Estudio del ciclo hidrológico de la cuenca amazónica mediante el uso de sensoramiento remoto: análisis de evapotranspiración

Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina. Facultad de Ingeniería Agrícola. Departamento Académico de Recursos HídricosLa evapotranspiración tiene un rol relevante en el cálculo del balance hídrico; sin embargo, estudios sobre la evapotranspiración en la cuenca Amazónica (CA) son escasos. En este trabajo se analizó la evapotranspiración a escala puntual y espacial. En el primer análisis se utilizaron datos de evapotranspiración de torres de flujo (TF) del proyecto LBA, la evapotranspiración calculada con las ecuaciones de Penman-Monteith y Priestley-Taylor (usando datos meteorológicos de las TF), el producto de evapotranspiración satelital MOD16 y el modelo GLEAM. Los resultados de este análisis mostraron que la evapotranspiración está influenciada por la radiación neta, el tipo de vegetación y el contenido de agua en el suelo. Debido a estas características, MOD16 y GLEAM no representan adecuadamente la evapotranspiración en bosques amazónicos ya que toman datos de Reanálisis como variables meteorológicas de entrada para sus algoritmos. Sin embargo, la ecuación de Priestley-Taylor tiene una adecuada representación de la evapotranspiración, teniendo un R2 mayor a 0.5 en estos ecosistemas. Además, la ecuación Penman-Monteith sobrestima la evapotranspiración, mientras que Priestley-Taylor la subestima. En el análisis espacial se calculó la evapotranspiración usando un balance de agua con los datos de precipitación (TRMM), contenido de agua en el suelo (GRACE) y caudales (ORE-HYBAM) para nueve sub-cuencas amazónicas. Los resultados mostraron que la CA tiene una evapotranspiración promedio de 3.48 mm d-1. Las sub-cuencas con mayor evapotranspiración son Xingú, Madeira Baja y Tapajós (≅4 mm d-1) ubicadas al Sur de la CA, y las sub-cuencas con menor evapotranspiración son Marañón, Ucayali y Rio Negro (<2 mm d-1). Los valores bajos de evapotranspiración en Marañón y Ucayali podrían estar afectados por la presencia de los Andes, los cuales incrementan la escorrentía y disminuyen la evapotranspiración. Finalmente concluimos que los datos del TRMM y GRACE son útiles para estudios en el balance hídrico en las sub-cuencas amazónicasTesi

Reassessing the status of antiphospholipid syndrome in systemic lupus erythematosus.

The antiphospholipid syndrome was initially described in 1986. To reassess the validity of antiphospholipid antibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 95 patients with SLE were studied. Their antiphospholipid antibody profile was analysed and correlated with clinical findings such as thrombosis, abortions, or thrombocytopenia. A low prevalence of these antibodies was found (13 patients; 14%) with a high specificity for thrombosis (92%) and abortions (92%). The importance of anticardiolipin antibodies as a risk factor for thrombosis or abortions, or both, in patients with SLE is reaffirmed by this work

Plan de marketing para el relanzamiento del hotel Sol de Luna en Lunahuana

El presente plan de marketing evalúa el relanzamiento del hotel Sol de Luna, ubicado en la localidad de Lunahuaná, en Cañete, con un nuevo concepto enfocado en atender las necesidades de los turistas del segmento conformado por familias. La ventaja principal de este plan es que contará con infraestructura y una amplia gama de servicios pensados en brindar descanso, diversión y seguridad, tanto a padres como a niños. Del análisis del entorno, se aprecia la enorme relevancia que está cobrando el aspecto digital en los hábitos de compra de los turistas y en los canales de venta. La tendencia del sector hotelero es la de enfocarse en nichos específicos del mercado y se identifica con el segmento de familias, como el principal dentro de los turistas nacionales. La investigación de mercado identificó que las familias que visitan Lunahuaná buscan una mayor oferta de actividades, especialmente para los niños. Por otro lado, la encuesta realizada a ese segmento identificó que el 87% estaría dispuesto a visitar el nuevo hotel y el 24% estaría de acuerdo con pagar un precio 33% por encima del actual. El nuevo concepto de hotel familiar contempla la remodelación de espacios actuales y la construcción de instalaciones en los más de 12 mil m2 con los que cuenta el hotel, que tiene casi un 40% de terreno libre. Se incluye la remodelación de las 36 habitaciones familiares, piscina y el restaurante, además de la construcción de una zona de entretenimiento familiar y un miniclub, diseñado para niños menores de 5 años

Maternal Pre-Pregnancy Obesity Is Associated with Altered Placental Transcriptome

<p><b>(A)</b> Principal component analysis (PCA) of term placental gene expression profiles in obese (Ob_ N°) and normal weight women (N_N°). <b>(B)</b> Cluster analysis of dysregulated genes in term placentas from obese (Ob_ N°) <i>vs</i>. normal weight women (N_N°). Red represents genes with high expression levels and green represents genes with low expression levels.</p

diXa: a data infrastructure for chemical safety assessment

Motivation: The field of toxicogenomics (the application of ‘-omics' technologies to risk assessment of compound toxicities) has expanded in the last decade, partly driven by new legislation, aimed at reducing animal testing in chemical risk assessment but mainly as a result of a paradigm change in toxicology towards the use and integration of genome wide data. Many research groups worldwide have generated large amounts of such toxicogenomics data. However, there is no centralized repository for archiving and making these data and associated tools for their analysis easily available. Results: The Data Infrastructure for Chemical Safety Assessment (diXa) is a robust and sustainable infrastructure storing toxicogenomics data. A central data warehouse is connected to a portal with links to chemical information and molecular and phenotype data. diXa is publicly available through a user-friendly web interface. New data can be readily deposited into diXa using guidelines and templates available online. Analysis descriptions and tools for interrogating the data are available via the diXa portal. Availability and implementation: http://www.dixa-fp7.eu Contact: [email protected]; [email protected] Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics onlin

Optical Microscopy in the Nano-World

Scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) is an optical microscopy whose resolution is not bound to the diffraction limit. It provides chemical information based upon spectral, polarization and/or fluorescence contrast images. Details as small as 20 nm can be recognized. Photophysical and photochemical effects can be studied with SNOM on a similar scale. This article reviews a good deal of the experimental and theoretical work on SNOM in Switzerland

MiR-133b Targets Antiapoptotic Genes and Enhances Death Receptor-Induced Apoptosis

Despite the importance of microRNAs (miRs) for regulation of the delicate balance between cell proliferation and death, evidence for their specific involvement during death receptor (DR)-mediated apoptosis is scarce. Transfection with miR-133b rendered resistant HeLa cells sensitive to tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα)-induced cell death. Similarly, miR-133b caused exacerbated proapoptotic responses to TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) or an activating antibody to Fas/CD95. Comprehensive analysis, encompassing global RNA or protein expression profiling performed by microarray experiments and pulsed stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture (pSILAC), led to the discovery of the antiapoptotic protein Fas apoptosis inhibitory molecule (FAIM) as immediate miR-133b target. Moreover, miR-133b impaired the expression of the detoxifying protein glutathione-S-transferase pi (GSTP1). Expression of miR-133b in tumor specimens of prostate cancer patients was significantly downregulated in 75% of the cases, when compared with matched healthy tissue. Furthermore, introduction of synthetic miR-133b into an ex-vivo model of prostate cancer resulted in impaired proliferation and cellular metabolic activity. PC3 cells were also sensitized to apoptotic stimuli after transfection with miR-133b similar to HeLa cells. These data reveal the ability of a single miR to influence major apoptosis pathways, suggesting an essential role for this molecule during cellular transformation, tumorigenesis and tissue homeostasis

Towards a collaborative research: A case study on linking science to farmers' perceptions and knowledge on Arabica coffee pests and diseases and its management

The scientific community has recognized the importance of integrating farmer's perceptions and knowledge (FPK) for the development of sustainable pest and disease management strategies. However, the knowledge gap between indigenous and scientific knowledge still contributes to misidentification of plant health constraints and poor adoption of management solutions. This is particularly the case in the context of smallholder farming in developing countries. In this paper, we present a case study on coffee production in Uganda, a sector depending mostly on smallholder farming facing a simultaneous and increasing number of socio-ecological pressures. The objectives of this study were (i) to examine and relate FPK on Arabica Coffee Pests and Diseases (CPaD) to altitude and the vegetation structure of the production systems; (ii) to contrast results with perceptions from experts and (iii) to compare results with field observations, in order to identify constraints for improving the information flow between scientists and farmers. Data were acquired by means of interviews and workshops. One hundred and fifty farmer households managing coffee either at sun exposure, under shade trees or inter-cropped with bananas and spread across an altitudinal gradient were selected. Field sampling of the two most important CPaD was conducted on a subset of 34 plots. The study revealed the following findings: (i) Perceptions on CPaD with respect to their distribution across altitudes and perceived impact are partially concordant among farmers, experts and field observations (ii) There are discrepancies among farmers and experts regarding management practices and the development of CPaD issues of the previous years. (iii) Field observations comparing CPaD in different altitudes and production systems indicate ambiguity of the role of shade trees. According to the locality-specific variability in CPaD pressure as well as in FPK, the importance of developing spatially variable and relevant CPaD control practices is proposed. (Résumé d'auteur

Comprehensive genomic profiles of small cell lung cancer

We have sequenced the genomes of 110 small cell lung cancers (SCLC), one of the deadliest human cancers. In nearly all the tumours analysed we found bi-allelic inactivation of TP53 and RB1, sometimes by complex genomic rearrangements. Two tumours with wild-type RB1 had evidence of chromothripsis leading to overexpression of cyclin D1 (encoded by the CCND1 gene), revealing an alternative mechanism of Rb1 deregulation. Thus, loss of the tumour suppressors TP53 and RB1 is obligatory in SCLC. We discovered somatic genomic rearrangements of TP73 that create an oncogenic version of this gene, TP73Dex2/3. In rare cases, SCLC tumours exhibited kinase gene mutations, providing a possible therapeutic opportunity for individual patients. Finally, we observed inactivating mutations in NOTCH family genes in 25% of human SCLC. Accordingly, activation of Notch signalling in a pre-clinical SCLC mouse model strikingly reduced the number of tumours and extended the survival of the mutant mice. Furthermore, neuroendocrine gene expression was abrogated by Notch activity in SCLC cells. This first comprehensive study of somatic genome alterations in SCLC uncovers several key biological processes and identifies candidate therapeutic targets in this highly lethal form of cancer

Copy number variants as modifiers of breast cancer risk for BRCA1/BRCA2 pathogenic variant carriers

The risk of germline copy number variants (CNVs) in BRCA1 and BRCA2 pathogenic variant carriers in breast cancer is assessed, with CNVs overlapping SULT1A1 decreasing breast cancer risk in BRCA1 carriers.The contribution of germline copy number variants (CNVs) to risk of developing cancer in individuals with pathogenic BRCA1 or BRCA2 variants remains relatively unknown. We conducted the largest genome-wide analysis of CNVs in 15,342 BRCA1 and 10,740 BRCA2 pathogenic variant carriers. We used these results to prioritise a candidate breast cancer risk-modifier gene for laboratory analysis and biological validation. Notably, the HR for deletions in BRCA1 suggested an elevated breast cancer risk estimate (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.21), 95% confidence interval (95% CI = 1.09-1.35) compared with non-CNV pathogenic variants. In contrast, deletions overlapping SULT1A1 suggested a decreased breast cancer risk (HR = 0.73, 95% CI 0.59-0.91) in BRCA1 pathogenic variant carriers. Functional analyses of SULT1A1 showed that reduced mRNA expression in pathogenic BRCA1 variant cells was associated with reduced cellular proliferation and reduced DNA damage after treatment with DNA damaging agents. These data provide evidence that deleterious variants in BRCA1 plus SULT1A1 deletions contribute to variable breast cancer risk in BRCA1 carriers.Peer reviewe