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Standard Early Jurassic biostratigraphic studies were performed in the boreal and Tethys realms (western Europe and northern Africa), and biozonations from these areas are the most accurate of the world. Comparatively, investigations in the Pacific realm are scarce, and, in Argentina, they are limited to contributions based on oil-industry subsurface and outcrop reports for the Los Molles Formation. A focused systematic analysis was not previously addressed in the area. The Neuquén Basin in west–central Argentina offers a unique opportunity to study the Early Jurassic calcareous nannofossil history in the south-eastern Pacific Ocean. Calcareous nannofossil assemblages from El Matuasto I section (Los Molles Formation) represent one of the earliest records for the Early Jurassic in the Neuquén Basin and one of the few for the eastern Pacific realm. A detailed systematic analysis allowed the recognition of major bioevents and a comparison with worldwide associations and biostratigraphic schemes. A thorough taxonomic discussion of the Early Jurassic nannofossil species of the Neuquén Basin is presented for the first time. Herein, the taxonomic features of coccoliths recorded in the Neuquén Basin are settled. The age of the calcareous nannofossil assemblages recorded in El Matuasto I is early–late Pliensbachian, covering the NJT4a to NJT4c subzones. Similarities between the Neuquén Basin and localities from the proto-Atlantic region suggest an effective connection between the Pacific and Tethyan basins during the Pliensbachian.

Abstract Solar drying is a sustainable process that may impact the quality of dried food. This is because, pigments contained in food are sensitive to sunlight, and exposure to ultraviolet radiation can affect them. We applied biopolymer-based coatings on strawberry, from hydro-colloidal solutions of Opuntia ficus indica-mucilage, fenugreek, xanthan gum, gum Arabic, and guar gum to evaluate their potential use as UV filters for solar drying of food. Thermal properties and the optical transmittance, absorbance and reflectance of the coatings were measured to assess their influence on food-sunlight interaction. During the drying experiments, the moisture content, total anthocyanins (TA), and total phenolic compounds (TPC) were measured. Optical and thermal properties are influenced by the biopolymer-based coatings. Also, the optical properties are influenced by the coating thickness. The differences in optical and thermal properties influence the drying process. Differences exist in the drying rate for strawberry slices with coating, compared with those without the coatings. In general, the TA and TPC content in the product are better preserved under solar drying than in control experiments done in a drying oven. A partial transmittance of solar UV radiation is recommended to obtain increased TA and TPC contents in the dried product.

Background/Objective: Stiff person syndrome (SPS) and type 1 diabetes (T1D) are heterogeneous disorders characterized by antibodies (Abs) against glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD). Case Report: We describe 2 patients with T1D and autoimmune thyroid disease who presented with muscle rigidity and intermittent spasms that affected gait and with elevated circulating anti-GAD titers. Classic SPS and stiff limb syndrome were diagnosed, respectively. Muscle spasms resolved with immunotherapy and muscle relaxants in both patients, and the ability to ambulate without an assistive device was restored in 1 patient. Patients also had brittle diabetes with high glycemic variability, requiring the use of flash glucose monitoring with an insulin pump and a second-generation basal insulin analog, respectively. Discussion: GAD Ab–associated syndromes include SPS, T1D, and other endocrinopathies. The clinical heterogeneity implies variable susceptibility of γ-aminobutyric acid-ergic neurons and pancreatic beta cells to anti-GAD or other autoantibodies. Conclusion: Our case series represent the heterogeneity in natural history, clinical course, and response to therapy in patients with Abs against GAD-spectrum disorders.

Summary: Background: Augmentation mammoplasty with subpectoral prosthesis implantation is a frequent performed procedure in plastic surgery for reconstructive and aesthetic purposes. Although prosthesis implantation in a pocket under the major pectoralis muscle has been related to volumetric and functional alterations, there is not much information about the associated short- and long-term histological changes. Therefore, the aim of our study was to describe the acute and chronic histological muscle alterations associated with subpectoral prosthesis implantation. Materials and Method: We collected samples from patients with breast tissue expander (1 year after implantation) and from patients without implantation as a control group. The samples were processed for assessing their histological, histochemical and immunohistochemical properties. Results: In the control group, no relevant histological findings were identified. Additionally, in the patients with expander, we observed mild augmentation of the internalised nuclei, normal morphology, significant muscle atrophy and fibrosis, whereas in the patients with prosthesis considerable augmentation of internalised nuclei, significant muscle atrophy, fibrosis and alteration of normal muscle morphology were observed. Conclusion: Prosthesis implantation induces histological changes in the periprosthetic striated muscle. Chronic fibrosis and inflammation play key roles in this process, which should be characterised in more detail from the histological and molecular biological perspective.

Abstract Purpose Metabolic bone disease of prematurity (MBDP) remains a significant cause of morbidity in extremely premature newborns. In high-risk patients, suspected diagnosis and subsequent treatment modifications, with limitations in terms of sensitivity and specificity, rely on low phosphorus levels and/or high levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP). We investigated the potential of fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23) as an early marker for MBDP when measured at 3–4 weeks of life in at-risk patients. Methods A single-center prospective observational non-interventional study including preterm newborns of both sexes, with a gestational age of less than 32 weeks and/or a birth weight of less than 1500 g. In the standard biochemical screening for MBDP performed between 3 and 4 weeks of life within a nutritional profile, the determination of FGF23 was included along with other clinical and metabolic studies. The study was conducted at Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital in Santander, Spain, from April 2020 to March 2021. Participants provided informed consent. Biochemical analyses were conducted using various platforms, and follow-up evaluations were performed at the discretion of neonatologists. Patients at high risk for MBDP received modifications in treatment accordingly. The sample was descriptively analyzed, presenting measures of central tendency and dispersion for continuous variables, and absolute numbers/percentages for categorical ones. Tests used included t-tests, Mann‒Whitney U tests, chi-square tests, logistic regressions, Pearson correlation, and ROC curve analysis (IBM SPSS Statistics version 19). Significance level: P

Abstract The addition of d = 5 operators to the Seesaw model leads to the Dimension-5 Seesaw Portal. Here, two new operators provide interactions for the heavy sterile neutrinos. In particular, the Higgs boson can have a large branching ratio into two heavy neutrinos, meaning that these states can be searched for at the LHC. Moreover, the heavy neutrinos can now decay dominantly into light neutrinos and photons. If the heavy neutrinos are long-lived, then searches for delayed, non-pointing photons can constrain the model. In this work, we carry out a detailed recast of an ATLAS search for such displaced photons, triggered by a charged lepton produced in association to the Higgs, placing bounds on the branching ratio for Higgs decay into two heavy neutrinos as low as 2%.

Application of headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with high-resolution gas chromatographic (HRGC) analysis was studied for determining lactones in wines. Six different SPME fibers were tested, and the influence of different factors such as temperature and time of desorption, ionic strength, time of extraction, content of sugar, ethanol, tannins and anthocyanins, and pH and influence of SO2 were studied. The proposed HS-SPME-GC method is an appropriate technique for the quantitative analysis of γ-butyrolactone, γ-hexalactone, trans-whiskey lactone, γ-octalactone, cis-whiskey lactone, γ-nonalactone, γ-decalactone, δ-decalactone, and γ-undecalactone in wines. Method reproducibility and repeatability ranged between 0.6 and 5.2% for all compounds. Detection limit for γ-butyrolactone was 0.17 mg/L and a few μg/L for the rest of the compounds. The optimized method has been applied to several wine samples.

La arteritis de Takayasu (TAK) es una vasculitis crónica, poco frecuente, de grandes vasos que afecta a la aorta y sus grandes ramas. El daño valvular no es bajo, aunque su incidencia difiere entre poblaciones, con un reporte entre el 20 a 45% con un radio mujer:hombre de 4.8 a 1.La inflamación arterial es la característica central de la enfermedad, asociada de forma variable con una respuesta sistémica de fase aguda. Se presenta el caso de una mujer de 25 años con antecedentes de atrofia renal e insuficiencia cardiaca que presentó convulsiones, se identifica discrepancia en presión arterial y pulsos periféricos de extremidades; corroborándose sospecha diagnóstica.

ABSTRACT Microbial gene expression measurements derived from infected organs are invaluable to understand pathogenesis. However, current methods are limited to “bulk” analyses that neglect microbial cell heterogeneity and the lesion's spatial architecture. Here, we report the use of hybridization chain reaction RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (HCR RNA-FISH) to visualize and quantify Candida albicans transcripts at single-cell resolution in tongues of infected mice. The method is compatible with fixed-frozen and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues. We document cell-to-cell variation and intriguing spatiotemporal expression patterns for C. albicans mRNAs that encode products implicated in oral candidiasis. The approach provides a spatial dimension to gene expression analyses of host-Candida interactions.IMPORTANCECandida albicans is a fungal pathobiont inhabiting multiple mucosal surfaces of the human body. Immunosuppression, antibiotic-induced microbial dysbiosis, or implanted medical devices can impair mucosal integrity enabling C. albicans to overgrow and disseminate, causing either mucosal diseases such as oropharyngeal candidiasis or life-threatening systemic infections. Profiling fungal genes that are expressed in the infected mucosa or in any other infected organ is paramount to understand pathogenesis. Ideally, these transcript profiling measurements should reveal the expression of any gene at the single-cell level. The resolution typically achieved with current approaches, however, limits most gene expression measurements to cell population averages. The approach described in this report provides a means to dissect fungal gene expression in infected tissues at single-cell resolution.

Summary: Progression of acute traumatic brain injury (TBI) into chronic neurodegeneration is a major health problem with no protective treatments. Here, we report that acutely elevated mitochondrial fission after TBI in mice triggers chronic neurodegeneration persisting 17 months later, equivalent to many human decades. We show that increased mitochondrial fission after mouse TBI is related to increased brain levels of mitochondrial fission 1 protein (Fis1) and that brain Fis1 is also elevated in human TBI. Pharmacologically preventing Fis1 from binding its mitochondrial partner, dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1), for 2 weeks after TBI normalizes the balance of mitochondrial fission/fusion and prevents chronically impaired mitochondrial bioenergetics, oxidative damage, microglial activation and lipid droplet formation, blood-brain barrier deterioration, neurodegeneration, and cognitive impairment. Delaying treatment until 8 months after TBI offers no protection. Thus, time-sensitive inhibition of acutely elevated mitochondrial fission may represent a strategy to protect human TBI patients from chronic neurodegeneration.

Background: Species hybridization represents a real concern in terms of parasite transmission, epidemiology and morbidity of schistosomiasis. It is greatly important to better understand the impact of species hybridization for the clinical management. Methods: A prospective observational study was carried out in sub-Saharan migrants who were diagnosed with confirmed genitourinary schistosomiasis. A tailored protocol was applied, including Schistosoma serology, a specific urine LAMP tests for schistosomiasis and an ultrasound examination before treatment with praziquantel. A scheduled follow-up was performed at 3, 6 and 12 months to monitor treatment response, comparing patients carriers of Schistosoma hybrids with carriers of only genetically pure forms. Results: A total of 31 male patients from West Africa were included in the study with a mean age of 26.5 years. Twelve (38.7 %) of the patients were carriers of Schistosoma hybrids. As compared with patients infected with S. haematobium alone, hybrid carriers had lower haemoglobin levels (13.8 g/dL [SD 1.8] vs 14.8 g/dL [SD 1.4], p = 0.04), a greater frequency of hematuria (100 % vs 52.6 %, p = 0.005), a higher ultrasound score (2.64, SD 2.20 vs 0.89, SD 0.99; p = 0.02). However, the presence of hybrids did not result in differences in clinical and analytical responses after treatment. Conclusions: The presence of Schistosoma hybrids seems to cause increased morbidity in infected individuals. However, it does not appear to result in differences in diagnostic tests or in clinical and analytical responses after treatment.

BackgroundMental health problems and suicide ideation are common in adolescents. Early detection of these issues could prevent the escalation of mental health–related symptoms in the long term. Moreover, characterizing different profiles of prevalent symptoms in conjunction with emotional regulation strategies could guide the design of specific interventions. The use of web-based screening (WBS) tools has been regarded as a suitable strategy to timely detect symptomatology while improving the appeal, cost, timeliness, and reach of detection in young populations. However, the evidence regarding the accuracy of these approaches is not fully conclusive. ObjectiveThe study aims (1) to examine the capability of a WBS to identify adolescents with psychiatric symptoms and suicidality and (2) to characterize the mental health profiles of a large sample of adolescents using WBS. MethodsA total of 1599 Latin American Spanish-speaking adolescents (mean age 15.56, SD 1.34 years), consisting of 47.3% (n=753) female, 98.5% Chilean (n=1570), and 1.5% Venezuelan (n=24) participants, responded to a mental health WBS. A randomized subsample of participants also responded to the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents (MINI-KID). McNemar χ2 and receiver-operating characteristic curves tested the detection accuracy of WBS contrasted with the MINI-KID. Latent profile analyses explored the symptomatic and emotional regulation profiles of participants. ResultsBoth measures showed an adequate level of agreement (area under the curve per symptom domain ranging from 0.70 to 0.89); however, WBS yielded a higher prevalence than MINI-KID for all psychiatric symptoms, except suicide ideation and depression. Latent profile analyses yielded 4 profiles—one of them presented elevated psychopathological symptoms, constituting 11% of the sample (n=175). Rumination (odds ratio [OR] 130.15, 95% CI 51.75-439.89; P

Introduction : “m-What Were We Thinking” (m-WWWT) is an m-health, intervention oriented to prevent symptoms of postpartum depression and anxiety in first-time mothers. Mothers receive psychoeducation and socioemotional support through written communication via text-messaging (i.e., WhatsApp) with the program counsellor. Although the use of m-health interventions targeting mental health has increased, the form/style of communication through text messages between participants and program counsellors has been understudied. Objective : The aim was to describe the formal structure of the communication (Basic Forms) and the communicational intentions (Communicative Intentions) used in the messages sent by the counsellor and to determine if these are related to the post-intervention outcomes. Methods : 438 text messages sent by the counsellor to 53 first-time mothers (M = 25.32 years, SD = 4.23) who participated in the m-WWWT intervention were analyzed. The Therapeutic Activity Coding System was used to capture the communication as a “Communicative Action”. Results : The study highlighted the counsellor's frequent use of the “assertion” communicative form (82%) and attuned communicative intentions (52%) and explored (39%) in her messages. The attractors of communication were “assert to attune” and “assert to explore”, indicating an empathetic and informative communication style. With respect to their relationship with the intervention outcome, only “assert to explore” messages were positively related to maternal self-efficacy increases. The number of messages was not associated with participants’ characteristics at baseline, except for educational level. Discussion : Our results show the relevance of combining the delivery of information with a communication style that allows the counsellor to connect with the specific needs and emotional tone of the participants.

ABSTRACT From February to December 2021, 960 serum samples from different climate regions in two Mexican states were analyzed for antibodies against EIAV using competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) and agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) tests. The overall seroprevalence of EIAV infection in equids determined by ELISA and AGID tests was 19.69% and 17.60%, respectively. The highest rate of seropositivity was observed in the state of Veracruz (23.67%, using AGID test), and the lowest rate was found in the state of Puebla (13.12%, using cELISA test). In total, 17.45% (85/487, using AGID test) and 15.40% (75/487, using cELISA test) of horses were positive for EIAV infection. Donkeys showed a prevalence of 19.87% (94/473) in cELISA and 21.99% (104/476) in AGID. The cELISA was compared with AGID as the gold standard test. The diagnostic sensitivity for horses and donkeys was 90.4% and 92.2%, and the specificity was 97.5% and 97.3%, respectively, with an almost perfect degree of agreement (kappa values of 0.871 and 0.888). Therefore, the overall seroprevalence rate of EIAV infection in equines in the sampled states of Puebla and Veracruz was 19.3%, with 91.4% sensitivity, 97.4% specificity, and an agreement of 96.25%, indicating almost perfect agreement (kappa = 0.880).

Background/Objective: Pituitary abscess is an uncommon life-threatening disease that could lead to panhypopituitarism. It is important to suspect its prevalence in regions with endemic infectious diseases. Case Report: A 55-year-old man, a farmer, with a background of consumption of unpasteurized dairy products, presented with headache, impaired consciousness, and fever that started in February 2023. Initial test results were consistent with neuroinfection. Brain MRI showed ventriculitis; the pituitary gland was heterogeneous with the presence of an 8 × 8 mm abscess. The pituitary hormone axis was evaluated, and it showed results compatible with the results of panhypopituitarism with central hypothyroidism, central hypocortisolism, central hypogonadism, and growth hormone deficiency. Hormone replacement treatment with hydrocortisone and levothyroxine was started. The Rose Bengal test for Brucella spp. and 2-mercaptoethanol Brucella agglutination test showed positive results. After neurobrucellosis (NB) was diagnosed, antibiotic treatment was commenced. The patient was discharged 6 weeks later and treatment with prednisone, levothyroxine, recombinant somatropin, testosterone, as well as doxycycline, and rifampin was continued for another 4 months. Discussion: NB and pituitary abscess are rare manifestations of brucellosis and are challenging to diagnose due to their nonspecific clinical presentation and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) findings. NB diagnosis relies on neurologic symptoms and serological evidence of Brucella infection. Magnetic resonance imaging is the preferred diagnostic tool for pituitary abscesses. Medical management may be sufficient, while transsphenoidal drainage is not always necessary. Hormonal deficits typically remain permanent. Conclusion: Pituitary abscess could be suspected in patients presenting with symptoms of neuroinfection, panhypopituitarism, and heterogenous image in the magnetic resonance imaging differential diagnosis. Opportune management can lead to reduced mortality and improved recovery of the pituitary hormone function.

Using microorganisms as biocontrol agents of phytopathogens has been an alternative to synthetic fungicides. Actinomycetes isolated from soil and plants have reduced diseases caused by phytopathogens; however, microorganisms from marine environments may be an option as biocontrol agents. The tomato crop possesses an important economic impact worldwide, being Mexico the main exporter. Several species of Fusarium cause damage to tomato crops and are controlled with synthetic fungicides. The objective of this work was to determine the effect of marine actinomycetes as biocontrol on Fusarium solani in tomato plants. Four strains of marine actinomycetes (A20, A19, A18, and A15) and one terrestrial actinomycete (ED48) were used. The actinomycetes strains used, produced siderophores. The greatest inhibition of mycelial growth of F. solani due to iron competition was obtained by strain A19 with 74.28%. Only two actinomycetes showed antifungal activity by VOCs (A19 and A18), strain A19 showed the highest antagonistic activity with PICR of 76.75%. Actinomycetes treatments showed significant differences with synthetic fungicide application in growth, disease severity (SE), and disease incidence (DI) variables. The application of marine actinomycete (A19) on plants infested with F. solani increased the levels of enzyme activity (SOD, POD, CAT, and PAL) versus plants in that only F. solani and distilled water (control) were applied. Actinomycetes of marine origin are an option as biocontrol agents for F. solani.

The environmental and economic impact of an oil spill can be significant. Biotechnologies applied during a marine oil spill involve bioaugmentation with immobilised or encapsulated indigenous hydrocarbonoclastic species selected under laboratory conditions to improve degradation rates. The environmental factors that act as stressors and impact the effectiveness of hydrocarbon removal are one of the challenges associated with these applications. Understanding how native microbes react to environmental stresses is necessary for effective bioaugmentation. Herein, Micrococcus luteus and M. yunnanensis isolated from a marine oil spill mooring system showed hydrocarbonoclastic activity on Maya crude oil in a short time by means of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) at 144 h: M. luteus up to 98.79 % and M. yunnanensis 97.77 % removal. The assessment of Micrococcus biofilms at different temperature (30 °C and 50 °C), pH (5, 6, 7, 8, 9), salinity (30, 50, 60, 70, 80 g/L), and crude oil concentration (1, 5, 15, 25, 35 %) showed different response to the stressors depending on the strain. According to response surface analysis, the main effect was temperature > salinity > hydrocarbon concentration. The hydrocarbonoclastic biofilm architecture was characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Subtle but significant differences were observed: pili in M. luteus by SEM and the topographical differences measured by AFM Power Spectral Density (PSD) analysis, roughness was higher in M. luteus than in M. yunnanensis. In all three domains of life, the Universal Stress Protein (Usp) is crucial for stress adaptation. Herein, the uspA gene expression was analysed in Micrococcus biofilm under environmental stressors. The uspA expression increased up to 2.5-fold in M. luteus biofilms at 30 °C, and 1.3-fold at 50 °C. The highest uspA expression was recorded in M. yunnanensis biofilms at 50 °C with 2.5 and 3-fold with salinities of 50, 60, and 80 g/L at hydrocarbon concentrations of 15, 25, and 35 %. M. yunnanensis biofilms showed greater resilience than M. luteus biofilms when exposed to harsh environmental stressors. M. yunnanensis biofilms were thicker than M. luteus biofilms. Both biofilm responses to environmental stressors through uspA gene expression were consistent with the behaviours observed in the response surface analyses. The uspA gene is a suitable biomarker for assessing environmental stressors of potential microorganisms for bioremediation of marine oil spills and for biosensing the ecophysiological status of native microbiota in a marine petroleum environment.

The discovery of chirped pulse amplification has led to great improvements in laser technology, enabling energetic laser beams to be compressed to pulse durations of tens of femtoseconds and focused to a few micrometers. Protons with energies of tens of MeV can be accelerated using, for instance, target normal sheath acceleration and focused on secondary targets. Under such conditions, nuclear reactions can occur, with the production of radioisotopes suitable for medical application. The use of high-repetition lasers to produce such isotopes is competitive with conventional methods mostly based on accelerators. In this paper, we study the production of 67Cu, 63Zn, 18F, and 11C, which are currently used in positron emission tomography and other applications. At the same time, we study the reactions 10B(p,α)7Be and 70Zn(p,4n)67Ga to put further constraints on the proton distributions at different angles, as well as the reaction 11B(p,α)8Be relevant for energy production. The experiment was performed at the 1 PW laser facility at Vega III in Salamanca, Spain. Angular distributions of radioisotopes in the forward (with respect to the laser direction) and backward directions were measured using a high purity germanium detector. Our results are in reasonable agreement with numerical estimates obtained following the approach of Kimura and Bonasera [Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 637, 164–170 (2011)].

La Mesías (Movistar+, 2023) es una serie española de televisión que desarrolla la historia de una familia disfuncional de la que emerge un grupo musical, Stella Maris. En la serie, sus creadores reinterpretan fenómenos virales de origen online, muy especialmente el caso del grupo español Flos Mariae. El objetivo principal de este trabajo es explorar el universo transmedia de la serie, para lo cual se deben localizar, comparar y analizar las acciones del grupo musical ficticio en redes sociales. Se pretende igualmente identificar de qué forma se establece una relación entre el relato de ficción y el relato virtualizado en las redes. Se aplica una metodología exploratoria y descriptiva basada en el estudio de caso. Los resultados confirman que las acciones transmedia alrededor de Stella Maris y de La Mesías expanden la narrativa de la serie, al punto de llevarla a una experiencia performativa. Además, estas acciones proponen un juego sobre las fronteras entre realidad mediatizada y ficción a partir de la narrativa transmedia desarrollada. Los resultados invitan a discutir sobre la entidad “real” de acciones artísticas en el contexto de la producción cultural mediatizada.

Cardiac arrhythmias cause depolarization waves to conduct unevenly on the myocardial surface, potentially delaying local components with respect to a previous beat when stimulated at faster frequencies. Despite the diagnostic value of localizing the distinct local electrocardiogram (EGM) components for identifying regions with decrement-evoked potentials (DEEPs), current software solutions do not perform automatic signal quantification. Electrophysiologists must manually measure distances on the EGM signals to assess the existence of DEEPs during pacing or extra-stimuli protocols. In this work, we present a deep learning (DL)-based algorithm to identify decrement in atrial components (measured in the coronary sinus) with respect to their ventricular counterparts from EGM signals, for disambiguating between accessory pathways (APs) and atrioventricular re-entrant tachycardias (AVRTs). Several U-Net and W-Net neural networks with different configurations were trained on a private dataset of signals from the coronary sinus (312 EGM recordings from 77 patients who underwent AP or AVRT ablation). A second, separate dataset was annotated for clinical validation, with clinical labels associated to EGM fragments in which decremental conduction was elucidated. To alleviate data scarcity, a synthetic data augmentation method was developed for generating EGM recordings. Moreover, two novel loss functions were developed to minimize false negatives and delineation errors. Finally, the addition of self-attention mechanisms and their effect on model performance was explored. The best performing model was a W-Net model with 6 levels, optimized solely with the Dice loss. The model obtained precisions of 91.28%, 77.78% and of 100.0%, and recalls of 94.86%, 95.25% and 100.0% for localizing local field, far field activations, and extra-stimuli, respectively. The clinical validation model demonstrated good overall agreement with respect to the evaluation of decremental properties. When compared to the criteria of electrophysiologists, the automatic exclusion step reached a sensitivity of 87.06% and a specificity of 97.03%. Out of the non-excluded signals, a sensitivity of 96.77% and a specificity of 95.24% was obtained for classifying them into decremental and non-decremental potentials. Current results show great promise while being, to the best of our knowledge, the first tool in the literature allowing the delineation of all local components present in an EGM recording. This is of capital importance at advancing processing for cardiac electrophysiological procedures and reducing intervention times, as many diagnosis procedures are performed by comparing segments or late potentials in subsequent cardiac cycles.

We develop a framework to forecast 24 h averaged particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations 4 d in advance in ground-based stations over the metropolitan area of the Aburrá Valley, Colombia. The input variables are gathered from a highly diverse set of sources, including in situ real-time PM2.5 observations, meteorological forecasts from the Global Forecasting System (GFS), aerosol optical depth (AOD) forecasts from the European Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) active fire products. We compare the performance of two tree-based machine learning (ML) methods, random forests (RFs) and gradient boosting (GB), with linear regression as a baseline for error metrics. One of the disadvantages of tree-based models is their inability to make skillful predictions out of the domain in which the models were trained. To address that problem, we implement piecewise linear regression learners within the models. Additionally, to enhance the performance of the models, we use a customized loss function that considers the probability distribution of the target values. Tree-based models highly outperform the linear regression, with GB showing the best results in most of the 19 stations used in this study. We also test two approaches for the multi-step output problem, a direct multi-output (MO) scheme and a recursive (RC) scheme, with the GB–MO approach showing the best results. According to the performance analysis, the predictability is less for values away from the mean and decreases between 06:00 LT (local time) and the early afternoon, when the expansion of the boundary layer occurs. To contribute to understanding the sources of predictability and uncertainty of air quality in the city, we perform a feature importance analysis revealing that the relevance of the different independent variables is a function of the lead time. Particularly, apart from the past concentrations, the variables that most affect the predictability are the forecasted aerosol optical depth (AOD), the integrated fire radiative power over a forecasted back trajectory (BT-IFRP), and the predicted planetary boundary layer height (PBLH). In the testing period, the models showed the ability to forecast poor-air-quality events in the valley with more than 1 d of anticipation. This study serves as a framework for developing and evaluating the ML-based air quality forecasting models over the Andean region.

Abstract Mangroves and saltmarshes are biogeochemical hotspots storing carbon in sediments and in the ocean following lateral carbon export (outwelling). Coastal seawater pH is modified by both uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide and natural biogeochemical processes, e.g., wetland inputs. Here, we investigate how mangroves and saltmarshes influence coastal carbonate chemistry and quantify the contribution of alkalinity and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) outwelling to blue carbon budgets. Observations from 45 mangroves and 16 saltmarshes worldwide revealed that >70% of intertidal wetlands export more DIC than alkalinity, potentially decreasing the pH of coastal waters. Porewater-derived DIC outwelling (81 ± 47 mmol m−2 d−1 in mangroves and 57 ± 104 mmol m−2 d−1 in saltmarshes) was the major term in blue carbon budgets. However, substantial amounts of fixed carbon remain unaccounted for. Concurrently, alkalinity outwelling was similar or higher than sediment carbon burial and is therefore a significant but often overlooked carbon sequestration mechanism.

Abstract Leptoquarks ( $$\textrm{LQ}$$ LQ s) are hypothetical particles that appear in various extensions of the Standard Model (SM), that can explain observed differences between SM theory predictions and experimental results. The production of these particles has been widely studied at various experiments, most recently at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), and stringent bounds have been placed on their masses and couplings, assuming the simplest beyond-SM (BSM) hypotheses. However, the limits are significantly weaker for $$\textrm{LQ}$$ LQ models with family non-universal couplings containing enhanced couplings to third-generation fermions. We present a new study on the production of a $$\textrm{LQ}$$ LQ at the LHC, with preferential couplings to third-generation fermions, considering proton-proton collisions at $$\sqrt{s} = 13 \, \textrm{TeV}$$ s = 13 TeV and $$\sqrt{s} = 13.6 \, \textrm{TeV}$$ s = 13.6 TeV . Such a hypothesis is well motivated theoretically and it can explain the recent anomalies in the precision measurements of $$\textrm{B}$$ B -meson decay rates, specifically the $$R_{D^{(*)}}$$ R D ( ∗ ) ratios. Under a simplified model where the $$\textrm{LQ}$$ LQ masses and couplings are free parameters, we focus on cases where the $$\textrm{LQ}$$ LQ decays to a $$\tau $$ τ lepton and a $$\textrm{b}$$ b quark, and study how the results are affected by different assumptions about chiral currents and interference effects with other BSM processes with the same final states, such as diagrams with a heavy vector boson, $$\textrm{Z}^{\prime }$$ Z ′ . The analysis is performed using machine learning techniques, resulting in an increased discovery reach at the LHC, allowing us to probe new physics phase space which addresses the $$\textrm{B}$$ B -meson anomalies, for $$\textrm{LQ}$$ LQ masses up to $$5.00\, \textrm{TeV}$$ 5.00 TeV , for the high luminosity LHC scenario.

Some species of the Orchidaceae family are used in Mexican traditional medicine. However, there are no current and critical compilations of the medicinal uses and pharmacological effects of the members of the Orchidaceae family. This review provides a current, critical, and comprehensive analysis of the traditional medicinal uses, pharmacological reports, and active compounds isolated from Mexican orchids. A total of 62 Mexican orchids with medicinal potential have been recorded, of which 14 have scientific evidence. The remaining 48 plant species have ethnomedicinal information but have not been validated with scientific studies. These orchids are distributed in 14 states of the Mexican Republic, mainly in the southern region of Mexico. The most common pharmacological activities reported are anti-inflammatory, vasorelaxant, antinociceptive, antioxidant, spasmolytic, antihypertensive, and hallucinogenic activities. It is necessary to increase the number of pharmacological, phytochemical, and toxicological studies with medicinal orchids from Mexico because there are scientific studies on only 22.5% of these species. In further studies, it will be possible to evaluate the pharmacological effects of Mexican orchids in clinical trials. In addition, the mechanisms of action by which plant extracts and their active compounds exert medicinal effects remain to be studied. Plant extracts from orchids and their active compounds show promising antinociceptive and spasmolytic effects, respectively.

Two models and a heuristic algorithm to address the wind farm layout optimization problem are presented. The models are linear integer programming formulations where candidate locations of wind turbines are described by binary variables. One formulation considers an approximation of the power curve by means of a stepwise constant function. The other model is based on a power-curve-free model where minimization of a measure closely related to total wind speed deficit is optimized. A special-purpose neighborhood search heuristic wraps these formulations with increasing tractability and effectiveness compared to the full model that is not contained in the heuristic. The heuristic iteratively searches for neighborhoods around the incumbent using a branch-and-cut algorithm. The number of candidate locations and neighborhood sizes are adjusted adaptively. Numerical results on a set of publicly available benchmark problems indicate that a proxy for total wind speed deficit as an objective is a functional approach, since high-quality solutions of the metric of annual energy production are obtained when using the latter function as an substitute objective. Furthermore, the proposed heuristic is able to provide good results compared to a large set of distinctive approaches that consider the turbine positions as continuous variables.

A primary sink of air pollutants and their precursors is dry deposition. Dry deposition estimates differ across chemical transport models, yet an understanding of the model spread is incomplete. Here, we introduce Activity 2 of the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative Phase 4 (AQMEII4). We examine 18 dry deposition schemes from regional and global chemical transport models as well as standalone models used for impact assessments or process understanding. We configure the schemes as single-point models at eight Northern Hemisphere locations with observed ozone fluxes. Single-point models are driven by a common set of site-specific meteorological and environmental conditions. Five of eight sites have at least 3 years and up to 12 years of ozone fluxes. The interquartile range across models in multiyear mean ozone deposition velocities ranges from a factor of 1.2 to 1.9 annually across sites and tends to be highest during winter compared with summer. No model is within 50 % of observed multiyear averages across all sites and seasons, but some models perform well for some sites and seasons. For the first time, we demonstrate how contributions from depositional pathways vary across models. Models can disagree with respect to relative contributions from the pathways, even when they predict similar deposition velocities, or agree with respect to the relative contributions but predict different deposition velocities. Both stomatal and nonstomatal uptake contribute to the large model spread across sites. Our findings are the beginning of results from AQMEII4 Activity 2, which brings scientists who model air quality and dry deposition together with scientists who measure ozone fluxes to evaluate and improve dry deposition schemes in the chemical transport models used for research, planning, and regulatory purposes.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) probiotics were evaluated for their impact on the microbiota and development of pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) larvae during their initial feeding stage (first 21 days). Pikeperch larvae were exposed to LAB probiotics in two ways: (1) via the live-feed only (Treatment 1, live-feed) or (2) via the live-feed and the larval culture water (Treatment 2, probiotic) in comparison to a control group without LAB supplementation. Total length (TL), myomere height (MH), and survival rate were significantly increased in the probiotic compared the Control group. The administration of probiotics significantly positively influenced the microbiome’s diversity. Specifically, the relative abundance of Cytophagales decreased and that of several other taxa increased in both probiotic treatments although differences between treatments became statistically insignificant by day 21. Furthermore, the different treatments had distinct and significant impacts on digestive enzyme development such as protease and lipase, with the most prominent differences occurring at seven days post-hatching (dph). Taken together, these results indicate that the use of LAB in both the live-feed and rearing water has a positive impact on the larvae microbiota and digestive enzyme development in turn positively impacting their development and viability under intensive rearing conditions.

The treatment of outflow tract ventricular arrhythmias (OTVA) through radiofrequency ablation requires the precise identification of the site of origin (SOO). Pinpointing the SOO enhances the likelihood of a successful procedure, reducing intervention times and recurrence rates. Current clinical methods to identify the SOO are based on qualitative analysis of pre-operative electrocardiograms (ECG), heavily relying on physician’s expertise. Although computational models and machine learning (ML) approaches have been proposed to assist OTVA procedures, they either consume substantial time, lack interpretability or do not use clinical information. Here, we propose an alternative strategy for automatically predicting the ventricular origin of OTVA patients using ML. Our objective was to classify ventricular (left/right) origin in the outflow tracts (LVOT and RVOT, respectively), integrating ECG and clinical data from each patient. Extending beyond differentiating ventricle origin, we explored specific SOO characterization. Utilizing four databases, we also trained supervised learning models on the QRS complexes of the ECGs, clinical data, and their combinations. The best model achieved an accuracy of 89%, highlighting the significance of precordial leads V1-V4, especially in the R/S transition and initiation of the QRS complex in V2. Unsupervised analysis revealed that some origins tended to group closer than others, e.g., right coronary cusp (RCC) with a less sparse group than the aortic cusp origins, suggesting identifiable patterns for specific SOOs.

El seguimiento telemétrico permite detectar la migración transahariana central y zonas de invernada desconocidas en África de un ejemplar joven de buitre leonado procedente de España La delimitación de las áreas africanas de invernada del buitre leonado, Gyps fulvus, se ha establecido a partir de la recuperación de anillas, normalmente de individuos muertos y, en menor medida, de la lectura de anillas y marcas alares en zonas con una elevada población humana. Tras el seguimiento por GPS de varios buitres leonados juveniles del centro de España, pudimos observar que una hembra había utilizado una ruta migratoria transahariana central desconocida y que había pasado cinco meses en sabanas inundables y en la zona de transición con la ecorregión de la selva guineana, desplazándose entre el noreste de Costa de Marfil, el norte de Ghana y el sur de Burkina Faso. Esta zona representa una extensión de varios cientos de kilómetros hacia el sur y el sureste del área de distribución africana conocida de los buitres leonados de Europa occidental. En un muestreo de campo realizado en Ghana en las mismas fechas no se registró ningún individuo de esta especie, pero sí de otras cuatro especies de buitres. Se requieren más estudios de seguimiento telemétrico para evaluar en profundidad los patrones migratorios, la conectividad entre los distintos núcleos y sus implicaciones en la conservación del buitre leonado y otras especies de buitres en África y Europa.

La equinococosis quística es una infección zoonótica producida por la larva de Echinococcus granulosus que es capaz de invadir diversos órganos desde su ubicación en el intestino humano. En los casos de coinfección con el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana (VIH), existe una diversidad de complicaciones condicionadas por la enfermedad inmunosupresora con pronóstico reservado. El objetivo de este reporte es describir un caso de equinococosis multiquística peritoneal en una paciente en tratamiento antiviral para VIH durante casi diez años, que recibió la combinación de albendazol más cirugía, con evolución favorable. Este reporte sería el primero en el Perú en una persona con inmunosupresión por VIH y equinococosis quística.

This study describes the methodology and results obtained for the modelling of the cloister of “Santo Domingo” located in the city of Jaén (Spain). The main objective of the application of geomatics techniques to this case was the graphic documentation of the site, the development of HBIM and the diffusion of the results. For this purpose, we developed a methodology based on the fusion of data obtained using several sensors, acquisition techniques and scales. In this sense, we used TLS, RPAS aerial photogrammetry and terrestrial photogrammetry using a spherical camera. As results, we obtained a 3D model with real texture and from this we developed several applications focused on the documentation and diffusion of the results, such as the BIM (HBIM), an interactive virtual tour and a 360 virtual tour available on a website. The proposed methodology has demonstrated its feasibility for performing this type of study due to the results and accuracy achieved with this application. We highlight the potential of current geomatic techniques for documenting this type of cultural heritage regardless of its structure and dimensions, selecting in each case the most appropriate methodology in relation to the scale of the products demanded. In addition, we also emphasize the need to use several techniques and the fusion of their partial products in order to obtain a complete product of the whole scene, taking advantage of the specificities of each one.

This study describes the methodology developed and the results obtained about the geometric behaviour of walls and pillars of one of the most prominent rock-cut funerary structures of the Middle Kingdom period located in the Necropolis of Qubbet el-Hawa. More specifically, we selected the hypostyle hall of the QH31 hypogeum, one of the greatest in the Necropolis, to apply this methodology. The main objective is related to obtaining geometrical aspects of walls and pillars in order to understand the constructive procedure carried out almost four millennia ago. The methodology was based on photogrammetric and TLS surveys that allowed us to obtain a complete combined 3D model of the structure, geometrically contrasted and with real texture. From this product we obtained a high density point cloud, where some planes were fitted considering the walls and pillars that defined the structure. These planes were characterized by their normal vectors, which were used to analyse several geometric aspects such as inclinations, parallelism and perpendicularity. As results, we have obtained important information about the level of accuracy of the constructive procedure carried out by the ancient Egyptians. In this sense, the values obtained allow us to suggest and confirm several hypotheses about the construction of this hypogeum. The proposed methodology has demonstrated its feasibility for determining these geometric aspects of funerary structures through the analysis of the fitted planes obtained from the 3D model.

Introduction: Shellac is a known allergen present mainly in cosmetics used on the eyelids and lips, although new sources of exposure have recently been described. Our objective was to assess the use of shellac as a contact allergen in Spain and the clinical profile of patients allergic to shellac. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included patients patch tested for shellac between 2018 and 2021 from the Spanish Registry of Contact Dermatitis and Cutaneous Allergy (REIDAC). Results: A total of 980 patients were patch tested for shellac (20% in ethanol), and 37 (3.77%, 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.58–3.97%) showed positive results. Most of these patients were tested for shellac due to a suspicion of cosmetic contact dermatitis. Seven patients with present relevance were found, five with relation to cosmetics, and the other two with an occupational background of food handling. The reaction index for shellac was 0.51 and the positivity ratio was 67.56% (95% CI, 52.48–82.65%). Conclusions: Shellac appears to be a prevalent allergen in patients with suspected contact dermatitis related with cosmetics or foodstuff. However, further studies are needed to validate its use in other patients. Resumen: Introducción: El shellac es un alérgeno conocido por su presencia en cosméticos para labios y párpados, aunque en los últimos años se han descrito nuevas fuentes de exposición. El objetivo de nuestro trabajo fue evaluar cómo se está usando el shellac, como alérgeno de contacto en España, y las características clínicas de los pacientes alérgicos al shellac. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio retrospectivo transversal con los pacientes incluidos en el Registro Español de Dermatitis de Contacto y Alergia Cutánea en los que se realizaron pruebas epicutáneas con shellac desde 2018 a 2021. Resultados: El shellac (20% en etanol) fue usado en 980 pacientes, con resultados positivos en 37 de ellos (3,77%; intervalo de confianza [IC] del 95%: 2,58-3,97%). La mayoría de estos pacientes realizaron las pruebas epicutáneas por una sospecha de dermatitis de contacto por cosméticos. Se encontraron 7 pacientes con una relevancia presente, 5 de ellos en relación con el uso de cosméticos, y los otros 2 fueron dermatitis de contacto ocupacionales en el contexto de la manipulación de alimentos. El índice de reacción para el shellac fue del 0,51% y la ratio de positividad del 67,56% (IC 95%: 52,48-82,65%). Conclusiones: El shellac parece un alérgeno frecuente en los pacientes con sospecha de dermatitis de contacto por cosméticos o alimentos. Sin embargo, se necesitan más estudios para validar su uso en otros pacientes.

Antecedentes: El manejo agrícola modifica el microclima en el área de cultivo, afectando la fisiología y productividad de las plantas. Preguntas: ¿Cómo varía el microclima, fisiología y productividad del maíz en un monocultivo (M) y una milpa (policultivo, MFC) en suelos profundo y superficial de Yucatán? Especie de estudio: Zea mays L. Sitio de estudio: Yucatán, México; 2022 Métodos: Se midió temperatura del aire y suelo, déficit de presión de vapor, formación de rocío y contenido volumétrico de agua en suelo (CVA); asimilación de CO2 (A), transpiración (E), conductancia estomática (gs), eficiencia en el uso del agua, contenido de clorofila (CC), eficiencia cuántica, tasa de transporte de electrones y disipación no fotoquímica en plantas de maíz a 40 y 75 días después de la siembra, en milpas y monocultivos en Peto (suelo superficial, alta pedregosidad) y Mama (suelo más profundo, baja pedregosidad), Yucatán. Resultados: La temperatura del suelo fue hasta 5 °C mayor en Peto y 2 °C en Mama en M respecto a MFC, que registró hasta 22 % mayor CVA que M. El maíz en Mama presentó mayor A y E que en Peto; las plantas en MFC en Peto tuvieron mayor A, E y gs que las de M; en Mama fue lo contrario. El CRA y CC fue mayor en plantas de MFC en Peto. Conclusiones: La modificación microclimática y su efecto sobre el maíz dependió del suelo: MFC fue más productiva en suelos superficiales, mientras M en suelos profundos. El CVA fue mayor en MFC.