scholarly journals A new approach to mark termites (Cornitermes cumulans (Kollar) Blattodea: Isoptera) for laboratory bioassays

2023 ◽  
Vol 83 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Marins ◽  
P. F. Cristaldo ◽  
L. R. Paiva ◽  
O. Miramontes ◽  
O. DeSouza

Abstract Behavioral lab bioassays involving termites must be promptly performed to allow intended observations prior to death from dissecation, typical of these soft-bodied insects. To this end, topic markers have been proposed as an alternative to histological stains which, while not always toxic are inevitably lengthy to apply. Among recommended topic markers, gouache is easy to apply, dries out quickly, but it is known affect termites in the long run, being suitable only to short-term bioassays. Its alternative, colored glue, is also easy to apply, but it takes long to dry and it is too dense and heavy, being thus prone to affect termite walking patterns. Here we tested a mix of gouache and colored glue aiming to combine the qualities of both into a suitable topical marker for Cornitermes cumulans termites. Similar patterns of survival presented by marked and unmarked termites ruled out concerns about toxicity of this mixture. Such results were consistent across distinct group densities evidencing that the mixture does not interfere with, nor it is affected by, crowding effects. Because crowding regulates interindividual interactions and these underlie most behaviors, the mixture can be thought to be suitable to behavioral studies. We argue that this 1:2 glue:gouache mixture is an excellent alternative to mark termites for lab bioassays. Being atoxic, cheap, easy to apply, and non-invasive, this mixture may happen to be useful not only for termites but also in bioassaying other similarly soft-bodied insects.

Author(s):  
Mauricio Drelichman ◽  
Hans-Joachim Voth

This chapter addresses the sustainability of debt. A systematic analysis based on the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) methodology to evaluate fiscal sustainability shows that Castile was able to service its debts in the long run. While liquidity was scarce during periods of intense warfare, years of relative peace brought large surpluses. The data collected from Castile's annual fiscal accounts produced new yearly series of revenue, military expenditure, short-term debt issues, and short-term debt service. The resulting database spans a full 31-year period—enough to employ modern quantitative techniques. This analysis provides strong evidence that Castile's fiscal position in the second half of the sixteenth century was on a solid footing. The chapter then assesses whether the events that led to major downturns in Castile's financial fortunes could have been anticipated.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucinda Kirkpatrick ◽  
Grzegorz Apoznański ◽  
Luc De Bruyn ◽  
Ralf Gyselings ◽  
Tomasz Kokurewicz
Keyword(s):  

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-22
Author(s):  
Towaf Totok Irawan

Until now the government and private sector have not been able to address the backlog of 13.5 million housing units for ownership status and 7.6 million units for residential status. The high price of land has led to the high price of the house so that low-income communities (MBR) is not able to reach out to make a home purchase. In addition to the high price of land, tax factors also contribute to the high price of the house. The government plans to issue a policy for the provision of tax incentives, ie abolish VAT on home-forming material transaction. This policy is expected to house prices become cheaper, so the demand for housing increases, and encourage the relevant sectors to intensify its role in the construction of houses. It is expected to replace the lost tax potential and increase incomes. Analysis of the impact of tax incentives housing to potential state revenue and an increase in people's income, especially in Papua province is using the table IO because in addition to looking at the role each sector can also see the impact on taxes (income tax 21 Pph 25 Pph, VAT), and incomes (wage). Although in the short-term impact is still small, but very rewarding in the long run. Keywords: Backlog, Gross Input, Primary Input, Intermediate Input


Author(s):  
Neha Mehta ◽  
Svav Prasad ◽  
Leena Arya

Ultrasound imaging is one of the non-invasive imaging, that diagnoses the disease inside a human body and there are numerous ultrasonic devices being used frequently. Entropy as a well known statistical measure of uncertainty has a considerable impact on the medical images. A procedure for minimizing the entropy with respect to the region of interest is demonstrated. This new approach has shown the experiments using Extracted Region Of Interest Based Sharpened image, called as (EROIS) image based on Minimax entropy principle and various filters. In this turn, the approach also validates the versatility of the entropy concept. Experiments have been performed practically on the real-time ultrasound images collected from ultrasound centers and have shown a significant performance. The present approach has been validated with showing results over ultrasound images of the Human Gallbladder.


Author(s):  
Carrie Figdor

Chapter 9 presents the idea that Literalism undermines current social and moral boundaries for moral status. Possession of psychological capacities, moral standing, and respectful treatment are a standard package deal. So either many more beings enjoy moral status than we now think, or the relative superiority of human moral status over other beings is diminished. It introduces the role of psychological ascriptions in drawing social and moral boundaries by examining dehumanization and anthropomorphism. It argues that in the short term Literalism does not motivate us to do more than make minor adjustments to current moral boundaries. We can distinguish the kinds of psychological capacities that matter for moral status from the kinds that best divide nature at its joints. In the long run, however, Literalism prompts us to reconsider the anthropocentric standards that govern current moral boundaries.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5024
Author(s):  
 Vítor Manuel de Sousa Gabriel ◽  
María Mar Miralles-Quirós ◽  
José Luis Miralles-Quirós

This paper analyses the links established between environmental indices and the oil price adopting a double perspective, long-term and short-term relationships. For that purpose, we employ the Bounds Test and bivariate conditional heteroscedasticity models. In the long run, the pattern of behaviour of environmental indices clearly differed from that of the oil prices, and it was not possible to identify cointegrating vectors. In the short-term, it was possible to conclude that, in contemporaneous terms, the variables studied tended to follow similar paths. When the lag of the oil price variable was considered, the impacts produced on the stock market sectors were partially of a negative nature, which allows us to suppose that this variable plays the role of a risk factor for environmental investment.


Trials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Cresi ◽  
Federica Chiale ◽  
Elena Maggiora ◽  
Silvia Maria Borgione ◽  
Mattia Ferroglio ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) has been recommended as the best respiratory support for preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). However, the best NIV technique to be used as first intention in RDS management has not yet been established. Nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) may be synchronized (SNIPPV) or non-synchronized to the infant’s breathing efforts. The aim of the study is to evaluate the short-term effects of SNIPPV vs. NIPPV on the cardiorespiratory events, trying to identify the best ventilation modality for preterm infants at their first approach to NIV ventilation support. Methods An unmasked randomized crossover study with three treatment phases was designed. All newborn infants < 32 weeks of gestational age with RDS needing NIV ventilation as first intention or after extubation will be consecutively enrolled in the study and randomized to the NIPPV or SNIPPV arm. After stabilization, enrolled patients will be alternatively ventilated with two different techniques for two time frames of 4 h each. NIPPV and SNIPPV will be administered with the same ventilator and the same interface, maintaining continuous assisted ventilation without patient discomfort. During the whole duration of the study, the patient’s cardiorespiratory data and data from the ventilator will be simultaneously recorded using a polygraph connected to a computer. The primary outcome is the frequency of episodes of oxygen desaturation. Secondary outcomes are the number of the cardiorespiratory events, FiO2 necessity, newborn pain score evaluation, synchronization index, and thoracoabdominal asynchrony. The calculated sample size was of 30 patients. Discussion It is known that NIPPV produces a percentage of ineffective acts due to asynchronies between the ventilator and the infant’s breaths. On the other hand, an ineffective synchronization could increase work of breathing. Our hypothesis is that an efficient synchronization could reduce the respiratory work and increase the volume per minute exchanged without interfering with the natural respiratory rhythm of the patient with RDS. The results of this study will allow us to evaluate the effectiveness of the synchronization, demonstrating whether SNIPPV is the most effective non-invasive ventilation mode in preterm infants with RDS at their first approach to NIV ventilation. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03289936. Registered on September 21, 2017.


Author(s):  
Gaby Joe Hannoun ◽  
Pamela Murray-Tuite ◽  
Kevin Heaslip ◽  
Thidapat Chantem

This paper introduces a semi-automated system that facilitates emergency response vehicle (ERV) movement through a transportation link by providing instructions to downstream non-ERVs. The proposed system adapts to information from non-ERVs that are nearby and downstream of the ERV. As the ERV passes stopped non-ERVs, new non-ERVs are considered. The proposed system sequentially executes integer linear programs (ILPs) on transportation link segments with information transferred between optimizations to ensure ERV movement continuity. This paper extends a previously developed mathematical program that was limited to a single short segment. The new approach limits runtime overhead without sacrificing effectiveness and is more suitable to dynamic systems. It also accommodates partial market penetration of connected vehicles using a heuristic reservation approach, making the proposed system beneficial in the short-term future. The proposed system can also assign the ERV to a specific lateral position at the end of the link, a useful capability when next entering an intersection. Experiments were conducted to develop recommendations to reduce computation times without compromising efficiency. When compared with the current practice of moving to the nearest edge, the system reduces ERV travel time an average of 3.26 s per 0.1 mi and decreases vehicle interactions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Schmidt ◽  
Karsten Schweikert

Abstract In this paper, we propose a new approach to model structural change in cointegrating regressions using penalized regression techniques. First, we consider a setting with known breakpoint candidates and show that a modified adaptive lasso estimator can consistently estimate structural breaks in the intercept and slope coefficient of a cointegrating regression. Second, we extend our approach to a diverging number of breakpoint candidates and provide simulation evidence that timing and magnitude of structural breaks are consistently estimated. Third, we use the adaptive lasso estimation to design new tests for cointegration in the presence of multiple structural breaks, derive the asymptotic distribution of our test statistics and show that the proposed tests have power against the null of no cointegration. Finally, we use our new methodology to study the effects of structural breaks on the long-run PPP relationship.


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