Sharks That Pass In The Night: Using GIS to Investigate Competition in the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway

This is the author's accepted manuscript, also available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.1617One way the effects of both ecology and environment on species can be observed in the fossil record is as changes in geographical distribution and range size. The prevalence of competitive interactions and species replacements in the fossil record has long been investigated and many evolutionary perspectives, including those of Darwin, have emphasized the importance of competitive interactions that ultimately lead one species to replace another. However, evidence for such phenomena in the fossil record is not always manifest. Here we use new quantitative analytical techniques based on Geographical Information Systems and PaleoGIS tectonic reconstructions to consider this issue in greater detail. The abundant, well-preserved fossil marine vertebrates of the Late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway of North America provide the component data for this study. Statistical analysis of distributional and range size changes in taxa confirms earlier ideas that the relative frequency of competitive replacement in the fossil record is limited to non-existent. It appears that typically, environmental gradients played the primary role in determining species distributions, with competitive interactions playing a more minor role

Social group size and shelter availability influence individual metabolic traits in a social fish

Group living is widespread among animal species and yields both costs and benefits. Presence of conspecifics can restrict or enhance the expression of individual behaviour, and the recent social environment is thought to affect behavioural responses in later contexts, even when individuals are alone. However, little is known about how social group size influences the expression of individual physiological traits, including metabolic rates. There is some evidence that shoaling can reduce fish metabolic rates but this variable may be affected by habitat conditions such as shelter availability via density-dependent processes. We investigated how social group size and shelter availability influence Eurasian minnow Phoxinus phoxinus metabolic rates estimated by respirometry. Respirometry trials were conducted on fish in isolation before and after they were housed for three weeks in a social treatment consisting in a specific group size (n = 4 or 8) and shelter availability (presence or absence of plant shelter in the experimental tank). Plant shelter was placed over respirometers for half of the duration of the respirometry trials, allowing estimation of minimum day-time and night-time metabolic rates in both conditions (in the presence or absence of plant shelter). Standard metabolic rate (SMR), maximum metabolic rate (MMR), and aerobic scope (AS) were also estimated over the entire trial. Minimum day-time and night-time metabolic rates estimated while in presence of plant shelter were lower than when estimated in absence of plant shelter, both before and after individuals were housed in their social treatment. After the social treatment, SMR were higher for fish that were held in groups of four as compared to that of fish held in groups of eight while MMR showed no difference. Plant shelter availability during the social treatments did not influence SMR or MMR. Our results suggest that social group size may directly influence energy demands of individuals, highlighting the importance of understanding the role of group size on variations in physiological traits associated with energy expenditure

Use of threshold electrolyte concentration analysis to determine salinity and sodicity limit of irrigation water

This research studied threshold electrolyte concentration (TEC) of irrigation water and its effect on the infiltration rate of two contrasting soils from Pernambuco state, Brazil. The experiment was conducted in the Soil Chemistry and Salinity Laboratory of Federal Rural University of Pernambuco. Each soil was packed in five Buchner funnels, where one funnel from each soil was submitted to treatment with solution of electrical conductivity (EC) of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0 or 8.0 dS m-1. For each funnel containing soil, an increasing ratio of NaCl to CaCl2 was applied in a treatment solution to achieve 10 increasing values of sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) from 0 to 100. These solutions were applied through a Mariotte bottle, with a constant hydraulic head of ~2 cm (pressure potential). After a liter of solution had drained, in the flux was collected for a known time interval, until steady state was reached. Darcy's equation was used to calculate saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) and a mathematical model used to calculate the TEC as a 20% reduction in Ksat. By increasing SAR similar behavior was noted between the two soils, whereby Ksat decreased, although the relative decrease in Ksat was greater for SAR of 100 in the soil with higher clay content

Perinatal health outcomes of international migrant women in Brazil: A nationwide data linkage study of the CIDACS birth cohort (2011–2018)

Background: We investigated perinatal outcomes among live births from international migrant and local-born mothers in a cohort of low-income individuals in Brazil.// Methods: We linked nationwide birth registries to mortality records and socioeconomic data from the CIDACS Birth Cohort and studied singleton live births of women aged 10–49 years from 1st January 2011 to 31st December 2018. We used logistic regressions to investigate differences in antenatal care, adverse pregnancy outcomes, and neonatal (i.e., ≤28 days) mortality among international migrants compared to non-migrants in Brazil; and explored the interaction between migration, race/ethnicity and living in international border municipalities.// Results: We studied 10,279,011 live births, of which 9469 (0.1 %) were born to international migrants. Migrant women were more likely than their Brazilian-born counterparts to have a previous foetal loss (ORadj: 1.16, 1.11–1.22), a delayed start of antenatal care (i.e., beyond 1st trimester) (1.22, 95%CI:1.16–1.28), a newborn who is large for gestational age (1.29, 1.22–1.36), or a newborn with congenital anomalies (1.37, 1.14–1.65). Conversely, migrant women were less likely to deliver prematurely (0.89, 0.82–0.95) or have a low birth weight infant (0.74, 0.68–0.81). There were no differences in neonatal mortality rates between migrants and non-migrants. Our analyses also showed that, when disparities in perinatal outcomes were present, disparities were mostly concentrated among indigenous mothers in international borders and among live births of Black mothers in non-borders.// Conclusion: Although live births of international migrants generally have lower rates of adverse birth outcomes, our results suggest that indigenous and Black migrant mothers may face disproportionate barriers to accessing antenatal care

Heterologous expression screens in Nicotiana benthamiana identify a candidate effector of the wheat Yellow Rust Pathogen that associates with processing bodies

Rust fungal pathogens of wheat (Triticum spp.) affect crop yields worldwide. The molecular mechanisms underlying the virulence of these pathogens remain elusive, due to the limited availability of suitable molecular genetic research tools. Notably, the inability to perform high-throughput analyses of candidate virulence proteins (also known as effectors) impairs progress. We previously established a pipeline for the fast-forward screens of rust fungal candidate effectors in the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana. This pipeline involves selecting candidate effectors in silico and performing cell biology and protein-protein interaction assays in planta to gain insight into the putative functions of candidate effectors. In this study, we used this pipeline to identify and characterize sixteen candidate effectors from the wheat yellow rust fungal pathogen Puccinia striiformis f sp tritici. Nine candidate effectors targeted a specific plant subcellular compartment or protein complex, providing valuable information on their putative functions in plant cells. One candidate effector, PST02549, accumulated in processing bodies (P-bodies), protein complexes involved in mRNA decapping, degradation, and storage. PST02549 also associates with the P-body-resident ENHANCER OF mRNA DECAPPING PROTEIN 4 (EDC4) from N. benthamiana and wheat. We propose that P-bodies are a novel plant cell compartment targeted by pathogen effectors

Effects of high intensity interval training on neuro-cardiovascular dynamic changes and mitochondrial dysfunction induced by high-fat diet in rats

This research was supported by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technologic Development (CNPq) (Grant number: 474116/2008-5) and Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for Research Support in the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) (Grant number: E-26/ 111.732/2011), both received by Eliete Bouskela. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Perfil epidemiológico da sífilis materna e congênita em florianópolis, 2016-2017 / Epidemiological profile of maternal and congenital syphilis in florianópolis, 2016-2017

Objetivo: Descrever o perfil da sífilis materna e congênita no município de Florianópolis, nos anos de 2016 e 2017. Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo transversal, descritivo e retrospectivo com análise de dados secundários da sífilis congênita em Florianópolis, SC, nos anos de 2016 e 2017. Foram coletados dados de duas fontes: dados das fichas de notificação de sífilis congênita do município e dados do Ambulatório de Pediatria do Hospital Universitário da região. Os resultados foram apresentados em frequências relativas e absolutas e analisados no software Stata 12. Resultados: No período de estudo, foram notificados 129 casos de sífilis congênita no município de Florianópolis e 24 recém-nascidos com suspeita e/ou diagnóstico de sífilis no HU. Constatou-se que o perfil das mães envolvia mulheres jovens (média 24 anos), brancas (65,9%), que realizaram o pré-natal (81,4%) e com tratamento da sífilis inadequado (58,9%). A maioria dos parceiros não realizou o tratamento (65,1%). Com relação ao desfecho, em 12,5% da amostra observou-se aborto ou natimorto. Quanto aos neonatos, maior proporção era do sexo feminino (47,3%), de cor da pele branca (49,2%) e pertencia ao Distrito Sanitário (DS) Continente. Conclusões: O perfil encontrado permite o planejamento de estratégias mais efetivas. O quadro de reemergência da sífilis congênita deve ser analisado dentro do contexto das desigualdades e vulnerabilidade em saúde, como forma de garantir ações de promoção, proteção e prevenção à saúde das mães. 

Análises das concepções de alunos do sobre os Modelos Atômicos a partir da aplicação de uma sequência didática

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Agroecologia e justiça ambiental: um diálogo possível

O movimento por justiça ambiental surgiu nos EUA na década de 1970 quando pesquisas revelaram que os resíduos tóxicos eram destinados de forma desproporcional à populações afrodescendentes. A agroecologia, campo de produção científico interdisciplinar, também se consolidou na década de 1970, oriunda da fusão das ciências naturais e sociais, com o propósito de permitir o estilos de agricultura com maiores níveis de sustentabilidade, socialmente justa e economicamente viável. Esse trabalho situa-se no campo da pesquisa teórica, de caráter exploratório sobre as concepções e convergências da área da justiça ambiental e da agroecologia, utilizando-se de uma pesquisa bibliográfica com abordagem qualitativa. Ao fortalecer os modos de vida camponeses, a agroecologia tem contribuído na luta por justiça ambiental. Nesse sentido, podemos perceber a relação entre o movimento agroecológico e o movimento por justiça ambiental, dada suas convergências no objetivo de promover a justiça social.The movement for environmental justice emerged in the US in the 1970s when research revealed that toxic waste was allocated proportional to the Afro-descendant populations. Agroecology, interdisciplinary scientific production field, also consolidated in the 1970s, derived from the fusion of natural and social sciences, in order to allow the farming styles with higher levels of sustainability, socially just and economically viable. This work lies in the field of theoretical research, exploratory on the concepts and similarities of the area of environmental justice and agroecology, using a literature research with qualitative approach. By strengthening livelihoods farmers, agroecology has contributed in the struggle for environmental justice. In this sense, we can see the relationship between agro-ecological movement and the movement for environmental justice, given their convergence in order to promote social justice.Eje A6: Desarrollo Rural, Movimientos Sociales, Estado y AgroecologíaFacultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestale