Use of biotherapic in the control of the natural infestation by Boophilus microplus: pilot study

In the control of tick-borne disease (TBD), resistance to chemical products has been reported and a concern with the preservation of the environment requires alternative procedures to control infestation by Boophilus microplus worldwide. The use of biotherapic preparations is one of such alternatives. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a biotherapic mixture including B. microplus in naturally infested cattle. 27 animals were divided in 3 groups (n=9): I – control, received no treatment; II- treated with amitraz dip; III- treated with a standard commercial mixture of biotherapic 12cH, p.o. Group III presented a statistically significant decrease of ticks when compared to the control group (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between groups II (amitraz) and III (biotherapic) (p < 0.05). These results suggest that biotherapic preparations might be effective in the control of B. microplus in cattle. Keywords: Biotherapic; Tick; Alternative control; Cattle.  Uso do bioterapico no controle da infestação natural por Boophilus microplus: estudo piloto Resumo No controle de enfermidades transmitidas por carrapatos tem sido notada a resisténcia a produtos químicos. A preocupação com a conservação do meio ambiente tem exigido procedimentos alternativos para controlar a infestação por Boophilus microplus, em todo o mundo. O uso de bioterápicos representa uma dessas alternativas. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o efeito de uma mistura de bioterápicos incluindo B. microplus, em gado bovino infestado naturalmente. 27 animais foram divididos em 3 grupos (n=9): I) controle sem tratamento; II) tratado com banho de amitraz; III) tratado com mistura comercial de bioterápicos 12 cH, via oral. O grupo III apresentou uma diminuição estatísticamente significativa de carrapatos, em comparação com grupo controle (p < 0,05). Não houve diferença significativa entre os grupo II e III (p < 0,05). Estes resultados sugerem que os preparados de bioterápicos podem ser eficazes para o controle de B. microplus em bovinos. Palavras-chave: Bioterapicos; Carrapato; Controles alternativos; Bovinos.  Uso de bioterápico en el control de la infestación natural por Boophilus microplus: estudio piloto Resumen En el control de enfermedades trasmitidas por garrapatas, ha sido notada resistencia los productos químicos; la preocupación con la conservación del ambiente exige procedimientos alternativos para controlar la infestación por Boophilus microplus mundialmente. El uso de preparados bioterápicos representa una de esas alternativas. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar el efecto de una mezcla bioterápica incluyendo B. microplus en ganado infestado naturalmente. 27 animales fueron divididos en 3 grupos (n=9): I) control, sin tratamiento; II) tratado con banho de amitraz; III) tratado con mezcla comercial de bioterápicos 12cH, vía oral. El grupo III presentó una disminución estadísticamente significativa de garrapatas en comparación al grupo control (p < 0,05). No hubo diferencia significativa entre los grupos II y III (p < 0,05). Estos resultados sugieren que los preparados de bioterápicos pueden ser eficaces para controlar B. microplus en ganado. Palabras-clave: Bioterapicos; Garrapatas; control alternativo; Ganado.  Correspondence author: Alessandro P. Minho. [email protected]; http://www.iapar.br; Instituto Agronômico do Paraná (IAPAR)-PR, Brazil. How to cite this article: Silva NL, Moletta JL, Minho AP, Filippsen LF. Use of biotherapic in the control of natural infestation by Boophilus microplus: pilot study. Int J High Dilution Res [online]. 2008 [cited DD Mmm YYYY]; 7 (22): 36-38. Available from http://journal.giri-society.org/index.php/ijhdr/article/view/251/337. ÂÂÂ

Robust Methods for Soft Clustering of Multidimensional Time Series

Three robust algorithms for clustering multidimensional time series from the perspective of underlying processes are proposed. The methods are robust extensions of a fuzzy C-means model based on estimates of the quantile cross-spectral density. Robustness to the presence of anomalous elements is achieved by using the so-called metric, noise and trimmed approaches. Analyses from a wide simulation study indicate that the algorithms are substantially effective in coping with the presence of outlying series, clearly outperforming alternative procedures. The usefulness of the suggested methods is also highlighted by means of a specific application.

The Prebiotic Kitchen: A Guide to Composing Prebiotic Soup Recipes to Test Origins of Life Hypotheses

“Prebiotic soup” often features in discussions of origins of life research, both as a theoretical concept when discussing abiological pathways to modern biochemical building blocks and, more recently, as a feedstock in prebiotic chemistry experiments focused on discovering emergent, systems-level processes such as polymerization, encapsulation, and evolution. However, until now, little systematic analysis has gone into the design of well-justified prebiotic mixtures, which are needed to facilitate experimental replicability and comparison among researchers. This paper explores principles that should be considered in choosing chemical mixtures for prebiotic chemistry experiments by reviewing the natural environmental conditions that might have created such mixtures and then suggests reasonable guidelines for designing recipes. We discuss both “assembled” mixtures, which are made by mixing reagent grade chemicals, and “synthesized” mixtures, which are generated directly from diversity-generating primary prebiotic syntheses. We discuss different practical concerns including how to navigate the tremendous uncertainty in the chemistry of the early Earth and how to balance the desire for using prebiotically realistic mixtures with experimental tractability and replicability. Examples of two assembled mixtures, one based on materials likely delivered by carbonaceous meteorites and one based on spark discharge synthesis, are presented to illustrate these challenges. We explore alternative procedures for making synthesized mixtures using recursive chemical reaction systems whose outputs attempt to mimic atmospheric and geochemical synthesis. Other experimental conditions such as pH and ionic strength are also considered. We argue that developing a handful of standardized prebiotic recipes may facilitate coordination among researchers and enable the identification of the most promising mechanisms by which complex prebiotic mixtures were “tamed” during the origin of life to give rise to key living processes such as self-propagation, information processing, and adaptive evolution. We end by advocating for the development of a public prebiotic chemistry database containing experimental methods (including soup recipes), results, and analytical pipelines for analyzing complex prebiotic mixtures.

Může Bayesův faktor nahradit P hodnotu?

The P value was introduced as a value to evaluate the results of statistical tests. The basic concept originated in the 1920s, and after the Second World War it was significantly expanded. For about the last three decades there has been intense discussion about the problematic features of the P value concept and its use in science, and voices calling to abolish use of the P value are growing louder. In addition, suggestions have been made for alternative procedures that could replace or supplement the P value. Statisticians have tried to invent an indicator similar to the P value, but without its weaknesses. There are many of these options. Besides alternatives within the classical statistical testing paradigm, the use of an alternative statistical approach, so-called Bayesian statistics, is increasingly being discussed. An example of a moderate recommendation is that of using the Bayes factor, essentially an analogue of the P value in the Bayesian world. The aim of this article is to present the Bayes factor in detail, to describe its similarities and dissimilarities with the P value, and discuss the possibilities of its calculation. In addition to computational procedures, a detailed discussion of the weaknesses of the Bayes factor is also included.

Deployment of the formulaic utterance “how about∼” in task-based second language classroom discussions

Formulaic speech has long been of interest in studies of second language learning and pragmatic use as production and comprehension of formulaic utterances requires less processing and production effort and, therefore, allows for greater fluency. This study scrutinizes the sequential positions and actions of one formulaic utterance “how about∼” from the participants’ perspective. This conversation analytic study offers a fine-grained microanalysis of student interaction during classroom peer discussion activities. The data consist of over 54 h of video-recorded classroom interaction. Analysis revealed several positions and actions of “how about∼” as it occurs during peer discussions by Japanese learners of English. Emerging from analysis was a focus on how learners deploy this formulaic utterance to achieve various actions within sequences of interaction. Analysis revealed that participants used “how about∼” for (a) explicitly selecting next speaker, (b) shifting topics, (c) proposing a solution, and (d) suggesting alternative procedures. Although the formula was deployed to perform these four different actions, consistent throughout all instances was the disclosure of learner orientation to the progressivity of the task interaction. The findings show how language learners deploy this formulaic utterance in discussion tasks designed for language learning and highlights the pragmatic functions of this phrase.

Chitin and Nanoquitin Preparation From Mushroom By-products Edible (Agaricus Bisporus) and River Crab (Procambarus Clarkii)

Chitin production processes involve highly polluting treatments, current studies have shown the use of biological methods gave better results because it preserves chitin structure. In this work, chitin was obtained from Agaricus bisporus and Procambarus clarkii following friendly environmental alternative procedures, through a sequential process based on the use of proteases, glucanases. Transformation of microfibrils into nanofibers was accomplished dissolving amorphous regions followed by acid disruption. The chitin concentration determined as N-acetyl glucosamine is 83 ± 1.8% and 80 ± 2.4% for A. bisporus and P. clarkii, respectively, being a good-quality chitin, similar to the commercially available one. Finally, highly uniform, approximately 8 nanometer-wide chitin nanofibers were obtained, which still maintained their original chemical and crystalline structures. The product can be used for industrial applications in pharmacy, cosmetics, agriculture, and wastewater treatment. Keywords: Byproduct of mushroom, Fraction of chitin, Agaricus bisporus, Procambarus clarkii. Resumen Los procesos de producción de quitina implican tratamientos altamente contaminantes, en estudios actuales se ha demostrado que la utilización de métodos biológicos dieron mejores resultados porque preserva la estructura de la quitina. En este trabajo se obtuvo quitina tanto de Agaricus bisporus como de Procambarus clarkii siguiendo procedimientos alternativos amigables con el medio ambiente, mediante un proceso secuencial basado en el uso de proteasas, glucanasas. La transformación de microfibrillas en nanofibras se logró disolviendo las regiones amorfas seguido de la ruptura ácida. La concentración de quitina determinada como N-acetil-glucosamina es de 83 ± 1,8% y 80 ± 2,4%, para A. bisporus y P. clarkii respectivamente, siendo una quitina de buena calidad, similar a la disponible comercialmente. Finalmente se obtuvo nanofibras de quitina altamente uniformes con un ancho de aproximadamente 8 nm que aún mantenían sus estructuras químicas y cristalinas originales. El producto puede ser utilizado para aplicaciones industriales en farmacia, cosmética, agricultura y tratamientos de aguas residuales. Palabras Clave: Subproducto de champiñón, Fracción de Quitina, Agaricus bisporus, Nanoquitina, Procambarus clarkii.

Evaluating the Potential for Correspondence Between Brief Functional Analysis and Interview-Informed Synthesized Contingency Analysis Procedures

School Psychologists regularly conduct Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA), though, most FBA are completed using indirect procedures, which are inadequate for creating function-based interventions relative to experimental measures, such as functional analysis (FA). However, traditional FA may be considered arduous in the school setting. Alternative procedures like brief functional analysis (BFA) and interview informed synthesized contingency analysis (IISCA), may be as effective and more efficient than FA. Limited research exploring the correspondence of these procedures exists. The current study used an alternating treatment design across eight school aged children to compare control and test conditions for each measure. A within subjects approach was also used to compare the results of BFA and IISCA. Correspondence across the two measures was 54.17%. With average correspondence yielding just over half, the results indicate the two FA methods did not reliably identify the same function. Implications for practice are discussed.

A Review of Alternative Procedures to the Bond Ball Mill Standard Grindability Test

Over the years, alternative procedures to the Bond grindability test have been proposed aiming to avoid the need for the standard mill or to reduce and simplify the grinding procedure. Some of them use the standard mill, while others are based on a non-standard mill or computation techniques. Therefore, papers targeting to propose a better alternative claim to improve validity, to reduce test duration, or to propose simpler and faster alternative methods for determining the Bond work index (wi). In this review paper, a compilation and critical analysis of selected proposals is performed, concluding that some of the short procedures could be useful for control purposes, while the simulation-based procedures could be interesting within a process digitalisation strategy.