O Sítio Submarino dos Cortiçais

Artigo sobre os trabalhos arqueológicos subaquáticos desenvolvidos no sitio dos Cortiçais (Peniche

Construção de gaiola para abelhas Apis mellifera iberiensis em laboratório

 Diversos estudos têm sido desenvolvidos para obtenção de um ambiente laboratorial adequado, que permita a elaboração de experimentos in vitro com abelhas Apis mellifera, de forma a reproduzir o seu ambiente natural e avaliar diferentes variáveis que interferem no seu ciclo de vida. No entanto, desenvolver uma metodologia padronizada adequada ainda é um grande obstáculo a ser superado. Diversos materiais e métodos são utilizados para fins de pesquisa, mas ainda apresentam algumas limitações. Assim, este trabalho teve como principal objetivo propor uma metodologia de elaboração de gaiolas e alimentadores com material reciclável, possíveis de ser autoclavados a 130ºC por 30 minutos sendo a pressão de acordo com o protocolo do laboratório) e reutilizados. O material utilizado para a confecção das gaiolas foi o copo plástico transparente de 300 ml, com perfurações nas laterais (12 furos) e na parte superior (4 furos) para permitir a ventilação dentro da estufa. Para a alimentação foi utilizado 14suplementos foram distribuídas da seguinte forma 8 com suplementos energéticos e 4 com suplementos proteicos e um a gaiola com mel e outra somente com água potável. Como objetivo de simular o ambiente da colônia foi introduzida uma tira de cera laminada no centro da gaiola, para permitir a agregação das abelhas e acesso aos alimentadores. Para o manejo de retirada das abelhas mortas foi confeccionada uma abertura na tampa inferior da gaiola, com um dispositivo que permitiu a abertura e o fechamento do mesmo. Essas modificações auxiliam na condução de estudos in vitro de forma prática e segura para os operadores, sem causar fatores de estresse nas abelhas e reproduzir mais fielmente o ambiente natural das colônias. Este estudo utilizou 14 gaiolas com 50 abelhas que alcançaram 22 dias de longevidade com isso demostrou otimizar os trabalhos realizados em laboratório, neste caso direcionado ao estudo das abelhas Apis mellifera, mas que poderá, em fases posteriores, ser devidamente adaptado a outros insetos sociais

MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL : A data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in P ortugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with 26% of all species being includedin the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associatedwith habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mam-mals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion formarine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems func-tionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is cru-cial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS INPORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublishedgeoreferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mam-mals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira thatincludes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occur-ring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live obser-vations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%),bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent lessthan 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrowsjsoil moundsjtunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animaljhairjskullsjjaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8),observation in shelters, (9) photo trappingjvideo, (10) predators dietjpelletsjpine cones/nuts, (11) scatjtrackjditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalizationjecholocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and100 m (76%). Rodentia (n=31,573) has the highest number of records followedby Chiroptera (n=18,857), Carnivora (n=18,594), Lagomorpha (n=17,496),Cetartiodactyla (n=11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n=7008). The data setincludes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened(e.g.,Oryctolagus cuniculus[n=12,159],Monachus monachus[n=1,512],andLynx pardinus[n=197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate thepublication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contrib-ute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting onthe development of more accurate and tailored conservation managementstrategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite thisdata paper when the data are used in publications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mammals in Portugal: a data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in Portugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with ~26% of all species being included in the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associated with habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mammals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion for marine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems functionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is crucial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublished georeferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mammals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira that includes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occurring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live observations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%), bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent less than 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrows | soil mounds | tunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animal | hair | skulls | jaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8), observation in shelters, (9) photo trapping | video, (10) predators diet | pellets | pine cones/nuts, (11) scat | track | ditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalization | echolocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and 100 m (76%). Rodentia (n =31,573) has the highest number of records followed by Chiroptera (n = 18,857), Carnivora (n = 18,594), Lagomorpha (n = 17,496), Cetartiodactyla (n = 11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n = 7008). The data set includes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened (e.g., Oryctolagus cuniculus [n = 12,159], Monachus monachus [n = 1,512], and Lynx pardinus [n = 197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate the publication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contribute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting on the development of more accurate and tailored conservation management strategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications

Diversidade genética e diferenciação das raças portuguesas de ovinos com base em marcadores de DNA-microssatélites: uma perspectiva de conservação

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciência AnimalNas últimas décadas tem crescido a consciencialização de quanto é urgente tomar medidas que visem travar o crescente desaparecimento de raças de animais domésticos, de forma a evitar a erosão dos recursos genéticos disponíveis e com ela a redução de opções futuras em termos de adaptabilidade e diversidade de produtos. Neste estudo foram usados microssatélites (marcadores de DNA recomendados pela FAO) para investigar a variabilidade genética dentro e entre raças portuguesas de ovinos, nomeadamente das raças Bordaleira de Entre Douro e Minho - BEDM, Churra Algarvia - CA, Churra Badana - CB, Churra do Campo - CC, Churra Galega Bragançana - CGB, Churra Galega Mirandesa - CGM, Campaniça - CMP, Churra Mondegueira - CM, Churra da Terra Quente - CTQ, Merino Branco - MB, Merino da Beira Baixa - MBB, Merino Preto - MP, Serra da Estrela – SL e Saloia – SL, procurando dar um contributo para o seu conhecimento de base e, consequentemente para a sua preservação. Para o efeito foram amostrados um total de 717 animais originários das referidas 14 raças ovinas e determinados os genótipos relativos a 20 microssatélites. A informação obtida foi usada para estimar a riqueza alélica e a heterozigotia em cada raça, analisar a estrutura e relação de similaridade entre raças através de diversas distâncias genéticas e da representação das raças no espaço Euclidiano recorrendo à análise factorial de correspondência. Adicionalmente, foi estudada a hierarquia de prioridade de conservação com base exclusivamente no critério de similaridade genética, recorrendo a duas abordagens diferentes. Procurou-se também avaliar os microssatélites quanto ao poder informativo e à capacidade discriminante na determinação da origem racial dos indivíduos amostrados ou dos simulados de acordo com as frequências alélicas de cada população. Apesar da redução drástica do efectivo a que as raças portuguesas têm sido sujeitas, os resultados alcançados revelaram a presença de uma elevada diversidade no interior de cada raça, patente nos valores médios de 9 alelos/locus e de 0,762 para a riqueza alélica e heterozigotia esperada, respectivamente, valores esses que se situaram ligeiramente acima do que foi apontado para outras raças europeias de ovinos, submetidas a estudos semelhantes. A Churra Algarvia e a Churra Galega Mirandesa foram aquelas que apresentaram o menor e o maior valor de riqueza alélica, 6,9 e 9,1 alelos/locus, respectivamente. Para a heterozigotia esperada, o valor mínimo de 0,729 foi observado na Churra Badana e o máximo de 0,782 na Churra Galega Bragançana. O desvio significativo do equilíbrio de Hardy-Weinberg, observado para o microssatélite McM357, em 13 raças levou a que este fosse excluído das análises em que tal equilíbrio era um requisito. Este desvio sugere a presença de alelos nulos nesse microssatélite, razão pela qual recomendamos que não seja utilizado neste tipo de estudos. A análise da estrutura populacional apontou no sentido de uma diferenciação significativa (P<0,01) entre todos os pares possíveis das 14 raças. Contudo, da diversidade genética total, apenas 2,6% foram devidos a diferenças entre raças, enquanto os restantes 97,4% corresponderam a diferenças entre indivíduos dentro das raças. O cálculo de distâncias genéticas e a construção de fenogramas, bem como a análise factorial de correspondência, permitiram estabelecer uma relação de similaridade entre as 14 raças, verificando-se que as raças CA e MB foram as mais dissemelhantes, enquanto que as raças CM e CTQ foram as mais próximas. A posição que cada raça ocupou na hierarquia de prioridade de conservação que ensaiamos foi muito influenciada pela metodologia utilizada, pondo em evidência a dificuldade da tomada de uma decisão relativa a esta temática, uma vez que apenas esteve em análise um de entre vários critérios a ter em consideração. O método Bayesiano de atribuição foi aquele que originou melhores resultados, apesar disso, com excepção da raça CA, os 19 microssatélites mostraram-se insuficientes para discriminar com segurança as 14 raças de ovinas portuguesas. Os resultados sugeriram que os microssatélites com maior valor médio de riqueza alélica e de heterozigotia esperada no conjunto das populações devem ser os preferidos para este tipo de análise. Por último, a integração do conhecimento que já se detinha sobre as raças e os resultados agora obtidos permitiram-nos evidenciar a fiabilidade do uso de microssatélites neste tipo de estudos e em particular para as raças portuguesas de ovinos.In this study microsatellites (DNA markers recommended by FAO) were used to evaluate the genetic variability within and among Portuguese sheep breeds, namely of the Bordaleira de Entre Douro e Minho - BEDM, Churra Algarvia - CA, Churra Badana - CB, Churro do Campo - CC, Churra Galega Bragançana - CGB, Churra Galega Mirandesa - CGM, Campaniça - CMP, Churra Mondegueira - CM, Churra da Terra Quente - CTQ, Merino Branco - MB, Merino da Beira Baixa - MBB, Merino Preto - MP, Serra da Estrela – SL and Saloia – SL, as a attemp to contribute to their preservation. For the aim a total of 717 animals of those 14 sheep breeds were sampled and the genotypes to 20 microsatellites were determined. Data was used to estimate the allele richness and the heterozigosity in each breed, to analyze the structure and similarity relationship among breeds using several genetic distances and the representation of the breeds in the Euclidean space based on correspondence factorial analysis. Additionally the hierarchy of conservation priority was studied exclusively based on genetic similarity criteria, using two different approaches. Microsatellites were also evaluated for the informative power and discrimination capacity to recognize the breed origin of the sampled individuals or simulated ones according to the allelic frequencies of each population. Despite the drastic reduction of the sheep number that has occurred in Portuguese breeds, results have shown the presence of high diversity within each breed, expressed in the mean values of 9 alleles/locus and 0.762 for the allelic richness and expected heterozigosity, respectively, which are slightly higher than those observed in other studies previously published concerning different sheep breeds. Churra Algarvia and Churra Galega Mirandesa were the ones presenting the smallest and the largest value of allelic richness, 6.9 and 9.1 aleles/locus, respectively. For the expected heterozigosity, the minimum value of 0.729 was observed in Churra Badana and the maximum of 0.782 in Churra Galega Bragançana. The significant deviation of the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium observed in 13 breeds for microsatellite McM357, has determined its exclusion from the analysis where such equilibrium was a mandatory requirement. This deviation suggests the presence of null alleles in that microsatellite, for which we recommended that it should be in this type of studies. The analysis of the population structure pointed towards a significant differentiation (P<0.01) among all the possible pairs of the 14 breeds. However, from total genetic diversity, only 2.6% were due to differentiation among breeds, while the remaining 97.4% corresponded to differences among individuals within each breed. The calculation of genetic distances and phenograms construction, as well as the correspondence factorial analysis, allowed to establish a similarity relationship among the 14 races, were CA and MB breeds were the more dissimilar while CM and CTQ breeds were the closest. The position that each breed occupied in the hierarchy of conservation priority was very influenced by the methodology used, enhancing the inherent difficulty for taken decision in this field, since only one out of several criteria were taken into consideration. The Bayesian assignation method has produced better results, however, with exception of the CA breed, the 19 microsatellites have proven insufficient to discriminate with high confidence the 14 Portuguese sheep breeds. The results suggested that microsatellites with larger allelic richness and expected heterozigoty mean values in the group of the populations should be selected for this type of analysis. Lastly, the integration of the background knowledge and the present data has allowed to confirm the reability of microsatellite analysis on this type of studies, particularly concerning Portuguese sheep breeds

Global variation in postoperative mortality and complications after cancer surgery: a multicentre, prospective cohort study in 82 countries

© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licenseBackground: 80% of individuals with cancer will require a surgical procedure, yet little comparative data exist on early outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared postoperative outcomes in breast, colorectal, and gastric cancer surgery in hospitals worldwide, focusing on the effect of disease stage and complications on postoperative mortality. Methods: This was a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of consecutive adult patients undergoing surgery for primary breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer requiring a skin incision done under general or neuraxial anaesthesia. The primary outcome was death or major complication within 30 days of surgery. Multilevel logistic regression determined relationships within three-level nested models of patients within hospitals and countries. Hospital-level infrastructure effects were explored with three-way mediation analyses. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03471494. Findings: Between April 1, 2018, and Jan 31, 2019, we enrolled 15 958 patients from 428 hospitals in 82 countries (high income 9106 patients, 31 countries; upper-middle income 2721 patients, 23 countries; or lower-middle income 4131 patients, 28 countries). Patients in LMICs presented with more advanced disease compared with patients in high-income countries. 30-day mortality was higher for gastric cancer in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (adjusted odds ratio 3·72, 95% CI 1·70–8·16) and for colorectal cancer in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (4·59, 2·39–8·80) and upper-middle-income countries (2·06, 1·11–3·83). No difference in 30-day mortality was seen in breast cancer. The proportion of patients who died after a major complication was greatest in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (6·15, 3·26–11·59) and upper-middle-income countries (3·89, 2·08–7·29). Postoperative death after complications was partly explained by patient factors (60%) and partly by hospital or country (40%). The absence of consistently available postoperative care facilities was associated with seven to 10 more deaths per 100 major complications in LMICs. Cancer stage alone explained little of the early variation in mortality or postoperative complications. Interpretation: Higher levels of mortality after cancer surgery in LMICs was not fully explained by later presentation of disease. The capacity to rescue patients from surgical complications is a tangible opportunity for meaningful intervention. Early death after cancer surgery might be reduced by policies focusing on strengthening perioperative care systems to detect and intervene in common complications. Funding: National Institute for Health Research Global Health Research Unit

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licenseBackground: Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide. Methods: A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study—a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital. Findings: Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3·85 [95% CI 2·58–5·75]; p<0·0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63·0% vs 82·7%; OR 0·35 [0·23–0·53]; p<0·0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer. Interpretation: Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised. Funding: National Institute for Health and Care Research