TYC 2675-663-1: A newly discovered W UMa system in an active state

The recently discovered eclipsing binary system TYC 2675-663-1 is a X-ray source, and shows properties in the optical that are similar to the W UMa systems, but are somewhat unusual compared to what is seen in other contact binary systems. The goal of this work is to characterize its properties and investigate its nature by means of detailed photometric and spectroscopic observations. We have performed extensive V-band photometric measurements with the INTEGRAL satellite along with ground-based multi-band photometric observations, as well as high-resolution spectroscopic monitoring from which we have measured the radial velocities of the components. These data have been analysed to determine the stellar properties, including the absolute masses and radii. Additional low-resolution spectroscopy was obtained to investigate spectral features. From the measured eclipse timings we determine an orbital period for the binary of P=0.4223576+-0.0000009 days. The light-curve and spectroscopic analyses reveal the observations to be well represented by a model of an overcontact system composed of main-sequence F5 and G7 stars (temperature difference of nearly 1000 K), with the possible presence of a third star. Low-resolution optical spectroscopy reveals a complex H alpha emission, and other features that are not yet understood. The unusually large mass ratio of q=0.81+-0.05 places it in the rare "H" (high mass ratio) subclass of the W UMa systems, which are presumably on their way to coalescence.Comment: 12 pages in double column format. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

The INTEGRAL Galactic bulge monitoring program: the first 1.5 years

The Galactic bulge region is a rich host of variable high-energy point sources. Since 2005, February 17 we are monitoring the source activity in this region about every three days with INTEGRAL. Thanks to the large field of view, the imaging capabilities and the sensitivity at hard X-rays, we are able to present for the first time a detailed homogeneous (hard) X-ray view of a sample of 76 sources in the Galactic bulge region. We describe the successful monitoring program and show the first results for a period of about one and a half year. We focus on the short (hour), medium (month) and long-term (year) variability in the 20-60 keV and 60-150 keV bands. When available, we discuss the simultaneous observations in the 3-10 keV and 10-25 keV bands. Per visibility season we detect 32/33 sources in the 20-60 keV band and 8/9 sources in the 60-150 keV band. On average, we find per visibility season one active bright (>~100 mCrab, 20-60 keV) black-hole candidate X-ray transient and three active weaker (<~25 mCrab, 20-60 keV) neutron star X-ray transients. Most of the time a clear anti-correlation can be seen between the soft and hard X-ray emission in some of the X-ray bursters. Hard X-ray flares or outbursts in X-ray bursters, which have a duration of the order of weeks, are accompanied by soft X-ray drops. On the other hand, hard X-ray drops can be accompanied by soft X-ray flares/outbursts. We found a number of new sources, IGR J17354-3255, IGR 17453-2853, IGR J17454-2703, IGR J17456-2901b, IGR J17536-2339, and IGR J17541-2252. We report here on some of the high-energy properties of these sources. The high-energy light curves of all the sources in the field of view, and the high-energy images of the region, are made available through the WWW at http://isdc.unige.ch/Science/BULGE/.Comment: 27 pages, 42 figures, accepted for publication in A&A. Abstract abridged. Tables 3,4,6,7 appear at the end. Images have been compressed and are reduced in quality; original PostScript images can be retrieved from http://isdc.unige.ch/~kuulkers/bulge

Resurgence of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in Venezuela as a Regional Public Health Threat in the Americas.

Venezuela's tumbling economy and authoritarian rule have precipitated an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Hyperinflation rates now exceed 45,000%, and Venezuela's health system is in free fall. The country is experiencing a massive exodus of biomedical scientists and qualified healthcare professionals. Reemergence of arthropod-borne and vaccine-preventable diseases has sparked serious epidemics that also affect neighboring countries. In this article, we discuss the ongoing epidemics of measles and diphtheria in Venezuela and their disproportionate impact on indigenous populations. We also discuss the potential for reemergence of poliomyelitis and conclude that action to halt the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases within Venezuela is a matter of urgency for the country and the region. We further provide specific recommendations for addressing this crisis

Multivalent Tryptophan‐ and Tyrosine‐Containing [60]Fullerene Hexa‐Adducts as Dual HIV and Enterovirus A71 Entry Inhibitors

Unprecedented 3D hexa-adducts of [60]fullerene peripherally decorated with twelve tryptophan (Trp) or tyrosine (Tyr) residues have been synthesized. Studies on the antiviral activity of these novel compounds against HIV and EV71 reveal that they are much more potent against HIV and equally active against EV71 than the previously described dendrimer prototypes AL-385 and AL-463, which possess the same number of Trp/Tyr residues on the periphery but attached to a smaller and more flexible pentaerythritol core. These results demonstrate the relevance of the globular 3D presentation of the peripheral groups (Trp/Tyr) as well as the length of the spacer connecting them to the central core to interact with the viral envelopes, particularly in the case of HIV, and support the hypothesis that [60]fullerene can be an alternative and attractive biocompatible carbon-based scaffold for this type of highly symmetrical dendrimers. In addition, the functionalized fullerenes here described, which display twelve peripheral negatively charged indole moieties on their globular surface, define a new and versatile class of compounds with a promising potential in biomedical applications

Description of the pupa and additional characters of the fourth-instar larva female, and male genitalia of Uranotaenia (Uranotaenia) coatzacoalcos Dyar & Knab, with keys for the identification of Mexican species of Uranotaenia (Diptera: Culicidae)

Rivera-García, Karina D., Rísquez-Pérez, Abril, Ibáñez-Bernal, Sergio (2019): Description of the pupa and additional characters of the fourth-instar larva female, and male genitalia of Uranotaenia (Uranotaenia) coatzacoalcos Dyar &amp; Knab, with keys for the identification of Mexican species of Uranotaenia (Diptera: Culicidae). Zootaxa 4608 (2): 247-260, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4608.2.

Análisis preliminar del cuestionario ‘Potenziani’ para la validación diagnóstica del hipogonadismo de comienzo tardío y su concordancia con los cuestionarios de Heinemann (AMS) y de Morley (ADAM)

Hipogonadismo de comienzo tard&iacute;o, es una condici&oacute;nque afecta 6 % al 12 % de hombres entre 40 y 70 a&ntilde;os yaun as&iacute;, est&aacute; subdiagnosticada, por lo que se propone uncuestionario de validaci&oacute;n diagn&oacute;stica, con el objetivo delograr mayor sensibilidad, especificidad y predictividadque los cuestionarios ya existentes.Se analizaron 107 hombres entre 45 y 70 a&ntilde;os,con disminuci&oacute;n de la l&iacute;bido, trastornos de erecci&oacute;n,disminuci&oacute;n del entusiasmo en actividad diaria, cansanciof&aacute;cil, menor productividad en su trabajo, cambios del humorcon propensi&oacute;n a la irritabilidad, disminuci&oacute;n de su masamagra muscular, con tendencia al sobrepeso y afectaci&oacute;nen actividades recreativas y deportivas.Se hizo interrogatorio exhaustivo, examen f&iacute;sicoy pruebas de laboratorio (perfil 20, perfil hormonalurol&oacute;gico masculino, ant&iacute;geno prost&aacute;tico espec&iacute;fico total,libre y relaci&oacute;n libre/total, examen de orina y urocultivo).Se solicit&oacute; contestar al paciente tres cuestionarios devalidaci&oacute;n diagn&oacute;stica del hipogonadismo de comienzotard&iacute;o: Heinemann AMS (Ageing Males Survey-1999, St.Louis University, Androgen Deficiency in Aging Male),Morley ADAM-2000 y el cuestionario de validaci&oacute;ndiagn&oacute;stica del hipogonadismo de comienzo tard&iacute;o-Potenziani-2007, para ser comparados y demostrar suvalidez con pruebas de especificidad y sensibilidad, &iacute;ndicede Youden, pruebas de concordancia con intervalos deconfianza del 95 %, en relaci&oacute;n al diagn&oacute;stico bioqu&iacute;micodel hipogonadismo de comienzo tard&iacute;o.Los resultados arrojaron que el cuestionario&lsquo;Potenziani&rsquo; fue m&aacute;s sensible (88,57 %), fue m&aacute;s espec&iacute;fico(41,67 %), tuvo el &iacute;ndice de validez m&aacute;s alto (57,01 %) y elvalor predictivo positivo m&aacute;s alto de los tres cuestionarioscon el 42,5 %. Por tal motivo se ha demostrado que elcuestionario propuesto es m&aacute;s adecuado que Heineman-AMS y el Morley-ADAM en la aproximaci&oacute;n diagn&oacute;sticadel s&iacute;ndrome de hipogonadismo de comienzo tard&iacute;o.Palabras clave: Hipogonadismo de comienzo tard&iacute;o;S&iacute;ndrome de deficiencia de testosterona; ADAM s&iacute;ndrome.Hipogonadismo; Deficiencia androg&eacute;nica del hombremaduro.SUMMARYLate onset hypogonadism a condition which affect6.%-12.% of men between 40-70 years old, and still it issubdiagnosed for which we did a validation questionnairewith the objetive to be more sensitive, especific and predictivethat old questionnaires.We analized 107 men with ages between 45-70 yearsold whom consulted for libido deterioration, erectiledysfunction, less enthusiasm of daily life, less workproductivity,easy tiredness, humor changes with irritability,less muscle mass, overweight, and deterioration of sexuallife in general.We performed exhaustive interrogatory, physicalexamination, and laboratory test (20 profile, hormonalurologicprofile, prostatic specific antigen, urine and&nbsp;urocultive). We ask them to complete three questionnaires oflate onset hypogonadism diagnostic validation: HeinemannAMS, Morley ADAM, Potenziani 2007, to be comparedand show its validity with specificity and sensibility tests,Youden Index, test of concordance with confidence intervalof 95 %, in relation to biochemical diagnosis of deficiencytestosterone syndrome.The results were that the Potenziani&acute;s cuestionary wasmore sensible (88.57 %), more specific (41.67 %), with thevalidation index more high (57.01 %) and with the positivepredictive value more high too (42.5 %). For that reasonwe show that Potenziani&acute;s validation questionnaire of lateonset hypogonadism, is more adecuate in the diagnosticaproximation of this condition.Key words: Late onset hypogonadism. Testosteronedeficiency syndrome. ADAM syndrome. Hypogonadism.Androgenic deficiency ageing male

Lucha contra la infodemia en Venezuela durante la epidemia de COVID-19 - Sala Situacional Razetti, 2020

La infodemia y las noticias falsas han creado confusi&oacute;n e incertidumbre sobre la pandemia de COVID-19. Este fen&oacute;meno ha afectado particularmente a la poblaci&oacute;n venezolana debido a la falta de difusi&oacute;n de informaci&oacute;n oficial peri&oacute;dica de la vigilancia epidemiol&oacute;gica nacional desde el a&ntilde;o 2016

Synthesis of giant globular multivalent glycofullerenes as potent inhibitors in a model of Ebola virus infection

The use of multivalent carbohydrate compounds to block cell-surface lectin receptors is a promising strategy to inhibit the entry of pathogens into cells and could lead to the discovery of novel antiviral agents. One of the main problems with this approach, however, is that it is difficult to make compounds of an adequate size and multivalency to mimic natural systems such as viruses. Hexakis adducts of [60]fullerene are useful building blocks in this regard because they maintain a globular shape at the same time as allowing control over the size and multivalency. Here we report water-soluble tridecafullerenes decorated with 120 peripheral carbohydrate subunits, so-called ‘superballs’, that can be synthesized efficiently from hexakis adducts of [60]fullerene in one step by using copper-catalysed azide–alkyne cycloaddition click chemistry. Infection assays show that these superballs are potent inhibitors of cell infection by an artificial Ebola virus with half-maximum inhibitory concentrations in the subnanomolar range.Peer reviewe