Marcelo Lagos

Advective, orographic and radiation fog in the Tarapacá region, Chile

A project in northern Chile was undertaken to determine the origin and behaviour of fog in the coastal and inland locations of the Tarapaca Region. In the Pampa del Tamarugal, 50 km from the sea, conditions exist for the formation of radiation fog. Advective fog has been studied on the coast and orographic fog was observed at a few coastal sites near mountain ranges with elevations above 1000 m. Fog water collected by two standard fog collectors (SFC) for 3 1/2 years showed an average flux of 8.5 1 m - 2 day - 1 on the coast and 1.1 m -2 day -1 inland 12 km from the coastline. On only a few days in 10 months was water collected at the inland site of Pampa del Tamarugal. GOES satellite images are shown to illustrate the pattern of formation of the stratocumuli cloud over the sea, its approach to the coastline, the entrance of fog by corridors through the coastal range and the presence of radiation fog inland. The results are important for the understanding of fog formation and dissipation along the coastal mountain range and for the recognition of potential sites for the installation of fog water collectors, which can be used as a water source in the Atacama Desert. The results also provide vital information for use in the preservation of the unique ecosystems of the most arid desert of the world.

Neosaxitoxin as a local anesthetic: preliminary observations from a first human trial.

Background:Neosaxitoxin is a phycotoxin that reversibly blocks the voltage-gated sodium channels at the neuronal level. Its activity results in blocking the axonal conduction, stopping the propagation of the nerve impulse. The objective of the present work was to evaluate neosaxitoxin as a local anesthetic in a human trial. Methods:The authors conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with 10 healthy volunteers. Subcutaneous injections were made in the middle posterior skin of the calf: one leg received 50 &mgr;g neosaxitoxin, and the contra-lateral leg received placebo. The anesthetic effect was evaluated using a standardized human sensory and pain model. TSA II Neurosensory Analyzer (Medoc Ltd, Minneapolis, MN) and von Frey technique were used to evaluate five parameters: sensory threshold for warm and cold, pain thresholds for heat and cold, and mechanical touch perception threshold. Measurements were made 0, 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 16, 24, and 48 h after the injections. Results:For all the patients, effective and complete blocking of the evaluated parameters was obtained. As the blocking began to revert gradually, heat pain was the first to return to normal values after 3 h. Cold pain was the longest sensation abolished, achieving 24 h of blockade. The toxin was undetected in blood and urine samples. No adverse reactions to neosaxitoxin were detected. Conclusions:Neosaxitoxin showed an effective local anesthetic effect when injected in the subcutaneous plane. The efficacy of a 50-&mgr;g dose of neosaxitoxin was shown. This is the first report of neosaxitoxin as a local anesthetic in a human trial.

Human intoxication with paralytic shellfish toxins: Clinical parameters and toxin analysis in plasma and urine

This study reports the data recorded from four patients intoxicated with shellfish during the summer 2002, after consuming ribbed mussels (Aulacomya ater) with paralytic shellfish toxin contents of 8,066 +/- 61.37 microg/100 gr of tissue. Data associated with clinical variables and paralytic shellfish toxins analysis in plasma and urine of the intoxicated patients are shown. For this purpose, the evolution of respiratory frequency, arterial blood pressure and heart rate of the poisoned patients were followed and recorded. The clinical treatment to reach a clinically stable condition and return to normal physiological parameters was a combination of hydration with saline solution supplemented with Dobutamine (vasoactive drug), Furosemide (diuretic) and Ranitidine (inhibitor of acid secretion). The physiological condition of patients began to improve after four hours of clinical treatment, and a stable condition was reached between 12 to 24 hours. The HPLC-FLD analysis showed only the GTX3/GTX2 epimers in the blood and urine samples. Also, these epimers were the only paralytic shellfish toxins found in the shellfish extract sample.

Route of metabolization and detoxication of paralytic shellfish toxins in humans.

Paralytic shellfish toxins (PST) are a collection of over 26 structurally related imidazoline guanidinium derivatives produced by marine dinoflagellates and freshwater cyanobacteria. Glucuronidation of drugs by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) is the major phase II conjugation reaction in mammalian liver. In this study, using human liver microsomes, the in vitro paralytic shellfish toxins oxidation and sequential glucuronidation are achieved. Neosaxitoxin (neoSTX), Gonyautoxin 3/2 epimers (GTX3/GTX2) and Saxitoxin (STX) are used as starting enzymatic substrates. The enzymatic reaction final product metabolites are identified by using HPLC-FLD and HPLC/ESI-IT/MS. Four metabolites from GTX3/GTX2 epimers precursors, three of neoSTX and two of STX are clearly identified after incubating with UDPGA/NADPH and fresh liver microsomes. The glucuronic-Paralytic Shellfish Toxins were completely hydrolysed by treatment with beta-glucuronidase. All toxin analogs were identified comparing their HPLC retention time with those of analytical standard reference samples and further confirmed by HPLC/ESI-IT/MS. Paralytic Shellfish Toxins (PST) were widely metabolized by human microsomes and less than 15% of the original PST, incubated as substrate, stayed behind at the end of the incubation. The apparent V(max) and Km formation values for the respective glucuronides of neoSTX, GTX3/GTX2 epimers and STX were determined. The V(max) formation values for Glucuronic-GTX3 and Glucuronic-GTX2 were lower than Glucuronic-neoSTX and Glucuronic-STX (6.8+/-1.9x10(-3); 8.3+/-2.8x10(-3) and 9.7+/-2.8x10(-3)pmol/min/mg protein respectively). Km of the glucuronidation reaction for GTX3/GTX2 epimers was less than that of glucuronidation of neoSTX and STX (20.2+/-0.12; 27.06+/-0.23 and 32.02+/-0.64microM respectively). In conclusion, these data show for the first time, direct evidence for the sequential oxidation and glucuronidation of PST in vitro, both being the initial detoxication reactions for the excretion of these toxins in humans. The PST oxidation and glucuronidation pathway showed here, is the hepatic conversion of its properly glucuronic-PST synthesized, and the sequential route of PST detoxication in human.

Local infiltration of gonyautoxin is safe and effective in treatment of chronic tension-type headache

Abstract Background: Gonyautoxin are phycotoxins, whose molecular mechanism of action is a reversible block of the voltage-gated sodium channels at axonal level, impeding nerve impulse propagation. Objective: To evaluate clinical efficacy of gonyautoxin in the treatment of patients with chronic tensional-type headache. Methods: Open trial from September 2004 to 2005 in Hospital Clínico Universidad de Chile. Twenty-seven patients with chronic tension-type headache were locally infiltrated with gonyautoxins (50 micrograms) in ten sites considered as pain trigger points in a fixed infiltration protocol. In each site, a volume of 200 microlitres was injected. EMG recording was performed before and immediately after infiltrations. Main outcome measures are where a significantly drop-off in acute headache pain score occurs and number of days without headache pain. Results: No side effects were detected in the follow-up period. From base line of 2 weeks, 19 patients of 27 (70%) are the successfully responders to the treatment. They showed the remarkable immediate effect after infiltration demonstrated by trapezium EMG recording. Patients reported a fall in pain score 5 minutes post-injection from 5.0 ± 2.8 to 1.6 ± 1.6 (mean ± SD). The responder showed an average of 8.1 ± 9.9 weeks of headache pain-free, all of them without a second infiltration or use of any additional analgesic medication. Discussion: The therapeutic properties of gonyautoxin local infiltration in chronic tension-type headache patients are shown to be safe and effective. This report describes a new therapy for chronic tension-type headache involving local infiltrations of gonyautoxins. The immediate headache pain relief effect shown only minutes after toxin infiltrations were the most remarkable feature of this protocol. This is the first gonyautoxins testing report in the treatment of chronic tension-type headache.

Treatment of chronic anal fissure by gonyautoxin

Objective  The use of gonyautoxin has been reported to be safe and effective in healing acute and chronic anal fissures. This study was designed to show better efficacy in healing patients with chronic anal fissure by increasing the frequency of toxin injection.

Unearthing earthquakes and their tsunamis using multiple proxies: the 22 June 1932 event and a probable fourteenth-century predecessor on the Pacific coast of Mexico

Tsunami deposits have been widely studied in temperate latitudes, but the intrinsic difficulties associated with tropical coastal environments, and the intensity of bioturbation in these habitats, limit the possibilities of analysing these formations. Here, we investigate the deposits on the Colima coast of Mexico, which overlies the subducting Rivera and Cocos Plates, in order to reconstruct the tsunami inundation history and related hazard. We developed a multi-proxy study aimed to recognize and date historical and palaeotsunami deposits, including historical data on the effects of a known tsunami, geomorphological mapping, stratigraphic, grain size, organic matter content, diatoms, geochemical composition, magnetic susceptibility, and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility, together with radiometric dating (210Pb and 14C). We identified two probable tsunami deposits at Palo Verde estuary including a historical event associated with the Mw 6.9 earthquake on 22 June 1932 and a palaeotsunami most likely generated by a similar event in the fourteenth century. This work shows that it is possible to identify both historical and palaeotsunamis in the tropical environment of Mexico’s Pacific coast. These data will serve to enhance our understanding of tsunami deposits in tropical environments and of the regional tsunami hazard.

Incorporación de criterios de fragilidad ambiental y riesgo en la planificación territorial de la costa de Chile central

Analysis of the state of territorial planning tools of the coastal zone of the Maule Region (Central Chile) are made and compared with spatial units of a detailed scale of environmental fragility and tsunami risk. Notice is made of the precariousness and scarce incorporation of environmental considerations of these tools. In this sense, a zonification that allows for the incorporation of environmental variables is proposed for the planification tools of the coastal zone.

Zonificación del riesgo de tsunami en el centro-sur de Chile

Integrating tsunami numerical modeling, geomatics techniques and new criteria developed by the tsunami risk research, develops a methodology for risk zoning and applied in a coastal area in south-central Chile. The method uses factors that infl uence the tsunami risk, as hydrodynamic parameters of the threat and physical and socioeconomic aspects of vulnerability. Risk factors are integrated through multicriteria evaluation techniques and Geographic Information Systems. The zoning results show that the local characteristics and their location, together with the concentration of poverty levels, establish spatial differentiated risk levels. This information builds the basis for future applied studies in land use planning, which would reduce the risk of tsunami disaster.

Diatom (Bacillariophyceae) assemblages in salt marshes of south‐central Chile: Relations with tidal inundation time and salinity

To reconstruct sea‐level history from changes in tidal environments using diatom assemblages, we need to better understand the relations among brackish diatom assemblages and changing environments along elevational gradients from diverse coastal sites. Our statistical analysis reveals relations between environmental variables and brackish benthic diatom assemblages in the little studied region of south‐central Chile. Along four transects across salt marshes at two sites, we identified 224 diatom taxa in 112 samples. Detrended canonical correspondence analysis showed that tidal exposure time index and salinity were appropriately regressed against the abundance of diatom species using unimodal‐based methods. Our tests of classical and inverse regressions of weighted average and weighted averaging partial least squares (WA‐PLS) showed that WA‐PLS resulted in the highest coefficient of determination and the lowest root‐mean square of the error of prediction. Our regression will be useful in reconstructing environmental variables from fossil diatom assemblages in Chile.