Ciencia y Tecnología
Cuerpos, emociones, temporalidades y espacialidades del personal de salud durante la pandemia del COVID 19; Bodies, emotions, temporalities and spatialities of health personnel during the COVID 19 pandemic
Alzina, Pilar Mercedes; Danel, Paula Mara; Favero Avico, Agustina Maria
El propósito de este artículo es compartir algunas reflexiones sobre las corporalidades y las emociones del personal de salud durante la pandemia del COVID19 en el período marzo 2020 hasta mayo 2021, momento en que se realizó la primer tanda de entrevistas semiestructuradas a 15 profesionales de la salud de todas las regiones del país, en el marco de la Red del Estudio Nacional Colaborativo de Representaciones sobre la Pandemia en Argentina (ENCResPA). El artículo inicia con una introducción que explicita el objetivo del trabajo. En un segundo momento se presenta un apartado metodológico con los criterios elegidos para conformar la muestra cualitativa y la fundamentación teórico - metodológica. En la tercera parte se describen los antecedentes teóricos desde el giro afectivo y los empíricos del tema desarrollado. En la cuarta parte, se describen las percepciones del uso del tiempo y del espacio por parte del personal de salud, en el ámbito familiar y laboral. En la quinta parte se describieron los temores sobre el contagio del COVID 19 y los conflictos que surgieron en el espacio laboral y familiar en el período analizado. Hacia al final, en el sexto apartado, describe cómo se proyectaba el personal de salud para 2022. A modo de cierre, esbozans algunos interrogantes que nos interpelan a seguir reflexionando en torno a los objetivos propuestos.; The purpose of this article is to share some reflections on the corporalities and emotions of health personnel during the COVID19 pandemic in the period from March 2020 to May 2021, when the first round of semi-structured interviews was conducted with 15 health professionals. from all regions of the country, within the framework of the Network of the National Collaborative Study of Representations on the Pandemic in Argentina (ENCResPA). The article begins with an introduction that explains the objective of the work. In a second moment, a methodological section is presented with the criteria chosen to form the qualitative sample and the theoretical-methodological foundation. The third part describes the theoretical background from the affective and empirical background of the topic developed. The fourth part describes the perceptions of the use of time and space by health personnel, in the family and work environment. In the fifth part, the fears about the spread of COVID 19 and the conflicts that arose in the work and family space in the analyzed period were described. Towards the end, in the sixth section, we will describe how the health workforce was projected for 2022. By way of closing, we will outline some questions that challenge us to continue reflecting on the proposed objectives.
Integration of mark–recapture and acoustic detections for unbiased population estimation in animal communities
Integration of mark–recapture and acoustic detections for unbiased population estimation in animal communities
Jarrett, Crinan; Haydon, Daniel T.; Morales, Juan Manuel; Ferreira, Diogo F.; Forzi, Francis Alemanji; Welch, Andreanna J.; Powell, Luke L.; Matthiopoulos, Jason
Abundance estimation methods that combine several types of data are becoming increasingly common because they yield more accurate and precise parameter estimates and predictions than are possible from a single data source. These beneficial effects result from increasing sample size (through data pooling) and complementarity between different data types. Here, we test whether integrating mark–recapture data with passive acoustic detections into a joint likelihood improves estimates of population size in a multi-guild community. We compared the integrated model to a mark–recapture-only model using simulated data first and then using a data set of mist-net captures and acoustic recordings from an Afrotropical agroforest bird community. The integrated model with simulated data improved accuracy and precision of estimated population size and detection parameters. When applied to field data, the integrated model was able to produce, for each bird guild, ecologically plausible estimates of population size and detection parameters, with more precision compared with the mark–recapture model. Overall, our results show that adding acoustic data to mark–recapture analyses improves estimates of population size. With the increasing availability of acoustic recording devices, this data collection technique could readily be added to routine field protocols, leading to a cost-efficient improvement of traditional mark–recapture population estimation.
Paranasal sinus system and upper respiratory tract evolution in Mesozoic pelagic crocodylomorphs
Paranasal sinus system and upper respiratory tract evolution in Mesozoic pelagic crocodylomorphs
Cowgill, Thomas; Young, Mark T.; Schwab, Julia A.; Walsh, Stig; Witmer, Lawrence; Herrera, Laura Yanina; Dollman, Kathleen N.; Choiniere, Jonah N.; Brusatte, Stephen L.
Thalattosuchians were a predominately marine clade of Mesozoic crocodylomorphs, including semi-aquatic teleosauroid and obligately pelagic metriorhynchid subclades. Recent advances in our understanding of thalattosuchian endocranial anatomy have revealed new details of the evolutionary transition from terrestrial to marine to pelagic taxa. Paranasal sinuses, however, have received little attention. Herein, we investigate the evolution of the paranasal sinus system and part of the upper respiratory system (nasopharyngeal ducts) in Thalattosuchia, by reconstructing the nasal and paranasal anatomy in CT scans of seven thalattosuchian skulls: one teleosauroid, two basal metriorhynchoids and four metriorhynchids. Our outgroups were: three extant crocodylian species (including adult and subadult skulls) and the basal crocodyliform Protosuchus. We found thalattosuchians exhibit exceptionally reduced paranasal sinus systems, solely comprising the antorbital sinus, as has been previously proposed. The semi-aquatic basal thalattosuchians Palgiopthalmosuchus gracilirostris and Pelagosaurus typus both have an antorbital sinus partially located medial to a reduced external antorbital fenestra and broadly communicating with the dorsal alveolar canal. In pelagic metriorhynchids, the antorbital cavity is more extensive than in basal taxa and possibly had an active function associated with a hypothesized accessory suborbital diverticulum, but our reconstructions are insufficient to confirm or reject the presence of such a diverticulum. The nasopharyngeal ducts of metriorhynchids are dorsoventrally enlarged, possibly enabling stronger ventilation. The sequence of acquisition of craniofacial adaptations show a mosaic pattern and appears to predate many skeletal adaptations, suggesting these changes occurred early in the thalattosuchian marine transition.
Violacein and its antifungal activity: comments and potentialities
Violacein and its antifungal activity: comments and potentialities
Durán, N.; Castro, Guillermo Raul; Portela, R. W. D.; Fávaro, W. J.; Durán, M.; Tasic, L.; Nakazato, G.
Violacein is an important natural antimicrobial pigment that is mainly produced by Chromobacterium violaceum and Janthinobacterium lividum. It presents a significant range of effects against phytopathogenic and human fungi, besides being featured as having low toxicity, and by its important ecological role in protecting amphibian species and applications in dyed medical fabric. The hypothesis about violacein's action mechanisms against mucormycosis (Rhizopus arrhizus) and candidiasis (Candida auris) is herein discussed based on data available in the scientific literature.
Shocks in the Outflow of the RS Oph 2021 Eruption Observed with X-Ray Gratings
Shocks in the Outflow of the RS Oph 2021 Eruption Observed with X-Ray Gratings
Orio, Marina; Behar, E.; Luna, Gerardo Juan Manuel; Drake, J. J.; Gallagher, J.; Nichols, J. S.; Ness, J. U.; Dobrotka, A.; Mikolajewska, J.; Della Valle, M.; Ignace, R.; Rahin, R.
The 2021 outburst of the symbiotic recurrent nova RS Oph was observed with the Chandra High Energy Transmission Gratings (HETG) on day 18 after optical maximum and with XMM-Newton and its Reflection Grating Spectrographs (RGS) on day 21, before the supersoft X-ray source emerged and when the emission was due to shocked ejecta. The absorbed flux in the HETG 1.3-31 Å range was 2.6 × 10-10 erg cm-2 s-1, three orders of magnitude lower than the γ-ray flux measured on the same date. The spectra are well fitted with two components of thermal plasma in collisional ionization equilibrium, one at a temperature ≃ 0.75 keV and the other at a temperature in the 2.5-3.4 keV range. With the RGS we measured an average flux of 1.53 × 10-10 erg cm-2 s-1 in the 5-35 Å range, but the flux in the continuum and especially in the lines in the 23-35 Å range decreased during the 50 ks RGS exposure by almost 10%, indicating short-term variability on a timescale of hours. The RGS spectrum can be fitted with three thermal components, respectively at plasma temperatures between 70 and 150 eV, 0.64 keV, and 2.4 keV. The post-maximum epochs of the exposures fall between those of two grating spectra observed in the 2006 eruption on days 14 and 26: they are consistent with a similar spectral evolution, but in 2021 cooling seems to have been more rapid. Iron is depleted in the ejecta with respect to solar values, while nitrogen is enhanced.
Temporal integration of rod signals in luminance and chromatic pathways
Temporal integration of rod signals in luminance and chromatic pathways
Cormenzana Méndez, Iñaki; Martín, Andrés; O´donell, Beatriz Maria; Cao, Dingcai; Barrionuevo, Pablo Alejandro
We assessed how rod excitation (R) affects luminance (L + M + S) and chromatic [L/(L + M)] reaction times (RTs). A four-primary display based on the overlapped images of two spectrally modified monitors, which allowed specific or combined [L + M + S + R, L/(L + M) + R] photoreceptor stimulation, was used to present a C-target stimulus differing from the background only by the selected stimulation. For the luminance pathway, rod input increased RTs, suggesting a suppressive rod-cone interaction. The responses of the chromatic pathway were faster when rods were involved, suggesting a major role of rods in mesopic color perception.
The Valcheta Petrified Forest (Upper Cretaceous), Northern Patagonia, Argentina: A Geological And Paleobotanical Survey
The Valcheta Petrified Forest (Upper Cretaceous), Northern Patagonia, Argentina: A Geological And Paleobotanical Survey
Passalia, Mauro Gabriel; Garrido, A.; Iglesias, Ari; Vera, Ezequiel Ignacio
The Valcheta Petrified Forest is located in the northeast of the Río Negro Province, Argentina. This work provides a geological characterization of the site and a survey of the fossil logs exposed on the surface and their systematic study. The fossiliferous levels bearing the silicified logs are here referred to the Allen Formation (middle-upper Campanian – lower Maastrichtian, Malargüe Group). These deposits crop out in patches in the study area, and have been deposited on a paleorelief carved in Eopaleozoic rocks of the Nahuel Niyeu Formation being mostly covered by thin layers of Quaternary sediments. The Valcheta Petrified Forest was developed on the margins of a braided fluvial system. Numerous silicified logs have been located at the site. They consist of large axes, not found in life position, with monopodial growth, some of which retain the bases of lateral branches and flared-like base. The estimated height and ages of these trees suggests that it consisted of a mature forest. No other associated vegetative or reproductive structures have been found. Anatomically, a single xylological type has been distinguished and assigned to Podocarpoxylon mazzonii (Petriella) Müller-Stoll et Schultze-Motel, (Podocarpaceae). This taxon has been previously identified from other localities of the Upper Cretaceous to the Danian of Patagonia although never preserved in such complete tree grow architecture. This shows that, along others conifers, cycads and palms, P. mazzonii would have constituted an important element of the arboreal strata in the North Patagonian forest communities during the Campanian–Danian interval producing monotypic patches in some areas.
On the use of espina corona gum as a polymeric additive in water-based drilling fluid
On the use of espina corona gum as a polymeric additive in water-based drilling fluid
Villada Villada, Yurany Andrea; Taverna, María Eugenia; Maffi, Juan Martín; Giletta, Sebastian; Casis, Natalia; Estenoz, Diana Alejandra
The aim of this work is to evaluate the espina corona gum (ECG) as a sustainable viscosifier or filtration reducer additive in water-based drilling fluids (WBMs) as a potential replacement of guar gum (GG). ECG is a galactomannan isolated from leguminous seeds of Gleditsia amorphoides, trees that grow in South America with viscosifier properties and applications in the food area. ECG was characterized by FTIR, Z potential, intrinsic viscometry, TGA, and steady and oscillatory shear rheological analysis. Moreover, its effect on the main functional properties of WBMs was studied. Fluids containing bentonite (BT), polyanionic cellulose (PAC), GG or ECG were prepared, and rheological, filtration, thermal and structural properties were determined. In order to study the theoretical rheological behavior, several models such as power law, Sisko and Herschel-Bulkley were evaluated. The rheological studies revealed that WBMs containing ECG exhibit higher viscosities in comparison with those with GG. Herschel-Bulkley parameters indicated that the WBMs with high ECG concentration showed higher yield stress. In addition, the presence of ECG improves the thermal stability and filtration properties. The results indicate that ECG can be considered as an innovative, renewable and non-toxic alternative to partially or totally replace GG in WBMs.
Endpoint estimates for harmonic analysis operators associated with Laguerre polynomial expansions
Endpoint estimates for harmonic analysis operators associated with Laguerre polynomial expansions
Betancor, Jorge J.; Dalmasso, Estefanía Dafne; Quijano, Pablo; Scotto, Roberto
In this paper we give a criterion to prove boundedness results for several operators from H1 ((0, ∞), γα) to L 1 ((0, ∞), γα) and also from L∞((0, ∞), γα) to BMO((0, ∞), γα), with respect to the probability measure dγα(x) = 2 Γ(α+1) x 2α+1e −x 2 dx on (0, ∞) when α > − 1 2 . We shall apply it to establish endpoint estimates for Riesz transforms, maximal operators, Littlewood-Paley functions, multipliers of Laplace transform type, fractional integrals and variation operators in the Laguerre setting.
Co-limitation towards lower latitudes shapes global forest diversity gradients
Co-limitation towards lower latitudes shapes global forest diversity gradients
Liang, Jingjing; Gamarra, Javier G. P.; Picard, Nicolas; Zhou, Mo; Pijanowski, Bryan; Jacobs, Douglass F.; Reich, Peter B.; Crowther, Thomas W.; Nabuurs, Gert Jan; de Miguel, Sergio; Fang, Jingyun; Woodall, Christopher W.; Svenning, Jens-christian; Jucker, Tommaso; Bastin, Jean-Francois; Wiser, Susan K.; Slik, Ferry; Hérault, Bruno; Alberti, Giorgio; Keppel, Gunnar; Hengeveld, Geerten M.; Ibisch, Pierre L.; Silva, Carlos A.; ter Steege, Hans; Peri, Pablo Luis; Coomes, David A.; Searle, Eric B.; von Gadow, Klaus; Jaroszewicz, Bogdan; Abbasi, Akane O.
The latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG) is one of the most recognized global patterns of species richness exhibited across a wide range of taxa. Numerous hypotheses have been proposed in the past two centuries to explain LDG, but rigorous tests of the drivers of LDGs have been limited by a lack of high-quality global species richness data. Here we produce a high-resolution (0.025° × 0.025°) map of local tree species richness using a global forest inventory database with individual tree information and local biophysical characteristics from ~1.3 million sample plots. We then quantify drivers of local tree species richness patterns across latitudes. Generally, annual mean temperature was a dominant predictor of tree species richness, which is most consistent with the metabolic theory of biodiversity (MTB). However, MTB underestimated LDG in the tropics, where high species richness was also moderated by topographic, soil and anthropogenic factors operating at local scales. Given that local landscape variables operate synergistically with bioclimatic factors in shaping the global LDG pattern, we suggest that MTB be extended to account for co-limitation by subordinate drivers.
Pollination service and soybean yields
Pollination service and soybean yields
Santone, Antonella; Mazzei, Mariana Paola; Vesprini, Jose Luis; Torres, Carolina Cecilia; Amarilla, Leonardo; Galetto, Leonardo
Soybean is the most important crop for Argentina in terms of cultivated area and annually exported tons. Although soybean is autogamous, crop yields can be enhanced by pollinators. The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of insect pollination on soybean production. A pollination exclusion experiment (15 replications) was conducted to analyze the effects on seed production per plant in three stands located in the adjacence to a 100 Ha forested park, which was considered the main potential source of wild pollinators to soybean flowers. Fruits and seeds produced per plant –controlled by vegetative growth-were compared between plants with flowers open to pollinators and fully-caged plants (with flowers excluded from pollinators). A control treatment for the shading effect of the cages used for pollinator exclusion was also performed. Pollination was estimated by pollen deposited on stigmas. The number of pollen grains deposited on stigmas of open-pollinated flowers was higher than that of excluded flowers (27.3 vs 6.9 pollen grains per stigma, respectively). Reproductive variables (# of fruits and # of seeds per plant; total yield per plant) showed lower values (13–25% of reduction according to the variable) in excluded flowers compared to those from open-pollinated flowers. The contribution of biotic pollination to soybean production could be important because when pollinators are excluded pollen deposition and crop yields decrease. The soybean pollination service could be considered as part of the green infrastructure needed to maintain or to improve soybean yields.
Alternative Properties in Liquid Fuels and Blends
Alternative Properties in Liquid Fuels and Blends
Romano, Silvia Daniela; Sorichetti, P. A.
This work summarises the results of the research program at the Renewable Energy Group (GER) of the University of Buenos Aires on alternative properties for the characterization of liquid fuels. The study included fossil fuels: diesel fuel, gasoline, and methanol, and biofuels: biodiesel from different feedstocks and bioethanol. Blends of diesel fuel/biodiesel, gasoline/bioethanol, gasoline/methanol, biodiesel/butanol, and diesel fuel/biodiesel/butanol were also studied. The electrical, acoustical, and optical properties of fuels and blends were determined as a function of temperature and composition. From these results, the composition of blends was accurately estimated from measurements of permittivity and temperature. The research program included the study of correlations of the alternative properties with those indicated in the international quality standards for liquid fuels (kinematic viscosity, methanol content, flash point). These correlations make possible to verify the quality of liquid fuels with simpler and more convenient measurements in industrial settings, and also in the laboratory.
The importance of RHAMM in the normal brain and gliomas: physiological and pathological roles
The importance of RHAMM in the normal brain and gliomas: physiological and pathological roles
Pibuel, Matías Arturo; Poodts, Daniela; Molinari, Yamila Azul; Díaz, Mariángeles; Amoia, Sofía; Byrne, Agustin Jesus; Hajos, Silvia Elvira; Lompardía, Silvina Laura; Franco, Paula Gabriela
Although the literature about the functions of hyaluronan and the CD44 receptor in the brain and brain tumours is extensive, the role of the receptor for hyaluronan-mediated motility (RHAMM) in neural stem cells and gliomas remain poorly explored. RHAMM is considered a multifunctional receptor which performs various biological functions in several normal tissues and plays a significant role in cancer development and progression. RHAMM was first identified for its ability to bind to hyaluronate, the extracellular matrix component associated with cell motility control. Nevertheless, additional functions of this protein imply the interaction with different partners or cell structures to regulate other biological processes, such as mitotic-spindle assembly, gene expression regulation, cell-cycle control and proliferation. In this review, we summarise the role of RHAMM in normal brain development and the adult brain, focusing on the neural stem and progenitor cells, and discuss the current knowledge on RHAMM involvement in glioblastoma progression, the most aggressive glioma of the central nervous system. Understanding the implications of RHAMM in the brain could be useful to design new therapeutic approaches to improve the prognosis and quality of life of glioblastoma patients.
Participación estudiantil y digitalización de la vida en común: notas sobre una experiencia
Participación estudiantil y digitalización de la vida en común: notas sobre una experiencia; Student participation and digitization of life together: notes on an experience
Southwell, Myriam Monica; Almuna, Martín
Este artículo se concentrará en las estrategias impulsadas por la Dirección Provincial de Educación Secundaria de la provincia de Buenos Aires, destinadas a impulsar la participación estudiantil y la convivencia, entre los años 2020 y 2021. Se presenta la experiencia de trabajo en soporte digital llevada adelante desde las líneas de trabajo “Construir Ciudadanía” y “Lenguajes contemporáneos” en el marco del ASPO y DISPO producto de la pandemia.; This article will focus on the strategies promoted by the Provincial Directorate of Secondary Education of the province of Buenos Aires, aimed at promoting student participation and coexistence, between 2020 and 2021. It presents the experience of work in digital support carried out from the lines of work "Building Citizenship" and "Contemporary Languages" in the framework of ASPO and DISPO as a result of the pandemic.
Estructura de capital político de los intendentes de una provincia argentina: El caso de Santiago del Estero, 2006–2018
Estructura de capital político de los intendentes de una provincia argentina: El caso de Santiago del Estero, 2006–2018; Political Capital Structure of the Intendants of an Argentine Province: The Case of Santiago del Estero, 2006-2018
Campos, Hernán
En este artículo se analizan las estructuras de capital político de los intendentes de la provincia de Santiago del Estero en el periodo 2006–2018. Se parte de que estos representantes portan una serie de atributos que combinados conforman una estructura de capital político que les posibilita ser electos. Durante el proceso de investigación se construyeron cuatro especies de capital político. Los medios de interrogación en el proceso de investigación fueron registros de observación en actividades partidarias, entrevistas a intendentes y trabajo de archivo en diarios provinciales y tribunal electoral provincial sobre cuatro épocas electorales (2006, 2010, 2014 y 2018). Los resultados muestran la importancia del capital territorial y la combinación con otras especies de capital político, principalmente el capital de género y el capital socioprofesional.; This paper analyses the political capital structures of the province Intendants of Santiago del Estero in the period 2006-2018. It is assumed that these representatives hold a set of attributes that, combined, make up a structure of political capital that enables them to be elected. Based on a research process, four types of political capital are constructed. The means of interrogation in the research process were observation records of partisan activities, interviews with Intendants and archival work in province newspapers, and the provincial electoral court on four elections (2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018). The results show the importance of territorial capital and the combination with other kinds of political capital, mainly gender capital and socio-professional capital.
Search strategy for gluinos at the LHC with a Higgs boson decaying into tau leptons
Search strategy for gluinos at the LHC with a Higgs boson decaying into tau leptons
Arganda Carreras, Ernesto; Delgado, Antonio; Morales, Roberto Anibal; Quirós, Mariano
The possibility in supersymmetric scenarios that the dark matter candidate is a Higgsino-like neutralino means that its production can be associated with Higgs bosons. Taking advantage of this fact, we propose a LHC search strategy for gluinos with τ leptons in the final state, coming from the decay of a Higgs boson. We consider the strong production of a pair of gluinos, one of which decays into the Higgsino plus jets while the other decays into the bino plus jets. In turn, this bino decays into the Higgsino plus a Higgs boson which finally decays into a τ-lepton pair. Therefore, the experimental signature under study consists of 4 jets, 2 τ leptons, and a large amount of missing transverse energy. This work represents a proof of principle of a search that is sensitive to a spectrum such that the gluino does not directly decay to the dark matter candidate but to an intermediate electroweakino that then produces Higgs bosons in its subsequent decay. Our cut-based search strategy allows us to reach, for a LHC center-of-mass energy of 14 TeV and a total integrated luminosity of 1 ab- 1, significances of up to 2 standard deviations, considering systematic uncertainties in the SM background of 30%. The projections for 3 ab- 1 are encouraging, with significances at the evidence level, which in more optimistic experimental scenarios could exceed 4 standard deviations.
Health index for power transformer condition assessment: A comparison of three different techniques
Health index for power transformer condition assessment: A comparison of three different techniques
Zaldivar Sanchez, Diego Armando; Romero Quete, Andrés Arturo
In practice, the condition state of Power Transformers (PT) is quantified by using Health Index (HI). This paper analyzes and compares three different state-of-the-art algorithms to compute HI. The first one uses a Weighted Sum Model (WSM), the second is based on a Fuzzy Inference System (FIS), and the third combines both techniques, i.e., WSM and FIS. These three approaches are tested in a PT fleet composed of 30 units. Results show that each approach produces different HI values for the same PTs. Therefore, decision making regarding the PT fleet will depend on the selected approach for HI calculation. This work proposes merging the knowledge involved in each analyzed approach by using a K-means clustering technique to overcome this drawback. This solution could help the asset manager to make adequate decisions regarding the maintenance scheduling of PT when there is uncertainty about the appropriate approach to be selected.
Challenges and opportunities of hard endosperm food grade maize sourced from South America to Europe
Challenges and opportunities of hard endosperm food grade maize sourced from South America to Europe
Borras, Lucas; Caballero Rothar, Nancy Noemi; Saenz, Ezequiel; Seguí Rosales, Micaela; Gerde, Jose Arnaldo
Food grade maize dedicated to dry milling is an ingredient used in everyday foods, such as breakfast cereals, snacks, baked goods, and beer. Argentina has developed a supply chain producing high quality food grade hard endosperm maize for national and international dry milling markets. In modern times, European countries uniquely source their imported hard endosperm food grade maize from Argentina. Here we describe some of the challenges and opportunities this centralized supply chain is facing. There is a 10–30% yield gap between regular dent and hard endosperm commercial hybrids, depending on the specific genotype and environment, and we anticipate it will continue increasing. Grain quality vs. yield trade-off is the most important challenge, and to cope with this issue the supply chain is slowly adapting to use food grade hybrids with higher physical field yields but slightly lower grain hardness than traditional ones. However, there is a clear opportunity to genetically manipulate grain hardness thanks to the known role of the specific proteins involved. Another opportunity is crop management optimization at the field level. Minimum advice is given to farmers other than genotype selection, leaving them with limited decision support regarding fertilizer or plant population, two management practices with significant grain quality effects. Opportunities also arise from market development based on the nutritional characteristics of this specialty grain (such as 122% higher β-branch carotenoids, 4% lower glycemic index of cooked flours because of lower starch digestibility, and 37% higher grain Zn than softer dent germplasm), or sustainability aspects of the supply chain. We highlight the capacity to track farmers through the current use of identity preserved (IP) programs detailing where, who, and how the grain was produced or impose any needed farming practice change. All these aspects are relevant for other food chains using maize dry milling products around the globe.
On the neural network flow of spin configurations
On the neural network flow of spin configurations
Acevedo, Santiago Daniel; Lamas, Carlos Alberto; Costa, Alejo; Sturla, Mauricio Bernardo; Grigera, Tomas Sebastian
We study the so-called neural network flow of spin configurations in the 2-d Ising ferromagnet. This flow is generated by successive reconstructions of spin configurations, obtained by an artificial neural network like a restricted Boltzmann machine or an autoencoder. It was reported recently that this flow may have a fixed point at the critical temperature of the system, and even allow the computation of critical exponents. Here we focus on the flow produced by a fully-connected autoencoder, and we refute the claim that this flow converges to the critical point of the system by directly measuring physical observables, and showing that the flow strongly depends on the network hyperparameters. We explore the network metric, the reconstruction error, and we relate it to the so called intrinsic dimension of data, to shed light on the origin and properties of the flow.
Molecular basis of the anchoring and stabilization of human islet amyloid polypeptide in lipid hydroperoxidized bilayers
Molecular basis of the anchoring and stabilization of human islet amyloid polypeptide in lipid hydroperoxidized bilayers
Espinosa Silva, Yanis Ricardo; Barrera Valderrama, Daniel I.; Carlevaro, Carlos Manuel; Llanos, Eugenio J.
The molecular structure of membrane lipids is formed by mono- or polyunsaturations on their aliphatic tails that make them susceptible to oxidation, facilitating the incorporation of hydroperoxide (R-OOH) functional groups. Such groups promote changes in both composition and complexity of the membrane significantly modifying its physicochemical properties. Human Langerhans islets amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) is the main component of amyloid deposits found in the pancreas of patients with type-2 diabetes (T2D). hIAPP in the presence of membranes with oxidized lipid species accelerates the formation of amyloid fibrils or the formation of intermediate oligomeric structures. However, the molecular bases at the initial stage of the anchoring and stabilization of the hIAPP in a hydroperoxidized membrane are not yet well understood. To shed some light on this matter, in this contribution, three bilayer models were modeled: neutral (POPC), anionic (POPS), and oxidized (POPCOOH), and full atom Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations were performed. Our results show that the POPCOOH bilayer increases the helicity in hIAPP when compared to POPC or POPS bilayer. The modification in the secondary structure covers the residues of the so-called amyloidogenic core of the hIAPP. Overall, the hydroperoxidation of the neutral lipids modifies both the anchoring and the stabilization of the peptide hIAPP by reducing the random conformations of the peptide and increasing of hydrogen bond population with the hydroperoxidized lipids.
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