New cue-conflict experiments suggest a leading role of visual cues in the migratory orientation of Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca

Migratory birds use both geomagnetic and celestial cues to select and maintain their seasonally appropriate migratory direction. The integration of the different compass cues is still poorly understood. Previous cue-conflict experiments suggested that Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca did not recalibrate their magnetic compass against the polarization pattern at twilight, but the available evidence is problematic given the high variability of birds’ directional preferences. We performed a new set of cue-conflict experiments where (1) we modified the protocol in order to try to reduce scatter of data and (2) we integrated the results of two experimental approaches, i.e. orientation cages and releases of radio-tagged birds. Pied Flycatchers were tested in Emlen funnels without access to celestial cues before and after being exposed to conflicting visual and geomagnetic information. After the second test, birds were equipped with radio-transmitters and followed until the vanishing of the radio signal. Contrary to previous experiments, our data showed a general dominance of celestial cues: polarized light sun-related pattern in captive birds tested without access to stars and stellar dominance in free-flying birds released under a starry sky at night-time. These results underline the importance of experimental protocols when testing ways in which birds integrate their compass systems

Loggia: una galería abierta a la arquitectura y restauración

Mileto, C.; Vegas López-Manzanares, F.; La Spina, V.; García-Soriano, L. (2018). Loggia: una galería abierta a la arquitectura y restauración. PH. Boletín del Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico (Online). (95):170-175. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/126045S1701759

Disentangling the taxonomic status and phylogeographic structure of Marmora\u2019s (Curruca sarda) and Balearic Warbler (Curruca balearica): a genetic multi-marker approach

Marmora\u2019s Warbler (Curruca sarda) and Balearic Warbler (C. balearica) are allopatric sibling species and were recently split mostly based on morphological and ethological characteristics. Here we provide the first phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses of this species complex to support the taxonomic status of C. sarda and C. balearica in light of integrative taxonomy. We sampled the two taxa in most of their breeding ranges and we sequenced three mitochondrial and one nuclear gene region. All C. balearica individuals had private haplotypes for the four markers and formed monophyletic clades. Genetic distances between the two taxa were comparable with those found between other species belonging to the Curruca genus. Furthermore, most of the genetic variance was expressed at the interspecific level, rather than between different populations within taxa or between individuals within populations. Our results strongly support the current taxonomic status of these two warblers as distinct species

Impact of a public health intervention for active surveillance and mitigation of SARS-CoV-2 in a district from Buenos Aires province, Argentina: a descriptive epidemiological study

Background The first case of SARS-CoV-2 was reported in Argentina on 3 March 2020. Measures to limit the spread of the virus were implemented, including complete lockdown (26 March). Nonetheless, the virus spread throughout the country, with a first peak of almost a million cases in October. On 30 November, the government's recommendation switched from social, preventive and compulsory isolation, to social, preventive and compulsory distancing. Objectives To describe a tailored public health strategy to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and determine its behaviour in San Antonio de Areco district from Buenos Aires province (Argentina) through a private-public association. Design, setting and participants Surveillance of the virus was performed with the local healthcare system, through early identification of cases and the systematic study of each infected individual and contact, regardless of symptomatology, using telemedicine and a COVID-19-specific outpatient clinic. Real-time PCR was used for detection using both individual and pooled samples, with a 12-hour turnaround time. Results Up to 30 November, a total of 2426 suspected cases were analysed and 578 were confirmed. Surveillance of health personnel and at-risk populations proved effective, mitigating viral spread. Pooling samples allowed reduction of operator time, helped reduce costs, and allowed detection of both symptomatic and asymptomatic cases. Conclusion After 8 months of protocol implementation, the strategy to intensively survey groups at higher epidemiological risk and the systematic search for asymptomatic cases with the incorporation of pooled PCR for diagnosis, in combination with individual testing, is an efficient and viable option in populations with similar characteristics, in the frame of social isolation.Fil: Crudo, Favio. Fundación Mundo Sano; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, Mariana. Fundación Mundo Sano; ArgentinaFil: Rodríguez Fermepín, Marcelo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Fisiopatología y Bioquímica Clínica; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Hospital de Clínicas General San Martín; ArgentinaFil: Entrocassi, Andrea Carolina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Fisiopatología y Bioquímica Clínica; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Hospital de Clínicas General San Martín; ArgentinaFil: Cardone, Karina Angela. No especifíca;Fil: Spina Markmann, Fernando. No especifíca;Fil: Periago, Maria Victoria. Fundación Mundo Sano; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Chuit, Roberto. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Abril, Marcelo Claudio. Fundación Mundo Sano; Argentin

Scalable software framework for real-time data processing in the railway environment

Background: Ticks are obligate haematophagous ectoparasites of vertebrates and frequently parasitize avian species that can carry them across continents during their long-distance migrations. Ticks may have detrimental effects on the health state of their avian hosts, which can be either directly caused by blood-draining or mediated by microbial pathogens transmitted during the blood meal. Indeed, ticks host complex microbial communities, including bacterial pathogens and symbionts. Midichloria bacteria (Rickettsiales) are widespread tick endosymbionts that can be transmitted to vertebrate hosts during the tick bite, inducing an antibody response. Their actual role as infectious/pathogenic agents is, however, unclear. Methods: We screened for Midichloria DNA African ticks and blood samples collected from trans-Saharan migratory songbirds at their arrival in Europe during spring migration. Results: Tick infestation rate was 5.7%, with most ticks belonging to the Hyalomma marginatum species complex. Over 90% of Hyalomma ticks harboured DNA of Midichloria bacteria belonging to the monophylum associated with ticks. Midichloria DNA was detected in 43% of blood samples of avian hosts. Tick-infested adult birds were significantly more likely to test positive to the presence of Midichloria DNA than non-infested adults and second-year individuals, suggesting a long-term persistence of these bacteria within avian hosts. Tick parasitism was associated with a significantly delayed timing of spring migration of avian hosts but had no significant effects on body condition, whereas blood Midichloria DNA presence negatively affected fat deposits of tick-infested avian hosts. Conclusions: Our results show that ticks effectively transfer Midichloria bacteria to avian hosts, supporting the hypothesis that they are infectious to vertebrates. Bird infection likely enhances the horizontal spread of these bacteria across haematophagous ectoparasite populations. Moreover, we showed that Midichloria and tick parasitism have detrimental non-independent effects on avian host health during migration, highlighting the complexity of interactions involving ticks, their vertebrate hosts, and tick-borne bacteria

Debate as Methodology to Learn Architectural Critics

Proceedings of INTED2012 Conference. 5th-7th March 2012, Valencia, Spain.[EN] Among the capabilities distributed by knowledge areas belonging to the studies of Architecture, the capability of being able to express architectural critics is a specific one assigned completely to the Composition area, both by the Ministery and by the different curricula of the some thirty schools of architecture existing in Spain. Learning how to make an architectural critic is a complex process based upon some previous knowledge (history of architecture, theory of architecture, etc.), initially to be acquired by students in the first academic year and to be trained in different subsequent subjects in order to reach an adequate level in this capability. In the School of Architecture of the Universitat Politècnica of València, the capability of making an architectural critic is specifically worked in the subject of Architectural Composition during the fourth year and Architectural Restoration in the fifth year, both belonging to the Department of Architectural Composition. The same capability is worked with a level even higher in the subjects of Theory and History of the Preservation and Intervention Criteria within the master in Preservation of the Architectural Heritage. This capability is developed through a methodology based upon debates that the students organize in the classroom. Reduced groups of students prepare a topic previously agreed with the professor to become a kind of “experts” of it with the help of bibliography, articles, documents, etc. They make a brief presentation generating questions among the audience of their fellow students. After this presentation, this audience must try to answer those proposed questions that often have not a clear or definitive answer, but many possible critical interpretations. These debates allow the students to express personal visions of a topic founded on previous acquired knowledge in these or other subjects, having to argue a critical position. Besides, this methodology encourages an intense and active participation of all the students of the classroom, not to mention the development of the capabilities of reflection, oral exposition and argumentation.Mileto, C.; Vegas López-Manzanares, F.; Cristini, V.; La Spina, V.; García Soriano, L. (2012). Debate as Methodology to Learn Architectural Critics. International Academy of Technology, Education and Development (IATED). 84-89. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/50071S848

Challenging claims in the study of migratory birds and climate change

Recent shifts in phenology in response to climate change are well established but often poorly understood. Many animals integrate climate change across a spatially and temporally dispersed annual life cycle, and effects are modulated by ecological interactions, evolutionary change and endogenous control mechanisms. Here we assess and discuss key statements emerging from the rapidly developing study of changing spring phenology in migratory birds. These well-studied organisms have been instrumental for understanding climate-change effects, but research is developing rapidly and there is a need to attack the big issues rather than risking affirmative science. Although we agree poorly on the support for most claims, agreement regarding the knowledge basis enables consensus regarding broad patterns and likely causes. Empirical data needed for disentangling mechanisms are still scarce, and consequences at a population level and on community composition remain unclear. With increasing knowledge, the overall support (‘consensus view’) for a claim increased and between-researcher variability in support (‘expert opinions') decreased, indicating the importance of assessing and communicating the knowledge basis. A proper integration across biological disciplines seems essential for the field's transition from affirming patterns to understanding mechanisms and making robust predictions regarding future consequences of shifting phenologies

Técnica Bett: medición de nanopartículas de PEEK para implantes dentales

OBJETIVO: El objetivo de este trabajo fue medir las nanopartículas de polieter-etercetona (PEEK) en polvo, mediante la técnica Bett (con diferencia de presiones, mediante Sortímetro) utilizado para la confección de implantes dentales. MATERIALES Y MÉTODOS: se utilizaron 50 g de PEEK en polvo, obtenido a partir de implantes elaborados por impresión 3D en la Facultad de Odontología de la UNLP, extraído de una varilla de PEEK categoría IV, de origen inglés, marca Vestapeek, que cumple con las normas ISO 13485:2003 y 9001:2008. Dicho polvo fue analizado en el departamento de Física de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas de la UNLP, a través de un sortímetro marca Micrometrix, modelo ASSAP 2020. Para ello, se utilizó el método de absorción física y diferencia de presión, para poder medir el ancho y el volumen de los poros de diferentes partículas.Facultad de Odontologí

Antibiotic sensivity “in vitro” from Actynomices SPP adhered to Poliether-Etherketone dental implants

Las bacterias plactónicas que se encuentran en la cavidad bucal, de acuerdo a diversos factores (presencia de hidratos de carbono, aumento del potencial de óxido-reducción, presencia de α 2 globulina en el sangrado gingival, dispositivos protéticos, implantes de metal o biomateriales, etc), predisponen fácilmente la movilidad de otros organismos sésiles patógenos que se adhieren fácilmente a diferentes sustratos tales como titanio, zirconio, Polieter-etercetona (PEEK). Entre ellas se encuentran varias subespecies del tipo de los Actinomyces que han sido hallados colonizando los implantes de PEEK, en el caso de la mucositis y/o periimplantitis oral. El objetivo de este trabajo fue identificar la sensiblidad de antibióticos de tipo β lactámicos y macrólidos más indicados contra el Actinomyces odontolitycus que se adhieren con frecuencia a los implantes de PEEK, mediante una prueba de antibiograma aplicando la técnica de Kirby-Bauer modificada. Hipótesis Entre los antibióticos lactámicos y macrólidos. Para ello se realizó un trabajo “in vitro”, experimental, transversal. Se seleccionaron tres antibióticos diferentes: Ampicilina 500 mg, Cefalotina 500 mg y Eritromicina 500mg, y como cepa modelo Actinomyces odontolitycus (TCC 103) La sensibilidad bacteriana al espectro antibiótico utilizado, se realizó aplicando la técnica de antibiograma de Kirby-Bauer, cuya lectura se llevó a cabo a través de los halos de inhibición. Los resultados obtenidos indican que se obtuvo una diferencia significativa de p< 0,005, entre la acción de la ampicilina y la eritomicina sobre la cefalotina. Se concluye que de los antibióticos estudiados en este trabajo, el que presentó de mayor halo de inhibición fue la ampicilina de 500 mg. Por ende, sería el más indicado para el tratamiento quimioterápico de una mucositis causada por la colocación de un implante dentario de PEEK.The aim of this work was to identify the sensitivity of the most β lactam, cephalosporin and macrolide antibiotics against Streptococcus Actinomyces odontolitycus, that frecuently to PEEK implants, through an antibiogram test applying the modified Kirby- Bauer techinique. For this, an “in vitro” experimenta, transversal work was carried out.Three different antibiotics were selected: Ampicillin 500 mg, Cephalotin 500 mg and Erytrhromycin 500 mg, and an a model strain Actinomyces odontolitycus (TCC 103). The bacterial sensitivity to the antibiotic spectrum used was performande by applying the Kirby- Bauer antibiogram technique, whouse reading out through the inhibition halos. The results obtained indicate that a significant difference of p&lt;0.005 was obtained between the action of ampicillin and erithromycin on cephalothin. It is concluded that of the antibiotics studied in this work, the one with the greatest inhibition halo was ampicillin 500 mg. There before, it would be the most indicated for the chemotherapeutic treatment of mucositis caused by the placement of a PEEK dental implant.Facultad de Odontologí