MANAGEMENT OF THE VEGETATION UNDER ELECTRICAL ENERGY TRANSMISSION LINES IN THE SERRA DE BATURIT\uc9

Entre os impactos diretos causados pela instala\ue7\ue3o de redes el\ue9tricas sobre a vegeta\ue7\ue3o e o solo ressaltam-se a fragmenta\ue7\ue3o de trechos de mata, os efeitos de borda decorrentes da derrubada de \ue1reas florestadas, o estabelecimento de corredores sob as linhas de transmiss\ue3o de energia e a acelera\ue7\ue3o de processos erosivos do solo. Objetivou-se, no presente estudo, propor alternativas de manejo racional da cobertura vegetal de mata atl\ue2ntica em \ue1reas sob linhas de transmiss\ue3o de energia el\ue9trica (ALTEEs), instaladas na Serra de Baturit\ue9, Cear\ue1. Foram selecionadas e delimitadas ALTEEs situadas na vertente barlavento e nos intervalos altitudinais abaixo de 600, entre 600 e 800 e acima de 800 metros, em redes de m\ue9dia (13,8 kV) e alta tens\ue3o (69 kV). Foram selecionadas e avaliadas \ue1reas n\ue3o-perturbadas, consideradas como referencial no estudo comparativo com as ALTEEs. Os resultados apontaram que o manejo da vegeta\ue7\ue3o em \ue1reas sob linhas de transmiss\ue3o de energia deve considerar principalmente os seguintes aspectos: (1) o h\ue1bito de crescimento das esp\ue9cies em \ue1reas n\ue3o-perturbadas; (2) a taxa de crescimento da vegeta\ue7\ue3o; (3) a\ue7\uf5es distintas nas regi\uf5es imediatamente abaixo da rede el\ue9trica, na faixa de servid\ue3o e acima da faixa de servid\ue3o. A execu\ue7\ue3o do plano de manejo, associado \ue0s constantes avalia\ue7\uf5es t\ue9cnicas, possibilitar\ue3o a adequa\ue7\ue3o da metodologia para as diferentes situa\ue7\uf5es ambientais da Serra de Baturit\ue9 e/ou outras localidades.Forest fragmentation, board effects, establishment of corridors without vegetation and the acceleration of soil erosive processes are some direct impacts occurring on the vegetation and soil due to installation of electrical transmission lines. The goal of the present study was to propose alternatives for the sustainable management of the Atlantic Forest in areas under electrical transmission lines (ALTEEs) installed in the Baturit\ue9 Mountain, Cear\ue1, Brazil. It was selected and delimited ALTEEs located in the windward slope at the altitudinal ranges below to 600, between 600 and 800 and above to 800 meters in electric networks of low (13,8 kV) and high tension (69 kV). It was also selected undisturbed areas considered as referential in comparison to the ALTEEs. The results pointed out that management of the vegetation in areas under electrical transmission lines should mainly consider the following aspects: (1) growth habit of tree species within undisturbed areas; (2) growth rates of the vegetation; (3) differentiated management procedures on the vegetation situated immediately below the electrical lines, within intervention area and beyond to the intervention area. The execution of the management plan associated to the constant technical evaluations will make possible the adaptation of the methodology for the different environmental situations in the Baturit\ue9 Mountain and/or other regions

Cognitive function during early abstinence from opioid dependence: a comparison to age, gender, and verbal intelligence matched controls

BACKGROUND: Individuals with opioid dependence have cognitive deficits during abuse period in attention, working memory, episodic memory, and executive function. After protracted abstinence consistent cognitive deficit has been found only in executive function. However, few studies have explored cognitive function during first weeks of abstinence. The purpose of this study was to study cognitive function of individuals with opioid dependence during early abstinence. It was hypothesized that cognitive deficits are pronounced immediately after peak withdrawal symptoms have passed and then partially recover. METHODS: Fifteen patients with opioid dependence and fifteen controls matched for, age, gender, and verbal intelligence were tested with a cognitive test battery When patients performed worse than controls correlations between cognitive performance and days of withdrawal, duration of opioid abuse, duration of any substance abuse, or opioid withdrawal symptom inventory score (Short Opiate Withdrawal Scale) were analyzed. RESULTS: Early abstinent opioid dependent patients performed statistically significantly worse than controls in tests measuring complex working memory, executive function, and fluid intelligence. Their complex working memory and fluid intelligence performances correlated statistically significantly with days of withdrawal. CONCLUSION: The results indicate a rather general neurocognitive deficit in higher order cognition. It is suggested that cognitive deficit during early abstinence from opioid dependence is related to withdrawal induced neural dysregulation in the prefrontal cortex and is partly transient

The 2019 Mathematical Oncology Roadmap.

Whether the nom de guerre is Mathematical Oncology, Computational or Systems Biology, Theoretical Biology, Evolutionary Oncology, Bioinformatics, or simply Basic Science, there is no denying that mathematics continues to play an increasingly prominent role in cancer research. Mathematical Oncology-defined here simply as the use of mathematics in cancer research-complements and overlaps with a number of other fields that rely on mathematics as a core methodology. As a result, Mathematical Oncology has a broad scope, ranging from theoretical studies to clinical trials designed with mathematical models. This Roadmap differentiates Mathematical Oncology from related fields and demonstrates specific areas of focus within this unique field of research. The dominant theme of this Roadmap is the personalization of medicine through mathematics, modelling, and simulation. This is achieved through the use of patient-specific clinical data to: develop individualized screening strategies to detect cancer earlier; make predictions of response to therapy; design adaptive, patient-specific treatment plans to overcome therapy resistance; and establish domain-specific standards to share model predictions and to make models and simulations reproducible. The cover art for this Roadmap was chosen as an apt metaphor for the beautiful, strange, and evolving relationship between Two Beasts: mathematics and cancer.NIH (R01CA16437, R01NS060752, U54CA210180, U54CA143970, U54193489, U01CA220378)James S. McDonnell FoundationBen & Catherine Ivy Foundatio

The mammals of Angola

Scientific investigations on the mammals of Angola started over 150 years ago, but information remains scarce and scattered, with only one recent published account. Here we provide a synthesis of the mammals of Angola based on a thorough survey of primary and grey literature, as well as recent unpublished records. We present a short history of mammal research, and provide brief information on each species known to occur in the country. Particular attention is given to endemic and near endemic species. We also provide a zoogeographic outline and information on the conservation of Angolan mammals. We found confirmed records for 291 native species, most of which from the orders Rodentia (85), Chiroptera (73), Carnivora (39), and Cetartiodactyla (33). There is a large number of endemic and near endemic species, most of which are rodents or bats. The large diversity of species is favoured by the wide range of habitats with contrasting environmental conditions, while endemism tends to be associated with unique physiographic settings such as the Angolan Escarpment. The mammal fauna of Angola includes 2 Critically Endangered, 2 Endangered, 11 Vulnerable, and 14 Near-Threatened species at the global scale. There are also 12 data deficient species, most of which are endemics or near endemics to the countryinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa’s major land uses

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species’ population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate ‘intactness scores’: the remaining proportion of an ‘intact’ reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region’s major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.) and intensities (e.g., large-scale vs smallholder cropland). This dataset was co-produced as part of the Biodiversity Intactness Index for Africa Project. Additional uses include assessing ecosystem condition; rectifying geographic/ taxonomic biases in global biodiversity indicators and maps; and informing the Red List of Ecosystems