This study contributes taxonomic information on the genus Eutimesius Roewer, 1913. Three new species are described: the sympatric species E. aroa sp. nov. and E. guaichia sp. nov. from Yaracuy state ...and E. canoabo sp. nov. from Carabobo state in Venezuela. The male of E. ephippiatus (Roewer, 1915) is described for the first time. Remarks are made on the distribution of E. ornatus , and a complimentary description of male genitalia is provided for E. simoni Roewer, 1913. New departmental records are added for E. ephippiatus and E. simoni . An updated distribution map and a key to the identification of the males of the species in the genus are presented.
The characterization of the epigenetic changes within the obesity-related adipose tissue will provide new insights to understand this metabolic disorder, but adipose tissue is not easy to sample in ...population-based studies. We aimed to evaluate the capacity of circulating leukocytes to reflect the adipose tissue-specific DNA methylation status of obesity susceptibility. DNA samples isolated from subcutaneous adipose tissue and circulating leukocytes were hybridized in the Infinium HumanMethylation 450 BeadChip. Data were compared between samples from obese (n = 45) and non-obese (n = 8-10) patients by Wilcoxon-rank test, unadjusted for cell type distributions. A global hypomethylation of the differentially methylated CpG sites (DMCpGs) was observed in the obese subcutaneous adipose tissue and leukocytes. The overlap analysis yielded a number of genes mapped by the common DMCpGs that were identified to reflect the obesity state in the leukocytes. Specifically, the methylation levels of FGFRL1, NCAPH2, PNKD and SMAD3 exhibited excellent and statistically significant efficiencies in the discrimination of obesity from non-obesity status (AUC > 0.80; p < 0.05) and a great correlation between both tissues. Therefore, the current study provided new and valuable DNA methylation biomarkers of obesity-related adipose tissue pathogenesis through peripheral blood analysis, an easily accessible and minimally invasive biological material instead of adipose tissue.
Climatic seasons have been shown to determine the temporal fluctuations in species communities of different ecosystems. Here, we assessed the diversity of spider assemblages in dry, transition and ...rainy seasons in the "Guillermo Piñeres" Botanical Garden (GPBG), Turbaco, Colombia. We collected spider assemblages between June 2018 and April 2019 through standardized day and night sampling methods for tropical ecosystems: looking up, looking down, beating and leaf litter sieving. In total, we collected 1585 individuals, belonging to 28 families and 112 (morpho) species. We calculated the effective species richness (Hill numbers) to evaluate the changes in diversity across seasons and used clustering and ordination methods (Jaccard index-based nMDS) to identify differences in the composition of the assemblages. Also, we compared the abundance and species richness of predatory guilds of the three seasons. The transition season showed the highest diversity with 94 morphospecies, an effective number of species of 48.7 and a dominance of 32.4 effective species. The clustering and ordination methods grouped the sampling events into three groups, each corresponding to a climatic season. The most abundant guild was the orb web weavers, with the highest value in the rainy season, while "other hunters" were the most species rich. Our results indicate that the spider assemblages in GPBG present a seasonal variation in diversity, probably influenced by climatic conditions. Understanding how these seasonal changes occur is necessary to develop forest management strategies for monitoring and management projects on the conservation of species assemblages according to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
In order to characterize the influence of environmental factors in dust metal loadings inside homes in an urban environment and to evaluate the associated potential health risks, samples of settled ...indoor dust from 10 apartments in the urban area of Madrid (Spain) were collected with wet wipes. Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, and Mn loads were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) after a HNO
3
+ H
2
O
2
digestion. The environmental factors evaluated were load distribution between rooms, number of residents, presence of smokers, traffic intensity, apartment elevation, and frequency of house cleaning. Tukey’s range test and stepwise multiple linear regression analysis revealed that metal dust loadings present two prevailing origins: (1) They present higher loadings in the entry hall, which suggest that dust is tracked indoors adhered to footwear and clothing and (2) they arise from tobacco smoking. Significant correlations were also observed between metal loadings and traffic intensity (Cr), number of residents (Cr, Pb, and Cu), number of days between cleaning (Ni), and flat height (Mn). A human health risk assessment considering a mechanistic hand-to-mouth model for dust ingestion and dermal absorption revealed that urban children are not expected to develop adverse health effects from exposure to trace elements in household dust. The contribution of this exposure scenario to the overall received dose should be included when assessing the background exposure of children to trace elements. A more precise assessment should attempt to reduce the significant uncertainty of the risk model output associated with estimates of exposure variables, deposition rates, and metal bioaccessibility.
The Armadillidae are the most diverse family within the Oniscidea, widely distributed around the world. To date, only seven species of the family are known from Colombia. After the examination of a ...collection from the Colombian departments of Atlántico, Bolívar, Cesar, Magdalena, Risaralda, Santander, and Sucre, eight species were recognized as belonging to the genus Ctenorillo, of which six are considered to be new to Science: C. binomio n. sp., C. humboldti n. sp., C. mincaensis n. sp., C. orientalis n. sp., C. papagayoensis n. sp., and C. tayrona n. sp. Moreover, the distribution knowledge of C. dazai and C. tuberosus has expanded. Ctenorillo species in Colombia are predominantly distributed in Tropical Dry Forest areas, which is one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world. Considering the new taxa presented here, allied with other Oniscidea groups, there is an urgent need to raise the awareness level regarding the conservation status of this ecosystem in the country.
A
bstract
The ANTARES neutrino telescope has an energy threshold of a few tens of GeV. This allows to study the phenomenon of atmospheric muon neutrino disappearance due to neutrino oscillations. In ...a similar way, constraints on the 3+1 neutrino model, which foresees the existence of one sterile neutrino, can be inferred. Using data collected by the ANTARES neutrino telescope from 2007 to 2016, a new measurement of Δ
m
32
2
and
θ
23
has been performed — which is consistent with world best-fit values — and constraints on the 3+1 neutrino model have been derived.
Based on the available literature and a review of collections of organisms, a checklist of 69 myriapod species was made for the Colombian Caribbean region; two symphyls, 15 Chilopods, and 52 ...Diplopods. In total, 20 families (one from Symphyla, five from Chilopoda, and 14 from Diplopoda), from 11 orders (one from Symphyla, three from Chilopoda, and seven from Diplopoda). Each species's geographical range by department, altitud, reference collection, and bibliographic source were included. The presence in Colombian collections of diplopod specimens that are new records of their taxonomic group for the region, such as Chondrodesmus cf. riparius (Chelodesmidae), two species of Fuhrmannodesmidae, three of Paradoxosomatidae and one of Lophoproctidae. Likewise, two species of Scolopendrellidae of the class Symphyla. This demonstrates the urgent need to complete the essential diversity inventories of the main groups of organisms in the face of the alarming environmental deterioration to which the Colombian Caribbean region is subjected.
Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) shelter unique communities. Coral zooxanthellae in these environments feature a low photosynthesis rate; therefore zooplankton becomes MCEs’ primary food source. ...These MCEs have not been studied enough due to the high cost of current assessment technologies, so these endeavours remain a challenge. The purpose of this work was to study thezooplankton community associated to the MCEs on seamount Bajo Frijol, within the Corales de Profundidad National Natural Park (off the Colombian Caribbean coast) and to compare its composition with that from shallower parts of the water column. Three samples were taken, filtering 24 L of seawater (via a mesh of size 45 μm) at each station with a device designed to collect zooplankton right ontop of the reef substrate. Taxonomic composition, density and relative abundance were obtained. A resemblance analysis was performed, complemented with a cluster, an MDS and a modified Kandoorp test. The analysis showed clear differences between the water column samples from those taken close to the reef. It also showed the separation of the community into two large groups: north and center-south, both with unique species.
The Protvino accelerator facility located in the Moscow region, Russia, is in a good position to offer a rich experimental research program in the field of neutrino physics. Of particular interest is ...the possibility to direct a neutrino beam from Protvino towards the KM3NeT/ORCA detector, which is currently under construction in the Mediterranean Sea 40 km offshore Toulon, France. This proposal is known as P2O. Thanks to its baseline of 2595 km, this experiment would yield an unparalleled sensitivity to matter effects in the Earth, allowing for the determination of the neutrino mass ordering with a high level of certainty after only a few years of running at a modest beam intensity of
≈
90
kW
. With a prolonged exposure (
≈
1500
kW
year
), a
2
σ
sensitivity to the leptonic CP-violating Dirac phase can be achieved. A second stage of the experiment, comprising a further intensity upgrade of the accelerator complex and a densified version of the ORCA detector (Super-ORCA), would allow for up to a
6
σ
sensitivity to CP violation and a
10
∘
-
17
∘
resolution on the CP phase after 10 years of running with a 450 kW beam, competitive with other planned experiments. The initial composition and energy spectrum of the neutrino beam would need to be monitored by a near detector, to be constructed several hundred meters downstream from the proton beam target. The same neutrino beam and near detector set-up would also allow for neutrino-nucleus cross section measurements to be performed. A short-baseline sterile neutrino search experiment would also be possible.
Abstract
A search for astrophysical pointlike neutrino sources using the data collected by the ANTARES detector between 2007 January 29 and 2017 December 31 is presented. A likelihood method is used ...to assess the significance of an excess of muon neutrinos inducing track-like events in correlation with the location of a list of possible sources. Different sets of objects are tested in the analysis: (a) a subsample of the Fermi 3LAC catalog of blazars, (b) a jet-obscured population of active galactic nuclei, (c) a sample of hard X-ray selected radio galaxies, (d) a star-forming galaxy catalog, and (e) a public sample of 56 very-high-energy track events from the IceCube experiment. None of the tested sources shows a significant association with the sample of neutrinos detected by ANTARES. The smallest
p
-value is obtained for the catalog of radio galaxies with an equal-weights hypothesis, with a pre-trial
p
-value equivalent to a 2.8
σ
excess, which is equivalent to 1.6
σ
post-trial. In addition, the results of a dedicated analysis for the blazar MG3 J225517+2409 are also reported: this source is found to be the most significant within the Fermi 3LAC sample, with five ANTARES events located less than one degree from the source. This blazar showed evidence of flaring activity in Fermi data, in spacetime coincidence with a high-energy track detected by IceCube. An a posteriori significance of 2.6
σ
for the combination of ANTARES and IceCube data is reported.