Influence of dietary condition on the ratio of the compounds emitted by larvae Chilecomadia valdiviana (Lepidoptera: Cossidae)

Chilecomadia valdiviana (Lepidoptera, Cossidae), locally known as "Gusano del Tebo", is a polyphagous pest that, in its larval stage, feeds on the wood of the host species. C. valdiviana is distributed in the southern region of Chile and Argentina and its larvae mainly attack eucalyptus and fruit trees. Previous research has reported the identification of the volatile compounds produced by this species in its larval stage. In this work, the effects of two dietary conditions on these volatile compounds were described: groups of individuals fed with wood vs. others without food. The results obtained provide empirical evidence that C. valdiviana modulates the emission of the compounds according to the effect of stimulus.Chilecomadia valdiviana (Lepidoptera, Cossidae), locally known as "Gusano del Tebo", is a polyphagous pest that, in its larval stage, feeds on the wood of the host species. C. valdiviana is distributed in the southern region of Chile and Argentina and its larvae mainly attack eucalyptus and fruit trees. Previous research has reported the identification of the volatile compounds produced by this species in its larval stage. In this work, the effects of two dietary conditions on these volatile compounds were described: groups of individuals fed with wood vs. others without food. The results obtained provide empirical evidence that C. valdiviana modulates the emission of the compounds according to the effect of stimulus

Composición química y actividad biológica de la secreción larval de la especie Phoracantha recurva Newman, 1842 (Coleóptera: Cerambycidae)

La especie Phoracantha recurva (Coleóptera: Cerambycidae) es una plaga que en su etapa larval ataca principalmente plantaciones de eucaliptus. Con la finalidad de documentar un perfil de los compuestos que secreta la larva de este insecto y analizar su actividad biológica, hemos identificado los componentes presentes en el extracto metanol/cloroformo mediante cromatografía de gases acoplado a espectrometría de masas. Se encontraron 41 compuestos, varios de los cuales han sido identificados en la especie hospedera. Se utilizó un olfatómetro para analizar las respuestas olfativas de hormigas (Camponotus morosus) hacia ejemplares de larvas de P. recurva y distintas dosis de sus secreciones. Los resultados obtenidos sugieren que la secreción larval actúa como repelente de las hormigas. Los resultados se discuten en vista de la información existente

Ozone Dosage is the Key Factor of Its Effect in Biological Systems

The applications of ozone are not only restricted to environmental remediation or industrial areas. This gas has been applied in medicine to treat several diseases, where positive effects have been confirmed by many clinical studies. According to the European Medical Society of Ozone and the National Center of Scientific Investigation in Cuba, it has not been possible to validate ozone’s effectiveness by traditional analytical methods. Thus, this investigation proposed evaluating the effect that ozone has on biological substrates (murine models with induced carcinogenic tumors, inflammation, and wounds), studying the variations that ozone (dissolved in physiological solution or ozonated vegetable oils) provokes over the total unsaturation of lipids (TUL), and by using the so-called method double bond index (DB-index), make a correlation with the dynamic reactions obtained by several analytical methods according to each experimental stage considered in this study

Parámetros funcionales y su relación con la velocidad de marcha en adultos mayores chilenos residentes en la comunidad

Introduction: Gait speed is a test to measure functional capacity in older adults. Nevertheless, the factors influencing this variable are not well described in South American populations.Objective: To determine the relationship between usual and maximal walking speed and functional parameters among Chilean community-dwelling older adults.Materials and methods: An observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study including 69 older adults was conducted. The usual and maximal gait speeds were associated with body composition (body mass index), upper limbs muscle strength (arm curl-ups), lower limbs muscle strength (30 seconds sit-to-stand test), global function (Barthel index), ankle flexibility (range of motion), dynamic balance (timed Up & Go test) and aerobic capacity (2 minutes walking test).Results: The ankle flexibility, lower limbs strength and aerobic capacity influenced the maximal speed (R2=0.65; p <0.001), while the usual speed was influenced by upper limbs and lower limbs strength and by the aerobic capacity (R2= 0.51; p <0.001).Conclusion: The usual and maximal gait speeds are mostly influenced by the lower limbs muscle strength plus aerobic capacity.Introducción. La velocidad de marcha es una prueba para medir la capacidad funcional en adultos mayores. Sin embargo, los factores que influyen en esta variable han sido poco descritos en la población sudamericana.Objetivo. Determinar la relación existente entre la velocidad de marcha usual y máxima, y los parámetros de funcionalidad en chilenos adultos mayores de la comunidad.Material y métodos. Este estudio cuantitativo, observacional y descriptivo, de corte transversal, incluyó 69 adultos mayores. La velocidad de marcha normal y la máxima se asociaron con la composición corporal (índice de masa corporal), la fuerza de las extremidades superiores (pruebas de flexiones de brazos) e inferiores (pararse y sentarse en 30 segundos), la funcionalidad general (índice de Barthel), la flexibilidad de los tobillos (rango de movimiento), el equilibrio estático y dinámico (timed Up & Go test) y la capacidad aeróbica (test de marcha en dos minutos).Resultados. La flexibilidad de los tobillos, la fuerza de las extremidades inferiores y la capacidad aeróbica, influyeron sobre la velocidad de marcha máxima (R2=0,65; p<0,001). La marcha normal se vio influida por la fuerza de las extremidades superiores e inferiores, y la capacidad aeróbica (R2=0,51; p<0,001).Conclusión. La velocidad de marcha, tanto normal como máxima, está influenciada principalmente por la fuerza de las extremidades inferiores y la capacidad aeróbica

Violencia económica y patrimonial contra las mujeres: un abordaje del sistema económico con perspectiva de género

En la concepción de violencia de género se pueden enmarcar todos aquellos actos u omisiones dañinas contra una persona o un grupo de personas en razón de su género. Diversos factores han dado pie a que las diferencias estructurales de poder coloquen a las mujeres y niñas en situación de riesgo frente a múltiples formas de violencia, de la que tampoco están a salvo otros grupos considerados vulnerables. De los diversos tipos de violencia contra las mujeres que existen, se ha estudiado mayormente la física, moral o psicológica y en mucho menor medida, la violencia económica y patrimonial, incluso aquella que deriva de la forma en que las leyes fiscales impactan en mayor medida a las mujeres que a los hombres, lo que es el objeto del presente estudio

Tropospheric Chemical Impact of Considering a Surrogate vs. an Explicit VSLBr Mechanism on the O3 and HOx Distributions within the CAM-Chem model

The contribution of very short-lived bromine (VSLBr) represent 5 ± 2 ppt (∼25%) of total stratospheric bromine (WMO, 2018), which is still nowadays dominated by long-lived bromocarbons that do not impact on tropospheric chemistry. Due to their shorter lifetimes, the overall injection to the stratosphere of VSLBr compounds possesses two distinct pathways: i) Source Gas Injection (SGI), where the brominated species are injected as they were emitted at the surface; and ii) Product Gas Injection (PGI), where the photochemical processing of reactive species arising from SG degradation must be considered. Depending on the partitioning and distribution of SGI and PGI, the chemical impact of VSLBr on tropospheric and lowermost stratospheric ozone, HOx and other oxidizing species can be very different. Many Chemistry Climate Models (CCMs) include a simplified treatment of tropospheric VSLBr sources by assuming a long-lived halocarbon (usually CH3Br) as a Surrogate for VSLBr. Even though these surrogate models possess a consistent evolution of the stratospheric bromine loading, CCMs including an explicit VSLBr representation compare better with organic and inorganic bromine observations in the lowermost stratosphere (Wales et al., 2018). Here we used the halogenated version of the CAM-Chem model (Fernandez et al., 2014) to evaluate the chemical impact of considering an explicit treatment of VSLBr versus considering a simplified tropospheric treatment of long-lived CH3Br as surrogate of VSLBr. The explicit mechanism considers a full gas- and aerosol- phase chemical scheme (including sea-salt dehalogenation) as well as time dependent and geographically-distributed VSLBr emissions inventory (Ordoñez et al., 2012), which replaces the typical lower-boundary surface conditions for longlived compounds usually considered in CCMs. An additional baseline simulation neglecting the contribution of VSLBr is also considered. First we show the differences in the overall inorganic bromine (Bry) burden as a function of altitude, latitude and time of the year, and compare the model changes on SGI and PGI for each model configuration. Based on the vertical and latitudinal Bry distributions, we focus the analysis on determining the surrogate vs. explicit VSLBr impact on the tropospheric ozone burden, as well as the changes in HOx and NOx mixing ratios within different regions. In particular, seasonal variations in the Odd-Oxygen chemical loss channels during within the marine boundary layer (MBL), tropical tropopause layer (TTL) and mid-latitudes upper troposphere (UT) are evaluated. Our results indicate that the impact of VSLBr species is strongly underestimated when a simplified treatment of tropospheric VSLBr chemistry is considered, which might have strong climatic impacts.Fil: Fernández, Rafael Pedro. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física; Argentina. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Química Física; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza; ArgentinaFil: Barrera, Javier Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física; ArgentinaFil: Iglesias Suarez, Fernando. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Química Física; EspañaFil: Cuevas, Carlos Alberto. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Química Física; EspañaFil: Kinnison, Douglas E.. No especifíca;Fil: Lamarque, Jean Francoise. No especifíca;Fil: Tilmes, Simone. No especifíca;Fil: Wales, Pamela. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Nicely, Julie M.. No especifíca;Fil: Salawitch, Ross J.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Saiz Lopez, Alfonso. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Química Física; España. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosEGU General Assembly 2019VienaAustriaEuropean Geosciences Unio

Sharing experiences and dilemmas of conducting focus group discussions on HIV and tuberculosis in resource-poor settings

Focus group discussions (FGD) are gaining in popularity in research on HIV and tuberculosis (TB) internationally as researchers seek to understand the experiences, needs and perspectives of people living with TB and/or HIV as well as their carers within the community and health sector. Conducting FGDs in resource-poor settings with vulnerable participants who are living with diseases that are frequently stigmatised poses multiple challenges. Our approach in this discussion paper is to follow the research cycle to present the practical experience of research teams using FGDs in TB and HIV in resource-poor contexts in Africa and Asia in order to contribute to effective practice. The approach highlights dilemmas and shares effective practice for negotiating initial discussions with different communities, constructing sampling frames and samples, choosing a facilitator, encouraging discussion, ethics, translation, pitfalls and dissemination. We demonstrate the techniques and adaptations needed to ensure that FGDs provide rich, high-quality and policy-relevant data on the voices and perspectives of people living with HIV and TB, community groups and health workers within the challenges of resource-poor settings. In applying theory to develop good practice in FGDs across the research cycle, a critical and reflexive approach is needed

Exploring low-energy neutrino physics with the Coherent Neutrino Nucleus Interaction Experiment

The Coherent Neutrino-Nucleus Interaction Experiment (CONNIE) uses low-noise fully depleted charge-coupled devices (CCDs) with the goal of measuring low-energy recoils from coherent elastic scattering ( CE ν NS ) of reactor antineutrinos with silicon nuclei and testing nonstandard neutrino interactions (NSI). We report here the first results of the detector array deployed in 2016, considering an active mass 47.6 g (eight CCDs), which is operating at a distance of 30 m from the core of the Angra 2 nuclear reactor, with a thermal power of 3.8 GW. A search for neutrino events is performed by comparing data collected with the reactor on (2.1 kg-day) and reactor off (1.6 kg-day). The results show no excess in the reactor-on data, reaching the world record sensitivity down to recoil energies of about 1 keV (0.1 keV electron equivalent). A 95% confidence level limit for new physics is established at an event rate of 40 times the one expected from the standard model at this energy scale. The results presented here provide a new window to low-energy neutrino physics, allowing one to explore for the first time the energies accessible through the low threshold of CCDs. They will lead to new constraints on NSI from the CEνNS of antineutrinos from nuclear reactors.Fil: Aguilar Arevalo, Alexis. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Bertou, Xavier Pierre Louis. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Energía Nuclear. Instituto Balseiro; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; ArgentinaFil: Bonifazi, Carla Brenda. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Brasil. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Cancelo, Gustavo Indalecio. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Castañeda, Alejandro. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Cervantes Vergara, Brenda. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Chavez, Claudio. Universidad Nacional de Asunción; ParaguayFil: D’Olivo, Juan C.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Dos Anjos, João C.. Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas; BrasilFil: Estrada, Juan. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Fernandes Neto, Aldo R.. Centro Federal de Educacão Tecnológica Celso Suckow Da Fonseca; BrasilFil: Fernández Moroni, Guillermo. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Estados Unidos. Universidad Nacional del Sur; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Foguel, Ana. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Ford, Richard. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Gonzalez Cuevas, Juan. Universidad Nacional de Asunción; ParaguayFil: Hernández, Pamela. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Hernandez, Susana. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Izraelevitch, Federico Hernán. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Kavner, Alexander R.. University of Michigan; Estados UnidosFil: Kilminster, Ben. Universitat Zurich; SuizaFil: Kuk, Kevin. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Lima, H.P.. Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas; BrasilFil: Makler, Martín. Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas; BrasilFil: Molina, Jorge. Universidad Nacional de Asunción; ParaguayFil: Mota, Philipe. Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas; BrasilFil: Nasteva, Irina. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Paolini, Eduardo Emilio. Universidad Nacional del Sur; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca; ArgentinaFil: Romero, Carlos. Universidad Nacional de Asunción; ParaguayFil: Sarkis, Y.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Sofo Haro, Miguel Francisco. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Energía Nuclear. Instituto Balseiro; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo; Argentina. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnol.conicet - Patagonia Norte. Unidad de Adm.territorial; ArgentinaFil: Souza, Iruatã M. S.. Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas; BrasilFil: Tiffenberg, Javier Sebastian. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Wagner, Stefan. Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas; Brasil. Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro; Brasi

The fingerprint of the summer 2018 drought in Europe on ground-based atmospheric CO2 measurements

During the summer of 2018, a widespread drought developed over Northern and Central Europe. The increase in temperature and the reduction of soil moisture have influenced carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange between the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems in various ways, such as a reduction of photosynthesis, changes in ecosystem respiration, or allowing more frequent fires. In this study, we characterize the resulting perturbation of the atmospheric CO2 seasonal cycles. 2018 has a good coverage of European regions affected by drought, allowing the investigation of how ecosystem flux anomalies impacted spatial CO2 gradients between stations. This density of stations is unprecedented compared to previous drought events in 2003 and 2015, particularly thanks to the deployment of the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) network of atmospheric greenhouse gas monitoring stations in recent years. Seasonal CO2 cycles from 48 European stations were available for 2017 and 2018.The UK sites were funded by the UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (formerly the Department of Energy and Climate Change) through contracts TRN1028/06/2015 and TRN1537/06/2018. The stations at the ClimaDat Network in Spain have received funding from the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation, under agreement 2010-002624

Characterization in vitro and in vivo of a pandemic H1N1 influenza virus from a fatal case

Pandemic 2009 H1N1 (pH1N1) influenza viruses caused mild symptoms in most infected patients. However, a greater rate of severe disease was observed in healthy young adults and children without co-morbid conditions. Here we tested whether influenza strains displaying differential virulence could be present among circulating pH1N1 viruses. The biological properties and the genotype of viruses isolated from a patient showing mild disease (M) or from a fatal case (F), both without known co-morbid conditions were compared in vitro and in vivo. The F virus presented faster growth kinetics and stronger induction of cytokines than M virus in human alveolar lung epithelial cells. In the murine model in vivo, the F virus showed a stronger morbidity and mortality than M virus. Remarkably, a higher proportion of mice presenting infectious virus in the hearts, was found in F virus-infected animals. Altogether, the data indicate that strains of pH1N1 virus with enhanced pathogenicity circulated during the 2009 pandemic. In addition, examination of chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) genotype, recently reported as involved in severe influenza virus disease, revealed that the F virus-infected patient was homozygous for the deleted form of CCR5 receptor (CCR5Δ32).Funding Statement: This work was supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Programa especial de investigación sobre la gripe pándemica GR09/0023, GR09/0040, GR09/0039) and Ciber de Enfermedades Respiratorias. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.S