Seawater carbonate chemistry and Strongylocentrotus purpuratus body length and gene expression pattern changes during experiments, 2011

Extensive use of fossil fuels is leading to increasing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere and causes changes in the carbonate chemistry of the oceans which represents a major sink for anthropogenic CO2. As a result, the oceans' surface pH is expected to decrease by ca. 0.4 units by the year 2100, a major change with potentially negative consequences for some marine species. Because of their carbonate skeleton, sea urchins and their larval stages are regarded as likely to be one of the more sensitive taxa. In order to investigate sensitivity of pre-feeding (2 days post-fertilization) and feeding (4 and 7 days post-fertilization) pluteus larvae, we raised Strongylocentrotus purpuratus embryos in control (pH 8.1 and pCO2 41 Pa e.g. 399 µatm) and CO2 acidified seawater with pH of 7.7 (pCO2 134 Pa e.g. 1318 µatm) and investigated growth, calcification and survival. At three time points (day 2, day 4 and day 7 post-fertilization), we measured the expression of 26 representative genes important for metabolism, calcification and ion regulation using RT-qPCR. After one week of development, we observed a significant difference in growth. Maximum differences in size were detected at day 4 (ca. 10 % reduction in body length). A comparison of gene expression patterns using PCA and ANOSIM clearly distinguished between the different age groups (Two way ANOSIM: Global R = 1) while acidification effects were less pronounced (Global R = 0.518). Significant differences in gene expression patterns (ANOSIM R = 0.938, SIMPER: 4.3% difference) were also detected at day 4 leading to the hypothesis that differences between CO2 treatments could reflect patterns of expression seen in control experiments of a younger larva and thus a developmental artifact rather than a direct CO2 effect. We found an up regulation of metabolic genes (between 10 to 20% in ATP-synthase, citrate synthase, pyruvate kinase and thiolase at day 4) and down regulation of calcification related genes (between 23 and 36% in msp130, SM30B, SM50 at day 4). Ion regulation was mainly impacted by up regulation of Na+/K+-ATPase at day 4 (15%) and down regulation of NHE3 at day 4 (45%). We conclude that in studies in which a stressor induces an alteration in the speed of development, it is crucial to employ experimental designs with a high time resolution in order to correct for developmental artifacts. This helps prevent misinterpretation of stressor effects on organism physiology.

Tab. 1. Listing of BGR seismic refraction results off West Spitsbergen

Three main depositional sequences have been determined in the seismic records taken off West Spitsbergen (1) a Plio-Pleistocene sequence SPI-I with velocities of 1.7 to 2.8 km/sec; (2) a Pliocene allochthonous sequence SPI-II with velocities of 2.4 to 2.8 km/sec underlying unconformity U1; (3) a pre-Middle Oligocene sequence SPI-III with velocities of 2.9 to 4.8 km/sec underlying a distinct unconformity (U2) and deposited in front of the downfaulted Spitsbergen Platform indicating some opening of the Greenland Sea already before tbe time of magnetic anomaly 13 (36 m.y.b.p.). A marked change in the seismic configuration of the oceanic basement has been observed about 30 to 40 km east of the central Knipovich graben. The transition from the oceanic crust of the Knipovich Ridge to the strongly faulted, continental substratum of the Spitsbergen Platform occurs over a narrow zone and is associated with a pre-Middle Oligocene depocenter.

The Psychometric Properties of the Developmental Reading Assessment

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the technical adequacy of the Developmental Reading Assessment (Beaver & Carter, 2004). Internal consistency analysis, factor analysis, and linear regression analyses were used to test whether the DRA is a statistically reliable measuring of reading comprehension for Grades 7 and 8 students. Correlational analyses, decision consistency analyses, and a focus group of experienced Intermediate (Grades 7 and 8) teachers examined whether there is evidence that the results from the DRA provide valid interpretations regarding students’ reading skills and comprehension. Results indicated that, as currently scored, internal consistency is low and skewness of distribution is high. Factor analyses did not replicate those cited by the DRA developers to prove construct validity. Two-way contingency analyses determined that decision consistency did not vary greatly between the DRA, EQAO, scores and report card marks. Views expressed during the focus group echoed many of the challenges to validity found in the statistical analysis. The teachers found that the DRA was somewhat useful, as there were limited alternative reading assessments available for the classroom, but did not endorse it strongly. The study found little evidence that the DRA provides valid interpretations regarding Intermediate students’ reading skills. Indicated changes to the structure and administration procedures of the DRA may ameliorate some of these issues.

Benefits and resource implications of family meetings for hospitalized palliative care patients: research protocol.

BACKGROUND:
Palliative care focuses on supporting patients diagnosed with advanced, incurable disease; it is 'family centered', with the patient and their family (the unit of care) being core to all its endeavours. However, approximately 30-50% of carers experience psychological distress which is typically under recognised and consequently not addressed. Family meetings (FM) are recommended as a means whereby health professionals, together with family carers and patients discuss psychosocial issues and plan care; however there is minimal empirical research to determine the net effect of these meetings and the resources required to implement them systematically. The aims of this study were to evaluate: (1) if family carers of hospitalised patients with advanced disease (referred to a specialist palliative care in-patient setting or palliative care consultancy service) who receive a FM report significantly lower psychological distress (primary outcome), fewer unmet needs, increased quality of life and feel more prepared for the caregiving role; (2) if patients who receive the FM experience appropriate quality of end-of-life care, as demonstrated by fewer hospital admissions, fewer emergency department presentations, fewer intensive care unit hours, less chemotherapy treatment (in last 30 days of life), and higher likelihood of death in the place of their choice and access to supportive care services; (3) the optimal time point to deliver FM and; (4) to determine the cost-benefit and resource implications of implementing FM meetings into routine practice.
METHODS:
Cluster type trial design with two way randomization for aims 1-3 and health economic modeling and qualitative interviews with health for professionals for aim 4.
DISCUSSION:
The research will determine whether FMs have positive practical and psychological impacts on the family, impacts on health service usage, and financial benefits to the health care sector. This study will also provide clear guidance on appropriate timing in the disease/care trajectory to provide a family meeting.

Sistema de información para el seguimiento de la actividad y evolución de personas residentes en centros de atención personalizada

[ES] CronCare es una plataforma que establece una nueva vía bidireccional de comunicación entre los Centros de Atención Especializada y los familiares de sus residentes a través del uso de la tecnología. Conscientes de la importancia de la implicación de la familia en la realidad de los centros, esta herramienta se ha diseñado para ser un canal seguro, ágil y eficiente. La familia de cada residente recibe en su smartphone notificaciones en tiempo real de los eventos y las anotaciones que tienen lugar en el centro. El equipo de cuidadores dispondrá de una app para tabletas Android (también compatible con teléfonos) con la que podrá tomar los registros que alimentan al sistema y notificar a los familiares.

Amplificador de RF Doherty assimétrico de 2-vias

Os atuais esquemas de modulação e acesso ao meio, tais como o Wide- Band Code-Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) ou Orthogonal Frequency- Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), que são otimizados para a gestão eficiente do espetro electromagnético e elevada taxa de transmissão, originam sinais de elevado Peak-to-Average Power Ratio (PAPR) e requisitos de linearidade rigorosos. As arquiteturas de amplificação tradicionais, i.e. baseadas no operação em modo de corrente do dispositivo ativo, são incapazes de satisfazer estes requisitos em simultâneo. Assim, o amplificador de potência (do inglês, Power Ampli_er (PA)) incorre numa degradação significativa de rendimento energético em favor de maior linearidade, aumentando simultaneamente os custos de operação das estacões base para os operadores de telecomunicações móveis e o impacte ambiental. Este trabalho foca-se no estudo da arquitetura Doherty, a principal solução encontrada para melhorar o compromisso linearidade/rendimento para aplicações em estações-base de comunicações móveis. Para tal, são expostos os princípios básicos de amplificadores de rádio frequência assim como a análise teórica do tradicional PA Doherty (do inglês, Doherty Power Amplifier (DhPA)) de duas vias e suas variantes. O estudo _e complementado com o projeto e implementação de um PA excitador, em classe-AB, e de um DhPA de elevada potência, colocando-se em prática a teoria e técnicas de projeto estudadas ao longo deste trabalho, aliadas aos desafios da implementação com dispositivos reais de elevada potência.

Selection for muscle fat content and triploidy affect flesh quality in pan-size rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

A lean muscle line (L) and a fat muscle line (F) of rainbow trout were established (Quillet et al., 2005) by a two-way selection for muscle lipid content performed on pan-size rainbow trout using a non-destructive measurement of muscle lipid content (Distell Fish Fat Meter®). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the consequences of this selective breeding on flesh quality of pan size (290 g) diploid and triploid trout after three generations of selection. Instrumental evaluations of fillet color and pH measurement were performed at slaughter. Flesh color, pH, dry matter content and mechanical resistance were measured at 48 h and 96 h postmortem on raw and cooked flesh, respectively. A sensorial profile analysis was performed on cooked fillets. Fillets from the selected fatty muscle line (F) had a higher dry matter content and were more colorful for both raw and cooked fillets. Mechanical evaluation indicated a tendency of raw flesh from F fish to be less firm, but this was not confirmed after cooking, neither instrumentally or by sensory analysis. The sensory analysis revealed higher fat loss, higher intensity of flavor of cooked potato, higher exudation, higher moisture content and a more fatty film left on the tongue for flesh from F fish. Triploid fish had mechanically softer raw and cooked fillets, but the difference was not perceived by the sensorial panel. The sensorial evaluation also revealed a lower global intensity of odor, more exudation and a higher moisture content in the fillets from triploid fish. These differences in quality parameters among groups of fish were associated with larger white muscle fibers in F fish and in triploid fish. The data provide additional information about the relationship between muscle fat content, muscle cellularity and flesh quality.

Efeitos da tilápia do Nilo (Oreochromis niloticus) e do enriquecimento por nutrientes sobre a comunidade planctônica em um lago artificial no semi-árido brasileiro

The major aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the introduction of the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and the enrichment with nutrients (N and P) interact synergistically to change the structure of plankton communities, increase phytoplankton biomass and decrease water transparency of a semi-arid tropical reservoir. One field experiment was performed during five weeks in twenty enclosures (8m3) to where four treatments were randomly allocated: with tilapia addition (T), with nutrients addition (NP), with tilapia and nutrients addition (T+NP) and a control treatment with no tilapia or nutrients addition (C). A two-way repeated measures ANOVA was done to test for time (t), tilapia (T) and nutrient (NP) effects and their interaction on water transparency, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, phytoplankton and zooplankton. The results show that there was no effect of nutrient addition on these variables but significant fish effects on the biomass of total zooplankton, nauplii, rotifers, cladocerans and calanoid copepods, on the biovolume of Bacillariophyta, Zygnemaphyceae and large algae (GALD ≥ 50 μm) and on Secchi depth. In addition, we found significant interaction effects between tilapia and nutrients on Secchi depth and rotifers. Overall, tilapia decreased the biomass of most zooplankton taxa and large algae (diatoms) and decreased the water transparency while nutrient enrichment increased the biomass of zooplankton (rotifers) but only in the absence of tilapia. In conclusion, the influence of fish on the reservoir plankton community and water transparency was greater than that of nutrient loading. This finding suggests that biomanipulation should be a greater priority in the restoration of eutrophic reservoirs in tropical semi-arid regions

Unia Europejska i jej granice. W poszukiwaniu modelu integracji na europejskich peryferiach

Research into borders and frontiers in the context of European integration has evolved, leading to the question of the shape of the external borders of the EU and their organization in relation to the external surroundings. The approach to how the unification processes of the continent are presented has recently changed, and the Union is being perceived through its peripheries. The one-way model of the flow of ideas from the center to the peripheries has been replaced by a two-way one. This allows us to use the Westfalen, imperial and neo-medieval geopolitical model to analyze the EU and, consequently, the four geo-strategies that are regionally diversified in the northern, eastern and southern peripheries of the Union. Nevertheless, it is the periphery that plays the key role and initiates certain types of relations with neighbors, whereas the center approves of them and modifies them, according to its own requirements.

Odour flux from litter of broiler chickens fed diets differing in protein levels and additives

The effect of dietary crude protein (CP) and additives on odour flux from broiler litter was investigated using 180 day-old Ross 308 male chicks randomly allocated to five dietary treatments with three replications of 12 birds each. A 5×3 factorial arrangement of treatments was employed. Factors were: diet (low CP, high CP, high CP+antibiotic, high CP+probiotic, high CP+saponin) and age (15, 29, 35 days). Low CP (LCP) and high CP (HCP) diets differed in CP levels by 4.5-5%. The low CP diets were supplemented with L-valine, L-isoleucine, L-arginine, L-lysine, D,L-methionine and L-threonine. The antibiotic used was Zn Bacitracin, the probiotic was a blend of three Bacillus subtilis strains and the saponin came from a blend of Yucca and Quillaja. Odorants were measured from litter headspace using a flux hood and selective ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS). Results were log tranformed and analysed by two-way ANOVA with repeated measures using JMP statistical software v.8, and means were separated by Tukey's HSD test at P<0.05.The results showed that LCP group produced lower flux of dimethyl amine, trimethyl amine, H2S, NH3 and phenol in litter compared to HCP group (P<0.05). Similarly, HCP+probiotic group produced lower flux of H2S (P<0.05) and HCP+saponin group produced lower flux of trimethylamine and phenol in litter compared to HCP group (P<0.05). The dietary treatments tended (P=0.065) to have higher flux of methanethiol in HCP group compared to others. There was a diet x age interaction for litter flux of diacetyl, acetoin, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 3-methylbutanal, ethanethiol, propionic acid and hexane (P<0.05). Concentrations of diacetyl, acetoin, propionic acid and hexane in litter were higher from LCP group compared to all other treatments on d 35 (P<0.05) but not on days 15 and 29. Thus, the low CP diet, Bacillus subtilis based probiotic and Yucca/Quillaja based saponin were effective in reducing the emissions of some key odorants from broiler litter.

O impacto das telenovelas brasileiras nos luandenses

Vivemos uma era em que os distintos pontos geográficos do globo se tornaram mais próximos em virtude do estreitamento proporcionado pelo profundo avanço tecnológico dos meios de transporte, mas também pela evolução vertiginosa das novas tecnologias de comunicação que têm permitido fazer com que eventos ocorridos numa determinada região do planeta sejam vistos num outro ponto geográfico, com diferença de apenas algumas horas ou mesmo em tempo real. Graças a esse avanço tecnológico e ao consequente desenvolvimento do processo comercial de transmissão e receção de sinal de televisão por satélite e/ou por cabo, a par do veloz fluxo de informação, são também disponibilizados aos recetores conteúdos de entretenimento que refletem práticas culturais com características marcadamente identitárias, de outras sociedades. Considerando que determinadas condicionantes históricas e económicas do mundo não possibilitam um fluxo bidirecional dos referidos produtos televisivos e o facto de as empresas prestadoras destes serviços se dedicarem exclusivamente à venda de produtos, cujos conteúdos retratam práticas culturais de determinados países (em melhores condições de desenvolvimento económico e tecnológico) existe a possibilidade de se estar diante de um processo de difusão cultural e de aculturação de que são alvo os cidadãos dos países recetores dos referidos conteúdos. Este trabalho pretende efetuar uma análise do impacto das telenovelas brasileiras no comportamento dos luandenses, baseando-se numa pesquisa desenvolvida nos sete municípios da Província de Luanda. Os resultados da pesquisa revelam a presença de componentes culturais brasileiras em práticas sociais dos luandenses há várias gerações e mostram o papel transformador que as telenovelas brasileiras continuam a desempenhar nesta sociedade. A ausência nos canais de televisão locais de mensagens e imagens das representações endógenas favorece a apropriação de práticas culturais exógenas emitidas pelas produções brasileiras e a sua ressignificação no quotidiano local.

Energy Cooperation in Energy Harvesting Communication Systems

In energy harvesting communications, users transmit messages using energy harvested from nature. In such systems, transmission policies of the users need to be carefully designed according to the energy arrival profiles. When the energy management policies are optimized, the resulting performance of the system depends only on the energy arrival profiles. In this dissertation, we introduce and analyze the notion of energy cooperation in energy harvesting communications where users can share a portion of their harvested energy with the other users via wireless energy transfer. This energy cooperation enables us to control and optimize the energy arrivals at users to the extent possible. In the classical setting of cooperation, users help each other in the transmission of their data by exploiting the broadcast nature of wireless communications and the resulting overheard information. In contrast to the usual notion of cooperation, which is at the signal level, energy cooperation we introduce here is at the battery energy level. In a multi-user setting, energy may be abundant in one user in which case the loss incurred by transferring it to another user may be less than the gain it yields for the other user. It is this cooperation that we explore in this dissertation for several multi-user scenarios, where energy can be transferred from one user to another through a separate wireless energy transfer unit. We first consider the offline optimal energy management problem for several basic multi-user network structures with energy harvesting transmitters and one-way wireless energy transfer. In energy harvesting transmitters, energy arrivals in time impose energy causality constraints on the transmission policies of the users. In the presence of wireless energy transfer, energy causality constraints take a new form: energy can flow in time from the past to the future for each user, and from one user to the other at each time. This requires a careful joint management of energy flow in two separate dimensions, and different management policies are required depending on how users share the common wireless medium and interact over it. In this context, we analyze several basic multi-user energy harvesting network structures with wireless energy transfer. To capture the main trade-offs and insights that arise due to wireless energy transfer, we focus our attention on simple two- and three-user communication systems, such as the relay channel, multiple access channel and the two-way channel. Next, we focus on the delay minimization problem for networks. We consider a general network topology of energy harvesting and energy cooperating nodes. Each node harvests energy from nature and all nodes may share a portion of their harvested energies with neighboring nodes through energy cooperation. We consider the joint data routing and capacity assignment problem for this setting under fixed data and energy routing topologies. We determine the joint routing of energy and data in a general multi-user scenario with data and energy transfer. Next, we consider the cooperative energy harvesting diamond channel, where the source and two relays harvest energy from nature and the physical layer is modeled as a concatenation of a broadcast and a multiple access channel. Since the broadcast channel is degraded, one of the relays has the message of the other relay. Therefore, the multiple access channel is an extended multiple access channel with common data. We determine the optimum power and rate allocation policies of the users in order to maximize the end-to-end throughput of this system. Finally, we consider the two-user cooperative multiple access channel with energy harvesting users. The users cooperate at the physical layer (data cooperation) by establishing common messages through overheard signals and then cooperatively sending them. For this channel model, we investigate the effect of intermittent data arrivals to the users. We find the optimal offline transmit power and rate allocation policy that maximize the departure region. When the users can further cooperate at the battery level (energy cooperation), we find the jointly optimal offline transmit power and rate allocation policy together with the energy transfer policy that maximize the departure region.