Distribution of Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774) in the invaded range: a geographic approach with notes on species traits variability

Corbicula fluminea is considered one of the most important non-native invasive species (NIS) in aquatic systems mainly due to its widespread distribution and ecological and economic impacts. This species is known to negatively affect native bivalves, also with severe effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Throughout an exhaustive bibliographic survey and with the aid of Geographic Information Systems tools, this study tracks the species dispersion from its native range, including the description of important physical and environmental barriers. Additional analyses were conducted to examine possible influences of latitudinal/ temperature gradients on important traits (e.g. life span, maximum and mean body length, growth at the end of first year). Altitude and winter minimum temperature appear to be delaying the invasion worldwide, but it seems inevitable that the species will spread across the globe. Latitude and summer temperature show a relationship with growth and life span. Overall, the information gathered in this review may be relevant to forecast future distribution patterns of this NIS, and to anticipate the possible implementation of effective management measures. Moreover, it may constitute a valuabletool inthe prediction of population responses to an increasingly changing environment.This research was supported by FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology), through a PhD grant attributed to D. Crespo (SFRH/BD/80252/2011), a post-doc grant attributed to S. Leston (SFRH/BPD/91828/2012) and M Dolbeth (SFRH/BPD/41117/2007) and BIOCHANGED project (PTDC/MAR/111901/2009), subsidized by the European Social Fund and MCTES (Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior) National Funds, through the POPH (Human Potential Operational Programme), QREN (National Strategic Reference Framework) and COMPETE (Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Parosteal osteosarcoma with myocardial metastasis 13 years after follow-up Osteossarcoma parostal com metástase miocárdica após 13 anos de seguimento

PURPOSE: To report the case of a woman with a diagnosis of grade II (low grade) parosteal osteosarcoma with the occurrence of myocardial metastasis 13 years after resection, and to present a review of the existing literature on the subject. METHODS: Description of the case and review of the literature. CONCLUSION: The review leads to the conclusion that the occurrence of metastasis from parosteal osteosarcoma can occur in up to 38% of the cases, in spite of its relatively low aggressiveness. However, myocardial metastasis of a parosteal osteosarcoma is an event that was not found in the literature.<br>OBJETIVOS: Os autores relatam um caso de uma paciente do sexo feminino, com diagnóstico de osteossarcoma parostal grau II (baixo grau), que evoluiu com a ocorrência de metástase miocárdica 13 anos após a ressecção do tumor e incluem uma revisão da literatura sobre o assunto. MÉTODOS: Descrição do caso e revisão da literatura. CONCLUSÕES: A revisão leva à conclusão que a existência de metástases oriundas do osteossarcoma parosteal pode ocorrer em até 38 % dos casos, a despeito da sua relativa baixa agressividade. No entanto, a metástase miocárdica constitui um evento não relatado na literatura

References genes for qRT-PCR in guaraná (Paullina cupana var. sorbilis)

Gene expression has been extensively studied in plant science research, mainly for the assessment of plant stress responses. Real-time-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is an important tool for obtaining this information because it is a quick and easy technique to acquire a large amount of molecular data for both model and non-model plants. For a successful RT-qPCR analysis, gene expression should be carefully normalised. Genes involved in essential biological processes that exhibit constitutive expression are commonly selected as internal standards to normalise RT-qPCR experiments. In this study, the transcription profiles of 13 candidate reference genes for RT-qPCR were evaluated in three guarana cultivars (BRS-Amazonas, BRS-Maués and BRS-Luzéia) using different tissues (vegetative and fruit) in varying developmental stages. Two different algorithms, NormFinder and GeNorm, were utilised to assess gene stability. In general, the two algorithms did not select the same pairs of genes for all analysed conditions. For the largest group (the fruits of all cultivars), NormFinder selected the pair EF1A/UBQ, whereas GeNorm chose ACT/GAPDH as the best normalising genes. Thus, we recommend the use of at least four reference genes for the normalisation of gene expression in guarana plant studies. © 2015, Botanical Society of Sao Paulo

Proposal for a strategic planning for the replacement of products in stores based on sales forecast

This paper presents a proposal for strategic planning for the replacement of products in stores of a supermarket network. A quantitative method for forecasting time series is used for this, the Artificial Radial Basis Neural Networks (RBFs), and also a qualitative method to interpret the forecasting results and establish limits for each product stock for each store in the network. The purpose with this strategic planning is to reduce the levels of out-of-stock products (lack of products on the shelves), as well as not to produce overstocking, in addition to increase the level of logistics service to customers. The results were highly satisfactory reducing the Distribution Center (DC) to shop out-of-stock levels, in average, from 12% to about 0.7% in hypermarkets and from 15% to about 1.7% in supermarkets, thereby generating numerous competitive advantages for the company. The use of RBFs for forecasting proved to be efficient when used in conjunction with the replacement strategy proposed in this work, making effective the operational processes

Heme oxygenase-1 and carbon monoxide suppress the pathogenesis of experimental cerebral malaria.

Cerebral malaria claims more than 1 million lives per year. We report that heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1, encoded by Hmox1) prevents the development of experimental cerebral malaria (ECM). BALB/c mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA upregulated HO-1 expression and activity and did not develop ECM. Deletion of Hmox1 and inhibition of HO activity increased ECM incidence to 83% and 78%, respectively. HO-1 upregulation was lower in infected C57BL/6 compared to BALB/c mice, and all infected C57BL/6 mice developed ECM (100% incidence). Pharmacological induction of HO-1 and exposure to the end- product of HO-1 activity, carbon monoxide (CO), reduced ECM incidence in C57BL/6 mice to 10% and 0%, respectively. Whereas neither HO-1 nor CO affected parasitemia, both prevented blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption, brain microvasculature congestion and neuroinflammation, including CD8(+) T-cell brain sequestration. These effects were mediated by the binding of CO to hemoglobin, preventing hemoglobin oxidation and the generation of free heme, a molecule that triggers ECM pathogenesis

The impact of surgical delay on resectability of colorectal cancer: An international prospective cohort study

AimThe SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to explore the impact of surgical delays on cancer resectability. This study aimed to compare resectability for colorectal cancer patients undergoing delayed versus non-delayed surgery.MethodsThis was an international prospective cohort study of consecutive colorectal cancer patients with a decision for curative surgery (January-April 2020). Surgical delay was defined as an operation taking place more than 4 weeks after treatment decision, in a patient who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy. A subgroup analysis explored the effects of delay in elective patients only. The impact of longer delays was explored in a sensitivity analysis. The primary outcome was complete resection, defined as curative resection with an R0 margin.ResultsOverall, 5453 patients from 304 hospitals in 47 countries were included, of whom 6.6% (358/5453) did not receive their planned operation. Of the 4304 operated patients without neoadjuvant therapy, 40.5% (1744/4304) were delayed beyond 4 weeks. Delayed patients were more likely to be older, men, more comorbid, have higher body mass index and have rectal cancer and early stage disease. Delayed patients had higher unadjusted rates of complete resection (93.7% vs. 91.9%, P = 0.032) and lower rates of emergency surgery (4.5% vs. 22.5%, P ConclusionOne in 15 colorectal cancer patients did not receive their planned operation during the first wave of COVID-19. Surgical delay did not appear to compromise resectability, raising the hypothesis that any reduction in long-term survival attributable to delays is likely to be due to micro-metastatic disease