Exploration of the cell-cycle genes found within the RIKEN FANTOM2 data set

The cell cycle is one of the most fundamental processes within a cell. Phase-dependent expression and cell-cycle checkpoints require a high level of control. A large number of genes with varying functions and modes of action are responsible for this biology. In a targeted exploration of the FANTOM2-Variable Protein Set, a number of mouse homologs to known cell-cycle regulators as well as novel members of cell-cycle families were identified. Focusing on two prototype cell-cycle families, the cyclins and the NIMA-related kinases (NEKs), we believe we have identified all of the mouse members of these families, 24 cyclins and 10 NEKs, and mapped them to ENSEMBL transcripts. To attempt to globally identify all potential cell cycle-related genes within mouse, the MGI (Mouse Genome Database) assignments for the RIKEN Representative Set (RPS) and the results from two homology-based queries were merged. We identified 1415 genes with possible cell-cycle roles, and 1758 potential paralogs. We comment on the genes identified in this screen and evaluate the merits of each approach.

Aquatic passive sampling of herbicides on naked particle loaded membranes: Accelerated measurement and empirical estimation of kinetic parameters

Water-sampler equilibrium partitioning coefficients and aqueous boundary layer mass transfer coefficients for atrazine, diuron, hexazionone and fluometuron onto C18 and SDB-RPS Empore disk-based aquatic passive samplers have been determined experimentally under a laminar flow regime (Re = 5400). The method involved accelerating the time to equilibrium of the samplers by exposing them to three water concentrations, decreasing stepwise to 50% and then 25% of the original concentration. Assuming first-order Fickian kinetics across a rate-limiting aqueous boundary layer, both parameters are determined computationally by unconstrained nonlinear optimization. In addition, a method of estimation of mass transfer coefficients-therefore sampling rates-using the dimensionless Sherwood correlation developed for laminar flow over a flat plate is applied. For each of the herbicides, this correlation is validated to within 40% of the experimental data. The study demonstrates that for trace concentrations (sub 0.1 mu g/L) and these flow conditions, a naked Empore disk performs well as an integrative sampler over short deployments (up to 7 days) for the range of polar herbicides investigated. The SDB-RPS disk allows a longer integrative period than the C18 disk due to its higher sorbent mass and/or its more polar sorbent chemistry. This work also suggests that for certain passive sampler designs, empirical estimation of sampling rates may be possible using correlations that have been available in the chemical engineering literature for some time.

How education should link with career paths

How good is your pharmacy practice? And what does “good” look like? Take a look back at the education and training you have received in your career to date. Has it stood you in good stead? Certainly there is a need to establish a model of professional education and development that produces good pharmacists — you should be able to demonstrate your competence regardless of your sector of work. It may help if we move away from the view that excellence in pharmacy practice is primarily defined by where you practise and the kind of job that you do. The Modernising Pharmacy Careers programme’s aspirations to integrate the undergraduate degree with the preregistration training year are bold and to be applauded — provided the outcome delivers changes that are more than superficial. The new model needs to deliver greater integration of education with practice, while retaining an adequate science base. Theory should be put into the context of practice-based, cross-sector learning needs and opportunities. For example, is the classroom really the best environment in which to learn dispensing? Pharmacokinetic theory could be put into context through creatively designed work placements. And it might make more sense to learn patient counselling in a community pharmacy, and so on. Is it resources we lack to make this happen? Or do we lack the collective will to be imaginative, to be radical and to conceive new approaches to professional education? Implicit in this new approach to education is the expectation that pharmacists should teach and mentor and, conversely, that those who teach should also engage in relevant practice. University education must produce graduates whose knowledge and competence are useful to employers. Moreover, graduates must be adequately prepared to enter any area of the profession endowed with professional self-confidence (something, arguably, that needs further development within the pharmacy psyche). Of course, becoming qualified is just the beginning. Post-qualification, pharmacists need structured career paths that foster this professional confidence, support learning and ensure recognition. To this end, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society-led professional curriculum group is working to define knowledge, skills and experience for all areas of advanced practice. More than ever, the profession needs to adopt a culture of learning, teaching and practice research that is unified. The question is: how do we move away from merely collecting qualifications (trophies) to developing meaningful careers? Pharmacists in all areas and at all levels of the profession need to consider their own willingness to make this shift. The RPS and MPC are leading the way, but are we following?

Buenas prácticas de los centros de rehabilitación laboral (CRL) para personas con enfermedad mental grave de la Comunidad de Madrid a tener en cuenta para el diseño de un nuevo modelo de gestión de los servicios de empleo

El presente artículo tiene como objetivo principal identificar las variables que explican por qué los Centros de Rehabilitación Laboral (CRL) para personas con enfermedad mental grave y duradera de la Comunidad de Madrid consiguen tasas de inserción sociolaboral cercanas al 50%, siendo un colectivo que presenta unas tasas de desempleo superiores al 80%. La metodología empleada en la investigación del recurso (documental, cualitativa y cuantitativa) demuestra que estos resultados son posibles gracias a la conjunción de varios elementos: financiación sostenible, método de trabajo, fuerte liderazgo político, trabajo con el tejido empresarial (presentando a las empresas, perfiles profesionales basados en un certero análisis de las competencias), trabajo en red, plazo de intervención marcado por la persona y la composición de los equipos multiprofesionales, entre otros factores.

Plus-value de réévaluation, incorporation au capital et réduction de capital après l'arrêté royal du 18 décembre 2015

info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Random path sampling applied to vector models of magnetism

The recently reported Monte Carlo Random Path Sampling method (RPS) is here improved and its application is expanded to the study of the 2D and 3D Ising and discrete Heisenberg models. The methodology was implemented to allow use in both CPU-based high-performance computing infrastructures (C/MPI) and GPU-based (CUDA) parallel computation, with significant computational performance gains. Convergence is discussed, both in terms of free energy and magnetization dependence on field/temperature. From the calculated magnetization-energy joint density of states, fast calculations of field and temperature dependent thermodynamic properties are performed, including the effects of anisotropy on coercivity, and the magnetocaloric effect. The emergence of first-order magneto-volume transitions in the compressible Ising model is interpreted using the Landau theory of phase transitions. Using metallic Gadolinium as a real-world example, the possibility of using RPS as a tool for computational magnetic materials design is discussed. Experimental magnetic and structural properties of a Gadolinium single crystal are compared to RPS-based calculations using microscopic parameters obtained from Density Functional Theory.

The European Parliament and the Future of Comitology after Lisbon: Lessons to be drawn from the Regulatory Procedure with Scrutiny for Delegated Acts

The history of comitology – the system of implementation committees that control the Commission in the execution of delegated powers – has been characterised by institutional tensions. The crux of these tensions has often been the role of the European Parliament and its quest to be granted powers equal to those of the Council. Over time this tension has been resolved through a series of inter-institutional agreements and Comitology Decisions, essentially giving the Parliament incremental increases in power. This process came to a head with the 2006 Comitology reform and the introduction of the regulatory procedure with scrutiny (RPS). After just over three years of experience with the RPS procedure, and having revised the entire acquis communautaire, the Treaty of Lisbon made has made it redundant through the creation of Delegated Acts (Article 290 TFEU), which gives the Parliament equal rights of oversight. This article aims to evaluate the practical implications that Delegated Acts will entail for the Parliament, principally by using the four years of experience with the RPS to better understand the challenges ahead. This analysis will be of interest to those following the study of comitology, formal and informal interinstitutional relations, and also to practitioners who will have to work with Delegated Acts in the future.