Autoimmune neurological conditions associated with Zika virus infection

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging flavivirus rapidly spreading throughout the tropical Americas. mosquitoes is the principal way of transmission of the virus to humans. ZIKV can be spread by transplacental, perinatal, and body fluids. ZIKV infection is often asymptomatic and those with symptoms present minor illness after 3 to 12 days of incubation, characterized by a mild and self-limiting disease with low-grade fever, conjunctivitis, widespread pruritic maculopapular rash, arthralgia and myalgia. ZIKV has been linked to a number of central and peripheral nervous system injuries such as Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), transverse myelitis (TM), meningoencephalitis, ophthalmological manifestations, and other neurological complications. Nevertheless, mechanisms of host-pathogen neuro-immune interactions remain incompletely elucidated. This review provides a critical discussion about the possible mechanisms underlying the development of autoimmune neurological conditions associated with Zika virus infection

Efficient dual-wavelength excitation of Tb3+ emission in rare-earth doped KYF4 cubic nanocrystals dispersed in silica sol-gel matrix

Energy transfer from Ce3+ to Tb3+ ions under UV excitation, giving rise to visible emissions, is investigated in sol–gel derived transparent nano-glass–ceramics containing cubic KYF4 nanocrystals, for different doping concentrations of rare-earth ions. Moreover, visible emissions of Tb3+ are also obtained under near-infrared excitation through energy transfer from Yb3+ ions by means of cooperative up-conversion processes. Thus, Ce3+–Tb3+–Yb3+ doped nano-glass–ceramics can be activated in a dual-wavelength mode yielding efficient blue–green emissions of particular interest in photovoltaic silicon solar cells and white-light emitting diodes

Comparing climate change indices between a northern (arid) and a southern (humid) basin in Mexico during the last decades

It is a matter of current study to determine potential climate changes in different parts of the world, especially in regions like a basin which has the potential to affect socioeconomic and environmental issues in a defined area. This study provides a comparison between several climate change indices trends of two very different basins in Mexico, one located in the northern arid region (the Conchos River basin) and the other in the southern humid area (the Usumacinta River basin). First, quality control, homogenization, and completion of the missing data were applied before calculating the climate change indices and their respective trends for the combined period 1961–1994. A clear warming signal was found for the two basins in addition to an increment in the DTR, in agreement with other studies in Mexico. Also, the Conchos River basin was found to be more humid and the Usumacinta River basin drier, in accordance to a supposed seesaw behavior indicated in previous analysis.</p

(16) Psyche: A mesosiderite-like asteroid?

Asteroid (16) Psyche is the target of the NASA Psyche mission. It is considered one of the few main-belt bodies that could be an exposed proto-planetary metallic core and that would thus be related to iron meteorites. Such an association is however challenged by both its near- and mid-infrared spectral properties and the reported estimates of its density. Here, we aim to refine the density of (16) Psyche to set further constraints on its bulk composition and determine its potential meteoritic analog. We observed (16) Psyche with ESO VLT/SPHERE/ZIMPOL as part of our large program (ID 199.C-0074). We used the high angular resolution of these observations to refine Psyche's three-dimensional (3D) shape model and subsequently its density when combined with the most recent mass estimates. In addition, we searched for potential companions around the asteroid. We derived a bulk density of 3.99\,$\pm$\,0.26\,g$\cdot$cm$^{-3}$ for Psyche. While such density is incompatible at the 3-sigma level with any iron meteorites ($\sim$7.8\,g$\cdot$cm$^{-3}$), it appears fully consistent with that of stony-iron meteorites such as mesosiderites (density $\sim$4.25\,$\cdot$cm$^{-3}$). In addition, we found no satellite in our images and set an upper limit on the diameter of any non-detected satellite of 1460\,$\pm$\,200}\,m at 150\,km from Psyche (0.2\%\,$\times$\,R$_{Hill}$, the Hill radius) and 800\,$\pm$\,200\,m at 2,000\,km (3\%\,$\times$\,$R_{Hill}$). Considering that the visible and near-infrared spectral properties of mesosiderites are similar to those of Psyche, there is merit to a long-published initial hypothesis that Psyche could be a plausible candidate parent body for mesosiderites.Comment: 16 page

Length-weight relationships and relative condition factor in razor surgeonfish, Prionurus laticlavius (Teleostei: Acanthuridae) from the southwestern coast of the Gulf of California, Mexico: Relación peso-longitud y factor de condición relativo del navajón barbero Prionurus laticlavius (Teleostei: Acanthuridae) de la costa sudoccidental del Golfo de California, México

The razor surgeonfish, Prionurus laticlavius, listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species under the Least Concern category, plays an important ecological role as energy regulator in reef communities, but it is sought by the aquarium and aquaculture industry, and also is consumed by people. This study estimated the length-weight relationship (LWR) and relative condition factor (Krel) in P. laticlavius. The equation for length-weight relationship was TW= 0.02 TL3.01 for the Overall category, and the relative condition factor was 1.28. A total of 379 fish (3-45.6 cm total length) were collected in the southwestern coast of the Gulf of California using harpoon (for large fishes) and hand net (for small fishes), of which 181 were females (20.2-45.6 cm), 137 males (20.6-43.4 cm), and 61 juveniles (3-19.5 cm). Allometric coefficient b of LWR for the Overall category suggested isometric growth (b = 3.01), positive allometric growth for juveniles (b = 3.14), and negative allometric growth for adults (2.75). Results of Krel showed higher values for females during the warm season. The population showed a good nutritional condition, mainly in the warm season. This work is the first to estimate LWR and Krel for P. laticlavius, which will inform stock assessment and the management of this species in the Gulf of California

Monitoring of Zarzuela Racecourse structure by means of no-destructive techniques for durability assessment.

Present paper describes some aspects of the restoration project recently undertaken in La Zarzuela Racecourse, designed by E. Torroja and Dominguez in 1934. Despite the good mechanical work of steel, it has started a deterioration process which has caused the corrosion of reinforcement by carbonation. It has been detected corrosion attack in some places due the breaking of the upper waterproofing membrane of the shell which enabled the water to remain long periods in the roof and therefore promoted corrosion of reinforcement. For the repair first an assessment of the degree of corrosion was made. The restoration project finally consisted in the injection of all the cracks in order to assure the joint work of the shell and the patching of the deteriorated zones. Profiting these works it was installed a monitoring system of corrosion sensors. Results of the recording are given in the paper

World squid fisheries

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Polysialic Acid Is Required for Dopamine D2 Receptor-Mediated Plasticity Involving Inhibitory Circuits of the Rat Medial Prefrontal Cortex

Decreased expression of dopamine D2 receptors (D2R), dysfunction of inhibitory neurotransmission and impairments in the structure and connectivity of neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and major depression, but the relationship between these changes remains unclear. The polysialylated form of the neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM), a plasticity-related molecule, may serve as a link. This molecule is expressed in cortical interneurons and dopamine, via D2R, modulates its expression in parallel to that of proteins related to synapses and inhibitory neurotransmission, suggesting that D2R-targeted antipsychotics/antidepressants may act by affecting the plasticity of mPFC inhibitory circuits. To understand the role of PSA-NCAM in this plasticity, rats were chronically treated with a D2R agonist (PPHT) after cortical PSA depletion. PPHT-induced increases in GAD67 and synaptophysin (SYN) neuropil expression were blocked when PSA was previously removed, indicating a role for PSA-NCAM in this plasticity. The number of PSA-NCAM expressing interneuron somata also increased after PPHT treatment, but the percentages of these cells belonging to different interneuronal subpopulations did not change. Cortical pyramidal neurons did not express PSA-NCAM, but puncta co-expressing this molecule and parvalbumin could be found surrounding their somata. PPHT treatment increased the number of PSA-NCAM and parvalbumin expressing perisomatic puncta, but decreased the percentage of parvalbumin puncta that co-expressed SYN. PSA depletion did not block these effects on the perisomatic region, but increased further the number of parvalbumin expressing puncta and increased the percentage of puncta co-expressing SYN and parvalbumin, suggesting that the polysialylation of NCAM may regulate perisomatic inhibition of mPFC principal neurons. Summarizing, the present results indicate that dopamine acting on D2R influences structural plasticity of mPFC interneurons and point to PSA-NCAM as a key player in this remodeling