Development Of New Control Tools Research Articles

Алгоритм оптимального управления замкнутой системой рынка труда на заданном временном интервале

The ratio of supply and demand in the labor market is an important criteria for the effectiveness of the functioning of the economic system at the macro level. Improving the effectiveness of employers' personnel policy requires the development of new control tools and forecasting of dynamic labor market processes at the macro and micro levels. The problem of optimal control of the previously proposed closed labor market system is considered. The problem of optimal control of a system described by a system of nonlinear differential equations is formulated in general form. Aim. Finding piecewise constant control values at which the price-quality ratio in the labor market will be maximum over the next three years. Materials and methods. According to the concept of the model, the subjects of the labor market are divided into three categories depending on the amount of demand for their labor: subjects of high, low and medium qualifications. A hypothesis has been adopted according to which vacant places in the labor market are considered to be occupied by low-skilled subjects. Due to the previously proven uniqueness of solving the problem of optimal control of a closed labor market, a greedy algorithm for finding the maximum value of the price-quality ratio in the labor market is justified. Using Wolfram Mathematica, according to the method found earlier, the formulated optimal control problem was solved at each time half-interval. Results. Control values have been obtained at which the price-quality ratio in the labor market of the village of Sylva in the Perm Territory will be maximum over the next three years. The results substantiate the recommendation to introduce stricter requirements for applicants for vacant positions at the city-forming enterprise of the village of Sylva in the Perm Territory.

Reference set of Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical strains: A tool for research and product development.

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) causes tuberculosis (TB) in humans and various other mammals. The human-adapted members of the MTBC comprise seven phylogenetic lineages that differ in their geographical distribution. There is growing evidence that this phylogeographic diversity modulates the outcome of TB infection and disease. For decades, TB research and development has focused on the two canonical MTBC laboratory strains H37Rv and Erdman, both of which belong to Lineage 4. Relying on only a few laboratory-adapted strains can be misleading as study results might not be directly transferrable to clinical settings where patients are infected with a diverse array of strains, including drug-resistant variants. Here, we argue for the need to expand TB research and development by incorporating the phylogenetic diversity of the MTBC. To facilitate such work, we have assembled a group of 20 genetically well-characterized clinical strains representing the seven known human-adapted MTBC lineages. With the “MTBC clinical strains reference set” we aim to provide a standardized resource for the TB community. We hope it will enable more direct comparisons between studies that explore the physiology of MTBC beyond the laboratory strains used thus far. We anticipate that detailed phenotypic analyses of this reference strain set will increase our understanding of TB biology and assist in the development of new control tools that are broadly effective.

Quantitative Evaluation of the Behavioral Response to Attractant and Repellent Compounds in Anopheles pseudopunctipennis and Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) Larvae.

The mosquito Anopheles pseudopunctipennis (Theobald) is the principal vector for malaria in Latin-America. Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) is the key vector of four important arboviral diseases: dengue, yellow fever, Zika, and chikungunya. Controlling larval stages to reduce the production of new adult mosquitoes is part of the integrated vector management strategies. However, there are few studies about the olfactory behavior on immature stages of mosquitoes, especially in An. pseudopunctipennis. In this work, we have evaluated the behavior of An. pseudopunctipennis and Ae. aegypti larvae in response to attractant or repellent stimuli through a video-tracking analysis. We used the software EthoVision to obtain behavioral variables related to the swimming activity, such as distance, speed, and mobility status. The response to the repellents stimulus results in an increase of the swimming activity and the absolute angular velocity in both species. Otherwise, the responses to the possible attractants stimulus results in a decrease of the activity of the larvae only for Ae. aegypti. The effects of these compounds were weaker in Anopheles; probably as a consequence of their adaptations to different aquatic ecosystems. The study of the larval olfactory response could contribute to the development of new control tools based on 'push-pull' strategies by 'pushing' mosquitoes away from certain places using repellents, and 'pulling' them towards other places like traps baited with attractive cues.

Candidate gene polymorphisms study between human African trypanosomiasis clinical phenotypes in Guinea.

BackgroundHuman African trypanosomiasis (HAT), a lethal disease induced by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, has a range of clinical outcomes in its human host in West Africa: an acute form progressing rapidly to second stage, spontaneous self-cure and individuals able to regulate parasitaemia at very low levels, have all been reported from endemic foci. In order to test if this clinical diversity is influenced by host genetic determinants, the association between candidate gene polymorphisms and HAT outcome was investigated in populations from HAT active foci in Guinea.Methodology and resultsSamples were collected from 425 individuals; comprising of 232 HAT cases, 79 subjects with long lasting positive and specific serology but negative parasitology and 114 endemic controls. Genotypes of 28 SNPs in eight genes passed quality control and were used for an association analysis. IL6 rs1818879 allele A (p = 0.0001, OR = 0.39, CI95 = [0.24–0.63], BONF = 0.0034) was associated with a lower risk of progressing from latent infection to active disease. MIF rs36086171 allele G seemed to be associated with an increased risk (p = 0.0239, OR = 1.65, CI95 = [1.07–2.53], BONF = 0.6697) but did not remain significant after Bonferroni correction. Similarly MIF rs12483859 C allele seems be associated with latent infections (p = 0.0077, OR = 1.86, CI95 = [1.18–2.95], BONF = 0.2157). We confirmed earlier observations that APOL1 G2 allele (DEL) (p = 0.0011, OR = 2.70, CI95 = [1.49–4.91], BONF = 0.0301) is associated with a higher risk and APOL1 G1 polymorphism (p = 0.0005, OR = 0.45, CI95 = [0.29–0.70], BONF = 0.0129) with a lower risk of developing HAT. No associations were found with other candidate genes.ConclusionOur data show that host genes are involved in modulating Trypanosoma brucei gambiense infection outcome in infected individuals from Guinea with IL6 rs1818879 being associated with a lower risk of progressing to active HAT. These results enhance our understanding of host-parasite interactions and, ultimately, may lead to the development of new control tools.

Resistance against Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda) secondary infections in mice is not dependent on the ileal protein production

Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae) is an intestinal trematode, which has been widely employed to investigate the factors determining the rejection of intestinal helminths. Protein production patterns of intestinal epithelial cells are related to the infection-induced changes that determine the course of E. caproni infections. Herein, we compare the protein production profiles in the ileum of four experimental groups of mice: control; infected; dewormed and reinfected. Worm burdens were significantly lower in secondary infections, confirming the generation of partial resistance to homologous secondary infections in mice. However, quantitative comparison by 2D-DIGE showed that the protein production profile is similar in control and dewormed mice, and after primary and secondary E. caproni infections. These results showed that, unexpectedly, protein production changes in E. caproni infections are not responsible of resistance development. Fifty-one protein spots were differentially produced between control/treated and infected/reinfected mice and 37 of them were identified by mass spectrometry. The analysis of differentially abundant proteins indicate that cell metabolism and the regulation of proliferation and cell death are the most affected processes after primary and secondary E. caproni infections. These results provide new insights into the proteins involved in the regulation of tissue homeostasis after intestinal infection. SignificanceIntestinal helminthiases are highly prevalent parasitic infections with about 1 billion people infected worldwide. In this scenario, better understanding of host-parasite relationships is needed to elucidate the factors that determine intestinal helminth rejection. The intestinal trematode Echinostoma caproni has been broadly employed in this field, with resistance against secondary homologous infections reported in mice. In this paper, new insights are provided in the regulation of tissue homeostasis after intestinal infection. The unexpected lack of an altered pattern of ileal protein production associated to resistance development suggests that this resistance depends on rapid changes, affecting the early establishment of worms, rather than the activation of later effector mechanisms. These results may contribute to the development of new control tools for the management of these parasitic infections.

Cyantraniliprole: a valuable tool for Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) management.

Frankliniella occidentalis is a worldwide economically important pest. Scarcity of effective products and cross-resistance issues make resistance to existing insecticides a recurring problem that requires the development of new control tools, such as incorporating novel compounds. Lethal effects of cyantraniliprole on adults and larvae from field and insecticide-resistant populations were evaluated. In addition, the sublethal effects on biological features such as fecundity, fertility, feeding, oviposition and mating were studied. Results obtained for larvae produced LC50 values ranging from 33.4 to 109.2 mg L(-1) , with a low natural variability (3.3-fold) and a LC50 composite value of 52.2 mg L(-1) . The susceptibility for adults was 23-fold lower than for larvae. No evidence of cross-resistance between cyantraniliprole and established insecticides used against thrips was evident. Relevant sublethal effects of cyantraniliprole were demonstrated, including reduced fecundity, fertility, feeding, oviposition and mating success. Low variation in susceptibility across contemporary populations of F. occidentalis and a lack of cross-resistance to other insecticides indicate that cyantraniliprole is a potential candidate in rotation programmes within an insecticide resistance management strategy. The combined sublethal effect on reproduction will have an important impact on population reduction. Available data indicate that cyantraniliprole is likely to be a valuable tool for managing thrips populations.

Cancer and parasitic infections: similarities and opportunities for the development of new control tools

Lifestyle similarities between parasites and cancer have inspired parasitologists to use approaches analogous to those used in oncology and to explore the interface between these fields. The similarities have not escaped the notice of oncologists. Cancer may be thought of as a developing species that behaves in a manner akin to parasites

Innovative developments for long‐term mammalian pest control

Invasive mammalian pests have inflicted substantial environmental and economic damage on a worldwide scale. Over the last 30 years there has been minimal innovation in the development of new control tools. The development of new vertebrate pesticides, for example, has been largely restricted due to the costly and time-consuming processes associated with testing and registration. In this article we discuss recent progress and trends in a number of areas of research aimed to achieve long-term population suppression or eradication of mammalian pest species. The examples discussed here are emerging from research being conducted in New Zealand, where invasive mammalian pests are one of the greatest threats facing the national environment and economy.

A National School of Tropical Medicine and Neglected Infections of Poverty for North America

The turn of the 20th century witnessedthe creation of the world’s first two schoolsof tropical medicine. The LiverpoolSchool of Tropical Medicine admitted itsfirst student in May of 1899, and theLondon School of Tropical Medicine,which eventually became the LondonSchool of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine,six months later [1]. At the beginning, thetwo British tropical medicine schools werefounded on different principles [1,2]. TheLiverpool School was built to providemedical support for a vigorous shippingtrade between Liverpool, one of England’smost active ports, and the coasts of Africa,Asia, and the Caribbean [1]. Launchedwith an initial gift from Alfred Lewis Jones,who made his fortune from shippinginterests in West Africa and elsewhere,the majority of the Liverpool School’spatients who were admitted to the tropicalward of its affiliated Royal SouthernHospital worked in the shipping trade[1]. From 1899 until the outbreak ofWorld War I a cornerstone of the Liver-pool School was expeditions financed bythe Suez Canal Company, the PanamaCanal Commission, and other overseasshipping concerns [1]. The LondonSchool had a somewhat different focus.Established through the force of personal-ity of Sir Patrick Manson (‘‘the father oftropical medicine’’), the London School’soriginal mission was to train generalcolonial medical officers employed in theservices of a vast British empire, whichincluded the military and the IndianMedical Service [2]. By the early 1900s,it was estimated that 10% or more ofBritish physicians were employed as over-seas practitioners [2].Many of the other Western Europeancountries with large colonial holdingssubsequently created schools or institutesof tropical medicine, including the Bern-hard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medi-cine in Hamburg, Germany (1900), theInstitute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp,Belgium (1905), the Royal Tropical Insti-tute (KIT) in Amsterdam, The Nether-lands (1910), and the Swiss Tropical andPublic Health Institute in Basel (1943),among others. In addition to trainingmedical practitioners to work overseas, intime both the British schools and Europe-an Institutes evolved distinguished andvital programs of biomedical research thatled to the discoveries of the life cycles ofseveral important human parasites andmany of the drugs and diagnostics forneglected tropical diseases (NTDs) still inuse today. Thus, while some of theseinstitutions may have been founded withcolonialist intentions, in short order theybecame international resources for re-search and development to combat someof the most important NTDs afflicting theworld’s poor. Today, the same institutionsalso maintain strong research trainingprograms in the biomedical sciences withexcellent track records of trainees whopopulate institutions in both the Northand the South.Fast forward 100 years, and at thebeginning of this new Millennium there isstill no fully dedicated school or institutelocated in North America with the depthand breadth in NTDs research, develop-ment, and training, as those maintained bythe two British tropical medicine schoolsor even some of the larger tropicalinstitutes on the European continent. Tobe sure, there are pockets of greatexcellence in research and training forselected tropical diseases in the schools ofpublic health at Harvard, Johns Hopkins,Tulane, University of California, Berkeley,University of Washington, and the Na-tional Institute of Public Health in Cuer-navaca, Mexico. There is also importantbasic research conducted at the NationalInstitutes of Health and the Institute ofParasitology at McGill; superb publichealth training at the U.S. Centers forDisease Control and Prevention; andinnovation leading to the development ofnew control tools at product developmentpartnerships in Seattle, Washington; SanFrancisco, California; and Washington,D.C. However, today in North Americathere is no comprehensive school orinstitute for NTDs that hosts a fullcomplement of these activities, especiallyfor multiple tropical infections. Similarly,there is no equivalent entity located inNorth America that provides extensivetraining in whole-organism biology for therecognition and manipulation of most ofthe major NTD parasitic, bacterial, andviral agents or their vectors. Thus it is notclear whether there is a school in NorthAmerica whose graduates could pass amodern equivalent of the 100-year-oldfinal examination of the London School ofTropical Medicine:‘‘Students were asked to describe themethods for demonstrating the WidalReaction in typhoid and Mediterraneanfever and for purifying water on the march;to distinguish between the Anopheles andthe Culex mosquito and the differentfilarial embryos; to diagnose leprosy,syphilis, lupus and malaria; and to describethe recommended treatments for cholera andDhobi itch. The laboratory practicum testedfor competence and little more. Studentswere asked to describe the steps to identifyan unknown broth in a test tube, to stain

The neglected tropical diseases of Latin America and the Caribbean: a review of disease burden and distribution and a roadmap for control and elimination.

The neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) represent some of the most common infections of the poorest people living in the Latin American and Caribbean region (LAC). Because they primarily afflict the disenfranchised poor as well as selected indigenous populations and people of African descent, the NTDs in LAC are largely forgotten diseases even though their collective disease burden may exceed better known conditions such as of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, or malaria. Based on their prevalence and healthy life years lost from disability, hookworm infection, other soil-transmitted helminth infections, and Chagas disease are the most important NTDs in LAC, followed by dengue, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, trachoma, leprosy, and lymphatic filariasis. On the other hand, for some important NTDs, such as leptospirosis and cysticercosis, complete disease burden estimates are not available. The NTDs in LAC geographically concentrate in 11 different sub-regions, each with a distinctive human and environmental ecology. In the coming years, schistosomiasis could be eliminated in the Caribbean and transmission of lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis could be eliminated in Latin America. However, the highest disease burden NTDs, such as Chagas disease, soil-transmitted helminth infections, and hookworm and schistosomiasis co-infections, may first require scale-up of existing resources or the development of new control tools in order to achieve control or elimination. Ultimately, the roadmap for the control and elimination of the more widespread NTDs will require an inter-sectoral approach that bridges public health, social services, and environmental interventions.

Hookworm and Poverty

Human hookworm infection is the leading cause of anemia and undernutrition and the second most important parasitic infection of humans. Hookworm occurs almost exclusively in the setting of rural poverty in the developing countries of the tropics. The rural dependency reflects the precise soil and temperature requirements of the environmental life history stages of the parasite, whereas the relationship between hookworm and poverty is based on multiple factors, including inadequate sanitation, the absence of concrete floors in home dwellings, and lack of access to essential medicines. Also, hookworm not only occurs in the setting of poverty but also promotes poverty because of its health and educational effects in children, its adverse effect on pregnancy outcome, and its effect on worker productivity. Since the middle of the 20th century, poverty reduction and urbanization have successfully reduced the prevalence of hookworm in the world's industrialized nations and some middle-income countries. However, the control of hookworm in low-income countries still relies heavily on the frequent and periodic use of anthelminthic drugs either through deworming programs targeting school-aged children or through integrated control programs that simultaneously target the seven neglected tropical diseases, including hookworm. However, the high rates of hookworm reinfection and the possible emergence of drug resistance will ultimately require the development of new control tools--including the Human Hookworm Vaccine, one of several so-called antipoverty vaccines that could undergo development and testing over the next decade.

A new Apicomplexa-specific protein kinase family : multiple members in Plasmodium falciparum, all with an export signature

BackgroundMalaria caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium spp. is a major health burden in tropical countries. The development of new control tools, including vaccines and drugs, is urgently needed. The availability of genome sequences from several malaria parasite species provides a basis on which to identify new potential intervention targets. Database mining for orthologs to the Plasmodium falciparum trophozoite protein R45, a vaccine candidate, led us identify a new gene family.ResultsOrthologs to the P. falciparum trophozoite protein R45 were detected exclusively in protozoan parasites of the phylum Apicomplexa, including several Plasmodium spp., Toxoplasma gondii and Cryptosporidium parvum. All family members are hybrid genes with a conserved C-terminal protein kinase domain of a novel type, recently called FIKK kinase, associated with a non conserved N-terminal region without any known functional signature. While a single copy gene was detected in most species, considerable gene expansion was observed in P. falciparum and its closest phylogenic relative P. reichenowi, with 20 and six copies, respectively, each with a distinct N-terminal domain. Based on full length protein sequence, pairs of orthologs were observed in closely related species, such as P. berghei and P.y. yoelii, P. vivax and P. knowlesi, or P. reichenowi and P. falciparum. All 20 P. falciparum paralogs possess a canonical Plasmodium export element downstream of a signal / anchor sequence required for exportation outside the parasitophorous vacuole. This is consistent with the reported association of the trophozoite protein R45, the only paralog characterised to date, with the infected red blood cell membrane. Interestingly, most genes are located in the subtelomeric region of chromosomes, in association with other multigene families contributing to the remodelling of the infected red blood cell membrane, in particular the ring erythrocyte surface antigen multigene family.ConclusionThis Apicomplexan-specific gene family was called R45-FIKK kinase. The family hallmark is a kinase domain with unusual characteristics, raising the possibility of designing drug or vaccine strategies targeting this domain. The characteristics of the P. falciparum family suggest a role in remodelling the infected cell and as such possibly contribute to the particular virulence of this species.

New methods for product qualification and allocation at the exit of galvanizing and continuous annealing lines

Mechanical properties models and the development of new control tools and methods induce radical changes in the activity of metallurgy quality technicians with regards to product qualification and allocation on the production lines. The conclusion of these projects enables the metallurgists to summarize on a work-friendly and interactive interface all the data required for qualifying the product with the greatest reliability in terms of surface finish, mechanical properties, product and process critical parameters, special instructions, and thus to take the best quality decision possible.The development of these skills leads to an important reduction in the number of off-line tests, and a faster product release, which improves lead times and limits the stock levels. Finally and above all, the warnings on product and process increase our reactivity on the whole production process and contribute to the improvement of our internal and customer quality results.

The Weak Link in Distributed Data Base Security

The architecture of data bases has changed significantly in recent years in response to changes in the needs of users and in the underlying technologies. Changes in microprocessor design have made powerful personal workstations commodity items; network and multimedia capabilities have become commonplace. The development of innovative distributed data bases is one of the major consequences of changes in these enabling technologies. The period of 1980 to 1988 was the era of the centralized data base. Data base administrators extolled the virtues of centralizing data and of removing physical and logical redundancies. Large integrated IMS, IDMS, and other data bases were developed at great effort and expense. Software vendors, in turn, developed new tools and techniques for securing these centralized data bases. For example, extensions to such major access control software packages as RACF and CA-ACF2 were introduced. The era of the distributed data base, which began in 1988 and continues to the present, has necessitated the development of new control tools and techniques.

The Microcomputer/Programmable Controller Syndrome

As the digital control field incorporates new technology (e.g., bubble memory, very large scale integration (VLSI), fiber optics, Josephsen junctions, etc.), the development of new control tools is advancing at a rapid pace. The board-level microcomputer (MC) and the programmable controller (PC) are two types of controller spinoffs from today's technology. The similarity in the architecture and functions of these units makes proper selection difficult. Guidelines for the selection of MC or PC in industrial control applications are provided.