Results of the engineering run of the coherent neutrino nucleus interaction experiment (CONNIE)

The CONNIE detector prototype is operating at a distance of 30 m from the core of a 3.8 GWth nuclear reactor with the goal of establishing Charge-Coupled Devices (CCD) as a new technology for the detection of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering. We report on the results of the engineering run with an active mass of 4 g of silicon. The CCD array is described, and the performance observed during the first year is discussed. A compact passive shield was deployed around the detector, producing an order of magnitude reduction in the background rate. The remaining background observed during the run was stable, and dominated by internal contamination in the detector packaging materials. The in-situ calibration of the detector using X-ray lines from fluorescence demonstrates good stability of the readout system. The event rates with the reactor ON and OFF are compared, and no excess is observed coming from nuclear fission at the power plant. The upper limit for the neutrino event rate is set two orders of magnitude above the expectations for the standard model. The results demonstrate the cryogenic CCD-based detector can be remotely operated at the reactor site with stable noise below2 e RMS and stable background rates. The success of the engineering test provides a clear path for the upgraded 100 g detector to be deployed during 2016.Fil: Aguilar Arevalo, A.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Bertou, Xavier Pierre Louis. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Fundación José A. Balseiro; ArgentinaFil: Bonifazi, C.. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Butner, M.. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Cancelo, G.. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Castañeda Vazquez, A.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Cervantes Vergara, B.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Chavez, C. R.. Universidad Nacional de Asunción; ParaguayFil: Da Motta, H.. Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas; BrasilFil: D'Olivo, J. C.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Dos Anjos, J.. Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas; BrasilFil: Estrada, J.. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Fernández Moroni, Guillermo. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica y de Computadoras. Instituto ; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ford, R.. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Foguel, A.. Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas; Brasil. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Hernandez Torres, K. P.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Izraelevitch, F.. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Kavner, A.. University of Michigan; Estados UnidosFil: Kilminster, B.. Universitat Zurich; SuizaFil: Kuk, K.. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Lima Jr, H. P.. Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas; BrasilFil: Makler, M.. Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas; BrasilFil: Molina, J.. Universidad Nacional de Asunción; ParaguayFil: Moreno Granados, G.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Moro, Juan Manuel. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Ingeniería; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Paolini, Eduardo Emilio. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica y de Computadoras. Instituto ; ArgentinaFil: Sofo Haro, Miguel Francisco. Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica. Gerencia D/area de Energia Nuclear; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Tiffenberg, Javier Sebastian. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Trillaud, F.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Wagner, S.. Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas; Brasil. Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasi

Interaction of HLA Class II rs9272219 and TMPO rs17028450 (Arg690Cys) Variants Affects Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder Susceptibility in an Admixed Mexican Population

Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD) is a demyelinating autoimmune disease of the central nervous system, more prevalent in individuals of non-European ancestry. Few studies have analyzed genetic risk factors in NMOSD, and HLA class II gene variation has been associated NMOSD risk in various populations including Mexicans. Thymopoietin (TMPO) has not been tested as a candidate gene for NMOSD or other autoimmune disease, however, experimental evidence suggests this gene may be involved in negative selection of autoreactive T cells and autoimmunity. We thus investigated whether the missense TMPO variant rs17028450 (Arg630Cys, frequent in Latin America) is associated with NMOSD, and whether this variant shows an interaction with HLA-class II rs9272219, previously associated with NMOSD risk. A total of 119 Mexican NMOSD patients, 1208 controls and 357 Native Mexican individuals were included. The HLA rs9272219 "T" risk allele frequency ranged from 21 to 68%, while the rs17028450 "T" minor allele frequency was as high as 18% in Native Mexican groups. Both rs9272219 and rs17028450 were significantly associated with NMOSD risk under additive models (OR = 2.48; p = 8 × 10(-10) and OR = 1.59; p = 0.0075, respectively), and a significant interaction between both variants was identified with logistic regression models (p = 0.048). Individuals bearing both risk alleles had an estimated 3.9-fold increased risk of NMOSD. To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting an association of TMPO gene variation with an autoimmune disorder and the interaction of specific susceptibility gene variants, that may contribute to the genetic architecture of NMOSD in admixed Latin American populations

Dissection of the pre-germinal center B-cell maturation pathway in common variable immunodeficiency based on standardized flow cytometric EuroFlow tools

Copyright © 2021 del Pino-Molina, López-Granados, Lecrevisse, Torres Canizales, Pérez-Andrés, Blanco, Wentink, Bonroy, Nechvatalova, Milota, Kienzler, Philippé, Sousa, van der Burg, Kalina, van Dongen and Orfao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Introduction: Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID) is characterized by defective antibody production and hypogammaglobulinemia. Flow cytometry immunophenotyping of blood lymphocytes has become of great relevance for the diagnosis and classification of CVID, due to an impaired differentiation of mature post-germinal-center (GC) class-switched memory B-cells (MBC) and severely decreased plasmablast/plasma cell (Pb) counts. Here, we investigated in detail the pre-GC B-cell maturation compartment in blood of CVID patients. Methods: In this collaborative multicentric study the EuroFlow PID 8-color Pre-GC B-cell tube, standardized sample preparation procedures (SOPs) and innovative data analysis tools, were used to characterize the maturation profile of pre-GC B-cells in 100 CVID patients, vs 62 age-matched healthy donors (HD). Results: The Pre-GC B-cell tube allowed identification within pre-GC B-cells of three subsets of maturation associated immature B-cells and three subpopulations of mature naïve B-lymphocytes. CVID patients showed overall reduced median absolute counts (vs HD) of the two more advanced stages of maturation of both CD5+ CD38+/++ CD21het CD24++ (2.7 vs 5.6 cells/µl, p=0.0004) and CD5+ CD38het CD21+ CD24+ (6.5 vs 17 cells/µl, p1 (CD38, CD5, CD19, CD21, CD24, and/or smIgM) phenotypic marker (57/88 patients; 65%) for a total of 3 distinct CVID patient profiles (group 1: 42/88 patients, 48%; group 2: 8/88, 9%; and group 3: 7/88, 8%) and ii) CVID patients with a clearly altered pre-GC B cell maturation pathway in blood (group 4: 31/88 cases, 35%). Conclusion: Our results show that maturation of pre-GC B-cells in blood of CVID is systematically altered with up to four distinctly altered maturation profiles. Further studies, are necessary to better understand the impact of such alterations on the post-GC defects and the clinical heterogeneity of CVID.The coordination and innovation processes of this study were supported by the EuroFlow Consortium (Chairmen: MB and AO). LP-M was supported by FIS PI16/01605 and JTC by FIS PI13/02296 (Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain). The work was partially supported by grant PI20/01712-FEDER (Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain) and a grant from Fundación Mutua Madrileña (MMA, Madrid, Spain).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

EZH2 endorses cell plasticity to non-small cell lung cancer cells facilitating mesenchymal to epithelial transition and tumour colonization

CGL was funded by the Consejería de Salud y Familias, Junta de Andalucía (RH-0139-2020) and SG-P is funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CP19/00029, PI15/00336, PI19/01533). JAM is supported by RTI2018.101309B-C22 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER “Una manera de hacer Europa” and by the Chair “Doctors Galera-Requena in cancer stem cell research”. PCS is funded by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (grant PID2020-119032RB-I00) and FEDER/Junta de Andalucía-Consejería de Transformación Económica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades (grants P20_00335 and B‐CTS‐40‐UGR20). The Landeira lab is supported by the Spanish ministry of science and innovation (PID2019-108108-100, EUR2021-122005), the Andalusian regional government (PC-0246-2017, PIER-0211-2019, PY20_00681) and the University of Granada (A-BIO-6-UGR20) grants.Reversible transition between the epithelial and mesenchymal states are key aspects of carcinoma cell dissemination and the metastatic disease, and thus, characterizing the molecular basis of the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is crucial to find druggable targets and more effective therapeutic approaches in cancer. Emerging studies suggest that epigenetic regulators might endorse cancer cells with the cell plasticity required to conduct dynamic changes in cell state during EMT. However, epigenetic mechanisms involved remain mostly unknown. Polycomb Repressive Complexes (PRCs) proteins are well-established epigenetic regulators of development and stem cell differentiation, but their role in different cancer systems is inconsistent and sometimes paradoxical. In this study, we have analysed the role of the PRC2 protein EZH2 in lung carcinoma cells. We found that besides its described role in CDKN2A-dependent cell proliferation, EZH2 upholds the epithelial state of cancer cells by repressing the transcription of hundreds of mesenchymal genes. Chemical inhibition or genetic removal of EZH2 promotes the residence of cancer cells in the mesenchymal state during reversible epithelial–mesenchymal transition. In fitting, analysis of human patient samples and tumour xenograft models indicate that EZH2 is required to efficiently repress mesenchymal genes and facilitate tumour colonization in vivo. Overall, this study discloses a novel role of PRC2 as a master regulator of EMT in carcinoma cells. This finding has important implications for the design of therapies based on EZH2 inhibitors in human cancer patients.Junta de Andalucía (RH-0139-2020)Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CP19/00029, PI15/00336, PI19/01533)MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER “Una manera de hacer Europa” RTI2018.101309B-C22Chair “Doctors Galera-Requena in cancer stem cell research”Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (grant PID2020-119032RB-I00)FEDER/Junta de Andalucía-Consejería de Transformación Económica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades (grants P20_00335 and B‐CTS‐40‐UGR20)Spanish ministry of science and innovation (PID2019-108108-100, EUR2021-122005)Andalusian regional government (PC-0246-2017, PIER-0211-2019, PY20_00681)University of Granada (A-BIO-6-UGR20

Microbiological profile of infections in the Intensive Care Units of Colombia (EPISEPSIS Colombia)

Introducción y objetivo En Colombia faltan datos fiables sobre el comportamiento de la sepsis. Se pretende determinar la prevalencia de los microorganismos en las principales infecciones tratadas en las unidades de cuidados intensivos (UCI) de nuestro país. Métodos Este es un subestudio de una cohorte prospectiva recolectada en 10 hospitales durante 6 meses. Los criterios de inclusión eran hospitalización en UCI y confirmación de una infección según las definiciones del CDC, considerando tres grupos (comunidad, hospital, UCI) según el sitio de adquisición de la infección. Resultados Se incluyó en el análisis a 826 pacientes; el 51% contrajeron procesos infecciosos extrahospitalarios; el 5,33%, en el hospital y el 43,7%, en UCI. Los diagnósticos más frecuentes fueron neumonía (29,54%), infección intraabdominal (18,16%) e infección del tracto urinario (11,62%). El microorganismo más frecuente en las infecciones extrahospitalarias fue Escherichia coli —pulmón (16,4%), peritoneo (57,7%), orina (55,5%) y sangre (22,4%)—. En las adquiridas en UCI predomina también E. coli —peritoneo (29,3%) y orina (52,9%)—, excepto en pulmón y sangre, en los que fueron Staphylococcus aureus (32,4%) y Klebsiella pneumoniae (15,7%) los más prevalentes. Se tomaron cultivos a 655 pacientes, de los que el 40% recibió antibióticos antes de la toma, sin que esto afectara al porcentaje de positividad (p=0,583). Conclusiones La neumonía fue la infección más frecuente independientemente del sitio de adquisición. E. coli fue el patógeno más prevalente, excepto en las infecciones pulmonares adquiridas en UCI, donde lo fue S. aureus.Q2Artículo original75-83Background and objective:Valid and reliable data regarding sepsis is lacking in Colombia. Ouraim was to determine the prevalence of the microorganisms in the main infections treated inIntensive Care Units (ICUs) in our country.Methods:This is a sub-study of a prospective cohort with 10 general hospitals in Colombiaduring a 6-month period. The inclusion criteria were hospitalization in ICU and confirmation ofinfection according to the CDC definitions. Patients were classified into three groups, that is,community, hospital and intensive care, according to the site where the infection was acquired.Results:A total of 826 patients were included in this analysis. Of these, 51% developed infec-tions in the community, 5.33% in the hospital and 43.7% in intensive care unit. Overall, themost common diagnoses were pneumonia (29.54%), intra-abdominal infection (18.16%) and uri-nary tract infection (11.62%). The most frequent germ in community-acquired infections wasE. coli—–lung (16. 4%), peritoneum (57.7%), urine (55.5%), blood (22.4%)—–.E. coli—–peritoneum(29.3%), urine (52.9%)—– also predominated in the ICU-acquired infections, except for lung andblood in whichStaphylococcus aureus(32.4%) andKlebsiella pneumoniae(15.7%) were the mostprevalent. Cultures were requested from 655 patients, 40% of them having received antibioticsbefore cultures were taken, although this did not affected the percentages of positive cultures(P= 0.583).Conclusions:Pneumonia was the main cause of infection regardless of the site of acquisition.E. coliwas the most prevalent germ, except in the pulmonary infections acquired in UCI inwhichS. aureuswas the most prevalent

Revista de Vertebrados de la Estación Biológica de Doñana

Relación longitud-peso y condición del Barbo de Sclater (Barbus barbus sclateri G.), en el río Guadiato, Córdoba, España.Estudio biométrico y biológico de la tortuga mora (Testudo graeca) en la Reserva Biológica de Doñana, HuelvaEtograma del lagarto de Tenerife, Gallotia galloti galloti (Sauria-LacertidaeOrganización temporal en las comunidadesde avesAlimentación y relaciones tróficas entre los paseriformes en paso otoñal por una localidad de Andalucía centralVariación anual de régimen alimenticio y densidad de población de dos estrigiformes:sus causaslas Adeidas en la cuenca del Duero.Niveles de contaminantes organoclorados y metales pesados en huevos de aves de las Marismas del Guadalquivir, 1975Alimentación primaveral de la garcilla bueyera.la reproducción de un ave parásita: el tordomirlo (Molothrus bonariensis) en los llanos de Apure (Venezuela)Estructuras de sexos y edades en una poblaciónde conejos (Oryctolagus cunicuLus l.) de Andalucía OccidentaParámetros de gregarismo del gamo (Dama dama) en el Coto de Doñana.Primeros datos sobre la distribución de Cobitis calderoni Bacescu, 1961 (pisces, cobitidae) en la Península IbéricaSobre la existencia de Telestes soufia Risso, 1826 y Leuciscus leuciscus L. 1758 en España.La distrtibución de Hemidactylus turciscus en la provincia de Córdoba.Predación de Vipera latastei sobre Mustela nivalis.Sobre las poblaciones de Podarcis en el macizo del GuadarramaDatos sobre la reproducción de Lacerta vivipara en la cordillera CantábricaCasos de melanismo en Natrix natrix y Malpolon monspessulanusMedidas máximas para Coluber hippocrepis LUna nueva población de Lacerta sicula rafinesque para el norte de España.Captura de la barnacla carinegra, Branta bernicla en la costa mediterránea Europea.Datos sobre la dieta frugívora del mirlo (Turdus merula) en dos localidades del sur de EspañaLa ocupación de nidos de Hirundo daurica.La invasión de Hirunda daurica Temm. en la Península IbéricaHíbridos de anátidas en las marismas del GuadalquiviDatos sobre la reproducción de Alouatta seniculus en los Llanos de VenezuelaPeer reviewe