The Isotropic Fractionator as a Tool for Quantitative Analysis in Central Nervous System Diseases

One major aim in quantitative and translational neuroscience is to achieve a precise and fast neuronal counting method to work on high throughput scale to obtain reliable results.Here we tested the Isotropic Fractionator (IF) method for evaluating neuronal and non-neuronal cell loss in different models of central nervous system (CNS) pathologies.Sprague-Dawley rats underwent: (i) ischemic brain damage; (ii) intraperitoneal injection with kainic acid (KA) to induce epileptic seizures; and (iii) monolateral striatal injection with quinolinic acid (QA) mimicking human Hungtington’s disease.All specimens were processed for IF method and cell loss assessed.Hippocampus from KA-treated rats and striatum from QA-treated rats were carefully dissected using a dissection microscope and a rat brain matrix. Ischemic rat brains slices were first processed for TTC staining and then for IF.In the ischemic group the cell loss corresponded to the neuronal loss suggesting that hypoxia primarily affects neurons. Combining IF with TTC staining we could correlate the volume of lesion to the neuronal loss; by IF, we could assess that neuronal loss also occurs contralaterally to the ischemic side.In the epileptic group we observed a reduction of neuronal cells in treated rats, but also evaluated the changes in the number of non-neuronal cells in response to the hippocampal damage

Electron emission in collisions between dressed Alq+ ions with He targets

Experimental and theoretical results are presented for electron emission in collisions between dressed Alq+ ions and atomic He targets. The experimental data are compared with a four-body CTMC model and two distorted wave models, namely the CDW and CDW-EIS. The contribution to total electron emission spectra from the ionisation of each collision center and as well as the simultaneous ionisation can be assessed separately.Fil: Monti, Juan Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario (i); ArgentinaFil: Fiol, Juan. Comisiã³n Nacional de Energã­a Atã³mica. Gerencia del Area Investigaciã³n y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia de Fã­sica (centro Atã³mico Balseiro). Divisiã³n Colisiones Atã³micas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Area de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Bariloche); ArgentinaFil: Fregenal, Daniel Eduardo. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Area de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Bariloche); ArgentinaFil: Fainstein, Pablo Daniel. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Area de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Bariloche); ArgentinaFil: Rivarola, Roberto Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario (i); ArgentinaFil: Wolff, W.. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: E. Horsdal. University Aarhus; DinamarcaFil: Bernardi, Guillermo Carlos. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Area de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Bariloche); ArgentinaFil: Suarez, Sergio Gabriel. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Area de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Bariloche); Argentin

Manejo Federal de la Zona Costera Argentina

La Zona Costera Argentina es un continuo fluvio-marítimo de gran diversidad climática y biogeográfica que se extiende desde el extremo norte de la cuenca del Río de la Plata hasta el extremo sur de la costa patagónica. Este trabajo analiza los cambios relacionados con la gestión costera en el período 2009-2019 en políticas públicas, normativa, competencias, responsabilidades, instituciones, instrumentos,formación, capacitación, recursos financieros, conocimiento científico, información y educación ambientales y participación ciudadana. Entre los avances más significativos se encuentran la determinación de los límites de la plataforma continental, la regulación más precisa en el Código Civil y Comercial reformado, la formulación de una Estrategia Federal de Manejo Costero y varias estrategias sectoriales, la creación de la primera área marina protegida, el aumento de los cursos de postgrado relacionados con la gestión costera y la inclusión de contenidos ambientales en todos los niveles del sistema educativo. Por otro lado, cabe destacar la escasez de recursos financieros para el fortalecimiento institucional, la baja incidencia de la participación ciudadana y la persistencia de conflictos de competencia interjurisdiccional. Se concluye que el modelo sectorial de gestión costera se ha consolidado, con una tendencia a migrar de una gestión centralizada a nivel nacional a un sistema federal con mayor capacidad de decisión para las provincias.The Argentine Coastal Zone is a fluvio-maritime continuum of great climatic and biogeographic diversity that extends from the northern end of the Río de la Plata basin to the southern extreme of the Patagonian coast. This paper analyzes the changes related to coastal management in the period 2009-2019 in public policies, regulations, competencies, responsibilities, institutions, instruments, training, capacity building, financial resources, scientific knowledge, environmental information and education, and citizen participation. Among the most significant advances are the determination of the limits of the continental shelf, the more precise regulation in the reformed Civil and Commercial Code, the formulation of a Federal Coastal Management Strategy and several sectoral strategies, the creation of the first marine protected area, the increase of the postgraduate courses related to coastal management, and the expansion of the environmental contents to all levels of the education system. On the other hand, it is worth noting the scarcity of financial resources for institutional strengthening, the low incidence of citizen participation and the persistence of interjurisdictional competition conflicts. It is concluded that the sectoral model of coastal management has consolidated, with a tendency to migrate from a centralized management at the national level to a federal system with greater decision capacity for the provinces.Fil: Dadon, Jose Roberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad Presidencia; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño y Urbanismo. Centro de Investigaciones Gestión de Espacios Costeros; ArgentinaFil: Boscarol, Nadia. Ministerio de Trabajo, Empleo y Seguridad Social; ArgentinaFil: Monti, Alejandro Jorge Arturo. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "san Juan Bosco". Facultad de Humanidades y Cs. Sociales (sede Trelew). Instituto de Investigaciones Geograficas de la Patagonia (sede Trelew); ArgentinaFil: García, Mónica Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Humanidades. Departamento de Geografía. Centro de Investigaciones Geográficas Socio-ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Verón, Eleonora Marta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Humanidades. Departamento de Geografía. Centro de Investigaciones Geográficas Socio-ambientales; ArgentinaFil: de Haro, Javier Cristian. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño y Urbanismo. Centro de Investigaciones Gestión de Espacios Costeros; ArgentinaFil: Fevre, Roberto. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño y Urbanismo. Centro de Investigaciones Gestión de Espacios Costeros; ArgentinaFil: Beltrán, Vilma Jacqueline. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "san Juan Bosco". Facultad de Humanidades y Cs. Sociales (sede Trelew). Instituto de Investigaciones Geograficas de la Patagonia (sede Trelew); Argentina. Gobierno de la Provincia del Chubut. Ministerio de Ambiente y Control del Desarrollo Sustentable.; ArgentinaFil: Raimondo, Ana María. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco". Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales Sede Comodoro. Instituto de Investigaciones Geográficas de la Patagonia; ArgentinaFil: Lara, Albina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas; ArgentinaFil: Lasta, Carlos Angel. Gobierno de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Organismo Provincial Para El Desarrollo Sostenible; Argentin

Infected pancreatic necrosis: outcomes and clinical predictors of mortality. A post hoc analysis of the MANCTRA-1 international study

: The identification of high-risk patients in the early stages of infected pancreatic necrosis (IPN) is critical, because it could help the clinicians to adopt more effective management strategies. We conducted a post hoc analysis of the MANCTRA-1 international study to assess the association between clinical risk factors and mortality among adult patients with IPN. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify prognostic factors of mortality. We identified 247 consecutive patients with IPN hospitalised between January 2019 and December 2020. History of uncontrolled arterial hypertension (p = 0.032; 95% CI 1.135-15.882; aOR 4.245), qSOFA (p = 0.005; 95% CI 1.359-5.879; aOR 2.828), renal failure (p = 0.022; 95% CI 1.138-5.442; aOR 2.489), and haemodynamic failure (p = 0.018; 95% CI 1.184-5.978; aOR 2.661), were identified as independent predictors of mortality in IPN patients. Cholangitis (p = 0.003; 95% CI 1.598-9.930; aOR 3.983), abdominal compartment syndrome (p = 0.032; 95% CI 1.090-6.967; aOR 2.735), and gastrointestinal/intra-abdominal bleeding (p = 0.009; 95% CI 1.286-5.712; aOR 2.710) were independently associated with the risk of mortality. Upfront open surgical necrosectomy was strongly associated with the risk of mortality (p < 0.001; 95% CI 1.912-7.442; aOR 3.772), whereas endoscopic drainage of pancreatic necrosis (p = 0.018; 95% CI 0.138-0.834; aOR 0.339) and enteral nutrition (p = 0.003; 95% CI 0.143-0.716; aOR 0.320) were found as protective factors. Organ failure, acute cholangitis, and upfront open surgical necrosectomy were the most significant predictors of mortality. Our study confirmed that, even in a subgroup of particularly ill patients such as those with IPN, upfront open surgery should be avoided as much as possible. Study protocol registered in ClinicalTrials.Gov (I.D. Number NCT04747990)

Cabbage and fermented vegetables : From death rate heterogeneity in countries to candidates for mitigation strategies of severe COVID-19

Large differences in COVID-19 death rates exist between countries and between regions of the same country. Some very low death rate countries such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, or the Balkans have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods. Although biases exist when examining ecological studies, fermented vegetables or cabbage have been associated with low death rates in European countries. SARS-CoV-2 binds to its receptor, the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). As a result of SARS-CoV-2 binding, ACE2 downregulation enhances the angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT(1)R) axis associated with oxidative stress. This leads to insulin resistance as well as lung and endothelial damage, two severe outcomes of COVID-19. The nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) is the most potent antioxidant in humans and can block in particular the AT(1)R axis. Cabbage contains precursors of sulforaphane, the most active natural activator of Nrf2. Fermented vegetables contain many lactobacilli, which are also potent Nrf2 activators. Three examples are: kimchi in Korea, westernized foods, and the slum paradox. It is proposed that fermented cabbage is a proof-of-concept of dietary manipulations that may enhance Nrf2-associated antioxidant effects, helpful in mitigating COVID-19 severity.Peer reviewe

Nrf2-interacting nutrients and COVID-19 : time for research to develop adaptation strategies

There are large between- and within-country variations in COVID-19 death rates. Some very low death rate settings such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, the Balkans and Africa have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods whose intake is associated with the activation of the Nrf2 (Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2) anti-oxidant transcription factor. There are many Nrf2-interacting nutrients (berberine, curcumin, epigallocatechin gallate, genistein, quercetin, resveratrol, sulforaphane) that all act similarly to reduce insulin resistance, endothelial damage, lung injury and cytokine storm. They also act on the same mechanisms (mTOR: Mammalian target of rapamycin, PPAR gamma:Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, NF kappa B: Nuclear factor kappa B, ERK: Extracellular signal-regulated kinases and eIF2 alpha:Elongation initiation factor 2 alpha). They may as a result be important in mitigating the severity of COVID-19, acting through the endoplasmic reticulum stress or ACE-Angiotensin-II-AT(1)R axis (AT(1)R) pathway. Many Nrf2-interacting nutrients are also interacting with TRPA1 and/or TRPV1. Interestingly, geographical areas with very low COVID-19 mortality are those with the lowest prevalence of obesity (Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia). It is tempting to propose that Nrf2-interacting foods and nutrients can re-balance insulin resistance and have a significant effect on COVID-19 severity. It is therefore possible that the intake of these foods may restore an optimal natural balance for the Nrf2 pathway and may be of interest in the mitigation of COVID-19 severity

Measurement of t(t)over-bar normalised multi-differential cross sections in pp collisions at root s=13 TeV, and simultaneous determination of the strong coupling strength, top quark pole mass, and parton distribution functions

Peer reviewe

An embedding technique to determine ττ backgrounds in proton-proton collision data

An embedding technique is presented to estimate standard model tau tau backgrounds from data with minimal simulation input. In the data, the muons are removed from reconstructed mu mu events and replaced with simulated tau leptons with the same kinematic properties. In this way, a set of hybrid events is obtained that does not rely on simulation except for the decay of the tau leptons. The challenges in describing the underlying event or the production of associated jets in the simulation are avoided. The technique described in this paper was developed for CMS. Its validation and the inherent uncertainties are also discussed. The demonstration of the performance of the technique is based on a sample of proton-proton collisions collected by CMS in 2017 at root s = 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 41.5 fb(-1).Peer reviewe

Measurement of the top quark forward-backward production asymmetry and the anomalous chromoelectric and chromomagnetic moments in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV

Abstract The parton-level top quark (t) forward-backward asymmetry and the anomalous chromoelectric (d̂ t) and chromomagnetic (μ̂ t) moments have been measured using LHC pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected in the CMS detector in a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1. The linearized variable AFB(1) is used to approximate the asymmetry. Candidate t t ¯ events decaying to a muon or electron and jets in final states with low and high Lorentz boosts are selected and reconstructed using a fit of the kinematic distributions of the decay products to those expected for t t ¯ final states. The values found for the parameters are AFB(1)=0.048−0.087+0.095(stat)−0.029+0.020(syst),μ̂t=−0.024−0.009+0.013(stat)−0.011+0.016(syst), and a limit is placed on the magnitude of | d̂ t| < 0.03 at 95% confidence level. [Figure not available: see fulltext.