Open Data Portal Prototype for the Conservation of Biodiversity of the ‘Universidad Nacional de Loja’

This article describes the possibilities of research and development that exist in the ‘Universidad Nacional de Loja’ (UNL) in the field of biodiversity through the use and exploitation of information and communication technology (ICT) resources. First, the existing methodologies, processes, and initiatives for the publication of open data was explored. Subsequently, a brief description of the biodiversity conservation centers maintained by the UNL was made, highlighting the IT initiatives that have been carried out. Finally, the results of the proposal include the methodology for the release of open data and the creation of the prototype of the biodiversity open data portal of the UNL.     Keywords: programming, open data, biodiversity, botany, artificial intelligenc

Propiedades físico-químicas, ácidos fenólicos y compuestos volátiles del aceite extraído de semillas de alhydwan (Boerhavia elegana Choisy)

In this study, the chemical composition, physicochemical properties, phenolic acids and volatile compounds of alhydwan (Boerhavia elegana Choisy) seed oil were evaluated. The crude oil content was 11.49%, ash 6.88%, moisture 6.12%, protein content 14.60%, total carbohydrate 24.77% and fiber 36.13%. The oil contain a high quantity of unsaturated fatty acids (74.63 mg·100 g−1) with oleic (C18:1) (57.77%), palmitic (C16:0) (18.65%) and linoleic (C18:2) (12.88%) acids as the most abundant. The relative density was 0.88 and the iodine value 105.59. The color analysis showed a value of 28.33 Y+1.43 R. The oil also had a high relative oxidative stability. The tocol composition showed that α-tocotrienol, γ-tocopherol and γ-tocotrienol were in a higher concentration than the rest. Seven phenolic acids (caffeic, vanillic, galic, p-coumaric, ascorbic, cinnamic and ferulic) were detected, with ascorbic acid as the predominant one (5.44 mg·100 g−1). In relation to the volatile composition, 48 compounds were found with Z-10-Pentadecen-1-ol (56.73%); Hexadecenoic acid, Z-11- (18.52%); 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z)- (3.93%) and 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z)-, 2-hydroxy-1-(hydroxymethyl) ethyl ester (3.04%) as the most abundant. These findings demonstrated the potential of alhydwan seeds to be used as a good source of quality edible oil.En este estudio se ha determinado la composición química, las propiedades físico-químicas, ácidos fenólicos y compuestos volátiles de aceites de semillas de alhydwan (Boerhavia elegana Choisy). Las semillas contenían un 11.49% de aceite, 6.88% de cenizas, 6,12% de humedad, 14.60% de proteínas, 24.77% de carbohidratos totales y 36.13% de fibra. El aceite contiene 74,63 mg·100 g−1 de ácidos grasos insaturados, con oleico (C18: 1) (57,77%), palmítico (C16: 0) (18,65%) y linoleico (C18: 2) (12,88%) como los más abundantes. La densidad relativa fue de 0,88 y el índice de yodo de 105,59. El análisis del color mostró un valor de 28.33 Y+1,43 R. El aceite también mostro tener una alta estabilidad oxidativa relativa. La determinación de la composición de tocols mostró que α-tocotrienol, γ-tocoferol y γ-tocotrienol están presentes en mayor concentración que el resto. Se detectaron siete ácidos fenólicos (cafeico, vaníllico, galico, p-cumárico, ascórbico, cinámico y ferúlico), siendo el ácido ascórbico el mayoritario (5,44 mg·100 g−1). En la determinación de volátiles, se encontraron 48 componentes, con Z-10-Pentadecen-1-ol (56,73%); ácido hexadecenoico, Z-11- (18,52%); ácido 9,12-octadecadienoico (Z, Z) - (3,93%) y ácido 9,12-octadecadienoico (Z, Z) -, éster 2-hidroxi-1- (hidroximetil) etil (3,04%) como mayoritarios. Estos resultados demostraron que las semillas de alhydwan tiene un gran potencial para ser utilizadas como una buena fuente de aceite comestible de calidad

Application of predictive breeding in yam improvement for west Africa

Open Access Journa

Extragalactic Star Cluster Science with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope's High Latitude Wide Area Survey and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory

The Nancy Grace Roman Telescope's High Latitude Wide Area Survey will have a number of synergies with the Vera Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), particularly for extragalactic star clusters. Understanding the nature of star clusters and star cluster systems are key topics in many areas of astronomy, chief among them stellar evolution, high energy astrophysics, galaxy assembly/dark matter, the extragalactic distance scale, and cosmology. One of the challenges will be disentangling the age/metallicity degeneracy because young ($\sim$Myr) metal-rich clusters have similar SEDs to old ($\sim$Gyr) metal-poor clusters. Rubin will provide homogeneous, $ugrizy$ photometric coverage, and measurements in the red Roman filters will help break the age-metallicity and age-extinction degeneracies, providing the first globular cluster samples that cover wide areas while essentially free of contamination from Milky Way stars. Roman's excellent spatial resolution will also allow measurements of cluster sizes. We advocate for observations of a large sample of galaxies with a range of properties and morphologies in the Rubin/LSST footprint matching the depth of the LSST Wide-Fast-Deep field $i$ band limit (26.3 mag), and recommend adding the F213 filter to the survey.Comment: white paper submitted for Roman CCS inpu

ChemProt: a disease chemical biology database

Systems pharmacology is an emergent area that studies drug action across multiple scales of complexity, from molecular and cellular to tissue and organism levels. There is a critical need to develop network-based approaches to integrate the growing body of chemical biology knowledge with network biology. Here, we report ChemProt, a disease chemical biology database, which is based on a compilation of multiple chemical–protein annotation resources, as well as disease-associated protein–protein interactions (PPIs). We assembled more than 700 000 unique chemicals with biological annotation for 30 578 proteins. We gathered over 2-million chemical–protein interactions, which were integrated in a quality scored human PPI network of 428 429 interactions. The PPI network layer allows for studying disease and tissue specificity through each protein complex. ChemProt can assist in the in silico evaluation of environmental chemicals, natural products and approved drugs, as well as the selection of new compounds based on their activity profile against most known biological targets, including those related to adverse drug events. Results from the disease chemical biology database associate citalopram, an antidepressant, with osteogenesis imperfect and leukemia and bisphenol A, an endocrine disruptor, with certain types of cancer, respectively. The server can be accessed at http://www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/ChemProt/

Refractory depression – cost-effectiveness of radically open dialectical behaviour therapy: findings of economic evaluation of RefraMED trial

BackgroundRefractory depression is a major contributor to the economic burden of depression. Radically open dialectical behaviour therapy (RO DBT) is an unevaluated new treatment targeting overcontrolled personality, common in refractory depression, but it is not yet known whether the additional expense of RO DBT is good value for money.AimsTo estimate the cost-effectiveness of RO DBT plus treatment as usual (TAU) compared with TAU alone in people with refractory depression (trial registration: ISRCTN85784627).MethodWe undertook a cost-effectiveness analysis alongside a randomised trial evaluating RO DBT plus TAU versus TAU alone for refractory depression in three UK secondary care centres. Our economic evaluation, 12 months after randomisation, adopted the perspective of the UK National Health Service (NHS) and personal social services. It evaluated cost-effectiveness by comparing the net cost of RO DBT with the net gain in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), estimated using the EQ-5D-3L measure of health-related quality of life.ResultsThe additional cost of RO DBT plus TAU compared with TAU alone was £7048 and was associated with a difference of 0.032 QALYs, yielding an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of £220 250 per QALY. This ICER was well above the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) upper threshold of £30 000 per QALY. A cost-effectiveness acceptability curve indicated that RO DBT had a zero probability of being cost-effective compared with TAU at the NICE £30 000 threshold.ConclusionsIn its current resource-intensive form, RO DBT is not a cost-effective use of resources in the UK NHS.Declaration of interestR.H. is co-owner and director of Radically Open Ltd, the RO DBT training and dissemination company. D.K. reports grants outside the submitted work from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). T.L. receives royalties from New Harbinger Publishing for sales of RO DBT treatment manuals, speaking fees from Radically Open Ltd, and a grant outside the submitted work from the Medical Research Council. He was co-director of Radically Open Ltd between November 2014 and May 2015 and is married to Erica Smith-Lynch, the principal shareholder and one of two directors of Radically Open Ltd. H.O'M. reports personal fees outside the submitted work from the Charlie Waller Institute and Improving Access to Psychological Therapy. S.R. provides RO DBT supervision through her company S C Rushbrook Ltd. I.R. reports grants outside the submitted work from NIHR and Health &amp;amp; Care Research Wales. M. Stanton reports personal fees outside the submitted work from British Isles DBT Training, Stanton Psychological Services Ltd and Taylor &amp;amp; Francis. M. Swales reports personal fees outside the submitted work from British Isles DBT Training, Guilford Press, Oxford University Press and Taylor &amp;amp; Francis. B.W. was co-director of Radically Open Ltd between November 2014 and February 2015.</jats:sec

Evidence of nitrate-based nighttime atmospheric nucleation driven by marine microorganisms in the South Pacific

9 pags. 3 figs.Our understanding of ocean-cloud interactions and their effect on climate lacks insight into a key pathway: do biogenic marine emissions form new particles in the open ocean atmosphere? Using measurements collected in ship-borne air-sea interface tanks deployed in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean, we identified new particle formation (NPF) during nighttime that was related to plankton community composition. We show that nitrate ions are the only species for which abundance could support NPF rates in our semicontrolled experiments. Nitrate ions also prevailed in the natural pristine marine atmosphere and were elevated under higher sub-10 nm particle concentrations. We hypothesize that these nucleation events were fueled by complex, short-term biogeochemical cycling involving the microbial loop. These findings suggest a new perspective with a previously unidentified role of nitrate of marine biogeochemical origin in aerosol nucleation.We acknowledge the support and expertise of the Officers and Crew of the R/V Tangaroa and National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) Vessel Services. This research received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (Sea2Cloud grant agreement number - 771369 and grant agreement number 101002728) and was supported by NIWA SSIF funding to the Ocean-Climate Interactions, and Flows and Productivity Programs. The support from the Academy of Finland (331207) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is greatly appreciated.Peer reviewe