Moisture source identification for precipitation associated with tropical cyclone development over the Indian Ocean: a Lagrangian approach

Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUGIn this study, we investigated the moisture sources for precipitation through a Lagrangian approach during the genesis, intensification, and dissipation phases of all tropical cyclones (TCs) that occurred over the two hemispheric sub-basins of the Indian Ocean (IO) from 1980 to 2018. In the North IO (NIO), TCs formed and reached their maximum intensity on both sides of the Indian Peninsula, to the east in the Bay of Bengal (BoB), and to the west in the Arabian Sea (AS). The oceanic areas where TCs occurred were their main moisture sources for precipitation associated with TCs. Additionally, for TCs over the BoB, continental sources from the Ganges River basin and the South China Sea also played a notable role; for TCs over the AS, the Somali Low-Level jet (along the African coast in a northerly direction) also acted as an essential moisture transport. In the South IO (SIO), the western, central, and eastern basins were identified as the preferred areas for the genesis and development of TCs. During TC activity, the central IO and the Wharton and Perth basins mostly supplied atmospheric moisture. The Mascarene High circulation was the main moisture transport mechanism for the precipitation of TCs formed in the SIO basin. In both basins, during their intensification process, TCs gained more moisture (even more intensely when reaching the hurricane category) than during the genesis or dissipation stages. Additionally, the modulation during monsoonal seasons of the moisture contribution to the TCs was more noticeable over the NIO basin than for the SIO. Overall, the moisture uptake for precipitation from the sources for TCs occurred slightly faster in the NIO basin than in the SIO basin.Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481B 2019/070Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481A-2020/193Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C 2021/44Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. RTI2018-095772-B-I00Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2021-122314OB-I0

Oceanic and terrestrial origin of precipitation over 50 major world river basins: Implications for the occurrence of drought

The terrestrial and oceanic origins of precipitation over 50 major river basins worldwide were investigated for the period 1980–2018. For this purpose, we used a Lagrangian approximation that calculates the humidity that results in precipitation from the entire ocean area (ocean component of the precipitation, PLO) and the entire land area (land component, PLT) as well as the sum of both components (Lagrangian precipitation, PL). PL and its components were highly correlated with precipitation over the basins, where PLT accounted for >50 % of the PL in most of them. This confirmed the importance assigned by previous studies to terrestrial recycling of precipitation and moisture transport within the continents. However, the amount of PLO in almost all North American river basins was highlighted. The assessment of drought conditions through the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) at a temporal scale of 1- and 3-months revealed the number of drought episodes that affected each river basin, especially the Amazon, Congo, and Nile, because of the lower number of episodes but higher average severity and duration. A direct relationship between the severity of drought episodes and the respective severity computed on the oceanic and terrestrial SPI series was also found for the majority of basins. This highlights the influence of the severity of the SPI of oceanic origin for most basins in North America. However, for certain basins, we found an inverse relationship between the severity of drought and the associated severity according to the SPI of oceanic or terrestrial origin, thus highlighting the principal drought attribution. Additionally, a copula analysis provided new information that illustrates the estimated conditional probability of drought for each river basin in relation to the occurrence of drought conditions of oceanic or terrestrial origin, which revealed the possible main driver of drought severity in each river basin.Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481B-2019/070Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481B-2021/134Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481A-2020/193Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. RTI2018-095772-B-I00Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2021-122314OB-I00Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C 2021/44Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISU

How much of precipitation over the Euroregion Galicia - Northern Portugal is due to tropical-origin cyclones?: A Lagrangian approach

Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C 2021/44Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2021-122314OB-I00Universidade de Vigo/CISU

Estimating tremor in Vocal Fold Biomechanics for Neurological Disease characterisation

Neurological Diseases (ND) are affecting larger segments of aging population every year. Treatment is dependent on expensive accurate and frequent monitoring. It is well known that ND leave correlates in speech and phonation. The present work shows a method to detect alterations in vocal fold tension during phonation. These may appear either as hypertension or as cyclical tremor. Estimations of tremor may be produced by auto-regressive modeling of the vocal fold tension series in sustained phonation. The correlates obtained are a set of cyclicality coefficients, the frequency and the root mean square amplitude of the tremor. Statistical distributions of these correlates obtained from a set of male and female subjects are presented. Results from five study cases of female voice are also given

Wavelet description of the Glottal Gap

The Glottal Source correlates reconstructed from the phonated parts of voice may render interesting information with applicability in different fields. One of them is defective closure (gap) detection. Through the paper the background to explain the physical foundations of defective gap are reviewed. A possible method to estimate defective gap is also presented based on a Wavelet Description of the Glottal Source. The method is validated using results from the analysis of a gender-balanced speakers database. Normative values for the different parameters estimated are given. A set of study cases with deficient glottal closure is presented and discussed

Analysis of the antigenic and prophylactic properties of the Leishmania translation initiation factors eIF2 and eIF2B in natural and experimental leishmaniasis

Los diferentes miembros de las familias de proteínas intracelulares son reconocidos por el sistema inmunológico del huésped vertebrado infectado por parásitos del género Leishmania. Aquí hemos analizado las propiedades antigénicas e inmunogénicas de los factores de iniciación de la traducción de Leishmania eIF2 y eIF2B. Una búsqueda in silico en las bases de datos de secuencias de Leishmania infantum permitió la identificación de los genes que codifican las subunidades α, β y γ y las subunidades α, β y δ de los supuestos ortólogos de Leishmania de los factores de iniciación eucarióticos F2 (LieIF2) o F2B (LieIF2B), respectivamente. La antigenicidad de estos factores fue analizada por ELISA utilizando versiones recombinantes de las diferentes subunidades. Se encontraron anticuerpos contra las diferentes subunidades LieIF2 y LieIF2B en los sueros de pacientes con leishmaniosis visceral humana y canina, y también en los sueros de hámsteres infectados experimentalmente con L. infantum. En ratones desafiados por L. infantum (BALB/c) y Leishmania major (BALB/c o C57BL/6) se detectó una respuesta humoral moderada contra estos factores proteicos. Cabe destacar que estas proteínas provocaron una producción de IL-10 por parte de los esplenocitos derivados de ratones infectados, independientemente de la especie de Leishmania empleada para el desafío experimental. Cuando se administraron vacunas de ADN basadas en la expresión de los genes codificantes de las subunidades LieIF2 o LieIF2B en ratones, se observó una secreción específica de antígenos de citoquinas IFN-γ e IL-10. Además, se generó en los ratones vacunados una protección parcial contra el desarrollo de la CL murina debido a la infección por L. major. Además, en este trabajo mostramos que la subunidad LieIF2α y las subunidades LieIF2Bβ y δ tienen la capacidad de estimular la secreción de IL-10 por las células del bazo de los ratones ingenuos. Los linfocitos B fueron identificados como los mayores productores de esta citoquina antiinflamatoria. Teniendo en cuenta los datos encontrados en este estudio, se puede formular la hipótesis de que estas proteínas actúan como factores de virulencia implicados en la inducción de respuestas humorales, así como en la producción de la citoquina IL-10 de regulación descendente, favoreciendo un resultado patológico. Por lo tanto, estas proteínas podrían considerarse marcadores de enfermedad.Different members of intracellular protein families are recognized by the immune system of the vertebrate host infected by parasites of the genus Leishmania. Here, we have analyzed the antigenic and immunogenic properties of the Leishmania eIF2 and eIF2B translation initiation factors. An in silico search in Leishmania infantum sequence databases allowed the identification of the genes encoding the α, β, and γ subunits and the α, β, and δ subunits of the putative Leishmania orthologs of the eukaryotic initiation factors F2 (LieIF2) or F2B (LieIF2B), respectively. The antigenicity of these factors was analyzed by ELISA using recombinant versions of the different subunits. Antibodies against the different LieIF2 and LieIF2B subunits were found in the sera from human and canine visceral leishmaniasis patients, and also in the sera from hamsters experimentally infected with L. infantum. In L. infantum (BALB/c) and Leishmania major (BALB/c or C57BL/6) challenged mice, a moderate humoral response against these protein factors was detected. Remarkably, these proteins elicited an IL-10 production by splenocytes derived from infected mice independently of the Leishmania species employed for experimental challenge. When DNA vaccines based on the expression of the LieIF2 or LieIF2B subunit encoding genes were administered in mice, an antigen-specific secretion of IFN-γ and IL-10 cytokines was observed. Furthermore, a partial protection against murine CL development due to L. major infection was generated in the vaccinated mice. Also, in this work we show that the LieIF2α subunit and the LieIF2Bβ and δ subunits have the capacity to stimulate IL-10 secretion by spleen cells from naïve mice. B-lymphocytes were identified as the major producers of this anti-inflammatory cytokine. Taking into account the data found in this study, it may be hypothesized that these proteins act as virulence factors implicated in the induction of humoral responses as well as in the production of the down-regulatory IL-10 cytokine, favoring a pathological outcome. Therefore, these proteins might be considered markers of disease.• Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación y Fondos FEDER. Proyectos FISPI14/00366, FISPI14/00366 • Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias. Proyecto ISCIII-RETICRD16/0027/0008-FEDER • Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (Brasil). Program 300174/2014-4 • Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa. Ayuda • Fundación Ramón Areces. Ayuda • Banco de Santander. AyudapeerReviewe

Trained immunity induction by the inactivated mucosal vaccine MV130 protects against experimental viral respiratory infections.

MV130 is an inactivated polybacterial mucosal vaccine that confers protection to patients against recurrent respiratory infections, including those of viral etiology. However, its mechanism of action remains poorly understood. Here, we find that intranasal prophylaxis with MV130 modulates the lung immune landscape and provides long-term heterologous protection against viral respiratory infections in mice. Intranasal administration of MV130 provides protection against systemic candidiasis in wild-type and Rag1-deficient mice lacking functional lymphocytes, indicative of innate immune-mediated protection. Moreover, pharmacological inhibition of trained immunity with metformin abrogates the protection conferred by MV130 against influenza A virus respiratory infection. MV130 induces reprogramming of both mouse bone marrow progenitor cells and in vitro human monocytes, promoting an enhanced cytokine production that relies on a metabolic shift. Our results unveil that the mucosal administration of a fully inactivated bacterial vaccine provides protection against viral infections by a mechanism associated with the induction of trained immunity.We are grateful to members of the D.S. laboratory for discussions and critical reading of the manuscript. We thank the CNIC facilities and personnel for assistance. P.B. is funded by grant BES-2014-069933 (‘‘Ayudas para Contratos Predoctorales para la Formacio´ n de Doctores 2014’’) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO). L.C. was a recipient of a European Respiratory Society Fellowship (RESPIRE2-2013- 3708). G.D. is supported by a European Molecular Biology Organization Long-term Fellowship (ALTF 379-2019). This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sk1odowska-Curie grant agreement No. 892965. Work in the D.S. laboratory is funded by the CNIC; by the European Research Council (ERC-2016-consolidator grant 725091); by the European Commission (635122-PROCROP H2020); by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacio´ n (MICINN), Agencia Estatal de Investigacio´ n (AEI), and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) (SAF2016-79040-R); by AEI (PID2019-108157RB); by Comunidad de Madrid (B2017/BMD-3733 Immunothercan-CM); by FIS-Instituto de Salud Carlos III, MICINN and FEDER (RD16/0015/0018-REEM); by a collaboration agreement with Inmunotek; by Atresmedia (Constantes y Vitales prize); by Fundacio´ La Marato´ de TV3 (201723); and by Fondo Solidario Juntos (Banco Santander). The CNIC is supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, the MICINN, and the Pro CNIC Foundation.S

Coadministration of the three antigenic Leishmania infantum poly (A) binding proteins as a DNA vaccine induces protection against Leishmania major infection in BALB/c Mice

Antecedentes Las proteínas intracelulares de Leishmania, altamente conservadas, han sido descritas como antígenos en mamíferos infectados natural y experimentalmente. El objetivo del presente estudio es evaluar la antigenicidad y propiedades profilácticas del Leishmania infantum Poly (A) las proteínas (LiPABPs). Metodología/Resultados principales Se han descrito tres diferentes miembros de la familia LiPABP. Se han elaborado herramientas recombinantes basadas en estas proteínas: proteínas recombinantes y vacunas de ADN. Las tres proteínas recombinantes fueron empleadas para recubrir las placas ELISA. Los sueros de pacientes humanos y caninos de leishmaniasis visceral y de pacientes humanos de leishmaniasis mucosa han reconoció los tres LiPABPs. Además, la eficacia protectora de la vacuna de ADN basada en la combinación de los tres Leishmania PABPs ha sido probado en un modelo murino de leishmaniosis progresiva: ratones BALB/c infectados con Leishmania major. La inducción de Th1 como respuesta contra la familia LiPABP por vacunación génica fue capaz de regular a la baja la IL-10 con respuestas predominantes suscitadas por el parásito LiPABPs tras la infección en este modelo murino. Esta modulación se tradujo en una protección parcial contra la infección por L. major. Los ratones vacunados con LiPABP mostraron una reducción de la patología que fue acompañada por una disminución de la carga parasitaria, en títulos de anticuerpos contra antígenos de Leishmania y de la IL-4 y la IL-10 las respuestas mediadas específicas del parásito en comparación con el control de grupos de ratones inmunizados con solución salina o con no-plásmidos recombinantes. Conclusión/significación Los resultados aquí presentados demuestran por primera vez las propiedades profilácticas de una nueva familia de proteínas intracelulares antigénicas de Leishmania, la LiPABPs. La redirección de la respuesta inmune desencadenada frente contra la familia LiPABP (de IL-10 hacia las respuestas mediadas por IFN-γ) por vacunación génica fue capaz de inducir una protección parcial contra el desarrollo de la enfermedad en un modelo murino altamente susceptible de leishmaniasis.Background Highly conserved intracellular proteins from Leishmania have been described as antigens in natural and experimental infected mammals. The present study aimed to evaluate the antigenicity and prophylactic properties of the Leishmania infantum Poly (A) binding proteins (LiPABPs). Methodology/Principal Findings Three different members of the LiPABP family have been described. Recombinant tools based on these proteins were constructed: recombinant proteins and DNA vaccines. The three recombinant proteins were employed for coating ELISA plates. Sera from human and canine patients of visceral leishmaniasis and human patients of mucosal leishmaniasis recognized the three LiPABPs. In addition, the protective efficacy of a DNA vaccine based on the combination of the three Leishmania PABPs has been tested in a model of progressive murine leishmaniasis: BALB/c mice infected with Leishmania major. The induction of a Th1-like response against the LiPABP family by genetic vaccination was able to down-regulate the IL-10 predominant responses elicited by parasite LiPABPs after infection in this murine model. This modulation resulted in a partial protection against L. major infection. LiPABP vaccinated mice showed a reduction on the pathology that was accompanied by a decrease in parasite burdens, in antibody titers against Leishmania antigens and in the IL-4 and IL-10 parasite-specific mediated responses in comparison to control mice groups immunized with saline or with the non-recombinant plasmid. Conclusion/Significance The results presented here demonstrate for the first time the prophylactic properties of a new family of Leishmania antigenic intracellular proteins, the LiPABPs. The redirection of the immune response elicited against the LiPABP family (from IL-10 towards IFN-γ mediated responses) by genetic vaccination was able to induce a partial protection against the development of the disease in a highly susceptible murine model of leishmaniasis.• Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. Proyectos FISPI14/00366 y FISPI11/00095 del Instituto de Salud Carlos III dentro de la Red de Investigación de Enfermedades Tropicales. Proyecto VI P I D I 2008-2011, ISCIII - Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa (RD12/0018/0009) • CNPq (Ciencia sem Fronteiras), Brasil: PVE 300174/2014-4 • Fundación Ramón Areces: Subvenciones al Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CBMSO).peerReviewe

Zinc-Assisted Microscale Granules Made of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Trigger Neutralizing, Antivirus Antibody Responses

Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UABThe development of new and more efficient vaccination approaches is a constant need, due to the pressure of historical and emerging infectious diseases and the limited efficacy and universality of the current vaccination technologies. Peptides and recombinant proteins have been explored for decades as subunit vaccines for bacterial and viral infections, presented either as soluble protein species or as virus-like assemblies. Recently, synthetic secretory protein-only microscale granules have been developed as dynamic depots for sustained protein release. They are based on the reversible coordination between ionic Zn and histidine residues, which promotes a fast formation of granular particles in vitro out of soluble protein and a slow release of such building block protein in vivo through the physiological chelation of the metal. Such an endocrine-like platform represents a new drug delivery system fully validated in oncology by which soluble and functional protein drugs are progressively released from the granules and made available for antitumor activities upon subcutaneous administration. By exploring such an approach for immunization here, microparticles made of a recombinant form of the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 were tested as an antigen delivery system for induction of antibody responses against the virus upon administration of the material in the absence of added adjuvants. Also, the comparison between protein materials produced in bacterial, mammalian, or insect cell factories has demonstrated a moderate impact of protein glycosylation on the final immunological performance of the system. Therefore, we propose the consideration of synthetic protein secretory granules as a new sustainable immunization platform based on fully manageable, self-organized, and self-formulated immunogens, aimed at reducing the dosage, costs, and complexity of vaccination regimens

Antología del pensamiento Social en Colombia

PublishedEl quehacer de la filosofía no es límite de este ejercicio, la recopilación de estos documentos trata de un ejercicio interdisciplinar. La sociología, la historia, la antropología y otras disciplinas se abren campo en esta indagación; quizá esto sea parte del carácter original del pensamiento social: el ejercicio académico dialógico. Así, la conjugación de ciencias, miradas e indagaciones es el carácter prioritario y, sin embargo, cada documento se muestra lejos del que lo precede y del que lo antecede. Por pensamiento social, entonces, entiéndase la episteme que rigurosa y profundamente revisa ideas, pensamientos, teorías y realidades en aras a fortalecer una construcción crítica de la esfera pública. El saber se construye con un fin práctico y con una naturaleza plural, es decir, el fin es la construcción de comprensiones prácticas y críticas en torno a las necesidades de lo social, que tienen en su naturaleza la pluralida