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Soils store more carbon than other terrestrial ecosystems1,2. How soil organic carbon (SOC) forms and persists remains uncertain1,3, which makes it challenging to understand how it will respond to climatic change3,4. It has been suggested that soil microorganisms play an important role in SOC formation, preservation and loss5-7. Although microorganisms affect the accumulation and loss of soil organic matter through many pathways4,6,8-11, microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) is an integrative metric that can capture the balance of these processes12,13. Although CUE has the potential to act as a predictor of variation in SOC storage, the role of CUE in SOC persistence remains unresolved7,14,15. Here we examine the relationship between CUE and the preservation of SOC, and interactions with climate, vegetation and edaphic properties, using a combination of global-scale datasets, a microbial-process explicit model, data assimilation, deep learning and meta-analysis. We find that CUE is at least four times as important as other evaluated factors, such as carbon input, decomposition or vertical transport, in determining SOC storage and its spatial variation across the globe. In addition, CUE shows a positive correlation with SOC content. Our findings point to microbial CUE as a major determinant of global SOC storage. Understanding the microbial processes underlying CUE and their environmental dependence may help the prediction of SOC feedback to a changing climate.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most commonly diagnosed type of cancer worldwide and is responsible for numerous deaths. 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is an effective chemotherapy drug commonly used in the treatment of CRC, either as monotherapy or in combination with other drugs. However, half of CRC cases are resistant to 5-FU-based therapies. To contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms underlying CRC resistance or recurrence after 5-FU-based therapies, we performed a comprehensive study integrating in silico, in vitro, and in vivo approaches. We identified differentially expressed genes and enrichment of pathways associated with recurrence after 5-FU-based therapies. Using these bioinformatics data as a starting point, we selected a group of drugs that restored 5-FU sensitivity to 5-FU resistant cells. Interestingly, treatment with the novel Rac1 inhibitor, 1A-116, reversed morphological changes associated with 5-FU resistance.. Moreover, our in vivo studies have shown that 1A-116 affected tumor growth and the development of metastasis. All our data allowed us to postulate that targeting Rac1 represents a promising avenue for the development of new treatments for patients with CRC resistant to 5-FU-based therapies.

Small wind turbines (SWTs) face tremendous challenges in being developed into a more reliable and widespread energy solution, with a number of efficiency, reliability, and cost issues that are yet to be resolved. As part of the development stages of an SWT, testing the resulting efficiency and determining appropriate working ranges are of high importance. In this paper, a methodology is presented for testing SWTs to obtain characteristic performance curves such as Cp (power coefficient) vs. TSR (tip–speed ratio), and torque vs. ω, in a simpler and faster yet accurate manner as an alternative energy solution when a wind tunnel is not available. The performance curves are obtained with the SWT mounted on a platform moving along a runway, requiring only a few minutes of data acquisition. Furthermore, it is only required to measure a single variable, i.e., the generator output voltage. A suitable physics-based mathematical model for the system allows for deriving the desired performance curves from this set of minimal data. The methodology was demonstrated by testing a prototype SWT developed by the authors. The tested prototype had a permanent magnet synchronous generator, but the methodology can be applied to any type of generator with a suitable mathematical model. Given its level of simplicity, accuracy, low cost, and ease of implementation, the proposed testing method has advantages that are helpful in the development process of SWTs, especially if access to a proper wind tunnel is prevented for any reason. To validate the methodology, Cp vs. TSR curves were obtained for an SWT prototype tested under different test conditions, arriving always at the same curve as would be expected. In this case, the test prototype reached a maximum power coefficient (Cp) of 0.35 for wind velocities from 20 to 50 km/h for a TSR of 5.5.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most commonly diagnosed type of cancer worldwide and is responsible for numerous deaths. 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is an effective chemotherapy drug commonly used in the treatment of CRC, either as monotherapy or in combination with other drugs. However, half of CRC cases are resistant to 5-FU-based therapies. To contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms underlying CRC resistance or recurrence after 5-FU-based therapies, we performed a comprehensive study integrating in silico, in vitro, and in vivo approaches. We identified differentially expressed genes and enrichment of pathways associated with recurrence after 5-FU-based therapies. Using these bioinformatics data as a starting point, we selected a group of drugs that restored 5-FU sensitivity to 5-FU resistant cells. Interestingly, treatment with the novel Rac1 inhibitor, 1A-116, reversed morphological changes associated with 5-FU resistance.. Moreover, our in vivo studies have shown that 1A-116 affected tumor growth and the development of metastasis. All our data allowed us to postulate that targeting Rac1 represents a promising avenue for the development of new treatments for patients with CRC resistant to 5-FU-based therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synucleins are a family of small, soluble proteins mainly expressed in neural tissue and in certain tumors. Since their discovery, tens of thousands of scientific reports have been published about this family of proteins as they are associated with severe human diseases. Although the physiological function of these proteins is still elusive, their relationship with neurodegeneration and cancer has been clearly described over the years. In this review, we summarize data connecting synucleins and cancer, going from the structural description of these molecules to their involvement in tumor-related processes, and discuss the putative use of these proteins as cancer molecular biomarkers.

Robotic Hand Grasping is a challenging task that is studied by different researchers, with contributions made to topics such as grasping quality measuring, synthesis, and mathematical models. However, these works usually consider grasping of only one object at time, which is not applicable when the hand must carry multiple objects. Multiple objects grasping problem can be approached as a packing problem, which consists in filling a container with objects of a determined geometry, using the space available in the most efficient way. The aim of this work is to obtain a design methodology for a two-finger gripper that optimizes the grasping capacity of slender cylindrical multiple objects, applying packing problem concepts. This case is of practical importance in grapple claws used in forest harvesting for picking logs. A mathematical model is presented that allows to obtain an optimized geometric configuration of the grapple claw for maximum grasping capacity and packing density for given numbers and sizes of logs. This model is analytically solved for the maximum radius of a set of logs that can be grasped. Alternatively, for a number of logs with a given diameter, the geometric dimensions of an optimized grapple claw can be obtained. The solutions are evaluated using packing density and Active Force Closure (AFC) as quality metrics, to show the benefits of adding them as design criteria in the design multiple objects grapple claws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizen insecurity is one of the most important problems in our society. We have reviewed the investigations that predict crimes with different techniques. Due to this, in this research we propose an architecture de neural network capable of predicting the possible crimes that a person could commit, after answering a form about their family and social conditions. In the research, three architectures have been tested to look for the improved architecture of the neural network that predicts the crimes. We conducted the experiment using data from the 2016 Peruvian National Penitentiary Census, which consists of 14,000 records. We conclude that the neural network architecture with 24 input neurons, 21 neurons in the first hidden layer, 21 neurons in the second hidden layer and 19 neurons in the output layer is the most recommended for predicting crimes with the mean square error obtained was 0.278100. We have also implemented a web application as a tool for the institutions that administer and punish crimes.

The cellular level of TDP-43 (also known as TARDBP) is tightly regulated; increases or decreases in TDP-43 have deleterious effects in cells. The predominant mechanism responsible for the regulation of the level of TDP-43 is an autoregulatory negative feedback loop. In this study, we identified an in vivo cause-effect relationship between Tardbp gene promoter methylation and specific histone modification and the TDP-43 level in tissues of mice at two different ages. Furthermore, epigenetic control was observed in mouse and human cultured cell lines. In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the formation of TDP-43-containing brain inclusions removes functional protein from the system. This phenomenon is continuous but compensated by newly synthesized protein. The balance between sequestration and new synthesis might become critical with ageing, if accompanied by an epigenetic modification-regulated decrease in newly synthesized TDP-43. Sequestration by aggregates would then decrease the amount of functional TDP-43 to a level lower than those needed by the cell and thereby trigger the onset of symptoms.

El estudio de la función pulmonar (FP) en niños abarca un gran número de métodos y aspectos. La edad pediátrica en sí constituye un grupo muy heterogéneo de individuos, entre los que se encuentran los de edades más tempranas que son no colaborativos y que representan un desafío en el desarrollo de nuevos métodos que no requieran colaboración ni coordinación. En esta revisión se describirá un enfoque integral de los estudios de FP más utilizados en niños. Se mencionan sus bases fisiopatológicas; los motivos de un pedido de estudio de FP teniendo en cuenta el proceso fisiopatológico subyacente que se sospecha; los posibles hallazgos clínicos y su interpretación y las ventajas y limitaciones de varios de los test.

Plant-pollinator networks have been widely used to understand the ecology of mutualistic interactions between plants and animals. While a number of general patterns have been identified, the mechanisms underlying the structure of plant-pollinator networks are poorly understood. Here we present an agent based model (ABM) that simulates the movement of bees over heterogeneous landscapes and captures pollination events, enabling the influence of landscape pattern on pollination networks to be explored. Using the model, we conducted a series of experiments using virtual landscapes representing a gradient of forest loss and fragmentation. The ABM was able to produce expected trends in network structure, from simulations of interactions between individual plants and pollinators. For example, results indicated an increase in the index of complementary specialization (H2') and a decline in network connectance with increasing forest cover. Furthermore, network nestedness was not associated with the degree of forest cover, but was positively related to forest patch size, further supporting results obtained in the field. This illustrates the potential value of ABMs for exploring the structure and dynamics of plant-pollinator networks, and for understanding the mechanisms that underlie them. We attribute the results obtained primarily to a shift from specialist to generalist pollinators with increasing forest loss, a trend that has been observed in some field situations.