Movimentação de pequenos mamíferos em fragmentos florestais na cidade de Cerro Largo, RS

This study aimed to analyze the movement of small mammals in two Atlantic forest fragments in the municipality of Cerro Largo, northwest of the Rio Grande do Sul state, where I examine the factors that influence the movement of four small mammal species. For data collection, we carry out the seasonal field sessions in two forest fragments, where each fragment was sampled with three transects with 7 capture points each, and at each point two live traps were placed. I used Sherman and Tomahawk live traps. To analyze the factors that influence small mammal movement, I used as independent variables animal sex (female or male), body weight and season of the year (winter, spring, summer or autumn) in relation to animal movement. The species collected were Akodon montensis, Oligorizomys flavescens, Oryzomys sp. and Didelphis albiventris, 3 species of the order Rodentia and one of the order Didelphimorphia. For the rodents species, the main factor that influenced movement behavior was the animal sex. Males tend to moved more than females. To the marsupial, D. albiventris, none of the factors analyzed seems to influence its movement behavior. According to the bibliography, males tend to move mainly searching for females for mating, and therefore they tend to cover the home range of more than one female. On the other hand, females movement occurs mainly for food resource searching only.Este estudo teve por objetivo analisar os fatores que influenciam a movimentação de pequenos mamíferos em dois fragmentos de Mata Atlântica no município de Cerro Largo, noroeste do Rio Grande do Sul. Para a coleta de dados, realizou-se saídas a campo estacionais em dois fragmentos florestais, sendo, em cada fragmento estabelecido três transectos com 7 pontos de captura cada, e em cada ponto duas armadilhas foram dispostas, do tipo Sherman ou Tomahawk. Para análise e constatação dos fatores que influenciam na mobilidade utilizou-se as variáveis independentes sexo, peso e estação do ano em relação à movimentação dos animais. As espécies coletadas foram Akodon montensis, Oligorizomys flavescens, Oryzomys sp. e Didelphis albiventris, sendo 3 espécies da ordem Rodentia e uma da ordem Didelphimorphia. Para as três espécies de roedores, o principal fator que influenciou seu padrão de movimentação foi o sexo do indivíduo, onde machos tendem a mover mais que as fêmeas, sendo portanto as distâncias percorridas, em média, maiores para eles. Para o marsupial D. albiventris, nenhum dos fatores analisados parece influenciar a sua movimentação. De acordo com a bibliografia a movimentação dos machos é principalmente destinada à busca por fêmeas para acasalamento, e a média de movimentos percorridos por eles acabam aumentando em época de reprodução, já as fêmeas possuem como base a movimentação em busca por recursos, pois necessitam de ganhos energéticos maiores que os machos, principalmente na gestação e lactação

Trade-off for survival: Microbiome response to chemical exposure combines activation of intrinsic resistances and adapted metabolic activity

The environmental microbiota is increasingly exposed to chemical pollution. While the emergence of multi-resistant pathogens is recognized as a global challenge, our understanding of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) development from native microbiomes and the risks associated with chemical exposure is limited. By implementing a lichen as a bioindicator organism and model for a native microbiome, we systematically examined responses towards antimicrobials (colistin, tetracycline, glyphosate, and alkylpyrazine). Despite an unexpectedly high resilience, we identified potential evolutionary consequences of chemical exposure in terms of composition and functioning of native bacterial communities. Major shifts in bacterial composition were observed due to replacement of naturally abundant taxa; e.g. Chthoniobacterales by Pseudomonadales. A general response, which comprised activation of intrinsic resistance and parallel reduction of metabolic activity at RNA and protein levels was deciphered by a multi-omics approach. Targeted analyses of key taxa based on metagenome-assembled genomes reflected these responses but also revealed diversified strategies of their players. Chemical-specific responses were also observed, e.g., glyphosate enriched bacterial r-strategists and activated distinct ARGs. Our work demonstrates that the high resilience of the native microbiota toward antimicrobial exposure is not only explained by the presence of antibiotic resistance genes but also adapted metabolic activity as a trade-off for survival. Moreover, our results highlight the importance of native microbiomes as important but so far neglected AMR reservoirs. We expect that this phenomenon is representative for a wide range of environmental microbiota exposed to chemicals that potentially contribute to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria from natural environments

Feministisch-politologische Perspektiven auf Biomedizinpolitik

'PolitologInnen sind in der gegenwärtigen kontroversen Debatte zur Biomedizinpolitik sowohl mit wissenschaftlichen Analysen als auch als ExpertInnen in einschlägigen Beratungsgremien erstaunlich abwesend. Dabei könnte die Politikwissenschaft mit ihren unterschiedlichen Teildisziplinen wichtige Beiträge zur Erforschung von Biomedizinpolitik leisten. Für das Fehlen kann ein Bündel von Faktoren identifiziert werden, von der Spezifik des Politikfeldes über methodologische und theoretische Orientierungen der Politikwissenschaft bis hin zu wissenschaftspolitischen Motiven. Ein zentraler Grund ist die Überschneidung dreier Themen- und Problemfelder, die im politikwissenschaftlichen Mainstream tendenziell als außerpolitisch gelten und/ oder in unzureichender Weise theoretisch erfasst sind: Körper, Ethik und Naturwissenschaften/ Technologie. Feministische Politikwissenschaft ist in verschiedener Hinsicht für die Analyse von Biomedizinpolitik besser gerüstet, da sie mit der Analyse von Körperpolitik und mit normativen Fragen Erfahrungen hat.' (Autorenreferat)'In the current debate about biomedicine policy, political scientists are largely absent as analysts of the controversy and as experts in advisory commissions. However, political science and its various sub-disciplines could make important and specific disciplinary contributions to the debate. This gap can be attributed to a variety of factors, ranging from issue characteristics to methodological and theoretical orientations in political science as well as to political reasons. The major cause is the intersection of three distinct issues and problems all of which are regarded as non-political and, thus, are not sufficiently theorised in political science: the body, ethics, and science and technology. Feminist political science is better equipped to analyse biomedicine policy because of its experience with the analysis of body politics and the integration of normative concerns.' (author's abstract

Decoherence and Entanglement Dynamics of Coupled Qubits

We study the entanglement dynamics and relaxation properties of a system of two interacting qubits in the two cases (I) two independent bosonic baths and (II) one common bath, at temperature T. The entanglement dynamics is studied in terms of the concurrence C (t) between the two spins and of the von Neumann entropy S(t) with respect to the bath, as a function of time. We prove that the system does thermalize. In the case (II) of a single bath, the existence of a decoherence-free (DFS) subspace makes entanglement dynamics very rich. We show that when the system is initially in a state with a component in the DFS the relaxation time is surprisingly long, showing the existence of semi-decoherence free subspaces. The equilibrium state in this case is not the Gibbs state. The entanglement dynamics for the single bath case is also studied as a function of temperature, coupling strength with the environment and strength of tunneling coupling. The case of the mixed state is finally shown and discussed.Comment: improved version with all the details and study in function of temperature, coupling strengths and the study of the mixed state cas

Loop-Corrected Compactifications of the Heterotic String with Line Bundles

We consider the E8 x E8 heterotic string theory compactified on Calabi-Yau manifolds with bundles containing abelian factors in their structure group. Generic low energy consequences such as the generalised Green-Schwarz mechanism for the multiple anomalous abelian gauge groups are studied. We also compute the holomorphic gauge couplings and induced Fayet-Iliopoulos terms up to one-loop order, where the latter are interpreted as stringy one-loop corrections to the Donaldson-Uhlenbeck-Yau condition. Such models generically have frozen combinations of Kaehler and dilaton moduli. We study concrete bundles with structure group SU(N) x U(1)^M yielding quasi-realistic gauge groups with chiral matter given by certain bundle cohomology classes. We also provide a number of explicit tadpole free examples of bundles defined by exact sequences of sums of line bundles over complete intersection Calabi-Yau spaces. This includes one example with precisely the Standard Model gauge symmetry.Comment: 47 pages, 6 figures, LaTeX, v2: stability discussion in sect. 2.1 slightly extended, refs. added, v3: normalization of Green-Schwarz term correcte

Wingless-related integration site (WNT) signaling is activated during the inflammatory response upon cardiac surgery: A translational study

ObjectiveCardiac surgery and the use of cardiopulmonary bypass initiate a systemic inflammatory response. Wingless-related integration site (WNT) signaling is part of the innate immunity and has been attributed a major role in the regulation of inflammation. In preclinical research, WNT-5a may sustain an inflammatory response and cause endothelial dysfunction. Our aim was to investigate WNT signaling after cardiac surgery and its association with postoperative inflammation (Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT04058496).MethodsIn this prospective, single-center, observational study, 64 consecutive patients for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) ± valve surgery were assigned into three groups: off-pump CABG (n = 28), on-pump CABG (n = 16) and combined valve-CABG surgery (n = 20). Blood samples were acquired before surgery, at intensive care unit (ICU) admission and 4, 8, and 48 h thereafter. Plasma concentrations of WNT-5a and its antagonists Secreted frizzled-related protein 1 (sFRP-1), Secreted frizzled-related protein 5 (sFRP-5), and WNT inhibitory factor 1 (WIF-1) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In addition, plasma concentrations of six inflammatory cytokines were measured by multiplex immunoassay. Parameters were analyzed for evolution of plasma concentration over time, interactions, intergroup differences, and association with clinical outcome parameters.ResultsAt baseline, WNT-5a, sFRP-1, and WIF-1 were present in a minimal concentration, while sFRP-5 was elevated. A higher baseline value of WNT-5a, sFRP-5, and WIF-1 resulted in higher subsequent values of the respective parameter. At ICU admission, WNT-5a and sFRP-5 reached their maximum and minimum value, respectively. WIF-1 decreased over time and was lowest 8 h after surgery. sFRP-1 changed minimally over time. While WNT-5a returned to the baseline within 48 h, sFRP-5 and WIF-1 did not reach their baseline value at 48 h. Of the investigated WNT system components, only WIF-1 partially reflected the severity of surgery. WNT-5a and WIF-1 had an impact on postoperative fluid balance and noradrenaline requirement.ConclusionWNT-5a, sFRP-5, and WIF-1 are part of the systemic inflammatory response after cardiac surgery. WNT-5a peaks immediately after cardiac surgery and returns to baseline within 48 h, presumably modulated by its antagonist sFRP-5. Based on this translational study, WNT-5a antagonism may be further investigated to assess potentially beneficial effects in patients with a dysregulated inflammation after cardiac surgery