First record of Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) infected by the parasite Ascogregarina culicis (Ross) (Apicomplexa: Lecudinidae) in Argentina

n a survey for parasites and pathogens of Aedes aegypti conducted in La Plata, Argentina, an aseptate gregarine was found parasitizing larvae, pupae and adults of this mosquito species. This gregarine species was identified as Ascogregarina culicis based on the morphology and size of gamonts, gametocysts and oocysts. It is the first record of gregarine infections in culicids from ArgentinaFil: Dellapé, Mariana E.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; ArgentinaFil: Marti, Gerardo Anibal. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; ArgentinaFil: Tranchida, Maria Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, Juan Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; Argentin

Stability of hydrodynamical relativistic planar jets. I. Linear evolution and saturation of Kelvin-Helmholtz modes

The effects of relativistic dynamics and thermodynamics in the development of Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities in planar, relativistic jets along the early phases (namely linear and saturation phases) of evolution has been studied by a combination of linear stability analysis and high-resolution numerical simulations for the most unstable first reflection modes in the temporal approach. Three different values of the jet Lorentz factor (5, 10 and 20) and a few different values of specific internal energy of the jet matter (from 0.08 to $60.0 c^2$) have been considered. Figures illustrating the evolution of the perturbations are also shown

Rotating mixed 3^3He-4^4He nanodroplets

Mixed $^3$He-$^4$He droplets created by hydrodynamic instability of a cryogenic fluid-jet may acquire angular momentum during their passage through the nozzle of the experimental apparatus. These free-standing droplets cool down to very low temperatures undergoing isotopic segregation, developing a nearly pure $^3$He crust surrounding a very $^4$He-rich superfluid core. Here, the stability and appearance of rotating mixed helium droplets are investigated using Density Functional Theory for an isotopic composition that highlights, with some marked exceptions related to the existence of the superfluid inner core, the analogies with viscous rotating droplets.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures (plus Supplemental Material). Revised version with corrections+missing figur

Studies of Relativistic Jets in Active Galactic Nuclei with SKA

Relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei (AGN) are among the most powerful astrophysical objects discovered to date. Indeed, jetted AGN studies have been considered a prominent science case for SKA, and were included in several different chapters of the previous SKA Science Book (Carilli & Rawlings 2004). Most of the fundamental questions about the physics of relativistic jets still remain unanswered, and await high-sensitivity radio instruments such as SKA to solve them. These questions will be addressed specially through analysis of the massive data sets arising from the deep, all-sky surveys (both total and polarimetric flux) from SKA1. Wide-field very-long-baseline-interferometric survey observations involving SKA1 will serve as a unique tool for distinguishing between extragalactic relativistic jets and star forming galaxies via brightness temperature measurements. Subsequent SKA1 studies of relativistic jets at different resolutions will allow for unprecedented cosmological studies of AGN jets up to the epoch of re-ionization, enabling detailed characterization of the jet composition, magnetic field, particle populations, and plasma properties on all scales. SKA will enable us to study the dependence of jet power and star formation on other properties of the AGN system. SKA1 will enable such studies for large samples of jets, while VLBI observations involving SKA1 will provide the sensitivity for pc-scale imaging, and SKA2 (with its extraordinary sensitivity and dynamic range) will allow us for the first time to resolve and model the weakest radio structures in the most powerful radio-loud AGN.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures; to appear as part of 'Cosmic Magnetism' in Proceedings 'Advancing Astrophysics with the SKA (AASKA14)', PoS(AASKA14_093

Solution-based synthesis and processing of Sn- and Bi-doped Cu₃SbSe₄ nanocrystals, nanomaterials and ring-shaped thermoelectric generators

Copper-based chalcogenides that comprise abundant, low-cost, and environmental friendly elements are excellent materials for a number of energy conversion applications, including photovoltaics, photocatalysis, and thermoelectrics (TE). In such applications, the use of solution-processed nanocrystals (NCs) to produce thin films or bulk nanomaterials has associated several potential advantages, such as high material yield and throughput, and composition control with unmatched spatial resolution and cost. Here we report on the production of Cu₃SbSe₄ (CASe) NCs with tuned amounts of Sn and Bi dopants. After proper ligand removal, as monitored by nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopy, these NCs were used to produce dense CASe bulk nanomaterials for solid state TE energy conversion. By adjusting the amount of extrinsic dopants, dimensionless TE figures of merit (ZT) up to 1.26 at 673 K were reached. Such high ZT values are related to an optimized carrier concentration by Sn doping, a minimized lattice thermal conductivity due to efficient phonon scattering at point defects and grain boundaries, and to an increase of the Seebeck coefficient obtained by a modification of the electronic band structure with Bi doping. Nanomaterials were further employed to fabricate ring-shaped TE generators to be coupled to hot pipes, which provided 20 mV and 1 mW per TE element when exposed to a 160 °C temperature gradient. The simple design and good thermal contact associated with the ring geometry and the potential low cost of the material solution processing may allow the fabrication of TE generators with short payback times

Population genomics of Plasmodium vivax in Panama to assess the risk of case importation on malaria elimination

Malaria incidence in Panama has plateaued in recent years in spite of elimination efforts, with almost all cases caused by Plasmodium vivax. Notwithstanding, overall malaria prevalence remains low (fewer than 1 case per 1000 persons). We used selective whole genome amplification to sequence 59 P. vivax samples from Panama. The P. vivax samples were collected from two periods (2007–2009 and 2017–2019) to study the population structure and transmission dynamics of the parasite. Imported cases resulting from increased levels of human migration could threaten malaria elimination prospects, and four of the samples evaluated came from individuals with travel history. We explored patterns of recent common ancestry among the samples and observed that a highly genetically related lineage (termed CL1) was dominant among the samples (47 out of 59 samples with good sequencing coverage), spanning the entire period of the collection (2007–2019) and all regions of the country. We also found a second, smaller clonal lineage (termed CL2) of four parasites collected between 2017 and 2019. To explore the regional context of Panamanian P. vivax we conducted principal components analysis and constructed a neighbor-joining tree using these samples and samples collected worldwide from a previous study. Three of the four samples with travel history clustered with samples collected from their suspected country of origin (consistent with importation), while one appears to have been a result of local transmission. The small number of Panamanian P. vivax samples not belonging to either CL1 or CL2 clustered with samples collected from Colombia, suggesting they represent the genetically similar ancestral P. vivax population in Panama or were recently imported from Colombia. The low diversity we observe in Panama indicates that this parasite population has been previously subject to a severe bottleneck and may be eligible for elimination. Additionally, while we confirmed that P. vivax is imported to Panama from diverse geographic locations, the lack of impact from imported cases on the overall parasite population genomic profile suggests that onward transmission from such cases is limited and that imported cases may not presently pose a major barrier to elimination

Novel association of the obesity risk-allele near Fas Apoptotic Inhibitory Molecule 2 (FAIM2) gene with heart rate and study of its effects on myocardial infarction in diabetic participants of the PREDIMED trial

BACKGROUND: The Fas apoptotic pathway has been implicated in type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Although a polymorphism (rs7138803; G > A) near the Fas apoptotic inhibitory molecule 2 (FAIM2) locus has been related to obesity, its association with other cardiovascular risk factors and disease remains uncertain. METHODS: We analyzed the association between the FAIM2-rs7138803 polymorphism and obesity, blood pressure and heart rate in 7,161 participants (48.3% with type 2 diabetes) in the PREDIMED study at baseline. We also explored gene-diet interactions with adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) and examined the effects of the polymorphism on cardiovascular disease incidence per diabetes status after a median 4.8-year dietary intervention (MedDiet versus control group) follow-up. RESULTS: We replicated the association between the FAIM2-rs7138803 polymorphism and greater obesity risk (OR: 1.08; 95% CI: 1.01-1.16; P = 0.011; per-A allele). Moreover, we detected novel associations of this polymorphism with higher diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rate at baseline (B = 1.07; 95% CI: 0.97-1.28 bmp in AA vs G-carriers for the whole population), that remained statistically significant even after adjustment for body mass index (P = 0.012) and correction for multiple comparisons. This association was greater and statistically significant in type-2 diabetic subjects (B = 1.44: 95% CI: 0.23-2.56 bmp; P = 0.010 for AA versus G-carriers). Likewise, these findings were also observed longitudinally over 5-year follow-up. Nevertheless, we found no statistically significant gene-diet interactions with MedDiet for this trait. On analyzing myocardial infarction risk, we detected a nominally significant (P = 0.041) association in type-2 diabetic subjects (HR: 1.86; 95% CI:1.03-3.37 for AA versus G-carriers), although this association did not remain statistically significant following correction for multiple comparisons. CONCLUSIONS: We confirmed the FAIM2-rs7138803 relationship with obesity and identified novel and consistent associations with heart rate in particular in type 2 diabetic subjects. Furthermore, our results suggest a possible association of this polymorphism with higher myocardial infarction risk in type-2 diabetic subjects, although this result needs to be replicated as it could represent a false positive

Regulatory sites for splicing in human basal ganglia are enriched for disease-relevant information

Genome-wide association studies have generated an increasing number of common genetic variants associated with neurological and psychiatric disease risk. An improved understanding of the genetic control of gene expression in human brain is vital considering this is the likely modus operandum for many causal variants. However, human brain sampling complexities limit the explanatory power of brain-related expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) and allele-specific expression (ASE) signals. We address this, using paired genomic and transcriptomic data from putamen and substantia nigra from 117 human brains, interrogating regulation at different RNA processing stages and uncovering novel transcripts. We identify disease-relevant regulatory loci, find that splicing eQTLs are enriched for regulatory information of neuron-specific genes, that ASEs provide cell-specific regulatory information with evidence for cellular specificity, and that incomplete annotation of the brain transcriptome limits interpretation of risk loci for neuropsychiatric disease. This resource of regulatory data is accessible through our web server, http://braineacv2.inf.um.es/