Our aim was to quantify microplastic ingestion by fish assemblages in two tropical Brazilian estuaries and to evaluate whether biological and ecological factors influence the ingestion of ...microplastics by fish species. Of 2233 fish from both estuaries (from 69 species) examined in this study, 9% of the individuals (24 species) had microplastics in their gut contents. Microplastic ingestion occurred irrespective of fish size and functional group. The diet of fish species was analyzed based on prey items identified in the fish's full stomach contents and five feeding guilds were defined. Microplastics were common throughout all feeding guilds. Low (average ingestion values 1.06±0.30 items/total fish) but widespread occurrence among estuaries also indicates proliferation of microplastic pollution. Our findings highlight the need to focus on assemblage level studies to understand the real magnitude of the problem and emphasize the urgency of mitigation measures directed at microplastic pollution in estuarine ecosystems.
•We analyzed microplastic ingestion in 69 fish species collected along two estuaries.•Microplastic ingestion was widespread in fish assemblages in two tropical estuaries.•Microplastic ingestion was independent of fish size and fish functional groups.•Microplastics were observed in fish from five different feeding guilds.•The level of anthropogenic pressures did not influence microplastic ingestion.
Coastal urbanization, plastic pollution and climate change are increasingly affecting marine turtles' nesting habitats. In addition to facing risks of mortality due to saltwater inundation or ...predation, their eggs and hatchlings' might also be affected by plastic debris accumulation on beaches, but no studies to date have analysed such impact. To analyse whether plastic pollution on nests' surfaces affects the embryos' and hatchlings' survival odds, we designed a field experiment in a turtle hatchery on a nesting beach of the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) in Boa Vista Island (Cabo Verde). We applied three treatments with distinct plastic levels (18 nests per treatment): control (no added plastics), low density (64 plastic fragments with 24.5 g of plastic weight per nest) and high density (128 plastic fragments with 49.0 g of plastic weight per nest). Then, we tested 16 variables related to the incubation period, emergence period and hatchlings' fitness. Our results suggest that nests with high plastic density have a significantly lower probability of successful emergence. Moreover, plastics also affected the synchronized emergence of hatchlings, with more scattered and smaller emergent groups, which might increase the predation risk. Considering that turtle nesting habitats are becoming increasingly threatened, this additional threat might compromise the survival of turtle hatchlings on beaches.
Plastic pollution on sea turtle nests' surfaces might decrease the hatchlings' emergence success and affect the synchronous emergence of hatchlings. Considering that turtle nesting habitats are becoming increasingly threatened, this additional threat might compromise the survival of turtle hatchlings on beaches.
Parasitism is increasingly recognized as an important factor that can influence the structure and function of natural communities. The presence of externae of the parasite Sacculina carcini Thompson, ...1836 was investigated in a population of the crab Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus, 1758) from the Mondego estuary, Portugal. A seasonal pattern of the S. carcini externae presence was observed with the highest values recorded in winter and the lowest in summer, ranging from 0.6 to 10%. The parasite seems to affect more females than males and the red morphotype presented higher prevalence than the green one. The size class 25, 35 mm was the one with the highest prevalence. The mouth of the estuary was the area where the most externally sacculinized crabs were caught. Apparently, the presence of the parasite tends to promote crabs migration to the mouth. This area coincides with the preferential spawning local of non-parasitized females. The infection by S. carcini influences the crab's demography and its life history. O parasitismo é cada vez mais reconhecido como um importante factor que pode influenciar a estrutura e funcionamento das comunidades naturais. A presença do externa do parasita Sacculina carcini Thompson, 1836 foi investigada numa população do caranguejo Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus, 1758) do estuário do Mondego, Portugal. Foi observado um padrão sazonal na presença de externas de S. carcini tendo sido registados os valores mais elevados no inverno e os mais baixos no verão, variando entre 0.6 e 10%. O parasita pareceu afetar mais os caranguejos fêmeas do que os machos. O morfotipo vermelho apresentou maior prevalência de externas comparativamente ao verde. A classe de comprimento 25, 35 mm foi a que apresentou prevalência mais elevada. A embocadura do estuário foi a área onde a maioria dos caranguejos externamente parasitados foram capturados. Aparentemente, a presença do parasita tende a promover uma migração dos caranguejos para a embocadura. Esta área coincide com o local preferencial de desova dos caranguejos fêmea não parasitados. A infecção por S. carcini influencia a demografia do caranguejo e a sua história de vida.
Background: As the exact prevalence of oral alterations in children is still not known and the findings are controversial, other studies about this subject are necessary.
Methods: A cross‐sectional ...survey was carried out on 1211 Brazilian children divided in two age groups: 0–4 and 5–12 years. The patients were economically classified and data of medical history were obtained from medical records.
Results: The frequency of children presenting alterations was 27.0%, and it was higher in older children. The most common lesions were geographic tongue, cheek biting, and melanotic macule. Candidiasis was associated with antibiotic therapy and use of pacifiers. Fissured tongue was associated with congenital anomalies, allergy; age from 5 to 12 years. There was a lack of association of patient's economic status and prevalence of oral mucosal alterations.
Conclusions: The frequency of mucosal alterations in children is high and increases with age, and some of them are associated with habits and medical history of the patients.
Background
Cancer survivors (CS) often experience physical, psychological and socioeconomic problems, which may have a negative effect on their quality of life (QoL). Additionally, cancer may also ...have a significant impact on patientś families, particularly their partners (PCS), who are typically the main informal caregiver.
Objective
To estimate the association between a cancer diagnosis and a poor QoL among both members of the couples, according to sociodemographic, health-related and cancer characteristics.
Methods
This cross-sectional study was based on data from the Sixth Wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe - SHARE, conducted in 2015, in 18 countries. All cancer survivors (n = 2,040) who lived with a partner in the same household, as well as PCS (n = 2,040) were selected, and were country-, sex-, age- and education-matched (1:1) to non-cancer individuals (NC) and their partners (PNC), respectively. QoL was assessed using the Control, Autonomy, Self-Realization and Pleasure scale (CASP-12). The association between a cancer diagnosis and a poor QoL among both members of the couple was estimated through odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs).
Results
In nearly one-fifth of couples, both members reported a poor QoL (17.0%); this outcome was more frequently observed among CS than NC (OR = 1.31, 95%CI: 1.10-1.56). A tendency towards stronger odds of poor QoL among both couples' members was observed among CS who lived in urban areas (OR = 1.91, 95%CI: 1.30-2.80), with no multimorbidity (OR = 2.07, 95%CI: 1.14-3.76), as well as among those diagnosed <5 years (OR = 1.65, 95%CI: 1.21-2.24) and with cancers with a usually poor prognosis (OR = 1.82, 95%CI: 1.04-3.18), when compared with respective NC.
Conclusions
A poor QoL among both couples' members was more frequent among couples dealing with cancer than those without cancer, which highlights the importance of closely monitoring CS and their partners, throughout the cancer survivorship course.
Key messages
* Couples dealing with cancer more frequently reported a worse quality of life among both members, when compared with couples without cancer.
* The findings of this study highlights the importance of family-focused care from an early phase after the cancer diagnosis and throughout the cancer survivorship trajectory.
This paper presents a voltage sag compensator, which uses a flywheel energy storage system with superconducting magnetic axial thrust bearing (SMB) and a permanent magnet radial bearing (PMB). The ...SMB was built with Nd-Fe-B magnet and YBCO superconducting blocks, refrigerated with liquid Nitrogen. The magnets are assembled with magnetic flux shapers in order to increase the levitation force and the stiffness. The radial PMB is used to positioning the vertically arranged switched reluctance machine (SRM) used as motor/generator. Simulations of the power electronics and SRM show that the system can work up to 30,000 rpm supplying the required energy during disturbances.
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Purpose: Experimental data have demonstrated a relevant role for IL‐6 in the modulation of acute ocular toxoplasmosis. Therefore, we aim to investigate the possible association between the IL‐6 ...gene polymorphism at position ‐174 and toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis (TR) in humans.
Methods: Ninety‐seven patients with diagnosed TR were recruited from the Uveitis Section, Federal University of Minas Gerais. For comparison, 83 healthy blood donors with positive serology for toxoplasmosis and without retinal signs of previous TR were included in the study. Genomic DNA was obtained from oral swabs of individuals and amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specific primers flanking the locus −174 of IL‐6 (−174G/C). PCR products were submitted to restriction endonuclease digestion and analysed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to distinguish allele G and C of the IL‐6 gene, allowing the detection of the polymorphism and determination of genotypes.
Results: There was a significant difference in the genotype (χ2 = 12.9, p = 0.001) and allele (χ2 = 6.62, p = 0.01) distribution between TR patients and control subjects. In a subgroup analysis, there was no significant difference in genotypes and allele frequencies regarding TR recurrence.
Conclusions: This study suggests that the genotypes related with a lower production of IL‐6 may be associated with the occurrence of TR.
In this paper, we study the principal eigenvalue \(\mu(\mathscr{F}_k^-,E)\) of the fully nonlinear operator \ \mathscr{F}_k^-u = \mathcal{P}_k^-(\nabla^2 u) - h |\nabla u| \ on a set \(E \Subset ...\mathbb{R}^n\), where \(h \in 0,\infty)\) and \(\mathcal{P}_k^-(\nabla^2 u)\) is the sum of the smallest \(k\) eigenvalues of the Hessian \(\nabla^2 u\). We prove a lower estimate for \(\mu(\mathscr{F}_k^-,E)\) in terms of a generalized Hausdorff measure \(\mathscr{H}_\Psi(E)\), for suitable \(\Psi\) depending on \(k\), moving some steps in the direction of the conjecturally sharp estimate \ \mu(\mathscr{F}_k^-,E) \ge C \mathscr{H}^k(E)^{-2/k}. \ The theorem is used to study the spectrum of bounded submanifolds in \(\mathbb{R}^n\), improving on our previous work in the direction of a question posed by S.T. Yau. In particular, the result applies to solutions of Plateau's problem for CMC surfaces.
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