Rasgos del Micromodelado periglaciar actual sobre zonas graníticas de los Pirineos españoles (Panticosa, Huesca y Cavaller, Lleida)

El objeto de nuestro trabajo es el estudio del micromodelado desarrollado sobre granito y su evolución postglacial en dos áreas de los Pirineos Españoles: Panticosa (valle del río Gállego) y Cavallers (valle del río Koguera de Tor). Ambas áreas presentan un modelado principalmente glacial con micro y macro-formas típicas, heredadas de la Última glaciación...

Sensing of mammalian IL-17A regulates fungal adaptation and virulence.

Infections by opportunistic fungi have traditionally been viewed as the gross result of a pathogenic automatism, which makes a weakened host more vulnerable to microbial insults. However, fungal sensing of a host's immune environment might render this process more elaborate than previously appreciated. Here we show that interleukin (IL)-17A binds fungal cells, thus tackling both sides of the host-pathogen interaction in experimental settings of host colonization and/or chronic infection. Global transcriptional profiling reveals that IL-17A induces artificial nutrient starvation conditions in Candida albicans, resulting in a downregulation of the target of rapamycin signalling pathway and in an increase in autophagic responses and intracellular cAMP. The augmented adhesion and filamentous growth, also observed with Aspergillus fumigatus, eventually translates into enhanced biofilm formation and resistance to local antifungal defenses. This might exemplify a mechanism whereby fungi have evolved a means of sensing host immunity to ensure their own persistence in an immunologically dynamic environment.

Recueil des poésies des troubadours, contenant leurs vies.

Contient : 1° Chansons ; « PEIRE D'ALVERNE » ; « PEIRE ROGIERS » ; « GUIRAUTZ DE BORNEILL » ; « BERNARTZ DE VENTEDORN » ; « GAUSELMS FAIDITZ » ; « PEIRE VIDALS » ; « ARNAUTZ DE MERUOILL » ; « PERDIGONS » ; « N'AIMERICS DE PIGUILLAN » ; « PEIROLS » ; « FOLQUET DE MARSEILLA » ; « ARNAUTZ DANIELS » ; « RAIMONS DE MIRAVAL » ; « PONZ DE CAPDUOILL » ; « RAEMBAUTZ DE VAQUEIRAS » ; « GUILLEMS DE SAINT LEIDIER » ; « GAUBERTZ DE POICIBOT » ; « LO VESCOMS DE SAINT ANTONI » ; « GUIRAUDOS LO ROS » ; « PEIRE RAIMONS DE TOLOSA » ; « RICHARTZ DE BERBESIEU » ; « GUI D'UISEL » ; « En LANFRANC CIGALLA » ; « BONIFACI CALBO » ; « En BERTHOLOME ÇORGI » ; « N'UCS BRUNECS » ; « GUILLEMS ADEMARS » ; « GUILLEMS DE CAPESTAING » ; « ELIAS CAIRELS » ; « PEIRE DE MAENSAC » ; « SAIL DE SCOLA » ; « PEIRE DEL PUOI » ; « LO REIS D'ARAGON » ; « RAIMONZ DE SALAS » ; « En BLANCATZ » ; « En BLANCASSETZ » ; « GUILLEMS FIGUERA » ; « PEIRE GUILLEMS » ; « RICAS NOVAS » ; « GUILLEM DE BALAUN » ; « DEUDE DE PRADAS » ; « CADENETZ » ; « MARCABRUS » ; « JORDANS BONELS » ; « JAUFRES RUDELS DE BLAIA » ; « PEIRE DE VALERIA » ; « RICHAUTZ DE TARASCON » ; « BERTRANS DEL POJET » ; « N'AIMERICS DE SARLAT » ; « SORDELS » ; « MONTAINGNACOT » ; « NA CASTELOZA » ; « N'AIMERICS DE BELENOI » ; « N'UCS DE SAINT CIRC » ; « N'ELIAS DE BARJOLS » ; « GUILLEMS DE LA TOR » ; « CERCAMONS » ; « ALBERTEZ DE GAPENSES » ; « LO MONGES DE MONTAUDON » ; « PISTOLETA » ; « N'AIMARS LO NEGRES » ; « GUILLEMS MAGRET » ; « N'ELIAS FONSALADA » ; « N'AZALAIS DE PORCARAGES » ; « BERRENGIERS DE PALAZOL » ; « UGO DE PENA » ; « LA COMTESSA DI DIA » ; « PEIRE BREMONZ LO TORZ » ; « GAUSERAN DE SAN LEIDIER » ; « GAUBERTZ AMIELS » ; « LO COMS DE PEITIEUS » ; « GUIRAUTZ DE CALANSON » ; « GUILLEMS RAINOLS D'AT » ; « RAEMBAUTZ D'AURENGA » ; « PEIRE MILON » ; « En RALMENZ BISTORTZ » ; « N'UC DE LA BACALARIA » ; « En RAMBAUTZ DE BEL JOC » ; « ARNAUT DE TINTIGNAC » ; « GUIRAUTZ DE SALAIGNAC » ; « PEIRE DE CORBIAC » ; « LO reis PEIRE D'ARAGON » ; « Responsa de PEIRE SALVAJE » ; « LO COMS DE FOIS » ; « LO reis PEIRE D'ARAGON » ; « LO COMS DE FOIS » ; 2° Tensons ; « En SAVARICS DE MAULLEON et En GAUSELLINS FAIDIT et En UGO DE LA BACALARIA » ; « N'AIMERICS DE PIGUILLAN ed En GUILLEM DE BERGUEDAN » ; « N'AIMERICS DE PIGUILLAN et En GAUSELMS FAIDITZ » ; « N'ALBERTETZ e N'AMERICS DE PIGUILLAN » ; « Em BLANCATZ et En RAMBAUTZ » ; « RAINAUTZ DE PON e seingner JAUFRE » ; « LO DAEFINS D'ALVERNE et En PERDIGONS » ; « GAUSELM FAIDITZ et En PERDIGONS » ; « N'UGO DE LA BACALARIA et En BELTRAM DE SAN FILITZ » ; « GUILLEMS RANOLS ed En MAGRET » ; « RICAUTZ DE TARASCON e N' GUIS DE CAVAILLON » ; « GUIRAUTZ DE BORNEILL el REIS D'ARRAGON » ; « PEIRE ROGIERS » ; « RAMBAUTZ ed En PEIRE ROGIERS » ; « PEIROLS et En BERNATZ DEL VENTEDORN » ; « ALBERTZ MARQUES » ; « BERNARTZ DE VENTADORN ed En PEIROLS » ; « GUILLEMS DE LA TOR e seigner N'IBERT » ; « RAMBAUTZ DE VAQUERAS e seingner COINE » ; « RAMBAUTZ DE VAQUERAS e de la domna » ; « ALBERTEZ et En GAUSELLMS FAIDITZ » ; « En BLANCATZ ed En PEIRE VIDALS » ; « BONAFE e seingn' En BLANCATZ » ; « GUILLEMS DE SAINT GREGORI et En BLANCATZ » ; « GUILLEMS DE LA TOR ed En SORDELS » ; « RAIMONS DE MIRAVAL ed En BELTRAN » ; « GUILLEMS GASMAR et En NEBLE » ; « PEIROLS et AMORS » ; « N'UC DE SAN CIRC e seingner COMS » ; « N'UC et En RECULAIRE » ; « GARINS LO BRUS e MESURA » ; « N'ELIAS e son cosin » ; « N'ARNAUTZ e seingner Em COMS » ; « D'En RAMBAUTZ e d'Enn AZEMARS » ; « LANFRANC CIGALA e Na GUILLELMA DE ROSERS » ; « D'En GIGO e d'En JORIS » ; « D'En SORDELS e d'En BERTRANS » ; « CADENET ed En GUIONET » ; « N'ELIAS e son cosin » ; « N'EGO DE LA BACALARIA ed En GAUSELIM FAIDITZ » ; « La tenzon de ROFIN e de domna H » ; « SAVARICS DE MALEON ed En PREBOST » ; « LO DALFIN ed En PEIROL » ; « ALBERTET et En GAUSSCELM FAIDITZ » ; « De N'EBLES e de son seingnor » ; « ALBERTETZ el monge » ; « BERTRAM DE GORDON et En PEIRE RAIMON » ; « La tenzon de l'oste e de GUILLEM » ; « La tenzon de seigner MONTAN e de la domna » ; 3° Sirventes ; « PEIRE CARDINAL » ; « BERTRANS DE BORN » ; « Sirventes del rei RICHART » ; « Sirventes del DALFIN D'ALVERNE » ; « LO DALFINS D'ALVERNE » ; « BERTRANS DEL POJET » ; « RAIMONS DE DURFORT » ; « TURCS MALECS » ; « ARNAUTZ DANIELS » ; « RAEMBAUTZ DE VAQUERAS » ; « GUILLEMS FIGUERA » ; « GUIRATZ DE BORNEILL » ; « LO MONGE DE POCIBOT » ; « En SORDEL » ; « BERTRANS DE LAMANON » ; « N'AIMERICS DE PIGUILLAN » ; « ALBERTETZ CAILLA » ; « FOLQUET DE ROMANS » ; « OGIERS » ; « PEIRE DE BARJAC » ; « PEIRE DE BOSIGNAC » ; « TOMIERS En PALAZIS » ; « RAIMONS D'AVIGNON » ; « GARINS D'APCHIER » ; « TORCAFOLS » ; « GARIS D'APCHIER » ; « TORCAFOLS » ; « GUILLEMS DE BERGUEDAN » ; « GUIRAUTZ DE LUC » ; « GAUSELM FAIDITZ » ; « GIRAUTZ DE SALAINGNAC » ; « LO MONGE DE MONTAUDON » ; « PEIRE DE LA CARAVANA » ; « PEIRE D'ALVERNE » ; « REFORSAT DE FOLCAQUIER » ; « PEIRE DE BRAGAIRAC » ; « BERNART DE LA BARDA » ; « AICARTZ DEL FOSSAT » ; « PEIRE DE BOSSIGNAC » ; « OGIERS » ; « MARCOAT » ; « PONS BARBA » ; « N'UC DE SAINT CIRC » ; « GAUSELM FAIDITZ » ; « PONZ DE CAPDUOILL » ; « N'AIMERICS DE PIGUILLAN »

Construcción de discursos y prácticas racistas a propósito de un asentamiento rom en la ciudad de Turín, Italia

La pregunta que subyace al presente trabajo es sobre las “condiciones de posibilidad” de un campo rom, es decir, las condiciones que permiten la existencia de formas de segregación institucionalizadas, llevadas a cabo por la propia Administración Pública, en una ciudad democrática moderna; los mecanismos y dispositivos sociales que alivian – y por lo tanto permiten – la contradicción entre el discurso oficial igualitario y las prácticas oficiosas de segregación, discriminación, estigmatización de un colectivo de gitanos (rom) originarios de los países de la ex-Yugoslavia pero residentes en Italia desde hace más de una generación. La respuesta a la cuestiónconlleva la necesidad de observaciones y análisis que implican diferentes actores e instituciones, más allá del ámbito reducido del campo rom: en los espacios públicos de la ciudad, en el campo simbólico y mediático, en el campo del asociacionismo y del trabajo social y en el campo político local, nacional e internacional. Aquí como en otros ámbitos, lo marginal, lo estigmatizado nos informa de los marcos normativos propios de la “normalidad”, así que un análisis de las relaciones entre los rom del campo y sociedad mayoritaria puede proporcionar informaciones útiles tanto para comprender la cultura (o las culturas) rom como para entender mejor los mecanismos de funcionamiento de “la tribu de los payos”.

Heterogeneity and event dependence in the analysis of sickness absence

Sickness absence (SA) is an important social, economic and public health issue. Identifying and understanding the determinants, whether biological, regulatory or, health services-related, of variability in SA duration is essential for better management of SA. The conditional frailty model (CFM) is useful when repeated SA events occur within the same individual, as it allows simultaneous analysis of event dependence and heterogeneity due to unknown, unmeasured, or unmeasurable factors. However, its use may encounter computational limitations when applied to very large data sets, as may frequently occur in the analysis of SA duration. To overcome the computational issue, we propose a Poisson-based conditional frailty model (CFPM) for repeated SA events that accounts for both event dependence and heterogeneity. To demonstrate the usefulness of the model proposed in the SA duration context, we used data from all non-work-related SA episodes that occurred in Catalonia (Spain) in 2007, initiated by either a diagnosis of neoplasm or mental and behavioral disorders. As expected, the CFPM results were very similar to those of the CFM for both diagnosis groups. The CPU time for the CFPM was substantially shorter than the CFM. The CFPM is an suitable alternative to the CFM in survival analysis with recurrent events,especially with large databases.

Role of glutathione deficit in the disconnectivity syndrome in schizophrenia: from pathogenetic mechanisms to therapeutic interventions

In the cerebrospinal fluid of 26 drug-naive schizophrenics (DSM-III- R), we observed that the level of glutathione ([GSH]) and of its metabolite γ-Glu-Gln was decreased by 27% and 16% respectively. Using a new in-vivo method based on magnetic resonance spec- troscopy, [GSH] was measured in the medial prefrontal cortex of 18 schizophrenics and found to be 52 % lower than in controls (n = 20). This is consistent with the recently observed decreased mRNA levels in fibroblasts of patients (n=32) of the two GSH synthesizing en- zymes (glutathione synthetase (GSS), and glutamate-cysteine ligase M (GCLM) the modulatory subunit of glutamate-cysteine ligase). Moreover, the level of GCLM expression in fibroblasts correlates neg- atively with the psychopathology (positive, general and some nega- tive symptoms). Thus, the observed difference in gene expression is not only the cause of low brain [GSH], but is also related to the sever- ity of symptoms, suggesting that fibroblasts are adequate surrogate for brain tissue. A hypothesis was proposed, based on a central role of GSH in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. GSH is an important endogenous redox regulator and neuroactive substance. GSH is pro- tecting cells from damage by reactive oxygen species generated, among others, by the metabolism of dopamine. A GSH deficit-in- duced oxidative stress would lead to lipid peroxidation and micro-le- sions in the surrounding of catecholamine terminals, affecting the synaptic contacts on dendritic spines of cortical neurones, where ex- citatory glutamatergic terminals converge with dopaminergic ones. This would lead to spines degeneration and abnormal nervous con- nections or structural disconnectivity, possibly responsible for posi- tive, perceptive and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. In addi- tion, a GSH deficit could also lead to a functional disconnectivity by depressing NMDA neurotransmission, in analogy to phencyclidine effects. Present experimental biochemical, cell biological and behav- ioral data are consistent with the proposed mechanism: decreasing pharmacologically [GSH] in experimental models, with or without blocking DA uptake (GBR12909), induces morphological and behav- ioral changes similar to those observed in patients. Dendritic spines: (a) In neuronal cultures, low [GSH] and DA induce decreased density of neural processes; (b) In developing rats (p5-p16), [GSH] deficit and GBR induce a decrease in normal spines in prefrontal pyramids and in GABA-parvalbumine but not of -calretinine immunoreactivity in anterior cingulate. NMDA-dependant synaptic plasticity: GSH deple- I/13 tion in hippocampal slices impairs long-term potentiation. Develop- ing rats with low [GSH] and GBR have deficit in olfactory integration and in object recognition which appears earlier in males than fe- males, in analogy to the delay of the psychosis onset between man and woman. In summary, a deficit of GSH and/or GSH-related enzymes during early development could constitute a major vulnerability fac- tor in schizophrenia.

Influence of the world's most challenging mountain ultra-marathon on energy cost and running mechanics

PURPOSE: To examine the effects of the world's most challenging mountain ultra-marathon (Tor des Géants(®) 2012) on the energy cost of three types of locomotion (cycling, level and uphill running) and running kinematics. METHODS: Before (pre-) and immediately after (post-) the competition, a group of ten male experienced ultra-marathon runners performed in random order three submaximal 4-min exercise trials: cycling at a power of 1.5 W kg(-1) body mass; level running at 9 km h(-1) and uphill running at 6 km h(-1) at an inclination of +15 % on a motorized treadmill. Two video cameras recorded running mechanics at different sampling rates. RESULTS: Between pre- and post-, the uphill-running energy cost decreased by 13.8 % (P = 0.004); no change was noted in the energy cost of level running or cycling (NS). There was an increase in contact time (+10.3 %, P = 0.019) and duty factor (+8.1 %, P = 0.001) and a decrease in swing time (-6.4 %, P = 0.008) in the uphill-running condition. CONCLUSION: After this extreme mountain ultra-marathon, the subjects modified only their uphill-running patterns for a more economical step mechanics.

UPCommons: global access to Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) knowledge

Programa de mà lliurat en la presentació del pòster 'UPCommons', exposat al primer COMMUNIA Workshop on Technology and the Public Domain, celebrat a Torí (Itàlia) el 18 de gener de 2008.

Säännellyn liiketoiminnan tehostamisstrategia

Regulaattorin asettama tehostamistavoite monopoliasemassatoimivalle yritykselle täydentää tuottotasosääntelyä ja laatutason valvontaa. Monopolilla on mahdollisuus ylivoittoihin kilpailun puuttuessa ja sääntelyllä sekä erityisesti tehostamistavoitteella pyritään korvaamaan kilpailun puuttuminen. Mahdollisia tehostamismenettelyitä ovat kustannussääntely, kustannuskattosääntely, vertailuun perustuva sääntely ja neuvotteluun perustuva sääntely. Tässä tutkielmassa on tarkasteltu tehokkuuden käsitettä, eri tehostamismenettelyitä ja tehokkuuden mittausmenetelmiä. Niiden lisäksi on tarkasteltu sääntelyn taustalla vaikuttavia syitä, kuten monopolin toiminta ja agentti-teorian mukainen informaatioetu ja moraalisen riskin ongelma. Tehostamistavoitteen asettamisessa onkyse neuvotteluprosessista regulaattorin kanssa. Tätä neuvotteluprosessia varten tutkielmassa laadittiin strategia energiatoimialalla Suomessa toimivalle yritykselle. Strategian perusteina käytettiin resurssiriippuvuusteorian ja resurssipohjaisen näkemyksen mukaisia lähtökohtia. Tutkielman lopputuloksena ehdotetaan konkreettisia strategia- ja taktiikkavaihtoehtoja yrityksen tehostamismenettelyn asettamisprosessia varten.

Comparison of fatty acid profiles of edible meat, adipose tissues and muscles between cocks and capons

The effect of caponisation on fat composition by parts (wing, breast, thigh, and drumstick) and tissues (skin, subcutaneous adipose tissue, intermuscular adipose tissue and muscle) was examined in the present study and fatty acid profiles of abdominal fat and edible meat by parts and tissue components were determined. The sample was made up of twenty-eight castrated and twenty male Penedesenca Negra chicks reared under free-range conditions and slaughtered at 28 wk of age; the birds were castrated at four or eight weeks. Caponisation significantly increased (P < 0.01) the chemical fat content in all parts (16.31% to 37.98% in breast; 21.98% to 34.13% in wing; 21.09% to 49.57% in thigh; 14.33% to 24.82% in drumstick) and led to minor modifications in fat haracteristics, particularly in the thigh and the drumstick, where the unsaturated vs. saturated fatty acid ratio increased from 1.31 to 1.76 ( P < 0.01) and from 1.48 to 2.07 (P < 0.01), respectively. Delaying the age of castration from 4 to 8 weeks increased this ratio by 0.35 in the edible meat. Even though the profile of the abdominal fat is less saturated in capons, all changes occurring on fat quality after caponisation indicate that increased fatness after castration does not imply worse fat nutritional properties.

Comparison of carcass composition by parts and tissues between cocks and capons

The effect of caponisation on carcass composition by parts and tissues was examined. Twenty-eight castrated and twenty male Penedesenca Negra chicks reared under free-range conditions were slaughtered at 28 weeks of age. The birds were castrated at 4 or 8 weeks. The left sides of the carcasses were quartered (wing, breast, thigh and drumstick), and the parts dissected into the tissue components (skin, subcutaneous fat, intermuscular fat, muscle, bone and tendons). Capons showed more abdominal, intermuscular and subcutaneous fat than the cocks, both at the same slaughter age and at the same weight. The breast and thigh were heavier in the capons than in the cocks. However, the whole muscle mass in the breast was increased by caponisation. This favourable effect was achieved at the expense of decreasing the carcass yield. The age of castration up to 8 weeks did not affect the carcass composition of the parts and tissues.

Biblio-MetReS: A bibliometric network reconstruction application and server

Background: Reconstruction of genes and/or protein networks from automated analysis of the literature is one of the current targets of text mining in biomedical research. Some user-friendly tools already perform this analysis on precompiled databases of abstracts of scientific papers. Other tools allow expert users to elaborate and analyze the full content of a corpus of scientific documents. However, to our knowledge, no user friendly tool that simultaneously analyzes the latest set of scientific documents available on line and reconstructs the set of genes referenced in those documents is available. Results: This article presents such a tool, Biblio-MetReS, and compares its functioning and results to those of other user-friendly applications (iHOP, STRING) that are widely used. Under similar conditions, Biblio-MetReS creates networks that are comparable to those of other user friendly tools. Furthermore, analysis of full text documents provides more complete reconstructions than those that result from using only the abstract of the document. Conclusions: Literature-based automated network reconstruction is still far from providing complete reconstructions of molecular networks. However, its value as an auxiliary tool is high and it will increase as standards for reporting biological entities and relationships become more widely accepted and enforced. Biblio- MetReS is an application that can be downloaded from http://metres.udl.cat/. It provides an easy to use environment for researchers to reconstruct their networks of interest from an always up to date set of scientific documents.

Meat characteristics of chickens from an F1 cross of two improved Spanish breeds depending on slaughter age

The present study analysed the meat characteristics of i) improved Castellana Negra chickens slaughtered at 18 weeks (CN-18) and ii) F1 crossbred chickens from improved Castellana Negra hens and improved Penedesenca Negra cocks (CNPN) slaughtered at 12 weeks and 18 weeks of age (young and adult animals, respectively). Purebred and crossbred specimens were compared at similar weights (CN-18 and CNPN-12) and ages (CN-18 and CNPN-18). The protein content of the meat was similar for the three types of animals; heavier animals (CNPN-18) had more fat than those slaughtered at lower weights (CNPN-12 and CN-18). Adults had a higher saturated fatty acid content and the young CNPN chickens had more monounsaturated fatty acids than CN chickens. In the CNPN adults, less water was lost during cooking, which is directly related to the juiciness of the meat. With regard to sensory analysis, a darker colour was observed in the meat as much as the internal fat of adult animals, in addition to greater colour uniformity. The meat of young CNPN birds was juicier, whereas that of the CN chickens was more fibrous. Therefore, we conclude that meat from CNPN chickens presents chemical, physical, and sensorial characteristics that make these animals a genetic base for alternative poultry production.