Publications

This upload contains three datasets in CSV files and a PDF file with the specific description of the CSV files. These data was used for the analysis of the mass mortality events reported during the period 2015-2019 across the Mediterranean. The datasets are 1) a CSV file with the data used for the description of the spatial-temporal, depth and biological patterns of mortality observed in the Mediterranean Sea in the 2015-2019 period; 2) a CSV file with the data used to conduct the analyses on the relationship between marine heatwaves (MHW) days found on the surface (averaged per monitored area and year) and the corresponding mass mortality incidence of benthic organisms; 3) a CSV file with the data used to conduct the analyses on the relationship between in-situ MHW days (averaged per monitored area, depth and year) and the corresponding mass mortality incidence. Data were obtained through benthic community field surveys conducted by 33 research teams from 11 Mediterranean countries. Surveys covered thousands of kms of coastline, spanning 13º of latitude (32 °S to 45 °N) and 40º of longitude (-5°W to 35°E) in the Mediterranean Sea. The dataset provides the most updated inventory of mass mortality events records for benthic species between 2015-2019 in the region. The surveys were conducted in 142 monitoring areas. Monitoring areas were considered as geographic areas (10-25 km coastline, e.g., a marine protected area and the nearby coast) sharing common environmental features. In situ temperature conditions datasets base consists of high frequency (hourly) time series obtained using HOBO data loggers (accuracy ± 0.21°C) set-up at standard depths along rocky walls by divers, generally every 5 m from the surface to 40 m depth.This dataset as in the case of the mortality was assembled under the T-MEDNet initiative (www.t-mednet.org). Satellite derived sea surface temperature (SST) across the Mediterranean Sea was obtained from CMEMS (https://resources.marine.copernicus.eu/?option=com_csw&view=details&product_id=SST_MED_SST_L4_REP_OBSERVATIONS_010_021). The data consists of daily (night-time), gap free, optimally interpolated foundation SST at ~4 km resolution from AVHRR with improved accuracy and stability over the 1982-2019 period

We recorded seasonal and interannual population dynamics of the endemic Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica in a shallow meadow, Magalluf Bay, Spain (39°30.25′N, 2°32.59′E), performing direct monthly‐bimonthly censuses from June 2001 to November 2004, in 12 permanent plots. Initially, there were 568 ± 54 (mean 6 SE) shoots m22. An average decline of ‐63 ± 10 SE shoots m −2 yr −1 was detected. Shoot mortality (median: 1.2% month −1 ; range: 0% to 12.1% month −1 ) increased in summer, enhanced by seawater temperature. There was also substantial interannual variability characterized by very high mortality in summer‐autumn 2001 and in autumn‐winter 2003–2004, coinciding with hot summers and meadow flowering in autumn (2001: 2.0% ± 1.4% of shoots; 2003: 53.8% ± 10.4% of shoots), but fruiting and seedling recruitment were only observed in 2004. Annual vegetative recruitment (0.034 ± 0.007 yr −1 ) was 53 times higher than annual sexual recruitment (0.0006 ± 0.0007 yr −1 ), and total recruitment (vegetative + sexual) was on average 4.5 times lower than mortality. Specific net population growth was always negative during the study. No seasonality was detected in shoot recruitment (median: 0.002 month −1 ; range: 0 to 0.021 month −1 ), which did not correlate with solar radiation or temperature. Shoots recruited during the study had a steeper exponential depletion rate ( r r = ‐0.34 ± 0.05 SE yr −1 ) than the global population ( r N0 = ‐0.16 ± 0.01 SE yr −1 ). Shoot probability to survive to the next age class ( p x ) increased with shoot age. Our results suggest that the general decline of P. oceanica meadows could be enhanced by the decadal Mediterranean warming trend.

We studied the effect of seagrass ( Cymodocea nodosa ) colonization on community metabolism and sediment conditions. The biomass of C. nodosa increased with time after seagrass colonization. The biomass increased steadily during the 6.1 yr of colonization to 9.1 mol C m −2 . Gross primary production increased from 7 to 49.3 mmol C m −2 d −1 during the first stages of the colonization and then decreased to 20 mmol C m −2 d −1 at a time when the biomass was in excess of 6 mol C m −2 . Net dissolved organic carbon (DOC) fluxes increased with time after colonization, shifting from a net uptake in patches younger than 2 yr to a net release in older patches. Community respiration (R) increased with the seagrass colonization, leading to a shift from net autotrophy in the unvegetated sediment community to net heterotrophy after C. nodosa colonization. The increase in net heterotrophy with seagrass colonization was reflected in the development of reducing conditions in the sediment. To maintain a net heterotrophic benthic metabolism and net DOC release, the C. nodosa community must receive an input of organic matter (OM) from an allochthonous source. OM inputs from sestonic material trapped by the seagrass canopy exceed 157 mmol C m −2 d −1 in developed C. nodosa communities. Thus, the seagrass community acts as an important link between the pelagic and benthic communities by trapping sestonic organic carbon.

Definir a prevalência do traço falciforme em doadores de bancos de sangue privados para delineamento de intervenções futuras, quanto ao direcionamento do hemocomponente coletado. Estudo multicêntrico, retrospectivo, observacional, a partir de dados extraídos do software do Grupo GSH, como quantitativo de bolsas coletadas de sangue total e doadores com traço falciforme, identificados pelo teste de solubilidade. Foi realizada a análise descritiva por meio de frequências absolutas e percentuais para cálculo da prevalência, no período de janeiro de 2020 a junho de 2022. O estudo envolveu 12 Bancos de Sangue localizados nas regiões Nordeste, Centro-Oeste e Sudeste, que contribuíram com o quantitativo de 402.047 bolsas coletadas e a prevalência de traço falciforme na amostra geral de 2,12%. Na análise por regiões, a prevalência no Nordeste foi de 2,49% e no Centro-Oeste foi semelhante ao Sudeste (2%). A região Nordeste, representada por 4 Bancos de Sangue, obteve a maior prevalência de doadores com traço falciforme. Apesar da região Sudeste ter apresentado maior quantitativo de Bancos de Sangue e de bolsas coletadas, a prevalência do traço falciforme foi semelhante ao Centro-Oeste, representado por apenas um Banco de Sangue, que abrangeu um período mais curto na coleta de dados (8 meses). O traço falciforme é caracterizado pela presença de hemoglobina S (HbS) em heterozigose, presente em percentual que varia de 22 a 45% da hemoglobina total. Estima-se que no mundo existam cerca de 30 milhões de portadores do traço falciforme e, no Brasil, em torno de 2 milhões. Estes indivíduos são, em grande maioria, assintomáticos e considerados aptos para doação de sangue. Desde a publicação da Resolução da Diretoria Colegiada da Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária n°153, em 4 de junho de 2004, a triagem de hemoglobinopatias tornou-se obrigatória. O sangue de indivíduos com HbS requer um direcionamento específico, pois não pode ser utilizado em pacientes com acidose grave, hemoglobinopatias, em recém-nascidos e transfusões intrauterinas e pode sofrer alterações durante o processamento e armazenamento. A prevalência do traço falciforme na amostra geral do estudo foi semelhante à encontrada na população brasileira. Quanto à região analisada, Naoum evidenciou maior prevalência na região Norte (4,49%), seguida do Nordeste (4,05%) e Centro-Oeste (3,11%) e o menor índice no Sudeste e Sul (1,87% cada região). O atual estudo reforça a maior prevalência da HbS no Nordeste das regiões analisadas, porém a semelhança no quantitativo entre as regiões Centro-Oeste e Sudeste, pode ser justificada pela diferença do período analisado. A compreensão da prevalência da HbS em doadores de sangue é importante para garantia da segurança e qualidade transfusional. Além disso, projetos futuros poderão ser incentivados para melhoria da qualidade do sangue para o receptor e orientações ao doador. São necessários mais estudos para melhor caracterização do perfil dos doadores com traço falciforme no serviço privado.

A method for isolating high‐quality DNA is presented for the green algae Caulerpa sp. ( C. racemosa , C. prolifera , and C. taxifolia ) and the brown alga Sargassum muticum . These are introduced, and invasive species in Europe, except for the native C. prolifera . Previous methods of extraction, using cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide or various commercial kits, were used to isolate genomic DNA but either no DNA or DNA of very low quality was obtained. Genomic libraries were attempted with Caulerpa sp. on three occasions and either the restriction enzyme, the Taq polymerase, or the T4 ligase was inhibited, probably by the large amount of polysaccharides in these algae. The method presented here consists of the rapid isolation of stable nuclei, followed by DNA extraction. Yields of 6–10 μ g genomic DNA from 1 g fresh blades were obtained. After genomic DNA was isolated from fresh material, the quality was checked by agarose gel. Quantification of DNA concentration was performed using UV spectrophotometric measurement of the A 260 / A 280 ratio. The DNA was suitable for PCR, cloning, and hybridization. The DNA isolated using this method allowed successful construction of microsatellite libraries for Caulerpa species and S. muticum . The technique is inexpensive and appropriate for the isolation of multiple samples of DNA from a small amount of fresh material.