144 research outputs found

    Niche partitioning and coexistence of two spiders of the genus peucetia (araneae, oxyopidae) inhabiting trichogoniopsis adenantha plants (asterales, asteraceae)

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    Niche theory suggests that the coexistence of ecologically similar species in the same site requires some form of resource partitioning that reduces or avoids interspecific competition. Here, from July 2013 to December 2015, we investigated spatial niche differentiation at three different scales of two sympatric congeneric spiders, Peucetia rubrolineata and P. flava, along an altitudinal gradient in shaded and open areas in an Atlantic forest in Serra do Japi, SP, Brazil. These spiders are peculiar in that they present an exclusive association with the plant Trichogoniopsis adenantha (Asteraceae). In theory, the coexistence of two Peucetia species could be explained by: (1) microhabitat segregation with individuals from different species occupying different parts of the same plants; (2) mesohabitat segregation with different species using plant in different environments; (3) macrohabitat segregation, where different species would not co-occur along the altitudinal gradient. With respect to micro-habitat use, in both species, different instars used different plant parts, while the same instars of both species used the same type of substrate. However, the two Peucetia species segregated by meso-habitat type, with P. rubrolineata preferring T. adenantha plants in shaded areas and P. flava preferring those in open areas. Our results support the hypothesis of niche partitioning begetting diversity, and highlight the importance of analyzing habitat use at multiple scales to understand mechanisms related to coexistence1410CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPnão temnão temnão te

    D2.1 Integrated Roadmap

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    Deliverable 2.1 – The Integrated Roadmap – summarises the first 18 months of requirements gathering and analysis in the TENCompetence project. The document consists of a summary description and a number of annexes with detailed results. The methodology chosen by the project is the Unified Process, supplemented with scenario-based software development techniques. On the basis of initial scenario’s and specific use cases, six high-level use cases were identified that summarise the future functionality of the TENCompetence integrated system. These high-level use cases build on the domain model that is also included. The four main components of the TENCompetence project, i.e. (a) the high-level use cases, (b) the domain model, (c) the project objectives and (d) the experimental setup of the pilots were then critically analysed in order to identify possible gaps between them. On the basis of this gap analysis, some recommendations were formulated for the next development cycles. On the basis of all the work in the four components and the gap analysis, detailed extended use cases with activity diagrams and a data model were developed and formulated, which again serve as the basis for the first version of the integrated system, the Personal Competence Manager. Finally, the document describes the future of the requirements process in the form of a research roadmap, and a detailed procedure for handling change requests to the integrated system.The work on this publication has been sponsored by the TENCompetence Integrated Project that is funded by the European Commission's 6th Framework Programme, priority IST/Technology Enhanced Learning. Contract 027087 [http://www.tencompetence.org

    Clinical leishmaniosis in a domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo) treated with miltefosine plus allopurinol: Serological and clinical follow-up

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    The published information on the treatment of mustelid leishmaniosis is extremely scarce because there are only two case reports available. In one case, a domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo) was treated with a combination of meglumine antimoniate plus allopurinol and, in the other case, a therapeutic regimen with allopurinol was administrated to a Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra). This article describes for the first time a combined therapeutic protocol with miltefosine (2 mg/kg once a day during 28 days per os), and allopurinol (10 mg/kg twice a day PO sine die) in a domestic ferret with splenomegaly, lymphadenomegaly and a facial pyogranulomatous dermatitis, with a moderate level of antibodies to Leishmania infantum. © 2021 Elsevier B.V

    A cross-sectional study of Leishmania infantum infection in stray cats in the city of Zaragoza (Spain) using serology and PCR

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    Background: Feline leishmaniosis is a vector-borne parasitic disease caused by Leishmania spp. Leishmania infection in dogs is prevalent in the Mediterranean basin, but in other animals, such as cats, it could also play a role in the epidemiology of the disease. Information on the geographical distribution and epidemiological features of L. infantum infection in cats is scarce, particularly in urban stray cats living in regions where canine leishmaniosis is endemic. As diagnosis can be challenging, combining different serological and molecular methods is a useful approach. Our aim was to investigate the prevalence of infection of L. infantum in apparently healthy stray cats in an endemic region of Spain (Zaragoza city) using serological and molecular methods, and to compare the results of the different techniques. Methods: The prevalence of Leishmania infection was studied in stray cats captured in urban and peri-urban areas of Zaragoza. Blood was collected from each animal for serology and molecular analysis. Three serological methods, namely the immunofluorescent antibody test (IFAT), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and western blot (WB), were used to detect L. infantum antibodies and a real-time PCR (qPCR) assay was used to detect L. infantum DNA. The results were analyzed by Fisher’s exact test and Cohen’s kappa statistic (¿) to assess the level of agreement between the diagnostic techniques. Results: Serological analysis of blood samples from 180 stray cats revealed 2.2% (4/179) Leishmania infection positivity by IFAT, 2.8% (5/179) by ELISA and 14.5% (26/179) by WB. Leishmania DNA was detected by qPCR in 5.6% (10/179) of the cats. Sixteen cats (8.9%) tested positive by only one serological technique and four tested positive by all three serological methods used. The overall rate of infected cats (calculated as the number of cats seropositive and/or qPCR positive) was 15.6%, and only two cats tested positive by all the diagnostic methods. A significant association was found between male cats and a positive qPCR result. Comparison of the techniques revealed a fair agreement in seropositivity between blood qPCR and IFAT (¿ = 0.26), blood qPCR and ELISA (¿ = 0.24), WB and ELISA (¿ = 0.37) and WB and IFAT (¿ = 0.40). The highest agreement between seropositive results was between IFAT and ELISA (¿ = 0.89), and the lowest was between blood qPCR and WB (¿ = 0.19). The prevalence of the feline leukemia virus antigen was 4.49% (8/178 cats) and that of the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) antibody was 6.74% (12/178), while co-infection with both retroviruses was observed in one female cat (1/178). Leishmania ELISA and IFAT seropositivity were statistically associated with FIV status by the chi-square test. Conclusions: The results obtained in this study, using serological tests and qPCR, indicate the existence of L. infantum asymptomatic infection in apparently healthy stray cats in the city of Zaragoza, an endemic area in Spain. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

    First report on natural infection with Leishmania infantum in a domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo) in Spain

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    A pet domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo) with a papular lesion involving the right pinna was diagnosed with chronic pyogranulomatous dermatitis by histopathologic examination. Intralesional, intracytoplasmic oval microorganisms compatible with Leishmania spp. or Histoplasma spp. were observed in macrophages and multinucleate giant cells. Leishmania infantum (L. infantum) infection was diagnosed by PCR, culture in Novy-MacNeal-Nicolle medium, and immunohistochemistry. Abnormal clinicopathological results included increased alanine transferase, alkaline phosphatase, serum gamma glutamyl transferase and polyclonal gammpathy. Anti-Leishmania antibodies were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, immunofluorescence antibody test and western blot using L. infantum antigen. Immunoreactivity against the 16 kDa specific L. infantum antigen fraction was observed by western blot. PCR performed in blood samples obtained from this patient after positive parasite isolation detected L. infantum DNA. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first diagnosis and isolation of L. infantum in a domestic ferret naturally infected in an endemic region (Spain) where canine and feline leishmaniosis is frequently detected. According to these findings, ferrets should be included as potential reservoir hosts of L. infantum. Future investigations should analyze the epidemiological role of ferrets in L. infantum infection including the prevalence of infection

    ID2.1 Initial Requirements Report

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    This internal deliverable contains two main parts: 1. Functional Requirements for the TENCompetence integrated system (which includes the descriptions of the high level use cases and the main components of the system) 2. Non Functional Requirements for the TENCompetence inte-grated systemThe work on this publication has been sponsored by the TENCompetence Integrated Project that is funded by the European Commission's 6th Framework Programme, priority IST/Technology Enhanced Learning. Contract 027087 [http://www.tencompetence.org

    Uncovering de novo gene birth in yeast using deep transcriptomics

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    De novo gene origination has been recently established as an important mechanism for the formation of new genes. In organisms with a large genome, intergenic and intronic regions provide plenty of raw material for new transcriptional events to occur, but little is know about how de novo transcripts originate in more densely-packed genomes. Here, we identify 213 de novo originated transcripts in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using deep transcriptomics and genomic synteny information from multiple yeast species grown in two different conditions. We find that about half of the de novo transcripts are expressed from regions which already harbor other genes in the opposite orientation; these transcripts show similar expression changes in response to stress as their overlapping counterparts, and some appear to translate small proteins. Thus, a large fraction of de novo genes in yeast are likely to co-evolve with already existing genes

    Impacto del teletrabajo en el nivel de compromiso laboral (engagement) y de agotamiento de los docentes del Tecnológico Nacional de México en la pandemia COVID 19 y el retorno a la nueva normalidad.

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    This article have the purpose to determinate the impact that was had on the teachers of the National Technological Institute of Mexico in terms of the level of their commitment and exhaustion work during the times of COVID-19 pandemic, performing their teaching function throught teleworking, to carry out this study to work was carried out in collaboration with CIRCULAR HR Fundación Chile y UNESCO WHEC (World Higher Education Conference 2022), 1994 surveys were applied to teachers of all the categories of the Technological System. This instrument was applied in different universities convened by UNESCO, in total were 3351 surveys and the Technological System help the 59.5% of the information for this study. As part of the results obtained, it was found that if there were differences on the level of exhaustion depending on the main function of each teaching category and the gender, but the level of commitment remained the same regardless of seniority, gender or category in which teacher was.El presente artículo tiene como finalidad determinar cuál fue el impacto que se tuvo en los docentes del Tecnológico Nacional de México en cuanto a su nivel de compromiso y el agotamiento laboral durante los tiempos de pandemia COVID-19 realizando su funciones docentes a través del teletrabajo, para llevar a cabo este estudio se trabajó en colaboración con CIRCULAR HR Fundación Chile Y UNESCO  WHEC (World Higher Education Conference 2022), se aplicaron 1994 encuestas a docentes  de todas las categorías del Sistema Tecnológico. Este instrumento fue aplicado a diferentes universidades convocadas por la UNESCO, en total fueron 3351 encuestas y el Sistema Tecnológico aportó el 59.5% de la información para este estudio. Como parte de los resultados obtenidos se encontró que si hay diferencias en nivel de agotamiento dependiendo de la función principal de cada categoría docente y el género, pero el nivel de compromiso se mantenía igual independientemente de la antigüedad, género o categoría en la que estuviera el docente

    Large-angle production of charged pions by 3 GeV/c - 12.9 GeV/c protons on beryllium, aluminium and lead targets

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    Measurements of the double-differential π±\pi^{\pm} production cross-section in the range of momentum 100 \MeVc \leq p < 800 \MeVc and angle 0.35 \rad \leq \theta < 2.15 \rad in proton--beryllium, proton--aluminium and proton--lead collisions are presented. The data were taken with the HARP detector in the T9 beam line of the CERN PS. The pions were produced by proton beams in a momentum range from 3 \GeVc to 12.9 \GeVc hitting a target with a thickness of 5% of a nuclear interaction length. The tracking and identification of the produced particles was performed using a small-radius cylindrical time projection chamber (TPC) placed inside a solenoidal magnet. Incident particles were identified by an elaborate system of beam detectors. Results are obtained for the double-differential cross-sections at six incident proton beam momenta (3 \GeVc, 5 \GeVc, 8 \GeVc, 8.9 \GeVc (Be only), 12 \GeVc and 12.9 \GeVc (Al only)) and compared to previously available data
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