Snakes in an urban Protected Area in the Atlantic forest in Northeast, Brazil

The available information on snake taxocenosis in Northeast Brazil is still incipient. To contribute to filling this gap, this study describes the composition of snake species from an Atlantic Forest Protected Area, Dois Irmãos State Park - PEDI, in Pernambuco. Data were collected using the methods: (1) occasional encounters, (2) active search, (3) interception and pitfalls, performed bimonthly for three years. 117 snakes were registered, distributed in five families, 21 genera, 23 species. Xenodon rabdocephalus species had its geographical distribution expanded by 742.2 km from the nearest registered location. The first order Jackknife index estimated a richness of 30 species and the rarefaction curve did not reach asymptote, indicating that there are still species to be found in the study area. The registration of rare and endemic species indicates the good quality of the area, but have highlighted a warning about the warns of the anthropic pressure suffered by PEDI, putting at risk the conservation of its fauna and flora.As informações disponíveis sobre taxocenoses de serpentes no Nordeste do Brasil ainda são incipientes. Para contribuir com o preenchimento desta lacuna, o presente estudo descreve a composição de espécies de serpentes de uma Unidade de Conservação de Mata Atlântica, Parque Estadual Dois Irmãos – PEDI, em Pernambuco. Os dados foram coletados através dos métodos: (1) encontros ocasionais, (2) busca ativa e (3) armadilhas de interceptação e queda, realizados bimestralmente durante três anos. Foram registradas 117 serpentes distribuídas em cinco famílias, 21 gêneros, 23 espécies. A espécie Xenodon rabdocephalus teve sua distribuição geográfica ampliada 742,2 Km da localidade mais próxima registrada. O índice Jackknife de primeira ordem estimou uma riqueza de 30 espécies e a curva de rarefação não atingiu a assíntota, indicando que ainda há espécies a serem encontradas na área de estudo. O registro de espécies raras e endêmicas indica a boa qualidade da área, mas evidenciamos um alerta sobre a pressão antrópica sofrida pelo PEDI, colocando em risco a conservação de sua fauna e flora.Asociación Herpetológica Argentin

Tracking pollutants in a municipal sewage network impairing the operation of a wastewater treatment plant

This work provides a screening of organic contaminants and characterization of the dissolved organic matter in the sewer network until the municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), identifying the network areas with a higher degree of contamination and their impact on the WWTP performance, particularly in the activated sludge reactor. Three monitoring campaigns were carried out at six selected locations of the sewage system (PVZ-1, PVZ-2, PS-F, PS-VC, CP-VC, and PS-T), influent (WWTPINF) and effluent (WWTPEFF) of the WWTP. Advanced analytical techniques were employed, namely excitation/emission matrix fluorescence-parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC), size exclusion chromatography with organic carbon detector (SEC-OCD), and liquid chromatography with high-resolution-mass spectrometric detection (LC-HRMS). EEM-PARAFAC showed higher fluorescence intensity for the protein-like component (C2), particularly at CP-VC (near seafood industries) associated with the presence of surfactants (~50 mg/L). SEC-OCD highlighted the WWTP efficiency in removing low molecular weight acids and neutrals. LC-HRMS tentatively identified 108 compounds of emerging concern (CEC) and similar detection patterns were obtained for all wastewater samples, except for PVZ-2 (lower detection), many of which occurred in the effluent. Eight CECs included on relevant Watch-Lists were detected in all WWTPEFF samples. Furthermore, 111 surfactants were detected, the classes more frequently found being alcohol ethoxylates (AEOs), nonylphenol polyethoxylates (NPEOs) and linear alkylbenzene sulphonates (LAS). The continuous presence of LAS and NPEOs allied to surfactants concentrations in the WWTPINF of 15–20 mg/L, with CP-VC location (linked with food industries) as an important contributor, explain the morphological changes in the activated sludge and high LAS content in the dewatered sludge, which may have impacted WWTP performance.i) Base-UIDB/50020/2020 and Programmatic-UIDP/50020/2020 Funding of LSRE-LCM, funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC); ii) European Regional Development Fund through the Interreg V-A Spain-Portugal Programme (POCTEP) 2014–2020 (ref. 0725_NOR_WATER_1_P); iii) Xunta de Galicia (Verónica Castro predoctoral contract: ED481A-2017/156, and ED431C2017/36), the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación – MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 (ref. PID2020-117686RB-C32); iv) NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000069 (Healthy Waters) co-funded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement. The authors also acknowledge Águas do Norte, S.A. for supporting the development of this work. Daniela F.S. Morais acknowledges her Ph.D. scholarship supported by FCT (SFRH/BD/146476/2019). Bianca M. Souza Chaves gratefully acknowledges her postdoctoral scholarship supported by CNPq through the Science Without Borders Program (Process No. 201989/2014-0). Vítor J.P. Vilar acknowledges the FCT Individual Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus 2017 (CEECIND/01317/2017)S

Una herencia en Manaos (anotaciones sobre historia ambiental, ecología política y agroecología en una perspectiva latinoamericana)

Este artículo pretende explorar algunas vinculaciones de la agroecología con la historia ambiental, en sus escalas macro y micro, y con la ecología política. Una clave de interpretación es un interrogante sobre la identidad latinoamericana, que es percibida como articulación y sedimentación de varias herencias diferentes,en la cultura, la tecnología, los paisajes y la naturaleza

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

The Seventeenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: Complete Release of MaNGA, MaStar and APOGEE-2 Data

This paper documents the seventeenth data release (DR17) from the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys; the fifth and final release from the fourth phase (SDSS-IV). DR17 contains the complete release of the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey, which reached its goal of surveying over 10,000 nearby galaxies. The complete release of the MaNGA Stellar Library (MaStar) accompanies this data, providing observations of almost 30,000 stars through the MaNGA instrument during bright time. DR17 also contains the complete release of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) survey which publicly releases infra-red spectra of over 650,000 stars. The main sample from the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS), as well as the sub-survey Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS) data were fully released in DR16. New single-fiber optical spectroscopy released in DR17 is from the SPectroscipic IDentification of ERosita Survey (SPIDERS) sub-survey and the eBOSS-RM program. Along with the primary data sets, DR17 includes 25 new or updated Value Added Catalogs (VACs). This paper concludes the release of SDSS-IV survey data. SDSS continues into its fifth phase with observations already underway for the Milky Way Mapper (MWM), Local Volume Mapper (LVM) and Black Hole Mapper (BHM) surveys

2021 Taxonomic update of phylum Negarnaviricota (Riboviria: Orthornavirae), including the large orders Bunyavirales and Mononegavirales.

Correction to: 2021 Taxonomic update of phylum Negarnaviricota (Riboviria: Orthornavirae), including the large orders Bunyavirales and Mononegavirales. Archives of Virology (2021) 166:3567–3579. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-021-05266-wIn March 2021, following the annual International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) ratification vote on newly proposed taxa, the phylum Negarnaviricota was amended and emended. The phylum was expanded by four families (Aliusviridae, Crepuscuviridae, Myriaviridae, and Natareviridae), three subfamilies (Alpharhabdovirinae, Betarhabdovirinae, and Gammarhabdovirinae), 42 genera, and 200 species. Thirty-nine species were renamed and/or moved and seven species were abolished. This article presents the updated taxonomy of Negarnaviricota as now accepted by the ICTV.This work was supported in part through Laulima Government Solutions, LLC prime contract with the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under Contract No. HHSN272201800013C. J.H.K. performed this work as an employee of Tunnell Government Services (TGS), a subcontractor of Laulima Government Solutions, LLC under Contract No. HHSN272201800013C. This work was also supported in part with federal funds from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), under Contract No. 75N91019D00024, Task Order No. 75N91019F00130 to I.C., who was supported by the Clinical Monitoring Research Program Directorate, Frederick National Lab for Cancer Research. This work was also funded in part by Contract No. HSHQDC-15-C-00064 awarded by DHS S&T for the management and operation of The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, a federally funded research and development center operated by the Battelle National Biodefense Institute (V.W.); and NIH contract HHSN272201000040I/HHSN27200004/D04 and grant R24AI120942 (N.V., R.B.T.). S.S. acknowledges partial support from the Special Research Initiative of Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES), Mississippi State University, and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture, Hatch Project 1021494. Part of this work was supported by the Francis Crick Institute which receives its core funding from Cancer Research UK (FC001030), the UK Medical Research Council (FC001030), and the Wellcome Trust (FC001030).S

Development and validation of HERWIG 7 tunes from CMS underlying-event measurements

This paper presents new sets of parameters (“tunes”) for the underlying-event model of the HERWIG7 event generator. These parameters control the description of multiple-parton interactions (MPI) and colour reconnection in HERWIG7, and are obtained from a fit to minimum-bias data collected by the CMS experiment at s=0.9, 7, and 13Te. The tunes are based on the NNPDF 3.1 next-to-next-to-leading-order parton distribution function (PDF) set for the parton shower, and either a leading-order or next-to-next-to-leading-order PDF set for the simulation of MPI and the beam remnants. Predictions utilizing the tunes are produced for event shape observables in electron-positron collisions, and for minimum-bias, inclusive jet, top quark pair, and Z and W boson events in proton-proton collisions, and are compared with data. Each of the new tunes describes the data at a reasonable level, and the tunes using a leading-order PDF for the simulation of MPI provide the best description of the dat

Combined searches for the production of supersymmetric top quark partners in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A combination of searches for top squark pair production using proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb(-1) collected by the CMS experiment, is presented. Signatures with at least 2 jets and large missing transverse momentum are categorized into events with 0, 1, or 2 leptons. New results for regions of parameter space where the kinematical properties of top squark pair production and top quark pair production are very similar are presented. Depending on themodel, the combined result excludes a top squarkmass up to 1325 GeV for amassless neutralino, and a neutralinomass up to 700 GeV for a top squarkmass of 1150 GeV. Top squarks with masses from 145 to 295 GeV, for neutralino masses from 0 to 100 GeV, with a mass difference between the top squark and the neutralino in a window of 30 GeV around the mass of the top quark, are excluded for the first time with CMS data. The results of theses searches are also interpreted in an alternative signal model of dark matter production via a spin-0 mediator in association with a top quark pair. Upper limits are set on the cross section for mediator particle masses of up to 420 GeV

Search for new particles in events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for new particles produced at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV, using events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb(-1), collected in 2017-2018 with the CMS detector. Machine learning techniques are used to define separate categories for events with narrow jets from initial-state radiation and events with large-radius jets consistent with a hadronic decay of a W or Z boson. A statistical combination is made with an earlier search based on a data sample of 36 fb(-1), collected in 2016. No significant excess of events is observed with respect to the standard model background expectation determined from control samples in data. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on the branching fraction of an invisible decay of the Higgs boson, as well as constraints on simplified models of dark matter, on first-generation scalar leptoquarks decaying to quarks and neutrinos, and on models with large extra dimensions. Several of the new limits, specifically for spin-1 dark matter mediators, pseudoscalar mediators, colored mediators, and leptoquarks, are the most restrictive to date.Peer reviewe