Crustáceos decápodos asociados a ensamblajes macroalgales en el litoral rocoso de Córdoba, Caribe colombiano

Objetivo. Determinar la estructura de las poblaciones de crustáceos decápodos asociados a ensamblajes algales en el litoral rocoso del departamento de Córdoba. Materiales y métodos. Para la recolección de los especímenes se delimitó con un cuadrante de 625 cm2, un área con cinco repeticiones dispuestas al azar en cada estación. Para la separación de las macroalgas desde su disco de fijación en el sustrato, se empleó una espátula metálica. En un recipiente plástico se separaron los crustáceos decápodos del resto del material y se conservaron en alcohol al 70%. Resultados. Se identificaron representantes de 50 especies asociadas a los céspedes algales, agrupadas en 16 familias y 29 géneros. Especies como Acanthonyx petiverii, Epialtus bituberculatus, Eurypanopeus abbreviatus y Pachycheles serratus, presentaron un rango amplio de distribución, siendo características en las dos ecorregiones de estudio. Los cambios en cobertura de algas rojas como Gracilaria mammillaris, Hypnea musciformis y Acanthophora muscoides, determinaron la mayor asociación de crustáceos decápodos en la ecorregión Morrosquillo, mientras que los cambios en cobertura de G. damaecornis y Padina gymnospora, fueron las que determinaron la mayor asociación de crustáceos decápodos en el Darién cordobés. Conclusiones. Los resultados indicaron que las especies de crustáceos decápodos asociados a ensamblajes macroalgales, no se encontraron distribuidas de forma similar en las dos ecorregiones estudiadas, siendo P. armatus la especie con mayor porcentaje de abundancia en la ecorregión Morrosquillo, y E. bituberculatus en el sector comprendido entre los municipios de Moñitos y Los Córdobas

Learning of the Object Oriented Paradigm Through Interactive Video-Games Development

The Object Orientation Paradigm (OOP) is more than Object Oriented languages. Learning the syntax of a language as C++ or Java is a relatively easy task compared with the understanding of the principles of OO Modeling and Design (OOD), which require a high ability of abstract reasoning. Moreover, it is not enough to teach the artifacts of Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) as the Unified Modeling Language (UML) if those principles are not properly understood. We wanted to engage the students in a motivating framework, so both the principles of OOD are properly acquired and put in practice with CASE and programming tools

Mouse p53-deficient cancer models as platforms for obtaining genomic predictors of human cancer clinical outcomes

Mutations in the TP53 gene are very common in human cancers, and are associated with poor clinical outcome. Transgenic mouse models lacking the Trp53 gene or that express mutant Trp53 transgenes produce tumours with malignant features in many organs. We previously showed the transcriptome of a p53-deficient mouse skin carcinoma model to be similar to those of human cancers with TP53 mutations and associated with poor clinical outcomes. This report shows that much of the 682-gene signature of this murine skin carcinoma transcriptome is also present in breast and lung cancer mouse models in which p53 is inhibited. Further, we report validated gene-expression-based tests for predicting the clinical outcome of human breast and lung adenocarcinoma. It was found that human patients with cancer could be stratified based on the similarity of their transcriptome with the mouse skin carcinoma 682-gene signature. The results also provide new targets for the treatment of p53-defective tumours

Nuclear astrophysics with radioactive ions at FAIR

R. Reifarth et al: ; 12 págs.; 9 figs.; Open Access funded by Creative Commons Atribution Licence 3.0 ; Nuclear Physics in Astrophysics VI (NPA6)The nucleosynthesis of elements beyond iron is dominated by neutron captures in the s and r processes. However, 32 stable, proton-rich isotopes cannot be formed during those processes, because they are shielded from the s-process ow and r-process -decay chains. These nuclei are attributed to the p and rp process. For all those processes, current research in nuclear astrophysics addresses the need for more precise reaction data involving radioactive isotopes. Depending on the particular reaction, direct or inverse kinematics, forward or time-reversed direction are investigated to determine or at least to constrain the desired reaction cross sections. The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) will oer unique, unprecedented opportunities to investigate many of the important reactions. The high yield of radioactive isotopes, even far away from the valley of stability, allows the investigation of isotopes involved in processes as exotic as the r or rp processes.This project was supported by the HGF Young Investigators Project VH-NG-327, EMMI, H4F, HGS-HIRe, JINA, NAVI, DFG and ATHENA.Peer Reviewe

Low NKp30, NKp46 and NKG2D expression and reduced cytotoxic activity on NK cells in cervical cancer and precursor lesions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Persistent high risk HPV infection can lead to cervical cancer, the second most common malignant tumor in women worldwide. NK cells play a crucial role against tumors and virus-infected cells through a fine balance between activating and inhibitory receptors. Expression of triggering receptors NKp30, NKp44, NKp46 and NKG2D on NK cells correlates with cytolytic activity against tumor cells, but these receptors have not been studied in cervical cancer and precursor lesions. The aim of the present work was to study NKp30, NKp46, NKG2D, NKp80 and 2B4 expression in NK cells from patients with cervical cancer and precursor lesions, in the context of HPV infection.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>NKp30, NKp46, NKG2D, NKp80 and 2B4 expression was analyzed by flow cytometry on NK cells from 59 patients with cervical cancer and squamous intraepithelial lesions. NK cell cytotoxicity was evaluated in a 4 hour CFSE/7-AAD flow cytometry assay. HPV types were identified by PCR assays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We report here for the first time that NK cell-activating receptors NKp30 and NKp46 are significantly down-regulated in cervical cancer and high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HGSIL) patients. NCRs down-regulation correlated with low cytolytic activity, HPV-16 infection and clinical stage. NKG2D was also down-regulated in cervical cancer patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that NKp30, NKp46 and NKG2D down-regulation represent an evasion mechanism associated to low NK cell activity, HPV-16 infection and cervical cancer progression.</p

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Plant diversity patterns in neotropical dry forests and their conservation implications

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from American Association for the Advancement of Science via the DOI in this record.Seasonally dry tropical forests are distributed across Latin America and the Caribbean and are highly threatened, with less than 10% of their original extent remaining in many countries. Using 835 inventories covering 4660 species of woody plants, we show marked floristic turnover among inventories and regions, which may be higher than in other neotropical biomes, such as savanna. Such high floristic turnover indicates that numerous conservation areas across many countries will be needed to protect the full diversity of tropical dry forests. Our results provide a scientific framework within which national decision-makers can contextualize the floristic significance of their dry forest at a regional and continental scale.This paper is the result of the Latin American and Caribbean Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest Floristic Network (DRYFLOR), which has been supported at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh by a Leverhulme Trust International Network Grant (IN-074). This work was also supported by the U.K. Natural Environment Research Council grant NE/I028122/1; Colciencias Ph.D. scholarship 529; Synthesys Programme GBTAF-2824; the NSF (NSF 1118340 and 1118369); the Instituto Humboldt (IAvH)–Red colombiana de investigación y monitoreo en bosque seco; the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI; Tropi-Dry, CRN2-021, funded by NSF GEO 0452325); Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR); and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). The data reported in this paper are available at www.dryflor.info. R.T.P. conceived the study. M.P., A.O.-F., K.B.-R., R.T.P., and J.W. designed the DRYFLOR database system. K.B.-R. and K.G.D. carried out most analyses. K.B.-R. R.T.P., and K.G.D. wrote the manuscript with substantial input from A.D.-S., R.L.-P., A.O.-F., D.P., C.Q., and R.R. All the authors contributed data, discussed further analyses, and commented on various versions of the manuscript. K.B.-R. thanks G. Galeano who introduced her to dry forest research. We thank J. L. Marcelo, I. Huamantupa, C. Reynel, S. Palacios, and A. Daza for help with fieldwork and data entry in Peru

Time to Switch to Second-line Antiretroviral Therapy in Children With Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Europe and Thailand.

Background: Data on durability of first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) in children with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are limited. We assessed time to switch to second-line therapy in 16 European countries and Thailand. Methods: Children aged <18 years initiating combination ART (≥2 nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors [NRTIs] plus nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor [NNRTI] or boosted protease inhibitor [PI]) were included. Switch to second-line was defined as (i) change across drug class (PI to NNRTI or vice versa) or within PI class plus change of ≥1 NRTI; (ii) change from single to dual PI; or (iii) addition of a new drug class. Cumulative incidence of switch was calculated with death and loss to follow-up as competing risks. Results: Of 3668 children included, median age at ART initiation was 6.1 (interquartile range (IQR), 1.7-10.5) years. Initial regimens were 32% PI based, 34% nevirapine (NVP) based, and 33% efavirenz based. Median duration of follow-up was 5.4 (IQR, 2.9-8.3) years. Cumulative incidence of switch at 5 years was 21% (95% confidence interval, 20%-23%), with significant regional variations. Median time to switch was 30 (IQR, 16-58) months; two-thirds of switches were related to treatment failure. In multivariable analysis, older age, severe immunosuppression and higher viral load (VL) at ART start, and NVP-based initial regimens were associated with increased risk of switch. Conclusions: One in 5 children switched to a second-line regimen by 5 years of ART, with two-thirds failure related. Advanced HIV, older age, and NVP-based regimens were associated with increased risk of switch

Twist exome capture allows for lower average sequence coverage in clinical exome sequencing

Background Exome and genome sequencing are the predominant techniques in the diagnosis and research of genetic disorders. Sufficient, uniform and reproducible/consistent sequence coverage is a main determinant for the sensitivity to detect single-nucleotide (SNVs) and copy number variants (CNVs). Here we compared the ability to obtain comprehensive exome coverage for recent exome capture kits and genome sequencing techniques. Results We compared three different widely used enrichment kits (Agilent SureSelect Human All Exon V5, Agilent SureSelect Human All Exon V7 and Twist Bioscience) as well as short-read and long-read WGS. We show that the Twist exome capture significantly improves complete coverage and coverage uniformity across coding regions compared to other exome capture kits. Twist performance is comparable to that of both short- and long-read whole genome sequencing. Additionally, we show that even at a reduced average coverage of 70× there is only minimal loss in sensitivity for SNV and CNV detection. Conclusion We conclude that exome sequencing with Twist represents a significant improvement and could be performed at lower sequence coverage compared to other exome capture techniques