Blood gases, biochemistry and haematology of Galápagos hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata)

The hawksbill turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata, is a marine chelonian with a circum-global distribution, but the species is critically endangered and has nearly vanished from the eastern Pacific. Although reference blood parameter intervals have been published for many chelonian species and populations, including nesting Atlantic hawksbills, no such baseline biochemical and blood gas values have been reported for wild Pacific hawksbill turtles. Blood samples were drawn from eight hawksbill turtles captured in near shore foraging locations within the Galápagos archipelago over a period of four sequential years; three of these turtles were recaptured and sampled on multiple occasions. Of the eight sea turtles sampled, five were immature and of unknown sex, and the other three were females. A portable blood analyzer was used to obtain near immediate field results for a suite of blood gas and chemistry parameters. Values affected by temperature were corrected in two ways: (i) with standard formulas and (ii) with auto-corrections made by the portable analyzer. A bench top blood chemistry analyzer was used to measure a series of biochemistry parameters from plasma. Standard laboratory haematology techniques were employed for red and white blood cell counts and to determine haematocrit manually, which was compared to the haematocrit values generated by the portable analyzer. The values reported in this study provide reference data that may be useful in comparisons among populations and in detecting changes in health status among Galápagos sea turtles. The findings might also be helpful in future efforts to demonstrate associations between specific biochemical parameters and disease or environmental disasters

Triphenylamine/Tetracyanobutadiene-Based π-Conjugated Push–Pull Molecules End-Capped with Arene Platforms:Synthesis, Photophysics, and Photovoltaic Response

π-Conjugated push–pull molecules based on triphenylamine and 1,1,4,4-tetracyanobuta-1,3-diene (TCBD) have been functionalized with different terminal arene units. In solution, these highly TCBD-twisted systems showed a strong internal charge transfer band in the visible spectrum and no detectable photoluminescence (PL). Photophysical and theoretical investigations revealed very short singlet excited state deactivation time of ≈10 ps resulting from significant conformational changes of the TCBD-arene moiety upon photoexcitation, opening a pathway for non-radiative decay. The PL was recovered in vacuum-processed films or when the molecules were dispersed in a PMMA matrix leading to a significant increase of the excited state deactivation time. As shown by cyclic voltammetry, these molecules can act as electron donors compared to C 60. Hence, vacuum-processed planar heterojunction organic solar cells were fabricated leading to a maximum power conversion efficiency of ca. 1.9 % which decreases with the increase of the arene size

A layered structure approach to assure urban air mobility safety and efficiency

The demand for air mobility services will depend on the safety of these operations but also on the transportation time savings in congested urban areas. An adequate air space structure is therefore essential to achieve both objectives. Corridors, the most extended solution proposed nowadays, can meet the safety requirements necessary for air taxi operations, but they are rigid (point-to-point solutions) and would increase delays. As an alternative, this paper presents the airspace structure proposed in the SESAR AMU-LED Project, based on layers to assure both safety and efficiency of air taxi operations. In this proposal, small UAS will fly in the bottom part, called the Very Low Level, whereas air taxis will fly in the upper part. The paper applies a collision risk model to determine the minimum required safety buffer between both layers to assure the necessary safety levels. The results obtained show that a buffer of 10 m between them would meet the required safety levels for air taxi operations

Development and clinical validation of the Genedrive point-of-care test for qualitative detection of hepatitis C virus

Objective: Recently approved direct acting antivirals provide transformative therapies for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The major clinical challenge remains to identify the undiagnosed patients worldwide, many of whom live in low-income and middle-income countries, where access to nucleic acid testing remains limited. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a point-of-care (PoC) assay for the qualitative detection of HCV RNA. Design: We developed a PoC assay for the qualitative detection of HCV RNA on the PCR Genedrive instrument. We validated the Genedrive HCV assay through a case–control study comparing results with those obtained with the Abbott RealTime HCV test. Results: The PoC assay identified all major HCV genotypes, with a limit of detection of 2362 IU/mL (95% CI 1966 to 2788). Using 422 patients chronically infected with HCV and 503 controls negative for anti-HCV and HCV RNA, the Genedrive HCV assay showed 98.6% sensitivity (95% CI 96.9% to 99.5%) and 100% specificity (95% CI 99.3% to 100%) to detect HCV. In addition, melting peak ratiometric analysis demonstrated proof-of-principle for semiquantification of HCV. The test was further validated in a real clinical setting in a resource-limited country. Conclusion: We report a rapid, simple, portable and accurate PoC molecular test for HCV, with sensitivity and specificity that fulfils the recent FIND/WHO Target Product Profile for HCV decentralised testing in low-income and middle-income countries. This Genedrive HCV assay may positively impact the continuum of HCV care from screening to cure by supporting real-time treatment decisions

La cadena de la tala no controlada en Guatemala: los casos de Tecpa¿n Guatemala, Chimaltenango y San Juan Sacatepe¿quez, Guatemala

Summary also in Englis

Supplementary material to Micro-environmental variation of soil microbial biodiversity differs across land use types – implications for field sampling designs

Lista de archivos: 1- un archivo Word con detalles metodológicos sobre análisis de procesos determinísticos y estocásticos. 2- un archivo Word con las tablas suplementarias. 3- un archivo Word con las figuras suplementarias.Proyecto: ERA-NET Cofund SusCrop Project potatoMETAbiome (Grant No 771134), EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program and NWO, Joint Programming Initiative on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change (FACCE-JPI)Background and Aims: Soil microbial biodiversity is the driving force behind several soil processes and is highly affected by land use change. The development of soil quality indicators based on microbial biodiversity is growing, mainly focusing on macro-environmental factors (soil type, climate, biomes). However, little is known about how these communities vary within micro-environmental gradients (soil depth, spatial distance) across different land uses, which is critical for designing field sampling protocols. Our objective was to assess how soil microbial communities changed with soil depth and spatial distance after land use conversion in Patagonia, Argentina. Methods: A state-and-transition model was used as a reference framework entailing native forest, horticulture and grassland soils. We sampled soils in four spatial distances (from 0.1 to 70 m) and four depths (within 0-40 cm) and combined 16S rRNA gene sequencing, DNA quantification and soil chemical characterization to explore micro environmental variation in microbial biomass, α-diversity, β-diversity, and microbial communities' assembly processes. Results: Depth and spatial distance had differential effects on microbial biodiversity within different land uses. Microbial biomass was most sensitive to depth, α-diversity to spatial distance, and b-diversity to both depth and spatial distance. Deterministic processes dominate microbial communities' assembly along depth in all land uses, which is a promising result for developing soil quality indicators based on microbial biodiversity. Conclusions: Overall, our results suggest that a homogeneous sampling effort does not necessarily capture the same soil microbial variability across different land uses; hence, design adjustments should be needed.EEA BarilocheFil: Alvarez, Valeria Esther. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB); ArgentinaFil: Alvarez, Valeria Esther. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB); ArgentinaFil: El Mujtar, Veronica Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas (CONICET). Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB); ArgentinaFil: El Mujtar, Veronica Andrea. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB); ArgentinaFil: Falcão Salles, Joana. Groningen University. Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES); Países BajosFil: Jia, Xiu. Groningen University. Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES); Países BajosFil: Castan, Elisa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB); ArgentinaFil: Castan, Elisa. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB); ArgentinaFil: Cardozo, Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB); ArgentinaFil: Cardozo, Andrea. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB); ArgentinaFil: Cardozo, Andrea. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Agencia de Extensión Rural El Bolsón; ArgentinaFil: Tittonell, Pablo Adrian. Groningen University. Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences; Países BajosFil: Tittonell, Pablo Adrian. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB); ArgentinaFil: Tittonell, Pablo Adrian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB); ArgentinaFil: Tittonell, Pablo Adrian. Université de Montpellier. Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD). Agroécologie et Intensification Durable (AïDA); Franci