Characterization of Intact Proviruses in Blood and Lymph Node from HIV-Infected Individuals Undergoing Analytical Treatment Interruption.

The role of lymphoid tissue as a potential source of HIV-1 rebound following interruption of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is uncertain. To address this issue, we compared the latent viruses obtained from CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood and lymph nodes to viruses emerging during treatment interruption. Latent viruses were characterized by sequencing near-full-length (NFL) proviral DNA and env from viral outgrowth assays (VOAs). Five HIV-1-infected individuals on ART were studied, four of whom participated in a clinical trial of a TLR9 agonist that included an analytical treatment interruption. We found that 98% of intact or replication-competent clonal sequences overlapped between blood and lymph node. In contrast, there was no overlap between 205 latent reservoir and 125 rebound sequences in the four individuals who underwent treatment interruption. However, rebound viruses could be accounted for by recombination. The data suggest that CD4+ T cells carrying latent viruses circulate between blood and lymphoid tissues in individuals on ART and support the idea that recombination may play a role in the emergence of rebound viremia.IMPORTANCE HIV-1 persists as a latent infection in CD4+ T cells that can be found in lymphoid tissues in infected individuals during ART. However, the importance of this tissue reservoir and its contribution to viral rebound upon ART interruption are not clear. In this study, we sought to compare latent HIV-1 from blood and lymph node CD4+ T cells from five HIV-1-infected individuals. Further, we analyzed the contribution of lymph node viruses to viral rebound. We observed that the frequencies of intact proviruses were the same in blood and lymph node. Moreover, expanded clones of T cells bearing identical proviruses were found in blood and lymph node. These latent reservoir sequences did not appear to be the direct origin of rebound virus. Instead, latent proviruses were found to contribute to the rebound compartment by recombination

Advances in the modeling of the Iberian thermal lithosphere and perspectives on deep geothermal studies

Renewable energy sources are key to achieve the transition toward clean energy system. Among them, the geothermal energy has a production whose effectiveness requires sufficient understanding of the temperature distribution and fluid circulation at depth, as well as of the lithological and petrophysical properties of the crust. The focus of this paper is twofold: first, we summarize the main advances in the development of new methodologies and numerical codes to characterize the properties of the thermal lithosphere in terms of its, temperature, density and composition; second, based on the compilation of available thermal modelling results, we present the depth of the thermal Lithosphere-Asthenosphere Boundary (LAB) of the Iberian Peninsula and the temperature distribution at crustal depths of 5, 10, and 20 km, in addition to at Moho level. At 5 km depth, the temperature is above 110 °C with local anomalies (> 130 °C) located in the Iberian Massif and Cenozoic volcanic provinces. A similar pattern is observed at 10 and 20 km depth, where temperatures are above 190 °C and 350 °C, respectively. At 20 km depth, anomalies above > 500 °C, delineate the SE and NE Cenozoic volcanic provinces. At Moho depths, temperature ranges from 450 to 800 °C with hot regions mainly located along the Iberian Massif and the SE and NE volcanic provinces. The compiled results do not show any lithospheric anomaly that could give rise to high temperatures at shallow depths, but they do show an acceptable exploitation potential at intermediate depths. With regard to the direct use of district and greenhouse heating and for industrial processes, the potential is great throughout the Peninsula, the main challenges being the availability of groundwater and drilling costs

Functional marker development from AOX genes requires deep phenotyping and individualized diagnosis

The development of new ‘deep phenotyping’ techniques for functional markers (FM) development on alternative oxidase (AOX) gene sequences are expected to greatly increase the efficiency of association studies between the candidate FM sequences and the desired phenotype. However, it is critical to perform these studies in the appropriate target tissue/cell at the correct time point. AOX genes, due to their diversity and with differential methylation marks, are likely also subjected to such interplay between sequence and regulatory mechanisms. Polymorphisms in coding sequences may directly affect protein function, but expression regulatory switches are more abundant in non-coding regions. Transgenic technology continues to contribute to crop improvement programme, if efforts are directed more towards FM-assisted plant breeding. Hence, AOX can be put into best use if a dual approach involving genetic transformation and conventional plant breeding go hand in hand

pilotSTRATEGY project 2021-2026: “CO2 Geological Pilots in Strategic Territories”

[EN] The pilotSTRATEGY (2021-2026) is investigating geological CO2 storage sites in industrial regions to support development of large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS). It is focused on deep saline aquifers–porous rock formations filled with brine several kilometres below ground – which promise a large capacity for storing captured CO2. The goal of the characterisation is to assess the site’s containment, injectivity, capacity, integrity, hydrodynamics, and monitorability in order to ensure safe and permanent storage of CO2. PilotSTRATEGY covers the initial stages of project development up to the pre-final investment decision (pre-FID), regulatory approval and permitting of storage, and applied on selected structures of Paris Basin in France, the Lusitanian Basin in Portugal and the Ebro Basin in Spain, and in lower detail, in West Macedonia in Greece and Upper Silesia in Poland.The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme (10.1 million Euros, No. 101022664).Peer reviewe

Dietary α‐Linolenic Acid, Marine ω‐3 Fatty Acids, and Mortality in a Population With High Fish Consumption: Findings From the PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED) Study

Background: Epidemiological evidence suggests a cardioprotective role of α‐linolenic acid (ALA), a plant‐derived ω‐3 fatty acid. It is unclear whether ALA is beneficial in a background of high marine ω‐3 fatty acids (long‐chain n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids) intake. In persons at high cardiovascular risk from Spain, a country in which fish consumption is customarily high, we investigated whether meeting the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids recommendation for dietary ALA (0.7% of total energy) at baseline was related to all‐cause and cardiovascular disease mortality. We also examined the effect of meeting the society's recommendation for long‐chain n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (≥500 mg/day). Methods and Results: We longitudinally evaluated 7202 participants in the PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED) trial. Multivariable‐adjusted Cox regression models were fitted to estimate hazard ratios. ALA intake correlated to walnut consumption (r=0.94). During a 5.9‐y follow‐up, 431 deaths occurred (104 cardiovascular disease, 55 coronary heart disease, 32 sudden cardiac death, 25 stroke). The hazard ratios for meeting ALA recommendation (n=1615, 22.4%) were 0.72 (95% CI 0.56–0.92) for all‐cause mortality and 0.95 (95% CI 0.58–1.57) for fatal cardiovascular disease. The hazard ratios for meeting the recommendation for long‐chain n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n=5452, 75.7%) were 0.84 (95% CI 0.67–1.05) for all‐cause mortality, 0.61 (95% CI 0.39–0.96) for fatal cardiovascular disease, 0.54 (95% CI 0.29–0.99) for fatal coronary heart disease, and 0.49 (95% CI 0.22–1.01) for sudden cardiac death. The highest reduction in all‐cause mortality occurred in participants meeting both recommendations (hazard ratio 0.63 [95% CI 0.45–0.87]). Conclusions: In participants without prior cardiovascular disease and high fish consumption, dietary ALA, supplied mainly by walnuts and olive oil, relates inversely to all‐cause mortality, whereas protection from cardiac mortality is limited to fish‐derived long‐chain n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Clinical Trial Registration URL: http://www.Controlled-trials.com/. Unique identifier: ISRCTN35739639

La noción de Pedagogía experimental en Raymond Buyse

Analizar y poner de relieve las peculiaridades y aportaciones del pensamiento de Raymond Buyse a la Pedagogía experimental, tratando de aproximarlo hasta la actualidad más inmediata. Tras resaltar algunos rasgos biográficos, el trabajo estudia las diferentes manifestaciones que se dan del método empírico en la educación, y la distinción que Buyse establece entre la Pedagogía intuitiva y la Pedagogía 'experiencée'. Después se aborda el ámbito de la Pedagogía experimental desde sus perspectivas metodológicas y del contenido y se tratan las distinciones que pueden establecerse entre la Pedagogía experimental y otras ciencias o métodos, como la Psicología experimental, la Psicología pedagógica y la evaluación educativa. Finalmente se resumen los aspectos de su pensamiento que se consideran vigentes y los que se considera que han quedado rebasados. Bibliografía. La distinción que establece entre Pedagogía empírica o intuitiva y la 'experiencée' o basada en la experiencia supone una clarificación notable en la Historia de la Educación. Puso gran empeño en delimitar el lugar y cometidos propios de la Pedagogía experimental en relación a otras ciencias y métodos próximos. Propugna una pedagogía técnica, dirigida a la acción, al mejoramiento inmediato de la educación, a través del conocimiento positivo y del uso del método experimental. Su pensamiento evolucionará hasta admitir los diseños cuasiexperimentales y la investigación activa en el aula. La labor de R. Buyse le configura como un gran compilador de los logros de la Pedagogía de su tiempo, y supone una contribución al desarrollo de las técnicas básicas y esquemas experimentales de Mac Call. Su mayor aportación es en el ámbito de la didáctica, y ve en la utilización del método experimental la forma de salir del subjetivismo y de obtener resultados más objetivos.NavarraES

El código HYDROTHERM como herramienta de integración de la geofísica en prospección geotérmica

[EN] The use of numerical codes in simulating geothermal reservoirs is one of the most powerful tools for integrating geology, geochemistry, and geophysics in high enthalpy geothermal research processes. This paper summarizes some examples of USGS HYDROTHERM code application results on the islands of Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, and Tenerife, which are considered very different geothermal models. The first island has normal geothermal gradient, the second has magmatic bodies near the surface and Tenerife has a comparison between geophysical techniques to determine the recharge-discharge flows of the Cañadas-Teide system. In the first two islands there are boreholes that allow adjusting and validating the models, whereas Tenerife or La Palma have been studied using the same methodology but lack verification boreholes. Nevertheless, their model results are consistent with other geophysical techniques. This highlights the great potential of this code as an integrating tool for the different prospecting techniques to understand geothermal system operations and determine the most suitable location for deep exploration drilling. The significant benefit of this code is the capability to reproduce different evolutionary and casuistry models reliably using the same geological and thermal parameters for all islands.[ES] La utilización de códigos numéricos en la simulación de yacimientos geotérmicos constituye una de las herramientas actuales más potentes de integración de la geología, geoquímica y geofísica en los procesos de investigación geotérmica de alta entalpía. En el presente trabajo se resumen algunos ejemplos de los resultados de la aplicación del código HYDROTHERM del USGS en las islas de Gran Canaria, Lanzarote y Tenerife por considerarse modelos geotérmicos muy diferentes: la primera con gradiente geotérmico normal, la segunda con cuerpos magmáticos cercanos a la superficie y Tenerife con una comparativa entre técnicas geofísicas para determinar los flujos de recarga-descarga del sistema Cañadas-Teide. En las dos primeras islas existen sondeos que permiten ajustar y validar los modelos. Tenerife o La Palma, han sido también estudiadas con la misma metodología, pero carecemos de sondeos de comprobación, aunque los resultados del modelo resulten coincidentes con otras técnicas geofísicas. Se pone así de manifiesto su gran potencial como herramienta integradora de las diferentes técnicas prospectivas para comprender el funcionamiento del sistema geotérmico y determinar la ubicación más idónea de los sondeos de reconocimiento profundo. La mayor bondad de este código ha sido que, empleando los mismos parámetros geológicos y térmicos para todas las islas, se han logrado reproducir modelos evolutivos y casuísticas muy diferentes con excelentes resultados.Esta publicación ha sido posible gracias a dos programas RETOS: (a) ELECTROVOLCÁN. Proyecto RTC-2017-6628-3: Diseño y desarrollo experimental de prototipos para la generación de electricidad mediante efecto termoeléctrico en anomalías geotérmicas superficiales de origen volcánico: Aplicación en los sistemas volcánicos de Timanfaya (Lanzarote) y Teide (Tenerife). (b) TERMOVOLCÁN. Proyecto RTC-2017-66287-3: Diseño y desarrollo experimental de una metodología multiparamétrica para la exploración de recursos geotérmicos ocultos de alta entalpía en Canarias.Peer reviewe

Geothermal resources evaluation: Using O&G exploration data to evaluate low and medium enthalpy resources from deep sedimentary reservoirs

[EN] Geological resources of low enthalpy (and in many cases, also of medium enthalpy) are located mainly in large sedimentary basins with normal geothermal gradients in permeable formations (reservoir); fluid (brine) with high content on dissolved salts circulate through the reservoir; by depth and after a high time of circulation through the reservoir, the fluid reach the temperature level corresponding to that depth.Peer reviewe

Co-occurrence of pathogenic and non-pathogenic Fusarium decemcellulare and Lasiodiplodia theobromae isolates in cushion galls disease of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.)

Flowery cushion gall of cacao is a disease complex with six types. Fusarium decemcellulare have been isolated from both flowery and green point galls and recognized as the etiological agent of the disease. In the present work we: i) identified by ITS-rDNA sequencing and/or taxonomy the cultivable fungal species or Operative Taxonomic Units (OTUs) associated with the five symptoms of cushion galls in cacao from Venezuela, and ii) determined the gall inducing capacity on cacao peeled seeds after 45 days of inoculation with suspensions of mycelia/ spores from distinct isolate types. The whole isolate collection rendered an abundance of 113 isolates with a richness of 39 OTUs (27) and eight identified at the species or genera levels, respectively, and in unidentified fungi. The dominant recovered species (≈36%) were F. decemcellulare and Lasiodiplodia theobromae. Some isolates of F. decemcellulare, L. theobromae, F. equiseti, Fusarium spp., F. solani, F. incarnatum, Rhizocthonia solani and Penicillium sp. were pathogenic. Some other isolates of the first six mentioned taxa behave as non-pathogenic. Furthermore, pathogenic and non-pathogenic isolates can also co-occur within a single plant and gall type. Moreover, 2–5 species within a single gall symptom in a single tree were identified (not necessarily at the same point in the tree), indicating a broad diversity of co-occurring taxa

Gestión del estrés oxidativo por la oxidasa alternativa durante la inducción del enraizamiento adventicio en olivo.

Los olivos (Olea europaea L.) se propagan fundamentalmente mediante enraizamiento adventicio de estaquillas semileñosas. Sin embargo, la propagación comercial eficiente de cultivares de olivo valiosos puede a menudo verse limitada por baja capacidad de dicho enraizamiento. Con el fin de obtener información biológica que permitiese contribuir a resolver tal problema, se ejecutó un proyecto de investigación fundamental sobre la rizogénesis adventicia en la mencionada especie. El enraizamiento fue inducido mediante la aplicación de estreses que, de acuerdo a la literatura y a los resultados obtenidos, implicarían el inmediato incremento de actividad de la oxidasa alternativa (AOX), un enzima mitocondrial que interviene en la respiración reduciendo el estrés oxidativo -el cual a veces se genera como señal mediadora ocasionada por otros tipos de estrés-. Así, en distintos sistemas experimentales, la inducción de enraizamiento con la auxina ácido indol-butítico generaba un pico inmediato de determinados transcriptos de los genes AOX. Además, se observó que cuando se aplicaba junto con la auxina ácido salicilhidroxámico, éste inhibía no sólo el enraizamiento sino también la AOX, y generaba una cinética de acumulación de transcriptos de AOX acorde a dicha inhibición del enzima. Por tanto, los resultados tanto acerca de capacidades enzimáticas como de acumulación de transcriptos apuntan a una implicación de AOX en la inducción del enraizamiento en los sistemas estudiados. De hecho, se observaron cambios histológicos conducentes a la aparición de campos morfogénicos desde las primeras etapas de inducción. Además, la cinética de enzimas oxidativos a lo largo del proceso rizogénico puede ser explicada sobre la base de la participación de AOX en el mismo. En la actualidad, se están llevando a cabo investigaciones derivadas con el fin de corroborar lo que todos los resultados sugieren