Identification and characterization of novel alphacoronaviruses in (Chiroptera, Molossidae) from Argentina: insights into recombination as a mechanism favoring bat coronavirus cross-species transmission.

Bats are reservoirs of various coronaviruses that can jump between bat species or other mammalian hosts, including humans. This article explores coronavirus infection in three bat species (, and ) of the family Molossidae from Argentina using whole viral metagenome analysis. Fecal samples of 47 bats from three semiurban or highly urbanized areas of the province of Santa Fe were investigated.

Viral Metagenomic Data Analyses of Five New World Bat Species from Argentina: Identification of 35 Novel DNA Viruses.

Bats are natural reservoirs of a variety of zoonotic viruses, many of which cause severe human diseases. Characterizing viruses of bats inhabiting different geographical regions is important for understanding their viral diversity and for detecting viral spillovers between animal species. Herein, the diversity of DNA viruses of five arthropodophagous bat species from Argentina was investigated using metagenomics.

Cost-Effective Method to Perform SARS-CoV-2 Variant Surveillance: Detection of Alpha, Gamma, Lambda, Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta in Argentina.

SARS-CoV-2 variants with concerning characteristics have emerged since the end of 2020. Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants was performed on a total of 4,851 samples from the capital city and 10 provinces of Argentina, during 51 epidemiological weeks (EWs) that covered the end of the first wave and the ongoing second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country (EW 44/2020 to EW 41/2021). The surveillance strategy was mainly based on Sanger sequencing of a Spike coding region that allows the identification of signature mutations associated with variants.

Whaling, Bullfighting, and the Conditional Value of Tradition.

The paper develops an account of the value of tradition that completes that of Samuel Scheffler and employs it to discuss whaling and bullfighting. The discussion, however, is applicable to many other practices the paper describes, and its relevance extends also beyond animal ethics. Some of the arguments discussed here for maintaining these traditions appeal to their positive aspects, such as their contribution to social or environmental harmony; other arguments focus on the impermissibility of one group criticizing another group's practices when its own are vulnerable to comparable criticism.

A Preliminary Study of the Virome of the South American Free-Tailed Bats () and Identification of Two Novel Mammalian Viruses.

Bats provide important ecosystem services as pollinators, seed dispersers, and/or insect controllers, but they have also been found harboring different viruses with zoonotic potential. Virome studies in bats distributed in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America have increased dramatically over the past decade, whereas information on viruses infecting South American species is scarce. We explored the virome of , an insectivorous New World bat species inhabiting a maternity colony in Rosario (Argentina), by a metagenomic approach.

Assessing Gammapapillomavirus infections of mucosal epithelia with two broad-spectrum PCR protocols.

Background: Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) have been divided into mucosal and cutaneous types according to their primary epithelial tissue tropism. However, recent studies showed the presence of several cutaneous types in mucosal lesions and healthy mucosa from different anatomical sites.

Methods: Here, the HPV prevalence and type-specific distribution were assessed in a variety of mucosal samples from 435 individuals using a combination of two established broad-spectrum primer systems: Gamma-PV PCR and CUT PCR.

Vertical transport and sinks of perfluoroalkyl substances in the global open ocean.

The ubiquitous occurrence of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the open ocean has been previously documented, but their vertical transport and oceanic sinks have not been comprehensively characterized and quantified at the oceanic scale. During the Malaspina 2010 circumnavigation expedition, 21 PFAS were measured at the surface and at the deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. In this work, we report an extended data set of PFAS dissolved phase concentrations at the DCM.

Snow Amplification of Persistent Organic Pollutants at Coastal Antarctica.

Many legacy and emerging persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been reported in polar regions, and act as sentinels of global pollution. Maritime Antarctica is recipient of abundant snow precipitation. Snow scavenges air pollutants, and after snow melting, it can induce an unquantified and poorly understood amplification of concentrations of POPs.

Microbial responses to anthropogenic dissolved organic carbon in the Arctic and Antarctic coastal seawaters.

Thousands of semi-volatile hydrophobic organic pollutants (OPs) reach open oceans through atmospheric deposition, causing a chronic and ubiquitous pollution by anthropogenic dissolved organic carbon (ADOC). Hydrophobic ADOC accumulates in cellular lipids, inducing harmful effects on marine biota, and can be partially prone to microbial degradation. Unfortunately, their possible effects on microorganisms, key drivers of global biogeochemical cycles, remain unknown.

Human iPSC-Chimera Xenotransplantation and the Non-Identity Problem.

Xenotransplantation is often deemed morally objectionable because of the costs it imposes on the organ donor and the risks it imposes on the recipient. For some, involving human⁻pig chimeras as donors makes the practice more objectionable or even abhorrent from the start. For others, by contrast, using such chimeras weakens recipient-based objections because it reduces the risk of organ rejection and malfunctioning, and cancels donor-based objections because the practice does not harm chimeras but instead gives them valuable lives they would not otherwise have.

High prevalence of Gammapapillomaviruses (Gamma-PVs) in pre-malignant cutaneous lesions of immunocompetent individuals using a new broad-spectrum primer system, and identification of HPV210, a novel Gamma-PV type.

Genus Gammapapillomavirus (Gamma-PV) is the most diverse and largest clade within the Papillomaviridae family. A novel set of degenerate primers targeting the E1 gene was designed and further used in combination with the well-known CUT PCR assay to assess HPV prevalence and genus distribution in a variety of cutaneous samples from 448 immunocompetent individuals. General HPV, Gamma-PV and mixed infections prevalence were significantly higher in actinic keratosis with respect to benign and malignant neoplasms, respectively (p = 0.

Pivotal Role of Snow Deposition and Melting Driving Fluxes of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons at Coastal Livingston Island (Antarctica).

The atmosphere-land-ocean dynamics of semivolatile organic compounds in polar regions is poorly understood, also for the abundant and ubiquitous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). We report the concentrations and fluxes of PAHs in a polar coastal ecosystem (Livingston Island, Antarctica). From late spring (December 2014) to late summer (February 2015), we sampled air, snow, coastal seawater, plankton, and the fugacity in soils and snow.

Seasonal soil/snow-air exchange of semivolatile organic pollutants at a coastal arctic site (Tromsø, 69°N).

Soils are a major reservoir of semivolatile organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and exert a control on their atmospheric occurrence. We present here an assessment of the atmospheric occurrence and seasonality of soil/snow-air partitioning and exchange of PCBs, PAHs, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) in the arctic city Tromsø, northern Norway. The fugacities of the organic pollutants in soils and snow were determined using a soil fugacity sampler by equilibrating the air concentrations with those in the surface soil/snow.

Role of Snow Deposition of Perfluoroalkylated Substances at Coastal Livingston Island (Maritime Antarctica).

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous in the environment, including remote polar regions. To evaluate the role of snow deposition as an input of PFAS to Maritime Antarctica, fresh snow deposition, surface snow, streams from melted snow, coastal seawater, and plankton samples were collected over a three-month period (December 2014-February 2015) at Livingston Island. Local sources of PFASs were significant for perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFSAs) and C7-14 perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs) in snow but limited to the transited areas of the research station.

Natural history of human papillomavirus infection of sun-exposed healthy skin of immunocompetent individuals over three climatic seasons and identification of HPV209, a novel betapapillomavirus.

We present the first longitudinal study reporting the natural history of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in sun-exposed skin of healthy individuals living in a geographical area in which solar UV radiation is influenced by the ozone content of the atmosphere. During three climatic seasons, skin swab samples were obtained from 78 healthy individuals and the prevalence of cutaneous HPVs was assessed with broad-spectrum FAP and CUT primers and determined at 54, 45 and 47 % in spring, summer and winter, respectively. Frequencies of mixed HPV infections were significantly higher in spring with respect to summer and winter (P=0.

Accumulation of Perfluoroalkylated Substances in Oceanic Plankton.

The bioaccumulation of perfluoroalkylated substances (PFASs) in plankton has previously been evaluated only in freshwater and regional seas, but not for the large oligotrophic global oceans. Plankton samples from the tropical and subtropical Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans were collected during the Malaspina 2010 circumnavigation expedition, and analyzed for 14 ionizable PFASs, including perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and their respective linear and branched isomers. PFOA and PFOS concentrations in plankton ranged from 0.

Organophosphate Ester Flame Retardants and Plasticizers in the Global Oceanic Atmosphere.

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are widely used as flame retardants and plasticizers and have been detected ubiquitously in the remote atmosphere. Fourteen OPEs were analyzed in 115 aerosol phase samples collected from the tropical and subtropical Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans during the MALASPINA circumnavigation campaign. OPEs were detected in all samples with concentrations ranging from 360 to 4400 pg m for the sum of compounds.

Characterization of novel human papillomavirus types 157, 158 and 205 from healthy skin and recombination analysis in genus γ-Papillomavirus.

Gammapapillomavirus (γ-PV) is a diverse and rapidly expanding genus, currently consisting of 79 fully characterized human PV (HPV) types. In this study, three novel types, HPV157, HPV158 and HPV205, obtained from healthy sun-exposed skin of two immunocompetent individuals, were amplified by the "Hanging droplet" long PCR technique, cloned, sequenced and characterized. HPV157, HPV158 and HPV205 genomes comprise 7154-bp, 7192-bp and 7298-bp, respectively, and contain four early (E1, E2, E6 and E7) and two late genes (L1 and L2).

Evidence for homologous recombination in Chikungunya Virus.

Chikungunya Virus (CHIKV), a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus, causes acute fever and joint pain in humans. Recently, endemic CHIKV infection outbreaks have jeopardized public health in wider geographical regions. Here, we analyze the phylogenetic associations of CHIKV and explore the potential recombination events on 152 genomic isolates deposited in GenBank database.

Sexual dimorphism and human enhancement.

Robert Sparrow argues that because of women's longer life expectancy philosophers who advocate the genetic modification of human beings to enhance welfare rather than merely supply therapy are committed to favouring the selection of only female embryos, an implication he deems sufficiently implausible to discredit their position. If Sparrow's argument succeeds, then philosophers who advocate biomedical moral enhancement also seem vulnerable to a similar charge because of men's greater propensity for various forms of harmful wrongdoing. This paper argues there are various flaws in Sparrow's argument that render it unsuccessful.

ImmunoFET feasibility in physiological salt environments.

Field-effect transistors (FETs) are solid-state electrical devices featuring current sources, current drains and semiconductor channels through which charge carriers migrate. FETs can be inexpensive, detect analyte without label, exhibit exponential responses to surface potential changes mediated by analyte binding, require limited sample preparation and operate in real time. ImmunoFETs for protein sensing deploy bioaffinity elements on their channels (antibodies), analyte binding to which modulates immunoFET electrical properties.