The Farther the Better: Effects of Multiple Environmental Variables on Reef Fish Assemblages along a Distance Gradient from River Influences

The conservation and management of site-attached assemblages of coastal reefs are particularly challenging because of the tremendous environmental variation that exists at small spatial scales. In this sense, understanding the primary sources of variation in spatial patterns of the biota is fundamental for designing effective conservation policies. We investigated spatial variation in fish assemblages around the windward and leeward sides of coastal islands situated across a gradient of riverine influence (13 km in length). Specifically, relationships between rocky reef fish assemblages and benthic, topographic and physical predictors were assessed. We hypothesized that river induced disturbances may overcome local habitat features in modeling spatial patterns of fish distribution. Fish assemblages varied primarily due to the strong directional gradient of riverine influence (22.6% of the estimated components of variation), followed by topographic complexity (15%), wave exposure (9.9%), and benthic cover (8%). The trophic structure of fish assemblages changed from having a high abundance of invertebrate feeders in macroalgae-dominated reefs close to river mouths to a high proportion of herbivores, planktivores and invertebrate feeder species in reefs with large boulders covered by epilithic algal matrices, as the distance from rivers increased. This gradient led to an increase of 4.5-fold in fish richness and fish trophic group diversity, 11-fold in fish biomass and 10-fold in fish abundance. Our results have implications for the conservation and monitoring of assemblages patchily distributed at small spatial scales. The major role of distance from river influences on fish assemblages rather than benthic cover and topographic complexity suggest that managing land-based activities should be a conservation priority toward reef restoration.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Univ Fed Rural Rio de Janeiro, Dept Biol Anim, Lab Ecol Peixes, Campus Seropedica, Seropedica, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed Rural Rio de Janeiro, Dept Ciencias Meio Ambiente, Campus Tres Rios, Seropedica, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Inst Mar, Lab Ecol & Conservacao Marinha, Campus Baixada Santista, Santos, SP, BrazilLaboratório de Ecologia e Conservação Marinha, Instituto do Mar, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Campus Baixada Santista, Santos, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Wses Position Paper On Vascular Emergency Surgery

Trauma, both blunt and penetrating, is extremely common worldwide, as trauma to major vessels. The management of these patients requires specialized surgical skills and techniques of the trauma surgeon. Furthermore few other surgical emergencies require immediate diagnosis and treatment like a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA). Mortality of patients with a rAAA reaches 85 %, with more than half dying before reaching the hospital. These are acute events demanding immediate intervention to save life and limb and precluding any attempt at transfer or referral. It is the purpose of this position paper to discuss neck, chest, extremities and abdominal trauma, bringing to light recent evidence based data as well as expert opinions; besides, in this paper we present a review of the recent literature on rAAA and we discuss the rationale for transfer to referral center, the role of preoperative imaging and the pros and cons of Endoluminal repair of rAAA (REVAR) versus Open Repair (OR).1

Improving the downstream processing of interferon alfa-2b using alternative purification platforms based on ionic liquids

Improvements on human life expectancy and the lack of effective therapies has led to an increment of chronic diseases, being the application of biopharmaceuticals an efficient strategy to mitigate this scenario. Among the current available biopharmaceuticals, the role of interferon α-2b (IFNα-2b) should be highlighted, as it has been marketed over 30 years with a considerable impact on the global therapeutic proteins market (Castro et al, Vaccines, 2021). IFN manufacturing requires the use of the recombinant DNA technology, involving two main stages, the upstream and downstream stages. The first includes recombinant protein production in a suitable host microorganism, such as Escherichia coli (Castro et al, Sep. Purif. Technol., 2020), while the second comprises protein recovery, isolation, purification and polishing. Due to the high demands of the pharmaceutical industry for products with high purity and biological activity, the downstream stage is responsible for the majority of the production costs of biopharmaceuticals (50–90%), often including time-consuming and multi-step processes. Therefore, there is an immediate need to develop more efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable protein purification methodologies. In this work, two ionic-liquid-(IL)-based strategies were investigated for the purification of IFNα-2b recombinantly produced from E. coli fermentation broth, namely as adjuvants in aqueous biphasic systems or as chromatographic ligands immobilized in solid materials. Overall, the obtained results demonstrate that by tailoring IL’s chemical structures, improved protein purification processes are obtained and that the secondary structure of proteins is preserved.publishe

Application of a lab-made electronic nose for extra virgin olive oils commercial classification according to the perceived fruitiness intensity

An electronic nose, comprising nine metal oxide sensors, has been built aiming to classify olive oils according to the fruity intensity commercial grade (ripely fruity or light, medium and intense greenly fruity), following European regulated complementary terminology. The lab-made sensor device was capable to differentiate standard aqueous solutions (acetic acid, cis-3-hexenyl, cis-3-hexen-1-ol, hexanal, 1-hexenol and nonanal) that mimicked positive sensations (e.g., fatty, floral, fruit, grass, green and green leaves attributes) and negative attributes (e.g., sour and vinegary defects), as well as to semi-quantitatively classify them according to the concentration ranges (0.05 to 2.25 mg/kg). For that, unsupervised (principal component analysis) and supervised (linear discriminant analysis: sensitivity of 92% for leave-one-out cross validation) classification multivariate models were established based on nine or six gas sensors, respectively. It was also showed that the built E-nose allowed differentiating/discriminating (sensitivity of 81% for leave-one-out cross validation) extra virgin olive oils according to the perceived intensity of fruitiness as ripely fruity, light, medium or intense greenly fruity. In conclusion, the gas sensor device could be used as a practical preliminary non-destructive tool for guaranteeing the correctness of olive oil fruitiness intensity labelling.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support by national funds FCT/ MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020), to CEB (UIDB/04469/2020) and to BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) and Project “GreenHealth - Digital strategies in biological assets to improve wellbeing and promote green health” (Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000042) funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the scope of Regional Operational Program North 2020. ´Itala Marx acknowledges the Ph.D. research grant (SFRH/BD/137283/2018) provided by FCT. Nuno Rodrigues thanks the National funding by FCTFoundation for Science and Technology, P.I., through the Institutional Scientific Employment Program-contract.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sustainable ionic-liquid-based strategies for the downstream processing of interferon α-2b from Echerichia coli

Over the last decades, society has been facing an increment of chronic diseases due to the higher human life expectancy and the lack of efficient treatments for several pathologies. In this regard, biopharmaceuticals have become one of the most effective clinical treatments for a broad range of diseases, including cancer, metabolic and neurodegenerative disorders [1]. Among biopharmaceuticals, the role of interferons, particularly interferon α-2b (IFNα-2b), should be underlined, as they have been marketed for over 30 years with a considerable impact on the global therapeutic proteins market [2]. Usually based on the recombinant DNA technology, the manufacturing process of biopharmaceuticals encompasses two main stages: the upstream and downstream stages. Typically, the upstream phase includes recombinant protein production processes in a suitable host microorganism, such as Escherichia coli [3], while the general downstream processing of biopharmaceuticals comprises four stages - recovery, isolation, purification and polishing -, which are responsible for the majority of the production costs of biopharmaceuticals (50–90%) [3]. The downstream processing is a time-consuming and multi-step process, for which the development of cost-effective purification processes is mandatory to decrease their costs and environmental impact. In this context, two ionic-liquid-(IL)-based strategies were investigated in this work for the purification of IFNα-2b recombinantly produced from E. coli fermentation broth. ILs have been used as adjuvants in aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) and applied in supported materials as alternative ligands. The obtained results demonstrate that ILs have a tailoring ability and contribute to the development of more effective and sustainable downstream processes of biopharmaceuticals.publishe

Rhodolith bed structure along a depth gradient on the northern coast of bahia state, brazil

O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar a estrutura de um banco de rodolitos ao longo de um gradiente de profundidade na plataforma em frente à cidade de Salvador, nordeste brasileiro. Foram analisadas as dimensões, a forma e composição das algas calcárias dos rodolitos, bem como a vitalidade, densidade e flora associada ao banco, em três profundidades: 5, 15 e 25 m. As amostras foram obtidas por meio de mergulho autônomo no verão de 2007. Cinco espécies de algas calcárias formadoras de rodolito foram identificadas: Sporolithon episporum, Lithothamnion brasiliense, Lithothamnion superpositum, Mesophyllum erubescens e Lithophyllum sp. A forma de crescimento incrustante e a forma esférica foram predominantes em todas as profundidades. Houve uma redução da dimensão e vitalidade dos rodolitos e um aumento da densidade com a profundidade. Cinqüenta e seis espécies de macroalgas foram encontradas como flora associada aos rodolitos. A profundidade mais rasa apresentou os maiores valores de biomassa e número de espécies de macroalgas. Esses resultados, associados com outras descrições recentes de bancos de rodolitos, indicam que o padrão estrutural desses bancos no Brasil, ao longo de gradientes de profundidade, pode estar relacionado a uma combinação da extensão e da inclinação da plataforma continental.The aim of this study was to determine the structure of a rhodolith bed along a depth gradient of 5 to 25 m in the shelf in front of Salvador City, a region of northeastern Brazil. The dimensions, morphology and coralline algae composition of the rhodoliths were analyzed, as well as the vitality, density, and associated flora of the bed at three depths: 5, 15 and 25 m. Samples were obtained by SCUBA divers in summer 2007. Five rhodolith-forming taxa were identified: Sporolithon episporum, Lithothamnion brasiliense, Lithothamnion superpositum, Mesophyllum erubescens, and Lithophyllum sp. The encrusting growth form and the spherical shape were predominant at all depths. Rhodolith dimensions and vitality decreased and the density increased from the shallow to the deepest zones. Fifty-six macroalgal species were found as rhodolith-associated flora. The shallower depth presented higher values for macroalgal biomass and number of species. These results associated with other recent rhodolith bed descriptions indicate that the pattern of Brazilian rhodolith bed structure along depth gradients may be related to a combination of the extent and slope of the continental shelf

Purification of interferon alpha 2b-based biopharmaceuticals using ionic liquid-based technologies

Protein biopharmaceuticals, among which interferon alpha-2b (IFNα-2b) that can be used in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C, have become an indispensable product of current medicine. Aiming at finding new cost-effective, efficient and sustainable technologies for recombinant IFNα-2b purification, ionic liquids were investigated as adjuvants in polymer-polymer aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) or as chromatographic ligands covalently attached in silica (Supported ionic liquids, SILs). The application of ionic liquids as adjuvants in ATPS composed of polyethylene glycol (PEG 600 g/mol) and polypropylene glycol (PPG 400 g/mol) enhanced the purity of IFNα-2b recovered in the PEG-rich phase. On the other hand, SILs exhibited promising results toward IFNα-2b purification both in conditions favouring ionic or hydrophobic interactions, reinforcing the multimodal character of these novel stationary phases. Also, the secondary structure of IFNα-2b is preserved with both purification processes, as appraised by circular dichroism and western-blot studies. Overall, our results demonstrate the high potential exhibited by ionic liquids toward the preparative purification of the recombinant IFNα-2b biopharmaceuticals.publishe

Sweet peppers discrimination according to agronomic production mode and maturation stage using a chemical-sensory approach and an electronic tongue

Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2020.105034.The demand for organic foods has increased worldwide, in particular due to the association with healthier, more nutritious and tasty products, being a clear trend on sweet peppers consumption. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of agronomic production mode (conventional and organic) and maturation stage (associated to green, turning and red colours) on the chemical-sensory attributes of peppers grown in open field. It was found that organic peppers had a better visual/tactile aspect (greater firmness and more intense colours) but lower chemical quality (lower titratable acidity and total soluble solids). On the other hand, red peppers (higher maturation stage) had lower visual-tactile quality but higher chemical quality. From sensory analysis, conventional peppers had better overall aspect, colour intensity-homogeneity and brightness. Then again, the maturation stage of peppers mostly influenced the sensory visual attributes, being turning colour peppers the less appreciated, although organic red peppers were less succulent and had a lower global quality. Even so, the chemical-sensory parameters could be used to discriminate peppers taking into account the agronomic production mode and the maturation stage/colour (79±12% of correct classifications for the repeated K-fold cross-validation procedure). However, a trained sensory panel is required, which can be a major drawback considering their scarcity. This limitation was successfully overcome by using a potentiometric electronic tongue, which allowed discriminating the peppers with a higher predictive sensitivity (85±9%), showing that this device could be used as an accurate taste sensor for the qualitative analysis of sweet peppers.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Program PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020) and to CEB (UIDB/04469/2020) units and to BioTecNorte operation (NORTE‐01‐0145‐FEDER‐000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 ‐ Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. Nuno Rodrigues thanks to National funding by FCT- Foundation for Science and Technology, P.I., through the institutional scientific employment program-contract.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Universality and ambiguity in fermionic effective actions

We discuss an ambiguity in the one-loop effective action of massive fields which takes place in massive fermionic theories. The universality of logarithmic UV divergences in different space-time dimensions leads to the non-universality of the finite part of effective action, which can be called the non-local multiplicative anomaly. The general criteria of existence of this phenomena are formulated and applied to fermionic operators with different external fields.Comment: 13 pages, no figure