Impact of ergot-contaminated feed on yellow mealworm larvae performance and diet preference

This study aimed to determine if ergot alkaloids (EA) would accumulate in yellow mealworm larvae (YML, Tenebrio molitor) when present in their diets and investigate effects on production and survival. Larvae were reared on one of four diets: a control, low, medium, and high containing 63, 3,863, 8,471 and 15,316 μg/kg total EA, respectively. Each diet had five replicates with 150 YML per replicate totalling 3,000 for the 21-day trial. Initial and final weights of the feed and larvae were collected. Ergot alkaloid concentrations in YML at d 21 were 32.6, 94.0 and 155.5 μg/kg in the low, medium, and high treatments respectively, with none detected in those fed the control diet. The frass from YML fed the control, low, medium and high diets contained 18, 364, 1,094, and 1,424 μg/kg total EA, respectively. Feed intake was reduced in larvae fed the low, medium and high treatments relative to the control at 23.3-24.9 g/21 d compared to 30.1 g in the control (P=0.02). Feed-to-gain ratios, average daily gain, and final body weights did not differ among treatments (P>0.05). The larvae did not display any preference for diets when allowed to choose between the four diets (P>0.05). Larvae accumulated only low levels of EA from their diets and although feed intake was depressed, growth was maintained. Further research is required to determine the safety of yellow mealworm reared on EA-contaminated diets.

JUSTIFICATION OF BANK FINANCIAL SECURITY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

Inconsistency of modern conditions of commercial banks operation pose a threat to their activities and existence. Therefore, the problem of ensuring the financial security of banks is relevant. Ensuring the financial security of the bank should be based on a scientifically sound strategy that involves action on certain functional components of security. It is proposed to use a functional approach to the integrated assessment of the level of financial security of a banking institution, which takes into account four groups of indicators - capital and resource, credit and investment, currency security, as well as the security of bank income and expenses. This approach makes it possible to quantify the impact of each group of indicators on the level of financial security of a banking institution. An integrated assessment of the key components of the bank’s integrated financial security indicator revealed that the four surveyed banks are characterized by a sufficient level of financial security. The results of the integrated indicator of financial security of the bank should be used in developing a strategy for ensuring the financial security of the bank. The article proposes and substantiates the theoretical and methodological foundations of the strategy for ensuring the financial security of the bank. It is substantiated that to achieve a certain level of financial security of the bank it is advisable to use the GAP-method. It is proved that the application of this method will allow to single out only those components that have the greatest impact on the level of bank security and which need to be influenced. It is established that the strategy of ensuring the financial security of a banking institution should be aimed at bridging the gaps in key indicators. The methodology of game theory was used to establish the expediency of overcoming strategic gaps. It is proved that the application of the chosen methods of strategic planning will allow to quickly identify the causes of deviations from the safe level of the bank and justify the feasibility of influencing certain factors. Keywords: financial security of the bank, financial security strategy, GAP-method, integrated indicator of financial security of the bank. JEL Classification G 21, O 16 Formulas: 4; fig.: 0; tabl.: 5; bibl.: 17.

The spatial structure and dynamical state of the open cluster NGC 2112

This paper investigates the spatial structure and dynamical state of the old open cluster NGC 2112 based on likely cluster members from Gaia Early Data Release 3. Using the Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN) algorithm, we find 1193 likely cluster members down to G ∼ 21 mag within a radius of 1.°5 from the cluster center. These likely cluster members can be divided into 865 core members and 328 border members by DBSCAN. We find that the core members are, on average, significantly brighter and more centrally concentrated than the border members. This suggests the existence of clear mass segregation within the cluster. We find that the outer regions of the cluster exhibit a slightly elongated shape, which may be caused by external tidal perturbations. We estimate a distance of D = 1108 ± 3 pc for the cluster based on bright core members. We find that NGC 2112 has a cluster radius of Rcl ∼ 40′ (∼12.9 pc) and a core radius of $R_{\rm c} \sim {4{^{\prime }_{.}}8} \pm {0{^{\prime }_{.}}2}$ (∼1.5 pc). This indicates that NGC 2112 has a central concentration parameter of C = log (Rcl/Rc) ∼ 0.92, which is significantly larger than previously thought. In addition, we estimate a total mass of Mcl = 858 ± 12 M⊙ and an initial mass of Mini = (2.2 ± 0.5) × 104 M⊙ for the cluster. This implies that NGC 2112 may have lost more than $90\%$ of its initial mass. Based on the obtained distance and kinematical data, we also calculate the Galactic orbit of the cluster.

Aceptabilidad por el conejo de la harina de coco desgrasada entre diferentes fuentes de alimento

Con el propósito de determinar el grado de aceptabilidad de la harina de coco desgrasada suministrada como alimento único e incorporado en diferentes niveles en la dieta para conejos, fueron realizados dos experimentos en los que se emplearon diseños bloques al azar. En el primer experimento los tratamientos fueron: T1 harina de maíz, T2 harina de alfalfa y T3 harina de coco desgrasada; para el segundo, los tratamientos consistieron en el suministro de las dietas con la inclusión de 0, 10, 20, 30 y 40 % de harina de coco desgrasada. En los dos estudios se utilizaron conejos machos de la raza chinchilla de 80 días de edad, con un peso promedio de 2150 ±103 g, 21 y 35 animales respectivamente. Se observó una conducta similar en las variables intento de consumo y consumo de alimentos, tanto cuando se suministró la harina de coco desgrasada como alimento único como cuando se mezcló con otros ingredientes. Los animales realizaron intentos de consumo durante casi las 24 h, con los mayores intentos de consumo en el horario nocturno. Los animales muestran la mayor aceptación por las dietas del 10 % de inclusión de harina de coco desgrasada. Los resultados sugieren que la harina de coco desgrasada es un subproducto agroindustrial con potencialidades para ser incorporada en las dietas de conejos y sustituir alimentos convencionales tradicionalmente empleados en los piensos elaborados para esta especie.

A multi-band map of the natural night sky brightness including Gaia and Hipparcos integrated starlight

The natural night sky brightness is a relevant input for monitoring the light pollution evolution at observatory sites, by subtracting it from the overall sky brightness determined by direct measurements. It is also instrumental for assessing the expected darkness of the pristine night skies. The natural brightness of the night sky is determined by the sum of the spectral radiances coming from astrophysical sources, including zodiacal light, and the atmospheric airglow. The resulting radiance is modified by absorption and scattering before it reaches the observer. Therefore, the natural night sky brightness is a function of the location, time and atmospheric conditions. We present in this work GAMBONS (GAia Map of the Brightness Of the Natural Sky), a model to map the natural night brightness of the sky in cloudless and moonless nights. Unlike previous maps, GAMBONS is based on the extra-atmospheric star radiance obtained from the Gaia catalogue. The Gaia-DR2 archive compiles astrometric and photometric information for more than 1.6 billion stars up to G =21 magnitude. For the brightest stars, not included in Gaia-DR2, we have used the Hipparcos catalogue instead. After adding up to the star radiance the contributions of the diffuse galactic and extragalactic light, zodiacal light and airglow, and taking into account the effects of atmospheric attenuation and scattering, the radiance detected by ground-based observers can be estimated. This methodology can be applied to any photometric band, if appropriate transformations from the Gaia bands are available. In particular, we present the expected sky brightness for V(Johnson), and visual photopic and scotopic passbands.

Differences in Inflammation, Apoptosis and Tissue Hypo-perfusion Indicators Caused by Using Two Different Gauges in Cecal Ligation and Puncture-induced Rat Models of Sepsis

Background: Rodent Cecal Ligation and Puncture (CLP) models, which mimic sepsis in humans. Gauges needle size during CLP related to cytokine storm, inflammation and organ failure.This study focus on precise and low cost various biochemical markers to trace sepsis severity in cardiopulmonary system and blood after CLP with gauge needle size -18 (G-18) and -21 (G-21) in rats.Results: For the purpose of this study, 18 male Wistar rats were assigned into three groups: CLP procedure with G-18 needle, CLP procedure with G-21 and sham. Following the procedure, oxidative stress markers, blood markers, apoptosis indicators, gene expression of autophagy and cellular hypoxia and histopathological assessments were carried out in the cardiopulmonary tissue and blood 24 hours after CLP. All measured factors were increased in both G-18 and G-21 gauge groups in comparison with the sham. Moreover, 24 hours after CLP, inflammatory markers, blood profile, lactate level, pro-inflammatory cytokines, caspases, gene expression of cellular homeostasis and autophagy in samples were more pronouncedly increased in the G-18 group in comparison with the G-21. Conclusions: This experiment provides a significant association of inflammation and cytokine storm with anti-oxidant property, apoptotic condition and gene expression of tissue and blood infection related to severity organ damage were increased with G-18 compare to G-21. Our study has identified cost-effective indicators to evaluate organ failure during sepsis. This should be considered by all investigators using G-18 in comparison with G-21 to induce severe sepsis.

Completeness of the Gaia verse II: what are the odds that a star is missing from Gaia DR2?

ABSTRACT The second data release of the Gaia mission contained astrometry and photometry for an incredible 1692 919 135 sources, but how many sources did Gaiamiss and where do they lie on the sky? The answer to this question will be crucial for any astronomer attempting to map the Milky Way with Gaia DR2. We infer the completeness of Gaia DR2 by exploiting the fact that it only contains sources with at least five astrometric detections. The odds that a source achieves those five detections depends on both the number of observations and the probability that an observation of that source results in a detection. We predict the number of times that each source was observed by Gaia and assume that the probability of detection is either a function of magnitude or a distribution as a function of magnitude. We fit both these models to the 1.7 billion stars of Gaia DR2, and thus are able to robustly predict the completeness of Gaia across the sky as a function of magnitude. We extend our selection function to account for crowding in dense regions of the sky, and show that this is vitally important, particularly in the Galactic bulge and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. We find that the magnitude limit at which Gaiais still 99 per cent complete varies over the sky from G = 18.9 to fainter than G = 21. We have created a new python package selectionfunctions (https://github.com/gaiaverse/selectionfunctions) which provides easy access to our selection functions.

Measuring the Boxing Punch: Development and Calibration of a Non-Embedded In-Glove Piezo-Resistive Sensor

Biomechanics measurement in boxing is becoming increasingly important for the analysis of boxing technique in order to promote exciting and safer boxing at both amateur and professional levels. Despite this interest, there have been few experiments within this field of research that have utilised a non-embedded in-glove sensor to measure the resultant power generated by a boxing punch. The aim of this study was to develop a dynamic measurement system, utilising a non-embedded in-glove sensor system. Two sensors were utilised; a tri-axial accelerometer to measure acceleration and a piezo-resistive force sensor hand wrap to measure the impact force of a boxer’s punch. The piezo-resistive system was calibrated using a static measurement system utilising simple load cells for force and laser displacement sensors for glove speed measurements. The system was tested on 31 novice boxing athletes participating in the study. A mean impact force of 2.31 kN ± 3.28 kN, an instantaneous velocity prior to impact of 4.73 m/s ± 0.35 m/s, an impact acceleration of 91 g ± 11 g, deceleration immediately following impact of 223 g ± 21 g and a maximum power dissipation of 11.2 kW ± 2.05 kW were measured. These values correspond well with prior studies using alternate measurement approaches. The calibration of the non-embedded in-glove piezo-resistive force sensor on the static measurement system yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.85.

Earthquake Analysis, of RC Structure using Different Codes and Different Countries

This paper presents a seismic behavior of various structures using different codal provision as given Indian code, American code, &Newzealand code for earthquake analysis. This study is carried out on residential building of G+5, G+11, G+21 of Special RC structure . Modeling of the structure is done as per ETAB software. Time period of the structure in both the direction is taken from the software as per the three standard (9 model are made 3 model for each code). A comparative analysis is performed in terms of base shear, deflection limit, stores drift at linearly static and response spectrum.

Produção de biomassa de Eucalyptus grandis Hill ex. Maiden em diferentes arranjos de espaçamentos de plantio simples e duplos

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito dos espaçamentos de plantio em linhas simples e duplas na área basal, volume de madeira com casca por hectare, densidade básica do tronco e biomassa arbórea de Eucalyptus grandis Hill ex Maiden (clone G-21) manejado no sistema de curta rotação. O ensaio foi composto por quatro espaçamentos de plantio: 3,0 m × 1,0 m × 2,0 m (linha dupla), 3,0 m × 1,0 m (linha simples), 3,0 m × 1,0 m × 1,0 m (linha dupla) e 3,0 m × 0,5 m (linha simples), sendo avaliado aos 12 meses e 24 meses após o plantio. As principais diferenças significativas foram encontradas no segundo período de avaliação para os fatores de variação considerados – espaçamento e idade. A área basal aumentou com o adensamento das florestas, embora o volume não tenha seguido a mesma tendência aos 24 meses de plantio. A densidade básica aumentou com a idade apenas nos espaçamentos simples. No estudo da alocação de biomassa nos diferentes compartimentos da árvore, verificou-se uma maior proporção de biomassa de tronco com a idade, bem como nos espaçamentos mais adensados. Uma das maiores produções florestais (65 Mg ha-1) foi encontrada no espaçamento 3,0 m × 1,0 m aos 24 meses de idade.