Multi-taxa neo-taphonomic analysis of bone remains from barn owl pellets and cross-validation of observations: a case study from Dominica (Lesser Antilles)

Paleo- and neo-taphonomic analyses of bone assemblages rarely consider all the occurring taxa in a single study and works concerning birds of prey as accumulators of microvertebrate bone remains mostly focus on small mammals such as rodents and soricomorphs. However, raptors often hunt and consume a large range of taxa, including vertebrates such as small mammals, fishes, amphibians, squamates and birds. Bone remains of all these taxonomic groups are numerous in many paleontological and archaeological records, especially in cave deposits. To better characterize the predators at the origin of fossil and sub-fossil microvertebrate accumulations and the taphonomic history of the deposit, it is thus mandatory to conduct global and multi-taxa taphonomic approaches. The aim of this study is to provide an example of such a global approach through the investigation of a modern bone assemblage from a sample of pellets produced by the Lesser Antillean Barn Owl (Tyto insularis) in the island of Dominica. We propose a new methodology that allows us to compare different taxa (rodents, bats, squamates and birds) and to experiment with a cross-validation process using two observers for each taxonomic group to test the reliability of the taphonomic observations.1. Introduction 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Owl Pellets Sampling 2.2. Prey Identification 2.3. Taphonomic Analysis 2.3.1. Anatomical Representation 2.3.2. Fragmentation 2.3.3. Surface Modifications 2.3.4. Size/Weight Classes of Preys 2.4. Cross-Validation of Observations 3. Results 3.1. Faunal Spectrum 3.2. Anatomical Representation 3.3. Fragmentation 3.4. Modifications of Bone Surface 4. Discussion 4.1. Diet of Tyto Insularis in Dominica 4.2. Taphonomic Impact of Tyto Insularis on Small Vertebrate Bone Assemblage 4.2.1. Remarks on the Size/Weight Classes of Preys 4.2.2. Anatomical Representation 4.2.3. Fragmentation 4.2.4. Digestion 4.3. Degree of Inter-Observer Differences and Potential Outcomes 4.4. Towards an “Inter-Taxa Calibration” 5. Conclusion

Combined flow-focus and self-assembly routes for the formation of lipid stabilized oil-shelled microbubbles

Lipid and polymer stabilized microbubbles are used in medicine as contrast agents for ultrasound imaging and are being developed for the delivery of water soluble drugs to diseased areas of the body. However, many new therapeutics exhibit poor water solubility or stability, which has led to the requirement for the development of effective hydrophobic drug delivery systems. This study presents a new method to produce microbubbles coated with an oil layer capable of encapsulating hydrophobic drugs and suitable for targeted, triggered drug release. This new method utilizes highly controllable flow-focusing microfluidics with lipid oil nanodroplets self-assembling and spreading at gas–aqueous interfaces. Oil layer inside microbubbles were produced with diameters of 2.4±0.3 μm (s.d., 1.6 μm) and at concentrations up to 106 bubbles per milliliter. The mechanism of oil layer inside microbubble assembly and stability were characterized using methods including contact angle measurements, quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring and fluorescence resonance energy transfer imaging

Heavy Fleet and Facilities Optimization

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is responsible for timely clearance of snow on state-maintained highways in Indiana as part of its wintertime operations. For this and other maintenance purposes, the state’s subdistricts maintain 101 administrative units spread throughout the state. These units are staffed by personnel, including snow truck drivers and house snow removal trucks and other equipment. INDOT indicated a need to carry out value engineering analysis of the replacement timing of the truck fleet. To address these questions, this study carried out analysis to ascertain the appropriate truck replacement age, that is different across each of the state\u27s three weather-based regions to minimize the truck life cycle cost. INDOT also indicated a need for research guidance in possible revisions to the administrative unit locations and optimal routes to be taken by trucks in each unit in order to reduce deadhead miles. For purposes of optimizing the truck snow routes, the study developed two alternative algorithmic approaches. The first uses mathematical programming to select work packets for trucks while ensuring that snow is cleared at all snow routes and allowing the users to identify optimal route and unit location. The second approach uses network routing concepts, such as the rural postman problem, and allows the user to change the analysis inputs, such as the number of available drivers and so on. The first approach developed using opensolver (an open source tool with excel) and the second approach coded as an electronic tool, are submitted as part of this report. Both approaches can be used by INDOT’s administrative unit managers for decision support regarding the deployment of resources for snow clearing operations and to minimize the associated costs

Laccase/TEMPO-mediated bacterial cellulose functionalization: production of paper-silver nanoparticles composite with antimicrobial activity

“This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Cellulose. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-019-02678-5Bacterial cellulose (BC) was functionalized applying the Laccase/TEMPO oxidative treatment, leading to a five-fold increase of the concentration of carboxyl groups. Paper produced with this cellulose showed improved mechanical properties while maintaining barrier function against water and greases as compared to paper produced with non-oxidized BC. Also, the negative charge provided by the carboxyl groups on functionalized BC was used to generate silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), obtaining a BC paper and Ag composite. The presence of AgNPs in the composites was validated by SEM, EDS and ICP analysis, showing spherical, uniformly sized particles stabilized in the BC nanofibers matrix. Additionally, antimicrobial property of composites containing AgNPs was tested. The results showed the strong antimicrobial activity of the composites against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. The generation of Ag nanoparticles in a matrix that combine the physical characteristics of the BC nanofibers with the stiffness and the mechanical properties of paper produced composites that may have applicability in technological and biomedical usesPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

A possible dysentery outbreak in Granada in 1635: demographic verification of historical sources

El escritor del siglo XVII Henríquez de Jorquera describió un posible brote de disentería en Granada en el año de 1635. Según el método de Dupaquier, aplicado al total de 1529 registros de entierros conservados,  en este año se produjo una crisis de mortalidad que, a nivel  más local, sólo se detectó en algunas parroquias. Con el objetivo de comprobar la validez de esta descripción, se procedió al estudio estacional de 919 registros de entierros de diversas parroquias. Los resultados obtenidos denotan la presencia de un pico brusco de mortalidad en el mes de junio que afectó exclusivamente a las parroquias cuyo suministro de agua dependía de la acequia Axaris. La conjugación del abastecimiento del agua y las temperaturas cálidas apuntan a un brote causado por un agente de transmisión oro-fecal, que pudo coincidir con el episodio descrito.The Spanish 17th-century writer Henríquez de Jorquera described a possible dysentery outbreak in the city of Granada in 1635. According to the Dupaquier method, applied to a total of 1,529 preserved records of burials, in 1635 there was a mortality crisis that could be traced more locally to just a few parishes. In order to corroborate this scenario, we proceeded to the seasonal study of 919 burial records from several parishes. The results obtained show the presence of a sharp mortality peak in the month of June exclusively affecting the parishes with a water supply depending on the Axaris channel. The conjunction of the water supply conditions and warm temperatures points to a water-borne outbreak that might coincide with the described mortality episode

Recruitment of the exotic weakfish at its southernmost limit in Europe: a preliminary assessment.

Since its first record in Europe as an exotic species back in 2009 at the Schelde estuary (Belgium), the weakfish Cynoscion regalis -native from North America East coast- has increased its presence in the Iberian Peninsula waters. Identified for the first time in the Guadalquivir River estuary (2011) and later in the Sado estuary (2014), C. regalis population is increasing in the Gulf of Cadiz and is becoming a fisheries resource. Its introduction into Europe probably occurred through maritime transatlantic trade. Morais et al (2017) suggested that weakfish could have been introduced through multiple independent ballast water release events. The Guadalquivir, Sado and Schelde estuaries show similar transoceanic ship traffic to upstream important commercial ports, supporting multiple direct or secondary transatlantic introductions among European ports. The first genetic studies suggest that C. regalis populations in southern European estuaries are connected and come from a single transoceanic commercial route. Currently, the Gulf of Cadiz maintains a well-established population with frequent catches by artisanal fishing, especially in coastal waters and the estuary, where it is sold in local markets of the surrounding cities. The population in the area is constituted by mature specimens (ranging from 234 to 453 mm) that are using the estuary as a spawning area, where larvae and juvenile have also been found. In recent years, an increase in the abundance of larvae and juvenile has been observed through monthly samplings in the estuary, which indicates the culmination of the complete life cycle in the Gulf of Cadiz. These findings represent new evidence that the Guadalquivir estuary constitutes a remarkable nursery habitat for this species. This could have effects on native fauna and the ecosystem, which is why it is currently under study and evaluation (EcoInvadiz project) for helping the local Administration to establish, if needed, an appropriate management program

APP-derived peptides reflect neurodegeneration in frontotemporal dementia

Altres ajuts: The Catalan frontotemporal initiative (CATFI) is funded by the Health Department of the Government of Catalonia (grant PERIS SLT002/16/00408 to Alberto Lleó and Raquel Sánchez-Valle). This work was also supported by research grants from the CIBERNED Program (Program 1, Alzheimer Disease to Alberto Lleó and SIGNAL study, file://www.signalstudy.es), partly funded by Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), Unión Europea, "Una manera de hacer Europa." This work has also been supported by a "Marató TV3" grant (20141210 to Juan Fortea, 044412 to Rafael Blesa, 20143710 to Ricard Rojas-García and 20143810 to Raquel Sánchez-Valle) and Fundación BBVA (grant to A. Lleó) and a grant from the Fundació Bancaria La Caixa to Rafael Blesa. Ignacio Illán-Gala and Sergi Borrego-Écija are supported by the Rio Hortega grant from "Acción estratégica en Salud 2013-2016" and the European Social Fund. Ignacio Illán-Gala is supported by the Global Brain Health Institute (Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health). We acknowledge all the participants in this study and all the collaborators of the SPIN cohort. We also acknowledge Soraya Torres and Laia Muñoz for technical assistance. We thank EUROIMMUN for providing Aβ1-38 and Aβ1-40 ELISA assays for this study.Objective: We aimed to investigate the relationship between cerebrospinal fluid levels (CSF) of amyloid precursor protein (APP)-derived peptides related to the amyloidogenic pathway, cortical thickness, neuropsychological performance, and cortical gene expression profiles in frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD)-related syndromes, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and healthy controls. Methods: We included 214 participants with CSF available recruited at two centers: 93 with FTLD-related syndromes, 57 patients with AD, and 64 healthy controls. CSF levels of amyloid β (Aβ)1-42, Aβ1-40, Aβ1-38, and soluble β fragment of APP (sAPPβ) were centrally analyzed. We compared CSF levels of APP-derived peptides between groups and, we studied the correlation between CSF biomarkers, cortical thickness, and domain-specific cognitive composites in each group. Then, we explored the relationship between cortical thickness, CSF levels of APP-derived peptides, and regional gene expression profile using a brain-wide regional gene expression data in combination with gene set enrichment analysis. Results: The CSF levels of Aβ1-40, Aβ1-38, and sAPPβ were lower in the FTLD-related syndromes group than in the AD and healthy controls group. CSF levels of all APP-derived peptides showed a positive correlation with cortical thickness and the executive cognitive composite in the FTLD-related syndromes group but not in the healthy control or AD groups. In the cortical regions where we observed a significant association between cortical thickness and CSF levels of APP-derived peptides, we found a reduced expression of genes related to synaptic function. Interpretation: APP-derived peptides in CSF may reflect FTLD-related neurodegeneration. This observation has important implications as Aβ1-42 levels are considered an indirect biomarker of cerebral amyloidosis