Patrones de comportamiento y alimentación del mono aullador Alouatta belzebul en zonas de selva talada y sin talar del este de la Amazonia

This work compared the activity patterns and diet of a group of Alouatta belzebul in areas of logged and unlogged forest in eastern Amazonia. An instantaneous scan sampling procedure was used for the behavioral study (9.3 ± 1.9 complete observation days/month) from February to November 2000. Fruit availability was estimated monthly. Activity budgets were not significantly different between sites. Rest was the predominant activity in both sites (53.6 % and 48.7 %, respectively). Average daily path length was 683.5 ± 215.1 m (n = 93), and the home range was 17.8 ha, including 7 ha in unlogged forest and 10.8 ha in the logged forest. Neither fruit availability nor diet varied significantly between sites. The diet was predominantly folivorous (43.4 % and 46.6 % in unlogged and logged forest, respectively) and frugivorous (43.9 % and 42.8 %). The spatial use by the group was positively related to fruit sources. This study documented the ability of a ranging group of A. belzebul to survive in a habitat influenced by reduced impact logging without dramatically influencing its activity patterns and diet.En este trabajo se comparan los patrones de comportamiento y alimentación de un grupo de Alouatta belzebul en zonas de selva deforestada y sin deforestar del este de la Amazonia. Para el estudio del comportamiento se utilizó un muestreo de barrido temporal instantáneo (observación completa durante 9,3 ± 1,9 meses/días) entre los meses de febrero y noviembre de 2000. La disponibilidad de fruta se calculó mensualmente. Las actividades realizadas no fueron significativamente diferentes en ninguna de las dos ubicaciones. El descanso fue la actividad predominante en ambas, 53,6 % y 48.7 % respectivamente. La media de la longitud de los recorridos diarios era de 683,5 ± 215,1 m (n = 93) y el área de acción era de de 17,8 hectáreas, incluyendo 7 hectáreas de selva sin talar y 10,8 hectáreas de bosques talados. Ni la disponibilidad de fruta ni la dieta variaron significativamente entre las zonas. La dieta era eminentemente folívora (43,4 % y 46,6 % en las zonas de selva sin talar y deforestada, respectivamente) y frugívora (43,9 % y 42,8 %). El uso que el grupo hacía del espacio estaba relacionado de manera positiva con las fuentes de suministro de frutas. En este estudio se ha documentado la habilidad de un grupo de A. belzebul en libertad para sobrevivir en un hábitat afectado por una tala de impacto reducido sin que ello afectase dramáticamente a sus patrones de comportamiento y alimentación

Contaminant analysis automation, an overview

To meet the environmental restoration and waste minimization goals of government and industry, several government laboratories, universities, and private companies have formed the Contaminant Analysis Automation (CAA) team. The goal of this consortium is to design and fabricate robotics systems that standardize and automate the hardware and software of the most common environmental chemical methods. In essence, the CAA team takes conventional, regulatory- approved (EPA Methods) chemical analysis processes and automates them. The automation consists of standard laboratory modules (SLMs) that perform the work in a much more efficient, accurate, and cost- effective manner

Extraction Experiments Using Commerciallv Available Spices

Safe and cost-effective experiments were designed for high school students to enhance their laboratory skills and knowledge on polarity and separation of mixtures. Annatto, Spanish paprika and turmeric were extracted yielding red-orange, light red-orange and yellow color, respectively. These were combined with a blue aqueous solution made from food color resulting to green mixtures. These were all extracted with kerosene or oil/kerosene. The non-polar solutes for each mixture combined with the kerosene or oil/kerosene layer, making the polar phase blue again. Students gained a better understanding of the concepts as shown in their laboratory report and test results

Assessment of the Tayabas Bay Fisheries

This technical paper discusses the results of the 10-year assessment (January 2004 to December 2013) of the fisheries of Tayabas Bay to determine the current status and level of exploitation and measure the effects of interventions introduced and implemented in the Bay and adjacent waters of Quezon and Batangas provinces. The trend of catch, effort and catch per unit effort from 2004 to 2013 showed an increase in catch attained by increasing effort, with fluctuating CPUE. The highest catch (24,622.9 MT) was attained in 2012. In 2013 the total production was 22,595.8 MT, an increase of 6.9% from the 2004 production. The fisherman’s density of 20/km for Tayabas Bay is low compared to other major fishing grounds like Lingayen Gulf, Guimaras Strait, and Manila Bay, but slightly higher than the estimates for Honda Bay and Ormoc Bay. The number of observed boat landings of all gears ranged from 13,746 MT in 2013 to 33,842 MT in 2005. The standardized annual estimated effort of the bottom set gillnet ranged from 2,199,589 MT to 7,194,394 MT. Most of the artisanal or municipal gears such as multiple hook and line (7 kg to 6 kg), drift gillnet (53 kg to 7 kg), and hook and line (9 kg to 5 kg) showed declining catch rates (CPUE). The bottom set gillnet, spear gun and surface gillnet, however, showed an increasing trend. Out of 16 species of fish analyzed, Cypselurus naresii, Rastrelliger faughni, Rastrelliger kanagurta, Decapterus tabl, Siganus canaliculatus and Upeneus sulphureus exhibited an E-value exceeding 0.5, which indicates overexploitation. As to the recruitment, nine species showed bimodal recruitment while seven species showed unimodal recruitment. There are seven species that have a mean length greater than their length at first maturity, which indicates that they have contributed to the recruitment process of their stocks before they are caught

Response letter: Serological evidence confirms the presumed diagnosis of Zika virus congenital infection in infants with microcephaly and ocular findings

FAV, Recife, PE, BrazilHosp Olhos HOPE, Recife, PE, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo UNIFESP, EPM, Dept Ophthalmol & Visual Sci, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilInst Visiao, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilHosp Barao de Lucena, Recife, PE, BrazilHUOC, Recife, PE, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo UNIFESP, EPM, Dept Ophthalmol & Visual Sci, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Subcritical Fluctuations at the Electroweak Phase Transition

We study the importance of thermal fluctuations during the electroweak phase transition. We evaluate in detail the equilibrium number density of large amplitude subcritical fluctuations and discuss the importance of phase mixing to the dynamics of the phase transition. Our results show that, for realistic Higgs masses, the phase transition can be completed by the percolation of the true vacuum, induced by the presence of subcritical fluctuations.Comment: RevTeX, 4 eps figs (uses epsf.sty), 26 pages, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Association of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor therapy and comorbidity in diabetes: results from the Vermont diabetes information system

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors) reduce peripheral vascular resistance via blockage of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). ACE inhibitors are commonly used to treat congestive heart failure and high blood pressure, but other effects have been reported. In this study, we explored the association between ACE inhibitor therapy and the prevalence of comorbid conditions in adults with diabetes</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We surveyed 1003 adults with diabetes randomly selected from community practices. Patients were interviewed at home and self-reported their personal and clinical characteristics including comorbidity. Current medications were obtained by direct observation of medication containers. We built logistic regression models with the history of comorbidities as the outcome variable and the current use of ACE inhibitors as the primary predictor variable. We adjusted for possible confounding by social (age, sex, alcohol drinking, cigarette smoking) and clinical factors (systolic blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), glycosolated hemoglobin (A1C), number of comorbid conditions, and number of prescription medications).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>ACE users reported a history of any cancer (except the non-life-threatening skin cancers) less frequently than non-users (10% <it>vs</it>. 15%; odd ratio = 0.59; 95% confidence interval [0.39, 0.89]; <it>P </it>= 0.01); and a history of stomach ulcers or peptic ulcer disease less frequently than non-users (12% <it>vs</it>. 16%, odd ratio = 0.70, [0.49, 1.01], <it>P </it>= 0.06). After correcting for potential confounders, ACE inhibitors remained significantly inversely associated with a personal history of cancer (odds ratio = 0.59, [0.39, 0.89]; <it>P </it>= 0.01) and peptic ulcer disease (odd ratio = 0.68, [0.46, 1.00], <it>P </it>= 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>ACE inhibitor use is associated with a lower likelihood of a history of cancer and peptic ulcers in patients with diabetes. These findings are limited by the cross sectional study design, self-report of comorbid diagnoses, and lack of information on the timing and duration of ACE inhibitor use. Further research is needed to confirm these associations and understand their mechanisms.</p

Nuclear matter to strange matter transition in holographic QCD

We construct a simple holographic QCD model to study nuclear matter to strange matter transition. The interaction of dense medium and hadrons is taken care of by imposing the force balancing condition for stable D4/D6/D6 configuration. By considering the intermediate and light flavor branes interacting with baryon vertex homogeneously distributed along R^3 space and requesting the energy minimization, we find that there is a well defined transition density as a function of current quark mass. We also find that as density goes up very high, intermediate (or heavy) and light quarks populate equally as expected from the Pauli principle. In this sense, the effect of the Pauli principle is realized as dynamics of D-branes.Comment: 13 pages, 14 figure

Capsular profiling of the Cronobacter genus and the association of specific Cronobacter sakazakii and C. malonaticus capsule types with neonatal meningitis and necrotizing enterocolitis

Background: Cronobacter sakazakii and C. malonaticus can cause serious diseases especially in infants where they are associated with rare but fatal neonatal infections such as meningitis and necrotising enterocolitis. Methods: This study used 104 whole genome sequenced strains, covering all seven species in the genus, to analyse capsule associated clusters of genes involved in the biosynthesis of the O-antigen, colanic acid, bacterial cellulose, enterobacterial common antigen (ECA), and a previously uncharacterised K-antigen. Results: Phylogeny of the gnd and galF genes flanking the O-antigen region enabled the defining of 38 subgroups which are potential serotypes. Two variants of the colanic acid synthesis gene cluster (CA1 and CA2) were found which differed with the absence of galE in CA2. Cellulose (bcs genes) were present in all species, but were absent in C. sakazakii sequence type (ST) 13 and clonal complex (CC) 100 strains. The ECA locus was found in all strains. The K-antigen capsular polysaccharide Region 1 (kpsEDCS) and Region 3 (kpsMT) genes were found in all Cronobacter strains. The highly variable Region 2 genes were assigned to 2 homology groups (K1 and K2). C. sakazakii and C. malonaticus isolates with capsular type [K2:CA2:Cell+] were associated with neonatal meningitis and necrotizing enterocolitis. Other capsular types were less associated with clinical infections. Conclusion: This study proposes a new capsular typing scheme which identifies a possible important virulence trait associated with severe neonatal infections. The various capsular polysaccharide structures warrant further investigation as they could be relevant to macrophage survival, desiccation resistance, environmental survival, and biofilm formation in the hospital environment, including neonatal enteral feeding tubes

White matter injury restoration after stem cell administration in subcortical ischemic stroke

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.-- et al.[Introduction]: An animal model of subcortical ischemic stroke with white matter affectation was induced in rats by injection of endothelin-1. At 24 hours, 2 × 10 6 ADMSC were administered intravenously to the treatment group. Functional evaluation, lesion size, fiber tract integrity, cell death, proliferation, white matter repair markers (Olig-2, NF, and MBP) and NogoA were all studied after sacrifice (7 days and 28 days). ADMSC migration and implantation in the brain as well as proteomics analysis and functions of the secretome were also analyzed. [Results]: Neither ADMSC migration nor implantation to the brain was observed after ADMSC administration. In contrast, ADMSC implantation was detected in peripheral organs. The treatment group showed a smaller functional deficit, smaller lesion area, less cell death, more oligodendrocyte proliferation, more white matter connectivity and higher amounts of myelin formation. The treated animals also showed higher levels of white matter-associated markers in the injured area than the control group. Proteomics analysis of the ADMSC secretome identified 2,416 proteins, not all of them previously described to be involved in brain plasticity. [Conclusions]: White matter integrity in subcortical stroke is in part restored by ADMSC treatment; this is mediated by repair molecular factors implicated in axonal sprouting, remyelination and oligodendrogenesis. These findings are associated with improved functional recovery after stroke.This study was supported by research grants PS12/01754, PI11/00909 and INVICTUS (RD12/0014) (Spanish Neurovascular Network), SAF2010-37926, ProteoRed-PT13/0001/0017 and a Sara Borrell postdoctoral fellowship (CD12/00706, to LOO) from Research Institute Carlos III, Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain. Furthermore, TS (CP12/03121) and FC (CP14/00154) are recipients of a research contract from Miguel Servet Program of Instituto de Salud Carlos III-Peer Reviewe