307 research outputs found
The dairy sector in the Azores Islands: possibilities and main constraints towards increased added value
Technical NoteThe Azores archipelago is the most suitable region for dairy production in Portugal, representing 30% of the overall Portuguese
dairy production. It has a production system characterized by an average milk yield of 6216 kg/cow/year, and the predominance
of pasture-based feeding and cows that have longer productive lives and lower incidence of metabolic/production diseases, such
as acidosis or mastitis. The biggest problem with the Azores Islands dairy sector is the cost of transport, as the main markets are
located in continental Portugal, over 1500 km away, and local dairy products have to compete with dairy products produced in
mainland Portugal and in the rest of the European Union. Herein, the evolution of the dairy sector in the Azores Islands from 2007
to 2017 is presented. A SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat) analysis was performed to find potential solutions
to increase the value of the Azorean dairy sector. The most relevant solution considered was the valorization of the dairy
production through three major aspects: higher milk quality, namely, better organoleptic properties; lower carbon footprint
(not considering transport costs); and higher levels of animal welfare. Three examples are shown of such valorization: protected
denomination of origin (PDO) cheeses, the “happy cows” program, and the production of an organic milk, from the Terceira
Island. Some of these programs are relatively recent, so, it will be interesting to see how their sales and acceptance by consumers
evolve, particularly under the current economic frameworkinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Sulfolobus metallicus, sp. nov., a Novel Strictly Chemolithoautotrophic Thermophilic Archaeal Species of Metal-Mobilizers
Studies on the diencephalon of the virginia opossum.
No Abstract.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/49929/1/900770304_ftp.pd
A descriptive study of a manual therapy intervention within a randomised controlled trial for hamstring and lower limb injury prevention
The journal has been informed by its publisher BioMed Central that contrary to the statement in this article [Wayne Hoskins, Henry Pollard, Chiropractic & Osteopathy 2010, 18:23], they have been advised by the authors' institution Macquarie University, that its Human Research Ethics Committee did not approve this study. Because the study was conducted without institutional ethics committee approval it has been retracted
Understanding Plant-Microbe Interactions for Phytoremediation of Petroleum-Polluted Soil
Plant-microbe interactions are considered to be important processes determining
the efficiency of phytoremediation of petroleum pollution, however relatively
little is known about how these interactions are influenced by petroleum
pollution. In this experimental study using a microcosm approach, we examined
how plant ecophysiological traits, soil nutrients and microbial activities were
influenced by petroleum pollution in Phragmites australis, a
phytoremediating species. Generally, petroleum pollution reduced plant
performance, especially at early stages of plant growth. Petroleum had negative
effects on the net accumulation of inorganic nitrogen from its organic forms
(net nitrogen mineralization (NNM)) most likely by decreasing the inorganic
nitrogen available to the plants in petroleum-polluted soils. However, abundant
dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) was found in petroleum-polluted soil. In order
to overcome initial deficiency of inorganic nitrogen, plants by dint of high
colonization of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi might absorb some DON for their
growth in petroleum-polluted soils. In addition, through using a real-time
polymerase chain reaction method, we quantified hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial
traits based on their catabolic genes (i.e. alkB (alkane
monooxygenase), nah (naphthalene dioxygenase) and
tol (xylene monooxygenase) genes). This enumeration of
target genes suggests that different hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria experienced
different dynamic changes during phytoremediation and a greater abundance of
alkB was detected during vegetative growth stages. Because
phytoremediation of different components of petroleum is performed by different
hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, plants’ ability of phytoremediating
different components might therefore vary during the plant life cycle.
Phytoremediation might be most effective during the vegetative growth stages as
greater abundances of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria containing
alkB and tol genes were observed at these
stages. The information provided by this study enhances our understanding of the
effects of petroleum pollution on plant-microbe interactions and the roles of
these interactions in the phytoremediation of petroleum-polluted soil
Hearing in cetaceans : from natural history to experimental biology
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2012. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Advances in Marine Biology 63, edited by Michael Lesser, :197-246. Academic Press (Elsevier), 2013. ISBN: 9780123942821. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-394282-1.00004-1Sound is the primary sensory cue for most marine mammals, and this is especially true for
cetaceans. To passively and actively acquire information about their environment, cetaceans
have perhaps the most derived ears of all mammals, capable of sophisticated, sensitive hearing
and auditory processing. These capabilities have developed for survival in an underwater world
where sound travels five times faster than in air, and where light is quickly attenuated and often
limited at depth, at night, and in murky waters. Cetacean auditory evolution has capitalized on
the ubiquity of sound cues and the efficiency of underwater acoustic communication. The sense
of hearing is central to cetacean sensory ecology, enabling vital behaviors such as locating prey,
detecting predators, identifying conspecifics, and navigating. Increasing levels of anthropogenic
ocean noise appears to influence many of these activities.
Here we describe the historical progress of investigations on cetacean hearing, with a
particular focus on odontocetes and recent advancements. While this broad topic has been
studied for several centuries, new technologies in the last two decades have been leveraged to
improve our understanding of a wide range of taxa, including some of the most elusive species.
This paper addresses topics including how sounds are received, what sounds are detected,
hearing mechanisms for complex acoustic scenes, recent anatomy and physiology studies, the
potential impacts of noise, and mysticete hearing. We conclude by identifying emerging
research topics and areas which require greater focus.In compiling this review, TAM was supported by the John E. and Anne W. Sawyer Endowed
Fund and the Penzance Endowed Fund
Brain architecture in the terrestrial hermit crab Coenobita clypeatus (Anomura, Coenobitidae), a crustacean with a good aerial sense of smell
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>During the evolutionary radiation of Crustacea, several lineages in this taxon convergently succeeded in meeting the physiological challenges connected to establishing a fully terrestrial life style. These physiological adaptations include the need for sensory organs of terrestrial species to function in air rather than in water. Previous behavioral and neuroethological studies have provided solid evidence that the land hermit crabs (Coenobitidae, Anomura) are a group of crustaceans that have evolved a good sense of aerial olfaction during the conquest of land. We wanted to study the central olfactory processing areas in the brains of these organisms and to that end analyzed the brain of <it>Coenobita clypeatus </it>(Herbst, 1791; Anomura, Coenobitidae), a fully terrestrial tropical hermit crab, by immunohistochemistry against synaptic proteins, serotonin, FMRFamide-related peptides, and glutamine synthetase.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The primary olfactory centers in this species dominate the brain and are composed of many elongate olfactory glomeruli. The secondary olfactory centers that receive an input from olfactory projection neurons are almost equally large as the olfactory lobes and are organized into parallel neuropil lamellae. The architecture of the optic neuropils and those areas associated with antenna two suggest that <it>C. clypeatus </it>has visual and mechanosensory skills that are comparable to those of marine Crustacea.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In parallel to previous behavioral findings of a good sense of aerial olfaction in C. clypeatus, our results indicate that in fact their central olfactory pathway is most prominent, indicating that olfaction is a major sensory modality that these brains process. Interestingly, the secondary olfactory neuropils of insects, the mushroom bodies, also display a layered structure (vertical and medial lobes), superficially similar to the lamellae in the secondary olfactory centers of <it>C. clypeatus</it>. More detailed analyses with additional markers will be necessary to explore the question if these similarities have evolved convergently with the establishment of superb aerial olfactory abilities or if this design goes back to a shared principle in the common ancestor of Crustacea and Hexapoda.</p
Monitoring of microbial hydrocarbon remediation in the soil
Bioremediation of hydrocarbon pollutants is advantageous owing to the cost-effectiveness of the technology and the ubiquity of hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms in the soil. Soil microbial diversity is affected by hydrocarbon perturbation, thus selective enrichment of hydrocarbon utilizers occurs. Hydrocarbons interact with the soil matrix and soil microorganisms determining the fate of the contaminants relative to their chemical nature and microbial degradative capabilities, respectively. Provided the polluted soil has requisite values for environmental factors that influence microbial activities and there are no inhibitors of microbial metabolism, there is a good chance that there will be a viable and active population of hydrocarbon-utilizing microorganisms in the soil. Microbial methods for monitoring bioremediation of hydrocarbons include chemical, biochemical and microbiological molecular indices that measure rates of microbial activities to show that in the end the target goal of pollutant reduction to a safe and permissible level has been achieved. Enumeration and characterization of hydrocarbon degraders, use of micro titer plate-based most probable number technique, community level physiological profiling, phospholipid fatty acid analysis, 16S rRNA- and other nucleic acid-based molecular fingerprinting techniques, metagenomics, microarray analysis, respirometry and gas chromatography are some of the methods employed in bio-monitoring of hydrocarbon remediation as presented in this review
Bladder compliance what does it represent: Can we measure it, and is it clinically relevant?
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