Seasonal Evapotranspiration Patterns in Mangrove Forests

Diurnal and seasonal controls on water vapor fluxes were investigated in a subtropical mangrove forest in Everglades National Park, Florida. Energy partitioning between sensible and latent heat fluxes was highly variable during the 2004–2005 study period. During the dry season, the mangrove forest behaved akin to a semiarid ecosystem as most of the available energy was partitioned into sensible heat, which gave Bowen ratio values exceeding 1.0 and minimum latent heat fluxes of 5 MJ d1. In contrast, during the wet season the mangrove forest acted as a well-watered, broadleaved deciduous forest, with Bowen ratio values of 0.25 and latent heat fluxes reaching 18 MJ d1. During the dry season, high salinity levels (\u3e30 parts per thousand, ppt) caused evapotranspiration to decline and correspondingly resulted in reduced canopy conductance. From multiple linear regression, daily average canopy conductance to water vapor declined with increasing salinity,vapor pressure deficit, and daily sums of solar irradiance but increased with air temperature and friction velocity. Using these relationships, appropriately modified Penman-Monteith and Priestley-Taylor models reliably reproduced seasonal trends in daily evapotranspiration. Such numerical models, using site-specific parameters, are crucial for constructing seasonal water budgets, constraining hydrological models, and driving regional climate models over mangrove forests

Controls on mangrove forest-atmosphere carbon dioxide exchanges in western Everglades National Park

We report on net ecosystem production (NEP) and key environmental controls on net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon dioxide (CO2) between a mangrove forest and the atmosphere in the coastal Florida Everglades. An eddy covariance system deployed above the canopy was used to determine NEE during January 2004 through August 2005. Maximum daytime NEE ranged from −20 to −25 mmol (CO2) m−2 s−1 between March and May. Respiration (Rd) was highly variable (2.81 ± 2.41 mmol (CO2) m−2 s−1), reaching peak values during the summer wet season. During the winter dry season, forest CO2 assimilation increased with the proportion of diffuse solar irradiance in response to greater radiative transfer in the forest canopy. Surface water salinity and tidal activity were also important controls on NEE. Daily light use efficiency was reduced at high (\u3e34 parts per thousand (ppt)) compared to low (ppt) salinity by 46%. Tidal inundation lowered daytime Rd by ∼0.9 mmol (CO2) m−2 s−1 and nighttime Rd by ∼0.5 mmol (CO2) m−2 s−1. The forest was a sink for atmospheric CO2, with an annual NEP of 1170 ± 127 g C m−2 during 2004. This unusually high NEP was attributed to year‐round productivity and low ecosystem respiration which reached a maximum of only 3 g C m−2 d−1. Tidal export of dissolved inorganic carbon derived from belowground respiration likely lowered the estimates of mangrove forest respiration. These results suggest that carbon balance in mangrove coastal systems will change in response to variable salinity and inundation patterns, possibly resulting from secular sea level rise and climate change. Citation: Barr, J. G., V. Engel, J. D. Fuentes

Attributes of mesoscale convective systems at the land-ocean transition in Senegal during NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses

In this study we investigate the development of a mesoscale convective system (MCS) as it moved from West Africa to the Atlantic Ocean on 31 August 2006. We document surface and atmospheric conditions preceding and following the MCS, particularly near the coast. These analyses are used to evaluate how thermodynamic and microphysical gradients influence storms as they move from continental to maritime environments. To achieve these goals, we employ observations from NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (NAMMA) from the NASA S band polarimetric Doppler radar, a meteorological flux tower, upper-air soundings, and rain gauges. We show that the MCS maintained a convective leading edge and trailing stratiform region as it propagated from land to ocean. The initial strength and organization of the MCS were associated with favorable antecedent conditions in the continental lower atmosphere, including high specific humidity (18 g kg ), temperatures (300 K), and wind shear. While transitioning, the convective and stratiform regions became weaker and disorganized. Such storm changes were linked to less favorable thermodynamic, dynamic, and microphysical conditions over ocean. To address whether storms in different life-cycle phases exhibited similar features, a composite analysis of major NAMMA events was performed. This analysis revealed an even stronger shift to lower reflectivity values over ocean. These findings support the hypothesis that favorable thermodynamic conditions over the coast are a prerequisite to ensuring that MCSs do not dissipate at the continental-maritime transition, particularly due to strong gradients that can weaken West African storms moving from land to ocean

Antibody-based inhibition of pathogenic new world hemorrhagic fever mammarenaviruses by steric occlusion of the human transferrin receptor 1 apical domain

Pathogenic clade B New World mammarenaviruses (NWM) can cause Argentine, Venezuelan, Brazilian, and Bolivian hemorrhagic fevers. Sequence variability among NWM glycoproteins (GP) poses a challenge to the development of broadly neutralizing therapeutics against the entire clade of viruses. However, blockade of their shared binding site on the apical domain of human transferrin receptor 1 (hTfR1/CD71) presents an opportunity for the development of effective and broadly neutralizing therapeutics. Here, we demonstrate that the murine monoclonal antibody OKT9, which targets the apical domain of hTfR1, can sterically block cellular entry by viral particles presenting clade B NWM glycoproteins (GP1-GP2). OKT9 blockade is also effective against viral particles pseudotyped with glycoproteins of a recently identified pathogenic Sabia-like virus. With nanomolar affinity for hTfR1, the OKT9 antigen binding fragment (OKT9-Fab) sterically blocks clade B NWM-GP1s and reduces infectivity of an attenuated strain of Junin virus. Binding of OKT9 to the hTfR1 ectodomain in its soluble, dimeric state produces stable assemblies that are observable by negative-stain electron microscopy. A model of the OKT9-sTfR1 complex, informed by the known crystallographic structure of sTfR1 and a newly determined structure of the OKT9 antigen binding fragment (Fab), suggests that OKT9 and the Machupo virus GP1 share a binding site on the hTfR1 apical domain. The structural basis for this interaction presents a framework for the design and development of high-affinity, broadly acting agents targeting clade B NWMs. IMPORTANCE Pathogenic clade B NWMs cause grave infectious diseases, the South American hemorrhagic fevers. Their etiological agents are Junin (JUNV), Guanarito (GTOV), Sabiá (SABV), Machupo (MACV), Chapare (CHAV), and a new Sabiá-like (SABV-L) virus recently identified in Brazil. These are priority A pathogens due to their high infectivity and mortality, their potential for person-to-person transmission, and the limited availability of effective therapeutics and vaccines to curb their effects. While low homology between surface glycoproteins of NWMs foils efforts to develop broadly neutralizing therapies targeting NWMs, this work provides structural evidence that OKT9, a monoclonal antibody targeting a single NWM glycoprotein binding site on hTfR1, can efficiently prevent their entry into cells.Fil: Ferrero, Sol. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Flores, Maria D.. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Short, Connor. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Vázquez, Cecilia Alejandra. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica; Argentina. 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; ArgentinaFil: Clark, Lars E.. Harvard Medical School; Estados UnidosFil: Ziegenbein, James. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Zink, Samantha. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Fuentes, Daniel. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Payés, Cristian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Batto, María V.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Collazo, Michael. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: García, Cybele C.. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. 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; ArgentinaFil: Abraham, Jonathan. Harvard Medical School; Estados Unidos. Brigham and Women's Hospital; Estados UnidosFil: Cordo, Sandra Myriam. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. 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; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez, Jose A.. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Helguera, Gustavo Fernando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; Argentin

Genomic prediction models for grain yield of spring bread wheat in diverse agro-ecological zones

Genomic and pedigree predictions for grain yield and agronomic traits were carried out using high density molecular data on a set of 803 spring wheat lines that were evaluated in 5 sites characterized by several environmental co-variables. Seven statistical models were tested using two random cross-validations schemes. Two other prediction problems were studied, namely predicting the lines’ performance at one site with another (pairwise-site) and at untested sites (leave-one-site-out). Grain yield ranged from 3.7 to 9.0 t ha−1 across sites. The best predictability was observed when genotypic and pedigree data were included in the models and their interaction with sites and the environmental co-variables. The leave-one-site-out increased average prediction accuracy over pairwise-site for all the traits, specifically from 0.27 to 0.36 for grain yield. Days to anthesis, maturity, and plant height predictions had high heritability and gave the highest accuracy for prediction models. Genomic and pedigree models coupled with environmental co-variables gave high prediction accuracy due to high genetic correlation between sites. This study provides an example of model prediction considering climate data along-with genomic and pedigree information. Such comprehensive models can be used to achieve rapid enhancement of wheat yield enhancement in current and future climate change scenario

The Relationship between Depressive Symptoms, Quality of Life and miRNAs 8 Years after Bariatric Surgery

Altres ajuts: Universidad de Málaga, UMA20-FEDERJA-144; Junta de Andalucia, PI-0194-2017, C-0028-2018, RC-005-2020, DOC_00288 and DOC_01095Background: There are conflicting results on whether weight loss after bariatric surgery (BS) might be associated with quality of life (QoL)/depressive symptomatology. We aim to determine whether BS outcomes are associated with QoL/depressive symptomatology in studied patients at the 8-year follow-up after BS, as well as their relationship with different serum proteins and miRNAs. Methods: A total of 53 patients with class III obesity who underwent BS, and then classified into "good responders" and "non-responders" depending on the percentage of excess weight lost (%EWL) 8 years after BS (%EWL ≥ 50% and %EWL < 50%, respectively), were included. Basal serum miRNAs and different proteins were analysed, and patients completed tests to evaluate QoL/depressive symptomatology at 8 years after BS. Results: The good responders group showed higher scores on SF-36 scales of physical functioning, role functioning-physical, role functioning-emotional, body pain and global general health compared with the non-responders. The expression of hsa-miR-101-3p, hsa-miR-15a-5p, hsa-miR-29c-3p, hsa-miR-144-3p and hsa-miR-19b-3p were lower in non-responders. Hsa-miR-19b-3p was the variable associated with the response to BS in a logistic regression model. Conclusions: The mental health of patients after BS is limited by the success of the intervention. In addition, the expression of basal serum miRNAs related to depression/anxiety could predict the success of BS

Observations of bromine monoxide transport in the Arctic sustained on aerosol particles

The return of sunlight in the polar spring leads to the production of reactive halogen species from the surface snowpack, significantly altering the chemical composition of the Arctic near-surface atmosphere and the fate of long-range transported pollutants, including mercury. Recent work has shown the initial production of reactive bromine at the Arctic surface snowpack; however, we have limited knowledge of the vertical extent of this chemistry, as well as the lifetime and possible transport of reactive bromine aloft. Here, we present bromine monoxide (BrO) and aerosol particle measurements obtained during the March 2012 BRomine Ozone Mercury EXperiment (BROMEX) near Utqiaġvik (Barrow), AK. The airborne differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) measurements provided an unprecedented level of spatial resolution, over 2 orders of magnitude greater than satellite observations and with vertical resolution unable to be achieved by satellite methods, for BrO in the Arctic. This novel method provided quantitative identification of a BrO plume, between 500 m and 1 km aloft, moving at the speed of the air mass. Concurrent aerosol particle measurements suggest that this lofted reactive bromine plume was transported and maintained at elevated levels through heterogeneous reactions on colocated supermicron aerosol particles, independent of surface snowpack bromine chemistry. This chemical transport mechanism explains the large spatial extents often observed for reactive bromine chemistry, which impacts atmospheric composition and pollutant fate across the Arctic region, beyond areas of initial snowpack halogen production. The possibility of BrO enhancements disconnected from the surface potentially contributes to sustaining BrO in the free troposphere and must also be considered in the interpretation of satellite BrO column observations, particularly in the context of the rapidly changing Arctic sea ice and snowpack

Colombia's cyberinfrastructure for biodiversity: Building data infrastructure in emerging countries to foster socioeconomic growth

Science and innovation are not a luxury but a prerequisite for social and economic development (Annan, 2003)