FORCE MEASUREMENT AND FORCE TRANSFORMATION IN SPECIAL RELATIVITY

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Behavioural stress responses predict environmental perception in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

Individual variation in the response to environmental challenges depends partly on innate reaction norms, partly on experience-based cognitive/emotional evaluations that individuals make of the situation. The goal of this study was to investigate whether pre-existing differences in behaviour predict the outcome of such assessment of environmental cues, using a conditioned place preference/avoidance (CPP/CPA) paradigm. A comparative vertebrate model (European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax) was used, and ninety juvenile individuals were initially screened for behavioural reactivity using a net restraining test. Thereafter each individual was tested in a choice tank using net chasing as aversive stimulus or exposure to familiar conspecifics as appetitive stimulus in the preferred or non preferred side respectively (called hereafter stimulation side). Locomotor behaviour (i.e. time spent, distance travelled and swimming speed in each tank side) of each individual was recorded and analysed with video software. The results showed that fish which were previously exposed to appetitive stimulus increased significantly the time spent on the stimulation side, while aversive stimulus led to a strong decrease in time spent on the stimulation side. Moreover, this study showed clearly that proactive fish were characterised by a stronger preference for the social stimulus and when placed in a putative aversive environment showed a lower physiological stress responses than reactive fish. In conclusion, this study showed for the first time in sea bass, that the CPP/CPA paradigm can be used to assess the valence (positive vs. negative) that fish attribute to different stimuli and that individual behavioural traits is predictive of how stimuli are perceived and thus of the magnitude of preference or avoidance behaviour.European Commission [265957]; Portuguese Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) [FRH/BPD/72952/2010]; FCT [SFRH/BD/80029/2011

The diagnostic value of symptoms of possible oesophagogastric cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstracts of the Cancer and Primary Care Research International (Ca-PRI) Network Seventh Annual Meeting: New Partnerships in Primary Care Cancer Research. June 10-13, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaOral presentation abstractThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this record

Apoe variants in an iberian alzheimer cohort detected through an optimized sanger sequencing protocol

The primary genetic risk factor for late onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD) is the APOE4 allele of Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene. The three most common variants of APOE are determined by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs429358 and rs7412. Our aim was to estimate allele and genotype frequencies of APOE variants in an Iberian cohort, thus helping to understand differences in APOE-related LOAD risk observed across populations. We analyzed saliva or buccal swab samples from 229 LOAD patients and 89 healthy elderly controls (=68 years old) from Northern Portugal and Castile and León region, Spain. The genotyping was performed by Sanger sequencing, optimized to overcome GC content drawbacks. Results obtained in our Iberian LOAD and control cohorts are in line with previous large meta-analyses on APOE frequencies in Caucasian populations; however, we found differences in allele frequencies between our Portuguese and Spanish subgroups of AD patients. Moreover, when comparing studies from Iberian and other Caucasian cohorts, differences in APOE2 and APOE4 frequencies and subsequent different APOE-related LOAD risks must be clarified. These results show the importance of studying genetic variation at the APOE gene in different populations (including analyses at a regional level) to increase our knowledge about its clinical significance.This work was supported by ‘European Commission’ and ‘European Regional Development Fund’ (FEDER) under the project “Análisis y correlación entre el genoma completo y la actividad cerebral para la ayuda en el diagnóstico de la enfermedad de Alzheimer” (Project 0378_AD_EEGWA_2_P), (Cooperation Programme INTERREG V-A Spain-Portugal POCTEP 2014– 2020) and the COMPETE 2020-Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Portugal 2020. Portuguese funds are supporting this work through FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação in the framework of the project “Institute for Research and Innovation in Health Sciences” (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007274). IG, AML, SM, and NP are funded by FCT: CEECIND/02609/2017, IF/01262/2014, CEECIND/00684/2017, and through the Decreto-Lei n◦ 57/2016 de 29 de Agosto, respectively. Spanish funds are supporting this work through ‘Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación–Agencia Estatal de Investigación’ and FEDER under project PGC2018-098214-A-I00 and by “CIBER en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN)” through “Instituto de Salud Carlos III” co-funded with FEDER funds

The writing on the wall: the concealed communities of the East Yorkshire horselads

This paper examines the graffiti found within late nineteenth and early-twentieth century farm buildings in the Wolds of East Yorkshire. It suggests that the graffiti were created by a group of young men at the bottom of the social hierarchy - the horselads – and was one of the ways in which they constructed a distinctive sense of communal identity, at a particular stage in their lives. Whilst it tells us much about changing agricultural regimes and social structures, it also informs us about experiences and attitudes often hidden from official histories and biographies. In this way, the graffiti are argued to inform our understanding, not only of a concealed community, but also about their hidden histor

Differential adherence and expression of virulence traits by Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis in mono- and dual-species cultures in artificial saliva

AIMS: To evaluate specific virulence factors of Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis clinical oral isolates in mono- and dual-species culture in the presence of artificial saliva. METHODS AND RESULTS: Two of the strains used in this study were isolated from co-infection (C. albicans AM and C. parapsilosis AM2), and the other two were isolated from single infection (C. albicans AC and C. parapsilosis AD). The number of adhered yeast cells was measured and their enzymatic activity was determined simultaneously. In mono-species culture, C. parapsilosis strains adhered to a higher extent to the surface in comparison with the C. albicans strains. In dual-species culture, the C. parapsilosis strains adhered more in the presence of C. albicans AM. Interestingly, C. albicans AM and C. parapsilosis AD adhered to a higher extent when compared with all other co-cultures. In dual-species culture, the enzymatic activity of C. parapsilosis strains in the presence of C. albicans AC was higher than in the presence of C. albicans AM. CONCLUSIONS: The virulence factors of C. albicans and C. parapsilosis differ from strain to strain and are influenced by the presence of other species in culture. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: To understand the expression of virulence factors in Candida dual-species systems.This work was supported by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the grant SFRH/BPD/20987/2004 attributed to Claudia Botelho

Eta Carinae and the Luminous Blue Variables

We evaluate the place of Eta Carinae amongst the class of luminous blue variables (LBVs) and show that the LBV phenomenon is not restricted to extremely luminous objects like Eta Car, but extends luminosities as low as log(L/Lsun) = 5.4 - corresponding to initial masses ~25 Msun, and final masses as low as ~10-15 Msun. We present a census of S Doradus variability, and discuss basic LBV properties, their mass-loss behaviour, and whether at maximum light they form pseudo-photospheres. We argue that those objects that exhibit giant Eta Car-type eruptions are most likely related to the more common type of S Doradus variability. Alternative atmospheric models as well as sub-photospheric models for the instability are presented, but the true nature of the LBV phenomenon remains as yet elusive. We end with a discussion on the evolutionary status of LBVs - highlighting recent indications that some LBVs may be in a direct pre-supernova state, in contradiction to the standard paradigm for massive star evolution.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures, Review Chapter in "Eta Carinae and the supernova imposters" (eds R. Humphreys and K. Davidson) new version submitted to Springe

The grapevine uncharacterized intrinsic protein 1 (VvXIP1) is regulated by drought stress and transports glycerol, hydrogen peroxide, heavy metals but not water

A MIP (Major Intrinsic Protein) subfamily called Uncharacterized Intrinsic Proteins (XIP) was recently described in several fungi and eudicot plants. In this work, we cloned a XIP from grapevine, VvXIP1, and agrobacterium-mediated transformation studies in Nicotiana benthamiana revealed that the encoded aquaporin shows a preferential localization at the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. Stopped-flow spectrometry in vesicles from the aqy-null yeast strain YSH1172 overexpressing VvXIP1 showed that VvXIP1 is unable to transport water but is permeable to glycerol. Functional studies with the ROS sensitive probe CM-H(2)DCFDA in intact transformed yeasts showed that VvXIP1 is also able to permeate hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Drop test growth assays showed that besides glycerol and H2O2, VvXIP1 also transports boric acid, copper, arsenic and nickel. Furthermore, we found that VvXIP1 transcripts were abundant in grapevine leaves from field grown plants and strongly repressed after the imposition of severe water-deficit conditions in potted vines. The observed downregulation of VvXIP1 expression in cultured grape cells in response to ABA and salt, together with the increased sensitivity to osmotic stress displayed by the aqy-null yeast overexpressing VvXIP1, corroborates the role of VvXIP1 in osmotic regulation besides its involvement in H2O2 transport and metal homeostasis.This work was supported by European Union Funds (FEDER/COMPETE Operational Competitiveness Programme) and Portuguese national Funds (FCT-Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology): KBBE-2012-6-3117 "Inovinne", FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-022692 and PTDC/AGR-ALI/100636/2008. HN (SFRH/BD/74257/2010) and APM (SFRH/BD/65046/2009) were supported by PhD grants from FCT. The Interuniversity Attraction Poles Programme-Belgian Science Policy (IAP7/29) and the Belgian French community ARC11/16-036 project.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio