Site analysis in the Argentinean Andean region for the placement of astrophysical observatories and solar photovoltaic power plants: The case of the “Leoncito 2” site

After a detailed search for possible sites where to place astrophysical facilities in Argentinean Andean region, a location labeled as LEO 2 (31°24′22″ S, 69°29′32″ W, 1630 masl) is proposed. It is placed near the largest Astronomical Observatory of Argentina: Complejo AStronómico El LEOncito (CASLEO). Its advantages are: a good altitude to detect the maximum development of cosmic ray showers, high spectral transmittance to UV and visible ranges, very low aerosol content (mean particle concentration measured at ground with an optical particle counter PM2.5 = 1.52 µg m−3 and PM>2.5 = 6.83 µg m−3, mean Aerosol Optical Depth at 550 nm = 0.027 (measured from space using the SeaWiFS instrument on board of the SeaStar NASA satellite). A local meteorological analysis was done, using data measured in situ, which shows a typical desertic site with the following mean annual (std. dev.) values:mean annual temperature 18.93 (7.66) °C, mean annual relative humidity 28.76 (20.55)%, low/ moderate mean annual average wind speed 11.63 (8.78) km/h, low mean water content (0.73 cm) and rather low mean cloud coverage fraction (cloud coverage fraction): 0.29 (0.02) (for the period 2003–2016 from Aqua/NASA satellite MODIS device) and 0.25 (0.01) (for the period 2000–2016, Terra/NASA satellite MODIS device). Concerning the conditions for the placement of photovoltaic solar power plants, some positive aspects that can be remarked are a large rather flat available surface (336 km2) with very good levels of annual mean horizontal solar irradiation: Global (2334 kWh m−2 per year), Direct (3127 kWh m−2 per year) and Diffuse (394 kWh m−2 per year). Optimum angle to place solar panels at this site is determined and the global tilted solar irradiation is calculated (2689 kWh m−2 per year). In comparison with an African (Ouarzazate, Morocco) and Asian (Dubai) sites, the analysed site present better annual irradiation levels being the Global horizontal irradiation at the Argentinean site 8.1% and 10.3% higher than those calculated for the African and Asian site respectively. Also, a comparison is made of different solar cells (monocrystalline Si, polycrystalline Si and perovskite), through the calculation of the generated photocurrent (mean produced solar photovoltaic current per unit cell surface), considering the atmospheric and solar radiation parameters found for the studied site. We thus conclude that the proposed site in the Andes range is well suited for the placement of Astrophysical facilities, as well as Photovoltaic solar power plants.Fil: Freire, Martín Miguel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Della Ceca, Lara Sofia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Micheletti, Maria Isabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Novara, Ivan Lionel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, Beatriz Elena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Tecnología en Detección y Astropartículas. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Instituto de Tecnología en Detección y Astropartículas. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Tecnología en Detección y Astropartículas; ArgentinaFil: Mancilla, Alexis Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Tecnología en Detección y Astropartículas. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Instituto de Tecnología en Detección y Astropartículas. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Tecnología en Detección y Astropartículas; ArgentinaFil: Salum, G. M.. Universidad YachayTech; EcuadorFil: Crinó, E.. Universidad Nacional de San Luis; ArgentinaFil: Piacentini, Ruben Dario Narciso. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario; Argentin

Warming and CO2 Enhance Arctic Heterotrophic Microbial Activity

Ocean acidification and warming are two main consequences of climate change that can directly affect biological and ecosystem processes in marine habitats. The Arctic Ocean is the region of the world experiencing climate change at the steepest rate compared with other latitudes. Since marine planktonic microorganisms play a key role in the biogeochemical cycles in the ocean it is crucial to simultaneously evaluate the effect of warming and increasing CO2 on marine microbial communities. In 20 L experimental microcosms filled with water from a high-Arctic fjord (Svalbard), we examined changes in phototrophic and heterotrophic microbial abundances and processes [bacterial production (BP) and mortality], and viral activity (lytic and lysogenic) in relation to warming and elevated CO2. The summer microbial plankton community living at 1.4°C in situ temperature, was exposed to increased CO2 concentrations (135–2,318 μatm) in three controlled temperature treatments (1, 6, and 10°C) at the UNIS installations in Longyearbyen (Svalbard), in summer 2010. Results showed that chlorophyll a concentration decreased at increasing temperatures, while BP significantly increased with pCO2 at 6 and 10°C. Lytic viral production was not affected by changes in pCO2 and temperature, while lysogeny increased significantly at increasing levels of pCO2, especially at 10°C (R2 = 0.858, p = 0.02). Moreover, protistan grazing rates showed a positive interaction between pCO2 and temperature. The averaged percentage of bacteria grazed per day was higher (19.56 ± 2.77% d-1) than the averaged percentage of lysed bacteria by virus (7.18 ± 1.50% d-1) for all treatments. Furthermore, the relationship among microbial abundances and processes showed that BP was significantly related to phototrophic pico/nanoflagellate abundance in the 1°C and the 6°C treatments, and BP triggered viral activity, mainly lysogeny at 6 and 10°C, while bacterial mortality rates was significantly related to bacterial abundances at 6°C. Consequently, our experimental results suggested that future increases in water temperature and pCO2 in Arctic waters will produce a decrease of phytoplankton biomass, enhancement of BP and changes in the carbon fluxes within the microbial food web. All these heterotrophic processes will contribute to weakening the CO2 sink capacity of the Arctic plankton community.En prens

Immunochip analysis identifies multiple susceptibility loci for systemic sclerosis

In this study, 1,833 systemic sclerosis (SSc) cases and 3,466 controls were genotyped with the Immunochip array. Classical alleles, amino acid residues, and SNPs across the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region were imputed and tested. These analyses resulted in a model composed of six polymorphic amino acid positions and seven SNPs that explained the observed significant associations in the region. In addition, a replication step comprising 4,017 SSc cases and 5,935 controls was carried out for several selected non-HLA variants, reaching a total of 5,850 cases and 9,401 controls of European ancestry. Following this strategy, we identified and validated three SSc risk loci, including DNASE1L3 at 3p14, the SCHIP1-IL12A locus at 3q25, and ATG5 at 6q21, as well as a suggested association of the TREH-DDX6 locus at 11q23. The associations of several previously reported SSc risk loci were validated and further refined, and the observed peak of association in PXK was related to DNASE1L3. Our study has increased the number of known genetic associations with SSc, provided further insight into the pleiotropic effects of shared autoimmune risk factors, and highlighted the power of dense mapping for detecting previously overlooked susceptibility loci

Identifying, reducing, and communicating uncertainty in community science:A focus on alien species

Community science (also often referred to as citizen science) provides a unique opportunity to address questions beyond the scope of other research methods whilst simultaneously engaging communities in the scientific process. This leads to broad educational benefits, empowers people, and can increase public awareness of societally relevant issues such as the biodiversity crisis. As such, community science has become a favourable framework for researching alien species where data on the presence, absence, abundance, phenology, and impact of species is important in informing management decisions. However, uncertainties arising at different stages can limit the interpretation of data and lead to projects failing to achieve their intended outcomes. Focusing on alien species centered community science projects, we identified key research questions and the relevant uncertainties that arise during the process of developing the study design, for example, when collecting the data and during the statistical analyses. Additionally, we assessed uncertainties from a linguistic perspective, and how the communication stages among project coordinators, participants and other stakeholders can alter the way in which information may be interpreted. We discuss existing methods for reducing uncertainty and suggest further solutions to improve data reliability. Further, we make suggestions to reduce the uncertainties that emerge at each project step and provide guidance and recommendations that can be readily applied in practice. Reducing uncertainties is essential and necessary to strengthen the scientific and community outcomes of community science, which is of particular importance to ensure the success of projects aimed at detecting novel alien species and monitoring their dynamics across space and time

AVALIAÇÃO DO PESO E DA FORMA DE CARREGAR O MATERIAL ESCOLAR DE ALUNOS QUE DEIXAM SEUS LIVROS NA ESCOLA

The purpose of the study was to verify the weight and type of bag and how it is transported by students of the 5th grade of a school in Petrolina-PE who leave their books at school and only transport the remaining material. The evaluation of the type of bag and how it is transported was conducted through questionnaire BackPEI. The weight of the student and the school material was determined using analog and digital balances, respectively. It was possible to note that almost half of the students carried a weight above the tolerable limit and it was also found a higher frequency of using of the backpack with two straps. Among students who used backpack with two shoulder straps, 82.4% carried the backpack supported on both shoulders. The study shows that, although the school already has a strategy to reduce the weight of school material, other strategies are required.http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/2236583413077 O objetivo do estudo foi verificar o peso e o tipo de mochila (ou de bolsa) e como a mesma é carregada por alunos do 5º ano de uma escola municipal de Petrolina-PE que deixam seus livros na escola e só carregam o restante do material necessário. A avaliação do tipo de bolsa e de como a mesma é carregada foi realizada por meio do questionário BackPEI. O peso do aluno e do material escolar foi determinado usando uma balança digital e uma balança analógica, respectivamente. Foi possível observar que quase a metade dos alunos carregava um peso acima do limite tolerável e que predominava o uso da mochila com duas alças. Entre os alunos que usavam mochila com duas alças, 82,4% a carregavam apoiada nos dois ombros. O estudo demonstra que, embora a escola já tenha uma estratégia para reduzir o peso do material escolar, outras medidas são necessárias

Gene-level association analysis of systemic sclerosis: A comparison of African-Americans and White populations

All authors: Olga Y. Gorlova , Yafang Li, Ivan Gorlov, Jun Ying, Wei V. Chen, Shervin Assassi, John D. Reveille, Frank C. Arnett, Xiaodong Zhou, Lara Bossini-Castillo, Elena Lopez-Isac, Marialbert Acosta-Herrera, Peter K. Gregersen, Annette T. Lee, Virginia D. Steen, Barri J. Fessler, Dinesh Khanna, Elena Schiopu, Richard M. Silver, Jerry A. Molitor, Daniel E. Furst, Suzanne Kafaja, Robert W. Simms, Robert A. Lafyatis, Patricia Carreira, Carmen Pilar Simeon, Ivan Castellvi, Emma Beltran, Norberto Ortego, Christopher I. Amos, Javier Martin, Maureen D. Mayes.Data Availability Statement: Genetic data is available from dbGaP repository (https://www.ncbi. nlm.nih.gov/projects/gap/cgi-bin/study.cgi?study_ id=phs000357.v1.p1).Gene-level analysis of ImmunoChip or genome-wide association studies (GWAS) data has not been previously reported for systemic sclerosis (SSc, scleroderma). The objective of this study was to analyze genetic susceptibility loci in SSc at the gene level and to determine if the detected associations were shared in African-American and White populations, using data from ImmunoChip and GWAS genotyping studies. The White sample included 1833 cases and 3466 controls (956 cases and 2741 controls from the US and 877 cases and 725 controls from Spain) and the African American sample, 291 cases and 260 controls. In both Whites and African Americans, we performed a gene-level analysis that integrates association statistics in a gene possibly harboring multiple SNPs with weak effect on disease risk, using Versatile Gene-based Association Study (VEGAS) software. The SNP-level analysis was performed using PLINK v.1.07. We identified 4 novel candidate genes (STAT1, FCGR2C, NIPSNAP3B, and SCT) significantly associated and 4 genes (SERBP1, PINX1, TMEM175 and EXOC2) suggestively associated with SSc in the gene level analysis in White patients. As an exploratory analysis we compared the results on Whites with those from African Americans. Of previously established susceptibility genes identified in Whites, only TNFAIP3 was significant at the nominal level (p = 6.13x10-3) in African Americans in the gene-level analysis of the ImmunoChip data. Among the top suggestive novel genes identified in Whites based on the ImmunoChip data, FCGR2C and PINX1 were only nominally significant in African Americans (p = 0.016 and p = 0.028, respectively), while among the top novel genes identified in the gene-level analysis in African Americans, UNC5C (p = 5.57x10-4) and CLEC16A (p = 0.0463) were also nominally significant in Whites. We also present the gene-level analysis of SSc clinical and autoantibody phenotypes among Whites. Our findings need to be validated by independent studies, particularly due to the limited sample size of African Americans.Funding was provided to MDM by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS https://www.niams.nih.gov/) Centers of Research Translation (CORT) P50-AR054144, NIH grant N01-AR-02251 and R01-AR-055258, and the Department of Defense (DD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (http://cdmrp.army.mil/) W81XWH-07-1-011 and WX81XWH-13-1-0452 for the collection, analysis and interpretation of the data

A genome-wide association study follow-up suggests a possible role for PPARG in systemic sclerosis susceptibility

Introduction: A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) comprising a French cohort of systemic sclerosis (SSc) reported several non-HLA single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) showing a nominal association in the discovery phase. We aimed to identify previously overlooked susceptibility variants by using a follow-up strategy.<p></p> Methods: Sixty-six non-HLA SNPs showing a P value <10-4 in the discovery phase of the French SSc GWAS were analyzed in the first step of this study, performing a meta-analysis that combined data from the two published SSc GWASs. A total of 2,921 SSc patients and 6,963 healthy controls were included in this first phase. Two SNPs, PPARG rs310746 and CHRNA9 rs6832151, were selected for genotyping in the replication cohort (1,068 SSc patients and 6,762 healthy controls) based on the results of the first step. Genotyping was performed by using TaqMan SNP genotyping assays. Results: We observed nominal associations for both PPARG rs310746 (PMH = 1.90 × 10-6, OR, 1.28) and CHRNA9 rs6832151 (PMH = 4.30 × 10-6, OR, 1.17) genetic variants with SSc in the first step of our study. In the replication phase, we observed a trend of association for PPARG rs310746 (P value = 0.066; OR, 1.17). The combined overall Mantel-Haenszel meta-analysis of all the cohorts included in the present study revealed that PPARG rs310746 remained associated with SSc with a nominal non-genome-wide significant P value (PMH = 5.00 × 10-7; OR, 1.25). No evidence of association was observed for CHRNA9 rs6832151 either in the replication phase or in the overall pooled analysis.<p></p> Conclusion: Our results suggest a role of PPARG gene in the development of SSc

Parvimonas micra can translocate from the subgingival sulcus of the human oral cavity to colorectal adenocarcinoma

[Abstract] Oral and intestinal samples from a cohort of 93 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and 30 healthy controls (non-CRC) were collected for microbiome analysis. Saliva (28 non-CRC and 94 CRC), feces (30 non-CRC and 97 CRC), subgingival fluid (20 CRC), and tumor tissue samples (20 CRC) were used for 16S metabarcoding and/or RNA sequencing (RNAseq) approaches. A differential analysis of the abundance, performed with the ANCOM-BC package, adjusting the P-values by the Holm-Bonferroni method, revealed that Parvimonas was significantly over-represented in feces from CRC patients (P-value < 0.001) compared to healthy controls. A total of 11 Parvimonas micra isolates were obtained from the oral cavity and adenocarcinoma of CRC patients. Genome analysis identified a pair of isolates from the same patient that shared 99.2% identity, demonstrating that P. micra can translocate from the subgingival cavity to the gut. The data suggest that P. micra could migrate in a synergistic consortium with other periodontal bacteria. Metatranscriptomics confirmed that oral bacteria were more active in tumor than in non-neoplastic tissues. We suggest that P. micra could be considered as a CRC biomarker detected in non-invasive samples such as feces.The present authors want to thank all the cancer patients of the University Hospital of A Coruña for participating in this study, collaborating with us despite their health problems. We warmly want to thank Gema Carro Díaz and Montserrat Ingelmo Sánchez (surgical service nurses of HUAC) for their support during patient's recruitment time and also with sample collection. Moreover, we want to appreciate the valuable assistance received in anaerobic culturing by David Velasco Fernández (microbiologist) and Ana María Fernández Liñares (technician), and in FFPE samples processing by the pathology service technicians: Diego Barco Díaz, Cristina Vázquez Costa and Ana María Mejuto Rial. This work would not be possible without all the professionals of the Microbiology, Surgery, Pathology and Oncology services and Biobank from CHUAC who support this microbiome and cancer research project. This study has been funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) through the project PI20/00413 and co-funded by the European Union to MP. The work has been also supported by the project RTI2018-102032-B-I00 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation to AM and by the CIBER INF ISCIII (CB21/13/00055) to GB and MP. Biobank of University Hospital Complex of A Coruña was supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III – Fondos FEDER (EU) by grant PT20/00128. K. Conde-Pérez was financially supported with a predoctoral fellowship by the Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC). E. Buetas is supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation with the reference PRE2019-088126. S. Ladra, E. Martin-De Arribas and Iago Iglesias-Corrás are supported by grants from GAIN (Xunta de Galicia, Spain) with references ED431C 2021/53 and ED431GXunta de Galicia; ED431C 2021/53Xunta de Galicia; ED431

The multispecies microbial cluster of Fusobacterium, Parvimonas, Bacteroides and Faecalibacterium as a precision biomarker for colorectal cancer diagnosis

[Abstract] The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) has increased worldwide, and early diagnosis is crucial to reduce mortality rates. Therefore, new noninvasive biomarkers for CRC are required. Recent studies have revealed an imbalance in the oral and gut microbiomes of patients with CRC, as well as impaired gut vascular barrier function. In the present study, the microbiomes of saliva, crevicular fluid, feces, and non-neoplastic and tumor intestinal tissue samples of 93 CRC patients and 30 healthy individuals without digestive disorders (non-CRC) were analyzed by 16S rRNA metabarcoding procedures. The data revealed that Parvimonas, Fusobacterium, and Bacteroides fragilis were significantly over-represented in stool samples of CRC patients, whereas Faecalibacterium and Blautia were significantly over-abundant in the non-CRC group. Moreover, the tumor samples were enriched in well-known periodontal anaerobes, including Fusobacterium, Parvimonas, Peptostreptococcus, Porphyromonas, and Prevotella. Co-occurrence patterns of these oral microorganisms were observed in the subgingival pocket and in the tumor tissues of CRC patients, where they also correlated with other gut microbes, such as Hungatella. This study provides new evidence that oral pathobionts, normally located in subgingival pockets, can migrate to the colon and probably aggregate with aerobic bacteria, forming synergistic consortia. Furthermore, we suggest that the group composed of Fusobacterium, Parvimonas, Bacteroides, and Faecalibacterium could be used to design an excellent noninvasive fecal test for the early diagnosis of CRC. The combination of these four genera would significantly improve the reliability of a discriminatory test with respect to others that use a single species as a unique CRC biomarker.The authors want to appreciate the good disposition of all the CRC patients for collaborating with us. We would like to thank Gema Carro Díaz and Montserrat Ingelmo Sánchez for their assistance during patients' recruitment time and also during tissue sample collection. This work would not be possible without the support of professionals from the Microbiology, Surgery, Pathology and Oncology Services and Biobank of CHUAC (Spain). The present study received funding from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Spain, through the project PI20/00413, cofunded by the European Union (EU) to MP. The whole work has been also supported by the project RTI2018-102032-B-I00 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation to AM and by CIBER INFEC ISCIII (CB21/13/00055) to GB and MP Biobank of A Coruña was supported by ISCIII-Fondos FEDER (EU) by grant PT20/00128. KC-P was financially supported by the Spanish Association against Cancer (AECC). EB was supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation PRE2019-088126. SL and EM-DA were supported by grants from GAIN (Xunta de Galicia, Spain) with references ED431C 2021/53 and ED431G 2019/01.Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2021/53Xunta de Galicia; ED431G 2019/0