Causes of pulmonary granulomas: a retrospective study of 500 cases from seven countries

Background The frequencies of various causes of pulmonary granulomas in pathological material are unknown, as is the influence of geographical location on aetiology. The aim of this study was to identify the causes of pulmonary granulomas in pathological specimens, to define their frequencies, and to determine whether these causes vary by geographical location. Methods 500 lung biopsies and resections containing granulomas were reviewed retrospectively by expert pulmonary pathologists from 10 institutions in seven countries. Fifty consecutive cases from each location were assigned a diagnosis based on histological features and available clinical/microbiological data. Results A specific cause was identified in 58% of cases (290/500), most commonly sarcoidosis (136, 27%) and mycobacterial or fungal infections (125, 25%). Mycobacteria were identified in 19% of cases outside the USA versus 8% within the USA. In contrast, fungi accounted for 19% cases in the USA versus 4% in other locations. Fungi were mostly detected by histology, whereas most mycobacteria were identified in cultures. In 42% of cases (210/500) an aetiology could not be determined. Conclusions Across several geographical settings, sarcoidosis and infections are the most common causes of pulmonary granulomas diagnosed in pathological specimens. Fungi are more commonly identified than mycobacteria in the USA, whereas the reverse is true in other countries. A definite aetiology cannot be demonstrated in more than a third of all cases of pulmonary granulomas, even after histological examination. These findings highlight the need to submit material for histology as well as cultures in all cases in which granulomatous disease enters the differential diagnosis.

Potential of a neutrino detector in the ANDES underground laboratory for geophysics and astrophysics of neutrinos

The construction of the Agua Negra tunnels that will link Argentina and Chile under the Andes, the world's longest mountain range, opens the possibility of building the first deep underground laboratory in the Southern Hemisphere. This laboratory has the acronym ANDES (Agua Negra Deep Experiment Site) and its overburden could be as large as similar to 1.7 km of rock, or 4500 mwe, providing an excellent low background environment to study physics of rare events like the ones induced by neutrinos and/or dark matter. In this paper we investigate the physics potential of a few kiloton size liquid scintillator detector, which could be constructed in the ANDES laboratory as one of its possible scientific programs. In particular, we evaluate the impact of such a detector for the studies of geoneutrinos and Galactic supernova neutrinos, assuming a fiducial volume of 3 kilotons as a reference size. We emphasize the complementary roles of such a detector to the ones of the Northern Hemisphere neutrino facilities, given the advantages of its geographical location.

Pasado y presente de las relaciones comerciales entre las Islas Canarias y África

[ES] El presente trabajo es una aproximación centrada en la evolución del comercio canario-africano entre 2001 y 2011, así como en los principales valores obtenidos por las exportaciones e importaciones, incidiendo especialmente en la localización geográfica de los países proveedores y los mercados de destino de las producciones más relevantes. Todo ello se ha hecho sin perder de vista la perspectiva peculiar del Archipiélago con una economía escasamente industrializada en el contexto español, y prescindiendo de los flujos de inversión, las remesas de los migrantes o los intercambios de servicios. Las principales fuentes de información consultadas han sido las publicadas por el INE, ISTAC y la OMC en donde se recogen estadísticas oficiales basadas en los datos suministrados por la Agencia Tributaria del Ministerio de Economía y Hacienda.

Functional Genomics and Cell Biology of the Dolphin (Tursiops runcatus): Establishment of Novel Molecular Tools to Study Marine Mammals in Changing Environments

The dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is a mammal that is adapted to life in a totally aquatic environment. Despite the popularity and even iconic status of the dolphin, our knowledge of its physiology, its unique adaptations and the effects on it of environmental stressors are limited. One approach to improve this limited understanding is the implementation of established cellular and molecular methods to provide sensitive and insightful information for dolphin biology. We initiated our studies with the analysis of wild dolphin peripheral blood leukocytes, which have the potential to be informative of the animal’s global immune status. Transcriptomic profiles from almost 200 individual samples were analyzed using a newly developed species-specific microarray to assess its value as a prognostic and diagnostic tool. Functional genomics analyses were informative of stress-induced gene expression profiles and also of geographical location specific transcriptomic signatures, determined by the interaction of genetic, disease and environmental factors. We have developed quantitative metrics to unambiguously characterize the phenotypic properties of dolphin cells in culture. These quantitative metrics can provide identifiable characteristics and baseline data which will enable identification of changes in the cells due to time in culture. We have also developed a novel protocol to isolate primary cultures from cryopreserved tissue of stranded marine mammals, establishing a tissue (and cell) biorepository, a new approach that can provide a solution to the limited availability of samples. The work presented represents the development and application of tools for the study of the biology, health and physiology of the dolphin, and establishes their relevance for future studies of the impact on the dolphin of environmental infection and stress.

Spatial and temporal variability and ecological processes in the epibenthic assemblages of the northern Adriatic Sea

Several coralligenous reefs occur in the soft bottoms of the northern Adriatic continental shelf. Mediterranean coralligenous habitats are characterised by high species diversity and are intrinsically valuable for their biological diversity and for the ecological processes they support. The conservation and management of these habitats require quantifying spatial and temporal variability of their benthic assemblages. This PhD thesis aims to give a relevant contribution to the knowledge of the structure and dynamics of the epibenthic assemblages on the coralligenous subtidal reefs occurring in the northern Adriatic Sea. The epibenthic assemblages showed a spatial variation larger compared to temporal changes, with a temporal persistence of reef-forming organisms. Assemblages spatial heterogeneity has been related to morphological features and geographical location of the reefs, together with variation in the hydrological conditions. Manipulative experiments help to understand the ecological processes structuring the benthic assemblages and maintaining their diversity. In this regards a short and long term experiment on colonization patterns of artificial substrata over a 3-year period has been performed in three reefs, corresponding to the three main types of assemblages detected in the previous study. The first colonisers, largely depending by the different larval supply, played a key role in determining the heterogeneity of the assemblages in the early stage of colonisation. Lateral invasion, from the surrounding assemblages, was the driver in structuring the mature assemblages. These complex colonisation dynamics explained the high heterogeneity of the assemblages dwelling on the northern Adriatic biogenic reefs. The buildup of these coralligenous reefs mainly depends by the bioconstruction-erosion processes that has been analysed through a field experiment. Bioconstruction, largely due to serpulid polychaetes, prevailed on erosion processes and occurred at similar rates in all sites. Similarly, the total energy contents in the benthic communities do not differ among sites, despite being provided by different species. Therefore, we can hypothesise that both bioconstruction processes and energetic storage may be limited by the availability of resources. Finally the major contribution of the zoobenthos compared to the phytobenthos to the total energetic content of assemblages suggests that the energy flow in these benthic habitats is primarily supported by planktonic food web trough the filter feeding invertebrates.

Using national FADN database to describe Italian farms and arable fields. A comparison of sustainability level between organic versus conventional regimes.

The study defines a new farm classification and identifies the arable land management. These aspects and several indicators are taken into account to estimate the sustainability level of farms, for organic and conventional regimes. The data source is Italian Farm Account Data Network (RICA) for years 2007-2011, which samples structural and economical information. An environmental data has been added to the previous one to better describe the farm context. The new farm classification describes holding by general informations and farm structure. The general information are: adopted regime and farm location in terms of administrative region, slope and phyto-climatic zone. The farm structures describe the presence of main productive processes and land covers, which are recorded by FADN database. The farms, grouped by homogeneous farm structure or farm typology, are evaluated in terms of sustainability. The farm model MAD has been used to estimate a list of indicators. They describe especially environmental and economical areas of sustainability. Finally arable lands are taken into account to identify arable land managements and crop rotations. Each arable land has been classified by crop pattern. Then crop rotation management has been analysed by spatial and temporal approaches. The analysis reports a high variability inside regimes. The farm structure influences indicators level more than regimes, and it is not always possible to compare the two regimes. However some differences between organic and conventional agriculture have been found. Organic farm structures report different frequency and geographical location than conventional ones. Also different connections among arable lands and farm structures have been identified.

Surviving the Holocaust: A Life History Study

The aim of this thesis was to attempt to explain the inexplicable, thus coming to some concrete rationale as to why Murray was able to persevere unlike so many unfortunate victims who perished. The findings of this research attribute Murray's survival to three distinct categories; (1) Murray's geographical location and relationship to his hometown of Wierchomla, Poland (2) rare level of low anti-Semitic activity encountered and (3) a number of miscellaneous personal factors that included but are not limited to his diet, gender, age, psychological composition, family connections, agency, etc.

Análisis del proceso de creación de los Parques Nacionales en Argentina

Este artículo tiene por objetivo analizar y caracterizar el proceso histórico de creación de los parques nacionales en Argentina, desde sus inicios hasta la actualidad, por parte de la autoridad de aplicación, la Administración de Parques Nacionales, tomando como marco conceptual las principales corrientes teóricas en conservación que se fueron sucediendo a lo largo del tiempo. Junto a las fechas de creación de los parques nacionales, su posición geográfica y las ecorregiones donde se localizan, permitieron establecer tres períodos que estuvieron signados por la implementación de políticas públicas en la materia, enmarcadas dentro de los lineamientos generales de dichas corrientes teóricas. Asimismo, se esboza un breve estado de la situación de la preservación en las ecorregiones de nuestro país y, finalmente, se exponen las conclusiones.

Un mundo rural en transición : La campaña bonaerense según el Primer Censo Nacional de Población de la República Argentina (1869)

La campaña de Buenos Aires había recibido desde fines del siglo XVIII importantes corrientes migratorias interprovinciales que fueron progresivamente desplazadas por las provenientes de Europa. Si bien existen trabajos ;basados en los resultados generales, se ha abordado muy poco el ;estudio de la población a partir de las cédulas censales en sí mismas. Nos proponemos aquí observar la estructura de la población de la campaña bonaerense durante estos primeros tiempos de la inmigración masiva, aplicando una perspectiva comparada entre tres pueblos: San Antonio de Areco en la zona norte, Mercedes en el centro y San Vicente en el sur. Se prestará particular atención a la composición de la población, su origen, las actividades productivas y el proceso de urbanización. Se analizan igualmente las pautas de destino y localización geográfica de los extranjeros en los pueblos rurales, las ocupaciones preferidas y la eventual diversificación de actividades en función de las nacionalidades

Análisis del proceso de creación de los Parques Nacionales en Argentina

Este artículo tiene por objetivo analizar y caracterizar el proceso histórico de creación de los parques nacionales en Argentina, desde sus inicios hasta la actualidad, por parte de la autoridad de aplicación, la Administración de Parques Nacionales, tomando como marco conceptual las principales corrientes teóricas en conservación que se fueron sucediendo a lo largo del tiempo. Junto a las fechas de creación de los parques nacionales, su posición geográfica y las ecorregiones donde se localizan, permitieron establecer tres períodos que estuvieron signados por la implementación de políticas públicas en la materia, enmarcadas dentro de los lineamientos generales de dichas corrientes teóricas. Asimismo, se esboza un breve estado de la situación de la preservación en las ecorregiones de nuestro país y, finalmente, se exponen las conclusiones.

Análisis del proceso de creación de los Parques Nacionales en Argentina

Este artículo tiene por objetivo analizar y caracterizar el proceso histórico de creación de los parques nacionales en Argentina, desde sus inicios hasta la actualidad, por parte de la autoridad de aplicación, la Administración de Parques Nacionales, tomando como marco conceptual las principales corrientes teóricas en conservación que se fueron sucediendo a lo largo del tiempo. Junto a las fechas de creación de los parques nacionales, su posición geográfica y las ecorregiones donde se localizan, permitieron establecer tres períodos que estuvieron signados por la implementación de políticas públicas en la materia, enmarcadas dentro de los lineamientos generales de dichas corrientes teóricas. Asimismo, se esboza un breve estado de la situación de la preservación en las ecorregiones de nuestro país y, finalmente, se exponen las conclusiones.

Un mundo rural en transición : La campaña bonaerense según el Primer Censo Nacional de Población de la República Argentina (1869)

La campaña de Buenos Aires había recibido desde fines del siglo XVIII importantes corrientes migratorias interprovinciales que fueron progresivamente desplazadas por las provenientes de Europa. Si bien existen trabajos ;basados en los resultados generales, se ha abordado muy poco el ;estudio de la población a partir de las cédulas censales en sí mismas. Nos proponemos aquí observar la estructura de la población de la campaña bonaerense durante estos primeros tiempos de la inmigración masiva, aplicando una perspectiva comparada entre tres pueblos: San Antonio de Areco en la zona norte, Mercedes en el centro y San Vicente en el sur. Se prestará particular atención a la composición de la población, su origen, las actividades productivas y el proceso de urbanización. Se analizan igualmente las pautas de destino y localización geográfica de los extranjeros en los pueblos rurales, las ocupaciones preferidas y la eventual diversificación de actividades en función de las nacionalidades

Análisis del proceso de creación de los Parques Nacionales en Argentina

Este artículo tiene por objetivo analizar y caracterizar el proceso histórico de creación de los parques nacionales en Argentina, desde sus inicios hasta la actualidad, por parte de la autoridad de aplicación, la Administración de Parques Nacionales, tomando como marco conceptual las principales corrientes teóricas en conservación que se fueron sucediendo a lo largo del tiempo. Junto a las fechas de creación de los parques nacionales, su posición geográfica y las ecorregiones donde se localizan, permitieron establecer tres períodos que estuvieron signados por la implementación de políticas públicas en la materia, enmarcadas dentro de los lineamientos generales de dichas corrientes teóricas. Asimismo, se esboza un breve estado de la situación de la preservación en las ecorregiones de nuestro país y, finalmente, se exponen las conclusiones.

Water chemistry, and pigments and geochemistry of sediments from northern Victoria Land lakes

Total concentrations of algal pigments, organic C, C, N, P and S were determined in surface sediments from the littoral zone of 21 lakes in ice-free areas of northern Victoria Land (Antarctica) with different climatic and environmental conditions. Concentrations of major ions and nutrients were also determined in water samples from the same lakes. The latter samples had extremely variable chemical compositions; however, all the lakes resulted oligotrophic. Pigment concentrations in surface sediments were comparable to those reported for other Antarctic lakes and lower than those in oligotrophic lakes at lower latitudes. Cyanophyta, Chlorophyta and Bacillariophyta were the main taxa identified. These taxa correspond to those reported in previous microscopy-based studies on Antarctic phytoplankton and phytobenthos. Discriminant Function Analysis and Canonical Correspondence Analysis of data indicate that the distribution of pigments in these Victoria Land lakes depends mainly on their geographical location (particularly the distance from the sea) and nutrient status.

Benthic foraminifera and stable isotope composition in Paleocene-Eocene sediments

In the late Paleocene to early Eocene, deep sea benthic foraminifera suffered their only global extinction of the last 75 million years and diversity decreased worldwide by 30-50% in a few thousand years. At Maud Rise (Weddell Sea, Antarctica; Sites 689 and 690, palaeodepths 1100 m and 1900 m) and Walvis Ridge (Southeastern Atlantic, Sites 525 and 527, palaeodepths 1600 m and 3400 m) post-extinction faunas were low-diversity and high-dominance, but the dominant species differed by geographical location. At Maud Rise, post-extinction faunas were dominated by small, biserial and triserial species, while the large, thick-walled, long-lived deep sea species Nuttallides truempyi was absent. At Walvis Ridge, by contrast, they were dominated by long-lived species such as N. truempyi, with common to abundant small abyssaminid species. The faunal dominance patterns at the two locations thus suggest different post-extinction seafloor environments: increased flux of organic matter and possibly decreased oxygen levels at Maud Rise, decreased flux at Walvis Ridge. The species-richness remained very low for about 50 000 years, then gradually increased. The extinction was synchronous with a large, negative, short-term excursion of carbon and oxygen isotopes in planktonic and benthic foraminifera and bulk carbonate. The isotope excursions reached peak negative values in a few thousand years and values returned to pre-excursion levels in about 50 000 years. The carbon isotope excursion was about -2 per mil for benthic foraminifera at Walvis Ridge and Maud Rise, and about -4 per mil for planktonic foraminifera at Maud Rise. At the latter sites vertical gradients thus decreased, possibly at least partially as a result of upwelling. The oxygen isotope excursion was about -1.5 per mil for benthic foraminifera at Walvis Ridge and Maud Rise, -1 per mil for planktonic foraminifera at Maud Rise. The rapid oxygen isotope excursion at a time when polar ice-sheets were absent or insignificant can be explained by an increase in temperature by 4-6°C of high latitude surface waters and deep waters world wide. The deep ocean temperature increase could have been caused by warming of surface waters at high latitudes and continued formation of the deep waters at these locations, or by a switch from dominant formation of deep waters at high latitudes to formation at lower latitudes. Benthic foraminiferal post-extinction biogeographical patterns favour the latter explanation. The short-term carbon isotope excursion occurred in deep and surface waters, and in soil concretions and mammal teeth in the continental record. It is associated with increased CaC03-dissolution over a wide depth range in the oceans, suggesting that a rapid transfer of isotopically light carbon from lithosphere or biosphere into the ocean-atmosphere system may have been involved. The rapidity of the initiation of the excursion (a few thousand years) and its short duration (50 000 years) suggest that such a transfer was probably not caused by changes in the ratio of organic carbon to carbonate deposition or erosion. Transfer of carbon from the terrestrial biosphere was probably not the cause, because it would require a much larger biosphere destruction than at the end of the Cretaceous, in conflict with the fossil record. It is difficult to explain the large shift by rapid emission into the atmosphere of volcanogenic CO2, although huge subaerial plateau basalt eruptions occurred at the time in the northern Atlantic. Probably a complex combination of processes and feedback was involved, including volcanogenic emission of CO2, changing circulation patterns, changing productivity in the oceans and possibly on land, and changes in the relative size of the oceanic and atmospheric carbon reservoirs.