Eating catch of the day: the diet of porbeagle shark Lamna nasus (Bonnaterre 1788) based on stomach content analysis,and the interaction with trawl fisheries in the south-western Atlantic (52° S–56° S)

This work examined the diet of the porbeagle shark Lamna nasus in the south-west Atlantic Ocean (SWAO, Argentina, 52° S–56° S) by analysing the stomach content information obtained by scientific observers who sampled specimens captured as by-catch on-board commercial fishing vessels from 2010 to 2020. A total of 148 fishing sites were analysed, in which the estimated catch was composed mainly of hoki Macruronus magellanicus (56.00%) and southern blue whiting Micromesistius australis (33.13%). From 413 porbeagle sharks sampled (292 females and 121 males) ranging from 71 to 241 cm total length (L_T) (mean: 179.76 ± 26.74 cm), 310 (75.06%) contained food in the stomachs. The forage fish were mainly hoki M. magellanicus (23.53%) and southern blue whiting M. australis (19.05%), followed by the Patagonian sprat Sprattus fuegensis (4.48%) and nototheniids (1.4%). Cephalopods and crustaceans accounted for 10% of the diet. The estimated trophic level was 4.35. Generalized linear models revealed that the consumption of hoki M. magellanicus and southern blue whiting M. australis increased with the L_T of the porbeagle shark. Moreover, smaller porbeagle sharks preyed upon both small and large teleost fish, whereas larger porbeagle sharks predated exclusively upon large fish. The diet of porbeagle shark involved interactions with fisheries as it fed upon the fish species that constituted the main catch in the analysed fishing sites, as well as the main catches of the austral trawl fisheries. The ecological role of porbeagle shark observed in the SWAO exposed implications for fisheries management from a multispecies perspective.     

Can HRV Biofeedback Improve Short-Term Effort Recovery? Implications for Intermittent Load Sports

Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback - As intensity and physical demands continue to rise in sport competition, faster and better recovery becomes essential. The aim of this study was to assess...     

Evaluation of Interactions Between Carboxymethylcellulose and Soy Protein Isolate and their Effects on the Preparation and Characterization of Composite Edible Films

Food Biophysics - Interactions between carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and soy protein isolate (SPI) were assessed to determine their effects on the physicochemical and morphological properties of...     

Lactobacillus rhamnosus CGMCC 1.3724 (LPR) Improves Skin Wound Healing and Reduces Scar Formation in Mice

Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins - Skin wounds are an important clinical problem which affects millions of people worldwide. The search for new therapeutic approaches to improve wound healing...     

A mathematical model for zoonotic transmission of malaria in the Atlantic Forest: Exploring the effects of variations in vector abundance and acrodendrophily

Transmission foci of autochthonous malaria caused by Plasmodium vivax-like parasites have frequently been reported in the Atlantic Forest in Southeastern and Southern Brazil. Evidence suggests that malaria is a zoonosis in these areas as human infections by simian Plasmodium species have been detected, and the main vector of malaria in the Atlantic Forest, Anopheles (Kerteszia) cruzii, can blood feed on human and simian hosts. In view of the lack of models that seek to predict the dynamics of zoonotic transmission in this part of the Atlantic Forest, the present study proposes a new deterministic mathematical model that includes a transmission compartment for non-human primates and parameters that take into account vector displacement between the upper and lower forest strata. The effects of variations in the abundance and acrodendrophily of An. cruzii on the prevalence of infected humans in the study area and the basic reproduction number (R₀) for malaria were analyzed. The model parameters are based on the literature and fitting of the empirical data. Simulations performed with the model indicate that (1) an increase in the abundance of the vector in relation to the total number of blood-seeking mosquitoes leads to an asymptotic increase in both the proportion of infected individuals at steady state and R₀; (2) the proportion of infected humans at steady state is higher when displacement of the vector mosquito between the forest strata increases; and (3) in most scenarios, Plasmodium transmission cannot be sustained only between mosquitoes and humans, which implies that non-human primates play an important role in maintaining the transmission cycle. The proposed model contributes to a better understanding of the dynamics of malaria transmission in the Atlantic Forest.     

Milk fat globule-EGF factor VIII in sepsis and ischemia-reperfusion injury

Sepsis and ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury are among the leading causes of death in critically ill patients at the surgical intensive care unit setting. Both conditions are marked by the excessive inflammatory response which leads to a lethal disease complex such as acute lung injury, systemic inflammatory response syndrome and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Despite the advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology of those conditions, very little progress has been made toward therapeutic interventions. One of the key aspects of these conditions is the accumulation of apoptotic cells that have the potential to release toxic and proinflammatory contents due to secondary necrosis without appropriate clearance by phagocytes. Along with the prevention of apoptosis, that is reported to be beneficial in sepsis and I/R injury, thwarting the development of secondary necrosis through the active removal of apoptotic cells via phagocytosis may offer a novel therapy. Milk fat globule-EGF factor VIII (MFG-E8), which is mainly produced by macrophages and dendritic cells, is an opsonin for apoptotic cells and acts as a bridging protein between apoptotic cells and phagocytes. Recently, we have shown that MFG-E8 expression is decreased in experimental sepsis and I/R injury models. Exogenous administration of MFG-E8 attenuated the inflammatory response as well as tissue injury and mortality through the promotion of phagocytosis of apoptotic cells. In this review, we describe novel information available about the involvement of MFG-E8 in the pathophysiology of sepsis and I/R injury, and the therapeutic potential of exogenous MFG-E8 treatment for those conditions.     

Subthalamic local field beta oscillations during ongoing deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease in hyperacute and chronic phases

In the past years, local field potential (LFP) signals recorded from the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in patients undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease (PD) disclosed that DBS has a controversial effect on STN beta oscillations recorded 2-7 days after surgery for macroelectrode implantation. Nothing is known about these DBS-induced oscillatory changes 30 days after surgery. We recorded STN LFPs during ongoing DBS in 7 patients with PD, immediately (hyperacute phase) and 30 days (chronic phase) after surgery. STN LFP recordings showed stationary intranuclear STN beta LFP activity in hyperacute and chronic phases, confirming that beta peaks were also present in chronic recordings. Power spectra of nuclei with significant beta activity (54% of the sample) showed that it decreased significantly during DBS (p=0.021) under both recording conditions. The time course of beta activity showed more evident DBS-induced changes in the chronic than in the hyperacute phase (p=0.014). DBS-induced changes in STN beta LFPs in patients undergoing DBS in chronic phase provide useful information for developing a new neurosignal-controlled adaptive DBS system.