La Filosofía dentro del contexto de la política científica actual en Argentina Mie, Fabian Gustavo La supervivencia académica de la filosofía está sometida actualmente en Argentina a una presión impuesta por criterios de productividad e impacto alentados a través del rediseño en curso del sistema científico. Si bien este proceso en desarrollo creciente atañe a las ciencias básicas en general, puede advertirse que aspectos específicos de la elaboración del conocimiento filosófico, incluyendo sus períodos de tiempo y criterios de validación tradicionales, son difícilmente compatibles con una idea de conocimiento socialmente dominante cada vez más orientada a la aplicación y al retorno económico de la inversión en ciencia. En este contexto, es dudoso que la filosofía pueda apelar a justificaciones como la de la ?potencial utilidad?, que tienen a su alcance otras ciencias básicas (Schwarz 2017). Hay dos cuestiones candentes y conjuntas que considerar aquí: (a) ¿qué hace de la filosofía todavía hoy una forma del saber socialmente aceptable?, y (b) ¿por qué el estado tiene que seguir manteniendo con fondos públicos esa disciplina dentro de las instituciones académicas? En este artículo me propongo esbozar una justificación posible del papel que puede caberle a la filosofía en el contexto actual (primeramente enfocado en Argentina); sugiero que esa justificación proviene de la necesidad de revisar críticamente la idea dominante del saber y apunta a reformular el proyecto del ideal humano de racionalidad.

El Jano socialista. Juan B. Justo y el lugar de los símbolos en la política moderna Reyes, Francisco Jerónimo El artículo analiza la forma en que, a lo largo de su carrera política, un dirigente clave del socialismo argentino, Juan B. Justo, concibió el lugar singular que debían ocupar distintas manifestaciones de un fenómeno significativo de la política: los símbolos. A partir de sus experiencias locales y de su conocimiento de otras realidades del mundo occidental, se argumenta que sus valoraciones y propuestas en torno a dicho problema resultaron siempre atadas a cambiantes coyunturas particulares, evidenciando un carácter oscilante y demostrando el peso de las dos fuentes de su pensamiento y acción: una cultura científica ampliamente extendida y la cultura política del socialismo de la Segunda Internacional en que abrevara. El corpus documental se compone de un amplio conjunto de intervenciones de este intelectual-militante (artículos periodísticos y conferencias a cargo del Partido Socialista, así folletos y libros que condensan sus principales aportes doctrinarios), para luego cotejarse con el aporte de otras voces provenientes del socialismo argentino que tensionan los postulados de dicha cultura política sobre el lugar de los símbolos en la modernidad, en general, y en la política argentina de inicios del siglo XX, en particular, en donde el fenómeno nacionalista ocupa un lugar ineludible.

Desfiguración y redención de la naturaleza Grossi, Bruno La ligazón entre narración y experiencia, o como la progresiva desaparición de una causa el empobrecimiento de la otra, es el diagnostico que, aun con sus matices, Lukács y Benjamin afirman a comienzos de los años 30. La crítica a la «descripción» o la «novela pura» (en suma, la autonomía del arte) en ambos autores, supone la pérdida, la separación con aquella inmediatez que ligaba la ficción con la vida. Lo que parece discutirse es siempre el lugar, la relación, el dialogo polémico que el arte establece con la naturaleza. Nuestra lectura intenta reponer el contexto de la discusión y replantear ciertos supuestos que operan en la escritura de ambos filósofos.

Corrosion protection of AZ91D magnesium alloy by a cerium-molybdenum coating. The effect of citric acid as an additive Lehr, Ivana Leticia; Saidman, Silvana Beatriz In order to improve the corrosion resistance of AZ91D magnesium alloy, a coating was formed by a potentiostatic technique from a solutions containing Ce(NO3)3, Na2MoO4 and citric acid (H3Cit). The degree of corrosion protection achieved was evaluated in simulated physiological solution by monitoring the open circuit potential, polarization techniques and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Surface analysis techniques (SEM, EDS, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)) were used for coating characterization. The film is mainly composed by cerium and molybdenum oxides and magnesium oxides and hydroxides. The obtained results show that the corrosion resistance of the coated electrodes has been increased significantly. This improvement in the anticorrosive performance is in part due to the corrosion inhibition properties of H3Cit.

Nuevos registros para el colicorto monodelphis domestica (Wagner, 1842) (didelphimorphia, didelphidae) en Argentina; New records for the short-tailed opossum monodelphis domestica (Wagner, 1842) (didelphi-morphia, didelphidae) in Argentina Ochoa, Ana Cecilia; Paez, Ricardo Andrés; Teta, Pablo Vicente Se reportan dos nuevas localidades de registro para Monodelphis domestica en Argentina, que son a su vez las primeras para la provincia de Santiago del Estero. Los ejemplares fueron capturados en dos localidades del departamento Copo: i) cercanías de Caburé Sur (26° 07´ 37.4″ S, 62° 30´ 41.07″ O) y ii) Parque Provincial Copo (25° 55´ 2.54″ S, 61° 54´ 54.55″ O). Estos nuevos registros extienden 200 km al SSO la distribución conocida de este marsupial.; We report two new localities for Monodelphis domestica in Argentina; these are also the first records for the province of Santiago del Estero. The species was captured in two localities of Copo Department: i) vicinity of Caburé Sur. (S26° 07´ 37.4″, W62° 30´ 41.07″) and ii) Parque Provincial Copo (S5° 55´ 2.54″, W61° 54´ 54.55″). These records extend the known distribution of this marsupial 200 km SSW.

Effects of water quality on aspects of reproductive biology of Cnesterodon decemmaculatus Zambrano Schmidt Deussen, Micaela Jimena; Rautenberg, Gisela Evelín; Bonifacio, Alejo Fabian; Filippi, Iohanna; Amé, María Valeria; Bonansea, Rocio Ines; Hued, Andrea Cecilia The Suquía River basin (Córdoba, Argentina) is under a strong negative impact due to multiple sources of anthropic pollution. The main goal of our study was to evaluate if variations in the water quality of Suquía river basin affect the reproductive biology of Cnesterodon decemmaculatus and determine if the responses provided by the species can be considered as biomarkers of river quality. This assessment was performed through the measurement of morphological, histological and somatic parameters in adult males collected at four sampling sites during the beginning and the end of the breeding season. The water quality evaluation carried out through the estimation of a water quality index (WQI) and pesticides concentrations in water, revealed a pollution gradient along the studied basin. The same variation pattern was registered for the somatic index. In addition, the analysis of the morphology of the male copulatory organ (gonopodium) showed that individuals collected at Córdoba city had the lowest Gonopodium-Somatic Index (Gonop-SI) value, while those sampled at the most polluted site showed abnormalities in the small structures of the gonopodium. On the other hand, few histological alterations were found in the liver whereas no alterations were found in gonads along the river. The results obtained allowed us to characterize the environmental conditions of the studied basin and demonstrated the water quality deterioration along the Suquía River.

Natural history of the threatened coral snake Micrurus altirostris (Serpentes, Elapidae) in Argentina Rodríguez, María Eugenia; Arzamendia, Vanesa; Bellini, Gisela Paola; Giraudo, Alejandro Raul The genus Micrurus comprises nearly 80 endemic species in the American continent. Knowledge on its natural history is based on populations from Brazil and Uruguay, making it necessary to intensify ecological research in Argentina. We present data on morphology, diet, and reproduction for a threatened Argentine population of M. altirostris from the Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot. Ecological data were obtained from collected specimens and scientific collections. Females attained sexual maturity at a longer body size than males, but the latter reached a larger size, which is related to male-male combat, a behavior reported in this study. We report a female with 3 oviductal eggs, and 2 ovipositions of 4 and 6 eggs in the late spring-early summer period. Males seemed to have a seasonal reproductive cycle. The diet of M. altirostris was based on elongated reptilians and was mostly similar to the diet of populations from Brazil and Uruguay. We reported 4 new prey types for M. altirostris and confirm the consumption of reptile eggs for the genus Micrurus. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the natural history of M. altirostris, providing valuable information for designing strategic conservation plans.

Reviewing theoretical and numerical models for PCM-embedded cementitious composites Caggiano, Antonio; Mankel, Christoph; Koenders, Eddie Accumulating solar and/or environmental heat in walls of apartment buildings or houses is a way to level-out daily temperature differences and significantly cut back on energy demands. A possible way to achieve this goal is by developing advanced composites that consist of porous cementitious materials with embedded phase change materials (PCMs) that have the potential to accumulate or liberate heat energy during a chemical phase change from liquid to solid, or vice versa. This paper aims to report the current state of art on numerical and theoretical approaches available in the scientific literature for modelling the thermal behavior and heat accumulation/liberation of PCMs employed in cement-based composites. The work focuses on reviewing numerical tools for modelling phase change problems while emphasizing the so-called Stefan problem, or particularly, on the numerical techniques available for solving it. In this research field, it is the fixed grid method that is the most commonly and practically applied approach. After this, a discussion on the modelling procedures available for schematizing cementitious composites with embedded PCMs is reported.

Shopping mall attraction and social mixing at a city scale Beiro, Mariano Gastón; Bravo, Loreto; Caro, Diego; Cattuto, Ciro; Ferres, Leo; Graells-Garrido, Eduardo In Latin America, shopping malls seem to offer an open, safe and democratic version of the public space. However, it is often difficult to quantitatively measure whether they indeed foster, hinder, or are neutral with respect to social inclusion. In this work, we investigate if, and by how much, people from different social classes are attracted by the same malls. Using a dataset of mobile phone network records from 387,152 devices identified as customers of 16 malls in Santiago de Chile, we performed several analyses to study whether malls with higher social mixing attract more people. Our pipeline, which starts with the socio-economic characterization of mall visitors, includes the estimation of social mixing and diversity of malls, the application of the gravity model of mobility, and the definition of a co-visitation model. Results showed that people tend to choose a profile of malls more in line with their own socio-economic status and the distance from their home to the mall, and that higher mixing does positively contribute to the process of choosing a mall. We conclude that (a) there is social mixing in malls, and (b) that social mixing is a factor at the time of choosing which mall to go to. Thus, the potential for social mixing in malls could be capitalized by designing public policies regarding transportation and mobility to make some malls strong social inclusion hubs.

Analysis of the Bitcoin blockchain: socio-economic factors behind the adoption Parino, Francesco; Beiro, Mariano Gastón; Gauvin, Laetitia As the first decentralized digital currency introduced in 2009 together with the blockchain, Bitcoin offers new opportunities both for developed and developing countries. Bitcoin peer-to-peer transactions are independent of the banking system, facilitating foreign exchanges with low transaction fees, such as remittances, and offering a high degree of anonymity. These opportunities together with other key factors led the Bitcoin to become extremely popular and caused its price to skyrocket during 2017 (Henry et al. in J Digit Bank 2(4):311–337, 2018). However, while the Bitcoin blockchain attracts a lot of attention, it remains difficult to investigate where this attention comes from, due to the pseudo-anonymity of the system, and consequently to appreciate its social impact. Here we make an attempt to characterize the adoption of the Bitcoin blockchain by country. In the first part of the work we show that information about the number of Bitcoin software client downloads, the IP addresses that act as relays for the transactions, and the Internet searches about Bitcoin provide together a coherent picture of the system evolution in different countries. Using these quantities as a proxy for user adoption, we identify several socio-economic indexes such as the GDP per capita, freedom of trade and the Internet penetration as key variables correlated with the degree of user adoption. In the second part of the work, we build a network of Bitcoin transactions between countries using the IP addresses of nodes relaying transactions and we develop an augmented version of the gravity model of trade in order to identify socio-economic factors linked to the flow of Bitcoin between countries. In a nutshell our study provides a new insight on Bitcoin adoption by country and on the potential socio-economic drivers of the international Bitcoin flow.

Mujeres afroargentinas y el proyecto Certificar nuestra existencia: Una experiencia de trabajo multidisciplinar en Ciudad Evita (Gran Buenos Aires); Afro-Argentine Women and the Research Project Certifying our Existence: A multidisciplinary research experience in Ciudad Evita (Greater Buenos Geler, Lea Natalia; Egido, Alejandra; Recalt, Rosario; Yannone, Carmen Este trabajo presenta los primeros resultados de la investigación Certificar nuestra existencia, llevada a cabo por la Asociación de Mujeres Afrodescendientes en la Argentina durante el año 2016 en La Matanza. Su objetivo era conocer acerca de la vida de las mujeres afrodescendientes de la zona. El proyecto es pionero en el país porque focaliza en un grupo que se considera “desparecido”, y por su metodología. Se utilizaron métodos cualitativos –arte y antropología– y cuantitativos –toma de encuestas– para realizar un abordaje más complejo que tuviera en cuenta las necesidades de las propias mujeres afroargentinas. Se describen los desarrollos de las distintas etapas de trabajo y se exponen resultados obtenidos.; The article introduces the multidisciplinary research project titled Certifying our Existence carried out by TES, Association of Women of African Descent in Argentina, in 2016. Its main objective was to know about the life of Afro-Argentine women from the area. This is a pioneering work in Argentina because of its methodology and because it focuses on a group considered no longer existent in the country. The research made use of qualitative methodology- art and anthropology- and also of quantitative methodology- surveys and statistical data. It centers on the different stages of the research process and presents preliminary results.

Crystallization and initial X-ray diffraction analysis of the multi-domain Brucella blue light-activated histidine kinase LOV-HK in its illuminated state Rinaldi, Jimena Julieta; Fernandez, Ignacio; Poth, Lucia Milagros; Shepard, William E.; Savko, Martin; Goldbaum, Fernando Alberto; Klinke, Sebastian The pathogenic bacterium Brucella abortus codes for a multi-domain dimeric cytoplasmic histidine kinase called LOV-HK, which is a key blue light-activated virulence factor in this microorganism. The structural basis of the light activation mechanism of this protein remains unclear. In this work, full-length LOV-HK was cloned, expressed and purified. The protein was activated by light and crystallized under a controlled illumination environment. The merge of 14 individual native data sets collected on a single crystal resulted in a complete X-ray diffraction data set to a resolution of 3.70 Å with over 2 million reflections. Crystals belong to space group P212121, with unit-cell parameters a = 95.96, b = 105.30, c = 164.49 Å with a dimer in the asymmetric unit. Molecular replacement with Phaser using the individual domains as search models allowed for the reconstruction of almost the whole protein. Very recently, improved LOV-HK crystals led to a 3.25-Å resolution dataset. Refinement and model building is underway. This crystal model will represent one of the very few examples of a multi-domain histidine kinase with known structure.

Regulation and function of p53: A perspective from Drosophila studies Ingaramo, María Clara; Sánchez, Juan Andrés; Dekanty, Andres Tp53 is a central regulator of cellular responses to stress and one of the most frequently mutated genes in human cancers. P53 is activated by a myriad of stress signals and drives specific cellular responses depending on stress nature, cell type and cellular context. Additionally to its classical functions in regulating cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and senescence, newly described non-canonical functions of p53 are increasingly coming under the spotlight as important functions not only for its role as a tumour suppressor but also for its non-cancer associated activities. Drosophila melanogaster is a valuable model to study multiple aspects of normal animal physiology, stress response and disease. In this review, we discuss the contribution of Drosophila studies to the current knowledge on p53 and highlight recent evidences pointing to p53 novel roles in promoting tissue homeostasis and metabolic adaptation.

Predicting protein targets for drug-like compounds using transcriptomics Pabon, Nicolas A.; Xia, Yan; Estabrooks, Samuel K.; Ye, Zhaofeng; Herbrand, Amanda K.; Süß, Evelyn; Biondi, Ricardo Miguel; Assimon, Victoria A.; Gestwicki, Jason E.; Brodsky, Jeffrey L.; Camacho, Carlos J.; Bar-Joseph, Ziv An expanded chemical space is essential for improved identification of small molecules for emerging therapeutic targets. However, the identification of targets for novel compounds is biased towards the synthesis of known scaffolds that bind familiar protein families, limiting the exploration of chemical space. To change this paradigm, we validated a new pipeline that identifies small molecule-protein interactions and works even for compounds lacking similarity to known drugs. Based on differential mRNA profiles in multiple cell types exposed to drugs and in which gene knockdowns (KD) were conducted, we showed that drugs induce gene regulatory networks that correlate with those produced after silencing protein-coding genes. Next, we applied supervised machine learning to exploit drug-KD signature correlations and enriched our predictions using an orthogonal structure-based screen. As a proof-of-principle for this regimen, top-10/top-100 target prediction accuracies of 26% and 41%, respectively, were achieved on a validation of set 152 FDA-approved drugs and 3104 potential targets. We then predicted targets for 1680 compounds and validated chemical interactors with four targets that have proven difficult to chemically modulate, including non-covalent inhibitors of HRAS and KRAS. Importantly, drug-target interactions manifest as gene expression correlations between drug treatment and both target gene KD and KD of genes that act up- or down-stream of the target, even for relatively weak binders. These correlations provide new insights on the cellular response of disrupting protein interactions and highlight the complex genetic phenotypes of drug treatment. With further refinement, our pipeline may accelerate the identification and development of novel chemical classes by screening compound-target interactions.

Las primeras ocupaciones en el alero Potrok Aike 1 (Santa Cruz): evidencias líticas, óseas y paleoambientales; First human occupations in Potrok Aike 1 rockshelter (Santa Cruz): stone tools, bones and paleoenvironmental data Charlin, Judith Emilce; Borrero, Luis Alberto; Gomez Otero, Julieta En este trabajo se presenta información inédita sobre los materiales líticos y óseos de los niveles más tempranos (97-152 cm de profundidad) de la cuadrícula C del alero Potrok Aike 1 (sur de Santa Cruz, campo volcánico Pali Aike). La misma es puesta en relación con las evidencias paleoambientales disponibles a partir del estudio de núcleos de sedimentos de la laguna Potrok Aike. Los resultados señalan cambios y continuidades en diferentes aspectos relacionados con el uso de los recursos faunísticos y de las materias primas líticas entre las ocupaciones más tempranas (≤2300≥1300 años AP) y más tardías del alero (<1300 años AP), como así también en la intensidad de uso del sitio en concordancia con las variaciones climáticas. Finalmente, a partir de una comparación con los estudios arqueológicos previos se evalúa el significado de los hallazgos realizados en el alero en las escalas del sitio, la localidad y la región.; Unpublished information from the lower levels of Potrok Aike 1 Rockshelter, Santa Cruz, Pali Aike Volcanic Field is presented. Lithic and archaeofaunal materials were recovered between 97 and 152 cm at Square C of the rockshelter. This evidence is related with available paleoenvironmental information from deep cores obtained in the Potrok Aike lagoon. Results indicate changes and continuities in the use of faunal remains and lithic raw materials between the older (≥2300≥1300 years BP) and recent (<1300 years BP) occupations. Also changes in the intensity of use of the site concordant with climatic variation were identified. Finally, by comparison with previous archaeological results, the significance of the human occupations recovered at the Potrok Aike Rockshelter is evaluated at the scale of the site, the locality and the region.

El registro lítico en la costa del golfo San Matías (Argentina): Análisis comparativo de los materiales líticos provenientes de depósitos de superficie, enterrados y concheros de la costa rionegrina; The lithic materials from San Matías Gulf coast (Argentina): Comparative analysis of the lithic artifacts from surface, buried deposits and shell middens from the Río Negro province coast Alberti, Jimena; Cardillo, Marcelo En este trabajo se presentan los resultados de los análisis comparativos realizados sobre los materiales líticos provenientes de contextos de concheros, enterrados y superficie de la costa rionegrina del golfo San Matías (Patagonia argentina). Para la comparación se utilizaron variables como el porcentaje de corteza, el grado de fragmentación de los conjuntos, la materia prima y la calidad de las rocas para la talla. También se confrontaron los atributos métricos de las piezas. Los resultados indican que existen diferencias significativas dependiendo de los contextos de recuperación (concheros o superficie). Esta tendencia no estaría relacionada con procesos de formación de los sitios, sino que estaría vinculado a conductas diferenciales de descarte dentro de los mismos espacios.; In this paper we present the results of the comparative analyses carried out on the lithic materials coming from shell middens, buried and surface contexts from San Matías Gulf, on the Río Negro province coast (Argentine Patagonia). For the comparison, we have used variables such as cortex percentage, the fragmentation degree of the assemblages, the raw materials that appear and the quality of the rocks. The metric attributes of the pieces were also compared. The results indicate that there are significant differences depending on the contexts of recovery (shell middens or surface). This trend would be related to the formation processes of the sites, but also it would be linked to differential discard behaviors within the same spaces.

Inter rectores et pastores: Thietmar de Merseburg y la acción episcopal; Inter rectores et pastores: Thietmar of Merseburg and episcopal action Neyra, Andrea Vanina Hace ya algunas décadas, el trabajo de Timothy Reuter generó una serie de cuestionamientos al sistema de la iglesia imperial o Reichskirchensystem, concepto que había prevalecido en la historiografía alemana para explicar la estrecha unión entre obispos y reyes/emperadores de la era otoniana. Aquella mirada estática entendía a las figuras episcopales como meros ejecutores de funciones específicas dentro de dicho sistema. En las últimas décadas han surgido perspectivas más dinámicas que se preguntan por el tipo de oficio surgido de la acción concreta.En el último libro del Chronicon, el cronista y obispo Thietmar de Merseburg reflexiona sobre la tarea del buen pastor y pretende elaborar una serie de consejos para los lectores y sucesores en la silla episcopal. Las sugerencias que se encuentran allí involucran las acciones del mundo terrenal, la administración de la diócesis y el cuidado de las almas, moviéndose entre lo esperado del status episcopal y la construcción y desarrollo personal de la función.Proponemos, entonces, pensar en la figura episcopal manifiesta en la obra de Thietmar a partir del posicionamiento entre esos dos mundos, el secular y el espiritual, y las tensiones involucradas entre los mismos, no sólo en vinculación con la construcción y el ejercicio de la autoridad y la función, sino también con las relaciones con el resto de los poderes.; Some decades ago, Timothy Reuter challenged the imperial church system or Reichskirchensystem, a long-lasting notion in German historiography used to explain the close union between bishops and kings/emperors of the Ottonian era. Following this static view, bishops were considered mere performers of specific functions within said system. Over the last decades, more dynamic perspectives have emerged, inquiring about the type of office rising from concrete actions. In the last book of his Chronicon, the chronicler and Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg reflects on the tasks of the good shepherd and he intends to offer some advice to readers and/or prospect bishops. Suggestions include earthly matters, the administration of the diocese and pastoral care; tackling what is expected as to episcopal status and how the office is personally constructed and developed. This article proposes to analize both the episcopal figure in Thietmar’s Chronicle by placing the bishop in the middle of two worlds: secular and spiritual¸and the tensions deriving from this, not only regarding the construction and exercise of authority, but also in relation with the rest of the (secular) powers.

Cementoin-SLPI fusion protein binds to human monocytes and epithelial cells and shows higher biological activity than SLPI Maffia, Paulo Cesar; Guerrieri, Diego; Villalonga, Ximena Soledad; Caro, Fiorella Yanina; Gómez, Sonia Alejandra; Tateosian, Nancy Liliana; Bogado, Betiana P.; Sánchez, Mercedes Leonor; Ambrosi, Nella Gabriela; Chuluyan, Hector Eduardo Secretory Leukocyte Proteinase Inhibitor (SLPI) is an antiinflammatory peptide that blocks the activity of serine proteases, primarily the neutrophil elastase. In an attempt to direct the activity of SLPI on inflamed sites, a chimera consisting of the transglutaminase II substrate domain of trappin 2 (cementoin), and the mature SLPI protein was constructed. Cell attachment and biological activity were compared between SLPI and this chimera. By using whole cell ELISA, fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry assays we observed that the cementoin-SLPI fusion protein (FP) but not SLPI attached to a human lung epithelial cell line and monocytes. A maximum attachment was achieved 15 min after FP was added to the cell cultures. In an elastase activity assay, we observed that FP retained its antiprotease activity and that at equimolar amount of proteins, FP was more efficient than SLPI in the inhibition. Both, FP and SLPI inhibits IL-2-induced lymphocyte proliferation, however, lower amounts of FP were required to achieve this inhibition. Furthermore, FP binds to mycobacteria and maintained the bactericidal activity observed for SLPI. Overall, these results show that this new chimera is able to attach to the cell surfaces retaining and improving some biological activities described for SLPI.

Crosstalk Between Nitric Oxide and Endocannabinoid Signaling Pathways in Normal and Pathological Placentation Aban, Cyntia Estefania; Accialini, Paula Lucia; Etcheverry, Tomás; Leguizamon, Gustavo Federico; Martinez, Nora Alicia; Farina, Mariana Endocannabinoids are a group of endogenous lipid mediators that act as ligands of cannabinoid and vanilloid receptors, activating multiple signal transduction pathways. Together with enzymes responsible for their synthesis and degradation, these compounds constitute the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which is involved in different physiological processes in reproduction. The placenta, which is essential for the success of gestation and optimal fetal growth, undergoes constant tissue remodeling. ECS members are expressed in trophoblast cells, and current evidence suggests that this system is involved in placental development, apoptosis, and syncytialization. Impairment of endocannabinoid signaling has been associated with several pathological conditions such as intrauterine growth restriction and preeclampsia. Both clinical entities are characterized by dysregulation on vascular perfusion where nitrergic system performs a pivotal role. Nitric oxide (NO) is a potent local vasodepressor that exerts a critical role in the regulation of hemodynamic flow, contributing to the maintenance of low vascular resistance in the feto-placental circulation. NO production could be affected by different factors and growing evidence suggests that the endocannabinoid mediators may regulate nitrergic signaling. Herein, we review emerging knowledge supporting ECS-mediated regulation of NO production in normal placentation. Finally, we discuss how alterations in these systems could affect homoeostasis and contribute to the occurrence of placental-mediated pregnancy complications. Given the impact on women and perinatal heath, we will focus on current knowledge regarding the effects of ECS on nitrergic system in normal and pathological placentation.

An optimization approach for multiperiod production planning in a sawmill Vanzetti, Nicolás Andrés; Broz, Diego Ricardo; Corsano, Gabriela; Montagna, Jorge Marcelo Forest industry plays an important role in the national economic and social context, due to the production volume with significant impact in the region where it is located (northeast of Argentina). Sawmill production planning is a key factor for the development of this industry with serious challenges taking into account the involved interrelated tasks. Assuming a multiperiod perspective, several elements can be considered and more interesting results can be attained. The appropriate procurement of logs is an important part of the problem costs and logging can be improved if the sawmill consumption can be foreseen in advance through an integrated approach. In this work, a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model for the optimal multiperiod planning in sawmills is proposed. An efficient solution is obtained considering a set of cutting patters (CP) for each type of log that optimize raw material yield. As a result of this optimization, appropriate procurement, distribution policy and stock management of logs can be achieved, as well as suitable production plan along the considered periods in order to fulfil the demand, with significant impact on the sawmill performance and profitability.