Completing the Tree of Life of Gentianales: an update from the Plant and Fungal Trees of Life (PAFTOL) project and related research initiatives

The tree o f life is a fundamental scientific knowledge for the exploration, prediction, and application o f the properties o f life on Earth. From the identification o f species new to Science to the discovery o f novel biomolecules or crops, the potential o f the tree of life is immense but is yet to be fully explored because many o f the tree’s branches remain unknown. The first phase of the PAFTOL project at the RBG Kew successfiilly led, in partnerships with other institutions, to the development of a universal bait kit for target enrichment sequencing in flowering plañís (Angiosperms353) and to the sequencing o f more than 50% o f the ca 13,600 genera. The molecular data generated were used in a wide number o f studies highlighting the power o f the approach for research in taxonomy, phylogenetics, and biogeography questions. PAFTOL subscribes to an open data agenda and aims to release its data early viathe Tree o f Life Explorer (https://treeoflife. kew.org/). This portal provides access to raw data, intermedíate producís (i.e. assembled data, alignments, gene trees) and a navigable tree of life based on all released datato date. The second phase of PAFTOL was launched with the aim o f producing phylogenomic data for the remaining genera of Angiosperms. Among the largest orders, Gentianales is a priority group for which a large collaborating group was assembled, to source material and collaborate on research outputs. In this presentation, we report our progress towards completing a genus-level phylogeny for the estimated 1,100 genera o f Gentianales. We discuss initiatives that take advantage o f the data generated, including research to accelerate drug discovery, as well as species level studies using the Angiosperms353 probes to resolve relationships in the economically important taxonomic group, the Asclepias generic complex (Apocynaceae) and assist in the identification o f putative new species o f Faramea (Rubiaceae)

INDOOR AIR TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO BUILDING SIMULATION

The current paper presents a model to predict indoor air temperature distribution. The approach is based on the energy conservation equation which is written for a certain number of finite volumes within the flow domain. The magnitude of the flow is estimated from a scale analysis of the momentum conservation equation. Discretized two or three-dimensional domains provide a set of algebraic equations. The resulting set of non-linear equations is iteratively solved using the line-by-line Thomas Algorithm. As long as the only equation to be solved is the conservation of energy and its coefficients are not strongly dependent on the temperature field, the solution is considerably fast. Therefore, the application of such model to a whole building system is quite reasonable. Two case studies involving buoyancy driven flows were carried out and comparisons with CFD solutions were performed. The results are quite promising for cases involving relatively strong couplings between heat and airflow

Autologous fat grafting: Harvesting techniques

Autologous fat grafting is widely used for soft-tissue augmentation and replacement in reconstructive and aesthetic surgery providing a biocompatible, natural and inexpensive method. Multiple approaches have been developed in the past years, varying in the location of adipose tissue donor-sites, use of wetting solutions, harvesting, processing and placing techniques. Despite many advances in this subject, the lack of standardization in the protocols and the unpredictability of the resorption of the grafted tissue pose a significant limitation for graft retention and subsequent filling. In this review, we discuss several approaches and methods described over the last years concerning the harvesting of autologous fat grafts. We focus on contents such as the best donor-site, differences between existing harvesting techniques (namely tissue resection, hand aspiration or liposuction techniques), recommended harvesting cannula diameters, pressure application and volume of wetting solution injected prior aspiration. Results and comparisons between methods tend to vary according to the outcome measured, thus posing a limitation to pinpoint the most efficient methods to apply in fat grafting. Additionally, the lack of a standard assay to determine viability or volume augmentation of fat grafting remains another limitation to obtain universally accepted grafting procedures and protocols.This work was supported by FEDER – Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional, through NORTE 2020 Programa Operacional Regional do Norte - NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012 and Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (Projeto Estratégico UID/BIM/04293/2013 )

Avaliação das respostas fisiológicas de bezerros zebuínos puros e cruzados nascidos em clima subtropical.

Estudou-se a influência de fatores climáticos sobre as respostas fisiológicas de bezerros, puros e cruzados, filhos de vacas da raça Nelore ou de alta mestiçagem de Nelore acasaladas com touros das raças Aberdeen Angus (AN), Simental (SN), Canchim (CN) e Nelore (NI e NR). Os bezerros AN, SN, CN e NI foram mantidos em sistema rotacionado intensivo, enquanto o grupo NR foi mantido em sistema extensivo. Os bezerros foram observados de forma direta desde o nascimento até a primeira mamada, medindo-se a latência para a primeira mamada (LM). Aproximadamente 24 horas após o parto, coletaram-se amostras de sangue do bezerro para as dosagens de proteina total (PT), glicose (Gli), triiodotironina (T 3)' tiroxina (T 4)' relação T 4:T 3' cortisol (Cort) e imunoglobulina G (IgGb), além das medidas de temperatura retal do bezerro (TR) e dos pesos de vacas e bezerros. Para análise dos efeitos de clima, foram tomadas no dia do nascimento as medidas de temperatura do ar (Temp), umidade do ar (UR) e precipitação (PRE). Os parâmetros fisiológicos foram estudados pelo método dos quadrados minimos com modelos que incluiram os efeitos de ano e mês de nascimento, grupo e sexo do bezerro, categoria da vaca e hora do parto e das interações ano x grupo e ano x mês de nascimento, além das covariáveis peso do bezerro, PRE, Temp, UR e LM. Temp mostrou efeito significativo para as concentrações de T 3 T 4' T 4:T 3 e de Corto Quanto maior Temp, menores as concentrações de T 3 e de Corte maiores as de T4 e de T4:T 3. LM influenciou os níveis de Cort, PT e IgGb, de modo que, quanto maior LM, maior a concentração de Cort e menor as de IgGb e PT. Também houve efeito significativo de grupo do bezerro sobre PT, que foi maior nos bezerros NR que nos bezerros NI