Novel heterococcolithophores, holococcolithophores and life cycle combinations from the families Syracosphaeraceae and Papposphaeraceae and the genus Florisphaera

Abstract. Coccolithophores are a diverse group of calcifying phytoplankton, which are responsible for a large part of the modern oceanic carbonate production. Here, we describe novel or poorly known coccolithophores and novel life cycle combination coccospheres detected in samples collected either in the Gulf of Aqaba in the northern Red Sea or in the Gulf of Naples in the western Mediterranean. These include Syracosphaera winteri, for which detached coccoliths have previously been recorded but both a formal description and taxonomic affiliation were lacking, and five undescribed sets of combination cells linking HET and HOL forms for S. pulchra, S. mediterranea, S. azureaplaneta, S. lamina and S. orbicula. We also propose the replacement name S. kareniae for the fossil species Deutschlandia gaarderae. We describe a new species of the genus Ophiaster, O. macrospinus, displaying a unique morphological and ecological distribution as well as putative combination cells of two variants of the deep-dwelling Florisphaera profunda, which provide new insights on the affiliation of this genus within the Calcihaptophycideae. Additionally, in the family Papposphaeraceae we detected a new species, Pappomonas vexillata, and combination cells of Picarola margalefi and of a species resembling Papposphaera arctica. Finally, we detected three novel, unpaired holococcolithophore forms (Calyptrosphaera lluisae, Calicasphaera bipora and one form designated as Holococcolithophore A). Overall, this set of novel observations and ensuing discussions provide further insights into the diversity, evolution and life cycle complexity of coccolithophores in the oceans

A molecular insight into algal-oomycete warfare : cDNA analysis of Ectocarpus siliculosus infected with the basal oomycete Eurychasma dicksonii

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Anesthesiology Consensus in the Management of the Airway

Os consensos na gestão clínica da via aérea em anestesiologia pretendem disponibilizar informação, baseada na evidência atual ou, na falta desta, na opinião de peritos, no que respeita à abordagem da via aérea difícil previsível ou não previsível. Reforçamos a importância da avaliação da via aérea e da identificação de potenciais problemas que possam condicionar dificuldade na sua abordagem e a adoção de uma estratégia segura que permita identificar e responder em crescendo de intervenção às dificuldades encontradas. Na impossibilidade de intubação traqueal (não intubo) otimizada e limitada a 4 tentativas, da impossibilidade de ventilar e oxigenar (não oxigeno) após 2 tentativas de usar um dispositivo supraglótico ou de uso de máscara facial inicialmente adequada é importante realizar, em tempo útil, uma cricotirotomia para assegurar oxigenação. As situações clínicas de exceção só com planos simples, conhecidos por todos e regularmente treinados e adaptados à nossa atividade clinica podem assegurar melhores “outcomes”. O registo destes eventos e a informação ao nosso doente da dificuldade encontrada e modo como foi resolvido o problema é essencial e constitui ainda um desafio a alargar a uma base nacional.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Assessment of sense of taste in Italian Centenarians

The Italian multicentric study on centenarians (IMSC) was aimed at assessing the level of preservation of the sense of taste, and at estimating to what extent the recognition of various gustative stimuli can give satisfaction and information regarding the surrounding environment for the centenarians. Taste sensitivity has been qualitatively established in a group of 126 Italian centenarians (mean age 101.9 \ub1 1.4 years) and compared to that of a group of 100 elderly subjects (mean age 70.5 \ub1 5.0 years). All the individuals included in the study groups had a mini mental state examination (MMSE) score larger than 19. The results revealed that taste sensitivity is significantly reduced in the centenarians; as a matter of fact, the elderly control subjects are able to perceive taste stimuli in 84.25 \ub1 3.40% of the testing, while the centenarians were successful only in 74.23 \ub1 6.19% of the experiments (P < 0.001). Furthermore, elderly subjects can correctly recognize taste stimuli in 70% of the testings, while correct recognition amounted only to 49.25% in cases of centenarians assessed. In spite of these differences between the elderly and centenarians, the latter are still able to perceive and recognize taste stimuli adequately, and as a consequence, are able to obtain information on tastes and receive a sufficient sensory stimulation through the tasting pathway

Ocean acidification has different effects on the production of dimethylsulfide and dimethylsulfoniopropionate measured in cultures of Emiliania huxleyi and a mesocosm study:a comparison of laboratory monocultures and community interactions

The human-induced rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide since the industrial revolution has led to increasing oceanic carbon uptake and changes in seawater carbonate chemistry, resulting in lowering of surface water pH. In this study we investigated the effect of increasing CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) on concentrations of volatile biogenic dimethylsulfide (DMS) and its precursor dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), through monoculture studies and community pCO2 perturbation. DMS is a climatically important gas produced by many marine algae: it transfers sulfur into the atmosphere and is a major influence on biogeochemical climate regulation through breakdown to sulfate and formation of subsequent cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Overall, production of DMS and DMSP by the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi strain RCC1229 was unaffected by growth at 900 μatm pCO2, but DMSP production normalised to cell volume was 12 % lower at the higher pCO2 treatment. These cultures were compared with community DMS and DMSP production during an elevated pCO2 mesocosm experiment with the aim of studying E. huxleyi in the natural environment. Results contrasted with the culture experiments and showed reductions in community DMS and DMSP concentrations of up to 60 and 32 % respectively at pCO2 up to 3000 μatm, with changes attributed to poorer growth of DMSP-producing nanophytoplankton species, including E. huxleyi, and potentially increased microbial consumption of DMS and dissolved DMSP at higher pCO2. DMS and DMSP production differences between culture and community likely arise from pH affecting the inter-species responses between microbial producers and consumers

Nitric oxide production and antioxidant function during viral infection of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi

Emiliania huxleyi is a globally important marine phytoplankton that is routinely infected by viruses. Understanding the controls on the growth and demise of E. huxleyi blooms is essential for predicting the biogeochemical fate of their organic carbon and nutrients. In this study, we show that the production of nitric oxide (NO), a gaseous, membrane-permeable free radical, is a hallmark of early-stage lytic infection in E. huxleyi by Coccolithoviruses, both in culture and in natural populations in the North Atlantic. Enhanced NO production was detected both intra- and extra-cellularly in laboratory cultures, and treatment of cells with an NO scavenger significantly reduced viral production. Pre-treatment of exponentially growing E. huxleyi cultures with the NO donor S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) prior to challenge with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) led to greater cell survival, suggesting that NO may have a cellular antioxidant function. Indeed, cell lysates generated from cultures treated with SNAP and undergoing infection displayed enhanced ability to detoxify H2O2. Lastly, we show that fluorescent indicators of cellular ROS, NO, and death, in combination with classic DNA- and lipid-based biomarkers of infection, can function as real-time diagnostic tools to identify and contextualize viral infection in natural E. huxleyi blooms

A hierarchical classification approach to knowledge acquisition for a Case-Based Decision Support System

Decision-makers are continually faced with situations which require reasoning and judgement. Eventually they form some rules-of-thumb based on their past decisions which they apply to new situations. A Case-Based Decision Support Systems (CBDSS) serves as a memory aid which increases consistency to decision making. The most arduous task of developing a CBDSS is knowledge acquisition for the case base. This paper proposes hierarchical classification as a knowledge level modelling technique from which to build a "seed" case base. This "seed" case base is structured for systematic expansion, allowing the decision-maker to incorporate new cases as they occur

Building a case base for intelligent decision support

The support provided to a decision-maker can be strengthened by utilising the past experience represented in a decision support system (DSS) as a memory aid. Past decision situations represented as cases can be used to build the knowledge base component of the case-based decision support system. The cases recording past decisions become a form of organisational memory to support future decision-making. Development of case-based systems requires identification of suitable cases. This is a knowledge acquisition activity where the relevant information is elicited from an expert decision-maker and represented in a case-based decision support system. This paper examines the issue of eliciting past cases and their characteristics from an expert decision-maker. A method is proposed to facilitate the identification of cases and provide a framework for indexing cases in the case-based decision support system. The method employs techniques from knowledge acquisition where the repertory grid approach is used to generate a set of cases and identify their significant characteristics. The degree to which this set of cases is representative of the domain is investigated using a technique for creative and exploratory thought. The method is illustrated with a practical example and its performance is discussed

A hierarchical classification approach to knowledge acquisition for a Case-Based Decision Support System

Decision-makers are continually faced with situations which require reasoning and judgement. Eventually they form some rules-of-thumb based on their past decisions which they apply to new situations. A Case-Based Decision Support Systems (CBDSS) serves as a memory aid which increases consistency to decision making. The most arduous task of developing a CBDSS is knowledge acquisition for the case base. This paper proposes hierarchical classification as a knowledge level modelling technique from which to build a "seed" case base. This "seed" case base is structured for systematic expansion, allowing the decision-maker to incorporate new cases as they occur.<div><br></div><div>Presented at: International Conference on Computational Intelligence and Multimedia Applications; 1998 Feb 9-11; Churchill, Australia. p. 173-179.</div

Building a case base for intelligent decision support

The support provided to a decision-maker can be strengthened by utilising the past experience represented in a decision support system (DSS) as a memory aid. Past decision situations represented as cases can be used to build the knowledge base component of the case-based decision support system. The cases recording past decisions become a form of organisational memory to support future decision-making. Development of case-based systems requires identification of suitable cases. This is a knowledge acquisition activity where the relevant information is elicited from an expert decision-maker and represented in a case-based decision support system. This paper examines the issue of eliciting past cases and their characteristics from an expert decision-maker. A method is proposed to facilitate the identification of cases and provide a framework for indexing cases in the case-based decision support system. The method employs techniques from knowledge acquisition where the repertory grid approach is used to generate a set of cases and identify their significant characteristics. The degree to which this set of cases is representative of the domain is investigated using a technique for creative and exploratory thought. The method is illustrated with a practical example and its performance is discussed.<div><div><br></div><div>Presented at: 1st Australian Workshop on Intelligent Decision Support Systems; 1995 Nov 13-17; Canberra, Australia. p. 25-35</div></div><div><br></div