The underestimated fraction: diversity, challenges and novel insights into unicellular cyanobionts of lichens.

Lichens are remarkable and classic examples of symbiotic organisms that have fascinated scientists for centuries. Yet, it has only been for a couple of decades that significant advances have focused on the diversity of their green algal and/or cyanobacterial photobionts. Cyanolichens, which contain cyanobacteria as their photosynthetic partner, include up to 10% of all known lichens and, as such, studies on their cyanobionts are much rarer compared to their green algal counterparts. For the unicellular cyanobionts, i.e. cyanobacteria that do not form filaments, these studies are even scarcer. Nonetheless, these currently include at least 10 different genera in the cosmopolitan lichen order Lichinales. An international consortium (International Network of CyanoBionts; INCb) will tackle this lack of knowledge. In this article, we discuss the status of current unicellular cyanobiont research, compare the taxonomic resolution of photobionts from cyanolichens with those of green algal lichens (chlorolichens), and give a roadmap of research on how to recondition the underestimated fraction of symbiotic unicellular cyanobacteria in lichens.

Measuring tissue water potential in marine macroalgae via an updated Chardakov method.

Regulation of tissue water potential is a key mechanism in macroalgal osmotic responses to changing external osmotic conditions, which are common in tidally influenced estuarine and intertidal systems. Nevertheless, significant knowledge gaps exist in our understanding of osmotic responses in macroalgae because few methods measure osmotic potential within macroalgal tissues. Leaf psychrometers have furthered understanding of osmotic potentials in terrestrial plant water relations, yet these have not been developed to measure the range of highly negative potential values found in marine macroalgae. To address these gaps, we present an effective, updated version of the Chardakov method to measure tissue water potential in macroalgae. Here, we present a case study examining macroalgal response in tissue water potential by two morphologically and evolutionarily distinct species, Ulva lactuca (Chlorophyta) and Hypnea musciformis (Rhodophyta) to four paired salinity and nutrient treatments at two temperatures. These treatments simulate a gradient from full coastal ocean conditions to brackish submarine groundwater discharge, an ecosystem type found on basaltic shorelines. Both algae demonstrated plasticity in osmotic response to submarine groundwater discharge with significant positive correlations between tissue water potential and proportion of submarine groundwater discharge in the treatment. These results are the first to describe macroalgal response in tissue water potential, a first step to understanding algal physiological ecology in such complex coastal environments. This revised Chardakov method is a valuable tool to better understand species-specific osmotic responses to ecologically relevant conditions, and can augment the study of other tidal systems and ontogenetic stages.

High-latitude kelps and future oceans: A review of multiple stressor impacts in a changing world.

Kelp forests worldwide are threatened by both climate change and localized anthropogenic impacts. Species with cold-temperate, subpolar, or polar distributions are projected to experience range contractions over the coming decades, which may be exacerbated by climatic events such as marine heatwaves and increased freshwater and sediment input from rapidly contracting glaciers. The northeast Pacific has an extensive history of harvesting and cultivating kelps for subsistence, commercial, and other uses, and, therefore, declines in kelp abundance and distributional shifts will have significant impacts on this region. Gaps in our understanding of how cold-temperate kelp species respond to climate stressors have limited our ability to forecast the status of kelp forests in future oceans, which hampers conservation and management efforts. Here, we conducted a structured literature review to provide a synthesis of the impacts of multiple climate-related stressors on kelp forests in the northeast Pacific, assess existing knowledge gaps, and suggest potential research priorities. We chose to focus on temperature, salinity, sediment load, and light as the stressors most likely to vary and impact kelps as climate change progresses. Our results revealed biases in the existing literature toward studies investigating the impacts of temperature, or temperature in combination with light. Other stressors, particularly salinity and sediment load, have received much less focus despite rapidly changing conditions in high-latitude regions. Furthermore, multiple stressor studies appear to focus on kelp sporophytes, and it is necessary that we improve our understanding of how kelp microstages will be affected by stressor combinations. Finally, studies that investigate the potential of experimental transplantation or selective cultivation of genotypes resilient to environmental changes are lacking and would be useful for the conservation of wild populations and the seaweed aquaculture industry.

Dataset of 143 metagenome-assembled genomes from the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, including 21 for eukaryotic organisms.

This article presents metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) for both eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms originating from the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, along with gene prediction and functional annotation for MAGs from both domains. Eleven samples from the chlorophyll-a maximum layer of the surface ocean were collected during two cruises in 2012; six from the Arctic in June-July on ARK-XXVII/1 (PS80), and five from the Atlantic in November on ANT-XXIX/1 (PS81). Sequencing and assembly was carried out by the Joint Genome Institute (JGI), who provide annotation of the assembled sequences, and 122 MAGs for prokaryotic organisms. A subsequent binning process identified 21 MAGs for eukaryotic organisms, mostly identified as Mamiellophyceae or Bacillariophyceae. The data for each MAG includes sequences in FASTA format, and tables of functional annotation of genes. For eukaryotic MAGs, transcript and protein sequences for predicted genes are available. A spreadsheet is provided summarising quality measures and taxonomic classifications for each MAG. These data provide draft genomes for uncultured marine microbes, including some of the first MAGs for polar eukaryotes, and can provide reference genetic data for these environments, or used in genomics-based comparison between environments.

Caracterización de los cuidadores de pacientes terminales / Characterization of Caregivers of Terminally ill Patients

Introducción: Resultan alarmantes las cifras de pacientes terminales tanto a nivel mundial como en Cuba, por lo que es necesario estudiar la preparación de los cuidadores de estos pacientes. Objetivo: Caracterizar al cuidador del paciente con enfermedad terminal, su preparación, experiencia, conocimientos sobre los cuidados y sobrecarga emocional en el municipio de San Luis. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo y transversal en el periodo 2017-2019, en un universo de 47 cuidadores, a los que se les aplicó un muestreo no probabilístico. La muestra quedó conformada por 20 cuidadores que cumplieron los criterios de inclusión establecidos y dieron su consentimiento informado. Los instrumentos usados fueron la entrevista individual y la escala de carga del cuidador de Zarit. Se utilizó el método empírico y el estadístico y los textos se procesaron con Word XP, las tablas y gráficos se realizaron con Excel XP. Resultados: Prevaleció el nivel de escolaridad preuniversitaria y el estado civil casado. El grado de parentesco más frecuente en la muestra fue los hijos que no poseían experiencia previa de cuidado. Las causas más frecuentes de las enfermedades terminales fueron las demencias. Conclusiones: Predominaron los mayores de 60 años, el sexo femenino con escasos conocimientos sobre los cuidados, lo que influyó en la alta sobrecarga emocional presente en ellos(AU)

Introduction: The figures corresponding to terminally ill patients, both worldwide and in Cuba, are alarming, a reason why it is necessary to study the preparation of the caregivers of these patients. Objective: To characterize the caregiver of the terminally ill patient, their preparation, experience, knowledge about care and emotional overload in San Luis Municipality. Methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out in the period 2017-2019, with a universe of 47 caregivers, to whom a nonprobabilistic sampling was applied. The sample was made up of twenty caregivers who met the established inclusion criteria and gave their informed consent. The instruments used were the individual interview and the Zarit Caregiver Load Scale. Empirical and statistical methods were used. The texts were processed with Word XP. The tables and graphs were made with Excel XP. Results: There was a prevalence of pre-university education level and married as marital status. The most frequent degree of kinship in the sample was made up of children who had no previous caregiving experience. The most frequent causes of terminal illnesses were dementias. Conclusions: Those over sixty years of age predominated, as well as the female sex with little knowledge about care, which influenced the high emotional overload present in them(AU)

Unexpected cryptic species among streptophyte algae most distant to land plants.

Streptophytes are one of the major groups of the green lineage (Chloroplastida or Viridiplantae). During one billion years of evolution, streptophytes have radiated into an astounding diversity of uni- and multicellular green algae as well as land plants. Most divergent from land plants is a clade formed by Mesostigmatophyceae, Spirotaenia spp. and Chlorokybophyceae. All three lineages are species-poor and the Chlorokybophyceae consist of a single described species, Chlorokybus atmophyticus. In this study, we used phylogenomic analyses to shed light into the diversity within Chlorokybus using a sampling of isolates across its known distribution. We uncovered a consistent deep genetic structure within the Chlorokybus isolates, which prompted us to formally extend the Chlorokybophyceae by describing four new species. Gene expression differences among Chlorokybus species suggest certain constitutive variability that might influence their response to environmental factors. Failure to account for this diversity can hamper comparative genomic studies aiming to understand the evolution of stress response across streptophytes. Our data highlight that future studies on the evolution of plant form and function can tap into an unknown diversity at key deep branches of the streptophytes.

Age affects the strain-rate dependence of mechanical properties of kelp tissues.

PREMISE: The resistance of macroalgae to hydrodynamic forces imposed by ambient water motion depends in part on the mechanical properties of their tissues. In wave-swept habitats, tissues are stretched (strained) at different rates as hydrodynamic forces change. Previous studies of mechanical properties of macroalgal tissues have used either a single strain rate or a small range of strain rates. Therefore, our knowledge of the mechanical properties of macroalgae is limited to a narrow fraction of the strain rates that can occur in nature. In addition, although mechanical properties of macroalgal tissues change with age, the effect of age on the strain-rate dependence of their mechanical behavior has not been documented. METHODS: Using the kelp Egregia menziesii, we measured how high strain rate (simulating wave impingement) and low strain rate (simulating wave surge) affected mechanical properties of frond tissues of various ages. RESULTS: Stiffness of tissues of all ages increased with strain rate, whereas extensibility was unaffected. Strength and toughness increased with strain rate for young tissue but were unaffected by strain rate for old tissue. CONCLUSIONS: Young tissue is weaker than old tissue and, therefore, the most susceptible to breakage from hydrodynamic forces. The increased strength of young tissue at high strain rates can help the frond resist breaking when pulled rapidly during wave impingement, when hydrodynamic forces are largest. Because breakage of young tissue can remove a frond's meristem and negatively impact the survival of the whole kelp, strain-rate dependence of the young tissue's strength can enhance kelp's survival.

O intangível na produção do cuidado: o exercício da inteligência prática em uma enfermaria oncológica / The intangible in the production of care: the exercise of practical intelligence in an oncology ward

Resumo Este artigo resulta de uma pesquisa cujo objeto é o saber-fazer dos trabalhadores de enfermagem. O objetivo principal foi investigar os usos da inteligência prática, em uma equipe de enfermagem de uma enfermaria oncológica no Rio de Janeiro. Partimos do pressuposto de que, a despeito do sofrimento inerente ao trabalho em saúde, este pode conter uma dimensão criativa e potente no exercício do cuidar, mesmo diante dos desafios colocados pelas precárias condições de trabalho, pela demanda crescente de pacientes e pelas exigências de produtividade. Foram realizadas observação participante, entrevistas em profundidade e entrevistas em grupo com trabalhadores da enfermaria selecionada. Observamos duas principais formas de manifestação da inteligência prática. A primeira, como exercício da palavra e da escuta. A segunda, como exercício da produção de conforto. Tais formas de inteligência prática se interpenetram e não são passíveis de captura por números, indicadores e métodos de avaliação do desempenho. São invisíveis para instrumentos que não passem pela palavra dos trabalhadores. Conclui-se pela necessidade de criação de espaços coletivos em que gestores e trabalhadores possam expressar e validar socialmente o saber-fazer e as experiências dos trabalhadores.

Abstract This article brings the results of a research of which main goal was to investigate the use of practical intelligence by an oncology nurse team in an oncological ward, in a hospital in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We assume that, in spite of the suffering inherent to health care work, it can have a creative and potent dimension in the exercise of care, even in the presence of the challenges faced by the precarious working conditions, the growing demand of patients and the demands of productivity. Participant observation, in-depth interviews and group interviews were carried out with a selected nursing staff. We observed two main forms of practical intelligence manifestations. The first is the exercise of speaking and listening. The second, as an exercise in the production of comfort. Such forms of practical intelligence interpenetrate and cannot be captured by numbers, indicators, and methods of performance evaluation. They are invisible to instruments that do not go through the word of the workers. We conclude that it is necessary to create collective spaces in health organizations where managers and workers can express and dialogue on such issues, socially validating this know-how and those workers'experiences.

Blue Growth Potential to Mitigate Climate Change through Seaweed Offsetting.

Carbon offsetting-receiving credit for reducing, avoiding, or sequestering carbon-has become part of the portfolio of solutions to mitigate carbon emissions, and thus climate change, through policy and voluntary markets, primarily by land-based re- or afforestation and preservation [1, 2]. However, land is limiting, creating interest in a rapidly growing aquatic farming sector of seaweed aquaculture [3-5]. Synthesizing data from scientific literature, we assess the extent and cost of scaling seaweed aquaculture to provide sufficient CO2eq sequestration for several climate change mitigation scenarios, with a focus on the food sector-a major source of greenhouse gases [6]. Given known ecological constraints (nutrients and temperature), we found a substantial suitable area (ca. 48 million km2) for seaweed farming, which is largely unfarmed. Within its own industry, seaweed could create a carbon-neutral aquaculture sector with just 14% (mean = 25%) of current seaweed production (0.001% of suitable area). At a much larger scale, we find seaweed culturing extremely unlikely to offset global agriculture, in part due to production growth and cost constraints. Yet offsetting agriculture appears more feasible at a regional level, especially areas with strong climate policy, such as California (0.065% of suitable area). Importantly, seaweed farming can provide other benefits to coastlines affected by eutrophic, hypoxic, and/or acidic conditions [7, 8], creating opportunities for seaweed farming to act as "charismatic carbon" that serves multiple purposes. Seaweed offsetting is not the sole solution to climate change, but it provides an invaluable new tool for a more sustainable future.

Order, please! Uncertainty in the ordinal-level classification of Chlorophyceae.

BACKGROUND: Chlorophyceae is one of three most species-rich green algal classes and also the only class in core Chlorophyta whose monophyly remains uncontested as gene and taxon sampling improves. However, some key relationships within Chlorophyceae are less clear-cut and warrant further investigation. The present study combined genome-scale chloroplast data and rich sampling in an attempt to resolve the ordinal classification in Chlorophyceae. The traditional division into Sphaeropleales and Volvocales (SV), and a clade containing Oedogoniales, Chaetopeltidales, and Chaetophorales (OCC) was of particular interest with the addition of deeply branching members of these groups, as well as the placement of several incertae sedis taxa. METHODS: We sequenced 18 chloroplast genomes across Chlorophyceae to compile a data set of 58 protein-coding genes of a total of 68 chlorophycean taxa. We analyzed the concatenated nucleotide and amino acid datasets in the Bayesian and Maximum Likelihood frameworks, supplemented by analyses to examine potential discordant signal among genes. We also examined gene presence and absence data across Chlorophyceae. RESULTS: Concatenated analyses yielded at least two well-supported phylogenies: nucleotide data supported the traditional classification with the inclusion of the enigmatic Treubarinia into Sphaeropleales sensu lato. However, amino acid data yielded equally strong support for Sphaeropleaceae as sister to Volvocales, with the rest of the taxa traditionally classified in Sphaeropleales in a separate clade, and Treubarinia as sister to all of the above. Single-gene and other supplementary analyses indicated that the data have low phylogenetic signal at these critical nodes. Major clades were supported by genomic structural features such as gene losses and trans-spliced intron insertions in the plastome. DISCUSSION: While the sequence and gene order data support the deep split between the SV and OCC lineages, multiple phylogenetic hypotheses are possible for Sphaeropleales s.l. Given this uncertainty as well as the higher-taxonomic disorder seen in other algal groups, dwelling on well-defined, strongly supported Linnaean orders is not currently practical in Chlorophyceae and a less formal clade system may be more useful in the foreseeable future. For example, we identify two strongly and unequivocally supported clades: Treubarinia and Scenedesminia, as well as other smaller groups that could serve a practical purpose as named clades. This system does not preclude future establishment of new orders, or emendment of the current ordinal classification if new data support such conclusions.

Case report of cutaneous protothecosis caused by Prototheca wickerhamii designated as genotype 2 and current status of human protothecosis in Japan.

An 85-year-old Japanese woman presented with infiltrative erythema and ulceration on the extensor surface of her right forearm. Direct microscopic examination demonstrated spherical and morula-like sporangia, while histopathology revealed numerous microorganisms with a mulberry-like appearance in the dermis. Staining of the microorganisms also showed mulberry-like sporangia that resembled the spokes of a wheel. The isolated yeast-like microorganism had been identified as Prototheca wickerhamii genotype 2 in another independent study on the basis of its morphological, biochemical and genetic analysis. This case of protothecosis was recorded in Kyushu, Japan, and oral treatment with itraconazole 200 mg/day for 2 months was effective. Herein, we also summarize and analyze 39 cases of human protothecosis reported in Japan since the first record in 1983.

É Possível a Fenomenologia de Husserl como Método de Pesquisa em Psicologia? / Can Husserl's Phenomenological Method Be Used in Psychological Research?

RESUMO Neste artigo, pretendemos questionar a possibilidade da utilização do método fenomenológico de Edmund Husserl nas pesquisas em psicologia. Apresentaremos, primeiramente, o projeto de fenomenologia de Husserl, com suas análises sobre a intencionalidade, o método fenomenológico e a redução do empírico ao fenomenológico. De posse dessas concepções, discutiremos a pretensão de Amedeo Giorgi de utilizar o método empírico fenomenológico nas suas investigações em psicologia. Deter-nos-emos, especialmente, no modo como Amedeo Giorgi aplica o método fenomenológico às pesquisas em psicologia para mostrar os momentos imprescindíveis, mas, ao mesmo tempo, ambíguos, da investigação fenomenológica na psicologia. Por fim, levantaremos questões e apontaremos respostas acerca da possibilidade de aplicação do método de Husserl às investigações em psicologia.

ABSTRACT This article aimed to discuss the possibility of making use of Husserl's phenomenological method in psychology research. Initially, we will present Husserl's phenomenology project taking into consideration his analysis related to intentionality, the phenomenological method and the reduction of the empirical to the phenomenological. Considering these conceptions, we will discuss the pretensions of Amedeo Giorgi in using the phenomenological empirical method in their psychological research. We will take a closer look on how Amedeo Giorgi applies the phenomenological method in psychological research in order to show its essential but also ambiguous moments. Finally, we will raise questions and suggest answers regarding the possibility of applying Husserl's method in psychological research.