What is the Most Sensitive Measure of Water Maze Probe Test Performance?

The water maze is commonly used to assay spatial cognition, or, more generally, learning and memory in experimental rodent models. In the water maze, mice or rats are trained to navigate to a platform located below the water's surface. Spatial learning is then typically assessed in a probe test, where the platform is removed from the pool and the mouse or rat is allowed to search for it. Performance in the probe test may then be evaluated using either occupancy-based (percent time in a virtual quadrant [Q] or zone [Z] centered on former platform location), error-based (mean proximity to former platform location [P]) or counting-based (platform crossings [X]) measures. While these measures differ in their popularity, whether they differ in their ability to detect group differences is not known. To address this question we compiled five separate databases, containing more than 1600 mouse probe tests. Random selection of individual trials from respective databases then allowed us to simulate experiments with varying sample and effect sizes. Using this Monte Carlo-based method, we found that the P measure consistently outperformed the Q, Z and X measures in its ability to detect group differences. This was the case regardless of sample or effect size, and using both parametric and non-parametric statistical analyses. The relative superiority of P over other commonly used measures suggests that it is the most appropriate measure to employ in both low- and high-throughput water maze screens

Avaliação microbiológica de enchidos de ovino e caprino

Os produtos de salsicharia portuguesa são, pelas suas características nutricionais c organoléticas, produtos alimentares da mais alta qualidade que interessa preservar. Recentes mudanças sociais, nomeadamente alteração dos hábitos dos consumidores, diversificação da ofet1a, crescimento da concorrência, aumento das expectativas e do nível de exigência dos consumidores, obrigaram ao investimento cm novas tecnologias c novos produtos estratégicos de mercado

Does geometric morphometrics provide congruent results with SNP data? The case of Iberian honey bee (Apis mellifera iberiensis)

While molecular markers are usually preferred to infer population structure, geometric morphometrics is a cheap method that has been widely applied to the wings of female honey bees to identify subspecies or lineages and can be used alternatively or complementarily to molecular markers. However, the power of geometric morphometrics to capture the signature of complex evolutionary processes has not been tested in honey bees. In this study, we applied geometric morphometrics, combined with geographical information, to the right forewings of female individuals from 711 colonies distributed along the Iberian Peninsula, which contains a complex population structure. The results were further compared with those obtained using 383 SNPs. Our data showed that geometric morphometrics provided a similar spatial structure of SNPs data (r=0.90). Our findings reinforce the power of spatially explicit wing geometric morphometrics data to capture the signature of complex evolutionary processes. Thus, this method could be used as a low-cost alternative for preliminary estimation of population structure.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Estrutura populacional da abelha ibérica (Apis mellifera iberiensis) inferida por análise de morfometria geométrica em obreiras

A abelha ibérica (Apis mellifera iberiensis) é uma das subespécies de abelha melífera mais estudadas no mundo no que concerne aos padrões de diversidade genética. Esses estudos têm revelado resultados incongruentes e dependentes do tipo de marcador genético utilizado. No sentido de contribuirmos para uma melhor compreensão e representação dos padrões espaciais de diversidade genética da abelha ibérica e forças evolutivas subjacentes, recentemente amostramos na Península Ibérica 711 colónias ao longo de três transectos: um na costa atlântica, um na costa mediterrânica e outro no centro. Contrariamente aos microssatélites, que são incapazes de detetar estrutura genética, os marcadores mitocondriais (região intergénica tRNAleu-cox2) e nucleares (polimorfismos de nucleótido simples, SNPs) revelaram a existência de um cline com orientação nordeste-sudoeste, padrão consistente com um processo de contacto secundário pós-glacial (Chávez-Galarza et al. 2015). No seguimento destes resultados, queríamos testar o poder da morfometria geométrica na captura do padrão clinal previamente encontrado. Para tal, examinamos a asa anterior direita de cinco obreiras de cada uma das 711 colónias. Em cada asa foram marcados 19 pontos nas interseções das veias e, após alinhamento Procrustes, foi calculada a distância entre todos os pontos. A matriz de distâncias obtida foi usada para inferir a estrutura populacional aplicando uma análise multivariada espacial baseada na análise de componentes principais e na autocorrelaçao de Moran. Surpreendentemente, os nossos resultados mostram a presença de dois grupos com uma distribuição espacial totalmente congruente com o mtDNA e os SNPs, indicando que a morfometria geométrica é capaz de capturar padrões genéticos moldados por processos evolutivos complexos. A adição do componente geográfico nas análises multivariadas contribuiu consideravelmente para os resultados e deverá ser incorporada em futuras análises morfométricas populacionais.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Enabling Optical Wired and Wireless Technologies for 5G and Beyond Networks

The emerging fifth-generation mobile communications are envisaged to support massive number of deployment scenarios based on the respective use case requirements. The requirements can be efficiently attended with ultradense small-cell cloud radio access network (C-RAN) approach. However, the C-RAN architecture imposes stringent requirements on the transport networks. This book chapter presents high-capacity and low-latency optical wired and wireless networking solutions that are capable of attending to the network demands. Meanwhile, with optical communication evolutions, there has been advent of enhanced photonic integrated circuits (PICs). The PICs are capable of offering advantages such as low-power consumption, high-mechanical stability, low footprint, small dimension, enhanced functionalities, and ease of complex system architectures. Consequently, we exploit the PICs capabilities in designing and developing the physical layer architecture of the second standard of the next-generation passive optical network (NG-PON2) system. Apart from being capable of alleviating the associated losses of the transceiver, the proposed architectures aid in increasing the system power budget. Moreover, its implementation can significantly help in reducing the optical-electrical-optical conversions issue and the required number of optical connections, which are part of the main problems being faced in the miniaturization of network elements. Additionally, we present simulation results for the model validation

Wing geometric morphometrics of workers and drones and single nucleotide polymorphisms provide similar genetic structure in the Iberian honey bee (Apis mellifera iberiensis)

Wing geometric morphometrics has been applied to honey bees (Apis mellifera) in identification of evolutionary lineages or subspecies and, to a lesser extent, in assessing genetic structure within subspecies. Due to bias in the production of sterile females (workers) in a colony, most studies have used workers leaving the males (drones) as a neglected group. However, considering their importance as reproductive individuals, the use of drones should be incorporated in these analyses in order to better understand diversity patterns and underlying evolutionary processes. Here, we assessed the usefulness of drone wings, as well as the power of wing geometric morphometrics, in capturing the signature of complex evolutionary processes by examining wing shape data, integrated with geographical information, from 711 colonies sampled across the entire distributional range of Apis mellifera iberiensis in Iberia. We compared the genetic patterns reconstructed fromspatially-explicit shape variation extracted fromwings of both sexes with that previously reported using 383 genome-wide SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms). Our results indicate that the spatial structure retrieved from wings of drones and workers was similar (r = 0.93) and congruent with that inferred from SNPs (r = 0.90 for drones; r = 0.87 for workers), corroborating the clinal pattern that has been described for A. m. iberiensis using other genetic markers. In addition to showing that drone wings carry valuable genetic information, this study highlights the capability of wing geometric morphometrics in capturing complex genetic patterns, o ering a reliable and low-cost alternative for preliminary estimation of population structure.This research was funded by the program COMPETE 2020—POCI (Programa Operacional para a Competividade e Internacionalização) and by Portuguese funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) in the framework of the project BeeHappy (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029871). FAPESP (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) provided funds for TMF (2011/07857-9) and JSGT (2011/02434-2).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Microbial water quality of public swimming pool in the district of Bragança

The poor water quality of recreational and rehabilitation pools,has been correlated to insufficient disinfection or human contamination, and can be a vehicle for transmitting diseasesto users. Because people with different characteristics attendpublic swimming pools with different purposes, the pool water quality control is essential to minimize hazards related tounsafe water.MethodsThis study was based on data collection of 144 samples between 2018 and 2020 in therapeutic and recreational pools(indoor and outdoor) in the Braganca district. The proportionof the number of bathers were estimated, as well as the microbial parameters: Total coliforms,Escherichia coli, enterococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, total Staphylococcus,Staphylococcus coagulase-positive and mesophilic microbial count. Results: The E. coli, enterococci and mesophilic microbial count werenot found in any sample. Unsafe pool water was mainly contaminated by both photogenicP. aeruginosa(6.3%) and total Sthaphylococcus (10.4%). Levels ofP. aeruginosaintherapeutic pools was greater than in recreational pools (indoor and outdoor) (10.5% vs 6.8% and 4.5%, respectively),while total Sthaphylococcus was absent in therapeutic pools and represent 13.6% and 10.6% of positivity in indoor and outdoors wimming pools, respectively. The bathers number medium of therapeutic, indoor and outdoor pools was 4.8, 3.4 and 6.9,respectively. Conclusions: Overall, the results endorse the good water quality of theseswimming pools, mainly by the absent of faecally-derivedbacteria. The presence of P. aeruginosain therapeutic pools canbe explained by the type of users, while the high number of bathers may promote the growth of some microorganisms,particularly in outdoor poolsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterising project management of lean initiatives in industrial companies - crossing perspectives based on case studies

The paper mainly aims to characterise project management (PM) practices of industrial Lean initiatives by analysing and comparing three main topics: PM approaches, PM teams, and project alignment with the company's strategy. This research encompasses two exploratory industrial case studies with an extensive literature review. Key professionals were interviewed to obtain an in-depth vision of the field. The study results allowed characterising project management practices of industrial Lean initiatives in industrial companies based on the following dimensions: 1. Understand the needs; 2. Find a suitable team; 3. Use visual tools; 4. Apply a continuous improvement (CI) approach; 5. Identify KPIs for the context; 6. Get support from the top management. This work fills a gap related to studying the PM practices applied during the implementation of Lean initiatives, proposing a schematic representation of PM variables and actors in industrial Lean initiatives. Identifying the main variables and actors that industrial companies use to develop Lean initiatives can be insightful for Lean practitioners in the context of project management.This work was partially supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope UIDB/00319/2020

Effect of anthropic disturbances on the activity pattern of two generalist mesocarnivores inhabiting Mediterranean forestry plantations

Humans have been altering the Mediterranean landscapes for millennia. To diminish the probability of encounters with domestic animals, humans and their activities, many species adjust their behavior to become more nocturnal. Even habitat-generalist species, such as red fox and stone marten that are somehow tolerant to environmental changes, might be affected by anthropic disturbances. Nevertheless, only a small number of studies were implemented in Iberia targeting these mesocarnivores’ activity patterns, and fewer have assessed the temporal ecology of these species in Eucalyptus plantations, the current main forest cover in Portugal. Based on camera traps, we aimed to analyze: 1) the temporal and spatio-temporal activity patterns of red fox and stone marten; and 2) how they are affected by distinct human disturbances (i.e., humans, livestock, dogs, plantations, and hunting). Foxes presented a higher crepuscular activity, while martens were entirely nocturnal, suggesting some avoidance behavior. Both mesocarnivores showed a higher overlap with dogs’ activity than with humans or livestock. Foxes’ activity patterns vary between seasons and habitats but were not influenced by the hunting period. Results suggest that both mesocarnivores, besides setting apart their activity from humans related disturbances, also show a tendency to temporally avoid each other. While the increase of nocturnality may indicate an anthropic disturbance impact, a reduction of activity overlap between mesocarnivores may be a strategy to reduce competition. These results may help support the sustainable management of landscapes by highlighting critical periods where activity overlaps may occur, and thus the anthropic impacts on wildlife are higher.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Disclosure of a promising lead to tackle complicated skin and skin structure infections: antimicrobial and antibiofilm actions of peptide PP4-3.1

Efficient antibiotics are being exhausted, which compromises the treatment of infections, including complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSTI) often associated with multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) being the most prevalent. Antimicrobial peptides (AMP) are being increasingly regarded as the new hope for the post-antibiotic era. Thus, future management of cSSTI may include use of peptides that, on the one hand, behave as AMP and, on the other, are able to promote fast and correct skin rebuilding. As such, we combined the well-known cosmeceutical pentapeptide-4 (PP4), devoid of antimicrobial action but possessing collagenesis-boosting properties, with the AMP 3.1, to afford the chimeric peptide PP4-3.1. We further produced its N-methyl imidazole derivative, MeIm-PP4-3.1. Both peptide-based constructs were evaluated in vitro against Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria, and Candida spp. fungi. Additionally, the antibiofilm activity, the toxicity to human keratinocytes, and the activity against S. aureus in simulated wound fluid (SWF) were assessed. The chimeric peptide PP4-3.1 stood out for its potent activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including against MDR clinical isolates (0.8 ≤ MIC ≤ 5.7 µM), both in planktonic form and in biofilm matrix. The peptide was also active against three clinically relevant species of Candida fungi, with an overall performance superior to that of fluconazole. Altogether, data reveal that PP4-3.1 is as a promising lead for the future development of new topical treatments for severe skin infections.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio