1. |
|
|
2. |
- Pantazis, N, et al.
(author)
-
Determining the likely place of HIV acquisition for migrants in Europe combining subject-specific information and biomarkers data
- 2019
-
In: Statistical methods in medical research. - : SAGE Publications. - 1477-0334 .- 0962-2802. ; 28:7, s. 1979-1997
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In most HIV-positive individuals, infection time is only known to lie between the time an individual started being at risk for HIV and diagnosis time. However, a more accurate estimate of infection time is very important in certain cases. For example, one of the objectives of the Advancing Migrant Access to Health Services in Europe (aMASE) study was to determine if HIV-positive migrants, diagnosed in Europe, were infected pre- or post-migration. We propose a method to derive subject-specific estimates of unknown infection times using information from HIV biomarkers’ measurements, demographic, clinical, and behavioral data. We assume that CD4 cell count (CD4) and HIV-RNA viral load trends after HIV infection follow a bivariate linear mixed model. Using post-diagnosis CD4 and viral load measurements and applying the Bayes’ rule, we derived the posterior distribution of the HIV infection time, whereas the prior distribution was informed by AIDS status at diagnosis and behavioral data. Parameters of the CD4–viral load and time-to-AIDS models were estimated using data from a large study of individuals with known HIV infection times (CASCADE). Simulations showed substantial predictive ability (e.g. 84% of the infections were correctly classified as pre- or post-migration). Application to the aMASE study ( n = 2009) showed that 47% of African migrants and 67% to 72% of migrants from other regions were most likely infected post-migration. Applying a Bayesian method based on bivariate modeling of CD4 and viral load, and subject-specific information, we found that the majority of HIV-positive migrants in aMASE were most likely infected after their migration to Europe.
|
|
3. |
|
|
4. |
- Sciarretta, A., et al.
(author)
-
A control benchmark on the energy management of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle
- 2014
-
In: Control Engineering Practice. - : Pergamon Press. - 0967-0661 .- 1873-6939. ; 29, s. 287-298
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A benchmark control problem was developed for a special session of the IFAC Workshop on Engine and Powertrain Control, Simulation and Modeling (E-COSM 12), held in Rueil-Malmaison, France, in October 2012. The online energy management of a plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle was to be developed by the benchmark participants. The simulator, provided by the benchmark organizers, implements a model of the GM Voltec powertrain. Each solution was evaluated according to several metrics, comprising of energy and fuel economy on two driving profiles unknown to the participants, acceleration and braking performance, computational performance. The nine solutions received are analyzed in terms of the control technique adopted (heuristic rule-based energy management vs. equivalent consumption minimization strategies, ECMS), battery discharge strategy (charge depleting-charge sustaining vs. blended mode), ECMS implementation (vector-based vs. map-based), ways to improve the implementation and improve the computational performance. The solution having achieved the best combined score is compared with a global optimal solution calculated offline using the Pontryagins minimum principle-derived optimization tool HOT.
|
|
5. |
- Araujo, R., et al.
(author)
-
TRADE-OFFS BETWEEN LIFE-HISTORY TRAITS AT RANGE-EDGE AND CENTRAL LOCATIONS
- 2015
-
In: Journal of Phycology. - : Wiley. - 0022-3646. ; 51:4, s. 808-818
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The allocation of resources to different life-history traits should represent the best compromise in fitness investment for organisms in their local environment. When resources are limiting, the investment in a specific trait must carry a cost that is expressed in trade-offs with other traits. In this study, the relative investment in the fitness-related traits, growth, reproduction and defence were compared at central and range-edge locations, using the seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum as a model system. Individual growth rates were similar at both sites, whereas edge populations showed a higher relative investment in reproduction (demonstrated by a higher reproductive allocation and extended reproductive periods) when compared to central populations that invested more in defence. These results show the capability of A. nodosum to differentially allocate resources for different traits under different habitat conditions, suggesting that reproduction and defence have different fitness values under the specific living conditions experienced at edge and central locations. However, ongoing climate change may threaten edge populations by increasing the selective pressure on specific traits, forcing these populations to lower the investment in other traits that are also potentially important for population fitness.
|
|
6. |
- Araujo, R., et al.
(author)
-
PHENOTYPIC DIFFERENTIATION AT SOUTHERN LIMIT BORDERS: THE CASE STUDY OF TWO FUCOID MACROALGAL SPECIES WITH DIFFERENT LIFE-HISTORY TRAITS
- 2011
-
In: Journal of Phycology. - : Wiley. - 0022-3646. ; 47:3, s. 451-462
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Marginal populations are often geographically isolated, smaller, and more fragmented than central populations and may frequently have to face suboptimal local environmental conditions. Persistence of these populations frequently involves the development of adaptive traits at phenotypic and genetic levels. We compared population structure and demographic variables in two fucoid macroalgal species contrasting in patterns of genetic diversity and phenotypic plasticity at their southern distribution limit with a more central location. Models were Ascophyllum nodosum (L.) Le Jol. (whose extreme longevity and generation overlap may buffer genetic loss by drift) and Fucus serratus L. (with low genetic diversity at southern margins). At edge locations, both species exhibited trends in life-history traits compatible with population persistence but by using different mechanisms. Marginal populations of A. nodosum had higher reproductive output in spite of similar mortality rates at all life stages, making edge populations denser and with smaller individuals. In F. serratus , rather than demographic changes, marginal populations differed in habitat, occurring restricted to a narrower vertical habitat range. We conclude that persistence of both A. nodosum and F. serratus at the southern-edge locations depends on different strategies. Marginal population persistence in A. nodosum relies on a differentiation in life-history traits, whereas F. serratus , putatively poorer in evolvability potential, is restricted to a narrower vertical range at border locations. These results contribute to the general understanding of mechanisms that lead to population persistence at distributional limits and to predict population resilience under a scenario of environmental change.
|
|
7. |
- Araujo, Rita, et al.
(author)
-
Recovery after trampling disturbance in a canopy-forming seaweed population
- 2012
-
In: Marine Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0025-3162 .- 1432-1793. ; 159:3, s. 697-707
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The recovery of Ascophyllum nodosum, and the associated benthic community, was followed after repeated trampling disturbance at different intensities, from 2005 to 2010, at its southern limit (41 degrees 41'27 '' N;8 degrees 50'57 '' W). The cover of A. nodosum and associated organisms and the demography of A. nodosum individuals in the most disturbed areas were followed over a recovery period of 54 months. Recovery of A. nodosum assemblages was negatively affected by increasing trampling intensity. After 54 months, the highest intensity plots were still significantly different from control plots. Growth and mortality rates of A. nodosum increased shortly after disturbance but progressively recovered to levels close to control plots. The results of this study demonstrate the sensitivity of this habitat-building species to human trampling and also show its plasticity to cope with disturbance events.
|
|
8. |
- Araujo, R., et al.
(author)
-
The role of disturbance in differential regulation of co-occurring brown algae species: Interactive effects of sediment deposition, abrasion and grazing on algae recruits
- 2012
-
In: Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-0981. ; 422-423, s. 1-8
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Disturbance is an important structuring factor in intertidal communities. This study aimed at experimentally testing the effects of three important sources of disturbance to intertidal rocky habitats (abrasion, sediment deposition and herbivory) on the survivorship and growth of embryos of canopy forming fucoid species (Fucus vesiculosus and Fucus serratus). Natural levels of sediment deposition and herbivore density were characterized and the temporal variation of populations of both species was followed. The experimental study showed that the survivorship of F. serratus embryos was negatively affected by herbivory but growth was enhanced in the presence of abrasion and herbivores. F. vesiculosus suffered the interactive negative effects of the three sources of disturbance tested, although abrasion was the most important factor affecting mortality rates of embryos. Conversely, none of the tested sources of disturbance significantly affected growth of embryos. These results highlight the importance of disturbance events in regulating species interactions which might be particularly relevant for population dynamics and persistence at the geographical borders of species' distribution. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
|
|
9. |
- Duffy, J. Emmett, et al.
(author)
-
Toward a Coordinated Global Observing System for Seagrasses and Marine Macroalgae
- 2019
-
In: Frontiers in Marine Science. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2296-7745. ; 6
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In coastal waters around the world, the dominant primary producers are benthic macrophytes, including seagrasses and macroalgae, that provide habitat structure and food for diverse and abundant biological communities and drive ecosystem processes. Seagrass meadows and macroalgal forests play key roles for coastal societies, contributing to fishery yields, storm protection, biogeochemical cycling and storage, and important cultural values. These socio-economically valuable services are threatened worldwide by human activities, with substantial areas of seagrass and macroalgal forests lost over the last half-century. Tracking the status and trends in marine macrophyte cover and quality is an emerging priority for ocean and coastal management, but doing so has been challenged by limited coordination across the numerous efforts to monitor macrophytes, which vary widely in goals, methodologies, scales, capacity, governance approaches, and data availability. Here, we present a consensus assessment and recommendations on the current state of and opportunities for advancing global marine macrophyte observations, integrating contributions from a community of researchers with broad geographic and disciplinary expertise. With the increasing scale of human impacts, the time is ripe to harmonize marine macrophyte observations by building on existing networks and identifying a core set of common metrics and approaches in sampling design, field measurements, governance, capacity building, and data management. We recommend a tiered observation system, with improvement of remote sensing and remote underwater imaging to expand capacity to capture broad-scale extent at intervals of several years, coordinated with strati fied in situ sampling annually to characterize the key variables of cover and taxonomic or functional group composition, and to provide ground-truth. A robust networked system of macrophyte observations will be facilitated by establishing best practices, including standard protocols, documentation, and sharing of resources at all stages of work flow, and secure archiving of open-access data. Because such a network is necessarily distributed, sustaining it depends on close engagement of local stakeholders and focusing on building and long-term maintenance of local capacity, particularly in the developing world. Realizing these recommendations will producemore effective, efficient, and responsive observing, a more accurate global picture of change in vegetated coastal systems, and stronger international capacity for sustaining observations.
|
|
10. |
- Pikart, Tiago G., et al.
(author)
-
Nine new species of Horismenus Walker (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) in Brazil, with an emphasis on the fauna of one of the largest tropical forests on the planet, the Atlantic Forest
- 2024
-
In: Zootaxa. - 1175-5326. ; 5453:1, s. 33-62
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Horismenus Walker (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) is one of the largest genera in Eulophidae, and additional collecting in tropical America will undoubtedly add numerous new species. Here we describe nine new species of Horismenus from material collected in Brazil, mainly in Atlantic Forest remnants: H. amplicavus sp. nov., H. atlanticus sp. nov., H. bilineatus sp. nov., H. crastoensis sp. nov., H. novaiguassuensis sp. nov., H. parvicavus sp. nov., H. pterathrix sp. nov., H. sagittatus sp. nov., and H. saueri sp. nov. In addition, we also provide images, diagnoses, and comments to facilitate the identification of each new species.
|
|