Dynamics of the Gene Regulatory Network of HIV-1 and the Role of Viral Non-coding RNAs on Latency Reversion

The use of latency reversing agents (LRAs) is currently a promising approach to eliminate latent reservoirs of HIV-1. However, this strategy has not been successful in vivo. It has been proposed that cellular post-transcriptional mechanisms are implicated in the underperformance of LRAs, but it is not clear whether proviral regulatory elements like viral non-coding RNAs (vncRNAs) are also implicated. In order to visualize the complexity of the HIV-1 gene expression, we used experimental data to construct a gene regulatory network (GRN) of latent proviruses in resting CD4+ T cells. We then analyzed the dynamics of this GRN using Boolean and continuous mathematical models. Our simulations predict that vncRNAs are able to counteract the activity of LRAs, which may explain the failure of these compounds to reactivate latent reservoirs of HIV-1. Moreover, our results also predict that using inhibitors of histone methyltransferases, such as chaetocin, together with releasers of the positive transcription elongation factor (P-TEFb), like JQ1, may increase proviral reactivation despite self-repressive effects of vncRNAs

Human perceptions and attitudes in the production of alfalfa under irrigation in La Pampa, Argentina: A case of wild species management

En la provincia de La Pampa, los tuco-tucos (Ctenomys azarae) producen pérdidas económicas en lotes de alfalfa bajo riego presurizado. La estrategia de manejo para la reducción del daño es promover el control biológico con aves rapaces. Dado que este problema se plantea en la interacción humano-vida silvestre, resulta fundamental el estudio de la dimensión social. El objetivo de este trabajo fue estudiar las actitudes y percepciones de los trabajadores para definir el nivel de daño, metodologías de control y la medida de éxito del método seleccionado. Se realizaron entrevistas para comprender la problemática y establecer el grado de conocimiento sobre los tuco-tucos y las aves rapaces. Además, se documentaron las actitudes de los trabajadores rurales durante el estudio y la ejecución del proyecto de control biológico. El daño generado representa del 0.6 al 7% de las ganancias anuales por la venta de megafardos de alfalfa. Los trabajadores conocen a los tuco-tucos en el medio productivo y visualizan el control biológico como una oportunidad frente al problema comprendiendo el rol de las aves rapaces en el control. La participación social en el proyecto mejora el entendimiento de la trama biológica interviniente y favorece la aplicación de las prácticas de manejo.In La Pampa province, tuco­tucos (Ctenomys azarae) cause economic losses in alfalfa productive systems under pressurized irrigation. As a management strategy, biological control with birds of prey is promoted. Since this problem is based on human­wildlife interaction, the study of social aspects is paramount. The aim of this paper was to study the attitudes and perceptions of the social component in order to define level of damage and selected method efficiency to control tuco­tucos. Workers were surveyed to define the productive problem and determine their level of knowledge about tuco­tucos and birds of prey. Moreover, the attitudes of rural workers during the study and the execution of the biological control project were documented. The damage caused by tuco­tucos represents between 0.6 and 7 % of the annual earnings by the selling of alfalfa big bales. The damage is mainly quantified in the cost and number of harvesting machinery blades that have to be replaced and the reduction of the big bales quality. Workers see biological control as an opportunity to face the problem and recognize their ecological role. Social participation in the project improves the understanding of the biological intervening situation and favors the application of management practices.Fil: Álamo Iriarte, Ana Paula. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional La Pampa-San Luis. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Anguil; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis; ArgentinaFil: Cid, Fabricio Damian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Investigaciones Biológicas de San Luis. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Ciencias Físico Matemáticas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Investigaciones Biológicas de San Luis; ArgentinaFil: Sosa, Ramón A.. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa; ArgentinaFil: Bernardos, Jaime Nicolas. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional La Pampa-San Luis. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Anguil; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa; Argentin

Honduras 2013 : proceso electoral, financiamiento y transparencia. Informe de monitoreo

El proceso electoral que concluyó con la celebración de las elecciones generales el domingo 24 de noviembre del año 2013, fue un proceso especial y de gran significado en la historia de la transición política hacia la democracia en la sociedad hondureña. A lo largo de esta transición, a veces tan errática y difícil como incierta y prolongada, los hondureños hemos ido a las urnas en una decena de veces para escoger a nuestros gobernantes. Pero nunca antes el torneo electoral había sido tan abierto y plural, así como tan reñido y polarizado ideológicamente, como lo ha sido en esta ocasión. Marcadas por la impronta del reciente golpe de Estado perpetrado el 28 de junio del año 2009, las elecciones de 2013 se llevaron a cabo en medio de un clima de mucha expectación ciudadana y grandes posibilidades de llevar a cabo cambios políticos importantes en la vida de la nación. Nunca antes el status quo había sido tan cuestionado y puesto en duda como en el proceso electoral del año 2013

Propuesta de disposición final del residual de brea de hulla generado en la industria farmacéutica

El residuo de brea de hulla está formado por los sedimentos acumulados de la preparación del licor Picis Carbonis, ingrediente del producto farmacéutico Champú de Brea. Este residuo se acumuló durante años sin que se aplicara una opción de manejo final para el mismo. El objetivo de este trabajo fue proponer alternativas de disposición final del residuo de brea de hulla. Se realizó la caracterización físico-química y microbiológica, utilizando métodos establecidos y a partir de los resultados obtenidos se analizaron como posibles alternativas de disposición: la biorremediación, la incorporación en cementos asfálticos y la dosificación a combustibles pesados (crudo nacional y fuel oíl). Los resultados demostraron que es factible dosificar y mezclar el residuo con los combustibles pesados, siendo la mejor variante la mezcla con crudo nacional en las proporciones 1, 3, 5 y 10%. Se propuso aplicar esta variante en instalaciones existentes, lo cual es ambientalmente aceptable teniendo en cuenta los valores de concentración de metales presentes en el mismo. Por otro lado, se demostró que las otras dos alternativas evaluadas no resultaron viables. Se recomendaron las medidas a cumplir para el almacenamiento, transportación y disposición segura de este desecho peligroso que incluye su aprovechamiento energético. Se manifestó la factibilidad técnica y ambiental de este residual mezclado con combustible, así como la importancia de la disposición segura de un desecho peligroso y la necesidad del cumplimiento del manejo adecuado del mism

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum

Izaña Atmospheric Research Center. Activity Report 2015-2016

This report is a summary of the many activities at the Izaña Atmospheric Research Center to the broader community. The combination of operational activities, research and development in state-of-the-art measurement techniques, calibration and validation and international cooperation encompass the vision of WMO to provide world leadership in expertise and international cooperation in weather, climate, hydrology and related environmental issues

Evidence for X(3872) in Pb-Pb Collisions and Studies of its Prompt Production at sNN\sqrt{^{s}NN} =5.02 TeV

The first evidence for X(3872) production in relativistic heavy ion collisions is reported. The X(3872) production is studied in lead-lead (Pb-Pb) collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{^{s}NN}$=5.02 TeV per nucleon pair, using the decay chain X(3872)→J/ψπ$^{+}$ π$^{–}$→μ$^{+}$μ$^{–}$π$^{+}$ π$^{–}$. The data were recorded with the CMS detector in 2018 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 1.7 nb$^{-1}$. The measurement is performed in the rapidity and transverse momentum ranges |y|<1.6 and 15<pT<50 GeV/c. The significance of the inclusive X(3872) signal is 4.2 standard deviations. The prompt X(3872) to ψ2S yield ratio is found to be ρ$^{Pb-Pb}$=1.08±0.49(stat)±0.52(syst), to be compared with typical values of 0.1 for pp collisions. This result provides a unique experimental input to theoretical models of the X(3872) production mechanism, and of the nature of this exotic state

Measurement of the Y(1S) pair production cross section and search for resonances decaying to Y(1S)μ⁺μ⁻ in proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV

The fiducial cross section for Y(1S) pair production in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV in the region where both Y(1S) mesons have an absolute rapidity below 2.0 is measured to be 79±11(stat)±6(syst)±3(B) pb assuming the mesons are produced unpolarized. The last uncertainty corresponds to the uncertainty in the Y(1S) meson dimuon branching fraction. The measurement is performed in the final state with four muons using proton-proton collision data collected in 2016 by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9fb⁻¹. This process serves as a standard model reference in a search for narrow resonances decaying to Y(1S)μ⁺μ⁻ in the same final state. Such a resonance could indicate the existence of a tetraquark that is a bound state of two b quarks and two b antiquarks. The tetraquark search is performed for masses in the vicinity of four times the bottom quark mass, between 17.5 and 19.5 GeV, while a generic search for other resonances is performed for masses between 16.5 and 27 GeV. No significant excess of events compatible with a narrow resonance is observed in the data. Limits on the production cross section times branching fraction to four muons via an intermediate Y(1S) resonance are set as a function of the resonance mass

Measurement of the Y(1S) pair production cross section and search for resonances decaying to Y(1S)μ⁺μ⁻ in proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV

The fiducial cross section for Y(1S) pair production in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV in the region where both Y(1S) mesons have an absolute rapidity below 2.0 is measured to be 79±11(stat)±6(syst)±3(B) pb assuming the mesons are produced unpolarized. The last uncertainty corresponds to the uncertainty in the Y(1S) meson dimuon branching fraction. The measurement is performed in the final state with four muons using proton-proton collision data collected in 2016 by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9fb⁻¹. This process serves as a standard model reference in a search for narrow resonances decaying to Y(1S)μ⁺μ⁻ in the same final state. Such a resonance could indicate the existence of a tetraquark that is a bound state of two b quarks and two b antiquarks. The tetraquark search is performed for masses in the vicinity of four times the bottom quark mass, between 17.5 and 19.5 GeV, while a generic search for other resonances is performed for masses between 16.5 and 27 GeV. No significant excess of events compatible with a narrow resonance is observed in the data. Limits on the production cross section times branching fraction to four muons via an intermediate Y(1S) resonance are set as a function of the resonance mass