Distribution and genetic variability of Staphylinidae across a gradient of anthropogenically influenced insular landscapes

This paper describes the distribution and genetic variability of rove beetles (Coleoptera Staphylinidae) in anthropogenically influenced insular landscapes. The study was conducted in the Azores archipelago, characterized by high anthropogenic influence and landscape fragmentation. Collections were made in five islands, from eight habitats, along a gradient of anthropogenic influence. The species of Staphylinidae from the Azores collected for this study were widely distributed and showed low habitat fidelity. Rove beetle richness was associated with anthropogenic influence and habitat type, increasing from less to more anthropogenic impacted habitats. However, genetic diversity of profiled species (i.e. with three or more specimens per species/habitat) does not seem affected by anthropogenic influence in the different habitat types, isolation or landscape fragmentation. COI haplotypes were, as a rule, not exclusive to a given island or habitat. High level of genetic divergence and nucleotide saturation was found in closely related morphological designated species, demonstrating possible disparities between currently defined taxonomic units based on morphology and molecular phylogenies of Staphylinidae. This study found evidence of cryptic speciation in the Atheta fungi (Gravenhorst) species complex which had thus far remained undetected. Similar trends were found for Oligota parva Kraatz, Oxytelus sculptus Gravenhorst, Oligota pumilio Kiesenwetter. Previous studies with lower taxonomical resolution may have underestimated the biotic diversity reported in the Azores in comparison to other Macaronesian archipelagos.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Noise control by sonic crystal barriers made of recycled materials

A systematic study of noise barriers based on sonic crystals made of cylinders that use recycled materials like absorbing component is here reported. The barriers consist of only three rows of perforated metal shells filled with rubber crumb. Measurements of reflectance and transmittance by these barriers are reported. Their attenuation properties result from a combination of sound absorption by the rubber crumb and reflection by the periodic distribution of scatterers. It is concluded that porous cylinders can be used as building blocks whose physical parameters can be optimized in order to design efficient barriers adapted to different noisy environments

Static circularly symmetric perfect fluid solutions with an exterior BTZ metric

In this work we study static perfect fluid stars in 2+1 dimensions with an exterior BTZ spacetime. We found the general expression for the metric coefficients as a function of the density and pressure of the fluid. We found the conditions to have regularity at the origin throughout the analysis of a set of linearly independent invariants. We also obtain an exact solution of the Einstein equations, with the corresponding equation of state $p=p(\rho)$, which is regular at the origin.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, revtex 4. This paper is in honor of Alberto Garcia's sixtieth birthday. Accepted by Gen. Rel. Gra

Spanish study of anticoagulation in haemodialysis

This study's objectives were to determine which anticoagulation methods are commonly used in patients who are undergoing haemodialysis (HD) in Spain, on what criteria do they depend, and the consequences arising from their use. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Ours was a cross-sectional study based on two types of surveys: a "HD Centre Survey" and a "Patient Survey". The first survey was answered by 87 adult HD units serving a total of 6093 patients, as well as 2 paediatric units. Among these units, 48.3% were part of the public health system and the remaining 51.7% units were part of the private health system. The patient survey analysed 758 patients who were chosen at random from among the aforementioned 78 HD units. RESULTs: A) HD Centre Survey: The majority of adult HD units (n=61, 70.2%) used both kinds of heparin, 19 of them (21.8%) only used LMWH and 7 of them (8%) only used UFH. The most frequently applied criteria for the use of LMWH were medical indications (83.3% of HD units) and ease of administration (29.5%). The most frequently used methods for adjusting the dosage were clotting of the circuit (88.2% of units), bleeding of the vascular access after disconnection (75.3%), and patient weight (57.6%). B) Patient Survey: The distribution of the types of heparin used was: UFH: 44.1%, LMWH: 51.5%, and dialysis without heparin in 4.4% of patients. LMWH was more frequently used in public medical centres (64.2% of patients) than in private medical centres (46.1%) (P<.001). LMWH was more frequently used in on-line haemodiafiltration (HF) than in high-flux HD (P<.001). Antiplatelet agents were given to 45.5% of patients, oral anticoagulants to 18.4% of patients, and both to 5% of patients. Additionally, 4.4% of patients had suffered bleeding complications during the previous week, and 1.9% of patients suffered thrombotic complications. Bleeding complications were more frequent in patients with oral anticoagulants (P=.001), although there was no association between the type of heparin and the occurrence of bleeding or thrombotic complications. CONCLUSIONS: We are able to conclude that there is a great amount of disparity in the criteria used for the medical prescription of anticoagulation in HD. It is advisable that each HD unit revise their own results as well as those from other centres, and possibly to create an Anticoagulation Guide in Haemodialysis

Availability of timber housing construction techniques in Brazil

Se analiza la representatividad de las viviendas hechas en madera, en Brasil, indicando el porcentaje de cada técnica constructiva según la oferta de las empresas evaluadas. Los porcentajes que evidencian la frecuencia de utilización de las técnicas de construcción en madera fueron medidos por medio de dos metodologías aplicadas en las empresas: encuesta por entrevistas personales a sus propietarios y búsqueda de datos en sus sitios web. El método de encuestas por entrevistas evaluó 107 empresas brasileñas, y el de búsqueda en los sitios web alcanzó 207 empresas; se consiguió 50,95 y 98,57 %, respectivamente, de la población estimada. A pesar de esta diferencia, ambos métodos demostraron un escenario similar. Las entrevistas presentaron mayores costos de aplicación. Las técnicas contemporáneas están disponibles en más del 90 % de los productores brasileros. Las casas de tablas horizontales clavadas y las casas de tablas horizontales entre pilares fueron las que tuvieron mayores ofertas.This paper analyzes the representativeness of timber housing in Brazil, identifying the percentage of construction techniques offered by each evaluated company. Percentages that evidence the frequency of use of wooden building techniques were measured using two methods applied in the companies: survey through face-to-face interviews with owners and data search on their websites. The survey through interviews evaluated 107 Brazilian companies, while the data search included 207 companies, obtaining 50.95% and 98.57% of the estimated population, respectively. In spite of this difference, both methods showed a similar scenario. Interviews evidenced higher application costs. Contemporary techniques are available in more than 90% of Brazilian constructors. Houses with nailed horizontal boards and houses with horizontal wooden boards between columns were offered the most

Cellular immunity to hepatitis C virus core protein and the response to interferon in patients with chronic hepatitis C

To investigate the involvement of T-cell response against hepatitis C virus (HCV) antigens in viral clearance after interferon therapy, we measured interleukin-2 (IL-2) production by peripheral mononuclear cells in response to HCV core in patients with chronic hepatitis C. In a cohort of 43 patients, we investigated the frequency of circulating core-specific T-helper (Th) cell precursors by the limiting-dilution assay, and in a second cohort of 60 patients, we analyzed the response to specific core epitopes using 52 synthetic 15-mer overlapping peptides. We observed that the frequency of core-specific Th cell precursors was significantly higher in patients with sustained biochemical and virological response (SR) after interferon (IFN) therapy (median, 1/55,736) than in untreated patients (1/274,023) or that in patients who remained viremic after completion of the treatment-nonresponders (NR) plus transient responders (TR) (1/1,909,972). Patients who failed to respond to IFN (NR) and those who relapsed after IFN discontinuation (TR) had a similarly low number of precursors. The number of core peptides recognized by SR, TR, NR, UT, and healthy controls was 8.2 +/- 1.5, 6.5 +/- 1.2, 2.0 +/- 0.5, 2.7 +/- 0.9, and 0.3 +/- 0.2, respectively. In SR, the intensity of the proliferative response to core peptides as estimated by the summation of stimulation indexes (sigmaSI) was significantly higher than in NR and than in UT, but not different from that of TR. Our results indicate that both expansion of HCV-specific Th cell precursors and Th cell recognition of multiple core epitopes seem to be important in the elimination of HCV after IFN therapy

Ribavirin in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C unresponsive to alfa interferon

For the 30-50% of patients with chronic hepatitis C who do not respond to alpha-interferon therapy there is no alternative treatment. Some previously untreated patients have shown a biochemical response to ribavirin, but the antiviral effects of this substance on alpha-interferon-resistant cases is largely unknown. Twelve patients with chronic hepatitis C who had not responded to a 6-12 month course of alpha-interferon were included in this study. Oral ribavirin was administered at a dose of 16 mg/kg per day for 6 or 9 months. Aminotransferase levels had not significantly changed during interferon therapy but decreased significantly during ribavirin treatment (mean alanine aminotransferase at baseline, 102 +/- 18 IU/l vs. 55 +/- 14 IU/l at 6 months; P = 0.0001). Aminotransferase levels became normal in 6 cases (50%), significantly decreased in 3 patients (25%), and did not significantly change in the remaining 3 cases (25%). All patients with normalized aminotransferase values relapsed after ribavirin was discontinued and aminotransferase activity returned to pretreatment levels. Before therapy serum hepatitis C virus RNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction in 10 cases. None of them had cleared viral RNA when tested following 3, 6 and 9 months of ribavirin therapy. Side-effects were mild and reversible. In conclusion, about half of the patients with chronic hepatitis C who are unresponsive to alpha-interferon show a clear-cut biochemical response after 6-9 months of ribavirin administration. However, ribavirin does not clear circulating hepatitis C virus RNA and relapses occur after withdrawal.

Quantitative assessment and comparison of cloud service providers' privacy practices

The economic and technical advantages of cloud computing are widely recognized by the industry. However, the lack of knowledge on the privacy features offered by cloud service providers remains as one of the barriers for the adoption of cloud services. In this paper we describe a mechanism for the quantitative assessment of the privacy practices of different cloud service providers, so that cloud service clients can compare among them and choose the one that better fits their needs. Our contributions have been validated in three different scenarios

Rare earth elements and Nd isotopes as tracers of modern ocean circulation in the central Mediterranean Sea

Seawater rare earth element (REE) concentrations and Nd isotopic composition (εNd) are increasingly applied as valuable tracers of oceanographic processes such as water mass mixing and lithogenic inputs to seawater. However, their measurements are basically lacking in the Mediterranean Sea water column. This study analyzes 9 seawater stations around the central Mediterranean Sea to clarify the relative importance of external sources, vertical (biogeochemical) processes and lateral water mass transport in controlling REE and εNd distributions. Concentrations of REE do not show nutrient-like profiles with depth, likely indicative of relatively young waters with limited accumulation of remineralized REE. Light REE (LREE) present a non-conservative behavior, which largely peak at surface waters and rapidly decrease with depth. The negative correlation of surface LREE enrichment with offshore distance highlights the influence of continental input from the western Italian coast to the Tyrrhenian surface waters. In contrast to other regions with reported boundary exchange, this process does not modify the εNd values here. On the other side, distributions of dissolved heavy REE (HREE) and εNd display a conservative behavior that can be explained by mixing of western- (MAW and WMDW) and eastern- (LIW and EMDW) originated waters. We test this hypothesis with an Optimum Multi-Parameter Analysis (OMPA) including HREE and εNd parameters. Even though the limited data set, consistent results of water mass fractions are obtained for the four main water masses although with some particularities. While LIW takes on major importance when considering HREE in the model, EMDW fractions are preferentially detected with εNd. This latter finding implies a noticeable deep water flux across the Sicily Strait into the Western Mediterranean that was not clearly evidenced before

Vitamin C inhibits leptin secretion and some glucose/lipid metabolic pathways in primary rat adipocytes

Antioxidant-based treatments are emerging as an interesting approach to possibly counteract obesity fat accumulation complications, since this is accompanied by an increased systemic oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to analyze specific metabolic effects of vitamin C (VC) on epididymal primary rat adipocytes. Cells were isolated and incubated for 72 h in culture medium, in the absence or presence of 1.6 nM insulin, within a range of VC concentrations (5-1000 microM). Glucose- and lipid-related variables as well as the secretion/expression patterns of several obesity-related genes were assessed. It was observed that VC dose dependently inhibited glucose uptake and lactate production, and also reduced glycerol release in both control and insulin-treated cells. Also, VC caused a dramatic concentration-dependent fall in leptin secretion especially in insulin-stimulated cells. In addition, VC (200 microM) induced Cdkn1a and Casp8, partially inhibited Irs3, and together with insulin drastically reduced Gpdh (listed as Gpd1 in the MGI database) gene expressions. Finally, VC and insulin down-regulatory effects were observed on extracellular and intracellular reactive oxygen species production respectively. In summary, this experimental assay describes a specific effect of VC in isolated rat adipocytes on glucose and fat metabolism, and on the secretion/expression of important obesity-related proteins