Changes in the nocturnal activity of birds during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in a neotropical city

Changes in the nocturnal activity of birds during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in a neotropical city. The COVID-19 lockdown provided the opportunity to measure species biodiversity in urban environments under conditions divergent from regular urban rhythms. For 90 days, including weeks of strict lockdown and the subsequent relaxation of restrictions, we measured the presence and abundance of birds that were active at night at two sites in the city of Cali, Colombia. Our results show that species richness of nocturnal birds decreased 40% to 58% during the weeks with more human activity, adding further evidence to the biodiversity responses of the 'anthropause' on urban environments.Non peer reviewe

Reference interval for immature platelet fraction on Sysmex XN haematology analyser in adult population

Introduction: The Sysmex XN-series haematology analyser has newly adopted a fluorescent channel to measure immature platelet fraction (IPF). To promote the clinical utility of this promising parameter, establishing a reliable reference interval is mandatory. According to previous studies, IPF values may be affected by the employed analyser and the ethnic background of the individual, but no differences seem to be found between individuals’ genders. Therefore, this study aimed to define the reference interval for IPF in a Spanish population following Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) guidelines. Materials and methods: A total of 153 healthy Caucasian adults from Spain met the inclusion criteria. IPF measurement was performed by means of a Sysmex XN-2000 haematology analyser. A non-parametric percentile method was used to calculate the reference intervals in accordance with CLSI guidelines. Results: The obtained reference interval for IPF on the Sysmex XN-2000 was 1.6–9.6% (90% confidence intervals (CIs) were 1.5–1.8 and 9.3–11.5, respectively). No significant gender difference in IPF reference intervals was observed (P = 0.101). Conclusions: This study provides, for the first time, a reference interval for IPF using a Sysmex XN-2000 in a Spanish population, ranging from 1.6 to 9.6%. These data are needed to evaluate platelet production in several conditions such as thrombocytopenia, inflammatory states and cardiovascular diseases, as well as for future research

Estudi computacional de les interaccions moleculars entre l'àcid itacònic i compostos antimalàrics: un pas important per al disseny racional de sistemes d'alliberament controlat de fàrmacs

Las interacciones moleculares entre cuatro antimaláricos: cloroquina, primaquina, quinina y amodiaquina, con un dímero del ácido itacónico, fueron estudiadas a través de la teoría del funcional de la densidad usando B3LYP/++6-31G(d,p) y el modelo CPCM para el solvente. Cloroquina, primaquina y quinina presentan interacción apreciable con el dímero del ácido itacónico, con energías de interacción en el rango de -17 hasta -6,7 kcal/mol, de naturaleza exotérmica, a través de un proceso de fisisorción. El valor positivo de la energía de interacción para la amodiaquina sugiere una menor probabilidad de que este sea adsorbido por un dímero de ácido itacónico. Los cálculos NBO y la aplicación de la teoría de perturbación de segundo orden indican transferencia de carga desde los compuestos cloroquina y primaquina. Adicionalmente, los resultados sugieren que las interacciones principales son de naturaleza polar, donde los enlaces de hidrógenos juegan un rol principal. Los resultados encontrados a través del método CPCM indican que los complejos entre el dímero de ácido itacónico con cloroquina y primaquina son bastante estables en disolución acuosa; además presentan valores adecuados de LogP y momento dipolar, indicando alta la interacción con el solvente que permitiría el hinchamiento y la liberación controlada de estos fármacos.The molecular interactions between four widely used antimalaric i.e, chloroquine, primaquine, quinine and amodiaquine, with an itaconic acid dimer as a hydrogel model, have been studied by the mean of the Density Functional Theory calculation in both, vacuum and water environment, using B3LYP/++6-31G(d,p) basis set and PCM model of solvent. Chloroquine, primaquine, and quinine show a suitable interaction with the itaconic acid dimer, with binding energy into the range of -17 to -6.7 kcal/ mol. These values of binding energies suggest the formation of stable and exothermic complexes in the range of physisorption energy. By contrast, the positive value of binding energy for amodiaquine indicates a little chance to be absorbed into the hydrogel polymer. The NBO calculation and the second order perturbation theory indicate a strong charge-transference from chloroquine and primaquine to itaconic acid dimer. In addition, these results suppose the interactions are mainly polar in nature where the hydrogen bond plays a pivotal role in complex stabilization. On the other hand, the CPCM calculations suggest the chloroquine and primaquine complex are stables, with suitable values of both, LogP and dipole momentum implying the swelling of these complex in water and the eventual drugs controlled-delivery from the polymeric matrix

Nutrition screening tools for risk of malnutrition among hospitalized patients

Background: Malnutrition is a clinical problem with a high prevalence in hospitalized adult patients. Many nutritional screening tools have been developed but there is no consensus on which 1 is more useful. The purpose of this review protocol is to provide an overview of which nutritional screening tool is most valid to identify malnutritional risk in hospitalized adult patients and to analyze the sensitivity and specificity of the different tools. Methods: The protocol of this systematic review and meta-analysis was registered on the INPLASY website (https://inplasy.com/inplasy-2020-9-0028/) and INPLASY registration number is INPLASY202090028. We will perform a systematic literature search of main databases: PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL and Web of Science and the Cochrane database. Also, grey literature will be search. Peer-reviewed studies published in English, Portuguese or Spanish language will be selected. Screening of titles, abstract and full text will be assessed for eligibility by 2 independent blinded reviewers and any discrepancies will be resolved via consensus. After screening the studies, a meta-analysis will be conducted, if it is possible. Results: Results from this systematic review will help health professionals to identify malnutrition in hospitalized patients and to make decisions to prevent or treat it as well as provide new clues to researchers. Conclusion: Our systematic review will provide aknowledge about the most valid malnutrition risk screening tool in hospitalized adult patients

SSDSS IV MaNGA - Properties of AGN host galaxies

We present here the characterization of the main properties of a sample of 98 AGN host galaxies, both type-II and type-I, in comparison with those of about 2700 non-active galaxies observed by the MaNGA survey. We found that AGN hosts are morphologically early-type or early-spirals. For a given morphology AGN hosts are, in average, more massive, more compact, more central peaked and rather pressurethan rotational-supported systems. We confirm previous results indicating that AGN hosts are located in the intermediate/transition region between star-forming and non-star-forming galaxies (i.e., the so-called green valley), both in the ColorMagnitude and the star formation main sequence diagrams. Taking into account their relative distribution in terms of the stellar metallicity and oxygen gas abundance and a rough estimation of their molecular gas content, we consider that these galaxies are in the process of halting/quenching the star formation, in an actual transition between both groups. The analysis of the radial distributions of the starformation rate, specific star-formation rate, and molecular gas density shows that the quenching happens from inside-out involving both a decrease of the efficiency of the star formation and a deficit of molecular gas. All the intermediate data-products used to derive the results of our analysis are distributed in a database including the spatial distribution and average properties of the stellar populations and ionized gas, published as a Sloan Digital Sky Survey Value Added Catalog being part of the 14th Data Release: http://www.sdss.org/dr14/manga/manga-data/manga-pipe3d-value-added-catalog/Comment: 48 pages, 14 figures, in press in RMxA

Interactions among mitochondrial proteins altered in glioblastoma

Mitochondrial dysfunction is putatively central to glioblastoma (GBM) pathophysiology but there has been no systematic analysis in GBM of the proteins which are integral to mitochondrial function. Alterations in proteins in mitochondrial enriched fractions from patients with GBM were defined with label-free liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. 256 mitochondrially-associated proteins were identified in mitochondrial enriched fractions and 117 of these mitochondrial proteins were markedly (fold-change ≥2) and significantly altered in GBM (p ≤ 0.05). Proteins associated with oxidative damage (including catalase, superoxide dismutase 2, peroxiredoxin 1 and peroxiredoxin 4) were increased in GBM. Protein–protein interaction analysis highlighted a reduction in multiple proteins coupled to energy metabolism (in particular respiratory chain proteins, including 23 complex-I proteins). Qualitative ultrastructural analysis in GBM with electron microscopy showed a notably higher prevalence of mitochondria with cristolysis in GBM. This study highlights the complex mitochondrial proteomic adjustments which occur in GBM pathophysiology

Presumed killers? Vultures, stakeholders, misperceptions, and fake news

Vultures and condors are among the most threatened avian species in the world due to the impacts of human activities. Negative perceptions can contribute to these threats as some vulture species have been historically blamed for killing livestock. This perception of conflict has increased in recent years, associated with a viral spread of partial and biased information through social media and despite limited empirical support for these assertions. Here, we highlight that magnifying infrequent events of livestock being injured by vultures through publically shared videos or biased news items negatively impact efforts to conserve threatened populations of avian scavengers. We encourage environmental agencies, researchers, and practitioners to evaluate the reliability, frequency, and context of reports of vulture predation, weighing those results against the diverse and valuable contributions of vultures to environmental health and human well-being. We also encourage the development of awareness campaigns and improved livestock management practices, including commonly available nonlethal deterrence strategies, if needed. These actions are urgently required to allow the development of a more effective conservation strategy for vultures worldwide.Peer reviewe

Neutron-rich fragments produced by in-flight fission of U-238

The production cross sections of neutron-rich fission residues in reactions induced by U-238 projectiles at 950A MeV impinging on Pb and Be targets are investigated at the Fragment Separator at GSI. These two targets allow us to investigate fission processes induced by two reaction mechanisms, Coulomb and nuclear excitations, and to study the role of these mechanisms in the neutron excess of the final fragments.Peer reviewe

An Overview of the 2014 ALMA Long Baseline Campaign

A major goal of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is to make accurate images with resolutions of tens of milliarcseconds, which at submillimeter (submm) wavelengths requires baselines up to ~15 km. To develop and test this capability, a Long Baseline Campaign (LBC) was carried out from September to late November 2014, culminating in end-to-end observations, calibrations, and imaging of selected Science Verification (SV) targets. This paper presents an overview of the campaign and its main results, including an investigation of the short-term coherence properties and systematic phase errors over the long baselines at the ALMA site, a summary of the SV targets and observations, and recommendations for science observing strategies at long baselines. Deep ALMA images of the quasar 3C138 at 97 and 241 GHz are also compared to VLA 43 GHz results, demonstrating an agreement at a level of a few percent. As a result of the extensive program of LBC testing, the highly successful SV imaging at long baselines achieved angular resolutions as fine as 19 mas at ~350 GHz. Observing with ALMA on baselines of up to 15 km is now possible, and opens up new parameter space for submm astronomy.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables; accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters; this version with small changes to affiliation