Psittaciformes (parrots, cockatoos) are among the most endangered birds, with 31% of Neotropical species under threat. The drivers of this situation appear to be manifold and mainly of anthropogenic ...origin. However, this assessment is based on the last extensive consultation about the conservation situation of parrots carried out in the 1990s. Given the rapid development of anthropogenic threats, updated data are needed to strategize conservation actions. Using a population approach, we addressed this need through a wide-ranging consultation involving biologists, wildlife managers, government agencies and non-governmental conservation organizations. We gathered up-to-date information on threats affecting 192 populations of 96 Neotropical parrot species across 21 countries. Moreover, we investigated associations among current threats and population trends. Many populations were affected by multiple threats. Agriculture, Capture for the Pet Trade, Logging, each of them affected >55% of the populations, suggesting a higher degree of risk than previously thought. In contrast to previous studies at the species level, our study showed that the threat most closely associated with decreasing population trends is now Capture for the local Pet Trade. Other threats associated with decreasing populations include Small-holder Farming, Rural Population Pressure, Nest Destruction by Poachers, Agro-industry Grazing, Small-holder Grazing, and Capture for the international Pet Trade. Conservation actions have been implemented on <20% of populations. Our results highlight the importance of a population-level approach in revealing the extent of threats to wild populations. It is critical to increase the scope of conservation actions to reduce the capture of wild parrots for pets.
The pigments consumed in grazing give the milk from dual-purpose cows raised in tropical conditions a yellowish color, affecting the quality and price of the milk. This study aimed to develop an ...economical method with supplementary pectin to antagonize the availability of carotenes by designing microparticles with shellac and palm oil as a viable alternative to protect pectin degradation against rumen microbes. Three preparations of microparticles based on citrus pectin were synthesized: unprotected (PnP), protected with palm oil (PwP), and protected with palm oil and shellac (PwPL) microparticles. Samples were roughly characterized by spectroscopy and electron microscopy techniques. The effect of PnP, PwP, and PwPL on blood metabolites and physicochemical characteristics of the milk of grazing lactating cows was evaluated through in vivo assays. The release of citrus pectin from microparticles was determined as uronic acids using solutions with distinct pH, whereas its degradation was studied using in situ tests. Results revealed that PnP, PwP, and PwPL are amorphous structures with sizes that range from 60 to 265 nm or 750 to 3570 µm and have surface charges that range from -11.5 to -50.2 mV. Samples exhibited characteristic peaks during FTIR analyses that corresponded to O-H, C=O, and COOCH
groups and bands within the UV-vis region that indicated the absorption of pectin. The EDS analysis revealed the presence of carbon, oxygen, or calcium in samples. The release of uronic acids was higher at pH 2-3 with PwPL. The in situ degradability of PnP, PwP, and PwPL was 99, 28.4, and 17.7%, respectively. Moreover, PwPL decreased the blood concentration of glucose, cholesterol, and lactate. In contrast, 100 g of pectin per animal daily during the feed process reduced yellow coloring. In conclusion, designing particles protected with lipids and polymers as shellac is an economical method that resists degradation at pH levels greater than five.
Multiband photometric transit observations or low-resolution spectroscopy (spectro-photometry) are normally used to retrieve the broadband transmission spectra of transiting exoplanets in order to ...assess the chemical composition of their atmospheres. In this paper we present an alternative approach for recovering the broadband transmission spectra using chromatic Doppler tomography based on physical modeling through the
SOAP
tool: CHOCOLATE (CHrOmatiC line prOfiLe tomogrAphy TEchnique). To validate the method and examine its performance, we use observational data recently obtained with the ESPRESSO instrument to retrieve the transmission spectra of the archetypal hot Jupiter HD 209458b. Our findings indicate that the recovered transmission spectrum is in good agreement with the results presented in previous studies, which used different methodologies to extract the spectrum, achieving similar precision. We explored several atmospheric models and inferred from spectral retrieval that a model containing H
2
O and NH
3
is the preferred scenario. The CHOCOLATE methodology is particularly interesting for future studies of exoplanets around young and active stars or moderate to fast rotating stars, considering
SOAP
’s ability to model stellar active regions and the fact that the rotational broadening of spectral lines favors its application. Furthermore, CHOCOLATE will allow the broad transmission spectrum of a planet to be retrieved using high-S/N, high-resolution spectroscopy with the next generation of extremely large telescopes, where low-resolution spectroscopy will not always be accessible.
Palivizumab was licensed in June 1998 by the Food and Drug Administration for the reduction of serious lower respiratory tract infection caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children at ...increased risk of severe disease. Since that time, the American Academy of Pediatrics has updated its guidance for the use of palivizumab 4 times as additional data became available to provide a better understanding of infants and young children at greatest risk of hospitalization attributable to RSV infection. The updated recommendations in this policy statement reflect new information regarding the seasonality of RSV circulation, palivizumab pharmacokinetics, the changing incidence of bronchiolitis hospitalizations, the effect of gestational age and other risk factors on RSV hospitalization rates, the mortality of children hospitalized with RSV infection, the effect of prophylaxis on wheezing, and palivizumab-resistant RSV isolates. This policy statement updates and replaces the recommendations found in the 2012 Red Book.
The existence of diffuse Galactic neutrino production is expected from cosmic-ray interactions with Galactic gas and radiation fields. Thus, neutrinos are a unique messenger offering the opportunity ...to test the products of Galactic cosmic-ray interactions up to energies of hundreds of TeV. Here we present a search for this production using ten years of Astronomy with a Neutrino Telescope and Abyss environmental RESearch (ANTARES) track and shower data, as well as seven years of IceCube track data. The data are combined into a joint likelihood test for neutrino emission according to the KRA model assuming a 5 PeV per nucleon Galactic cosmic-ray cutoff. No significant excess is found. As a consequence, the limits presented in this Letter start constraining the model parameter space for Galactic cosmic-ray production and transport.
In this work, ZnO thin films were deposited by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis by utilizing zinc acetate and zinc nitrate as precursors. Deposition substrate temperature, solution precursor and molarity ...were varied. Molarity was fixed to 0.1 and 0.3 M for each precursor solution. ZnO thin films were deposited at two substrate temperatures, 250 °C and 450 °C. Morphological, structural and chemical characterizations were performed in order to study the effect of experimental conditions such as solution molarity, substrate temperature and precursor type on the ZnO thin films properties. Films deposited with acetate precursor have a polycrystalline structure, contrary to samples deposited with nitrate precursor, which are monocrystalline. Lastly, a total of eight samples with different characteristics mentioned above were utilized for CO
2
detection. Our results let us suggest that sensing response is slightly higher when nitrate precursor solution is utilized. In addition, the fastest response and recovery time were found in samples deposited by nitrate precursor solution. The main objective of this work is the discussion of the increment in response and recovery time as a consequence of the electronic interaction between the CO
2
and the ending (100) crystal plane of ZnO films deposited with nitrate precursor solution, which takes place due to the monodentate and bidentate adsorption path ways.
Ehrlichia minasensis is a new pathogenic bacterial species that infects cattle, and Borrelia theileri causes bovine borreliosis. We detected E. minasensis and B. theileri DNA in cattle from ...southwestern Colombia by using PCR. E. minasensis and B. theileri should be considered potential etiologies of febrile syndrome in cattle from Colombia.
Objective: To evaluate the effect on biological, nutritional, and hematoimmune indicators of juvenile Cherax quadricarinatus were cultivated and fed with a probiotic mixture. Materials and Methods: A ...completely randomized design (DCA) with six treatments: 0 (control), 1×102 µL, 2×102 µL, 3×102 µL, 4×102 µL and 5×102 µL of a probiotic mixture (Bacterol Shrimp Forte), with three repetitions each, 18 experimental tanks of diameter 1.7 m and area of 2.26 m2 were used, with a density of 20 juveniles (0.95 ± 0.10g and 7.78 ± 0.77mm) per tank for 60 days. Biological (weight, length, weight gain, weight increase, specific growth rate, length gain, length increase and survival), nutritional (feed conversion, feed efficiency and protein efficiency rate) and hematoimmune (total of hemocytes, differential hemocytes, phagocytic rate, superoxide dismutase and hypoxic stress) parameters were measured. Results: For biological indicators, the best results (p < 0.05) were obtained when using 4×102 µL of the probiotic (final weight: 9.11 g; final length: 68.95 mm; specific growth rate: 3.74). Regarding the nutritional parameters, the best results were found with for 3×102 µL (feed conversion: 1.09, feed efficiency: 0.91, and protein efficiency: 2.61); although there were no differences between 3×102 and 4×102 µL. For the hematoimmune response, there were differences (p < 0.05) for all the indicators under study, with a better performance for 4×102 µL of the probiotic mixture. Conclusions: The probiotic mixture induces the hematoimmune, biological, and nutritional response with the best response for concentrations of 3×102 µL, 4×102 µL.
Objetivo: Evaluar indicadores biológicos, nutricionales y hematoinmunes en juveniles Cherax quadricarinatus que fueron cultivados y alimentados con una mezcla de probióticos. Materiales y métodos: Un diseño completamente aleatorizado (DCA) con seis tratamientos: 0 (control), 1×102 µL, 2×102 µL, 3×102 µL, 4×102 µL y 5×102 µL de mezcla de probióticos (Bacterol Shrimp Forte), con tres repeticiones cada una; se utilizaron 18 tanques experimentales de diametro 1.7 m y área de 2.26 m2, con una densidad de 20 juveniles (0.95±0.10 g y 7.78±0.77mm) por tanque durante 60 días. Se midieron los parámetros biológicos (peso, longitud, aumento de peso, aumento de peso, tasa de crecimiento específico, aumento de longitud, aumento de longitud y supervivencia), nutricionales (conversión alimenticia, eficiencia alimenticia y eficiencia proteica) y hematoinmune (total de hemocitos, hemocitos diferenciales, tasa fagocítica, superóxido dismutasa y estrés hipóxico). Resultados: Para los indicadores biológicos, los mejores resultados (p<0.05) se obtuvieron al utilizar 4×102 µL del probiótico (peso final: 9.11 g; longitud final: 68.95 mm; tasa de crecimiento específico: 3.74). En cuanto a los parámetros nutricionales, los mejores resultados se obtuvieron con 3×102 µL (conversion alimenticia: 1.09, eficiencia alimenticia: 0.91 y eficiencia proteica: 2.61); aunque no hubo diferencias entre 3×102 y 4×102 µL. Para la respuesta hematoinmune, hubo diferencias (p < 0.05) para todos los indicadores en estudio, con un mejor desempeño para 4×102 µL de la mezcla de probióticos. Conclusiones: La mezcla de probióticos induce la respuesta hematoinmune, biológica y nutricional con la mejor respuesta para concentraciones de 3×102 µL y 4×102 µL.
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