Emission of volatile halogenated organic compounds over various landforms at the Dead Sea

Abstract. Volatile halogenated organic compounds (VHOCs), such as methyl halides (CH3X; X = Br, Cl and I) and very short-lived halogenated substances (VSLS; CHBr3, CH2Br2, CHBrCl2, C2HCl3, CHCl3 and CHBr2Cl) are well known for their significant influence on ozone concentrations and oxidation capacity of the troposphere and stratosphere, and for their key role in aerosol formation. Insufficient characterization of the sources and emission rate of VHOCs limits our present ability to understand and assess their impact in both the troposphere and the stratosphere. Over the last two decades several natural terrestrial sources for VHOCs, including soil and vegetation, have been identified, but our knowledge about emission rates from these sources and their responses to changes in ambient conditions remains limited. Here we report measurements of the mixing ratios and the fluxes of several chlorinated and brominated VHOCs from different landforms and vegetated sites at the Dead Sea during different seasons. Fluxes were highly variable but were generally positive (emissive), corresponding with elevated mixing ratios for all of the VHOCs investigated in the four investigated site types – bare soil, coastal, cultivated and natural vegetated sites – except for fluxes of CH3I and C2HCl3 over the vegetated sites. In contrast to previous reports, we also observed emissions of brominated trihalomethanes, with net molar fluxes ordered as follows: CHBr2Cl > CHBr3 > CHBrCl2 > CHCl3. This finding can be explained by the enrichment of soil with Br. Correlation analysis, in agreement with recent studies, indicated common controls for the formation and emission of all the above trihalomethanes but also for CH2Br2. Also in line with previous reports, we observed elevated emissions of CHCl3 and C2HCl3 from mixtures of soil and different salt-deposited structures; the high correlations of flux with methyl halides, and particularly with CH3I, suggested that at least CH3I is also emitted via similar mechanisms or is subjected to similar controls. Overall, our results indicate elevate emission of VHOCs from bare soil under semi-arid conditions. Along with other recent studies, our findings point to the strong emission potential of a suite of VHOCs from saline soils and salt lakes, and call for additional studies of emission rates and mechanisms of VHOCs from saline soils and salt lakes

Non-Minimally Gravity-Coupled Inflationary Models

We consider the non-supersymmetric models of chaotic (driven by a quadratic potential) and hybrid inflation, taking into account the minimal possible radiative corrections to the inflationary potential. We show that two simple coupling functions f(sigma) (with a parameter ck involved) between the inflaton field, sigma, and the Ricci scalar curvature ensure, for sub-Planckian values of the inflaton field, observationally acceptable values for the spectral index, ns, and sufficient reheating after inflation. In the case of chaotic inflation we consider two models with large ck's resulting to ns=0.955 or 0.967 and tensor-to-scalar ratio r=0.2 or 0.003, respectively. In the case of hybrid inflation, the selected f(sigma) assists us to obtain hilltop-type inflation. For values of the relevant mass parameter, m, less than 10^6 TeV and the observationally central value of ns, we find ck=(0.015-0.078) with the relevant coupling constants lambda=kappa and the symmetry breaking scale, M, confined in the ranges (2x 10^{-7}-0.001) and (1-16.8)x10^{17} GeV, respectively.Comment: Published versio

A multi-targeted approach to suppress tumor-promoting inflammation

Cancers harbor significant genetic heterogeneity and patterns of relapse following many therapies are due to evolved resistance to treatment. While efforts have been made to combine targeted therapies, significant levels of toxicity have stymied efforts to effectively treat cancer with multi-drug combinations using currently approved therapeutics. We discuss the relationship between tumor-promoting inflammation and cancer as part of a larger effort to develop a broad-spectrum therapeutic approach aimed at a wide range of targets to address this heterogeneity. Specifically, macrophage migration inhibitory factor, cyclooxygenase-2, transcription factor nuclear factor-κB, tumor necrosis factor alpha, inducible nitric oxide synthase, protein kinase B, and CXC chemokines are reviewed as important antiinflammatory targets while curcumin, resveratrol, epigallocatechin gallate, genistein, lycopene, and anthocyanins are reviewed as low-cost, low toxicity means by which these targets might all be reached simultaneously. Future translational work will need to assess the resulting synergies of rationally designed antiinflammatory mixtures (employing low-toxicity constituents), and then combine this with similar approaches targeting the most important pathways across the range of cancer hallmark phenotypes

Seminario de estudios interdisciplinares sobre violencia sexual

El Seminario forma parte de un proyecto de investigación filosófica y científica sobre corporalidad y violencia sexual, cuyo objetivo es generar herramientas conceptuales y metodológicas que nos permitan afinar y precisar los marcos comprensivos de este avasallante fenómeno en nuestro país.Desde la mirada de 11 conferencistas nacionales y extranjeros (académicas, activistas y un procurador de justicia), la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, abrió el diálogo en marzo de 2020, para tratar de encontrar respuesta a éstas y otras interrogantes. Las apreciaciones son diversas, desde la exposición del tema en números, hasta la reflexión fenomenológica de los cuerpos vulnerados. El presente libro representa un ejercicio de comprensión, en torno a uno de los temas acuciantes e inevitables del siglo XXI, en el que hombres y mujeres estamos llamados a escuchar y a tomar parte.Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Méxic

Identification of autoantibodies to the I protein of the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein complex in patients with systemic sclerosis

Objective. To assess the presence of autoantibodies to the I protein (polypyrimidine-tract binding protein) of the heterogeneous nuclear RNPs (hnRNP) in different connective tissue diseases. Antibodies to other hnRNP proteins (A1, A2, and B) have been previously found in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD). Methods. Sera from 101 patients with various connective tissue diseases and 25 normal controls were investigated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoblotting, for their reactivity to highly purified recombinant hnRNP I. Moreover, reactivity to cellular hnRNP I protein was investigated by immunoblotting using a partially purified preparation of hnRNP proteins (including A1, A2, B, and I), and by indirect immunofluorescence. For the analysis of the fluorescence pattern, affinity-purified antibodies to hnRNP I, obtained from a selected patient, were tested on HEp-2 cells. Results. By immunoblotting, antibodies reacting to recombinant hnRNP I were found in 22 of 40 patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), 3 of 32 with RA, 0 of 23 with SLE, and 0 of 6 with MCTD. Antibodies to recombinant hnRNP I were more frequently found in patients with pre-SSc or limited SSc (15 of 24) than in those with intermediate or diffuse SSc (7 of 16). In indirect immunofluorescence studies, affinity-purified anti-hnRNP I autoantibodies gave a diffuse nucleoplasmic staining. Using an hnRNP preparation from nuclear extracts, anti-hnRNP I reactivity was detectable in SSc sera, while it was not detectable in RA, SLE, and MCTD sera reacting with hnRNP A/B proteins. Conclusion. Human autoimmune sera show distinct patterns of anti-hnRNP reactivity, i.e., anti-A/B in SLE and RA sera, and anti-I in SSc sera. This suggests that A/B proteins and the I protein may be involved in different dynamic hnRNP complexes that elicit different autoimmune responses. From a clinical perspective, anti-hnRNP I antibodies are frequently associated with pre-SSc features, suggesting an early appearance of these antibodies during the course of the disease

Post-Franco Theatre

In the multiple realms and layers that comprise the contemporary Spanish theatrical landscape, “crisis” would seem to be the word that most often lingers in the air, as though it were a common mantra, ready to roll off the tongue of so many theatre professionals with such enormous ease, and even enthusiasm, that one is prompted to wonder whether it might indeed be a miracle that the contemporary technological revolution – coupled with perpetual quandaries concerning public and private funding for the arts – had not by now brought an end to the evolution of the oldest of live arts, or, at the very least, an end to drama as we know it