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Abstract This research investigates the benefits of the dairy value chain beyond food provision, and its contribution to inclusive sustainable development (ISDH) in European highlands. Transdisciplinary teams interviewed and analysed 11 cases related to the dairy value chain sourced from three highland regions in Europe: Alps (Austria, France, Italy), Massif Central (France), Pyrenees (Spain). Actors interviewed were farmers, cooperatives, retailers and associations. A systems thinking approach was applied to develop a conceptual map (Causal Loop Diagram, CLD) describing the contribution of the dairy value chain to ISDH, through the interpretation of the viewpoints of interviewed actors. For each case, the factors contributing to ISDH were identified, then clustered within related topics. Topics from all the cases were used to develop a CLD, and subsystems and leverage points identified. Six interconnected subsystems were identified: local resources, environment, dairy production, collaboration, supply chain and socio-economic. Four leverage points were also identified: public subsidies, feed autonomy, certification of product, and added value. In conclusion, the dairy value chain provides the following benefits aligned with the dimensions of ISDH: landscape maintenance and ecosystem services, quality of dairy products and added value, inclusive governance for actors, reduction of environmental impact, and local development. This model delivers a decision-making tool for the actors involved in the dairy value chain, to prioritise strategic interventions.

Abstract Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has become a concerning public health issue, affecting people regardless of their sex, age, or socioeconomic status. We aimed to analyze the burden of female CKD in Mexico between 1990 and 2021, expressed in terms of years lived with disability (YLDs), mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). Additionally, we evaluated the relationship between DALYs and the Socio-Demographic Index (SDI) and the Healthcare Access and Quality Index (HAQI). Methods Secondary data analysis from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021. We used mortality, years of life lost due to premature mortality (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs to analyze CKD in women between 1990 and 2021. We used a log-linear segmented regression model to analyze trends in female CKD DALY rates over time. The information was disaggregated by age groups and sub-causes nationally and across the 32 states. Age-standardized rates (ASR) were used. Results Between 1990 and 2021, the ASR mortality and ASR-DALYs due to CKD increased significantly at the national level. The DALYs are almost entirely explained by YLLs, indicating that a large proportion of women with CKD in Mexico die prematurely. Disparities in the burden of this disease were observed across different states and age groups within the country. In 2021, the highest ASR-DALY rate was recorded in Tabasco (1,972.0), while the lowest was in Sinaloa (865.1). The SDI and HAQI were associated with the CKD DALYs in most states. Conclusions Mexican women experience a significant burden due to CKD, reflected in premature deaths and years lived with disability, while disparities between states need to be addressed to reduce inequities. Over the past 32 years, improvements in socioeconomic indicators and the quality and access to healthcare have not contributed to reducing the DALYs rate due to CKD, indicating a need to redirect policies to impact women’s well-being and health positively.

Little is known about the physiological and psychobiological responses that occur during and after high intensity functional training (HIFT). We compared physiological and psychobiological responses during and after a HIFT session with a high intensity continuous training (HICT) session. Twenty-one trained and healthy men were submitted to 20-min session of HIFT and HICT on separate days. The heart rate, blood lactate concentration [Lac], levels of state anxiety, rates of perceived exertion (RPE) and perceived discomfort (RPE-D), and affective valence were measured. Exercise intensity of the HICT was adjusted to the mean heart rate obtained in the HIFT session. The highest heart rate in the training sessions was significantly higher in HIFT (mean ​± ​standard deviation [SD]: [187 ​± ​9] bpm) than in HICT (mean ​± ​SD: [178 ​± ​8] bpm, p ​

Se determinó la diversidad de Andrenidae, Colletidae y Megachilidae en una sección del Bosque Serrano de Córdoba, Argentina (31°10’ S, 64°20’ O) y se analizó el aprovechamiento por parte de ellas de los recursos florales en esta zona. Se realizaron ocho muestreos mensuales entre septiembre 2018 y marzo 2020. Se registró la diversidad de plantas presentes, cantidad de flores disponibles, diversidad de abejas y sus patrones de actividades, mecanismos de búsqueda y obtención de los recursos de las flores visitadas. Se recolectaron 192 ejemplares pertenecientes a las familias Andrenidae (3,12%, n=6, especie: 1), Colletidae (17,88%, n=34, especies: 5) y Megachilidae (79,16%, n=152, especies: 5). Las abejas utilizan como recursos florales unas 11 familias y 28 especies de angiospermas (principalmente Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Malvaceae y Solanaceae). Durante el estudio no hubo diferencias en la diversidad de especies de plantas disponibles para las abejas en los distintos años. Se identificaron diferencias entre los años del estudio, en relación con el uso de recursos florales por parte de las abejas. Las especies de abejas más generalistas fueron predominantes en el área de estudio.

BackgroundCardiometabolic multimorbidity is a rising phenomenon that has been barely explored in middle-income countries such as Mexico.ObjectiveThis study aimed to estimate the prevalence, associated factors, and patterns of cardiometabolic multimorbidity (2 and 3+ diseases) in Mexican adults (≥20 years old) by age group.MethodsA cross-sectional and secondary analysis of Mexico’s National Health and Nutrition Survey 2018–2019 was conducted. Information on eight diseases and other sociodemographic and health/lifestyle characteristics was obtained through self-reporting. Descriptive analyses were performed, and multinomial logistic regression models were calculated to identify the variables associated with cardiometabolic multimorbidity. Factor analysis and latent classes were estimated to determine disease patterns.ResultsThe prevalence of cardiometabolic multimorbidity for the total population study was 27.6% (13.7% for people with 2 diseases and 13.9% for people with 3+ diseases). By age group, the prevalence of 2+ diseases was 12.5% in the age group of 20–39 years, 35.2% in the age group of 40–59 years, and 44.5% in the age group of 60 years and older. The variables of depressive symptomatology and having functional limitations (1+) were statistically associated with cardiometabolic multimorbidity in almost all age groups. Patterns of cardiometabolic multimorbidity varied among adults in different age groups. Understanding the behavior of cardiometabolic multimorbidity at various stages of adulthood is a resource that could be used to design and implement intervention strategies. Such strategies should correspond to the population’s sociodemographic, health, and lifestyle characteristics and the specific disease patterns of each age group.

Abstract Background Quantum Dots (QDs) are fluorescent nanoparticles with exceptional optical and optoelectronic properties, finding widespread utility in diverse industrial applications. Presently, chemically synthesized QDs are employed in solar cells, bioimaging, and various technological domains. However, many applications demand QDs with prolonged lifespans under conditions of high-energy radiation. Over the past decade, microbial biosynthesis of nanomaterials has emerged as a sustainable and cost-effective process. In this context, the utilization of extremophile microorganisms for synthesizing QDs with unique properties has recently been reported. Results In this study, UV-resistant bacteria were isolated from one of the most extreme environments in Antarctica, Union Glacier at the Ellsworth Mountains. Bacterial isolates, identified through 16 S sequencing, belong to the genera Rhodococcus, Pseudarthrobacter, and Arthrobacter. Notably, Rhodococcus sp. (EXRC-4 A-4), Pseudarthrobacter sp. (RC-2-3), and Arthrobacter sp. (EH-1B-1) tolerate UV-C radiation doses ≥ 120 J/m². Isolated UV-resistant bacteria biosynthesized CdS QDs with fluorescence intensities 4 to 8 times higher than those biosynthesized by E. coli, a mesophilic organism tolerating low doses of UV radiation. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis determined QD sizes ranging from 6 to 23 nm, and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) analysis demonstrated the presence of biomolecules. QDs produced by UV-resistant Antarctic bacteria exhibit high photostability after exposure to UV-B radiation, particularly in comparison to those biosynthesized by E. coli. Interestingly, red fluorescence-emitting QDs biosynthesized by Rhodococcus sp. (EXRC-4 A-4) and Arthrobacter sp. (EH-1B-1) increased their fluorescence emission after irradiation. Analysis of methylene blue degradation after exposure to irradiated QDs biosynthesized by UV-resistant bacteria, indicates that the QDs transfer their electrons to O2 for the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) at different levels. Conclusions UV-resistant Antarctic bacteria represent a novel alternative for the sustainable generation of nanostructures with increased radiation tolerance—two characteristics favoring their potential application in technologies requiring continuous exposure to high-energy radiation. Graphical abstract

Abstract Accurate modeling of cerebral hemodynamics is crucial for better understanding the hemodynamics of stroke, for which computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling is a viable tool to obtain information. However, a comprehensive study on the accuracy of cerebrovascular CFD models including both transient arterial pressures and flows does not exist. This study systematically assessed the accuracy of different outlet boundary conditions (BCs) comparing CFD modeling and an in-vitro experiment. The experimental setup consisted of an anatomical cerebrovascular phantom and high-resolution flow and pressure data acquisition. The CFD model of the same cerebrovascular geometry comprised five sets of stationary and transient BCs including established techniques and a novel BC, the phase modulation approach. The experiment produced physiological hemodynamics consistent with reported clinical results for total cerebral blood flow, inlet pressure, flow distribution, and flow pulsatility indices (PI). The in-silico model instead yielded time-dependent deviations between 19–66% for flows and 6–26% for pressures. For cerebrovascular CFD modeling, it is recommended to avoid stationary outlet pressure BCs, which caused the highest deviations. The Windkessel and the phase modulation BCs provided realistic flow PI values and cerebrovascular pressures, respectively. However, this study shows that the accuracy of current cerebrovascular CFD models is limited.

Abstract Background Bacterial biosynthesis of fluorescent nanoparticles or quantum dots (QDs) has emerged as a unique mechanism for heavy metal tolerance. However, the physiological pathways governing the removal of QDs from bacterial cells remains elusive. This study investigates the role of minicells, previously identified as a means of eliminating damaged proteins and enhancing bacterial resistance to stress. Building on our prior work, which unveiled the formation of minicells during cadmium QDs biosynthesis in Escherichia coli, we hypothesize that minicells serve as a mechanism for the accumulation and detoxification of QDs in bacterial cells. Results Intracellular biosynthesis of CdS QDs was performed in E. coli mutants ΔminC and ΔminCDE, known for their minicell-producing capabilities. Fluorescence microscopy analysis demonstrated that the generated minicells exhibited fluorescence emission, indicative of QD loading. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the presence of nanoparticles in minicells, while energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) revealed the coexistence of cadmium and sulfur. Cadmium quantification through flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) demonstrated that minicells accumulated a higher cadmium content compared to rod cells. Moreover, fluorescence intensity analysis suggested that minicells accumulated a greater quantity of fluorescent nanoparticles, underscoring their efficacy in QD removal. Biosynthesis dynamics in minicell-producing strains indicated that biosynthesized QDs maintained high fluorescence intensity even during prolonged biosynthesis times, suggesting continuous QD clearance in minicells. Conclusions These findings support a model wherein E. coli utilizes minicells for the accumulation and removal of nanoparticles, highlighting their physiological role in eliminating harmful elements and maintaining cellular fitness. Additionally, this biosynthesis system presents an opportunity for generating minicell-coated nanoparticles with enhanced biocompatibility for diverse applications. Graphical Abstract

This paper presents a new experimental method for the thermal analysis of solar pyrolysis of walnut shells. The method consists of two types of thermal experiments: (A) the pyrolysis of walnut shells, and (B) the heating-cooling of the biochar obtained during experiment A. Nutshells are a waste product from the pecan nut industry. The state of Sonora, Mexico, produces large volumes of walnuts and their residue. Likewise, this region has a considerable solar resource. The motivation of this study is to obtain biochar - a bi-product of high commercial value used for soil enhancement - using solar energy and agro-industrial waste. In this experiment, biomass pyrolysis of 50g of nutshells was carried out inside a stainless-steel reactor heated with concentrated radiation from a solar simulator. Three different heat fluxes were used: 234, 482, and 725 W. The maximum reaction temperatures were: 382, 498, and 674 °C respectively. The composition of the pyrolysis gases (H2, CO, CO2, and CH4) was measured and the biochar obtained was characterized. Finally, the performance of the solar reactor allowed us to identify and differentiate between evaporation, pyrolysis of cellulosic material, and lignin degradation

The Chilean meagre, Cilus gilberti, emerges as a novel species to South American aquaculture. Nevertheless, the successful establishment of its cultivation necessitates careful consideration of productive parameters and tolerance to abiotic stressors. To address these challenges, the identifications of biomarkers emerges as a promising approach. Indeed, leptin stands out as a potential biomarker, given its multifaceted role. This study focuses on characterizing leptin in C. gilberti (cgLep) and assessing its gene expression in juveniles exposed to different culture and feeding conditions. The results indicated that cgLep coding sequence yields a 137-amino acid prohormone, preserving high relevant cysteine residues for maintaining its structural integrity. Basal cgLep gene expression profiles reveal its expression mainly in the liver, followed by white muscle. Conversely, its receptor (cgLepR) exhibits higher levels in white muscle. Additionally, it was observed that juveniles in a postprandial state exhibited an upregulation of hepatic cgLep. Simultaneously, the cgLepR showed a significant increase at brain level during the preprandial stage. The exposure to acute hypoxia revealed a notable upregulation of cgLep after two hours of low oxygen availability and returned to normoxia baseline after six hours post-hypoxia. Notably, when subjected to a prolonged daily hypoxia regimen, no significant differences in leptin mRNA expression were observed. This suggests a dynamic adaptive response of the C. gilberti leptin system to hypoxia. Finally, juvenile Chilean meagre cultivated at 15 Kg/m3 showcase significant individual variability in hepatic leptin expression levels when compared to those cultured at 25 or 35 kg/m3. These observations highlight that leptin primarily expresses in the liver and its expression is notably influenced by fasting periods and chronic stress induced by low stock density. This variability in leptin expression could potentially impact food intake, emphasizing the importance of considering these factors in the design and implementation of aquaculture practices for Chilean meagre.

Acute ischemic stroke caused by large vessel occlusions is being increasingly treated with neurovascular interventions. The hemodynamics within the collateral system of the circle of Willis (CoW) hemodynamics play a fundamental role in therapy success. However, transient in vivo data on pathological collateral flow during large vessel occlusions are not available. Moreover, there are no flow models that accurately simulate the hemodynamic conditions in the CoW during large vessel occlusions. We used a circulatory loop to generate highly reproducible cerebrovascular-like flows and pressures and used non-invasive flow visualization and high-resolution flow and pressure measurements to acquire detailed, time-dependent hemodynamics inside an anatomical phantom of the CoW. After calibrating a physiological reference case, we induced occlusions in the 1. middle cerebral artery, 2. terminal carotid artery, and 3. basilar artery; and measured the left posterior communicating artery flow. Mean arterial pressure and pulse pressure remained unchanged in the different occlusion cases compared to the physiological reference case, while total cerebral flow decreased by up to 19%. In all three occlusion cases, reversed flow was found in the left posterior communicating artery compared to the reference case with different flow magnitudes and pulsatility index values. The experimental results were compared with clinical findings, demonstrating the capability of this realistic cerebrovascular flow setup. This novel cerebrovascular flow setup opens the possibility for investigating different topics of neurovascular interventions under various clinical conditions in controlled preclinical laboratory studies.

The terrestrial fauna of Antarctica consists of a limited number of species, notably insects, small crustaceans and other micro-invertebrates. Over long periods of evolutionary isolation, these organisms have developed varying degrees of tolerance to multifaceted environmental stresses. Recent molecular biogeographical research highlights the enduring persistence of much of Antarctica’s current terrestrial fauna, with estimates spanning from hundreds of thousands to millions of years. Parochlus steinenii, commonly known as the Antarctic winged midge, stands out as one of the only two insect species native to Antarctica. Distributed across three biogeographic regions, southern South America and the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, sub-Antarctic South Georgia and the Maritime Antarctic South Shetland Islands, this midge raises questions about the temporal isolation of its populations and their divergence. Employing mitochondrial and nuclear genetic markers, we conducted phylogeographic and demographic analyses on 151 individuals of P. steinenii obtained across the three main biogeographic regions including the Magellanic sub-Antarctic Ecoregion (MSE) of southern South America, the sub-Antarctic Island of South Georgia (SG) and the South Shetland Islands (SSI) within the Maritime Antarctic (MA). Our data support the diversification of P. steinenii during the mid-Pleistocene around 1.46 Mya. This period included a branching event between a clade containing only specimens from the MSE and a clade containing individuals from a broader range of locations including the SSI and SG. Based on intraspecific phylogeographic and demographic inferences, we detected strong evolutionary divergence between the three main biogeographic regions. We also detected a signal of population growth during the deglaciation process in SSI and SG, contrary to the pattern seen in the MSE. The different demographic and phylogeographic histories between the sampled biogeographic regions could result from the MA and SG experiencing a strong genetic bottleneck due to a reduction in population size during the Last Glacial Maximum, while the MSE maintained a significant effective population size. The high level of divergence detected between individuals from the MSE and the remaining biogeographic regions supports the hypothesis of a speciation process taking place in P. steinenii.

In Chile, there is an increasing demand for freshwater supply for human consumption, agriculture, and industrial activities. In this sense, the country is highly threatened by climate change, which is drastically affecting the availability of water resources in the north-central region due to desertification processes. Therefore, seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination is becoming one of the most feasible alternatives to address current and future challenges regarding water scarcity in the country. This investigation aims to evaluate potential locations for a sustainable and cost-effective installation of desalination projects; the latter, under a multi-criteria and geographic information system (GIS)-model. The model was tested in the highly water scarcity-threatened Valparaiso Region, Chile, as a case study. The model was developed integrating economic and socio-environmental criteria involved in the development and/or construction of desalination projects. The results of the multi-criteria analysis show that the Valparaıso Region presents optimal areas for developing SWRO projects. Both the northern and central areas of the Region show appropriate locations for installing SWRO plants and their freshwater distribution lines, ensuring short- and long-term water supply, especially for agriculture and population consumption. The results obtained in this study could be extrapolated as a tool to assess the desalination projects development in other world regions to make future desalination projects more viable and sustainable for addressing global water demands.

Wildfires pose a significant threat to ecosystems, human lives, and infrastructure worldwide. Traditional wildfire detection and risk assessment methods often suffer from limitations such as delayed detection and low confidence in certain regions. In this paper, we propose a novel computational system based on Machine Learning for wildfire risk assessment using data collected by drones. The system can integrate various sensors to capture spatiotemporal data on environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and vegetation. By leveraging high-resolution data collected through autonomous drone missions, our system enhances wildfire risk estimation and enables proactive mission planning. Although the system is mainly designed to address wildfire monitoring using drone-collected data, it can be easily adapted to other environmental monitoring applications and other sources of data. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach through a comprehensive evaluation and validation process in both simulated and real-world environments. Our work contributes to advancing wildfire monitoring capabilities, improving early detection, and mitigating the impact of wildfires on communities and the environment.

To harness the power of pre-trained image classification models on the extensive ImageNet dataset, early layers of pre-trained backbones have been used to capture relevant information about iris texture in the field of Iris Recognition (IR). This addresses the lack of extensive iris datasets that are required for adjusting millions of parameters in deep networks for IR. However, using intermediate layers as feature extractors introduces problems due to image alterations and aliasing effects due to down-sampling. This paper proposes an IR method that employs low-level convolutional filters from a pre-trained backbone, incorporating low-pass filters to mitigate aliasing effects resulting from both down-sampling and horizontal shifting, caused by minor head rotations during image acquisition. Furthermore, the backbone is enhanced by adapting circular padding to reduce the impact of horizontal discontinuities in the Rubber Sheet representation. The extracted features are then encoded using a novel adaptive threshold method, increasing the variability of binary iris codes, which are matched by using a single Hamming Distance without a bit-shifting process. The proposed model exhibits significantly improved performance on publicly available CASIA and IITD datasets, along with datasets containing examples of substantial pupil dilation. Finally, we tested the robustness of our proposed method against head rotations by using datasets that were modified by horizontal shifting to simulate small head rotations.

Designing Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for a specific task requires not only Deep Learning expertise but also knowledge of the problem. The goal of Neuroevolution is to find CNN architectures automatically through evolution. The search time, however, is a critical problem in Neuroevolution since multiple CNNs must be trained in the evolutionary process. In this work, we propose a Neural Architecture Classifier (NAC) to avoid training architectures that would not have good performance, based on knowledge of previously trained architectures. The NAC evaluates each CNN using the CNN architecture encoding as the input. A genetic algorithm (GA) is used for evolution, and a search space with few restrictions; hence, CNN architectures can have any width, depth or shape as well as the suitable number of skip connections. We applied this methodology to solving pattern recognition problems on six well-known datasets: five subsets of the MNIST-Variations (MNIST-V) dataset and the CIFAR-10 dataset. Experiments demonstrated that integrating the NAC in the GA reduces the search time by up to 44% compared to conventional GAs. Additionally, the architectures found by evolution with our classifier achieved a better performance (4.6% on average) than those found by traditional evolution. Our results improved the state-of-the-art by 5.2% (0.33% error reduction) on the most difficult dataset of the MNIST-V (MRDBI), and an average of 4% (0.24% error reduction) on the MNIST-V datasets. Additionally, our results on CIFAR-10 are close to those of the state-of-the-art but with significantly reduced search time. The application of a classifier can be relevant and useful not only for genetic algorithms, but also for other evolutionary algorithms.

Abstract [Ru(5-FU)(PPh3)2(bipy)]PF6 (Ru/5-FU) is a novel ruthenium complex with 5-fluorouracil with promising potential against colorectal cancer (CRC). In the present study, we investigated the molecular mechanism of Ru/5-FU action in HCT116 CRC cells. Ru/5-FU exhibited potent cytotoxicity on a panel of cancer cell lines and on primary cancer cells and induced apoptosis in HCT116 CRC cells. Ru/5-FU reduced AKT1 gene transcripts, as well as the expression of Akt1 and Akt (pS473) and downstream Akt proteins mTOR (pS2448), S6 (pS235/pS236), 4EBP1 (pT36/pT45), GSK-3β (pS9) and NF-κB p65 (pS529), but not Akt upstream proteins Hsp90 and PI3K p85/p55 (pT458/pT199), indicating an inhibitory action of Akt/mTOR signaling. Ru/5-FU increased LC3B expression and reduced p62/SQSTM1 levels, indicating autophagy induction. Curiously, the autophagy inhibitors 3-methyladenine and chloroquine increased Ru/5-FU-induced cell death, indicating an induction of cytoprotective autophagy by this compound. Ru/5-FU also reduced clonogenic survival, as well as the percentage of CD133+ cells and colonosphere formation, indicating that Ru/5-FU can suppress stem cells in HCT116 cells. Ru/5-FU inhibited cell migration and invasion in wound healing assays and Transwell cell invasion assays, along with a reduction in vimentin expression and an increase in E-cadherin levels, indicating that Ru/5-FU can interfere with epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Ru/5-FU also inhibited in vivo HCT116 cell development and experimental lung metastases in mouse xenograft models. Altogether, these results indicate that Ru/5-FU is an anti-CRC chemotherapy drug candidate with the ability to suppress stemness in CRC cells by inhibiting Akt/mTOR signaling.

Abstract In this work, we describe a novel ruthenium-xanthoxylin complex, [Ru(phen)2(xant)](PF6) (RXC), that can eliminate colorectal cancer (CRC) stem cells by targeting the chaperone Hsp90. RXC exhibits potent cytotoxicity in cancer cell lines and primary cancer cells, causing apoptosis in HCT116 CRC cells, as observed by cell morphology, YO-PRO-1/PI staining, internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, mitochondrial depolarization, and PARP cleavage (Asp214). Additionally, RXC can downregulate the HSP90AA1 and HSP90B1 genes and the expression of HSP90 protein, as well as the expression levels of its downstream/client elements Akt1, Akt (pS473), mTOR (pS2448), 4EBP1 (pT36/pT45), GSK-3β (pS9), and NF-κB p65 (pS529), implying that these molecular chaperones can be molecular targets for RXC. Moreover, this compound inhibited clonogenic survival, the percentage of the CRC stem cell subpopulation, and colonosphere formation, indicating that RXC can eliminate CRC stem cells. RXC reduced cell migration and invasion, decreased vimentin and increased E-cadherin expression, and induced an autophagic process that appeared to be cytoprotective, as autophagy inhibitors enhanced RXC-induced cell death. In vivo studies showed that RXC inhibits tumor progression and experimental metastasis in mice with CRC HCT116 cell xenografts. Taken together, these results highlight the potential of the ruthenium complex RXC in CRC therapy with the ability to eliminate CRC stem cells by targeting the chaperone Hsp90.

In the central region of Chile, the Mega-Drought together with the demographic increase near the coast threatens groundwater availability and the hydrogeological functioning of coastal wetlands. To understand the hydric relationship between an aquifer and a wetland in a semi-arid coastal region of Central Chile (Valparaíso, Chile), as well as its geoenvironmental effects, four data collection campaigns were conducted in the wetland–estuary hydric system and surroundings, between 2021 and 2022, including physical, hydrochemical, and isotopic analyses in groundwater (n = 16 sites) and surface water (n = 8 sites). The results generated a conceptual model that indicates a hydraulic connection between the wetland and the aquifer, where the water use in one affects the availability in the other. With an average precipitation of 400 mm per year, the main recharge for both systems is rainwater. Three specific sources of pollution were identified from anthropic discharges that affect the water quality of the wetland and the estuary (flow from sanitary landfill, agricultural and livestock industry, and septic tank discharges in populated areas), exacerbated by the infiltration of seawater laterally and superficially through sandy sediments and the estuary, increasing salinity and electrical conductivity in the coastal zone (i.e., 3694 µS/cm). The Del Sauce subbasin faces strong hydric stress triggered by the poor conservation state of the riparian–coastal wetland and groundwater in the same area. This study provides a detailed understanding of hydrological interactions and serves as a model for understanding the possible effects on similar ecosystems, highlighting the need for integrated and appropriate environmental management.

The salmonid industry faces challenges due to the susceptibility of fish to opportunistic pathogens, particularly in early developmental stages. Understanding the immunological capacity during these stages is crucial for developing effective disease control strategies. IL-8R, a member of the G-protein-coupled receptor family, acts as a receptor for Interleukin 8 (IL-8). The binding of IL-8 to IL-8R plays a major role in the pathophysiology of a wide spectrum of inflammatory conditions. This study focused on the immune response capacity of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) larvae by analyzing IL-8/CXCR1 response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Previous research demonstrated that LPS from P. aeruginosa acts as a potent immunostimulant in teleost, enhancing pro-inflammatory cytokines. The methodology included in silico analysis and the synthesis and characterization of an omCXCR1-derived epitope peptide, which was used to produce omCXCR1-specific anti98 serum in mice. The research revealed that rainbow trout larvae 19 days post-hatching (dph) exhibited pronounced immune responses post-stimulation with 1 µg/mL of LPS. This was evidenced by the upregulated protein expression of IL-8 and omCXCR1 in trout larvae 2 and 8 h after LPS challenge, as analyzed by ELISA and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, fluorescence microscopy successfully revealed the colocalization of IL-8 and its receptor in cells from mucosal tissues after LPS challenge in larvae 19 dph. These findings underscore the efficacy of LPS immersion as a method to activate the innate immune system in trout larvae. Furthermore, we propose IL-8 and its receptor as molecular markers for evaluating immunostimulation in the early developmental stages of salmonids.

MADS-domain transcription factors play pivotal roles in numerous developmental processes in Arabidopsis thaliana. While their involvement in flowering transition and floral development has been extensively examined, their functions in root development remain relatively unexplored. Here, we explored the function and genetic interaction of three MADS-box genes (XAL2, SOC1 and AGL24) in primary root development. By analyzing loss-of-function and overexpression lines, we found that SOC1 and AGL24, both critical components in flowering transition, redundantly act as repressors of primary root growth as the loss of function of either SOC1 or AGL24 partially recovers the primary root growth, meristem cell number, cell production rate, and the length of fully elongated cells of the short-root mutant xal2-2. Furthermore, we observed that the simultaneous overexpression of AGL24 and SOC1 leads to short-root phenotypes, affecting meristem cell number and fully elongated cell size, whereas SOC1 overexpression is sufficient to affect columella stem cell differentiation. Additionally, qPCR analyses revealed that these genes exhibit distinct modes of transcriptional regulation in roots compared to what has been previously reported for aerial tissues. We identified 100 differentially expressed genes in xal2-2 roots by RNA-seq. Moreover, our findings revealed that the expression of certain genes involved in cell differentiation, as well as stress responses, which are either upregulated or downregulated in the xal2-2 mutant, reverted to WT levels in the absence of SOC1 or AGL24.

Gender classification on normalized iris images has been previously attempted with varying degrees of success. In these previous studies, it has been shown that occlusion masks may introduce gender information; occlusion masks are used in iris recognition to remove non-iris elements. When, the goal is to classify the gender using exclusively the iris texture, the presence of gender information in the masks may result in apparently higher accuracy, thereby not reflecting the actual gender information present in the iris. However, no measures have been taken to eliminate this information while preserving as much iris information as possible. We propose a novel method to assess the gender information present in the iris more accurately by eliminating gender information in the masks. This consists of pairing iris with similar masks and different gender, generating a paired mask using the OR operator, and applying this mask to the iris. Additionally, we manually fix iris segmentation errors to study their impact on the gender classification. Our results show that occlusion masks can account for 6.92% of the gender classification accuracy on average. Therefore, works aiming to perform gender classification using the iris texture from normalized iris images should eliminate this correlation.

Comprehending the immune defense mechanisms of new aquaculture species, such as the Chilean meagre (Cilus gilberti), is essential for sustaining large-scale production. Two bioassays were conducted to assess the impact of acute and intermittent hypoxia on the antibacterial activity of juvenile Chilean meagre epidermal mucus against the potential pathogens Vibrio anguillarum and Vibrio ordalii. Lysozyme and peroxidase activities were also measured. In general, fish exposed to hypoxia showed a 9–30% reduction in mucus antibacterial activity at the end of hypoxic periods and after stimulation with lipopolysaccharide. However, following water reoxygenation, the activity of non-stimulated fish was comparable to that of fish in normoxic conditions, inhibiting bacterial growth by 35–52%. In the case of fish exposed to chronic hypoxia, the response against V. anguillarum increased by an additional 19.8% after 6 days of control inoculation. Lysozyme exhibited a similar pattern, while no modulation of peroxidase activity was detected post-hypoxia. These results highlight the resilience of C. gilberti to dissolved oxygen fluctuations and contribute to understanding the potential of mucus in maintaining the health of cultured fish and the development of future control strategies.

Abstract Background Early prediction of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) risk is of particular importance as it may enable more efficacious interventions and reduce cumulative injury to mother and fetus. The aim of this study is to develop machine learning (ML) models, for the early prediction of GDM using widely available variables, facilitating early intervention, and making possible to apply the prediction models in places where there is no access to more complex examinations. Methods The dataset used in this study includes registries from 1,611 pregnancies. Twelve different ML models and their hyperparameters were optimized to achieve early and high prediction performance of GDM. A data augmentation method was used in training to improve prediction results. Three methods were used to select the most relevant variables for GDM prediction. After training, the models ranked with the highest Area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUCROC), were assessed on the validation set. Models with the best results were assessed in the test set as a measure of generalization performance. Results Our method allows identifying many possible models for various levels of sensitivity and specificity. Four models achieved a high sensitivity of 0.82, a specificity in the range 0.72–0.74, accuracy between 0.73–0.75, and AUCROC of 0.81. These models required between 7 and 12 input variables. Another possible choice could be a model with sensitivity of 0.89 that requires just 5 variables reaching an accuracy of 0.65, a specificity of 0.62, and AUCROC of 0.82. Conclusions The principal findings of our study are: Early prediction of GDM within early stages of pregnancy using regular examinations/exams; the development and optimization of twelve different ML models and their hyperparameters to achieve the highest prediction performance; a novel data augmentation method is proposed to allow reaching excellent GDM prediction results with various models.

How the near-shore marine benthic communities survived Quaternary glaciations in Antarctica is a major question for Southern Ocean biogeographers. Several hypotheses that consider life-history traits, such as bathymetric ranges and developmental modes, have been proposed. Near-shore species with high dispersive potential are expected to show star-like genealogies, with broadly distributed haplotypes surrounded by closely related variants at low frequencies, a consequence of rapid population post-glacial expansion mediated by larvae. By contrast, shallow-water taxa with low dispersal potential are expected to evidence marked genetic structure or even consist of separate cryptic species, due to their survival in small refugial populations subject to repeated bottlenecks. In this study we performed phylogeographic analyses on the high-latitude littorinid Laevilacunaria antarctica across its distribution from maritime Antarctica to South Georgia. This species is a highly abundant near-shore gastropod, commonly found on macroalgae, with low autonomous vagility and exhibits benthic protected development with no free-living dispersive stages. Such characteristics make this species a suitable model to test the above hypotheses. Contrary to low dispersal potential predictions, L. antarctica comprises a single unstructured unit across its distribution in maritime Antarctica, exhibiting a typical high-dispersal star-like, short-branched genealogy centered on a dominant broadly distributed haplotype. The South Georgia population, however, consists of a separate genetic unit, strongly differentiated from those of the maritime Antarctic. We estimate that these two genetic groups separated ~1.2 My, long before the Last Glacial Maximum and evolved independently in these areas. Our results thus provide partial support for the expected pattern for a near-shore marine benthic species with low innate dispersive potential. On a wider geographic scale (maritime Antarctica vs South Georgia), our results in L. antarctica provide support for the expected pattern for a near-shore marine benthic species with low innate dispersive potential. However, on a narrower scale (maritime Antarctica) life-history characters including the close association of the species with macroalgae, would allow dispersal and a species with low dispersal potential exhibits paradoxically an absence of genetic structure across hundreds of kilometers probably mediated by rafting.

Background: Amivantamab, an EGFR-MET bispecific antibody, is the first approved targeted therapy for patients with EGFR Ex20ins NSCLC after prior platinum-based chemotherapy—a population with historically poor outcomes before amivantamab approval. As antitumor activity in single-arm studies typically focuses on responders, the evaluation of outcomes in patients with stable disease (SD) as best response is of clinical interest. Patients and methods: Among 114 patients with post-platinum EGFR Ex20ins NSCLC in CHRYSALIS (NCT02609776; data cutoff: March 30, 2021), response was assessed by blinded independent central review via RECIST v1.1. Patients alive and receiving therapy at 12 weeks were grouped by response at this landmark: partial or complete response (PR+), SD, or progressive disease (PD). Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) by response cohort were determined using the Kaplan-Meier method; hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) between response cohorts were calculated using Cox proportional hazards regression. Results: Among patients alive and receiving therapy at 12 weeks (n=107), 42 (39%) had PR+, 52 (49%) had SD, and 13 (12%) had PD. Among patients with PR+ and SD, median PFS was 12.2 and 7.0 months, respectively. A corresponding improvement in OS was observed in patients achieving PR+ (median: not reached; HR vs PD=0.21 [95% CI: 0.08–0.54]) and SD (median: 23.0 months; HR vs PD=0.33 [95% CI: 0.14–0.77]), relative to those with PD (median: 14.0 months). Conclusion: SD was observed in 49% of patients receiving amivantamab, with corresponding increases in OS that dramatically improved the prognoses of this patient population.

In the north of Chile, several projects propose to promote the diversification of national aquaculture with native fish species. However, one of the expected impacts of climate change on the Chilean coasts is an increase in the intensity and frequency of hypoxia events. Therefore, it can become one of the main problems for fish aquaculture in farming facilities. Two species of Chilean diversification programs are Seriola lalandi and Seriolella violacea, which have different habitats and may have different oxygen requirements. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the variations in oxygen consumption rates in 10 month-old juveniles of both fish species and to determine the presence of tolerant and non-tolerant individuals at low dissolved oxygen (DO) availability. A simulation of an acute hypoxia event by loss-of-equilibrium (LOEhyp) experiments allowed us to classify tolerant and non-tolerant fish. Then, individual oxygen consumption rates were measured, and the resting metabolic rate (RMR) and the maximum metabolic rate (MMR) for hypoxia-tolerant and non-tolerant juveniles were obtained. The results reveal that S. lalandi juveniles have a higher oxygen demand than S. violacea, the first presenting a significantly higher metabolic rate and locomotor activity. Furthermore, the blood parameters suggest that triglyceride metabolism could be used as alternative energy sources by S. violacea during hypoxic-environments. The juveniles classified as tolerant from both species have a lower RMR than non-tolerant fish, which is associated with reduction in their locomotor activity evidenced by decreasing tail beat frequency. Furthermore, the hypoxia-tolerant juveniles also reached a significantly higher size than non-tolerant fish. This work provides valuable results for the future S. lalandi and S. violacea industries, considering the effects of low OD in the farms. Likewise, the first evidence of the hypoxia adaptive mechanism of native fish are presented, providing scientific support for their aquaculture in Chile.

Water monitoring faces challenges that are driven by the infrastructure, protection, financial resources, science and innovation policies, among others. A modular, low-cost, fully open-source and small-sized Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) called EMAC-USV (EMAC: Estación de Monitoreo Ambiental Costero), is proposed for monitoring bathymetry and water quality parameters (i.e. temperature, suspended solids concentration and hydrocarbon concentration) in complex water scenarios. A detailed description of each part of the platform as well as all electronic connections and functioning is presented.The field works were carried out in two small waste stabilization ponds and in a portion of the main tidal channel of the Bahía Blanca port. The EMAC-USV is the result of a cautious design, regarding the balancing performance, communications, payload capacity, among others.

In this study, two different air quality impact assessment methodologies were adopted and combined with a sensitivity analysis to estimate the unit costs. Air pollution health impact (mortality) assessment was carried out using one methodology based on log-linear concentration response functions (CRF) and another relying on the integrated exposure response curve (IER) from the Global Burden of Disease. Morbidity impacts were estimated with the CRF approach only. To assess the inequalities between low and high income countries, an area of low-medium income countries with a critical air pollution situation, was selected. The health impact and related external costs attributable to air pollution in 2019 were assessed in 30 urban areas of the Western Balkans region, one of Europe’s air pollution hot spots. The evaluation was based on PM2.5, O3 and NO2 concentrations in background sites from official monitoring networks. In 2019, the cost of mortality attributable to PM2.5 in 26 urban areas was 7.8 and 9.0 billion Euro according to IER and CRF methodologies, respectively. The cost of O3 associated with all-cause mortality estimated with the CRF methodology in 17 urban areas was 1.0 billion Euro while the one attributable to NO2 pollution in 28 urban areas was 1.5 billion Euro. The study results suggest that the economic burden of air pollution in the Western Balkans is higher in terms of GDP than the one observed in EU27 in the same time window. The study concludes that CRF and IER methodologies are coherent, because the discrepancy in the results are explained by the differences in the assessed health outcomes. The two approaches are complementary because the combination of them makes it possible to obtain a wider range of outcomes. In addition, despite the different causes of death considered, the comparison between them is useful for cross-validation.

RESUMO Este artigo baseia-se na teoria da regulação desenvolvida por Stigler e Peltzman. Segundo esses autores, um regulador escolhe sua estratégia buscando maximizar o apoio político dos consumidores e produtores, vendo o bem-estar e a eficiência como questões secundárias. Este processo determina um preço regulado que se encontra entre os níveis competitivo e monopolístico. Nosso artigo desenvolve uma versão modificada do modelo de Peltzman, considerando a ideia de que o comportamento do regulador pode mudar com a proximidade das eleições. O acréscimo de uma dimensão de tempo ao problema e suas implicações para os consumidores, produtores e o comportamento do regulador sugere que a estratégia ótima agora implica em um ciclo de preços nas indústrias reguladas. O regulador tem incentivos para impor preços mais altos quando as eleições estão relativamente longe e preços (reais) mais baixos em períodos que precedem imediatamente uma eleição importante. Mostramos que o mercado brasileiro de gasolina entre 1969-1984 corrobora nossos resultados.

We review recent work on Ising-like models with “compressible cells” of fluctuating volume that, as such, are naturally treated in NpT and μpT ensembles. Besides volumetric phenomena, local entropic effects crucially underlie the models. We focus on “compressible cell gases” (CCG), namely, lattice gases with fluctuating cell volumes, and “compressible cell liquids” (CCL) with singly occupied cells and fluctuating cell volumes. CCGs contemplate singular diameters and “Yang–Yang features” predicted by the “complete scaling” formulation of asymmetric fluid criticality, with a specific version incorporating “ice-like” hydrogen bonding further describing the “singularity-free scenario” for the low-temperature unusual thermodynamics of supercooled water. In turn, suitable CCL variants constitute adequate prototypes of water-like liquid–liquid criticality and the freezing transition of a system of hard spheres. On incorporating vacant cells to such two-state CCL variants, one obtains three-state, BEG-like models providing a satisfactory description of water’s “second-critical-point scenario” and the whole phase behavior of a simple substance like argon. Future challenges comprise water’s crystal–fluid phase behavior and metastable states.

The skin of fish is a physicochemical barrier that is characterized by being formed by cells that secrete molecules responsible for the first defense against pathogenic organisms. In this study, the biological activity of peptides from mucus of Seriola lalandi and Seriolella violacea were identified and characterized. To this purpose, peptide extraction was carried out from epidermal mucus samples of juveniles of both species, using chromatographic strategies for purification. Then, the peptide extracts were characterized to obtain the amino acid sequence by mass spectrometry. Using bioinformatics tools for predicting antimicrobial and antioxidant activity, 12 peptides were selected that were chemically produced by simultaneous synthesis using the Fmoc-Tbu strategy. The results revealed that the synthetic peptides presented a random coil or extended secondary structure. The analysis of antimicrobial activity allowed it to be discriminated that four peptides, named by their synthesis code 5065, 5069, 5070, and 5076, had the ability to inhibit the growth of Vibrio anguillarum and affected the copepodite stage of C. rogercresseyi. On the other hand, peptides 5066, 5067, 5070, and 5077 had the highest antioxidant capacity. Finally, peptides 5067, 5069, 5070, and 5076 were the most effective for inducing respiratory burst in fish leukocytes. The analysis of association between composition and biological function revealed that the antimicrobial activity depended on the presence of basic and aromatic amino acids, while the presence of cysteine residues increased the antioxidant activity of the peptides. Additionally, it was observed that those peptides that presented the highest antimicrobial capacity were those that also stimulated respiratory burst in leukocytes. This is the first work that demonstrates the presence of functional peptides in the epidermal mucus of Chilean marine fish, which provide different biological properties when the fish face opportunistic pathogens.

The state of Sonora, Mexico, stands as one of the leading producers of pecan nuts in the country, which are commercialized without shells, leaving behind this unused residue. Additionally, this region has abundant solar resources, as shown by its high levels of direct normal irradiance (DNI). This study contributes to research efforts aimed at achieving a synergy between concentrated solar energy technology and biomass pyrolysis processes, with the idea of using the advantages of organic waste to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and avoiding the combustion of conventional pyrolysis through the concentration of solar thermal energy. The objective of this study is to pioneer a new experimental analysis methodology in research on solar pyrolysis reactors. The two main features of this new methodology are, firstly, the comparison of temperature profiles during the heating of inert and reactive materials and, secondly, the analysis of heating rates. This facilitated a better interpretation of the observed phenomenon. The methodology encompasses two different thermal experiments: (A) the pyrolysis of pecan shells and (B) the heating–cooling process of the biochar produced in experiment (A). Additionally, an experiment involving the heating of volcanic stone is presented, which reveals the temperature profiles of an inert material and serves as a comparative reference with experiment (B). In this experimental study, 50 g of pecan shells were subjected to pyrolysis within a cylindrical stainless-steel reactor with a volume of 156 cm3, heated by concentrated radiation from a solar simulator. Three different heat fluxes were applied (234, 482, and 725 W), resulting in maximum reaction temperatures of 382, 498, and 674 °C, respectively. Pyrolysis gas analyses (H2, CO, CO2, and CH4) and characterization of the obtained biochar were conducted. The analysis of heating rates, both for biochar heating and biomass pyrolysis, facilitated the identification, differentiation, and interpretation of processes such as moisture evaporation, tar production endpoint, cellulosic material pyrolysis, and lignin degradation. This analysis proved to be a valuable tool as it revealed heating and cooling patterns that were not previously identified. The potential implications of this tool would be associated with improvements in the design and operation protocols of solar reactors.

While Botrytis cinerea causes gray mold on many plants, its close relative, Botrytis fabae, is host-specifically infecting predominantly faba bean plants. To explore the basis for its narrow host range, a gapless genome sequence of B. fabae strain G12 (BfabG12) was generated. The BfabG12 genome encompasses 45.0 Mb, with 16 chromosomal telomere-to-telomere contigs that show high synteny and sequence similarity to the corresponding B. cinerea B05.10 (BcB0510) chromosomes. Compared to BcB0510, it is 6% larger, due to many AT-rich regions containing remnants of transposable elements, but encodes fewer genes (11,420 vs. 11,707), due to losses of chromosomal segments with up to 20 genes. The coding capacity of BfabG12 is further reduced by nearly 400 genes that had been inactivated by mutations leading to truncations compared to their BcB0510 orthologues. Several species-specific gene clusters for secondary metabolite biosynthesis with stage-specific expression were identified. Comparison of the proteins secreted during infection revealed high similarities, including 17 phytotoxic proteins that were detected in both species. Our data indicate that evolution of the host-specific B. fabae occurred from an ancestral pathogen with wide host range similar to B. cinerea and was accompanied by losses and degeneration of genes, thereby reducing its pathogenic flexibility.

Currently, one of the primary challenges in salmon farming is caligidosis, caused by the copepod ectoparasites Caligus spp. The infection process is determined by the copepod’s ability to adhere to the fish skin through the insertion of its chitin-composed filament. In this study, we examined several antimicrobial peptides previously identified in salmonid mucosal secretions, with a primary focus on their potential to bind to chitin as an initial step. The binding capacity to chitin was tested, with hepcidin and piscidin showing positive results. Further assessments involving cytotoxicity in salmonid cells RTgill-W1, SHK-1, RTS-11, and RT-gut indicated that the peptides did not adversely affect cell viability. However, hemolysis assays unveiled the hemolytic capacity of piscidin at lower concentrations, leading to the selection of hepcidin for antiparasitic assays. The results demonstrated that the nauplius II stage of C. rogercresseyi exhibited higher susceptibility to hepcidin treatments, achieving a 50% reduction in parasitic involvement at 50 µM. Utilizing fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy, we observed the localization of hepcidin on the surface of the parasite, inducing significant spherical protuberances along the exoskeleton of C. rogercresseyi. These findings suggest that cysteine-rich AMPs derived from fish mucosa possess the capability to alter the development of the chitin exoskeleton in copepod ectoparasites, making them therapeutic targets to combat recurrent parasitic diseases in salmon farming.

Animal hosts live in continuous interaction with bacterial partners, yet we still lack a clear understanding of the ecological drivers of animal-associated bacteria, particularly in seabirds. Here, we investigated the effect of body site in the structure and diversity of bacterial communities of two seabirds in the Strait of Magellan: the Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) and the king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus). We used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to profile bacterial communities associated with body sites (chest, back, foot) of both penguins and the nest soil of Magellanic penguin. Taxonomic composition showed that Moraxellaceae family (specifically Psychrobacter) had the highest relative abundance across body sites in both penguin species, whereas Micrococacceae had the highest relative abundance in nest soil. We were able to detect a bacterial core among 90% of all samples, which consisted of Clostridium sensu stricto and Micrococcacea taxa. Further, the king penguin had its own bacterial core across its body sites, where Psychrobacter and Corynebacterium were the most prevalent taxa. Microbial alpha diversity across penguin body sites was similar in most comparisons, yet we found subtle differences between foot and chest body sites of king penguins. Body site microbiota composition differed across king penguin body sites, whereas it remained similar across Magellanic penguin body sites. Interestingly, all Magellanic penguin body site microbiota composition differed from nest soil microbiota. Finally, bacterial abundance in penguin body sites fit well under a neutral community model, particularly in the king penguin, highlighting the role of stochastic process and ecological drift in microbiota assembly of penguin body sites. Our results represent the first report of body site bacterial communities in seabirds specialized in subaquatic foraging. Thus, we believe it represents useful baseline information that could serve for long-term comparisons that use marine host microbiota to survey ocean health.

The Antarctic Peninsula is experiencing one of the highest warming rates globally. In polar regions, macroalgae thrive under extreme environmental conditions, which could worsen because of future climate change scenarios, including increased ultraviolet exposure, extremely low light availability, and fluctuating temperatures, particularly in the intertidal zones. To investigate the potential role of photoprotective and antioxidant mechanisms in response to future increases in sea surface temperatures caused by climate change, we conducted laboratory experiments using three intertidal macroalgae model species: Adenocystis utricularis (Ochrophyta, Phaeophyceae), Pyropia endiviifolia (Rhodophyta, Bangiophyceae), and Monostroma hariotii (Chlorophyta, Ulvophyceae). These algae were collected in Punta Artigas (King George Island, Antarctica) and acclimated at 2°C for 48 h. They were then assessed in laboratory experiments for up to 5 days under two treatments: (1) control conditions at 2°C and (2) elevated tem.perature conditions at 8°C, representing the most negative increment in SSTs estimated by the end of the 21st century. Carbon, nitrogen, pigments (chlorophylls and carotenoids), mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs), and phenolic compounds were quantified after 3 and 5 days of exposure. For M. hariotii, elevated temperatures led to an increase in the C/N ratio, total antioxidant capacity, and levels of nitrogen, total carotenoids, chlorophyll-a, pigments (chlorophyll-b and violaxanthin), and phenolic compounds. For A. utricularis, elevated temperatures led to elevated C/N ratio and levels of chlorophyll-a and carotenoids (fucoxanthin and β-carotene). For P. endiviifolia, elevated temperatures resulted in elevated levels of carotenoids (lutein and β-carotene), phenolic compounds, and MAAs (porphyra-334, shinorine, and palythine). Thus, our study suggests that increasing water temperatures due to global warming can enhance the photoprotective abilities of three Antarctic intertidal macroalgae (M. hariotii, A. utricularis, and P. endiviifolia), with each species showing specific responses.

IntroductionLong-term pulmonary dysfunction (L-TPD) is one of the most critical manifestations of long-COVID. This lung affection has been associated with disease severity during the acute phase and the presence of previous comorbidities, however, the clinical manifestations, the concomitant consequences and the molecular pathways supporting this clinical condition remain unknown. The aim of this study was to identify and characterize L-TPD in patients with long-COVID and elucidate the main pathways and long-term consequences attributed to this condition by analyzing clinical parameters and functional tests supported by machine learning and serum proteome profiling.MethodsPatients with L-TPD were classified according to the results of their computer-tomography (CT) scan and diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide adjusted for hemoglobin (DLCOc) tests at 4 and 12-months post-infection.ResultsRegarding the acute phase, our data showed that L-TPD was favored in elderly patients with hypertension or insulin resistance, supported by pathways associated with vascular inflammation and chemotaxis of phagocytes, according to computer proteomics. Then, at 4-months post-infection, clinical and functional tests revealed that L-TPD patients exhibited a restrictive lung condition, impaired aerobic capacity and reduced muscular strength. At this time point, high circulating levels of platelets and CXCL9, and an inhibited FCgamma-receptor-mediated-phagocytosis due to reduced FcγRIII (CD16) expression in CD14+ monocytes was observed in patients with L-TPD. Finally, 1-year post infection, patients with L-TPD worsened metabolic syndrome and augmented body mass index in comparison with other patient groups.DiscussionOverall, our data demonstrated that CT scan and DLCOc identified patients with L-TPD after COVID-19. This condition was associated with vascular inflammation and impair phagocytosis of virus-antibody immune complexes by reduced FcγRIII expression. In addition, we conclude that COVID-19 survivors required a personalized follow-up and adequate intervention to reduce long-term sequelae and the appearance of further metabolic diseases.

Abstract Introduction The integrated care pathways for atopic dermatitis (AD‐ICPs) aim to bridge the gap between existing AD treatment evidence‐based guidelines and expert opinion based on daily practice by offering a structured multidisciplinary plan for patient management of AD. ICPs have the potential to enhance guideline recommendations by combining interventions and aspects from different guidelines, integrating quality assurance, and describing co‐ordination of care. Most importantly, patients can enter the ICPs at any level depending on AD severity, resources available in their country, and economic factors such as differences in insurance reimbursement systems. Methods The GA2LEN ADCARE network and partners as well as all stakeholders, abbreviated as the AD‐ICPs working group, were involved in the discussion and preparation of the AD ICPs during a series of subgroup workshops and meetings in years 2020 and 2021, after which the document was circulated within all GAL2EN ADCARE centres. Results The AD‐ICPs outline the diagnostic procedures, possible co‐morbidities, different available treatment options including differential approaches for the pediatric population, and the role of the pharmacists and other stakeholders, as well as remaining unmet needs in the management of AD. Conclusion The AD‐ICPs provide a multidisciplinary plan for improved diagnosis, treatment, and patient feedback in AD management, as well as addressing critical unmet needs, including improved access to care, training specialists, implementation of educational programs, assessment on the impact of climate change, and fostering a personalised treatment approach. By focusing on these key areas, the initiative aims to pave the way for a brighter future in the management of AD.

Summary: In ribosome-associated quality control (RQC), nascent polypeptides produced by interrupted translation are modified with C-terminal polyalanine tails (“Ala-tails”) that function outside ribosomes to induce ubiquitylation by E3 ligases Pirh2 (p53-induced RING-H2 domain-containing) or CRL2 (Cullin-2 RING ligase2)-KLHDC10. Here, we investigate the molecular basis of Ala-tail function using biochemical and in silico approaches. We show that Pirh2 and KLHDC10 directly bind to Ala-tails and that structural predictions identify candidate Ala-tail-binding sites, which we experimentally validate. The degron-binding pockets and specific pocket residues implicated in Ala-tail recognition are conserved among Pirh2 and KLHDC10 homologs, suggesting that an important function of these ligases across eukaryotes is in targeting Ala-tailed substrates. Moreover, we establish that the two Ala-tail-binding pockets have convergently evolved, either from an ancient module of bacterial provenance (Pirh2) or via tinkering of a widespread C-degron-recognition element (KLHDC10). These results shed light on the recognition of a simple degron sequence and the evolution of Ala-tail proteolytic signaling.

Face Recognition (FR) has been a widely used biometric technique for identity authentication in various domains. Despite the remarkable progress in the field of FR during the past few years, there are still challenges that need to be addressed, including recognition of faces with large pose variation. Following the idea of organic face patches found in and used by human and macaque monkey brains, in this paper we report a set of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) that we have designed to represent face patches specialized in a particular face pose orientation range. We use neuroevolution, employing genetic algorithms (GAs), to define the structure of three CNNs. Each CNN is evolved through a genetic algorithm, to a particular face pose orientation range for small, medium, and large face rotations. Each CNN was evolved to improve FR accuracy using the training partition of the VGGFace2 dataset, split into three sets for small, medium, and large face rotations. The GAs generated new specialized CNNs tuned to the three face orientation ranges: small, medium, and large face rotations. Following standard procedures, using extended training for a longer number of epochs, the best CNN individuals were trained with VGGFace2 (training set), and MS1M datasets. The performance of our proposed method was assessed on several datasets that contain a significant number of faces with large pose variation: VGGFace2 (test set), CPFLW, and CFP_FP. The results reached accuracies greater than those of the state-of-the-art of 95.91%, 95.73%, 94.60% and 99.18% on VGGFace2(test), VGGFace2_FP, CPFLW and CFP_FP, respectively.

Abstract Background The syndemic approach allows the analysis of clusters of diseases that affect a population in contexts of geographic, social and economic inequalities at the same moment and time. This study aims to analyze, from a syndemic perspective, the relationship between type 2 diabetes (T2D) and depressive symptoms in Mexican adults and its association with individual, contextual and structural factors. Methods Observational, cross-sectional study based on secondary data from Mexico’s National Health and Nutrition Survey 2018–19. The sample of this study consisted of 16 835 adults, which represented a total of 78 463 734 persons aged ≥ 20 years. Bivariate descriptive analyses were performed and logistic regression models were estimated to analyze the association between T2D and depressive symptoms with various co-variables. In addition, interactions between T2D and depressive symptoms with obesity, educational level, and socioeconomic status were tested. Results In the study population, 12.2% of adults aged 20 years and older self-reported having T2D, 14.7% had depressive symptoms and 2.8% had both diseases. There was a statistically significant relationship between T2D and depressive symptoms. The prevalence of T2D and depressive symptoms was higher compared to people who did not have these two conditions. Obesity increased the probability of having T2D, while violence was statistically associated with people having depressive symptoms. A low level of education increased the odds ratio of having T2D and depressive symptoms. Conclusion The availability of analytical frameworks such as the syndemic perspective could help to identify areas of opportunity for decision making and actions for population groups that–because of their individual, contextual and structural disadvantages–are at greater risk of experiencing poorer health outcomes due to the presence of T2D and depressive symptoms.

Abstract Age increases the risk for cognitive impairment and is the single major risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most prevalent form of dementia in the elderly. The pathophysiological processes triggered by aging that render the brain vulnerable to dementia involve, at least in part, changes in inflammatory mediators. Here we show that lipoxin A4 (LXA4), a lipid mediator of inflammation resolution known to stimulate endocannabinoid signaling in the brain, is reduced in the aging central nervous system. We demonstrate that genetic suppression of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX), the enzyme mediating LXA4 synthesis, promotes learning impairment in mice. Conversely, administration of exogenous LXA4 attenuated cytokine production and memory loss induced by inflammation in mice. We further show that cerebrospinal fluid LXA4 is reduced in patients with dementia and positively associated with cognitive performance, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and AD-linked amyloid-β. Our findings suggest that reduced LXA4 levels may lead to vulnerability to age-related cognitive disorders and that promoting LXA4 signaling may comprise an effective strategy to prevent early cognitive decline in AD.

Conserved Histidine Alpha-helical Domain (CHAD) proteins attached to the surface of polyphosphate (PolyP) have been studied in some bacteria and one archaeon. However, the activity of CHAD proteins is unknown beyond their interaction with PolyP granules. By using bioinformatic analysis, we report that several species of the biomining acidophilic bacteria contain orthologs of CHAD proteins with high sequence identity. Furthermore, the gene coding for the CHAD protein is in the same genetic context of the enzyme polyphosphate kinase (PPK), which is in charge of PolyP synthesis. Particularly, the group of ppk and CHAD genes is highly conserved. Metallosphaera sedula and other acidophilic archaea used in biomining also contain CHAD proteins. These archaea show high levels of identity in genes coding for a cluster having the same organization. Amongst these genes are chad and ppx. In general, both biomining bacteria and archaea contain high PolyP levels and are highly resistant to heavy metals. Therefore, the presence of this conserved genetic organization suggests a high relevance for their metabolism. It has been formerly reported that a crystallized CHAD protein contains a copper-binding site. Based on this previous knowledge, in the present report, it was determined that all analyzed CHAD proteins are very conserved at their structural level. In addition, it was found that the lack of YgiF, an Escherichia coli CHAD-containing protein, decreases copper resistance in this bacterium. This phenotype was not only complemented by transforming E. coli with YgiF but also by expressing CHAD from Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans in it. Interestingly, the strains in which the possible copper-binding sites were mutated were also more metal sensitive. Based on these results, we propose that CHAD proteins are involved in copper resistance in microorganisms. These findings are very interesting and may eventually improve biomining operations in the future.

Background: Preventive and positive online coping strategies are essential for harm reduction associated with alcohol abuse among older adults in pandemic and social isolation scenarios. The objectives were to examine the relationship between alcohol use/abuse and physical capacity/self-care to perform the physical activities of daily living or impairment of the functional capacity of the elderly in the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was carried out. One hundred and one elderly people in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, participated in a community program. Results: Most participants (52.5%) showed excellent self-care skills. Approximately 12% of participants reported problems related to alcohol use/abuse. There was no association between self-care ability and abuse and probable alcohol dependence. Conclusions: Although most participants have excellent self-care and functional capacity and have not evidenced alcohol use/abuse, health professionals need to systematically provide information to prevent alcohol abuse, especially in scenarios of great emotional distress, such as in a pandemic. In addition, the online meetings held by the UAPI program were shown to be opportunities for social interaction and were essential to minimize the negative effects of the possible presence of alcohol use/abuse and the deteriorating performance of physical activities of daily living during a pandemic outbreak for the elderly.

Abstract Inspiratory muscle warm-up (IMW) has been used as a resource to enhance exercises and sports performance. However, there is a lack of studies in the literature addressing the effects of different IMW loads (especially in combination with a shorter and applicable protocol) on high-intensity running and recovery phase. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effects of three different IMW loads using a shorter protocol on mechanical, physiological and muscle oxygenation responses during and after high-intensity running exercise. Sixteen physically active men, randomly performed four trials 30 s all-out run, preceded by the shorter IMW protocol (2 × 15 breaths with a 1-min rest interval between sets, accomplished 2 min before the 30 s all-out run). Here, three IMW load conditions were used: 15%, 40%, and 60% of maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP), plus a control session (CON) without the IMW. The force, velocity and running power were measured (1000 Hz). Two near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) devices measured (10 Hz) the muscle’s oxygenation responses in biceps brachii (BB) and vastus lateralis (VL). Additionally, heart rate (HR) and blood lactate ([Lac]) were also monitored. IMW loads applied with a shorter protocol promoted a significant increase in mean and minimum running power as well as in peak and minimum force compared to CON. In addition, specific IMW loads led to higher values of peak power, mean velocity (60% of MIP) and mean force (40 and 60% of MIP) in relation to CON. Physiological responses (HR and muscles oxygenation) were not modified by any IMW during exercise, as well as HR and [Lac] in the recovery phase. On the other hand, 40% of MIP presented a higher tissue saturation index (TSI) for BB during recovery phase. In conclusion, the use of different loads of IMW may improve the performance of a physically active individual in a 30 s all-out run, as verified by the increased peak, mean and minimum mechanical values, but not in performance assessed second by second. In addition, 40% of the MIP improves TSI of the BB during the recovery phase, which can indicate greater availability of O2 for lactate clearance.

ABSTRACT The millipede species Taulidesmella tabatinga is known from the border of Brazil with Peru and Colombia, Iquitos (Peru), and environs of Manaus (Brazil). Based on freshly collected material during the rainy season in 2014 along the Amazon River upriver from its confluence with the Negro River, we report a new record of T. tabatinga in floodplain forests in the municipality of Alvarães, Amazonas state (Brazil), filling a gap of 1,000 km between its previously known occurrence points. This record indicates that T. tabatinga is likely widespread along both margins of the upper Amazon River, mostly associated with tree trunks and litter of riparian and floodplain forests.

Abstract This study aimed to test the agreement of the incremental test's physiological responses between tethered running on a nonmotorized treadmill (NMT) to matched relative intensities while running on a conventional motorized treadmill (MT). Using a within-subject crossover design, nine male recreational runners (age = 22 ± 5 years; height = 175 ± 6 cm; weight = 68.0 ± 16.6 kg) underwent two test sessions: one was an incremental intensity protocol on an MT; the other was on an instrumented NMT. Intensity thresholds at $${\dot{\text V}}$$ V ˙ O2max, respiratory compensation point (iRCP), and lactate threshold (iLT) were registered for analysis, together with $${\dot{\text V}}$$ V ˙ ̇O2, $${\dot{\text V}}$$ V ˙ ̇E, ƒR, and blood lactate concentration ([Lac]). Comparisons were based on hypothesis testing (Student's T-test), effect sizes (Cohen's d), ICC, and Bland Altman analysis. Statistical significance was accepted at p