Analysis of the Genome and Transcriptome of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii Reveals Complex RNA Expression and Microevolution Leading to Virulence Attenuation

Cryptococcus neoformans is a pathogenic basidiomycetous yeast responsible for more than 600,000 deaths each year. It occurs as two serotypes (A and D) representing two varieties (i.e. grubii and neoformans, respectively). Here, we sequenced the genome and performed an RNA-Seq-based analysis of the C. neoformans var. grubii transcriptome structure. We determined the chromosomal locations, analyzed the sequence/structural features of the centromeres, and identified origins of replication. The genome was annotated based on automated and manual curation. More than 40,000 introns populating more than 99% of the expressed genes were identified. Although most of these introns are located in the coding DNA sequences (CDS), over 2,000 introns in the untranslated regions (UTRs) were also identified. Poly(A)-containing reads were employed to locate the polyadenylation sites of more than 80% of the genes. Examination of the sequences around these sites revealed a new poly(A)-site-associated motif (AUGHAH). In addition, 1,197 miscRNAs were identified. These miscRNAs can be spliced and/or polyadenylated, but do not appear to have obvious coding capacities. Finally, this genome sequence enabled a comparative analysis of strain H99 variants obtained after laboratory passage. The spectrum of mutations identified provides insights into the genetics underlying the micro-evolution of a laboratory strain, and identifies mutations involved in stress responses, mating efficiency, and virulence.

Dielectric investigation of high-k yttrium copper titanate thin films

We report on the first dielectric investigation of high-k yttrium copper titanate thin films, which were demonstrated to be very promising for nanoelectronics applications. The dielectric constant of these films is found to vary from 100 down to 24 (at 100 kHz) as a function of deposition conditions, namely oxygen pressure and film thickness. The physical origin of such variation was investigated in the framework of universal dielectric response and Cole-Cole relations and by means of voltage dependence studies of the dielectric constant. Surface-related effects and charge hopping polarization processes, strictly dependent on the film microstructure, are suggested to be mainly responsible for the observed dielectric response. In particular, the bulky behaviour of thick films deposited at lower oxygen pressure evolves towards a more complex and electrically heterogeneous structure when either the thickness decreases down to 50 nm or the films are grown under high oxygen pressure.

Dielectric investigation of high-k yttrium copper titanate thin films

We report on the first dielectric investigation of high-k yttrium copper titanate thin films, which were demonstrated to be very promising for nanoelectronics applications. The dielectric constant of these films is found to vary from 100 down to 24 (at 100 kHz) as a function of deposition conditions, namely oxygen pressure and film thickness. The physical origin of such variation was investigated in the framework of universal dielectric response and Cole-Cole relations and by means of voltage dependence studies of the dielectric constant. Surface-related effects and charge hopping polarization processes, strictly dependent on the film microstructure, are suggested to be mainly responsible for the observed dielectric response. In particular, the bulky behaviour of thick films deposited at lower oxygen pressure evolves towards a more complex and electrically heterogeneous structure when either the thickness decreases down to 50 nm or the films are grown under high oxygen pressure.

Cesare e la retorica greca

Resumen: El presente trabajo se analizará un pasaje del Praeceptum deliberativae materiae, un texto retórico escrito por Emporius en el siglo V/VI, en el cual César reclama ser un Graecae exercitationis expers; tal extraña definición tiene sus raíces en la controversia de los populares contra la helenización de la nobilitas: desde una perspectiva popularis el vir romanus real tenía que preferir las habilidades militares a las retóricas, como C. Mario había hecho, y tenía que adquirir sus habilidades retóricas en Latín, no en griego, como el Rhetorica ad Herennium exhortaba. Luego ser Graecae exercitationis expers pasó a ser una cualidad requerida para un líder de los populares, tal como César quería ser reconocido, y podemos remontar sus orígenes en la propaganda literaria del partido cesariano, sobre todo en el Bellum Iugurthinum de Salustio y en el Anticato del propio César.

Letras, Nº 69-70, 2014

Contenido: Viel, así en el cieslo como en el canon : un lugar en el corpus de la poesía argentina / María Amelia Arancet Ruda -- Hacia un canon poético místico en clave estético teológica : vigencia de la figura del centro como expectación del Otro / Cecilia I. Avenatti de Palumbo -- La traducción como "instrumento poético" : Raúl Gustavo Aguirre, entre Rimbaud y Char / Magdalena Cámpora -- Giuseppe Ungaretti : un itinerario lírico / Daniel Alejandro Capano -- Teoría y práctica de la poesía cinética en Composición de lugar (1976) de Amanda Berenguer / María Lucía Puppo -- Poesía, subjetividad y memoria en la escritura de Alicia Genovese / Alicia Salomone -- "No nos legaron cartas, ni alianzas, ni retratos" : Olga Orozco o la autofiguración desde la muerte / Sebastián Urli -- Poesía lírica y teoría crítica del siglo XX : entrevista a Miguel Ángel Garrido Gallardo / Sofía M. Carrizo Rueda -- Reseñas bibliográficas

Paciano II: the report of a conversation on whaling and science, 1-3 March 2008 (Paciano, Umbria)

In 2006 the UK-based charity, Global Ocean, with local support from the Third Millennium Foundation, convened a Conversation among specialists about the problems facing the conservation of whales. Called "A consultation on whaling", this gathering was held in the ancient village of Paciano, in Umbria near the border with Tuscany, 15 – 17 October 2006. There were 15 participants from 11 countries. Dr Kees Lankester served as moderator. The outcome was an Aide Memoire which served to guide the participants in the run-up to the 2007 meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), held in Anchorage, Alaska, in June. One point of agreement was that a second consultation should be held in the months following the Anchorage meeting, involving some but not necessarily all of the participants in the first, but concentrating this time on scientific issues – especially those encountered in the Scientific Committee of the IWC –with particular attention to informing a wider public about those scientific activities in relation to the problems confronting the IWC and the views of scientists about them. This document is the report of that Conversation, referred to as Paciano II. The moderator was Dr Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara and the Report was written by Kieran Mulvaney in consultation with all participants, and with reference to an Aide Memoire prepared by the Rapporteur, Dr Russell Leaper. The sponsor and organisers have agreed with the general sentiment expressed by participants in Paciano II that further such conversations should be held at roughly yearly intervals and they will try to satisfy that desire. Although these future gatherings would be concerned with the living ocean they would not necessarily be restricted in future to consideration of whales and whaling. Discussions are on-going for selection of a theme which is of both scientific interest and practical concern for conservation of marine life and management of the uses of ocean space. (Document has 18 pages)

Paciano II: a report of a conversation on whaling and science, 1-3 March 2008

In 2006 the UK-based charity, Global Ocean, with local support from the Third Millennium Foundation, convened a Conversation among specialists about the problems facing the conservation of whales. Called "A consultation on whaling", this gathering was held in the ancient village of Paciano, in Umbria near the border with Tuscany, 15 – 17 October 2006. There were 15 participants from 11 countries. Dr Kees Lankester served as moderator. The outcome was an Aide Memoire which served to guide the participants in the run-up to the 2007 meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), held in Anchorage, Alaska, in June. One point of agreement was that a second consultation should be held in the months following the Anchorage meeting, involving some but not necessarily all of the participants in the first, but concentrating this time on scientific issues – especially those encountered in the Scientific Committee of the IWC –with particular attention to informing a wider public about those scientific activities in relation to the problems confronting the IWC and the views of scientists about them. This document is the report of that Conversation, referred to as Paciano II. The moderator was Dr Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara and the Report was written by Kieran Mulvaney in consultation with all participants, and with reference to an Aide Memoire prepared by the Rapporteur, Dr Russell Leaper. The sponsor and organisers have agreed with the general sentiment expressed by participants in Paciano II that further such conversations should be held at roughly yearly intervals and they will try to satisfy that desire. Although these future gatherings would be concerned with the living ocean they would not necessarily be restricted in future to consideration of whales and whaling. Discussions are on-going for selection of a theme which is of both scientific interest and practical concern for conservation of marine life and management of the uses of ocean space. (19 page document)

Celiac disease in the Mediterranean area

Background: The World Gastroenterology Organization recommends developing national guidelines for the diagnosis of Celiac Disease (CD): hence a profile of the diagnosis of CD in each country is required. We aim to describe a cross-sectional picture of the clinical features and diagnostic facilities in 16 countries of the Mediterranean basin. Since a new ESPGHAN diagnostic protocol was recently published, our secondary aim is to estimate how many cases in the same area could be identified without a small intestinal biopsy. Methods: By a stratified cross-sectional retrospective study design, we examined clinical, histological and laboratory data from 749 consecutive unselected CD children diagnosed by national referral centers. Results: The vast majority of cases were diagnosed before the age of 10 (median: 5 years), affected by diarrhea, weight loss and food refusal, as expected. Only 59 cases (7.8%) did not suffer of major complaints. Tissue transglutaminase (tTG) assay was available, but one-third of centers reported financial constraints in the regular purchase of the assay kits. 252 cases (33.6%) showed tTG values over 10 times the local normal limit. Endomysial antibodies and HLA typing were routinely available in only half of the centers. CD was mainly diagnosed from small intestinal biopsy, available in all centers. Based on these data, only 154/749 cases (20.5%) would have qualified for a diagnosis of CD without a small intestinal biopsy, according to the new ESPGHAN protocol. Conclusions: This cross-sectional study of CD in the Mediterranean referral centers offers a puzzling picture of the capacities to deal with the emerging epidemic of CD in the area, giving a substantive support to the World Gastroenterology Organization guidelines.

Functional analysis of cancer-associated EGFR mutants using a cellular assay with YFP-tagged EGFR intracellular domain

Background: The presence of EGFR kinase domain mutations in a subset of NSCLC patients correlates with the response to treatment with the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors gefitinib and erlotinib. Although most EGFR mutations detected are short deletions in exon 19 or the L858R point mutation in exon 21, more than 75 different EGFR kinase domain residues have been reported to be altered in NSCLC patients. The phenotypical consequences of different EGFR mutations may vary dramatically, but the majority of uncommon EGFR mutations have never been functionally evaluated. Results: We demonstrate that the relative kinase activity and erlotinib sensitivity of different EGFR mutants can be readily evaluated using transfection of an YFP-tagged fragment of the EGFR intracellular domain (YFP-EGFR-ICD), followed by immunofluorescence microscopy analysis. Using this assay, we show that the exon 20 insertions Ins770SVD and Ins774HV confer increased kinase activity, but no erlotinib sensitivity. We also show that, in contrast to the common L858R mutation, the uncommon exon 21 point mutations P848L and A859T appear to behave like functionally silent polymorphisms. Conclusion: The ability to rapidly obtain functional information on EGFR variants of unknown relevance using the YFP-EGFR-ICD assay might prove important in the future for the management of NSCLC patients bearing uncommon EGFR mutations. In addition, our assay may be used to determine the response of resistant EGFR mutants to novel second-generation TKIs.

Para além da Tragédia do Comum. Conflito e produção de subjetividade no capitalismo contemporâneo

A presente tese investiga as dimensões históricas, filosóficas e políticas do conceito de comum, a partir de uma problematização influenciada pelos estudos marxistas heterodoxos e pelo pensamento de Michel Foucault. O percurso teórico inicia com a análise da hipótese da tragédia do comum, veiculado por Garret Hardin em um famoso artigo na Revista Science, em 1968. O desenvolvimento posterior busca compreender tal formulação a partir das análises foucaultianas sobre a arte de governar liberal e ngeoliberal, com ênfase nos conceitos de biopolítica e produção de subjetividade. Esse campo de análise é preenchido por estudos da corrente denominada bioeconomia, que busca entrelaçar a biopolítica com a compreensão das atuais formas de crise e acumulação capitalistas. A partir de uma pesquisa que se direciona para o campo definido como marxismo heterodoxo, busca-se estudar a relação entre o comum e os novos modos de acumulação primitiva, percebendo como o primeiro conceito passa a ocupar progressivamente essa corrente de estudos críticos. Nesse domínio, enfatiza-se a concepção de acumulação primitiva social e de subjetividade, com base em estudos de Karl Marx (Grundrisse), Antonio Negri e Jason Read. O último capítulo é dedicado ao conceito de produção do comum, tendo como ponto de partida o trabalho de Jean-Luc-Nancy e, principalmente, as investigações de Antonio Negri e Michael Hardt. O comum aparece como conceito central para a compreensão da produção biopolítica da riqueza social no capitalismo contemporâneo, e também sua expropriação por novos modos de acumulação. Por outro lado, o comum também emerge como antagonismo ao capital e à dicotomia público-privado, apontando para novas formas de compreender o comunismo.

Spin squeezing, macrorealism and the heisenberg uncertainty principle

169 p.

Filosofia com crianças na escola pública: possibilidade de experimentar, pensar e ser de outra(s) maneira(s)?

O presente trabalho nasce com a chegada em 2007 do projeto de extensão universitária na Escola Municipal Joaquim da Silva Peçanha do Em Caxias a Filosofia en-caixa? Município de Duque de Caxias, RJ. Este projeto é coordenado pelo Núcleo de Estudos Filosóficos da Infância (NEFI) do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Como professora da escola, fui convidada a participar do projeto e tenho sido afetada com a proposta ousada de desenvolver a filosofia com crianças. Assim surge a ideia de estudar e escrever sobre as transformações e autotransformações que tenho vivido desde o início no espaço tempo escolar, particularmente no que diz respeito ao processo de ensinar e de aprender como experiência/sentido que possibilite outras maneiras de experimentar, ser e pensar a minha prática pedagógica no cotidiano da escola/sala de aula e na vida. O caminho adotado para a investigação do tema inicia-se rumo a compreensão do cotidiano tentando perceber como os sujeitos participantes da escola vão fazendo ?usos e táticas? do escolar que geram suas experiências de aprendizagem. Depois, fazer saber segue-se rumo a refletir sobre que tipo de experiência da aprendizagem escolar temos desenvolvido no interior da escola experiência do conhecer ou experiência do pensar? E qual delas tem potencializado a experiência /sentido que de fato afeta, toca, acontece na perspectiva de Foucault, Deleuze e Jorge Larrosa trazendo profundas mudanças. Finalmente, partimos rumo a narrar o caminho percorrido pela escola com o projeto que possibilitou que os participantes fossem atravessados pelo encontro com filosofia permitindo uma caminhada aberta, enigmática, imprevisível levando-o a lugares ainda não vividos ou pensamentos ainda não pensados.

Planejamento de atividades da construção predial visando a redução de perdas de processo na ótica da construção enxuta.

Adaptada dos conceitos da produção enxuta, a construção enxuta é uma filosofia de gestão da produção voltada à construção civil. Dos cinco princípios enxutos em que se baseia, o que mais tem se estudado desde a publicação do Relatório Técnico n72 Aplicação da Nova Filosofia de Produção à Construção (publicado pelo CIFE Center for Integrated Facility Engineering, ligado à Universidade de Stanford, EUA) é o Fluxo Contínuo. A idéia de manter o fluxo contínuo está diretamente ligada à continuidade da produtividade, ou seja, manter a produtividade em uma taxa constante. Aplicar o conceito enxuto de fluxo contínuo através da manutenção das taxas de produtividade significa gerenciar o empreendimento de modo que a execução das atividades se mantenha de acordo com os parâmetros estabelecidos durante a fase de planejamento. Por meio de ferramentas enxutas de gerenciamento é feita a simulação em Excel de três atividades pertencentes ao processo de execução de lajes prediais de edifícios construídos em estruturas metálicas: steel deck, armação e concretagem. A elaboração da planilha possibilita a avaliação das perdas ocorridas durante a execução das atividades sob a ótica do conceito de atrasos e esperas. A soma destas perdas resulta ainda em dois efeitos distintos considerados como perdas acumuladas e perdas compensadas, proporcionando ao gerente do empreendimento dados consistentes para traçar estratégicas para eliminação do desperdício ou uma antevisão dos desperdícios que podem estar associados à execução das atividades se estas forem mal planejadas.

Celiac disease in the Mediterranean area

Background: The World Gastroenterology Organization recommends developing national guidelines for the diagnosis of Celiac Disease (CD): hence a profile of the diagnosis of CD in each country is required. We aim to describe a cross-sectional picture of the clinical features and diagnostic facilities in 16 countries of the Mediterranean basin. Since a new ESPGHAN diagnostic protocol was recently published, our secondary aim is to estimate how many cases in the same area could be identified without a small intestinal biopsy. Methods: By a stratified cross-sectional retrospective study design, we examined clinical, histological and laboratory data from 749 consecutive unselected CD children diagnosed by national referral centers. Results: The vast majority of cases were diagnosed before the age of 10 (median: 5 years), affected by diarrhea, weight loss and food refusal, as expected. Only 59 cases (7.8%) did not suffer of major complaints. Tissue transglutaminase (tTG) assay was available, but one-third of centers reported financial constraints in the regular purchase of the assay kits. 252 cases (33.6%) showed tTG values over 10 times the local normal limit. Endomysial antibodies and HLA typing were routinely available in only half of the centers. CD was mainly diagnosed from small intestinal biopsy, available in all centers. Based on these data, only 154/749 cases (20.5%) would have qualified for a diagnosis of CD without a small intestinal biopsy, according to the new ESPGHAN protocol. Conclusions: This cross-sectional study of CD in the Mediterranean referral centers offers a puzzling picture of the capacities to deal with the emerging epidemic of CD in the area, giving a substantive support to the World Gastroenterology Organization guidelines.

Arquivo/desarquivo: condições, movimento, monotipia

A pesquisa é realizada por uma artista que coloca em estado de suspensão sua produção artística dedicando-se a dissertar não a partir de um objeto de autoria própria, mas de um arquivo realizado por outra autora: A Arquivista. O objeto da dissertação é desarquivar este conjunto de materiais impressos sobre arte contemporânea no Brasil: Arquivo de emergência. Por meio de uma arqueologia, o objetivo da pesquisa é investigar o arquivo como um agenciamento em arte, a partir da elaboração crítica dos diversos conceitos que ele engendra: arquivo, documento, evento, ruptura, emergência. Com isso, investiga as condições de aparição e de presença do arquivo na atualidade. O vocabulário da pesquisa é traficado de ciências outras, e entre os conceitos que são inflexionados ao arquivo estão o comum e a virtuose. O trabalho tem por intuito investigar os possíveis da arte em relação ao comum, em suas finitudes maquínicas e auto-poiéticas.