Analysis of Moon impact flashes detected during the 2012 and 2013 Perseids

We present the results of our Moon impact flashes detection campaigns performed around the maximum activity period of the Perseid meteor shower in 2012 and 2013. Just one flash produced by a Perseid meteoroid was detected in 2012 because of very unfavourable geometric conditions, but 12 of these were confirmed in 2013. The visual magnitude of the flashes ranged between 6.6 and 9.3. A luminous efficiency of 1.8 $\times$ 10$^{-3}$ has been estimated for meteoroids from this stream. According to this value, impactor masses would range between 1.9 and 190 g. In addition, we propose a criterion to establish, from a statistical point of view, the likely origin of impact flashes recorded on the lunar surface.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics on March 11, 201

Fractures of the tibial plateau. Influence of the type of fracture and precision of the articular reduction on the prognosis

Se realizó un estudio retrospectivo en 43 pacientes tratados de 45 fracturas de pilón tibial entre 1990 y 1998. Según la clasificación de Rüedi y Allgöwer 6 fracturas eran tipo I (13,3%), 6 tipo II (13,3%) y 33 tipo III (73,3%). El tratamiento realizado fue manipulación e inmovilización en botín de yeso en 8 fracturas, las seis del tipo I y dos del tipo II. En las 37 fracturas restantes se realizó osteotaxis y osteosíntesis. Los resultados clínicos obtenidos fueron excelentes-buenos en 27 de las fracturas (60%), valorados por parámetros objetivos, pero solo en 16 de las fracturas (35,5%) cuando se valoraron por parámetros subjetivos. Se apreciaron mejores resultados clínicos objetivos/subjetivos cuando se consiguió una buena reducción articular y cuanto menor era el grado de desplazamiento y hundimiento de la fractura; en estos casos fue más difícil obtener una buena reducción articular. En 2 fracturas (25%) tratadas conservadoramente y en 17 (46%) tratadas quirúrgicamente se presentó al menos una complicación. Las fracturas de pilón tibial son fracturas graves, por la frecuencia de lesiones de partes blandas y de otras estructuras con que se asocian y por los resultados mediocres derivados de su tratamiento, que son peores en las fracturas tipo III y cuando no se consigue una correcta reducción articular

Cardiotrophin-1 opposes renal fibrosis in mice: Potential prevention of chronic kidney disease

[EN]Chronic kidney disease is characterized by tubulointerstitial fibrosis involving inflammation, tubular apoptosis, fibroblast proliferation and extracellular matrix accumulation. Cardiotrophin-1, a member of the interleukin-6 family of cytokines, protects several organs from damage by promoting survival and anti-inflammatory effects. However, whether cardiotrophin-1 participates in the response to chronic kidney injury leading to renal fibrosis is unknown. We hypothesized and assessed the potential role of cardiotrophin-1 in a mice model of tubulointerstitial fibrosis induced by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). Three days after UUO, obstructed kidneys from cardiotrophin-1-/- mice show higher expression of inflammatory markers IL-1β, Cd68, ICAM-1, COX-2 and iNOs, higher activation of NF-κB, higher amount of myofibroblasts and higher severity of tubular damage and apoptosis, compared with obstructed kidneys from wild-type littermates. In a later stage, obstructed kidneys from cardiotrophin-1-/- mice show higher fibrosis than obstructed kidneys from wild-type mice. Interestingly, administration of exogenous cardiotrophin-1 prevents the increased fibrosis resulting from the genetic knockout of cardiotrophin-1 upon UUO, and supplementation of wild-type mice with exogenous cardiotrophin-1 further reduces the renal fibrosis induced by UUO. In vitro, renal myofibroblasts from cardiotrophin-1-/- mice have higher collagen I and fibronectin expression and higher NF-κB activation than wild-type cells. Cardiotrophin-1 participates in the endogenous response that opposes renal damage by counteracting the inflammatory, apoptotic and fibrotic processes. And exogenous cardiotrophin-1 is proposed as a candidate for the treatment and prevention of chronic renal fibrosis

Exploiting the passenger ACO1-deficiency arising from 9p21 deletions to kill T-cell lymphoblastic neoplasia cells

Precursor T-cell lymphoblastic neoplasms are aggressive malignancies in need for more effective and specific therapeutic treatments. A significant fraction of these neoplasms harbor deletions on the locus 9p21, targeting the tumor suppressor CDKN2A but also deleting the aconitase 1 (ACO1) gene, a neighboring housekeeping gene involved in cytoplasm and mitochondrial metabolism. Here we show that reducing the aconitase activity with fluorocitrate decreases the viability of T-cell lymphoblastic neoplasia cells in correlation to the differential aconitase expression. The consequences of the treatment were evidenced in vitro using T-cell lymphoblastic neoplasia cell lines exhibiting 9p21 deletions and variable levels of ACO1 expression or activity. Similar results were observed in melanoma cell lines, suggesting a true potential for fluorocitrate in different cancer types. Notably, ectopic expression of ACO1 alleviated the susceptibility of cell lines to fluorocitrate and, conversely, knockdown experiments increased susceptibility of resistant cell lines. These findings were confirmed in vivo on athymic nude mice by using tumor xenografts derived from two T-cell lines with different levels of ACO1. Taken together, our results indicate that the non-targeted ACO1 deficiency induced by common deletions exerts a collateral cellular lethality that can be used as a novel therapeutic strategy in the treatment of several types of cancerInstituto de Salud Carlos III (ACCI-CIBERER-17); Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (SAF2015-70561 R;MINECO/FEDER, EU); Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (RTI2018-093330-B-I00; MCIU/FEDER, EU); Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain (B2017/BMD-3778; LINFOMAS-CM); Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC, 2018; PROYE18054PIRI); Fundación Ramón Areces (CIVP19S7917); Institutional grants from Fundación Ramón Areces and Banco de Santander to Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa are also acknowledge

Comportamiento clínico de pacientes graves con Síndrome de Guillain-Barré

It was performed a descriptive, retrospective and transversal study to describe the clinical behavior in 26 patients with the diagnosis of Severe Acute Guillain-Barré Syndrome, they were hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit of the Clinical Surgical  University Teaching Hospital "Celia Sánchez Manduley" in Manzanillo, Granma, during the years 2007 and 2008. There were determined the affectations in the members, the osteotendinous areflexia, autonomic dysfunction, afectation of the trunk and the respiratory organs. 65,4% of the patients belonged to the male sex. The average age was about 42.8 years for men and of 37.2 for the women. The white skin (61.5%) prevailed in the sample. There was a great predominance of people from the urban zone (76,9%). 90% of the patients abandoned the hospital with total recovery of the damaged neurological functions, in a period less than four months after the beginning of the motor compromise, besides the sequels occurred in the ones of greater extension of the motor defficit. It was observed a clinical behavior in 14 patients (53,8%), clinical manifestations in the upper and inferior members. It was observed a clinical behavior of 11,5% of the total of patients evaluated and it belonged to 88,5%, when the study of the LCR was included.Se realizó un estudio descriptivo, retrospectivo y transversal para describir el comportamiento clínico en 26 pacientes con diagnóstico de Síndrome de Guillain-Barré grave, ingresados en la unidad de cuidados intensivos del Hospital Provincial Clínico Quirúrgico Docente Universitario "Celia Sánchez Manduley", de la ciudad de Manzanillo, provincia de Granma, Cuba, en los años 2007 y 2008. Se determinaron las afectaciones en los miembros, arreflexia osteotendinosa, disfunción autonómica, afectación del tronco y los órganos respiratorios. Correspondieron al sexo masculino el 65,4% de los pacientes. La edad media fue de 42,8 años para los hombres y de 37,2 en las mujeres. El color de piel blanca (61,5%) predominó en la muestra. Existió mayor predominio en personas de la zona urbana (76,9%). El 90% de los pacientes egresó con recuperación total de las funciones neurológicas dañadas, en período inferior a cuatro meses de iniciada la toma motora y las secuelas sucedieron en los de mayor extensión del defecto motor. Se observaron en 14 pacientes (53,8%), manifestaciones clínicas en los miembros superiores e inferiores. Se observó un comportamiento clínico del 11,5% del total de pacientes evaluados y correspondió a un 88,5% al ser incluido el estudio del LCR

Methylation of subtelomeric chromatin modifies the expression of the lncRNA TERRA, disturbing telomere homeostasis

The long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA) has been associated with telomeric homeostasis, telomerase recruitment, and the process of chromosome healing; nevertheless, the impact of this association has not been investigated during the carcinogenic process. Determining whether changes in TERRA expression are a cause or a consequence of cell transformation is a complex task because studies are usually carried out using either cancerous cells or tumor samples. To determine the role of this lncRNA in cellular aging and chromosome healing, we evaluated telomeric integrity and TERRA expression during the establishment of a clone of untransformed myeloid cells. We found that reduced expression of TERRA disturbed the telomeric homeostasis of certain loci, but the expression of the lncRNA was affected only when the methylation of subtelomeric bivalent chromatin domains was compromised. We conclude that the disruption in TERRA homeostasis is a consequence of cellular transformation and that changes in its expression profile can lead to telomeric and genomic instability

Respuesta superovulatoria y calidad embrionaria de vacas Brahman lactando sincronizadas con dosis bajas de FSH en condiciones del sur de México

Objetivo: evaluar la respuesta superovulatoria y calidad embrionaria de un grupo de vacas Brahman lactando sometidas a un protocolo de dosis bajas de FSH. Metodología: en el estudio fueron superovuladas 33 vacas de raza Brahman multíparas lactando. Las hembras fueron sincronizadas con CIDR (inserción día 0) y dosis decrecientes de FSH (día 5: 250mg FSH, día 6: 200 mg FSH, día 7: 150 mg), el día 9 y 10 se practicó la inseminación artificial (IA); finalmente el día 17 se realizó el lavado para la recolección de embriones. Los embriones fueron colectados con una sonda Foley, y el contenido fue depositado en una caja de  Petri cuadrada de 100 ? 100 mm con fondo cuadriculado para la posterior búsqueda de embriones en el microscopio provisto de un aumento de 20 a 30 X. Los embriones fueron clasificados de acuerdo a su morfología y estadio de desarrollo en una escala del 1 (estadio de una célula) al 9 (estadio de blastocito eclosionado) y calidad como 1 (excelente), 2 (bueno), 3 (regular) y 4 (degenerado). Resultados: Del 100% de las vacas tratadas se obtuvieron 363 embriones: 41.8% fueron viables; 65% se clasificaron como blastocisto eclosionado de calidad 8 y 34.8% de calidad 7. De los embriones clasificados como blastocisto eclosionado, 60.6% fueron de calidad excelente, 28.28% de calidad buena y 11.11% de calidad regular. El promedio de embriones viables por vaca fue de 2.9% y 1.9% transferibles. Implicaciones: Es difícil superovular vacas lactando, por el control de los becerros durante el proceso experimental, y no es recomendable este tipo de tratamiento por el gasto metabólico y reproductivo a lasque son sometidas las hembras. Conclusiones: Las vacas de raza Brahman lactando tienen una respuesta superovulatoria baja cuando son sincronizadas con un protocolo de dosis bajas de FSH

Physical characterization of laser interaction and shock generation in laser processing: coupled theoretical-experimental analysis

Outline: • Introduction • Fundamental Physics of the Laser-Plasma Interaction in Laser Shock Processing • Theoretical/Computational Model Description • Some Results. Analysis of Interaction Parameters • Experimental Validation. Diagnosis Setup • Discussion and Outloo

Gongolarones as antiamoeboid chemical scaffold

Free Living Amoeba (FLA) infections caused by Acanthamoeba genus include chronic nervous system diseases such as Granulomatous Amoebic Encephalitis (GAE), or a severe eye infection known as Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK). Current studies focused on therapy against these diseases are aiming to find novel compounds with amoebicidal activity and low toxicity to human tissues. Brown algae, such as Gongolaria abies-marina (previously known as Cystoseira abies-marina, S.G. Gmelin), presents bioactive molecules of interest, including some with antiprotozoal activity. In this study, six meroterpenoids were isolated and purified from the species Gongolaria abies-marina. Gongolarones A (1), B (2) and C (3) were identified as new compounds. Additionally, cystomexicone B (4), 1′-methoxyamentadione (5) and 6Z-1′-methoxyamentadione (6) were isolated. All compounds exhibited amoebicidal activity against Acanthamoeba castellanii Neff, A. polyphaga and A. griffini strains. Gongolarones A (1) and C (3) showed the lowest IC50 values against the two stages of these amoebae (trophozoite and cyst). Structure-activity relationship revealed that the cyclization by ether formation from C-12 to C-15 of 1, and the isomerization Δ2 t to Δ3 t of 3, increased the antiamoeboid activity of both compounds. Furthermore, gongolarones A (1) and C (3) triggered chromatin condensation, mitochondrial malfunction, oxidative stress, and disorganization of the tubulin-actin cytoskeleton in treated trophozoites. Moreover, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images analysis revealed that compounds 1 and 3 induced autophagy process and inhibited the encystation process. All those results suggest that both compounds could induce programmed cell death (PCD) in Acanthamoeba.This study was supported funded by projects PID2019-109476RB-C21 (BIOALGRI) (Spanish Ministry of Science), Madrid, Spain; Fundación CajaCanarias–Fundación Bancaria “La Caixa” (2019SP52). Red de Investigación Cooperativa en Enfermedades Tropicales (RICET), Spain (project no. RD16/0027/0001 of the programe of Redes Temáticas de Investigación Cooperativa, FIS). Consorcio Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red (CIBER), Área de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029, Madrid, Spain (CB21/13/00100). Project No. 21/0587 funded by the Cabildo de Tenerife, Tenerife innova, Marco Estratégico de Desarrollo Insular (MEDI) and Fondo de Desarrollo de Canarias (FDCAN). Project number ProID2021010118 funded by Agencia Canaria de Investigación, Innovación y Sociedad de la Información (ACIISI). RLRE was funded by a grant from ACIISI cofunded by Fondo Social Europeo (FSE) and FEDER, (TESIS2020010117). MOM was supported by the Programa de Apoyos para la Superación del Personal Académico de la UNAM (PASPA 2021) for carrying out the research stay between the Universidad de La Laguna and la Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala.Peer reviewe