Contact metamorphism associated to the Penamacor - Monsanto granitic intrusion (Central Portugal): geochemical, isotopic and mineralogical features

Contact metamorphism related to Variscan and late-Variscan granitic plutons in the Iberian Peninsula is superimposed on medium-grade regional metamorphism, making it often difficult to evaluate per se the thermal effects due to those intrusions and explaining the paucity of scientific literature on the subject. An exhaustive set of geochemical, isotopic and mineralogical data on the contact-zone metasediments hosting the Penamacor-Monsanto granite (Central Iberian Zone, Portugal) provides a significant contribution to the characterization of low- to intermediate-grade contact metamorphism in geological contexts formerly affected by regional metamorphism. The metasediments hosting the Penamacor-Monsanto pluton belong to the extensive detrital sequence of the ante-Ordovician Schist-Greywacke Complex. Bulk geochemistry, oxygen isotope data and crystal-chemistry of key minerals from those contact-zone and neighbouring metasediments have made it possible to infer metamorphic conditions on the contact zone of this granitic intrusion, and to distinguish them from late boron-metasomatism at the exocontact. Mineral paragenesis (muscovite + biotite + chlorite quartz plagioclase cordierite, in spotted-schists; biotite + chlorite quartz plagioclase ( cordierite), in hornfelses) and the composition of these coexisting mineral phases indicate that most of the contact rocks reached the biotite zone (or even the cordierite zone, in some cases), equivalent to upper greenschist – lower amphibolite metamorphic grade. The relatively narrow range of O-isotope temperatures estimated for the crystallization of the marginal granites (550-625ºC) explains the absence of significant effects of thermal flow anisotropy on the contact-zone rocks. Besides, textural, paragenetic, mineralogical, isotopic and geochemical nuances observed in hornfelses and spotted-schists seem mainly related to the local host-rock heterogeneities, rather than to thermal effects. The relatively low temperatures estimated for granitoid emplacement and their restricted isotopic and mineralogical impacts on the metasedimentary host-rocks account for the narrow metamorphic aureole associated with the Penamacor-Monsanto pluton, and suggest this massif may correspond to the outcropping tip of a larger granitic intrusion at depth.Las intrusions graníticas Varíscicas y tardivaríscicas de la Península Ibérica dieron lugar a un metamorfsmo de contacto que afecta a un encajante previamente sometido a un metamorfsmo regional de grado medio, lo que difculta separar los efectos térmicos de aquellos regionales, y explica la escasez de estudios sobre el mismo. El estudio detallado de la zona de contacto entre el Granito de Penamacor-Monsanto (Zona Centro-Ibérica; Portugal) y su encajante metasedimentario mediante técnicas geoquímicas, mineralógicas e isotópicas supone una notable contribución al conocimiento y caracterización del metamorfsmo de contacto de grados bajos a intermedios en contextos geológicos previamente afectados por metamorfsmo regional. El encajante metasedimentario del Plutón de Penamacor-Monsanto es parte de la amplia secuencia detrítica ante-Ordovícia conocida como Complejo Esquisto-Grawackico. Datos geoquímicos de roca total y cristaloquímicos de los minerales más característicos, y relaciones isotópicas de oxígeno en la zona de contacto y metasedimentos aledaños permiten inferir las condiciones metamórfcas en la zona de contacto de dicha intrusión, y diferenciarla de aquella afectada por metasomatismo tardío por B. La paragénesis mineral (muscovita + biotita + clorita ± cuarzo ± plagioclasa ± cordierita en los esquistos moteados; biotita + clorita ± cuarzo ± plagiclasa (± cordierita) en corneanas) y la composición de las fases minerales coexistentes indican que la mayoría de rocas del contacto alcanzaron la zona de la biotita (e incluso, en algunos casos, aquella de la cordierita), equivalente a la parte alta del grado metamórfco de los esquistos verdes, o a la parte baja de las anfbolitas. El rango relativamente pequeño de temperaturas de cristalización de los granitos marginales (550-625°C), calculado mediante isótopos de oxígeno, explica la carencia de anisotropías térmicas signifcativas en las rocas del contacto. Las sutiles diferencias texturales, paragenéticas, mineralógicas, isotópicas y geoquímicas en esquistos moteados y corneanas parecen relacionadas con heterogeneidades locales de los encajantes, y no con efectos térmicos diferenciados. Las temperaturas relativamente bajas estimadas durante la intrusión del granito de Penamacor-Monsanto, y el limitado efecto mineralógico e isotópico sobre el encajante metasedimentario, dan lugar a una aureola de contacto estrecha, y sugieren que este macizo puede corresponder al techo de una intrusión mayor en profundidad.Funding was provided by FCT—Fundação para a Ciên cia e Tecnologia, through project METMOB (PTDC/CTE-GIX/116204/2009

Overexpression of the Rieske FeS protein of the Cytochrome b 6 f complex increases C4 photosynthesis in Setaria viridis.

C4 photosynthesis is characterised by a CO2 concentrating mechanism that operates between mesophyll and bundle sheath cells increasing CO2 partial pressure at the site of Rubisco and photosynthetic efficiency. Electron transport chains in both cell types supply ATP and NADPH for C4 photosynthesis. Cytochrome b 6 f is a key control point of electron transport in C3 plants. To study whether C4 photosynthesis is limited by electron transport we constitutively overexpressed the Rieske FeS subunit in Setaria viridis. This resulted in a higher Cytochrome b 6 f content in mesophyll and bundle sheath cells without marked changes in the abundances of other photosynthetic proteins. Rieske overexpression plants showed better light conversion efficiency in both Photosystems and could generate higher proton-motive force across the thylakoid membrane underpinning an increase in CO2 assimilation rate at ambient and saturating CO2 and high light. Our results demonstrate that removing electron transport limitations can increase C4 photosynthesis

Physicochemical and biological characterization of 1E10 Anti-Idiotype vaccine

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>1E10 monoclonal antibody is a murine anti-idiotypic antibody that mimics N-glycolyl-GM3 gangliosides. This antibody has been tested as an anti-idiotypic cancer vaccine, adjuvated in Al(OH)₃, in several clinical trials for melanoma, breast, and lung cancer. During early clinical development this mAb was obtained <it>in vivo </it>from mice ascites fluid. Currently, the production process of 1E10 is being transferred from the <it>in vivo </it>to a bioreactor-based method.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here, we present a comprehensive molecular and immunological characterization of 1E10 produced by the two different production processes in order to determine the impact of the manufacturing process in vaccine performance. We observed differences in glycosylation pattern, charge heterogeneity and structural stability between <it>in vivo</it>-produced 1E10 and bioreactor-obtained 1E10. Interestingly, these modifications had no significant impact on the immune responses elicited in two different animal models.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Changes in 1E10 primary structure like glycosylation; asparagine deamidation and oxidation affected 1E10 structural stability but did not affect the immune response elicited in mice and chickens when compared to 1E10 produced in mice.</p

Cancer Biomarker Discovery: The Entropic Hallmark

Background: It is a commonly accepted belief that cancer cells modify their transcriptional state during the progression of the disease. We propose that the progression of cancer cells towards malignant phenotypes can be efficiently tracked using high-throughput technologies that follow the gradual changes observed in the gene expression profiles by employing Shannon's mathematical theory of communication. Methods based on Information Theory can then quantify the divergence of cancer cells' transcriptional profiles from those of normally appearing cells of the originating tissues. The relevance of the proposed methods can be evaluated using microarray datasets available in the public domain but the method is in principle applicable to other high-throughput methods. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using melanoma and prostate cancer datasets we illustrate how it is possible to employ Shannon Entropy and the Jensen-Shannon divergence to trace the transcriptional changes progression of the disease. We establish how the variations of these two measures correlate with established biomarkers of cancer progression. The Information Theory measures allow us to identify novel biomarkers for both progressive and relatively more sudden transcriptional changes leading to malignant phenotypes. At the same time, the methodology was able to validate a large number of genes and processes that seem to be implicated in the progression of melanoma and prostate cancer. Conclusions/Significance: We thus present a quantitative guiding rule, a new unifying hallmark of cancer: the cancer cell's transcriptome changes lead to measurable observed transitions of Normalized Shannon Entropy values (as measured by high-throughput technologies). At the same time, tumor cells increment their divergence from the normal tissue profile increasing their disorder via creation of states that we might not directly measure. This unifying hallmark allows, via the the Jensen-Shannon divergence, to identify the arrow of time of the processes from the gene expression profiles, and helps to map the phenotypical and molecular hallmarks of specific cancer subtypes. The deep mathematical basis of the approach allows us to suggest that this principle is, hopefully, of general applicability for other diseases

Spontaneous Breathing in Early Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Insights From the Large Observational Study to UNderstand the Global Impact of Severe Acute Respiratory FailurE Study

OBJECTIVES: To describe the characteristics and outcomes of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome with or without spontaneous breathing and to investigate whether the effects of spontaneous breathing on outcome depend on acute respiratory distress syndrome severity. DESIGN: Planned secondary analysis of a prospective, observational, multicentre cohort study. SETTING: International sample of 459 ICUs from 50 countries. PATIENTS: Patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome and at least 2 days of invasive mechanical ventilation and available data for the mode of mechanical ventilation and respiratory rate for the 2 first days. INTERVENTIONS: Analysis of patients with and without spontaneous breathing, defined by the mode of mechanical ventilation and by actual respiratory rate compared with set respiratory rate during the first 48 hours of mechanical ventilation. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Spontaneous breathing was present in 67% of patients with mild acute respiratory distress syndrome, 58% of patients with moderate acute respiratory distress syndrome, and 46% of patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome. Patients with spontaneous breathing were older and had lower acute respiratory distress syndrome severity, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores, ICU and hospital mortality, and were less likely to be diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome by clinicians. In adjusted analysis, spontaneous breathing during the first 2 days was not associated with an effect on ICU or hospital mortality (33% vs 37%; odds ratio, 1.18 [0.92-1.51]; p = 0.19 and 37% vs 41%; odds ratio, 1.18 [0.93-1.50]; p = 0.196, respectively ). Spontaneous breathing was associated with increased ventilator-free days (13 [0-22] vs 8 [0-20]; p = 0.014) and shorter duration of ICU stay (11 [6-20] vs 12 [7-22]; p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Spontaneous breathing is common in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome during the first 48 hours of mechanical ventilation. Spontaneous breathing is not associated with worse outcomes and may hasten liberation from the ventilator and from ICU. Although these results support the use of spontaneous breathing in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome independent of acute respiratory distress syndrome severity, the use of controlled ventilation indicates a bias toward use in patients with higher disease severity. In addition, because the lack of reliable data on inspiratory effort in our study, prospective studies incorporating the magnitude of inspiratory effort and adjusting for all potential severity confounders are required

Epidemiology and patterns of tracheostomy practice in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome in ICUs across 50 countries

Background: To better understand the epidemiology and patterns of tracheostomy practice for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), we investigated the current usage of tracheostomy in patients with ARDS recruited into the Large Observational Study to Understand the Global Impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Failure (LUNG-SAFE) study. Methods: This is a secondary analysis of LUNG-SAFE, an international, multicenter, prospective cohort study of patients receiving invasive or noninvasive ventilation in 50 countries spanning 5 continents. The study was carried out over 4 weeks consecutively in the winter of 2014, and 459 ICUs participated. We evaluated the clinical characteristics, management and outcomes of patients that received tracheostomy, in the cohort of patients that developed ARDS on day 1-2 of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, and in a subsequent propensity-matched cohort. Results: Of the 2377 patients with ARDS that fulfilled the inclusion criteria, 309 (13.0%) underwent tracheostomy during their ICU stay. Patients from high-income European countries (n = 198/1263) more frequently underwent tracheostomy compared to patients from non-European high-income countries (n = 63/649) or patients from middle-income countries (n = 48/465). Only 86/309 (27.8%) underwent tracheostomy on or before day 7, while the median timing of tracheostomy was 14 (Q1-Q3, 7-21) days after onset of ARDS. In the subsample matched by propensity score, ICU and hospital stay were longer in patients with tracheostomy. While patients with tracheostomy had the highest survival probability, there was no difference in 60-day or 90-day mortality in either the patient subgroup that survived for at least 5 days in ICU, or in the propensity-matched subsample. Conclusions: Most patients that receive tracheostomy do so after the first week of critical illness. Tracheostomy may prolong patient survival but does not reduce 60-day or 90-day mortality. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02010073. Registered on 12 December 2013

Identifying associations between diabetes and acute respiratory distress syndrome in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure: an analysis of the LUNG SAFE database

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a common co-existing disease in the critically ill. Diabetes mellitus may reduce the risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), but data from previous studies are conflicting. The objective of this study was to evaluate associations between pre-existing diabetes mellitus and ARDS in critically ill patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF). Methods: An ancillary analysis of a global, multi-centre prospective observational study (LUNG SAFE) was undertaken. LUNG SAFE evaluated all patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) over a 4-week period, that required mechanical ventilation and met AHRF criteria. Patients who had their AHRF fully explained by cardiac failure were excluded. Important clinical characteristics were included in a stepwise selection approach (forward and backward selection combined with a significance level of 0.05) to identify a set of independent variables associated with having ARDS at any time, developing ARDS (defined as ARDS occurring after day 2 from meeting AHRF criteria) and with hospital mortality. Furthermore, propensity score analysis was undertaken to account for the differences in baseline characteristics between patients with and without diabetes mellitus, and the association between diabetes mellitus and outcomes of interest was assessed on matched samples. Results: Of the 4107 patients with AHRF included in this study, 3022 (73.6%) patients fulfilled ARDS criteria at admission or developed ARDS during their ICU stay. Diabetes mellitus was a pre-existing co-morbidity in 913 patients (22.2% of patients with AHRF). In multivariable analysis, there was no association between diabetes mellitus and having ARDS (OR 0.93 (0.78-1.11); p = 0.39), developing ARDS late (OR 0.79 (0.54-1.15); p = 0.22), or hospital mortality in patients with ARDS (1.15 (0.93-1.42); p = 0.19). In a matched sample of patients, there was no association between diabetes mellitus and outcomes of interest. Conclusions: In a large, global observational study of patients with AHRF, no association was found between diabetes mellitus and having ARDS, developing ARDS, or outcomes from ARDS. Trial registration: NCT02010073. Registered on 12 December 2013

Notes for genera: basal clades of Fungi (including Aphelidiomycota, Basidiobolomycota, Blastocladiomycota, Calcarisporiellomycota, Caulochytriomycota, Chytridiomycota, Entomophthoromycota, Glomeromycota, Kickxellomycota, Monoblepharomycota, Mortierellomycota, Mucoromycota, Neocallimastigomycota, Olpidiomycota, Rozellomycota and Zoopagomycota)

Compared to the higher fungi (Dikarya), taxonomic and evolutionary studies on the basal clades of fungi are fewer in number. Thus, the generic boundaries and higher ranks in the basal clades of fungi are poorly known. Recent DNA based taxonomic studies have provided reliable and accurate information. It is therefore necessary to compile all available information since basal clades genera lack updated checklists or outlines. Recently, Tedersoo et al. (MycoKeys 13:1--20, 2016) accepted Aphelidiomycota and Rozellomycota in Fungal clade. Thus, we regard both these phyla as members in Kingdom Fungi. We accept 16 phyla in basal clades viz. Aphelidiomycota, Basidiobolomycota, Blastocladiomycota, Calcarisporiellomycota, Caulochytriomycota, Chytridiomycota, Entomophthoromycota, Glomeromycota, Kickxellomycota, Monoblepharomycota, Mortierellomycota, Mucoromycota, Neocallimastigomycota, Olpidiomycota, Rozellomycota and Zoopagomycota. Thus, 611 genera in 153 families, 43 orders and 18 classes are provided with details of classification, synonyms, life modes, distribution, recent literature and genomic data. Moreover, Catenariaceae Couch is proposed to be conserved, Cladochytriales Mozl.-Standr. is emended and the family Nephridiophagaceae is introduced