Complete larval development of the hermit crabs Clibanarius aequabilis and Clibanarius erythropus (Decapoda : Anomura : Diogenidae), under laboratory conditions, with a revision of the larval features of genus Clibanarius

The complete larval development (four zoeae and one megalopa) of Clibanarius aequabilis and C. erythropus, reared under laboratory conditions, is described and illustrated. The larval stages of the two northeastern Atlantic Clibanarius species cannot be easily differentiated. Their morphological characters are compared with those of other known Clibanarius larvae. The genus Clibanarius is very homogeneous with respect to larval characters. All Clibanarius zoeae display a broad and blunt rostrum, smooth abdominal segments and an antennal scale without a terminal spine. Beyond the second zoeal stage, the fourth telson process is present as a fused spine, and the uropods are biramous. In the fourth larval stage all species display a mandibular palp. The Clibanarius megalopa presents weakly developed or no ocular scales, symmetrical chelipeds, apically curved corneous dactylus in the second and third pereiopods, and 5-11 setae on the posterior margin of the telson. Apart from the number of zoeal stages, Clibanarius species may be separated, beyond the second zoeal stage, by the telson formula and the morphology of the fourth telson process.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form: Brazilian Validation and Measurement Invariance between the United Kingdom and Latin-American Datasets

The present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Brazilian adaptation of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF). In a sample of 512 participants, we tested model fit by bifactor Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM), followed by measurement invariance testing against UK and Chilean datasets of the measure. The Big Five Mini-Markers, Satisfaction with Life Scale and Subjective Happiness Scale were also administered as external validation measures. We obtained the following results: (a) final adequate bifactor ESEM model fit; (b) a significantly higher global trait EI mean for men (d = .27); (c) high internal consistency for global trait EI (α = .88), in spite of lower Cronbach's α values at the factor level (.60-.85); (d) high correlation (r = .89) in the test-retest; (e) significant correlation between global trait EI and most of the Big Five dimensions (r = -.66-.46), life satisfaction (.59) and happiness (.68); (f) evidence of incremental validity of trait EI for life satisfaction and happiness over and above the Big Five; (g) equivalent measurement across the Brazilian, UK and Chilean versions of the TEIQue-SF. We conclude that the Brazilian TEIQue-SF is psychometrically sound and can be recommended for research and practical use

Peripheral nerve injury increases contribution of L-type calcium channels to synaptic transmission in spinal lamina II: Role of α2δ-1 subunits

BACKGROUND: Following peripheral nerve chronic constriction injury, the accumulation of the α2δ-1 auxiliary subunit of voltage-gated Ca2+channels in primary afferent terminals contributes to the onset of neuropathic pain. Overexpression of α2δ-1 in Xenopus oocytes increases the opening properties of Cav1.2 L-type channels and allows Ca2+influx at physiological membrane potentials. We therefore posited that L-type channels play a role in neurotransmitter release in the superficial dorsal horn in the chronic constriction injury model of neuropathic pain. RESULTS: Whole-cell recording from lamina II neurons from rats, subject to sciatic chronic constriction injury, showed that the L-type Ca2+channel blocker, nitrendipine (2 µM) reduced the frequency of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents. Nitrendipine had little or no effect on spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic current frequency in neurons from sham-operated animals. To determine whether α2δ-1 is involved in upregulating function of Cav1.2 L-type channels, we tested the effect of the α2δ-1 ligand, gabapentin (100 µM) on currents recorded from HEK293F cells expressing Cav1.2/β4/α2δ-1 channels and found a significant decrease in peak amplitude with no effect on control Cav1.2/β4/α2δ-3 expressing cells. In PC-12 cells, gabapentin also significantly reduced the endogenous dihydropyridine-sensitive calcium current. In lamina II, gabapentin reduced spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic current frequency in neurons from animals subject to chronic constriction injury but not in those from sham-operated animals. Intraperitoneal injection of 5 mg/kg nitrendipine increased paw withdrawal threshold in animals subject to chronic constriction injury. CONCLUSION: We suggest that L-type channels show an increased contribution to synaptic transmission in lamina II dorsal horn following peripheral nerve injury. The effect of gabapentin on Cav1.2 via α2δ-1 may contribute to its anti-allodynic action

Loss network representation of Peierls countours

We present a probabilistic approach for the study of systems with exclusions in the regime traditionally studied via cluster-expansion methods. In this paper we focus on its application for the gases of Peierls contours found in the study of the Ising model at low temperatures, but most of the results are general. We realize the equilibrium measure as the invariant measure of a loss network process whose existence is ensured by a subcriticality condition of a dominant branching process. In this regime the approach yields, besides existence and uniqueness of the measure, properties such as exponential space convergence and mixing, and a central limit theorem. The loss network converges exponentially fast to the equilibrium measure, without metastable traps, This convergence is faster at low temperatures, where it leads to the proof of an asymptotic Poisson distribution of contours. Our results on the mixing properties of the measure are comparable to those obtained with "duplicated-variables expansion," used to treat systems with disorder and coupled map lattices. It works in a larger region of validity than usual cluster-expansion formalisms, and it is not tied to the analyticity of the pressure. In fact, it does not lead to any kind of expansion for the latter, and the properties of the equilibrium measure are obtained without resorting to combinatorial or complex analysis techniques.29290293

Beside and behind the wheel : factors that influence driving stress and driving behavior

A large percentage of traffic accidents are due to human errors. Driving behavior and driving stress influence the probability of making these mistakes. Both are influenced by multiple factors, among which might be elements such as age, gender, sleeping hours, or working hours. The objective of this paper is to study, in a real scenario and without forcing the driver?s state, the relationship between driving behavior, driving stress, and these elements. Furthermore, we aim to provide guidelines to improve driving assistants. In this study, we used 1050 driving samples obtained from 35 volunteers. The driving samples correspond to regular commutes from home to the workplace. ANOVA and ANCOVA tests were carried out to check if there are significant differences in the four factors analyzed. Although the results show that driving behavior and driving stress are affected by gender, age, and sleeping hours, the most critical variable is working hours. Drivers with long working days suffer significantly more driving stress compared to other drivers, with the corresponding effect on their driving style. These drivers were the worst at maintaining the safety distance.5311-8814-F0ED | Sara Maria da Cruz Maia de Oliveira PaivaN/

Invariance of the trait emotional intelligence construct across populations and sociodemographic variables

Cultural, linguistic and sociodemographic peculiarities may influence trait Emotional Intelligence (trait EI). An instrument capable of assessing trait EI in different populations can foster cross-cultural research and make an important contribution to the construct's nomological network. Accordingly, the present study aimed to examine the relationship between trait EI and key sociodemographic variables through univariate analyses of variance and tests of multigroup measurement equivalence. We used datasets Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue-SF) datasets from four countries. Collectively, these datasets comprised 2228 participants, 23% from Brazil, 15% from Chile, 23% from Italy, and 39% from the United Kingdom. The sociodemographic variables that we used for trait EI comparisons were gender, age, educational level, civil and occupational status. Our results indicated significant global trait EI differences across countries for civil status, occupation, educational attainment, and age. Measurement invariance across the datasets was acceptable, especially for age, gender and education. In conclusion, the present psychometric evidence supports the suitability of the TEIQue-SF for the accurate assessment of trait EI in transcultural research

Climatic Changes, Water Systems, and Adaptation Challenges in Shawi Communities in the Peruvian Amazon

Climate change impacts on water systems have consequences for Indigenous communities. We documented climatic changes on water systems observed by Indigenous Shawi and resultant impacts on health and livelihoods, and explored adaptation options and challenges in partnership with two Indigenous Shawi communities in the Peruvian Amazon. Qualitative data were collected via PhotoVoice, interviews, focus group discussions, and transect walks, and analyzed using a constant comparative method and thematic analysis. Quantitative data were collected via a household survey and analyzed descriptively. Households observed seasonal weather changes over time (n = 50; 78%), which had already impacted their family and community (n = 43; 86%), such as more intense rainfall resulting in flooding (n = 29; 58%). Interviewees also described deforestation impacts on the nearby river, which were exacerbated by climate-related changes, including increased water temperatures (warmer weather, exacerbated by fewer trees for shading) and increased erosion and turbidity (increased rainfall, exacerbated by riverbank instability due to deforestation). No households reported community-level response plans for extreme weather events, and most did not expect government assistance when such events occurred. This study documents how Indigenous peoples are experiencing climatic impacts on water systems, and highlights how non-climatic drivers, such as deforestation, exacerbate climate change impacts on water systems and community livelihoods in the Peruvian Amazon

Induction of fibroblast senescence generates a non-fibrogenic myofibroblast phenotype that differentially impacts on cancer prognosis

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) remain a poorly characterized, heterogeneous cell population. Here we characterized two previously described tumor-promoting CAF sub-types, smooth muscle actin (SMA)-positive myofibroblasts and senescent fibroblasts, identifying a novel link between the two

Sub-nanometer surface chemistry and orbital hybridization in lanthanum-doped ceria nanocatalysts revealed by 3D electron microscopy

Surface chemical composition, electronic structure, and bonding characteristics determine catalytic activity but are not resolved for individual catalyst particles by conventional spectroscopy. In particular, the nano-scale three-dimensional distribution of aliovalent lanthanide dopants in ceria catalysts and their effect on the surface electronic structure remains unclear. Here, we reveal the surface segregation of dopant cations and oxygen vacancies and observe bonding changes in lanthanum-doped ceria catalyst particle aggregates with sub-nanometer precision using a new model-based spectroscopic tomography approach. These findings refine our understanding of the spatially varying electronic structure and bonding in ceria-based nanoparticle aggregates with aliovalent cation concentrations and identify new strategies for advancing high efficiency doped ceria nano-catalysts.We thank Alex Eggeman for assistance with computational resources, supported by the Royal Society, for memory-intensive calculations. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program (No. FP7/2007–2013)/ERC Grant Agreement No. 291522-3DIMAGE and the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program under a contract for an Integrated Infrastructure Initiative (Reference No. 312483-ESTEEM2)