Vertical profiles of environmental parameters measured on discrete water samples collected with Niskin bottles at station TARA_176 during the Tara Oceans expedition 2009-2013

The Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013) was a global survey of ocean ecosystems aboard the Sailing Vessel Tara. It carried out extensive measurements of evironmental conditions and collected plankton (viruses, bacteria, protists and metazoans) for later analysis using modern sequencing and state-of-the-art imaging technologies. Tara Oceans Data are particularly suited to study the genetic, morphological and functional diversity of plankton. The present data set includes properties of seawater, particulate matter and dissolved matter that were measured from discrete water samples collected with Niskin bottles during the 2009-2013 Tara Oceans expedition. Properties include pigment concentrations from HPLC analysis (10 depths per vertical profile, 25 pigments per depth), the carbonate system (Surface and 400m; pH (total scale), CO2, pCO2, fCO2, HCO3, CO3, Total alkalinity, Total carbon, OmegaAragonite, OmegaCalcite, and dosage Flags), nutrients (10 depths per vertical profile; NO2, PO4, N02/NO3, SI, quality Flags), DOC, CDOM, and dissolved oxygen isotopes. The Service National d'Analyse des Paramètres Océaniques du CO2, at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, determined CT and AT potentiometrically. More than 200 vertical profiles of these properties were made across the world ocean. DOC, CDOM and dissolved oxygen isotopes are available only for the Arctic Ocean and Arctic Seas (2013).

Macrophyte plots at TS/Ph-1b, Taylor Slough

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation through the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research program under Cooperative Agreements #DBI-0620409 and #DEB-9910514. This image is made available for non-commercial or educational use only.

What is this thing called Historical Archaeology?

Historical archaeology, in its narrow temporal sense -as an archaeology of the emergence and subsequent evolution of the Modern world- is steadily taking pace in Spanish academia. This paper aims at provoking a more robust debate through understanding how Spanish historical archaeology is placed in the international scene and some of its more relevant particularities. In so doing, the paper also stresses the strong links that have united historical and prehistorical archaeology since its inception, both in relation to the ontological, epistemological and methodological definition of the first as to the influence of socio-political issues in the latter. Such reflection is partly a situated reflection from prehistory as one of the paper’s authors has been a prehistorian for most of her professional life.

Cova dels Jurats at Calescoves (Alaior, Minorca). A Cave Shrine in the Talayotic context?

Excavations carried out in the Cova dels Jurats between 2010 and 2012 served to establish that, unlike the rest of the caves Calescoves, this one functioned as a sanctuary, with two different phases. The first one corresponds to the Final Talayotic Period, as the first cave shrine documented in the Talayotic culture. In Roman times, the place was still used as a sanctuary, but with a totally different ritual, linked to the inscriptions discovered at the entrance of the cave.

Ecohumanists. Protection of physical ecology demands respect human ecology

What is the human being? Which is its origin and its end? What is the influence of the nature in the man and what is his impact on nature? Forthe animalists, men are like other animals; freedom and rationality are not signs of superiority, nor having rights over the animals. For the ecohumanists, human beings are part of nature, but is qualitatively different and superior to animals; and is the creator of the civilization. We analyze these two ecological looks. A special point is the contribution ofecohumanists -from the first half of the Renaissance, who dealt in extenso the dignity and freedom of the human being-, of Michelangelo and finally, of Mozart, through his four insurmountable operas, which display the difficulty of physical ecology to engender so much beauty, so much wealth, so much love for the creatures and so much variety.

Characterisation of a secretory serine protease inhibitor (SjB6) from Schistosoma japonicum

BACKGROUND: Proteins belonging to the serine protease inhibitor (serpin) superfamily play essential physiological roles in many organisms. In pathogens, serpins are thought to have evolved specifically to limit host immune responses by interfering with the host immune-stimulatory signals. Serpins are less well characterised in parasitic helminths, although some are thought to be involved in mechanisms associated with host immune modulation. In this study, we cloned and partially characterised a secretory serpin from Schistosoma japonicum termed SjB6, these findings provide the basis for possible functional roles.

METHODS: SjB6 gene was identified through database mining of our previously published microarray data, cloned and detailed sequence and structural analysis and comparative modelling carried out using various bioinformatics and proteomics tools. Gene transcriptional profiling was determined by real-time PCR and the expression of native protein determined by immunoblotting. An immunological profile of the recombinant protein produced in insect cells was determined by ELISA.

RESULTS: SjB6 contains an open reading frame of 1160 base pairs that encodes a protein of 387 amino acid residues. Detailed sequence analysis, comparative modelling and structural-based alignment revealed that SjB6 contains the essential structural motifs and consensus secondary structures typical of inhibitory serpins. The presence of an N-terminal signal sequence indicated that SjB6 is a secretory protein. Real-time data indicated that SjB6 is expressed exclusively in the intra-mammalian stage of the parasite life cycle with its highest expression levels in the egg stage (p < 0.0001). The native protein is approximately 60 kDa in size and recombinant SjB6 (rSjB6) was recognised strongly by sera from rats experimentally infected with S. japonicum.

CONCLUSIONS: The significantly high expression of SjB6 in schistosome eggs, when compared to other life cycle stages, suggests a possible association with disease pathology, while the strong reactivity of sera from experimentally infected rats against rSjB6 suggests that native SjB6 is released into host tissue and induces an immune response. This study presents a comprehensive demonstration of sequence and structural-based analysis of a secretory serpin from a trematode and suggests SjB6 may be associated with important functional roles in S. japonicum, particularly in parasite modulation of the host microenvironment.

The epidemiology, healthcare and societal burden and costs of asthma in the UK and its member nations: analyses of standalone and linked national databases

Background: There are a lack of reliable data on the epidemiology and associated burden and costs of asthma. We sought to provide the first UK-wide estimates of the epidemiology, healthcare utilisation and costs of asthma. 

Methods: We obtained and analysed asthma-relevant data from 27 datasets: these comprised national health surveys for 2010-11, and routine administrative, health and social care datasets for 2011-12; 2011-12 costs were estimated in pounds sterling using economic modelling. 

Results: The prevalence of asthma depended on the definition and data source used. The UK lifetime prevalence of patient-reported symptoms suggestive of asthma was 29.5 % (95 % CI, 27.7-31.3; n = 18.5 million (m) people) and 15.6 % (14.3-16.9, n = 9.8 m) for patient-reported clinician-diagnosed asthma. The annual prevalence of patient-reported clinician-diagnosed-and-treated asthma was 9.6 % (8.9-10.3, n = 6.0 m) and of clinician-reported, diagnosed-and-treated asthma 5.7 % (5.7-5.7; n = 3.6 m). Asthma resulted in at least 6.3 m primary care consultations, 93,000 hospital in-patient episodes, 1800 intensive-care unit episodes and 36,800 disability living allowance claims. The costs of asthma were estimated at least £1.1 billion: 74 % of these costs were for provision of primary care services (60 % prescribing, 14 % consultations), 13 % for disability claims, and 12 % for hospital care. There were 1160 asthma deaths. 

Conclusions: Asthma is very common and is responsible for considerable morbidity, healthcare utilisation and financial costs to the UK public sector. Greater policy focus on primary care provision is needed to reduce the risk of asthma exacerbations, hospitalisations and deaths, and reduce costs.

El desarrollo de la economía peruana en la era moderna : precios, población, demanda y producción desde 1700

Discute los métodos más usuales de reconstrucción de las cuentas nacionales y sobre las principales propiedades de los estimados; luego, los compara con similares de países europeos y América Latina. Explica los procedimientos usados en la reconstrucción de la demografía y la Contabilidad Nacional del Perú colonial y del Perú republicano. Finalmente, propone una agenda de investigación para mejorar la calidad de los estimados.

Síntese de carboidratos por microalgas e produção de bioetanol

A maior parte da energia hoje consumida no mundo é derivada de fontes como petróleo, carvão e gás natural. Essas fontes, no entanto, não são renováveis e podem se esgotar em data futura. Nas últimas décadas, as fontes renováveis de combustíveis de base biológica, em especial o bioetanol, têm sido consideradas como alternativa à matriz energética convencional. Porém, existe a necessidade de ampliação da oferta de matérias-primas para produção de etanol, sem pressionar a área plantada para produção de alimentos, o que tem levado empresas e países a investirem em pesquisas para maior utilização de outras matériasprimas. As microalgas surgem como uma das alternativas mais promissoras para a produção de bioetanol, sendo que modificações nas condições de cultivo podem propiciar incremento na concentração de carboidratos destas. Neste contexto, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a influência da concentração de nutrientes na concentração de carboidratos de microalgas e produzir bioetanol a partir destas. Avaliou-se a síntese de carboidratos das microalgas Chlorella homosphaera e Spirulina platensis LEB 52 em cultivos mixotróficos com diferentes concentrações do componente nitrogenado e cloreto de sódio adicionados aos meios de cultivo. Para a microalga Chlorella minutissima, foram avaliados os efeitos do meio de cultivo e das concentrações dos componentes nitrogenado e fosfatados utilizados no meio de cultivo da microalga sobre a concentração de carboidratos desta. Foram realizadas fermentações alcoólicas utilizando como substrato biomassa das microalgas Chlorella pyrenoidosa e Spirulina sp. LEB 18 acrescidos de glicose e sacarose. Para a microalga Chlorella homosphaera, a maior produtividade em carboidratos foi obtida nos ensaios realizados com a maior concentração de KNO3 com menor concentração de NaCl e menor concentração de KNO3 com maior concentração de NaCl (0,014±0,001 g.L-1 .d-1 e 0,015±0,002 g.L-1 .d-1 , respectivamente). A maior produtividade em carboidratos nos cultivos de Spirulina platensis LEB 52 (0,116±0,002 g.L-1 .d-1 ) foi verificada no experimento no qual a microalga foi cultivada nas menores concentrações de NaNO3 e NaCl. A microalga Spirulina platensis LEB 52 apresentou maior produtividade em carboidratos quando comparada à microalga Chlorella homosphaera. A microalga Chlorella minutissima cultivada em meio Basal, com adição de 0,125 g.L-1 do componente nitrogenado (KNO3) e sem adição dos componentes fosfatados (K2HPO4 e KH2PO4) apresentou a maior produtividade em carboidratos nos cultivos (0,030±0,002 g.L-1 .d-1 ). O ensaio com biomassa de Spirulina sp. LEB 18 com adição de glicose apresentou eficiência superior na formação de etanol e produtividade em etanol (68,487±2,592% e 1,182±0,051g.L-1 .h-1 , respectivamente).

Heterosis in locally adapted sorghum genotypes and potential of hybrids for increased productivity in contrasting environments in Ethiopia

Increased productivity in sorghum has been achieved in the developed world using hybrids. Despite their yield advantage, introduced hybrids have not been adopted in Ethiopia due to the lack of adaptive traits, their short plant stature and small grain size. This study was conducted to investigate hybrid performance and the magnitude of heterosis of locally adapted genotypes in addition to introduced hybrids in three contrasting environments in Ethiopia. In total, 139 hybrids, derived from introduced seed parents crossed with locally adapted genotypes and introduced R lines, were evaluated. Overall, the hybrids matured earlier than the adapted parents, but had higher grain yield, plant height, grain number and grain weight in all environments. The lowland adapted hybrids displayed a mean better parent heterosis (BPH) of 19%, equating to 1160 kg ha− 1 and a 29% mean increase in grain yield, in addition to increased plant height and grain weight, in comparison to the hybrids derived from the introduced R lines. The mean BPH for grain yield for the highland adapted hybrids was 16% in the highland and 52% in the intermediate environment equating to 698 kg ha− 1 and 2031 kg ha− 1, respectively, in addition to increased grain weight. The magnitude of heterosis observed for each hybrid group was related to the genetic distance between the parental lines. The majority of hybrids also showed superiority over the standard check varieties. In general, hybrids from locally adapted genotypes were superior in grain yield, plant height and grain weight compared to the high parents and introduced hybrids indicating the potential for hybrids to increase productivity while addressing farmers' required traits.