Evaluation by re-derivation of a paternal line after 18 generations on seminal traits, proteome and fertility

[EN] Males from a paternal line selected for growth traits were used to produce semen doses at insemination centres and farms in a breeding scheme for rabbit meat production. The aim of this study was to assess whether a program of selection by daily gain in fattening period changed the seminal traits, plasma and sperm proteome and the fertility of semen when used in artificial insemination. Thirty-nine males from a paternal line were obtained by re-derivation from vitrified embryos with a difference of 18 generations (G21V and G39V). Sperm production parameters, morphological traits, sperm motility parameters and viability were evaluated from ejaculates. Seminal plasma and sperm proteome of three pool ejaculates from 10 mature males of each group were analysed and semen doses were used to inseminate 311 females. Only the percentage of abnormal sperm showed significant differences, with G21V presenting fewer abnormal sperm than G39V (10.5 +/- 2.63 vs 23.8 +/- 1.98). The discriminant analysis (DA-PLS) showed a clear effect of the generation for plasma and sperm proteome. In seminal plasma, 643 proteins were reported and 64 proteins were differentially expressed, of which 56 were overexpressed in G39V (87.5%). Sperm proteome reported 1360 proteins with 132 differentially abundant proteins. Of the total, 89 proteins were overexpressed in G39V (67.4%). From the 64 and 132 differentially abundant proteins of plasma and sperm, 19 and 26 had a FC >1.5, 12 and 13 of them belonging to the Oryctolagus cuniculus taxonomy, respectively. Despite observing differences in important proteins related to capacitation, sperm motility or immunoprotection and consequently to the fertilization process (TMPRSS2, Serpin family, Farn71f1, ATPase H+ transporting accessory protein 2, carbonic anhydrase 2, UDP-glucose glycoprotein glucosyltransferase 2), no differences in fertility and prolificacy were detected when commercial seminal doses were used for insemination from both male groups. However, overabundance of KIAA1324 protein can be related to the increase in abnormal sperm after selection by growth rate.This research was supported by AGL2017-85162-C2-1-R research project funded by Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad (MICINN, Spain). X Garcia-Dominguez was supported by a research grant from MICINN (BES-2015-072429). English text version was revised by N. Macowan English Language Service.Juárez, JD.; Marco-Jiménez, F.; Talaván, AM.; García-Domínguez, X.; Viudes-De-Castro, MP.; Lavara, R.; Vicente Antón, JS. 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Dynamic design: manipulation of millisecond timescale motions on the energy landscape of cyclophilin A

Proteins need to interconvert between many conformations in order to function, many of which are formed transiently, and sparsely populated. Particularly when the lifetimes of these states approach the millisecond timescale, identifying the relevant structures and the mechanism by which they interconvert remains a tremendous challenge. Here we introduce a novel combination of accelerated MD (aMD) simulations and Markov state modelling (MSM) to explore these ‘excited’ conformational states. Applying this to the highly dynamic protein CypA, a protein involved in immune response and associated with HIV infection, we identify five principally populated conformational states and the atomistic mechanism by which they interconvert. A rational design strategy predicted that the mutant D66A should stabilise the minor conformations and substantially alter the dynamics, whereas the similar mutant H70A should leave the landscape broadly unchanged. These predictions are confirmed using CPMG and R1ρ solution state NMR measurements. By efficiently exploring functionally relevant, but sparsely populated conformations with millisecond lifetimes in silico, our aMD/MSM method has tremendous promise for the design of dynamic protein free energy landscapes for both protein engineering and drug discovery

Predicción del volumen bombeado semanalmente con diferente número de bombas en una estación con energía fotovoltaica. Póster

La metodología clásica para el dimensionamiento de instalaciones de riego fotovoltaico no optimiza el número de bombas a utilizar. Para determinar el número de bombas se debe estudiar el mayor aprovechamiento de la irradiancia solar disponiendo varias bombas funcionando en paralelo y determinando a futuro los parámetros de temperatura (T, oC) e irradiancia (Irrad, Wm-2), los cuales son utilizados para el cálculo de la potencia neta del generador (Pnet, W) y con ello el poder obtener una predicción del volumen que se puede bombear a una semana vista. A través de la red de estaciones meteorológicas del Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA) (http://riegos.ivia.es/) se han obtenido los datos meteorológicos de la zona de estudio. El objetivo es analizar en qué medida se puede aumentar el volumen bombeado (VB, m3h-1) al incrementar el número de bombas instaladas en paralelo y la precisión de la estimación del VB semanalmente mediante servicios climáticos o mediante datos históricos. Este estudio se ha realizado en un bombeo del Sector 4 del Canal Júcar-Turia que abastece una superficie de 42,21 ha, en su mayoría cítricos. Se propone un modelo basado en la estimación de los VB semanales mediante predicciones meteorológicas, estimando los parámetros de T y Irrad para calcular la Potencia Neta Generada por día y hora (PnetD,h, W). La T y Irrad se obtienen mediante datos procedentes del servicio climático Global Forecast System (GFS) (www.nco.ncep.noaa.gov) de la National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), y mediante datos históricos. Una vez determinada PnetD,h, se calcula la potencia requerida (PbD,h, W) por día y hora para los diferentes grupos de bombas funcionando en paralelo (de 1 a 8 bombas). Se determina las horas de potencia disponible (HPDD,h, h) donde PnetD,h> PbD,h. Las HPDD,h de cada bomba para cada una de las 8 hipótesis multiplicadas por el caudal (Q, m3h-1) de cada bomba determina el VB. Al aumentar el número de bombas en paralelo aumentan los VB anualmente respecto de la metodología clásica de instalar 1 bomba, esto es debido, al mayor aprovechamiento de la Irrad. En el caso estudiado, instalar 5 bombas en paralelo de idénticas características en lugar de una única bomba, permitiría aumentar casi el 27 % del VB sin necesidad de modificar el generador fotovoltaico. También, los resultados demuestran que los datos del servicio climático GFS permiten mejorar la estimación del VB, a una semana vista, en comparación con el uso de datos históricos de media en un 32.2%

Optimización de sistemas de bombeo fotovoltaico a depósitos con criterio técnico-económico

Para el cálculo de instalaciones donde hay bombeos de agua entre dos depósitos se suele diseñar las instalaciones de bombeo fotovoltaico (FV) siguiendo las pautas de instalaciones tradicionales. Se calcula el punto de funcionamiento y se selecciona una bomba que su curva (Hm-Q) sea lo más próxima al punto de funcionamiento. El problema de esta metodología es que parte de la energía solar del día se desperdicia y podría ser utilizada para el bombeo de agua. Por ello es importante la selección del tipo y número de bombas que pueden trabajar en paralelo. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo principal desarrollar una metodología para la optimización del número de bombas que pueden trabajar en paralelo y del tamaño del generador en instalaciones de riego FV a balsas. El caso de estudio consiste en un bombeo entre dos depósitos, donde él de mayor cota abastece por gravedad una superficie de riego de 42.21 ha, en la comunidad de regantes Sector 4, próximo al municipio de Picassent perteneciente a la Comunidad Valenciana situada en el Este de España. La metodología empleada se basa en el diseño de la instalación FV (Potencia pico (Pp, W)) y del equipo de bombeo mediante la metodología estándar. Se realiza un planteamiento de las hipótesis de bombeo con diferente número de bombas funcionando en paralelo (BFP) (de 1 a 8 bombas) donde la suma de caudales de todas las BFP de las diferentes hipótesis será igual al caudal de la hipótesis de 1 bomba. El volumen bombeado anual (VBA, m3año-1) se calcula determinando las horas de potencia disponible (HPD, h) para cada hipótesis (donde Potencia neta (Pnet, W)>Potencia requerida (Pb, W)) para todos los días del año para conocer la variación del VBA. Seguidamente, se utilizan distintas hipótesis de factor potencia (FP) (Cociente entre Pp y Pb) con el fin de estudiar el mínimo número de placas solares requeridas. Por último, se selecciona el número de bombas por criterio económico. Como principales resultados se obtiene un mayor aprovechamiento de la irradiancia, para la hipótesis con 1 bomba la potencia mínima requerida para que arranque la misma es de 24,4 kW, lo que equivale a un umbral de irradiancia de 336,2 Wm-2 para el mes más desfavorable. Sin embargo, para que comience el bombeo con la hipótesis de 5 BFP, solo se requiere de 4,9 kW, siendo el umbral de irradiancia, para el mes más desfavorable es de 65,2 Wm-2. Al aumentar el número de bombas se aumenta el VBA hasta casi un 27%, y viendo los incrementos de bombeo a lo largo de este año en relación con las necesidades de volumen a bombear se determina que para el número óptimo de bombas que sería 5, en este caso de estudio, el FP se disminuye en un 50,7%. La función económica nos indica el número de BFP a seleccionar, siendo la hipótesis de 5 bombas la que menor coste tiene

Evaluación del uso de predicciones climáticas para la operación de bombeos mediante energía fotovoltaica de inyección directa

Este trabajo presenta una propuesta donde se reduce la incertidumbre en el riego fotovoltaico (FV) directo de oportunidad mediante predicciones meteorológicas (PM), pudiendo estimar con una semana de ventana temporal (VT) la irradiancia (Wm-2), la temperatura (oC), la velocidad del viento (ms 1) y la humedad (%) y con ello la Potencia Neta generada por día y hora (PnetD,h, W) y la evapotranspiración de referencia (ETo). Las PM son corregidas con un filtro del Kalman para el cálculo de las horas de potencia disponible (donde PnetD,h>Potencia requerida (PbD,h)) y de las necesidades de riego (Nr) y se compara frente a la forma tradicional de operar con los datos históricos y reemplazando la ETo sucedida en un periodo temporal. Además, se ha incorporado un modelo suelo-planta-agua el cual permite conocer el estado de humedad del suelo para establecer la programación del riego dentro de unos umbrales de humedad que no perjudiquen al cultivo. El objetivo es evaluar, en instalaciones con suministro energético FV, una metodología de programación de riego que utiliza las PM en lugar de los datos históricos manteniendo la humedad del suelo por encima de una humedad mínima. Se aplica en un caso real de estudio de la red de riego Camí Albalat, compuesta por 4 sectores y es gestionada por la comunidad de regantes de Massalet, próximo al término municipal de Carlet (Valencia), en el este de España. El uso de las PM a 7 días permite estimar con mayor precisión la PnetD,h y las Necesidades de riego (Nr) de los cultivos, pudiendo programar con antelación el funcionamiento de la instalación. Para el caso de estudio, el error relativo diario cometido para la época de mayores Nr (1 de abril a 30 de septiembre) de la estimación de la Pnet y de la ETo ha sido para las PM de un 26,3 % y un 6,3 % respectivamente, frente a un error utilizando los datos históricos del 50 % en la Pnet y del 15,2 % para la ETo. La humedad en el sector de máximos requerimientos de Pb no suele alcanzar la humedad mínima establecida (es el 25% menos de la Capacidad de Campo), esto es debido a que es el sector que aprovecha primero las horas de energía disponible. En contraposición está el sector de mínimo requerimiento de Pb que sí alcanza la humedad mínima establecida debido a que es el último sector en regarse a lo largo de la semana y por ello este sector es el que más energía eléctrica requiere. Con esto, el uso de PM ha permitido mejorar el consumo de energía FV de un 68,7 % a un 79,3 % y pasar del uso de energía disponible de un 11.64 % a un 13.37 % para el caso de estudio. No obstante, toda predicción está sometida a una incertidumbre y en caso de que no se cumpla se necesita una fuente de energía adicional

Cross-country migration linked to people who inject drugs challenges the long-term impact of national HCV elimination programmes

To the Editor: As of 2018, the majority of Western European countries – including Spain – have lifted restrictions to therapy based on disease severity in the context of HCV infections.1 Long overdue, most national elimination programmes now also include access to care for people who inject drugs (PWID), 2 who are at the core of ongoing HCV transmission.3 Macías et al.4 have recently shown in this Journal that high viral cure rates can be achieved in this group, hereby providing evidence that targeting PWID in treatment programmes is worthwhile. However, the extent to which such national efforts can reduce the HCV burden not only depends on the uptake into care and treatment success rates, it is also determined by the relative importance of within-country transmission and virus importation from elsewhere. As the chronic nature of most HCV infections hampers reliably reconstructing contact networks from patient interviews, virus genetic data can be a valuable alternative source of information for elucidating the geographic history of virus lineages (e.g. [5], [6]). Using such data, we have recently shown that for the most prevalent subtype among PWID in Spain (40%, 7), HCV1a, infections often link to infections abroad – in recent years >50% link to Western European countries, mostly European Union (EU) member states – as opposed to other infections ..

The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer, MEDA: a suite of environmental sensors for the Mars 2020 mission

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Space science reviews. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11214-021-00816-9NASA’s Mars 2020 (M2020) rover mission includes a suite of sensors to monitor current environmental conditions near the surface of Mars and to constrain bulk aerosol properties from changes in atmospheric radiation at the surface. The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) consists of a set of meteorological sensors including wind sensor, a barometer, a relative humidity sensor, a set of 5 thermocouples to measure atmospheric temperature at ~1.5 m and ~0.5 m above the surface, a set of thermopiles to characterize the thermal IR brightness temperatures of the surface and the lower atmosphere. MEDA adds a radiation and dust sensor to monitor the optical atmospheric properties that can be used to infer bulk aerosol physical properties such as particle size distribution, non-sphericity, and concentration. The MEDA package and its scientific purpose are described in this document as well as how it responded to the calibration tests and how it helps prepare for the human exploration of Mars. A comparison is also presented to previous environmental monitoring payloads landed on Mars on the Viking, Pathfinder, Phoenix, MSL, and InSight spacecraft.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

The diverse meteorology of Jezero crater over the first 250 sols of Perseverance on Mars

NASA’s Perseverance rover’s Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer is collecting data at Jezero crater, characterizing the physical processes in the lowest layer of the Martian atmosphere. Here we present measurements from the instrument’s first 250 sols of operation, revealing a spatially and temporally variable meteorology at Jezero. We find that temperature measurements at four heights capture the response of the atmospheric surface layer to multiple phenomena. We observe the transition from a stable night-time thermal inversion to a daytime, highly turbulent convective regime, with large vertical thermal gradients. Measurement of multiple daily optical depths suggests aerosol concentrations are higher in the morning than in the afternoon. Measured wind patterns are driven mainly by local topography, with a small contribution from regional winds. Daily and seasonal variability of relative humidity shows a complex hydrologic cycle. These observations suggest that changes in some local surface properties, such as surface albedo and thermal inertia, play an influential role. On a larger scale, surface pressure measurements show typical signatures of gravity waves and baroclinic eddies in a part of the seasonal cycle previously characterized as low wave activity. These observations, both combined and simultaneous, unveil the diversity of processes driving change on today’s Martian surface at Jezero crater.This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through the projects no. ESP2014-54256-C4- 1-R (also -2-R, -3-R and -4-R); Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, projects no. ESP2016-79612-C3-1-R (also -2-R and -3-R); Ministry of Science and Innovation/State Agency of Research (10.13039/501100011033), projects no. ESP2016-80320-C2-1-R, RTI2018-098728-B-C31 (also -C32 and -C33), RTI2018-099825-B-C31, PID2019-109467GB-I00 and PRE2020-092562; Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial; Ministry of Science and Innovation’s Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology; Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) Project MDM-2017-0737 Unidad de Excelencia “María de Maeztu”—Centro de Astrobiología; Grupos Gobierno Vasco IT1366- 19; and European Research Council Consolidator Grant no 818602. The US co-authors performed their work under sponsorship from NASA’s Mars 2020 project, from the Game Changing Development programme within the Space Technology Mission Directorate and from the Human Exploration and Operations Directorate. Part of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NM0018D0004). G.M. acknowledges JPL funding from USRA Contract Number 1638782. A.G.F. is supported by the European Research Council, Consolidator Grant no. 818602.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Dominant Negative Mutants of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ab Toxin Function as Anti-Toxins: Demonstration of the Role of Oligomerization in Toxicity

BACKGROUND:Bacillus thuringiensis Cry toxins, that are used worldwide in insect control, kill insects by a mechanism that depends on their ability to form oligomeric pores that insert into the insect-midgut cells. These toxins are being used worldwide in transgenic plants or spray to control insect pests in agriculture. However, a major concern has been the possible effects of these insecticidal proteins on non-target organisms mainly in ecosystems adjacent to agricultural fields. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:We isolated and characterized 11 non-toxic mutants of Cry1Ab toxin affected in different steps of the mechanism of action namely binding to receptors, oligomerization and pore-formation. These mutant toxins were analyzed for their capacity to block wild type toxin activity, presenting a dominant negative phenotype. The dominant negative phenotype was analyzed at two levels, in vivo by toxicity bioassays against susceptible Manduca sexta larvae and in vitro by pore formation activity in black lipid bilayers. We demonstrate that some mutations located in helix alpha-4 completely block the wild type toxin activity at sub-stoichiometric level confirming a dominant negative phenotype, thereby functioning as potent antitoxins. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:This is the first reported case of a Cry toxin dominant inhibitor. These data demonstrate that oligomerization is a fundamental step in Cry toxin action and represent a potential mechanism to protect special ecosystems from the possible effect of Cry toxins on non-target organisms

Detection of dengue virus serotype 2 in aedes aegypti in Quintana Roo, Mexico, 2011

Abstract. In October 2011, the State Health Department announced that several laboratory-confirmed cases of dengue had occurred among residents in two neighborhoods of Benito Juarez, Quintana Roo State, Mexico. To identify the dengue virus serotype(s) temporally and spatially associated with the cases, entomologic-based virus surveillance was initiated in October 2011 in both neighborhoods. Adult mosquitoes were collected from 88 houses by CDCbackpack aspirator, and all female Aedes aegypti L. (n = 419) were individually homogenized and assayed in pools of as many as 10 by reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using dengue virus-specific primers. Five (12%) of 41 pools were positive for dengue virus RNA. The individual mosquitoes that comprised the pools were analyzed separately by RT-PCR using dengue virus serotype-specific primers. Six mosquitoes were positive for dengue virus serotype-2 (DENV-2) RNA, three of which were collected in the same house. The mean number of female Ae. aegypti collected in each house was 4.76 ± 6.19. The overall dengue virus-infection rate in female Ae. aegypti was 1.4%. Interestingly, most (60%) of mosquito females were collected only from 15 (17%) houses. In summary, we provide evidence of recent DENV-2 transmission in Quintana Roo State