VERTICAL TRANSMISSION OF CONSUMPTION BEHAVIOR AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF SURNAMES

This paper attempts to detect the existence of links in consumptionpreferences between generations. Preferences for consumption goods may bedetermined by the preferences of parents (vertical transmission) and/or bypreferences arising from the environment (horizontal transmission). Wepropose an indirect methodology to overcome the lack of data on consumptionchoices of dynasties, i.e., parents and their adult offspring. This new approachis based on the analysis of the correlation between the geographicaldistributions of surnames and consumption choices. Our results show that thereis horizontal transmission of preferences regarding non-food items and possiblyvertical transmission for food items.Preference formation, surnames, vertical and horizontal transmission.

Diet of Common buzzard (Buteo buteo) (Linnaeus, 1758) in an area of Northwestern Spain as assessed by direct observation from blinds

Accuracy of raptor diet assessments can vary depending on the technique employed. In the available studies in Spain, the Common buzzard (Buteo buteo) shows a diverse and non-specialized diet, reflecting local and seasonal variation in the prey availability. This study reports information on the diet of the Common buzzard in an area of Northwestern Spain, on the basis of direct observation during 308 h. of four nests from blinds. The delivery prey rate to the nest was of 0.49 ± 0.04 items per hour. From a total of 145 prey delivered to the nests, 64.7% could be determined to the taxonomic level of class, 34.5% to the levels of species, genus or suborder and a 34.5% were undetermined prey items. Mammals and reptiles were the most frequent preys in their diet, while amphibians and birds were much less frequent. These results obtained are in agreement with those from previous studies carried out in the North of Spain based on other assessments raptor diet techniques

Intergenerational linkages in consumption patterns and the geographical distribution of surnames

We specially thank Luis Ubeda for his very useful suggestions and comments. We also thank Klaus Desmet, Jaime Kahhat, Javier Ruiz-Castillo, Christian Schultz and two anonymous refereesThis paper attempts to detect the existence of links in consumption patterns between generations. Preferences over consumption goods may be determined by the preferences of parents and/or by preferences arising from the environment. We propose an indirect methodology to overcome the lack of data on consumption choices of dynasties, i.e., parents and their adult offspring. This new approach is based on the analysis of the correlation between the geographical distributions of surnames and consumption choices.We show that there is no signifi cant intergenerational link on consumption patterns for non food goods. Our results also suggest that there is a link between parents' and children's preferences over food itemsAuthors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Spanish MEC through grants ECO2008-05721, ECO2011-29751, ECO 2010-19596 and ECO2010-19830. Romeu also acknowledges financial support from Fundación SENECA 11998Publicad

Some issues when using Fourier analysis for the extraction of modal parameters

It is sometimes necessary to determine the manner in which structures deteriorate with respect to time; for instance when quantifying a material's ability to withstand sustained dynamic loads. In such cases, it is well established that loss of structural integrity is reflected by variations in modal characteristics such as stiffness. This paper addresses some practical limitations of Fourier analysis with respect to temporal resolution and the uncertainties associated with extracting variations in modal parameters. The statistical analysis of numerous numerical experiments shows how techniques, such as data overlapping and zero-padding, can be used to improve the sensitivity of modal parameter extraction

Effect of sub-lethal chemical disinfection on the biofilm forming ability, resistance to antibiotics and expression of virulence genes of Salmonella Enteritidis biofilm-surviving cells

Although disinfection procedures are widely implemented in food environments, bacteria can survive and present increased virulence/resistance. Since little is known about these phenomena regarding biofilms, this study aimed to investigate the effect of chemical disinfection on biofilm-derived cells of Salmonella Enteritidis. Using a reference strain (NCTC 13349) and a food isolate (350), biofilm susceptibility to benzalkonium chloride (BAC), sodium hypochlorite (SH) and hydrogen peroxide (HP) was evaluated and biofilms were exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of each disinfectant. Biofilm-derived cells were characterized for their biofilm forming ability, antibiotic resistance and expression of virulence-associated genes. Except for a few instances, disinfectant exposure did not alter antibiotic susceptibility. However, SH and HP exposure enhanced the biofilm forming ability of Salmonella Enteritidis NCTC 13349. After BAC and HP exposure, biofilm-derived cells presented a down-regulation of rpoS. Exposure to BAC also revealed an up-regulation of invA, avrA and csgD on Salmonella Enteritidis NCTC 13349. The results obtained suggest that biofilm-derived cells that survive disinfection may represent an increased health risk.This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation forScience and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the stra-tegic funding of unit UIDB/04469/2020 and BioTecNorteoperation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by theEuropean Regional Development Fund under the scope ofNorte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Adjuvants : an essential component of neisseria vaccines

Adjuvants may be classified into delivery systems and immune potentiator or modulator molecules based on their mechanism of action. Neisseria vaccines containing traditional adjuvants such as aluminium salts have existed for long time, but meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroups, particularly serogroup B, continues to be a global health problem. Novel strategies have applied in silico and recombinant technologies to develop "universal" antigens (e.g. proteins, peptides and plasmid DNA) for vaccines, but these antigens have been shown to be poorly immunogenic even when alum adjuvanted, implying a need for better vaccine design. In this work we review the use of natural, detoxified, or synthetic molecules in combination with antigens to activate the innate immune system and to modulate the adaptive immune responses. In the main, antigenic and imune potentiator signals are delivered using nano-, micro-particles, alum, or emulsions. The importance of interaction between adjuvants and antigens to activate and target dendritic cells, the bridge between the innate and adaptive immune systems, will be discussed. In addition, nasal vaccine strategies based on the development of mucosal adjuvants and Neisseria derivatives to eliminate the pathogen at the site of infection provide promising adjuvants effective not only against respiratory pathogens, but also against pathogens responsible for enteric and sexually transmitted diseases