National University of La Plata

This study analyzed the morphoanatomical, histochemical, and molecular characteristics of three Cannabis sativa strains, CAT1, CAT2, and CAT3, acronyms for Argentine therapeutic strains in Spanish (Cepas Argentinas Terapéuticas), using bright light, fluorescence, and scanning electron microscopy. The strains were previously cultivated and chemically characterized at CIM, UNLP, CONICET. Five plants from each strain were collected at the end of the vegetative and flowering phases; part of the material was fixed for anatomical studies, and part was used fresh for histochemical analyses. Anatomical features of roots, stems, leaves, and flowers were analyzed, focusing on stomatal density, trichome types, and the presence of laticifers. Histochemical analyses detected phenolic compounds, cannabinoids, lipophilic compounds, and other metabolites using specific staining techniques. Additionally, short sequence repeat (SSR) molecular markers were employed to characterize and confirm the genomic identity of the strains. Morphoanatomical and histochemical traits enabled differentiation among the strains, revealing significant variations in leaflet dimensions, trichome density, and metabolic profiles. For example, CAT1 exhibited thicker leaves and larger stomata, CAT2 had a higher density of laticifers, and CAT3 showed a greater density of cannabinoid-rich glandular trichomes. Using SSR molecular markers, strain genomic identity was confirmed with a probability greater than 99.99999983%. This integrative approach, combining morphoanatomical, histochemical, and molecular analyses, highlights the unique features of CAT1, CAT2, and CAT3 and underscores the importance of molecular markers in validating strain identity.

Gastropods are a large and diverse taxonomic group, and South America has an impressive diversity of land snails. However, there are no accurate and complete lists or estimates of native species’ richness in South America. The aim of this work is to evaluate the use of iNaturalist in Argentina for terrestrial gastropods and its potential to contribute to the knowledge of malacofauna. A search was performed for Argentina on 15 June 2024, filtering observations for terrestrial gastropods, yielding 3,758 records, of which about 10% were of interest for this work. Exotic species represented between 60–63% of the observations in iNaturalist, and native species represented between 37–40%, with post-validation and pre-validation respectively. The geographical distribution of exotic species was mostly concentrated in the urban areas of the capital cities, and the observations of native species were concentrated in a few provinces. It was possible to detect and expand the distribution area of exotic species such as Rumina decollata, Limacus flavus, Bradybaena similaris, Deroceras laeve, Deroceras reticulatum, Deroceras invadens, Arion intermedius, Milax gagates, Limax maximus, Vallonia pulchella, possibly Laevicaulis alte; native species such as Phyllocaulis soleiformis, Drymaeus poecilus, Drymaeus papyraceus. Potential species not recorded in Argentina were identified as Helix pomatia, Mesembrinus gereti. We also recorded species within the known range, potential new species not described by science, a possible case of accidental transfer of Mesembrinus interpunctus, and the prediction of the distribution of Megalobulimus lorentzianus was verified. Through the development of this study, we were able to demonstrate the relevance of citizen science in providing interesting contributions to the knowledge of terrestrial mollusks biodiversity in Argentina.

Schizonyxhelea zoologica Huerta & Grogan, 2017, previously known from North America (Mexico), is reported for the first time in South America (Brazil). Additionally, the female of this species is described and illustrated for the first time. The females were collected in association with males in a preserved forest and an urban forest fragment, located in Amazonas State, Brazil. Schizonyxhelea zoologica is the fifth species of the genus recorded in Brazil, and the first species of the genus documented in Amazonas. Finally, a brief commentary on the environment in which the specimens were found, as well as their biogeographical importance, is provided. KEYWORDS: Brazilian Amazon; Aquatic insect; New record; Taxonomy.

A new species of Chrysobrycon is described from the lower Amazon basin, Brazil. The new species can be diagnosed from its congeners by the combined presence of the following characteristics: presence of a clear or fully depigmented area located posterior to the humeral blotch, which separates it from the longitudinal band of chromatophores along the body flank; 14-16 gill rakers on the first branchial arch; 15-19 dentary teeth; reduced or absent fourth infraorbital; 4-7 maxillary teeth; presence of a terminal lateral-line tube between the caudal-fin rays 10 and 11; 4-5 neural spines between the posteriormost supraneural and the anteriormost dorsal-fin pterygiophore. An identification key to the species of Chrysobrycon is provided. The finding of this new species of Chrysobrycon expands the distribution of the genus to northeastern South America, between ca. 1,000 km from where is known its geographically closer congeners. Furthermore, the description of the new species constitutes the first record of Chrysobrycon in the lower Amazon basin in Brazil.

In this work we present a theoretical study of the structural, electronic, and hyperfine properties at Sn and Te sites of Te-Sb-Ge and Sn-doped Te-Sb-Ge alloys with nominal compositions Ge16Sb8Te28 and Ge12Sb8Sn4Te28in both the cubic and trigonal structures. Density functional theory calculations were performed using the full potential linearized augmented plane wave method and the pseudopotential and plane wave method as implemented in the Quantum-Espresso code. The effect of Ge vacancies, Sb and Sn atoms on the structural and hyperfine properties has been studied, allowing us to determine the structure of these disordered systems, the localization of the Sb and Sn atoms in the Te-Ge host material and to explain the origin of the hyperfine interactions at the Te and Sn sites. Our results are supported by X-ray Diffraction and ¹¹⁹Sn Mössbauer experiments. The hyperfine parameters at ¹²⁵Te sites are also presented.

Expectations can influence perception in seemingly contradictory ways, either by directing attention to expected stimuli and enhancing perceptual acuity or by stabilizing perception and diminishing acuity within expected stimulus categories. The neural mechanisms supporting these dual roles of expectation are not well understood. Here, we trained European starlings to classify ambiguous song syllables in both expected and unexpected acoustic contexts. We show that birds employ probabilistic, Bayesian integration to classify syllables, leveraging their expectations to stabilize their perceptual behavior. However, auditory sensory neural populations do not reflect this integration. Instead, expectation enhances the acuity of auditory sensory neurons in high-probability regions of the stimulus space. This modulation diverges from patterns typically observed in motor areas, where Bayesian integration of sensory inputs and expectations predominates. Our results suggest that peripheral sensory systems use expectation to improve sensory representations and maintain high-fidelity representations of the world, allowing downstream circuits to flexibly integrate this information with expectations to drive behavior.

Blooms of phototrophic protists play a crucial role in marine biogeochemical cycles, significantly impacting carbon fluxes and overall ecosystem productivity. Eukaryotes of the nano‐ and microplankton are responsible for the large spring and summer blooms visible from space in the highly dynamic southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Here, we investigated the composition and abundance of protistan plankton during late spring 2021 across three contrasting oceanographic regions of the southwestern Atlantic Ocean: the Patagonian continental shelf, the core of the Malvinas Current (MC), and the adjacent energetic open ocean in the Argentine basin. Using a combination of in situ sampling and satellite‐derived chlorophyll‐a, particulate inorganic carbon, sea surface temperature, and geostrophic currents, we identified marked differences in water masses and plankton communities. High chlorophyll‐a concentration over the outer continental shelf was related to blooms of phototrophic and mixotrophic dinoflagellates and large diatoms. This plankton accumulation over the shelf was associated with the permanent thermohaline front that develops along the shelf‐break, with upwelling as the main driver of high productivity. However, in waters of the MC and the open ocean protists exhibited lower biomass and diversity, with prevalence of nanoflagellates and coccolithophores. The results suggest that the water column stability and the N:Si and N:P nutrient ratios shape the distinct bloom‐forming functional types. This study contributes with data on taxonomic diversity identified by microscopy which, along with remote sensing approaches, provide insights into how protists respond to environmental changes at different spatial and temporal scales.

Meander chute cutoffs are a common and geomorphically important feature of meandering rivers, exhibiting complex dynamics and distinctive morphologic features. To date, however, the geomorphic processes governing the evolution and formation of these features are poorly understood due to limited knowledge of cutoff hydrodynamics. This paper investigates three‐dimensional mean flow structure, turbulent flow structure, and bed shear stress distribution from high‐resolution flow velocity data in a fixed‐bed, sediment‐free physical model. The results show that (a) the chute channel conveys around 1.4 times the unit‐width flow discharge as the cutoff bend; (b) mean flow structure is highly three‐dimensional, with strong convective acceleration throughout the bends and pronounced flow separation zones in both the chute channel and the cutoff bend; (c) turbulent kinetic energy is intense at shear layers bounding the flow separation zones at several locations in the channel; and (d) bed shear stress is elevated due to strong turbulence in the chute channel and is low in the cutoff bend. The unique hydrodynamics of meander chute cutoffs explains their distinctive morphologic behaviors, including the rapid widening and deepening of chute channels and locations of bars and pools. Moreover, this paper compares quantitatively the depth‐averaged flow structure before and after the cutoff, demonstrating that cross‐sectional redistribution of streamwise momentum by secondary flow remains largely unchanged in the presence of the chute channel. This implies that 2D depth‐averaged hydrodynamic models, parameterized and calibrated for secondary flow in single‐channel meanders, are suitable for simulating flow within chute cutoffs.

The ATLAS experiment has developed extensive software and distributed computing systems for Run 3 of the LHC. These systems are described in detail, including software infrastructure and workflows, distributed data and workload management, database infrastructure, and validation. The use of these systems to prepare the data for physics analysis and assess its quality are described, along with the software tools used for data analysis itself. An outlook for the development of these projects towards Run 4 is also provided.

A bstract Differential measurements of Higgs boson production in the τ -lepton-pair decay channel are presented in the gluon fusion, vector-boson fusion (VBF), VH and $t\overline{t}H$ t t ¯ H associated production modes, with particular focus on the VBF production mode. The data used to perform the measurements correspond to 140 fb − 1 of proton-proton collisions collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Two methods are used to perform the measurements: the Simplified Template Cross-Section (STXS) approach and an Unfolded Fiducial Differential measurement considering only the VBF phase space. For the STXS measurement, events are categorized by their production mode and kinematic properties such as the Higgs boson’s transverse momentum ( ${p}_{\textrm{T}}^{\textrm{H}}$ p T H ), the number of jets produced in association with the Higgs boson, or the invariant mass of the two leading jets ( m jj ). For the VBF production mode, the ratio of the measured cross-section to the Standard Model prediction for m jj > 1.5 TeV and ${p}_{\textrm{T}}^{\textrm{H}}$ p T H > 200 GeV ( ${p}_{\textrm{T}}^{\textrm{H}}$ p T H < 200 GeV) is ${1.29}_{-0.34}^{+0.39}$ 1.29 − 0.34 + 0.39 ( ${0.12}_{-0.33}^{+0.34}$ 0.12 − 0.33 + 0.34 ). This is the first VBF measurement for the higher- ${p}_{\textrm{T}}^{\textrm{H}}$ p T H criteria, and the most precise for the lower- ${p}_{\textrm{T}}^{\textrm{H}}$ p T H criteria. The fiducial cross-section measurements, which only consider the kinematic properties of the event, are performed as functions of variables characterizing the VBF topology, such as the signed ∆ ϕ jj between the two leading jets. The measurements have a precision of 30%–50% and agree well with the Standard Model predictions. These results are interpreted in the SMEFT framework, and place the strongest constraints to date on the CP-odd Wilson coefficient ${c}_{H\overset{\sim }{W}}$ c H W ~ .

Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is an AIDS-defining cancer and a significant global health challenge caused by KS-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). NGS-based approaches have profiled KS lesions in a minimal number of studies compared with other neoplastic diseases. Here we present a compiled and harmonized dataset of 131 KS and non-tumor cutaneous samples in the context of their predicted pathway activities, immune infiltrate, KSHV and HIV gene expression profiles, and their associated clinical data representing patient populations from Argentina, United States (USA), and Sub-Saharan Africa cohorts. RNA-seq data from 9 Argentinian KS lesions were generated and integrated with previously published datasets derived from the USA and sub-Saharan African cohorts from Tanzania, Zambia, and Uganda. An unsupervised analysis of 131 KS-related samples allowed us to identify four KS clusters based on their host and KSHV gene expression profiles, immune infiltrate, and the activity of specific signaling pathways. The compiled RNA-seq profile is shared with the research community through the UCSC Xena browser for further visualization, download, and analysis (https://kaposi.xenahubs.net/ ). These resources will allow biologists without bioinformatics knowledge to explore and correlate the host and viral transcriptome in a curated dataset of different KS RNA-seq-based cohorts, which can lead to novel biological insights and biomarker discovery.

This work describes the development of a label-free optical immunosensor for the diagnosis of Chagas disease (CD). The proposed plasmonic sensor is based on nanograting gold-coated substrates of 725 nm period, which are functionalized with a highly immunogenic Trypanosoma cruzi protein, Cruzipain, and subsequently passivated with Bovine Serum Albumin. Verification of surface modifications and immunocomplex formation resulting from the antigen-antibody interaction was successfully conducted using atomic force microscopy. The biosensor signal was retrieved by measuring the reflected spectra of the gold-coated surface, being based on Grating-Coupled Surface Plasmon Resonance (GCSPR) in wavelength modulation mode using incident light at 60°. Binding of molecules to the sensor surface led to an increase in surface refractive index, causing blueshifts in the resonance wavelength. The immunosensor yielded a refractometric sensitivity of 1240 nm/RIU with a limit of detection of 60 μg/mL, that is almost three orders of magnitude smaller than the antibody levels commonly found in patients with chronic CD. The sensors functionalized with Cruzipain were successfully tested with clinical serum samples. Significant shifts were observed in the resonance wavelength that was 2x higher in positive samples compared to negative samples. Looking forward, the development of a unique Cruzipain-based sensor surface for the label- free detection of CD biomarkers is anticipated by integrating GCSPR and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy. This integration holds promise for enhancing detection sensitivity and specificity, paving the way for advanced diagnosis of infectious diseases.

Quantifying atmospheric turbulence intensity is a challenging task, particularly when assessing real-world scenarios. In this paper, we propose a deep learning method for quantifying atmospheric turbulence intensity based on the space-time domain analysis from videos depicting different turbulence levels. We capture videos of a static image under controlled air turbulence intensities using an inexpensive camera, and then, by slicing these videos in the space-time domain, we extract spatio-temporal representations of the turbulence dynamics. These representations are then fed into a Convolutional Neural Network for classification. This network effectively learns to discriminate between different turbulence regimes based on the spatio-temporal features extracted from a real-world experiment captured in video slices.

BACKGROUND Benznidazole (BNZ) is the primary treatment for Chagas disease. While pharmacokinetic studies of BNZ began in the 1970s, its metabolism and excretion are not fully understood. Alternatives like Benznidazol Lafepe® and Abarax® have replaced the original Radanil®. OBJECTIVES To compare the pharmacokinetic profiles of both currently available formulations of BNZ in adults with chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection. METHODS The study involved 13 subjects each one receiving 100 mg of both presentations one week apart. Blood samples were collected over 48 hours post-administration to analyse BNZ concentration and calculate pharmacokinetic parameters. FINDINGS The analysis showed that both presentations had similar maximum plasma concentration and time to reach maximum plasma concentration values. Area under curve (AUC) values were slightly lower in Abarax® than Benznidazol Lafepe®. High intra-individual variability was observed, attributed to erratic absorption patterns with multiple peaks in concentration-time curves. The half-life values for both formulations were 9.1 and 8.0 h, respectively, with a significant intra-individual variability over 30%. MAIN CONCLUSIONS The mean difference in the AUC was lower than 10%, but exceeded the 90% confidence interval for the higher bioequivalence limit. Despite the high variability that confirms erratic absorption, the pharmacokinetic parameters of both formulations were within expected ranges.