Analysis of conditional contingency using ACTUS2 with examples from studies of animal behavior

In this paper we present ACTUS2, the second version of ACTUS (Analysis of Contingency Tables Using Simulation). ACTUS2 has many new features, including analysis of data in which dependencies that make some combinations of properties impossible are hypothesized. Because ACTUS2 explicitly simulates such hypotheses, it can be used without loss of accuracy to analyze small amounts of data in large tables with many zeros or very low frequencies. We illustrate these features with two studies of animal behavior: interactions of male individuals with other individuals in groups of captive, mature Triturus marmoratus pygmaeus (newts); and agonistic interactions between pairs of male juvenile Diplodus sargus (the sparid fish, white sea-bream). Both significantly frequent, and significantly infrequent, co-occurrences that had biologically meaningful interpretations were revealed

Social modulation of sex steroid concentrations in the urine of male cichlid fish Oreochromis mossambicus

The relationship between urinary concentrations (free + sulfates + glucuronides) of the steroids testosterone (T), 11-ketotestosterone (11KT), 17α, 20ß-dihydroxy-4-preg- nen-3-one (17,20ß-P) and 17a,20a-dihydroxy-4-preg- nen-3-one (17,20α-P), and the social behavior of males of the cichlid fish Oreochromis mossambicus was inves- tigated. After 8 days of isolation none of the steroids were good predictors of social dominance developed after subsequent formation of all-male groups. One day after group formation dominance indexes were good predictors of the urine concentrations of all sex steroids. Dominance indexes and androgen concentrations mea- sured after all-male group formation were positively cor- related with territoriality, courtship rate, and nest size. Similar relationships were found for progestins with the exception that they were not correlated with courtship rate. All-male group formation was also accompanied by an increase in urinary sex steroid concentrations in fish that became territorial and a decrease in non-territorial fish with the exception of T, which increased in both groups. Addition of ovulating females caused steroid concentrations to return to levels near isolation, except for 17,20α-P in territorials, which underwent a large in- crease. Thus, social interactions may have an important modulatory effect on sex steroid concentrations in O. mossambicus

Bioactive potential and chromatographic characterization of body mucus from Portugal coastal fish halobatrachus didactylus

The body mucus in fish provides a stable physical or chemical barrier against invading pathogens. In mucus, antimicrobial peptides are secreted as a response to immune stimulation. Studies have shown antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens and low toxicity to eukaryotic cells. Previously, body mucus from five captive Halobatrachus didactylus individuals was collected. We aim to explore the mucus studying molecules with bioactive potential. Size exclusion high­performance liquid chromatography (SE­HPLC) analyses were performed on the five body mucus samples showing a similar molecular size distribution with a maximum peak of ca. 800 Da. These five mucus samples were pooled to assess the following bioactivities: antioxidant (ABTS and ORAC), antimicrobial (minimal inhibitory concentration), and cytotoxicity (Caco­2 and HaCaT human cell lines). The protein content in the mucus, determined by the bicinchoninic acid methodology, was 16836 ± 1020 µg BSA/mL. The antioxidant activity resulted in 268 ± 11 µmol TE/g mucus protein for ABTS and 306 ± 11 µmol TE/g mucus protein for ORAC. The antibacterial activity was assessed against five pathogenic bacteria: Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, within minimal inhibitory concentrations of 421 to 105 µg mucus protein/mL. Moreover, the mucus showed non­cytotoxic for Caco­2 cells in concentrations between 196 to 25 µg mucus protein/mL, while it showed cytotoxicity for HaCaT cells. In the future, liquid chromatography­tandem mass spectrometry (LC­MS/MS) analysis will be performed to determine the molecules behind these bioactivities, namely antimicrobial peptides.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Social cues in the expression of sequential alternative reproductive tactics in young males of the peacock blenny, Solaria pavo

Phenotypic change in response to variation in environmental cues has been widely documented in fish. Transitions in social dominance, in particular, have been shown to induce a rapid switch in reproductive phenotypes in many species. However, this effect has been mainly studied in adults and focused on behavioural transitions. The way social cues constraint the phenotypic development of juveniles remains poorly studied in fish. We tested the importance of social dominance and density in the phenotypic development of juveniles of the peacock blenny Solaria pavo. This species shows sequential male alternative reproductive tactics. In the first breeding season males can reproduce as nest-holders or as parasitic males (female-mimicking), or postpone reproduction; from the following season afterwards all males reproduce as nest-holders. Parasitic males have relatively larger testes that lack a testicular gland, present in the testes of nest-holders. The testicular gland is the main source of androgens in the testes and accordingly nest-holders have higher circulating androgen levels. In addition, exogenous androgen administration to parasitic males promotes the development of secondary sexual characters (SSC) only present in nest-holders such as a head crest and an anal gland. We raised juveniles under a high or low-density treatment and monitored social interactions for 1 month. No significant effect of density on the development of juvenile males was detected. However, within each replicate, the relative body size of juvenile males at the beginning of the experiment determined their dominance status, with dominant males developing towards the nest-holder morphotype. Dominant males engaged in more nest defence behaviour, showed larger testicular glands, had higher levels of 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) and testosterone (T) and developed more SSC, as compared to subordinate males. However, these effects of social dominance were moderated by body condition as only dominant males in good body condition developed SSC. The effect of social dominance and of the area of the testicular gland on the development of SSC was mediated by 11-KT and on the expression of nest defence behaviour by T. Interestingly, in spite of the higher androgen levels and more pronounced morphologic development of SSC in dominant individuals, gonadal development was independent of social dominance and most fish still had underdeveloped testis at the end of the experiment. In conclusion, social dominance promoted the development of the testicular gland, an increase in circulating androgen levels and the development of SSC, but did not promote testicular development. This suggests a dissociation of mechanisms underlying sexual maturation and the expression of male reproductive traits. This dissociation seems to be the key for the occurrence of female-mimicking males in this species, which are sexually mature despite lacking the SSC typical of nest-holdets. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.R&D Units Plurianual Program (R&D unit) from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) [331/2001]; FCT [SFRH/BD/6502/2001]; [POCTI/BSE/38395/2001]; [PTDC/MAR/71351/2006]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Análise sensorial da aparência de cinco tipos de palmitos: com e sem rotulagem.

O palmito é considerado uma iguaria tipicamente brasileira e de grande aceitação no mercado, tanto interno quanto externo, sendo que, nos EUA e na Europa, esse compete com produtos como alcachofra e aspargo. É classificado como uma hortaliça não convencional e pode ser extraído de várias espé cies de palmeiras, sendo que a escolha destas depende de fatores como disponibilidade, palatabilidade, cor, formato e rendimento, além da facilidade de extração. No Brasil, antes da década de 60, a extração era feita de forma predatória e concentrava-se no palmito do tipo Juçara, nativo da Mata Atlântica. Como este apresenta um ciclo longo e sua palmeira não perfilha (necessita de replantio) sua presença natural foi quase exterminada. Devido ao aumento da fiscalização por órgãos oficiais impedindo a devastação predatória, ao custo do reflorestamento e ao alto preço do produto no mercado externo, houve um incentivo ao plantio comercial e produção racional de palmito industrializado. Para isso, houve uma busca por gêneros da família Palmae que fornecessem palmito de boa qualidade em curto prazo. As espécies de maior importância sócio-econômica e ambiental são: Juçara, Açaí, Pupunha, Palmeira Real e Babaçu. Portanto, o objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar a preferência dos palmitos quanto a aparência do produto em salmoura sem e com a rotulagem. Inicialmente foi aplicado um questionário para caracterizar o perfil do consumidor e em seguida foi realizado os testes de ordenação da preferência (1= desgostei e 5= gostei) quanto à aparência dos palmitos. Para ambos os testes foram utilizados 50 provadores, que ordenaram as amostras da esquerda para a direita conforme a cor e preferência. A interpretação dos dados obtidos nos testes de ordenação de preferência visual foi de acordo com a ABNT (1994). Para os resultados (5 amostras e 50 respostas) constatou-se que, para que haja diferença significativa entre as amostras ao nível de 5% de significância, a diferença entre o somatório de cada par de amostras deve ser igual ou maior que 44. Com o resultado da caracterização do grupo dos provadores, foi possível notar que a forma de consumo ficou em sua maioria no consumo do tipo salada e em recheio de salgados. Já os itens observados que decidiriam a compra de um determinado palmito foram: data de validade, preço e o tipo de palmito seriam os mais importantes. Quanto à preferência dos palmitos sem rotulo, os resultados mostraram a seguinte ordem nos valores dos somatórios: Babaçu (119) < Pupunha (132) < Juçara (154) < Palmeira Real (170) < Açaí (175). Verificou-se, portanto, que houve diferença significativa (p?0,05) entre o Babaçu e os palmitos Palmeira Real e Açaí, porém o não ocorreu diferença na preferência entre as demais. Quanto a preferência dos palmitos com rotulagem em relação a embalagem, verificou-se que as somatórias foram: Babaçu (117) < Palmeira Real (150) < Juçara (153) < Açaí (162) < Pupunha (168) com diferença significativa (p?0,05) entre o Babaçu e os palmitos Açaí e Pupunha. Desta maneira conclui-se que a rotulagem afetou significativamente a escolha do produto, com exceção do Babaçu que obteve resultados inferiores nos dois testes

Chicken litter: A waste or a source of chemicals? Fast pyrolysis and hydrothermal conversion as alternatives in the valorisation of poultry waste

Poultry production is one of the main and fastest developing branches of the agri-food industry in the world. Chicken litter (ChL) is the most abundant waste from this industry and requires alternative treatments to help mitigate the environmental impacts of improper disposal. Fast pyrolysis and hydrothermal conversion are two recognized thermochemical approaches for the transformation of different types of biomasses, including agro-industrial waste. Fast pyrolysis takes place at atmospheric pressure or under vacuum at moderate to high temperatures (400–800 °C) in the absence of oxygen and requires drying of the feedstock, whereas hydrothermal conversion is a low temperature (180–300 °C) and high pressure (up to 30 MPa) process that takes place in liquid water and particularly suited for moist materials. In this work, we present experimental results that provide a comparison of bio-oils produced by fast pyrolysis and hydrothermal conversion of ChL. In addition, the composition of the pyrolytic oils from ChL is compared with the data obtained from rice husk (the main component of ChL), studied previously. Fast pyrolysis experiments were carried out in a bed reactor at temperatures ranging from 400° to 700°C and at two reaction times of 20- and 40-min. Phenols and other oxygenated compounds were the main families of chemicals present in the bio-oils. Among oxygenated derivatives, fatty acids were predominant. Hydrothermal conversion experiments were performed between 220 and 240 °C for 20- and 40- min and the oil fraction was obtained by evaporation of water from the reaction mixture followed by freeze-drying. These bioliquids were found to be concentrated in fatty acids, especially palmitic acid.EEA Concepción del UruguayFil: Pachón Gómez, Erica M. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Química Orgánica. Instituto de Investigaciones en Fisicoquímica de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Pachón Gómez, Erica M. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Fisicoquímica de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Domínguez, Rodrigo E. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Química Orgánica. Instituto de Investigaciones en Fisicoquímica de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Domínguez, Rodrigo E. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Fisicoquímica de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: López, Débora A. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Química Orgánica. Instituto de Investigaciones en Fisicoquímica de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: López, Débora A. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Fisicoquímica de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Téllez, Jhoan F. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Química Orgánica. Instituto de Investigaciones en Fisicoquímica de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Téllez, Jhoan F. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Fisicoquímica. Instituto de Investigaciones en Fisicoquímica de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Téllez, Jhoan F. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Fisicoquímica de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Marino, Marcos D. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Química Orgánica. Instituto de Investigaciones en Fisicoquímica de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Marino, Marcos D. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Fisicoquímica de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Almada, Natalia Soledad. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Concepción del Uruguay; Argentina.Fil: Gange, Juan Martí­n. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Concepción del Uruguay; ArgentinaFil: Moyano, E. Laura. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Química Orgánica. Instituto de Investigaciones en Fisicoquímica de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Moyano, E. Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Fisicoquímica de Córdoba; Argentin

Mixed integer programming in production planning with backlogging and setup carryover : modeling and algorithms

This paper proposes a mixed integer programming formulation for modeling the capacitated multi-level lot sizing problem with both backlogging and setup carryover. Based on the model formulation, a progressive time-oriented decomposition heuristic framework is then proposed, where improvement and construction heuristics are effectively combined, therefore efficiently avoiding the weaknesses associated with the one-time decisions made by other classical time-oriented decomposition algorithms. Computational results show that the proposed optimization framework provides competitive solutions within a reasonable time

Novel AKT1-GLI3-VMP1 pathway mediates KRAS oncogene-induced autophagy in cancer cells

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved degradation process of cytoplasmic cellular constituents. It has been suggested that autophagy plays a role in tumor promotion and progression downstream oncogenic pathways; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon have not been elucidated. Here, we provide both in vitro and in vivo evidence of a novel signaling pathway whereby the oncogene KRAS induces the expression of VMP1, a molecule needed for the formation of the authophagosome and capable of inducing autophagy, even under nutrient-replete conditions. RNAi experiments demonstrated that KRAS requires VMP1 to induce autophagy. Analysis of the mechanisms identified GLI3, a transcription factor regulated by the Hedgehog pathway, as an effector of KRAS signaling. GLI3 regulates autophagy as well as the expression and promoter activity of VMP1 in a Hedgehog-independent manner. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that GLI3 binds to the VMP1 promoter and complexes with the histone acetyltransferase p300 to regulate promoter activity. Knockdown of p300 impaired KRAS- and GLI3-induced activation of this promoter. Finally, we identified the PI3K-AKT1 pathway as the signaling pathway mediating the expression and promoter activity ofVMP1upstream of the GLI3-p300 complex. Together, these data provide evidence of a new regulatory mechanism involved in autophagy that integrates this cellular process into the molecular network of events regulating oncogene-induced autophagy.Fil: Lo Ré, Andrea Emilia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay; ArgentinaFil: Fernández Barrena, Maite G.. No especifíca;Fil: Almada, Luciana L.. No especifíca;Fil: Mills, Lisa D.. No especifíca;Fil: Elsawa, Sherine F.. No especifíca;Fil: Lund, George. No especifíca;Fil: Ropolo, Alejandro Javier. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Molejon, Maria Ines. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Vaccaro, Maria Ines. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez Zapico, Martin Ernesto. No especifíca