, a surprising number of new agents are currently in company pipelines, particularly in phase 3 clinical development. Familiar antibacterial classes of the quinolones, tetracyclines, oxazolidinones, glycopeptides, and cephalosporins are represented by entities with enhanced antimicrobial or pharmacological properties. More importantly, compounds of novel chemical structures targeting bacterial pathways not previously exploited are under development. Some of the most promising compounds include novel β-lactamase inhibitor combinations that target many multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, a critical medical need. Although new antimicrobial agents will continue to be needed to address increasing antibiotic resistance, there are novel agents in development to tackle at least some of the more worrisome pathogens in the current nosocomial setting. PMID:24092856

21 CFR 178.3860 - Release agents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 3 2010-04-01 2009-04-01 true Release agents. 178.3860 Section 178.3860 Food and... and Production Aids § 178.3860 Release agents. Substances listed in paragraph (b) of this section may be safely used as release agents in petroleum wax complying with § 178.3710 and in polymeric resins...

Tissue Penetration of Antifungal Agents

PubMed Central

Felton, Timothy; Troke, Peter F.

2014-01-01

SUMMARY Understanding the tissue penetration of systemically administered antifungal agents is critical for a proper appreciation of their antifungal efficacy in animals and humans. Both the time course of an antifungal drug and its absolute concentrations within tissues may differ significantly from those observed in the bloodstream. In addition, tissue concentrations must also be interpreted within the context of the pathogenesis of the various invasive fungal infections, which differ significantly. There are major technical obstacles to the estimation of concentrations of antifungal agents in various tissue subcompartments, yet these agents, even those within the same class, may exhibit markedly different tissue distributions. This review explores these issues and provides a summary of tissue concentrations of 11 currently licensed systemic antifungal agents. It also explores the therapeutic implications of their distribution at various sites of infection. PMID:24396137

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. DETAIL OF LOS ANGELES CITY ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. DETAIL OF LOS ANGELES CITY HALL NINETEENTH FLOOR MAIN OFFICE AREA SHOWING BEAM AND COLUMN CONNECTION NEAR NORTHWEST CORNER, FACING NORTHWEST - Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. DETAIL OF LOS ANGELES CITY ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Monica Griesbach, Photographer August 1997. DETAIL OF LOS ANGELES CITY HALL NINETEENTH FLOOR MAIN OFFICE AREA SHOWING BEAM AND COLUMN CONNECTION NEAR SOUTHEAST CORNER, FACING SOUTHEAST - Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Población de galaxias de baja luminosidad en cúmulos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valotto, C. A.; Muriel, H.; Moore, B.; García Lambas, D.

En este trabajo se discute sobre la presencia de un exceso de galaxias de baja luminosidad en medios de alta densidad de galaxias y la posibilidad de que los halos de galaxias cD puedan ser formados a partir de galaxias en cúmulos ricos, los cuales muestran una función de luminosidad (FL) con el extremo débil plano. Se analizaron muestras de cúmulos cercanos obtenidas a partir de los catálogos de Abell y X-ray Sample of Bright Clusters. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que los cúmulos de galaxias que tienen emisión en rayos X detectada poseen una FL plana (α ≈ -1.2), consistente con los valores encontrados para las galaxias de campo. En cambio, los cúmulos de galaxias identificados a partir de distribuciones bidimensionales de galaxias que no tienen su contraparte en rayos X, muestran una FL con una pendiente pronunciada en el extremo débil (α ≈ -1.6). Se examinaron además, los posibles efectos debido a la presencia de una galaxia central dominante sobre el extremo débil de la FL. Se analizaron muestras de acuerdo a la clasificación Bautz-Morgan dividiendo en las submuestras I,I-II y II, II- III, III. Las FL resultantes para ambas muestras son indistinguibles. Nuestros resultados son consistentes con la hipótesis de que los efectos de proyección en cúmulos identificados en dos dimensiones pueden producir un exceso artificial de galaxias de baja luminosidad.

Applications of Multi-Agent Technology to Power Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagata, Takeshi

Currently, agents are focus of intense on many sub-fields of computer science and artificial intelligence. Agents are being used in an increasingly wide variety of applications. Many important computing applications such as planning, process control, communication networks and concurrent systems will benefit from using multi-agent system approach. A multi-agent system is a structure given by an environment together with a set of artificial agents capable to act on this environment. Multi-agent models are oriented towards interactions, collaborative phenomena, and autonomy. This article presents the applications of multi-agent technology to the power systems.

Validating agent based models through virtual worlds.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lakkaraju, Kiran; Whetzel, Jonathan H.; Lee, Jina

As the US continues its vigilance against distributed, embedded threats, understanding the political and social structure of these groups becomes paramount for predicting and dis- rupting their attacks. Agent-based models (ABMs) serve as a powerful tool to study these groups. While the popularity of social network tools (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) has provided extensive communication data, there is a lack of ne-grained behavioral data with which to inform and validate existing ABMs. Virtual worlds, in particular massively multiplayer online games (MMOG), where large numbers of people interact within a complex environ- ment for long periods of time provide an alternative sourcemore » of data. These environments provide a rich social environment where players engage in a variety of activities observed between real-world groups: collaborating and/or competing with other groups, conducting battles for scarce resources, and trading in a market economy. Strategies employed by player groups surprisingly re ect those seen in present-day con icts, where players use diplomacy or espionage as their means for accomplishing their goals. In this project, we propose to address the need for ne-grained behavioral data by acquiring and analyzing game data a commercial MMOG, referred to within this report as Game X. The goals of this research were: (1) devising toolsets for analyzing virtual world data to better inform the rules that govern a social ABM and (2) exploring how virtual worlds could serve as a source of data to validate ABMs established for analogous real-world phenomena. During this research, we studied certain patterns of group behavior to compliment social modeling e orts where a signi cant lack of detailed examples of observed phenomena exists. This report outlines our work examining group behaviors that underly what we have termed the Expression-To-Action (E2A) problem: determining the changes in social contact that lead individuals/groups to engage in a particular

Agents in real-time collaborative systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitchell, David

1996-01-01

Desktop conferencing systems, providing voice- or video-conferencing with some form of data sharing, have become increasingly popular. Unlike asynchronous collaborative systems such as email, little attention has been devoted to the place of agents in such real-time systems. This paper examines some of the ways in which agents can be used to support such apparently simple tasks as the setting up and answering of calls. Three agent categories, locators, routers and responders, are defined and some simple examples discussed. Several ways in which such agents can collaborate, providing the basis of an intelligent network, are identified.

Antithrombotic agents intake prior to injury does not affect outcome after a traumatic brain injury in hospitalized elderly patients.

PubMed

Julien, Jessica; Alsideiri, Ghusn; Marcoux, Judith; Hasen, Mohammed; Correa, José A; Feyz, Mitra; Maleki, Mohammed; de Guise, Elaine

2017-04-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of risk factors including International Normalized Ratio (INR) as well as the Partial Thromboplastin Time (PTT) scores on several outcomes, including hospital length of stay (LOS) and The Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOSE) following TBI in the elderly population. Data were retrospectively collected on patients (n=982) aged 65 and above who were admitted post TBI to the McGill University Health Centre-Montreal General Hospital from 2000 to 2011. Age, Injury Severity Score (ISS), Glasgow Coma Scale score (GCS), type of trauma (isolated TBI vs polytrauma including TBI), initial CT scan results according to the Marshall Classification and the INR and PTT scores and prescriptions of antiplatelet or anticoagulant agents (AP/AC) were collected. Results also indicated that age, ISS and GSC score have an effect on the GOSE score. We also found that taking AC/AP has an effect on GOSE outcome, but that this effects depends on PTT, with lower odds of a worse outcome for those taking AC/AP agents as the PTT value goes up. However, this effect only becomes significant as the PTT value reaches 60 and above. Age and injury severity rather than antithrombotic agent intake are associated with adverse acute outcome such as GOSE in hospitalized elderly TBI patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ecology Based Decentralized Agent Management System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peysakhov, Maxim D.; Cicirello, Vincent A.; Regli, William C.

2004-01-01

The problem of maintaining a desired number of mobile agents on a network is not trivial, especially if we want a completely decentralized solution. Decentralized control makes a system more r e bust and less susceptible to partial failures. The problem is exacerbated on wireless ad hoc networks where host mobility can result in significant changes in the network size and topology. In this paper we propose an ecology-inspired approach to the management of the number of agents. The approach associates agents with living organisms and tasks with food. Agents procreate or die based on the abundance of uncompleted tasks (food). We performed a series of experiments investigating properties of such systems and analyzed their stability under various conditions. We concluded that the ecology based metaphor can be successfully applied to the management of agent populations on wireless ad hoc networks.

[Decorporation agents for internal radioactive contamination].

PubMed

Ohmachi, Yasushi

2015-01-01

When radionuclides are accidentally ingested or inhaled, blood circulation or tissue/organ deposition of the radionuclides causes systemic or local radiation effects. In such cases, decorporation therapy is used to reduce the health risks due to their intake. Decorporation therapy includes reduction and/or inhibition of absorption from the gastrointestinal tract, isotopic dilution, and the use of diuretics, adsorbents, and chelating agents. For example, penicillamine is recommended as a chelating agent for copper contamination, and diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid is approved for the treatment of internal contamination with plutonium. During chelation therapy, the removal effect of the drugs should be monitored using a whole-body counter and/or bioassay. Some authorities, such as the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements and International Atomic Energy Agency, have reported recommended decorporation agents for each radionuclide. However, few drugs are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, and many are off-label-use agents. Because many decontamination agents are drugs that have been available for a long time and have limited efficacy, the development of new, higher-efficacy drugs has been carried out mainly in the USA and France. In this article, in addition to an outline of decorporation agents for internal radioactive contamination, an outline of our research on decorporation agents for actinide (uranium and plutonium) contamination and for radio-cesium contamination is also presented.

Characterization of chemical agent transport in paints.

PubMed

Willis, Matthew P; Gordon, Wesley; Lalain, Teri; Mantooth, Brent

2013-09-15

A combination of vacuum-based vapor emission measurements with a mass transport model was employed to determine the interaction of chemical warfare agents with various materials, including transport parameters of agents in paints. Accurate determination of mass transport parameters enables the simulation of the chemical agent distribution in a material for decontaminant performance modeling. The evaluation was performed with the chemical warfare agents bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide (distilled mustard, known as the chemical warfare blister agent HD) and O-ethyl S-[2-(diisopropylamino)ethyl] methylphosphonothioate (VX), an organophosphate nerve agent, deposited on to two different types of polyurethane paint coatings. The results demonstrated alignment between the experimentally measured vapor emission flux and the predicted vapor flux. Mass transport modeling demonstrated rapid transport of VX into the coatings; VX penetrated through the aliphatic polyurethane-based coating (100 μm) within approximately 107 min. By comparison, while HD was more soluble in the coatings, the penetration depth in the coatings was approximately 2× lower than VX. Applications of mass transport parameters include the ability to predict agent uptake, and subsequent long-term vapor emission or contact transfer where the agent could present exposure risks. Additionally, these parameters and model enable the ability to perform decontamination modeling to predict how decontaminants remove agent from these materials. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Chemical Action of Halogenated Agents in Fire Extinguishing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Belles, Frank E.

1955-01-01

The action of halogenated agents in preventing flame propagation in fuel-air mixtures in laboratory tests is discussed in terms of a possible chemical mechanism. The mechanism chosen is that of chain-breaking reactions between agent and active particles (hydrogen and oxygen atoms and hydroxyl radicsls). Data from the literature on the flammability peaks of n-heptane agent-air mixtures are treated. Ratings of agent effectiveness in terms of the fuel equivalent of the agent, based on both fuel and agent concentrations at the peak, are proposed as preferable to ratings in terms of agent concentration alone. These fuel-equivalent ratings are roughly correlated by reactivities assigned to halogen and hydrogen atoms in the agent molecules. It is concluded that the presence of hydrogen in agent need not reduce its fire-fighting ability, provided there is enough halogen to make the agent nonflammable. A method is presented for estimating from quenching-distance data a rate constant for the reaction of agent with active particles. A quantitative result is obtained for methyl bromide. This rate constant predicts the observed peak concentration of methyl bromide quite well. However, more data are needed to prove the validity of the method. The assumption that hal.ogenatedagents act mainly by chain-bresking reactions with active particles is consistent with the experimental facts and should help guide the selection of agents for further tests.

Los Angeles Basin

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-06-29

The Los Angeles Basin is bordered on the north by the San Gabriel Mountains. Other smaller basins are separated by smaller mountain ranges, like the Verdugo Hills, and the Santa Monica Mountains in this image from NASA Terra spacecraft.

Implementación de un modelo de capacitación multimedial para brindar orientación alimentaria a los beneficiarios de un programa de ayuda social en México.

PubMed

Amaya-Castellanos, Maritza Alejandra; Morales-Ruan, María Del Carmen; Uribe-Carvajal, Rebeca; Jiménez-Aguilar, Alejandra; Salazar-Coronel, Araceli Apolonia; Martínez-Tapia, Brenda; Shamah-Levy, Teresa

2018-03-01

Introducción: Se implementó un modelo de capacitación en orientación alimentaria para la población beneficiaria y el personal operativo del Programa de Abasto Rural (PAR) de Diconsa, el cual es una iniciativa social de ayuda alimentaria que abastece productos básicos y complementarios, además de brindar capacitación en localidades de alta marginación en México. Objetivo: Documentar la utilización de la Metodología de Capacitación Multimedial (MCM) en el desarrollo de un esquema de capacitación sobre orientación alimentaria y su implementación en la población beneficiaria del PAR, a través de la propia estructura operativa del PAR. Metodología: El modelo se fundamenta en la MCM, integrada por cuatro elementos didácticos e indivisibles que conforman el paquete pedagógico multimedial (PPM), compuesto a su vez por tres videos y rotafolios, material impreso, prácticas y las relaciones interpersonales. Los ejes temáticos fueron: alimentación correcta para una vida saludable, alimentación materno-infantil, elecciones saludables y gasto familiar. El modelo fue replicado en cascada en los tres niveles operativos del PAR (responsables de capacitación, supervisores operativos y beneficiarios del PAR), con un componente de multiplicación horizontal, e implementado como piloto en cuatro estados de México. Resultados: Se observó un cambio positivo sobre los conocimientos en alimentación correcta en todos los niveles de capacitación, principalmente en los beneficiarios del PAR. La evaluación del proceso mostró conocimientos previos de los responsables de capacitación en los temas, buen desempeño como facilitadores, y habilidades de presentación y manejo del grupo de los supervisores operativos. A partir de las evaluaciones y del acompañamiento en la prueba piloto, fueron modificados las actividades, las estrategias y los materiales educativos del PPM. Conclusiones: La capacitación multimedial y la educación nutricional promueven procesos de

Hydroxypyridonate chelating agents and synthesis thereof

DOEpatents

Raymond, K.N.; Scarrow, R.C.; White, D.L.

1985-11-12

Chelating agents having 1-hydroxy-2-pyridinone (HOPO) and related moieties incorporated within their structures, including polydentate HOPO-substituted polyamines such as spermidine and spermine, and HOPO-substituted desferrioxamine. The chelating agents are useful in selectively removing certain cations from solution, and are particularly useful as ferric ion and actinide chelators. Novel syntheses of the chelating agents are provided. 4 tabs.

27 CFR 9.32 - Los Carneros.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Los Carneros. 9.32 Section 9.32 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.32 Los Carneros. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural...

27 CFR 9.32 - Los Carneros.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Los Carneros. 9.32 Section 9.32 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.32 Los Carneros. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural...

27 CFR 9.32 - Los Carneros.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Los Carneros. 9.32 Section 9.32 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.32 Los Carneros. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural...

27 CFR 9.32 - Los Carneros.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Los Carneros. 9.32 Section 9.32 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.32 Los Carneros. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural...

27 CFR 9.32 - Los Carneros.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Los Carneros. 9.32 Section 9.32 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.32 Los Carneros. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural...

Adaptivity in Agent-Based Routing for Data Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wolpert, David H.; Kirshner, Sergey; Merz, Chris J.; Turner, Kagan

2000-01-01

Adaptivity, both of the individual agents and of the interaction structure among the agents, seems indispensable for scaling up multi-agent systems (MAS s) in noisy environments. One important consideration in designing adaptive agents is choosing their action spaces to be as amenable as possible to machine learning techniques, especially to reinforcement learning (RL) techniques. One important way to have the interaction structure connecting agents itself be adaptive is to have the intentions and/or actions of the agents be in the input spaces of the other agents, much as in Stackelberg games. We consider both kinds of adaptivity in the design of a MAS to control network packet routing. We demonstrate on the OPNET event-driven network simulator the perhaps surprising fact that simply changing the action space of the agents to be better suited to RL can result in very large improvements in their potential performance: at their best settings, our learning-amenable router agents achieve throughputs up to three and one half times better than that of the standard Bellman-Ford routing algorithm, even when the Bellman-Ford protocol traffic is maintained. We then demonstrate that much of that potential improvement can be realized by having the agents learn their settings when the agent interaction structure is itself adaptive.

Noncontraceptive use of contraceptive agents.

PubMed

Nickles, Monique Collier; Alderman, Elizabeth

2014-06-01

• On the basis of strong research evidence, there are many noncontraceptive advantages to use of hormonal contraceptive agents in adolescent girls. (3) (4)(5)(7)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14). • On the basis of research evidence and consensus, most of these agents are safe with minor adverse effects. (2)(3)(4)(5)(7)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14). • On the basis of research evidence and consensus, through application of evidence-based approaches and proper counseling, pediatricians can use various contraceptive agents to treat several medical conditions and to help alleviate many of the undesired symptoms and complications associated with menstrual periods. (2)(3)(4)(5)(7)(10)(11)(12)(13) (14). • On the basis of research evidence and consensus, these agents may be used in sexually active adolescents to simultaneously help prevent unintended adolescent pregnancies. (2)(3)(4)(5)(7)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14).

[Exposure to biological agents used in Polish enterprises: analysis of data derived from the National Register of Biological Agent].

PubMed

Kozajda, Anna; Szadkowska-Stańczyk, Irena

2011-01-01

The National Register of Biological Agents at Work and the National Information Centre for Biological Agents Present at Workplaces were established in the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine in 2005. The National Information Centre carries out consultation and education activities concerning occupational exposure and risk assessment, development and implementation of preventive programs and accurate registration of reliable information about the use of biological agents. Educational materials on biological exposure are published on the website. The National Register of Biological Agents (database) collects and periodically analyzes the information obtained from employers about the use of biological agents for research, diagnostic or industrial purposes. As of 10 December 2010 there were 240 notifications from companies, which use biological agents for the following purposes: research--69, industrial--30 and diagnostic--321. Near 75% of all notifications were obtained from different diagnostic laboratories (public and private). In total, 3226 workers, including 2967 (92%) women and 256 (8%) men were exposed to biological agents. In general, occupational exposure to 209 biological agents (186 of risk group 2 and 23 of risk group 3, of which 16 are additionally marked by 3**) were registered in the data base.

Cranial nerve contrast using nerve-specific fluorophores improved by paired-agent imaging with indocyanine green as a control agent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torres, Veronica C.; Vuong, Victoria D.; Wilson, Todd; Wewel, Joshua; Byrne, Richard W.; Tichauer, Kenneth M.

2017-09-01

Nerve preservation during surgery is critical because damage can result in significant morbidity. This remains a challenge especially for skull base surgeries where cranial nerves (CNs) are involved because visualization and access are particularly poor in that location. We present a paired-agent imaging method to enhance identification of CNs using nerve-specific fluorophores. Two myelin-targeting imaging agents were evaluated, Oxazine 4 and Rhodamine 800, and coadministered with a control agent, indocyanine green, either intravenously or topically in rats. Fluorescence imaging was performed on excised brains ex vivo, and nerve contrast was evaluated via paired-agent ratiometric data analysis. Although contrast was improved among all experimental groups using paired-agent imaging compared to conventional, solely targeted imaging, Oxazine 4 applied directly exhibited the greatest enhancement, with a minimum 3 times improvement in CNs delineation. This work highlights the importance of accounting for nonspecific signal of targeted agents, and demonstrates that paired-agent imaging is one method capable of doing so. Although staining, rinsing, and imaging protocols need to be optimized, these findings serve as a demonstration for the potential use of paired-agent imaging to improve contrast of CNs, and consequently, surgical outcome.

Bidding Agents That Perpetrate Auction Fraud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trevathan, Jarrod; McCabe, Alan; Read, Wayne

This paper presents a software bidding agent that inserts fake bids on the seller's behalf to inflate an auction's price. This behaviour is referred to as shill bidding. Shill bidding is strictly prohibited by online auctioneers, as it defrauds unsuspecting buyers by forcing them to pay more for the item. The malicious bidding agent was constructed to aid in developing shill detection techniques. We have previously documented a simple shill bidding agent that incrementally increases the auction price until it reaches the desired profit target, or it becomes too risky to continue bidding. This paper presents an adaptive shill bidding agent which when used over a series of auctions with substitutable items, can revise its strategy based on bidding behaviour in past auctions. The adaptive agent applies a novel prediction technique referred to as the Extremum Consistency (EC) algorithm, to determine the optimal price to aspire for. The EC algorithm has successfully been used in handwritten signature verification for determining the maximum and minimum values in an input stream. The agent's ability to inflate the price has been tested in a simulated marketplace and experimental results are presented.

[Community health agents: profile and education].

PubMed

Marzari, Carla Kowalski; Junges, José Roque; Selli, Lucilda

2011-01-01

This research discusses the profile and education of the community health agents. There is no clarity about the kind of professional needed and the appropriate training to the fulfillment of the function. The research is a case study with exploratory methodology and qualitative approach. The data was collected with a focused group, formed by ten agents, intentional selected from those with more time in service in Family Health Strategy teams from the municipality of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul State. The discussions were recorded and transcribed by the researcher. The data was interpreted by content analysis. The results pointed to some important questions concerning the identity of the community health agents: integration on the health team, insertion in the community, profile and education. The profile which emerges from the research, is not different from the one proposed by the Ministry of Health. However, the difference is the professionalization, an initiative assumed by the agent, guided by reality, which he faces in his activity. The gaps, perceived in his formation, cause the agent to construct his professional identity, determined more by the technical aspect of the scientific knowledge than by his social competence as a community agent.

Pharmacology and pharmacogenetics of chemotherapeutic agents.

PubMed

Dawood, Shaheenah; Leyland-Jones, Brian

2009-06-01

The last decade the field of oncology has seen the introduction of several efficacious chemotherapeutic agents. However the benefits achieved have been modest at best. The choice of chemotherapeutic agent is often empirical and geared to fit the average patient with the result that approximately 40% of patients may be receiving the wrong drug. With greater understanding of the mechanisms behind the heterogeneity observed across patient populations, both in terms of efficacy and toxicity of a variety of therapeutic agents, research has now focused on individualizing treatment strategies by incorporating a combination of physiological variables, genetic characteristics and environmental factors together with the traditional tumor characteristics that currently drives clinical decision making. This review focuses on defining some of the principle components of personalized medicine. In addition we will review the pharmacological and pharmacogenetic predictors of toxic effects of chemotherapeutic agents drawing on examples of commonly used agents in oncology.

Thyroid Dysfunction from Antineoplastic Agents

PubMed Central

Larsen, P. Reed; Marqusee, Ellen

2011-01-01

Unlike cytotoxic agents that indiscriminately affect rapidly dividing cells, newer antineoplastic agents such as targeted therapies and immunotherapies are associated with thyroid dysfunction. These include tyrosine kinase inhibitors, bexarotene, radioiodine-based cancer therapies, denileukin diftitox, alemtuzumab, interferon-α, interleukin-2, ipilimumab, tremelimumab, thalidomide, and lenalidomide. Primary hypothyroidism is the most common side effect, although thyrotoxicosis and effects on thyroid-stimulating hormone secretion and thyroid hormone metabolism have also been described. Most agents cause thyroid dysfunction in 20%–50% of patients, although some have even higher rates. Despite this, physicians may overlook drug-induced thyroid dysfunction because of the complexity of the clinical picture in the cancer patient. Symptoms of hypothyroidism, such as fatigue, weakness, depression, memory loss, cold intolerance, and cardiovascular effects, may be incorrectly attributed to the primary disease or to the antineoplastic agent. Underdiagnosis of thyroid dysfunction can have important consequences for cancer patient management. At a minimum, the symptoms will adversely affect the patient’s quality of life. Alternatively, such symptoms can lead to dose reductions of potentially life-saving therapies. Hypothyroidism can also alter the kinetics and clearance of medications, which may lead to undesirable side effects. Thyrotoxicosis can be mistaken for sepsis or a nonendocrinologic drug side effect. In some patients, thyroid disease may indicate a higher likelihood of tumor response to the agent. Both hypothyroidism and thyrotoxicosis are easily diagnosed with inexpensive and specific tests. In many patients, particularly those with hypothyroidism, the treatment is straightforward. We therefore recommend routine testing for thyroid abnormalities in patients receiving these antineoplastic agents. PMID:22010182

Anabolic agents and bone quality.

PubMed

Sibai, Tarek; Morgan, Elise F; Einhorn, Thomas A

2011-08-01

The definition of bone quality is evolving particularly from the perspective of anabolic agents that can enhance not only bone mineral density but also bone microarchitecture, composition, morphology, amount of microdamage, and remodeling dynamics. This review summarizes the molecular pathways and physiologic effects of current and potential anabolic drugs. From a MEDLINE search (1996-2010), articles were identified by the search terms "bone quality" (1851 articles), "anabolic agent" (5044 articles), "PTH or parathyroid hormone" (32,229 articles), "strontium" or "strontium ranelate" (283 articles), "prostaglandin" (77,539 articles), and "statin" or "statins" (14,233 articles). The search strategy included combining each with the phrase "bone quality." Another more limited search aimed at finding more novel potential agents. Parathyroid hormone is the only US Food and Drug Administration-approved bone anabolic agent in the United States and has been the most extensively studied in in vitro animal and human trials. Strontium ranelate is approved in Europe but has not undergone Food and Drug Administration trials in the United States. All the studies on prostaglandin agonists have used in vivo animal models and there are no human trials examining prostaglandin agonist effects. The advantages of statins include the long-established advantages and safety profile, but they are limited by their bioavailability in bone. Other potential pathways include proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (PYK2) and sclerostin (SOST) inhibition, among others. The ongoing research to enhance the anabolic potential of current agents, identify new agents, and develop better delivery systems will greatly enhance the management of bone quality-related injuries and diseases in the future.

Conversational Agents for Academically Productive Talk: A Comparison of Directed and Undirected Agent Interventions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tegos, Stergios; Demetriadis, Stavros; Papadopoulos, Pantelis M.; Weinberger, Armin

2016-01-01

Conversational agents that draw on the framework of academically productive talk (APT) have been lately shown to be effective in helping learners sustain productive forms of peer dialogue in diverse learning settings. Yet, literature suggests that more research is required on how learners respond to and benefit from such flexible agents in order…

Opportunistic Behavior in Motivated Learning Agents.

PubMed

Graham, James; Starzyk, Janusz A; Jachyra, Daniel

2015-08-01

This paper focuses on the novel motivated learning (ML) scheme and opportunistic behavior of an intelligent agent. It extends previously developed ML to opportunistic behavior in a multitask situation. Our paper describes the virtual world implementation of autonomous opportunistic agents learning in a dynamically changing environment, creating abstract goals, and taking advantage of arising opportunities to improve their performance. An opportunistic agent achieves better results than an agent based on ML only. It does so by minimizing the average value of all need signals rather than a dominating need. This paper applies to the design of autonomous embodied systems (robots) learning in real-time how to operate in a complex environment.

A Multi-Agent Environment for Negotiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hindriks, Koen V.; Jonker, Catholijn M.; Tykhonov, Dmytro

In this chapter we introduce the System for Analysis of Multi-Issue Negotiation (SAMIN). SAMIN offers a negotiation environment that supports and facilitates the setup of various negotiation setups. The environment has been designed to analyse negotiation processes between human negotiators, between human and software agents, and between software agents. It offers a range of different agents, different domains, and other options useful to define a negotiation setup. The environment has been used to test and evaluate a range of negotiation strategies in various domains playing against other negotiating agents as well as humans. We discuss some of the results obtained by means of these experiments.

Agent-Based Negotiation in Uncertain Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Debenham, John; Sierra, Carles

An agent aims to secure his projected needs by attempting to build a set of (business) relationships with other agents. A relationship is built by exchanging private information, and is characterised by its intimacy — degree of closeness — and balance — degree of fairness. Each argumentative interaction between two agents then has two goals: to satisfy some immediate need, and to do so in a way that develops the relationship in a desired direction. An agent's desire to develop each relationship in a particular way then places constraints on the argumentative utterances. The form of negotiation described is argumentative interaction constrained by a desire to develop such relationships.

Multi-Agent Information Classification Using Dynamic Acquaintance Lists.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mukhopadhyay, Snehasis; Peng, Shengquan; Raje, Rajeev; Palakal, Mathew; Mostafa, Javed

2003-01-01

Discussion of automated information services focuses on information classification and collaborative agents, i.e. intelligent computer programs. Highlights include multi-agent systems; distributed artificial intelligence; thesauri; document representation and classification; agent modeling; acquaintances, or remote agents discovered through…

Agents for Plan Monitoring and Repair

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-04-01

events requires time and effort. In this paper, we describe how Heracles and Theseus , two information gathering and monitoring tools that we built...on an information agent platform, called Theseus , that provides the technology for efficiently executing agents for information gather- ing and...we can easily define a system for interactively planning a trip. The second is the Theseus information agent platform [Barish et al., 2000], which

7 CFR 905.86 - Agents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Agents. 905.86 Section 905.86 Agriculture Regulations... Orders; Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ORANGES, GRAPEFRUIT, TANGERINES, AND TANGELOS GROWN IN FLORIDA Order Regulating Handling Miscellaneous Provisions § 905.86 Agents. The Secretary...

Novel therapeutic agents for osteosarcoma.

PubMed

O'Day, Kathleen; Gorlick, Richard

2009-04-01

Osteosarcoma is the most common malignant primary bone tumor in childhood. Despite multiagent chemotherapy and aggressive surgical resection, 30% of patients with localized disease and 80% of patients with metastatic disease at diagnosis will relapse. Survival for these patients has remained unchanged over the past 20 years. A number of novel agents in various stages of development hold promise for improving therapy for patients with osteosarcoma. This article will focus on novel therapeutic approaches, including agents targeting signal-transduction pathways, inhibitors of the tumor microenvironment and immunomodulatory agents, as well as overcoming resistance mechanisms and the use of novel delivery mechanisms.

Requirements Modeling with Agent Programming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dasgupta, Aniruddha; Krishna, Aneesh; Ghose, Aditya K.

Agent-oriented conceptual modeling notations are highly effective in representing requirements from an intentional stance and answering questions such as what goals exist, how key actors depend on each other, and what alternatives must be considered. In this chapter, we review an approach to executing i* models by translating these into set of interacting agents implemented in the CASO language and suggest how we can perform reasoning with requirements modeled (both functional and non-functional) using i* models. In this chapter we particularly incorporate deliberation into the agent design. This allows us to benefit from the complementary representational capabilities of the two frameworks.

Next Generation Remote Agent Planner

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jonsson, Ari K.; Muscettola, Nicola; Morris, Paul H.; Rajan, Kanna

1999-01-01

In May 1999, as part of a unique technology validation experiment onboard the Deep Space One spacecraft, the Remote Agent became the first complete autonomous spacecraft control architecture to run as flight software onboard an active spacecraft. As one of the three components of the architecture, the Remote Agent Planner had the task of laying out the course of action to be taken, which included activities such as turning, thrusting, data gathering, and communicating. Building on the successful approach developed for the Remote Agent Planner, the Next Generation Remote Agent Planner is a completely redesigned and reimplemented version of the planner. The new system provides all the key capabilities of the original planner, while adding functionality, improving performance and providing a modular and extendible implementation. The goal of this ongoing project is to develop a system that provides both a basis for future applications and a framework for further research in the area of autonomous planning for spacecraft. In this article, we present an introductory overview of the Next Generation Remote Agent Planner. We present a new and simplified definition of the planning problem, describe the basics of the planning process, lay out the new system design and examine the functionality of the core reasoning module.

For whom will the Bayesian agents vote?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caticha, Nestor; Cesar, Jonatas; Vicente, Renato

2015-04-01

Within an agent-based model where moral classifications are socially learned, we ask if a population of agents behaves in a way that may be compared with conservative or liberal positions in the real political spectrum. We assume that agents first experience a formative period, in which they adjust their learning style acting as supervised Bayesian adaptive learners. The formative phase is followed by a period of social influence by reinforcement learning. By comparing data generated by the agents with data from a sample of 15000 Moral Foundation questionnaires we found the following. 1. The number of information exchanges in the formative phase correlates positively with statistics identifying liberals in the social influence phase. This is consistent with recent evidence that connects the dopamine receptor D4-7R gene, political orientation and early age social clique size. 2. The learning algorithms that result from the formative phase vary in the way they treat novelty and corroborative information with more conservative-like agents treating it more equally than liberal-like agents. This is consistent with the correlation between political affiliation and the Openness personality trait reported in the literature. 3. Under the increase of a model parameter interpreted as an external pressure, the statistics of liberal agents resemble more those of conservative agents, consistent with reports on the consequences of external threats on measures of conservatism. We also show that in the social influence phase liberal-like agents readapt much faster than conservative-like agents when subjected to changes on the relevant set of moral issues. This suggests a verifiable dynamical criterium for attaching liberal or conservative labels to groups.

The Effects of Peer-Like and Expert-Like Pedagogical Agents on Learners' Agent Perceptions, Task-Related Attitudes, and Learning Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liew, Tze Wei; Tan, Su-Mae; Jayothisa, Chandrika

2013-01-01

The present study examined the impact of peer-like and expert-like agent stereotypes, as operationalized by agent's image and voice, on learners' agent perceptions, task-related attitudes, and learning achievement. 56 university freshmen (23 males and 33 females) interacted with either the peer-like agent (female college student) or the…

Persistent agents in Axelrod's social dynamics model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reia, Sandro M.; Neves, Ubiraci P. C.

2016-01-01

Axelrod's model of social dynamics has been studied under the effect of external media. Here we study the formation of cultural domains in the model by introducing persistent agents. These are agents whose cultural traits are not allowed to change but may be spread through local neighborhood. In the absence of persistent agents, the system is known to present a transition from a monocultural to a multicultural regime at some critical Q (number of traits). Our results reveal a dependence of critical Q on the occupation probability p of persistent agents and we obtain the phase diagram of the model in the (p,Q) -plane. The critical locus is explained by the competition of two opposite forces named here barrier and bonding effects. Such forces are verified to be caused by non-persistent agents which adhere (adherent agents) to the set of traits of persistent ones. The adherence (concentration of adherent agents) as a function of p is found to decay for constant Q. Furthermore, adherence as a function of Q is found to decay as a power law with constant p.

Water Supply at Los Alamos 1998-2001

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Richard J. Koch; David B. Rogers

2003-03-01

For the period 1998 through 2001, the total water used at Los Alamos from all sources ranged from 1325 million gallons (Mg) in 1999 to 1515 Mg in 2000. Groundwater production ranged from 1323 Mg in 1999 to 1506 Mg in 2000 from the Guaje, Pajarito, and Otowi fields. Nonpotable surface water used from Los Alamos reservoir ranged from zero gallons in 2001 to 9.3 Mg in 2000. For years 1998 through 2001, over 99% of all water used at Los Alamos was groundwater. Water use by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) between 1998 and 2001 ranged from 379 Mgmore » in 2000 to 461 Mg in 1998. The LANL water use in 2001 was 393 Mg or 27% of the total water use at Los Alamos. Water use by Los Alamos County ranged from 872 Mg in 1999 to 1137 Mg in 2000, and averaged 1006 Mg/yr. Four new replacement wells in the Guaje field (G-2A, G-3A, G-4A, and G-5A) were drilled in 1998 and began production in 1999; with existing well G-1A, the Guaje field currently has five producing wells. Five of the old Guaje wells (G-1, G-2, G-4, G-5, and G-6) were plugged and abandoned in 1999, and one well (G-3) was abandoned but remains as an observation well for the Guaje field. The long-term water level observations in production and observation (test) wells at Los Alamos are consistent with the formation of a cone of depression in response to water production. The water level decline is gradual and at most has been about 0.7 to 2 ft per year for production wells and from 0.4 to 0.9 ft/yr for observation (test) wells. The largest water level declines have been in the Guaje field where nonpumping water levels were about 91 ft lower in 2001 than in 1951. The initial water levels of the Guaje replacement wells were 32 to 57 ft lower than the initial water levels of adjacent original Guaje wells. When production wells are taken off-line for pump replacement or repair, water levels have returned to within about 25 ft of initial static levels within 6 to 12 months. Thus, the water-level trends suggest no

ConsPred: a rule-based (re-)annotation framework for prokaryotic genomes.

PubMed

Weinmaier, Thomas; Platzer, Alexander; Frank, Jeroen; Hellinger, Hans-Jörg; Tischler, Patrick; Rattei, Thomas

2016-11-01

The rapidly growing number of available prokaryotic genome sequences requires fully automated and high-quality software solutions for their initial and re-annotation. Here we present ConsPred, a prokaryotic genome annotation framework that performs intrinsic gene predictions, homology searches, predictions of non-coding genes as well as CRISPR repeats and integrates all evidence into a consensus annotation. ConsPred achieves comprehensive, high-quality annotations based on rules and priorities, similar to decision-making in manual curation and avoids conflicting predictions. Parameters controlling the annotation process are configurable by the user. ConsPred has been used in the institutions of the authors for longer than 5 years and can easily be extended and adapted to specific needs. The ConsPred algorithm for producing a consensus from the varying scores of multiple gene prediction programs approaches manual curation in accuracy. Its rule-based approach for choosing final predictions avoids overriding previous manual curations. ConsPred is implemented in Java, Perl and Shell and is freely available under the Creative Commons license as a stand-alone in-house pipeline or as an Amazon Machine Image for cloud computing, see https://sourceforge.net/projects/conspred/. thomas.rattei@univie.ac.atSupplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

7 CFR 906.59 - Agents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Agents. 906.59 Section 906.59 Agriculture Regulations... Orders; Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ORANGES AND GRAPEFRUIT GROWN IN LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY IN TEXAS Order Regulating Handling Miscellaneous Provisions § 906.59 Agents. The Secretary...

The Practice of Research of a Basic Education Teacher Involving Mental Models of the Phases of the Moon and Eclipses. (Spanish Title: La Práctica de Investigación de un Maestro de Educación BÁsica con El Uso de los Modelos Mentales de Las Fases de la Luna Y Eclipses.) A Prática de Pesquisa de um Professor do Ensino Fundamental Envolvendo Modelos Mentais de Fases da Lua e Eclipses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pessôa Queiroz, Glória; Jubitipan Borges de Sousa, Carlos; Auxiliadora Delgado Machado, Maria

2009-12-01

The inclusion of basic education teachers in the survey domain is a controversial issue and fully debated in the academy. The opportunity for a collective work that incorporated school teachers from a public school to a university's group of physics teaching at university allowed us to glimpse the redefinition of the function of a science teacher (a coauthor of this paper) by himself, such that now he includes research on the knowledge construction by students in his teacher practice. The formation of inter-institutional groups for action planning and research in these areas has proved productive for the task of knowledge construction to support educational processes in school, while the university enriches its collection of experiences critically validated, and can consider the results in teachers initial and continued education. The active participation of the teacher in a research group at the university led him to reflect on the possible didactical ways to be described, analyzed and communicated to other teachers. The construction of a pedagogy that took into account the mental models of students on the basic topics of astronomy, and the changes developed resulting from the lessons taught, led to far-reaching consequences on the pedagogy adopted by the teacher, who incorporates now a new vision of science and alternative forms to dialogue with students, essential components for a researcher in Science Education. La inclusión de los maestros de la escuela básica en el universo de la investigación es polémica y está en amplio debate en el mundo académico. La oportunidad de trabajo colectivo de los maestros de una escuela pública en Río de Janeiro con un grupo universitario de enseñanza de la física nos ha permitido vislumbrar la redefinición de la función de un maestro de ciencias (uno de los coautores de este documento) por él mismo, ahora para incluir la investigación sobre la construcción del conocimiento por los alumnos en su práctica como

Conceptuaciones de los estudiantes de las facultades de educacion y ciencias naturales de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, recinto de Rio Piedras, acerca de la ciencia y la pseudociencia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reyes Medina, Hector A.

Esta investigacion describe las conceptuaciones de los estudiantes de tercer ano o mas a nivel de bachillerato de los programas de Educacion en Ciencia y Ciencias Naturales de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Rio Piedras, acerca de lo establecido en la literatura para distinguir el conocimiento cientifico de las creencias pseudocientificas. Este estudio se guio por un diseno tipo encuesta transversal que permitio conocer de manera consistente las conceptuaciones de los estudiantes encuestados acerca de la Ciencia y la Pseudociencia. Ademas, permitio desarrollar inferencias estadisticas relacionadas a la poblacion de estudio, sus conceptuaciones y su inclinacion teorica en torno al Realismo y al Racionalismo cientifico moderados. El instrumento utilizado fue el Cuestionario acerca de las concepciones de la ciencia y la pseudocienca en estudiantes universitarios, Reyes (2015). Este cuestionario fue validado mediante la recopilacion de diversas fuentes de evidencias, entre estas se encuentran las evidencias basadas en el contenido, el proceso de respuesta, la estructura interna y de constructo. Tambien, se calculo el Alfa de Crombach para la escala total y para cada componente y se realizo un analisis de factores que demostro la presencia de seis componentes claramente definidos de acuerdo a lo esperado sobre las caracteristicas originales del instrumento. Las estadisticas utilizadas fueron descriptivas. Participaron 302 alumnos, de las facultades de educacion y ciencias naturales. Se encontro que las conceptuaciones de los estudiantes de ambas facultades se inclinan en un 66.2% a favor con lo establecido en el modelo teorico en torno al Realismo y al Racionalismo cientifico moderados. Sin embargo, aun hay un 33.8% de los estudiantes de ambas facultades que poseen conceptuaciones distintas al modelo teorico propuesto.

Spacecraft disinfectant/cleansing agent development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abbate, M.

1977-01-01

The sanitation agent container, which was selected in a trade off study, employs two chambers, a rigid outer container and an inner flexible bladder. The bladder contains the sanitation agent formulation and its release is controlled by a manually operated valve. The outer container holds a high pressure vapor. There is no void in the bladder which makes the package operation independent of orientation and therefore usable in zero gravity. Foam is developed by a low boiling point fluid or dissolved in the product. When the product is dispensed at atmospheric presure, the evolved gas or vapor whips up a goam in the valve. The sanitation agents were initially formulated with freons which produces an excellent foam. However freon is incompatible with the life support system and was replaced with carbon dioxide dissolved at high pressure. The CO2 system may limit high temperature exposure to prevent leakage or package distortion. The sanitation agents have been shown to be effective in cleaning soils from personnel and material.

Agent-Based Models in Social Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quang, Le Anh; Jung, Nam; Cho, Eun Sung; Choi, Jae Han; Lee, Jae Woo

2018-06-01

We review the agent-based models (ABM) on social physics including econophysics. The ABM consists of agent, system space, and external environment. The agent is autonomous and decides his/her behavior by interacting with the neighbors or the external environment with the rules of behavior. Agents are irrational because they have only limited information when they make decisions. They adapt using learning from past memories. Agents have various attributes and are heterogeneous. ABM is a non-equilibrium complex system that exhibits various emergence phenomena. The social complexity ABM describes human behavioral characteristics. In ABMs of econophysics, we introduce the Sugarscape model and the artificial market models. We review minority games and majority games in ABMs of game theory. Social flow ABM introduces crowding, evacuation, traffic congestion, and pedestrian dynamics. We also review ABM for opinion dynamics and voter model. We discuss features and advantages and disadvantages of Netlogo, Repast, Swarm, and Mason, which are representative platforms for implementing ABM.

Epoxy foams using multiple resins and curing agents

DOEpatents

Russick, Edward M.; Rand, Peter B.

2000-01-01

An epoxy foam comprising a plurality of resins, a plurality of curing agents, at least one blowing agent, at least one surfactant and optionally at least one filler and the process for making. Preferred is an epoxy foam comprising two resins of different reactivities, two curing agents, a blowing agent, a surfactant, and a filler. According to the present invention, an epoxy foam is prepared with tailorable reactivity, exotherm, and pore size by a process of admixing a plurality of resins with a plurality of curing agents, a surfactant and blowing agent, whereby a foamable mixture is formed and heating said foamable mixture at a temperature greater than the boiling temperature of the blowing agent whereby said mixture is foamed and cured.

Crossing the Rubric-Con

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bailey, James R.

2014-01-01

This essay engages the prospect and peril of employing rubrics in America. It discusses how institutional independence affects the enterprise, and addresses whether rubrics will be received as salvation or subservience by educational agents. It asks how rubrics can benefit stakeholders while examining their unintended consequences. It concludes by…

Exchanging large data object in multi-agent systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Yaseen, Wathiq Laftah; Othman, Zulaiha Ali; Nazri, Mohd Zakree Ahmad

2016-08-01

One of the Business Intelligent solutions that is currently in use is the Multi-Agent System (MAS). Communication is one of the most important elements in MAS, especially for exchanging large low level data between distributed agents (physically). The Agent Communication Language in JADE has been offered as a secure method for sending data, whereby the data is defined as an object. However, the object cannot be used to send data to another agent in a different location. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to propose a method for the exchange of large low level data as an object by creating a proxy agent known as a Delivery Agent, which temporarily imitates the Receiver Agent. The results showed that the proposed method is able to send large-sized data. The experiments were conducted using 16 datasets ranging from 100,000 to 7 million instances. However, for the proposed method, the RAM and the CPU machine had to be slightly increased for the Receiver Agent, but the latency time was not significantly different compared to the use of the Java Socket method (non-agent and less secure). With such results, it was concluded that the proposed method can be used to securely send large data between agents.

InterCon Travel Health: Case B