Vibronic origin of long-lived coherence in an artificial molecular light harvester

Natural and artificial light harvesting processes have recently gained new interest. Signatures of long lasting coherence in spectroscopic signals of biological systems have been repeatedly observed, albeit their origin is a matter of ongoing debate, as it is unclear how the loss of coherence due to interaction with the noisy environments in such systems is averted. Here we report experimental and theoretical verification of coherent exciton-vibrational (vibronic) coupling as the origin of long-lasting coherence in an artificial light harvester, a molecular J-aggregate. In this macroscopically aligned tubular system, polarization controlled 2D spectroscopy delivers an uncongested and specific optical response as an ideal foundation for an in-depth theoretical description. We derive analytical expressions that show under which general conditions vibronic coupling leads to prolonged excited-state coherence

Social network analysis as a tool for marine spatial planning: Impacts of decommissioning on connectivity in the North Sea

Connectivity of marine populations and ecosystems is crucial to maintaining and enhancing their structure, distribution, persistence, resilience and productivity. Artificial hard substrate, such as that associated with oil and gas platforms, provides settlement opportunities for species adapted to hard substrates in areas of soft sediment. The contribution of artificial hard substrate and the consequences of its removal (e.g. through decommissioning) to marine connectivity is not clear, yet such information is vital to inform marine spatial planning and future policy decisions on the use and protection of marine resources. This study demonstrates the application of a social network analysis approach to quantify and describe the ecological connectivity, informed by particle tracking model outputs, of hard substrate marine communities in the North Sea. Through comparison of networks with and without artificial hard substrate, and based on hypothetical decommissioning scenarios, this study provides insight into the contribution of artificial hard substrate, and the consequence of decommissioning, to the structure and function of marine community connectivity. This study highlights that artificial hard substrate, despite providing only a small proportion of the total area of hard substrate, increases the geographic extent and connectivity of the hard substrate network, bridging gaps, thereby providing ‘stepping stones’ between otherwise disconnected areas of natural hard substrate. Compared to the baseline scenario, a decommissioning scenario with full removal of oil and gas platforms results in a nearly 60% reduction in connectivity. Such reduction in connectivity may have negative implications for species’ distribution, gene flow and resilience following disturbance or exploitation of marine hard substrate communities. Synthesis and applications. Social network analysis can provide valuable insight into connectivity between marine communities and enable the evaluation of impacts associated with changes to the marine environment. Providing standardized, transparent and robust outputs, such a tool is useful to facilitate understanding across different disciplines, including marine science, marine spatial planning and marine policy. Social network analysis therefore has great potential to address current knowledge gaps with respect to marine connectivity and crucially facilitate assessment of the impacts of changes in offshore substrate as part of the marine spatial planning process, thereby informing policy and marine management decisions

Gravidez e tabagismo : uma oportunidade para mudar comportamentos

Introduction: Maternal smoking during pregnancy is related not only to perinatal adverse events but also to important postnatal problems. Smoking is very prevalent in women with several socio-demographic factors playing an important role. Aims: To assess the frequency of smoking as well as mothers’ change in behaviours during pregnancy. To identify socio-demographic factors associated to smoking and to assess women’s knowledge and sources of information about adverse effects of smoking during pregnancy.Methods: We started a cohort study between March and October 2003 at the Maternity, Hospital Santa Maria. After an informed consent the mothers in the post natal ward were asked to fill in a questionnaire. Results: Four hundred and seventy five mothers responded to the questionnaire and among them 30% were smokers before pregnancy. Thirty five percent stopped smoking during pregnancy and those who continued significantly reduced the number of cigarrettes per day. Smoking was less prevalent in married women, with higher educational level and with stable employment (statistically significant correlations). Forty five percent of the mothers were misinformed or had no information about the adverse effects of smoking during pregnancy. Their main source of information were the media. Discussion: Smoking prevalence was high (30%) among the respondents but the pregnancy lowered the numbers of cigarrettes per day. The percentage of misinformed mothers concerned about the adverse effects of smoking during pregnancy was high (45%), which also showed that doctors’ role as a source of information was surpassed by the media. The study also brought to light the need for the health professionals to improve their competences in their role on prevention of smoking during pregnancy and the postnatal period

Sexualidade na gravidez : influência no bébé? Mitos, atitudes e informação das mães

Introdução: A gravidez envolve alterações fisiológicas e psicológicas que afectam vários aspectos da vivência da mulher, nomeadamente a sua sexualidade. Factores culturais e educacionais podem ter também uma influência importante na vivência da actividade sexual neste período. Objectivos: O objectivo deste estudo foi determinar a repercussão da gravidez na actividade sexual e seus possíveis factores condicionantes, assim como descrever a informação que as mulheres demonstram e as fontes de informação de que dispõem sobre os efeitos da actividade sexual durante a gravidez. Métodos: Estudo transversal analítico realizado na Maternidade de um Hospital Universitário com aplicação de um inquérito validado a uma amostra de 475 puérperas entre as 24 e as 28 horas pós- -parto, em dias da semana pré-estabelecidos. Foram estudadas as variáveis respeitantes a caracterização sócio-demográfica, gravidez, parto, recém-nascido e sexualidade durante a gravidez. Na análise dos dados foram utilizados os programas estatísticos SPSS e STATA. Resultados: Verificou-se que a maioria das mulheres (59%) refere alteração da vivência da sexualidade com a gravidez, o que se relacionou com a idade (p=0,002) e a escolaridade (p=0,001), mas não com outros factores sócio-demográficos. Não se verificou correlação entre a actividade sexual durante a gravidez e a idade gestacional ou peso do recém-nascido ao nascer. Em relação à informação apresentada verificou-se que 53,9% das mulheres se encontram informadas sobre a sexualidade na gravidez e que 36,4% referem a comunicação social como principal fonte de informação. Conclusão: Considera-se necessário que os profissionais de saúde se envolvam na informação sobre sexualidade durante a gravidez, de forma a permitir uma vivência saudável da gravidez em todos os aspectos relacionais da mulher.Introduction: Pregnancy is a period of psychological and physiological changes which affect several aspects of women’s lives, namely their sexuality. Cultural and educational factors may also play an important role in sexual activity during this period. Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the repercussion of pregnancy on sexuality and possible related factors as well as information on this subject and sources of information reported. Methods: We conducted a cohort study at the Maternity of a University Hospital. A standard questionnaire was applied to 475 women between 24 and 48 hours postpartum, on predetermined week days. Variables studied included socio-demographic aspects, pregnancy, type of delivery, newborn and sexual behaviour. The statistical packages STATA and SPSS were used. Results: The majority of women (59%) report a change in their sexual life during pregnancy, which was related to age (p=0,002) and education (p=0,001), but not to other socio demographic factors. No correlation was found between sexual activity during pregnancy and gestational age at delivery or birth weight. Regarding information we noted that 53,9% of the women had knowledge about sexuality during pregnancy and that 36,4% referred to media as their main source of information on this subject. Conclusion: We consider that healthcare professionals involved in perinatal care should be more active informing pregnant women about sexuality during pregnancy in order to help them to adopt healthier life styles in this period.Estudo financiado por Laboratórios Abbott Portugal

Gravidez e exercício físico : mitos, evidências e recomendações

In recent years there has been a great increase of scientific research regarding physical exercise during pregnancy. Nevertheless, many doubts persist leading to a decrease of its practice. We aimed to evaluate the main factors that influence the practice of physical activity during pregnancy and mothers’ knowledge regarding its effects. Physical activity has decreased significantly, although it was higher in nulliparous mothers, with higher educational level, employment and between 25 and 34 years old. Mothers who practiced exercise during pregnancy breastfed longer. No correlation was found concerning birth weight, gestational age or obstetric pathology. Although most mothers understand the benefits of physical activity in pregnancy, that doesn’t seem to translate in an increasing practice. We believe there should be an increased awareness of health professionals in order to promote controlled physical exercise in pregnant woman.Trabalho realizado com o apoio do Laboratório Abbott Portugal

A Cross-National Investigation of Hallucination-Like Experiences in 10 Countries: The E-CLECTIC Study

Hallucination-like experiences (HLEs) are typically defined as sensory perceptions in the absence of external stimuli. Multidimensional tools, able to assess different facets of HLEs, are helpful for a better characterization of hallucination proneness and to investigate the cross-national variation in the frequencies of HLEs. The current study set out to establish the validity, factor structure, and measurement invariance of the Launay-Slade Hallucinations Scale-Extended (LSHS-E), a tool to assess HLEs. A total of 4419 respondents from 10 countries were enrolled. Network analyses between the LSHS-E and the 3 dimensions of the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) were performed to assess convergent and divergent validity of the LSHS-E. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test its measurement invariance. The best fit was a 4-factor model, which proved invariant by country and clinical status, indicating cross-national stability of the hallucination-proneness construct. Among the different components of hallucination-proneness, auditory-visual HLEs had the strongest association with the positive dimension of the CAPE, compared with the depression and negative dimensions. Participants who reported a diagnosis of a mental disorder scored higher on the 4 LSHS-E factors. Small effect size differences by country were found in the scores of the 4 LSHS-E factors even after taking into account the role of socio-demographic and clinical variables. Due to its good psychometric properties, the LSHS-E is a strong candidate tool for large investigations of HLEs

Climate change impacts on the coral reefs of the UK Overseas Territory of the Pitcairn Islands: Resilience and adaptation considerations

The coral reefs of the Pitcairn Islands are in one of the most remote areas of the Pacific Ocean, and yet they are exposed to the impacts of anthropogenic climate change. The Pitcairn Islands Marine Protected Area was designated in 2016 and is one of the largest in the world, but the marine environment around these highly isolated islands remains poorly documented. Evidence collated here indicates that while the Pitcairn Islands' reefs have thus far been relatively sheltered from the effect of warming sea temperatures, there is substantial risk of future coral decalcification due to ocean acidification. The projected acceleration in the rate of sea level rise, and the reefs' exposure to risks from distant ocean swells and cold-water intrusions, add further uncertainty as to whether these islands and their reefs will continue to adapt and persist into the future. Coordinated action within the context of the Pitcairn Islands Marine Protected Area can help enhance the resilience of the reefs in the Pitcairn Islands. Options include management of other human pressures, control of invasive species and active reef interventions. More research, however, is needed in order to better assess what are the most appropriate and feasible options to protect these reefs

Effect of surgical experience and spine subspecialty on the reliability of the {AO} Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System

OBJECTIVE The objective of this paper was to determine the interobserver reliability and intraobserver reproducibility of the AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System based on surgeon experience (< 5 years, 5–10 years, 10–20 years, and > 20 years) and surgical subspecialty (orthopedic spine surgery, neurosurgery, and "other" surgery). METHODS A total of 11,601 assessments of upper cervical spine injuries were evaluated based on the AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System. Reliability and reproducibility scores were obtained twice, with a 3-week time interval. Descriptive statistics were utilized to examine the percentage of accurately classified injuries, and Pearson’s chi-square or Fisher’s exact test was used to screen for potentially relevant differences between study participants. Kappa coefficients (κ) determined the interobserver reliability and intraobserver reproducibility. RESULTS The intraobserver reproducibility was substantial for surgeon experience level (< 5 years: 0.74 vs 5–10 years: 0.69 vs 10–20 years: 0.69 vs > 20 years: 0.70) and surgical subspecialty (orthopedic spine: 0.71 vs neurosurgery: 0.69 vs other: 0.68). Furthermore, the interobserver reliability was substantial for all surgical experience groups on assessment 1 (< 5 years: 0.67 vs 5–10 years: 0.62 vs 10–20 years: 0.61 vs > 20 years: 0.62), and only surgeons with > 20 years of experience did not have substantial reliability on assessment 2 (< 5 years: 0.62 vs 5–10 years: 0.61 vs 10–20 years: 0.61 vs > 20 years: 0.59). Orthopedic spine surgeons and neurosurgeons had substantial intraobserver reproducibility on both assessment 1 (0.64 vs 0.63) and assessment 2 (0.62 vs 0.63), while other surgeons had moderate reliability on assessment 1 (0.43) and fair reliability on assessment 2 (0.36). CONCLUSIONS The international reliability and reproducibility scores for the AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System demonstrated substantial intraobserver reproducibility and interobserver reliability regardless of surgical experience and spine subspecialty. These results support the global application of this classification system

Abdominal aortic aneurysm is associated with a variant in low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a common cause of morbidity and mortality and has a significant heritability. We carried out a genome-wide association discovery study of 1866 patients with AAA and 5435 controls and replication of promising signals (lead SNP with a p value < 1 × 10-5) in 2871 additional cases and 32,687 controls and performed further follow-up in 1491 AAA and 11,060 controls. In the discovery study, nine loci demonstrated association with AAA (p < 1 × 10-5). In the replication sample, the lead SNP at one of these loci, rs1466535, located within intron 1 of low-density-lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) demonstrated significant association (p = 0.0042). We confirmed the association of rs1466535 and AAA in our follow-up study (p = 0.035). In a combined analysis (6228 AAA and 49182 controls), rs1466535 had a consistent effect size and direction in all sample sets (combined p = 4.52 × 10-10, odds ratio 1.15 [1.10-1.21]). No associations were seen for either rs1466535 or the 12q13.3 locus in independent association studies of coronary artery disease, blood pressure, diabetes, or hyperlipidaemia, suggesting that this locus is specific to AAA. Gene-expression studies demonstrated a trend toward increased LRP1 expression for the rs1466535 CC genotype in arterial tissues; there was a significant (p = 0.029) 1.19-fold (1.04-1.36) increase in LRP1 expression in CC homozygotes compared to TT homozygotes in aortic adventitia. Functional studies demonstrated that rs1466535 might alter a SREBP-1 binding site and influence enhancer activity at the locus. In conclusion, this study has identified a biologically plausible genetic variant associated specifically with AAA, and we suggest that this variant has a possible functional role in LRP1 expression