Disks and Outflows in the Intermediate-mass Star Forming Region NGC 2071 IR

We present ALMA band 6/7 (1.3 mm/0.87 mm) and VLA Ka band (9 mm) observations toward NGC 2071 IR, an intermediate-mass star forming region. We characterize the continuum and associated molecular line emission towards the most luminous protostars, i.e., IRS1 and IRS3, on ~100 au (0. 2") scales. IRS1 is partly resolved in millimeter and centimeter continuum, which shows a potential disk. IRS3 has a well resolved disk appearance in millimeter continuum and is further resolved into a close binary system separated by ~40 au at 9 mm. Both sources exhibit clear velocity gradients across their disk major axes in multiple spectral lines including C18O, H2CO, SO, SO2, and complex organic molecules like CH3OH, 13CH3OH and CH3OCHO. We use an analytic method to fit the Keplerian rotation of the disks, and give constraints on physical parameters with a MCMC routine. The IRS3 binary system is estimated to have a total mass of 1.4-1.5$M_\odot$. IRS1 has a central mass of 3-5$M_\odot$ based on both kinematic modeling and its spectral energy distribution, assuming that it is dominated by a single protostar. For both IRS1 and IRS3, the inferred ejection directions from different tracers, including radio jet, water maser, molecular outflow, and H2 emission, are not always consistent, and for IRS1, these can be misaligned by ~50$^{\circ}$. IRS3 is better explained by a single precessing jet. A similar mechanism may be present in IRS1 as well but an unresolved multiple system in IRS1 is also possible.Comment: 36 pages, 21 figures, accepted by Ap

The VLA/ALMA Nascent Disk and Multiplicity (VANDAM) Survey of Orion Protostars. IV. Unveiling the Embedded Intermediate-Mass Protostar and Disk within OMC2-FIR3/HOPS-370

We present ALMA (0.87 and 1.3 mm) and VLA (9 mm) observations toward the candidate intermediate-mass protostar OMC2-FIR3 (HOPS-370; L_(bol) ~ 314 L_⊙) at ~0."1 (40 au) resolution for the continuum emission and ~0."25 (100 au) resolution of nine molecular lines. The dust continuum observed with ALMA at 0.87 and 1.3 mm resolves a near edge-on disk toward HOPS-370 with an apparent radius of ~100 au. The VLA observations detect both the disk in dust continuum and free–free emission extended along the jet direction. The ALMA observations of molecular lines (H₂CO, SO, CH₃OH, ¹³CO, C¹⁸O, NS, and H¹³CN) reveal rotation of the apparent disk surrounding HOPS-370 orthogonal to the jet/outflow direction. We fit radiative transfer models to both the dust continuum structure of the disk and molecular line kinematics of the inner envelope and disk for the H₂CO, CH₃OH, NS, and SO lines. The central protostar mass is determined to be ~2.5 M_⊙ with a disk radius of ~94 au, when fit using combinations of the H₂CO, CH₃OH, NS, and SO lines, consistent with an intermediate-mass protostar. Modeling of the dust continuum and spectral energy distribution yields a disk mass of 0.035 M_⊙ (inferred dust+gas) and a dust disk radius of 62 au; thus, the dust disk may have a smaller radius than the gas disk, similar to Class II disks. In order to explain the observed luminosity with the measured protostar mass, HOPS-370 must be accreting at a rate of (1.7−3.2) × 10⁻⁵ M_⊙ yr⁻¹

Murciélagos y techos: Cruzando fronteras a través de la ciencia ciudadana

El Neotrópico es una de las regiones más diversas en el mundo, donde se han registrado cientos de especies de murciélagos y este número sigue ascendiendo gracias a los esfuerzos de investigación. A pesar de los distintos y valiosos servicios ecosistémicos que estas especies brindan (Boyles et al. 2011), los murciélagos enfrentan amenazas que ponen en riesgo su supervivencia, entre ellas se destacan la pérdida y fragmentación del hábitat (Frick et al. 2020). Estas amenazas han obligado a los murciélagos a buscar nuevos sitios donde habitar y, para algunas especies, principalmente insectívoras, las zonas urbanas poseen sitios con los recursos necesarios para sobrevivir, tales como alimento y refugio (Ávila-Flores y Fenton 2005; Jung y Kalko 2010; Jung y Threlfall 2016). En el momento que estas especies coexisten con los humanos, surge otra potencial amenaza que es el desconocimiento generado por la percepción errónea que existe sobre los murciélagos...Fil: Zaldaña Orantes, Karla. Programa de Conservación de Murciélagos de El Salvador ; El SalvadorFil: Rodríguez, Melissa E.. Programa de Conservación de Murciélagos de El Salvador ; El SalvadorFil: Raquel Alvarado-Larios. Programa de Conservación de Murciélagos de El Salvador ; El SalvadorFil: González Linares, Jorge. Programa de Conservación de Murciélagos de El Salvador ; El SalvadorFil: Campos Tobar, Zuleyma. Programa de Conservación de Murciélagos de El Salvador ; El SalvadorFil: Díaz, Carolina. Programa de Conservación de Murciélagos de El Salvador ; El SalvadorFil: Girón, Luis. Programa de Conservación de Murciélagos de El Salvador ; El SalvadorFil: Nuñez Rodríguez, Alvaro. Programa para la Conservación de los Murciélagos de Chile; ChileFil: Chang, Clemente Beltrán. Programa para la Conservación de los Murciélagos de Chile; ChileFil: Damino, María Verónica. Programa de Conservación de los Murciélagos de Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Di Domenica, Violeta. Programa de Conservación de los Murciélagos de Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Olmedo, María Luz. Programa de Conservación de los Murciélagos de Argentina; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Programa de Investigación de Biodiversidad Argentina; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Sánchez, Tatiana. Programa de Conservación de los Murciélagos de Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Arévalo, Ana Lucía. Programa para la Conservación de los Murciélagos de Guatemala; GuatemalaFil: Nuñez, Lourdes. Programa para la Conservación de los Murciélagos de Guatemala; GuatemalaFil: Mejía, David. Programa de Conservación de Murciélagos de Honduras; HondurasFil: Aguirre, Gabriel. Programa de Conservación de Murciélagos de Nicaragua; NicaraguaFil: Saldaña, Octavio. Programa de Conservación de Murciélagos de Nicaragua; NicaraguaFil: Serrano, Alejandra. Programa de Conservación de Murciélagos de Nicaragua; NicaraguaFil: Chitaro, Santiago. Programa para la Conservación de los Murciélagos de Uruguay; UruguayFil: Martínez, Yaniré. Programa de Conservación de Murciélagos de Puerto Rico; Puerto RicoFil: Santiago, Miguel. Programa de Conservación de Murciélagos de la República Dominicana; República DominicanaFil: Mateo Jiménez, Amelia L.. Programa de Conservación de Murciélagos de la República Dominicana; República DominicanaFil: Sánchez Calderón, Ricardo. Programa para la Conservación de los Murciélagos de Costa Rica; Costa RicaFil: Oviedo Cortés, Gabriel. Programa para la Conservación de los Murciélagos de Costa Rica; Costa RicaFil: Guido Solano, Francinie. Programa para la Conservación de los Murciélagos de Costa Rica; Costa Ric

Relationship between olive oil consumption and ankle-brachial pressure index in a population at high cardiovascular risk

The aim of this study was to ascertain the association between the consumption of different categories of edible olive oils (virgin olive oils and olive oil) and olive pomace oil and ankle-brachial pressure index (ABI) in participants in the PREDIMED-Plus study, a trial of lifestyle modification for weight and cardiovascular event reduction in individuals with overweight/obesity harboring the metabolic syndrome. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of the PREDIMED-Plus trial. Consumption of any category of olive oil and olive pomace oil was assessed through a validated food-frequency questionnaire. Multivariable linear regression models were fitted to assess associations between olive oil consumption and ABI. Additionally, ABI ≤1 was considered as the outcome in logistic models with different categories of olive oil and olive pomace oil as exposure. Results: Among 4330 participants, the highest quintile of total olive oil consumption (sum of all categories of olive oil and olive pomace oil) was associated with higher mean values of ABI (beta coefficient: 0.014, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.002, 0.027) (p for trend = 0.010). Logistic models comparing the consumption of different categories of olive oils, olive pomace oil and ABI ≤1 values revealed an inverse association between virgin olive oils consumption and the likelihood of a low ABI (odds ratio [OR] 0.73, 95% CI [0.56, 0.97]), while consumption of olive pomace oil was positively associated with a low ABI (OR 1.22 95% CI [1.00, 1.48]). Conclusions: In a Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk, total olive oil consumption was associated with a higher mean ABI. These results suggest that olive oil consumption may be beneficial for peripheral artery disease prevention, but longitudinal studies are needed

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

Diseño estratégico de vanguardia

La integración del diseño con la vanguardia se observa natural, esto es, el diseño es una disciplina abductiva y la vanguardia persigue fines prospectivos, es decir, en ambos casos se trata de objetivos de posibilidad futura. De tal suerte, este libro, emanado de una parte de las ponencias rigurosamente arbitradas del Coloquio Internacional de Diseño 2016, está dividido en tres secciones o capítulos, a saber, el capítulo uno relacionado con la teoría y metodología para proyectos de diseño de vanguardia, el segundo sobre la tecnología, la innovación y la sostenibilidad de vanguardia de dichos proyectos, y finalmente el último capítulo, vinculado con la gestión estratégica de proyectos de vanguardia.La historia se forja de hechos e interpretaciones, de pasados construidos y de presentes en procesos constantes, estudiados en forma estricta por las ciencias. Por su parte, el futuro ostenta la posibilidad de ser indefinidamente planeado con base en las variopintas aproximaciones teóricas y empíricas que dan fundamento a este tipo de ciencia; éstas son denominadas prospectivas y sus bases vanguardias. Resulta importante señalar, que estas posibilidades sólo permiten tener una idea hipotética de lo que será la realidad y el mundo de vida de los seres vivos y su contexto, no obstante, se trata de la única manera racional que tiene el ser humano de prever ese futuro posible. Las distintas ciencias y disciplinas nos permiten construir históricamente estas posibilidades partiendo de datos, hechos, significados y un sinfín de informaciones que le dan cuerpo y sentido a tales posibilidades. En este sentido, la vanguardia, como base del conocimiento prospectivo, observa la necesidad de ser escrita, leída y discutida en los términos más estrictos con el fin de volver las predicciones más precisas. El diseño por su parte, es definido de manera sucinta como la disciplina proyectual estratégica y sistémica de la posibilidad, dirigida a procesos de significación utilitaria y simbólica para la comprensión –o interpretación– y modificación –o proyectación– de niveles de realidad (referentes y sujetos) desde diversos aparatos teóricos y empíricos –perspectivas disciplinarias–

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Disks and Jets in the Formation of Multiple Stellar Systems

El objetivo general de esta tesis es estudiar las primeras etapas del proceso de formación estelar en sistemas múltiples. Para ello analizamos dos aspectos complementarios de la formación múltiple de estrellas: la formación simultanea de protoestrellas en un cúmulo, y la formación de un sistema binario individual. Utilizamos observaciones sensitivas, de alta resolución y de multifrecuencia obtenidas con los instrumentos Very Large Array (VLA) y Atacama Large Millime- ter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA), en modo de contino y de línea. Las observaciones centimétricas de continuo con el VLA nos permiten detectar la emision librelibre térmica de jets ionizados y discos fotoevaporados, mientras que la emisi_on continua milimétrica detectada con ALMA traza el polvo en el plano medio de los discos circumestelares, y la emisión de línea nos proporciona los medios para estudiar su cinemática. Además, la alta resolución angular y la sensibilidad de nuestras observaciones nos permite detectar componentes de varios potenciales sistemas múltiples. En primer lugar, presentamos observaciones del VLA en múltiples longitudes de onda (0.7-5 cm) y en varias épocas (1994-2015) hacia la región que contiene las fuentes de IR lejano FIR 3 (HOPS 370) y FIR 4 (HOPS 108) en la Nube Molecular de Orión (OMC, por sus siglas en inglés) 2. Reportamos la detección de 10 fuentes de radio, siete de ellas identificadas como objetos estelares jóvenes (YSO, por sus siglas en ingles). Obtenemos la imagen del radio jet muy bien colimado (VLA 11) con emisión térmica libre-libre en su núcleo, asociado con la protoestrella de Clase I HOPS 370, de masa intermedia. El jet presenta varios nudos (VLA 12N, 12C, 12S) de emisión de no térmica (probablemente sincrotrón debido al choque de electrones relativistas) a distancias de _ 7500-12500 unidades astronómicas de la protoestrella, en una región donde otros trazadores de choque han sido previamente identificados. Mostramos que estos nudos se están alejando de la protoestrella HOPS 370 a _100 km s1. La protoestrella de Clase 0 HOPS 108, que detectamos como una fuente de radio independiente, cinemáticamente desacoplada del jet, cae en el camino de estos nudos no térmicos. Estos resultados favorecen el escenario propuesto anteriormente donde la formación de HOPS 108 ha sido desencadenada por el impacto del jet de HOPS 370 con el material denso a su alrededor. Sin embargo, HOPS 108 presenta una velocidad de movimiento propia aparente de _30 km s_1, similar a la de otras estrellas \fugitivas" en Orión, cuyo origen es desconcertante. Más adelante, ampliamos nuestro estudio a todo el campo de visión de esas observaciones, una porción de 12:05 de largo del Filamento con Forma de Integral (ISF, por sus siglas en ingles) que contiene a toda la región OMC-2 y los 2:05 mas al sur de la región OMC-3. Reportamos 47 fuentes de radio adicionales, 23 de las cuales se presentan aquí por primera vez. Para estas 47 fuentes de radio, reportamos sus posiciones, densidades de flujo e índices espectrales. Discutimos sobre la naturaleza de estas 47 fuentes de radio analizando su índice espectral de radio, morfología, emisión en otros rangos de longitud de onda, posición relativa al ISF y asociación con condensaciones de polvo. Concluimos que, del total de 57 fuentes de radio en el campo de visión, 41 (72 %) están muy probablemente asociadas con la región de formación estelar, 6 son fuentes de fondo extragalácticas, y no estamos seguros de la asociación con la región de las 10 fuentes restantes. De las 41 fuentes asociadas con la región de formación estelar, 36 est_an trazando la posición de YSOs, 3 están rastreando la emisión no térmica de los nudos de un jet, una esta rastreando la pared ionizada por choques de una cavidad, y una podría ser un YSO o un nudo de un jet. Identificamos de forma clara la emisión de radio continuo de las fuentes impulsoras de los 9 chorros moleculares previamente reportados en nuestro campo de vision. Para cuatro de estas fuentes resolvemos claramente su morfología alargada característica de los radio-jets. Detectamos emisión térmica libre-libre proveniente de dos YSOs de Clase III que podría estar rastreando sus discos fotoevaporados asociados. Encontramos signos de variabilidad en 13 fuentes de radio, siete de las cuales también son variables en longitudes de onda más cortas (infrarrojo cercano/óptico/rayos X). Encontramos 7 pares de fuentes de radio con una separación proyectada < 3000 au, que constituyen potenciales sistemas binarios; teniendo en cuenta fuentes adicionales que se han detectado a otras longitudes de onda, identificamos un total de 17 potenciales sistemas múltiples en nuestro campo de visión en ese rango de separación. Finalmente, estudiamos el sistema binario cerrado SVS 13, con componentes separadas 90 au. Detectamos al menos dos discos circumestelares de polvo y gas, y un disco circumbinario con prominentes brazos espirales, que parece estar en las primeras etapas de formación, asociado con este sistema protoestelar. La emisión de polvo parece mas intensa y compacta hacia el componente VLA 4B, mientras que la VLA 4A parece estar asociado con una mayor cantidad de polvo y con transiciones moleculares más fuertes. Somos capaces de estimar temperaturas de rotación y densidades de columnas moleculares, indicando altas temperaturas y una química rica. Las transiciones moleculares típicas de los corinos calientes se detectan hacia las dos componentes VLA 4A y VLA 4B. A partir de la emisión de polvo observada y la información cinemática estimamos la orientación del sistema, las masas estelares y las de sus discos asociados. Nuestro análisis de los movimientos propios y la cinemática de los discos sugieren que hasta cuatro objetos estelares, uno de ellos una estrella visible, podrían estar presentes dentro de una región de < 100 au. En resumen, SVS 13 parece ser un excelente caso de estudio con el que contrastar simulaciones numéricas de las primeras etapas en la formación de sistemas binarios y múltiples.The general goal of this thesis is to study the first stages of the star formation process in multiple systems. For that, we analyze two complementary aspects of multiple star formation: the simultaneous formation of protostars in a cluster, and the formation of a individual binary system. We use sensitive, high-resolution and multifrequency continuum and line observations obtained with the Very Large Array (VLA) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA). The centimeter VLA continuum observations allow us to detect the thermal freefree emission from ionized jets and photo-evaporating disks, while the millimeter ALMA continuum emission traces the dust in the mid-plane of the disks and the line emission provides us means to study its kinematics. Additionally, the high angular resolution and sensitivity of our observations allows us to detect components of several possible mutiple systems. In the first place we present multiwavelength (0.7-5 cm), multiepoch (1994- 2015) VLA observations toward the region enclosing the bright far-IR sources FIR 3 (HOPS 370) and FIR 4 (HOPS 108) in Orion Molecular Cloud (OMC) 2, in Orion. We report the detection of 10 radio sources, seven of them identified as young stellar objects (YSOs). We image a well-collimated radio jet with a thermal free-free core (VLA 11) associated with the Class I intermediate-mass protostar HOPS 370. The jet presents several knots (VLA 12N, 12C, 12S) of non-thermal radio emission (likely synchrotron from shock-accelerated relativistic electrons) at distances of ~ 7500-12500 au from the protostar, in a region where other shock tracers have been previously identified. We show that these knots are moving away from the HOPS 370 protostar at ~ 100 km s1. The Class 0 protostar HOPS 108, which we detect as an independent, kinematically decoupled radio source, falls in the path of these non-thermal radio knots. These results favor the previously proposed scenario where the formation of HOPS 108 has been triggered by the impact of the HOPS 370 out ow with a dense clump. However, HOPS 108 presents an apparent proper motion velocity of ~30 km s1, similar that of other runaway stars in Orion, whose origin is puzzling. Later, we extent our study to the whole field of view of those observations, a 12:05-long portion of the Integral Shaped Filament (ISF) which contains the whole OMC-2 region and the southernmost 2:05 of the OMC-3 region. We report 47 adittional radio sources, 23 of which are presented here for the first time. For these 47 radio sources, we report the positions, ux densities and spectral indices. We discuss on the nature of the 47 reported radio sources by analyzing their radio spectral index, morphology, emission at other wavelength ranges, position relative to the ISF and association with dust clumps. We conclude that, out of the 57 total radio sources in the field of view, 41 (72%) are very likely associated with the star-forming region, 6 are extragalactic background sources, and we are unsure about the association with the star-forming region of the remaining 10 sources. Of the 41 sources associated with the star-forming region, 36 are tracing the position of YSOs, 3 are tracing non-thermal emission from jet knots, one is tracing the shock-ionized wall of an out ow cavity, and one could be either a YSO or a jet knot. We unambiguously identify the radio continuum emission of the driving source of the 9 previously reported molecular out ows in our field of view. In four of these sources we clearly resolve the elongated morphology characteristic of radio jets. We detect thermal free-free emission from two Class III YSOs that may be tracing their associated photoevaporating disks. We find signs of variability in 13 radio sources, seven of which are also variable at shorter wavelengths (near- IR/optical/X-ray). We find 7 pairs of radio sources with a projected separation < 3000 au, that are potential binary systems; taking into account the additional sources detected at other wavelengths, we then identify a total of 17 potential multiple systems in our field view within this separation range. Finally, we study the close binary system SVS 13, with components separated 90 au. We detect at least two circumstellar disks of dust and gas, and one circumbinary disk with prominent spiral arms, that appears to be in the earliest stages of formation, associated with this protostellar system. Dust emission appears more intense and compact towards component VLA 4B, while VLA 4A seems to be associated with a larger amount of dust and with stronger molecular transitions. We are able to estimate rotational temperatures and molecular column densities, indicating warm temperatures and a rich chemistry. Molecular transitions typical of hot corinos are detected toward both VLA 4A and VLA 4B. From the observed dust emission and the kinematical information we estimate the orientation of the system, the stellar masses and those of their associated disks. Our analysis of the proper motions, and the kinematics of the disks suggest that up to four stellar objects, one of them a visible star, could be present within a region <100 au. In summary, SVS 13 seems to be an excellent test-bed to test numerical simulations of the earliest stages in the formation of binary and multiple systems.Tesis Univ. Granada

Mitofusin-2 induced by exercise modifies lipid droplet-mitochondria communication, promoting fatty acid oxidation in male mice with NAFLD

Background and aim: The excessive accumulation of lipid droplets (LDs) is a defining characteristic of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The interaction between LDs and mitochondria is functionally important for lipid metabolism homeostasis. Exercise improves NAFLD, but it is not known if it has an effect on hepatic LD-mitochondria interactions. Here, we investigated the influence of exercise on LD-mitochondria interactions and its significance in the context of NAFLD. Approach and results: Mice were fed high-fat diet (HFD) or HFD-0.1 % methionine and choline-deficient diet (MCD) to emulate simple hepatic steatosis or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, respectively. In both models, aerobic exercise decreased the size of LDs bound to mitochondria and the number of LD-mitochondria contacts. Analysis showed that the effects of exercise on HOMA-IR and liver triglyceride levels were independent of changes in body weight, and a positive correlation was observed between the number of LD-mitochondria contacts and NAFLD severity and with the lipid droplet size bound to mitochondria. Cellular fractionation studies revealed that ATP-coupled respiration and fatty acid oxidation (FAO) were greater in hepatic peridroplet mitochondria (PDM) from HFD-fed exercised mice than from equivalent sedentary mice. Finally, exercise increased FAO and mitofusin-2 abundance exclusively in PDM through a mechanism involving the curvature of mitochondrial membranes and the abundance of saturated lipids. Accordingly, hepatic mitofusin-2 ablation prevented exercise-induced FAO in PDM. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that aerobic exercise has beneficial effects in murine NAFLD models by lessening the interactions between hepatic LDs and mitochondria, and by decreasing LD size, correlating with a reduced severity of NAFLD. Additionally, aerobic exercise increases FAO in PDM and this process is reliant on Mfn-2 enrichment, which modifies LD-mitochondria communication