Genomic analysis of the blood attributed to Louis XVI (1754-1793), king of France.

A pyrographically decorated gourd, dated to the French Revolution period, has been alleged to contain a handkerchief dipped into the blood of the French king Louis XVI (1754-1793) after his beheading but recent analyses of living males from two Bourbon branches cast doubts on its authenticity. We sequenced the complete genome of the DNA contained in the gourd at low coverage (similar to 2.5x) with coding sequences enriched at a higher similar to 7.3x coverage. We found that the ancestry of the gourd's genome does not seem compatible with Louis XVI's known ancestry. From a functional perspective, we did not find an excess of alleles contributing to height despite being described as the tallest person in Court. In addition, the eye colour prediction supported brown eyes, while Louis XVI had blue eyes. This is the first draft genome generated from a person who lived in a recent historical period; however, our results suggest that this sample may not correspond to the alleged king.

Membrane interaction of a new synthetic antimicrobial lipopetide sp-85 with broad spectrum activity

Antimicrobial peptides offer a new class of therapeutic agents to which bacteria may not be able todevelop genetic resistance, since their main activity is in the lipid component of the bacterial cell mem-brane. We have developed a series of synthetic cationic cyclic lipopeptides based on natural polymyxin,and in this work we explore the interaction of sp-85, an analog that contains a C12 fatty acid at theN-terminus and two residues of arginine. This analog has been selected from its broad spectrum antibac-terial activity in the micromolar range, and it has a disruptive action on the cytoplasmic membrane ofbacteria, as demonstrated by TEM. In order to obtain information on the interaction of this analog withmembrane lipids, we have obtained thermodynamic parameters from mixed monolayers prepared withPOPG and POPE/POPG (molar ratio 6:4), as models of Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria, respec-tively. LangmuirBlodgett films have been extracted on glass plates and observed by confocal microscopy,and images are consistent with a strong destabilizing effect on the membrane organization induced bysp-85. The effect of sp-85 on the membrane is confirmed with unilamelar lipid vesicles of the same com-position, where biophysical experiments based on fluorescence are indicative of membrane fusion andpermeabilization starting at very low concentrations of peptide and only if anionic lipids are present.Overall, results described here provide strong evidence that the mode of action of sp-85 is the alterationof the bacterial membrane permeability barrier.

L'entonació dels titulars de les notícies en català. Trets melòdics dels locutors

En aquest article descrivim les tendències entonatives que caracteritzen la locució dels titulars de les notícies per mitjà de sis de les veus més conegudes de la televisió catalana (tv3 i 3/24): Xavier Coral, Agnès Marquès, Ramon Pellicer, Joan Carles Peris, Raquel Sans i Núria Solé. Per portar a terme la investigació, ens hem basat en el mètode Anàlisi Melòdica de la Parla, descrit a Cantero (2002), i hem utilitzat l'aplicació d'anàlisi i síntesi de veu Praat. Prenent com a base els patrons melòdics i els èmfasis de la parla espontània del català, hem constatat que per a aquest tipus de locució, pròpia d'un registre formal, solament es fan servir de forma continuada i repetitiva una part dels trets melòdics ja descrits, amb la qual cosa s'aconsegueix un efecte característic que la fa singular i la distancia de la parla espontània. També hem descrit els trets melòdics que tenen en comú els sis locutors i els trets en què difereixen.

Camins de l'exili: Cotlliure, Argelers, Elna

Descripció del viatge, amb la finalitat de recuperar la memòria històrica, d’un grup de gironins a llocs claus de l’exili que va provocar la guerra civil espanyola. Concretament a Colliure, a Argelers i a Elna