Sand deposits reveal great earthquakes and tsunamis at Mexican Pacific Coast

Globally, instrumentally based assessments of tsunamigenic potential of subduction zones have underestimated the magnitude and frequency of great events because of their short time record. Historical and sediment records of large earthquakes and tsunamis have expanded the temporal data and estimated size of these events. Instrumental records suggests that the Mexican Subduction earthquakes produce relatively small tsunamis, however historical records and now geologic evidence suggest that great earthquakes and tsunamis have whipped the Pacific coast of Mexico in the past. The sediment marks of centuries old-tsunamis validate historical records and indicate that large tsunamigenic earthquakes have shaken the Guerrero-Oaxaca region in southern Mexico and had an impact on a bigger stretch of the coast than previously suspected. We present the first geologic evidence of great tsunamis near the trench of a subduction zone previously underestimated as potential source for great earthquakes and tsunamis. Two sandy tsunami deposits extend over 1.5 km inland of the coast. The youngest tsunami deposit is associated with the 1787 great earthquake, M 8.6, producing a giant tsunami that poured over the coast flooding 500 km alongshore the Mexican Pacific coast and up to 6 km inland. The oldest event from a less historically documented event occurred in 1537. The 1787 earthquake, and tsunami and a probable predecessor in 1537, suggest a plausible recurrence interval of 250 years. We prove that the common believe that great tsunamis do not occur on the Mexican Pacific coast cannot be sustained

Clinical Characteristics and Long-term outcomes of patients undergoing combined heart-kidney transplantation: a single-center experience

[Abstract] Background. The purpose of the study was to describe clinical characteristics and long-term survival of patients undergoing combined heart-kidney transplant in a single center. Methods. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 22 consecutive patients who underwent combined heart-kidney transplant at our institution between 1995 and 2013. Long-term outcomes were analyzed by means of the Kaplan-Meier method. Results. Four patients underwent re-do transplant (2 cardiac re-transplants, 1 kidney re-transplant, and 1 combined heart-kidney re-transplant). Most frequent underlying cardiac conditions were coronary artery disease (54%), dilated cardiomyopathy (23%), and chronic rejection of a previous heart graft (18%). Known causes of chronic renal dysfunction were nephroangioesclerosis (23%), drug-related toxicity (14%), and Wegener granulomatosis (5%). Non-specified chronic renal dysfunction was present in 50% patients. In-hospital postoperative mortality rate was 5 of 22 (23%). Causes of early death were directly related to kidney transplant surgery in 4 of 5 (80%) patients. Among the remaining 17 patients who surmounted the postoperative period, long-term survival rates 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years after HKT were 88%, 82%, and 65%, respectively. Over a mean follow-up of 6.7 ± 6.4 years, cumulative incidences of cytomegalovirus infection, coronary allograft vasculopathy, malignancy, and acute cardiac graft rejection were 41%, 6%, 24%, and 41%, respectively. There was no episode of acute renal graft rejection. At the end of follow-up, all survivors (n = 11) were in functional New York Heart Association class I. Mean creatinine serum level was 1.68 mg/dL. Conclusions. In our experience, combined heart-kidney transplant is a feasible therapeutic option that yielded favorable long-term outcomes, with a low cumulative incidence of cardiac graft dysfunction. These results were obtained at the expense of a significant risk of early postoperative mortality, which was mainly related to complications of kidney transplant surgery

Risk factors for thrombotic microangiopathy in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell recipients receiving GVHD prophylaxis with tacrolimus plus MTX or sirolimus

Post-transplant complications.-- et al.Transplantation-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TA-TMA) is a feared complication of allogeneic hematopoietic SCT (HSCT) owing to its high mortality rate. The use of calcineurin inhibitors or sirolimus (SIR) for GVHD prophylaxis has been suggested as a potential risk factor. However, the impact of tacrolimus (TAC) and SIR combinations on the increased risk of TA-TMA is currently not well defined. We retrospectively analyzed the incidence of TA-TMA in 102 allogeneic HSCT recipients who consecutively received TAC plus SIR (TAC/SIR) (n=68) or plus MTX (TAC/MTX)±ATG (n=34) for GVHD prophylaxis. No significant differences were observed in the incidence of TA-TMA between patients receiving TAC/SIR vs TAC/MTX±ATG (7.4% vs 8.8%, P=0.8). Only grade III-IV acute GVHD, previous HSCT and serum levels of TAC >25 ng/mL were associated with a greater risk of TA-TMA. Patients developing TA-TMA have significantly poorer survival (P<0.001); however, TA-TMA ceased to be an independent prognostic factor when it was included in a multivariate model. In conclusion, the combination of TAC/SIR does not appear to pose a higher risk of TA-TMA. By contrast, we identified three different risk groups for developing TA-TMA.Peer Reviewe

Magneto-caloric effect in the pseudo-binary intermetallic YPrFe17 compound

We have synthesized the intermetallic YPrFe17 compound by arc-melting. X-ray and neutron powder diffraction show that the crystal structure is rhombohedral with View the MathML source space group (Th2Zn17-type). The investigated compound exhibits a broad isothermal magnetic entropy change {\Delta}SM(T) associated with the ferro-to-paramagnetic phase transition (TC \approx 290 K). The |{\Delta}SM| (\approx 2.3 J kg-1 K-1) and the relative cooling power (\approx 100 J kg-1) have been calculated for applied magnetic field changes up to 1.5 T. A single master curve for {\Delta}SM under different values of the magnetic field change can be obtained by a rescaling of the temperature axis. The results are compared and discussed in terms of the magneto-caloric effect in the isostructural R2Fe17 (R = Y, Pr and Nd) binary intermetallic alloys.Comment: Preprint, 5 pages (postprint), 4 figures, regular pape

Caspase-8 inhibition represses initial human monocyte activation in septic shock model

In septic patients, the onset of septic shock occurs due to the over-activation of monocytes. We tested the therapeutic potential of directly targeting innate immune cell activation to limit the cytokine storm and downstream phases. We initially investigated whether caspase-8 could be an appropriate target given it has recently been shown to be involved in microglial activation. We found that LPS caused a mild increase in caspase-8 activity and that the caspase-8 inhibitor IETD-fmk partially decreased monocyte activation. Furthermore, caspase-8 inhibition induced necroptotic cell death of activated monocytes. Despite inducing necroptosis, caspase-8 inhibition reduced LPS-induced expression and release of IL-1β and IL-10. Thus, blocking monocyte activation has positive effects on both the pro and anti-inflammatory phases of septic shock. We also found that in primary mouse monocytes, caspase-8 inhibition did not reduce LPS-induced activation or induce necroptosis. On the other hand, broad caspase inhibitors, which have already been shown to improve survival in mouse models of sepsis, achieved both. Thus, given that monocyte activation can be regulated in humans via the inhibition of a single caspase, we propose that the therapeutic use of caspase-8 inhibitors could represent a more selective alternative that blocks both phases of septic shock at the source.Unión Europea, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad SAF2012-39029Unión Europea, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad SAF2015-64171REspaña,Junta de Andalucía P10-CTS-649

Planck 2013 results. XX. Cosmology from Sunyaev-Zeldovich cluster counts

We present constraints on cosmological parameters using number counts as a function of redshift for a sub-sample of 189 galaxy clusters from the Planck SZ (PSZ) catalogue. The PSZ is selected through the signature of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect, and the sub-sample used here has a signal-to-noise threshold of seven, with each object confirmed as a cluster and all but one with a redshift estimate. We discuss the completeness of the sample and our construction of a likelihood analysis. Using a relation between mass M and SZ signal Y calibrated to X-ray measurements, we derive constraints on the power spectrum amplitude σ8 and matter density parameter Ωm in a flat ΛCDM model. We test the robustness of our estimates and find that possible biases in the Y-M relation and the halo mass function are larger than the statistical uncertainties from the cluster sample. Assuming the X-ray determined mass to be biased low relative to the true mass by between zero and 30%, motivated by comparison of the observed mass scaling relations to those from a set of numerical simulations, we find that σ8 = 0.75 ± 0.03, Ωm = 0.29 ± 0.02, and σ8(Ωm/0.27)0.3 = 0.764 ± 0.025. The value of σ8 is degenerate with the mass bias; if the latter is fixed to a value of 20% (the central value from numerical simulations) we find σ8 (Ωm/0.27)0.3 = 0.78 ± 0.01 and a tighter one-dimensional range σ8 = 0.77 ± 0.02. We find that the larger values of σ8 and Ωm preferred by Planck's measurements of the primary CMB anisotropies can be accommodated by a mass bias of about 40%. Alternatively, consistency with the primary CMB constraints can be achieved by inclusion of processes that suppress power on small scales relative to the ΛCDM model, such as a component of massive neutrinos. We place our results in the context of other determinations of cosmologicalparameters, and discuss issues that need to be resolved in order to make further progress in this field.The development of Planck has been supported by: ESA; CNES and CNRS/INSU-IN2P3-INP (France); ASI, CNR, and INAF (Italy); NASA and DoE (USA); STFC and UKSA (UK); CSIC, MICINN and JA (Spain); Tekes, AoF and CSC (Finland); DLR and MPG (Germany); CSA (Canada); DTU Space (Denmark); SER/SSO (Switzerland); RCN (Norway); SFI (Ireland); FCT/MCTES (Portugal); and PRACE (EU).Peer Reviewe

Analysis of incidence, risk factors and clinical outcome of thromboembolic and bleeding events in 431 allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients

This is an open-access paper.-- et al.Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients have an increasing risk of both hemorrhagic and thrombotic complications. However, the competing risks of two of these life-threatening complications in these complex patients have still not been well defined. We retrospectively analyzed data from 431 allogeneic transplantation recipients to identify the incidence, risk factors and mortality due to thrombosis and bleeding. Significant clinical bleeding was more frequent than symptomatic thrombosis. The cumulative incidence of a bleeding episode was 30.2% at 14 years. The cumulative incidence of a venous or arterial thrombosis at 14 years was 11.8% and 4.1%, respectively. The analysis of competing factors for venous thrombosis revealed extensive chronic graft-versus-host disease to be the only independent prognostic risk factor. By contrast, six factors were associated with an increased risk of bleeding; advanced disease, ablative conditioning regimen, umbilical cord blood transplantation, anticoagulation, acute III-IV graft-versus-host disease, and transplant-associated microangiopathy. The development of thrombosis did not significantly affect overall survival (P=0.856). However, significant clinical bleeding was associated with inferior survival (P<0.001). In allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, significant clinical bleeding is more common than thrombotic complications and affects survival.Peer Reviewe

Universal adhesives applied to deep dentin with different bonding treatments

Fil: Mirotti, Germán. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Departamento de Rehabilitación Bucal. Cátedra de Operatoria I "A”; Argentina.Fil: Lutri, Mónica Paola. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Departamento de Rehabilitación Bucal. Cátedra de Operatoria I "A”; Argentina.Fil: Kraemer, María Elis. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Departamento de Rehabilitación Bucal. Cátedra de Operatoria I "A”; Argentina.Fil: Monserrat, Natalia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Departamento de Rehabilitación Bucal. Cátedra de Operatoria I "A”; Argentina.Fil: Piconi, María Celeste. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Departamento de Rehabilitación Bucal. Cátedra de Operatoria I "A”; Argentina.Fil: Caballero, Alicia L. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Departamento de Rehabilitación Bucal. Cátedra de Operatoria I "A”; Argentina.Fil: Rozas, Carlos A.. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Departamento de Rehabilitación Bucal. Cátedra de Operatoria I "A”; Argentina.Fil: Croharé, Luis M. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Área de Biología Odontológica; Argentina.Fil: Sezin, Mario. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Departamento de Rehabilitación Bucal. Cátedra de Operatoria I "A”; Argentina.Eighth-generation adhesives may be applied with total etch, selective-etch or self-conditioning, and serve as primers for non-dental substrates. Aim: To determine the bonding characteristics of universal adhesives applied to the deep pulp wall with different strategies, by means of shear bond strength and laser microscopy. Materials and Method: Cavities 4 mm deep and maximum width were carved in 36 extracted molars. Nine groups were formed according to dental substrate treatment and adhesives, as follows: Total-etch: group 1-Monobond 7 self-etch, group 2-One coat 7 universal, and group 3-Single bond universal; Adamantine etch: group 4-Monobond 7 self-etch, group 5-One coat 7 universal, and group 6-Single bond universal; Self-conditioning: group 7-Monobond 7 self-etch, group 8-One coat 7 universal, and group 9-Single bond universal. Molars were filled following the manufacturer?s instructions. Three specimens per group (27 altogether) were used to determine shear bond strength using a universal testing machine, while layer thicknesses were measured on the remaining specimens using microscope images and Olympus LEXT 3D Software. Analysis of variance was used to compare data. Results: Mean (standard deviation) bond strength in megapascals (MPa) was: group 1: 7.06±3.01; group 2: 10.74±4.36; group 3: 8.20±3.92; group 4: 7.41±2.23; group 5: 6.84±1.50; group 6: 5.86±2.10; group 7: 5.83±1.94; group 8: 7.14±2.37; group 9: 8.06±3.51. Bond strength was higher (p=0.049) for total-etch (8.61±3.96) than for selective etch (6.71±1.98) and self-conditioning (6.91±2.68). No significant difference was found among the three adhesives (p=0.205). Adhesive layer in micrometers (&#956;m) was total-etch 8.71±4.93, selective etch 5.49±1.70 and self-conditioning 6.27±3.01, with no significant difference. Conclusions: There were significant differences among bonding strategies, with the highest values for total-etch. No significant difference was observed between self-conditioning and selective etch. No significant difference was found among the adhesives, which all behaved similarly. The greatest adhesive layer thicknesses were recorded in the total-etch group, with no significant difference among the various adhesive approaches.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionFil: Mirotti, Germán. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Departamento de Rehabilitación Bucal. Cátedra de Operatoria I "A”; Argentina.Fil: Lutri, Mónica Paola. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Departamento de Rehabilitación Bucal. Cátedra de Operatoria I "A”; Argentina.Fil: Kraemer, María Elis. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Departamento de Rehabilitación Bucal. Cátedra de Operatoria I "A”; Argentina.Fil: Monserrat, Natalia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Departamento de Rehabilitación Bucal. Cátedra de Operatoria I "A”; Argentina.Fil: Piconi, María Celeste. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Departamento de Rehabilitación Bucal. Cátedra de Operatoria I "A”; Argentina.Fil: Caballero, Alicia L. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Departamento de Rehabilitación Bucal. Cátedra de Operatoria I "A”; Argentina.Fil: Rozas, Carlos A.. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Departamento de Rehabilitación Bucal. Cátedra de Operatoria I "A”; Argentina.Fil: Croharé, Luis M. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Área de Biología Odontológica; Argentina.Fil: Sezin, Mario. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Odontología. Departamento de Rehabilitación Bucal. Cátedra de Operatoria I "A”; Argentina.Otras Ciencias de la Salu

Producción de biodiesel por esterificación y transesterificación simultánea de aceite de pulpa de coco (Acrocomia aculeata) utilizando metanol y etanol en condiciones de fluido supercrítico.

El objetivo general del proyecto es contribuir al conocimiento del sistema de colecta y almacenamiento de los frutos de Acrocomia aculeata y aprovechamiento del aceite de la pulpa con miras a su utilización como materia prima para la obtención de biodiesel.CONACYT - Consejo Nacional de Ciencias y TecnologíaPROCIENCI

Population Genetics of Franciscana Dolphins (Pontoporia blainvillei): Introducing a New Population from the Southern Edge of Their Distribution

Due to anthropogenic factors, the franciscana dolphin, Pontoporia blainvillei, is the most threatened small cetacean on the Atlantic coast of South America. Four Franciscana Management Areas have been proposed: Espiritu Santo to Rio de Janeiro (FMA I), São Paulo to Santa Catarina (FMA II), Rio Grande do Sul to Uruguay (FMA III), and Argentina (FMA IV). Further genetic studies distinguished additional populations within these FMAs. We analyzed the population structure, phylogeography, and demographic history in the southernmost portion of the species range. From the analysis of mitochondrial DNA control region sequences, 5 novel haplotypes were found, totalizing 60 haplotypes for the entire distribution range. The haplotype network did not show an apparent phylogeographical signal for the southern FMAs. Two populations were identified: Monte Hermoso (MH) and Necochea (NC)+Claromecó (CL)+Río Negro (RN). The low levels of genetic variability, the relative constant size over time, and the low levels of gene flow may indicate that MH has been colonized by a few maternal lineages and became isolated from geographically close populations. The apparent increase in NC+CL+RN size would be consistent with the higher genetic variability found, since genetic diversity is generally higher in older and expanding populations. Additionally, RN may have experienced a recent split from CL and NC; current high levels of gene flow may be occurring between the latter ones. FMA IV would comprise four franciscana dolphin populations: Samborombón West+Samborombón South, Cabo San Antonio+Buenos Aires East, NC+CL+Buenos Aires Southwest+RN and MH. Results achieved in this study need to be taken into account in order to ensure the long-term survival of the species.Fil: Gariboldi, María Constanza. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Maimónides. Área de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; ArgentinaFil: Tunez, Juan Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Luján; ArgentinaFil: Dejean, Cristina Beatriz. Universidad Maimónides. Área de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Ciencias Antropológicas. Sección Antropología Biológica; ArgentinaFil: Failla, Mauricio. Fundación Cethus; ArgentinaFil: Vitullo, Alfredo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Maimónides. Área de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; ArgentinaFil: Negri, Maria Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ; ArgentinaFil: Cappozzo, Humberto Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Maimónides. Área de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ; Argentin