Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Study of the Essential Oils of Schinus longifolia (Lindl.) Speg., Schinus fasciculata (Griseb.) I. M. Johnst., and Schinus areira L.

The essential oil composition from the aerial parts of three Anacardiaceae growing in Bah¨ªa Blanca, Argentina was studied by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The essential oils of S. longifolia and S. fasciculata have been studied for the first time. The major constituents were ¦Á-pinene (46.5%), ¦Â-pinene (15.1%) and ¦Á-phellandrene (10.1%) for S. longifolia and limonene (10.9%), ¦Â-phellandrene (6.16%) and ¦Á-phellandrene (5.6%) for S. fasciculata. The major components of the essential oil of S. areira were limonene (28.6%), ¦Á-phellandrene (10.1%), sabinene (9.2%) and camphene (9.2%) differing from the literature data. The essential oils from S. areira and S. longifolia exhibited a high biotoxicity in a brine shrimp assay with Artemia persimilis.Fil: Murray, Ana Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Química del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Química del Sur; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Investigaciones en Química Orgánica; ArgentinaFil: Frontera, Maria Eugenia. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Investigaciones en Química Orgánica; ArgentinaFil: Tomas, María A.. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Investigaciones en Química Orgánica; ArgentinaFil: Mulet, María Cristina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Investigaciones en Química Orgánica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Química del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Química del Sur; Argentin

Time-varying effects when analysing customer lifetime duration, application to the insurance market

The Cox model (Cox, 1972) is widely used in customer lifetime duration research, but it assumes that the regression coefficients are time invariant. In order to analyse the temporal covariate effects on the duration times, we propose to use an extended version of the Cox model where the parameters are allowed to vary over time. We apply this methodology to real insurance policy cancellation data and we conclude that the kind of contracts held by the customer and the concurrence of an external insurer in the cancellation influence the risk of the customer leaving the company, but the effect differs as time goes by.Cox model, customer lifetime.

Genetic and morphological evidence reveals the existence of a new family, genus and species of Echinorhynchida (Acanthocephala)

Gymnorhadinorhynchus gen. n. is proposed to accommodate its type species, G. decapteri sp. n., a parasite of the marine fish Decapterus punctatus (Cuvier), caught from the coastal waters of Brazil. Gymnorhadinorhynchus decapteri sp. n. was morphologically most similar to species of two echinorhynchid families, the Rhadinorhynchidae and the Cavisomidae, particularly in the structure of the proboscis and the absence of somatic spines, respectively. This combination of morphological features made it difficult to assign our specimen to an extant family of the Acanthocephala. Therefore, in order to clarify the systematic placement of G. decapteri, a molecular phylogenetic analysis was performed based on the SSU and LSU rDNA and the mitochondrial cox1 gene sequences obtained for the new taxon and other 26 acanthocephalan species. The results of parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses, using individual, combined and concatenated sequence data, consistently indicate that the specimens do not belong to any known family of the Echinorhynchida. Rather, G. decapteri represents a distinct lineage that is closely related to the Transvenidae, but distantly related to both the Rhadinorhynchidae and the Cavisomidae. Gymnorhadinorhynchidae fam. n. is therefore erected. This newly described family can be distinguished from other families of Echinorhynchida by the combination of the following morphological characters: a proboscis cylindrical with 10 rows of 22?26 hooks, dorsoventral differences in proboscis hooks, basal hooks forming a ring and being abruptly larger than anterior hooks, absence of trunk spines and presence of four tubular cement glands. This combination, in addition to several molecular autapomorphies, justifies the erection of a new genus, Gymnorhadinorhynchus gen. n., in order to accommodate this new species.Fil: Braicovich, Paola Elizabeth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencia Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Lanfranchi, Ana Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencia Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Farber, Marisa Diana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Marvaldi, Adriana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas; ArgentinaFil: Luque, José L.. Universidade Federal Rural Do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Timi, Juan Tomas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencia Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; Argentin

Lack of macrophage migration inhibitory factor in mice does not affect hallmarks of the inflammatory/immune response during the first week after stroke

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has been proposed to play a detrimental role in stroke. We recently showed that MIF promotes neuronal death and aggravates neurological deficits during the first week after experimental stroke, in mice. Since MIF regulates tissue inflammation, we studied the putative role of MIF in post-stroke inflammation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We subjected C57BL/6 mice, <it>Mif</it>^-/-(MIF-KO) or <it>Mif</it>^+/+(WT), to a transient occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery (tMCAo) or sham-surgery. We studied MIF expression, GFAP expression and the number of CD74-positive cells in the ischemic brain hemisphere 7 days after tMCAo using primarily immunohistochemistry. We determined IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-12, KC/CXCL-1 and TNF-α protein levels in the brain (48 h after surgery) and serum (48 h and 7 days after surgery) by a multiplex immunoassay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We observed that MIF accumulates in neurons and astrocytes of the peri-infarct region, as well as in microglia/macrophages of the infarct core up to 7 days after stroke. Among the inflammatory mediators analyzed, we found a significant increase in cerebral IL-12 and KC levels after tMCAo, in comparison to sham-surgery. Importantly, the deletion of <it>Mif </it>did not significantly affect the levels of the cytokines evaluated, in the brain or serum. Moreover, the spleen weight 48 h and 7 days subsequent to tMCAo was similar in WT and MIF-KO mice. Finally, the extent of GFAP immunoreactivity and the number of MIF receptor (CD74)-positive cells within the ischemic brain hemisphere did not differ significantly between WT and MIF-KO mice subjected to tMCAo.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We conclude that MIF does not affect major components of the inflammatory/immune response during the first week after experimental stroke. Based on present and previous evidence, we propose that the deleterious MIF-mediated effects in stroke depend primarily on an intraneuronal and/or interneuronal action.</p

Otosclerosis

Otoskleroza je metabolička koštana bolest labirintne kapsule i pločice stremena te je jedan od najčešćih uzroka stečenog gubitaka sluha. Najčešće se javlja među bijelom populacijom s incidencijom od 1%, a žene su pogođene dva puta češće od muškaraca. Smatra se da je otoskleroza multifaktorska bolest, uzrokovana genetičkim i okolišnim čimbenicima. Nasljeđuje se autosomno dominantnim načinom s varijabilnom penetracijom. Uloga autoimunosti, virusa, hormona i mnogih drugih faktora u etiopatogenezi bolesti je predmet brojnih istraživanja, ali je točan uzrok otoskleroze još uvijek nepoznat. Vodeći simptom otoskleroze je progresivna provodna nagluhost, ali se može javiti i šum te jako rijetko vrtoglavica. Bolest se obično prezentira između drugog i petog desetljeća života. Dijagnoza se temelji na anamnezi, kliničkom pregledu i ispitivanju sluha. Audiometrija tipično pokazuje provodnu nagluhost sa širim razmakom zračno-koštane krivulje u nižim frekvencijama. Kada postoji fiksacija stremena, odsutan je stapedijski refleks. Konzervativna terapija natrijevim flouridom može samo usporiti napredovanje bolesti pa se preferira kirurška terapija. Kirurške tehnike koje se koriste u terapiji otoskleroze su totalna i parcijalna stapedektomija i stapedotomija.Otosclerosis is a disease affecting the bony metabolism of the otic capsule and stapes footpalate, and is among the most common causes of acquired hearing loss. It occurs most commonly among Caucasians with an incidence of 1%, and women are affected twice as often as men. Otosclerosis is considered a multifactor disease, caused by both genetic and environmental factors. It is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern with incomplete penetrance. The role od autoimmunity, viruses, hormones and many other factors in the etiopathophysiology of disease has been subject of recent studies, but the exact cause of otosclerosis is unknown. Progressive conductive hearing loss is the predominant symptom but patients also present with tinnitus and, rarely, dizziness. The clinical presentation usually occurs between the second and fifth decades of life. The diagnosis is based on medical history, clinical features, and hearing tests. The audiometric exam typically shows conductive hearing loss with a wider air-bone gap at lower frequencies. The stapedial reflex is absent when stapedial fixation is present. As medical treatment with sodium fluoride can only slow down the progression of disease, surgical management is preferred. Approaches to surgical management include total stapedectomy, partial stapedectomy, and stapedotomy

Otosclerosis

Otoskleroza je metabolička koštana bolest labirintne kapsule i pločice stremena te je jedan od najčešćih uzroka stečenog gubitaka sluha. Najčešće se javlja među bijelom populacijom s incidencijom od 1%, a žene su pogođene dva puta češće od muškaraca. Smatra se da je otoskleroza multifaktorska bolest, uzrokovana genetičkim i okolišnim čimbenicima. Nasljeđuje se autosomno dominantnim načinom s varijabilnom penetracijom. Uloga autoimunosti, virusa, hormona i mnogih drugih faktora u etiopatogenezi bolesti je predmet brojnih istraživanja, ali je točan uzrok otoskleroze još uvijek nepoznat. Vodeći simptom otoskleroze je progresivna provodna nagluhost, ali se može javiti i šum te jako rijetko vrtoglavica. Bolest se obično prezentira između drugog i petog desetljeća života. Dijagnoza se temelji na anamnezi, kliničkom pregledu i ispitivanju sluha. Audiometrija tipično pokazuje provodnu nagluhost sa širim razmakom zračno-koštane krivulje u nižim frekvencijama. Kada postoji fiksacija stremena, odsutan je stapedijski refleks. Konzervativna terapija natrijevim flouridom može samo usporiti napredovanje bolesti pa se preferira kirurška terapija. Kirurške tehnike koje se koriste u terapiji otoskleroze su totalna i parcijalna stapedektomija i stapedotomija.Otosclerosis is a disease affecting the bony metabolism of the otic capsule and stapes footpalate, and is among the most common causes of acquired hearing loss. It occurs most commonly among Caucasians with an incidence of 1%, and women are affected twice as often as men. Otosclerosis is considered a multifactor disease, caused by both genetic and environmental factors. It is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern with incomplete penetrance. The role od autoimmunity, viruses, hormones and many other factors in the etiopathophysiology of disease has been subject of recent studies, but the exact cause of otosclerosis is unknown. Progressive conductive hearing loss is the predominant symptom but patients also present with tinnitus and, rarely, dizziness. The clinical presentation usually occurs between the second and fifth decades of life. The diagnosis is based on medical history, clinical features, and hearing tests. The audiometric exam typically shows conductive hearing loss with a wider air-bone gap at lower frequencies. The stapedial reflex is absent when stapedial fixation is present. As medical treatment with sodium fluoride can only slow down the progression of disease, surgical management is preferred. Approaches to surgical management include total stapedectomy, partial stapedectomy, and stapedotomy

Inter- and intracontinental migrations and local differentiation have shaped the contemporary epidemiological landscape of canine parvovirus in South America

Canine parvovirus (CPV) is a fast-evolving single-stranded DNA virus that causes one of the most significant infectious diseasesof dogs. Although the virus dispersed over long distances in the past, current populations are considered to be spatiallyconfined and with only a few instances of migration between specific localities. It is unclear whether these dynamicsoccur in South America where global studies have not been performed. The aim of this study is to analyze the patterns ofgenetic variability in South American CPV populations and explore their evolutionary relationships with global strains.Genomic sequences of sixty-three strains from South America and Europe were generated and analyzed using a phylodynamicapproach. All the obtained strains belong to the CPV-2a lineage and associate with global strains in four monophyleticgroups or clades. European and South American strains from all the countries here analyzed are representative of awidely distributed clade (Eur-I) that emerged in Southern Europe during 1990?98 to later spread to South America in theearly 2000s. The emergence and spread of the Eur-I clade were correlated with a significant rise in the CPV effective populationsize in Europe and South America. The Asia-I clade includes strains from Asia and Uruguay. This clade originated in Asia during the late 1980s and evolved locally before spreading to South America during 2009?10. The third clade (Eur-II)comprises strains from Italy, Brazil, and Ecuador. This clade appears in South America as a consequence of an early introductionfrom Italy to Ecuador in the middle 1980s and has experienced extensive local genetic differentiation. Some strainsfrom Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil constitute an exclusive South American clade (SA-I) that emerged in Argentina in the1990s. These results indicate that the current epidemiological scenario is a consequence of inter- and intracontinentalmigrations of strains with different geographic and temporal origins that set the conditions for competition and local differentiationof CPV populations. The coexistence and interaction of highly divergent strains are the main responsible for thedrastic epidemiological changes observed in South America in the last two decades. This highlights the threat of invasionfrom external sources and the importance of whole-genome resolution to robustly infer the origin and spread of new CPVvariants. From a taxonomic standpoint, the findings herein show that the classification system that uses a single aminoacid to identify variants (2a, 2b, and 2c) within the CPV-2a lineage does not reflect phylogenetic relationships and is not suitableto analyze CPV evolution. In this regard, the identification of clades or sublineages within circulating CPV strains is thefirst step towards a genetic and evolutionary classification of the virus.Fil: Grecco, Sofia. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Iraola, Gregorio. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Decaro, Nicola. Università degli Studi di Bari; ItaliaFil: Alfieri, Alice. Universidade Estadual de Londrina; BrasilFil: Alfieri, Amauri. Universidade Estadual de Londrina; BrasilFil: Gallo Calderon, Marina Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología "Dr. César Milstein". Fundación Pablo Cassará. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología "Dr. César Milstein"; ArgentinaFil: da Silva, Ana Paula. Universidade Estadual de Londrina; BrasilFil: Name, Daniela. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Ciencias; UruguayFil: Aldaz, Jaime. Universidad Estatal de Bolivar; EcuadorFil: Calleros, Lucia. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Ciencias; UruguayFil: Marandino, Ana. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Ciencias; UruguayFil: Gonzalo, Tomas. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Ciencias; Urugua

Influencia de la disposición espacial y la superficie de refugios sobre la supervivencia y el crecimiento de juveniles de Cherax quadricarinatus (Parastacidae) y su aplicación al cultivo intensivo.

Cherax quadricarinatus es una especie de elevado interés para la acuicultura y de gran tolerancia a las altas densidades, lo que la hace propicia para el cultivo en sistemas intensivos. El objetivo de este trabajo es determinar el diseño más adecuado de disposición espacial y la superficie de "red cebollera", usualmente utilizada como refugio de los juveniles en cultivo, que permita disminuir la mortalidad y mejorar el crecimiento en condiciones de alta densidad. Se realizaron dos experimentos poniéndose a prueba la disposición espacial (redes paralelas en posición vertical, horizontal, y sin ordenamiento) y la superficie de red cebollera (0,612 m 2, 1,224 m2 y 1,836 m2) en cultivo con alta densidad de juveniles (41,7 juveniles de 1g por m2). A los 60 días se registró el número y peso de los juveniles, y se calculó la mortalidad y biomasa. En el segundo experimento se contabilizó también la cantidad de quelas faltantes y de juveniles con todos los apéndices para estimar las interacciones agonísticas. La mortalidad resultó menor en el tratamiento sin ordenamiento y en el tratamiento con menor superficie de redes (p < 0,05). Por cada m2 de fondo, 2,55 m2 de red cebollera colocada en forma aleatoria sería suficiente como refugio para una densidad alta de juveniles. La biomasa y las interacciones agonistas fueron similares en todos los casos. Este estudio determinó que la colocación al azar de la red es la disposición más adecuada y económica para los juveniles de Cherax quadricarinatus, y además el exceso de la misma podría perjudicar la sobrevida en cultivo.Cherax quadricarinatus is an interesting species for aquaculture and is more tolerant to high densities than other species of commercially important crustaceans, making it suitable for intensive culture. The purpose of this study is to determine the most adequate spatial arrangement and area of onion bag mesh, commonly used as shelter in juvenile culture, to decrease mortality and improve growth under high-density conditions. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the optimum onion bag mesh spatial distribution (parallel pieces of mesh arranged in a vertical and horizontal position, and mesh with a random arrangement), and area (0.612 m2 , 1.224 m2 and 1.836 m2) under high-juvenile density conditions (41.7 one-gram juveniles per m2 ). The weight and number of juveniles were recorded, and mortality and biomass were calculated at day 60. In the second experiment, the number of missing chelae and juveniles with all their walking legs were counted to estimate agonistic interactions. Mortality was lower in the treatment consisting in randomly arranged onion bag mesh and that with the smallest area. A mesh surface of 2.55 m2 per m2 of ground would be sufficient as shelter for juveniles stocked at high densities. Biomass and antagonistic interactions were similar in all cases. This study showed that a random arrangement of onion bag mesh is the most adequate and economic shelter for C. quadricarinatus juveniles, and that the use of high mesh areas could decrease survival in cultureFil: Calvo, Natalia Soledad. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Cs.exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biologia Experimental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria; ArgentinaFil: Tomas, Ana Laura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Cs.exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biologia Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Lopez, Laura Susana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Cs.exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biologia Experimental; Argentin