ALBERT

Description: The hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the major cause of acute hepatitis of viral origin worldwide. Despite its usual course as an asymptomatic self-limited hepatitis, there are highly susceptible populations, such as those with underlying immunosuppression, which could develop chronic hepatitis. In this situation, implementation of therapy is mandatory in the sense to facilitate viral clearance. Currently, there are no specific drugs approved for HEV infection, but ribavirin (RBV), the drug of choice, is used for off-label treatment. Here, we present two cases of chronic HEV infection in transplant patients, reviewing and discussing the therapeutic approach available in the literature. The use of RBV for the treatment of an HEV infection in organ transplant patients seems to be effective. The recommendation of 12 weeks of therapy is adequate in terms of efficacy. Nevertheless, there are important issues that urgently need to be assessed, such as optimal duration of therapy and drug dosage.

Description: Background: Assessing MRD has become a standard procedure in clinical trials to evaluate treatment efficacy. In accordance with its consistent prognostic value, the International Myeloma Working Group added MRD-negative criteria into response guidelines for its standardized use in clinical trials. That notwithstanding, the expectations for MRD as biomarker are to use it in routine clinical practice to help in treatment decisions, since in most clinical trials the therapeutic approach is defined upfront and does not vary according to patients' depth of response. However, the use of MRD in clinical practice is controversial and it remains unknown if tailoring treatment to achieve MRD-negativity is safe and improves patients' survival. Aim: Compare in clinical practice, outcome and tolerability of a treatment strategy tailored to achieve sustained undetectable MRD by NGF and imaging, as compared to conventional treatment approaches that are not modified according to patients' depth of response. Methods: This study was conducted in a single Hospital and included a total of 66 patients with newly-diagnosed MM from July 2014 to May 2019. All patients younger than 76 were prospectively included, whereas patients with high frailty score, severe senile dementia, other neoplasms, or with significant comorbidities in whom the therapeutic objective was only palliative care were excluded. In accordance to the local ethical committee and the Helsinki Declaration, all patients gave informed consent prior entering the study and were given the choice between the MRD and image driven (MRD-driven) and the conventional treatment (CT) approach. In the former, persistent MRD after the first-line of therapy was considered as treatment failure and patients received subsequent lines until achieving undetectable MRD by NGF and imaging (treatment endpoint). In the CT approach, subsequent lines of therapy were given upon progressive disease. The most commonly used first, second, and third line therapies in the MRD-driven approach were VBMCP/VBAD, VCD, and lenalidomide combinations, whereas in the CT cohort these were VCD for first-line, and lenalidomide combinations in second and third lines. Maintenance therapy (Interferon α2b + Prednisone for a year) was administered in 61% of patients treated according to the MRD-driven approach, and in 12% (bortezomib until progression) in the CT cohort. MRD was assessed in patients achieving complete remission using EuroFlow NGF, with a limit of detection of 2x10-6. Undetectable MRD by imaging was defined by negative PET/CT and by negative MRI of the spine and pelvis. Results: Of the 66 patients enrolled thus far, 49 were treated with the MRD-driven and 17 with the CT approach. There were no significant differences between groups regarding patients' age (median, 62 years), the Revised-ISS (37.5%, 53% and 37.5% with R-ISS-I, -II and -III) or the usage of HDT/ASCT (85% vs 76%; P〉.05). Approximately 80% of patients treated with the MRD-driven approach achieved undetectable MRD at 30 months. The median time from start of treatment to undetectable MRD was 24 months, after a average of 2.2 lines of therapy. By contrast, only 1 (6%) patient treated with CT showed undetectable MRD after first line of therapy. With a median follow-up of 29 months, progression-free survival (PFS) rates at 30 months were 92% for patients treated with the MRD-driven vs 28% for the CT approach (hazard ratio 0.10 [0.04-0.30]; p

Description: Detrital Uranium/Lead data from Upper Cretaceous Barroso and Penderisco Formations and Miocene Beibaviejo Fm. Litho structural units in north-western Colombia.

Description: Isotopic Hafnium data from Upper Cretaceous Barroso and Penderisco Formations and Miocene Beibaviejo Fm. Litho structural units in north-western Colombia.

Description: La temporada de huracanes del año 2005 pasará a la historia como una de las más devastadoras de la humanidad, en la que se rompieron los registros históricos hasta ese momento de depresiones tropicales, con treinta tormentas y catorce huracanes, de los cuales cinco fueron “mayores”, es decir que alcanzaron las categorías tres, cuatro o cinco en la escala Saffir Simpson. Durante esta temporada el Centro Nacional de Huracanes de los Estados Unidos y los meteorólogos mundiales tuvieron que recurrir al alfabeto griego para nominarlos una vez terminados los nombres previamente escogidos para ese año. El 28 de octubre de 2005 y por espacio de doce horas el huracán Beta de categoría uno pasó siguiendo una trayectoria muy particular, sobre las islas colombianas de Providencia y Santa Catalina. Utilizar esta información para describir con metodología científica el paso del huracán, se convierte en un importante banco de información ambiental de referencia que puede ser utilizado para aportar antecedentes a los planes de atención y prevención de desastres, así como para entender las experiencias futuras de estos fenómenos meteorológicos en nuestro país. En el siguiente documento se analizó en forma descriptiva datos e información obtenida in situ en la isla de Providencia durante el paso del fenómeno meteorológico, complementando sus valores con el análisis de las imágenes satelitales y sensores remotos que en simultánea efectuó la Central de Pronósticos del Centro de Investigaciones Oceanográficas e Hidrográficas. Las conclusiones académicas permitieron reconstruir el comportamiento del fenómeno meteorológico, así como la identificación de posibles causas y los efectos de su evolución.

Description: The hurricane 2005 season will be registered in history as one of the most devastating in human kind, in which historical records were broken up to that moment of the tropical depressions, with thirty storms and fourteen hurricanes, out of which, five were considered “high”, this is, they reached the categories three, four or five at the Saffir-Simpson scale. During this season the United States Hurricane National Center and the worldwide meteorologists had to resort to the Greek alphabet to name them once they were out of the previously chosen names for that year. On October 28, 2005 and for a space of twelve hours, hurricane Beta, of category one, passed through following a very particular path, over the Colombian Islands, Providencia and Santa Catalina. Using these data to describe with scientific meteorology the hurricane passage, becomes an important environmental data bank of reference which can be utilized to supply records to the disaster attention and prevention, as well as to understand forthcoming experiences of these meteorological phenomena in our country. The following paper in a descriptive manner the obtained in situ data has been analyzed at the Providencia Island, during the passage of the meteorological phenomenon, complementing its values with the analysis of the satellite images and the remote sensors which simultaneously was carried out by the Oceanographic and Hydrographic Research Center Forecasting Central. The academic findings permitted the reconstruction of the meteorological phenomenon behavior, as well as the possible causes and effects of its evolution.

Description: Published

Description: El presente estudio fue llevado a cabo en los cocolitóforos extraídos de 39 piston core perforados en el offshore de las cuencas Chocó y Tumaco, en el Pacífico colombiano. Los análisis cualitativos y cuantitativos mostraron cambios en las abundancias relativas y en el grado de preservación de los 20 taxones identificados. Los sedimentos examinados en ambas cuencas revelaron tener una asociación de cocolitos 〉2% constituida por Gephyrocapsa oceanica, Gephyrocapsa muellerae, Gephyrocapsa 〈3 μm, Emiliania huxleyi, Calcidiscus leptoporus y Helicosphaera carteri. Con una abundancia más baja (〈2%), se observaron Ceratolithus spp., Coccolithus pelagicus, Florisphaera profunda, Helicosphaera princei, Helicosphaera sellii, Helicosphaera wallichii y Pontosphaera spp., junto con formas retrabajadas de Reticulofenestra spp., Sphenolithus spp. y Discoaster spp. La identificación de E. huxleyi dentro de la asociación indica que la edad de estos sedimentos no debe ser más antigua que la biozona NN21 del Pleistoceno Medio (Ioniano), aunque formas retrabajadas de edad Mioceno-Plioceno también fueron vistas en los sedimentos. Las estimaciones del número de cocolitos por gramo (cc/g) indicaron que la abundancia promedio de la Cuenca Chocó fue 5,7x106 cc/g, la cual es menor que la Cuenca Tumaco con 1,2x107 cc/g. El análisis estadístico de redundancia (RDA) sugiere que la distancia a la línea de costa es la variable determinante que controla estas diferencias de abundancias relativas y distribución de los cocolitos en ambas cuencas.

Description: Published

Description: © The Author(s), 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in eLife 6 (2017): e25651, doi:10.7554/eLife.25651.

Description: To better understand smoking cessation, we examined the actions of varenicline (Chantix) during long-term nicotine exposure. Varenicline reduced nicotine upregulation of α4β2-type nicotinic receptors (α4β2Rs) in live cells and neurons, but not for membrane preparations. Effects on upregulation depended on intracellular pH homeostasis and were not observed if acidic pH in intracellular compartments was neutralized. Varenicline was trapped as a weak base in acidic compartments and slowly released, blocking 125I-epibatidine binding and desensitizing α4β2Rs. Epibatidine itself was trapped; 125I-epibatidine slow release from acidic vesicles was directly measured and required the presence of α4β2Rs. Nicotine exposure increased epibatidine trapping by increasing the numbers of acidic vesicles containing α4β2Rs. We conclude that varenicline as a smoking cessation agent differs from nicotine through trapping in α4β2R-containing acidic vesicles that is selective and nicotine-regulated. Our results provide a new paradigm for how smoking cessation occurs and suggest how more effective smoking cessation reagents can be designed.

Description: This work was supported by National Institutes of Health RO1DA 035430 and a Pilot Project from the University of Chicago Can- cer Center.

Description: © The Author(s), 2018]. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Global Ecology and Biogeography 27 (2018): 760-786, doi:10.1111/geb.12729.

Description: The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community‐led open‐source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene. The database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains metadata relating to sampling methodology and contextual information about each record. BioTIME is a global database of 547,161 unique sampling locations spanning the marine, freshwater and terrestrial realms. Grain size varies across datasets from 0.0000000158 km2 (158 cm2) to 100 km2 (1,000,000,000,000 cm2). BioTIME records span from 1874 to 2016. The minimal temporal grain across all datasets in BioTIME is a year. BioTIME includes data from 44,440 species across the plant and animal kingdoms, ranging from plants, plankton and terrestrial invertebrates to small and large vertebrates.

Description: European Research Council and EU, Grant/Award Number: AdG‐250189, PoC‐727440 and ERC‐SyG‐2013‐610028; Natural Environmental Research Council, Grant/Award Number: NE/L002531/1; National Science Foundation, Grant/Award Number: DEB‐1237733, DEB‐1456729, 9714103, 0632263, 0856516, 1432277, DEB‐9705814, BSR‐8811902, DEB 9411973, DEB 0080538, DEB 0218039, DEB 0620910, DEB 0963447, DEB‐1546686, DEB‐129764, OCE 95‐21184, OCE‐ 0099226, OCE 03‐52343, OCE‐0623874, OCE‐1031061, OCE‐1336206 and DEB‐1354563; National Science Foundation (LTER) , Grant/Award Number: DEB‐1235828, DEB‐1440297, DBI‐0620409, DEB‐9910514, DEB‐1237517, OCE‐0417412, OCE‐1026851, OCE‐1236905, OCE‐1637396, DEB 1440409, DEB‐0832652, DEB‐0936498, DEB‐0620652, DEB‐1234162 and DEB‐0823293; Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Grant/Award Number: POPH/FSE SFRH/BD/90469/2012, SFRH/BD/84030/2012, PTDC/BIA‐BIC/111184/2009; SFRH/BD/80488/2011 and PD/BD/52597/2014; Ciência sem Fronteiras/CAPES, Grant/Award Number: 1091/13‐1; Instituto Milenio de Oceanografía, Grant/Award Number: IC120019; ARC Centre of Excellence, Grant/Award Number: CE0561432; NSERC Canada; CONICYT/FONDECYT, Grant/Award Number: 1160026, ICM PO5‐002, CONICYT/FONDECYT, 11110351, 1151094, 1070808 and 1130511; RSF, Grant/Award Number: 14‐50‐00029; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Grant/Award Number: GBMF4563; Catalan Government; Marie Curie Individual Fellowship, Grant/Award Number: QLK5‐CT2002‐51518 and MERG‐CT‐2004‐022065; CNPq, Grant/Award Number: 306170/2015‐9, 475434/2010‐2, 403809/2012‐6 and 561897/2010; FAPESP (São Paulo Research Foundation), Grant/Award Number: 2015/10714‐6, 2015/06743‐0, 2008/10049‐9, 2013/50714‐0 and 1999/09635‐0 e 2013/50718‐5; EU CLIMOOR, Grant/Award Number: ENV4‐CT97‐0694; VULCAN, Grant/Award Number: EVK2‐CT‐2000‐00094; Spanish, Grant/Award Number: REN2000‐0278/CCI, REN2001‐003/GLO and CGL2016‐79835‐P; Catalan, Grant/Award Number: AGAUR SGR‐2014‐453 and SGR‐2017‐1005; DFG, Grant/Award Number: 120/10‐2; Polar Continental Shelf Program; CENPES – PETROBRAS; FAPERJ, Grant/Award Number: E‐26/110.114/2013; German Academic Exchange Service; sDiv; iDiv; New Zealand Department of Conservation; Wellcome Trust, Grant/Award Number: 105621/Z/14/Z; Smithsonian Atherton Seidell Fund; Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority; Research Council of Norway; Conselleria de Innovació, Hisenda i Economia; Yukon Government Herschel Island‐Qikiqtaruk Territorial Park; UK Natural Environment Research Council ShrubTundra Grant, Grant/Award Number: NE/M016323/1; IPY; Memorial University; ArcticNet. DOI: 10.13039/50110000027. Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research in the Tropics NWO, grant W84‐194. Ciências sem Fronteiras and Coordenação de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, Brazil), Grant/Award Number: 1091/13‐1. National Science foundation (LTER), Award Number: OCE‐9982105, OCE‐0620276, OCE‐1232779. FCT ‐ SFRH / BPD / 82259 / 2011. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/State Wildlife federal grant number T‐15. Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CE140100020). Australian Research Council Future Fellowship FT110100609. M.B., A.J., K.P., J.S. received financial support from internal funds of University of Lódź. NSF DEB 1353139. Catalan Government fellowships (DURSI): 1998FI‐00596, 2001BEAI200208, MECD Post‐doctoral fellowship EX2002‐0022. National Science Foundation Award OPP‐1440435. FONDECYT 1141037 and FONDAP 15150003 (IDEAL). CNPq Grant 306595‐2014‐1

Description: Sialic acids are negatively charged nine-carbon carboxylated monosaccharides that often cap glycans on glycosylated proteins and lipids. Because of their strategic location at the cell surface, sialic acids contribute to interactions that are critical for immune homeostasis via interactions with sialic acid-binding Ig-type lectins (siglecs). In particular, these interactions may be of importance in cases where sialic acids may be overexpressed, such as on certain pathogens and tumors. We now demonstrate that modification of antigens with sialic acids (Sia-antigens) regulates the generation of antigen-specific regulatory T (Treg) cells via dendritic cells (DCs). Additionally, DCs that take up Sia-antigen prevent formation of effector CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Importantly, the regulatory properties endowed on DCs upon Sia-antigen uptake are antigen-specific: only T cells responsive to the sialylated antigen become tolerized. In vivo, injection of Sia-antigen–loaded DCs increased de novo Treg-cell numbers and dampened effector T-cell expansion and IFN-γ production. The dual tolerogenic features that Sia-antigen imposed on DCs are Siglec-E–mediated and maintained under inflammatory conditions. Moreover, loading DCs with Sia-antigens not only inhibited the function of in vitro–established Th1 and Th17 effector T cells but also significantly dampened ex vivo myelin-reactive T cells, present in the circulation of mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. These data indicate that sialic acid-modified antigens instruct DCs in an antigen-specific tolerogenic programming, enhancing Treg cells and reducing the generation and propagation of inflammatory T cells. Our data suggest that sialylation of antigens provides an attractive way to induce antigen-specific immune tolerance.