Fabry Perot Halpha Observations of the Barred Spiral NGC 3367

We report the gross properties of the velocity field of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 3367. The following values were found: inclination with respect to the plane of the sky, i=30 deg; position angle (PA) of receding semi major axis PA=51 and systemic velocity V(sys)=3032 km/s. Large velocity dispersion are observed of upt o 120 km/s in the nuclear region, of up to 70 km/s near the eastern bright sources just beyond the edge of the stellar bar where three spiral arms seem to start and in the western bright sources at about 10 kpc. Deviations from normal circular velocities are observed from all the disk but mainly from the semi circle formed by the string of south western Halpha sources. An estimate of the dynamical mass is M(dyn)=2x10^11 Msolar.Comment: Accepted to be published in May 2001 issue in the A.J. 19 pages, 7 figure

Specific genetic markers for detecting subtypes of dengue virus serotype-2 in isolates from the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz, Mexico

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dengue (DEN) is an infectious disease caused by the DEN virus (DENV), which belongs to the <it>Flavivirus </it>genus in the family <it>Flaviviridae</it>. It has a (+) sense RNA genome and is mainly transmitted to humans by the vector mosquito <it>Aedes aegypti</it>. Dengue fever (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) are caused by one of four closely related virus serotypes (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4). Epidemiological and evolutionary studies have indicated that host and viral factors are involved in determining disease outcome and have proved the importance of viral genotype in causing severe epidemics. Host immune status and mosquito vectorial capacity are also important influences on the severity of infection. Therefore, an understanding of the relationship between virus variants with altered amino acids and high pathogenicity will provide more information on the molecular epidemiology of DEN. Accordingly, knowledge of the DENV serotypes and genotypes circulating in the latest DEN outbreaks around the world, including Mexico, will contribute to understanding DEN infections.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>1. We obtained 88 isolates of DENV, 27 from Oaxaca and 61 from Veracruz. 2. Of these 88 isolates, 16 were serotype 1; 62 serotype 2; 7 serotype 3; and 2 serotype 4. One isolate had 2 serotypes (DENV-2 and -1). 3. Partial nucleotide sequences of the genes encoding C- prM (14 sequences), the NS3 helicase domain (7 sequences), the NS5 S-adenosyl methionine transferase domain (7 sequences) and the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) domain (18 sequences) were obtained. Phylogenetic analysis showed that DENV-2 isolates belonged to the Asian/American genotype. In addition, the Asian/American genotype was divided into two clusters, one containing the isolates from 2001 and the other the isolates from 2005–2006 with high bootstrap support of 94%.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>DENV-2 was the predominant serotype in the DF and DHF outbreak from 2005 to 2006 in Oaxaca State as well as in the 2006 outbreak in Veracruz State, with the Asian/American genotype prevalent in both states. Interestingly, DENV-1 and DENV-2 were the only serotypes related to DHF cases. In contrast, DENV-3 and DENV-4 were poorly represented according to epidemiological data reported in Mexico. We found that isoleucine was replaced by valine at residue 106 of protein C in the isolates from these 2005–2006 outbreaks and in those from the 1997, 1998 and 2001 outbreaks in the Caribbean islands. We suggested that this amino acid change may be used as a signature for isolates arising in the Caribbean islands and pertaining to the Asian/American genotype. Other amino acid changes are specific for the Asian/American, Asian and American strains.</p

Association between obesity and depressive symptoms in Mexican population

PURPOSE: Obesity and depression are among the leading causes of disability in Mexico, but their association has not been explored yet. The aim of the current study was to investigate the association between obesity and depression in Mexican population. METHODS: We used data from the health and nutrition survey (ENSANUT 2012), which is representative of the Mexican population. Obesity was determined using the body mass index (BMI) and abdominal obesity by measuring waist circumference. Depressive symptoms were reported using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale Short-Form (CES-D-SF, scale 0-21). Regression analyses were performed between obesity and depression, adjusting for gender, age, living with a partner, education, and diabetes history. RESULTS: Obese women had 1.28 (95% CI 1.07-1.53) times the odds of having depression in comparison with normal-weight women, whereas no association was found for men (OR 0.94; 95% CI 0.74-1.19). A significant association between BMI and depressive symptoms score (β = 0.05, 95% CI 0.02-0.07) was present in women, but no association was found for men (β = - 0.02, 95% CI - 0.05 to 0.00). There was a statistically significant association between waist circumference and depression scores again for women (β = 0.03, 95% CI 0.01-0.04) but not for men (β = 0.00, 95% CI - 0.01 to 0.01). No associations were found between abdominal obesity and depression for both genders. No association was found between different obesity severity levels and depression for both genders. CONCLUSION: Obesity was associated with depression in Mexican women, whereas no association was found between obesity and depression in men

Enhanced transfection of cell lines from Atlantic salmon through nucoleofection and antibiotic selection

Background Cell lines from Atlantic salmon kidney have made it possible to culture and study infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV), an aquatic orthomyxovirus affecting farmed Atlantic salmon. However, transfection of these cells using calcium phosphate precipitation or lipid-based reagents shows very low transfection efficiency. The Amaxa Nucleofector technology™ is an electroporation technique that has been shown to be efficient for gene transfer into primary cells and hard to transfect cell lines. Findings Here we demonstrate, enhanced transfection of the head kidney cell line, TO, from Atlantic salmon using nucleofection and subsequent flow cytometry. Depending on the plasmid promoter, TO cells could be transfected transiently with an efficiency ranging from 11.6% to 90.8% with good viability, using Amaxa's cell line nucleofector solution T and program T-20. A kill curve was performed to investigate the most potent antibiotic for selection of transformed cells, and we found that blasticidin and puromycin were the most efficient for selection of TO cells. Conclusions The results show that nucleofection is an efficient way of gene transfer into Atlantic salmon cells and that stably transfected cells can be selected with blasticidin or puromycin

Highlights from the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Observatory is the world's largest cosmic ray observatory. Our current exposure reaches nearly 40,000 km$^2$ str and provides us with an unprecedented quality data set. The performance and stability of the detectors and their enhancements are described. Data analyses have led to a number of major breakthroughs. Among these we discuss the energy spectrum and the searches for large-scale anisotropies. We present analyses of our X$_{max}$ data and show how it can be interpreted in terms of mass composition. We also describe some new analyses that extract mass sensitive parameters from the 100% duty cycle SD data. A coherent interpretation of all these recent results opens new directions. The consequences regarding the cosmic ray composition and the properties of UHECR sources are briefly discussed.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figures, talk given at the 33rd International Cosmic Ray Conference, Rio de Janeiro 201

Follow-up study on lead exposure in children living in a smelter community in northern Mexico

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To study the changes of children lead exposure in the city of Torreon during the last five years, after environmental and public health interventions, using the timeline of lead in blood concentration as the biomarker of exposure and its relation to lead in soil concentrations.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This follow-up study started in 2001 and consisted of 232 children living in nine neighborhoods in Torreon. Children were tested at 0, 6, 12 and 60 months. Lead in blood concentrations, Hemoglobin, Zinc-Protoporphyrin, anthropometric measures and socioeconomic status questionnaire was supplied to the parents.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Median and range of lead in blood concentrations obtained at 0, 6, 12, 60 months were: 10.12 μg/dl (1.9 - 43.8), 8.75 μg/dl (1.85 - 41.45), 8.4 μg/dl (1.7 - 35.8) and 4.4 μg/dl (1.3 - 30.3), respectively. The decrease of lead in blood levels was significantly related to ages 0, 6, 12 and 60 months of the follow-up study. The timeline of B-Pb was associated with the timeline of lead in soil concentrations.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>B-Pb levels have significantly decreased in the group of children studied. This could be explained by a) environmental interventions by authorities and the smelter companies, b) normal changes in hygienic habits as children age and c) lead redistribution from blood to hard tissues.</p

Measurement of the Depth of Maximum of Extensive Air Showers above 10^18 eV

We describe the measurement of the depth of maximum, Xmax, of the longitudinal development of air showers induced by cosmic rays. Almost four thousand events above 10^18 eV observed by the fluorescence detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory in coincidence with at least one surface detector station are selected for the analysis. The average shower maximum was found to evolve with energy at a rate of (106 +35/-21) g/cm^2/decade below 10^(18.24 +/- 0.05) eV and (24 +/- 3) g/cm^2/decade above this energy. The measured shower-to-shower fluctuations decrease from about 55 to 26 g/cm^2. The interpretation of these results in terms of the cosmic ray mass composition is briefly discussed.Comment: Accepted for publication by PR