ABSTRACT
The formation scenario of the Magellanic Bridge during an encounter between the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds ∼200 Myr ago, as proposed by N-body models, would be imprinted in the ...chemical enrichment and kinematics of its stars and sites of ongoing star formation along its extension. We present an analysis of 33 Bridge star clusters using photometry obtained with the SOAR 4-m telescope equipped with adaptive optics for the VISCACHA survey. We performed a membership selection and derived self-consistent ages, metallicities, distances, and reddening values via statistical isochrone fitting, as well as tidal radii and integrated masses from structure analysis. Two groups are clearly detected: 13 well-studied clusters older than the Bridge, with 0.5–6.8 Gyr and $\hbox{Fe/H} < -0.6$ dex; and 15 clusters with <200 Myr and $\rm {Fe/H} > -0.5$ dex, probably formed in situ. The old clusters follow the overall age and metallicity gradients of the SMC, whereas the younger ones are uniformly distributed along the Bridge. The main results are as follows: (i) we derive ages and metallicities for the first time for 9 and 18 clusters, respectively; (ii) we detect two metallicity dips in the age-metallicity relation of the Bridge at ∼200 Myr and 1.5 Gyr ago for the first time, possibly chemical signatures of the formation of the Bridge and Magellanic Stream; (iii) we estimate a minimum stellar mass for the Bridge of 3–5 × 105 M⊙; (iv) we confirm that all the young Bridge clusters at ${\rm RA} < 3^h$ are metal-rich with $\rm {Fe/H} \sim -0.4$ dex.
The transition from etiolated to green seedlings involves the conversion of etioplasts into mature chloroplasts via a multifaceted, light-driven process comprising multiple, tightly coordinated ...signaling networks. Here, we demonstrate that light-induced greening and chloroplast differentiation in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) seedlings are mediated by an intricate cross talk among phytochromes, nitric oxide (NO), ethylene, and auxins. Genetic and pharmacological evidence indicated that either endogenously produced or exogenously applied NO promotes seedling greening by repressing ethylene biosynthesis and inducing auxin accumulation in tomato cotyledons. Analysis performed in hormonal tomato mutants also demonstrated that NO production itself is negatively and positively regulated by ethylene and auxins, respectively. Representing a major biosynthetic source of NO in tomato cotyledons, nitrate reductase was shown to be under strict control of both phytochrome and hormonal signals. A close NO-phytochrome interaction was revealed by the almost complete recovery of the etiolated phenotype of red light-grown seedlings of the tomato phytochrome-deficient aurea mutant upon NO fumigation. In this mutant, NO supplementation induced cotyledon greening, chloroplast differentiation, and hormonal and gene expression alterations similar to those detected in light-exposed wild-type seedlings. NO negatively impacted the transcript accumulation of genes encoding phytochromes, photomorphogenesis-repressor factors, and plastid division proteins, revealing that this free radical can mimic transcriptional changes typically triggered by phytochrome-dependent light perception. Therefore, our data indicate that negative and positive regulatory feedback loops orchestrate ethylene-NO and auxin-NO interactions, respectively, during the conversion of colorless etiolated seedlings into green, photosynthetically competent young plants.
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have shown cell membrane-directed mechanisms of action. This specificity can be effective against infectious agents that have acquired resistance to conventional drugs. ...The AMPs' membrane-specificity and their great potential to combat resistant microbes has brought hope to the medical/therapeutic scene. The high death rate worldwide due to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has pushed forward the search for new molecules and product developments, mainly antibiotics. In the current scenario, other strategies including the association of two or more drugs have contributed to the treatment of difficult-to-treat infectious diseases, above all, those caused by bacteria. In this context, the synergistic action of AMPs associated with current antibiotic therapy can bring important results for the production of new and effective drugs to overcome AMR. This review presents the advances obtained in the last 5 years in medical/antibiotic therapy, with the use of products based on AMPs, as well as perspectives on the potentialized effects of current drugs combined with AMPs for the treatment of bacterial infectious diseases.
ABSTRACT
Strong lensing is a powerful probe of the matter distribution in galaxies and clusters and a relevant tool for cosmography. Analyses of strong gravitational lenses with deep learning have ...become a popular approach due to these astronomical objects’ rarity and image complexity. Next-generation surveys will provide more opportunities to derive science from these objects and an increasing data volume to be analysed. However, finding strong lenses is challenging, as their number densities are orders of magnitude below those of galaxies. Therefore, specific strong lensing search algorithms are required to discover the highest number of systems possible with high purity and low false alarm rate. The need for better algorithms has prompted the development of an open community data science competition named strong gravitational lensing challenge (SGLC). This work presents the deep learning strategies and methodology used to design the highest scoring algorithm in the second SGLC (II SGLC). We discuss the approach used for this data set, the choice of a suitable architecture, particularly the use of a network with two branches to work with images in different resolutions, and its optimization. We also discuss the detectability limit, the lessons learned, and prospects for defining a tailor-made architecture in a survey in contrast to a general one. Finally, we release the models and discuss the best choice to easily adapt the model to a data set representing a survey with a different instrument. This work helps to take a step towards efficient, adaptable, and accurate analyses of strong lenses with deep learning frameworks.
Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of psychoeducation in the symptomatic and functional recovery, and quality of life (QoL) in a sample of patients with bipolar disorder (BD).
Method: The sample ...comprised 55 patients with BD I and II in remission (Young Mania Rating Scale ≤6 and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale ≤7). Out‐patients were matched assigned to receive 16 sessions of psychoeducation experimental group (EG) or 16 sessions of placebo without psychoeducation control group (CG). Groups were evaluated at study baseline, midpoint, endpoint, and at 6‐ and 12‐month follow‐ups.
Results: No significant differences between the groups were found for the variables evaluated (mood symptoms, functioning and QoL), except for overall clinical improvement, subjectively perceived by EG subjects. Both groups showed a trend toward improved clinical global impression and QoL (environmental). No reduction in mood symptoms or improvement in psychosocial functioning was observed. Psychosocial treatment compliance was positively correlated with global functioning, social adjustment, sociability, and global clinical impression.
Conclusion: Sixteen session psychoeducation seems to be ineffective to prevent mood episodes or improve functioning in a sample of bipolar patients.
In this work, microwave-induced plasma optical emission spectrometry was applied for multielement determination in South American wine samples. The analytes were determined after acid digestion of 47 ...samples of Brazilian and Argentinian wines. Then, logistic regression, support vector machine, and decision tree for exploratory analysis and comparison of these algorithms in differentiating red wine samples by region of origin were carried out. All wine samples were classified according to their geographical origin. The quantification limits (mg L
−1
) were P: 0.06, B: 0.08, K: 0.17, Mn: 0.002, Cr: 0.002, and Al: 0.02. The accuracy of the method was evaluated by analyzing the wine samples by ICP OES for results’ comparison. The concentrations in mg L
−1
found for each element in wine samples were as follows: Al (< 0.02–1.82), Cr (0.15–0.50), Mn (< 0.002–0.8), P (97–277), B (1.7–11.6), Pb (< 0.06–0.3), Na (8.84–41.57), and K (604–1701), in mg L
−1
.
•Salicylic, gibberellic and abscisic acid influences the minerals absorption in salvia.•The application of growth regulators favored the production of photoassimilates.•Aplication of support vector ...machine for the exploratory analysis of Salvia samples.•Salvia samples were classified based on elemental composition, total flavonoids, and phenolic or agronomic variables.
The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of different growth regulators on the mineral and total phenolic contents of Salvia officinalis. The samples received the applications of salicylic acid (AS); gibberellic acid (GA3); abscisic acid (ABA) and solution without regulators (control). The exploratory evaluation of the samples was carried out through the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). In addition, has been used supervised learning methods with support vector machine (SVM) algorithms to classify the samples. The phenolic and total flavonoid contents were higher in the plants treated with the regulators. The element found in the highest concentration in Salvia officinalis was N. Plants sprayed with ABA showed higher concentrations of N, K, and Mn; Fe and Al were higher with ABA and gibberellin application, while the application of AS provided the highest accumulation of P. The application of plant regulators improves the nutraceutical properties of Salvia officinalis.
ABSTRACT
The Magellanic Clouds are the most massive and closest satellite galaxies of the Milky Way (MW), with stars covering ages from a few Myr up to 13 Gyr. This makes them important for ...validating integrated light methods to study stellar populations and star formation processes, which can be applied to more distant galaxies. We characterized a set of stellar clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), using the Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey. This is the first age (metallicity) determination for 11 (65) clusters of this sample. Through its seven narrow bands, centred on important spectral features, and five broad bands, we can retrieve detailed information about stellar populations. We obtained ages and metallicities for all stellar clusters using the Bayesian spectral energy distribution fitting code
bagpipes. With a sample of clusters in the colour range −0.20 < r − z < +0.35, for which our determined parameters are most reliable, we modeled the age–metallicity relation of SMC. At any given age, the metallicities of SMC clusters are lower than those of both the Gaia Sausage-Enceladus disrupted dwarf galaxy and the MW. In comparison with literature values, differences are Δlog(age) ≈ 0.31 and ΔFe/H ≈ 0.41, which is comparable to low-resolution spectroscopy of individual stars. Finally, we confirm a previously known gradient, with younger clusters in the centre and older ones preferentially located in the outermost regions. On the other hand, we found no evidence of a significant metallicity gradient.
Green turtles, Chelonia mydas, have been included in biomonitoring efforts given its status as an endangered species. Many studies, however, rely on samples from stranded animals, raising the ...question of how death affects important biochemical and molecular biomarkers. The goal of this study was to investigate post mortem fluctuations in the antioxidant response and metabolism of carbohydrates in the liver of C. mydas. Liver samples were obtained from six green turtles which were submitted to rehabilitation and euthanized due to the impossibility of recovery. Samples were collected immediately after death (t = 0) and at various time intervals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 18 and 24 h post mortem), frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at −80 °C. The activities of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) were analyzed, as were the levels of lipid peroxidation, glycogen concentration, RNA integrity (RNA IQ) and transcript levels of carbonic anhydrase and pyruvate carboxylase genes. Comparison between post mortem intervals showed a temporal stability for all the biomarkers evaluated, suggesting that changes in biochemical and molecular parameters following green turtle death are not immediate, and metabolism may remain somewhat unaltered up to 24 h after death. Such stability may be associated with the overall lower metabolism of turtles, especially under an oxygen deprivation scenario such as organismal death. Overall, this study supports the use of biomarkers in sea turtles sampled within a period of 24 h post mortem for biomonitoring purposes, though it is recommended that post mortem fluctuations of particular biomarkers be evaluated prior to their application, given that proteins may show varying degrees of susceptibility to proteolysis.
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•Levels of biomarkers were analyzed in turtles sampled up to 24 h after euthanasia.•Antioxidant activity and MDA levels were stable for up to 24 h post mortem.•Carbohydrate's metabolism did not change within a 24 h post mortem period.•Green turtles found stranded up to 24 h after death can be used for biomonitoring.
Highlights • Rats were supplemented with trans fat (TF) during two sequential generations. • TF supplementation facilitated mania-behavior induced by amphetamine (AMPH) in rats. • Trans fatty acid ...(TFA) was incorporated in the brain cortex causing oxidative damages. • Dopamine transporter immune content and BDNF-mRNA levels were reduced by TF after AMPH. • Processed foods contribute to develop neuropsychiatric conditions such as mania.
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