Patrones de diversidad alfa, beta y gama de la herpetofauna de las tierras bajas y valles adyacentes del Pacífico de México

The latitudinal distribution patterns of alpha, beta and gamma diversity of reptiles, amphibians and herpetofauna were analyzed using individual binary models of potential distribution for 301 species predicted by ecological modelling for a grid of 9,932 quadrants of ~25 km2 each. We arranged quadrants in 312 latitudinal bands in which alpha, beta and gamma values were determined. Latitudinal trends of all scales of diversity were similar in all groups. Alpha and gamma responded inversely to latitude whereas beta showed a high latitudinal fluctuation due to the high number of endemic species. Alpha and gamma showed a strong correlation in all groups. Beta diversity is an important component of the herpetofauna distribution patterns as a continuous source of species diversity throughout the region. Key words: Latitudinal distribution pattern, Diversity scales, Herpetofauna, Western Mexico.Se analizaron los patrones de distribución latitudinales de la diversidad alfa, beta y gama de los reptiles, anfibios y herpetofauna utilizando modelos binarios individuales de distribución potencial de 301 especies predichas mediante un modelo ecológico para una cuadrícula de 9.932 cuadrantes de aproximadamente 25 km2 cada uno. Se organizaron los cuadrantes en 312 bandas latitudinales para las cuales se determinaron los valores de alfa, beta y gama. Las tendencias latitudinales de todas las escalas de diversidad eran similares en todos los grupos. Alfa y gama respondieron inversamente a la latitud mientras que beta registró una gran fluctuación latitudinal debida al alto número de especies endémicas. Alfa y gama mostraron una fuerte correlación en todos los grupos. La diversidad beta es un componente importante de los patrones de distribución de la herpetofauna como una fuente constante de diversidad de especies a lo largo de la región. Palabras clave: Patrón latitudinal de distribución, Escalas de diversidad, Herpetofauna, Oeste de México

Alpha-thalassemia. Case report alpha-thalassemia in a Costa Rican family, A case report

This case report highlights the importance for health care providers to be aware of the αlpha‐thalassemia syndromes, their relevance to clinical care and family counseling, appropriate diagnostic algorithm for definitive diagnosis.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias de la Salud::Centro de Investigación en Hematología y Trastornos Afines (CIHATA

Characterization of modular deposits for urban drainage networks using CFD techniques

[EN] The growing urban development of population centers in much of the world joined with the significant effects of climate change are causing an increasingly important and recurring increase of the damage caused by flooding. Much of the drainage networks of cities were designed for precipitation characteristics and return periods that have proved to be insufficient with the lapse of time. Therefore, solutions need to be addressed both to reduce runoff generated flows as to control circulating ones through the rainwater drainage networks. All these flow control rain technologies are commonly known as SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage), term that encompasses a multitude of solutions to control runoff although many of them require significant costs that make them practically unviable. Therefore, not only should focus on reducing runoff input to the network but also in the flow control techniques development. The idea is to design strategies to reduce flow rain peaks and maximize the capacity of existing networks. The use of detention and storm tanks for flood control is a solution increasingly used as an alternative one to control increased rainfall caused by climate change [1]. Nature and execution of storm tanks can be very diverse, from conventional way based on concrete structures to the most innovative ones in which modular structures are employed to improve the construction speed if many modular units are required at the same time that minimizing urban supply disruption is achieved. Currently, a wide range of modular structures exists on the market with both, different geometries and sizes. In this study the Aquacell brand supplied by Mexichem-PAVCO in Colombia shown in Fig. 1 has been chosen for the development of this study.S849218

Analyzing solid waste landfills using satellite imagery and designing new landfill reception areas

Solid waste disposal is important for environmental management for good quality of life in urban cities. Among them is the final disposal of waste in landfills. Landfills can receive tons of waste, but they must be far away from natural resources and urban areas. The research aimed to analyze the physical and biological conditions and design a geolocation map of new sanitary landfills in three urban cities in Peru (Chilca, El Tambo and Huancayo). Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS satellite imagery was used to analyze the physical (LST and Methane) and biological (NDVI and SAVI) conditions of the landfills. The geolocation of the landfills was analyzed through the relationship, intersection and discrimination between their surface criteria (soil type, current use, geology and physiography) and climatic factors (temperature, humidity and precipitation). The physical and biological conditions of the landfills were: CH4: Chilca 8.33g > Huancayo 4.76g > El-Tambo 3.17g; SAVI: Chilca 0.61 > El Tambo 0.54 > Huancayo 0.51; LST: Huancayo 26.15°C > Chilca 24.03°C > El Tambo 22.75°C; NDVI: Chilca 0.85 > Huancayo 0.81 > El Tambo 0.8. In the three cities, "natural grasslands" were considered suitable land for the new solid waste landfill site. The multiple relationship, intersection, and discrimination of surface criteria and climatic factors were categorized into five types of sustainable geolocation (very appropriate > appropriate > moderately adequate > less appropriate > inappropriate) for new solid waste landfills. It was very important to discount the influence areas (rivers and lagoons) to avoid damaging the natural resources.      

Experimental and theoretical study of α–Eu2(MoO4)3 under compression

The compression process in the α-phase of europium trimolybdate was revised employing several experimental techniques. X-ray diffraction (using synchrotron and laboratory radiation sources), Raman scattering and photoluminescence experiments were performed up to a maximum pressure of 21 GPa. In addition, the crystal structure and Raman mode frequencies have been studied by means of first-principles density functional based methods. Results suggest that the compression process of α-Eu2(MoO4)3 can be described by three stages. Below 8 GPa, the α-phase suffers an isotropic contraction of the crystal structure. Between 8 and 12 GPa, the compound undergoes an anisotropic compression due to distortion and rotation of the MoO4 tetrahedra. At pressures above 12 GPa, the amorphization process starts without any previous occurrence of a crystalline-crystalline phase transition in the whole range of pressure. This behavior clearly differs from the process of compression and amorphization in trimolybdates with β′-phase and tritungstates with α-phase.We thank Diamond Light Source for access to beamline I15 (EE1746) that contributed to the results presented here. Part of the diffraction measurements were performed at the 'Servicio Integrado de Difraccion de Rayos X (SIDIX)' of University of La Laguna. This work has been supported by Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of Spain (MINECO) for the research projects through the National Program of Materials (MAT2010-21270-C04-01/02/03/04, MAT2013-46649-C41/2/3/4-P and MAT2013-43319-P), the Consolider-Ingenio 2010 MALTA (CSD2007-00045), the project of Generalitat Valenciana (GVA-ACOMP/2014/243) and by the European Union FEDER funds. C Guzman-Afonso wishes to thank ACIISI and FSE for a fellowship. J A Sans thanks the FPI and 'Juan de la Cierva' programs for fellowships.Guzmán-Afonso, C.; León-Luis, S.; Sans-Tresserras, JÁ.; González -Silgo, C.; Rodríguez-Hernández, P.; Radescu, S.;  muñoz, A.... (2015). Experimental and theoretical study of α–Eu2(MoO4)3 under compression. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter. 27(46):465401-1-465401-11. https://doi.org/10.1088/0953-8984/27/46/465401S465401-1465401-11274

Taphonomic and spatial analyses from the Early Pleistocene site of Venta Micena 4 (Orce, Guadix-Baza Basin, southern Spain)

Venta Micena is an area containing several palaeontological sites marking the beginning of the Calabrian stage (Early Pleistocene). The richness of the fossil accumulation including species of Asian, African and European origin, makes Venta Micena a key site for the the palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental study of southern Europe during the Early Pleistocene. Thus, research has been focused on Venta Micena 3, which was originally interpreted as a single palaeosurface associated with a marshy context, in which most of the fauna was accumulated by Pachycrocuta brevirostris. Recent excavations have unearthed a new site, Venta Micena 4, located in the same stratigraphic unit (Unit C) and in close proximity to Venta Micena 3. Here we show the first analyses regarding the taphonomic and spatial nature of this new site, defining two stratigraphic boundaries corresponding to two different depositional events. Furthermore, the taphonomic analyses of fossil remains seem to indicate a different accumulative agent than Pachycrocuta, thus adding more complexity to the palaeobiological interpretation of the Venta Micena area. These results contribute to the discussion of traditional interpretations made from Venta Micena 3. © 2021, The Author(s)

Transcription of toll-like receptors 2, 3, 4 and 9, FoxP3 and Th17 cytokines in a susceptible experimental model of canine Leishmania infantum infection

Canine leishmaniosis (CanL) due to Leishmania infantum is a chronic zoonotic systemic disease resulting from complex interactions between protozoa and the canine immune system. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are essential components of the innate immune system and facilitate the early detection of many infections. However, the role of TLRs in CanL remains unknown and information describing TLR transcription during infection is extremely scarce. The aim of this research project was to investigate the impact of L. infantum infection on canine TLR transcription using a susceptible model. The objectives of this study were to evaluate transcription of TLRs 2, 3, 4 and 9 by means of quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in skin, spleen, lymph node and liver in the presence or absence of experimental L. infantum infection in Beagle dogs. These findings were compared with clinical and serological data, parasite densities in infected tissues and transcription of IL-17, IL-22 and FoxP3 in different tissues in non-infected dogs (n = 10), and at six months (n = 24) and 15 months (n = 7) post infection. Results revealed significant down regulation of transcription with disease progression in lymph node samples for TLR3, TLR4, TLR9, IL-17, IL-22 and FoxP3. In spleen samples, significant down regulation of transcription was seen in TLR4 and IL-22 when both infected groups were compared with controls. In liver samples, down regulation of transcription was evident with disease progression for IL-22. In the skin, upregulation was seen only for TLR9 and FoxP3 in the early stages of infection. Subtle changes or down regulation in TLR transcription, Th17 cytokines and FoxP3 are indicative of the silent establishment of infection that Leishmania is renowned for. These observations provide new insights about TLR transcription, Th17 cytokines and Foxp3 in the liver, spleen, lymph node and skin in CanL and highlight possible markers of disease susceptibility in this model

Correction of recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa by homology-directed repair-mediated genome editing

Genome-editing technologies that enable the introduction of precise changes in DNA sequences have the potential to lead to a new class of treatments for genetic diseases. Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a group of rare genetic disorders characterized by extreme skin fragility. The recessive dystrophic subtype of EB (RDEB), which has one of the most severe phenotypes, is caused by mutations in COL7A1. In this study, we report a gene-editing approach for ex vivo homology-directed repair (HDR)-based gene correction that uses the CRISPR-Cas9 system delivered as a ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex in combination with donor DNA templates delivered by adeno-associated viral vectors (AAVs). We demonstrate sufficient mutation correction frequencies to achieve therapeutic benefit in primary RDEB keratinocytes containing different COL7A1 mutations as well as efficient HDR-mediated COL7A1 modification in healthy cord blood-derived CD34+ cells and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). These results are a proof of concept for HDR-mediated gene correction in different cell types with therapeutic potential for RDEB.This work was supported by Spanish grants PI17/01747, PI20/00615, AC17/00054 (MutaEB-E-rare), and CIBERER ER18TRL714 from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III and grant SAF2017-86810-R from the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness , all co-funded with European Regional Development Funds , and Avancell-CM grant ( S2017/BMD-3692 ). Authors are indebted to Almudena Holguín and Nuria Illera for grafting experiments, and to Jesus Martínez and Edilia De Almeida for animal maintenance and care

Biofilm formation at the solid-liquid and air-liquid interfaces by Acinetobacter species

Abstract Background: The members of the genus Acinetobacter are Gram-negative cocobacilli that are frequently found in the environment but also in the hospital setting where they have been associated with outbreaks of nosocomial infections. Among them, Acinetobacter baumannii has emerged as the most common pathogenic species involved in hospital-acquired infections. One reason for this emergence may be its persistence in the hospital wards, in particular in the intensive care unit; this persistence could be partially explained by the capacity of these microorganisms to form biofilm. Therefore, our main objective was to study the prevalence of the two main types of biofilm formed by the most relevant Acinetobacter species, comparing biofilm formation between the different species. Findings: Biofilm formation at the air-liquid and solid-liquid interfaces was investigated in different Acinetobacter spp. and it appeared to be generally more important at 25°C than at 37°C. The biofilm formation at the solid-liquid interface by the members of the ACB-complex was at least 3 times higher than the other species (80-91% versus 5-24%). In addition, only the isolates belonging to this complex were able to form biofilm at the air-liquid interface; between 9% and 36% of the tested isolates formed this type of pellicle. Finally, within the ACB-complex, the biofilm formed at the air-liquid interface was almost 4 times higher for A. baumannii and Acinetobacter G13TU than for Acinetobacter G3 (36%, 27% & 9% respectively). Conclusions: Overall, this study has shown the capacity of the Acinetobacter spp to form two different types of biofilm: solid-liquid and air-liquid interfaces. This ability was generally higher at 25°C which might contribute to their persistence in the inanimate hospital environment. Our work has also demonstrated for the first time the ability of the members of the ACB-complex to form biofilm at the air-liquid interface, a feature that was not observed in other Acinetobacter species