Publications by authors named "Francisco Santa Cruz"

Nanoplastics and engineering nanomaterials (ENMs) are contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), increasingly being detected in the marine environment and recognized as a potential threat for marine biota at the global level including in polar areas. Few studies have assessed the impact of these anthropogenic nanoparticles in the microbiome of marine invertebrates, however combined exposure resembling natural scenarios has been overlooked. The present study aimed to evaluate the single and combined effects of polystyrene nanoparticles (PS NP) as proxy for nanoplastics and nanoscale titanium dioxide (nano-TiO) on the prokaryotic communities associated with the gill tissue of the Antarctic soft-shell clam Laternula elliptica, a keystone species of marine benthos Wild-caught specimens were exposed to two environmentally relevant concentrations of carboxylated PS NP (PS-COOH NP, ∼62 nm size) and nano-TiO (Aeroxide P25, ∼25 nm) as 5 and 50 μg/L either single and combined for 96h in a semi-static condition.

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Article Synopsis
  • The Antarctic toothfish is a crucial species in the Southern Ocean that serves as both a top predator and a food source for marine mammals, highlighting its importance in the ecosystem.
  • Research gaps exist regarding its feeding habits in protected areas, particularly the Antarctic Peninsula, prompting a comprehensive study of its diet over two fishing seasons.
  • The study revealed that size-class and season influence the toothfish's diet, which primarily consists of certain fish families and cephalopods, thus providing important insights for effective conservation and understanding its role amid climate change.
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  • Dramatic declines in chinstrap penguin populations in the Antarctic Peninsula are linked to climate change affecting their main food source, krill.
  • By analyzing data on penguin breeding, environmental conditions, and krill density, researchers found that reduced krill availability led to increased foraging efforts by penguins, which negatively impacted their breeding success.
  • The study emphasizes how environmental variability, exacerbated by climate change, can significantly influence penguin populations and their foraging strategies.
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Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs) provide the strongest environmental protection in Antarctica. However, they are not immune from anthropogenic pollution of marine or terrestrial origin. We document anthropogenic debris within ASPA No.

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Fast climate changes in the western Antarctic Peninsula are reducing krill density, which along with increased fishing activities in recent decades, may have had synergistic effects on penguin populations. We tested that assumption by crossing data on fishing activities and Southern Annular Mode (an indicator of climate change in Antarctica) with penguin population data. Increases in fishing catch during the non-breeding period were likely to result in impacts on both chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarcticus) and gentoo (P.

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Introduction: High salt intake is a major risk factor related to many cardiovascular and renal diseases. World Action on Salt and Health is a newly formed coalition of heath professionals whose goal is to implement changes in salt consumption in their respective countries for the goal of reducing blood pressure. In the same vein, we have decided to study the amount of salt intake in Paraguay to determine if a relationship exists between salt intake and blood pressure.

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Paraguay is a landlocked country located in South America with a total population of 5,884,491. Most of the population (95%) is mestizo, a mixture of Spanish and American/Indian races. The total number of indigenous people in the country has increased from 38,703 in 1981 to 85,674 in 2002.

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Unlabelled: Up until relatively recently, renal stones in developing countries were considered to be very different from those observed in industrialized countries, essentially characterized by the predominance of phosphate and urate stones, while the predominant stones in industrialized countries are calcium oxalate stones. To verify whether this difference in the epidemiological profile is still observed today, we analysed renal stones collected in various regions of the globe and compared their composition to that of stones observed in France.

Material And Method: 1,042 stones were collected between 1991 and 2000 from 14 different countries or geographical zones: Sub-Saharan Africa (Cameroon, Mali, Senegal), North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia), South America (Brazil, Paraguay), Asia Minor (Pakistan, Turkey), Far East (China, Laos, Vietnam) and French Polynesia (Tahiti).

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