A study of precipitation variability in the Duero Basin (Iberian Peninsula)

Spatial and temporal average behaviour of winter precipitation in the Duero basin (DB) were analysed for 1958–1993. Monthly observed data (observed data) from 34 weather stations and a subset of daily precipitation data from the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis project (reanalysis data) were used. The spatial variability of winter precipitation was examined using principal component analysis (PCA) for both types of data. The winter precipitation fields are well represented by the first three principal components (PC), which describe 81% and 87% of the total variance for the observed and reanalysis data, respectively. The relationship between the three leading PCs and circulation patterns was also investigated. The PC1 is related to the North Atlantic Pattern (NAO), East Atlantic Pattern (EA) and Pacific North American Pattern (PNA). The PC2 is related to the East Atlantic/West Russia Pattern (EAWR), while the PC3 depends mainly on Scandinavia Pattern (SCAND) influences. The reanalysis data were used to calculate a 10-day period to study the intra-annual variation (S-mode of PCA) and the spatial distribution of those precipitation amounts during the year (T-mode of PCA). For the intra-annual variation of precipitation, two modes statistically significant were obtained. The first mode was characterized by a broad maximum that extended from mid October to early April, and a minimum that extended from early May to September. The second mode exhibited two maxima and a minimum. The first maximum occurred in late February and the second maximum extended from early April to June. The minimum extended from mid July to early February. For the spatial distribution of precipitation, we obtained three patterns. The ‘winter’ pattern, which showed a maximum over the western area, the ‘spring’ pattern with a maximum over the eastern area, and the ‘autumn’ with a maximum over the easternmost edge of the basin

Endoplasmic Reticulum Calcium Regulates the Retrotranslocation of Trypanosoma Cruzi Calreticulin to the Cytosol

For most secretory pathway proteins, crossing the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane is an irreversible process. However, in some cases this flow can be reversed. For instance, misfolded proteins retained in the ER are retrotranslocated to the cytosol to be degraded by the proteasome. This mechanism, known as ER associated degradation (ERAD), is exploited by several bacterial toxins to gain access to the cytosol. Interestingly, some ER resident proteins can also be detected in the cytosol or nucleus, calreticulin (CRT) being the most studied. Here we show that in Trypanosoma cruzi a minor fraction of CRT localized to the cytosol. ER calcium depletion, but not increasing cytosolic calcium, triggered the retrotranslocation of CRT in a relatively short period of time. Cytosolic CRT was subsequently degraded by the proteasome. Interestingly, the single disulfide bridge of CRT is reduced when the protein is located in the cytosol. The effect exerted by ER calcium was strictly dependent on the C-terminal domain (CRT-C), since a CRT lacking it was totally retained in the ER, whereas the localization of an unrelated protein fused to CRT-C mirrored that of endogenous CRT. This finding expands the regulatory mechanisms of protein sorting and may represent a new crossroad between diverse physiological processes

Understanding European cross-border cooperation: a framework for analysis

European integration has had a dual impact on border regions. On the one hand, borders were physically dismantled across most of the EU’s internal territory. On the other hand, they have become a fertile ground for territorial co-operation and institutional innovation. The degree of cross-border co-operation and organization achieved varies considerably from one region to another depending on a combination of various facilitating factors for effective cross-border co-operation, more specifically, economic, political leadership, cultural/identity and state formation, and geographical factors. This article offers a conceptual framework to understand the growth and diversity of cross-border regionalism within the EU context by focusing on the levels of and drives for co-operation

Digital pathology workflow implementation at ipatimup

The advantages of the digital methodology are well known. In this paper, we provide a detailed description of the process for the digital transformation of the pathology laboratory at IPATIMUP, the major modifications that operate throughout the processing pipeline, and the advantages of its implementation. The model of digital workflow implementation at IPATIMUP demonstrates that careful planning and adoption of simple measures related to time, space, and sample management can be adopted by any pathology laboratory to achieve higher quality and easy digital transformation

Hydrology influences carbon flux through metabolic pathways in the hypolimnion of a Mediterranean reservoir

Global change is modifying meteorological and hydrological factors that influence the thermal regime of water bodies. These modifications can lead to longer stratification periods with enlarged hypolimnetic anoxic periods, which can promote heterotrophic anaerobic processes and alter reservoir carbon cycling. Here, we quantified aerobic and anaerobic heterotrophic processes (aerobic respiration, denitrification, iron and manganese reduction, sulfate reduction, and methanogenesis) on dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) production in the hypolimnion of a Mediterranean reservoir (El Gergal, Spain) under two contrasting hydrological conditions: a wet year with heavy direct rainfall and frequent water inputs from upstream reservoirs, and a dry year with scarce rainfall and negligible water inputs. During the wet year, water inputs and rainfall induced low water column thermal stability and earlier turnover. By contrast, thermal stratification was longer and more stable during the dry year. During wet conditions, we observed lower DIC accumulation in the hypolimnion, mainly due to weaker sulfate reduction and methanogenesis. By contrast, longer stratification during the dry year promoted higher hypolimnetic DIC accumulation, resulting from enhanced methanogenesis and sulfate reduction, thus increasing methane emissions and impairing reservoir water quality. Aerobic respiration, denitrification and metal reduction produced a similar amount of DIC in the hypolimnion during the two studied years. All in all, biological and geochemical (calcite dissolution) processes explained most of hypolimnetic DIC accumulation during stratification regardless of the hydrological conditions, but there is still ~ 30% of hypolimnetic DIC production that cannot be explained by the processes contemplated in this study and the assumptions made.This research was funded by project Alter-C (PID2020-114024GB-C31, PID2020-114024GB-C32, PID2020-114024GB-C33) of Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Spanish Research Agency, AEI). JJM-P was supported by a Spanish FPI grant (RE2018-083596). EMASESA staff provide essential technical support during field surveys. R.M. acknowledges funding from Generalitat de Catalunya through the Consolidated Research Group 2017SGR1124 and the CERCA programme. Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBUA

Adenosine Deaminase Two and Immunoglobulin M Accurately Differentiate Adult Sneddon's Syndrome of Unknown Cause

BACKGROUND: The association that exists between livedo reticularis (LR) and stroke is known as Sneddon's syndrome (SnS). The disorder is classified as primary SnS (PSnS), if the cause remains unknown and secondary SnS. The condition is rare and it occurs mainly sporadically. In 2014, 2 independent teams described a new genetic disorder with childhood-onset, which was called deficiency of adenosine deaminase 2 (DADA2), characterized by recurrent fevers and vascular pathologic features that included LR and stroke. All the patients carried recessively inherited mutations in cat eye syndrome chromosome region candidate 1 gene (CECR1), encoding the adenosine deaminase 2 (ADA2) protein. Genetic testing is the standard for the diagnosis of DADA2. However, the diagnostic accuracy of more affordable laboratorial analysis in CECR1-mutated individuals remains to be established. We aim to determine whether plasma ADA2 activity and serum immunoglobulin M (IgM) levels can distinguish (1) DADA2 from other adult patients within the SnS spectrum, and (2) healthy CECR1 heterozygous (HHZ) from healthy controls (HC). METHODS: ADA2 activity in plasma and serum IgM concentrations was measured in adult patients within the SnS spectrum, healthy first-degree relatives and HC. Genetic results were used as the reference standard. The primary outcome measures were sensitivity and specificity derived from receiver operating curve analysis. RESULTS: A total of 73 participants were included in the study: 26 patients with PSnS with no CECR1 mutation (PSnS), 6 bi-allelic (DADA2 patients) and 7 HHZ CECR1 mutations and 34 HC. Plasma ADA2 activity and serum IgM levels were significantly lower in DADA2 patients than in PSnS. With the use of the best indexes, plasma ADA2 activity differentiated PSnS from DADA2 with a sensitivity and specificity of 100.0% and HHZ from HC with a sensitivity of 97.1% and specificity of 85.7%. Serum IgM levels also differentiated PSnS from DADA2 with a sensitivity of 85.2% and specificity of 83.3%. CONCLUSION: Serum IgM levels might be used as a triage tool and plasma ADA2 activity performs perfectly as a diagnostic test for DADA2 in adult patients within the SnS spectrum. ADA2 activity in plasma also reliably distinguishes HHZ from HC.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Anticoagulant Activity of a Unique Sulfated Pyranosic (133) - ß - L - Arabinan through Direct Interaction with Thrombin

Fernández, Paula Virginia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Biología Aplicada y Alimentos. Cátedra de Química de Biomoléculas. Buenos Aires, Argentina.Quintana, Irene. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica. Laboratorio de Hemostasia y Trombosis. Buenos Aires, Argentina.Cerezo, Alberto S. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Orgánica. Subsede del Centro de Investigación de Hidratos de Carbono (CIHIDECAR). Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires, Argentina.Caramelo, Julio J. CONICET - Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires (IIBBA). Buenos Aires, Argentina.Pol Fachin, Laercio. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Faculdade de Farmácia. Programa de Pos-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular. Centro de Biotecnologia. Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.Verli, Hugo. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.Centro de Biotecnologia. Programa de Pos-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular. Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.Estevez, José Manuel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIByNE). Buenos Aires, Argentina.Ciancia, Marina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Biología Aplicada y Alimentos. Cátedra de Química de Biomoléculas. Buenos Aires, Argentina.223–233Background: Many seaweed polysaccharides have anticoagulant activity, but the mechanism of action was elucidated in a few cases. Results: A highly sulfated pyranosic ß-arabinan exerts its activity through direct and indirect inhibition of thrombin. Conclusion: The structure and mechanism of action of the arabinan are different from those found for other polysaccharides. Significance: This arabinan could be an alternative anticoagulant in certain specific cases

Copy number variants prioritization after array-CGH analysis - a cohort of 1000 patients

Array-based comparative genomic hybridization has been assumed to be the first genetic test offered to detect genomic imbalances in patients with unexplained intellectual disability with or without dysmorphisms, multiple congenital anomalies, learning difficulties and autism spectrum disorders. Our study contributes to the genotype/phenotype correlation with the delineation of laboratory criteria which help to classify the different copy number variants (CNVs) detected. We clustered our findings into five classes ranging from an imbalance detected in a microdeletion/duplication syndrome region (class I) to imbalances that had previously been reported in normal subjects in the Database of Genomic Variants (DGV) and thus considered common variants (class IV).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio