BALD EAGLES (HALIAEETUS LEUCOCEPHALUS) AS INDICATORS OF GREAT LAKES ECOSYSTEM HEALTH

Environmental indicators have been proposed as a means to assess ecological integrity, monitoring both chemical and biological stressors. In this study, we used nestling bald eagles as indicators to quantify direct or indirect tertiary-level contaminant exposure. The spatial and temporal trends of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners were evaluated in nestling plasma from 1999–2014. Two hexa-chlorinated congeners, PCB-138 and 153, were detected with the highest frequency and greatest concentrations throughout Michigan. Less-chlorinated congeners such as PCB-52 and 66 however, comprised a greater percentage of total PCB concentrations in nestlings proximate to urbanized areas, such as along the shorelines of Lake Erie. Toxic equivalents were greatest in the samples collected from nestlings located on Lake Erie, followed by the other Great Lakes spatial regions. Nestling plasma samples were also used to measure concentrations of the most heavily-used group of flame retardants, brominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs), and three groups of alternative flame retardants, non-BDE Brominated Flame Retardants (NBFRS), Dechloranes, and organophosphate esters (OPs). BDE-47, 99 and 100 contributed the greatest to total BDE concentrations. Concentrations of structurally similar NBFRs found in this study and recent atmospheric studies indicate that they are largely used as replacements to previously used BDE mixtures. A variety of Dechloranes, or derivatives of Mirex and Dechlorane Plus, were measured. Although, measured at lesser concentrations, environmental behavior of these compounds may be similar to mirex and warrant future research in aquatic species. Concentrations of OPs in nestling plasma were two to three orders of magnitude greater than all other groups of flame retardants. In addition to chemical indicators, bald eagles have also been proposed as indicators to identify ecological stressors using population measures that are tied to the fitness of individuals and populations. Using mortality as a population vitality rate, vehicle collisions were found to be the main source of mortality with a greater incidence for females during white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) hunting months and spring snow-melt. Lead poisoning was the second greatest source of mortality, with sources likely due to unretrieved hunter-killed, white-tailed deer carcasses, and possibly exacerbated by density-dependent effects due to the growing population in Michigan.

Isolamento e caracterização biológica e bioquímica de um activador do factor x da coagulação presente no veneno da serpente Bothrops erythromelas

Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Medicina Veterinária

Diez primeras causas de morbilidad en emergencia del Hospital Homero Castanier Crespo en el periodo de octubre a diciembre del 2014. Azogues-Ecuador

Antecedentes: Es preciso mencionar que en México en el 2005 estadísticas muestran que las principales causas de morbilidad en su servicio de emergencias las constituyen: Infecciones respiratorias agudas (19,4%), los traumatismos y envenenamientos (18,8%) y las enfermedades diarreicas (8%). (14). En Perú la principal causa de morbilidad se debió a traumatismos (12% del total), seguido en segundo lugar de asma (10%) y en tercer lugar por anormalidades y complicaciones del embarazo, parto o puerperio (8% del total). (5) Objetivo: Determinar las 10 primeras causas de morbilidad en emergencia del Hospital Homero Castanier Crespo en el período de octubre a diciembre 2014. Materiales y métodos: Se realizó un estudio observacional indirecto, mediante el registro de emergencia del total de pacientes que han acudido a emergencia en el Hospital Homero Castanier Crespo en período comprendido entre octubre – noviembre del 2014. El instrumento utilizado fue el formulario de recolección de datos (ver anexo 2). Resultados: la principal causa de morbilidad en la emergencia del Hospital Homero Castenier Crespo constituyen las enfermedades infecciosas: Enfermedades infecciosas intestinales, Amigdalitis aguda con un 10.86%. Gran parte de las morbilidades atendidas en la emergencia 20.85%, no son emergencias reales. En grupos edad pediátrica y adultos mayores, la principal causa fueron las Enfermedades infecciosas intestinales 14.52%, 6.96% respectivamente, que en este grupo si constituyen un verdadera emergencia. En ginecobstetricia: Falso trabajo de parto a las 37 y más semanas completas de gestación Conclusión: el estudio muestra las principales causas de morbilidad en el Hospital Homero Cartanier Crespo, revela una saturación del sistema por la cantidad de no emergencias que se atienden. Probablemente por la falta de un triage adecuado

Uso da glicerina oriunda da síntese do biodiesel em sistemas microemulsionados visando aplicação de herbicidas

The program PROBIODIESEL from the Ministry of Science and Technology has substantially increased glycerine, obtained as a sub-product of biodiesel production process, making it necessary to seek alternatives for the use of this co-product. On the other hand, herbicides although play a role of fundamental importance in the agricultural production system in force, have been under growing concern among the various segments of society because of their potential environmental risk. In this work, we used glycerin in microemulsion systems for application of herbicides, to improve efficiency and lower environmental pollution caused by the loss of those products to the environment. To obtain the systems of microemulsinados were used Unitol L90 NP and Renex 40 as surfactants, butanol as co-surfactant, coconut oil as oil phase and aqueous phase as we used solutions of glycerin + water. Through the determination of phase diagrams, the microemulsion region was found in the system E (L90 Unitol, coconut oil and glycerin + water 1:1). Three points were chosen to the aqueous phase rich in characterization and application in the solubilization of glyphosate and atrazine. Three experiments were performed in Horta, Department of Plant Sciences, Plant Science Sector, UFERSA, Mossoró-RN. The first experiment was conducted in randomized complete blocks with 20 treatments and four replications. The treatments consisted of five doses of the herbicide glyphosate (0.0, 0.45, 0.9, 1.35 and 1.8 L ha-1) diluted with four sauces: C1, C2, C3 (microemulsions) and C4 (water). The phytotoxicity of Brachiaria brizantha was measured at 7, 14, 28 and 60 DAA (days after application). At 60 DAA, we evaluated the biomass of plants. The second experiment was developed in randomized complete blocks with 20 treatments and four repetitions. The treatments consisted of five doses of the herbicide atrazine (0.0, 0.4, 0.8, 1.6 and 2.4 L ha-1) diluted with four sauces: C1, C2, C3 (microemulsions) and C4 (water). The phytotoxicity on Zea mays and Talinum paniculatum was evaluated at 2, 7, 20 DAA. The experiment III was developed in randomized complete blocks with 16 treatments and three repetitions. The treatments consisted of 16 combinations among the constituents of the microemulsion: Unitol L90 surfactant (0.0, 1.66, 5.0, 15 %) and glycerin (0.0, 4.44, 13.33 and 40.0 %). The phytotoxicity on Zea mays was evaluated at 1, 7 and 14 DAA. At 14 DAA, we evaluated the biomass of plants. The control plants using the microemulsions was lower than in the water due to the poisoning caused by the initial microemulsions in the leaves of the plants, a fact that hinders the absorption and translocation of the herbicide. There was no toxicity in Zea mays plants caused by the herbicide, however, were highly intoxicated by microemulsions. T. paniculatum was better controlled in spraying with the microemulsions, regardless of the dose of the herbicide. The glycerine did not cause plant damage. Higher poisoning the plants are caused by tensoactive Unitol L90 and higher rates occur with the use of higher concentrations of surfactant and glycerin, or microemulsion. The microemulsions used hampered the action of glyphosate in controlling B. brizantha and caused severe poisoning in corn, and these poisonings attributed mainly to the action of surfactant

Relationship between super antigenicity, antimicrobial resistance and origin of Staphylococcus aureus isolated

Introduction: Staphylococcus aureus is a pathogen that causes food poisoning as well as hospital and community acquired infections. Objective: Establish the profile of superantigen genes among hospital isolates in relation to clinical specimen type, susceptibility to antibiotics and hospital or community acquisition. Methods: Eighty one isolates obtained from patients at Colombian hospital, were classified by antimicrobial susceptibility, specimen type and hospital or community acquired . The PCR uniplex and multiplex was used for detection of 22 superantigen genes (18 enterotoxins, tsst-1 and three exfoliative toxins). Results: Ninety five point one percent of isolates harbored one or more of the genes with an average of 5.6 genes. Prevalence of individual genes was variable and the most prevalent was seg (51.9%). Thirty nine genotypes were obtained, and the genotype gimnou (complete egc cluster) was the most prevalent alone (16.0%) and in association with other genes (13.6%). The correlation between presence of superantigens and clinical specimen or antimicrobial susceptibility showed no significant difference. But there was significant difference between presence of superantigens and the origin of the isolates, hospital or community acquired (p= 0.049). Conclusions: The results show the variability of the superantigen genes profile in hospital isolates and shows no conclusive relationship with the clinical sample type and antimicrobial susceptibility, but there was correlation with community and hospital isolates. The analysis of the interplay between virulence, epidemic and antibiotic resistance of bacterial populations is needed to predict the future of infectious diseases.

Avaliação histopatológica do fígado de bovinos mantidos em pastagens de Brachiaria spp. provenientes de abatedouros no Brasil

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Agronomia e Medicina Veterinária, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde Animal, 2016.

The Photooxidation of Domoic Acid

Domoic acid (DA) is a naturally occurring cyanotoxin, which upon ingestion, is responsible for amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) in both humans and animals. Produced by the marine diatom, Pseudonitzschia, DA is accumulated by a number of marine organisms including shellfish, clams and mussels which upon consumption can lead to headaches, nausea and seizures. Possessing a variety of functional groups the structure of DA contains three carboxyl groups, a pyrrole ring and a potent conjugated diene region allowing for binding to glutamate receptors in the dorsal hippocampus of the brain causing the described detrimental effects. Although limitations have been placed regarding the amount of DA that may be contained in seafood no limitations have been placed on the amount present in drinking water. Natural degradation of the toxin may occur through reactive oxygen species such as the hydroxyl radical and singlet oxygen at the conjugated diene region. In this work the photooxidation of DA via singlet oxygen has been studied using sorbic acid as a model compound. The three major reaction pathways observed during the photooxdiation process for both acids include 2 + 4 cycloaddition to produce endoperoxides , 2 + 2 reaction to afford aldehydes and ketones or an ene reaction to generate hydroperoxides. Under similar reaction conditions for SA and DA, the endoperoxide has been seen to be the major product for photoxidation of SA while the hydroperoxide has been seen to be the dominant product during photooxidation of DA.

First report of Ciguatoxins in two starfish species: Ophidiaster ophidianus and Marthasterias glacialis

Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is a syndrome caused by the ingestion of fish contaminated with Ciguatoxins (CTXs). These phycotoxins are produced mainly by dinoflagellates that belong to the genus Gambierdiscus that are transformed in more toxic forms in predatory fish guts, and are more present in the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean areas. It is estimated that CFP causes per year more than 10,000 intoxications worldwide. With the rise of water temperature and anthropogenic intervention, it is important to study the prevalence of CFP in more temperate waters. Through inter- and subtidal sampling, 22 species of organisms were collected, in Madeira and Azores archipelagos and in the northwestern Moroccan coast, during September of 2012 and June and July of 2013. A total of 94 samples of 22 different species of bivalves, gastropods, echinoderms and crustaceans where analyzed by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectometry-Ion Trap-Time of Flight (UPLC-MS-IT-TOF) and Ultra Performance Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS). Our main aim was to detect new vectors and ascertain if there were some geographical differences. We detected for the first time putative CTXs in echinoderms, in two starfish species—M. glacialis and O. ophidianus. We detected differences regarding uptake values by organisms and geographical location. Toxin amounts were significant, showing the importance and the need for continuity of these studies to gain more knowledge about the prevalence of these toxins, in order to better access human health risk. In addition, we suggest monitoring of these toxins should be extended to other vectors, starfish being a good alternative for protecting and accessing human health risk.

New invertebrate vectors of Okadaic acid from the North Atlantic Waters - Portugal (Azores and Madeira) and Morocco

Okadaic acid and its analogues are potent phosphatase inhibitors that cause Diarrheic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) through the ingestion of contaminated shellfish by humans. This group of toxins is transmitted worldwide but the number of poisoning incidents has declined over the last 20 years due to legislation and monitoring programs that were implemented for bivalves. In the summer of 2012 and 2013, we collected a total of 101 samples of 22 different species that were made up of benthic and subtidal organisms such echinoderms, crustaceans, bivalves and gastropods from Madeira, São Miguel Island (Azores archipelago) and the northwestern coast of Morocco. The samples were analyzed by UPLC-MS/MS. Our main objective was to detect new vectors for these biotoxins. We can report nine new vectors for these toxins in the North Atlantic: Astropecten aranciacus, Arbacia lixula, Echinaster sepositus, Holothuria sanctori, Ophidiaster ophidianus, Onchidella celtica, Aplysia depilans, Patella spp., and Stramonita haemostoma. Differences in toxin contents among the species were found. Even though low concentrations were detected, the levels of toxins that were present, especially in edible species, indicate the importance of these types of studies. Routine monitoring should be extended to comprise a wider number of vectors other than for bivalves of okadaic acid and its analogues.

Suicide among young people and adults in Ireland: method characteristics, toxicological analysis and substance abuse histories compared

Objective: Information on factors associated with suicide among young individuals in Ireland is limited. The aim of this study was to identify socio-demographic characteristics and circumstances of death associated with age among individuals who died by suicide. Methods: The study examined 121 consecutive suicides (2007–2012) occurring in the southern eastern part of Ireland (Cork city and county). Data were obtained from coroners, family informants, and health care professionals. A comparison was made between 15-24-year-old and 25-34-year-old individuals. Socio-demographic characteristics of the deceased, methods of suicide, history of alcohol and drug abuse, and findings from toxicological analysis of blood and urine samples taken at post mortem were included. Pearson’s χ2 tests and binary logistic regression analysis were performed. Results: Alcohol and/or drugs were detected through toxicological analysis for the majority of the total sample (79.5%), which did not differentiate between 15-24-year-old and 25-34-year-old individuals (74.1% and 86.2% respectively). Compared to 25-34-year-old individuals, 15-24-year-old individuals were more likely to engage in suicide by hanging (88.5%). Younger individuals were less likely to die by intentional drug overdose and carbon monoxide poisoning compared to older individuals. Younger individuals who died between Saturday and Monday were more likely to have had alcohol before dying. Substance abuse histories were similar in the two age groups. Conclusion: Based on this research it is recommended that strategies to reduce substance abuse be applied among 25-34-year-old individuals at risk of suicide. The wide use of hanging in young people should be taken into consideration for future means restriction strategies.

First report of Ciguatoxins in two starfish species: Ophidiaster ophidianus and Marthasterias glacialis

Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is a syndrome caused by the ingestion of fish contaminated with Ciguatoxins (CTXs). These phycotoxins are produced mainly by dinoflagellates that belong to the genus Gambierdiscus that are transformed in more toxic forms in predatory fish guts, and are more present in the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean areas. It is estimated that CFP causes per year more than 10,000 intoxications worldwide. With the rise of water temperature and anthropogenic intervention, it is important to study the prevalence of CFP in more temperate waters. Through inter- and subtidal sampling, 22 species of organisms were collected, in Madeira and Azores archipelagos and in the northwestern Moroccan coast, during September of 2012 and June and July of 2013. A total of 94 samples of 22 different species of bivalves, gastropods, echinoderms and crustaceans where analyzed by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectometry-Ion Trap-Time of Flight (UPLC-MS-IT-TOF) and Ultra Performance Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS). Our main aim was to detect new vectors and ascertain if there were some geographical differences. We detected for the first time putative CTXs in echinoderms, in two starfish species—M. glacialis and O. ophidianus. We detected differences regarding uptake values by organisms and geographical location. Toxin amounts were significant, showing the importance and the need for continuity of these studies to gain more knowledge about the prevalence of these toxins, in order to better access human health risk. In addition, we suggest monitoring of these toxins should be extended to other vectors, starfish being a good alternative for protecting and accessing human health risk.

New invertebrate vectors of Okadaic acid from the North Atlantic Waters - Portugal (Azores and Madeira) and Morocco

Okadaic acid and its analogues are potent phosphatase inhibitors that cause Diarrheic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) through the ingestion of contaminated shellfish by humans. This group of toxins is transmitted worldwide but the number of poisoning incidents has declined over the last 20 years due to legislation and monitoring programs that were implemented for bivalves. In the summer of 2012 and 2013, we collected a total of 101 samples of 22 different species that were made up of benthic and subtidal organisms such echinoderms, crustaceans, bivalves and gastropods from Madeira, São Miguel Island (Azores archipelago) and the northwestern coast of Morocco. The samples were analyzed by UPLC-MS/MS. Our main objective was to detect new vectors for these biotoxins. We can report nine new vectors for these toxins in the North Atlantic: Astropecten aranciacus, Arbacia lixula, Echinaster sepositus, Holothuria sanctori, Ophidiaster ophidianus, Onchidella celtica, Aplysia depilans, Patella spp., and Stramonita haemostoma. Differences in toxin contents among the species were found. Even though low concentrations were detected, the levels of toxins that were present, especially in edible species, indicate the importance of these types of studies. Routine monitoring should be extended to comprise a wider number of vectors other than for bivalves of okadaic acid and its analogues.

Unbalanced R-loops and micronuclei induced by DNA topoisomerase I poisons in cancer cells

Topoisomerase I (Top1) poisons are among the most clinically-effective drugs used for colon, ovary and lung cancers. Unpublished data from our lab have recently revealed that the structurally-unrelated Top1 poisons, Camptothecin (CPT) and Indimitecan (LMP776), induce the formation of micronuclei (MNi) in human cancer cells. In addition, MNi trigger an innate immune gene response by stimulating the cGAS/STING pathway. As the mechanisms of MNi formation are not fully determined, our aim is here to establish how MNi form after Top1 poisoning. Using immunofluorescence assays and EdU labelling of nascent DNAs, our results show that, after 24 hours of recovery, a short treatment with sub-cytotoxic doses of Top1 poisons induces the formation of MNi that do not contain newly synthetized (EdU+) DNA. We also saw that Top1 poisons delay replication machinery reducing EdU incorporation and produce significant levels of the damage markers γH2AX and p53BP1 in S-phase cells but not in G1 and G2/M cells. The results also show that MNi formation is dependent on R-loops, as RNaseH1 overexpression markedly reduces Top1 induced MNi. Genome-wide mapping of R-loops by DRIP-seq technique revealed that R-loop levels are both decreased and increased by CPT. In particular, increased R-loops are mainly found at active genes and always overlapped with Top1cc sites. We also found that increased R-loops overlap with lamina-associated chromatin domains while decreased R-loops correlate with replication origin sites. Overall, our data are consistent with the formation of MNi due to R-loop increase and under-replication at specific regions caused by Top1 poisons. These results will eventually help in developing new strategies for effective personalized interventions by using Top1-targeted compounds as immuno-modulators in cancer patients.

Concepts and methods for efficient decentralized learning in federated settings

Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) have revolutionized a wide range of applications beyond traditional machine learning and artificial intelligence fields, e.g., computer vision, healthcare, natural language processing and others. At the same time, edge devices have become central in our society, generating an unprecedented amount of data which could be used to train data-hungry models such as DNNs. However, the potentially sensitive or confidential nature of gathered data poses privacy concerns when storing and processing them in centralized locations. To this purpose, decentralized learning decouples model training from the need of directly accessing raw data, by alternating on-device training and periodic communications. The ability of distilling knowledge from decentralized data, however, comes at the cost of facing more challenging learning settings, such as coping with heterogeneous hardware and network connectivity, statistical diversity of data, and ensuring verifiable privacy guarantees. This Thesis proposes an extensive overview of decentralized learning literature, including a novel taxonomy and a detailed description of the most relevant system-level contributions in the related literature for privacy, communication efficiency, data and system heterogeneity, and poisoning defense. Next, this Thesis presents the design of an original solution to tackle communication efficiency and system heterogeneity, and empirically evaluates it on federated settings. For communication efficiency, an original method, specifically designed for Convolutional Neural Networks, is also described and evaluated against the state-of-the-art. Furthermore, this Thesis provides an in-depth review of recently proposed methods to tackle the performance degradation introduced by data heterogeneity, followed by empirical evaluations on challenging data distributions, highlighting strengths and possible weaknesses of the considered solutions. Finally, this Thesis presents a novel perspective on the usage of Knowledge Distillation as a mean for optimizing decentralized learning systems in settings characterized by data heterogeneity or system heterogeneity. Our vision on relevant future research directions close the manuscript.