Search

Homeostatic proliferation (HSP) is a major mechanism by which long-lived naïve and memory CD4+ T cells are maintained in vivo and suggested to contribute to the persistence of the latent HIV-1 reservoir. However, while many in vitro latency models rely on CD4+ T cells that were initially differentiated via T-cell receptor stimulation (TCR) into memory/effector cells, latent infection of naïve resting CD4+ T cells maintained under HSP conditions has not been fully addressed. Here we describe an in vitro HSP culture system utilizing the cytokines IL-7 and IL-15 that allows studying latency in naïve resting CD4+ T cells. CD4+ T cells isolated from several healthy donors were infected with HIV pseudotypes expressing GFP and cultured under HSP conditions or TCR conditions as control. Cell proliferation, phenotype and GFP expression were analyzed by flow cytometry. RNA expression was quantified by qRT-PCR. Under HSP culture conditions, latently HIV-1 infected naïve cells are in part maintained in the non-dividing (= resting) state. Although a few HIV-1 provirus+ cells were present in these resting GFP negative cells, the estimated level of GFP transcripts per infected cell seems to indicate a block at the post-transcriptional level. Interestingly, neither TCR nor the prototypic HDAC inhibitor SAHA were able to reactivate HIV-1 provirus from these cells. This lack of reactivation was not due to methylation of the HIV LTR. These results point to a mechanism of HIV control in HSP-cultured resting naïve CD4+ T cells that may be distinct from that in TCR-stimulated memory/effector T cells.

IntroductionPatients with coronary artery disease (CAD) have a higher risk of developing cognitive impairment and mental health disorders compared to the general population. Physical exercise might improve their brain health. The overall goal of the HEART-BRAIN randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to investigate the effects of different types of exercise on brain health outcomes in patients with CAD, and the underlying mechanisms.MethodsThis three-arm, single-blinded RCT will include 90 patients with CAD (50–75 years). Participants will be randomized into: (1) control group—usual care (n = 30), (2) aerobic high-intensity interval training (HIIT) (n = 30), or (3) HIIT combined with resistance exercise training (n = 30). The 12-week intervention includes 3 supervised sessions (45-min each) per week for the exercise groups. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and post-intervention. The primary outcome is to determine changes in cerebral blood flow assessed by magnetic resonance imaging. Secondary outcomes include changes in brain vascularization, cognitive measures (i.e., general cognition, executive function and episodic memory), and cardiorespiratory fitness. Additional health-related outcomes, and several potential mediators and moderators will be investigated (i.e., brain structure and function, cardiovascular and brain-based biomarkers, hemodynamics, physical function, body composition, mental health, and lifestyle behavior).ConclusionThe HEART-BRAIN RCT will provide novel insights on how exercise can impact brain health in patients with CAD and the potential mechanisms explaining the heart-brain connection, such as changes in cerebral blood flow. The results may have important clinical implications by increasing the evidence on the effectiveness of exercise-based strategies to delay cognitive decline in this high-risk population.Clinical trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, identifier [NCT06214624].

This work aims to advance the optimisation of the efficiency of thermal installations in buildings, contributing to the achievement of Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB) in the context of maintenance and operation. This is achieved through an innovative proposal that merges machine learning techniques with thermoeconomics to perform diagnoses in building thermal systems and identify cost overruns generated by intrinsic anomalies in the components and quantify their induced effects on the rest of the components. To date, the few contributions combining these techniques have been limited to industrial applications and cost calculation, without addressing their application to building thermal systems, both from a dynamic perspective and for maintenance purposes. Research using Physics-Informed Neural Networks, PINNs, in this area is even scarcer, which underlines the complexity of defining a suitable methodology. Thus, the proposal integrates PINNs with a thermoeconomic diagnosis based on characteristic curves, allowing the comparison of the current operating condition with an anomaly-free reference condition to assess the existence of anomalies and their effects. For this reason, reference models are generated for the first time with PINNs, which represents a break with the conventional maintenance approaches used by professionals in the sector. Therefore, this methodology incorporates techniques that require specialised knowledge in thermodynamic and informatics areas, which motivates the present work to be focused on the exhaustive description of the methodology and to highlight the importance of continuing to explore lines of research in this unexplored field.

Compact Ultramassive Antenna Array (CUMA) is a pioneering paradigm that leverages the flexibility of the Fluid Antenna System (FAS) to enable a simple multiple access scheme for massive connectivity without the need for precoding, power control at the base station or interference mitigation in each user’s equipment. In order to overcome the mathematical intricacy required to analyze their performance, we use an asymptotic matching approach to relax such complexity with remarkable accuracy. First, we analyze the performance of the CUMA network in terms of the outage probability (OP) and the ergodic rate (ER), deriving simple and highly accurate closed-form approximations of the channel statistics. Then, we evaluate the potential of the CUMA scheme to provide secure multi-user communications from a physical layer security perspective. Leveraging a tight approximation to the signal-to-interference-ratio (SIR) distribution, we derive closed-form expressions for the secrecy outage probability (SOP). We observe that the baseline CUMA (without side information processing) exhibits limited performance when eavesdroppers are equipped with a CUMA of the same type. To improve their secure performance, we suggest that a simple imperfect interference cancelation mechanism at the legitimate receiver may substantially increase the secrecy performance. Monte Carlo simulations validate our approximations and demonstrate their accuracy under different CUMA-based scenarios.

We investigate the application of the Lomax distribution for wireless fading modeling purposes. By a proper redefinition of its scale parameter, we present closed-form expressions for its main statistics: probability density function, cumulative distribution function, raw moments and Laplace-domain statistics. Then, relevant performance indicators are derived, including the amount of fading, channel capacity, outage probability and error rate. Other applications include diversity reception using selection combining, as well as composite fading modeling. The Lomax distribution is compared to the relevant case of Rayleigh fading, and to other benchmark distributions of similar complexity used in the literature.

Background: Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by structural changes in the brain, including hippocampal atrophy, cortical thinning, amyloid plaques, and tau tangles. Due to the aging of the global population, the burden of Alzheimer’s disease is expected to increase, making the exploration of non-pharmacological interventions, such as physical exercise, an urgent priority. Results: There is emerging evidence that regular physical exercise may mitigate the structural and functional declines associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The underlying mechanisms, however, remain poorly understood. Gut–brain axis research is a promising area for further investigation. This system involves bidirectional communication between the gut microbiome and the brain. According to recent studies, the gut microbiome may influence brain health through modulating neuroinflammation, producing neuroactive compounds, and altering metabolic processes. Exercise has been shown to alter the composition of the gut microbiome, potentially impacting brain structure and function. In this review, we aim to synthesize current research on the relationship between physical exercise, structural brain changes in Alzheimer’s disease, and the gut–brain axis. Conclusions: In this study, we will investigate whether changes in the gut microbiome induced by physical exercise can mediate its neuroprotective effects, offering new insights into the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. By integrating findings from neuroimaging studies, clinical trials, and microbiome research, this review will highlight potential mechanisms. It will also identify key gaps in the literature. This will pave the way for future research directions.

There is currently concern about the decrease in physical activity participation among university students. To address this issue, different pedagogical approaches have been developed to improve participants’ motivation, with gamification standing out among them. Gamification integrates game design elements into learning environments to increase responsibility, motivation, and engagement in physical activities in different educational stages through intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, although evidence is limited and diverse. Therefore, this study investigates how gamification affects the motivational profile of university students in the context of physical activity. The study was conducted with university students of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences (n = 72), using an experimental design that included a gamified group (GG) and a control group (CG) without gamification. A questionnaire was used to measure motivation before and after the intervention. The results showed a significant increase in intrinsic motivation and a decrease in amotivation in the gamified group, while no significant changes were observed in the control group. However, there were increases in extrinsic motivation in both groups. These findings suggest that gamification can be effective in improving intrinsic motivation and reducing amotivation in university students for physical activity as well as enhancing extrinsic motivation considering the rewards used.

Abstract Latency is a major barrier towards virus elimination in HIV-1-infected individuals. Yet, the mechanisms that contribute to the maintenance of HIV-1 latency are incompletely understood. Here we describe the Schlafen 12 protein (SLFN12) as an HIV-1 restriction factor that establishes a post-transcriptional block in HIV-1-infected cells and thereby inhibits HIV-1 replication and virus reactivation from latently infected cells. The inhibitory activity is dependent on the HIV-1 codon usage and on the SLFN12 RNase active sites. Within HIV-1-infected individuals, SLFN12 expression in PBMCs correlated with HIV-1 plasma viral loads and proviral loads suggesting a link with the general activation of the immune system. Using an RNA FISH-Flow HIV-1 reactivation assay, we demonstrate that SLFN12 expression is enriched in infected cells positive for HIV-1 transcripts but negative for HIV-1 proteins. Thus, codon-usage dependent translation inhibition of HIV-1 proteins participates in HIV-1 latency and can restrict the amount of virus release after latency reversal.

The diverse morphological configurations in teeth present clinical challenges in root canal treatment, complicating instrumentation and irrigation processes, which can lead to treatment failure. Understanding anatomical variations, such as C-shaped canals and radix entomolaris, enhances clinical skills and improves long-term endodontic treatment success rates. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) offers superior diagnostic capabilities over conventional radiography, enabling the pre-operative detection of root configurations and canal numbers, facilitating personalized endodontic treatments. A total of 2173 teeth of a Mexican population, including 1057 first mandibular molars and 1116 s mandibular molars, were studied using only CBCT to identify C-shaped canals and radix configurations of patients who were treated from 2018 to 2023 at the Department of Radiology at the Faculty of Dentistry, Juarez University of the State of Durango, Mexico. C-shaped canals were identified in 160 teeth, with a prevalence of 0.2% in first mandibular molars and 14.1% in second mandibular molars. The highest frequency was in the left second mandibular molar (3.7) at 14.8%. Gender differences were significant, with higher prevalence in females (27.3%) compared to males (13.3%). The most common C-shaped canal configuration was type C2 (39.3%). Radix entomolaris was found in 52 teeth, with a prevalence of 3.4% in first mandibular molars and 1.4% in second mandibular molars. This research on a Mexican population using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) highlights significant findings in the prevalence and types of C-shaped canals and radix entomolaris in mandibular molars for this population. The left second mandibular molar (3.7) showed the highest prevalence at 14.8%, followed closely by the right second mandibular molar (4.7) at 13.5%, with a significant difference (p < 0.001). We found a significant difference in the prevalence of C-shaped canals between genders (p = 0.004, OR 1.78). Additionally, radix entomolaris (p < 0.001) was more frequently identified in first mandibular molars to a significant degree. These insights underscore the importance of CBCT in diagnosing complex root anatomies, which can greatly enhance the success rates of endodontic procedures by allowing for more tailored and precise treatments for this population.

En este trabajo se propone una nueva metodología, basada en microtomografía de Rayos X y Análisis Digital de Imagen, para el cálculo de tasas de alteración de rocas a partir de breves periodos de exposición directa al ambiente. Se han estudiado dos rocas carbonatadas porosas (una calcarenita y una calcirrudita con porosidad media del 20%), expuestas durante un año a un clima Mediterráneo semiárido costero (Nueva Tabarca, Alicante). Las microtasas obtenidas indican una mayor velocidad de alteración en la calcirrudita (18.75 mm/ año) que en la calcarenita (9.13 mm/año). Esta variación se justifica por las diferencias en el sistema poroso de cada roca y su influencia en la efectividad de los procesos de alteración habituales en climas semiáridos costeros. Además, los resultados obtenidos validan la metodología planteada, la cual constituye un importante avance en el estudio de la velocidad de deterioro de materiales, permitiendo de una forma rápida y cuantitativa, analizar la vulnerabilidad de las rocas a determinados ambientes de exposición.

En diversas disciplinas del campo de las ciencias sociales y humanas, el interés por la narrativa se ha fundamentado en aquello que esta puede revelar acerca de “la manera en la que los humanos le encuentran sentido al mundo” (Johnstone 2016, 548). La obra de Isolda E. Carranza que aquí reseño, Narrativas interaccionales. Una mirada sociolingüística a la actividad de narrar en encuentros sociales, se distingue de otros estudios sobre la temática por evitar poner el foco de atención en la narrativa como un producto textual aislado de su contexto y producido por un narrador autónomo; aquí se concibe la narrativa como el producto de una actividad conjunta que llevan a cabo los interactuantes influidos por las condiciones materiales, situacionales e institucionales de los encuentros cara a cara en los que se narra.

Background: Overwhelming requirements, a high degree of work, and prolonged exposure to emotionally demanding circumstances in work and life settings can lead to burnout syndrome. The purpose of the study is to assess burnout syndrome and its associated factors among medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: A cross-sectional, prospective, descriptive study was conducted in a Mexican medical school during the last week of the spring semester of 2021 using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS) and an associated factors survey.Results: Based on the MBI-SS definition, most students (54.2%, n = 332) had burnout symptoms and high emotional exhaustion (79.6%, n = 448), high cynicism (57.3%, n = 351), and low academic effectiveness (36.4%, n = 223). After adjusting the associated factors, a significant correlation between the school year and the presence of burnout was identified (OR 1.127, 95% CI [1.023–1.241], p

Introduction: The biocompatibility of nitinol in the human body has extensively been demonstrated. Although nitinol is already being used for intraocular surgeries such as lens fragmentation and foreign body extraction, little is known about its intracapsular, long-term behavior. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the long-term uveal and capsular biocompatibility of a nitinol CTR placed in the capsular bag after cataract surgery in an animal model.

En este documento se demuestra de forma práctica como las aplicaciones móviles pueden ser consideradas como una gran herramienta, en la enseñanza de diversas áreas en básica primaria como son: matemáticas, inglés, sociales, español, entre otras. Es importante anotar cómo los docentes pueden apoyar sus procesos de enseñanza, a través del uso de dispositivos móviles, en los cuales se instalan aplicaciones sencillas de usar para los estudiantes, de fácil entendimiento y manejo. Particularmente aplicaciones como SAIA v1.0, GROBOT v1.0, STEAM MATH v1.0 y STUDENT STEAM v 1.0 que han sido diseñadas a la medida y puestas a disposición de instituciones de básica primaria, con la finalidad de apoyar sus procesos, obteniendo excelentes resultados, representando para ellos herramientas prácticas, de liviana portabilidad y de fácil manipulación, pero sobre todo son aplicaciones que permiten afianzar los conocimientos adquiridos sin la presencia del docente.

Abdominal obesity is highly prevalent in Mexico and has a poor prognosis in terms of the severity of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and low levels of antibodies induced by infection and vaccination. We evaluated the humoral immune response induced by COVID-19 and five different vaccination schedules in Mexican individuals with abdominal obesity and the effects of other variables. This prospective longitudinal cohort study included 2084 samples from 389 participants. The levels of anti-S1/S2 and anti-RBD IgG antibodies were measured at various time points after vaccination. A high prevalence of hospitalization and oxygen use was observed in individuals with abdominal obesity (AO) who had COVID-19 before vaccination; however, they also had high levels of anti-S1/S2 and anti-RBD-neutralizing IgG antibodies. The same was true for vaccination-induced antibody levels. However, their longevity was low. Interestingly, we did not observe significant differences in vaccine reactogenicity between abdominally obese and abdominally non-obese groups. Finally, individuals with a higher body mass index, older age, and previous COVID-19 had higher levels of antibodies induced by COVID-19 and vaccination. Therefore, it is important to evaluate other immunological and inflammatory factors to better understand the pathogenesis of COVID-19 in the presence of risk factors and to propose effective vaccination schedules for vulnerable populations.

We investigate the secrecy performance and energy-efficiency trade-offs associated to the secure communication between a full-duplex (FD) power beacon (PB) and an energy harvesting (EH) device, in the presence of an eavesdropper. Specifically, we analyze the feasibility of a jamming strategy implemented at the FD-PB under several practical constraints, such as imperfect self-interference (SI) cancellation, EH non-linearity, channel aging and energy-information correlation. The design of the optimal time-splitting factor for the simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) strategy, the adequacy of different beamforming strategies for proper system operation, and the impact of channel correlation between the energy and information transmission phases in SWIPT are thoroughly discussed. Results indicate that under practical constraints such as EH non-linearity and imperfect SI cancellation, the transmit powers at the FD-PB for the generation of energy and jamming signals are the key parameters to be optimized from both points of view: secrecy and energy efficiency. We also verify the positive impact of correlation between the energy and information links in wireless power transfer systems, from a physical layer security perspective.

The on-surface synthesis of boroxine-containing molecules can be a convenient method of introducing specific functionalities. Here, we show the validity of a previously described synthesis protocol on the Au (111) surface by applying it to a different molecular precursor. We study in detail the assembly of the precursor, highlighting possible intermediate stages of the condensation process. We combine scanning tunneling microscopy and X-ray spectroscopies to fully characterize both the morphology and the electronic properties of the system. DFT calculations are presented to assign the main electronic transitions originating the B K-edge absorption spectrum. The study paves the way to a facile strategy for functionalizing a surface with molecules of tailored sizes and compositions.

Cultural participation has been evidenced to bring several benefits to the well-being of individuals. However, the analysis of this relationship has been addressed mostly in the context of Westernized countries, without considering the diversity of populations in Latin America. Therefore, the aim of this manuscript is to explore the association between cultural participation and subjective well-being (measured by life satisfaction) in Latin America, considering ethnic-racial ascription. With data from the 2013 Latinobarómetro survey (n=20204), several ordered logit regression analyses were performed. Results suggest that read books, read news, attend movies, attend theater, visit heritage places, and participation in community celebrations are associated with life satisfaction. However, these relationships show differentiated patterns depending on the ethnic-racial ascription, which implies that the positive impacts of cultural participation cannot be attributed to all populations, highlighting a process of social exclusion where some individuals get benefits of cultural participation, while others do not.

Analogies between mechanical and electrical systems have been developed and applied for almost a century, and they have proved their usefulness in the study of mechanical and electrical systems. The development of new elements such as the inerter or the memristor is a clear example. However, new applications and possibilities of using these analogues remain to be explored. In this work, the electrical analogues of different vehicle models are presented. A new and not previously reported analogy between inertial coupling and electrostatic capacitive coupling is found and described. Several examples are provided to highlight the benefits of this analogy. Well-known mechanical systems like the half-car or three three-axle vehicle models are discussed and some numerical results are presented. To the best of the author’s knowledge, such systems were never dealt with by using a full electromechanical analogy. The mechanical equations are also derived and compared with those of the electrical domain for harmonic steady-state analysis.

The objective of this study was to formulate a criterion to encourage renewable energy and energy efficiency to compose the Ecological ICMS laws in Brazil. The proposition was carried out observing the energy potential existing in the country and the methods of calculating the distribution of resources used in the current Ecological ICMS laws. An energy criteria composed of ten sub-criteria was formulated: small hydroelectric plants; photovoltaic solar energy; wind energy; biomass thermoelectric plants; ethanol fuel; solar thermal energy; qualified cogeneration; energy efficiency certification of buildings; building codes with energy efficiency guidelines; and municipal energy conservation policy. Among the potential economic and socio-environmental impacts of this initiative, it can be mentioned: increased independence and diversification of the national energy matrix; creation of jobs and income from the distributed generation segment; and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the Brazilian energy sector.

Abstract Background Acquisition of Basic Surgical Skills (BSS) are essential for medical students. The objective was to determine it’s fidelity impact. Methods Using four suturing models (SM) (pigskin, sponge, commercial pad, and orange), SM-quality and student-SM interaction were evaluated. After a 1-h class, participants were divided into groups and randomly assigned exercises in SM in 15-min intervals. The experiment included completing three individual simple stitches and a 3-stitch continuous suture in each SM. Results Eighty-two medical students participated. Suturing quality was better in pigskin and sponge, which were also the preferred models (p

This study was to evaluate whether selenium and vitamin-E counteract the toxic effects of arsenic on reproductive aspects and physiological conditions of male goats. Male goats [Criollo, n = 20, 4–5 yr-old, 72 kg live weight (LW)] were distributed in homogeneous groups (n = 5), and received during 12 weeks: (1) Sodium arsenite 2 mg/kg of LW/day (AG, LW = 69 kg); (2) Sodium selenite 6 mg + vitamin-E 420 I.U. every 14 days during the 12 weeks (SG, LW = 68 kg); (3) Both AG and SG treatments (ASG, LW = 77 kg); and (4) 1 mL of physiological solution every 14 days during the 12 weeks (CG, LW = 72 kg). The animals had access to water from a well with a concentration of 35 μg/L of arsenic. The SG had the highest percentage of sperm viability (80.6%) followed by the CG, ASG (74.7; p > 0.05), and AG (64.3; p ≤ 0.05). The ASG and SG had a lower heart rate as compared to the CG and AG (58.8, 58 vs. 65.4, 63.5; respectively, p ≤ 0.05). The CG and SG showed a lower respiratory rate than the AG and ASG (19.2, 18.7 vs. 22.1, 21.0, respectively; p ≤ 0.05). Selenium and vitamin-E were efficient in reducing the damage caused by sodium arsenite in sperm quality and maintaining heart and respiratory rates and increases in odor in male goats.

Abstract Due to unique photovoltaic properties, the nanostructured morphologies of TiO2 on flexible substrate have been studied extensively in the recent years for applications in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Microstructured electrode materials with high surface area can facilitate rapid charge transport and thus improve the light-to-current conversion efficiency. Herein we present an improved photoanode with forest like photoactive TiO2 hierarchical microstructure using a simple and facile hydrothermal route. To utilize the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and hence increase the photon conversion efficiency, a plasmonic nanoparticle Ag has also been deposited using a very feasible photoreduction method. The branched structure of the photoanode increases the dye loading by filling the space between the nanowires, whereas Ag nanoparticles play the multiple roles of dye absorption and light scattering to increase the light-to-current conversion efficiency of the device. The branched structure provides a suitable matrix for the subsequent Ag deposition. They improve the charge collection efficiency by providing the preferential electron pathways. The high-density Ag nanoparticles deposited on the forest like structure also decrease the charge recombination and therefore improve the photovoltaic efficiency of the cells. As a result, the DSSC based on this novel photoanode shows remarkably higher photon conversion efficiency (ηmax = 4.0% and ηopt = 3.15%) compared to the device based on pristine nanowire or forest-like TiO2 structure. The flexibility of the device showed sustainable and efficient performance of the microcells.

Physical layer multicasting exploits multiple antennas at the transmitter side to deliver a common message to a group of $K$ users. To this end, two formulations have been well addressed in the literature: i) the max-min-fair criterion, which maximizes the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the worst user for a fixed transmit power; and ii) the quality of service (QoS) formulation, which minimizes the transmit power subject to a target SNR. Nevertheless, it is known that the performance and complexity of these approaches is severely degraded as the group size grows. In this paper, we propose a different formulation that aims at minimizing the required bandwidth needed to provide the multicast service. This is achieved by dividing the users into smaller groups and assigning the bandwidth required to provide a target rate to each group. Contrary to the common belief, it is shown that dividing the users into different groups that use orthogonal bandwidth allocations can lead to a smaller aggregated bandwidth than the single-group with single bandwidth allocation counterpart, if an intelligent grouping scheme is used. An iterative algorithm to derive the optimal number of groups is presented with an stopping criterion to reduce the numerical complexity. It is shown through simulation that our proposed approach greatly reduces the required bandwidth compared to existing schemes that rely on single bandwidth allocation. Interestingly, results reveal that our proposed scheme also leads to a greater SNR for a randomly chosen user, and it reduces the variance of the required bandwidth, which eases the implementation in real networks.

In this paper, important statistical characteristics of the ratio of double generalized-gamma random variables have been analytically evaluated. The derived results have been applied in a wireless powered mobile-to-mobile communication scenario, which operates in the presence of interference. The performance is investigated using the throughput criterion under two different scenarios, namely delay limited and delay tolerant transmissions. Moreover, since the links’ reliability depends on the mobile nodes locations, the $2D$ Poisson point process is employed in order to more realistically model the physical layer behavior. The analytical results provided generalize previously reported ones, while the numerical results presented reveal the impact of various system’s and channel’s parameters, e.g., distance among nodes, interference, the non-linearity of the wireless medium.

Neurons are post-mitotic cells that allocate huge amounts of energy to the synthesis of new organelles and molecules, neurotransmission and to the maintenance of redox homeostasis. In neurons, autophagy is not only crucial to ensure organelle renewal but it is also essential to balance nutritional needs through the mobilization of internal energy stores. A delicate crosstalk between the pathways that sense nutritional status of the cell and the autophagic processes to recycle organelles and macronutrients is fundamental to guarantee the proper functioning of the neuron in times of energy scarcity. This review provides a detailed overview of the pathways and processes involved in the balance of cellular energy mediated by autophagy, which when defective, precipitate the neurodegenerative cascade of Parkinson’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Alzheimer’s disease.

It is estimated that one in 100 children worldwide has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Children with ASD frequently suffer from gut dysbiosis and gastrointestinal issues, findings which possibly play a role in the pathogenesis and/or severity of their condition. Physical activity may have a positive effect on the composition of the intestinal microbiota of healthy adults. However, the effect of exercise both on the gastrointestinal problems and intestinal microbiota (and thus possibly on ASD) itself in affected children is unknown. In terms of understanding the physiopathology and manifestations of ASD, analysis of the gut–brain axis holds some promise. Here, we discuss the physiopathology of ASD in terms of genetics and microbiota composition, and how physical activity may be a promising non-pharmaceutical approach to improve ASD-related symptoms.

Background: Physical fitness and fatness converge simultaneously modulating cognitive skills, which in turn, are associated with children and adolescents’ socioeconomic background. However, both fitness components and fat mass localization are crucial for understanding its implication at the cognitive level.Objective: This study aimed to determine the mediation role of a global physical fitness score and its components on the association between different fatness indicators related to fat distribution and adolescents’ cognitive performance, and simultaneously explore the influence of school vulnerability.Methods: In this study, 1,196 Chilean adolescents participated (aged 10–14; 50.7% boys). Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), muscular fitness (MF), and speed-agility fitness (SAF) were evaluated, and a global fitness score (GFS) was computed adjusted for age and sex (CRF + MF + SAF z-scores). Body mass index z-score (BMIz), sum-of-4-skinfolds (4SKF), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were used as non-specific, peripheral, and central adiposity indicators, respectively. A global cognitive score was computed based on eight tasks, and the school vulnerability index (SVI) was registered as high, mid or low. A total of 24 mediation analyses were performed according to two models, adjusted for sex and peak high velocity (Model 1), and adding the school vulnerability index (SVI) in Model 2. The significance level was set at p < 0.05.Results: The fitness mediation role was different concerning the fatness indicators related to fat distribution analyzed. Even after controlling for SVI, CRF (22%), and SAF (29%), but not MF, mediated the association between BMIz and cognitive performance. Likewise, CRF, SAF and GFS, but not MF, mediated the association between WHtR and cognitive performance (38.6%, 31.9%, and 54.8%, respectively). No mediations were observed for 4SKF.Conclusion: The negative association between fatness and cognitive performance is mitigated by the level of adolescents’ physical fitness, mainly CRF and SAF. This mediation role seems to be more consistent with a central fat indicator even in the presence of school vulnerability. Strategies promoting physical fitness would reduce the cognitive gap in children and adolescents related to obesity and school vulnerability.

Summary: We present a comprehensive and robust protocol to track the dynamics of all proteins in a complex in yeast cells. A single member of the protein assembly is tagged and conditionally expressed, minimizing the perturbations to the protein complex. Then, SILAC labeling and affinity purification are used for the assessment of the whole protein complex dynamics. This method can determine and distinguish both subunit turnover and exchange specifically in an assembly to provide a comprehensive picture of assembly dynamics.For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Hakhverdyan et al. (2021).

We show that for a legitimate communication under multipath quasi-static fading with a reduced number of scatterers, it is possible to achieve perfect secrecy even in the presence of a passive eavesdropper for which no channel state information (CSI) is available. Specifically, we show that the outage probability of secrecy capacity (OPSC) is zero for a given range of average signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) at the legitimate and eavesdropper's receivers. As an application example, we analyze the OPSC for the case of two scatterers, explicitly deriving the relationship between the average SNRs, the secrecy rate RS and the fading model parameters required for achieving perfect secrecy. The impact of increasing the number of scatterers is also analyzed, showing that it is always possible to achieve perfect secrecy in this scenario, provided that (i) the dominant specular component for the legitimate channel is sufficiently large compared to the remaining scattered waves, and (ii) a exclusion area on which no eavesdroppers can be placed is considered.

An integrated machine-learning based adaptive circuit for sensor calibration implemented in standard 0.18μm CMOS technology with 1.8V power supply is presented in this paper. In addition to linearizing the device response, the proposed system is also capable to correct offset and gain errors. The building blocks conforming the adaptive system are designed and experimentally characterized to generate numerical high-level models which are used to verify the proper performance of each analog block within a defined multilayer perceptron architecture. The network weights, obtained from the learning phase, are stored in a microcontroller EEPROM memory, and then loaded into each of the registers of the proposed integrated prototype. In order to verify the proposed system performance, the non-linear characteristic of a thermistor is compensated as an application example, achieving a relative error er below 3% within an input span of 130°C, which is almost 6 times less than the uncorrected response. The power consumption of the whole system is 1.4mW and it has an active area of 0.86mm2. The digital programmability of the network weights provides flexibility when a sensor change is required.

Warmer temperatures predicted as a result of climate change will have an impact on milpa. An experiment was carried out with induced passive heat with the objective of simulating the increase in temperature on the physiological, morphological, and yield parameters of milpa from different climates of San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Two different environments, Open-top chambers (OTC) and control, and three milpas, from warm–dry, temperate, and hot and humid climates, were studied. A total of 12 experimental units of 13.13 m2 were used in the random design, with a factorial arrangement of 2 × 3 and two replications. Abiotic variables (minimum, maximum, and mean daily temperatures and accumulated heat units) were determined and compared between the two environments and confirmed that the OTC increased the abiotic variables. The growth and development parameters increased under the warming effect. Furthermore, the milpa from hot and humid climate was the least affected. In contrast, the warming considerably delayed yield parameters. The squash suffered the most, while the bean benefited the most. The warming affected the chlorophyll fluorescence and gas exchange differently for each crop. However, at an early stage, the maximum photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) and non-photochemical quenching (qN) for bean and maize were reduced, while at a late stage, they were Fv/Fm, photochemical quenching (qP), and qN for maize; stomatal conductance and transpiration rate of the squash were improved under the warming treatments. In conclusion, the warming delayed the yield and photosynthetic parameters, while growth and development benefited. The milpa systems were differently affected by warming.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by a great clinical heterogeneity. Nevertheless, the biological drivers of this heterogeneity have not been completely elucidated and are likely to be complex, arising from interactions between genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors. Despite this heterogeneity, the clinical patterns of monogenic forms of PD have usually maintained a good clinical correlation with each mutation once a sufficient number of patients have been studied. Mutations in LRRK2 are the most commonly known genetic cause of autosomal dominant PD known to date. Furthermore, recent genome-wide association studies have revealed variations in LRRK2 as significant risk factors also for the development of sporadic PD. The LRRK2-R1441G mutation is especially frequent in the population of Basque ascent based on a possible founder effect, being responsible for almost 50% of cases of familial PD in our region, with a high penetrance. Curiously, Lewy bodies, considered the neuropathological hallmark of PD, are absent in a significant subset of LRRK2-PD cases. Indeed, these cases appear to be associated with a less aggressive primarily pure motor phenotype. The aim of our research is to examine the clinical phenotype of R1441G-PD patients, more homogeneous when we compare it with sporadic PD patients or with patients carrying other LRRK2 mutations, and reflect on the value of the observed correlation in the genetic forms of PD. The clinical heterogeneity of PD leads us to think that there may be as many different diseases as the number of people affected. Undoubtedly, genetics constitutes a relevant key player, as it may significantly influence the phenotype, with differences according to the mutation within the same gene, and not only in familial PD but also in sporadic forms. Thus, extending our knowledge regarding genetic forms of PD implies an expansion of knowledge regarding sporadic forms, and this may be relevant due to the future therapeutic implications of all forms of PD.

A novel integrated water vapor (IWV) product from TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) is validated together with a Global Ozone Monitoring Instrument-2 (GOME-2) standard product. As reference, ground-based Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) IWV data in 235 European stations from May 2018 to May 2019 are used. Under cloud free situations, a general comparison is carried out. It suggests that TROPOMI IWV exhibits less bias than GOME-2 and better results in the dispersion and regression parameters. Moreover, TROPOMI presents more homogeneous results along the different stations. However, TROPOMI is found to be overestimating the IWV uncertainties and being, therefore, too conservative in the confidence interval considered. The dependence of satellite product performance on several variables is also discussed. TROPOMI IWV shows wet bias of 5.7% or less for IWV < 10 mm (TROPOMI) and dry bias of up to −3% (TROPOMI). In contrast, GOME-2 shows wet bias of 30% or less for IWV < 25 mm (GOME-2) and dry bias of −12.3% for IWV > 25 mm. In addition, relative standard deviation (rSD) increases as IWV increases. In addition, the dependence on solar zenith angle (SZA) was also analyzed, as solar radiation bands are used in the retrieval algorithm of both instruments. Relative mean bias error (rMBE) shows positive values for GOME-2, slightly increasing with SZA, while TROPOMI shows more stable values. However, under high SZA, GOME-2 IWV exhibits a steep increase in rMBE (overestimation), while TROPOMI IWV exhibits a moderate decrease (underestimation). rSD is slightly increasing with SZA. The influence of cloudiness on satellite IWV observations is such that TROPOMI tends to overestimate IWV more as cloudiness increases, especially for high IWV. In the case of GOME-2, the rSD slightly increases with cloudiness, but TROPOMI rSD has a marked increase with increasing cloudiness. TROPOMI IWV is an important source of information about moisture, but its algorithm could still benefit from further improvement to respond better to cloudy situations.

Las moscas del género Anastrepha, se consideran plagas de gran importancia económica, no solo por el daño directo que causan a la producción de fruta sino, también, por las restricciones de cuarentena impuestas a los países exportadores de fruta. Por lo tanto, preparar descripciones y generar herramientas de identificación taxonómica, que permitan un reconocimiento adecuado y oportuno de las especies de importancia agrícola, es una actividad básica para la sanidad de las plantas en los países productores y exportadores de frutas. En este trabajo, se describe e ilustra Anastrepha ligiae, una nueva especie del grupo Anastrepha curvicauda, capturada con trampas McPhail, en los municipios de Albán y Anolaima (Cundinamarca) y Vélez (Santander), Colombia y criados en la fruta de la papayuela Vasconcellea pubescens A. DC. (Caricaceae). V. pubescens, se registra por primera vez como una planta hospedante para el género Anastrepha.

Introducción: frente a la actual pandemia causada por el virus SARS CoV-2 se deben tomar acciones proactivas encaminadas a desarrollar estrategias que preparen a las unidades renales para atender un número inusual de pacientes. Objetivos: revisar de forma narrativa los estudios que reporten experiencias en unidades renales para el manejo de pacientes con COVID-19 y proporcionar evidencia de los planes de acción a desarrollar por cada equipo de una unidad de diálisis. Materiales y métodos: se realizó una revisión de literatura en MEDLINE, Scopus y LILACS con los términos “chronic kidney disease AND Covid”, “dialysis AND Covid”, “renal unit AND Covid”. La búsqueda no se limitó por fecha de publicación, por idioma, ni por diseño del estudio. Resultados: se encontraron 27 publicaciones, de las cuales se incluyeron 7 que contenían recomendaciones para el manejo de pacientes con COVID-19 en las unidades renales. Conclusión: las estrategias de mitigación en las unidades renales deben estar encaminadas hacia la detección temprana de los pacientes con COVID-19, el control de la transmisión y la protección del personal de salud. Se recomienda conformar un equipo de trabajo que lidere las actividades; diseñar un programa de educación para personal de salud, pacientes y familiares; gestionar una adecuada planeación del recurso humano ante el riesgo que se vea afectado por COVID-19; proveer suficientes insumos y equipos de protección personal, y delimitar áreas específicas para pacientes con COVID-19 y sin la enfermedad.

The F composite fading model was recently proposed as an accurate and tractable statistical model for the characterization of the composite fading conditions encountered in realistic wireless communication scenarios. In the present contribution, we capitalize on the distinct properties of this composite model to derive an analytical framework and then to evaluate the achievable channel capacity over F composite fading channels under different channel state information (CSI) assumptions. To this end, we first consider that the CSI is known only at the receiver, for which we derive novel analytic expressions for the channel capacity under optimum rate adaptation as well as for the corresponding effective capacity. Then, by considering that the CSI is known both at the transmitter and at the receiver, we derive novel analytic expressions for the channel capacity under optimum power and rate adaptation, channel inversion with fixed rate and truncated channel inversion with fixed rate. The derived analytic expressions for the considered scenarios are provided in closed-form and benefit from being tractable both analytically and numerically. This enables the derivation of simple bounds as well as approximate and asymptotic expressions, which are shown to be useful as they provide meaningful insights on the effect of fading conditions and/or latency on the overall system performance.

The recently proposed fluctuating two-ray (FTR) model is gaining momentum as a reference fading model in scenarios where two dominant specular waves are present. Despite the numerous research works devoted to the performance analysis under FTR fading, little attention has been paid to effectively understanding the interplay between the fading model parameters and the fading severity. According to a new scale defined in this work, which measures the hyper-Rayleigh character of a fading channel in terms of the amount of fading, the outage probability and the average capacity, we see that the FTR fading model exhibits a full hyper-Rayleigh behavior. However, the two-wave with diffuse power fading model from which the former is derived has only strong hyper-Rayleigh behavior, which constitutes an interesting new insight. We also identify that the random fluctuations in the dominant specular waves are ultimately responsible for the full hyper-Rayleigh behavior of this class of fading channels.

The physical layer security of uplink non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) is analyzed. A stochastic geometry approach is applied to analyze the coverage probability and effective secrecy throughput (EST) of the kth NOMA user, where a fixed or an adaptive transmission rate can be used. We consider a protected zone around the legitimate terminals to establish an eavesdropper-exclusion area. We assume that the channel state information associated with eavesdroppers is not available at the base station. We also consider that the base station is equipped with multiple antennas. The impact of imperfect successive interference cancellation is also taken into account in this paper. Our framework allows to compute, numerically, the wiretap code rates that maximize the EST. In addition, our framework also allows an optimum selection of other system parameters, such as the transmit power or the eavesdropper-exclusion radius.

A partir de una definición de la Semiperiferia basada en criterios del siste-ma productivo más que de la posición comercial, en este trabajo se avanza so-bre la teorización de la existencia de tal parte del Sistema, diferenciada tanto del Centro como de la Periferia del mismo, ofreciendo propuestas de medición empírica de tal especificidad. Proponemos esta aproximación a partir de la utilización del análisis factorial.

Power consumption and Ion/Ioff ratio of an ultra-thin body and buried oxide fully depleted silicon on insulator CMOS inverter circuit has been calculated at near-threshold voltage operation from TCAD simulations. TCAD outputs (current, voltage, and capacitance) were used as parameters to solve the inverter circuit. Besides, a bias operation point (VOP) has been proposed, which provides a good trade-off between the Ion/Ioff ratio and the energy consumption. Variations of this operation point, due to the presence of interface traps, have been also analyzed.

Recent experimental results show that full-duplex (FD) communication is feasible provided that the residual self-interference after cancellation is close to the noise floor. In this paper, we present a low-complexity active self-interference cancellation technique for FD orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems, which accounts for the inherent cyclostationarity of the OFDM signal in order to effectively cancel the self-interference. The method here proposed estimates the self-interference cancellation path by using a time-averaged mean-square error criterion, combined with a filtered least mean squares adaptive algorithm. Then, its performance is experimentally validated using a self-developed FD radio testbed implemented with off-the-shelf components. When combined with passive cancellation, applying the proposed technique provides enough self-interference suppression as to reach close (less than 2 dB) to the receiver noise floor.

La adopción de un método etnográfico para la formación integral desde la complejidad centra su análisis en la educación, escenario significativo para interpretar e identificar nuevas formas de comprensión del acto educativo, donde la pedagogía y la didáctica admitida por el docente son fundamentales para religar los procesos académicos. Comprender desde la escuela que el sujeto de la educación es un ser humano multidimensional, sumergido en una diáspora de incertidumbres, certezas, dudas y utopías, situaciones que requieren miradas complejas para reconocer conexiones que dinamizan el tejido social del conocimiento. El método investigativo implementado, privilegia el análisis hermenéutico de los procesos que intervienen en la formación integral y asume su comprensión e interpretación en el contexto de la escuela, buscando penetrar en las simbologías e imaginarios de la comunidad durante del acto educativo. Para ello, la apropiación de un método etnográfico de investigación acción compleja para la transformación, constituye una vía metodológica emergente identificadora de realidades, para avanzar hacia procesos de integralidad, validar percepciones y reconceptualizaciones de la formación integral y generar actitudes de transformación en la comunidad docente y discente. Una práctica docente integral desde la complejidad propicia comprensión y valoración del estudiante en su condición de ser humano, otorga reconocimiento en el aula, necesario para un contexto social que reclama inclusión, dialogicidad y profunda sensibilidad ecológica y humana.

Glycosylation of host and viral proteins is an important posttranslational modification needed to ensure correct function of glycoproteins. For this reason, we asked whether inhibition of O-glycosylation during human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in vitro replication could affect HIV infectivity and replication rates. We used benzyl-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-α-d-galactopyranoside (BAGN), a compound that has been widely used to inhibit O-glycosylation in several cell lines. Pretreatment and culture of PHA-blast target cells with BAGN increased the percentage of HIV-infected cells (7.6-fold, p = 0.0115), the per-cell amount of HIV p24 protein (1.3-fold, p = 0.2475), and the viral particles in culture supernatants (7.1-fold, p = 0.0029) compared to BAGN-free cultures. Initiating infection with virus previously grown in the presence of BAGN further increased percentage of infected cells (30-fold, p