Daño por palomas en capítulos de girasol (Helianthus annuus L.) en la provincia de La Pampa

El cultivo de girasol (Helianthus annuus L.), es una alternativa importante en la producción agrícola argentina. La expansión agrícola desplazó este cultivo hacia zonas marginales, aumentando el daño producido por la paloma torcaza (Zenaida auriculata). Las hipótesis del presente trabajo plantean que el híbrido de aquenio negro, una menor densidad de siembra, una menor distancia entre hilera y una cosecha anticipada disminuirán la pérdida por daño causada por la paloma. La siembra se realizó con 8 tratamientos aleatorios en 4 repeticiones: híbrido DK 4045 (Estriado) y DK 4065 (Negro), utilizando densidades de siembra de 30.000 y 60.000 pl.ha-1 y distancias entre líneas de 52 y 70 cm. En cada tratamiento fue evaluado: el diámetro promedio de cada capítulo, el peso de los granos y el área con y sin semilla, para dos fechas de cosecha. El cultivar de aquenio negro sufrió un mayor daño que el estriado, con diferencias significativas en la segunda fecha. A su vez, la menor densidad de siembra generó un menor daño en el capítulo de aquenio negro para ambas fechas. La cosecha anticipada disminuye la pérdida por daño de la paloma siendo en la primer fecha de 18.6 % y en la segunda de 63.4%

Study of the intra-arterial distribution of Fe3O4 nanoparticles in a model of colorectal neoplasm induced in rat liver by MRI and spectrometry

José J Echevarria-Uraga,1 Ignacio García-Alonso,2 Fernando Plazaola,3 Maite Insausti,3 Néstor Etxebarria,3 Alberto Saiz-López,4 Begoña Fernández-Ruanova51Radiology Department, Hospital de Galdakao-Usánsolo, Bizkaia, Spain; 2Experimental Surgery Laboratory, Medicine Faculty, University of the Basque Country, Bizkaia, Spain; 3Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country, Bizkaia, Spain; 4Pathology Department, Hospital de Galdakao-Usánsolo, Bizkaia, Spain; 5Osatek SA Unidad del Hospital de Galdakao-Usánsolo, Bizkaia, SpainPurpose: To evaluate, in an experimental model, the reliability of MRI for determining whether a higher iron concentration was obtained in tumor tissue than in normal liver parenchyma after intra-arterial administration of Fe3O4 lipophilic nanoparticles.Materials and methods: WAG/RijCrl rats were inoculated in the left hepatic lobe with 25,000 syngeneic CC-531 colon adenocarcinoma cells, after which they were randomized into two groups: control (CG) and infused (IG). After confirming tumor induction, the IG rats received intra-arterial suspensions of Fe3O4 nanoparticles (2.6 mg) in Lipiodol® (0.15 mL). To calculate the iron concentration, [Fe], in the tumor and liver tissues of both groups of rats, measurements of signal intensity from the tumors, healthy liver tissue, and paravertebral muscles were made on a 1.5T MRI system in gradient-echo DP* and T2*-weighted sequences. In addition, samples were collected to quantify the [Fe] by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), as well as for histological analysis. Statistical analysis was performed with non-parametric tests, and Bland–Altman plots were produced; P values <0.05 were considered significant.Results: In the CG rats (n = 23), the mean [Fe] values estimated by MRI and ICP-MS were 13.2 µmol • g-1 and 5.9 µmol • g-1, respectively, in the tumors, and 19.0 µmol • g-1 and 11.7 µmol • g-1, respectively, in the hepatic tissue. In the IG rats (n = 19), the values obtained by MRI and ICP-MS were 148.9 µmol • g-1 and 9.4 µmol • g-1, respectively, in the tumors, and 115.3 µmol • g-1 and 11.6 µmol • g-1, respectively, in the healthy liver tissue. The IG results revealed a clear disagreement between MRI and ICP-MS. In the comparative analysis between the groups regarding the [Fe] values obtained by ICP-MS, significant differences were found for the tumor samples (P < 0.001), but not for the hepatic tissue (P = 0.92). Under microscopy, scattered intravascular deposits of nanoparticles were observed, especially in the tumors.Conclusion: ICP-MS demonstrated significant uptake of exogenous iron in tumor tissue. MRI was useful for quantifying the [Fe] in the different tissues in the CG animals, but not in the IG animals. Although the irregular distribution of nanoparticles caused an important bias in the measurements obtained by MRI, the relative increase in iron content inside the tumor was suggested.Keywords: liver neoplasm, hepatic arterial infusion, ferromagnetic particle, iron concentration, MRI, spectrometry&nbsp

Evidence of magnetic accretion in an SW Sex star: discovery of variable circular polarization in LS Pegasi

We report on the discovery of variable circular polarization in the SW Sex star LS Pegasi. The observed modulation has an amplitude of ~0.3 % and a period of 29.6 minutes, which we assume as the spin period of the magnetic white dwarf. We also detected periodic flaring in the blue wing of Hbeta, with a period of 33.5 minutes. The difference between both frequencies is just the orbital frequency, so we relate the 33.5-min modulation to the beat between the orbital and spin period. We propose a new accretion scenario in SW Sex stars, based on the shock of the disk-overflown gas stream against the white dwarf's magnetosphere, which extends to the corotation radius. From this geometry, we estimate a magnetic field strength of B(1) ~ 5-15 MG. Our results indicate that magnetic accretion plays an important role in SW Sex stars and we suggest that these systems are probably Intermediate Polars with the highest mass accretion rates.Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letters. LaTeX, 14 pages, 3 PostScript figure

Oral and Palmitate Paliperidone Long-Acting Injectable Formulations’ Use in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: A Retrospective Cohort Study from the First Episode Psychosis Intervention Program (CRUPEP)

Background: Long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) may be a suitable therapeutic option for those patients in earlier stages of psychosis to avoid relapses and disease progression. Despite that, there is a lack of evidence in the literature regarding the use of LAIs in this profile of patients. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort analysis to assess the efficacy, tolerability, and pattern of use of palmitate paliperidone long-acting injectable (PPLAI) formulations (1- and 3-month doses) compared to oral paliperidone/risperidone in patients with a nonaffective first episode of psychosis (FEP) over 12 months of follow-up. Relevant sociodemographic and clinical information were assessed, as well as main clinical scales: Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Personal and Social Performance Scale, and Clinical Global Impression Scale Improvement and Severity measures. Results: The study included 48 patients, 16 per arm, who were aged 20-50 years and had an FEP. Significant improvements were registered for all treatment groups. Despite that, patients receiving PPLAI 1- and 3-month formulations obtained greater improvements than those in the oral group in the main domains assessed (P < .001). We found no statistically significant differences in hospitalizations between groups. Side effects were presented in 24% of patients. A trend towards reducing antipsychotic doses was observed in 43.8% of patients to achieve the minimum effective dose and avoid the occurrence of side effects. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study assessing the use of palmitate paliperidone long-acting formulations versus oral risperidone or paliperidone in FEP. Treatment with PPLAI formulations seems to be an effective therapeutic choice at earlier stages of the disease

Edge detection algorithms in intensity sar images: empirical comparison of perfomances and proposed improvements

Different edge-detection algorithms developed for high-speckle SAR images are evaluated and compared. Two evaluation criterions have been selected: (i) quality of the detected edges, specially considering false alarms, edge thickness and level of discontinuities on detected edges. (ii) computational efficiency. Some modifications on the best-performance algorithms regarding edge quality are proposed, at the expense of a certain computational load increase

Novel Papillomaviruses in Free-Ranging Iberian Bats: No Virus–Host Co-evolution, No Strict Host Specificity, and Hints for Recombination

Papillomaviruses (PVs) are widespread pathogens. However, the extent of PV infections in bats remains largely unknown. This work represents the first comprehensive study of PVs in Iberian bats. We identified four novel PVs in the mucosa of free-ranging Eptesicus serotinus (EserPV1, EserPV2, and EserPV3) and Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (RferPV1) individuals and analyzed their phylogenetic relationships within the viral family. We further assessed their prevalence in different populations of E. serotinus and its close relative E. isabellinus. Although it is frequent to read that PVs co-evolve with their host, that PVs are highly species-specific, and that PVs do not usually recombine, our results suggest otherwise. First, strict virus-host co-evolution is rejected by the existence of five, distantly related bat PV lineages and by the lack of congruence between bats and bat PVs phylogenies. Second, the ability of EserPV2 and EserPV3 to infect two different bat species (E. serotinus and E. isabellinus) argues against strict host specificity. Finally, the description of a second noncoding region in the RferPV1 genome reinforces the view of an increased susceptibility to recombination in the E2-L2 genomic region. These findings prompt the question of whether the prevailing paradigms regarding PVs evolution should be reconsidered

Gender-Based Analysis of the Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Healthcare Workers in Spain

Purpose: This study aims to analyze from a gender perspective the psychological distress experienced by the medical workforce during the peak of the pandemic in Spain. Methods: This is a single-center, observational analytic study. The study population comprised all associated health workers of the Cruces University Hospital, invited by email to participate in the survey. It consisted of a form covering demographic data, the general health questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), and the perceived stress scale (PSS-14). We used multivariant regression analysis to check the effect of gender on the scores. We used gender analysis in both design and interpretation of data following SAGER guidelines. Results: Females made 74.6% of our sample, but their proportion was higher in lower-paid positions such as nursery (89.9%) than in higher-paid ones. The percentage of women categorized as cases with the GHQ-28 was 78.4%, a proportion significantly higher than in the male population (61.3%, p < 0.001). The multivariant regression analysis showed that being women, working as orderly hospital porters, and having a past psychiatric history were risk factors for higher scores in both the GHQ-28 and PSS-14. Conclusion: Women and those with lower-paid positions were at risk of higher psychological distress and worse quality of life within the medical workforce during the first wave of the pandemic. Gender analysis must be incorporated to analyze this fact better

Techno-economic evaluation and comparison of PAC-MBR and ozonation-UV revamping for organic micro-pollutants removal from urban reclaimed wastewater

The presence of sewage-borne Organic Micro-Pollutants (OMP) in Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP) effluents represents an increasing concern when water is reclaimed for irrigation or even indirect potable reuse. During eighteen months, an innovative hybrid water reclamation scheme based on a Membrane Biological Reactor (MBR) enhanced with Powder Activated Carbon (PAC) was operated at pilot-scale (70 m3/d) in order to compare it with state-of-the art Wastewater Reclamation System (WWRS) also revamped with a final step of ozonation-UV. Removal of persistent OMP, water quality and treatment costs were evaluated and compared for the different treatment schemes. OMP removal efficiency results for the different schemes concluded that established technologies, such as physico-chemical and filtration systems as well as MBR, do not remove significantly (>15%) the most recalcitrant compounds. The upgrading of these two systems through the addition of ozonation-UV step and PAC dosing allowed improving average recalcitrant OMP removal to 85±2 and 75±5 %, respectively. In term of costs, PAC-MBR represents an increase of 37 % of costs regarding conventional systems but presents improvements of 50 % reduction in space and water quality. On the other hand, ozonation requires up to a 15% increase of foot-print; nevertheless, represents lower costs and lower carbon footprint. Ozonation-UV seems to be the best option for upgrading existing facilities, while PAC- MBR should be considered when space represents a critical limitation and produced water is reused for high water quality purposes.Postprint (author's final draft

Vertical variability of trophic positions of zooplankton in the deep Ocean

Zooplankton plays a key role in oceanic ecosystems. However, the trophic ecology of organisms in deep layers of the ocean is poorly known. In this study we analyze the variability of trophic positions of zooplankton collected across three ocean basins in the epi-, meso and bathypelagic domains. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes were used as indicators of the sources of nutrients and positions within the food web. The enrichment in heavy nitrogen isotopes with depth and the correlation between surface and deep samples revealed that deep zooplankton was supported by local epipelagic production, subsequently processed through the water column. In addition the nitrogen isotope enrichment of carnivores vs. omnivores was consistent across ocean biomes and water layers, suggesting a similar trophic structure of the pelagic food web in the deep ocean despite variations in the nitrogen sources. Siphonofora, Chaetognata and Myctophida were the top predators while Calanoid Copepoda and Mysidacea displayed the lowest trophic positions. In contrast, carbon isotopes did not show significant variations with depth or trophic groups implying low influence of coastal production in deep ocean food webs

Cross-domain interoperability using federated interoperable semantic IoT/Cloud testbeds and applications: The FIESTA-IoT approach

This work is funded by the European Commission under the EU-H2020 Project Grant ”Federated Interoperable Semantic IoT/cloudTestbeds andApplications (FIESTA)” with the Grant Agreement No. CNECT-ICT-643943