Plant Conservation in the Juan Fernandez Archipelago, Chile

Oceanic archipelagos often hold very specialized floras with high degrees of endemism. These floras are frequently highly vulnerable to disturbance by natural causes and human intervention. The Juan Fernandez Islands (Chile) in the Pacific Ocean are a small archipelago of only three islands. Since discovery in 1574 by Juan Fernandez, human activities have altered floristic composition and survival circumstances of the endemic species. In this paper we document past and present means of disturbance, both anthropogenic and natural, which have influenced the native vegetation. The most destructive past activities have been logging and .introduction of animals and plants, both deliberately and inadvertently. At the present time, exotic organisms are still introduced as pets, ornaments, or for soil conservation. All pose serious threats to the natural vegetation as shown by altered floristic composition, populational decline of endemic taxa, and even extinction. Weeds that form impenetrable thickets are Aristotelia chilensis, Rubus ulmifolius, and Ugni molinae. Recent introductions include the aggressive Lantana camara and Lonicera japonica. Examples of endemic taxa in need of conservation are Dendroseris, Lactoris, and Robinsonia. Previous studies reveal that island taxa frequently have low levels of genetic variation, a pattern also seen in many endemic taxa of the Juan Fernandez Islands. Conservation programs are urgently needed that emphasize physical and biological measures for controlling alien weeds and animals

Using extended Bigelow meta-regressions for modelling the effects of temperature, pH, °Brix on the inactivation of heat resistant moulds

The management of Heat Resistant Moulds (HRMs) is considered a great challenge for the juice fruit industry. Neosartorya, Byssochlamys and Talaromyces are three out of the main genera isolated from fruit juices that show great resistance to heat treatments. Several inactivation parameters can be found in the literature, however all of them were carried out in specific food matrices and using diverse inactivation methods. Thus, this meta-analysis study synthesizes the thermal resistance parameters of the three HRMs by adjusting extended Bigelow-based meta-regression models to data on inactivation experiments conducted in different liquid media. The meta-analytical data, extracted from publications between 1969 and 2017, was composed of decimal reduction time (D), inactivation method, temperature of inactivation, pH, °Brix, age of spores, and type of medium (model, juice, concentrates). Pooled D* values (D at 90 °C, pH 3.5 and 12° Brix) were estimated for B. fulva (1.95 min; 95% CI: 1.21–3.11 min), Talaromyces (4.03 min; 95% CI: 3.43–4.74 min), Neosartorya (0.5.35 min; 95% CI: 4.10–7.08 min), and B. nivea (10.32 min; 95% CI: 5.81–18.4 min). It was found that increasing the soluble solids in concentrates tends to cause a lower decrease in the heat resistance of Neosartorya and Talaromyces than increasing the soluble solids in model liquid or juices (p = 0.001; 0.012). In general, the screw-capped tubes and three neck round inactivation methods render higher D* values (p lt 0.05) than the thermal death tubes, the polyethylene bag and the capillary methods. Spores of Talaromyces (overall zpH = 7.56; 95% CI: 5.13–13.5) and Neosartorya (overall zpH = 7.07; 95% CI: 5.04–10.8) appear to be more thermal sensitive to a decrease in medium pH than spores of Byssochlamys (overall zpH = 4.34; 95% CI: 3.20–6.73). The meta-regression models presented in this study can be valuable for estimating pooled inactivation kinetic parameters to be used by the fruit juice industry in the management of thermal processes and in the determination of shelf-life.V.O. Alvarenga, L.P-Silva and A.S. Sant’Ana acknowledge CYTED Program (Network 115 RT0488) for the financial support. A.S. Sant’Ana acknowledges the financial support from CNPq (Grant #302763/2014- 7, #305804/2017-0) and to the Coordenaç˜ao de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001. U. Gonzales-Barron and V. Cadavez are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020). U. Gonzales- Barron also thanks the national funding by FCT, P.I., through the institutional scientific employment programme contract her contract.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A mobile data acquisition system

A mobile data aquisition (MobiDAQ) was developed for the ATLAS central hadronic calorimeter (TileCal). MobiDAQ has been designed in order to test the functionalities of the TileCal front-end electronics and to acquire calibration data before the final back-end electronics were built and tested. MobiDAQ was also used to record the first cosmic ray events acquired by an ATLAS subdetector in the underground experimental area

Analysis of the breast cancer journey in Namibia

Importance: Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cancer among women in Namibia. Examining the BC journey in this multiracial country where inequalities remain large is needed to inform effective interventions to reduce BC mortality. Objective: To describe the entire BC journey of Namibian women by race, utilizing the World Health Organization Global Breast Cancer Initiative (GBCI) framework. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study used the Namibian subset of the African Breast Cancer–Disparities in Outcomes prospective cohort. Participants were all Namibian residents with confirmed incident BC who presented at the main national public oncology center of the Windhoek Central Hospital (WCH). Follow-up started from recruitment (September 8, 2014, to October 5, 2016) and ended up to 3 years after diagnosis (December 13, 2014, to September 27, 2019). Data analysis was conducted from June 2022 to August 2023. Exposures: Participants’ self-reported ethnicities were aggregated into 3 population groups: Black, mixed ancestry, and White. Main Outcomes and Measures: Three-year overall survival (OS) was examined using Cox models, and summary statistics were used to describe women’s BC journey, including GBCI pillar key performance indicators: (1) early stage (TNM I or II) diagnosis (population benchmark ≥60%), (2) prompt diagnosis, ie, 60 days or less to first health care practitioner visit (population benchmark 100%), and (3) completion of recommended multimodal treatment (MT, ie, surgery plus chemotherapy) (population benchmark ≥80%). Results: Of 405 women, there were 300 (74%) Black (mean [SD] age, 53 [15] years), 49 (12%) mixed ancestry (mean [SD] age, 53 [7] years), and 56 (14%) White (mean [SD] age, 59 [12] years) patients. Three-year OS was lowest in Black women (60% [95% CI, 54%-66%]; mixed ancestry: 80% [95% CI, 65%-89%]; White: 89% [95% CI, 77%-95%]), who had lower prevalence of early stage diagnosis (Black: 37% [95% CI, 31%-42%]; mixed ancestry and White: 75% [95% CI, 66%-83%]) and timely diagnosis (Black: 60% [95% CI, 54%-66%]; mixed ancestry and White: 77% [95% CI, 69%-85%]), while MT completion (Black: 53% [95% CI, 46%-59%]; mixed ancestry and White: 63% [95% CI, 50%-73%]) was low in all women. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study of 405 Namibian residents with BC, marked racial disparities in survival were paralleled by inequities all along the BC journey. To improve BC survival, interventions are needed to promote earlier diagnosis in Black Namibian women and to increase MT initiation and completion in all women

Biocompatible gels of chitosan-buriti oil for potential wound healing applications

The buriti oil (Mauritia flexuosa L.) can be associated with polymeric matrices for biomedical applications. This study aimed to evaluate the e ect of chitosan gel (CG) associated with buriti oil (CGB) as a healing agent. The fatty acids and volatile compounds composition of buriti oil were performed and the composite gels were characterized using FTIR and thermal analysis. Biological tests including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and healing e ects were also investigated. Buriti oil is composed of oleic and palmitic acids, and the main volatile compounds were identified. The buriti oil did not show antimicrobial activity, on the other hand, the composite gel (chitosan and oil) proved to be e cient against Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumonia at the 10 mg/mL. Similar behavior was observed for antioxidant activity, determined by the -carotene bleaching assay, composite gels presenting higher activity and buriti oil showed anti-inflammatory activity, which may be related to the inhibition of the release of free radicals. Regarding wound healing performed using in vivo testing, the composite gel (CGB) was found to promote faster and complete wound retraction. The results indicated that the gel chitosan–buriti oil has a set of properties that improve its antibacterial, antioxidant and healing action, suggesting that this material can be used to treat skin lesions.Maria Onaira Gonçalves Ferreira acknowledges the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, the Brazilian Ministry of Education, financial support for the scholarship, and other authors acknowledge to National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPQ) and Piauí State Research Support Foundation (FAPEPI).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio