Characterization of phychoactive plant pollen: a new tool in forensic investigations

Palynology, based on the micromorphological characterization of pollen and spores, can be a valid ally for the resolution of forensic cases. Since its first application in 1959 for a murder in Austria, this discipline has been applied to cases of illegal smuggling involving drugs, weapons, medicines, and money (1). Also in Italy, several examples of palynology applied to kidnapping and homicide crime solving have been reported. In particular, a close connection was found between forensic palynology and aerobiology, as a reference tool for establishing the season when unknown death occurred (2-4).The use of palynology is also useful to trace possible pollen contamination of drugs: e.g. in a seizure of a batch of drugs in New York in 1991 (5). It is also possible to solve cases of murder, rape, theft, and food fraud (6). Pollen can adhere firmly to any surface and resist decomposition, while its morphology can be a distinctive feature for the identification of plant species and habitats (1,4,6). The present study concerns the pollen of 12 species of psychoactive plants belonging to 9 families, including illegal drug plants (e.g. Erythroxylum coca; Lophophora williamsii), and plants used as legal alternatives to drugs (e.g. Leonotis leonurus; Brugmansia suaveolens), some of which are currently marketed on internet. Given the lack of literature in this study, we started to compile a palynological atlas of psychoactive plants, aimed at providing support in the forensic field. These data can been useful to trace the origin of illegal drugs, and to identify the most likely route of drug shipping (2). The selected pollen grains was sampled from herbarium specimens, the Reference Pollen Collection (Palinoteca), or prepared as fresh samples collected from the Botanical Garden of Genoa University and the Hanbury Botanical Garden of Ventimiglia. Unacetolyzed pollen was prepared in glycerin jelly containing basic fuchsin dye. The analysis was carried out on 40 pollen grains for each species at the magnification of 40x.The diagnostic features of pollen grains studied were: length of polar axis (P) and equatorial axis (E), pollen shape (P/E ratio), number and type of apertures, exine thickness and sculpture. For the two species belonging to Convolvulaceae (Ipomoea violacea and Argyreia nervosa), also spine length, interspinal distance, pore diameter, exine and nexine thickness, have been considered. Observations were carried out by using light and scanning electron microscopy. In some cases, the analyses showed slight morphological differences compared to literature data, probably due to a different number of measurements, while in other cases new morphological features were recorded. A web repository is being created to make morphometric data and pictures of psychoactive plant pollen available, thus providing a useful tool for forensic investigations

Responsabilidad social empresaria y su aplicación a la multinacional Hamburg Süd

La responsabilidad Social Empresaria es una temática que cada vez aparece más en las organizaciones y empresas, dada su importancia que conlleva al bienestar de las personas y el medioambiente. Esta necesidad surge a partir de generar un ambiente recíproco entre la empresa y su alrededor. La presente Investigación propone indagar sobre cómo influye en una empresa internacional aplicar esta política de responsabilidad social empresaria de manera interna, para con sus empleados y de qué manera provocan una satisfacción en ellos. Así como también investigar como la responsabilidad social con el medioambiente provoca una buena imagen en la empresa y buenos resultados financieros. El presente estudio consiste en un análisis interno sobre la multinacional Hamburg Süd a través de su historia y sus implementaciones diarias para observar si realmente cumplen y de qué manera con la Responsabilidad social empresaria ya sea interna o externamente. Los resultados indican que efectivamente se práctica en varios ámbitos dentro de esta empresa RSE, tales como beneficios a los empleados, obra social, ayuda psicológica y con el medioambiente como por ejemplo emplear un combustible menos dañino para los océanos, en los buques. Por otro lado, se presentan mejoras o nuevos proyectos dentro de esta temática que podría implementar o mejorar.Fil: Conte Vignolo, Ana Clara. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas

A SNP assay for assessing diversity in immune genes in the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.)

With a growing number of parasites and pathogens experiencing large-scale range expansions, monitoring diversity in immune genes of host populations has never been so important because it can inform on the adaptive potential to resist the invaders. Population surveys of immune genes are becoming common in many organisms, yet they are missing in the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.), a key managed pollinator species that has been severely affected by biological invasions. To fill the gap, here we identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a wide range of honey bee immune genes and developed a medium-density assay targeting a subset of these genes. Using a discovery panel of 123 whole-genomes, representing seven A. mellifera subspecies and three evolutionary lineages, 180 immune genes were scanned for SNPs in exons, introns (< 4 bp from exons), 3’ and 5´UTR, and < 1 kb upstream of the transcription start site. After application of multiple filtering criteria and validation, the final medium-density assay combines 91 quality-proved functional SNPs marking 89 innate immune genes and these can be readily typed using the high-sample-throughput iPLEX MassARRAY system. This medium-density-SNP assay was applied to 156 samples from four countries and the admixture analysis clustered the samples according to their lineage and subspecies, suggesting that honey bee ancestry can be delineated from functional variation. In addition to allowing analysis of immunogenetic variation, this newly-developed SNP assay can be used for inferring genetic structure and admixture in the honey bee.We are deeply indebted to Frank Aguiar, Luís Silva, Edgardo Melo, João Martins, João Melo, Manuel Moura, Manuel Viveiros, and Ricardo Sousa from "Direção Regional da Agricultura e Desenvolvimento Rural dos Açores" (Portugal), and to Laura Garreau, Laurent Maugis, Pascale Sauvage and Jacques Kermagoret, from “Association Conservatoire de l’Abeille Noir Bretonne” (France), for sampling the apiaries in São Miguel, Santa Maria, and Ouessant islands. Genotyping was outsourced to the Epigenetics and Genotyping laboratory, Central Unit for Research in Medicine (UCIM), University of Valencia, Spain. Data analyses were performed using computational resources at the Research Centre in Digitalization and Intelligent Robotics (CeDRI), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança. Ana Rita Lopes is supported by a PhD scholarship (SFRH/BD/143627/2019) from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Portugal. FCT provided financial support by national funds (FCT/MCTES) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020).This research was funded through the projects BEEHAPPY (POCI-01-0145- FEDER-029871, FCT and COMPETE/QREN/EU) and BEEHEAL. BEEHEAL was funded by the ARIMNet2 2016 Call by the following agencies: INIA (Spain), MOARD (Israel), ANR (France) and FCT (Portugal). ARIMNet2 (ERA-NET) received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 618127.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Baseline ECG and prognosis after transcatheter aortic valve implantation: the role of interatrial block

Background: The clinical significance of conduction disturbances after transcatheter aortic valve implantation has been described; however, little is known about the influence of baseline ECGs in the prognosis of these patients. Our aim was to study the influence of baseline ECG parameters, including interatrial block (IAB), in the prognosis of patients treated with transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Methods and Results: The BIT (Baseline Interatrial Block and Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation) registry included 2527 patients with aortic stenosis treated with transcatheter aortic valve implantation. A centralized analysis of baseline ECGs was performed. Patients were divided into 4 groups: normal P wave duration (<120 ms); partial IAB (P wave duration ≥120 ms, positive in the inferior leads); advanced IAB (P wave duration ≥120 ms, biphasic [+/-] morphology in the inferior leads); and nonsinus rhythm (atrial fibrillation/flutter and paced rhythm). The mean age of patients was 82.6±9.8 years and 1397 (55.3%) were women. A total of 960 patients (38.0%) had a normal P wave, 582 (23.0%) had partial IAB, 300 (11.9%) had advanced IAB, and 685 (27.1%) presented with nonsinus rhythm. Mean follow‐up duration was 465±171 days. Advanced IAB was the only independent predictor of all‐cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.48; 95% CI, 1.10-1.98 [P=0.010]) and of the composite end point (death/stroke/new atrial fibrillation) (HR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.17-1.94 [P=0.001]). Conclusions: Baseline ECG characteristics influence the prognosis of patients with aortic stenosis treated with transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Advanced IAB is present in about an eighth of patients and is associated with all‐cause death and the composite end point of death, stroke, and new atrial fibrillation during follow‐up

Mucormycosis in the COVID-19 Environment: A Multifaceted Complication

The second wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused severe infections with high mortality. An increase in the cases of COVID-19-associated mucormycosis (CAM) was reported predominantly in India. Commonly present in immunocompromised individuals, mucormycosis is often a life-threatening condition. Confounding factors and molecular mechanisms associated with CAM are still not well understood, and there is a need for careful research in this direction. In this review, a brief account of the diagnosis, management, and advancement in drug discovery for mucormycosis has been provided. Here, we summarize major factors that dictate the occurrence of mucormycosis in COVID-19 patients through the analysis of published literature and case reports. Major predisposing factors to mucormycosis appear to be uncontrolled diabetes, steroid therapy, and certain cancers. At the molecular level, increased levels of iron in COVID-19 might contribute to mucormycosis. We have also discussed the potential role and regulation of iron metabolism in COVID-19 patients in establishing fungal growth. Other factors including diabetes prevalence and fungal spore burden in India as contributing factors have also been discussed

Gravitational Waves From Known Pulsars: Results From The Initial Detector Era

We present the results of searches for gravitational waves from a large selection of pulsars using data from the most recent science runs (S6, VSR2 and VSR4) of the initial generation of interferometric gravitational wave detectors LIGO (Laser Interferometric Gravitational-wave Observatory) and Virgo. We do not see evidence for gravitational wave emission from any of the targeted sources but produce upper limits on the emission amplitude. We highlight the results from seven young pulsars with large spin-down luminosities. We reach within a factor of five of the canonical spin-down limit for all seven of these, whilst for the Crab and Vela pulsars we further surpass their spin-down limits. We present new or updated limits for 172 other pulsars (including both young and millisecond pulsars). Now that the detectors are undergoing major upgrades, and, for completeness, we bring together all of the most up-to-date results from all pulsars searched for during the operations of the first-generation LIGO, Virgo and GEO600 detectors. This gives a total of 195 pulsars including the most recent results described in this paper.United States National Science FoundationScience and Technology Facilities Council of the United KingdomMax-Planck-SocietyState of Niedersachsen/GermanyAustralian Research CouncilInternational Science Linkages program of the Commonwealth of AustraliaCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research of IndiaIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare of ItalySpanish Ministerio de Economia y CompetitividadConselleria d'Economia Hisenda i Innovacio of the Govern de les Illes BalearsNetherlands Organisation for Scientific ResearchPolish Ministry of Science and Higher EducationFOCUS Programme of Foundation for Polish ScienceRoyal SocietyScottish Funding CouncilScottish Universities Physics AllianceNational Aeronautics and Space AdministrationOTKA of HungaryLyon Institute of Origins (LIO)National Research Foundation of KoreaIndustry CanadaProvince of Ontario through the Ministry of Economic Development and InnovationNational Science and Engineering Research Council CanadaCarnegie TrustLeverhulme TrustDavid and Lucile Packard FoundationResearch CorporationAlfred P. Sloan FoundationAstronom

Search for gravitational waves associated with the InterPlanetary Network short gamma ray bursts

We outline the scientific motivation behind a search for gravitational waves associated with short gamma ray bursts detected by the InterPlanetary Network (IPN) during LIGO's fifth science run and Virgo's first science run. The IPN localisation of short gamma ray bursts is limited to extended error boxes of different shapes and sizes and a search on these error boxes poses a series of challenges for data analysis. We will discuss these challenges and outline the methods to optimise the search over these error boxes.Comment: Methods paper; Proceedings for Eduardo Amaldi 9 Conference on Gravitational Waves, July 2011, Cardiff, U

Swift follow-up observations of candidate gravitational-wave transient events

We present the first multi-wavelength follow-up observations of two candidate gravitational-wave (GW) transient events recorded by LIGO and Virgo in their 2009-2010 science run. The events were selected with low latency by the network of GW detectors and their candidate sky locations were observed by the Swift observatory. Image transient detection was used to analyze the collected electromagnetic data, which were found to be consistent with background. Off-line analysis of the GW data alone has also established that the selected GW events show no evidence of an astrophysical origin; one of them is consistent with background and the other one was a test, part of a "blind injection challenge". With this work we demonstrate the feasibility of rapid follow-ups of GW transients and establish the sensitivity improvement joint electromagnetic and GW observations could bring. This is a first step toward an electromagnetic follow-up program in the regime of routine detections with the advanced GW instruments expected within this decade. In that regime multi-wavelength observations will play a significant role in completing the astrophysical identification of GW sources. We present the methods and results from this first combined analysis and discuss its implications in terms of sensitivity for the present and future instruments.Comment: Submitted for publication 2012 May 25, accepted 2012 October 25, published 2012 November 21, in ApJS, 203, 28 ( http://stacks.iop.org/0067-0049/203/28 ); 14 pages, 3 figures, 6 tables; LIGO-P1100038; Science summary at http://www.ligo.org/science/Publication-S6LVSwift/index.php ; Public access area to figures, tables at https://dcc.ligo.org/cgi-bin/DocDB/ShowDocument?docid=p110003

Search for Gravitational Waves from Low Mass Compact Binary Coalescence in LIGO's Sixth Science Run and Virgo's Science Runs 2 and 3

We report on a search for gravitational waves from coalescing compact binaries using LIGO and Virgo observations between July 7, 2009 and October 20, 2010. We searched for signals from binaries with total mass between 2 and 25 solar masses; this includes binary neutron stars, binary black holes, and binaries consisting of a black hole and neutron star. The detectors were sensitive to systems up to 40 Mpc distant for binary neutron stars, and further for higher mass systems. No gravitational-wave signals were detected. We report upper limits on the rate of compact binary coalescence as a function of total mass, including the results from previous LIGO and Virgo observations. The cumulative 90%-confidence rate upper limits of the binary coalescence of binary neutron star, neutron star- black hole and binary black hole systems are 1.3 x 10^{-4}, 3.1 x 10^{-5} and 6.4 x 10^{-6} Mpc^{-3}yr^{-1}, respectively. These upper limits are up to a factor 1.4 lower than previously derived limits. We also report on results from a blind injection challenge.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures. For a repository of data used in the publication, go to: . Also see the announcement for this paper on ligo.org at: <http://www.ligo.org/science/Publication-S6CBCLowMass/index.php

Implementation and testing of the first prompt search for gravitational wave transients with electromagnetic counterparts

Aims. A transient astrophysical event observed in both gravitational wave (GW) and electromagnetic (EM) channels would yield rich scientific rewards. A first program initiating EM follow-ups to possible transient GW events has been developed and exercised by the LIGO and Virgo community in association with several partners. In this paper, we describe and evaluate the methods used to promptly identify and localize GW event candidates and to request images of targeted sky locations. Methods. During two observing periods (Dec 17 2009 to Jan 8 2010 and Sep 2 to Oct 20 2010), a low-latency analysis pipeline was used to identify GW event candidates and to reconstruct maps of possible sky locations. A catalog of nearby galaxies and Milky Way globular clusters was used to select the most promising sky positions to be imaged, and this directional information was delivered to EM observatories with time lags of about thirty minutes. A Monte Carlo simulation has been used to evaluate the low-latency GW pipeline's ability to reconstruct source positions correctly. Results. For signals near the detection threshold, our low-latency algorithms often localized simulated GW burst signals to tens of square degrees, while neutron star/neutron star inspirals and neutron star/black hole inspirals were localized to a few hundred square degrees. Localization precision improves for moderately stronger signals. The correct sky location of signals well above threshold and originating from nearby galaxies may be observed with ~50% or better probability with a few pointings of wide-field telescopes.Comment: 17 pages. This version (v2) includes two tables and 1 section not included in v1. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic