Geobotanical excursion guide of the XIII International Seminar Management and Biodiversity Conservation-Vale do Lobo, Loulé (Algarve-Portugal)

43 páginas, 10 figuras.[EN] This field guide was developed as part of the XIII International Seminar Management and Biodiversity Conservation – Vale do Lobo, Loulé (Algarve – Portugal), that aims to contribute for the scientific knowledge of the flora and vegetation of the Algarvian territories. The itinerary of the geobotanical excursion have been chosen to present the remarkable floristic richness and plant communities of three different landscape subunits: i) Faixa Litoral (dunes and saltmarshes of the Ancão Peninsula); ii) Barrocal (Nave do Barão); and, iii) Serra Algarvia (Caldeirão and Monchique mountains). For each sites the plant communities are briefly stated, as well as the vascular flora observed, including species with special conservation interest. Finally, we present the syntaxonomic scheme, and the floristic catalog of the field trip.[PO] No âmbito das atividades do XIII Seminário Internacional de Gestão e Conservação da Biodiversidade – Vale do Lobo, Loulé (Algarve – Portugal), desenvolveu-se o presente trabalho, com o objetivo de aprofundar o conhecimento da flora e vegetação dos locais a visitar no contexto do itinerário da excursão geobotânica aos territórios algarvios. Assim, a seleção dos locais de paragem procurou evidenciar a originalidade florística e fitocenótica de três sub-unidades paisagísticas de carácter e identidade distintas: i) Faixa Litoral (dunas e sapais da Península do Ancão); ii) Barrocal (Nave do Barão); e, iii) Serra Algarvia (Serra do Caldeirão e Serra de Monchique). Após uma breve descrição dos aspetos litológicos, das condições bioclimáticas e do enquadramento biogeográfico, evidenciam-se as associações vegetais e espécies presentes nas paragens realizadas, com identificação dos elementos florísticos com interesse para a conservação. Por último, tendo por base a descrição da vegetação, apresenta-se o esquema sintaxonómico, e um elenco florístico dos locais percorridos

Polymerization of lignosulfonates by the laccase-HBT (1-hydroxybenzotriazole) system improves dispersibility

The ability of laccases from Trametes villosa (TvL), Myceliophthora thermophila (MtL), Trametes hirsuta (ThL) and Bacillus subtilis (BsL) to improve the dispersion properties of calcium lignosulfonates 398 in the presence of HBT as a mediator was investigated. Size exclusion chromatography showed an extensive increase in molecular weight of the samples incubated with TvL and ThL by 107% and 572% from 28400 Da after 17 h of incubation, respectively. Interestingly, FTIR spectroscopy, 13C NMR and Py-GC/MS analysis of the treated samples suggested no substantial changes in the aromatic signal of the lignosulfonates, a good indication of the ability of TvL/ThL-HBT systems to limit their effect on functional groups without degrading the lignin backbone. Further, the enzymatic treatments led to a general increase in the dispersion properties, indeed a welcome development for its application in polymer blends.Financial support from the BIORENEW EU-project (NMP2-CT-2006-26456), Austrian Academic Exchange Programme (OEAD) and the Spanish projects BIO2007-28720-E, BIO2008-01533, and AGL2008-00709 is acknowledged

Polymerisation of lignosulfonates by the laccase-HBT (1-hydroxybenzotriazole) system improves dispersibility

Prasetyo, Endry Nugroho et al.--The ability of laccases from Trametes villosa (TvL), Myceliophthora thermophila (MtL), Trametes hirsuta (ThL) and Bacillus subtilis (BsL) to improve the dispersion properties of calcium lignosulfonates 398 in the presence of HBT as a mediator was investigated. Size exclusion chromatography showed an extensive increase in molecular weight of the samples incubated with TvL and ThL by 107% and 572% from 28400 Da after 17 h of incubation, respectively. Interestingly, FTIR spectroscopy, 13C NMR and Py-GC/MS analysis of the treated samples suggested no substantial changes in the aromatic signal of the lignosulfonates, a good indication of the ability of TvL/ThL-HBT systems to limit their effect on functional groups without degrading the lignin backbone. Further, the enzymatic treatments led to a general increase in the dispersion properties, indeed a welcome development for its application in polymer blends.Financial support from the BIORENEW EU-project (NMP2-CT-2006-26456), Austrian Academic Exchange Programme (ÖEAD) and the Spanish projects BIO2007-28720-E, BIO2008-01533, and AGL2008-00709 is acknowledged.Peer reviewe

CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research

Antennas for the detection of radio emission pulses from cosmic-ray induced air showers at the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Observatory is exploring the potential of the radio detection technique to study extensive air showers induced by ultra-high energy cosmic rays. The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) addresses both technological and scientific aspects of the radio technique. A first phase of AERA has been operating since September 2010 with detector stations observing radio signals at frequencies between 30 and 80 MHz. In this paper we present comparative studies to identify and optimize the antenna design for the final configuration of AERA consisting of 160 individual radio detector stations. The transient nature of the air shower signal requires a detailed description of the antenna sensor. As the ultra-wideband reception of pulses is not widely discussed in antenna literature, we review the relevant antenna characteristics and enhance theoretical considerations towards the impulse response of antennas including polarization effects and multiple signal reflections. On the basis of the vector effective length we study the transient response characteristics of three candidate antennas in the time domain. Observing the variation of the continuous galactic background intensity we rank the antennas with respect to the noise level added to the galactic signal

Description of Atmospheric Conditions at the Pierre Auger Observatory using the Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS)

Atmospheric conditions at the site of a cosmic ray observatory must be known for reconstructing observed extensive air showers. The Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) is a global atmospheric model predicated on meteorological measurements and numerical weather predictions. GDAS provides altitude-dependent profiles of the main state variables of the atmosphere like temperature, pressure, and humidity. The original data and their application to the air shower reconstruction of the Pierre Auger Observatory are described. By comparisons with radiosonde and weather station measurements obtained on-site in Malarg\"ue and averaged monthly models, the utility of the GDAS data is shown

Outcomes from elective colorectal cancer surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

This study aimed to describe the change in surgical practice and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mortality after surgical resection of colorectal cancer during the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic