Búsqueda de la materia bariónica en el supercúmulo de Corona Borealis

Uno de los parámetros mas relevantes en la descripción del Universo es la densidad bariónica media. Esta ha sido estimada a través de las abundancias de los elementos primordiales y confirmada en estudios recientes del espectro de potencias del Fondo Cósmico de Microondas (FCM). Sin embargo, las observaciones de la materia bariónica en el universo actual sólo pueden dar cuenta de un contenido bariónico un factor dos más bajo. Esta fracción de bariones que faltan pueden estar distribuidos en las grandes estructuras del Universo a lo largo de filamentos que conectan a los cúmulos de galaxias, en forma de ``gas difuso templado/caliente", de temperatura 10^{5}K< T< 10^{7}K, según sugieren simulaciones de la evolución de la estructura en el Universo. Una posible forma de identificar este tipo de bariones es mediante el efecto Compton inverso que un gas a esta elevada temperatura produciría en los fotones del FCM (el efecto Sunyaev-Zel'dovich, SZ). El interferómetro VSA del Observatorio del Teide ha intervenido en la búsqueda de este tipo de materia. Ha producido mapas a ~33 GHz, con un haz de 11' y una sensibilidad de ~20 mJy, para el Supercúmulo de Corona Borealis (CrB-SC). Se ha observado una región de ~6º cuadrados detectando una zona dentro del Supercúmulo que podría estar asociada a un efecto SZ producido por el gas difuso a escalas más grandes que la de los cúmulos de galaxias, (Génova-Santos et al. 2005, 2008). En esta tesis se ha estudiado la población galáctica de dicha zona, denominada CrB-H, y verificado la existencia de alguna diferencia respecto a otras regiones, cumulares o intercumulares, del Supercúmulo. Se han utilizado, para ello, datos fotométricos y espectroscópicos de los distintos años del Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Asímismo, se ha realizado un estudio espectroscópico más profundo utilizando el instrumento AF2-WYFFOS del William Herschel Telescope del Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos. Se trató de averiguar si las características de las galaxias que pueblan la zona de CrB-H tienen relación con las de las galaxias que habitan los cúmulos del CrB-SC o si, por el contrario, son similares a las de las galaxias que pueblan el medio intercumular. También se ha realizado un estudio morfológico de las galaxias que pueblan la zona de CrB-SC. Finalmente, se ha tratado de caracterizar las diferentes estructuras que hemos encontrado en CrB-H, y se ha parametrizado la contribución que cada una de éstas aportan al efecto SZ hallado en los mapas de VSA. Los principales resultados obtenidos son: a) La región subtendida por el decremento de VSA tiene una sobredensidad de galaxias, en comparación con los valores medios en áreas seleccionadas al azar en todo el cielo. b) Se ha estudiado la distribución de desplazamientos al rojo de la región CrB-H. Se han encontrado notables sobredensidades de galaxias alrededor de z = 0.07 (CrB-H-$lz$) y a mayor desplazamiento al rojo, z = 0.11 (CrB-H-hz). Sin embargo, no encontramos la evidencia de una conexión entre estas dos regiones. c) La densidad radial de la galaxias para CrB-H-lz muestra un comportamiento más plano que el que presentan cada uno de los cúmulos Abell 2065 y Abell 2069. Para CrB-H-hz la distribución radial muestra una densidad ligeramente superior en el centro, indicativo de que CrB-H-hz podría tener algún grado de virialización. d) CrB-H-lz podría ser un filamento de unas decenas de Mpc que se extiende desde 0.07 < z < 0.09. CrB-H-hz es un candidato a cúmulo de galaxias que podría contribuir al decremento de temperatura del FCM detectado, pero que por sí solo no puede dar cuenta de la totalidad del efecto SZ registrado en CrB-H. La morfología y colores de las galaxias que pueblan CrB-H-hz son similares a las que pueblan Abell 2069 en formas y colores. La opción que se considera más probable es que la señal SZ resulte de una combinación de efectos causados por estas dos estructuras

A study of the galaxy redshift distribution toward the cosmic microwave background cold spot in the Corona Borealis supercluster

We present a study of the spatial and redshift distributions of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) galaxies toward the position of CrB-H, a very deep and extended decrement in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), located within the Corona Borealis supercluster (CrB-SC). It was found in a survey with the Very Small Array (VSA) interferometer at 33 GHz, with a peak negative brightness temperature of -230 muK, and deviates 4.4-sigma from the Gaussian CMB (G\'enova-Santos et al.). Observations with the Millimeter and Infrared Testa Grigia Observatory (MITO) suggested that 25$^+21_-18% of this decrement may be caused by the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (tSZ) effect (Battistelli et al.). Here we investigate whether the galaxy distribution could be tracing either a previously unnoticed galaxy cluster or a Warm/Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM) filament that could build up this tSZ effect. We find that the projected density of galaxies outside Abell clusters and with redshifts 0.05<z<0.12 at the position of CrB-H is the highest in the area encompassed by the CrB-SC. Most of these galaxies are located around redshifts z=0.07 and z=0.11, but no clear connection in the form of a filamentary structure is appreciable in between. While the galaxy distribution at z=0.07 is sparse, we find evidence at z=0.11 of a galaxy group or a low-mass galaxy cluster. We estimate that this structure could produce a tSZ effect of ~ -18 muK. The remaining VSA signal of ~ -212 muK is still a significant 4.1-sigma deviation from the Gaussian CMB. However, the MITO error bar allows for a larger tSZ effect, which could be produced by galaxy clusters or superclusters beyond the sensitivity of the SDSS. Contributions from other possible secondary anisotropies associated with these structures are also discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables. Accepted in MNRA

Aquatic mammals from the Mexican Caribbean; a review

We present a review of the aquatic mammal species occurring in the Mexican Caribbean. Several published sources were reviewed to find information about aquatic mammals reported for the Mexican Caribbean. Additionally, we consulted 29 national and international collections and museums. Based on documents, collections, direct records and local news, we analyzed 18 confirmed species of aquatic mammals for the study area [Tursiops truncatus, Stenella clymene, S. frontalis, S. longirostris, Steno bredanensis, Grampus griseus, Globicephala macrorhynchus, Peponocephala electra; Pseudorca crassidens, Orcinus orca, Physeter macrocephalus, Kogia breviceps, K. sima, Ziphius cavirostris, Mesoplodon europaeus, Trichechus manatus manatus, Lontra longicaudis annectens and Monachus tropicalis (extinct)]. In order to gather solid baseline information that enhances efficient long-term management, regular and systematic population censuses of the aquatic mammal community are recommended. We recommend the use of the Mexican Caribbean area as a separate unit of management and conservation, differently as has been included in the macro region Gulf of Mexico/Mexican Caribbean

Staging Parkinson’s Disease According to the MNCD (Motor/Non-motor/Cognition/Dependency) Classification Correlates with Disease Severity and Quality of Life

Background: Recently, a novel simple classification called MNCD, based on 4 axes (Motor; Non-motor; Cognition; Dependency) and 5 stages, has been proposed to classify Parkinson's disease (PD). Objective: Our aim was to apply the MNCD classification in a cohort of PD patients for the first time and also to analyze the correlation with quality of life (QoL) and disease severity. Methods: Data from the baseline visit of PD patients recruited from 35 centers in Spain from the COPPADIS cohort from January 2016 to November 2017 were used to apply the MNCD classification. Three instruments were used to assess QoL: 1) the 39-item Parkinson's disease Questionnaire [PDQ-39]); PQ-10; the EUROHIS-QOL 8-item index (EUROHIS-QOL8). Results: Four hundred and thirty-nine PD patients (62.05 +/- 7.84 years old; 59% males) were included. MNCD stage was: stage 1, 8.4% (N = 37); stage 2, 62% (N = 272); stage 3, 28.2% (N = 124); stage 4-5, 1.4% (N = 6). A more advanced MNCD stage was associated with a higher score on the PDQ39SI (p < 0.0001) and a lower score on the PQ-10 (p < 0.0001) and EUROHIS-QOL8 (p < 0.0001). In many other aspects of the disease, such as disease duration, levodopa equivalent daily dose, motor symptoms, non-motor symptoms, and autonomy for activities of daily living, an association between the stage and severity was observed, with data indicating a progressive worsening related to disease progression throughout the proposed stages. Conclusion: Staging PD according to the MNCD classification correlated with QoL and disease severity. The MNCD could be a proper tool to monitor the progression of PD

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Higher COVID-19 pneumonia risk associated with anti-IFN-α than with anti-IFN-ω auto-Abs in children

We found that 19 (10.4%) of 183 unvaccinated children hospitalized for COVID-19 pneumonia had autoantibodies (auto-Abs) neutralizing type I IFNs (IFN-alpha 2 in 10 patients: IFN-alpha 2 only in three, IFN-alpha 2 plus IFN-omega in five, and IFN-alpha 2, IFN-omega plus IFN-beta in two; IFN-omega only in nine patients). Seven children (3.8%) had Abs neutralizing at least 10 ng/ml of one IFN, whereas the other 12 (6.6%) had Abs neutralizing only 100 pg/ml. The auto-Abs neutralized both unglycosylated and glycosylated IFNs. We also detected auto-Abs neutralizing 100 pg/ml IFN-alpha 2 in 4 of 2,267 uninfected children (0.2%) and auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-omega in 45 children (2%). The odds ratios (ORs) for life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia were, therefore, higher for auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-alpha 2 only (OR [95% CI] = 67.6 [5.7-9,196.6]) than for auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-. only (OR [95% CI] = 2.6 [1.2-5.3]). ORs were also higher for auto-Abs neutralizing high concentrations (OR [95% CI] = 12.9 [4.6-35.9]) than for those neutralizing low concentrations (OR [95% CI] = 5.5 [3.1-9.6]) of IFN-omega and/or IFN-alpha 2

Identification of regulatory variants associated with genetic susceptibility to meningococcal disease.

Non-coding genetic variants play an important role in driving susceptibility to complex diseases but their characterization remains challenging. Here, we employed a novel approach to interrogate the genetic risk of such polymorphisms in a more systematic way by targeting specific regulatory regions relevant for the phenotype studied. We applied this method to meningococcal disease susceptibility, using the DNA binding pattern of RELA - a NF-kB subunit, master regulator of the response to infection - under bacterial stimuli in nasopharyngeal epithelial cells. We designed a custom panel to cover these RELA binding sites and used it for targeted sequencing in cases and controls. Variant calling and association analysis were performed followed by validation of candidate polymorphisms by genotyping in three independent cohorts. We identified two new polymorphisms, rs4823231 and rs11913168, showing signs of association with meningococcal disease susceptibility. In addition, using our genomic data as well as publicly available resources, we found evidences for these SNPs to have potential regulatory effects on ATXN10 and LIF genes respectively. The variants and related candidate genes are relevant for infectious diseases and may have important contribution for meningococcal disease pathology. Finally, we described a novel genetic association approach that could be applied to other phenotypes

Plasma lipid profiles discriminate bacterial from viral infection in febrile children

Fever is the most common reason that children present to Emergency Departments. Clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of bacterial infection are often non-specific, and there is no definitive test for the accurate diagnosis of infection. The 'omics' approaches to identifying biomarkers from the host-response to bacterial infection are promising. In this study, lipidomic analysis was carried out with plasma samples obtained from febrile children with confirmed bacterial infection (n = 20) and confirmed viral infection (n = 20). We show for the first time that bacterial and viral infection produces distinct profile in the host lipidome. Some species of glycerophosphoinositol, sphingomyelin, lysophosphatidylcholine and cholesterol sulfate were higher in the confirmed virus infected group, while some species of fatty acids, glycerophosphocholine, glycerophosphoserine, lactosylceramide and bilirubin were lower in the confirmed virus infected group when compared with confirmed bacterial infected group. A combination of three lipids achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.911 (95% CI 0.81 to 0.98). This pilot study demonstrates the potential of metabolic biomarkers to assist clinicians in distinguishing bacterial from viral infection in febrile children, to facilitate effective clinical management and to the limit inappropriate use of antibiotics

Staging Parkinson’s Disease According to the MNCD (Motor/Non-motor/Cognition/Dependency) Classification Correlates with Disease Severity and Quality of Life

© 2023 – The authors. Published by IOS Press. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (CC BY-NC 4.0).Background: Recently, a novel simple classification called MNCD, based on 4 axes (Motor; Non-motor; Cognition; Dependency) and 5 stages, has been proposed to classify Parkinson's disease (PD).Objective: Our aim was to apply the MNCD classification in a cohort of PD patients for the first time and also to analyze the correlation with quality of life (QoL) and disease severity.Methods: Data from the baseline visit of PD patients recruited from 35 centers in Spain from the COPPADIS cohort fromJanuary 2016 to November 2017 were used to apply the MNCD classification. Three instruments were used to assess QoL:1) the 39-item Parkinson's disease Questionnaire [PDQ-39]); PQ-10; the EUROHIS-QOL 8-item index (EUROHIS-QOL8).Results: Four hundred and thirty-nine PD patients (62.05±7.84 years old; 59% males) were included. MNCD stage was:stage 1, 8.4% (N = 37); stage 2, 62% (N = 272); stage 3, 28.2% (N = 124); stage 4-5, 1.4% (N = 6). A more advancedMNCD stage was associated with a higher score on the PDQ39SI (p < 0.0001) and a lower score on the PQ-10 (p< 0.0001) and EUROHIS-QOL8 (p< 0.0001). In many other aspects of the disease, such as disease duration, levodopa equivalent daily dose, motor symptoms, non-motor symptoms, and autonomy for activities of daily living, an association between the stage and severity was observed, with data indicating a progressive worsening related to disease progression throughout the proposed stages.Conclusion: Staging PD according to the MNCD classification correlated with QoL and disease severity. The MNCD could be a proper tool to monitor the progression of PD.COPPADIS and the present study were developed with the help of Fundación Española de Ayuda a la Investigación en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas y/o de Origen Genético (https://fundaciondegen.org/) and Alpha Bioresearch (www.alphabioresearch.com). Also, we received grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [PI16/01575] co-founded by ISCIII (Concesión de subvenciones de Proyectos de Investigación en Salud de la convocatoria 2020 de la Acción Estratégica en Salud 2017-2020 por el Proyecto “PROGRESION NO MOTORA E IMPACTO EN LA CALIDAD DE VIDA EN LA ENFERMEDAD DE PARKINSON”) to develop a part of the COPPADIS project.Peer reviewe

Co-infection and ICU-acquired infection in COIVD-19 ICU patients: a secondary analysis of the UNITE-COVID data set

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic presented major challenges for critical care facilities worldwide. Infections which develop alongside or subsequent to viral pneumonitis are a challenge under sporadic and pandemic conditions; however, data have suggested that patterns of these differ between COVID-19 and other viral pneumonitides. This secondary analysis aimed to explore patterns of co-infection and intensive care unit-acquired infections (ICU-AI) and the relationship to use of corticosteroids in a large, international cohort of critically ill COVID-19 patients.Methods: This is a multicenter, international, observational study, including adult patients with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis admitted to ICUs at the peak of wave one of COVID-19 (February 15th to May 15th, 2020). Data collected included investigator-assessed co-infection at ICU admission, infection acquired in ICU, infection with multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO) and antibiotic use. Frequencies were compared by Pearson's Chi-squared and continuous variables by Mann-Whitney U test. Propensity score matching for variables associated with ICU-acquired infection was undertaken using R library MatchIT using the "full" matching method.Results: Data were available from 4994 patients. Bacterial co-infection at admission was detected in 716 patients (14%), whilst 85% of patients received antibiotics at that stage. ICU-AI developed in 2715 (54%). The most common ICU-AI was bacterial pneumonia (44% of infections), whilst 9% of patients developed fungal pneumonia; 25% of infections involved MDRO. Patients developing infections in ICU had greater antimicrobial exposure than those without such infections. Incident density (ICU-AI per 1000 ICU days) was in considerable excess of reports from pre-pandemic surveillance. Corticosteroid use was heterogenous between ICUs. In univariate analysis, 58% of patients receiving corticosteroids and 43% of those not receiving steroids developed ICU-AI. Adjusting for potential confounders in the propensity-matched cohort, 71% of patients receiving corticosteroids developed ICU-AI vs 52% of those not receiving corticosteroids. Duration of corticosteroid therapy was also associated with development of ICU-AI and infection with an MDRO.Conclusions: In patients with severe COVID-19 in the first wave, co-infection at admission to ICU was relatively rare but antibiotic use was in substantial excess to that indication. ICU-AI were common and were significantly associated with use of corticosteroids