Circulation signature of vortical structures in turbulent boundary layers

The strength of vortical structures in a turbulent boundary layer is of interest in determining the generation and development of hairpin vortices. The dual-plane Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) data at z+ = 110 (z/ = 0.09) and z/ = 0.53 (z+ = 575) in a turbulent boundary layer at Re = 1160 obtained by Ganapathisubramani et al. [7] were used to characterize the strength of the vortical structures by their circulation. The 3Dswirl was used to identify the vortex cores. The average number of swirl cores per field identified at z+ = 110 was approximately twice the average number at z/ = 0.53. The mean radius of the cores was found to decrease with increasing wall-normal distance. The main eigenvector of the velocity gradient tensor was used to determine the orientation of each vortex core. Circulation of the vortical structures was then calculated using the vorticity vector projected onto the main eigenvector direction. At z/ = 0.53, the mean circulation calculated using the eigenvector was almost the same as that using the full vorticity vector, but for z+ = 110 the mean circulation calculated using the eigenvector was 12% less than the mean circulation calculated using the vorticity vector

IL4, IL13, GSTM1 and T1 variants and susceptibility to Schistosomiasis and associated bladder pathologies in Eggua, Nigeria

Failure of the human host to elicit adequate immune responses to the adult Schistosoma haematobium worm and continuous strong inflammatory responses to the eggs have been the main causes of bladder pathology in chronic Schistosomiasis. Identification of susceptibility biomarkers for schistosomiasis- associated bladder pathology is necessary in order to detect genetic factors responsible for the infection and spread of the disease. The aim of this study was to identify candidate-biomarkers for susceptibility to schistosomiasis and its associated pathologies. A total of 371 adult participants, comprising 130 males and 241 females from Eggua community, Ogun State, Nigeria, were randomly recruited into a cross sectional study from August 2012 to May 2014. They were screened for S. haematobium ova and bladder pathologies by microscopy and ultrasonography, respectively. Human host susceptibility to schistosomiasis and its associated bladder pathologies were determined by PCR genotyping of Interleukin (IL4 and IL13) genes, and glutathione-S-transferase (GSTT1 and GSTM1) genes. The overall prevalence of S. haematobium in the population was 29.3% (108/369). Bladder pathologies were observed in 32.3% (117/362) of the population. Polymorphisms in IL 4-590 and IL 13-1055 were observed in 24.1% and 9.3% schistosomiasis cases, respectively. The IL 13-1055 polymorphism did not indicate susceptibility to schistosomiasis in males (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.3-2.1) but a slight risk was found in females (OR 1.1, 95% CI 0.7-1.7). Participants with GSTM1 and GSTT1 polymorphisms expressed elevated risks of bladder pathologies (OR = 4.3, 95% CI 2.0 - 9.2 and OR = 4.2, 95% CI 1.5 – 12.0, respectively), with the pathology and schistosomiasis group having more GST polymorphisms than bladder pathologies. Keywords: Polymorphisms, Cytokines, GST, schistosomiasis and pathologie

Report of the Horse Mackerel Exchange and Workshop 2006

Following a recommendation from PGCCDBS, a workshop on age calibration of horse mackerel was carried out. The workshop was preceded by an exchange. The objectives were: to improve the quality of horse mackerel readings by international calibration. In particular, attempt to resolve the observed differences between countries. Estimate the accuracy and precision of the age readings before and after the intercalibration. Take into account differences between areas and methods. Training of new horse mackerel readers

Moderate phosphorus additions consistently affect community composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in tropical montane forests in southern Ecuador

Summary: Anthropogenic atmospheric deposition can increase nutrient supply in the most remoteecosystems, potentially affecting soil biodiversity. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) com-munities rapidly respond to simulated soil eutrophication in tropical forests. Yet the limitedspatio-temporal extent of such manipulations, together with the often unrealistically high fer-tilization rates employed, impedes generalization of such responses. We sequenced mixed root AMF communities within a seven year-long fully factorial nitro-gen (N) and phosphorus (P) addition experiment, replicated at three tropical montane forestsin southern Ecuador with differing environmental characteristics. We hypothesized: strongshifts in community composition and species richness after long-term fertilization, site- andclade-specific responses to N vs P additions depending on local soil fertility and clade life his-tory traits respectively. Fertilization consistently shifted AMF community composition across sites, but only reducedrichness of Glomeraceae. Compositional changes were mainly driven by increases in P supplywhile richness reductions were observed only after combined N and P additions. We conclude that moderate increases of N and P exert a mild but consistent effect on tropi-cal AMF communities. To predict the consequences of these shifts, current results need to besupplemented with experiments that characterize local species-specific AMF functionalit

The relative importance of ecological drivers of arbuscularmycorrhizal fungal distribution varies with taxon phylogeneticresolution

The phylogenetic depth at which arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi harbor a coherent eco-logical niche is unknown, which has consequences for operational taxonomic unit (OTU)delineation from sequence data and the study of their biogeography. We tested how changes in AM fungi community composition across habitats (beta diver-sity) vary with OTU phylogenetic resolution. We inferred exact sequence variants (ESVs) toresolve phylotypes at resolutions finer than provided by traditional sequence clustering andanalyzed beta diversity profiles up to order-level sequence clusters. At the ESV level, we detected the environmental predictors revealed with traditional OTUsor at higher genetic distances. However, the correlation between environmental predictorsand community turnover steeply increased at a genetic distance ofc. 0.03 substitutions persite. Furthermore, we observed a turnover of either closely or distantly related taxa (respec-tively at or above 0.03 substitutions per site) along different environmental gradients. This study suggests that different axes of AM fungal ecological niche are conserved at dif-ferent phylogenetic depths. Delineating AM fungal phylotypes using DNA sequences shouldscreen different phylogenetic resolutions to better elucidate the factors that shape communi-ties and predict the fate of AM symbioses in a changing environment

Chemical characterization and bioactive properties of Prunus avium L.: The widely studied fruits and the unexplored stems

The aim of this study was to characterize sweet cherry regarding nutritional composition of the fruits, and individual phytochemicals and bioactive properties of fruits and stems. The chromatographic profiles in sugars, organic acids, fatty acids, tocopherols and phenolic compounds were established. All the preparations (extracts, infusions and decoctions) obtained using stems revealed higher antioxidant potential than the fruits extract, which is certainly related with its higher phenolic compounds (phenolic acids and flavonoids) concentration. The fruits extract was the only one showing antitumor potential, revealing selectivity against HCT-15 (colon carcinoma) (GI50~74 μg/mL). This could be related with anthocyanins that were only found in fruits and not in stems. None of the preparations have shown hepatotoxicity against normal primary cells. Overall, this study reports innovative results regarding chemical and bioactive properties of sweet cherry stems, and confirmed the nutritional and antioxidant characteristics of their fruits.The authors are grateful to Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support to the research centre CIMO (strategic project PEst OE/AGR/UI0690/2011) and L. Barros researcher contract under “Programa Compromisso com Ciência – 2008”