Resposta acústica de artes de pesca para captura de lula e ocultação à sondagem por golfinhos

Barreto, M., Gatta, M., & Lobo, V. (2022). Resposta acústica de artes de pesca para captura de lula e ocultação à sondagem por golfinhos. In I. H. (Ed.), Atas das 7.as Jornadas de Engenharia Hidrográfica / 2. as Jornadas Luso-Espanholas de Hidrografia (pp. 38-40). Instituto Hidrográfico. https://jornadas.hidrografico.pt/recursos/files/documentos/2022/7JEH-Livro_Atas.pdfA depredação por golfinhos das lulas ferradas nas toneiras da frota de pesca artesanal Micaelense, nos Açores, constitui um problema sócio-económico e de conservação marinha. Na hipótese da resposta das toneiras à sondagem acústica (ecolocalização) por parte dos golfinhos ser significativa, estas seriam um elemento auxiliar que lhes facilitaria a detecção e identificação. Uma mudança nas artes de pesca podia assim ajudar a minimizar os prejuizos causados. Para compreender a detectabilidade através de acústica submarina, caracterizámos a impedância dos materiais e a resposta das toneiras a sinais sonoros de banda curta percorrendo o intervalo espectral dos cliques de golfinhos. Dos ensaios realizados em configuração bi-estática no tanque anecóico, resultam sonogramas, curvas de resposta em frequência e valores quantitativos (target strength) que nos permitem hierarquizar reflectividades e distâncias de detecção. Permitem também comparar comportamento de ecos e sugerir medidas para atenuar a reflectividade (aumentando a furtividade), originando recomendações aos pescadores.publishersversionpublishe

Permeation of water as a tool for characterizing the effect of solvent, film thickness and water solubility in cellulose acetate membranes

Cellulose acetate membranes have been used in many applications; of particular interest are reverse osmosis systems, and as a neutral matrix for incorporation of different polymers (e.g., conducting polymers), inorganic ions (e.g., lanthanides) and organic (e.g., pharmaceutical) compounds. The properties of the new polymers derived from cellulose acetate or blends depend on those of cellulose acetate. This work presents an attempt to find links between thermodynamic and kinetic properties of cellulose acetate membranes in equilibrium with water. Water diffusion coefficients in cellulose acetate membranes are reported, measured with a simple water permeation technique. The comparison of these values with the percentage of water uptake and polymer thickness leads to interesting conclusions related with different polymer properties.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6TWW-4DVBFCN-7/1/63e48f8aac1513c35feeaa6c746621e

Interactions of vanadates with carbohydrates in aqueous solutions

The interaction between the vanadate ion (VO3-, i.e. vanadium (V)) and the carbohydrates sucrose, glucose and fructose has been studied in aqueous solutions (pH [approximate]6, 298.15 K) using measurements of diffusion coefficients, electrical conductivity, Raman and multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. With sucrose and glucose, indications of hydrolysis of the anion in the absence of the sugars came from a decrease in the diffusion coefficient with increasing concentration. Significant effects on the diffusion coefficients were observed in the presence of sucrose and glucose, suggesting interactions between the carbohydrates and vanadate ion. Support for this came from electrical conductivity measurements, where there were indications of formation of oligomeric species. These were found to depend on the carbohydrate used: confirmation of oligomer formation came from Raman spectroscopy, where it was possible to identify these species, and see their dependence on the particular carbohydrate used. Information on the interactions between the carbohydrates glucose or sucrose and vanadate came from 51V and 1H NMR spectroscopy, where the dominant species appeared to be a 2:2 complex with glucose, possessing trigonal bipyramidal centres, whereas with sucrose it is suggested that octahedral species are formed. Studies with fructose were complicated by competing oxidation of this carbohydrate and reduction of vanadium (V).http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6TGS-4CTN53R-3/1/7da9099617b4eef5113ec0db3254629

Diffusion Coefficients of Copper Chloride in Aqueous Solutions at 298.15 K and 310.15 K

Mutual diffusion coefficients (interdiffusion coefficients) and molar conductivities have been measured for copper(II) chloride in water at 298.15 K and 310.15 K at concentrations between 0.005 mol·dm-3 and 0.05 mol·dm-3. The diffusion coefficients were measured using a conductometric cell. The experimental data are discussed on the basis of the Onsager−Fuoss model. The Nernst diffusion coefficients derived from diffusion (1.297 × 10-9 and 1.690 × 10-9) m2·s-1 and from conductance (1.282 × 10-9 and 1.663 × 10-9) m2·s-1 at two temperatures (298.15 K and 310.15 K, respectively) are in good agreement

Binary Mutual Diffusion Coefficients of Isoniazid Aqueous Solutions at (298.15 and 310.15) K

Binary mutual diffusion coefficients measured by the Taylor dispersion method in two different laboratories (University of Naples, Federico II, Italy, and University of Coimbra, Portugal) are reported for aqueous solutions of isoniazid at concentrations from (0.000 to 0.100) mol·dm−3 and at two temperatures (298.15 and 310.15) K. The hydrodynamic radii for the isoniazid in aqueous solution are calculated from the experimental results. In addition, the Hartley equation and the experimental diffusion coefficients are used to estimate activity coefficients for aqueous isoniazid at both temperature

Efficacy and safety of the combination of reduced duration prophylaxis followed by immuno-guided prophylaxis to prevent cytomegalovirus disease in lung transplant recipients (CYTOCOR STUDY): an open-label, randomised, non-inferiority clinical trial

Cytomegalovirus; Immuno-guided prophylaxis; Lung transplantationCitomegalovirus; Profilaxis inmunoguiada; Trasplante de pulmónCitomegalovirus; Profilaxi immuno-guiada; Trasplantament de pulmóINTRODUCTION: Prolonged use of antivirals to prevent the development of cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease in lung transplant patients has been shown to have significant side effects, for which alternatives are being sought to reduce their use. The monitoring of cell immunity against CMV could be an alternative as it has shown to be useful in identifying transplant patients at low risk of infection, who could benefit from shorter prophylaxis. The aim of the CYTOCOR study is to demonstrate that the combination of a reduced prophylaxis strategy with subsequent CMV-specific immunological monitoring would allow CMV infection to be controlled in lung transplant patients as effectively as the usual strategy (prophylaxis followed by pre-emptive therapy), while reducing the side effects of antivirals due to the shorter duration of prophylaxis. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Phase III randomised, open, multicentre, parallel, non-inferiority clinical trial to study the efficacy and safety of the combination of a prophylaxis strategy up to month +3 post-transplant followed by immuno-guided prophylaxis using the QuantiFERON-CMV technique up to month +12 post-transplant to prevent CMV disease in CMV-seropositive lung transplant recipients. This strategy will be compared with a combination of a usual prophylaxis strategy up to month +6 post-transplant followed by pre-emptive therapy up to month +12. To study the incidence of CMV disease, patients will be followed up to 18 months post-transplantation. A total of 150 patients are expected to be recruited for the study. ETHICS AND PUBLIC DISSEMINATION: The clinical trial has been approved by the Research Ethics Committees and authorised by the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS).If the hypothesis of this clinical trial is verified, the dissemination of the results could change clinical practice by increasing knowledge about the safety and efficacy of discontinuing valganciclovir prophylaxis in lung transplant recipients.We would like to acknowledge the support of the Spanish Network for Research in Infectious Disease (REIPI, RD16/0016), the Group for the Study of Infections in Transplant Recipients (GESITRA) of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC) and SCReN (Spanish Clinical Research Network) funded by the ISCIII-Sub-Directorate General for Research Assessment and Promotion through project PT13/0002/0010-PT17/0017/0012 and PT17/0017/0032

Effectiveness of the Natura 2000 network in protecting Iberian endemic fauna

The Iberian Peninsula is a major European region of biodiversity, as it harbours more than 30% of European endemic species. Despite a number of studies having evaluated the ability of nature reserves to protect certain taxa, there is still a lack of knowledge on how Iberian endemic fauna are represented in these reserves. We detected biodiversity hotspots of Iberian endemicity and evaluated the effectiveness of the Natura 2000 network (N2000) in representing 249 endemic species from eight animal taxonomic groups (amphibians, mammals, freshwater fishes, reptiles, water beetles, butterflies, lacewings and dung beetles). We found that only the 10% of these Iberian endemic species are considered species of community interest (i.e. species included in the Annexes of the Habitats Directive). We conducted gap analyses and null models of representativeness in N2000. Generally, N2000 is effective in its representation of Iberian endemic fauna, although we detected species and few hotspots of endemism that were still not represented. It is necessary to declare a few new protected areas, thus enhancing N2000's effectiveness in the conservation of the Iberian endemic fauna. Although the aim of N2000 is to protect species listed in the Birds and Habitats Directives, the conservation status of endemic species from one of the most important areas of Europe in terms of biodiversity, could be also a concern for the European Union. Our results are useful in the context of the recent European Commission mandate calling for a ‘fitness check’ of the Birds and Habitats Directives. This approach could be also applicable to other regions with high value of endemicity.DS‐F was supported by a post‐doctoral contract funded by Universidad de Castilla‐La Mancha and the European Social Fund (ESF). PA was supported by a ‘Ramón y Cajal’ contract (RYC‐2011‐07670, MINECO). This research was partially funded by project POII11‐0277‐5747 (Junta de Castilla‐La Mancha).Peer Reviewe

Deposition Bias of Chromatin Proteins Inverts under DNA Replication Stress Conditions

Following DNA replication, equal amounts of chromatin proteins are distributed over sister chromatids by re-deposition of parental chromatin proteins and deposition of newly synthesized chromatin proteins. Molecular mechanisms balancing the allocation of new and old chromatin proteins remain largely unknown. Here, we studied the genome-wide distribution of new chromatin proteins relative to parental DNA template strands and replication initiation zones using the double-click-seq. Under control conditions, new chromatin proteins were preferentially found on DNA replicated by the lagging strand machinery. Strikingly, replication stress induced by hydroxyurea or curaxin treatment and inhibition of ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related protein (ATR) or p53 inactivation inverted the observed chromatin protein deposition bias to the strand replicated by the leading strand polymerase in line with previously reported effects on replication protein A occupancy. We propose that asymmetric deposition of replication protein occupancy. propose asymmetric deposition newly synthesized chromatin proteins onto sister chromatids reflects differences in the processivity of leading and lagging strand synthesis

Distance Decay of Similarity in Neotropical Diatom Communities

Background The regression of similarity against distance unites several ecological phenomena, and thus provides a highly useful approach for illustrating the spatial turnover across sites. Our aim was to test whether the rates of decay in community similarity differ between diatom growth forms suggested to show different dispersal ability. We hypothesized that the diatom group with lower dispersal ability (i.e. periphyton) would show higher distance decay rates than a group with higher dispersal ability (i.e. plankton). Methods/Principal findings Periphyton and phytoplankton samples were gathered at sites distributed over an area of approximately 800 km length in the Negro River, Amazon basin, Brazil, South America (3°08′00″S; 59°54′30″W). Distance decay relationships were then estimated using distance-based regressions, and the coefficients of these regressions were compared among the groups with different dispersal abilities to assess our predictions. We found evidence that different tributaries and reaches of the Negro River harbor different diatom communities. As expected, the rates of distance decay in community similarity were higher for periphyton than for phytoplankton indicating the lower dispersal ability of periphytic taxa. Conclusions/Significance Our study demonstrates that the comparison of distance decay relationships among taxa with similar ecological requirements, but with different growth form and thus dispersal ability provides a sound approach to evaluate the effects of dispersal ability on beta diversity patterns. Our results are also in line with the growing body of evidence indicating that microorganisms exhibit biogeographic patterns. Finally, we underscore that clumbing all microbial taxa into one group may be a flawed approach to test whether microbes exhibit biogeographic patterns.Peer reviewe

Ribonucleoprotein HNRNPA2B1 interacts with and regulates oncogenic KRAS in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Cells.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) involves activation of c-Ki-ras2 Kirsten rat sarcoma oncogene homolog (KRAS) signaling, but little is known about the roles of proteins that regulate the activity of oncogenic KRAS. We investigated the activities of proteins that interact with KRAS in PDAC cells. METHODS: We used mass spectrometry to demonstrate that heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (HNRNP) A2 and B1 (encoded by the gene HNRNPA2B1) interact with KRAS G12V. We used co-immunoprecipitation analyses to study interactions between HNRNPA2B1 and KRAS in KRAS-dependent and KRAS-independent PDAC cell lines. We knocked down HNRNPA2B1 using small hairpin RNAs and measured viability, anchorage-independent proliferation, and growth of xenograft tumors in mice. We studied KRAS phosphorylation using the Phos-tag system. RESULTS: We found that interactions between HRNPA2B1 and KRAS correlated with KRAS-dependency of some human PDAC cell lines. Knock down of HNRNPA2B1 significantly reduced viability, anchorage-independent proliferation, and formation of xenograft tumors by KRAS-dependent PDAC cells. HNRNPA2B1 knock down also increased apoptosis of KRAS-dependent PDAC cells, inactivated c-akt murine thymoma oncogene homolog 1 signaling via mammalian target of rapamycin, and reduced interaction between KRAS and phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase. Interaction between HNRNPA2B1 and KRAS required KRAS phosphorylation at serine 181. CONCLUSIONS: In KRAS-dependent PDAC cell lines, HNRNPA2B1 interacts with and regulates the activity of KRAS G12V and G12D. HNRNPA2B1 is required for KRAS activation of c-akt murine thymoma oncogene homolog 1-mammalian target of rapamycin signaling, interaction with phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase, and PDAC cell survival and tumor formation in mice. HNRNPA2B1 might be a target for treatment of pancreatic cancer