Three new species of blood flukes (Digenea: Aporocotylidae) infecting pufferfishes (Teleostei: Tetraodontidae) from off Bali, Indonesia

We describe three new species of blood flukes (Aporocotylidae) and propose their classification within the genus Psettarium Goto & Ozaki, 1929. All three species were collected from the circulatory systems of pufferfishes caught off Bali, central Indonesia. Psettarium pulchellum n. sp. was found in the gills of both the narrow-lined puffer (Arothron manilensis de Procé) and the spiny blaasop (Tylerius spinosissimus Regan), while P. ogawai n. sp. and P. jimbaranense n. sp. were found in the gills of the reticulated puffer (Arothron reticularis Bloch & Schneider). The morphological characteristics of these taxa necessitated emendation of the diagnosis for the genus Psettarium, to accommodate the presence of an oral sucker, multiple or entirely post-caecal testes and a degenerate posterior testis. Features such as proportion of body length occupied by the oesophagus, and posterior caeca being ≥. 7. × the length of anterior caeca, are no longer regarded as useful genus-level characters. Additionally, Sasala nolani is reassigned to this genus as Psettarium nolani n. comb. In phylogenetic analyses of the 28S and ITS2 rDNA regions, all three new taxa form a well-supported clade, together with Psettarium sinense and Psettarium nolani n. comb., the two other species of tetraodontid-infecting aporocotylids for which comparative rDNA data were available. The short branch lengths within this clade, despite dramatic morphological differences between the five species, suggest that rapid morphological diversification has occurred among the tetraodontid-infecting aporocotylids. The genus Psettarium has long been considered problematic. Further commentary is given on the history of this genus and how the issues presented might be resolved

Entraves e facilitadores para a institucionalização da EaD no IFRJ.

Organizado por Rute Nogueira de Morais Bicalho. 29 ago. 2019. Resumo expandido

O consumo de carne de rã: caracterização, tendências e perspectivas.

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Tecnologia do processamento de carne do dorso de rã desfiada em conserva.

A carne de rã se destaca pelo seu sabor suave e pela sua textura. Além disso, se apresenta como reserva proteica de elevado valor biológico e baixo teor de gorduras, uma característica diferencial desse produto que é valorizada pelos seus consumidores habituais. Os cortes explorados após o abate se resumem à coxa e ao dorso. A coxa é o corte mais valorizado no mercado, devido à sua quantidade de carne e o dorso apresenta baixo valor devido ao alto percentual de ossos e cartilagem. A atividade da cadeia produtiva da rã é na sua maioria desenvolvida por pequenos produtores que a têm como principal fonte de renda. Em um contexto econômico no qual se busca a eficiência na produção e agregação de valor, não há espaço para descarte dos dorsos que podem representar um passivo ambiental e de perda econômica aos abatedouros. Desta forma, este trabalho objetivou o desenvolvimento da carne do dorso de rã desfiada em conserva, com características sensoriais potencialmente adequadas ao consumo direto e à preparação de diferentes pratos/produtos.bitstream/item/171330/1/CT-224-final.pd

Effects of whey protein alone or as part of a multi-ingredient formulation on strength, fat-free mass, or lean body mass in resistance-trained individuals: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Even though the positive effects of whey protein-containing supplements for optimizing the anabolic responses and adaptations process in resistance-trained individuals have been supported by several investigations, their use continues to be controversial. Additionally, the administration of different multi-ingredient formulations where whey proteins are combined with carbohydrates, other protein sources, creatine, and amino acids or derivatives, has been extensively proposed as an effective strategy to maximize strength and muscle mass gains in athletes. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to systematically summarize and quantify whether whey protein-containing supplements, administered alone or as a part of a multi-ingredient, could improve the effects of resistance training on fat-free mass or lean body mass, and strength in resistance-trained individuals when compared with other iso-energetic supplements containing carbohydrates or other sources of proteins. METHODS: A structured literature search was conducted on PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Cochrane Libraries, US National Institutes of Health clinicaltrials.gov, SPORTDiscus, and Google Scholar databases. Main inclusion criteria comprised randomized controlled trial study design, adults (aged 18 years and over), resistance-trained individuals, interventions (a resistance training program for a period of 6 weeks or longer, combined with whey protein supplementation administered alone or as a part of a multi-ingredient), and a calorie equivalent contrast supplement from carbohydrates or other non-whey protein sources. Continuous data on fat-free mass and lean body mass, and maximal strength were pooled using a random-effects model. RESULTS: Data from nine randomized controlled trials were included, involving 11 treatments and 192 participants. Overall, with respect to the ingestion of contrast supplements, whey protein supplementation, administered alone or as part of a multi-ingredient, in combination with resistance training, was associated with small extra gains in fat-free mass or lean body mass, resulting in an effect size of g = 0.301, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.032-0.571. Subgroup analyses showed less clear positive trends resulting in small to moderate effect size g = 0.217 (95% CI -0.113 to 0.547) and g = 0.468 (95% CI 0.003-0.934) in favor of whey and multi-ingredient, respectively. Additionally, a positive overall extra effect was also observed to maximize lower (g = 0.316, 95% CI 0.045-0.588) and upper body maximal strength (g = 0.458, 95% CI 0.161-0.755). Subgroup analyses showed smaller superiority to maximize strength gains with respect to the contrast groups for lower body (whey protein: g = 0.343, 95% CI -0.016 to 0.702, multi-ingredient: g = 0.281, 95% CI -0.135 to 0.697) while in the upper body, multi-ingredient (g = 0.612, 95% CI 0.157-1.068) seemed to produce more clear effects than whey protein alone (g = 0.343, 95% CI -0.048 to 0.735). LIMITATIONS: Studies involving interventions of more than 6 weeks on resistance-training individuals are scarce and account for a small number of participants. Furthermore, no studies with an intervention longer than 12 weeks have been found. The variation regarding the supplementation protocol, namely the different doses criteria or timing of ingestion also add some concerns to the studies comparison. CONCLUSIONS: Whey protein alone or as a part of a multi-ingredient appears to maximize lean body mass or fat-free mass gain, as well as upper and lower body strength improvement with respect to the ingestion of an iso-energetic equivalent carbohydrate or non-whey protein supplement in resistance-training individuals. This enhancement effect seems to be more evident when whey proteins are consumed within a multi-ingredient containing creatine

Personalised service? Changing the role of the government librarian

Investigates the feasibility of personalised information service in a government department. A qualitative methodology explored stakeholder opinions on the remit, marketing, resourcing and measurement of the service. A questionnaire and interviews gathered experiences of personalised provision across the government sector. Potential users were similarly surveyed to discuss how the service could meet their needs. Data were analysed using coding techniques to identify emerging theory. Lessons learned from government librarians centred on clarifying requirements, balancing workloads and selective marketing. The user survey showed low usage and awareness of existing specialist services, but high levels of need and interest in services repackaged as a tailored offering. Fieldwork confirmed findings from the literature on the scope for adding value through information management advice, information skills training and substantive research assistance and the need to understand business processes and develop effective partnerships. Concluding recommendations focus on service definition, strategic marketing, resource utilisation and performance measurement

Older Workers and Care-Giving in England: the Policy Context for Older Workers’ Employment Patterns

This article considers recent changes in the incidence of caring among people aged 50-64 in England and the policy context in which these have occurred. After introducing the topic, research questions addressed and methods used, it outlines findings from other research on how older workers experience and manage caring roles. It then sets out relevant public policy developments since carers were first accorded rights to recognition and services in 1995, focusing on workplace support, local services and financial help for people who reduce or quit their paid work to care. The article presents new analyses of the population censuses conducted in England in 2001 and 2011, focusing on people aged 50-64 and especially on those aged 60-64, the group in which the largest changes were seen. Theses show growth in caring at higher levels of intensity for older workers, and increases in the incidence of caring alongside paid work. To deepen understanding of these changes, the analysis also draws on data from a government survey of carers conducted in 2009-10. The concluding discussion argues that although the modest policy changes implemented since 1995 have provided some support to older workers managing work and care, more policy attention needs to be given following the sharp increase in the incidence of caring seen among people aged 50-64 in England between 2001 and 2011

Thin-foil magnetic force system for high-numerical-aperture microscopy

Forces play a key role in a wide range of biological phenomena from single-protein conformational dynamics to transcription and cell division, to name a few. The majority of existing microbiological force application methods can be divided into two categories: those that can apply relatively high forces through the use of a physical connection to a probe and those that apply smaller forces with a detached probe. Existing magnetic manipulators utilizing high fields and high field gradients have been able to reduce this gap in maximum applicable force, but the size of such devices has limited their use in applications where high force and high-numerical-aperture (NA) microscopy must be combined. We have developed a magnetic manipulation system that is capable of applying forces in excess of 700 pN on a 1 μm paramagnetic particle and 13 nN on a 4.5 μm paramagnetic particle, forces over the full 4π sr, and a bandwidth in excess of 3 kHz while remaining compatible with a commercially available high-NA microscope objective. Our system design separates the pole tips from the flux coils so that the magnetic-field geometry at the sample is determined by removable thin-foil pole plates, allowing easy change from experiment to experiment. In addition, we have combined the magnetic manipulator with a feedback-enhanced, high-resolution (2.4 nm), high-bandwidth (10 kHz), long-range (100 μm xyz range) laser tracking system. We demonstrate the usefulness of this system in a study of the role of forces in higher-order chromosome structure and function

How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean?

The diversity of life is one of the most striking aspects of our planet; hence knowing how many species inhabit Earth is among the most fundamental questions in science. Yet the answer to this question remains enigmatic, as efforts to sample the world's biodiversity to date have been limited and thus have precluded direct quantification of global species richness, and because indirect estimates rely on assumptions that have proven highly controversial. Here we show that the higher taxonomic classification of species (i.e., the assignment of species to phylum, class, order, family, and genus) follows a consistent and predictable pattern from which the total number of species in a taxonomic group can be estimated. This approach was validated against well-known taxa, and when applied to all domains of life, it predicts ∼8.7 million (±1.3 million SE) eukaryotic species globally, of which ∼2.2 million (±0.18 million SE) are marine. In spite of 250 years of taxonomic classification and over 1.2 million species already catalogued in a central database, our results suggest that some 86% of existing species on Earth and 91% of species in the ocean still await description. Renewed interest in further exploration and taxonomy is required if this significant gap in our knowledge of life on Earth is to be closed

Analysis of the efficacy, safety, and regulatory status of novel forms of creatine

Creatine has become one of the most popular dietary supplements in the sports nutrition market. The form of creatine that has been most extensively studied and commonly used in dietary supplements is creatine monohydrate (CM). Studies have consistently indicated that CM supplementation increases muscle creatine and phosphocreatine concentrations by approximately 15–40%, enhances anaerobic exercise capacity, and increases training volume leading to greater gains in strength, power, and muscle mass. A number of potential therapeutic benefits have also been suggested in various clinical populations. Studies have indicated that CM is not degraded during normal digestion and that nearly 99% of orally ingested CM is either taken up by muscle or excreted in urine. Further, no medically significant side effects have been reported in literature. Nevertheless, supplement manufacturers have continually introduced newer forms of creatine into the marketplace. These newer forms have been purported to have better physical and chemical properties, bioavailability, efficacy, and/or safety profiles than CM. However, there is little to no evidence that any of the newer forms of creatine are more effective and/or safer than CM whether ingested alone and/or in combination with other nutrients. In addition, whereas the safety, efficacy, and regulatory status of CM is clearly defined in almost all global markets; the safety, efficacy, and regulatory status of other forms of creatine present in today’s marketplace as a dietary or food supplement is less clear