Morfoanatomía, histoquímica y cristales del sistema subterráneo de Baccharis notosergila (Asteraceae)

Background and aims: Baccharis notosergila is presented as a productivity-reducing weed in the fields of the Salado river basin, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The aims of this work were: to describe the structure of the underground system, the origin of sprouts, locate the secretory structures and storage substance to understand the adaptation strategies of this species as well as its ability to withstand chemical and mechanical control. M&M: The collected material was examined with conventional optical microscopy techniques. Histochemical tests to identify secondary metabolites were performed, and crystals were analyzed by a scanning electron microscope. Results: The subterranean system found was a xylopodium which has high shoot bud-forming potential. Storage substance was found to be inulin. Test for starch was negative. Resins and lipids (oil drops) were identified in ducts of roots; tannins and crystals of calcium oxalate were also found in the xylopodium and roots. Conclusions: The presence of these characteristics on the underground systems could explain the frequency of this species in the floristic from Salado river basin in which alternate periods of 2 high humidity and drought. The belowground bud bank would be important to B. notosergila survival in this area with extreme climatic factors, and its resistance to mechanical and chemical control. Understanding the anatomical features of these plants is one of the steps to appropriate management of this species in the Salado river basin.Introducción y objetivos: Baccharis notosergila es una maleza de alta incidencia que reduce la productividad en campos de la Depresión del Salado, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Los objetivos de este trabajo fueron: describir la estructura del sistema subterráneo, el origen de los brotes y localizar las estructuras secretoras y la sustancia de almacenamiento, para comprender las estrategias de adaptación de esta especie, así como su capacidad para resistir el control químico y mecánico. M&M: El material recolectado fue analizado con técnicas convencionales de microscopía óptica; se realizaron pruebas histoquímicas para identificar los metabolitos secundarios y se analizaron los cristales con microscopio electrónico de barrido. Resultados: El sistema subterráneo encontrado fue del tipo xilopodio, el cual tiene un alto potencial de formación de brotes. Como sustancias carbonadas de almacenamiento se encontró inulina; no hallándose almidón. En los conductos secretores de las raíces se identificaron resinas y aceites; también se hallaron taninos y cristales de oxalato de calcio en el xilopodio y las raíces. Conclusiones: La presencia de estas características en los sistemas subterráneos podría explicar la elevada frecuencia de esta especie en la composición florística de la cuenca del río Salado, en la que alternan períodos de alta humedad y sequía. El banco de yemas subterráneas sería importante para la subsistencia de B. notosergila en esta área con condiciones climáticas extremas y también su tolerancia al control químico y mecánico. Comprender las características anatómicas de estas plantas es uno de los pasos para el manejo adecuado de esta especie en la cuenca del río Salado

GPU optimization of electroencephalogram analysis

Nowadays, with the advent of new non-invasive techniques of brain imaging, researchers have access to neural processes underlying the cognition in humans. One of the main challenges in this techniques is the detection of patterns in brain signals, generally very noisy and with artifacts inserted by vital signs. One of the most successful techniques for this is Independent Component Analysis which detects statistically independent components that are produced from different sources. These methods are very expensive in computational time, with many hours of processing for a single experiment. We analyzed this algorithm and detect two main types of operations: vector-matrix and matrix-matrix. We implemented an ad-hoc solution that executes on GPU and compared this with the original and CUBLAS versions. We obtained a 4x and 40x of performance increase of vector-matrix and matrix-matrix operations, respectively. These results are the first step towards real-time EEG processing which may produce a significant advance into BCI applications.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

Cell necrosis, intrinsic apoptosis and senescence contribute to the progression of exencephaly to anencephaly in a mice model of congenital chranioschisis

Amniotic fluid; Neonatal mortality; ExencephalyLíquido amniótico; Mortalidad neonatal; ExencefaliaLíquid amniòtic; Mortalitat neonatal; ExencefàliaExencephaly/anencephaly is one of the leading causes of neonatal mortality and the most extreme open neural tube defect with no current treatments and limited mechanistic understanding. We hypothesized that exencephaly leads to a local neurodegenerative process in the brain exposed to the amniotic fluid as well as diffuse degeneration in other encephalic areas and the spinal cord. To evaluate the consequences of in utero neural tissue exposure, brain and spinal cord samples from E17 exencephalic murine fetuses (maternal intraperitoneal administration of valproic acid at E8) were analyzed and compared to controls and saline-injected shams (n = 11/group). Expression of apoptosis and senescence genes (p53, p21, p16, Rbl2, Casp3, Casp9) was determined by qRT-PCR and protein expression analyzed by western blot. Apoptosis was measured by TUNEL assay and PI/AV flow cytometry. Valproic acid at E8 induced exencephaly in 22% of fetuses. At E17 the fetuses exhibited the characteristic absence of cranial bones. The brain structures from exencephalic fetuses demonstrated a loss of layers in cortical regions and a complete loss of structural organization in the olfactory bulb, hippocampus, dental gyrus and septal cortex. E17 fetuses had reduced expression of NeuN, GFAP and Oligodendrocytes in the brain with primed microglia. Intrinsic apoptotic activation (p53, Caspase9 and 3) was upregulated and active Caspase3 localized to the layer of brain exposed to the amniotic fluid. Senescence via p21-Rbl2 was increased in the brain and in the spinal cord at the lamina I-II of the somatosensory dorsal horn. The current study characterizes CNS alterations in murine exencephaly and demonstrates that degeneration due to intrinsic apoptosis and senescence occurs in the directly exposed brain but also remotely in the spinal cord.This work was supported by Prof. Jose L. Peiro internal Cincinnati Children's Hospital funding

Five-Year Follow-Up of the Argentine Randomized Trial of Coronary Angioplasty With Stenting Versus Coronary Bypass Surgery in Patients With Multiple Vessel Disease (ERACI II)

ObjectivesThe purpose of the present study is to report the five-year follow-up results of the ERACI II trial.BackgroundImmediate and one-year follow-up results of the ERACI II study showed a prognosis advantage of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stents over coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).MethodsA total of 450 patients were randomly assigned to undergo either PCI (n = 225); or CABG (n = 225). Only patients with multi-vessel disease were enrolled. Clinical follow-up during five years was obtained in 92% of the total population after hospital discharge. The primary end point of the study was to compare freedom from major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) at 30 days, 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years of follow-up.ResultsAt five years of follow-up, patients initially treated with PCI had similar survival and freedom from non-fatal acute myocardial infarction than those initially treated with CABG (92.8% vs. 88.4% and 97.3% vs. 94% respectively, p = 0.16). Freedom from repeat revascularization procedures (PCI/CABG) was significantly lower with PCI compared with CABG (71.5% vs. 92.4%, p = 0.0002). Freedom from MACE was also significantly lower with PCI compared with CABG (65.3% vs. 76.4%; p = 0.013). At five years similar numbers of patients randomized to each revascularization procedure were asymptomatic or with class I angina.ConclusionsAt five years of follow-up, in the ERACI II study, there were no survival benefits from any revascularization procedure; however patients initially treated with CABG had better freedom from repeat revascularization procedures and from MACE

Identification of Potential Kinase Inhibitors within the PI3K/AKT Pathway of Leishmania Species

Leishmaniasis is a public health disease that requires the development of more effective treatments and the identification of novel molecular targets. Since blocking the PI3K/AKT pathway has been successfully studied as an effective anticancer strategy for decades, we examined whether the same approach would also be feasible in Leishmania due to their high amount and diverse set of annotated proteins. Here, we used a best reciprocal hits protocol to identify potential protein kinase homologues in an annotated human PI3K/AKT pathway. We calculated their ligandibility based on available bioactivity data of the reported homologues and modelled their 3D structures to estimate the druggability of their binding pockets. The models were used to run a virtual screening method with molecular docking. We found and studied five protein kinases in five different Leishmania species, which are AKT, CDK, AMPK, mTOR and GSK3 homologues from the studied pathways. The compounds found for different enzymes and species were analysed and suggested as starting point scaffolds for the design of inhibitors. We studied the kinases’ participation in protein–protein interaction networks, and the potential deleterious effects, if inhibited, were supported with the literature. In the case of Leishmania GSK3, an inhibitor of its human counterpart, prioritized by our method, was validated in vitro to test its anti-Leishmania activity and indirectly infer the presence of the enzyme in the parasite. The analysis contributes to improving the knowledge about the presence of similar signalling pathways in Leishmania, as well as the discovery of compounds acting against any of these kinases as potential molecular targets in the parasite.Fil: Ochoa, Rodrigo. Universidad de Antioquia; ColombiaFil: Ortega Pajares, Amaya. University of Melbourne; AustraliaFil: Castello, Florencia Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Cálculo; ArgentinaFil: Serral, Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Cálculo; ArgentinaFil: Fernández Do Porto, Darío Augusto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Cálculo; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica; ArgentinaFil: Villa Pulgarin, Janny A.. Coorporación Universitaria Remington; ColombiaFil: Varela M., Rubén E.. Universidad Santiago de Cali; ColombiaFil: Muskus, Carlos. Universidad de Antioquia; Colombi

Sleeping-tree fidelity of the spider monkey shapes community-level seed-rain patterns in continuous and fragmented rain forests

Repeated use of sleeping trees (STs) by frugivores promotes the deposition and aggregation of copious amounts of seed, thus having key implications for seed dispersal and forest regeneration. Seed-rain patterns produced by this behaviour likely depend on the frequency of use of these sites, yet this hypothesis has been poorly tested. We evaluated community-level seed-rain patterns produced by the spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) over 13 mo in latrines located beneath 60 STs in the Lacandona rain forest, Mexico. Because this primate is increasingly ‘forced’ to inhabit fragmented landscapes, we tested whether sleeping-tree fidelity (STF) differed among sites and between continuous and fragmented forests. We also tested whether seed-rain patterns were associated with STF within each site and forest type. STF was highly variable among STs (average = 7 mo, range = 1–12 mo), but did not differ among study sites or forest types. STF was positively associated with seed abundance, species diversity and species turnover. Nevertheless, STF tended to be negatively related to seed community evenness. These results are likely due to the most frequently used STs being in areas with greater food density. Our results demonstrate that site fidelity shapes community-level seed-rain patterns and thus has key ecological implications

Características morfo-anatómicas de las hojas y tallos de Baccharis notosergila (Asteraceae) y su relación con el ambiente y control químico

Background and aims: Baccharis notosergila is an aggressive weed inhabiting the Salado river basin, Buenos Aires province, Argentina. The aims were: to analyze the morpho-anatomy and histochemistry of aerial vegetative organs in order to understand the adaptation strategies that ensure its survival, as well as to expand knowledge on traits determining resistance to the control methods applied. M&M: The material collected was prepared and examined with conventional techniques of microscopy. Histochemical tests were performed. Results: The major features found were small and deciduous leaves; uniseriate epidermis with massive and striate cuticle; stomata at level or slightly above the other epidermal cells and glandular trichomes secreting oily substances; stomata on both surfaces and isobilateral mesophyll. Starch, phenolic and lipophilic substances, and resins were identified in leaves and stems, and calcium oxalate crystals in leaves, stems and capitate trichomes. Conclusions: The aerial vegetative organs features of B. notosergila explain its tolerance to the unfavorable conditions of the Salado river basin area, as well as its competitive ability over others species of the natural prairie. The reduced and deciduous leaves, the epidermal traits, and chemical substances found constitute a physical and chemical barrier reducing dehydration as well as the penetration of the herbicides applied for its control. Botanical knowledge of B. notosergila is the basis to develop new and appropiate management methods for this species.Introducción y objetivos: Baccharis notosergila es una maleza agresiva que habita la Depresión del Salado, provincia Buenos Aires, Argentina. Los objetivos de este trabajo fueron: analizar la morfo-anatomía e histoquímica de los órganos vegetativos aéreos para entender las estrategias de adaptación que aseguran su sobrevivencia, así como profundizar el conocimiento sobre los caracteres que determinan la resistencia a los métodos de control. M&M: El material recolectado fue preparado y analizado con técnicas convencionales para microscopía. Se realizaron pruebas histoquímicas para identificar almidón, resinas, polifenoles y sustancias lipofílicas. Resultados: Los principales caracteres encontrados fueron las hojas pequeñas y caedizas, anfistomáticas con mesofilo isobilateral; la epidermis uniseriada, cutícula masiva y estriada, estomas a nivel o ligeramente elevados y tricomas glandulares que secretan sustancias oleosas. Los tests histoquímicos dieron reacción positiva para almidón, taninos y sustancias lipofílicas en las hojas y tallos; polifenoles, resinas y aceites fueron identificados en los conductos y se hallaron cristales de oxalato de calcio en las hojas, tallos y tricomas capitados. Conclusiones: Las características de los órganos vegetativos aéreos de B. notosergila explican su tolerancia a las condiciones desfavorables del área de la Depresión del Salado, así como su alta habilidad competitiva y predominancia sobre otras especies de la pradera natural. Las hojas pequeñas y deciduas, sus características epidérmicas y sustancias químicas encontradas constituyen una barrera física y química para la deshidratación así como la penetración de los herbicidas aplicados para su control. El conocimiento botánico de B. notosergila es la base para el diseño y desarrollo de nuevos y apropiados métodos para el manejo de esta especie.Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y ForestalesInstituto de Fisiología Vegeta

ATRIBUTOS DE CALIDAD DEL GRANO Y LA SÉMOLA DE TRIGO CANDEAL CULTIVADO EN EL DEPARTAMENTO CAPITAL DE LA PROVINCIA DE LA PAMPA

Winter cereals are important in the agricultural production of the semi-arid central Pampas region and among them the most widespread is bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In this area, durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf) is not yet cultivated, although it is a crop with good performance for semi-arid zones. Grain and semolina industrial quality of four genotypes of wheat durum cultivated in the Capital department in the province of La Pampa, Argentina, under different nitrogen availability were analyzed. Field work was carried out with four genotypes: Bonaerense INTA Cariló, Ciccio, Buck Cristal and Concadoro and two levels of nitrogen availability in tillering and flowering. There were significant differences among cultivars in all studied characteristics. Nitrogen fertilization increased in some genotypes grain protein concentration and vitreousness. The percent of vitreousness and the yellow pigment content were low, and in the semolina dough there was a high loss of pigment due to the processing associated with the lipoxigenasa activity. Semolina had a high glutenin/gliadin ratio indicating that it would be strong gluten. These results showed that grain and semolina quality attributes were satisfactory although it is necessary to continue generating industrial quality information, evaluating the response of others cultivars particularly, chosen genotypes that allow the optimization of nitrogen fertilization in La Pampa province.Los cereales de invierno son importantes en la producción agropecuaria de la región semiárida pampeana central y dentro de ellos el más difundido es el trigo pan (Triticum aestivum L.). En esta zona no se cultiva aún el trigo candeal (Triticum durum Desf), aunque es un cultivo con buena performance para zonas semiáridas. El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar la calidad industrial del grano y la sémola de cuatro genotipos de trigo candeal cultivados en el departamento Capital de la provincia de La Pampa, Argentina, bajo diferente disponibilidad de nitrógeno. Se trabajó a campo con cuatro genotipos: Bonaerense INTA Cariló, Ciccio, Buck Cristal y Concadoro y dos niveles de disponibilidad de nitrógeno en macollaje y floración. Se observó diferencias entre los genotipos en todas las variables estudiadas. La fertilización nitrogenada aumentó en algunos genotipos la concentración de proteína en grano y la vitreosidad. El porcentaje de vitreosidad y el contenido de pigmento amarillo fueron bajos y en la masa de sémola hubo una alta pérdida de pigmento por el procesamiento asociado a la actividad de la lipoxigenasa. La sémola tuvo una alta relación gluteninas/gliadinas, indicando que se trataría de un gluten fuerte. Estos resultados pusieron en evidencia que los atributos de calidad del grano y la sémola fueron satisfactorios, aunque es necesario continuar generando información de la calidad industrial, evaluando la respuesta de otros cultivares, particularmente eligiendo genotipos que permitan la optimización de la fertilización nitrogenada en la provincia de La Pampa

Brucella abortus–infected platelets modulate the activation of neutrophils

Brucellosis is a contagious disease caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella. Platelets (PLTs) have been widely involved in the modulation of the immune response. We have previously reported the modulation of Brucella abortus–mediated infection of monocytes. As a result, PLTs cooperate with monocytes and increase their inflammatory capacity, promoting the resolution of the infection. Extending these results, in this study we demonstrate that patients with brucellosis present slightly elevated levels of complexes between PLTs and both monocytes and neutrophils. We then assessed whether PLTs were capable of modulating functional aspects of neutrophils. The presence of PLTs throughout neutrophil infection increased the production of interleukin‐8, CD11b surface expression and reactive oxygen species formation, whereas it decreased the expression of CD62L, indicating an activated status of these cells. We next analyzed whether this modulation was mediated by released factors. To discriminate between these options, neutrophils were treated with supernatants collected from B. abortus–infected PLTs. Our results show that CD11b expression was induced by soluble factors of PLTs but direct contact between cell populations was needed to enhance the respiratory burst. Additionally, B. abortus–infected PLTs recruit polymorphonuclear (PMN) cells to the site of infection. Finally, the presence of PLTs did not modify the initial invasion of PMN cells by B. abortus but improved the control of the infection at extended times. Altogether, our results demonstrate that PLTs interact with neutrophils and promote a proinflammatory phenotype which could also contribute to the resolution of the infection.Fil: Trotta, Aldana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Milillo, María Ayelén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Serafino, Agustina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Castillo Montañez, Luis Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Birnberg Weiss, Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Delpino, María Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo; ArgentinaFil: Giambartolomei, Guillermo Hernan. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, Cecilia Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Barrionuevo, Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; Argentin

A genome-wide association study follow-up suggests a possible role for PPARG in systemic sclerosis susceptibility

Introduction: A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) comprising a French cohort of systemic sclerosis (SSc) reported several non-HLA single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) showing a nominal association in the discovery phase. We aimed to identify previously overlooked susceptibility variants by using a follow-up strategy.<p></p> Methods: Sixty-six non-HLA SNPs showing a P value <10-4 in the discovery phase of the French SSc GWAS were analyzed in the first step of this study, performing a meta-analysis that combined data from the two published SSc GWASs. A total of 2,921 SSc patients and 6,963 healthy controls were included in this first phase. Two SNPs, PPARG rs310746 and CHRNA9 rs6832151, were selected for genotyping in the replication cohort (1,068 SSc patients and 6,762 healthy controls) based on the results of the first step. Genotyping was performed by using TaqMan SNP genotyping assays. Results: We observed nominal associations for both PPARG rs310746 (PMH = 1.90 × 10-6, OR, 1.28) and CHRNA9 rs6832151 (PMH = 4.30 × 10-6, OR, 1.17) genetic variants with SSc in the first step of our study. In the replication phase, we observed a trend of association for PPARG rs310746 (P value = 0.066; OR, 1.17). The combined overall Mantel-Haenszel meta-analysis of all the cohorts included in the present study revealed that PPARG rs310746 remained associated with SSc with a nominal non-genome-wide significant P value (PMH = 5.00 × 10-7; OR, 1.25). No evidence of association was observed for CHRNA9 rs6832151 either in the replication phase or in the overall pooled analysis.<p></p> Conclusion: Our results suggest a role of PPARG gene in the development of SSc