Patterns and drivers of rodent abundance across a South African multi-use landscape

Funding: This research was funded by FCT/MCTES, through national funds, and the co-funding by the FEDER, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and Compete 2020 (cE3c: UIDB/00329/2020), and by the South African National Research Foundation, South Africa (UID 107099&115040). TAM thanks partial support by CEAUL (funded by FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal, through the project UIDB/00006/2020).South Africa’s decentralized approach to conservation entails that wildlife outside formally protected areas inhabit complex multi-use landscapes, where private wildlife business (ecotourism and/or hunting) co-exist in a human-dominated landscape matrix. Under decentralized conservation, wildlife is perceived to benefit from increased amount of available habitat, however it is crucial to understand how distinct management priorities and associated landscape modifications impact noncharismatic taxa, such as small mammals. We conducted extensive ink-tracking-tunnel surveys to estimate heterogeneity in rodent distribution and investigate the effect of different environmental factors on abundance patterns of two size-based rodent groups (small-and medium-sized species), across three adjacent management contexts in NE KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: a private ecotourism game reserve, mixed farms and traditional communal areas (consisting of small clusters of houses interspersed with grazing areas and seminatural vegetation). Our hypotheses were formulated regarding the (1) area typology, (2) vegetation structure, (3) ungulate pressure and (4) human disturbance. Using a boosted-regression-tree approach, we found considerable differences between rodent groups’ abundance and distribution, and the underlying environmental factors. The mean relative abundance of medium-sized species did not differ across the three management contexts, but small species mean relative abundance was higher in the game reserves, confirming an influence of the area typology on their abundance. Variation in rodent relative abundance was negatively correlated with human disturbance and ungulate presence. Rodent abundance seems to be influenced by environmental gradients that are directly linked to varying management priorities across land uses, meaning that these communities might not benefit uniformly by the increased amount of habitat promoted by the commercial wildlife industry.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Information and knowledge management and complexity theory in the business context: a study in the communication and technology sector

Uma sociedade imersa em grandes quantidades de informação deve ser pautada pela integração dos mais variados contextos organizacionais e informacionais, a fim de produzir conhecimento com características inter, multi, pluri e transdisciplinares. Assim, apresenta-se o seguinte problema de pesquisa: a empresa contemplada pela pesquisa, pertencente ao ramo de comunicação e tecnologia, possui uma cultura organizacional voltada à promoção e desenvolvimento da gestão da informação e do conhecimento baseada no pensamento complexo? O objetivo da pesquisa é verificar se esta empresa apresenta fatores que indicam uma cultura organizacional voltada à promoção e desenvolvimento da gestão da informação e do conhecimento em suas práticas de trabalho, com base na teoria da complexidade. Para isso, foi realizada uma pesquisa descritivo-exploratória de natureza qualitativa, utilizando como instrumento de pesquisa o roteiro de entrevista, e como método de análise, a “Análise de Conteúdo”. Os resultados demonstram que o ambiente organizacional desenvolve de maneira mais acentuada as práticas de gestão da informação do que de gestão do conhecimento, baseando-se em alguns princípios do pensamento complexo desenvolvidos em paralelo com a gestão da informação, e se pode apontar que dos sete princípios do pensamento complexo, os desenvolvidos na empresa pesquisada são: princípio hologramático, princípio da auto-eco-organização, princípio do círculo retroativo e princípio do círculo recursivo.A society immersed in large amounts of information must be guided by the integration of the most varied organizational and informational contexts, in order to produce knowledge with inter, multi, multi and transdisciplinary characteristics. Thus, the following research problem is presented: Does the company contemplated by the research, belonging to the field of communication and technology, have an organizational culture focused on the promotion and development of information and knowledge management based on complex thinking? The objective of the research is to verify if this company presents factors that indicate an organizational culture focused on the promotion and development of information and knowledge management in its work practices, based on complexity theory. For this, a descriptive-exploratory research of a qualitative nature was carried out, using as a research tool the interview script, and as a method of analysis, the 'Content Analysis'. The results show that the organizational environment develops more strongly the practices of information management than of management of knowledge, based on some principles of complex thinking developed in parallel with the information management, and it can be pointed out that of the seven principles of complex thinking, those developed in the researched enterprise are: hologramatic principle, self-eco-organization principle, retroactive circle principle and recursive circle principle.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

Information and knowledge management and complexity theory in the business context: a study in the communication and technology sector

Uma sociedade imersa em grandes quantidades de informação deve ser pautada pela integração dos mais variados contextos organizacionais e informacionais, a fim de produzir conhecimento com características inter, multi, pluri e transdisciplinares. Assim, apresenta-se o seguinte problema de pesquisa: a empresa contemplada pela pesquisa, pertencente ao ramo de comunicação e tecnologia, possui uma cultura organizacional voltada à promoção e desenvolvimento da gestão da informação e do conhecimento baseada no pensamento complexo? O objetivo da pesquisa é verificar se esta empresa apresenta fatores que indicam uma cultura organizacional voltada à promoção e desenvolvimento da gestão da informação e do conhecimento em suas práticas de trabalho, com base na teoria da complexidade. Para isso, foi realizada uma pesquisa descritivo-exploratória de natureza qualitativa, utilizando como instrumento de pesquisa o roteiro de entrevista, e como método de análise, a “Análise de Conteúdo”. Os resultados demonstram que o ambiente organizacional desenvolve de maneira mais acentuada as práticas de gestão da informação do que de gestão do conhecimento, baseando-se em alguns princípios do pensamento complexo desenvolvidos em paralelo com a gestão da informação, e se pode apontar que dos sete princípios do pensamento complexo, os desenvolvidos na empresa pesquisada são: princípio hologramático, princípio da auto-eco-organização, princípio do círculo retroativo e princípio do círculo recursivo.A society immersed in large amounts of information must be guided by the integration of the most varied organizational and informational contexts, in order to produce knowledge with inter, multi, multi and transdisciplinary characteristics. Thus, the following research problem is presented: Does the company contemplated by the research, belonging to the field of communication and technology, have an organizational culture focused on the promotion and development of information and knowledge management based on complex thinking? The objective of the research is to verify if this company presents factors that indicate an organizational culture focused on the promotion and development of information and knowledge management in its work practices, based on complexity theory. For this, a descriptive-exploratory research of a qualitative nature was carried out, using as a research tool the interview script, and as a method of analysis, the 'Content Analysis'. The results show that the organizational environment develops more strongly the practices of information management than of management of knowledge, based on some principles of complex thinking developed in parallel with the information management, and it can be pointed out that of the seven principles of complex thinking, those developed in the researched enterprise are: hologramatic principle, self-eco-organization principle, retroactive circle principle and recursive circle principle.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

Elasmobranch responses to experimental warming, acidification, and oxygen loss—a meta-analysis

Despite the long evolutionary history of this group, the challenges brought by the Anthropocene have been inflicting an extensive pressure over sharks and their relatives. Overexploitation has been driving a worldwide decline in elasmobranch populations, and rapid environmental change, triggered by anthropogenic activities, may further test this group's resilience. In this context, we searched the literature for peer-reviewed studies featuring a sustained (>24 h) and controlled exposure of elasmobranch species to warming, acidification, and/or deoxygenation: three of the most pressing symptoms of change in the ocean. In a standardized comparative framework, we conducted an array of mixed-model meta-analyses (based on 368 control-treatment contrasts from 53 studies) to evaluate the effects of these factors and their combination as experimental treatments. We further compared these effects across different attributes (lineages, climates, lifestyles, reproductive modes, and life stages) and assessed the direction of impact over a comprehensive set of biological responses (survival, development, growth, aerobic metabolism, anaerobic metabolism, oxygen transport, feeding, behavior, acid-base status, thermal tolerance, hypoxia tolerance, and cell stress). Based on the present findings, warming appears as the most influential factor, with clear directional effects, namely decreasing development time and increasing aerobic metabolism, feeding, and thermal tolerance. While warming influence was pervasive across attributes, acidification effects appear to be more context-specific, with no perceivable directional trends across biological responses apart from the necessary to achieve acid-base balance. Meanwhile, despite its potential for steep impacts, deoxygenation has been the most neglected factor, with data paucity ultimately precluding sound conclusions. Likewise, the implementation of multi-factor treatments has been mostly restricted to the combination of warming and acidification, with effects approximately matching those of warming. Despite considerable progress over recent years, research regarding the impact of these drivers on elasmobranchs lags behind other taxa, with more research required to disentangle many of the observed effects. Given the current levels of extinction risk and the quick pace of global change, it is further crucial that we integrate the knowledge accumulated through different scientific approaches into a holistic perspective to better understand how this group may fare in a changing ocean

Assessing microplastic ingestion and occurrence of bisphenols and phthalates in bivalves, fish and holothurians from a Mediterranean marine protected area

Microplastic (MP) ingestion, along with accumulated plasticizers such as bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol F (BPF), and bisphenol S (BPS), and phthalates represented by diethyl phthalate (DEP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), were quantified in bivalves, fish, and holothurians collected from a coastal pristine area at the western Mediterranean Sea. MP ingestion in sediment-feeders holothurians (mean value 12.67 ± 7.31 MPs/individual) was statistically higher than ingestion in bivalves and fish (mean 4.83 ± 5.35 and 3 ± 4.44 MPs/individual, respectively). The main ingested polymers were polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene. The levels of BPS, BPF, and DEHP were highest in bivalves' soft tissue; BPA and DBP had the highest levels in the holothurians’ muscle. In addition, the levels of all plasticizers assessed were lowest in fish muscle; only BPA levels in fish were higher than in bivalves, with intermediate values between those of bivalves and holothurians. This study provides data on exposure to MPs and plasticizers of different species inhabiting Cabrera Marine Protected Area (MPA) and highlights the differences in MP ingestion and levels of plasticizers between species with different ecological characteristics and feeding strategies.En prensa3,39

GSE4‐loaded nanoparticles a potential therapy for lung fibrosis that enhances pneumocyte growth, reduces apoptosis and DNA damage

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a lethal lung fibrotic disease, associated with aging with a mean survival of 2-5 years and no curative treatment. The GSE4 peptide is able to rescue cells from senescence, DNA and oxidative damage, inflammation, and induces telomerase activity. Here, we investigated the protective effect of GSE4 expression in vitro in rat alveolar epithelial cells (AECs), and in vivo in a bleomycin model of lung fibrosis. Bleomycin-injured rat AECs, expressing GSE4 or treated with GSE4-PLGA/PEI nanoparticles showed an increase of telomerase activity, decreased DNA damage, and decreased expression of IL6 and cleaved-caspase 3. In addition, these cells showed an inhibition in expression of fibrotic markers induced by TGF-β such as collagen-I and III among others. Furthermore, treatment with GSE4-PLGA/PEI nanoparticles in a rat model of bleomycin-induced fibrosis, increased telomerase activity and decreased DNA damage in proSP-C cells. Both in preventive and therapeutic protocols GSE4-PLGA/PEI nanoparticles prevented and attenuated lung damage monitored by SPECT-CT and inhibited collagen deposition. Lungs of rats treated with bleomycin and GSE4-PLGA/PEI nanoparticles showed reduced expression of α-SMA and pro-inflammatory cytokines, increased number of pro-SPC-multicellular structures and increased DNA synthesis in proSP-C cells, indicating therapeutic efficacy of GSE4-nanoparticles in experimental lung fibrosis and a possible curative treatment for lung fibrotic patients

Manejo integral de desechos domiciliarios para el desarrollo territorial, distrito de Shanao 2019

Objetivo del estudio fue determinar la relación del manejo de desechos domiciliarios y desarrollo local, municipalidad distrital de Shanao, 2019. El estudio se fundamenta en las teorías y normativa de los residuos domiciliarios y por otro lado el desarrollo local sustentado por Cepal. Estudio de tipo no experimental, diseño descriptivo correlacional. Población y muestra del estudio conformada por 131 ciudadanos del distrito de Shanao. La técnica empleada fue la encuesta y el cuestionario como instrumento. Concluyó que el nivel desechos domiciliarios es “Regular” con 32% y el nivel de desarrollo local “Bueno” con 31%; asimismo existe una relación alta positiva entre el manejo de desechos domiciliarios y desarrollo local en la municipalidad distrital de Shanao, sustentado en un coeficiente de Pearson de 0.905, y un coeficiente de determinación de (0.820), explicando que el 82% del desarrollo local es influenciado por el manejo de desechos domiciliarios de la municipalidad distrital de Shanao

Brazilian multicenter study on pegvisomant treatment in acromegaly

Objective Investigate the therapeutic response of acromegaly patients to pegvisomant (PEGV) in a real-life, Brazilian multicenter study. Subjects and methods Characteristics of acromegaly patients treated with PEGV were reviewed at diagnosis, just before and during treatment. All patients with at least two IGF-I measurements on PEGV were included. Efficacy was defined as any normal IGF-I measurement during treatment. Safety data were reviewed. Predictors of response were determined by comparing controlled versus uncontrolled patients. Results 109 patients [61 women; median age at diagnosis 34 years; 95.3% macroadenomas] from 10 Brazilian centers were studied. Previous treatment included surgery (89%), radiotherapy (34%), somatostatin receptor ligands (99%), and cabergoline (67%). Before PEGV, median levels of GH, IGF-I and IGF-I % of upper limit of normal were 4.3 µg/L, 613 ng/mL, and 209%, respectively. Pre-diabetes/diabetes was present in 48.6% and tumor remnant in 71% of patients. Initial dose was 10 mg/day in all except 4 cases, maximum dose was 30 mg/day, and median exposure time was 30.5 months. PEGV was used as monotherapy in 11% of cases. Normal IGF-I levels was obtained in 74.1% of patients. Glycemic control improved in 56.6% of patients with pre-diabetes/diabetes. Exposure time, pre-treatment GH and IGF-I levels were predictors of response. Tumor enlargement occurred in 6.5% and elevation of liver enzymes in 9.2%. PEGV was discontinued in 6 patients and 3 deaths unrelated to the drug were reported. Conclusions In a real-life scenario, PEGV is a highly effective and safe treatment for acromegaly patients not controlled with other therapies

Vitamin D-related polymorphisms and vitamin D levels as risk biomarkers of COVID-19 disease severity

© The Author(s) 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.Vitamin D is a fundamental regulator of host defences by activating genes related to innate and adaptive immunity. Previous research shows a correlation between the levels of vitamin D in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and the degree of disease severity. This work investigates the impact of the genetic background related to vitamin D pathways on COVID-19 severity. For the first time, the Portuguese population was characterized regarding the prevalence of high impact variants in genes associated with the vitamin D pathways. This study enrolled 517 patients admitted to two tertiary Portuguese hospitals. The serum concentration of 25 (OH)D, was measured in the hospital at the time of patient admission. Genetic variants, 18 variants, in the genes AMDHD1, CYP2R1, CYP24A1, DHCR7, GC, SEC23A, and VDR were analysed. The results show that polymorphisms in the vitamin D binding protein encoded by the GC gene are related to the infection severity (p = 0.005). There is an association between vitamin D polygenic risk score and the serum concentration of 25 (OH)D (p = 0.04). There is an association between 25 (OH)D levels and the survival and fatal outcomes (p = 1.5e-4). The Portuguese population has a higher prevalence of the DHCR7 RS12785878 variant when compared with its prevalence in the European population (19% versus 10%). This study shows a genetic susceptibility for vitamin D deficiency that might explain higher severity degrees in COVID-19 patients. These results reinforce the relevance of personalized strategies in the context of viral diseases.This project was supported by the “Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia”, program “Research 4 Covid-19 Apoio especial a projetos de implementação rápida para soluções inovadoras de resposta à pandemia de COVID-19”. It was also partially supported by each institution.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

miR-146a rs2431697 identifies myeloproliferative neoplasm patients with higher secondary myelofibrosis progression risk

Myelofibrosis (MF) occurs as part of the natural history of polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET), and remarkably shortens survival. Although JAK2V617F and CALR allele burden are the main transformation risk factors, inflammation plays a critical role by driving clonal expansion toward end-stage disease. NF-κB is a key mediator of inflammation-induced carcinogenesis. Here, we explored the involvement of miR-146a, a brake in NF-κB signaling, in MPN susceptibility and progression. rs2910164 and rs2431697, that affect miR-146a expression, were analyzed in 967 MPN (320 PV/333 ET/314 MF) patients and 600 controls. We found that rs2431697 TT genotype was associated with MF, particularly with post-PV/ET MF (HR = 1.5; p < 0.05). Among 232 PV/ET patients (follow-up time=8.5 years), 18 (7.8%) progressed to MF, being MF-free-survival shorter for rs2431697 TT than CC + CT patients (p = 0.01). Multivariate analysis identified TT genotype as independent predictor of MF progression. In addition, TT (vs. CC + CT) patients showed increased plasma inflammatory cytokines. Finally, miR-146a−/− mice showed significantly higher Stat3 activity with aging, parallel to the development of the MF-like phenotype. In conclusion, we demonstrated that rs2431697 TT genotype is an early predictor of MF progression independent of the JAK2V617F allele burden. Low levels of miR-146a contribute to the MF phenotype by increasing Stat3 signaling