Cold temperature tolerance of the alien Indo-Pacific damselfish Neopomacentrus cyanomos from the Southern Gulf of Mexico

The abundance of the alien, Indo-Pacific damselfish Neopomacentrus cyanomos on an oil-loading platform in the southwest Gulf of Mexico indicates that widely distributed platforms could facilitate the expansion of its geo- graphic range across the western and northern fringes of the Gulf. From there it likely will spread to other areas of the Greater Caribbean. The lionfish example demonstrates that it eventually happens, and can do so rapidly. Reduced temperature effects on the physiology of this species were examined to better predict its survivability in the northern Gulf during winter, when sea surface temperatures fall as low as 15 °C along the coast. Overall, our results show that when the degree of experimental temperature decline was large and rapid, no compensation occurred and the stress response observed mostly reflected cellular processes that minimized damage. Integrated biomarker response values were significantly different between fish rapidly exposed to colder vs. warmer temperatures (declines of −4 °C each day, from 26 to 14 °C), reflected in higher values of blood metabolites and routine metabolic rates observed in fish exposed to 14 and 18 °C respectively, and lower activity of all enzymes, lower protein carbonylation, and higher oxidative damage to lipids in fish exposed to 14 °C. While the phy- siological proxies responded to minimize damage during the rapid-decrease experiment, the same proxies re- flected the consequences of compensation when fish were thermally challenged after a 45 days acclimation at 18 °C. In this case, lower values of blood metabolites and high antioxidant levels and indicators of damages underpinned its pejus lower range. Based on the results of the present work, it seems clear that low winter SSTs in the northern Gulf will slow down the colonization of the inshore area of N. cyanomos. We suggest that the use of physiological cellular stress markers on specimens acquired at the beginning of an invasion should be im- plemented in new standardized experimental protocols, including both rapid increases/decreases of temperature and post-acclimation temperature challenges, to assess the invasiveness potential of aquatic species such as this

Scanning Electron Microscope Study of Wohlfahrtia magnifica (Schiner, 1862) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) I. Structures with Parasitic and Possible Taxonomic Meaning

The larval development of Wohlfahrtia magnifica (the most important dipteran causing sheep myiasis in the Palearctic region) has been studied by means of scanning electron microscopy. The ultrastructure of mouth-hooks, oral ridges, labial lobes, body spines and anterior and posterior peritremes is described for the first time. Their possible adaptations to a parasitic lifeway are also discussed. Thus, the use of new structures in the Sarcophagidae taxonomy is proposed from the point of view of their ultrastructure and adaptative morphology

Petrology and tectonic evolution of late Paleozoic mafic-ultramafic sequences and the Leones Pluton of the Eastern Andean Metamorphic Complex (46-47°S), southern Chile

The metamorphosed mafic-ultramafic sequences of the Eastern Andean Metamorphic Complex outcropping in the Patagonian Andes are critical to disclose the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution of the southwestern margin of Gondwana. In the study area, mafic-ultramafic bodies are thrusted onto polydeformed metasedimentary rocks and intruded by the mid-Carboniferous composite Leones Pluton. The metabasalts (mostly tremolite-chlorite schists and amphibolites) show N-MORB and BABB chemical affinities pointing that formed part of an oceanic crustal section with components of the marginal basin, emplaced after the main pulse of Devonian arc magmatism, possibly in a retreating convergent margin. Interleaved serpentinites consist of serpentine polymorphs (antigorite, lizardite, and late chrysotile) and magnetite, with variably distributed minor amounts of chlorite, tremolite, and traces of ilmenite. Serpentinites have high Cr, Ni, Ti, and Yb contents, and show slightly enriched LREE and flat HREE patterns with a noticeable Eu positive anomaly. Mineralogical and geochemical features indicate that olivine-rich clinopyroxene-spinel-bearing peridotites were metamorphosed in a newly formed east-dipping subduction zone. The closure of the marginal basin continued with the tectonic underthrusting and tectonic juxtaposition of mafic-ultramafic rocks within an accretionary wedge. The tectonic cycle of the oceanic basin finished with the intrusion of mid-Carboniferous subduction-related plutons and pluton-driven thermal metamorphism.Fil: Rojo, D.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; Argentina. Universidad Arturo Prat; ChileFil: Calderón, M.. Universidad Andrés Bello; ChileFil: Hervé, F.. Universidad Andrés Bello; ChileFil: Díaz, J.. Universidad Andrés Bello; ChileFil: Quezada, P.. Universidade Federal do Paraná; Brasil. Universidad de Aysén; ChileFil: Suárez, Rodrigo Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; ArgentinaFil: Ghiglione, Matias. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; ArgentinaFil: Fuentes, F.. Universidad Mayor; ChileFil: Theye, T.. Universität Stuttgart; AlemaniaFil: Cataldo, J.. Universidad Andrés Bello; ChileFil: Sándoval, J.. Universidad Andrés Bello; ChileFil: Viefhaus, T.. Universität Stuttgart; Alemani

Chloride Nutrition Regulates development, Water Balance and Drought Resistance in Plants

6 páginas.-- 5 figuras.-- 9 referencias.-- Poster presentado en el XII Luso-Spanish Symposium on Plant Water Relations – Water to Feed the World. 30th of September – 3rd of October (Evora) PortugalCl- is a strange micronutrient since actual Cl- concentration in plants is about two orders of magnitude higher than the content required as essential micronutrient. This accumulation requires a high cost of energy, and since Cl- is a major osmotically active solute in the vacuole, we propose that Cl- plays a role in the regulation of water balance in plants. We show here that, when accumulated to macronutrient levels, Cl- specifically regulates leaf cell elongation and water balance parameters, improving water relations at both the leaf tissue and the whole plant levels, increasing drought resistance in higher plants.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation-FEDER grant AGL2009-08339/AGR.Peer Reviewe

Long-term effect of 2 intensive statin regimens on treatment and incidence of cardiovascular events in familial hypercholesterolemia : The SAFEHEART study

Funding: This study was supported by Fundación Hipercolesterolemia Familiar; Grant G03/181 Grant 08-2008 Centro Nacional de Investigaci?n Cardiovascular (CNIC).Background: Maximal doses of potent statins are the basement of treatment of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). Little is known about the use of different statin regimens in FH. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to describe the treatment changes and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goal achievement with atorvastatin (ATV) and rosuvastatin (RV) in the SAFEHEART cohort, as well as to analyze the incidence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular events (ACVEs) and changes in the cardiovascular risk. Methods: SAFEHEART is a prospective follow-up nationwide cohort study in a molecularly defined FH population. The patients were contacted on a yearly basis to obtain relevant changes in life habits, medication, and ACVEs. Results: A total of 1939 patients were analyzed. Median follow-up was 6.6 years (5-10). The estimated 10-year risk according the SAFEHEART risk equation was 1.61 (0.67-3.39) and 1.22 (0.54-2.93) at enrollment for ATV and RV, respectively (P <.001). There were no significant differences at the follow-up: 1.29 (0.54-2.82) and 1.22 (0.54-2.76) in the ATV and RV groups, respectively (P =.51). Sixteen percent of patients in primary prevention with ATV and 18% with RV achieved an LDL-C <100 mg/dL and 4% in secondary prevention with ATV and 5% with RV achieved an LDL-C <70 mg/dL. The use of ezetimibe was marginally greater in the RV group. One hundred sixty ACVEs occurred during follow-up, being its incidence rate 1.1 events/100 patient-years in the ATV group and 1.2 in the RV group (P =.58). Conclusion: ATV and RV are 2 high-potency statins widely used in FH. Although the reduction in LDL-C levels was greater with RV than with ATV, the superiority of RV for reducing ACVEs was not demonstrated

Explaining telecoms and electricity internationalization in the European Union: a political economy perspective

One consequence of the liberalization of certain services in the European Union was that a number of formerly inward-looking incumbents in telecommunications and electricity rapidly transformed themselves into some of the world’s leading Multinationals. However, the precise relationship between liberalization and incumbent internationalization is contested. This article tests three persuasive arguments derived from the political economy literature on this relationship. The first claims that those incumbents most exposed to domestic liberalization would internationalise most. The second asserts the opposite: incumbents operating where liberalization was restricted could exploit monopolistic rents to finance their aggressive internationalisation. The third argument claims that a diversity of paths will be adopted by countries and incumbents vis-à-vis liberalization and internationalization. Using correlation and cluster analysis of the sample of all major EU telecoms and electricity incumbent Multinationals evidence is found in favour of the third hypothesis. Internationalization as a response to liberalization took diverse forms in terms of timing and extent and this is best explained using a country, sector and firm logic

The High-Acceptance Dielectron Spectrometer HADES

HADES is a versatile magnetic spectrometer aimed at studying dielectron production in pion, proton and heavy-ion induced collisions. Its main features include a ring imaging gas Cherenkov detector for electron-hadron discrimination, a tracking system consisting of a set of 6 superconducting coils producing a toroidal field and drift chambers and a multiplicity and electron trigger array for additional electron-hadron discrimination and event characterization. A two-stage trigger system enhances events containing electrons. The physics program is focused on the investigation of hadron properties in nuclei and in the hot and dense hadronic matter. The detector system is characterized by an 85% azimuthal coverage over a polar angle interval from 18 to 85 degree, a single electron efficiency of 50% and a vector meson mass resolution of 2.5%. Identification of pions, kaons and protons is achieved combining time-of-flight and energy loss measurements over a large momentum range. This paper describes the main features and the performance of the detector system

The OECD and phases in the international political economy, 1961–2011

In 2011, the OECD turned fifty. To provide a broad foundation for further thinking on this organization, we analyse its evolution over half a century from two perspectives: phases in the international political economy and the literature on IPE. By so doing, we uncover two paradoxes. Firstly, we find that the organization’s evolution closely mirrored major phases in the postwar international political economy until recently. However, the OECD’s long-term dependence on theWest has now become an obstacle to its efforts to adapt to the latest phase, characterised by the rise of non-Western powers. Secondly, we show that, during the OECD’s “golden age”, scholars paid relatively little attention to the organization but, from the 2000s, as the organization faced an unprecedented challenge of its potential economic decline, IPE literature on the organization blossomed

Risk factors for developing ventilator-associated lower respiratory tract infection in patients with severe COVID-19:a multinational, multicentre study, prospective, observational study

Around one-third of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 develop a severe illness that requires admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). In clinical practice, clinicians have learned that patients admitted to the ICU due to severe COVID-19 frequently develop ventilator-associated lower respiratory tract infections (VA-LRTI). This study aims to describe the clinical characteristics, the factors associated with VA-LRTI, and its impact on clinical outcomes in patients with severe COVID-19. This was a multicentre, observational cohort study conducted in ten countries in Latin America and Europe. We included patients with confirmed rtPCR for SARS-CoV-2 requiring ICU admission and endotracheal intubation. Only patients with a microbiological and clinical diagnosis of VA-LRTI were included. Multivariate Logistic regression analyses and Random Forest were conducted to determine the risk factors for VA-LRTI and its clinical impact in patients with severe COVID-19. In our study cohort of 3287 patients, VA-LRTI was diagnosed in 28.8% [948/3287]. The cumulative incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) was 18.6% [610/3287], followed by ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis (VAT) 10.3% [338/3287]. A total of 1252 bacteria species were isolated. The most frequently isolated pathogens were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (21.2% [266/1252]), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (19.1% [239/1252]) and Staphylococcus aureus (15.5% [194/1,252]). The factors independently associated with the development of VA-LRTI were prolonged stay under invasive mechanical ventilation, AKI during ICU stay, and the number of comorbidities. Regarding the clinical impact of VA-LRTI, patients with VAP had an increased risk of hospital mortality (OR [95% CI] of 1.81 [1.40-2.34]), while VAT was not associated with increased hospital mortality (OR [95% CI] of 1.34 [0.98-1.83]). VA-LRTI, often with difficult-to-treat bacteria, is frequent in patients admitted to the ICU due to severe COVID-19 and is associated with worse clinical outcomes, including higher mortality. Identifying risk factors for VA-LRTI might allow the early patient diagnosis to improve clinical outcomes. Trial registration: This is a prospective observational study; therefore, no health care interventions were applied to participants, and trial registration is not applicable