Extensión de la afectación pulmonar por tomografía en pacientes con neumonía por SARS-CoV-2

Objective. To determine the extent of pulmonary involvement in patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia usingtomography. Method. Retrospective evaluation in patients with evidence of COVID-19 at the Guillermo Almenara Irigoyen National Hospital, Lima - Peru, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, between March 15 and May 14, 2020. The extent of pneumonia was determined by means of tomography based on the Classification of the French Society of Thoracic Imaging. Results. 485 patients were included in the study. The extent of pneumonia was: 1.2% absent, 4.9% minimal, 20.6% moderate, 27.4% extensive, 30.7% severe, and 15.1% critical. Lung involvement was associated with age older than 60 years (p = 0.014) andambient oxygen saturation below 90% (n = 372, p = 0.000). Conclusions. Due to its extension, the SARSCoV-2 pneumonia in the first two months of the COVID-19 epidemic at Hospital Almenara were severe, extensive and mostly moderate. The extent of pneumonia was associated with age and ambient oxygen saturation at admission.Objetivo. Determinar la extensión de la afectación pulmonar en pacientes con neumonía por SARS-CoV-2 mediante tomografía. Método. Evaluación retrospectiva en pacientes con evidencia de COVID-19 del Hospital Nacional Guillermo Almenara Irigoyen, Lima - Perú, al inicio de la pandemia COVID-19, entre el 15 de marzo y el 14 de mayo de 2020. La extensión de la neumonía se determinó mediante tomografía con base en la Clasificación de la Sociedad Francesa de Imagen Torácica. Resultados. Se incluyeron en el estudio 485 pacientes. La extensión de la neumonía fue: ausente 1,2%, mínima 4,9%, moderada 20,6%, extensa 27,4%, grave 30,7% y crítica 15,1%. La afectación pulmonar se asoció con edad mayor de 60 años (p=0,014) y saturación de oxígeno ambiental por debajo de 90% (n=372, p=0,000). Conclusiones. Por su extensión, las neumonías por SARS-CoV-2 en los primeros dos meses de la epidemia de COVID-19 en el Hospital Almenara fueron graves, extensas y moderadas en su gran mayoría. La extensión de la neumonía se asoció con edad y saturación de oxígeno ambiental al ingreso

General Microbiota of the Soft Tick Ornithodoros turicata Parasitizing the Bolson Tortoise (Gopherus flavomarginatus) in the Mapimi Biosphere Reserve, Mexico

The general bacterial microbiota of the soft tick Ornithodoros turicata found on Bolson tortoises (Gopherus flavomarginatus) were analyzed using next generation sequencing. The main aims of the study were to establish the relative abundance of bacterial taxa in the tick, and to document the presence of potentially pathogenic species for this tortoise, other animals, and humans. The study was carried-out in the Mapimi Biosphere Reserve in the northern-arid part of Mexico. Bolson tortoises (n = 45) were inspected for the presence of soft ticks, from which 11 tortoises (24.4%) had ticks in low loads (1–3 ticks per individual). Tick pools (five adult ticks each) were analyzed through 16S rRNA V3–V4 region amplification in a MiSeq Illumina, using EzBioCloud as a taxonomical reference. The operational taxonomic units (OTUs) revealed 28 phyla, 84 classes, 165 orders, 342 families, 1013 genera, and 1326 species. The high number of taxa registered for O. turicata may be the result of the variety of hosts that this tick parasitizes as they live inside G. flavomarginatus burrows. While the most abundant phyla were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes, the most abundant species were two endosymbionts of ticks (Midichloria-like and Coxiella-like). Two bacteria documented as pathogenic to Gopherus spp. were registered (Mycoplasma spp. and Pasteurella testudinis). The bovine and ovine tick-borne pathogens A. marginale and A. ovis, respectively, were recorded, as well as the zoonotic bacteria A. phagocytophilum,Coxiella burnetii, and Neoehrlichia sp. Tortoises parasitized with O. turicata did not show evident signs of disease, which could indicate a possible ecological role as a reservoir that has yet to be demonstrated. In fact, the defense mechanisms of this tortoise against the microorganisms transmitted by ticks during their feeding process are still unknown. Future studies on soft ticks should expand our knowledge about what components of the microbiota are notable across multiple host–microbe dynamics. Likewise, studies are required to better understand the host competence of this tortoise, considered the largest terrestrial reptile in North America distributed throughout the Chihuahuan Desert since the late Pleistocene

Do ecosystem insecurity and social vulnerability lead to failure of water security?

Achieving water security for humans and ecosystems is a pervasive challenge globally. Extensive areas of the Americas are at significant risk of water insecurity, resulting from global-change processes coupled with regional and local impacts. Drought, flooding, and water quality challenges pose significant threats, while at the same time, rapid urban expansion, competing water demands, river modifications, and expanding global markets for water-intensive agricultural products drive water insecurity. This paper takes a social-ecological systems perspective, aiming to identify examples and pathways towards resilient ecosystems and social development. It draws on lessons from two science-policy network projects, one focusing on water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions of Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Peru, Mexico and the United States; and the second addressing river and lake basins as sentinels of climate variability and human effects on water quantity and quality in Canada, the United States, Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay and Chile. Together, these ?complementary contrasts? provide an analytical basis to empirically examine stakeholder engagement, knowledge co-production and science-policy interaction supporting decision-making to achieve water security. The paper identifies four tenets for decision-making based on water-security-focused global-change science in the Americas: 1) Decision makers should focus on protecting ecosystems because water security (along with food and energy security) depend on them; 2) Water-use and allocation decisions ought to be made considering future environmental and societal vulnerabilities, especially climate projections; 3) Holistic approaches (at basin or other appropriate levels) are best suited to ensure social-ecological system resilience and reduce vulnerability; and 4) It is essential to support local/traditional livelihoods, and underserved populations to achieve equitable water security and ecosystem resilience.Fil: Scott, Christopher A.. University of Arizona; Estados UnidosFil: Zilio, Mariana Ines. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Harmon, Thomas Christopher. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Zuniga Teran, Adriana. University of Arizona; Estados UnidosFil: Díaz Caravantes, Rolando. El Colegio de Sonora; MéxicoFil: Hoyos, Natalia. Universidad del Norte; ColombiaFil: Perillo, Gerardo Miguel E.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Meza, Andrés Francisco. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Varady, Robert G.. University of Arizona; Estados UnidosFil: Neto, Alfredo Ribeiro. Universidade Federal da Bahia; BrasilFil: Velez, Maria Isabel. University Of Regina; CanadáFil: Martin, Facundo Damian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Ciencias Humanas, Sociales y Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Escobar, Jaime. Universidad del Norte; ColombiaFil: Piccolo, Maria Cintia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Mussetta, Paula Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Ciencias Humanas, Sociales y Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Montenegro, Suzana. Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; BrasilFil: Rusak, James A.. Ontario Ministry Of The Environment; CanadáFil: Pineda, Nicolas. El Colegio de Sonora; Méxic

Calibration of the Logarithmic-Periodic Dipole Antenna (LPDA) Radio Stations at the Pierre Auger Observatory using an Octocopter

An in-situ calibration of a logarithmic periodic dipole antenna with a frequency coverage of 30 MHz to 80 MHz is performed. Such antennas are part of a radio station system used for detection of cosmic ray induced air showers at the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory, the so-called Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA). The directional and frequency characteristics of the broadband antenna are investigated using a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) carrying a small transmitting antenna. The antenna sensitivity is described by the vector effective length relating the measured voltage with the electric-field components perpendicular to the incoming signal direction. The horizontal and meridional components are determined with an overall uncertainty of 7.4^{+0.9}_{-0.3} % and 10.3^{+2.8}_{-1.7} % respectively. The measurement is used to correct a simulated response of the frequency and directional response of the antenna. In addition, the influence of the ground conductivity and permittivity on the antenna response is simulated. Both have a negligible influence given the ground conditions measured at the detector site. The overall uncertainties of the vector effective length components result in an uncertainty of 8.8^{+2.1}_{-1.3} % in the square root of the energy fluence for incoming signal directions with zenith angles smaller than 60{\deg}.Comment: Published version. Updated online abstract only. Manuscript is unchanged with respect to v2. 39 pages, 15 figures, 2 table

Azimuthal asymmetry in the risetime of the surface detector signals of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The azimuthal asymmetry in the risetime of signals in Auger surface detector stations is a source of information on shower development. The azimuthal asymmetry is due to a combination of the longitudinal evolution of the shower and geometrical effects related to the angles of incidence of the particles into the detectors. The magnitude of the effect depends upon the zenith angle and state of development of the shower and thus provides a novel observable, $(\sec \theta)_\mathrm{max}$, sensitive to the mass composition of cosmic rays above $3 \times 10^{18}$ eV. By comparing measurements with predictions from shower simulations, we find for both of our adopted models of hadronic physics (QGSJETII-04 and EPOS-LHC) an indication that the mean cosmic-ray mass increases slowly with energy, as has been inferred from other studies. However, the mass estimates are dependent on the shower model and on the range of distance from the shower core selected. Thus the method has uncovered further deficiencies in our understanding of shower modelling that must be resolved before the mass composition can be inferred from $(\sec \theta)_\mathrm{max}$.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Multi-resolution anisotropy studies of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays detected at the Pierre Auger Observatory

We report a multi-resolution search for anisotropies in the arrival directions of cosmic rays detected at the Pierre Auger Observatory with local zenith angles up to $80^\circ$ and energies in excess of 4 EeV ($4 \times 10^{18}$ eV). This search is conducted by measuring the angular power spectrum and performing a needlet wavelet analysis in two independent energy ranges. Both analyses are complementary since the angular power spectrum achieves a better performance in identifying large-scale patterns while the needlet wavelet analysis, considering the parameters used in this work, presents a higher efficiency in detecting smaller-scale anisotropies, potentially providing directional information on any observed anisotropies. No deviation from isotropy is observed on any angular scale in the energy range between 4 and 8 EeV. Above 8 EeV, an indication for a dipole moment is captured; while no other deviation from isotropy is observed for moments beyond the dipole one. The corresponding $p$-values obtained after accounting for searches blindly performed at several angular scales, are $1.3 \times 10^{-5}$ in the case of the angular power spectrum, and $2.5 \times 10^{-3}$ in the case of the needlet analysis. While these results are consistent with previous reports making use of the same data set, they provide extensions of the previous works through the thorough scans of the angular scales.Comment: Published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Added Report Numbe

Ultrahigh-energy neutrino follow-up of Gravitational Wave events GW150914 and GW151226 with the Pierre Auger Observatory

On September 14, 2015 the Advanced LIGO detectors observed their first gravitational-wave (GW) transient GW150914. This was followed by a second GW event observed on December 26, 2015. Both events were inferred to have arisen from the merger of black holes in binary systems. Such a system may emit neutrinos if there are magnetic fields and disk debris remaining from the formation of the two black holes. With the surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory we can search for neutrinos with energy above 100 PeV from point-like sources across the sky with equatorial declination from about -65 deg. to +60 deg., and in particular from a fraction of the 90% confidence-level (CL) inferred positions in the sky of GW150914 and GW151226. A targeted search for highly-inclined extensive air showers, produced either by interactions of downward-going neutrinos of all flavors in the atmosphere or by the decays of tau leptons originating from tau-neutrino interactions in the Earth's crust (Earth-skimming neutrinos), yielded no candidates in the Auger data collected within $\pm 500$ s around or 1 day after the coordinated universal time (UTC) of GW150914 and GW151226, as well as in the same search periods relative to the UTC time of the GW candidate event LVT151012. From the non-observation we constrain the amount of energy radiated in ultrahigh-energy neutrinos from such remarkable events.Comment: Published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Added Report Numbe