Lipasas de especies Candida: Una revisión sobre aspectos bioquímicos, moleculares y patogénicos Castillo, Graciela del Valle; Azcurra, Ana Isabel; Sotomayor, Claudia Elena En el último medio siglo se produjo un aumento significativo en la incidencia de infecciones fúngicas siendo probable que se conviertan en una prioridad de salud global. El sofisticado grado de interacción hospedador-Candida es producto de diferentes estrategias de virulencia que utiliza el hongo para invadir los tejidos y de los diversos mecanismos de defensa que este último desarrolla para controlarlo. Existe bibliografía que indica que este hongo comensal oportunista posee componentes que pueden ser considerados factores de virulencia asociados a la etapa del proceso infeccioso. Dentro de los factores de virulencia de este hongo pueden mencionarse la adherencia a las superficies celulares, la formación de biofilms y la producción de enzimas hidrolíticas. Las hidrolasas secretadas por C. albicans más estudiadas son las aspartil proteinasas, las fosfolipasas y las esterasas, mientras que las lipasas han sido las menos exploradas. Estas enzimas tendrían como función facilitar la penetración activa en las células, participar en la digestión y síntesis de ésteres de lípidos para su nutrición y contribuir a la invasión del tejido al hidrolizar los componentes lipídicos de las membranas celulares del hospedador. También hay evidencia bibliográfica que indica que estas enzimas son capaces de dañar células y moléculas del sistema inmune para evitar la actividad antimicrobiana. Teniendo en cuenta lo precedente, esta revisión, proporciona una actualizada descripción de las características bioquímicas y moleculares de las lipasas secretadas por el hongo Candida, su rol como factor de virulencia y su potencial para el desarrollo de nuevos fármacos antifúngicos.; In the last half century there was a significant increase in the incidence of fungal infections being likely to become a global health priority. The sophisticated degree of host-Candida interaction is the product of different virulence strategies used by the fungus to invade the tissues and the various defense mechanisms that it develops to control it. There is a significant amount of literature that indicates that this opportunistic commensal fungus has components that can be considered virulence factors related to the stage of the infectious process. Among the virulence factors of this fungus can be mentioned the adherence to cell surfaces, the formation of biofilms and the production of hydrolytic enzymes. The most studied hydrolases secreted by C. albicans are aspartyl proteinases, phospholipases and esterases, while lipases have been the least studied. These enzymes would have the function to facilitate active penetration into the cells, participating in the digestion and synthesis of lipid esters for their nutrition and contributing to the invasion of the tissue by hydrolyzing the lipid components of the host cell membranes. There is also bibliographic evidence that these enzymes are capable to damage cells and molecules of the immune system to avoid the antimicrobial activity.Taking into account the foregoing, this review provides an updated description of biochemical and molecular characteristics of the lipases secreted by Candida, its role as a virulence factor and its potential for the development of new antifungal drugs.

Wwox seletion in mouse B cells leads to genomic instability, neoplastic transformation, and monoclonal gammopathies McBride, Kevin M.; Kil, Hyunsuk; Mu, Yunxiang; Plummer, Joshua B.; Lee, Jaeho; Zelazowski, Maciej J.; Sebastian, Manu; Abba, Martín Carlos; Aldaz, Claudio Marcelo WWOX (WW domain containing oxidoreductase) expression loss is common in various cancers and characteristic of poor prognosis. Deletions, translocations, and loss of expression affecting the WWOX gene are a common feature of various B cell neoplasms such as certain B cell lymphomas and multiple myeloma. However, the role of this common abnormality in B cell tumor initiation and/or progression has not been defined. In this study, we conditionally deleted Wwox early in B cell development by means of breeding Cd19-Cre transgenic mice crossed to Wwox floxed mice (Cd19 Wwox KO). We observed a significant reduced survival in Cd19 Wwox KO mice and the development of B cell neoplasms including B cell lymphomas, plasma cell neoplasias characterized by increased numbers of CD138+ populations as well as monoclonal gammopathies detected by serum protein electrophoresis. To investigate whether Wwox loss could play a role in genomic instability, we analyzed DNA repair functions during immunoglobulin class switch joining between DNA segments in antibody genes. While class switch recombination (CSR) was only slightly impaired, Wwox deficiency resulted in a dramatic shift of double strand break (DSB) repair from normal classical-NHEJ toward the microhomology-mediated alternative-NHEJ pathway, a pathway associated with chromosome translocations and genome instability. Consistent with this, Wwox deficiency resulted in a marked increase of spontaneous translocations during CSR. This work defines for the first time a role for Wwox for maintaining B cell genome stability during a process that can promote neoplastic transformation and monoclonal gammopathies.

Osteohistological correlates of muscular attachment in terrestrial and freshwater Testudines Pereyra, Maria Eugenia; Bona, Paula; Cerda, Ignacio Alejandro; Desántolo, Bárbara Sharpey's fibers are considered the anatomical structures integrated to the muscles. Since these fibers leave marks at the microscopic level, their presence and distribution are used as evidence of muscle attachment in extinct and extant forms. In recent years, studies have been focusing on muscle–bone and tendon–bone interaction mostly on mammals. The main objective of this work is to contribute to the morphological and histological knowledge of muscle attachment in other amniotes, such as reptiles, and their variation related to different locomotor habits. In this way, a study was performed on terrestrial and aquatic turtles. The musculature related to the movement of the humerus, and pectoral girdle in Chelonoidis chilensis, Phrynops hilarii and Hydromedusa tectifera was analyzed. Dissections were performed mapping the origins and insertions of each muscle and undecalcified thin sections were performed in specific muscular attachment sites. We found some differences which were not previously reported, related to the insertion of the m. pectoralis, the m. coracobrachialis magnus and the origin of the m. tractor radii. The osteohistology revealed the presence of Sharpey's fibers in the cortex of all the bone elements analyzed. Patterns were established in relation to the orientation and density of Sharpey's fibers, which were used for the categorization of each muscle attachment site. The comparative micro-anatomical study of these areas did not reveal any important differences between terrestrial and freshwater turtles in muscles involved with the rotation, abduction and adduction of the humerus. In this way, the preliminary results suggest an absence of correlation between the distribution and density of Sharpey's fibers between different habitat forms, at least in the bones and species analyzed.

Neofavolus subpurpurascens comb. nov., with new records from the Neotropics Palacio, Melissa; Silveira, Rosa Mara Borges Da; Robledo, Gerardo Lucio Polyporus subpurpurascens is a rare Neotropical species characterized by deep purplish pilear surface and radially elongated pores. This study analyzed Neotropical specimens from Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil by applying detailed morphological examination and phylogenetic analyses. We conclude that P. subpurpurascens is a species of Neofavolus, and N. subpurpurascens is proposed as a new combination. New records from Argentina and Bolivia, a detailed description, and photographs of the species are included.

Innovación educativa y museos: Puentes entre teorías y prácticas Melgar, Maria Fernanda; Elisondo, Romina Cecilia; Busto, María Inés Presentamos un estudio cualitativo de percepciones de estudiantes de grado sobre experiencias durante la visita a un mu-seo de Psicología. La visita se enmarca en una unidad didáctica que tienen como propósito abordar temas referidos a la historia de la Psicometría. Los participantes fueron 80 estudiantes de Psicopedagogía y Educación Especial de la Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto (Argentina). El estudio se realizó en el marco de un proyecto de investigación e innovación educativa. Los instrumentos de recolección de datos fueron cuestionarios, entrevistas y cuadernos de viaje. Los resultados indican que los estudiantes perciben a los museos de psicología como espacios de comunicación, conservación e investigación

Ciudadanía e identidad política: Reflexiones desde la conflictividad social Truccone, Marilina del Valle El estudio acerca de la ciudadanía se ha constituido sobre los cimientos de vertientes teóricas que consideran a esta categoría, por un lado, como membrecía a una comunidad determinada y por el otro, como práctica deseable. De esta forma, ambos modos de pensamiento ?relacionados con el liberalismo y el republicanismo, respectivamente- suponen una visión un tanto prescriptiva acerca de la constitución de la ciudadanía y de los ciudadanos, sin hacer lugar a la problematización en torno a las condiciones de surgimiento de estos. En el presente trabajo se recuperan las nociones trabajadas por Chantal Mouffe al respecto de la ciudadanía. De este modo, hacemos central la consideración que la autora realiza al respecto del conflicto social como modo de superar la intención prescriptiva de estas corrientes teóricas mencionadas. A su vez, trabajamos en torno a la constitución de la ciudadanía como una identidad política; estipulando, por último, la importancia de volver a pensar la ciudadanía a partir de la discursividad de lo social, para eliminar todo fundamento que sostenga, de antemano, la intención de establecer una noción universal de ciudadanía.

Nuevos datos sobre el poblamiento inicial del bosque del centro-norte de Patagonia, Argentina; New data on the initial occupation in the north-central forest of Patagonia, Argentina Fernández, Pablo Marcelo; Carballido Calatayud, Mariana; Bellelli, Cristina Teresa; Tchilinguirian, Pablo; Leonardt, Sabrina; Fernández, Mercedes Grisel Tradicionalmente, el efecto combinado de la demografía y la productividad de los ambientes patagónicos ha sido invocado para explicar que el interior del bosque del centro-norte de la Patagonia argentina fue utilizado luego de la ocupación de espacios más favorables, con una antigüedad máxima de 3.500 años. El hallazgo de contextos del Holoceno temprano y medio en el sitio de Población Anticura situado en el bosque mixto permite reformular este escenario. El análisis sedimentario, de los procesos de formación y de la evidencia arqueológica recuperada indica, para estos momentos, la existencia de ocupaciones breves y con cierta redundancia a través del tiempo, con conjuntos artefactuales pequeños pero variados, una subsistencia basada en el huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) y el consumo ocasional de especies de menor tamaño corporal como alimento y como materia prima. La procedencia de algunos materiales sugiere que el uso temprano del interior del bosque estaría vinculado a redes de circulación amplias en el marco de una baja demografía, mientras que la naturaleza de las ocupaciones muestra un conocimiento del ambiente que señala que los contextos más antiguos de Población Anticura no reflejan la primera exploración del interior del bosque.; Traditionally, researchers have invoked the combined effects of demographic pressures and environmental productivity to explain why the inner forest of north-central Argentine Patagonia was occupied later than more favorable spaces, with a maximum age of 3500 cal years BP. The data from the Early and Middle Holocene occupation of Población Anticura, an archaeological site located in the mixed forest, allow us to reformulate this scenario. The analyses of sediments, taphonomy, site formation processes, and the archaeological evidence shows that hunter-gatherer occupations of the forest were short and temporally redundant, characterized by small but varied artifactual assemblages, a subsistence based on the huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus), and the occasional use of species with small body size for food and as raw material. The provenance of some materials suggests that the early excursions into the forest were linked to wide circulation networks in the context of low human demography. The nature of the occupations also shows a familiarity with the forest, suggesting that the oldest contexts of Población Anticura do not reflect the first stages of its exploration.

Factores clave en la implementación de políticas energéticas en Italia; Key factors in the implementation of energy policies in Italy Chevez, Pedro Joaquín; Ruggeri, Emilia; Martini, Irene; Discoli, Carlos Alberto Actualmente, la implementación de medidas de eficiencia energética (EE) y energías renovables (ER) se encuentra en la agenda política de numerosos países; sin embargo, el avance concreto y la implementación efectiva de dichas estrategias es aún muy dispar. Si bien existen países donde dichas tecnologías han recalado efectivamente en sus regímenes socio-técnicos; una gran mayoría aún no comenzó a enfrentar dicha transición de manera sistémica y, por consiguiente, deberán afrontar numerosos desafíos. En tal sentido, este trabajo presenta un análisis de la transición energética que se está desarrollando de forma sostenida en el sector residencial italiano desde mediados de la década del 2000 (2006- 2016) a los efectos de identificar, sistematizar y extraer factores clave del caso de estudio. A partir de éstos es posible discutir acerca de la implementación de políticas energéticas y generar insumos para otros casos de estudio que pretendan impulsar medidas estatales de mejoramiento energético.; Currently, the implementation of energy efficiency strategies (EES) and renewable energy sources (RES) is inside of the political agenda of many countries. However, the concrete progress in the effective implementation of these policies is still very different. On the one hand, there are specific cases of countries where the aforementioned technologies have been inserted effectively into their socio-technical regimes and the transition is ongoing. On the other hand, the vast majority of countries has not yet begun to face this process and, therefore, will have to face challenges and difficulties. In this regard, this paper presents an analysis of the energy transition that is developing steadily in the Italian residential sector from the mid-2000s (2006-2016). This analysis made it possible to identify, systematize and extract key factors from the case study; from which it is possible to discuss and generate inputs for other cases of study that intend to implement state policies for energy improvement.

Role of acystine-based Gemini surfactant ligand in the synthesis of catalytic active silver nanoparticles Molina Torres, María Andrea; Pachon Gomez, Erica Marcela; Fernández, Mariana Adela; Veglia, Alicia Viviana; Pacioni, Natalia Lorena We report the synthesis in water of colloidal silver nanoparticles (AgNP) using a Gemini lipoamino acid surfactant derived from cysteine as a capping agent. The Gemini surfactant interacts with the metal surface mainly in a monodentate vertical mode through the carboxylate group preserving intact the disulfide bond. These nanoparticles present catalytic activity to the reduction of p-nitrophenol, and the synthesis of AgNP under mild reduction conditions maintaining the seeds size. Also, the Gemini surfactant leads to anisotropic morphologies in the seed-mediated growth of AgNP@citrate seeds aided by the presence of bromide ions.

Mechanochemically synthesized pyrite and its electrochemical behavior as cathode for lithium batteries Primo, Emiliano Nicolás; Bracamonte, Maria Victoria; Luque, Guillermina Leticia; Bercoff, Paula Gabriela; Leiva, Ezequiel Pedro M.; Barraco Diaz, Daniel Eugenio This study presents a simple and scalable synthesis of pyrite (FeS2) starting from S and Fe powders, which involves high-energy ball milling of precursor powders followed by a thermal treatment. The formation of the desired product was confirmed by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. After the synthesis, spherical FeS2 nanoparticles of ~ 85 nm in size were obtained, with a highly crystalline face-centered cubic structure and no secondary phases. The synthesized material was tested as cathode material for lithium batteries. The cathodes delivered good electrochemical lithium storage properties, such as a reversible capacity as high as 470 mAh g−1 even after 120 cycles and a good rate capability. Furthermore, aspects regarding the reaction mechanism and common electrochemical features of Li/FeS2 batteries are discussed.

Inclusión educativa en la escuela secundaria: Una experiencia exitosa; Inclusion at the Secondary Level. A Successful Experience Garino, María Delfina En 2006 se estableció la obligatoriedad legal del nivel secundario completo en Argentina. Sin embargo, se visualizan problemas vinculados a la retención, así como al desarrollo de procesos educativos significativos para quienes aprenden. A partir de esto, desde una perspectiva metodológica cualitativa, el artículo analiza la propuesta educativa de una escuela secundaria que ofrece formación para el trabajo y retoma la voz de sus egresados, con el objetivo de analizar la inclusión de los jóvenes a la escuela secundaria (en términos de retención) y en la escuela secundaria (en términos de desarrollo de procesos de aprendizajes significativos para los jóvenes). Entre los hallazgos, se visualiza la valoración del seguimiento personalizado y de la formación para el trabajo, como estrategias que posibilitaron la inclusión educativa.; Compulsory secondary school was stablished by law in Argentina in 2006. However, there are still problems that refer to drop off and to the development of meaningful learning processes for students. From a qualitative analysis perspective, this article analyzes the educational proposal of a secondary school with vocational training and takes up the voice of its graduates to analyze the inclusion of young people "to" secondary school (in terms of retention) and "in" secondary school (in terms of developing meaningful learning processes for students). Youngsters assessed work formation and personal containment as strategies that had enabled their educational inclusion.

Modeling of substitutionally modified graphene structures to prevent the shuttle mechanism in lithium-sulfur batteries Velez, Patricio; Para, Maria Laura; Luque, Guillermina Leticia; Barraco Diaz, Daniel Eugenio; Leiva, Ezequiel Pedro M. The interaction of polysulfides with graphene layers substitutionally modified with heteroatoms is analyzed using first-principles calculations, with the aim of using these structures to prevent polysulfide migration in lithium-sulfur batteries. The heteroatoms considered were B, N, O, F, Al, Si, P, S and Cl. An estimation of the residence time of the polysulfide on the doped surface was made based on transition state theory, with the finding that the most useful candidates may be graphene structures doped with Al or Si atoms.

León Rozitchner y el problema de la coherencia político-intelectual Exposto, Emiliano El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar los posibles aportes de León Rozitchnerpara repensar, en la actualidad, los problemas de la subjetividad y los modelos de coherencia político-intelectual en la cultura argentina de izquierdas. Para ello realizaremos fundamentalmente dos tareas. Primero, reconstruiremos lasprincipales líneas conceptuales de la filosofía rozitchneriana prestando atención al modo en que estas colisionan con ciertas coyunturas históricas, al tiempo que viabilizan categorizaciones de largo alcance. Y luego, abordaremos el vínculo tenso que Rozitchner establece entre filosofía, subjetividad y experiencia política. Nuestra hipótesis es que las reflexiones de Rozitchner pueden brindar una forma novedosa mediante la cual revisar los puntos ciegos de la producción práctica y teórica en el marco contemporáneo de la cultura argentina de izquierdas.; The aim of this work is to analyze the possible contributions of León Rozitchner to rethinking the problems of subjectivity and the models of political-intellectual coherence in the left-wing Argentinean culture. To do this, we will basically perform two tasks. First, we will reconstruct the main conceptual lines of the Rozitchnerian philosophy, paying attention to the way they collide with certain historical junctures while enabling viable categorizations of long reach. And then, we will address the tense link that Rozitchner establishes between philosophy, subjectivity and political experience. Our hypothesis is that Rozitchner’s reflections can provide a novel way to revise the blind spots of practical and theoretical production within the contemporary framework of left-wing Argentinean culture.

Proof Normalisation in a Logic Identifying Isomorphic Propositions Díaz Caro, Alejandro; Dowek, Gilles We define a fragment of propositional logic where isomorphic propositions, such as A ∧ B and B ∧ A, or A ⇒ (B ∧ C) and (A ⇒ B) ∧ (A ⇒ C) are identified. We define System I, a proof language for this logic, and prove its normalisation and consistency.

Efficacy and safety of direct-acting antiviral agents for HCV in mild-to-moderate chronic kidney disease; Eficacia y seguridad de los antivíricos de acción directa para el VHC en la nefropatía crónica de leve a moderada Ridruejo, Ezequiel; Garcia Agudo, Rebeca; Mendizabal, Manuel; Aoufi Rabih, Sami; Dixit, Vivek; Silva, Marcelo; Fabrizi, Fabrizio BACKGROUND AND AIMS:The advent of direct-acting antiviral agents promises to change the management of hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), a patient group in which the treatment of hepatitis C was historically challenging. We investigated the safety and efficacy of all-oral, interferon-free direct-acting antiviral agents for the treatment of hepatitis C in a 'real-world' cohort of patients with CKD.METHODS:We performed an observational single-arm multi-centre study in a large (n=198) cohort of patients with stage 1-3 CKD who underwent antiviral therapy with DAAs for the treatment of HCV. The primary end-point was sustained virologic response (serum HCV RNA <15IU/mL, 12 weeks after treatment ended) (SVR12). We collected data on on-treatment adverse events (AEs), severe AEs, and laboratory abnormalities.RESULTS:The average baseline eGFR (CKD-EPI equation) was 70.06±20.1mL/min/1.72m2; the most common genotype was HCV 1b (n=93, 51%). Advanced liver scarring was found in 58 (46%) patients by transient elastography. Five regimens were adopted: elbasvir/grazoprevir (n=5), glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (n=4), ritonavir-boosted paritaprevir/ombitasvir/dasabuvir (PrOD) regimen (n=40), simeprevir±daclatasvir (n=2), and sofosbuvir-based combinations (n=147). The SVR12 rate was 95.4% (95% CI, 93.8%; 96.8%). There were nine virological failures - eight being relapsers. Adverse events occurred in 30% (51/168) of patients, and were managed clinically without discontinuation of therapy or hospitalization. One of the most common AEs was anaemia (n=12), which required discontinuation or dose reduction of ribavirin in some cases (n=6); deterioration of kidney function occurred in three (1.7%).CONCLUSIONS:All-oral, interferon-free therapy with DAAs for chronic HCV in mild-to-moderate CKD was effective and well-tolerated in a 'real-world' clinical setting. Studies are in progress to address whether sustained viral response translates into better survival in this population.; Antecedentes y objetivos: La aparición de los antivíricos de acción directa (AAD) promete cam biar el tratamiento de la infección por el virus de la hepatitis C (VHC) en los pacientes con nefropatía crónica (NC), un grupo de pacientes en el que el tratamiento de la hepatitis C siempre supuso una dificultad. Se investiga la seguridad y la eficacia de los antivíricos de acción directa, sin interferones orales, en todos los casos para el tratamiento de la hepatitis C en una cohorte en condiciones reales de pacientes con NC. Métodos: Se llevó a cabo un estudio multicéntrico, de un solo grupo y observacional en una cohorte amplia (n = 198) de pacientes con NC en estadio 1-3 a los que se admin istró tratamiento antivírico con AAD para el VHC. El criterio principal de valoración fue la respuesta virológica sostenida (ARN sérico del VHC < 15 UI/ml, 12 semanas después de la finalización del tratamiento) (RVS12). Se recogieron los datos sobre acontecimientos adver sos (AA) surgidos durante el tratamiento, AA graves y anomalías analíticas. Resultados: La FGe inicial media (ecuación de CKD-EPI) fue de 70,06 ± 20,1 ml/min/1,72 m2; el genotipo más frecuente fue VHC 1b (n = 93; 51%). Se observó cicatrización hep ática avanzada en 58 (46%) pacientes mediante elastografía transitoria. Se adoptaron 5 pautas: elbasvir/grazoprevir (n = 5), glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (n = 4), pauta de paritapre vir/ombitasvir/dasabuvir (PrOD) potenciada con ritonavir (n = 40), simeprevir ± daclatasvir (n = 2) y combinaciones basadas en sofosbuvir (n = 147). La tasa de RVS12 fue del 95,4% (IC del 95%: 93,8; 96,8%). Hubo 9 fracasos virológicos, 8 de ellos recidivantes. Se produjeron acon tecimientos adversos en el 30% (51/168) de los pacientes, que se trataron clínicamente sin suspensión del tratamiento ni hospitalización. Uno de los AA más frecuentes fue la anemia (n = 12), que precisó la suspensión o la reducción de la dosis de ribavirina en algunos casos (n = 6); se produjo deterioro de la función renal en 3 casos (1,7%). Conclusiones: El tratamiento sin interferón oral en todos los casos con AAD para el VHC crónico en la NC de leve a moderada fue eficaz y bien tolerado en un contexto de la práctica clínica real. Hay estudios en curso para abordar si la respuesta viral sostenida se traduce en una mejor supervivencia en esta población.

Solid phase microextraction coupled to mass spectrometry: Via a microfluidic open interface for rapid therapeutic drug monitoring Looby, Nikita T.; Tascon, Marcos; Acquaro, Vinicius R.; Reyes Garcés, Nathaly; Vasiljevic, Tijana; Gomez Rios, German Augusto; Wasowicz, Marcin; Pawliszyn, Janusz Tranexamic acid (TXA) is an antifibrinolytic used during cardiac surgery that presents high inter-patient variability. High plasma concentrations have been associated with post-operative seizures. Due to the difficulties with maintaining acceptable concentrations of TXA during surgery, implementation of a point-of-care strategy for testing TXA plasma concentration would allow for close monitoring of its concentration during administration. This would facilitate timely corrections to the dosing schedule, and in effect tailor treatment for individual patient needs. In this work, a method for the rapid monitoring of TXA from plasma samples was subsequently carried out via biocompatible solid-phase microextraction (Bio-SPME) coupled directly to tandem mass spectrometry via a microfluidic open interface (MOI). MOI operates under the concept of a flow-isolated desorption volume and was designed with aims to directly hyphenate Bio-SPME to different detection and ionization systems. In addition, it allows the desorption of Bio-SPME fibers in small volumes while it concurrently continues feeding the ESI with a constant flow to minimize cross-talking and instabilities. The methodology was used to monitor six patients with varying degrees of renal dysfunction, at different time points during cardiac surgery. MOI proves to be a reliable and feasible tool for rapid therapeutic drug monitoring. Affording total times of analysis as low as 30 seconds per sample in its high throughput mode configuration while the single sample turn-around time was 15 minutes, including sample preparation. In addition, cross-validation against a standard thin film solid phase microextraction using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (TFME-LC-MS/MS) method was performed. Bland-Altman analysis was used to cross-validate the results obtained by the two methods. Data analysis demonstrated that 92% of the compared data pairs (n = 63) were distributed within the acceptable range. The data was also validated by the Passing Bablok regression, demonstrating good statistical agreement between these two methods. Finally, the currently presented method offers comparable results to the conventional liquid chromatography with acceptable RSDs, while only necessitating a fraction of the time. In this way, TXA concentration in plasma can be monitored in a close to real time throughput during surgery.

Reflectance transformation imaging: First applications in cultural heritage in Argentina Morita, María Mercedes; Novoa, Florencia Daniela; Bilmes, Gabriel Mario In this article we present two cases of Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) applications. This computational photographic method, based on the acquisition and processing of images, helps to reveal details of the surface of an object that are not visible by direct observation or by standard photography. In the first case, RTI was applied to faunal bone remains that were found during archaeological rescue tasks in Laguna de los Pampas, Province of Buenos Aires. The RTI analysis of these remains with traces of manufacturing and/or use has increased the knowledge of bone technology for this area. In the other case, RTI was applied to a funerary column of the Recoleta Cemetery, located in the city of Buenos Aires, in order to recover the low relief recorded on it. In this way it was possible to rescue the historical and heritage value of the vault.

Are all patches worth exploring? Foraging desert birds do not rely on environmental indicators of seed abundance at small scales Milesi, Fernando Adrian; Lopez de Casenave, Javier Nestor; Cueto, Víctor Background: Consumers should show strong spatial preferences when foraging in environments where food availability is highly heterogeneous and predictable. Postdispersal granivores face this scenario in most arid areas, where soil seed bank abundance and composition associates persistently with vegetation structure at small scales (decimetres to metres). Those environmental features should be exploited as useful pre-harvest information, at least to avoid patches predicted to be poor. However, we did not find the expected spatial association in the algarrobal of the central Monte desert by observing foraging seed-eating birds, a field technique influenced by how much they exploit visited patches. In this work we tested if the first stage of foraging by granivorous birds (patch visit, encounter or exploration) is positively associated with environmental indicators of patch quality by recording the removal of single seeds from 300 scattered experimental devices during seasonal trials. Spatial selectivity was analysed by comparing the structural characteristics of used vs. available microhabitats, and evaluated against bottom-up and top-down hypotheses based on our previous knowledge on local seed bank abundance, composition and dynamics. Their foraging activity was also explored for spatial autocorrelation and environmental correlates at bigger scales. Results: Postdispersal granivorous birds were less selective in their use of foraging space than expected if microhabitat appearance were providing them relevant information to guide their search for profitable foraging patches. No microhabitat type, as defined by their vegetation structure and soil cover, remained safe from bird exploration. Analyses at bigger temporal and spatial scales proved more important to describe heterogeneity in seed removal. Conclusions: Closeness to tall trees, probably related to bird territoriality and reproduction or to their perception of predation risk, seemed to determine a first level of habitat selection, constraining explorable space. Then, microhabitat openness (rather than seed abundance) exerted some positive influence on which patches were more frequently visited among those accessible. Selective patterns by birds at small scales were closer to our predictions of a top-down spatial effect, with seed consumption creating or strengthening (and not responding to) the spatial pattern and dynamics of the seed bank.

Efficient on-board Stereo SLAM through constrained-covisibility strategies Castro, Gastón Ignacio; Nitsche, Matias Alejandro; Pire, Taihú Aguará Nahuel; Fischer, Thomas; de Cristóforis, Pablo Visual SLAM is a computationally expensive task, with a complexity that grows unbounded as the size of the explored area increases. This becomes an issue when targeting embedded applications such as on-board localization on Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs), where real-time execution is mandatory and computational resources are a limiting factor. The herein proposed method introduces a covisibility-graph based map representation which allows a visual SLAM system to execute with a complexity that does not depend on the size of the map. The proposed structure allows to efficiently select locally relevant portions of the map to be optimized in such a way that the results resemble performing a full optimization on the whole trajectory. We build on S-PTAM (Stereo Parallel Tracking and Mapping), yielding an accurate and robust stereo SLAM system capable to work in real-time under limited hardware constraints such as those present in MAVs. The developed SLAM system in assessed using the EuRoC dataset. Results show that covisibility-graph based map culling allows the SLAM system to run in real-time even on a low-resource embedded computer. The impact of each SLAM task on the overall system performance is analyzed in detail and the SLAM system is compared with state-of-the-art methods to validate the presented approach.

A dynamical system as the source of augmentation in a deep learning problem Tubaro, Pablo Luis; Mindlin, Bernardo Gabriel In this work we build a convolutional neural network capable of identifying individual birds by their songs. Since the actual data available from each individual is very limited, we use a dynamical system capable of synthesizing realistic songs, to generate surrogate-training data. The different synthetic songs are the result of integrating the dynamical system with slightly varied parameters. We show that a data set built in this way allows us to train the network to successfully identify the different individuals in our study. In this way, we present a novel way to perform data augmentation using dynamical systems.