Combined Effects of the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Arctic Oscillation on Sea Surface Temperature in the Alborán Sea

We explored the possible effects of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Arctic Oscillation (AO) on interannual sea surface temperature (SST) variations in the Albora´n Sea, both separately and combined. The probability of observing mean annual SST values higher than average was related to NAO and AO values of the previous year. The effect of NAO on SST was negative, while that of AO was positive. The pure effects of NAO and AO on SST are obscuring each other, due to the positive correlation between them. When decomposing SST, NAO and AO in seasonal values, we found that variation in mean annual SST and mean winter SST was significantly related to the mean autumn NAO of the previous year, while mean summer SST was related to mean autumn AO of the previous year. The one year delay in the effect of the NAO and AO on the SST could be partially related to the amount of accumulated snow, as we found a significant correlation between the total snow in the North Albora´n watershed for a year with the annual average SST of the subsequent year. A positive AO implies a colder atmosphere in the Polar Regions, which could favour occasional cold waves over the Iberian Peninsula which, when coupled with precipitations favoured by a negative NAO, may result in snow precipitation. This snow may be accumulated in the high peaks and melt down in spring-summer of the following year, which consequently increases the runoff of freshwater to the sea, which in turn causes a diminution of sea surface salinity and density, and blocks the local upwelling of colder water, resulting in a higher SST.CGL2009-11316 (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain, and FEDER

Painting algorithms for fuzzy classification

Absfruct-Land cover analysis by means of remotely sensing images quite often suggest the existence of fuzzy classes, where no clear borders or particular shapes appear. In this paper we present an image classification aid algorithm which shows as its main output a processed image where each pixel is being colored according to the degree of similitude to their respective surrounding pixels. Such a processed image is therefore suggesting possible classes, to be implemented in a more sophisticated image classification process. A key underlying argument for this approach is the relevance of painting techniques in order to help decision makers to understand complex information relative to fuzzy image classification

Laparoscopic surgery of adrenal cysts: results of a series of 18 patients

Indexación: Web of Science; Scielo.Introducción: Los quistes suprarrenales tienen una incidencia de 0,064% a 0,18% en autopsias. El objetivo de este trabajo es mostrar nuestra experiencia en 18 pacientes portadores de un quiste adrenal operados por vía laparoscópica. Material y Métodos: La serie está constituida por 18 pacientes, de una serie de 344 adrenalectomías laparoscópicas realizadas entre los años 1993 y 2011. El rango de edad fue de 20 a 61 años, con un promedio de 38 años, 11 mujeres y 7 hombres. Resultados: Trece quistes eran del lado izquierdo y 5 del derecho. El tamaño de la lesión varió entre 4,5 y 12,5 cm, con un promedio de 9,2 cm. En 8 pacientes hubo molestias abdominales vagas y en los restantes 12 pacientes no hubo signos ni síntomas de sospecha clínica. La cirugía realizada fue una decorticación-marsupialización laparoscópica en 11 pacientes, adrenalectomía laparoscópica en bloque en 8 casos y adrenalectomía parcial en 1 caso. El tiempo operatorio promedio fue de 83,1 min (30-180 min), y el tiempo medio de hospitalización fue de 36 h. Complicaciones intraoperatorias ocurrieron en 2 pacientes: 1 lesión de diafragma y 1 lesión de vena renal, reparadas en el mismo acto quirúrgico. Complicaciones postoperatorias ocurrieron en 2 pacientes, ambas Clavien 3a y de manejo conservador. Conclusión: Las lesiones pequeñas y no funcionantes requieren observación. La adrenalectomía laparoscópica parcial o total está indicada en lesiones de gran tamaño, con importante compromiso de la glándula o ante la sospecha de lesión funcionante o malignidad.Introduction: Adrenal cysts have an incidence of 0.064% to 0.18% at autopsy. Aim: To show our experience in 18 patients with an adrenal cyst operated by laparoscopy. Material and Methods: The series consisted of 18 patients operated, in a series of 344 laparoscopic adrenalectomy performed between 1993 and 2011. The age range was 20 to 61 years with an average of 38 years, 11 women and 7 men. Results: Thirteen cysts were left and 5 were right sided. The lesion size varied between 4.5 and 12.5 cm, with an average of 9.2 cm. Eight patients complained of abdominal discomfort and in the remaining 12 patients there were no signs or symptoms of clinical suspicion. The surgery performed was a laparoscopic decortication-marsupialization in 11 patients, laparoscopic adrenalectomy in 8 cases and partial adrenalectomy in 1 case. Mean operative time was 83.1 minutes (30-180 minutes), and mean hospital stay was 36 hours. Intraoperative complications occurred in 2 patients: 1 diaphragm injury and one renal vein injury, repaired in the same surgery. Postoperative complications occurred in 2 patients, both Clavien 3a, treated by conservative management. Conclusion: Small and non-functional lesions require observation. Partial or total laparoscopic adrenalectomy is indicated in large lesions or in functional and suspected malignant lesions.http://ref.scielo.org/bm4t5

On the topological index of irregular surfaces

We study the topological index of some irregular surfaces that we call generalized Lagrangian. We show that under certain hypotheses on the base locus of the Lagrangian system the topological index is non-negative. For the minimal surfaces of general type with q = 4 and pg = 5 we prove the same statement without any hypothesis

Shock Transmission and Coupling with External Stock Markets: Assymetric Effects and Structural Break

In this article, we analyze the effects of shock transmissions from selected advanced financial markets—Tokyo, New York, Paris and Frankfurt— to Santiago de Chile and Sao Paulo (Bovespa) as a control. This research focuses on the recent financial crises of 2007 and 2008 where the transmission flowed from the developed world towards emerging markets, such as Chile. Our analysis incorporates the transmission effects in mean, variance and covariance. For the mean equation, we implemented a non-restricted VAR model. For the variance component, we modeled a specification with asymmetric effects. The covariance and correlation effects are estimated using a conditional dynamic asymmetric model based on the dynamic conditional correlation model of Engle, testing for the possibility of long run structural breaks in correlations between financial markets. We found strong evidence of structural breaks increasing correlations during the recent financial crisis. Our results are consistent with international evidence.

The Proteome of Biologically Active Membrane Vesicles from Piscirickettsia salmonis LF-89 Type Strain Identifies Plasmid-Encoded Putative Toxins

Indexación: Scopus.Piscirickettsia salmonis is the predominant bacterial pathogen affecting the Chilean salmonid industry. This bacterium is the etiological agent of piscirickettsiosis, a significant fish disease. Membrane vesicles (MVs) released by P. salmonis deliver several virulence factors to host cells. To improve on existing knowledge for the pathogenicity-associated functions of P. salmonis MVs, we studied the proteome of purified MVs from the P. salmonis LF-89 type strain using multidimensional protein identification technology. Initially, the cytotoxicity of different MV concentration purified from P. salmonis LF-89 was confirmed in an in vivo adult zebrafish infection model. The cumulative mortality of zebrafish injected with MVs showed a dose-dependent pattern. Analyses identified 452 proteins of different subcellular origins; most of them were associated with the cytoplasmic compartment and were mainly related to key functions for pathogen survival. Interestingly, previously unidentified putative virulence-related proteins were identified in P. salmonis MVs, such as outer membrane porin F and hemolysin. Additionally, five amino acid sequences corresponding to the Bordetella pertussis toxin subunit 1 and two amino acid sequences corresponding to the heat-labile enterotoxin alpha chain of Escherichia coli were located in the P. salmonis MV proteome. Curiously, these putative toxins were located in a plasmid region of P. salmonis LF-89. Based on the identified proteins, we propose that the protein composition of P. salmonis LF-89 MVs could reflect total protein characteristics of this P. salmonis type strain. © 2017 Oliver, Hernández, Tandberg, Valenzuela, Lagos, Haro, Sánchez, Ruiz, Sanhueza-Oyarzún, Cortés, Villar, Artigues, Winther-Larsen, Avendaño-Herrera and Yáñez.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2017.00420/ful

Assessment of genetic variation for pathogen-specific mastitis resistance in Valle del Belice dairy sheep

Background: Mastitis resistance is a complex and multifactorial trait, and its expression depends on both genetic and environmental factors, including infection pressure. The objective of this research was to determine the genetic basis of mastitis resistance to specific pathogens using a repeatability threshold probit animal model. Results: The most prevalent isolated pathogens were coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS); 39 % of records and 77 % of the animals infected at least one time in the whole period of study. There was significant genetic variation only for Streptococci (STR). In addition, there was a positive genetic correlation between STR and all pathogens together (ALL) (0.36 ± 0.22), and CNS and ALL (0.92 ± 0.04). Conclusion: The results of our study support the presence of significant genetic variation for mastitis caused by Streptococci and suggest the importance of discriminating between different pathogens causing mastitis due to the fact that they most likely influence different genetic traits. Low heritabilities for pathogen specific-mastitis resistance may be considered when including bacteriological status as a measure of mastitis presence to implement breeding strategies for improving udder health in dairy ewes

Virtual Screening of Plant Volatile Compounds Reveals a High Affinity of Hylamorpha elegans (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) Odorant-Binding Proteins for Sesquiterpenes From Its Native Host

Indexación: Web of ScienceHylamorpha elegans (Burmeister) is a native Chilean scarab beetle considered to be a relevant agricultural pest to pasture and cereal and small fruit crops. Because of their cryptic habits, control with conventional methods is difficult; therefore, alternative and environmentally friendly control strategies are highly desirable. The study of proteins that participate in the recognition of odorants, such as odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), offers interesting opportunities to identify new compounds with the potential to modify pest behavior and computational screening of compounds, which is commonly used in drug discovery, may help to accelerate the discovery of new semiochemicals. Here, we report the discovery of four OBPs in H. elegans as well as six new volatiles released by its native host Nothofagus obliqua (Mirbel). Molecular docking performed between OBPs and new and previously reported volatiles from N. obliqua revealed the best binding energy values for sesquiterpenic compounds. Despite remarkable divergence at the amino acid level, three of the four OBPs evaluated exhibited the best interaction energy for the same ligands. Molecular dynamics investigation reinforced the importance of sesquiterpenes, showing that hydrophobic residues of the OBPs interacted most frequently with the tested ligands, and binding free energy calculations demonstrated van der Waals and hydrophobic interactions to be the most important. Altogether, the results suggest that sesquiterpenes are interesting candidates for in vitro and in vivo assays to assess their potential application in pest management strategies.http://jinsectscience.oxfordjournals.org/content/16/1/3

Laparoscopic surgery of vesicovaginal fistula: results of a multi institutional experience

Indexación: Web of Science; Scielo.Introduction: Vesico-vaginal fistula is a rare complication of gynecologic surgery, with a high rate of surgical resolution O'Conor open technique. Aim: To report the results of a multi-institutional experience in laparoscopic repair of vesico-vaginal fistula. Material and Methods: Between January 2006 and June 2011, 21 laparoscopic vesico-vaginal fistula were performed. The surgical technique, demographic variables and results are described. Results: The mean age was 45.6 years. The average time between the diagnosis of the fistula and the laparoscopic repair was 15.23 months. The mean total operative time (bladder and laparoscopic) was 153.12 minutes and the average hospital stay was 2.7 days. The average time of bladder catheter was 9.4 days. There was a minimal recurrence of a fistula, repaired by a vaginal approach. Urethrocystography revealed indemnity of the repair in the other 20 cases. The overall success rate was 95.2% (20 out of 21 patients) Conclusions: The laparoscopic approach follows all principles for repair of a vesico-vaginal fistulas. It look like a good alternative in the hands of experienced surgeons. Key words: Vesicovaginal fistula, hysterectomy, complications, laparoscopy, O'Conor.Introducción: La fístula vesico-vaginal es una complicación infrecuente de la cirugía ginecológica, con alta tasa de resolución quirúrgica con la técnica abierta tradicional de O'Conor. Objetivo: Comunicar los resultados de una experiencia multi-institucional en la reparación laparoscópica de las fístulas vesico-vaginales. Material y Método: Entre enero de 2006 y junio de 2011 se realizaron 21 reparaciones de fístulas vesico-vaginales por vía laparoscópica. Se describe la técnica quirúrgica y se analizan las variables demográficas, quirúrgicas y resultados de la serie. Resultados: La edad media de las pacientes fue de 45,6 años. El tiempo promedio transcurrido entre el diagnóstico de la fistula y su reparación laparoscópica fue de 15,23 meses. El tiempo quirúrgico medio total (vesical y laparoscópico) fue de 153,12 min y el de hospitalización 2,7 días. El tiempo promedio de catéter uretro-vesical fue de 9,4 días. Hubo una mínima recidiva de una fístula, la cual fue reparada por vía vaginal. El control radiológico mediante cistografía reveló indemnidad de la reparación en el resto de los casos. La tasa global de éxito fue de 95,2% (20 de 21 pacientes) Conclusiones: El abordaje laparoscópico permite cumplir con todos los principios para la reparación de las fístulas vesico-vaginales. La reducción de la morbilidad y la eficacia del procedimiento, lo transforman en una excelente alternativa en manos de cirujanos experimentados. Palabras clave: Fístula vesico-vaginal, histerectomía, complicaciones, laparoscopia, O'Conor.http://ref.scielo.org/f3vxt