The common octopus fishery in South Portugal: a new shelter-pot

The octopus is one of the most important marine resources in Portugal, especially in the South, the Algarve region. The fishing gears mostly used are the “alcatruz” and the “covo”. The “alcatruz” is a shelter-pot traditionally made of clay, with an amphora shape, but recently plastic cylindrical pots were introduced and became more popular. “Covos” are baited metal cage-traps covered by a plastic net. Although very popular among fishermen, the traditional “alcatruz” made of clay has been replaced by cylindrical plastic pots with great success, due to its resistance to brake. In an attempt to continue using the traditional amphora-shape, a new type of plastic pot was built in association with fishermen. To study the behaviour of the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) towards the traditional amphora clay shelter-pot, the cylindrical plastic shelter-pot and the new amphora plastic shelter-pot, several experiments were performed in controlled tanks. Three main questions were attempted to answer concerning the preferences of the common octopus towards the pots: 1) What kind of material: plastic or clay (traditional); 2) What shape: cylindrical or amphora (traditional); 3) What colour: white, black or red brick (traditional). The results showed no particular preference towards the material of the fishing gear; a strong preference for the traditional amphora shape; and a strong preference for the black colour

The FisherMan project: Capacity building for sustainable Fisheries Management in the Southwest Indian Ocean

The FisherMan project Capacity building for sustainable Fisheries Management in the Southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO) is co-financed by the European Commission through the ACP Edulink programme. FisherMan aims at supporting higher education institutions in the SWIO region to create new study programmes in sustainable fisheries management. This paper presents an overview of the project activities and describes the 1st edition of the FisherMan Regional Conference celebrated during September 2015 in Madagascar whose main aim was to bring together regional and international fisheries experts, authorities, professionals, academics, policy makers and other involved and interested in the Fishery sector, to exchange ideas and to promote an effective collaboration in the South-Western Indian Ocean and increase fishery management education at higher education level.Le projet FisherMan - Renforcement des capacités pour la gestion durable des pêcheries dans l’océan Indien du sudouest (SWIO) - est co-financé par la Commission Européenne à travers le programme ACP Edulink. FisherMan vise à soutenir les institutions d’éducation supérieur de la région SWIO dans la création de nouveaux programmes d’étude dans la gestion durable de pêcheries. Ce papier présente une vue d’ensemble des activités du projet et décrit la première édition de la Conférence Régionale FisherMan qui a eu lieu en septembre 2015 au Madagascar avec comme but principal de rassembler des experts régionaux et internationaux en pêcheries, des autorités, professionnels, professeurs, chercheurs, décideurs politiques et autres impliqués et intéressés par le secteur de la pêche, pour échanger des idées et promouvoir une collaboration efficace dans l’océan Indien su sud-ouest et augmenter l’éducation en gestion de pêcheries au niveau de l’éducation supérieur.FISHERMAN is a project within the EDULINK Programme: ACP-EU Higher Education Cooperation funded by the European Union and implemented by the ACP Secretariat. Special thanks to the Institut Halieutique et des Sciences Marines of the University of Toliara, to the Ministre de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique and to the Ministre des Ressources Halieutiques et de la Pêche for their support to the 1st FISHERMAN Conference

Delivery of cytarabine by pegylated liposomes for efficient, long-term anticancer effects

The cytosine arabinoside cytarabine is an effective marine-derived antineoplastic agent for the treatment of acute myelogrnous and lymphocytic leukemias. As this nucleoside antimetabolite is an S-phase-specific drug, prolonged exposure of cells to toxic concentrations is critical to achieve maximum biological effect. The activity of cytarabine is nevertheless decreased by its rapid deamination to the biologically inactive metabolite uracil arabinoside. This rapid degradation process is the reason for the ongoing search for efficient formulations and derivatives of cytarabine that cannot be deaminated and exhibited better pharmacokinetic parameters. In the present study, pegylated liposomes were modified for intended prolonged delivery of cytarabine and tested for improved cytotoxic and cytostatic effect in different human cancer lines

Tectonic and neotectonic implications of a new basement map of the Lower Tagus Valley, Portugal

In this paper we present a new basement (defined here as Paleozoic, Precambrian and Mesozoic igneous rocks) map of the Lower Tagus Valley area. This map is a contribution to the understanding of the structural evolution of the top of the basement in the Lower Tagus Valley area during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic Eras. The map was produced using aeromagnetic, well, seismic reflection and geological outcrop data. It shows unprecedented details of the geometry of the basement rock's surface with higher resolution and covers a larger area than the previous basement map of the study area. In spite of an estimated average error of 200 m in depth and an horizontal resolution of 4 km, our map not only reproduces with accuracy several well known basement structures but it also emphasizes previously unknown features. Major basement faults were inferred from large depth variations at the top of the basement, magnetic 2D Euler deconvolution and horizontal gradient analysis and are compatible with surface geological structures, well data and hydrogeological information. Implications to the geodynamic evolution of the SW European Variscides and consequences to Meso-Cenozoic tectonics are discussed. The correlation of the basement structures with instrumental seismicity is carried out and their neotectonic activity is discussed on the basis of existing geological outcrop data

Population homogeneity for the antibody response to COVID-19 BNT162b2/Comirnaty vaccine is only reached after the second dose across all adult age ranges

ABSTRACT: While mRNA vaccines are administrated worldwide in an effort to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, the heterogeneity of the humoral immune response they induce at the population scale remains unclear. Here, in a prospective, longitudinal, cohort-study, including 1245 hospital care workers and 146 nursing home residents scheduled for BNT162b2 vaccination, together covering adult ages from 19 to 99 years, we analyse seroconversion to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and amount of spike-specific IgG, IgM and IgA before vaccination, and 3-5 weeks after each dose. We show that immunogenicity after a single vaccine dose is biased to IgG, heterogeneous and reduced with increasing age. The second vaccine dose normalizes IgG seroconversion in all age strata. These findings indicate two dose mRNA vaccines is required to reach population scale humoral immunity. The results advocate for the interval between the two doses not to be extended, and for serological monitoring of elderly and immunosuppressed vaccinees.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

MarinEye - A tool for marine monitoring

This work presents an autonomous system for marine integrated physical-chemical and biological monitoring – the MarinEye system. It comprises a set of sensors providing diverse and relevant information for oceanic environment characterization and marine biology studies. It is constituted by a physicalchemical water properties sensor suite, a water filtration and sampling system for DNA collection, a plankton imaging system and biomass assessment acoustic system. The MarinEye system has onboard computational and logging capabilities allowing it either for autonomous operation or for integration in other marine observing systems (such as Observatories or robotic vehicles. It was designed in order to collect integrated multi-trophic monitoring data. The validation in operational environment on 3 marine observatories: RAIA, BerlengasWatch and Cascais on the coast of Portugal is also discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Modelling the impact of deep-water crustacean trawl fishery in the marine ecosystem off Portuguese Southwestern and South Coasts: I) the trophic web and trophic flows

The concentration of the population in coastal regions, in addition to the direct human use, is leading to an accelerated process of change and deterioration of the marine ecosystems. Human activities such as fishing together with environmental drivers (e.g. climate change) are triggering major threats to marine biodiversity, and impact directly the services they provide. In the South and Southwest coasts of Portugal, the deep-water crustacean trawl fishery is not exemption. This fishery is recognized to have large effects on a number of species while generating high rates of unwanted catches. However, taking into account an ecosystem-based perspective, the fishing impacts along the food web accounting for biological interactions between and among species caught remains poorly understood. These impacts are particularly troubling and are a cause of concern given the cascading effects that might arise. Facing the main policies and legislative instruments for the restoration and conservation of the marine environment, times are calling for implementing ecosystem-based approaches to fisheries management. To this end, we use a food web modelling (Ecopath with Ecosim) approach to assess the fishing impacts of this particular fishery on the marine ecosystem of southern and southwestern Portugal. In particular, we describe the food web structure and functioning, identify the main keystone species and/or groups, quantify the major trophic and energy flows, and ultimately assess the impact of fishing on the target species but also on the ecosystem by means of ecological and ecosystem-based indicators. Finally, we examine limitations and weaknesses of the model for potential improvements and future research directions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

By-catch species susceptibilities and potential for survival in Algarve (southern Portugal) deep-water crustacean trawl fishery

Bottom trawling for crustaceans in Portuguese coastal waters is an important fishery in terms of revenue, despite its negative impacts on deep-sea ecosystems. This fishery catches large amounts of unwanted species that were discarded for various reasons before the introduction of the Landing Obligation, which banned the discarding of regulated species. However, where it can be demonstrated that a species has an acceptably high likelihood of survival, exemptions to this ban may be granted. In this study, time-to-mortality was used to estimate immediate mortality rates and identify important biological characteristics determining the susceptibility of 14 by-catch species. most with commercial interest (Conger conger, Galeus melastomus, Helicolenus dactylopterus, Lepidorhombus boscii, Lophius budegassa, Lophius piscatorius, Merluccius merluccius. Micromesistius poutassou, Mullus surmuletus, Phycis blennoides. Scyliorhinus canicula, Trigla lyra. Trachurus trachurus and Trachurus piciuratus). Species with potential to survive after the discarding process were identified and a short-term survival assessment of conger eel (Conger conger) was performed. The results suggest that species with scales, gas bladder and high metabolic rates have higher post-discard mortality. Size was a critical factor determining survival in some species, with smaller individuals dying faster. The short-term survival rate of conger eel was determined to be 84% (95% Cl: 75.5 to 93.3%). The methodology and results from this study can help identify species that may survive the discarding process and factors influencing their survival.MINOUW project - Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union - 634495info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Variational Mean Field approach to the Double Exchange Model

It has been recently shown that the double exchange Hamiltonian, with weak antiferromagnetic interactions, has a richer variety of first and second order transitions than previously anticipated, and that such transitions are consistent with the magnetic properties of manganites. Here we present a thorough discussion of the variational Mean Field approach that leads to the these results. We also show that the effect of the Berry phase turns out to be crucial to produce first order Paramagnetic-Ferromagnetic transitions near half filling with transition temperatures compatible with the experimental situation. The computation relies on two crucial facts: the use of a Mean Field ansatz that retains the complexity of a system of electrons with off-diagonal disorder, not fully taken into account by the Mean Field techniques, and the small but significant antiferromagnetic superexchange interaction between the localized spins.Comment: 13 pages, 11 postscript figures, revte