Sea level height, sea surface temperature, and tuna yields in the Panama bight during El Niño

Between 1988 and 1998, annual tuna landings at Buenaventura (Colombian Pacific) are correlated with the sea surface temperature in the central Equatorial Pacific (<i>r</i>=0.78, <i>p</i>&lt;0.05) and the sea level height at Buenaventura (<i>r</i>=0.76, <i>p</i>&lt;0.05) and Balboa (Panama) (<i>r</i>=0.79, <i>p</i>&lt;0.05). Seasonal oceanic upwelling is forced by the Panama wind jet, which may favour oceanic fisheries such as tuna. Here we first apply a bivariate correlation method (Pyper and Peterman, 1994) and then a multivariate approach (principal components analysis or PCA) to investigate the relationships of these environmental variables with landings. With the first method, we find that landing is best correlated with the sea surface temperature in the Ni&#241;o 3 region, whereas the other relationships are less clear. In contrast, with PCA we find that PC1 explains 90.6% of the total variance and suggests that sea surface temperature plays a major role in determining tuna availability in the area (especially during El Ni&#241;o events). Since PC2 is mainly correlated with sea level height at Balboa but only represents 6.8% of the total variance, we suggest that oceanic upwelling effects on tuna landings at Buenaventura are not significant at interannual scales

The importance of the tumor microenvironment to understand tumor origin, evolution, and treatment response

During the second half of the twentieth century, oncology adopted a tumor-centric approach to cancer treatment, focusing primarily on the tumor cell to identify new therapeutic targets. However, since the 2000s, we have seen a gradual shift in this paradigm with numerous studies highlighting the importance of the tumor microenvironment in tumor progression, patient prognosis, and therapy response. Solid tumors are highly complex systems where numerous cell types and microenvironmental factors are intertwined, potentially affecting tumor evolution, treatment response, and patient outcome. Stromal cells such as fibroblasts and immune cells can stimulate or suppress tumor growth and are currently being used as therapeutic targets in numerous studies and clinical trials..

Additional Dimensions to the Study of Funnels in Combinatorial Landscapes

The global structure of travelling salesman's fitness landscapes has recently revealed the presence of multiple `funnels'. This implies that local optima are organised into several clusters, so that a particular local optimum largely belongs to a particular funnel. Such a global structure can increase search difficulty, especially, when the global optimum is located in a deep, narrow funnel. Our study brings more precision (and dimensions) to the notion of funnels with a data-driven approach using Local Optima Networks and the Chained Lin-Kernighan heuristic. We start by exploring the funnel 'floors', characterising them using the notion of communities from complex networks. We then analyse the more complex funnel 'basins'. Since their depth is relevant to search, we visualise them in 3D. Our study, across a set of TSP instances, reveals a multi-funnel structure in most of them. However, the specific topology varies across instances and relates to search difficulty. Finally, including a stronger perturbation into Chained Lin-Kernighan proved to smooth the funnel structure, reducing the number of funnels and enlarging the valley leading to global optima

Antarctic ozone variability inside the polar vortex estimated from balloon measurements

Thirteen years of ozone soundings at the Antarctic Belgrano II station (78° S, 34.6° W) have been analysed to establish a climatology of stratospheric ozone and temperature over the area. The station is inside the polar vortex during the period of development of chemical ozone depletion. Weekly periodic profiles provide a suitable database for seasonal characterization of the evolution of stratospheric ozone, especially valuable during wintertime, when satellites and ground-based instruments based on solar radiation are not available. The work is focused on ozone loss rate variability (August–October) and its recovery (November–December) at different layers identified according to the severity of ozone loss. The time window selected for the calculations covers the phase of a quasi-linear ozone reduction, around day 220 (mid-August) to day 273 (end of September). Decrease of the total ozone column over Belgrano during spring is highly dependent on the meteorological conditions. Largest depletions (up to 59%) are reached in coldest years, while warm winters exhibit significantly lower ozone loss (20%). It has been found that about 11% of the total O₃ loss, in the layer where maximum depletion occurs, takes place before sunlight has arrived, as a result of transport to Belgrano of air from a somewhat lower latitude, near the edge of the polar vortex, providing evidence of mixing inside the vortex. Spatial homogeneity of the vortex has been examined by comparing Belgrano results with those previously obtained for South Pole station (SPS) for the same altitude range and for 9 yr of overlapping data. Results show more than 25% higher ozone loss rate at SPS than at Belgrano. The behaviour can be explained taking into account (i) the transport to both stations of air from a somewhat lower latitude, near the edge of the polar vortex, where sunlight reappears sooner, resulting in earlier depletion of ozone, and (ii) the accumulated hours of sunlight, which become much greater at the South Pole after the spring equinox. According to the variability of the ozone hole recovery, a clear connection between the timing of the breakup of the vortex and the monthly ozone content was found. Minimum ozone concentration of 57 DU in the 12–24 km layer remained in November, when the vortex is more persistent, while in years when the final stratospheric warming took place "very early", mean integrated ozone rose by up to 160–180 DU

Prevention of Bone Loss in a Model of Postmenopausal Osteoporosis through Adrenomedullin Inhibition

Despite recent advances in the understanding and treatment options for osteoporosis, this condition remains a serious public health issue. Adrenomedullin (AM) is a regulatory peptide with reported activity on bone remodeling. To better understand this relationship we built an inducible knockout for AM. An outstanding feature of knockout mice is their heavier weight due, in part, to the presence of denser bones. The femur of knockout animals was denser, had more trabeculae, and a thicker growth plate than wild type littermates. The endocrine influence of AM on bone seems to be elicited through an indirect mechanism involving, at least, the regulation of insulin, glucose, ghrelin, and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). To confirm the data we performed a pharmacological approach using the AM inhibitor 16311 in a mouse model of osteoporosis. Ovariectomized females showed significant bone mass loss, whereas ovariectomized females treated with 16311 had similar bone density to sham operated females. In conclusion, we propose the use of AM inhibitors for the treatment of osteoporosis and other conditions leading to the loss of bone mass

Actividad molusquicida de extractos acuosos vegetales sobre el caracol manzana pomacea canaliculata

En el Ecuador, entre el 40 y 48% de la producción de arroz se pierde a causa del ataque de Pomacea canaliculata, una de las cien especies invasivas más dañinas del mundo que actualmente ha infestado alrededor de 170.000 hectáreas del cultivo en todo el territorio nacional

Ultrasonographic Diagnosis of Unilateral Scrotal Hernia, Varicocele and Sperm Granuloma in a Ram

A four-year-old ram was presented with a conspicuous hemilateral scrotal enlargement that was noticed four weeks before. Based on the history, clinical signs, palpation, trans-scrotal ultrasonography and semen collection, a left scrotal hernia was diagnosed. Ultrasonographic examination showed a presumably omental fat scrotal hernia with an atrophic left testis and varicocele, and the presence of two sperm cysts could be observed in the right epididymal tail. The testis appeared as a homogeneous and moderately echogenic structure and it was possible to distinguish atrophy of the left testis that was covered by a hyperechoic area, presumably omental fat, within the hernial sac. In addition, on ultrasound examination non-echogenic tortuous areas were present and diagnosed as varicocele. Post mortem examination confirmed gross lesions identified ultrasonographically. The libido of the ram was normal but the semen showed total azoospermia. Ultrasound imaging can be used as a diagnostic technique to confirm the diagnosis of scrotal hernia, varicocele, sperm cyst and testis mineralization