Hermaphroditism is thought to be an advantageous strategy common in marine molluscs that exhibit simultaneous, sequential or alternating hermaphroditism. Several species of patellid limpets have previously been shown to be protandrous hermaphrodites. The present study aimed to confirm whether this phenomenon occurs in Patella piperata. Transitional forms of simultaneous protandrous hermaphroditism were found in intermediate size classes of P. piperata, in Madeira (North-eastern Atlantic). Sequential hermaphroditism was confirmed after histological analysis. The overall sex-ratio was biased towards females but approached similar proportions in the larger size classes. Analysis of size at sex change showed that at a shell length of 36 mm 50% of the population probably have changed sex. The results reported confirm the occurrence of sequential hermaphroditism. These findings are of utmost importance to the understanding of the reproductive biology of this species with direct effect on management and conservation of this traditionally harvested limpet.

Glaciers on active volcanoes are subject to changes in both climate fluctuations and volcanic activity. Whereas many studies analysed changes on individual volcanoes, this study presents for the first time a comparison of glacier changes on active volcanoes on a continental scale. Glacier areas were mapped for 59 volcanoes across Latin America around 1986, 1999 and 2015 using a semi-automated band ratio method combined with manual editing using satellite images from Landsat 4/5/7/8 and Sentinel-2. Area changes were compared with the Smithsonian volcano database to analyse possible glacier–volcano interactions. Over the full period, the mapped area changed from 1399.3 ± 80 km2 to 1016.1 ± 34 km2 (−383.2 km2) or −27.4% (−0.92% a−1) in relative terms. Small glaciers, especially in tropical regions lost more of their area compared to large and extra–tropical glaciers. Interestingly, 46 out of 59 analysed glaciers (78%) showed a decelerating shrinkage rate in the second period (−1.20% a−1 before 1999 and −0.70% a−1 after 1999). We found a slightly higher (but statistically not significant) area loss rate (−1.03% a−1) for glaciers on volcanoes with eruptions than without (−0.86% a−1).

A 6–18 GHz high-power amplifier (HPA) design in GaN on SiC technology is presented. This power amplifier consists of a two-stage corporate amplifier with two and four transistors, respectively. It has been fabricated on UMS using their 0.25 µm gate length process, GH25. A study of the suitable attachment method and measurement on wafer and on jig are detailed. This HPA exhibits an averaged output power of 39.2 dBm with a mean gain of 11 dB in saturation and a 24.5% maximum power added efficiency in pulse mode operation with a duty cycle of 10% with a 25 µs pulse width.

Bilingualism has been said to improve cognition and even delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This research aimed to investigate whether bilingualism leaves a neurophysiological trace even when people are highly educated. We expected bilinguals to present better preserved brain functional networks, which could be a trace of higher cognitive reserve. With this purpose, we conducted a magnetoencephalographic study with a group of healthy older adults. We estimated functional connectivity using phase-locking value and found five clusters in parieto-occipital regions in which bilinguals exhibited greater functional connectivity than monolinguals. These clusters included brain regions typically implicated in language processing. Furthermore, these functional changes correlated with caudate volumes (a key region in language shifting and control) in the bilingual sample. Interestingly, decreased Functional Connectivity between posterior brain regions had already been identified as an indicator of aging/preclinical AD but, according to our study, bilingualism seems to exert the opposite effect.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: The primary objective of this research is to determine whether being hand-reared, and deprived of early maternal interaction, will affect telomere length in orphaned kittens. The secondary goal is to examine how early maternal separation impacts the health, growth and behavior of orphaned kittens. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Kittens were fostered through local rescue groups and shelters. We collected blood samples from 42 orphaned kittens during the first week of their lives. Due to high mortality of this population, we obtained a second blood sample at eight weeks of age from only 30 of these kittens. We collected blood samples from 12 control kittens raised with mothers at during the first and eighth weeks of life. Blood samples are currently being processed with real time quantitative PCR (qPCR) by the Real-time PCR Research and Diagnostics Core Facility at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM). This includes RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis, Reference Gene Validation, and qPCR analysis. Relative telomere length (RTL) will be calculated by comparing the average telomere abundance across three samples cells with that of a reference gene (single copy number) for each sample. The resulting T/S ratio (telomere to single copy) is proportional to the average telomere length. If T/S = 1, then telomere length in the sample and the reference are the same. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Because telomeres show the fastest rate of shortening early in life, we predict that maternal separation will increase the rate of telomere shortening in kittens. We also predict that the telomeres of orphaned kittens will be shorter at both one week and eight weeks of age, compared to controls. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: This study will increase our understanding of early life adversity, a finding that can translate to other mammals. It will inform the practice of fostering neonatal kittens, and illuminate whether these kittens might be at higher risk than mother-reared kittens for health problems (which could be investigated in future studies). If significant telomere shortening occurs between collection periods, then future studies can take more frequent blood samples to determine what stages of early development are potentially most sensitive. If differences between groups are found, this will establish a protocol for several future research projects, such as testing whether these detrimental effects can be mitigated by environmental enrichment via activation of telomerase. Telomerase is an enzyme that appears to counteract some shortening of telomeres, and is activated by several external factors, including exercise. Thus, a logical follow up study would be developing and testing age-specific and appropriate enrichments that may activate telomerase and reduce telomere loss. Physical contact, whether human, mother, or siblings, is another possible source of telomerase activation in young kittens. Future studies also could quantify the effects of different sources of physical contact on telomere shortening. Finally, a positive finding would establish a need for longitudinal studies of the effects of early weaning on feline health and behavior and whether differences in early-life telomere lengths predict health and longevity of cats.

Identifying the relative importance of urban and non-urban land-use types for potential denitrification derived N2O at a regional scale is critical for quantifying the impacts of human activities on nitrous oxide (N2O) emission under changing environments. In this study we used a regional dataset from China including 197 soil samples and six land-use types to evaluate the main predictors (land use, heavy metals, soil pH, soil moisture, substrate availability, functional and broad microbial abundances) of potential denitrification using multivariate and pathway analysis. Our results provide empirical evidence that soils on farms have the greatest potential denitrifying ability (PDA) (10.92±6.08ng N2O-N·g–1 dry soil·min–1) followed by urban soil (6.80±5.35ng N2O-N·g–1 dry soil·min–1). Our models indicate that land use (low vs. high human activity), followed by total nitrogen (TN) and heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd) was the most important driver of PDA. In addition, our path analysis suggests that at least part of the impacts of land use on potential denitrification were mediated via microbial abundance, soil pH and substrates including TN, dissolved organic carbon and nitrate. This study identifies the main predictors of denitrification at a regional scale which is needed to quantify the impact of human activities on ecosystem functionality under changing conditions.

In this paper, we prove the existence and uniqueness of a positive solution for a nonlocal logistic equation arising from the birth-jump processes. For this, we establish a sub-super solution method for nonlocal elliptic equations, we perform a study of the eigenvalue problems associated with these equations and we apply these results to the nonlocal logistic equation.

Topshells play a pivotal role in intertidal rocky ecosystems and are adapted to harsh thermal and hydric stress. Phorcus sauciatus, a common grazer in the Macaronesian region (Madeira and the Canaries), has rarely been studied due to its restricted geographic distribution compared with Phorcus lineatus. Monthly samples were taken throughout 2017 to analyse biological parameters and evaluate the harvesting effect on the stocks of this species in Madeira. Individuals of the first age classes (<4 years) were dominant (~89%), while immature individuals were more abundant during the summer season. The spawning season occurs between March and August, especially from March to June. The size at first maturity was 12.95 mm long (1.68 years), with a continuous recruitment pattern throughout the year. Yield-per-recruit analysis (Y/R) showed that maximum production is achieved at a fishing mortality of 1.7 year−1, corresponding to a Y/R of 0.023 g. Currently, Phorcus sauciatus seems to be moderately exploited in Madeira, but urgent conservation measures, such as a landing obligation, the establishment of a minimum catch size of 15 mm length, and a closed season (February–May), are warranted to preserve stocks of this species in the medium to long term.

This project studies the early Roman non-wheel-thrown Aquitania-Tarraconensis-type (AQTA) pottery from the Bay of Biscay region. The ‘ollae’-type AQTA ceramics display clear evidence of specialised production, consumption and interregional exchange by both terrestrial and maritime routes throughout the region.