Bayesian Multi-Targets Strategy to Track Apis mellifera Movements at Colony Level.

Interactive movements of bees facilitate the division and organization of collective tasks, notably when they need to face internal or external environmental challenges. Here, we present a Bayesian and computational approach to track the movement of several honey bee, Apis mellifera, workers at colony level. We applied algorithms that combined tracking and Kernel Density Estimation (KDE), allowing measurements of entropy and Probability Distribution Function (PDF) of the motion of tracked organisms. We placed approximately 200 recently emerged and labeled bees inside an experimental colony, which consists of a mated queen, approximately 1000 bees, and a naturally occurring beehive background. Before release, labeled bees were fed for one hour with uncontaminated diets or diets containing a commercial mixture of synthetic fungicides (thiophanate-methyl and chlorothalonil). The colonies were filmed (12 min) at the 1st hour, 5th and 10th days after the bees' release. Our results revealed that the algorithm tracked the labeled bees with great accuracy. Pesticide-contaminated colonies showed anticipated collective activities in peripheral hive areas, far from the brood area, and exhibited reduced swarm entropy and energy values when compared to uncontaminated colonies. Collectively, our approach opens novel possibilities to quantify and predict potential alterations mediated by pollutants (e.g., pesticides) at the bee colony-level.

CO2 capture systems based on saccharides and organic superbases.

In this report, novel systems, based on highly abundant saccharides, D-mannose, D-glucose, ß-cyclodextrin, alginic acid and mannitol, in combination with an organic superbase, tetramethylguanidine (TMG) or 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU), are studied for carbon dioxide capture. With D-mannose and D-glucose, several ratios of equivalents of alcohol groups of saccharide : superbase were tested: 1, 0.625, 0.5 and 0.25. High wt% values of CO2 uptake were obtained with TMG-based systems. However, TMG itself can react directly with CO2, and, in the presence of D-mannose, competition between carbonate and carbamate based products was established. In order to circumvent this competition and obtain exclusively the carbonate-based product, DBU was used instead as an organic superbase. In the D-mannose series the highest result was obtained with a D-mannose : DBU ratio eq. = 0.625 (13.9% CO2 uptake, 3.3/5 alcohol groups converted into carbonates). A more effective stirring system, designed to overcome the high viscosity of the products, allowed the use of a D-glucose : DBU = 1 : 1 ratio with 11.5 wt% of CO2 uptake and 2.47/5 alcohol groups converted into carbonates. Additionally a DSC thermal study was performed in order to study the stability/reversibility of the CO2 loaded systems.

Dipolar motions and ionic conduction in an ibuprofen derived ionic liquid.

It was demonstrated that the combination of the almost water insoluble active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) ibuprofen with the biocompatible 1-ethanol-3-methylimidazolium [C2OHMIM] cation of an ionic liquid (IL) leads to a highly water miscible IL-API with a solubility increased by around 5 orders of magnitude. Its phase transformations, as crystallization and glass transition, are highly sensitive to the water content, the latter shifting to higher temperatures upon dehydration. By dielectric relaxation spectroscopy the dynamical behavior of anhydrous [C2OHMIM][Ibu] and with 18.5 and 3% of water content (w/w) was probed from well below the calorimetric glass transition (Tg) up to the liquid state. Multiple reorientational dipolar processes were detected which become strongly affected by conductivity and electrode polarization near above Tg. Therefore [C2OHMIM][Ibu] exhibits mixed behavior of a conventional molecular glass former and an ionic conductor being analysed in this work through conductivity, electrical modulus and complex permittivity. The dominant process, σα-process, originates by a coupling between both charge transport and dipolar mechanisms. The structural relaxation times were derived from permittivity analysis and confirmed by temperature modulated differential scanning calorimetry. The temperature dependence of the ß-secondary relaxation is coherent with a Johari-Goldstein (ßJG) process as detected in conventional glass formers.

Virus diarrhea of the infant mice. Ultrastructure of the intestinal epithelium (author's transl). / Diarréia a vírus dos camundongos lactentes. aspectos ultraestruturais do epitélio intestinal.

The authors studying ultrastructure of epithelium of infant mice infected with the agent of diarrhea, detected virus particles agglutinated in vesicles measuring 59 +/- 2.00 (0.988) nm. This particles had a core more dense with 30 +/- 2.00 (0.705) nm and was found in all animals studied, sick, normal or with inapparent disease.