Antemortem versus postmortem methods for detection of betanodavirus in Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis)

The suitability of nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (nRT-PCR) to detect betanodavirus in blood samples from naturally infected Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) was evaluated in comparison with other diagnostic methods. Results indicated that histologic examination of brain lesions could be regarded as the most consistent indicator of nodavirus infection in this species. The nRT-PCR showed low to moderate levels of detection; the best values were obtained in brain samples followed by blood samples. Inoculation of SSN-1 and SAF-1 cells with fish samples did not cause cytopathic effect, although virus was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in approximately 25% of the SSN-1 inoculated wells. The efficiency of detection of the viral genome was dramatically increased by the use of nRTPCR, reaching 90.6% of positives in brain samples and 84.4% in blood samples. The sensitivity and the negative predictive value of nRT-PCR in blood samples were slightly lower than those obtained using brain samples. Nevertheless, it is suggested that the advantage of being able to perform diagnosis on live fish adequately counterbalances the slightly lower sensitivity of nRT-PCR on blood samples. This technique is proposed as a useful tool, not only for the selection of nodavirus-free breeders but also to check the fish status during ongrowing

Towards efficient ciprofloxacin adsorption using magnetic hybrid nanoparticles prepared with κ-, ι-, and λ-carrageenan

The efficient removal of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin (CIP) from aqueous samples using magnetic nanosorbents prepared using three sulfated polysaccharides, κ-, ι- and λ-carrageenan and an alkoxysilane agent containing a reactive epoxide ring is described. The prepared nanosorbents were characterized in detail using FTIR spectroscopy, solid-state 29Si and 13C NMR spectroscopy and elemental microanalysis. The synthesis method was more effective for incorporating higher amounts of κ-carrageenan in the siliceous shells. Although being less sulfated, κ-carrageenan is cheaper than the other carrageenan tested. The CIP adsorption was a cooperative process, well described by the Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm, with maximum adsorption capacities of 878, 969 and 865 mg/g for κ-, ι- and λ-carrageenan sorbents, respectively. Overall, the produced magnetic nanosorbents are among the best magnetic systems with high adsorptive efficiency for CIP. It is suggested that protonated CIP molecules are exchanged with ester sulfate counterions of carrageenan at the particles’ surface as the main pathway for CIP adsorption. The adsorption process was exothermic and entropically favorable for the three sorbents. However, at 298 K, the adsorption was spontaneous for κ-carrageenan-based sorbents and non-spontaneous for ι- and λ-carrageenan particles. The magnetic sorbents could be reused and maintained their ability towards CIP removal up to four cycles. The removal efficiency in wastewater was enhanced with the sorbent dose. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.] Magnetic carrageenan nanosorbents were prepared using three carrageenan polysaccharides (κ-, ι-, and λ-carrageenan). The resulting magnetic particles removed the antibiotic ciprofloxacin efficiently from ultra-pure water and wastewater samples. Magnetic features enabled the fast magnetic separation of the nanosorbents from water.publishe

Google Earth Engine Open-Source Code for Land Surface Temperature Estimation from the Landsat Series

Land Surface Temperature (LST) is increasingly important for various studies assessing land surface conditions, e.g., studies of urban climate, evapotranspiration, and vegetation stress. The Landsat series of satellites have the potential to provide LST estimates at a high spatial resolution, which is particularly appropriate for local or small-scale studies. Numerous studies have proposed LST retrieval algorithms for the Landsat series, and some datasets are available online. However, those datasets generally require the users to be able to handle large volumes of data. Google Earth Engine (GEE) is an online platform created to allow remote sensing users to easily perform big data analyses without increasing the demand for local computing resources. However, high spatial resolution LST datasets are currently not available in GEE. Here we provide a code repository that allows computing LSTs from Landsat 4, 5, 7, and 8 within GEE. The code may be used freely by users for computing Landsat LST as part of any analysis within GEE

Effects of long-term exposure to colloidal gold nanorods on freshwater microalgae

Gold nanorods have shown to pose adverse effects to biota. Whether these effects may be potentiated through prolonged exposure has been rarely studied. Therefore, this work aimed at evaluating the effects of long-term exposure to sublethal levels of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) coated gold nanorods (Au-NR) on two freshwater microalgae: Chlorella vulgaris and Raphidocelis subcapitata. These algae were exposed to several concentrations of Au-NR for 72 h and, afterwards, to the corresponding EC5,72h, for growth, during 16 days. The sensitivity of the two algae to Au-NR was assessed at days 0, 4, 8, 12 and 16 (D0, D4, D8, D12 and D16, respectively) after a 72-h exposure to several concentrations of Au-NR. At the end of the assays, effects on yield and population growth rate were evaluated. Raphidocelis subcapitata was slightly more sensitive to Au-NR than C. vulgaris: EC50,72h,D0 for yield were 48.1 (35.3-60.9) and 70.5 (52.4-88.6) μg/L Au-NR, respectively while for population growth rate were above the highest tested concentrations (53 and 90 μg/L, respectively). For R. subcapitata the long-term exposure to Au-NR increased its sensitivity to this type of nanostructures. For C. vulgaris, a decrease on the effects caused by Au-NR occurred over time, with no significant effects being observed for yield or population growth rate at D12 and D16. The capping agent CTAB caused reductions in yield above 30% (D0) for both algae at the concentration matching the one at the highest Au-NR tested concentration. When exposed to CTAB, the highest inhibition values were 69% (D4) and 21.3% (D8) for R. subcapitata, and 64% (D12) and 21% (D16) to C. vulgaris, for yield and population growth rate, respectively. These results suggested long-term exposures should be included in ecological risk assessments since short-term standard toxicity may either under- or overestimate the risk posed by Au-NR.publishe

Actualities on Nuclear Medicine Applications in Sports Medicine

Aims: This paper aims to address some of the main possible applications of actual Nuclear Medicine Imaging techniques and methodologies in the specific context of Sports Medicine, namely in two critical systems: musculoskeletal and cardiovascular. Discussion: At the musculoskeletal level, bone scintigraphy techniques proved to be a mean of diagnosis of functional orientation and high sensibility compared with other morphological imaging techniques in the detection and temporal evaluation of pathological situations, for instance allowing the acquisition of information of great relevance in athletes with stress fractures. On the other hand, infection/inflammation studies might be of an important added value to characterize specific situations, early diagnose of potential critical issues – so giving opportunity to precise, complete and fast solutions – while allowing the evaluation and eventual optimization of training programs. At cardiovascular system level, Nuclear Medicine had proved to be crucial in differential diagnosis between cardiac hypertrophy secondary to physical activity (the so called "athlete's heart") and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, in the diagnosis and prognosis of changes in cardiac function in athletes, as well as in direct - and non-invasive - in vivo visualization of sympathetic cardiac innervation, something that seems to take more and more importance nowadays, namely in order to try to avoid sudden death episodes at intense physical effort. Also the clinical application of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) has becoming more and more widely recognized as promising. Conclusions: It has been concluded that Nuclear Medicine can become an important application in Sports Medicine. Its well established capabilities to early detection of processes involving functional properties allied to its high sensibility and the actual technical possibilities (namely those related with hybrid imaging, that allows to add information provided by high resolution morphological imaging techniques, such as CT and/or MRI) make it a powerful diagnostic tool, claiming to be used on an each day higher range of clinical applications related with all levels of sport activities. Since the improvements at equipment characteristics and detection levels allows the use of smaller and smaller doses, so minimizing radiation exposure it is believed by the authors that the increase of the use of NM tools in the Sports Medicine area should be considered

Changes in the effective connectivity of the social brain when making inferences about close others vs. the self

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2020.00151/full#supplementary-material.Previous research showed that the ability to make inferences about our own and other's mental states rely on common brain pathways; particularly in the case of close relationships (e.g., romantic relationships). Despite the evidence for shared neural representations of self and others, less is known about the distributed processing within these common neural networks, particularly whether there are specific patterns of internode communication when focusing on other vs. self. This study aimed to characterize context-sensitive coupling among social brain regions involved in self and other understanding. Participants underwent an fMRI while watching emotional video vignettes of their romantic partner and elaborated on their partner's (other-condition) or on their own experience (self-condition). We used dynamic causal modeling (DCM) to quantify the associated changes in effective connectivity (EC) in a network of brain regions involved in social cognition including the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), the posterior cingulate (PCC)/precuneus and middle temporal gyrus (MTG). DCM revealed that: the PCC plays a central coordination role within this network, the bilateral MTG receives driving inputs from other nodes suggesting that social information is first processed in language comprehension regions; the right TPJ evidenced a selective increase in its sensitivity when focusing on the other's experience, relative to focusing on oneself.This study was funded by BIAL Foundation (Fundasao Bial, Grant number 87/12); by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science through national funds and co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653); by the postdoctoral scholarship UMINHO/BPD/18/2017 and by the Portuguese Foundation for Science Doctoral scholarship (PD/BD/105963/2014). KF is funded by a Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellowship (Ref: 088130/Z/09/Z)

Additions to the lichen flora found on Cryptomeria japonica D. Don, in the Azores.

Twenty-nine lichens species were reported in samples from Azorean Cryptomeria japonica forests. One species, Ramalina peruviana Ach., is newly recorded for the Macaronesian Region. On Cryptomeria japonica, seven new lichen records were found for the Azores: Parmotrema bangii (Vain.) Hale, Pyrrospora quernea (Dickson) Körber, Pyxine subcinerea Stirt., Ramalina implectens Nyl., Ramalina peruviana Ach., Usnea dasaea Stirton and Usnea esperantiana P. Clerc.The species Ramalina peruviana Ach., is rare within the Macaronesian Region

Methodology for assessing the individual role of fish, oyster, phytoplankton and macroalgae in the ecology of integrated production in earthen ponds

Production costs in extensive and semi-intensive fish culture in earthen ponds are often too high to offer sustainable economic activity due to the low productivity of these systems. The right combination of commercial finfish species with inorganic (primary producers) and organic extractive (bivalves) species in Integrated MultiTrophic Aquaculture (IMTA) create a balanced system with higher profitability and risk reduction. To achieve this, it is crucial to understand the role of each functional groups within the system what we did by comparing three different IMTA production three different IMTA production treatments with distinct combinations of trophic levels: •fish, filter feeders, phytoplankton and macroalgae,•fish, filter feeders and phytoplankton•fish, phytoplankton and macroalgae Each treatment was carried out in two similar ponds under semi-intensive conditions and flow through system, in a total of 6 earthen ponds of 500 m2 surface and depth of 1.5 m. Results showed that the presence of oysters in the ponds enhanced water quality by decreasing turbidity and by controlling phytoplankton which led to regulation of dissolved oxygen levels. The enhanced water quality in these systems lead to improved fish performance and higher biomass production contributing to greater profitability. The combination of fish, oyster, phytoplankton and macroalgae was particularly good providing much more fish supply compared with the other two treatments. •Oysters enhanced water quality in the ponds by decreasing turbidity and controlling phytoplankton which regulated the dissolved oxygen levels.•The enhanced water quality in systems with oysters improve fish performance resulting in higher biomass production and greater profitability.•The combination of fish, oyster, phytoplankton and macroalgae was particularly good providing much more fish supply compared with the other two treatments.Funding Agency Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) COFASP/0003/2015 SFRH/BD/118601/2016 Project DIVERSIAQUA Mar2020 16-02-01-FMP-0066 project Algared+ Poctep 0055_ALGARED_PLUS_5_E UID/Multi/04326/2019info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Recovery of immunoglobulin G from rabbit serum using k-carrageenan-modified hybrid magnetic nanoparticles

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) has been used in the treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases and neurological disorders, however, the current technologies to purify and recover IgG from biological media are of high-cost and time-consuming, resulting in high-cost products. In this sense, the search for cost-effective technologies to obtain highly pure and active IgG is highly required. The present work proposes a simple and efficient method for the purification and recovery of IgG from rabbit serum using magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (magnetite, Fe3O4) coated with hybrid shells of a siliceous material modified with the anionic polysaccharide κ-carrageenan. Experimental parameters such as pH, contact time between the hybrid magnetic nanoparticles (HMNPs) and rabbit serum, and total protein concentration or dilution factor of serum were evaluated. The best results were achieved at pH 5.0, with a contact time of 60 min and using a rabbit serum with a total protein concentration of 4.8 mg·mL−1. Under these conditions, it was obtained an IgG purification factor and adsorption yield onto the HMNPs of 3.0 and 90%, respectively. The desorption of IgG from the HMNPs was evaluated using two strategies: a KCl aqueous solution and buffered aqueous solutions. Comparing to the initial rabbit serum, an IgG purification factor of 2.7 with a recovery yield of 74% were obtained using a buffered aqueous solution at pH 7.0. After desorption, the secondary structure of IgG and other proteins was evaluated by circular dichroism and no changes in the secondary structure were observed, meaning that the IgG integrity is kept after the adsorption and desorption steps. In summary, the application of HMNPs in the purification of IgG from serum samples has a high potential as a new downstream platform.in publicatio