An unstable Th epitope of P. falciparum fosters central memory T cells and anti-CS antibody responses

Malaria is transmitted by Plasmodium-infected anopheles mosquitoes. Widespread resistance of mosquitoes to insecticides and resistance of parasites to drugs highlight the urgent need for malaria vaccines. The most advanced malaria vaccines target sporozoites, the infective form of the parasite. A major target of the antibody response to sporozoites are the repeat epitopes of the circumsporozoite (CS) protein, which span almost one half of the protein. Antibodies to these repeats can neutralize sporozoite infectivity. Generation of protective antibody responses to the CS protein (anti-CS Ab) requires help by CD4 T cells. A CD4 T cell epitope from the CS protein designated T* was previously identified by screening T cells from volunteers immunized with irradiated P. falciparum sporozoites. The T* sequence spans twenty amino acids that contains multiple T cell epitopes restricted by various HLA alleles. Subunit malaria vaccines including T* are highly immunogenic in rodents, non-human primates and humans. In this study we characterized a highly conserved HLA-DRbeta1*04:01 (DR4) restricted T cell epitope (QNT-5) located at the C-terminus of T*. We found that a peptide containing QNT-5 was able to elicit long-term anti-CS Ab responses and prime CD4 T cells in HLA-DR4 transgenic mice despite forming relatively unstable MHC-peptide complexes highly susceptible to HLA-DM editing. We attempted to improve the immunogenicity of QNT-5 by replacing the P1 anchor position with an optimal tyrosine residue. The modified peptide QNT-Y formed stable MHC-peptide complexes highly resistant to HLA-DM editing. Contrary to expectations, a linear peptide containing QNT-Y elicited almost 10-fold lower long-term antibody and IFN-gamma responses compared to the linear peptide containing the wild type QNT-5 sequence. Some possibilities regarding why QNT-5 is more effective than QNT-Y in inducing long-term T cell and anti-CS Ab when used as vaccine are discussed

Un estudio de las propiedades estructurales, magnéticas y eléctricas de los compuestosBa1-xNaxCoO3(x = 0.25, 0.5, 0.75)

Cobaltite-like materials having metal-insulator transitions are relevant in the consumer electronics market. In this work, we present the structural, magnetic, and electrical properties of Ba1-xNaxCoO3(with x= 0.25, 0.5, 0.75) cobaltite. All samples were synthesized using a solid-state reaction process. Their crystal structure was determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) data by the Rietveld method, which showed that all the samples were crystallized in the orthorhombic space group C2221(N.° 20). The microstructure of the sintered samples was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The magnetic susceptibility measurements confirmed a paramagnetic behavior for x≥ 0.5in the temperature range that was used. Likewise, a broad peak around 33 Kin the sample x = 0.25,andcharacteristic of antiferromagnetic behaviors wereobserved. Onthe other hand, resistivity contributed to determining the insulating behavior of samples where x = 0.5and x = 0.75. In contrast, at low sodium content (x = 0.25), a metal-insulator transition was observed with transition temperature near 105 K.Los materiales de tipo cobaltita que presentan transición metal-aislante tienen relevancia en el mercado de la electrónica de consumo. En este trabajo presentamos las propiedades estructurales, magnéticas y eléctricas de las cobaltitas Ba1-xNaxCoO3(con x= 0.25, 0.5, 0.75). Todas las muestras se sintetizaron mediante un proceso de reacción en estado sólido y su estructura cristalina se determinó a partir de datos de difracción de rayos X (DRX),mediante el método de Rietveld, el cual indicó que las muestras cristalizan en el grupo espacial ortorrómbico C2221(N.o20). La microestructura de las muestras sinterizadas se caracterizó mediante microscopía electrónica de barrido (MEB). Las medidas de susceptibilidad magnética confirmaron un comportamiento paramagnético para x≥ 0.5en el rango de temperatura estudiado y un pico amplio alrededor de 33 Ken la muestra x= 0.25,lo cual es característico de los comportamientos antiferromagnéticos. Las medidas de resistividad permitieron determinar el comportamiento aislante de muestras con x= 0.5y x= 0.75, mientras que a bajo contenido de sodio (x= 0.25),se observó una transición metal-aislante con temperatura de transición cercana a 105K

Effect of the concentration of magnetite on the structure, electrical and magnetic properties of a polyester resin-based composite

Se reporta el efecto de la concentración de polvos de magnetita (Fe3O4) sobre las propiedades eléctricas y magnéticas de un material compuesto a base de resina de poliéster termoestable. Las muestras se elaboraron mediante el método de colado manual en concentraciones de: 60-40, 70-30, 80-20, 90-10 y 100-0 (% en peso), donde la fase mayoritaria es la resina y la minoritaria los óxidos de Fe3O4. La estructura cristalina se estudió usando la técnica de difracción de rayos X y la caracterización superficial tuvo lugar a través de la técnica de microscopía electrónica de barrido. Se midió la respuesta eléctrica por medio de curvas de polarización eléctrica en función del campo eléctrico y de resistividad eléctrica volumétrica a través de un electrómetro. La respuesta magnética se determinó mediante curvas de magnetización en función de la intensidad de campo magnético aplicado y en función de la temperatura. El análisis estructural indica que el porcentaje de cristalinidad aumenta a medida que se adiciona la concentración de Fe3O4 a las muestras. La caracterización eléctrica del material evidencia que la resistividad volumétrica disminuye con el incremento de magnetita, mostrando una transición aislante-conductor, con valores de la constante dieléctrica cada vez mayores. La caracterización magnética evidencia un aumento lineal de la magnetización de saturación y del momento magnético en función de la cantidad de magnetita adicionada a la matriz polimérica, mientras que la coercitividad evidencia comportamientos de materiales magnéticos blandos tanto en T˃TV como en T<TV, donde TV representa la temperatura de Verwey.This study reports the effect of the concentration of magnetite powders (Fe3O4) on the electrical and magnetic properties of a resin-based composite of thermoset polyester. The samples were prepared by the casting method at different concentrations: 60-40, 70-30, 80-20, 90-10 and 100-0 (% in weight), where the primary phase was resin and the secondary, Fe3O4 powders. The crystalline structure was studied using X-ray diffraction and surface characterization was carried out applying the scanning electron microscopy technique. The electrical response was measured by electric polarization curves as a function of the electric field; and the volumetric electrical resistivity, by an electrometer. The magnetic response was determined by magnetization curves as a function of temperature and intensity of the applied magnetic field. The structural analysis indicates that crystallinity increases as higher concentrations of Fe3O4 are added to the samples. The electrical characterization of the material reveals that the volumetric resistivity decreases as the content of magnetite increases. These reactions indicate an insulation-conductor transition with increasing dielectric constant values. The magnetic characterization presents a linear increase of the saturation of magnetization and magnetic moment as a function of the amount of magnetite added to the polymer matrix, whereas the coercivity shows behaviors of soft magnetic materials for T ˃ Tv and for T < Tv, where Tv represents the temperature of Verwey

Effectiveness of a cardiovascular risk management program in the incidence of cardiovascular events in a low-income population from the caribbean region of Colombia

Methods This was a retrospective cohort study. Patients with 20 to 76 years affiliated to insurer company and enrolled to the DTC program were considered as the study population. The data source was an administrative database of all 128,263 patients between Jan 2015 and Dec 2018. The main outcome was the reduction in the risk of a CVE (stroke, AMI or CHF) based in the time-person exposed to the intervention. Four different time thresholds were considered for stablishing exposure status: six months, one year, two years and four years. Propensity score-weighted Cox regression models were used to evaluate the association between exposure to the program and the incidence of CVE

Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers. These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30 to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components. The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy -- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy

We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of 15.8 \pm 0.7 (stat) \pm 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Supplemental material in the ancillary file

Responsabilidad social empresarial : decisiones, reflexiones y casos de estudio

Esta obra es resultado del esfuerzo conjunto realizado por miembros de la Asociación Latinoamericana de Casos (ALAC), el Centro Internacional de Casos del Tecnológico de Monterrey (México) y la Universidad del Norte (Colombia). Contiene una selección de trabajos que versan sobre la problemática de la responsabilidad social empresarial en América Latina, la visión de la cultura y el devenir histórico acerca de este tema y una serie de casos que, sin lugar a dudas, se constituyen en un aporte significativo a los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje respecto a la ética empresarial y la responsabilidad social