A New Extrafloral Nectary-Bearing Plant Species in the Brazilian Savanna and its Associated Ant Community: Nectary Structure, Nectar Production and Ecological Interactions

Brazilian Savanna stands out for the large number of species with extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) with high morphological diversity. In Smilax polyantha (Smilacaceae), the base of the petiole showed a slight secretion and great visitation by ants suggesting the presence of an EFN. In this way, we aimed to determine the ant community associated with this plant, as well as to identify and characterize this unsuspected structure and determine the phenology and liquid production of this tissue. The study was carried out in a Cerrado area, in Uberlândia, Brazil. Ten individuals were used for the anatomical analysis and histochemical tests and the EFNs secretory activity was monitored, being categorized into active and non-active EFN. In addition, the volume and sucrose concentration were determined from three nectaries of ten individuals, and individuals of ants found foraging on these nectary were collected, day and night. Results showed a large amount of extrafloral nectar secretion and the EFN tissue is composed of a few cell layers that showed positive reactions for proteins and reducing sugars. We recorded a significantly correlation between percentage of EFNs activity and abundance of ants. The secretory activity is concentrated in September and ten ant species, of five subfamilies, were identified foraging on the EFNs

Descriptions of two new Pseudophacopteron species (Hemiptera: Psylloidea: Phacopteronidae) inducing galls on Aspidosperma (Apocynaceae) in Brazil

Two new species of the large pantropical jumping plant-louse genus Pseudophacopteron Enderlein, 1921 (Hemiptera: Psylloidea: Phacopteronidae) are described from dry woodland habitats in the Midwest, Southeast and South of Brazil. Pseudophacopteron aspidospermi sp. nov. is associated with Aspidosperma australe, P. longicaudatum sp. nov. has been found on Aspidosperma macrocarpon and A. tomentosum (Apocynaceae). Both species induce intralaminar lenticular galls on the leaves of their host trees which have been the subject of several structural, histochemical and ecological publications. Adult males and females, fifth instar immatures and galls are illustrated including diagnostic morphological details, and compared with other Neotropical and Old World species of Pseudophacopteron and Phacopteronidae. The distribution of Pseudophacopteron in the Neotropical Region is briefl y discussed

Embedding sustainability in engineering education through interactive industrial design case studies

The need for the integration of industrial concepts and applications of sustainability in engineering education is a priority for universities and especially for engineering courses. To deliver the concepts and benefits of sustainable engineering design to students requires something more than just a theoretical overview. The use of case studies in engineering education is well established and a mature concept. The scope and criticality of sustainable development is increasingly complex and diverse and continues to change and adapt as the climate crises deepens. The biotechnology industry is perhaps the youngest of all of the process industries and is changing and adapting rapidly. Combine these two changing dynamics and the result is a compelling argument for interactive design case studies. The design of a manufacturing process within the biopharmaceutical industry is based on various criteria such as capital investment, operating costs, process reliability and safety with an overarching focus on patient safety. While environmental impact and sustainability is a critical area from a global perspective, it has not been a key consideration within the industry with relatively little research into the environmental impact of adopting different processes and technologies. There is a growing demand for multiproduct, flexible facilities with approaches such as modular strategies facilitating easy adaptation for different processes. This places an increasing emphasis on support services such as buffer preparation, where overheads are increasing and bottlenecks are developing. The supply of buffer solutions in particular, accounts for a large proportion of a facility’s footprint, labour, equipment and operating costs. To alleviate the potential bottlenecks, reduce the impact on capital and operational expenditure and improve sustainability, alternative philosophies for buffer management must be considered. Buffer preparation offers an ideal opportunity for collaboration with case studies as it represents a common problem within the industry in a non-competitive space, which has a clear demand for fresh thinking. While there are significant variations in core process technology, buffer preparation remains a key aspect of facility design across differing modalities. This research aims to demonstrate the benefit of exploring the industrial sustainability design space in conjunction with third level engineering education. This synergy with utilise Interactive Design Sessions utilising approaches such as Finite Capacity Analysis to demonstrate the environmental impact of operational strategy and technology utilisation (such as Single Use Technology and inline buffer preparation) on buffer preparation within the biopharmaceutical industry, highlighting the synergy between more sustainable production and a reduction in the cost of manufacturing

Study of the Technical Feasibility of the Use of Polypropylene Residue in Composites for Automotive Industry

Polypropylene (PP) is widely used in short-term use artifacts, rapidly discarded and should partially replace neat PP. In addition, it is one of the polymers most used in the automobile industry. This study shows the technical feasibility of partially substituting neat PP for a post-consumer counterpart (PPr), as well as adding ground glass (GP), used as filler in the polymer matrix. Mechanical and thermal properties of the recycled blends (PP/PPr) and composites (PP/PPr/GP) were evaluated. The results demonstrated that the blend with the highest PPr content obtained a statistically significant decline in elastic modulus, but adding 5 wt% of GP to this blend increased this property, achieving a similar value in relation to neat PP. The composite developed may be a promising tailor-made product with properties resembling those of the virgin plastic. Thus, the automotive industry seems to be a good option for the use of PPr and GP composites and blends, without increasing product requirements

The BLue Amazon Brain (BLAB): A Modular Architecture of Services about the Brazilian Maritime Territory

We describe the first steps in the development of an artificial agent focused on the Brazilian maritime territory, a large region within the South Atlantic also known as the Blue Amazon. The "BLue Amazon Brain" (BLAB) integrates a number of services aimed at disseminating information about this region and its importance, functioning as a tool for environmental awareness. The main service provided by BLAB is a conversational facility that deals with complex questions about the Blue Amazon, called BLAB-Chat; its central component is a controller that manages several task-oriented natural language processing modules (e.g., question answering and summarizer systems). These modules have access to an internal data lake as well as to third-party databases. A news reporter (BLAB-Reporter) and a purposely-developed wiki (BLAB-Wiki) are also part of the BLAB service architecture. In this paper, we describe our current version of BLAB's architecture (interface, backend, web services, NLP modules, and resources) and comment on the challenges we have faced so far, such as the lack of training data and the scattered state of domain information. Solving these issues presents a considerable challenge in the development of artificial intelligence for technical domains

Inflammatory cytokines and biofilm production sustain Staphylococcus aureus outgrowth and persistence: A pivotal interplay in the pathogenesis of Atopic Dermatitis

Individuals with Atopic dermatitis (AD) are highly susceptible to Staphylococcus aureus colonization. However, the mechanisms driving this process as well as the impact of S. aureus in AD pathogenesis are still incompletely understood. In this study, we analysed the role of biofilm in sustaining S. aureus chronic persistence and its impact on AD severity. Further we explored whether key inflammatory cytokines overexpressed in AD might provide a selective advantage to S. aureus. Results show that the strength of biofilm production by S. aureus correlated with the severity of the skin lesion, being significantly higher (P < 0.01) in patients with a more severe form of the disease as compared to those individuals with mild AD. Additionally, interleukin (IL)-β and interferon γ (IFN-γ), but not interleukin (IL)-6, induced a concentration-dependent increase of S. aureus growth. This effect was not observed with coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from the skin of AD patients. These findings indicate that inflammatory cytokines such as IL1-β and IFN-γ, can selectively promote S. aureus outgrowth, thus subverting the composition of the healthy skin microbiome. Moreover, biofilm production by S. aureus plays a relevant role in further supporting chronic colonization and disease severity, while providing an increased tolerance to antimicrobials

European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) open label phase II study on glufosfamide administered as a 60-minute infusion every 3 weeks in recurrent glioblastoma multiforme

BACKGROUND: Glufosfamide is a new alkylating agent in which the active metabolite of isophosphoramide mustard is covalently linked to beta-D-glucose to target the glucose transporter system and increase intracellular uptake in tumor cells. We investigated this drug in a multicenter prospective phase II trial in recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eligible patients had recurrent GBM following surgery, radiotherapy and no more than one prior line of chemotherapy. Patients were treated with glufosfamide 5000 mg/m(2) administered as a 1-h intravenous infusion. Treatment success was defined as patients with either an objective response according to Macdonald's criteria or 6 months progression-free survival. Toxicity was assessed with the Common Toxicity Criteria (CTC) version 2.0. RESULTS: Thirty-one eligible patients were included. Toxicity was modest, the main clinically relevant toxicities being leukopenia (CTC grade >3 in five patients) and hepatotoxicity (in three patients). No responses were observed; one patient (3%; 95% confidence interval 0 to 17%) was free from progression at 6 months. Pharmacokinetic analysis showed a 15% decrease in area under the curve and glufosfamide clearance in patients treated with enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs, but no effect of these drugs on maximum concentration and plasma half-life. CONCLUSION: Glufosfamide did not show significant clinical antitumor activity in patients with recurrent GBM

USE OF COCONUT BAGASSE AS ALTERNATIVE ADSORBENT FOR SEPARATION OF COPPER (II) IONS FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS: ISOTHERMS, KINETICS, AND THERMODYNAMIC STUDIES

The use of coconut bagasse as an adsorbent for the treatment of Cu(II) ions from aqueous solutions has been investigated. The adsorbent was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, including zeta potential and pH effects. To assess the possibility of removing Cu(II) from aqueous solutions by this sorbent the effects of contact time, initial metal ion concentration, and temperature were studied at pH 5.5. Kinetic studies showed that the amount adsorbed increased with initial Cu(II) concentration, and the equilibrium was established in 120 min. The kinetic data were analyzed using a pseudo second-order equation. Adsorption equilibrium data were investigated using the Langmiur, Freundlich, D–R, Temkin and Halsey isotherm models. The adsorption of Cu(II) on the coconut bagasse was endothermic (H◦ 86.2 kJ/mol), resulting in an increase in entropy (S◦ 339 J/mol/K) and a decrease in Gibbs free energy (G -16.34 to -22.44 kJ/mol) in the temperature range of 301-313 K. A reduction in adsorption capacity with an increase in heat of adsorption revealed an ion exchange mechanism for Cu(II) adsorption

Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Guinea-Bissau: A Sexually Transmitted Genotype 2 with Parenteral Amplification?

BACKGROUND: Sub-Saharan Africa is the continent with the highest prevalence of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Genotype 2 HCV is thought to have originated from West Africa several hundred years ago. Mechanisms of transmission remain poorly understood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To delineate mechanisms for HCV transmission in West Africa, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of individuals aged ≥50 years in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. Dried blood spots were obtained for HCV serology and PCR amplification. Prevalence of HCV was 4.4% (47/1066) among women and 5.0% (27/544) among men. In multivariate analysis, the independent risk factors for HCV infection were age (baseline: 50–59 y; 60–69 y, adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.67, 95% CI: 0.91–3.06; ≥70 y, AOR: 3.47, 95% CI: 1.89–6.39), belonging to the Papel, Mancanha, Balanta or Mandjako ethnic groups (AOR: 2.45, 95% CI:1.32–4.53), originating from the Biombo, Cacheu or Oio regions north of Bissau (AOR: 4.16, 95% CI: 1.18–14.73) and having bought or sold sexual services (AOR: 3.60, 95% CI: 1.88–6.89). Of 57 isolates that could be genotyped, 56 were genotype 2. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that transmission of HCV genotype 2 in West Africa occurs through sexual intercourse. In specific locations and subpopulations, medical interventions may have amplified transmission parenterally