Fokker-Planck type equations with Sobolev diffusion coefficients and BV drift coefficients

In this paper we give an affirmative answer to an open question mentioned in [Le Bris and Lions, Comm. Partial Differential Equations 33 (2008), 1272--1317], that is, we prove the well-posedness of the Fokker-Planck type equations with Sobolev diffusion coefficients and BV drift coefficients.Comment: 11 pages. The proof has been modifie

Fruit quality of Chenin Blanc grape influenced by different rootstocks during a production cycle in the second half.

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of different rootstocks on physico-chemical characteristics of the fruits of Chenin Blanc grapes produced in the second half of the year

Environmental variables and machine learning models to predict cetacean abundance in the Central-eastern Mediterranean Sea

: Although the Mediterranean Sea is a crucial hotspot in marine biodiversity, it has been threatened by numerous anthropogenic pressures. As flagship species, Cetaceans are exposed to those anthropogenic impacts and global changes. Assessing their conservation status becomes strategic to set effective management plans. The aim of this paper is to understand the habitat requirements of cetaceans, exploiting the advantages of a machine-learning framework. To this end, 28 physical and biogeochemical variables were identified as environmental predictors related to the abundance of three odontocete species in the Northern Ionian Sea (Central-eastern Mediterranean Sea). In fact, habitat models were built using sighting data collected for striped dolphins Stenella coeruleoalba, common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus, and Risso's dolphins Grampus griseus between July 2009 and October 2021. Random Forest was a suitable machine learning algorithm for the cetacean abundance estimation. Nitrate, phytoplankton carbon biomass, temperature, and salinity were the most common influential predictors, followed by latitude, 3D-chlorophyll and density. The habitat models proposed here were validated using sighting data acquired during 2022 in the study area, confirming the good performance of the strategy. This study provides valuable information to support management decisions and conservation measures in the EU marine spatial planning context

Dataset and species aggregation method applied to food-web models in the Northern Ionian Sea (Central Mediterranean Sea)

The ecological roles of the species in the food web are studied through the Ecopath with Ecosim modelling approach. In this modelling approach, the food web is described by means of functional groups, each representing a species, a life stage of a species, or a group of species with similar trophic, ecological and physiological features. Links between the groups are formally described by a set of linear equations, informed with ecological and fishing data. Here, the data input collected to implement 3 Ecopath models in the Northern Ionian Sea (Central Mediterranean Sea) from 1995 to 2015 are reported. This dataset applied to study the ecological roles of the demersal Chondrichthyes in the study area could be useful to explore different fishing management scenarios. A large dataset of over 300 taxa is shown detailing the ecological inputs, such as Biomass (kg km−2), Production and Consumption rates (y−1), Diet information (weight in %), and fishing data represented by Landings and Discards (t km−2 y−1). In particular, the fishery data described the catches of trawls, longlines, passive nets, other gears and purse seine. In addition, a description of the aggregation method of the species is shown

The effects of an osmoregulator, carbohydrates and polyol on maturation and germination of ‘Golden THB’ papaya somatic embryos

This study evaluated the effect of osmoregulators and carbohydrates on the maturation and germination of somatic embryos of papaya ‘Golden THB’. Cotyledon explants from papaya seedlings germinated in vitro on basal MS medium were cultured on somatic embryogenesis induction medium (IM) containing MS salts, myo-inositol, sucrose, agar and p-chlorophenoxyacetic acid. After 50 days, embryogenic calli were transferred onto maturation media (MM) for 45 additional days. For experiment 1, a MS-based medium supplemented with abscisic acid, activated charcoal and concentrations of PEG 6000 (0; 40; 50; 60 and 70 g L^-1) was used, whereas for experiment 2 malt extract concentrations (0; 0.1; 0.2; 0.3 and 0.4 g L^-1) were assessed. The normal cotyledonary somatic embryos produced in experiment 2 were transferred to the germination medium (GM). The GM consisted of full-strength MS medium, sucrose, agar and was supplemented with myo-inositol at varying concentrations (0; 0.275; 0.55 and 0.825 mM). The PEG concentrations tested impaired the maturation of ‘Golden THB’ papaya somatic embryos. The MM, supplemented with malt extract at 0.153 g L^-1, promoted the greatest development of normal somatic embryos (18.28 SE calli^-1), that is, two cotyledonary leaves produced 36.56 SE calli-1. The supplementation with 0.45 mM myo-inositol provided the highest germination percentage (47.42%) and conversion to emblings

Long serial analysis of gene expression for gene discovery and transcriptome profiling in the widespread marine coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi

Author Posting. © American Society for Microbiology, 2006. This article is posted here by permission of American Society for Microbiology for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology 72 (2006): 252-260, doi:10.1128/AEM.72.1.252-260.2006.The abundant and widespread coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi plays an important role in mediating CO2 exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere through its impact on marine photosynthesis and calcification. Here, we use long serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) to identify E. huxleyi genes responsive to nitrogen (N) or phosphorus (P) starvation. Long SAGE is an elegant approach for examining quantitative and comprehensive gene expression patterns without a priori knowledge of gene sequences via the detection of 21-bp nucleotide sequence tags. E. huxleyi appears to have a robust transcriptional-level response to macronutrient deficiency, with 42 tags uniquely present or up-regulated twofold or greater in the N-starved library and 128 tags uniquely present or up-regulated twofold or greater in the P-starved library. The expression patterns of several tags were validated with reverse transcriptase PCR. Roughly 48% of these differentially expressed tags could be mapped to publicly available genomic or expressed sequence tag (EST) sequence data. For example, in the P-starved library a number of the tags mapped to genes with a role in P scavenging, including a putative phosphate-repressible permease and a putative polyphosphate synthetase. In short, the long SAGE analyses have (i) identified many new differentially regulated gene sequences, (ii) assigned regulation data to EST sequences with no database homology and unknown function, and (iii) highlighted previously uncharacterized aspects of E. huxleyi N and P physiology. To this end, our long SAGE libraries provide a new public resource for gene discovery and transcriptional analysis in this biogeochemically important marine organism.This work was supported by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Ocean Life Institute, the J. Lamar Worzel Assistant Scientist Fund, and the Frank and Lisina Hoch Endowed Fund. A.G.M., S.R.B., and M.J.C. were supported in part by the Marine Biological Laboratory's Program in Global Infectious Diseases, funded by the Ellison Medical Foundation. Computational resources were provided by the Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution (Marine Biological Laboratory) through funds provided by the W. M. Keck Foundation and the G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation

A role for atorvastatin and insulin combination in protecting from liver injury in a model of type 2 diabetes with hyperlipidemia

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a major complication linked with the metabolic syndrome associated with dyslipidemia, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Impact of type 2 diabetes with hyperlipidemia in NAFLD has to be established, as well as the utility of commonly prescribed anti-diabetic and lipid-lowering agents in improving liver injury markers. Genetic type 2 diabetic Goto-Kakizaki rats were fed with a high-fat diet to test hepatic effects of type 2 diabetes with hyperlipidemia and the effect of atorvastatin and insulin, individually and in combination, in systemic and hepatic inflammatory and oxidative stress markers. High-fat diet aggravated fasting glycemia, systemic and liver lipids, and inflammatory and oxidative stress markers. Individual treatments improved glycemic and lipid profiles, but failed to improve inflammatory markers, whereas insulin was able to reduce liver oxidative stress parameters. Combination of insulin and atorvastatin further improved glycemic and lipid profiles and decreased circulating C-reactive protein levels and liver inflammatory and oxidative stress markers. Insulin and atorvastatin combination leads to better glycaemic and lipid profiles and to better protection against liver inflammation and oxidative stress, giving a superior level of liver protection in type 2 diabetic with hyperlipidemia

Evolução da maturação em uva BRS Magna sob influência de porta-enxertos em safra do primeiro semestre.

Este estudo teve o objetivo de caracterizar as mudanças em componentes da qualidade da uva ?BRS Magna? ao longo da maturação sob a influência de diferentes porta-enxertos, em safra do primeiro semestre do ano