Caracterización de la macrofauna del suelo en fragmentos forestales en el municipio de Leticia, Amazonía colombiana

The characterization and the abundance of the soil macrofauna and its relation with the morphology of the soil, were evaluated in areas of forest fragments of secondary forests in the Center for Biodiversity and Tourism of the Amazon, of the National Service of Learning - SENA, in Leticia, Colombian Amazon. The soil macrofauna (invertebrates greater than or equal to 2 mm in diameter) was evaluated in two seasoning periods (May and October) with different rainfall records. A total abundance of 5995 individuals of the soil macrofauna was found, distributed in 14 taxonomic orders. The conserved forest fragment (FFC) was the area that registered the highest floristic diversity, and presented the highest density of the soil macrofauna in both sampling periods. The groups of insects Isoptera and Formicidae were predominant, especially in the FFC. The soil macrofauna communities did not detect significant correlations with the soil morphology variables in the forest fragments. However, this correlation was significant between the two sampling periods, indicating that the seasonality of the rainfall may affect the density of the soil macrofauna depending on the sampling period. La caracterización y la abundancia de la macrofauna del suelo y su relación con la morfología del suelo, fueron evaluadas en áreas de fragmentos forestales de bosques secundarios en el Centro para la Biodiversidad y el Turismo del Amazonas, del Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje - SENA, en Leticia, Amazonía colombiana. La macrofauna del suelo (invertebrados mayores o iguales a 2 mm de diámetro) fue evaluada en dos períodos estacionales (mayo y octubre) con diferentes registros de precipitaciones. Fue encontrado una abundancia total de 5332 individuos de la macrofauna del suelo, distribuidos en 14 órdenes taxonómicas. El fragmento forestal conservado (FFC) fue el área que registró una mayor diversidad florística, y presentó la mayor densidad de la macrofauna del suelo en ambos periodos de muestreo. Los grupos de insectos Isoptera y Formicidae, fueron predominantes, sobre todo, en el FFC. Las comunidades de macrofauna del suelo no detectaron correlaciones significativas con las variables de la morfología del suelo en los fragmentos forestales. Sin embargo, esa correlación se mostró significativa entre los dos periodos de muestreo, indicando que la estacionalidad de la pluviosidad puede afectar la densidad de la macrofauna del suelo dependiendo del periodo de muestreo.&nbsp

Intermediate Molecular Phenotypes to Identify Genetic Markers of Anthracycline-Induced Cardiotoxicity Risk.

Cardiotoxicity due to anthracyclines (CDA) affects cancer patients, but we cannot predict who may suffer from this complication. CDA is a complex trait with a polygenic component that is mainly unidentified. We propose that levels of intermediate molecular phenotypes (IMPs) in the myocardium associated with histopathological damage could explain CDA susceptibility, so variants of genes encoding these IMPs could identify patients susceptible to this complication. Thus, a genetically heterogeneous cohort of mice (n = 165) generated by backcrossing were treated with doxorubicin and docetaxel. We quantified heart fibrosis using an Ariol slide scanner and intramyocardial levels of IMPs using multiplex bead arrays and QPCR. We identified quantitative trait loci linked to IMPs (ipQTLs) and cdaQTLs via linkage analysis. In three cancer patient cohorts, CDA was quantified using echocardiography or Cardiac Magnetic Resonance. CDA behaves as a complex trait in the mouse cohort. IMP levels in the myocardium were associated with CDA. ipQTLs integrated into genetic models with cdaQTLs account for more CDA phenotypic variation than that explained by cda-QTLs alone. Allelic forms of genes encoding IMPs associated with CDA in mice, including AKT1, MAPK14, MAPK8, STAT3, CAS3, and TP53, are genetic determinants of CDA in patients. Two genetic risk scores for pediatric patients (n = 71) and women with breast cancer (n = 420) were generated using machine-learning Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression. Thus, IMPs associated with heart damage identify genetic markers of CDA risk, thereby allowing more personalized patient management.J.P.L.’s lab is sponsored by Grant PID2020-118527RB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/ 501100011039; Grant PDC2021-121735-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011039 and by the “European Union Next Generation EU/PRTR”, the Regional Government of Castile and León (CSI144P20). J.P.L. and P.L.S. are supported by the Carlos III Health Institute (PIE14/00066). AGN laboratory and human patients’ studies are supported by an ISCIII project grant (PI18/01242). The Human Genotyping unit is a member of CeGen, PRB3, and is supported by grant PT17/0019 of the PE I + D + i 2013–2016, funded by ISCIII and ERDF. SCLl is supported by MINECO/FEDER research grants (RTI2018-094130-B-100). CH was supported by the Department of Defense (DoD) BCRP, No. BC190820; and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), No. R01CA184476. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) is a multi-program national laboratory operated by the University of California for the DOE under contract DE AC02-05CH11231. The Proteomics Unit belongs to ProteoRed, PRB3-ISCIII, supported by grant PT17/0019/0023 of the PE I + D +i, 2017–2020, funded by ISCIII and FEDER. RCC is funded by fellowships from the Spanish Regional Government of Castile and León. NGS is a recipient of an FPU fellowship (MINECO/FEDER). hiPSC-CM studies were funded in part by the “la Caixa” Banking Foundation under the project code HR18-00304 and a Severo Ochoa CNIC Intramural Project (Exp. 12-2016 IGP) to J.J.S

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries