Cell death induced by the application of alternating magnetic fields to nanoparticle-loaded dendritic cells

In this work, the capability of primary, monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) to uptake iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) is assessed and a strategy to induce selective cell death in these MNP-loaded DCs using external alternating magnetic fields (AMFs) is reported. No significant decrease in the cell viability of MNP-loaded DCs, compared to the control samples, was observed after five days of culture. The amount of MNPs incorporated into the cytoplasm was measured by magnetometry, which confirmed that 1 to 5 pg of the particles were uploaded per cell. The intracellular distribution of these MNPs, assessed by transmission electron microscopy, was found to be primarily inside the endosomic structures. These cells were then subjected to an AMF for 30 min, and the viability of the blank DCs (i.e., without MNPs), which were used as control samples, remained essentially unaffected. However, a remarkable decrease of viability from approximately 90% to 2-5% of DCs previously loaded with MNPs was observed after the same 30 min exposure to an AMF. The same results were obtained using MNPs having either positive (NH2+) or negative (COOH-) surface functional groups. In spite of the massive cell death induced by application of AMF to MNP-loaded DCs, the amount of incorporated magnetic particles did not raise the temperature of the cell culture. Clear morphological changes at the cell structure after magnetic field application were observed using scanning electron microscopy. Therefore, local damage produced by the MNPs could be the main mechanism for the selective cell death of MNP-loaded DCs under an AMF. Based on the ability of these cells to evade the reticuloendothelial system, these complexes combined with an AMF should be considered as a potentially powerful tool for tumour therapy.Comment: In Press. 33 pages, 11 figure

High Phenotypic Diversity Does Not Always Hide Taxonomic Diversity: A Study Case with Cheilosia soror (Zetterstedt, 1843) (Diptera: Syrphidae) in the Iberian Peninsula

Comprising nearly 500 species worldwide, Cheilosia Meigen is the largest genus of Syrphidae in the Palaearctic region. Within Cheilosia, phenotypic diversity has been assessed in different species groups, including the group of Cheilosia longula (Zetterstedt, 1838). However, the phenotypic variability of Cheilosia soror (Zetterstedt, 1843), a highly variable member of the C. longula group, has never been assessed in western Europe. In the present work, morphological and molecular analyses were conducted to assess the phenotypic variability found in 300+ specimens of C. soror from the Iberian Peninsula. A total of 16 variable characters were identified and defined for the C. soror morphology, with the highest variation found in the colour of the mesonotum pilosity and the metatibia colour. Morphological variation was assessed against molecular variation based on two molecular markers, one mitochondrial, the 5 end of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI-5), and one nuclear, the large subunit ribosomal DNA (28S). Phylogenetic analyses rendered trees with topologies in disagreement with the defined morphological variation. Two haplotypes were identified amongst the analysed specimens of C. soror, together with a haplotypic variant exclusive to the Iberian region. Potential distributions were used to identify unexplored areas of occurrence of C. soror and other species of the C. longula group in the Iberian Peninsula. Unassessed areas of occurrence of C. soror should be surveyed in the future to confirm the absence of hidden taxonomic diversity within the range of phenotypic variation for this species. Phenotypic variation of the other two Iberian species of the C. longula group, C. longula and C. scutellata (Fallén, 1817), was also assessed to find that they are species with less-variable morphology than C. soror and with molecular characters in accordance with other conspecific populations in Europe. New distributional data are provided for C. soror and C. scutellata from Spain, and a leg abnormality is identified for the first time in C. soror.This research was funded by the “Fauna Ibérica” project (PGC2018-095851-A-C65) of the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities, Spain. Antonio Ricarte’s position (Ref. UATALENTO17-08) at the University of Alicante is funded by the “Vicerrectorado de Investigación y Transferencia del Conocimiento.” The positions of Zorica Nedeljković and Iván Ballester-Torres at the University of Alicante are funded by the above-mentioned Fauna Ibérica project

Radio Emission from SN 2001gd in NGC 5033

We present the results of monitoring the radio emission from the Type IIb supernova SN 2001gd between 2002 February 8 and 2002 October 28. Most of the data were obtained using the Very Large Array at the five wavelengths of $\lambda \lambda$1.3 cm (22.4 GHz), 2.0 cm (14.9 GHz), 3.6 cm (8.44 GHz), 6.2 cm (4.86 GHz), and 21 cm (1.4 GHz). Observations were also made with Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope at $\lambda$21 cm (1.4 GHz). The object was discovered optically well after maximum light, making any determination of the early radio evolution difficult. However, subsequent observations indicate that the radio emission has evolved regularly in both time and frequency and is well described by the SN shock/circumstellar medium interaction model.Comment: 16 pages 2 figures to appear in Astrophysical Journa

Respiratory viruses: their importance and lessons learned from COVID-19

Respiratory virus infection can cause severe illnesses capable of inducing acute respiratory failure that can progress rapidly to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). ARDS is related to poor outcomes, especially in individuals with a higher risk of infection, such as the elderly and those with comorbidities, i.e. obesity, asthma, diabetes mellitus and chronic respiratory or cardiovascular disease. Despite this, effective antiviral treatments available for severe viral lung infections are scarce. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic demonstrated that there is also a need to understand the role of airborne transmission of respiratory viruses. Robust evidence supporting this exists, but better comprehension could help implement adequate measures to mitigate respiratory viral infections. In severe viral lung infections, early diagnosis, risk stratification and prognosis are essential in managing patients. Biomarkers can provide reliable, timely and accessible information possibly helpful for clinicians in managing severe lung viral infections. Although respiratory viruses highly impact global health, more research is needed to improve care and prognosis of severe lung viral infections. In this review, we discuss the epidemiology, diagnosis, clinical characteristics, management and prognosis of patients with severe infections due to respiratory viruses

Moving towards an Ecosystem Based Management in the Gulf of Cadiz

The concentration of the world's population in coastal regions, in addition to the direct human use, is leading to an accelerated process of change and deterioration of the marine ecosystems worldwide. In the case of the Gulf of Cadiz (GoC), intense fishing throughout history has resulted in the overexploitation of its major commercial stocks. The Ecosystem Based Management (EBM) is the framework currently used for restoration of marine ecosystems. Unlike conventional strategies which only focus on individual components, this new paradigm in ecosystem management implies the consideration of the entire system as a whole. Following the steps of other European seas, this work presents an Integrated Ecosystem Assessment (IEA) for the Gulf of Cadiz as first stone towards an eventual operational EBM. The IEA of the GoC is developed by combining a customized implementation of Levin's cycle with other complementary approaches, commonly used in other European seas. In particular we made use of a traffic light plot to describe the state and trends of the most important descriptors and an Ecopath model to depict the main trophic interactions in this specific ecosystem. From these analyses, we finally come up with candidate indicators suitable to be used within Levin’s cycle framework

Temperature-Frequency Converter Using a Liquid Crystal Cell as a Sensing Element

A new temperature-frequency converter based on the variation of the dielectric permittivity of the Liquid Crystal (LC) material with temperature has been demonstrated. Unlike other temperature sensors based on liquid crystal processing optical signals for determining the temperature, this work presents a system that is able to sense temperature by using only electrical signals. The variation of the dielectric permittivity with temperature is used to modify the capacitance of a plain capacitor using a LC material as non-ideal dielectric. An electric oscillator with an output frequency depending on variable capacitance made of a twisted-nematic (TN) liquid crystal (LC) cell has been built. The output frequency is related to the temperature of LC cell through the equations associated to the oscillator circuit. The experimental results show excellent temperature sensitivity, with a variation of 0.40% of the initial frequency per degree Celsius in the temperature range from −6 °C to 110 °C

SWOT Analysis Applied to Wheat Straw Utilization as a Biofuel in Mexico

Wheat is one of the main crops worldwide with a production of 733 million of tons by 2015. By 2013, the wheat grain production in Mexico was 3,357,307 t. Wheat straw is generated as a biomass waste once the wheat is harvested. However, the agricultural biomass waste has acquired international relevance as a source of bioenergy. The utilization of bioenergy has significant environmental benefits, and also economic benefits because the biomass waste is valorized as biofuel. The use of wheat straw as raw material for any productive process presents diverse factors that must be considered. Among those factors are the low density of biomass, handling and high transportation cost, an attractive heating value, and the physicochemical characterization. Therefore, the aim of this work was to apply the SWOT analysis to wheat straw utilization as a biofuel in Mexico. The main findings highlighted an estimation of 4,612,950.23 t of wheat straw generated. The experimental results of proximate analysis were 64.42% volatile matter, 19.49% fixed carbon and 16.09% ash. The higher heating was 14.86 MJ/kg. An energy potential of 69 PJ per agricultural cycle was calculated, equivalent to 19% of the biomass energy share reported in Mexico’s National Energy Balance, by 2014

Interim Report of the Working Group on Ecosystem Assessment of Western European Shelf Seas

The ICES Working Group on Ecosystem Assessment of Western European Shelf Seas (WGEAWESS) meeting was held in Lisbon (Portugal), on 24–28 April 2017. The meeting was attended by 8 participants from 4 countries and chaired by Steven Beggs, Northern Ireland (UK). This was the first year of the new 3-year Terms of Reference (ToR) for WGEAWESS. The main activities for the group at the 2017 meeting were to discuss progress and further development of work towards the ToRs a) Continue metadata compilation for all ecosystem components available for IEA development, b) Continue evaluation of data and trends for a regional Integrated Ecosystem Assessment (IEA). Identify ecosystem trends relevant to stock assessment and management. As an outcome of specific objectives to integrate the activities of WGEAWESS with sister IEA groups, the meeting was held back to back with both the ICES/HELCOM Working Group on Integrated Assessments of the Baltic Sea (WGIAB) and the Working Group on Comparative Analyses between European Atlantic and Mediterranean marine ecosystems to move towards an Ecosystem-based Approach to Fisheries (WGCOMEDA). This back to back meeting had many advantages and provided much opportunity for group integration and future collaboration