Validation of a lithium-ion commercial battery pack model using experimental data for stationary energy management application.

A cost-effective solution for the design of distributed energy storage systems implies the development of battery performance models yielding a suitable representation of its dynamic behaviour under realistic operation conditions. In this work, a lithium-ion battery (LIB) is tested to be further modelled and integrated into an existing energy management control system. This specific LIB (5.

Chromosomes of Asian cyprinid fishes: cytogenetic analysis of two representatives of small paleotetraploid tribe Probarbini.

Background: Polyploidy, although still poorly explored, represents an important evolutionary event in several cyprinid clades. Herein, and - representatives of the paleotetraploid tribe Probarbini, were characterized both by conventional and molecular cytogenetic methods.

Results: Alike most other paleotetraploid cyprinids (with 2n = 100), both species studied here shared 2n = 98 but differed in karyotypes: displayed 18m + 34sm + 46st/a; NF = 150, while exhibited 26m + 14sm + 58st/a; NF = 138.

Comparative Chromosome Painting in Genets (Carnivora, Viverridae, Genetta), the Only Known Feliforms with a Highly Rearranged Karyotype.

Mammalian carnivores have been extensively studied by cross-species chromosome painting, which indicated a high degree of karyotypic conservatism in the cat-like suborder Feliformia relative to the ancestral carnivore karyotype (ACK). The first exception to this high degree of karyotypic conservation in feliforms was recently confirmed in genets, mesocarnivores belonging to the basal family Viverridae. Here, we present a comparative analysis of the chromosome rearrangements among 2 subspecies of the small-spotted genet Genetta genetta (the Iberian nominate and the Arabian grantii) and the panther genet G.

First empirical evidence of naturally occurring androgenesis in vertebrates.

Androgenesis among vertebrates is considered a rare phenomenon, with some cases reported so far, but linked to experiments involving gamete manipulation (artificial androgenesis). Herein, we report the first empirical evidence of the natural occurrence of spontaneous androgenesis in a vertebrate, the allopolyploid complex. A genetically screened random sample of a natural population was allowed to reproduce in an isolated pond without any human interference, and the viable offspring obtained was later analysed for paternity.

Reproductive dynamics shapes genomotype composition in an allopolyploid complex.

Hybrid complexes are composed of organisms with multiple combinations of parental genomes (genomotypes) that interconnect through nets of crosses. Although several such complexes are well established without speciation or extinction, mechanisms shaping their dynamics remain poorly understood. In this study, we quantified the reproductive success of the allopolyploid Iberian fish Squalius alburnoides in experimental free-access and directional crosses involving the most common genomotypes.

Dynamics of Rex3 in the genomes of endangered Iberian Leuciscinae (Teleostei, Cyprinidae) and their natural hybrids.

Background: Iberian Leuciscinae are greatly diverse comprising taxa of hybrid origin. With highly conservative karyotypes, Iberian Chondrostoma s.l.

Mate Choice Drives Evolutionary Stability in a Hybrid Complex.

Previous studies have shown that assortative mating acts as a driver of speciation by countering hybridization between two populations of the same species (pre-zygotic isolation) or through mate choice among the hybrids (hybrid speciation). In both speciation types, assortative mating promotes speciation over a transient hybridization stage. We studied mate choice in a hybrid vertebrate complex, the allopolyploid fish Squalius alburnoides.

Host specificity and metamorphosis of the glochidium of the freshwater mussel Unio tumidiformis (Bivalvia: Unionidae).

The glochidium larvae of freshwater mussels of the family Unionidae need to find suitable hosts to attach themselves and metamorphose into free-living juveniles. The specificity of the host-parasite relationship was investigated for the Iberian Unio tumidiformis Castro, 1885 by means of experimental infections and also by analyzing naturally infected fish. The process of encapsulation of glochidia was studied using scanning electron microscopy.

Comparative cytogenetics of two endangered leuciscine fish, Squalius aradensis and S. torgalensis (Teleostei, Cyprinidae), from the Iberian Peninsula.

In this study, the description of the karyotypes of the endangered chubs Squalius aradensis (Coelho, Bogutskaya, Rodrigues and Collares-Pereira, 1998) and Squalius torgalensis (Coelho, Bogutskaya, Rodrigues and Collares-Pereira, 1998) is presented by means of conventional (Giemsa-staining, Chromomycin A3 (CMA3)-fluorescence, Silver-impregnation (Ag-NORs)) and molecular (fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with 18S rDNA probe) protocols. These endemic sister-species have an allopatric but adjacent distribution in the most southwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula. Diploid chromosome number was invariably 2n = 50 and karyotypes of both species were grossly similar, composed of metacentric and submetacentric elements with a reduced number of acrocentric pairs.

Introgressive hybridization as a promoter of genome reshuffling in natural homoploid fish hybrids (Cyprinidae, Leuciscinae).

Understanding the mechanisms underlying diversification and speciation by introgressive hybridization is currently one of the major challenges in evolutionary biology. Here, the analysis of hybridization between two pairs of Iberian Leuciscinae provided new data on independent hybrid zones involving Achondrostoma oligolepis (AOL) and Pseudochondrostoma duriense (PDU), and confirmed the occurrence of hybrids between AOL and Pseudochondrostoma polylepis (PPO). A multilevel survey combining morphological, genetic and cytogenomic markers on a vast population screening successfully sorted the selected fishes as admixed.

Chromosomes of Iberian Leuciscinae (Cyprinidae) revisited: Evidence of genome restructuring in homoploid hybrids using dual-color FISH and CGH.

Iberian Leuciscinae have been used in many studies as models to explore topics such as hybridization, allopolyploidy, modes of reproduction, and evolution. This article focuses on the contribution of cytogenomics to foster research in this group of cyprinid fish. Conventional and molecular banding results were reviewed, facilitating comparative analysis between nase and chub taxa inhabiting Portuguese freshwaters.

Natural pathways towards polyploidy in animals: the Squalius alburnoides fish complex as a model system to study genome size and genome reorganization in polyploids.

When comparing the known picture of polyploidy in animals and in plants, it is possible to recognize some similarities, namely: (i) multiple and recurrent origins in several well-established taxonomic groups; (ii) a strong and regular association with hybridization events; (iii) the production of genotypic diversity; (iv) a rapid genomic reshuffling; (v) a very active role of transposable elements in allopolyploids; (vi) a comparatively privileged occurrence in harsher environments when compared with their diploid relatives, and (vii) gene silencing and divergence of duplicated genes without disruption of duplicated loci. Research on polyploidy was highly biased towards plants during the last century because polyploidy in animals was for long time considered rare, occasional and irrelevant from an evolutionary perspective. However, as empirically observed in plants, genome rediploidization starts in polyploid organisms immediately after the polyploid shock.

Chromosomes of European cyprinid fishes: comparative cytogenetics and chromosomal characteristics of ribosomal DNAs in nine Iberian chondrostomine species (Leuciscinae).

Karyotypes and chromosomal features of both minor and major ribosomal RNA genes (rDNA) were investigated in nine Iberian chondrostomine species by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) with 5S and 45S rDNA probes. All species presented invariably diploid values of 2n = 50 and the characteristic leuciscin karyotype pattern with 6-7 metacentric (m), 15-16 submetacentric (sm) and 3-4 subtelo- to acrocentric (st/a) chromosome pairs. The largest chromosome pair of the set was st/a as typical of Leuciscinae and no heteromorphic chromosomes could be unequivocally associated to sex determination.

Synaptonemal complexes in the hybridogenetic Squalius alburnoides fish complex: new insights on the gametogenesis of allopolyploids.

In the Squalius alburnoides fish complex, allotriploid females (3n = 75) reproduce mostly by meiotic hybridogenesis, producing haploid gametes by means of the elimination of the heterospecific chromosome set and recombination between the 2 homospecific genomes. A synaptonemal complexes (SCs) analysis was performed in specimens from a confined southern population (Quarteira, Portugal) to understand chromosome dynamics during gametogenesis. The comparative study between hybrid females with QAA genome composition and the parental bisexual species Squalius aradensis (2n = 50, QQ genome) evidenced: (i) that allotriploid meiocytes comprise the complete chromosome set (75 chromosomes) in prophase I, proving the heterospecific genome (Q) is only excluded after pachytene stage, and (ii) a 2-phase synaptic process where initially, exclusively homologous SCs form and the unmatched univalents remain in a bouquet conformation, followed by the establishment of extensive non-homologous SCs with multivalent associations among the later.

Identifying parental chromosomes and genomic rearrangements in animal hybrid complexes of species with small genome size using Genomic In Situ Hybridization (GISH).

Genomic In Situ Hybridization (GISH) is a powerful tool to identify and to quantify genomic constituents in allopolyploids, and is mainly based on hybridization of highly and moderate repetitive sequences. In animals, as opposed to plants, GISH has not been widely used in part because there are technical problems in obtaining informative results. Using the allopolyploid Squalius alburnoides Steindachner, 1866 fish complex as a model system, we succeeded in overcoming methodological constraints when dealing with parental species with a small genome size.

Plasmid profile analysis of Portuguese Borrelia lusitaniae strains.

Plasmid profiles of 2 Portuguese Borrelia lusitaniae strains, one isolated from a human patient and the other one from an Ixodes ricinus tick, were obtained by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to evaluate the plasmid diversity in each strain. Overall, a maximum of 6 plasmids were detected that ranged from 19 kb to 76 kb, revealing completely different plasmid profiles from those previously described for other genospecies of B. burgdorferi sensu lato, the causative agents of Lyme borreliosis.

Emergence, control and re-emerging leptospirosis: dynamics of infection in the changing world.

Globally, leptospirosis poses an increasing public health problem, as evidenced by markedly increasing incidence rates and multiple outbreaks in all continents. Yet, the disease is severely neglected and hence, its global burden is largely unknown. The estimated incidence of about half a million severe human cases annually is probably an underestimation while the burden for animal health is unknown.

Reconfirming the hybrid origin and generic status of the Iberian cyprinid complex Squalius alburnoides.

The recent allocation of the cyprinid complex Squalius alburnoides to the genus Iberocypris in the Handbook of European Freshwater Fishes is refuted by confirming evidence of a close relationship with the genus Squalius. Squalius alburnoides is here defined as a complex based on the existence of a hybrid form with distinct genome combinations and ploidies and of a reconstituted nuclear non-hybrid male form also with hybrid origin.

Life-history variability of non-native centrarchids in regulated river systems of the lower River Guadiana drainage (south-west Iberian Peninsula).

Life-history variability of two non-native centrarchids, pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus and largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides, was evaluated in three stream stretches of the lower River Guadiana drainage (south-west Iberian Peninsula) with different degrees of regulated flows. Abundance, condition and population structure differed among populations for both species, but invasion success was lower in the least regulated river. Lepomis gibbosus were abundant and had multiple age classes in the three river sites, whereas M.

Evidence for hermaphroditism in the Squalius alburnoides allopolyploid fish complex.

Fish show an amazing variety of mechanisms of sex determination and modes of reproduction. Of these, simultaneous hermaphroditism has rarely been described. Here, we report a novel case of this phenomenon in adults of the Squalius alburnoides allopolyploid cyprinid complex.

First isolation of human Leptospira strains, Azores, Portugal.

Objectives: The aim of this study was the first identification of Leptospira isolates from Azorean inpatients.

Methods: Whole blood samples from 68 inpatients attending the São Miguel Hospital between 2006 and 2008, with a clinical and epidemiological suspicion of leptospirosis, were inoculated in a transport medium broth at the patient's bedside and further processed using a serial dilution technique prior to culture. At admission, 62 (91%) patients were also analyzed for the presence of leptospiral DNA by a nested PCR and 40 (59%) for specific agglutinins by microscopic agglutination test (MAT).

Scaleprinting: individual identification based on scale patterns.

A non-intrusive method for individual identification of Iberian cyprinid complex Squalius alburnoides is presented, with possible application to other fish complexes and species. The proposed methodology is based on scale patterns that vary greatly between individuals.

Cytogenetic survey of species of two distinct genera of Iberian nases (Cyprinidae, Leuciscinae) that hybridize extensively in nature. I. Evidence of a similar and conserved chromosome pattern with some few species-specific markers at macro-structural level.

Pseudochondrostoma duriense and Pseudochondrostoma polylepis hybridize extensively with Achondrostoma oligolepis in natural populations. In this first survey, karyotypes were comparatively analyzed by C-, AgNOR- and CMA(3)-banding procedures in pure (non-introgressed) fish specimens. Leuciscinae pattern was evidenced in the three species: metacentrics and submetacentrics dominance, a big subtelo/acrocentric (marker) chromosome pair and a 2n = 50; small macro-structural differences were observed.

A new Borrelia species defined by multilocus sequence analysis of housekeeping genes.

Analysis of Lyme borreliosis (LB) spirochetes, using a novel multilocus sequence analysis scheme, revealed that OspA serotype 4 strains (a rodent-associated ecotype) of Borrelia garinii were sufficiently genetically distinct from bird-associated B. garinii strains to deserve species status. We suggest that OspA serotype 4 strains be raised to species status and named Borrelia bavariensis sp.

Karyotype and genome size of Iberochondrostoma almacai (Teleostei, Cyprinidae) and comparison with the sister-species I.lusitanicum.

This study aimed to define the karyotype of the recently described Iberian endemic Iberochondrostoma almacai, to revisit the previously documented chromosome polymorphisms of its sister species I.lusitanicum using C-, Ag-/CMA(3) and RE-banding, and to compare the two species genome sizes. A 2n = 50 karyotype (with the exception of a triploid I.