Revisión histórica y redescripción de <i>Leptotyphlops albipunctus</i> (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae)

La familia Leptotyphlopidae es uno de los grupos de serpientes con mayores problemas en la identificación de sus especies en América del Sur. Se utilizaron muy pocos caracteres para definirlas y se dio especial importancia a la coloración y escutelación, que normalmente muestran gran variación y superposición entre los taxones. Esto hizo que en Argentina se describieran muchas especies a través de los años, haciendo difícil una identificación segura. Basada en la bibliografía y en abundante material de colecciones, se aclara la situación de Leptotyphlops albipunctus y de otras especies históricamente mencionadas en el país.Leptotyphlopidae is one of the most problematic snake groups in South America in terms of species identification, because of the overlap of very few scutellation characters and coloration among taxa. These made that several species were described along the years in Argentina making difficult a properly identification. Based on the bibliography and in intense study of material, a revision and redescription of Leptotyphlops albipunctus was done, clearing the status of this species and another species historically mentioned for the country.Asociación Herpetológica Argentina (AHA

Revisión histórica y redescripción de <i>Leptotyphlops albipunctus</i> (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae)

La familia Leptotyphlopidae es uno de los grupos de serpientes con mayores problemas en la identificación de sus especies en América del Sur. Se utilizaron muy pocos caracteres para definirlas y se dio especial importancia a la coloración y escutelación, que normalmente muestran gran variación y superposición entre los taxones. Esto hizo que en Argentina se describieran muchas especies a través de los años, haciendo difícil una identificación segura. Basada en la bibliografía y en abundante material de colecciones, se aclara la situación de Leptotyphlops albipunctus y de otras especies históricamente mencionadas en el país.Leptotyphlopidae is one of the most problematic snake groups in South America in terms of species identification, because of the overlap of very few scutellation characters and coloration among taxa. These made that several species were described along the years in Argentina making difficult a properly identification. Based on the bibliography and in intense study of material, a revision and redescription of Leptotyphlops albipunctus was done, clearing the status of this species and another species historically mentioned for the country.Asociación Herpetológica Argentina (AHA

Ets-1 Is Essential for Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CTGF/CCN2) Induction by TGF-β1 in Osteoblasts

Ets-1 controls osteoblast differentiation and bone development; however, its downstream mechanism of action in osteoblasts remains largely undetermined. CCN2 acts as an anabolic growth factor to regulate osteoblast differentiation and function. CCN2 is induced by TGF-β1 and acts as a mediator of TGF-β1 induced matrix production in osteoblasts; however, the molecular mechanisms that control CCN2 induction are poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the role of Ets-1 for CCN2 induction by TGF-β1 in primary osteoblasts.We demonstrated that Ets-1 is expressed and induced by TGF-β1 treatment in osteoblasts, and that Ets-1 over-expression induces CCN2 protein expression and promoter activity at a level similar to TGF-β1 treatment alone. Additionally, we found that simultaneous Ets-1 over-expression and TGF-β1 treatment synergize to enhance CCN2 induction, and that CCN2 induction by TGF-β1 treatment was impaired using Ets-1 siRNA, demonstrating the requirement of Ets-1 for CCN2 induction by TGF-β1. Site-directed mutagenesis of eight putative Ets-1 motifs (EBE) in the CCN2 promoter demonstrated that specific EBE sites are required for CCN2 induction, and that mutation of EBE sites in closer proximity to TRE or SBE (two sites previously shown to regulate CCN2 induction by TGF-β1) had a greater effect on CCN2 induction, suggesting potential synergetic interaction among these sites for CCN2 induction. In addition, mutation of EBE sites prevented protein complex binding, and this protein complex formation was also inhibited by addition of Ets-1 antibody or Smad 3 antibody, demonstrating that protein binding to EBE motifs as a result of TGF-β1 treatment require synergy between Ets-1 and Smad 3.This study demonstrates that Ets-1 is an essential downstream signaling component for CCN2 induction by TGF-β1 in osteoblasts, and that specific EBE sites in the CCN2 promoter are required for CCN2 promoter transactivation in osteoblasts

Categorización del estado de conservación de las serpientes de la República Argentina

A más de una década de la primera Lista Roja de herpetofauna amenazada propuesta por la Asociación Herpetológica Argentina (AHA 2000), se recategorizaron las serpientes a partir de nueva información taxonómica, biogeográfica y bio-ecológica, además de modificaciones metodológicas respecto a la evaluación anterior. Mediante la participación de 18 especialistas de toda la Argentina se reevaluaron 136 taxones de serpientes (130 en la anterior) incluyendo varios cambios taxonómicos (8 taxones nuevos para Argentina y 2 sinonimizados), obteniéndose como resultado la inclusión de 49 especies en la lista roja (5 En Peligro, 17 Amenazadas, 27 Vulnerables), 15 Insuficientemente Conocidas y 72 No Amenazadas. En relación con la categorización anterior de la AHA: un taxón descendió de Vulnerable a No Amenazado, 11 No amenazados y 4 Insuficientemente Conocidos fueron elevados a distintas categorías de amenaza, 7 taxones Vulnerables fueron elevados a Amenazados, un taxón fue elevado de Amenazado a En Peligro. De 8 taxones no evaluados en 2000, uno categorizó No Amenazado, 4 Insuficientemente Conocidos, uno Vulnerable y 2 Amenazados. Estas modificaciones son el resultado de: (1) Mayor información sistemática, biogeográfica y bio-ecológica disponible para la evaluación; (2) Cambios en cuanto a las presiones antrópicas sobre las especies o sus hábitats; (3) Modificaciones metodológicas que incluyeron instructivos para aplicar los conceptos, la discusión y consenso entre especialistas y el análisis de las incertidumbres.After more than a decade from the first red list of threatened herpetofauna proposal by the Asociación Herpetológica Argentina (2000), we re-categorized snakes from new taxonomic, biogeographical and bio-ecological information as well as methodological changes in the former evaluation. Through the participation of 18 specialists from all over Argentina, 136 taxa of snakes (130 in the previous) were re-evaluated including several taxonomic changes (8 new taxa added to Argentina, and 2 sinonimies). The results were the inclusion of 49 species in the red list (5 Endangered, 17 Threatened, 27 Vulnerable), 15 Insufficiently Known and 72 Not Threatened. Compared to the former categorization of the AHA: one taxon descended from Vulnerable to Not Threatened, 11 Not Threatened and 4 Insufficiently Known were elevated to different categories of threat, 7 taxa were elevated from Endangered to Vulnerable, one from Vulnerable to Endangered. From the 8 taxa not evaluated in 2000, one categorized Not Threatened, 4 Insufficiently Known, one Vulnerable, and 2 Threatened. These changes are the result of: (1) increased systematic, biogeographical and bio- ecological information available for the evaluation, (2) Changes in human pressures on the species or their habitats, (3) methodological changes that included recommendations to apply concepts, discussion and consensus among specialists and the analysis of uncertainties.Asociación Herpetológica Argentina (AHA

Burden of disease attributable to risk factors in European countries: a scoping literature review

Objectives: Within the framework of the burden of disease (BoD) approach, disease, and injury burden estimates attributable to risk factors are a useful guide for policy formulation and priority setting in disease prevention. Considering the important differences in methods, and their impact on burden estimates, we conducted a scoping literature review to: (1) map the BoD assessments including risk factors performed across Europe, and (2) identify the methodological choices in comparative risk assessment (CRA) and risk assessment methods. Methods: We searched multiple literature databases, including grey literature websites, and targeted public health agencies' websites. Results: A total of 113 studies were included in the synthesis and further divided into independent BoD assessments (54 studies) and studies linked to the Global Burden of Disease (59 papers). Our results showed that the methods used to perform CRA varied substantially across independent European BoD studies. While there were some methodological choices that were more common than others, we did not observe patterns in terms of country, year, or risk factor. Each methodological choice can affect the comparability of estimates between and within countries and/or risk factors since they might significantly influence the quantification of the attributable burden. From our analysis, we observed that the use of CRA was less common for some types of risk factors and outcomes. These included environmental and occupational risk factors, which are more likely to use bottom-up approaches for health outcomes where disease envelopes may not be available. Conclusions: Our review also highlighted misreporting, the lack of uncertainty analysis, and the under-investigation of causal relationships in BoD studies. Development and use of guidelines for performing and reporting BoD studies will help understand differences, and avoid misinterpretations thus improving comparability among estimates.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Multidifferential study of identified charged hadron distributions in ZZ-tagged jets in proton-proton collisions at s=\sqrt{s}=13 TeV

Jet fragmentation functions are measured for the first time in proton-proton collisions for charged pions, kaons, and protons within jets recoiling against a $Z$ boson. The charged-hadron distributions are studied longitudinally and transversely to the jet direction for jets with transverse momentum 20 $< p_{\textrm{T}} < 100$ GeV and in the pseudorapidity range $2.5 < \eta < 4$. The data sample was collected with the LHCb experiment at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.64 fb$^{-1}$. Triple differential distributions as a function of the hadron longitudinal momentum fraction, hadron transverse momentum, and jet transverse momentum are also measured for the first time. This helps constrain transverse-momentum-dependent fragmentation functions. Differences in the shapes and magnitudes of the measured distributions for the different hadron species provide insights into the hadronization process for jets predominantly initiated by light quarks.Comment: All figures and tables, along with machine-readable versions and any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-013.html (LHCb public pages

Study of the B−→Λc+Λˉc−K−B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-} decay

The decay $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ is studied in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment. In the $\Lambda_{c}^+ K^{-}$ system, the $\Xi_{c}(2930)^{0}$ state observed at the BaBar and Belle experiments is resolved into two narrower states, $\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}$ and $\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}$, whose masses and widths are measured to be $$m(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = 2924.5 \pm 0.4 \pm 1.1 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ m(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = 2938.5 \pm 0.9 \pm 2.3 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = \phantom{000}4.8 \pm 0.9 \pm 1.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},\\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = \phantom{00}11.0 \pm 1.9 \pm 7.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},$$ where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The results are consistent with a previous LHCb measurement using a prompt $\Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ sample. Evidence of a new $\Xi_{c}(2880)^{0}$ state is found with a local significance of $3.8\,\sigma$, whose mass and width are measured to be $2881.8 \pm 3.1 \pm 8.5\,\mathrm{MeV}$ and $12.4 \pm 5.3 \pm 5.8 \,\mathrm{MeV}$, respectively. In addition, evidence of a new decay mode $\Xi_{c}(2790)^{0} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ is found with a significance of $3.7\,\sigma$. The relative branching fraction of $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ with respect to the $B^{-} \to D^{+} D^{-} K^{-}$ decay is measured to be $2.36 \pm 0.11 \pm 0.22 \pm 0.25$, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic and the third originates from the branching fractions of charm hadron decays.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-028.html (LHCb public pages

Dissecting the Shared Genetic Architecture of Suicide Attempt, Psychiatric Disorders, and Known Risk Factors

Background Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide, and nonfatal suicide attempts, which occur far more frequently, are a major source of disability and social and economic burden. Both have substantial genetic etiology, which is partially shared and partially distinct from that of related psychiatric disorders. Methods We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 29,782 suicide attempt (SA) cases and 519,961 controls in the International Suicide Genetics Consortium (ISGC). The GWAS of SA was conditioned on psychiatric disorders using GWAS summary statistics via multitrait-based conditional and joint analysis, to remove genetic effects on SA mediated by psychiatric disorders. We investigated the shared and divergent genetic architectures of SA, psychiatric disorders, and other known risk factors. Results Two loci reached genome-wide significance for SA: the major histocompatibility complex and an intergenic locus on chromosome 7, the latter of which remained associated with SA after conditioning on psychiatric disorders and replicated in an independent cohort from the Million Veteran Program. This locus has been implicated in risk-taking behavior, smoking, and insomnia. SA showed strong genetic correlation with psychiatric disorders, particularly major depression, and also with smoking, pain, risk-taking behavior, sleep disturbances, lower educational attainment, reproductive traits, lower socioeconomic status, and poorer general health. After conditioning on psychiatric disorders, the genetic correlations between SA and psychiatric disorders decreased, whereas those with nonpsychiatric traits remained largely unchanged. Conclusions Our results identify a risk locus that contributes more strongly to SA than other phenotypes and suggest a shared underlying biology between SA and known risk factors that is not mediated by psychiatric disorders.Peer reviewe

Measurement of the ratios of branching fractions R(D∗)\mathcal{R}(D^{*}) and R(D0)\mathcal{R}(D^{0})

The ratios of branching fractions $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})\equiv\mathcal{B}(\bar{B}\to D^{*}\tau^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\tau})/\mathcal{B}(\bar{B}\to D^{*}\mu^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\mu})$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^{0})\equiv\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{0}\tau^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\tau})/\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{0}\mu^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\mu})$ are measured, assuming isospin symmetry, using a sample of proton-proton collision data corresponding to 3.0 fb${ }^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity recorded by the LHCb experiment during 2011 and 2012. The tau lepton is identified in the decay mode $\tau^{-}\to\mu^{-}\nu_{\tau}\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$. The measured values are $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})=0.281\pm0.018\pm0.024$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^{0})=0.441\pm0.060\pm0.066$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The correlation between these measurements is $\rho=-0.43$. Results are consistent with the current average of these quantities and are at a combined 1.9 standard deviations from the predictions based on lepton flavor universality in the Standard Model.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-039.html (LHCb public pages