Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy in higher eukaryotes.

Research in autophagy continues to accelerate,(1) and as a result many new scientists are entering the field. Accordingly, it is important to establish a standard set of criteria for monitoring macroautophagy in different organisms. Recent reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose.(2,3) There are many useful and convenient methods that can be used to monitor macroautophagy in yeast, but relatively few in other model systems, and there is much confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure macroautophagy in higher eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers of autophagosomes versus those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway; thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from fully functional autophagy that includes delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of the methods that can be used by investigators who are attempting to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as by reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that investigate these processes. This set of guidelines is not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to verify an autophagic response.

Perception and Interpretation of Advance Warning Signs on County Roads, HR-256, 1984

This research consisted of five laboratory experiments designed to address the following two objectives in an integrated analysis: (1) To discriminate between the symbol Stop Ahead warning sign and a small set of other signs (which included the word-legend Stop Ahead sign); and (2) To analyze sign detection, recognizability, and processing characteristics by drivers. A set of 16 signs was used in each of three experiments. A tachistoscope was used to display each sign image to a respondent for a brief interval in a controlled viewing experiment. The first experiment was designed to test detection of a sign in the driver's visual field; the second experiment was designed to test the driver's ability to recognize a given sign in the visual field; and the third experiment was designed to test the speed and accuracy of a driver's response to each sign as a command to perform a driving action. A fourth experiment tested the meanings drivers associated with an eight-sign subset of the 16 signs used in the first three experiments. A fifth experiment required all persons to select which (if any) signs they considered to be appropriate for use on two scale model county road intersections. The conclusions are that word-legend Stop Ahead signs are more effective driver communication devices than symbol stop-ahead signs; that it is helpful to drivers to have a word plate supplementing the symbol sign if a symbol sign is used; and that the guidance in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices on the placement of advance warning signs should not supplant engineering judgment in providing proper sign communication at an intersection.

Regional Approach to Landslide Interpretation and Repair, TR-430, 2001

The objective of this report is to provide Iowa county engineers and highway maintenance personnel with procedures that will allow them to efficiently and effectively interpret and repair or avoid landslides. The research provides an overview of basic slope stability analyses that can be used to diagnose the cause and effect associated with a slope failure. Field evidence for identifying active or potential slope stability problems is outlined. A survey of county engineers provided data for presenting a slope stability risk map for the state of Iowa. Areas of high risk are along the western border and southeastern portion of the state. These regions contain deep to moderately deep loess. The central portion of the state is a low risk area where the surficial soils are glacial till or thin loess over till. In this region, the landslides appear to occur predominately in backslopes along deeply incised major rivers, such as the Des Moines River, or in foreslopes. The south-central portion of the state is an area of medium risk where failures are associated with steep backslopes and improperly compacted foreslopes. Soil shear strength data compiled from the Iowa DOT and consulting engineers files are correlated with geologic parent materials and mean values of shear strength parameters and unit weights were computed for glacial till, friable loess, plastic loess and local alluvium. Statistical tests demonstrate that friction angles and unit weights differ significantly but in some cases effective stress cohesion intercept and undrained shear strength data do not. Moreover, effective stress cohesion intercept and undrained shear strength data show a high degree of variability. The shear strength and unit weight data are used in slope stability analyses for both drained and undrained conditions to generate curves that can be used for a preliminary evaluation of the relative stability of slopes within the four materials. Reconnaissance trips to over fifty active and repaired landslides in Iowa suggest that, in general, landslides in Iowa are relatively shallow [i.e., failure surfaces less than 6 ft (2 m) deep] and are either translational or shallow rational. Two foreslope and two backslope failure case histories provide additional insights into slope stability problems and repair in Iowa. These include the observation that embankment soils compacted to less than 95% relative density show a marked strength decrease from soils at or above that density. Foreslopes constructed of soils derived from shale exhibit loss of strength as a result of weathering. In some situations, multiple causes of instability can be discerned from back analyses with the slope stability program XSTABL. In areas where the stratigraphy consists of loess over till or till over bedrock, the geologic contracts act as surfaces of groundwater accumulation that contribute to slope instability.

Addendum to Perception and Interpretation of Advance Warning Signs on County Roads, HR-256, 1985

This contract extension was granted to analyze data obtained in the original contract period at a level of detail not called for in the original contract nor permitted by the time constraints of the original contract schedule. These further analyses focused on two primary questions: I. What sources of variation can be isolated within the overall pattern of driver recognition errors reported previously for the 16 signs tested in Project HR-256? 2. Were there systematic relations among data on the placement of signs in a simulated signing exercise and data on the respondents' ability to detect the presence of a sign in a visual field or their ability to recognize quickly and correctly a sign shown them or the speed with which these same persons can respond to a sign for a driver decision?

Les competències ètiques en la formació musical dels mestres d'educació infantil a la Universitat de Barcelona: avaluació i propostes curriculars

Podeu consultar el document de les jornades completes a: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/42655

Valganciclovir in adult solid organ transplant recipients: pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics and clinical interpretation of plasma concentration measurements.

Valganciclovir and ganciclovir are widely used for the prevention of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in solid organ transplant recipients, with a major impact on patients' morbidity and mortality. Oral valganciclovir, the ester prodrug of ganciclovir, has been developed to enhance the oral bioavailability of ganciclovir. It crosses the gastrointestinal barrier through peptide transporters and is then hydrolysed into ganciclovir. This review aims to describe the current knowledge of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics of this agent, and to address the issue of therapeutic drug monitoring. Based on currently available literature, ganciclovir pharmacokinetics in adult solid organ transplant recipients receiving oral valganciclovir are characterized by bioavailability of 66 +/- 10% (mean +/- SD), a maximum plasma concentration of 3.1 +/- 0.8 mg/L after a dose of 450 mg and of 6.6 +/- 1.9 mg/L after a dose of 900 mg, a time to reach the maximum plasma concentration of 3.0 +/- 1.0 hours, area under the plasma concentration-time curve values of 29.1 +/- 5.3 mg.h/L and 51.9 +/- 18.3 mg.h/L (after 450 mg and 900 mg, respectively), apparent clearance of 12.4 +/- 3.8 L/h, an elimination half-life of 5.3 +/- 1.5 hours and an apparent terminal volume of distribution of 101 +/- 36 L. The apparent clearance is highly correlated with renal function, hence the dosage needs to be adjusted in proportion to the glomerular filtration rate. Unexplained interpatient variability is limited (18% in apparent clearance and 28% in the apparent central volume of distribution). There is no indication of erratic or limited absorption in given subgroups of patients; however, this may be of concern in patients with severe malabsorption. The in vitro pharmacodynamics of ganciclovir reveal a mean concentration producing 50% inhibition (IC(50)) among CMV clinical strains of 0.7 mg/L (range 0.2-1.9 mg/L). Systemic exposure of ganciclovir appears to be moderately correlated with clinical antiviral activity and haematotoxicity during CMV prophylaxis in high-risk transplant recipients. Low ganciclovir plasma concentrations have been associated with treatment failure and high concentrations with haematotoxicity and neurotoxicity, but no formal therapeutic or toxic ranges have been validated. The pharmacokinetic parameters of ganciclovir after valganciclovir administration (bioavailability, apparent clearance and volume of distribution) are fairly predictable in adult transplant patients, with little interpatient variability beyond the effect of renal function and bodyweight. Thus ganciclovir exposure can probably be controlled with sufficient accuracy by thorough valganciclovir dosage adjustment according to patient characteristics. In addition, the therapeutic margin of ganciclovir is loosely defined. The usefulness of systematic therapeutic drug monitoring in adult transplant patients therefore appears questionable; however, studies are still needed to extend knowledge to particular subgroups of patients or dosage regimens.

Salsa Brava: nómada en Barcelona. Escenarios y métodos de estudio de un estilo musical y bailable

La salsa brava es un estilo musical que surge en Nueva York a cargo de la diáspora latinoamericana, a finales de los años 1960 y principios de 1970. Contemporáneamente a estos años la salsa viajó a ciudades latinoamericanas y, desde hace una década, su trayecto se hace, relativamente, notorio en Barcelona, entre otras ciudades de Europa. En Barcelona, la salsa brava coexiste con otros estilos salseros y se caracteriza por ser usada, festiva y de forma itinerante, en espacios concebidos para otras músicas o fines. Su nomadismo, también es notable a través del desdoblamiento que experimentan las personas que hacen parte de esta escena, incluida la propia autora de esta investigación. El motivo de este artículo es aproximarse de forma histórica, conceptual y etnográfica a diversos momentos de la trayectoria salsera brava, así como a una de sus estrategias metodológicas o bien al hecho de como una música nómada sugiere un método nómada para su estudio.

Titulats en Mestre d'Educació Musical a la Universitat de Barcelona dels cursos 2005 a 2008: estudi d'inserció laboral.

Aquest estudi pretén esbrinar la coherència de la formació rebuda pels mestres d'educació musical que han estudiat a la UB respecte als requeriments necessaris per a la seva inserció laboral. S'ha dut a terme un estudi descriptiu ex post facto per enquesta que ha donat com a resultats un perfil definit de titulat que indica un alt grau d'inserció laboral i un temps d'espera mínim, principalment a les escoles públiques i mitjançant oposicions o borses d'interins. Aquests mestres estan satisfets de la seva feina, i la motivació per aprendre, la capacitat de treball, la comunicació oral, la vocació, la responsabilitat o les habilitats socials són algunes de les competències professionals que creuen que han estat determinants a l'hora de ser contractats. Per tot això es conclou que les persones que han cursat els estudis de Mestre d'Educació Musical de la UB tenen un alt grau d'inserció i satisfacció laboral, i que la formació inicial coincideix en gran part amb les competències de la professió detectades en aquest estudi.

L'educació musical, la formació dels mestres i l'ensenyament obligatori. Panorama històric

En el presente artículo se traza un recorrido de los distintos avatares que ha sufrido la educación musical en España en la enseñanza obligatoria y en la formación de los maestros, desde la creación de la primera escuela normal de Magisterio hasta nuestros días. El proceso seguido por las reglamentaciones ministeriales y algunas experiencias pedagógico-musicales que se han desarrollado a través de los años y que han culminado con la aplicación de la LOGSE, la creación del maestro especialista en educación musical y la normalización de esta parcela educativa dentro de la enseñanza obligatoria.

Titulats en Mestre d'Educació Musical de la Universitat de Barcelona

Aquest estudi pretén esbrinar la coherència de la formació rebuda pels mestres d'educació musical que han estudiat a la UB respecte als requeriments necessaris per a la seva inserció laboral. S'ha dut a terme un estudi descriptiu ex post facto per enquesta que ha donat com a resultats un perfil definit de titulat que indica un alt grau d'inserció laboral i un temps d'espera mínim, principalment a les escoles públiques i mitjançant oposicions o borses d'interins. Aquests mestres estan satisfets de la seva feina, i la motivació per aprendre, la capacitat de treball, la comunicació oral, la vocació, la responsabilitat o les habilitats socials són algunes de les competències professionals que creuen que han estat determinants a l'hora de ser contractats. Per tot això es conclou que les persones que han cursat els estudis de Mestre d'Educació Musical de la UB tenen un alt grau d'inserció i satisfacció laboral, i que la formació inicial coincideix en gran part amb les competències de la professió detectades en aquest estudi.

Estudi dels models de veu cantada de l'alumnat de mestre en Educació Musical

Desde el año 1992, en que se crea la nueva diplomatura de maestro en Educación Musical, las escuelas y facultades de formación del profesorado empiezan a formar a los especialistas responsables de impartir la educación musical en la escuela primaria. Partiendo de la hipótesis de que el ejemplo de voz cantada que presenta el alumnado de la nueva diplomatura no es el más apropiado para ser imitado por niños y niñas de la escuela primaria, el autor de este artículo nos describe el estudio exploratorio practicado al alumnado que finaliza la diplomatura de maestro en educación musical en la Facultat de Formació del Professorat de la Universitat de Barcelona. Este estudio, que ha contado con dos instrumentos de recogida de la información, una observación y un cuestionario, plantea como objetivo principal detectar las dificultades básicas planteadas por el alumnado, y al mismo tiempo conocer las causas que las originan. Una vez analizados en profundidad los datos y las informaciones recogidas, el autor aporta soluciones encaminadas a resolver las problemáticas, así como a mejorar el ejemplo de voz cantada de los futuros maestros.

Didáctica de la Expresión Musical. Una revisión del desarrollo del currículo

[spa] Con el fin de elaborar un estudio sobre la interrelación -o falta de ella- entre práctica educativa e investigación en educación musical, presentamos aquí un estudio de las distintas etapas por las que ha pasado el desarrollo del currículo en educación musical. Además tomamos partido y abogamos por un desarrollo del currículo que tenga en cuenta el contexto educativo-musical, basado en datos provenientes de la investigación educativa, y que preste atención fundamentalmente al plano artístico y estético. Hacemos una apuesta de futuro por un currículo crítico, haciendo por tanto un giro copernicano desde el tradicional interés por el contenido musical hasta la contribución de la música a los objetivos educativos del sistema escolar.