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Relationship between skin and body condition in three species of baleen whales
Publication . Neves, Joyce; Methion, Séverine; Díaz López, Bruno
The assessment of free-ranging cetacean health through the study of skin conditions using photographs has gained prominence in recent years. However, little attention has been given to the relationships between cetacean skin conditions, species, and body condition. To explore this relationship among baleen whale species along the northwestern coast of Spain, we employed a non-invasive method involving photograph analysis. In this study, we examined skin conditions (including injuries, epizoites and ectoparasites, pigmentation disorders, skin lesions, and anatomical malformations) and body condition (overall physical contours and form, as an indicator of nutritional status and health) in 3 species of whales (blue, fin, and minke whales). This methodology facilitated the identification of 29 subcategories of distinct skin conditions and an assessment of body condition over a 5 yr period (2017 to 2021). In our study, we present evidence linking hypopigmentation, protruding pieces of tissue, and tattoo-like lesions to ‘Poor’ body condition in the 3 baleen whale species. Fin whales exhibited a higher susceptibility to mottling (prevalence = 17.7%), while blue whales were more prone to starbursts (prevalence = 90.5%). Additionally, we found a significant relationship between skin condition diversity and individual body condition. Our findings contribute valuable information to the broader understanding of the health status of baleen whales. Further investigations are necessary to delve into the etiology of the documented skin conditions and their potential implications for individual survival. This study serves as a foundation for ongoing research aimed at advancing our comprehension of these findings.
Lexicalized meaning representation (LMR)
Publication . Baptista, Jorge; Reis, Sónia; Dias, João; Santos, Pedro A.
This paper presents an adaptation of the Abstract Meaning Representation (AMR) framework for European Portuguese. This adaptation, referred to as Lexicalized Meaning Representation (LMR), was deemed necessary to address specific challenges posed by the grammar of the language, as well as various linguistic issues raised by the current version of AMR annotation guidelines. Some of these aspects stemmed from the use of a notation similar to AMR to represent real texts from the legal domain, enabling its use in Natural Language Processing (NLP) applications. In this context, several aspects of AMR were significantly simplified (e.g., the representation of multi-word expressions, named entities, and temporal expressions), while others were introduced, with efforts made to maintain the representation scheme as compatible as possible with standard AMR notation.
Charting the linguistic landscape of developing writers: an annotation scheme for enhancing native language proficiency
Publication . Da Corte, Miguel; Baptista, Jorge
This study describes a pilot annotation task designed to capture orthographic, grammatical, lexical, semantic, and discursive patterns exhibited by college native English speakers participating in developmental education (DevEd) courses. The paper introduces an annotation scheme developed by two linguists aiming at pinpointing linguistic challenges that hinder effective written communication. The scheme builds upon patterns supported by the literature, which are known as predictors of student placement in DevEd courses and English proficiency levels. Other novel, multilayered, linguistic aspects that the literature has not yet explored are also presented. The scheme and its primary categories are succinctly presented and justified. Two trained annotators used this scheme to annotate a sample of 103 text units (3 during the training phase and 100 during the annotation task proper). Texts were randomly selected from a population of 290 community college intending students. An in-depth quality assurance inspection was conducted to assess tagging consistency between annotators and to discern (and address) annotation inaccuracies. Krippendorff’s Alpha (K-alpha) interrater reliability coefficients were calculated, revealing a K-alpha score of k=0.40, which corresponds to a moderate level of agreement, deemed adequate for the complexity and length of the annotation task.
Late neanderthal subsistence and foraging mobility at Lapa do Picareiro: a zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis of Level JJ
Publication . Carvalho, Milena; Haws, Jonathan; Jones, Emily Lena
Recent revisions of Neanderthal behavioral models call into question the notion of inflexible subsistence strategies. Here, we present new zooarchaeological and taphonomic data from Level JJ at Lapa do Picareiro (Portuguese Estremadura), dating to ∼51.5–42.5 ka cal BP, to evaluate Neanderthal prey selection, mobility, and adaptive responses to climatic fluctuations during MIS 3. Our zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis of macro-mammalian faunal assemblages—divided into three stratigraphic subunits—reveals a consistent emphasis on red deer exploitation, supplemented by occasional hunting of ibex, chamois, aurochs, and horse. Despite paleoenvironmental disturbances associated with Heinrich Stadial (HS) 5, the stable abundance and processing of red deer indicate that these key resources remained reliable, supporting a localized foraging territory estimated at 225–400 km². In contrast, the lithic record shows a shift in raw material procurement before and after the climatic event, suggesting adaptive technological responses. Overall, our findings imply that Neanderthals at Picareiro employed brief, intermittent site occupations while maintaining resilient, regionally adapted subsistence and mobility strategies in the face of environmental variability.
Topical insulin meets nanomedicine: a synergy for enhanced skin regeneration
Publication . Duarte, Sofia O. D.; Fonte, Pedro
Chronic wounds, particularly those associated with diabetes, present an increasing public health burden due to their extended healing periods and high recurrence rates. One of the most common and clinically difficult forms of chronic wounds are diabetic foot ulcers, which are frequently distinguished by poor angiogenesis, ongoing inflammation, and wound environments that are rich in proteases. Over10 million people are impacted in Europe alone, with a high prevalence among those 65 and older. Over €4 billion is spent on healthcare each year, with each patient’s treatment costing between €6,000 and €10,000 [1,2]. Because of the ongoing inflammation and protease activity, conventional therapies frequently fail to promote complete regeneration, particularly in diabetic wound beds where heal-ing is severely compromised. As a result, there is now more interest in insulin, a biomolecule that is vital for wound heal-ing and has angiogenic, proliferative, and immunomodulatory qualities [2]. However, in chronic wound beds, insulin is extremely vulnerable to enzymatic degradation [3]. By encapsulating insulin in nanoparticles that resist degradation, enhance retention at the wound site, and permit con-trolled release, recent developments in nanomedicine overcome these drawbacks. These technologies better match drug availability with the changing wound environment and improve the regenerative effects of insulin [3,4]. As a result, combining topical insulin therapy with nanocarrier systems shows promise as a wound care approach, especially for diabetic ulcers and other chronic conditions.