The influence of the Cavitation and Flashing phenomena in the formation of “scallops” within karstic caves. The Chorros Cave case (Albacete, Spain): The theory of the inverse siphon in the “Reventón” phenomenon

[EN] The influence of the negative pressures of Cavitation and Flashing phenomena in the formation of “scallops”, within karstic caves, is hereby studied. In this sense, the particular case of the Chorros Cave (Albacete, Spain) is analyzed, and the theory of the inverse siphon is proposed in order to explain the “Reventón” phenomenon.[ES] En este trabajo, se estudia la influencia de las presiones negativas del Flashing y la Cavitación en la formación de “scallops” en cuevas kársticas. En este sentido, se analiza el caso particular de la Cueva de los Chorros (Albacete, España) y se propone la teoría del sifón inverso para explicar el fenómeno del “Reventón”.Pavía Alemany, F.; Rodríguez-Estrella, T. (2018). La influencia del Flashing y la Cavitación en la formación de “scallops” en cuevas kársticas. El caso de la Cueva de los Chorros (Albacete, España): Teoría del sifón inverso en el fenómeno del “Reventón”. Ingeniería del Agua. 22(2):79-91. doi:10.4995/ia.2018.8600SWORD7991222Blumberg, P. N. 1970. PhD Thesis. Dept. Chem. Eng., Univ. Michigan.Blumberg, P. N.y Curl, R. L. 1974. Experimental and theoretical studies of dissolution roughness. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 65(4), 735-751. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022112074001625Checkley, D. y Faulkner, T. 2014. Scallop measurement in a 10 m-high vadose cayon and a hypothetical post-deglacial canyon entrenchment timescale. Cave and karst Science, 41(2), 76-83.Curl, R. L. 1966. "Scallops" and flutes. Tranactions. Cave Reserch Group Great Britain. 7, 121 p.Curl, R. L. 1974. Deducing flow velocity in cave conduits from "scallops". National Speleological Society Bulletin, 36(2), 1-5.De Haro Yeboles, A. 1994. Estudio geológico del Calar del Río Mundo. Origen y evolución de la Cueva de los Chorros. Espeleuka, 94. Nota Interior.Eraso Romero, A. 1994. La Cueva de Los Chorros, Nacimiento del Río Mundo, Riópar (Albacete). Mundo Subterráneo.Eraso, A. 1998. Estimación de las paleovelocidades y sentidos de circulación del agua en el karst donde se emplaza el yacimiento arqueológico de la sierra de Atapuerca. Geogaceta, 23, 39-41.Eraso, A. 2001. Estimación de las paleovelocidades y sentidos de circulación del agua en el karst donde se emplaza el yacimiento arqueológico de la sierra de Atapuerca. Boletín nº 2 Sedeck. 61-68Faulkner, T.2013. Speleogenesis and scallop formation under hydraulic control and other recharge regimes. Cave and Karst Science, 40(3), 114-132.Ferrer Rico V. y Extopocien. 2015. La Cueva de los Chorros Riópar. Cevagraf. 1, 64 p.Ford, D. y Williams, P. 2007. Karst Hydrogeology and Geomorphology. Edit. Wiley. 562. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118684986Gabriel i Rodrigo, R. 1983. Contribucio a l'estudi de les emprentes de corrent. Interacció d'una paret soluble i un flux turbulent adjacent. Departament de Química Tènica de la Universitat de Barcelona.Gabriel i Rodrigo, R. 1984. Les emprentes de corrent: de l'espeleologia a la hidrodinàmica. Revista Catalana de Ciencia i Tecnologia. "Ciència Nº 38", 4, 60-64.Gabriel i Rodrigo, R. 1986. Contribució a l'estudi de les empremtes de corrent.Espeleo Club de Gracia.Hammer, Ø., Lauritzen, S. E., Jamtveit, B. 2011. Stability of Dissolution Flutes Under Turbulent Flow. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies. 73(3), 181-186. https://doi.org/10.4311/2011JCKS0200Lauritzen, S.E. 1981. Statical Symmetry Analysis of "scallops". NSS Bulletin, 43, 52-55.Murphy, P. J. 2012. "Scallops". Encyclopedia of Caves, 679-683. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-383832-2.00100-6Pavía Alemany, F. 1999. El Reventón de la Cueva de los Chorros Flashing/Cavitación en el Karst. Lapiaz, 26, 32-48.Plá Salvador, R. 1966. Nuevas prospecciones en el Calar del Mundo. Geo y Bio karst. Año III, 9, 21-22.Plá Salvador, R. 1981. Trabajos espeleológicos desarrollados en el karst del Calar del Mundo y Cueva de los Chorros. Lapiaz, 7, 4-39.Rodríguez-Estrella, T. 1999. Nuevas aportaciones sobre el funcionamiento hidrogeológico del acuífero kárstico multicapa del Calar del Mundo (prov. Albacete y Jaén). Contribuciones del estudio científico de las cavidades kársticas al conocimiento geológico. Patronato de la Cueva de Nerja, 507-522.Rodríguez-Estrella, T. y Ballesta Sánchez, F. 1999. Estudio geohidroespeleológico del Calar del Mundo (provincias de Albacete y Jaén). Instituto de Estudios Albacete Excma. Dip. Prov. Albacete. 175 p.Rodríguez-Estrella, T., Ballesta, F., Melero, J. y Martínez, J.A. 2002. Contribución de las medidas de conductividad y pH, en las aguas de la Cueva de los Chorros del Río Mundo (Albacete), a la génesis del enigmático "Reventón". 2nd Nerja Cave Geological Symposium. Karst and environmental. Nerja. Spain. 199-209.Rudnicki, J. 1960. Experimental work on flute development. Speleologia (Warsaw), 2, 17.Ullastre, J., Masriera, A. 1978. Introducción al estudio geoespeleológico del borde NW del Calar del Mundo. (Riópar-Albacete). Geo y Bio karst. Año V, 16-17, 4-19. Barcelona.Woodward, E., Sasowsky, I. D. 2009. A spreadsheet program (Scallopex) to calculate paleovelocities from cave wall "scallops". Acta karstológica. 38(2-3), 303-305, Postojna

Influence of the Seasonal Thermocline on the Vertical Distribution of Larval Fish Assemblages Associated with Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Spawning Grounds

Temperature is often an important variable influencing the vertical position of fish larvae in the water column. The same species may show different vertical distributions in areas with a strong near-surface seasonal thermocline compared to isothermal near-surface regions. In areas with a strong surface thermocline, tuna larvae show a significant preference for the near-surface warmer layers. Little is known regarding larval tuna vertical distribution in isothermal waters and on the vertical distribution of the associated larval fish assemblages. We conducted vertical stratified sampling using the same methodology and fishing device (MOCNESS) in the two major spawning areas of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT): western Mediterranean Sea (MED), characterized by a surface thermocline, and the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) which lacks thermal stratification. Tuna larvae occupied the upper 30 m in both areas, but the average larval depth distribution was consistently deeper in the GOM. In the MED, vertical distribution of larval fish assemblages was explained by temperature, and species such as BFT, Thunnus alalunga, and Ceratoscopelus maderensis, among others, coexist above the thermocline and are separated from species such as Cyclothone braueri and Hygophum spp. (found below the thermocline). In the GOM, the environmental correlates of the vertical distribution of the larvae were salinity and fluorescence. Mesopelagic taxa such as Ceratoscopelus spp. and Cyclothone spp., among others, had a shallower average distribution than Lampanyctus spp., Hygophum spp., and Myctophum spp.Versión del edito

SF3B1, RUNX1 and TP53 Mutations Significantly Impact the Outcome of Patients With Lower-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome

[Introduction] Prognosis of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), particularly the group with lower-risk disease (LR-MDS) is very heterogeneous. Several studies have described the prognostic value of recurrent somatic mutations in MDS including all risk categories. Recently, the incorporation of genomic data to clinical parameters defined the new Molecular International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS-M).[Materials and Methods] In this study, we evaluated the impact of molecular profile in a series of 181 patients with LR-MDS and non-proliferative chronic myelomonocytic leukemia.[Results] Epigenetic regulators (TET2, ASXL1) and splicing (SF3B1) were the most recurrent mutated pathways. In univariate analysis, RUNX1 or TP53 mutations correlated with lower median overall survival (OS). In contrast, SF3B1 mutation was associated with prolonged median OS [95 months (95% IC, 32-157) vs. 33 months (95% CI, 19-46) in unmutated patients (P < 0.01)]. In a multivariate Cox regression model, RUNX1 mutations independently associated with shorter OS, while SF3B1 mutation retained its favorable impact on outcome (HR: 0.24, 95% CI, 0.1-0.5; P = 0.001). In addition, TP53 or RUNX1 mutations were identified as predictive covariates for the probability of leukemic progression (P < 0.001).[Conclusion] Incorporation of molecular testing in LR-MDS identified a subset of patients with expected poorer outcome, either due to lower survival or probability of leukemic progression.Peer reviewe

High Antipredatory Efficiency of Insular Lizards: A Warning Signal of Excessive Specimen Collection?

We live-captured lizards on islands in the Gulf of California and the Baja California peninsula mainland, and compared their ability to escape predation. Contrary to expectations, endemic lizard species from uninhabited islands fled from humans earlier and more efficiently than those from peninsular mainland areas. In fact, 58.2% (n = 146) of the lizards we tried to capture on the various islands escaped successfully, while this percentage was only 14.4% (n = 160) on the peninsular mainland. Separate evidence (e.g., proportion of regenerated tails, low human population at the collection areas, etc.) challenges several potential explanations for the higher antipredatory efficiency of insular lizards (e.g., more predation pressure on islands, habituation to humans on the peninsula, etc.). Instead, we suggest that the ability of insular lizards to avoid predators may be related to harvesting by humans, perhaps due to the value of endemic species as rare taxonomic entities. If this hypothesis is correct, predation-related behavioral changes in rare species could provide early warning signals of their over-exploitation, thus encouraging the adoption of conservation measures

Prognostic significance of FLT3-ITD length in AML patients treated with intensive regimens

FLT3-ITD mutations are detected in approximately 25% of newly diagnosed adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients and confer an adverse prognosis. The FLT3-ITD allelic ratio has clear prognostic value. Nevertheless, there are numerous manuscripts with contradictory results regarding the prognostic relevance of the length and insertion site (IS) of the FLT3-ITD fragment. We aimed to assess the prognostic impact of these variables on the complete remission (CR) rates, overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) of AML patients with FLT3-ITDmutations. We studied the FLT3-ITD length of 362 adult AML patients included in the PETHEMA AML registry. We tried to validate the thresholds of ITD length previously published (i.e., 39 bp and 70 bp) in intensively treated AML patients (n = 161). We also analyzed the mutational profile of 118 FLT3-ITD AML patients with an NGS panel of 39 genes and correlated mutational status with the length and IS of ITD. The AUC of the ROC curve of the ITD length for OS prediction was 0.504, and no differences were found when applying any of the thresholds for OS, RFS or CR rate. Only four out of 106 patients had ITD IS in the TKD1 domain. Our results, alongside previous publications, confirm that FLT3-ITD length lacks prognostic value and clinical applicability. © 2021, The Author(s)

Multiple Scedosporium apiospermum abscesses in a woman survivor of a tsunami in northeastern Japan: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p><it>Scedosporium apiospermum </it>is increasingly recognized as a cause of localized and disseminated mycotic infections in near-drowning victims.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the case of a 59-year-old Japanese woman who was a survivor of a tsunami in northeastern Japan and who had lung and brain abscesses caused by <it>S. apiospermum</it>. Initially, an aspergillus infection was suspected, so she was treated with micafungin. However, computed tomography scans of her chest revealed lung abscesses, and magnetic resonance images demonstrated multiple abscesses in her brain. <it>S. apiospermum </it>was cultured from her bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and antimycotic therapy with voriconazole was initiated. Since she developed an increase in the frequency of premature ventricular contractions, an adverse drug reaction to the voriconazole was suspected. She was started on a treatment of a combination of low-dose voriconazole and liposomal amphotericin B. After combination therapy, further computed tomography scans of the chest and magnetic resonance images of her brain showed a demarcation of abscesses.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Voriconazole appeared to have a successful record in treating scedosporiosis after a near drowning but, owing to several adverse effects, may possibly not be recommended. Thus, a combination treatment of low-dose voriconazole and liposomal amphotericin B may be a safe and effective treatment for an <it>S. apiospermum </it>infection. Even though a diagnosis of scedosporiosis may be difficult, a fast and correct etiological diagnosis could improve the patient's chance of recovery in any case.</p

Impact of FLT3–ITD Mutation Status and Its Ratio in a Cohort of 2901 Patients Undergoing Upfront Intensive Chemotherapy: A PETHEMA Registry Study

FLT3–ITD results in a poor prognosis in terms of overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, the prognostic usefulness of the allelic ratio (AR) to select post-remission therapy remains controversial. Our study focuses on the prognostic impact of FLT3–ITD and its ratio in a series of 2901 adult patients treated intensively in the pre-FLT3 inhibitor era and reported in the PETHEMA registry. A total of 579 of these patients (20%) harbored FLT3–ITD mutations. In multivariate analyses, patients with an FLT3–ITD allele ratio (AR) of >0.5 showed a lower complete remission (CR rate) and OS (HR 1.47, p = 0.009), while AR > 0.8 was associated with poorer RFS (HR 2.1; p 0.5). Using the maximally selected log-rank statistics, we established an optimal cutoff of FLT3–ITD AR of 0.44 for OS, and 0.8 for RFS. We analyzed the OS and RFS according to FLT3–ITD status in all patients, and we found that the group of FLT3–ITD-positive patients with AR 0.44, allo-HSCT was superior to auto-HSCT in terms of OS and RFS. This study provides more evidence for a better characterization of patients with AML harboring FLT3–ITD mutations.This study was fundedby Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) through the project PI19/01518 and PI19/00730 and co- funded by the European Union, the CRIS Against Cancer Foundation, grant 2018/001, and by the Instituto de Investigación Hospital 12 de Octubre (IMAS12). APeer reviewe

Contribution of Candida biomarkers and DNA detection for the diagnosis of invasive candidiasis in ICU patients with severe abdominal conditions

BACKGROUND: To assess the performance of Candida albicans germ tube antibody (CAGTA), (1 → 3)-ß-D-glucan (BDG), mannan antigen (mannan-Ag), anti-mannan antibodies (mannan-Ab), and Candida DNA for diagnosing invasive candidiasis (IC) in ICU patients with severe abdominal conditions (SAC). METHODS: A prospective study of 233 non-neutropenic patients with SAC on ICU admission and expected stay ≥ 7 days. CAGTA (cutoff positivity ≥ 1/160), BDG (≥80, 100 and 200 pg/mL), mannan-Ag (≥60 pg/mL), mannan-Ab (≥10 UA/mL) were measured twice a week, and Candida DNA only in patients treated with systemic antifungals. IC diagnosis required positivities of two biomarkers in a single sample or positivities of any biomarker in two consecutive samples. Patients were classified as neither colonized nor infected (n = 48), Candida spp. colonization (n = 154) (low-grade, n = 130; high-grade, n = 24), and IC (n = 31) (intra-abdominal candidiasis, n = 20; candidemia, n = 11). RESULTS: The combination of CAGTA and BDG positivities in a single sample or at least one of the two biomarkers positive in two consecutive samples showed 90.3 % (95 % CI 74.2–98.0) sensitivity, 42.1 % (95 % CI 35.2–98.8) specificity, and 96.6 % (95 % CI 90.5–98.8) negative predictive value. BDG positivities in two consecutive samples had 76.7 % (95 % CI 57.7–90.1) sensitivity and 57.2 % (95 % CI 49.9–64.3) specificity. Mannan-Ag, mannan-Ab, and Candida DNA individually or combined showed a low discriminating capacity. CONCLUSIONS: Positive Candida albicans germ tube antibody and (1 → 3)-ß-D-glucan in a single blood sample or (1 → 3)-ß-D-glucan positivity in two consecutive blood samples allowed discriminating invasive candidiasis from Candida spp. colonization in critically ill patients with severe abdominal conditions. These findings may be helpful to tailor empirical antifungal therapy in this patient population

GBA and APOE ε4 associate with sporadic dementia with Lewy bodies in European genome wide association study

Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) is a common neurodegenerative disorder with poor prognosis and mainly unknown pathophysiology. Heritability estimates exceed 30% but few genetic risk variants have been identified. Here we investigated common genetic variants associated with DLB in a large European multisite sample. We performed a genome wide association study in Norwegian and European cohorts of 720 DLB cases and 6490 controls and included 19 top-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms in an additional cohort of 108 DLB cases and 75545 controls from Iceland. Overall the study included 828 DLB cases and 82035 controls. Variants in the ASH1L/GBA (Chr1q22) and APOE ε4 (Chr19) loci were associated with DLB surpassing the genome-wide significance threshold (p < 5 × 10). One additional genetic locus previously linked to psychosis in Alzheimer's disease, ZFPM1 (Chr16q24.2), showed suggestive association with DLB at p-value < 1 × 10. We report two susceptibility loci for DLB at genome-wide significance, providing insight into etiological factors. These findings highlight the complex relationship between the genetic architecture of DLB and other neurodegenerative disorders

Charting the course for a Blue Economy in Peru: A Research Agenda

Ocean- and coastal-based economic activities are increasingly recognised as key drivers for supporting global economies. This move towards the “blue economy” is becoming globally widespread, with the recognition that if ocean-based activities are to be sustainable, they will need to move beyond solely extractive and exploitative endeavours, aligning more closely with marine conservation and effective marine spatial planning. In this paper we define the “blue economy” as a “platform for strategic, integrated and participatory coastal and ocean development and protection that incorporates a low carbon economy, the ecosystem approach and human well-being through advancing regional industries, services and activities”. In Peru, while the seas contribute greatly to the national economy, the full potential of the blue economy has yet to be realised. This paper presents the findings of an early career scientist workshop in Lima, Peru, in March 2016. The workshop “Advancing Green Growth in Peru” brought together researchers to identify challenges and opportunities for green growth across three Peruvian economic sectors—tourism, transport and the blue economy with this paper exploring in detail the priorities generated from the “blue economy” stream. These priorities include themes such as marine spatial planning, detailed evaluations of existing maritime industries (e.g. guano collection and fisheries), development of an effective MPA network, support for sustainable coastal tourism, and better inclusion of social science disciplines in understanding societal and political support for a Peruvian blue economy. In addition, the paper discusses the research requirements associated with these priorities. While not a comprehensive list, these priorities provide a starting point for future dialogue on a co-ordinated scientific platform supporting the blue growth agenda in Peru, and in other regions working towards a successful “blue economy”