A contribution to the biology of the ommastrephid squid Martialia hyadesi (rochebrune and mabille, 1889) from the south-west Atlantic

Updated knowledge on the distribution and biology of the ommastrephid squid Martialia hyadesi in the South-West Atlantic Ocean is presented. Although the species has an Antarctic circumpolar distribution, itsmost frequent area of appearance is in the South-West Atlantic, where commercial catches have been made. During the 1995 Illex argentinus fishing season, 852 tons of Martialia hyadesi were caught, the largest catches in recent years. The species was captured on the outer shelf and slope, between 38 and 50°S, from March until June. Catches of up to 40 tons per day were obtained in the area between 45 and 48°S (April–June), where surface temperatures ranged between 7 and 9°C. The squid caught were adults (221–375 mm mantle length ML), 70% of the males were mature and 90% of the females were immature. Statolith readings, assuming daily formation of increments, showed that most had hatched during the months October and November. According to stomachcontent analysis, fish represented 43.9% of the food consumed (90% myctophids), squid 36.6% (70% cannibalism on small juveniles) and zooplankton 19.5%. Juveniles of the same species were caught on the Patagonian slope and in the adjacent oceanic region during spring of 1988 and 1989, most of them in waters of the Malvinas Current (5–7°C). The sizes of those juveniles ranged between 15 and 81 mm ML and the ages (based on statolith increments) between 137 and 150 days, indicating that they had hatched during April

Description of an architeuthis from argentine waters

A specimen of the giant squid Architeuthis sp., caught by a trawler on the Patagonian inner shelf (46 &#176‹30'S. 66 &#176 ‹00'W) in April 1995, is described. The squid was a mature female of 1 625 mm mantle length with 321 growth lines in the statoliths. Internal and external anatomy and morphometric characters were studied as far as possible, given the very damaged condition of the animal

Burden of Crohn's disease: economics and quality of life aspects in Italy.

BACKGROUND: This was a prospective observational study designed to evaluate direct and indirect costs and quality of life for patients with Crohn's disease in Italy from the perspectives of the National Health System and of society. METHODS: A total of 162 male and female subjects aged 18-70 years with Crohn's disease in the active phase and a Crohn's Disease Activity Index score ≥150 were included in the study. Subjects were recruited from 25 Italian centers on a consecutive basis. The study consisted of four visits undertaken every 6 months with a follow-up period of 18 months. The study started on September 1, 2006 and was completed on April 12, 2010. Multivariate analyses were carried out on demographic characteristics, treatment costs based on the prescribed daily dose, resource use and other cost parameters, and changes in quality of life using the EQ5D questionnaire. RESULTS: Cost of illness per subject with Crohn's disease in Italy was estimated to be €15,521 per year, with direct costs representing 76% of total costs. Nonhealth care costs and loss of productivity accounted for 24% of total costs. Societal costs during the first months of enrolment were higher compared with costs in the final months of the study. Quality of life measured by the EQ-5D was 0.558 initially and then increased to 0.739, with a mean value of 0.677 during the enrolment period. The cost of illness was not correlated with age or gender. CONCLUSION: The cost of illness was correlated with quality of life; Crohn's disease had a negative impact on subjects' quality of life, and higher costs corresponded to a lower quality of life as measured with the EQ5D. Drug treatment may improve quality of life and reduce hospitalization costs. Our results appear to be in line with the results of other international cost-of-illness studie

Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibition with simvastatin in acute lung injury to reduce pulmonary dysfunction (HARP-2) trial : study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a common devastating clinical syndrome characterized by life-threatening respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation and multiple organ failure. There are in vitro, animal studies and pre-clinical data suggesting that statins may be beneficial in ALI. The Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibition with simvastatin in Acute lung injury to Reduce Pulmonary dysfunction (HARP-2) trial is a multicenter, prospective, randomized, allocation concealed, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial which aims to test the hypothesis that treatment with simvastatin will improve clinical outcomes in patients with ALI

Rhizosheath-root system changes exopolysaccharide content but stabilizes bacterial community across contrasting seasons in a desert environment

Abstract Background In hot deserts daily/seasonal fluctuations pose great challenges to the resident organisms. However, these extreme ecosystems host unique microenvironments, such as the rhizosheath–root system of desert speargrasses in which biological activities and interactions are facilitated by milder conditions and reduced fluctuations. Here, we examined the bacterial microbiota associated with this structure and its surrounding sand in the desert speargrass Stipagrostis pungens under the contrasting environmental conditions of summer and winter in the Sahara Desert. Results The belowground rhizosheath–root system has higher nutrient and humidity contents, and cooler temperatures than the surrounding sand. The plant responds to the harsh environmental conditions of the summer by increasing the abundance and diversity of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) compared to the winter. On the contrary, the bacterial community associated with the rhizosheath–root system and its interactome remain stable and, unlike the bulk sand, are unaffected by the seasonal environmental variations. The rhizosheath–root system bacterial communities are consistently dominated by Actinobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria and form distinct bacteria communities from those of bulk sand in the two seasons. The microbiome-stabilization mediated by the plant host acts to consistently retain beneficial bacteria with multiple plant growth promoting functions, including those capable to produce EPS, which increase the sand water holding capacity ameliorating the rhizosheath micro-environment. Conclusions Our results reveal the capability of plants in desert ecosystems to stabilize their below ground microbial community under seasonal contrasting environmental conditions, minimizing the heterogeneity of the surrounding bulk sand and contributing to the overall holobiont resilience under poly-extreme conditions

Detection of Ligation Products of DNA Linkers with 5′-OH Ends by Denaturing PAGE Silver Stain

To explore if DNA linkers with 5′-hydroxyl (OH) ends could be joined by commercial T4 and E. coli DNA ligase, these linkers were synthesized by using the solid-phase phosphoramidite method and joined by using commercial T4 and E. coli DNA ligases. The ligation products were detected by using denaturing PAGE silver stain and PCR method. About 0.5–1% of linkers A–B and E–F, and 0.13–0.5% of linkers C–D could be joined by T4 DNA ligases. About 0.25–0.77% of linkers A–B and E–F, and 0.06–0.39% of linkers C–D could be joined by E. coli DNA ligases. A 1-base deletion (-G) and a 5-base deletion (-GGAGC) could be found at the ligation junctions of the linkers. But about 80% of the ligation products purified with a PCR product purification kit did not contain these base deletions, meaning that some linkers had been correctly joined by T4 and E. coli DNA ligases. In addition, about 0.025–0.1% of oligo 11 could be phosphorylated by commercial T4 DNA ligase. The phosphorylation products could be increased when the phosphorylation reaction was extended from 1 hr to 2 hrs. We speculated that perhaps the linkers with 5′-OH ends could be joined by T4 or E. coli DNA ligase in 2 different manners: (i) about 0.025–0.1% of linkers could be phosphorylated by commercial T4 DNA ligase, and then these phosphorylated linkers could be joined to the 3′-OH ends of other linkers; and (ii) the linkers could delete one or more nucleotide(s) at their 5′-ends and thereby generated some 5′-phosphate ends, and then these 5′-phosphate ends could be joined to the 3′-OH ends of other linkers at a low efficiency. Our findings may probably indicate that some DNA nicks with 5′-OH ends can be joined by commercial T4 or E. coli DNA ligase even in the absence of PNK

Resilience management guidelines for critical infrastructures, translating resilience theory into practical and useful interventions

Resilience goes beyond safety and risk management encompassing the ability of organisations to proactively adapt to expected and unexpected situations (crisis, opportunities and changes). The literature on resilience is overwhelming, our systematic literature survey identified 300 different definitions on resilience, diverse developments. Hence, there is a need to translate this fragmented body of knowledge into consolidated practical solutions. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the final version of resilience management guidelines produced in the H2020 DARWIN project. Through a multidisciplinary approach, involving experts in the field of resilience, crisis and risk management and service providers in the Air Traffic Management, healthcare domains as well as representatives from other domains, the DARWIN project has produced evolving resilience management guidelines (DRMG). These guidelines are not prescriptive. Instead they enable organizations to have a critical view on their own crisis management activities. The DRMG are available in different formats for easy usage and maintenance to avoid them being dust-collectors on a shelf. In this way, organizations can adapt, adopt and integrate the guidelines into their own existing management practices and procedures. Through an iterative development process involving academia and practitioners, the guidelines are constructed around Capability Cards (CCs). The evaluation in pilot exercises and other activities involved 247 practitioners from 22 countries explored the possibility to adapt the CCs to the Healthcare and Air Traffic Management domains. It also consider the feasibility of generalizing them to other Critical Infrastructure domains. Our achievement is the current version of guidelines proposing practical interventions that end-users find useful. This paper represents and invitation to explore the content of the guidelines, to encourage its use and further developments of the resilience management