In this paper, we prove that the lower triangular matrix category $\Lambda =\left [ \begin{smallmatrix} \mathcal{T}&0\\ M&\mathcal{U} \end{smallmatrix} \right ]$, where $\mathcal{T}$ and $\mathcal{U}$ are $\textrm{Hom}$-finite, Krull–Schmidt $K$-quasi-hereditary categories and $M$ is an $\mathcal{U}\otimes _K \mathcal{T}^{op}$-module that satisfies suitable conditions, is quasi-hereditary. This result generalizes the work of B. Zhu in his study on triangular matrix algebras over quasi-hereditary algebras. Moreover, we obtain a characterization of the category of the $_\Lambda \Delta$-filtered $\Lambda$-modules.

Like other animals, fish have unique personalities that can affect their cognition and responses to environmental stressors. These individual personality differences are often referred to as “behavioural syndromes” or “stress coping styles” and can include personality traits such as boldness, shyness, aggression, exploration, locomotor activity, and sociability. For example, bolder or proactive fish may be more likely to take risks and present lower hypothalamo–pituitary–adrenal/interrenal axis reactivity as compared to shy or reactive individuals. Likewise, learning and memory differ between fish personalities. Reactive or shy individuals tend to have faster learning and better association recall with aversive stimuli, while proactive or bold individuals tend to learn more quickly when presented with appetitive incentives. However, the influence of personality on cognitive processes other than cognitive achievement in fish has been scarcely explored. Cognitive bias tests have been employed to investigate the interplay between emotion and cognition in both humans and animals. Fish present cognitive bias processes (CBP) in which fish’s interpretation of stimuli could be influenced by its current emotional state and open to environmental modulation. However, no study in fish has explored whether CBP, like in other species, can be interpreted as long-lasting traits and whether other individual characteristics may explain its variation. We hold the perspective that CBP could serve as a vulnerability factor for the onset, persistence, and recurrence of stress-related disorders. Therefore, studying fish’s CBP as a state or trait and its interactions with individual variations may be valuable in future efforts to enhance our understanding of anxiety and stress neurobiology in animal models and humans.

A closed macroscopic model for quasi-steady, inertial, incompressible, two-phase generalised Newtonian flow in rigid and homogeneous porous media is formally derived. The model consists of macroscopic equations for mass and momentum balance as well as an expression for the macroscopic pressure difference between the two fluid phases. The model is obtained by upscaling the pore-scale equations, employing a methodology based on volume averaging, the adjoint method and Green's formulation, only assuming the existence of a representative elementary volume and the separation of scales between the microscale and the macroscale. The average mass equations coincide with those for Newtonian flow. The macroscopic momentum balance equation in each phase expresses the seepage velocity in terms of a dominant and a coupling Darcy-like term, a contribution from interfacial tension effects and another one from interfacial inertia. Finally, the expression of the macroscopic pressure difference is obtained in terms of the macroscopic pressure gradient and body force in each phase, and interfacial terms that account for capillary effects and inertia, if present when the interface is not stationary. All terms involved in the macroscale equations are predicted from the solution of adjoint closure problems in periodic representative domains. Numerical predictions from the upscaled models are compared with direct numerical simulations for two-dimensional configurations, considering flow of a Newtonian non-wetting fluid and a Carreau wetting fluid. Excellent agreement between the two approaches confirms the pertinence of the macroscopic models derived here.

The Sierra Madre Sparrow Xenospiza baileyi is an endangered Mexican endemic and a bunchgrassland specialist with a disjunct range: a relatively larger population in the south-eastern Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, and a smaller and poorly studied population in the Sierra Madre Occidental. In the latter, known distribution and abundance consists of four localities with a maximum of 28 individuals recorded in one of them. We surveyed the Sierra Madre Sparrow in 30 sites with suitable habitat, meadows or “bajíos” with bunchgrasses, in the municipalities of Durango, Pueblo Nuevo, San Dimas, and Canatlán in the Sierra Madre Occidental of Durango. We detected a total of 193 individuals in nine (30%) of the sites (392 ha), conducting intensive searches throughout them. Bunchgrasses in confirmed meadows were composed mainly of Muhlenbergia macroura, M. rigida, M. speciosa, M. rigens, and Piptochaetium fimbriatum. Total bunchgrass area within a meadow was a significant positive predictor of the Sierra Madre Sparrow presence, while total meadow area was not a significant predictor of its abundance. Seven of the confirmed localities were previously unknown, and two of them harboured 55% of the observed individuals: Ex Hacienda Coyotes (Pueblo Nuevo) and La Lobera (San Dimas). The estimated population size is at least four times higher than any previous record (28) or suggested (40–50) for the Sierra Madre Occidental and raises an opportunity and a challenge for conserving this genetically distinct population of the Sierra Madre Sparrow in the region.

Previous research has shown that individuals suffering from depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) seem to have inhibitory control deficits compared with healthy controls. However, few studies have been conducted in Spanish-speaking countries. Thus, this study aims to analyze the performance on the Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT) between groups of Colombian participants with clinical levels of depression and GAD symptoms and a nonclinical control group. According to previous research, we expected to find significant differences in inhibitory control among groups. An ex post facto design was implemented. The SCWT was administered to a total sample of 105 individuals (64.8% women, M = 22.94 years, SD = 4.62), including 27 depressed and 15 anxious participants according to their scores on the Personal Health Questionnaire–9 and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder–7, respectively. Bayesian t-tests showed that depressed participants showed the same processing speed but lower scores on inhibitory control than healthy controls, BF = 13.70, δ = 0.50, 95% CI [0.08, 0.94]. Conversely, anxious participants showed deficits in processing speed, SCWT-Word: BF = 16.19, δ = 0.68, 95% CI [0.15, 1.24]; SCWT-Color: BF = 5.98, δ = 0.50, 95% CI [–0.01, 1.04], but not in inhibitory control compared with the nonanxious counterparts. This study provides preliminary evidence concerning the inhibitory control deficits in Colombian depressed individuals and processing speed deficits in those experiencing clinical levels of GAD symptoms.

As a consequence of axenic growth and the elimination of accompanying bacterial flora, Entamoeba histolytica virulence decreases rapidly, and pathogenicity is lost. This paper evaluated the impact of vitamin supplementation on the pathogenicity of E. histolytica. Growth of E. histolytica trophozoites, cultured axenically in PEHPS (a Spanish acronym for the main ingredients – casein peptone, liver, pancreas extract and bovine serum) medium, with or without vitamins, exhibited a similar growth rate. However, the vitamin-enriched PEHPS preparations expressed 2.65 times more haemolytic activity (at 60 min: 98 vs 48%, P < 0.05), 2.5 times more phospholipase A2 activity at 150 min of incubation and generated more hepatic abscesses (88 vs 60%, P = 0.05) than the preparations without vitamins. The haemolytic and phospholipase A2 activity for the PEHPS − V preparations were restored following vitamin supplementation with A and D. These data highlight, for the first time, that vitamins and specifically vitamin A and D were essential for the recovery of amoebic virulence, lost through axenic growth.

We studied the role played by temperature and rennet concentration in the coagulation process for cheese manufacture and the evaluation of their kinetics. We concluded that temperature is the main factor that determines the kinetics. The rennet concentration was unimportant probably due to the fast action of the enzyme chymosin. The Dynamic light scattering technique allowed measuring the aggregate's size and their formation kinetics. The volume fraction of solids was determined from viscosity measurements, showing profiles that are in agreement with the size profiles. The results indicate that the formation of the aggregates for rennet cheese is strongly dependent on temperature and rennet concentration. The results revealed that at 35·5 °C the volume fraction of solids has the maximum slope, indicating that at this temperature the curd is formed rapidly. The optimal temperature throughout the process was established. Second-order kinetics were obtained for the process. We observed a quadratic dependence between the rennet volume and the volume fraction of solids (curd), thereby indicating that the kinetics of the curd production should be of order two.

Probiotic-based starter cultures are generally used to produce fermented milks with improved characteristics in the final product. In this study, Lactobacillus casei and Streptococcus thermophilus (Lc1-St) were used as the starter inoculum. The transformation kinetics and properties of the final product were compared with systems produced with other inocula. The Lc1-St inoculum delayed the production of lactic acid from 40 to 70 min (depending on temperature and concentration) when compared to Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus (Lb-St) and Lactobacillus johnsonii and Streptococcus thermophilus (La1-St). The Lc1-St inoculum reached the aggregation system faster (30–80 min) than Lb-St (120–210 min) and La1-St (160–220 min), however, the production of exopolysaccharides and organic phosphates was delayed as a consequence of the lack of synergy between Lc1 and St.

 Introduction. Pithecellobiumdulce is a legume native to tropical America that producesedible arils which can be white or red. The plant is also grownin Asia and, to date, predominantly fruits produced in Asia havebeen the subject of scientific studies. We studied white and redarils produced in America. Materials and methods. Whitearil and red aril fruits were evaluated in an array of reagent-basedassays to determine nutritional and nutraceutical properties. Resultsand discussion. White arils and red arils showed similarphysicochemical characteristics, with high content of vitamin C(79.7–82.6 mg·100 g–1 fresh weight) and dietary fiber (5.83–6.12%fw). The anthocyanin content of red arils (29.5 mg·100 g–1 fw, ascyanidin-3-glucoside equivalents) was similar to that of strawberry.Total phenolics (517 mg·100 g–1 fw, as gallic acid equivalents)and antioxidant activities (ABTS, 224 mg; DPPH, 223 mg, as vitaminC equivalents) of red arils were 1.3 times higher than those inwhite arils. The methanolic extract of red arils showed a higherα-glucosidase inhibition (IC50 2.9 mg·mL–1) than acarbose (IC50 4.9 mg·mL–1).The methanolic extract [(50, 100 and 500) μg per tube] of red and whitearils showed positive-strong antimutagenic activities (inhibitionin the range 25–70%) in the assay (Salmonella typhimurium YG1024strain, 1-nitropyrene as mutagen, 200 ng per tube). We are reportingfor the first time remarkably high characteristics (i.e., antioxidant,inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase and content of dietaryfiber) of P. dulce fruits, mainly of the red ones;properties which combined permit us to suggest that consumptionof these fruits could have beneficial health effects in people withdiabetes.

We describe a new chimaeriform fish, Callorhinchus torresi sp. nov., from the uppermost Cretaceous (late Maastrichtian) of the López de Bertodano Formation, Isla Marambio (Seymour Island), Antarctica. The material shows it is distinct from currently known fossil and extant species of the genus, whereas the outline of the tritors (abrasive surfaces of each dental plate) shows an intermediate morphology between earlier records from the Cenomanian of New Zealand and those from the Eocene of Isla Marambio. This suggests an evolutionary trend in tritor morphology in the lineage leading to modern callorhynchids, during the Late Cretaceous-Palaeogene interval.

The effects of habitat fragmentation on the distribution and abundance of birds is a well-researched topic but there is little information published in terms of how habitat fragmentation affects reproductive life history traits. We reviewed the available literature on this subject and found that only 8% of the 1,433 studies dealing with birds in fragmented habitat studied life history traits and only 1.3% provided appropriate data to perform statistics. We found no effect of fragmentation on clutch and brood size patterns. Those patterns did not change when corrected by phylogeny. However, there is a significant heterogeneity among species responses, thus data on large-bodied, ground-nesting, and precocial birds suggest an increasing response in brood size in fragmented habitats. Finally, our review shows that despite birds being the most studied vertebrate group, crucial information such as the effects of habitat fragmentation on life history traits is still scarce and insufficient, especially on species of conservation concern. Indeed, only one out of 15 species reviewed here was threatened. Studies on reproductive, behavioural and life history trait variation are urgently needed in order to advance conservation actions.

Objective: To evaluate the potential contribution of “extrinsic” contamination of intravenous fluids in hospital bacteremia and infection.

Design: Prospective cross-sectional survey of infusate contamination, December 1992 to December 1993.

Setting: A pediatric department (1,500 admissions per year) in a general, urban teaching hospital, serving low-income patients.

Samples and Patients: Infusate samples (0.5 to 1.0 mL) from the injection port used by the staff were taken for cultures from all febrile or septic patients in hospital wards. At least four samples were taken each day; if no febrile or septic patients were available, other patients were sampled at convenience.

Results: A 6.8% positive culture rate (87 contaminates in 1,277 infusates) was obtained, without significant differences among the wards. Gram-negative organisms were recovered from 56 samples (62.9%), mainly of the tribe Klebsielleae (56.1%). Coagulase-negative staphylococci were isolated in 30 samples (33.7%). There was no significant difference between the febrile-septic group and the asymptomatic group in the rate of infusate contamination (P=.59). In eight patients, the same organisms were recovered from infusate and blood culture. The overall bacteremia rate was 2.5 per 100 discharges.

Conclusions: Compared to previous reports, higher infusate contamination rates and different organisms (mainly gram-negative) were observed. In hospitals of underdeveloped countries, nosocomial infection control frequently is disregarded. Infusate contamination may be common and could lead to gram-negative bacteremia. In such settings, it seems advisable to perform surveillance studies to identify infusate contamination, because a single infusate contamination could be a signal for an epidemic.