Evaluation of Facial Asymmetry Using Soft-Tissue Thickness for Forensic Purposes

Munoz, SRT (reprint author), Univ Talca, Dept Ciencias Basicas Biomed, Ave Lircay S-N, Talca, Chile. Munoz, SRT (Torres Munoz, Sebastian Rene); Galdames, IS (Suazo Galdames, Ivan)Facial reconstruction for forensic sculpture aims to reproduce the face of an individual for identification. This technique is based on the knowledge of the facial soft-tissue thickness, which differs in terms of sexual dimorphism. However, in terms of asymmetry, the real significance of the soft-tissue thickness on both sides of the face is not considered to make an approximation of the morphofacial characteristics of an individual. This study analyzed the facial tissue thickness of 32 adult Spanish corpses of both sexes in six bilateral cephalometric landmarks through the needle puncture technique, comparing the measurements of right and left sides. No significant differences were found when comparing the soft-tissue thickness on the right and left sides in the total sample (p <0.05), or when comparing the values in men and women (p<0.05). The facial morphology is created by internal and external forces exerted on the soft tissue and influenced by their evolutionary development in vivo, where asymmetry parameters have a genetic and muscular determination, which in normal individuals do not represent a significant difference in the process of reconstruction of forensic sculpture, and can reliably standardize the entire information of facial thickness to the right or left side of the face

The use of stable isotope ratio analysis to trace European sea bass (D. labrax) originating from different farming systems

This study aimed to determine whether isotopic ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) can discriminate farmed European sea bass according to different farming systems and geographic origins. Dicentrarchus labrax of commercial size from three different rearing systems (concrete tank inland, sea cages, and extensive methods in valleys or salt works) were collected at the trading period (autumn\u2013winter). For each farming type, different locations spread over Italy were monitored. Once the fish were harvested, the muscle and feed were sampled. For both muscle and feed, \u3b413C and \u3b415N were measured by continuous flow elemental analyzer isotope ratio mass spectrometry (CF-EA-IRMS) with the goal of discriminating samples based on the rearing system. Additional \u3b42H and \u3b418O measurements of fish samples were performed by continuous flow total combustion elemental analyzer isotope ratio mass spectrometry (CF-TC/EA-IRMS) to track the geographical origin. The measurements of \u3b413C and \u3b415N made it possible to discriminate cultured sea bass from different farming systems (extensive vs. intensive) reared at different geographical sites in Italy. Additional information was obtained from \u3b418O and \u3b42H, which enabled the geographical areas of origin of the sea bass farmed extensively and intensively (in cages) to be distinguished

Draft Genome Sequence of a Multi-Metal Resistant Bacterium Pseudomonas putida ATH-43 Isolated from Greenwich Island, Antarctica

Indexación: Web of Science; Scopus.In this report we present the first draft genome sequence of a P. putida strain isolated from the Antarctic continent. The shotgun sequencing strategy, assembly, and subsequent annotation showed that the ATH-43 strain possesses a wide spectrum of genetic determinants involved in heavy metal and antibiotic resistance, apparently to cope with extreme oxidative stress conditions. P. putida ATH-43 genome now forms part of the 65 genomes of this species registered at the NCBI database (September, 2016) and it is highly related with the endophytic strain P. putida W619, which is also resistant to several heavy metals. Further characterization of multi-metal resistant psychrotrophic bacteria such as P. putida ATH-43 will be promising to develop novel strategies for heavy metal bioremediation in low temperature environments. All genome data has been submitted to NCBI.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01777/ful

Outcomes in Patients With COVID-19 Disease and High Oxygen Requirements.

Background Approximately 19% of people infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) progress to severe or critical stages of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with a mortality rate exceeding 50%. We aimed to examine the characteristics, mortality rates, intubation rate, and length of stay (LOS) of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 disease with high oxygen requirements (critically ill). Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis in a single center in Brooklyn, New York. Adult hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 disease and high oxygen requirements were included. We performed multivariate logistic regression analyses for statistically significant variables to reduce any confounding. Results A total of 398 patients were identified between March 19th and April 25th, 2020 who met the inclusion criteria, of which 247 (62.1%) required intubation. The overall mortality rate in our study was 57.3% (n = 228). The mean hospital LOS was 19.1 ± 17.4 days. Patients who survived to hospital discharge had a longer mean LOS compared to those who died during hospitalization (25.4 ± 22.03 days versus10.7 ± 1.74 days). In the multivariate analysis, increased age, intubation and increased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were each independently associated with increased odds of mortality. Diarrhea was associated with decreased mortality (OR 0.4; CI 0.16, 0.99). Obesity and use of vasopressors were each independently associated with increased intubation. Conclusions In patients with COVID-19 disease and high oxygen requirements, advanced age, intubation, and higher LDH levels were associated with increased mortality, while diarrhea was associated with decreased mortality. Gender, diabetes, and hypertension did not have any association with mortality or length of hospital stay

Perinatal asphyxia: CNS development and deficits with delayed onset

Perinatal asphyxia constitutes a prototype of obstetric complications occurring when pulmonary oxygenation is delayed or interrupted. The primary insult relates to the duration of the period lacking oxygenation, leading to death if not re-established. Re-oxygenation leads to a secondary insult, related to a cascade of biochemical events required for restoring proper function. Perinatal asphyxia interferes with neonatal development, resulting in long-term deficits associated to mental and neurological diseases with delayed clinical onset, by mechanisms not yet clarified. In the experimental scenario, the effects observed long after perinatal asphyxia have been explained by over expression of sentinel proteins, such as poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1), competing for NAD+ during re-oxygenation, leading to the idea that sentinel protein inhibition constitutes a suitable therapeutic strategy. Asphyxia induces transcriptional activation of proinflammatory factors, in tandem with PARP-1 overactivation, and pharmacologically induced PARP-1 inhibition also down-regulates the expression of proinflammatory cytokines. Nicotinamide has been proposed as a suitable PARP-1 inhibitor. Its effect has been studied in an experimental model of global hypoxia in rats. In that model, the insult is induced by immersing rat foetuses into a water bath for various periods of time. Following asphyxia, the pups are delivered, treated, and nursed by surrogate dams, pending further experiments. Nicotinamide rapidly distributes into the brain following systemic administration, reaching steady state concentrations sufficient to inhibit PARP-1 activity for several hours, preventing several of the long-term consequences of perinatal asphyxia, supporting the idea that it constitutes a lead for exploring compounds with similar or better pharmacological profiles

The faint 2011 outburst of the black hole X-ray binary candidate MAXI J1543-564

We report on a spectral-timing analysis of the black hole X-ray binary candidate MAXI J1543- 564 during its 2011 outburst. All 99 pointed observations of this outburst obtained with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) were included in our study. We computed the fundamental diagrams commonly used to study black hole transients, and fitted power density and energy spectra to study the spectral and timing parameters along the outburst. The determination of timing parameters and hence of exact transitions between different states was hampered by the rather low count rate at which his outburst was observed. We detected two periods of exponential decay, one after the source was brightest, which was interrupted by several flares, and another one during the high/soft state. The detection of these decays allowed us to obtain an estimate for the source distance of at least 8.5 kpc. This leaves two possible explanations for the observed low count rate; either the source has a distance similar to that of other black hole X-ray binary candidates and it is intrinsically faint, or it has a similar luminosity, but is located more than 12 kpc away from us. Furthermore, in the high/soft state the source spectrum appears to be completely disc dominated.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Should COVID-19 Patients \u3e 75 Years be Ventilated? An Outcome Study.

Background Elderly patients with COVID-19 disease are at increased risk for adverse outcomes. Current data regarding disease characteristics and outcomes in this population is limited. Aim To delineate the adverse factors associated with outcomes of COVID- 19 patients ≥75 years of age. Design Retrospective cohort study. Methods Patients were classified into mild/moderate, severe/very severe, and critical disease (intubated) based on oxygen requirements. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Results 355 patients aged ≥75 years hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 19th and April 25th, 2020 were included. Mean age was 84.3 years. One-third of the patients developed critical disease. Mean length of stay was 7.10 days. Vasopressors were required in 27%, with the highest frequency in the critical disease group (74.1%). Overall mortality was 57.2%, with a significant difference between severity groups (mild/moderate disease : 17.4%, severe/very severe disease : 71.3%, critical disease: 94.9%, p \u3c 0.001). Increased age, dementia, and severe/very severe and critical disease groups were each significantly associated with increased odds for mortality while diarrhea was associated with decreased odds for mortality (OR : 0.12, 95% CI : 0.02-0.60, p \u3c 0.05)]. None of the cardiovascular comorbidities were significantly associated with mortality. Conclusion Age and dementia are associated with increased odds for mortality in patients ≥75 years of age hospitalized with COVID-19. Those who require intubation have the greatest odds for mortality. Diarrhea as a presenting symptom was associated with lower odds for mortality

Cool stars in the Galactic center as seen by APOGEE : M giants, AGB stars, and supergiant stars and candidates

The Galactic center region, including the nuclear disk, has until recently been largely avoided in chemical census studies because of extreme extinction and stellar crowding. Large, near-IR spectroscopic surveys, such as the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), allow the measurement of metallicities in the inner region of our Galaxy. Making use of the latest APOGEE data release (DR16), we are able for the first time to study cool Asymptotic Giant branch (AGB) stars and supergiants in this region. The stellar parameters of five known AGB stars and one supergiant star (VR 5-7) show that their location is well above the tip of the red giant branch. We studied metallicities of 157 M giants situated within 150 pc of the Galactic center from observations obtained by the APOGEE survey with reliable stellar parameters from the APOGEE pipeline making use of the cool star grid down to 3200 K. Distances, interstellar extinction values, and radial velocities were checked to confirm that these stars are indeed situated in the Galactic center region. We detect a clear bimodal structure in the metallicity distribution function, with a dominant metal-rich peak of [Fe/H] ∼ +0.3 dex and a metal-poor peak around {Fe/H] = −0.5 dex, which is 0.2 dex poorer than Baade’s Window. The α-elements Mg, Si, Ca, and O show a similar trend to the Galactic bulge. The metal-poor component is enhanced in the α-elements, suggesting that this population could be associated with the classical bulge and a fast formation scenario. We find a clear signature of a rotating nuclear stellar disk and a significant fraction of high-velocity stars with vgal >  300 km s−1; the metal-rich stars show a much higher rotation velocity (∼200 km s−1) with respect to the metal-poor stars (∼140 km s−1). The chemical abundances as well as the metallicity distribution function suggest that the nuclear stellar disk and the nuclear star cluster show distinct chemical signatures and might be formed differently

Evaluating SKI as a candidate gene for non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate

Non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) is one of the most common of all congenital malformations and has a multifactorial etiology. Findings in mice suggest that the v-ski sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (SKI) gene is a candidate gene for orofacial clefting. In humans, a significant association between rs2843159 within SKI and NSCL/P has been reported in patients from the Philippines and South America. In the South American patients, the association was driven by the subgroup of patients with non-syndromic cleft lip only (NSCLO). Here we investigated the association with rs2843159 in a Mayan Mesoamerican population (172 NSCL/P patients and 366 controls). In addition, we analyzed the phenotypic subgroups NSCLO and non-syndromic cleft of lip and palate (NSCLP). A trend towards association between rs2843159 and NSCL/P was observed in the Mayan cohort (P = 0.097), and we found a stronger association in the NSCLP subgroup (P = 0.072) despite a limited sample size. To investigate whether other common variants within the SKI gene contribute to NSCL/P susceptibility in European and Asian populations, we also analyzed genotypic data from two recent genome-wide association studies using set-based statistical approaches. These analyses detected a trend toward association in the European population. Our data provide limited support for the hypothesis that common SKI variants are susceptibility factors for NSCL/P