Publications by authors named "O Francisco"

Economic development, marine transportation, and oil exploration are all activities that are increasing in the Arctic region, and there is concern regarding increased oil-related contaminants entering this sensitive environment. Polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) are the main chemical constituents in oil-related contaminants and have been detected in wildlife species following both acute and chronic exposure. In 2020, an oil spill occurred in Kaikopok Bay near Postville, NL, Canada.

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The scientific literature is replete with analytical methods for the analysis of homocyclic aromatic compounds especially polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their alkylated analogs. However, there is a paucity of methods for the analysis of nitrogen-, sulfur- and oxygen-containing polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs). The lack of commercially available analytical standards, the presence of many structural derivatives and isomers and lack of certified reference materials all contribute to the inherent challenges in measuring these compounds.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pathogens are impacting wild bird populations globally, and this study focuses on the endangered Pyrenean Capercaillie, assessing various pathogens in its feces and samples.
  • Fecal samples were negative for the tested pathogens; however, a new herpesvirus was found in 50% of the wild Capercaillies, and hemosporidian parasites were detected in 62.5% of tissue samples.
  • The study highlights concerns over climate change affecting this mountain bird's health and underscores the importance of these findings for conservation efforts aimed at protecting the Pyrenean Capercaillie.
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The first observation of the semileptonic b-baryon decay Λ_{b}^{0}→Λ_{c}^{+}τ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{τ}, with a significance of 6.1σ, is reported using a data sample corresponding to 3  fb^{-1} of integrated luminosity, collected by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV at the LHC. The τ^{-} lepton is reconstructed in the hadronic decay to three charged pions.

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This work studies the effects of alkaline-earth cation addition on the unfolding free energy of a model protein, pancreatic Ribonuclease A (RNase A) by differential scanning calorimetry analysis. RNase A was chosen because: a) it does not specifically bind Mg , Ca and Sr cations and b) maintains its structural integrity throughout a large pH range. We have measured and compared the effects of NaCl, MgCl , CaCl and SrCl addition on the melting point of RNase A.

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