Dissolved organic matter (DOM) characterization in subantarctic shallow lakes and beaver ponds

One important fraction of carbon (C) in aquatic environments is the dissolved organic matter (DOM). The present study analyzes the optical characteristics of DOM in two common freshwater environments from the southernmost area of Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego (Argentina), shallow lakes and beaver ponds. In contrast to natural shallow lakes, beaver ponds are lentic water bodies created by beavers, which were introduced in the area in the past century. Based on absorbance and fluorescence techniques, we compared shallow lakes and beaver ponds in terms of DOM quantity and quality. Our results reveal that dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations ranged from ~ 3 to 9 mg L−1, and that DOM origin in all the studied environments was allochthonous and highly influenced by terrestrial inputs. The comparison between shallow lakes and beaver ponds showed significantly higher DOC concentration in shallow lakes, while DOM quality in beaver ponds was significantly different. The quality of DOM in beaver ponds was characterized by high aromaticity (SUVA index), high humic content (humification index) and low recently produced DOM (biological index). A possible explanation for this pattern is that they might be more influenced by terrestrial inputs, more likely due to the smaller size and the higher forest cover (~ 47% in comparison to ~ 28% in shallow lakes). Parallel factor modeling (PARAFAC) validated only two humic-like components. This study is the first report that compares DOM quantity and quality in Subantarctic shallow lakes and beaver ponds. Our results confirm the idea of the humic shallow lakes and enlighten new features of the DOM quality in beaver ponds.Fil: Castro, María Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, Patricia Elizabeth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Maluendez Testoni, Maria Constanza. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Ministerio de Ciencia. Tecnología e Innovación Productiva. Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez, Patricia Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego. Instituto de Ciencias Polares, Recursos Naturales y Ambiente; Argentin

Switchable CAR T cell strategy against osteosarcoma

Immunotherapy with chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR T) cells has changed the treatment of hematological malignances, but they are still a challenge for solid tumors, including pediatric sarcomas. Here, we report a switchable CAR T cell strategy based on anti-FITC CAR T cells and a switch molecule conjugated with FITC for targeting osteosarcoma (OS) tumors. As a potential target, we analyzed the expression of B7-H3, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, in OS cell lines. In addition, we evaluate the capacity of an anti-B7-H3 monoclonal antibody conjugated with FITC (anti-B7-H3-FITC mAb) to control the antitumor activity of anti-FITC CAR T cells. The effector functions of anti-FITC CAR T cells against OS, measured in vitro by tumor cell killing activity and cytokine production, are dependent on the presence of the anti-B7-H3-FITC mAb switch. Moreover, OS cells stimulate anti-FITC CAR T cells migration. In vivo, anti-B7-H3 mAb penetrates in the tumor and binds 143B OS tumor cells. Furthermore, anti-FITC CAR T cells reach tumor region and exert antitumor effect in an OS NSG mouse model only in the presence of the switch molecule. We demonstrate that anti-B7-H3-FITC mAb redirects the cytotoxic activity of anti-FITC CAR T cells against OS tumors suggesting that switchable CAR T cell platforms might be a plausible strategy against OS.This research was funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII): PI20CIII-00040 and RD21/0017/0005, Red Española de Terapias Avanzadas TERAV-ISCIII (NextGenerationEU. Plan de Recuperación Transformación y Resiliencia), the Asociación Pablo Ugarte, the Fundación Oncohematología Infantil and AFANION for grants support. LH is benefciary of a grant under the Talent Attraction Program of the Comunidad de Madrid (2018-T2/BMD-10337). AM-M is benefciary of a grant under the PhD ISCIII-PFIS program (FI18CIII/00017) and is a member of the PhD Program in Molecular Biosciences of Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. PR-G is enrolled in the Doctoral Program in Biomedical Sciences and Public Health as a trainee researcher at the UNED International Doctoral School. AntiFITC CAR single chain variable fragment (scFv) encoding plasmid was kindly provided by Dr. Michael Jensen from Seattle Children´s Research Institute, Washington, USA. The authors wish to thank the donors, and the Biobank Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda (HUPHM)/Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Puerta de Hierro-Segovia de Arana (IDIPHISA) (PT17/0015/0020 in the Spanish National Biobanks Network) for the human specimens used in this study. Images for the graphical scheme of experiments were obtained and modifed from SMART—Servier Medical Art under a Creative Common Attribution 3.0 Unported License.S

Closing the gap: the link between social capital and microfinance services

The social capital has strengthened the solidarity funds when the legal mechanisms and institutions for monitoring and assistance would not have been present. The aim of this paper is to analyze the effect of social capital on productivity and performance of the Mexican solidarity funds. For this it is obtained an estimator indirectly associated with inequality, through which it follows that if the social capital rises 1% the loans number increases by 0.2877% and the savings number increases by 0.4598%, and for each additional producer that activate his social capital with his partners they will be generated increases in loans recoveries amounting to 597.41 pesos. In this sense, a greater investment in social capital will recover a larger amount of borrowed funds and will increase savings and loans to poor producer

Closing the gap: the link between social capital and microfinance services

The social capital has strengthened the solidarity funds when the legal mechanisms and institutions for monitoring and assistance would not have been present. The aim of this paper is to analyze the effect of social capital on productivity and performance of the Mexican solidarity funds. For this it is obtained an estimator indirectly associated with inequality, through which it follows that if the social capital rises 1% the loans number increases by 0.2877% and the savings number increases by 0.4598%, and for each additional producer that activate his social capital with his partners they will be generated increases in loans recoveries amounting to 597.41 pesos. In this sense, a greater investment in social capital will recover a larger amount of borrowed funds and will increase savings and loans to poor producer

Social Capital in the Presence of Market Failures

In Mexico, social capital is used to get resources. People who do not have access to formal markets use their networks to acquire public and financing services, social insurance and social benefits. To test this, social capital indicators were built using the resources supplied by people as a proportion of their income. This measure is theoretically related to a sympathy coefficient that represents the degree to which a person joins another´s welfare in its utility function, leading him to share resources with others. Synthetic panels with population cohorts were elaborated to follow population throughout the time. To correct a spurious regression problem, the cointegration-panel method was used. As a result, variables that reflect failures in financial, health and social insurance markets are associated to bonding and bridging social capital indicators. Thus, adjustments in these markets could be explained by social capital variables additionally to market prices mechanisms

Social Capital in the Presence of Market Failures

In Mexico, social capital is used to get resources. People who do not have access to formal markets use their networks to acquire public and financing services, social insurance and social benefits. To test this, social capital indicators were built using the resources supplied by people as a proportion of their income. This measure is theoretically related to a sympathy coefficient that represents the degree to which a person joins another´s welfare in its utility function, leading him to share resources with others. Synthetic panels with population cohorts were elaborated to follow population throughout the time. To correct a spurious regression problem, the cointegration-panel method was used. As a result, variables that reflect failures in financial, health and social insurance markets are associated to bonding and bridging social capital indicators. Thus, adjustments in these markets could be explained by social capital variables additionally to market prices mechanisms

Operaciones de cobertura con derivados financieros sobre los precios del café.

En el presente trabajo se analiza cómo se pueden gestionar los riesgos financieros básicamente en el sector cafetero, entre los que se incluyen los futuros y las opciones, además de demostrar las ventajas que ofrece la aplicación de estos instrumentos financieros, con el objetivo de resaltar cómo, en un uso adecuado de los mismos, no sólo puede ayudar a cumplir los objetivos de rentabilidad, sino también a reducir claramente las posiciones de riesgo y alcanzar una mayor eficiencia empresarial Para ello se tomó como base de información del café la cotización en el mercado al día 28 de octubre del 2010 con vencimiento a 17 diciembre 2010, con monitoreos el 03/11/2010, 08/11/2010, 11/11/2010, 16/11/2010, 18/11/2010, 22/11/2010, 25/11/2010.Además, se realiza un análisis del comportamiento de los precios spot y de futuros para establecer la existencia de correlación entre ambos mercados y así concluir que las coberturas que se exponen son eficientes. Finalmente aplicamos el modelo constante de Black & Scholes

Radiation-damage produced in BaHfO₃ irradiated with thermal and fast-neutrons

Samples of BaHfO₃ were irradiated with fast and thermal neutrons to produce ^181Hf. Attenuations of the gamma-gamma perturbed angular correlations in ^181Ta were observed, and they may have been caused by the interaction between defects (produced during or after neutron irradiation) and oxygen vacancies. Several defect structures were detected. For one of the structures, an excitation energy of 12 meV was measured, which was attributed to an electron state below the conduction band. The values of the dielectric constant and of the effective electron mass were also deduced

How Prosecutors and Defense Attorneys Differ in Their Use of Neuroscience Evidence

Much of the public debate surrounding the intersection of neuroscience and criminal law is based on assumptions about how prosecutors and defense attorneys differ in their use of neuroscience evidence. For example, according to some commentators, the defense’s use of neuroscience evidence will abdicate criminals of all responsibility for their offenses. In contrast, the prosecution’s use of that same evidence will unfairly punish the most vulnerable defendants as unfixable future dangers to society. This “double- edged sword” view of neuroscience evidence is important for flagging concerns about the law’s construction of criminal responsibility and punishment: it demonstrates that the same information about the defendant can either be mitigating or aggravating depending on who is raising it. Yet empirical assessments of legal decisions reveal a far more nuanced reality, showing that public beliefs about the impact of neuroscience on the criminal law can often be wrong. This Article takes an evidence-based and multidisciplinary approach to examining how courts respond to neuroscience evidence in capital cases when the defense presents it to argue that the defendant’s mental state at the time of the crime was below the given legal requisite due to some neurologic or cognitive deficiency