FeCrAlloy monoliths coated with Ni/Al2O3 applied to the low-temperature production of ethylene Brussino, Paula; Bortolozzi, Juan Pablo; Sanz, Oihane; Montes, Mario; Ulla, Maria Alicia del H.; Banus, Ezequiel David This paper investigates the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to produce ethylene at low temperatures (500°C) in metallic structured substrates. To check this point, the FeCrAlloy® monoliths with different channel sizes (289 - 2360 cpsi) were prepared. The monoliths were coated with a Ni/Al2O3 catalyst (by washcoating of alumina and the latter nickel impregnation) and characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy-Dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX), Temperature-Programmed Reduction (TPR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The catalytic results showed that all monoliths coated with ~300 mg of catalyst presented similar ethane conversion (15%) at  450°C. However, the lowest selectivity to ethylene was found for the monolith with the lower channel size and the higher geometric surface area, where a heterogeneous catalyst layer with Ni enriched islands was generated. Therefore, it can be said that the selectivity to ethylene is linked to the distribution of Ni species on the support (alumina). Nevertheless, in all cases the selectivity was high (above 70%). On the other hand, the stability in reaction tests of one of the coated monoliths was done. This structured catalyst proved to be more stable under reaction conditions than the powder catalyst, with an initial slight drop in the first 8 h but after that, constant activity for the 152 h left.

Proteomic study of the exponential-stationary growth phase transition in the haloarchaea Natrialba magadii and Haloferax volcanii Cerletti, Micaela; Gimenez, Maria Ines; Tröetschel, Christian; D'alessandro, Celeste Paola; Poetsch, Ansgar; de Castro, Rosana Esther; Paggi, Roberto Alejandro The dynamic changes that take place along the phases of microbial growth (lag, exponential, stationary, and death) have been widely studied in bacteria at the molecular and cellular levels, but little is known for archaea. In this study, a high-throughput approach was used to analyze and compare the proteomes of two haloarchaea during exponential and stationary growth: the neutrophilic Haloferax volcanii and the alkaliphilic Natrialba magadii. Almost 2000 proteins were identified in each species (≈50% of the predicted proteome). Among them, 532 and 432 were found to be differential between growth phases in H. volcanii and N. magadii, respectively. Changes upon entrance into stationary phase included an overall increase in proteins involved in the transport of small molecules and ions, stress response, and fatty acid catabolism. Proteins related to genetic processes and cell division showed a notorious decrease in amount. The data reported in this study not only contributes to our understanding of the exponential–stationary growth phase transition in extremophilic archaea but also provides the first comprehensive analysis of the proteome composition of N. magadii. The MS proteomics data have been deposited in the ProteomeXchange Consortium with the dataset identifier JPST000395.

Construcción de alternativas alimentarias en cuatro provincias de Argentina Perez, Daiana; Seplovich, Julieta; Gusman, Natalia; Vidal, Violeta En este trabajo reflexionamos sobre distintos procesos que buscan generar alternativas al sistema alimentario actual en nuestro país: las ferias de intercambio de semillas en Misiones; la experiencia de formación en agroecología desde la Unión de Trabajadores Rurales Sin Tierra (UST) en Mendoza; la primera feria agroecológica de la ciudad de Córdoba; y la construcción de alternativas productivas, económicas y de generación de conocimientos en Entre Ríos. Para esto previamente enmarcamos el contexto agroalimentario argentino y luego compartimos ciertas particularidades productivas e históricas de las distintas provincias seleccionadas para la investigación. Las experiencias son diversas, pero tienen algo en común: las cuatro buscan innovar y crear nuevas relaciones entre mujeres y hombres, y entre ellos y la naturaleza a partir de la producción, el consumo, el intercambio y la formación. Sus devenires serán inciertos, pero tienen una certeza: las relaciones actuales condujeron a una crisis civilizatoria.La metodología utilizada se basa en revisiones bibliográficas, entrevistas y observación participante enmarcadas en distintos proyectos de investigación y militancia. Por un lado, los apartados realizados en torno a las provincias de Córdoba y Entre Ríos forman parte de avances de tesis doctorales desarrolladas con el apoyo del sistema de becas del Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (Conicet): ?Sistemas alimentarios alternativos en el marco de la conflictividad agraria provincial: el caso de la Feria Agroecológica de Córdoba? y ?Experiencias de productores familiares en la construcción de alternativas de producción en Entre Ríos?. Por otro lado, la sección relativa a la provincia de Misiones recupera resultados de una tesis de licenciatura en antropología social sobre el Movimiento por la Semilla Campesina de Misiones y el apartado en torno a Mendoza se enmarca en un proyecto de extensión universitaria junto a la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo que realiza actividades en conjunto con la UST.

En las últimas casamatas: El movimiento estudiantil de la UBA en 1975 Millán, Mariano Ignacio En este artículo analizamos la experiencia del movimiento estudiantil de la Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) durante 1975, observando sus enfrentamientos. Se subrayan los cambios en los modos de acción, escenarios y posicionamientos políticos y universitarios respecto de los años previos. Estos elementos resultan clave para comprender la creciente influencia de las agrupaciones reformistas del Movimiento de Orientación Reformista y Franja Morada, el declive de la Juventud Universitaria Peronista, el drástico viraje de Frente de Agrupaciones Universidades De Izquierda y la circulación de ideas similares a las imperantes en los ´80.

Chronic exposure to environmental stressors enhances production of natural and specific antibodies in rats Cuervo Bustamante, Pablo Fernando; Beldomenico, Pablo Martín; Sanchez, Amorina; Pietrobon, Elisa Olivia; Valdez, Susana Ruth; Racca, Andrea Laura Although the immunosuppressive effect of chronic stress has been established, a stress response that downregulates the whole immune system does not make biological sense, especially if an animal has to endure difficult times in which there is also increased infection risk. At high animal densities, animals are faced simultaneously with food restriction (FR), social conflict (SC), and greater parasite–pathogen exposure. We hypothesized that the stress response to chronic stressors that covary with infection risk is not entirely immunosuppressive. Our prediction was that a chronically stressed animal would respond by enhancing innate defenses, while reducing investment in acquired immunity. In a laboratory setting, rats were exposed to prolonged FR and/or SC, and natural and specific antibody levels were repeatedly measured. Our prediction was fulfilled only partly, as FR and SC interacted to enhance natural antibodies, but rats exposed to either or both stressors also showed significantly higher levels of specific antibodies. These results suggest that, in the rat, chronic stress results in a prioritization of both innate and acquired humoral defenses, which makes biological sense provided the stressors examined usually signal an increased infection risk.

Enunciación, interpelación y producción de políticas educativas recientes. Preguntas desde la teorización del populismo Southwell, Myriam Monica Este artículo reseña tres momentos de la historia educacional argentina reciente, analizando cómo se organizaron los discursos en torno a las disputas por un grupo de significantes. Luego de estos desplazamientos, se presentan unas primeras reflexiones sobre la posición ideológica que se está desplegando en el presente del Estado argentino a partir del cuestionamiento de las décadas previas a través de la noción de populismo.; This article reviews three moments of recent Argentine educational history, analyzing how discourses were organized around disputes by a group of signifiers. After these displacements, we present some first reflections on the ideological position that is unfolding in the present of the Argentine State from the questioning of the previous decades through the notion of populism.

Numerical modelling of 3D sloshing experiments in rectangular tanks Battaglia, Laura; Cruchaga, Marcela; Storti, Mario Alberto; D'elia, Jorge; Núñez Aedo, Jonathan Ricardo; Reinoso, Ricardo This work encompasses numerical and experimental studies of three-dimensional (3D) sloshing problems. The two-fluid viscous flow, which is solved within a stabilized finite element context, involves liquid and gaseous phases. The free surface is captured with a level set (LS) method, including the bounded renormalization with continuous penalization technique, to avoid the well-known spreading of the marker function. Specifically, this technique is improved with a volume-preserving algorithm for long-term analyses. To verify the numerical model, the responses of free-sloshing cases are compared with analytical solutions and other results computed using a Lagrangian technique. These simulations assess the influence of considering two-dimensional (2D) and 3D analyses, as well as the effects of depth and viscosity. This work presents data obtained from a forced sloshing experiment that is specifically devoted to 3D free surface behaviour. Free surface evolution measurements are used to validate the numerical method. Moreover, the effect of the initial conditions used to promote 3D behaviour in the modelling is evaluated.

A silica/carbon composite as anode for lithium-ion batteries with a large rate capability: Experiment and theoretical considerations Lener, German; Garcia Blanco, Andres Alberto; Furlong, Octavio Javier; Nazzarro, Marcelo Sandro; Sapag, Manuel Karim; Barraco Diaz, Daniel Eugenio; Leiva, Ezequiel Pedro M. New generations of materials are necessary to provide practical and economical solutions for electrode fabrication in lithium ion batteries. To this end, in the present work we propose a negative electrode based on a SiO2/C interconnected composite able to charge/discharge at high current regimes while maintaining a very good capacity. In order to have a better understanding of the phenomena that occur in the charge/discharge process, we combined experimental techniques (XPS, DRX, EIS, etc.) with theoretical calculations based on DFT to obtain the thermodynamics of the formation of the reaction products as a function of the cell potential. These results were combined with our experiments and results from the literature to demonstrate the different reactions that could occur. The present material provides a superior performance compared with analogous materials from the literature and may thus be an important tool for obtaining practical solutions in both stationary and mobile electrical devices.

Análisis territorial y temporal del consumo eléctrico en el sector residencial de Argentina (1995-2014); Territorial and temporal analysis of electrical consumption in the residential sector of Argentina (1995-2014); Analyse territoriale et temporaire de la consommation électrique dans le secteur résidentiel de l’Argentine (1995-2014) Chevez, Pedro Joaquín; Martini, Irene; Discoli, Carlos Alberto Se presenta un análisis del consumo eléctrico residencial argentino con el objetivo de comprender: (i) la interacción entre variables climáticas y socio-demográficas en la determinación del consumo eléctrico residencial de las diferentes regiones del país; (ii) la interacción entre dichas variables y el equipamiento domiciliario en la determinación de la demanda eléctrica residencial de las distintas provincias del país; (iii) la relación entre la trayectoria de la demanda por usuario y la evolución del equipamiento a nivel nacional (1995-2014); (iv) la relación entre la demanda por usuario, salario real y tarifa utilizando como ejemplo a la ciudad de La Plata (1995-2014). Para ello, se utiliza cartografía temática, bases de datos climáticas y energéticas, el Censo Nacional y la Encuesta Nacional de Gastos de Hogares (ENGHo), que permiten caracterizar municipios y provincias, recopilar información de años anteriores, construir indicadores de equipamiento y analizar series históricas. Se observa que las mayores demandas eléctricas se presentan en regiones cálidas, justificadas por el uso del equipamiento de climatización de verano. El crecimiento histórico de la demanda a nivel nacional muestra una evolución prácticamente lineal, justificada la incorporación y el recambio de equipamiento. Asimismo, la evolución del consumo por usuario no demuestra relaciones asociadas a cambios tarifarios, subsidios o salarios.; This paper presents an analysis of the argentinean residential electricity consumption with the objective of understanding: (i) the interaction between climatic and socio-demographic variables in the determination of the residential electricity consumption of the different regions of the country; (ii) the interaction between these variables and household equipment in the determination of residential electricity demand in the different provinces of the country; (iii) the relationship between the demand per user trajectory and the evolution of the home appliances at the national level (1995-2014); and (iv) the relationship between the trajectory of demand per user, the real wage and subsidies in the last decades using as a case study the city of La Plata (1995-2014). For this purpose, thematic cartography, climate and energy databases, the National Census and the National Survey of Household Expenditures (ENGHo) are used to characterize municipalities and provinces, to collect information from previous years, to construct equipment indicators and to analyze historical series. It is observed that the greatest demands are observed in warm regions, justified by the use of HVAC systems. The historical growth of demand at the national level shows a practically linear evolution, justified by the incorporation and the replacement of equipment. Likewise, the evolution of consumption per user does not demonstrate direct relations with tariff changes, subsidies or salaries.; Ce travail représente un analyse de la consommation électrique résidentiel argentine avec l’objectif de comprendre: (i) l’interaction entre les variables climatiques et sociodémographiques dans la détermination de la consommation d’électricité résidentielle des différentes régions du pays; (ii) l’interaction entre ces variables et l’équipement ménager dans la détermination de la demande d’électricité résidentielle dans les différentes provinces du pays; (iii) la relation entre le chemin de la demande par usager et l’incorporation ou remplacement de l’équipement au niveau national (1995-2014); et (iv) la relation entre le chemin de la demande par usager, le salaire réal et le prix, on prend comme situation d’étude la ville de La Plata (1995-2014). Pour ce faire, la cartographie thématique est utilisé, ainsi que des bases de données sur le climat, l’énergie, du Recensement National et Enquête sur les Dépenses des Ménages (ENGHo). Ceux-ci permettent de caractériser et de comparer les groupes de provinces, ainsi que de recueillir des informations des années précédentes, construire des indicateurs d’équipement et d’analyser des séries historiques. On observe que les plus hautes demandes de l’énergie électrique au niveau national s’observent aux regions chaudes, cettes demandes justifieés pour l’usage de l’équipement de climatisation d’été. La croissance historique de la demande au niveau national on trouve un comportement pratiquement linéaire soutenu pour un impact clair de l’incorporation et recharge de l’équipement. En outre, l’évolution de la consommation moyenne par usager ne montre pas les relations directes asocieés au changement des taux, aides ou conditions salaraires.

Primer registro del género Actinostachys (Schizaeaceae) para Argentina; First record of the genus Actinostachys (Schizaeaceae) for Argentina Marquez, Gonzalo Javier; Keller, Hector Alejandro Se registra por primera vez para la flora Argentina el helecho Actinostachys pennula (Schizaeaceae), sobre la base de material recién recolectado en el nordeste de la provincia de Misiones. Se incluye una descripción de la especie, observaciones ecológicas, e ilustraciones del esporofito y esporas características de la especie.; First record of the genus Actinostachys (Schizaeaceae) for Argentina. The fern Actinostachys pennula (Schizaeaceae) is cited for the first time from Argentina, on the basis of material recently collected in the northeast of Misiones province. It is provided a description of the species, ecological observations, and illustrations of sporophyte and spores.

The causal effect of an extra year of schooling on skills and knowledge in Latin America. Evidence from PISA Marchionni, Mariana; Vazquez, Emmanuel In this paper, we estimate the causal effect of an extra year of schooling on mathematics performance for seven Latin American countries based on PISA 2012. To that end we exploit exogenous variation in students’ birthdates around the school entry cut-off date using both sharp and fuzzy Regression Discontinuity designs. We find strong effects of an extra year of schooling in most countries, which amount to a 30% increase in PISA test scores in Brazil, 18% in Uruguay, 7% in Argentina and 6% in Costa Rica. These effects differ from the typical estimates obtained from simple regressions or multilevel models and are large enough to allow 15-year-old students to reach higher proficiency levels, suggesting significant potential gains of reducing dropout rates in the region. Finally, we stress the importance of taking into account the effects of school entry cut-off dates on PISA samples to avoid making unfair international comparisons.

A preliminary study of Hello Barbie in Brazil and Argentina Fantinato, Marcelo; Hung, Patrick C.K.; Jiang, Ying; Roa, Jorge; Villarreal, Pablo David; Melaisi, Mohammed; Amancio, Fernanda A smart city is an urban development vision based on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the Internet of things (IoT) for the city?s management and operations. The smart city concept is raised simultaneously in many modern societies. IoT is always playing an important role as smart devices to support complex scenarios in smart cities. A smart toy, such as ?Hello Barbie,? is a smart device consisting of a physical toy component that connects to a computing system with online services through networking to enhance the functionality of a traditional toy. In this research, we particularly studied Brazilian and Argentinian consumers? perceived innovativeness, risks and benefits of smart toys and their purchase intention toward such toys. Results indicate that Brazilian consumers have better perception and evaluation of the toy and thus higher purchase intention than Argentinian consumers do. Such difference may be explained by the cultural differences between the two countries, such as relatively low vs. high uncertainty avoidance. We also provide our recommendations for smart toys manufacturers to address these issues for the future products.

Stage-dependent expression of deltamethrin toxicity and resistance in triatoma infestans (hemiptera: Reduviidae) from Argentina Germano, Mónica Daniela; Picollo, Maria Ines Triatoma infestans Klug (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) is the main vector of Chagas disease in Latin America.This insect has been controlled with pyrethroids since the 1980s, although the emergence of resistance to deltamethrin has decreased control success in some areas of the Gran Chaco ecoregion.The response of T. infestans to deltamethrin was evaluated per developmental stage. In addition, we evaluated the possible stage-dependent expression of deltamethrin resistance.The bioassays were conducted by topical application of the insecticide in acetone.The drop size, age at the time of exposure, and mortality measuring time were standardized per stage. The lethal dose of deltamethrin moderately increased with the developmental stage.The resistance to deltamethrin was expressed in every instar, and was the highest in the fourth- and fifth-instar nymphs.While increasing, weight plays a relevant role in lethal dose stage dependency, a number of contributing factors such as degradative metabolism are probably involved in the variability of insecticide effect and resistance described for different T. infestans developmental stages. Possible explanations for these differences and their implications on resistance management and chemical control are discussed.

"Somos cuerpo, alma y espíritu" : Persona, enfermedad y procesos de sanación y exorcismo en el catolicismo contemporáneo en Argentina; “We are body, soul and spirit”: Person, disease and processes of healing and exorcism in contemporary Catholicism in Argentina Gimenez Beliveau, Veronica; Fernandez, Natalia Soledad En la intersección entre religión y salud, las demandas de sanación, liberación y exorcismo expresan malestares indefinidos que van desde afecciones físicas y psiquiátricas hasta problemas psicológicos y relacionales. Para comprender esta demanda creciente, este estudio se propone analizar, por un lado, las concepciones de persona y enfermedad y, por otro, las terapéuticas que los sacerdotes y sus asistentes ponen en funcionamiento, a partir de una investigación etnográfica con observación participante y entrevistas en profundidad realizadas entre 2013 y 2017 en parroquias de la ciudad de La Plata y otras localidades de la provincia de Buenos Aires. Los resultados nos permiten comprender que la concepción de persona –sobre la cual se desarrollan las terapéuticas– supone un ensanchamiento del individuo hacia los planos físico, psicológico y espiritual, y que las nociones de enfermedad y bienestar abarcan a la persona, a su entorno y a las generaciones pasadas.; At the intersection of religion and health, demands for healing, liberation and exorcism express undefined discomforts that span from physical and psychiatric conditions to relational and psychological problems. To understand this growing demand in the population, this study seeks to analyze, on the one hand, the underlying conceptions of person and disease and, on the other, the therapeutics that priests and their assistants put into action, based on an ethnographic study with participant observation and in-depth interviews carried out between 2013 and 2017 in parishes in the city of La Plata and other localities of the province of Buenos Aires. The results enable us to understand that the conception of person based upon which therapeutic actions are carried out involves an expansion of the individual to the physical, psychological and spiritual planes, and that the notions of disease and wellbeing include the person, their environment and past generations.

Cambios de usos de suelo en Paso de los Libres, Corrientes, Argentina entre 1990 y 2016: impacto del proceso de expansión urbana; Changes in land use in Paso de los Libres, Corrientes, Argentina between 1990 and 2016: Impact of the urban expansion process Gomez, Laura Fabiana El presente trabajo presenta un análisis de los cambios de usos de suelo ocurrido entre los años 1990 y 2016 en la ciudad de Paso de los Libres, Provincia de Corrientes, haciendo especial énfasis sobre aquellos resultantes de la expansión urbana de la ciudad. Se utilizaron imágenes del satélite Landsat 5 -sensor TM- y Landsat 8 -sensor OLI- para cada uno de los momentos citados, Sistemas de Información Geográfica (SIG) y se realizó el análisis de una matriz de tabulación cruzada para detectar información más específica de los cambios ocurridos en el territorio, con el fin de generar evidencia, información y conocimiento sobre las características de la expansión urbana de la ciudad.Las imágenes se clasificaron en cinco categorías: área urbana consolidada, área periurbana, infraestructura, cuerpos y cursos de agua, áreas verdes y cobertura vegetal urbana. Los resultados muestran las particularidades de la expansión urbana reciente, el creciente consumo de suelo urbano, los cambios y la variabilidad en el uso del suelo y la consolidación de una ciudad de bajas densidades.; This paper presents a study of changes in land use occurred between 1990 and 2016 in the city of Paso de los Libres, Province of Corrientes, with special emphasis on those resulting from the urban expansion of the city. Images from the Landsat 5 satellite -sensor TM- and Landsat 8 -sensor OLIwere used for each of the moments mentioned, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the analysis of a cross-tabulation matrix was carried out to detect more specific information of the changes occurred in the territory, in order to generate evidence, information and knowledge about the characteristics of the urban expansion of the city. The images were classified into five categories: consolidated urban area, peri-urban area, infrastructure, bodies and water courses, green areas and urban vegetation cover.

The density-magnetic field relation in the atomic ISM Gazol, A.; Villagran Azuara, Marco Adrian We present numerical experiments aimed to study the correlation between the magnetic field strength, B, and the density, n, in the cold atomic interstellar medium (CNM). We analyse 24 magnetohydrodynamic models with different initial magnetic field intensities (B 0 = 0.4, 2.1, 4.2, and 8.3 μG) and/or mean densities (2, 3, and 4 cm -3 ), in the presence of driven and decaying turbulence, with and without self-gravity, in a cubic computational domain with 100 pc by side. Our main findings are as follows: (i) For forced simulations that reproduce the main observed physical conditions of the CNM in the solar neighbourhood, a positive correlation between B and n develops for all the B 0 values. (ii) The density at which this correlation becomes significant (≲30 cm -3 ) depends onB 0 but is not sensitive to the presence of self-gravity. (iii) The effect of self-gravity, when noticeable, consists of producing a shallower correlation at high densities, suggesting that, in the studied regime, self-gravity induces motions along the field lines. (iv) Self-gravitating decaying modelswhere theCNMis subsonic and sub- Alfvénic with β ≲ 1 develop a high-density positive correlation whose slopes are consistent with a constant β(n). (v) Decaying models where the low-density CNM is subsonic and sub- Alfvénic with β > 1 show a negative correlation at intermediate densities, followed by a high-density positive correlation.

Application of geoarchaeological evolutionary models for the interpretation of complex archaeological structures in the central Ebro Basin (Spain) Peña Monné, José Luis; Sampietro Vattuone, Maria Marta; Picazo Millán, Jesús V.; Longares, Luis Alberto; Pérez Lambán, Fernando; Badia, D. In landscapes that are extremely sensitive to small environmental changes, like some Mediterranean areas, archaeological contexts could present some problems to their interpretation and evolutionary reconstruction. This is the case of Los Pedregales archaeological site, located in the Hoya de Huesca (NE of Spain), where several stone mounds of unknown age and function were found in an extensive badland. The geomorphological, edaphological, and archaeological study, together with radiocarbon and OSL datings and contextualization into the geomorphological regional framework, made it possible to interpret these structures and to establish an evolutionary model. It was determined that they were silos excavated in Pleistocene sands and silts (Unit 1) during the Visigothic and Early Muslim epochs (6th-7th centuries), and that they were later filled with limestone blocks. Successive aggradational and degradational stages (Units 2, 3 and 4) during MCA (Medieval Climatic Anomaly) and LIA (Little Ice Age) periods covered and incised the area, leaving the shape of positive structures included in the badland.

Ecology of freshwater ostracods from Northern Patagonia and their potential application in paleo-environmental reconstructions Coviaga, Corina Anabel; Cusminsky, Gabriela Catalina; Perez, Alejandra Patricia In order to generate a database of the auto-ecology and distribution of Argentinian North Patagonian ostracods (Argentina), a survey in 40 aquatic systems has been carried out. For this purpose, we report the ostracod diversity and assess the relationships between ostracod occurrence and abundance considering abiotic environmental variables. Twenty-two ostracod species have been found, three of which first record for Neotropical region and one for Argentina. Conductivity, temperature, and energy level have significantly explained ostracod distribution and abundance. Based on host waters features, three ostracod assemblages have been recognized: (1) temperate waters with moderate to high conductivity have presented in Sarscypridopsis aculeata, Potamocypris unicaudata, Heterocypris hyalinus, and Cypridopsis vidua as typical fauna; (2) environments with flowing waters were dominated by Ilyocypris ramirezi and Heterocypris incongruens, whereas (3) in cold and low conductivity environments, Tonnacypris lutaria, Eucypris virens, and Bradleystrandesia fuscata were the characteristic taxa. Our data indicate that Patagonian ostracods are largely influenced by host waters features, mainly conductivity and temperature. Likewise, due to the fact that eight of the twenty-two identified taxa in this survey were recovered in Holocene sequences from Patagonia, this study provides valuable information for future paleo-environmental reconstructions in North Patagonia.

Lewis x Antigen is Associated to Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Survival Rabassa, Martín Enrique; Pereyra, Adrian Ignacio; Pereyra, Liliana Valentina; Segal Eiras, Amada; Abba, Martín Carlos; Croce, María Virginia Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is an aggressive disease with poor prognosis without appropriate prognostic markers. Previous research shows that Lewis antigens have been involved in carcinoma dissemination and patients´ survival. Fucosyl and sialyltransferases are the enzymes implicated in the Lewis antigens synthesis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic utility of Lewis antigens in HNSCC. We conducted a prospective research including histological samples from 79 patients with primary HNSCC. Lewis x and sialyl Lewis x expression were detected by immunohistochemistry; patient’s data, progression free, and overall survival were documented. A statistical correlation study of antigenic expression and patients´ histopathological variables was performed. Cox regression models with internal validation procedures were employed to analyze survival data. By immunohistochemistry, Lewis x was detected in 34/79 (43%) tumor samples, while sialyl Lewis x only in 11/79 (14%). Lewis x expression showed a positive correlation with tumor differentiation and a better overall survival for Lewis x + patients was detected. Moreover, multivariate Cox’s regression analysis showed that Lewis x is an independent predictor of better overall survival. The in silico analysis supported the presence of deregulated fucosyl (FUT4) and sialyltransferase (ST3GAL4) in the Lewis synthetic pathway related to patient survival. These results suggest that Lewis x expression is associated with a better outcome in patients with HNSCC.

Altered interferon-γ expression in lymphocytes as a potential peripheral marker of chronic stress-induced cognitive deficit Palumbo, María Laura; Di Rosso, María Emilia; Simon, Elias Hugo; Gonzalez Murano, Maria Rosa; Genaro, Ana Maria It is known that long-term exposure to stressful situations can produce severe consequences affecting behavioral, endocrine and immunological parameters. We have previously shown that stressed BALB/c mice had poor learning performance, which was reverted by glatiramer acetate treatment through a mechanism that likely involved the regulation of the cytokine balance and adult neurogenesis. In addition, recent results suggest that cytokine and neurotrophin expression in the hippocampus displayed similar tendencies as those in the serum. However, if lymphoid cells could be good candidates as peripheral markers of memory impairment have not yet been investigated. For this purpose, we analyzed the spatial memory and the neutrophin and cytokine mRNA levels in lymph nodes and hippocampus in mice submitted to chronic stress treated or not with glatiramer acetate. Results indicated that there was a correlation between the cytokine and neurotrophin mRNA levels in the hippocampus and in the peripheral lymph nodes, and the cognitive performance in BALB/c mice. In particular, our results suggest that altered IFN-γ levels could be used as peripheral biomarker of cognitive deficit and treatment response.