La fauna parasitaria de Artemesia longinaris (Crustacea: Decapoda) en los principales puertos camaroneros del Mar Argentino

Fil: Martorelli, Sergio Roberto. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores (CEPAVE), La Plata, ArgentinaFil: Fumagalli, Soledad. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores (CEPAVE), La Plata, ArgentinaFil: Cardillo, Felicia. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores (CEPAVE), La Plata, Argentin

The Orion Region: Evidence of enhanced cosmic-ray density in a stellar wind forward shock interaction with a high density shell

Context. In recent years, an in-depth gamma-ray analysis of the Orion region has been carried out by the AGILE and Fermi-LAT (Large Area Telescope) teams with the aim of estimating the H2-CO conversion factor, XCO. The comparison of the data from both satellites with models of diffuse gamma-ray Galactic emission unveiled an excess at (l,b)=[213.9, -19.5], in a region at a short angular distance from the OB star k-Ori. Possible explanations of this excess are scattering of the so-called "dark gas", non-linearity in the H2-CO relation, or Cosmic-Ray (CR) energization at the k-Ori wind shock. Aims. Concerning this last hypothesis, we want to verify whether cosmic-ray acceleration or re-acceleration could be triggered at the k-Ori forward shock, which we suppose to be interacting with a star-forming shell detected in several wavebands and probably triggered by high energy particles. Methods. Starting from the AGILE spectrum of the detected gamma-ray excess, showed here for the first time, we developed a valid physical model for cosmic-ray energization, taking into account re-acceleration, acceleration, energy losses, and secondary electron contribution. Results. Despite the characteristic low velocity of an OB star forward shock during its "snowplow" expansion phase, we find that the Orion gamma-ray excess could be explained by re-acceleration of pre-existing cosmic rays in the interaction between the forward shock of k-Ori and the CO-detected, star-forming shell swept-up by the star expansion. According to our calculations, a possible contribution from freshly accelerated particles is sub-dominant with respect the re-acceleration contribution. However, a simple adiabatic compression of the shell could also explain the detected gamma-ray emission. Futher GeV and TeV observations of this region are highly recommended in order to correctly identify the real physical scenario.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, accepted by A&

Structural Properties of Planar Graphs of Urban Street Patterns

Recent theoretical and empirical studies have focused on the structural properties of complex relational networks in social, biological and technological systems. Here we study the basic properties of twenty 1-square-mile samples of street patterns of different world cities. Samples are represented by spatial (planar) graphs, i.e. valued graphs defined by metric rather than topologic distance and where street intersections are turned into nodes and streets into edges. We study the distribution of nodes in the 2-dimensional plane. We then evaluate the local properties of the graphs by measuring the meshedness coefficient and counting short cycles (of three, four and five edges), and the global properties by measuring global efficiency and cost. As normalization graphs, we consider both minimal spanning trees (MST) and greedy triangulations (GT) induced by the same spatial distribution of nodes. The results indicate that most of the cities have evolved into networks as efficienct as GT, although their cost is closer to the one of a tree. An analysis based on relative efficiency and cost is able to characterize different classes of cities.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 3 table

First serological evidence of SARS-CoV-2 natural infection in small ruminants : Brief report

: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in late December 2019 and spread worldwide, quickly becoming a pandemic. This zoonotic coronavirus shows a broad host range, including wildlife and domestic animals. Small ruminants are shown to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 but, to date, no natural infection has been reported. Herein, we performed a survey for SARS-CoV-2 among sheep and goats in the Campania region of Italy using an indirect multispecies ELISA. Next, positive sera were submitted to virus serum neutralization for the quantification of specific neutralizing antibodies. Out of 612 sheep and goats, 23 were found ELISA positive (3.75%) and 1 of them showed 1:20 neutralizing antibodies titer. No significant difference was found between the two species, as well as between male and female, geographical location and age. Our findings demonstrate that natural infection can occur in flocks in a field situation. Moreover, low susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 is reported for sheep and goats, nevertheless, the continuous mutations of this virus open new scenarios on viral host range and tropism, highlighting the importance of investigating animal species that could represent ongoing or future possible hosts

Effects of combined strength and endurance training on exercise capacity in kidney transplant cyclists and runners

Introduction: After transplantation, engaging in regular physical activity (PA) or sport is recommended for health. Participation to competitive sports is increasingly common among kidney transplant recipients while little is known on how training affects the physical performance in transplanted athletes. Aim: The purpose of this case study was to assess the effects of a tailored training program on exercise parameters in kidney transplant cyclists (CKTRs) and runners (RKTRs). Methods: Twelve male transplanted athletes were enrolled. The workload at aerobic and anaerobic thresholds, the submaximal aerobic power (V'O2 stage) and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) during an incremental cycling or running test, and the peak instantaneous force (PIF) during a countermovement jump were assessed at baseline (T0) and after 6 months of tailored training (T6) consisting in strength and aerobic exercises. Exercise adherence, blood lipid profile and renal function were also investigated. Results: Eight CKTRs and 4 RKTRs completed the 6-month training period, with a significant increase of training volume (minutes/week). The exercise adherence was met by 90% in both groups. At T6, there were significant (p<0.05) improvements of maximum workload attained, the workload corresponding to the aerobic threshold and PIF, while workloads at anaerobic threshold, V'O2 stage and RPE were unchanged. Blood cholesterol significantly decreased (p<0.01), while the other blood parameters were unchanged. Conclusions: These findings indicate that the combined strength and endurance training is well tolerated and may improve exercise performance in this selected population of KTRs

Bovine Dendritic Cell Activation, T Cell Proliferation and Antibody Responses to Foot-And-Mouth Disease, Is Similar With Inactivated Virus and Virus Like Particles

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious disease of cloven-hoofed animals that causes severe economic losses in the livestock industry. Currently available vaccines are based on the inactivated FMD virus (FMDV). Although inactivated vaccines have been effective in controlling the disease, they have some disadvantages. Because of these disadvantages, investigations are being made to produce vaccines in low containment facilities. The use of recombinant empty capsids (also referred as Virus Like Particles, VLPs) has been reported to be a promising candidate as a subunit vaccine because it avoids the use of virus in the vaccine production and conserves the conformational epitopes of the virus. Mignaqui and collaborators have produced recombinant FMDV empty capsids from serotype A/ARG/2001 using a scalable technology in mammalian cells that elicited a protective immunity against viral challenge in a mouse model. However, further evaluation of the immune response elicited by these VLPs in cattle is required. In the present work we compare the effect that VLPs or inactivated FMDV has on bovine dendritic cells and the humoral response elicited in cattle after a single vaccination.Fil: Quattrocchi, Valeria. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigacion En Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronomicas. Instituto de Virologia E Innovaciones Tecnologicas. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Pque. Centenario. Instituto de Virologia E Innovaciones Tecnologicas.; ArgentinaFil: Bidart, Juan Esteban. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigacion En Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronomicas. Instituto de Virologia E Innovaciones Tecnologicas. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Pque. Centenario. Instituto de Virologia E Innovaciones Tecnologicas.; ArgentinaFil: Mignaqui, Ana Clara. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Patagonia Norte. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Carlos de Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Ruiz, Vanesa. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigacion En Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronomicas. Instituto de Virologia E Innovaciones Tecnologicas. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Pque. Centenario. Instituto de Virologia E Innovaciones Tecnologicas.; ArgentinaFil: Ferella, Alejandra. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigacion En Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronomicas. Instituto de Virologia E Innovaciones Tecnologicas. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Pque. Centenario. Instituto de Virologia E Innovaciones Tecnologicas.; ArgentinaFil: Langellotti, Cecilia Ana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigacion En Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronomicas. Instituto de Virologia E Innovaciones Tecnologicas. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Pque. Centenario. Instituto de Virologia E Innovaciones Tecnologicas.; ArgentinaFil: Gammella, Mariela Vanesa. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigacion En Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronomicas. Instituto de Virologia E Innovaciones Tecnologicas. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Pque. Centenario. Instituto de Virologia E Innovaciones Tecnologicas.; ArgentinaFil: Ferraris, Sergio Raúl. Universidad Maimónides; ArgentinaFil: Carrillo, Jorge. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación de Agroindustria; ArgentinaFil: Wigdorovitz, Andrés. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigacion En Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronomicas. Instituto de Virologia E Innovaciones Tecnologicas. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Pque. Centenario. Instituto de Virologia E Innovaciones Tecnologicas.; ArgentinaFil: Durocher, Yves. National Research Council; CanadáFil: Cardillo, Sabrina Beatriz. Biogenesis Bago S.a..; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Charleston, Bryan. The Pirbright Institute; Reino UnidoFil: Zamorano, Patricia Ines. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigacion En Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronomicas. Instituto de Virologia E Innovaciones Tecnologicas. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Pque. Centenario. Instituto de Virologia E Innovaciones Tecnologicas.; Argentin

The art of video MashUp: supporting creative users with an innovative and smart application

In this paper, we describe the development of a new and innovative tool of video mashup. This application is an easy to use tool of video editing integrated in a cross-media platform; it works taking the information from a repository of videos and puts into action a process of semi-automatic editing supporting users in the production of video mashup. Doing so it gives vent to their creative side without them being forced to learn how to use a complicated and unlikely new technology. The users will be further helped in building their own editing by the intelligent system working behind the tool: it combines semantic annotation (tags and comments by users), low level features (gradient of color, texture and movements) and high level features (general data distinguishing a movie: actors, director, year of production, etc.) to furnish a pre-elaborated editing users can modify in a very simple way

Molecular, cellular and physiological characterization of the cancer cachexia-inducing C26 colon carcinoma in mouse

BACKGROUND: The majority of cancer patients experience dramatic weight loss, due to cachexia and consisting of skeletal muscle and fat tissue wasting. Cachexia is a negative prognostic factor, interferes with therapy and worsens the patients' quality of life by affecting muscle function. Mice bearing ectopically-implanted C26 colon carcinoma are widely used as an experimental model of cancer cachexia. As part of the search for novel clinical and basic research applications for this experimental model, we characterized novel cellular and molecular features of C26-bearing mice. METHODS: A fragment of C26 tumor was subcutaneously grafted in isogenic BALB/c mice. The mass growth and proliferation rate of the tumor were analyzed. Histological and cytofluorometric analyses were used to assess cell death, ploidy and differentiation of the tumor cells. The main features of skeletal muscle atrophy, which were highlighted by immunohistochemical and electron microscopy analyses, correlated with biochemical alterations. Muscle force and resistance to fatigue were measured and analyzed as major functional deficits of the cachectic musculature. RESULTS: We found that the C26 tumor, ectopically implanted in mice, is an undifferentiated carcinoma, which should be referred to as such and not as adenocarcinoma, a common misconception. The C26 tumor displays aneuploidy and histological features typical of transformed cells, incorporates BrdU and induces severe weight loss in the host, which is largely caused by muscle wasting. The latter appears to be due to proteasome-mediated protein degradation, which disrupts the sarcomeric structure and muscle fiber-extracellular matrix interactions. A pivotal functional deficit of cachectic muscle consists in increased fatigability, while the reported loss of tetanic force is not statistically significant following normalization for decreased muscle fiber size. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude, on the basis of the definition of cachexia, that ectopically-implanted C26 carcinoma represents a well standardized experimental model for research on cancer cachexia. We wish to point out that scientists using the C26 model to study cancer and those using the same model to study cachexia may be unaware of each other's works because they use different keywords; we present strategies to eliminate this gap and discuss the benefits of such an exchange of knowledge

Aerobic exercise training enhances the in vivo cholesterol trafficking from macrophages to the liver independently of changes in the expression of genes involved in lipid flux in macrophages and aorta

Abstract\ud \ud Background\ud Regular exercise prevents and regresses atherosclerosis by improving lipid metabolism and antioxidant defenses. Exercise ameliorates the reverse cholesterol transport (RCT), an antiatherogenic system that drives cholesterol from arterial macrophages to the liver for excretion into bile and feces. In this study we analyzed the role of aerobic exercise on the in vivo RCT and expression of genes and proteins involved in lipid flux and inflammation in peritoneal macrophages, aortic arch and liver from wild type mice.\ud \ud \ud Methods\ud Twelve-week-old male mice were divided into sedentary and trained groups. Exercise training was performed in a treadmill (15 m/min, 30 min/day, 5 days/week). Plasma lipids were determined by enzymatic methods and lipoprotein profile by fast protein liquid chromatography. After intraperitoneal injection of J774-macrophages the RCT was assessed by measuring the recovery of 3H-cholesterol in plasma, feces and liver. The expression of liver receptors was determined by immunoblot, macrophages and aortic mRNAs by qRT-PCR. 14C-cholesterol efflux mediated by apo A-I and HDL2 and the uptake of 3H-cholesteryl oleoyl ether (3H-COE)-acetylated-LDL were determined in macrophages isolated from sedentary and trained animals 48 h after the last exercise session.\ud \ud \ud Results\ud Body weight, plasma lipids, lipoprotein profile, glucose and blood pressure were not modified by exercise training. A greater amount of 3H-cholesterol was recovered in plasma (24 h and 48 h) and liver (48 h) from trained animals in comparison to sedentary. No difference was found in 3H-cholesterol excreted in feces between trained and sedentary mice. The hepatic expression of scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI) and LDL receptor (B-E) was enhanced by exercise. We observed 2.8 and 1.7 fold rise, respectively, in LXR and Cyp7a mRNA in the liver of trained as compared to sedentary mice. Macrophage and aortic expression of genes involved in lipid efflux was not systematically changed by physical exercise. In agreement, 14C-cholestrol efflux and uptake of 3H-COE-acetylated-LDL by macrophages was similar between sedentary and trained animals.\ud \ud \ud Conclusion\ud Aerobic exercise in vivo accelerates the traffic of cholesterol from macrophages to the liver contributing to prevention and regression of atherosclerosis, independently of changes in macrophage and aorta gene expression.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo - FAPESP 12/04831-1 to MP, UFM and MLCCG; FAPESP 07/50387-8 to MP, 2011/15153-1 to PR, 06/52702-5 to DDFMRocco, 13/02854-7 to LS\ud Okuda, 12/19112-0 to AML, 10/50108-4 to GC, 12/18724-2 to KS, 11/04631-0 to DJG, 09/53412-9 to RS Pinto; 12/12088-7 to RTI, 14/07155 to GFConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (158314/\ud 2014-0 to DJG