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In territorial raptors, breeding performance and foraging behaviour are affected by territory characteristics as the abundance and availability of different prey species varies between habitats. In this study, we examined the diet of two White-tailed Eagle pairs, occupying neighbouring territories in two adjacent inland lakes in Northern Greece. We assess the diet composition of the species in the southernmost part of its European range and evaluate any intraspecific differences in the diet that may reflect resource and/or niche partitioning between territories. We found that birds and specifically waterbirds comprise the largest and quantitatively most important part of the White-tailed Eagle´s diet, with fish being the second most important prey group that was only found in the nest remains from one territory. There was high diet overlap between the two territories and when considering only avian prey our results suggest that the species predates on heavier (and the most common) waterbird species. A main factor that could be driving differences in the abundance and availability of different prey species between territories could be lake physiography, as our results point to a segregation and a subsequent resource partitioning between territories, with each pair utilizing an adjacent lake and its associated habitats. Competition and territoriality therefore seem to be important intraspecific interactions that along with prey availability could promote changes in territory size and ultimately affect individual fitness.

Using a random block design and four replications with six treatments consisting on regrowth ages (30, 45, 60, 75, 90 and 105 days), their biomass production, dry matter, chemical composition and In situ ruminal degradation kinetics of Morus alba, was evaluated in la María, Los Ríos, Ecuador. It was sampled in plots of 1,200 m2, in which a uniformity cut was applied at 0.5 m high over the soil level, without using irrigation or fertilization. Edible biomass, DMY, DM, CP, NDF, ADF and OM were determined, as well as In situ ruminal degradation kinetics (DM, NDF and OM). There were increases of dry matter and edible biomass production of 1.77 and 0.45 t/ha-1, respectively, as well as 7.5, 11.21 and 18.28 percent units for DM, NDF and ADF, while there was a decrease for CP and OM of 4.99 and 8.44 percent units, respectively up to 105 days. For degradation kinetics of dry matter, the best results were obtained at 30 days with 81.24%, 7.08%, 0.41%/h, 88.32%, 66.06%, 63.78%, and 61.5 1% for soluble fraction (a), potentially degradable (b), degradation rate (c), potential degradability (a+b) and effective degradability at ruminal passage rate of 2, 5 and 8%, respectively. This same performance was maintained for OM and NDF. It can be concluded that regression equations were established, which explain the close relation among age, edible biomass production and dry matter. Dry matter and crude protein values were lower than those reported for this species in the international literature for production systems in tropical areas. These differences could be attributed to the zero use of irrigation and fertilization during the research. It is important to highlight that soluble fraction, potential and effective degradation of DM, OM and NDF were maintained with values superior to 50%. Further studies are suggested in other periods of the year, cut height, phytochemical composition, intake tests and animal response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on a new hybrid heterojunction gas-sensitive device by combining a molecular material with a metal oxide. WO3 was synthesised via an aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition technique from a tungsten hexacarbonyl precursor. Onto an inorganic film, LuPc2 was vacuum evaporated. The morphology of the WO3–LuPc2 hybrid films is dominated by the morphological features of the tungsten oxide film, as shown by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Raman spectroscopy of the device confirms the presence of both materials. The non-linear I–V characteristics demonstrate the existence of an energy barrier at the interface between the inorganic and molecular materials. The interfacial phenomenon was confirmed by means of impedance spectroscopy. Finally, the positive response to ammonia confirms the n-type nature of the charge carriers responsible for the transport properties through the device, in accordance with the n-type conductivity of WO3. This response is fully reversible whatever the relative humidity value in the range 10–70% rh. Even though the current is shifted when the relative humidity decreases, ammonia sensitivity remains almost unchanged (2.5 nA ppm−1) for rh ranging from 30 to 50%. It is worth noting that the present device operates at room temperature with excellent reversibility and stability, showing the lowest limit of detection for ammonia ever reported for this device architecture (250 ppb). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) is the cause of neoplastic and degenerative disorders and immunosuppression in domestic cats. FeLV has never been reported in Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris). Necropsy findings of a white Bengal tigress were a subcutaneous mass of 10 cm in diameter in the right rear limb which was classified as fibrosarcoma. In agreement with macroscopic and microscopic lesions, the morphologic diagnosis was consistent with a multisystemic disease characterized by fibrinonecrotic and suppurative broncopneumonia with multifocal severe bronchiectasis, severe icteric hepatomegaly and renal amyloidosis with membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. Furthermore, a serum sample was positive to FeLV when diagnosed by ELISA. This report concluded that FeLV was associated with the pathological findings and death of the tigress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia are both comorbidities potentially occurring in patients with heart failure (HF) and in patients undergoing heart transplantation (HT), that could increase morbility and mortality. Intravenous administration of ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) is related with hypophosphatemia (HPP). However, adverse effects in solid organ transplant population have been scarcely studied. Here we assessed the incidence of HPP in HT patients. Secondary outcome compares the PPH rate between these patients and those with HF after FCM. This is a single-center, retrospective study conducted in a tertiary care center. All patients with HF or HT who received FCM between Sept'2015 and Sept'2017 were included. Demographics, pathology under study and comorbidities and immunosuppressants were collected from medical records. Blood and biochemical parameters: hemoglobin, sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphate, creatinine, ferritin, transferrin saturation, hepatic enzymes and albumin were gathered from laboratory tests taken before and after FCM administration. HPP was established as a blood phosphate concentration < 0.85 mmol/L. Quantitative variables are presented as median and interquartile range, qualitative variables as n (%). Differences between groups were determined using the Chi-square test for qualitative variables and the Student's t-test for quantitative variables. During this period 223 patients received FCM (17.5% HT). Among the 39 HT patients, 10 (25.64%) developed HPP, in contrast to the HF group, where HPP was found in 9 out of 184 patients (4.89%) (p= 0.0002). After FCM, phosphate was significantly lower in HT group than in HF group (0.58mmol/L [0.45-0.69] and 0.74mmol/L [0.68-0.80]) respectively, p=0.014). 3 patients with HT patients required exogenous phosphate treatment: 1 orally and 2 intravenously, either because of symptoms or because of phosphate concentration < 0.5 mmol/L. Despite our low sample, incidence of HPP after FCM was higher in patients undergoing HT than in patients with HF. In addition, this HPP tended to be more severe in the HT group. Because both FCM and immunosuppressants may cause HPP as a common side effect, the combination of both drugs may synergize. Further research is needed to determine variables that influence serum phosphate depletion after FCM administration in HT patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let ν be a countably additive vector measure defined on the Borel subsets [InlineEquation not available: see fulltext.] of a compact Hausdorff abelian group G. In this paper we define and study a vector valued Fourier transform and a vector valued convolution for functions which are (weakly) integrable with respect to ν. A form of the Riemann Lebesgue Lemma and a Uniqueness Theorem are established in this context. In order to study the vector valued convolution we discuss the invariance under reflection in G of these spaces of integrable functions. Finally we present a Young's type inequality in this setting and several relevant examples, namely related with the vector measure associated to different important classical operators coming from Harmonic Analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Primary brain cell cultures are a useful tool for understanding the physiopathology of epilepsy and for searching new potential antiepileptic drugs. These cell types are usually prepared from murine species and few human models have been described. The main goal of this study is the establishment of experimental conditions to isolate and culture neurons and astrocytes from human brain and to test its functionality. The tissues came from antiepileptic drug-resistant epileptic patients undergoing surgery. Human neurons and astrocytes were isolated following an enzymatic and mechanical dissociation protocol. Cultures were viable for 3–6 weeks. Cytological characterization was performed by immunocytochemistry using specific antibodies against both neuron (anti-NeuN) and astrocyte (anti-GFAP) protein markers. In order to test their viability and functionality, cells were loaded with the fluorescent calcium probe fura-2 and variations in cytosolic calcium concentrations ([Ca2+]c) were measured by cell imaging. [Ca2+]c increases were evoked upon cell stimulation with high K+ (KCl 75mM), glutamate (500μM) or bicuculline (100μM). Interestingly, spontaneous [Ca2+]c transients were also observed in some neuron-like cells. A novel unreported finding in this study has been the incorporation of human serum that was critical for cell functionality. The setting of these human cultures open the opportunity to new insights on culture and calcium signalling studies on the mechanism(s) of cell resistance to antiepileptic drugs, as well as to studies on plasticity, maturation and possible neurite emission for graft studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine 1) primary surrogate decision makers' knowledge of their family members' intensive care and resuscitation status; 2) whether characteristics such as low education level and lack of English language fluency were associated with poor knowledge of intensive care; 3) surrogates' ratings of intensive care unit team communication; and 4) barriers to communication. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Medical intensive care units of a county hospital located in an urban area. SUBJECTS: Primary surrogate decision makers of all adults admitted >48 hrs from August 2005 to April 2006, enrolled sequentially. INTERVENTIONS: Using a structured instrument consisting of visual analog scales, Likert-type questions, and an objective assessment of knowledge of family member's current intensive care, we interviewed primary surrogate decision makers after they had at least one bedside patient visit. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of eligible primary surrogate decision makers, 81 were enrolled; 96% had spoken to hospital staff. On a scale in which 0 indicated the worst possible communication and 10 indicated the best possible communication, primary surrogate decision makers' mean (SD) ratings were 8.6 (2.3) for nurses and 7.8 (2.8) for doctors. Forty-seven percent of primary surrogate decision makers met the predetermined criteria for good understanding with no significant difference between college-educated (44%) and non-college-educated (50%) primary surrogate decision makers; more non-English-speaking primary surrogate decision makers (63%), however, had poor understanding than English speakers (40%) (mean difference in proportions 23%, 95% confidence interval 1% to 46%). Seventy-three percent (95% confidence interval 61-82) of primary surrogate decision makers correctly identified their family members' resuscitation orders (do-not-resuscitate, limited resuscitation, or full code). The primary reasons cited for poor communication/understanding were as follows: not given enough time (21%), explanations too complicated (16%), and too emotionally upset (5%). CONCLUSIONS: Although most primary surrogate decision makers reported good understanding and excellent staff communication, almost half had poor understanding on objective testing; non-English speakers were more likely to have poor understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is shown that Cr–SnO2 violet pigments can be synthesised by heating at 1300 °C precursors obtained by pyrolysis at 600 °C of aerosols generated from aqueous solutions of tin (IV) chloride and chromium (III) nitrate. This method is simpler than the conventional one and permits to control the particle size distribution not requiring grinding. In addition, it is a continuous technique which makes it suitable for industry. The effects of the chromophore (Cr) concentration on the colour properties of the pigments were evaluated. The optimum pigment obtained by this procedure corresponds to a Cr/Sn molar ratio in the 0.04–0.05 range. The colour changes originated as a consequence of the heat treatment of the precursors obtained by pyrolysis of aerosols up to the development of the desired pigments were interpreted in terms of the variations of the oxidation state of the Cr species during calcination. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Different chemical forms of cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn) were determined in agricultural soils cultivated with lettuce and celery. These soils have been irrigated for several decades with nontreated wastewaters. The chemical forms of the metals were characterized by sequential extraction analysis in five steps, the extracting solutions of which contained 200 mg L‐1 nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA). The results showed that Cd, Pb, and Cu exhibited the highest values of extracted metal, and Cr exhibited the lowest value. Almost all of the metals in these soils are bound to iron oxides, followed by the metal complexed to organic matter. The form bound to manganese oxides is equally important to Co. Cadmium is the most mobile metal and its available forms account for 40% of the total extracted. When these metals were determined in plants, both shoots and roots, a greater concentration of Cr, Zn, and Cu was found in celery, and Cu, Ni, and Zn in lettuce, most of the metals being in roots. Only Cd and Co are similarly distributed in shoots and in roots. The relation between the metal contents in plants and the different fractions of the metal in soil was evaluated through linear correlations. Different results were obtained, the forms accounting for the metal in celery are those of the metal bound to iron oxides, while the metal content in lettuce would be related to the exchangeable, bound to manganese oxide, and carbonate forms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The primary objective was to determine proportion of patients discharged with a urinary catheter after undergoing a same-day minimally invasive hysterectomy (MIH) for a benign gynecological condition according to active versus passive discharge voiding protocol. Secondary objectives included assessing post anesthesia care unit (PACU) duration and postoperative urinary retention (PUR) rate ≤2 weeks of discharge. Retrospective observational data-only cohort study. A large integrated healthcare system serving over one-million reproductive-aged women annually. Patients ≥18 years old, undergoing a same-day MIH for benign gynecological conditions without urogynecology procedures 2015-2018, were categorized into active or passive voiding trial groups. An active voiding trial was defined as a patient arriving in PACU with a catheter, retrograde filling the bladder with 300ml, then allowing for voiding ≥50% within 30 minutes. If unable to void this volume, then discharged with a catheter to be removed within 24 hours. A passive voiding trial involved filling or not filling the bladder prior to arriving in PACU without a catheter, then allowing for voiding or performing a straight catheterization in PACU if unable to void. N/A. We found 1644 (83.2%) patients underwent passive voiding trials and 333 (16.8%) active voiding trials. Proportion of patients discharged with a catheter was lower in the passive voiding group than the active voiding group (5.4% versus 10.5%, P=0.001). Passive group had shorter mean PACU time than active group (218±86 versus 240±93 minutes, P<0.001). Crude PUR rates for the passive and active voiding groups were 1.8% and 3.0%, respectively (P=0.16). Within a large integrated healthcare system, passive voiding trials were associated with a smaller proportion of patients discharged with a catheter, shorter PACU duration, and lower PUR rate. This suggests that passive voiding trials can be safely utilized after a benign MIH to reduce hospital duration, optimize healthcare resources, and ultimately improve patient experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The ability to attribute emotional states, beliefs, and intentions to others has been termed Theory of Mind (ToM), mentalizing, and mind reading. The purpose of this study was to find an instrument to measure ToM in the Mexican population, that would yield similar results to those obtained in other cultures, and could discriminate between individuals. To achieve this objective, we replicated a study which compared two measures of ToM in a sample of English-speaking, neurologically intact adults. Methods: A sample of young Mexican adults (n = 118) was evaluated on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) and a test that uses naturalistic narrative stimuli, the Short Story Task (SST), and on tests of general cognitive ability, executive functions, and empathy. Results: We found a significant correlation between the ToM tests, and both tests correlated with verbal ability, general cognitive ability, and empathy, similar to what was seen in a previous study. Both tests discriminated between individuals and were challenging enough that we found no perfect scores. Conclusions: These results show that both the RMET, which taps into emotion recognition and its categorization with language, and the SST, which relies on narrative fiction to test the ability to interpret mental states, show concurrent validity in a sample of neurologically intact young adults from a Latin-American culture; these tests may be useful in the clinical setting and for basic research into ToM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background 17alpha-Estradiol has been considered as the hormonally inactive isomer of 17beta-estradiol. Recently, nongenomic (smooth muscle relaxation) and genomic (light estrogenic activity) effects of 17alpha-estradiol have been reported, but no reports have yet determined its possible antiestrogenic activity. Therefore, this study investigated: the nongenomic action of 17alpha-estradiol on uterine contractile activity and its potential agonist-antagonist activity on uterine growth. Methods Uterine rings from rats were isometrically recorded. Different concentrations (0.2–200 microM) of 17alpha-estradiol were tested on spontaneous contraction and equimolarly compared with 17beta-estradiol. To examine the mechanism of 17alpha-estradiol action, its effect was studied in presence of beta2-antagonist (propranolol), antiestrogens (tamoxifen and ICI 182,780) or inhibitors of protein synthesis (cycloheximide) and transcription (actinomycin D). Moreover, contractions induced by high potassium (KCl) solution or calcium in depolarized tissues by KCl-calcium free solution were exposed to 17alpha-estradiol. Collaterally, we performed an uterotrophic assay in adult ovariectomized rats measuring the uterine wet weight. The administration for three days of 0.3 microM/day/Kg 17beta-estradiol was equimolarly compared with the response produced by 17alpha-estradiol. Antiuterotrophic activity was assayed by administration of 0.3 microM/day/Kg 17beta-estradiol and various doses ratios (1:1, 1:3, 1:5, and 1:100) of 17alpha-estradiol. Results The estradiol isomers elicited an immediate relaxation, concentration-dependent and reversible on spontaneous contraction. 17alpha-Estradiol presented lower potency than 17beta-estradiol although it did not antagonize 17beta-estradiol-induced relaxation. Relaxation to 17alpha-estradiol was not inhibited by propranolol, tamoxifen, ICI 182,780, cycloheximide or actinomycin D. The KCl contractions were also sensitive to 17alpha-estradiol-induced relaxation and calcium contractions in depolarized tissues were markedly prevented by 17alpha-estradiol, implying a reduction of extracellular calcium influx through voltage-operated calcium channels (VOCCs). Uterotrophic assay detected significant increase in uterine weight using 17alpha-estradiol, which was significantly minor as compared with 17beta-estradiol. 17alpha-Estradiol, at all doses ratios, significantly antagonized the hypertrophic response of 17beta-estradiol. Conclusion 17alpha-Estradiol induces a relaxing effect, which may be independent of the classical estrogen receptor, nongenomic action, apparently mediated by inactivation of VOCCs. 17alpha-Estradiol is also a weak estrogen agonist (uterotrophic response); likewise, 17alpha-estradiol may act as an antiestrogen (antiuterotrophic response). The overall data document a nongenomic relaxing action and a novel antiestrogenic action of 17alpha-estradiol, which are relevant in estrogen-mediated uterine physiology.

Abstract: The nutritional composition of the edible seaweeds Durvillaea antarctica (frond and stem) and dried Ulva lactuca was determined, including the soluble (SDF), insoluble (IDF) and total (TDF) dietary fiber content, amino acid and fatty acid profiles along with tocopherols and tocotrienols (pro-vitamin E). Results show that U. lactuca contained 60.5±1.5%, and D. antarctica frond and stem 71.4±1.5% and 56.4±0.4% of TDF, respectively. Levels for the different amino acids ranged from 0.7±0.1 to 1508.4±9.5 (mg/100g protein) in U. lactuca, from 0.2±0.0 to 2019.9±5.2 (mg/100g protein) in D. antarctica (stem), and from 0.3±0.0 to 1052.6±2.9 (mg/100g protein) in D. antarctica (leaves). In the three seaweeds, the most abundant fatty acid was C18:1ω9cis which in U. lactuca accounted for 27.42±2.60%; in D. antarctica it was 25.36±3.10% and 25.83±2.52% in leaves and stem, respectively. In D. antarctica, γ-tocotrienol (651.7±5.1mg/kg), δ-tocopherol (245.9±3.7mg/kg) and α-tocopherol (179.4±12.1mg/kg) were determined in fronds, α-tocopherol (258.0±7.2mg/kg) was determined in stem. U. lactuca, showed a high γ-tocopherol level (963.5±3.8mg/kg). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]