Sapientia
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A relação entre o mind wandering e as funções executivas
Publication . Domingos, Lucas Teodoro; Inácio, Filomena Café
O Mind Wandering (MW) carateriza-se como uma alteração do foco da atenção de uma tarefa para conteúdo mental autogerado, cuja frequência e manutenção pode ser influenciada pelas funções executivas. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar através de instrumentos de autorrelato a associação entre a frequência de episódios de Mind Wandering e dificuldades da vida diária devido a défices de funções executivas, mais especificamente a relação entre o MW espontâneo e deliberado e os défices de funções executivas. Observou-se que a frequência do MW espontâneo está moderadamente correlacionada com os défices de funções executivas, enquanto o MW deliberado apresenta uma correlação negligível com os mesmos. Este estudo salienta a viabilidade da utilização de instrumentos de autorrelato para o estudo do MW e das funções executivas, numa área de estudo onde predomina o contexto experimental.
Oceanography data acquisition and analysis
Publication . Robledo, Ivan Piquer; Gauci, Adam; Fernandez, Helena
Detailed bathymetry is necessary for reliable coastal zone management and operations. While traditional in-situ echo sounding offers high precision, it suffers from inefficiencies in shallow waters and incurs logistical costs. Similarly, LiDAR mapping provides efficient coverage of coastal areas but comes with high acquisition expenses. In contrast, Satellite Derived Bathymetry presents a more cost-effective alternative for mapping coastal regions, albeit typically at a lower resolution. This study addresses the need for precise shallow water bathymetry around the Maltese Islands by integrating in-situ and remote data from Landsat 9, Planet Scope and Sentinel 2-A satellites. We investigate both conventional linear regression models and advanced machine learning techniques, specifically the Random Forest algorithm. An empirical workflow was developed from various band combinations, calibrated against extensive on-site measurements. The research provides a comprehensive insight into the depth accuracy achievable for shallow coastal regions using these diverse satellite platforms and modeling approaches, contributing to more efficient and reliable bathymetric mapping for coastal applications.
Trophic ecology and coastal niche partitioning of two sympatric shark species in the Azores (mid-Atlantic)
Publication . Priester, C. Robert; Dierking, Jan; Hansen, Thomas; Abecasis, David; Fontes, Jorge M.; Afonso, Pedro
The exploitation of marine resources has caused drastic declines of many large predatory fishes. Amongst these, sharks are of major conservation concern due to their high vulnerability to overfishing and their ecological role as top predators. The 2 protected and endangered shark species tope Galeorhinus galeus and smooth hammerhead Sphyrna zygaena use overlapping coastal areas around the globe as essential fish habitats, but data to assess their trophic ecology and niche partitioning are scarce. We provide the first comparative assessment of the trophic ecology, ontogenetic shifts, and niche partitioning of the co-occurring tope and juvenile smooth hammer head around the Azores Islands, mid-north Atlantic, based on δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S (CNS) stable isotope analysis of muscle tissue of the sharks and their putative prey species. Overall, isotopic niches of both species indicated a reliance on similar resources throughout the sampled sizes (tope: 35– 190; smooth hammerhead 54–159 cm total length), with significant ontogenetic shifts. Topes displayed a gradual shift to higher trophic levels and a more generalist diet with increasing size (increasing δ15N values and isotopic niche volumes, respectively), whereas smooth hammerhead diet shifted towards prey with lower δ34S at a constant trophic level and a more specialized diet than tope of comparable body size (decreasing δ34S and constant δ15N and δ13C values, respectively). Our results indicate contrasting ontogenetic shifts in δ13C and δ34S along with pronounced differences between niche overlap of life stages pointing to intra- and interspecific niche partitioning of habitat and prey.
Commentary to concerns regarding the assessment of clinical reasoning in medical students
Publication . Collares, Carlos; Pleguezuelos, Eduardo; Hornos, Eduardo
We thank Supianto [1] for the thoughtful remarks on Hornos et al. [2]. We welcome the opportunity to clarify our methodological choices and findings. We respectfully disagree with the assertion that Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega are reliability coefficients that should be limited to knowledge-based tests. These internal consistency methods to estimate reliability have broad applications across different types of educational and psychological assessments using multiitem measurement scales. Furthermore, McDonald’s omega offers advantages over Cronbach’s alpha as it accounts for factor loadings [3], making it more suitable for complex constructs like clinical reasoning.
Lipidomic fingerprinting of the red seaweed Asparagopsis spp. evidencing specific profiling in gametophyte and tetrasporophyte life stages
Publication . Lopes, Diana; Rey, Felisa; Melo, Tânia; Pinho, Marisa; Moreira, Ana S.P.; Pes, Katia; Mata, Leonardo; Domingues, M. Rosário
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in seaweed biomass for multiple industrial applications due to their broad spectrum of high-value nutrients and bioactive metabolites. Seaweed lipids, and particularly the polar lipids, are a source of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), which have been reported to possess various biological activities, and are a sustainable alternative to fish oils. However, the profile of polar lipids in seaweeds is still understudied and therefore it is crucial to expand the knowledge of the lipidome of seaweeds, particularly of those with commercial potential, including the invasive species such as Asparagopsis sp. These invasive species produce a large biomass, making it a sustainable strategy for reducing its abundance, which would result in both environmental and economic benefits. This study aimed to comprehensively characterize the fatty acids and polar lipid profile of the two Asparagopsis species (A. armata and A. taxiformis), across two life stages (gametophyte and tetrasporophyte) and two different origins (wild and cultivated), using highly sensitive mass spectrometry-based approaches. Our study provides the first detailed characterization of the polar lipidome of Asparagopsis species and revealed that the gametophyte stage exhibited a greater number of polar lipid species than the tetrasporophyte stage. The phosphatidylcholine and the sulfoquinovosyl-diacylglycerol classes are the most abundant in all the samples studied. Although the lipidome of A. armata and A. taxiformis from the gametophyte stage showed similar distributions, variations in the relative abundance of lipid molecular species were observed. The statistical analysis of all A. armata specimens revealed that the lipid profile of samples from the same life stage were similar, regardless of their distinct origin (i.e., wild and cultivated). Furthermore, several polar lipid species with reported bioactivity were identified in Asparagopsis spp., providing insights into the lipid composition of these invasive species and their potential for further biotechnological applications. However, given the low absolute content of lipids in Asparagopsis species, it is unlikely to be viable to use nuisance or farmed biomass as a source of lipids alone.