808 research outputs found

    Dinoflagellates Amyloodinium and Ichthyodinium (Dinophyceae), parasites of marine fishes in the South Atlantic Ocean

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    Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2018. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here under a nonexclusive, irrevocable, paid-up, worldwide license granted to WHOI. It is made available for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 131 (2018): 29-37, doi:10.3354/dao03274.The morphology and molecular phylogeny of the parasitic dinoflagellates Ichthyodinium chabelardi and Amyloodinium ocellatum was investigated off Brazil (South Atlantic Ocean). This is the first record of Ichthyodinium and the first molecular data of both parasites from the southern hemisphere. Ichthyodinium chabelardi infected the yolk of eggs of feral populations of Argentine anchovy (Engraulis anchoita; Engraulidae) and Brazilian sardinella (Sardinella brasiliensis; Clupeidae) in different seasons. The SSU rRNA and ITS gene sequences were identical and confirmed Ichthyodinium as a host generalist. The new sequences clustered with the type species I. chabelardi from the North Atlantic and environmental sequences from the Pacific Ocean. A second species from the western Pacific remains undescribed. Amyloodinium ocellatum was isolated from the gills of a cultured cobia fish (Rachycentron canadum) after causing mortality. The SSU rRNA gene sequence of the Brazilian isolate was almost identical to those from the northern hemisphere. This suggests a single species with a widespread distribution, although it is uncertain whether the species has a natural pantropical distribution or is the result of artificial distribution due to the humaninduced fish transport.F.G. was supported by the Brazilian Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico [grant number BJT 370646/2013–14]

    A First Step in Form-Based Category Abstraction by 12-Month-Old Infants

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    The present experiments investigate how young language learners begin to acquire form-based categories and the relationships between them. We investigated this question by exposing 12-month-olds to auditory structure of the form aX and bY (infants had to learn that a-elements grouped with Xs and not Ys). Infants were then tested on strings from their training language versus strings from the other language using a preferential-listening procedure. Importantly, the X and Y elements were new at test, requiring infants to generalize to novel pairings. We also manipulated the probability of encountering grammatical structures of the training language by mixing strings from two artificial languages according to 83/17 and 67/33 percentage ratios in Experiment 2. Experiment 1 shows that 12-month-olds are capable of forming categories of X- and Y-elements based on a shared feature and, furthermore, form associations between particular a- and b-elements and these categories. Experiment 2 shows that learning was sustained even when 17% of instances from another language were present during training. However, infants failed to generalize when exposed to a larger percentage of strings from another language. The findings demonstrate that the first step of form-based category abstraction (the ability to generalize based on marker-feature pairings) is in place by 12 months of age

    Phylogeny and synonymy of Gyrodinium heterostriatum comb. nov. (Dinophyceae), a common unarmored dinoflagellate in the world oceans

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    © The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Gómez, F., Artigas, L.F., Gast, R.J. Phylogeny and synonymy of Gyrodinium heterostriatum comb. nov. (Dinophyceae), a common unarmored dinoflagellate in the world oceans. Acta Protozoologica, 59 (2), (2020): 77-87, doi: 10.4467/16890027AP.20.007.12675.The North Sea and the English Channel are regions with a long tradition of plankton studies, where the colony-forming haptophyte Phaeocystis globosa dominates the spring phytoplankton blooms. Among its predators, we investigated an abundant unarmored dinoflagellate (~3000 cells per liter) in the North Sea in May 2019. It has been reported in the literature as Gymnodinium heterostriatum or G. striatissimum, and often identified as Gyrodinium spirale. Phylogenetic analyses using the small-, large subunit- and Internal Transcriber Spacers of the ribosomal RNA (SSU-, LSU-, ITS rRNA) gene sequences indicate that our isolates clustered within the Gyrodinium clade. The new sequences formed a sister group with sequences of the freshwater taxon Gyrodinium helveticum, being one of the infrequent marine-freshwater transitions in the microbial world. This isolate is the first characterized member of a clade of numerous environmental sequences widely distributed from cold to tropical seas. This common and abundant taxon has received several names due to its morphological plasticity (changes of size and shape, often deformed after engulfing prey) and the difficulty in discerning surface striation. We conclude that the priority is for the species name Gymnodinium heterostriatum Kofoid & Swezy 1921, a new name that was proposed for Gymnodinium spirale var. obtusum sensu Dogiel 1906. The species Gyrodinium striatissimum (Hulburt 1957) Gert Hansen & Moestrup 2000 and Gymnodinium lucidum D. Ballantine in Parke & Dixon 1964 (=G. hyalinum M. Lebour 1925) are posterior synonyms. We propose Gyrodinium heterostriatum comb. nov. for Gymnodinium heterostriatum.F.G. was partly supported by the convention #2101893310 between CNRS INSU and the French Ministry of Ecology (MTES) for the implementation of the Monitoring Program of the European Marine Strategy Framework directive (MSFD) for pelagic habitats and the descriptor ‘biodiversity’. Samples were collected within the framework of JERICO-NEXT (www.jerico-ri.eu), a European (H2020) project to establish a joint international network of coastal observatories, during a 4-day collaborative monitoring campaign of the Southern North Sea. Part of the infrastructure and data were provided by VLIZ (Flanders Marine Institute) and funded by Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO) as part of the Belgian contribution to the LifeWatch project

    Options in Pregnancy to Increase ActiveLy Sitting (OPALS) Feasibility Study

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    Background. A negative association between obesity and pregnancy outcomes has been described, as well as between time sedentary and pregnancy outcomes. Most interventions based on physical activity involving obese pregnant women have failed in improving pregnancy outcomes. Exchanging time spent in sedentary activities with time spent in light-intensity activities, performed in a home-based setting, might help morbidly obese pregnant women. We aimed to assess the feasibility of an exercise intervention. Methods. An exercise intervention for morbidly obese pregnant women was designed involving morbidly obese pregnant women. Pregnant women with BMI ≥ 40 kg/m² with 20 or less weeks of gestation were invited to take part in the OPALS Feasibility Study. A home-based approach was employed. Participants were asked to perform the intervention for at least 12 weeks, and to register their performance in an activity diary. After the intervention, participants were asked to return the activity diary and answer a feasibility questionnaire. Results. In the intervention, 28 participants took part. Six women completed the intervention for 12 weeks or more. All declared they intended to keep on doing the intervention. All women reported that the exercises made them feel better. Conclusion. Empowering, and involving morbidly obese pregnant women in taking care of themselves and giving them realistic tasks to do on their own and around their environment helps to increase commitment, as does avoiding the effect of their own weight whilst exercising. A 20% of compliance was observed in this study, which might be explained by the difficulties that pregnancy and excess weight mean. Thus, for future studies, we suggest adding a supervision plan to increase that number

    SSITA: Seal Serving Institutional Transformation Assessment: Excelencia in Education & Portland State University

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    In the Spring of 2022, Portland State University was invited to participate in Excelencia in Education’s pilot Seal Serving Institutional Transformation Assessment or SSITA. This SSITA report is a preliminary institutional assessment of Portland State University’s (PSU) efforts to intentionally serve Latiné students and advance degree completion. Between now and June 2023, a committee of faculty, staff, and students will lead the effort to complete a Seal of Excelencia application. We will reach out to all parts of the institution to gather additional information, data, and stories about how units serve our growing Latiné student population. The next round of Seal of Excelencia recipients are announced in the early fall of 2023

    Sedentary behaviours during pregnancy:A systematic review

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    BACKGROUND: In the general population, at least 50% of time awake is spent in sedentary behaviours. Sedentary behaviours are activities that expend less energy than 1.5 metabolic equivalents, such as sitting. The amount of time spent in sedentary behaviours is a risk factor for diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and death from all causes. Even individuals meeting physical activity guidelines are at a higher risk of premature death and adverse metabolic outcomes if they sit for extended intervals. The associations between sedentary behaviour with type 2 diabetes and with impaired glucose tolerance are stronger for women than for men. It is not known whether sedentary behaviour in pregnancy influences pregnancy outcomes, but if those negative outcomes observed in general adult population also occur in pregnancy, this could have implications for adverse outcomes for mothers and offspring. We aimed to determine the proportion of time spent in sedentary behaviours among pregnant women, and the association of sedentary behaviour with pregnancy outcomes in mothers and offspring. METHODS: Two researchers independently performed the literature search using 5 different electronic bibliographic databases. Studies were included if sedentary behaviours were assessed during pregnancy. Two reviewers independently assessed the articles for quality and bias, and extracted the relevant information. RESULTS: We identified 26 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Pregnant women spent more than 50% of their time in sedentary behaviours. Increased time in sedentary behaviour was significantly associated with higher levels of C Reactive Protein and LDL Cholesterol, and a larger newborn abdominal circumference. Sedentary behaviours were significantly higher among women who delivered macrosomic infants. Discrepancies were found in associations of sedentary behaviour with gestational weight gain, hypertensive disorders, and birth weight. No consistent associations were found between sedentary behaviour and other variables such as gestational diabetes. There was considerable variability in study design and methods of assessing sedentary behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: Our review highlights the significant time spent in sedentary behaviour during pregnancy, and that sedentary behaviour may impact on pregnancy outcomes for both mother and child. The considerable heterogeneity in the literature suggests future studies should use robust methodology for quantifying sedentary behaviour. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12966-017-0485-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

    Importancia del buen manejo de las Finanzas Personales en el uso de los ingresos del Personal Administrativo del Centro Tecnológico Comandante Francisco Rivera Quintero “El Zorro” INATEC – Estelí durante el Primer Semestre del año 2019

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    En la investigación realizada el tema que se aborda es la Importancia del buen manejo de las Finanzas Personales en el uso de los ingresos del Personal Administrativo del Centro Tecnológico Comandante Francisco Rivera Quintero “El Zorro” INATEC – Estelí durante el Primer Semestre del año 2019. Así mismo, se enfatiza en la necesidad con la que cuenta cada Colaborador del Centro Tecnológico, por carecer de un Modelo Financiero que se adapte a la administración de sus ingresos que les proporcione Finanzas Personales sanas. La metodología empleada en este estudio es descriptiva con un enfoque cualitativo, siendo un estudio de caso debido a que es una situación que los colaboradores del Centro Tecnológico, están pasando día a día. Para obtener la información fue necesaria la aplicación de Instrumentos de Recolección de Datos, en este caso, 6 entrevistas dirigidas a la Subdirectora Administrativa, Responsable de Caja, Responsable de Compras, Auxiliar Contable, Responsable de Recursos Humanos y el Técnico en Gestión de Calidad. Los resultados de la investigación proponen que es imprescindible que el Personal Administrativo del Centro Tecnológico recurran a un Modelo Financiero, siendo en este caso, el Plan de Control de Gastos elaborado, el cual les va a generar un mejor manejo de sus finanzas personales, de igual forma, recomendará el hábito de ahorro y creará prevención ante un endeudamiento financiero personal

    Common genetic variation associated with increased susceptibility to prostate cancer does not increase risk of radiotherapy toxicity.

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    BACKGROUND: Numerous germline single-nucleotide polymorphisms increase susceptibility to prostate cancer, some lying near genes involved in cellular radiation response. This study investigated whether prostate cancer patients with a high genetic risk have increased toxicity following radiotherapy. METHODS: The study included 1560 prostate cancer patients from four radiotherapy cohorts: RAPPER (n=533), RADIOGEN (n=597), GenePARE (n=290) and CCI (n=150). Data from genome-wide association studies were imputed with the 1000 Genomes reference panel. Individuals were genetically similar with a European ancestry based on principal component analysis. Genetic risks were quantified using polygenic risk scores. Regression models tested associations between risk scores and 2-year toxicity (overall, urinary frequency, decreased stream, rectal bleeding). Results were combined across studies using standard inverse-variance fixed effects meta-analysis methods. RESULTS: A total of 75 variants were genotyped/imputed successfully. Neither non-weighted nor weighted polygenic risk scores were associated with late radiation toxicity in individual studies (P>0.11) or after meta-analysis (P>0.24). No individual variant was associated with 2-year toxicity. CONCLUSION: Patients with a high polygenic susceptibility for prostate cancer have no increased risk for developing late radiotherapy toxicity. These findings suggest that patients with a genetic predisposition for prostate cancer, inferred by common variants, can be safely treated using current standard radiotherapy regimens.This work was supported by Cancer Research UK (C1094/A11728 to CMLW and NGB for the RAPPER study, C26900/A8740 to GCB, C5047A17528 to RE), the Royal College of Radiologists (GCB), Prostate Cancer UK (P2012148 to RE), The ELLIPSE Consortium on behalf of the GAME-ON Network, The National Institute for Health Research (GCB), Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (GCB), NIHR support to the Biomedical Research Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, The National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (NGB), UK Medical Research Council (LD), the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (CMLW), the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust (DPD), the United States National Institutes of Health (1R01CA134444 to BSR), the American Cancer Society (RSGT-05-200-01-CCE to BSR), the United States Department of Defense (PC074201 to BSR), Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Institute Developmental Fund Award (BSR), the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FIS PI10/00164 and PI13/02030 to AV), Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER 2007-2013 to AV), Xunta de Galicia and the European Social Fund (POS-A/2013/034 to LF), and the Alberta Cancer Board Research Initiative Program (103.0393.71760001404 to MP). Laboratory infrastructure for the RAPPER study was funded by Cancer Research UK [C8197/A10123]. DD acknowledges support from the National Institute for Health Research RM/ICR Biomedical Research Centre and all the researchers at the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research. The RAPPER cohort comprises patients and data recruited into the RT01 and CHHiP UK radiotherapy trials. The RT01 trial was supported by the UK Medical Research Council. The CHHiP trial (CRUK/06/016) was supported by the Department of Health and Cancer Research UK (C8262/A7253); trial recruitment was facilitated within centers by the National Institute for Health Research Cancer Research Network.This is the author accepted manuscript. It is currently under an indefinite embargo pending publication by Nature Publishing Group
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