Molecular and Antigenic Characterization of the Leishmania (Viannia) panamensis Kinetoplastid Membrane Protein-11

The kinetoplastid membrane protein 11 (KMP-11) has been recently described in Leishmania (Leishmania) donovani as a major component of the promastigote membrane. Two oligonucleotide primers were synthesized to PCR-amplify the entire coding region of New World Leishmania species. The Leishmania (Viannia) panamensis amplification product was cloned, sequenced and the putative amino acid sequence determined. A remarkably high degree of sequence homology was observed with the corresponding molecule of L. (L) donovani and L. (L) infantum (97% and 96%, respectively). Southern blot analysis showed that the KMP-11 locus is conformed by three copies of the gene. The L. (V) panamensis ORF was subsequently cloned in a high expression vector and the recombinant protein was induced and purified from Escherichia coli cultures. Immunoblot analysis showed that 80%, 77% and 100% sera from cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis patients, respectively, recognized the recombinant KMP-11 protein. In a similar assay, 86% of asymptomatic Leishmania-infected individuals showed IgG antibodies against the rKMP-11. We propose that KMP-11 could be used as a serologic marker for infection and disease caused by Leishmania in America.

EZH2 is essential for glioblastoma cancer stem cell maintenance.

Overexpression of the polycomb group protein enhancer of zeste homologue 2 (EZH2) occurs in diverse malignancies, including prostate cancer, breast cancer, and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Based on its ability to modulate transcription of key genes implicated in cell cycle control, DNA repair, and cell differentiation, EZH2 is believed to play a crucial role in tissue-specific stem cell maintenance and tumor development. Here, we show that targeted pharmacologic disruption of EZH2 by the S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase inhibitor 3-deazaneplanocin A (DZNep), or its specific downregulation by short hairpin RNA (shRNA), strongly impairs GBM cancer stem cell (CSC) self-renewal in vitro and tumor-initiating capacity in vivo. Using genome-wide expression analysis of DZNep-treated GBM CSCs, we found the expression of c-myc, recently reported to be essential for GBM CSCs, to be strongly repressed upon EZH2 depletion. Specific shRNA-mediated downregulation of EZH2 in combination with chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that c-myc is a direct target of EZH2 in GBM CSCs. Taken together, our observations provide evidence that direct transcriptional regulation of c-myc by EZH2 may constitute a novel mechanism underlying GBM CSC maintenance and suggest that EZH2 may be a valuable new therapeutic target for GBM management.

Rehabilitació de la veu en el pacient laringuectomitzat mitjançant una fistuloplàsia fonatòria mitjançant la inserció primària d’una pròtesi fonatòria de provox

Treballar amb el pacient laringuectomitzat per ajudar-lo a recuperar la facultat de la parla després de la laringuectomia total i així, normalitzar i intentar salvar el gran canvi bio-psico-social que suposa aquesta intervenció quirúrgica. Analitzar i comparar els resultats de la qualitat de la veu obtinguda mitjançant els diferents mètodes de rehabilitació de la veu: fistuloplàstia (principalment) i erigmofonia; així com obtenir dades objectives de factors de rellevància important en el pacient oncològic.

Da Bisanzio alla Santa Russia : Nikodim Kondakov (1844-1925) e la nascita della storia dell'arte in Russia : con la traduzione del primo volume dell' "Ikonografija Bogomateri"

Da Bisanzio alla Santa Russia Résumé Ivan Foletti Le texte du premier volume de YIkonografija Bogomatri (Iconographie de la mère de Dieu), publié en 1914 à Saint Pétersbourg par Nikodim Kondakov et traduit dans le cadre de ce travail, soulève chez le lecteur contemporain de nombreuses questions quant au développement des études byzantines, entre la fin du XIXe et le début du XXe siècle. Il s'agit, avant tout, de comprendre les enjeux fondamentaux de la naissance de cette discipline, dans le cadre de l'Europe romantique et plus particulièrement de son acculturation à la réalité russe. En se concentrant sur le personnage de Nikodim Kondakov, considéré par ses contemporains comme le patriarche des études byzantines, ce travail propose d'articuler la réflexion autour de deux axes principaux. Il s'agit d'une part de la relation entre histoire de l'art et société : dans le contexte russe et plus largement dans celui de l'Europe, la recherche semble se développer en étroite relation avec les tendances politiques et sociales de ces années. C'est probablement la raison du choix pour Nikodim Kondakov de se dédier aux études de Byzance, dans les années où la Russie prépare sa guerre contre la Turquie (1877-1878), tandis que l'opinion publique est martelée avec un revival de l'ancienne idéologie de Moscou comme « troisième Rome » et héritière de Byzance. Un autre aspect significatif est la décision de ce même chercheur d'étudier les antiquités russes sous le règne de Alexandre III, le tzar « contre-réformateur », quand la Russie se replie sur elle même autour de trois mots d'ordre: Orthodoxie, autocratie, et nationalité. D'autre part, la réception de Kondakov en Occident, semble aussi dépendre de questions politiques. Son accueil très favorable en France et en Angleterre contraste avec une perception bien plus négative en Autriche et en Allemagne ; il s'agit là d'une position en étonnante harmonie avec les traités politiques - l'alliance franco-russe de 1891 et la triple entente de 1911 qui opposent les pays membres aux empires centraux. Le deuxième axe considéré est celui d'une analyse systématique de la naissance des études sur les images cultuelles russes, les icônes. Les pages dédiées à ce phénomène dans Γ Ikonograflja Bogomatri, mais également dans les autres ouvrages de Kondakov, posent clairement la question des raisons nationalistes et populistes de la redécouverte, autour de 1900, en Russie et en Europe de cette expression visuelle. Conclusion logique de la tradition historiographique du XIXe siècle - qui s'est préoccupé des icônes perçues comme documents historiques - cette nouvelle vague d'intérêt pose la question de l'icône commé"oeuvre d'art. C'est autour de ce débat, alimenté également par l'apparition des avant-gardes, que se situent les plus importants savants russes de ces années en opposant deux manières radicalement différentes de percevoir l'art : à l'approche positiviste s'oppose celle d'un renouveau d'Hegel. Ce débat sera brusquement interrompu par la révolution, suivie par les années staliniennes qui vont définitivement « discerner » laquelle des deux méthodes et approches est la « juste », en congelant de fait, pour des décennies, toute possibilité de discussion. Cette thèse souhaiterait donc ouvrir en Occident un débat pour l'instant marginal dans les études : celui de la naissance d'une histoire de l'art moderne en Russie, mais également de l'émergence d'une nouvelle Europe savante autour de 1900 où l'histoire de l'art byzantin s'affirme comme un domaine émergent.

Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen in blood donors in the middle west region of Brazil

The prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen in 552 prime blood donors was of 9.4%. The majority (71.2%) has antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen. The hepatitis B surface antigen was present in 0.7%, all of them antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen positive.

A subspace correction method for discontinuous Galerkin discretizations of linear elasticity equations

We study preconditioning techniques for discontinuous Galerkin discretizations of isotropic linear elasticity problems in primal (displacement) formulation. We propose subspace correction methods based on a splitting of the vector valued piecewise linear discontinuous finite element space, that are optimal with respect to the mesh size and the Lamé parameters. The pure displacement, the mixed and the traction free problems are discussed in detail. We present a convergence analysis of the proposed preconditioners and include numerical examples that validate the theory and assess the performance of the preconditioners.

Los límites de la compacidad urbana como instrumento a favor de la sostenibilidad. La hipótesis de la compensación en Barcelona medida a través de la huella ecológica de la movilidad y la vivienda

La hipótesis de la compensación plantea la posibilidad de que los individuos que viven en centros urbanos densos tengan una mayor propensión a disponer de una segunda residencia y/o llevar a cabo desplazamientos más frecuentes hacia destinos más alejados durante los fines de semana y las vacaciones que los individuos que viven en zonas poco densas. En este contexto, no está claro cuál es el efecto neto de la densidad en términos ambientales. En esta investigación se contrasta la hipótesis de la compensación en la Región Metropolitana de Barcelona utilizando como indicador de impacto ambiental la huella ecológica de la movilidad y de la vivienda. Los resultados obtenidos rechazan la hipótesis de la compensación en un sentido fuerte, pero se detecta la existencia de un nivel máximo de densidad a partir del cual ejerce un impacto de signo positivo.

Estudo morfométrico do gênero Panstrongylus Berg, 1879 (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae)

The subfamily Triatominae is actually represented by 137 species distributed among 6 tribes and 19 genera. Within this subfamily, the genus Panstrongylus, Berg 1879, is composed by 13 species widespread in sylvatic, peridomestic, and domestic habitats of Neotropical regions. These species are vectors of Chagas disease and consequently are found associated with its main hosts, such as birds and mammals. Interest in species of this genus has been increasing in the last few years. Reports of several authors indicate these Triatominae to invade and colonize houses, increasing their epidemiological significance. Morphometry was used in this study to investigate correlations among possible closely related species. We measured 224 specimens among 13 species through a set of metric variables of the head. The results indicated that the genus Panstrongylus seems to be homogeneous since 10 of the 14 species were shown to be closely related.

UOCbook : Xarxa social fent ús de J2EE

Desenvolupament d'una xarxa social bàsica realitzada en tecnologia J2EE, integrada amb Hibernate i pensada per funcionar a un servidor d'aplicacions JBOSS i amb servidor de bases de dades MySQL.

Bonding and Bridging Social Capital in Step- and First-Time Families and the Issue of Family Boundaries

Divorce and remarriage usually imply a redefinition of family boundaries, with consequences for the production and availability of social capital. This research shows that bonding and bridging social capitals are differentially made available by families. It first hypothesizes that bridging social capital is more likely to be developed in stepfamilies, and bonding social capital in first-time families. Second, the boundaries of family configurations are expected to vary within stepfamilies and within first-time families creating a diversity of family configurations within both structures. Third, in both cases, social capital is expected to depend on the ways in which their family boundaries are set up by individuals by including or excluding ex-partners, new partner's children, siblings, and other family ties. The study is based on a sample of 300 female respondents who have at least one child of their own between 5 and 13 years, 150 from a stepfamily structure and 150 from a first-time family structure. Social capital is empirically operationalized as perceived emotional support in family networks. The results show that individuals in first-time families more often develop bonding social capital and individuals in stepfamilies bridging social capital. In both cases, however, individuals in family configurations based on close blood and conjugal ties more frequently develop bonding social capital, whereas individuals in family configurations based on in-law, stepfamily or friendship ties are more likely to develop bridging social capital.

Estudio de la usabilidad en la administración pública municipal on-line

S'ha realitzat l'anàlisi del site www.tortosa.cat, realitzant un estudi d'usabilitat centrada en l'usuari sobre webs orientades al comerç electrònic i als serveis.

Portal web Agrupació Comercial

En aquest TFC el que es preten crear un portal on integrar tots els petits comerços de manera conjunta, alhora que separada clar, on cada comerç pugui posar a la venda els seus productes i el client final pugui comprar de manera global a cadascun dels comerços.

Three new species of Isospora Schneider, 1881 (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from the lesser seed-finch, Oryzoborus angolensis (Passeriformes: Emberizidae) from Brazil

Three new coccidian (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) species are reported from the lesser seed-finch, Oryzoborus angolensis from Brazil. Sporulated oocysts of Isospora curio n. sp. are spherical to subspherical; 24.6 × 23.6 (22-26 × 22-25) mum, shape-index (SI, length/width) of 1.04 (1.00-1.15). Oocyst wall is bilayerd, ~ 1.5 mum thick, smooth and colourless. Micropyle and oocyst residuum are absent. The sporocysts are ovoid, 13.2 × 10.9 (15-17 × 10-13) mum, SI = 1.56 (1.42-1.71), with a small Stieda body and residuum composed of numerous granules scattered among the sporozoites. Sporozoites are elongated and posses a smooth surface and two distinct refractile bodies. Oocysts of Isospora braziliensis n. sp. are spherical to subspherical, 17.8 × 16.9 (16-19 × 16-18) mum, with a shape-index of 1.06 (1.00-1.12) and a smooth, single-layered wall ~ 1 mum thick. A micropyle, oocyst residuum and polar granules are absent. Sporocysts are ellipsoid and slightly asymmetric, 13.2 × 10.8 (12-14 × 9-12) mum, SI = 1.48 (1.34-1.61). Each sporocyst contains a barely visible Stieda body and a residuum composed numerous of granules. Sporozoites are elongated and each of them contains two distinct refractile bodies. Oocysts of Isospora paranaensis n. sp. are subspherical to broadly ellipsoid 24.3 × 19.8 (22-26 × 18-22) mum, SI = 1.22 (1.15-1.38) with smooth single-layered wall ~ 1.5 mum thick. A micropyle and oocyst residuum are absent, but one distinct ellipsoid polar granule (2.5-3.5 × 1.5-2.5 mum) is present. Sporocyst are ovoid, 15.7 × 10.1 (14-18 × 8-12) mum, SI = 1.46 (1.31-1.72), with distinct Stieda and sub-Stieda bodies. Each sporocyst contains a spherical sporocyst residuum, 4 mum in diameter. All described isosporan species represent a possible cause of acute coccidiosis for O. angolensis in captivity.