Anatomy of contaminated aquifers of an industrial site: insights from the stable isotope compositions of waters and dissolved inorganic carbon

The hydrogen and oxygen isotopes of water and the carbon isotope composition of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) from different aquifers at an industrial site, highly contaminated by organic pollutants representing residues of the former gas production, have been used as natural tracers to characterize the hydrologic system. On the basis of their stable isotope compositions as well as the seasonal variations, different groups of waters (precipitation, surface waters, groundwaters and mineral waters) as well as seasonably variable processes of mixing between these waters can clearly be distinguished. In addition, reservoir effects and infiltration rates can be estimated. In the northern part of the site an influence of uprising mineral waters within the Quaternary aquifers, presumably along a fault zone, can be recognized. Marginal infiltration from the Neckar River in the cast and surface water infiltration adjacent to a steep hill on the western edge of the site with an infiltration rate of about one month can also be resolved through the seasonal variation. Quaternary aquifers closer to the centre of the site show no seasonal variations, except for one borehole close to a former mill channel and another borehole adjacent to a rain water channel. Distinct carbon isotope compositions and concentrations of DIC for these different groups of waters reflect variable influence of different components of the natural carbon cycle: dissolution of marine carbonates in the mineral waters, biogenic, soil-derived CO2 in ground- and surface waters, as well as additional influence of atmospheric CO2 for the surface waters. Many Quaternary aquifer waters have, however, distinctly lower delta(13)C(DIC) values and higher DIC concentrations compared to those expected for natural waters. Given the location of contaminated groundwaters at this site but also in the industrially well-developed valley outside of this site, the most likely source for the low C-13(DIC) values is a biodegradation of anthropogenic organic substances, in particular the tar oils at the site.

The Liberal Ethics of Non-Interference and the Pareto Principle

We analyse the liberal ethics of non-interference applied to social choice. A liberal principle capturing noninterfering views of society and inspired by John Stuart Mill s conception of liberty, is examined. The principle captures the idea that society should not penalise agents after changes in their situation that do not a¤ect others. An impossibility for liberal approaches is highlighted: every social decision rule that satis es unanimity and a general principle of noninterference must be dictatorial. This raises some important issues for liberal approaches in social choice and political philosophy.

Toxicological and toxicogenetic effects of plants used in popular medicine and in cattle food

Toxicological and toxicogenetic effects of aqueous (tea) and hexanica fruit extract of Indigofera suffruticosa Mill, and hydroalcoholic root extract od Solanum agrarium Stendt. Were evaluated in Balb C male mice intraperitoneally exposed. A hepatotoxic effect was observed just for animals treated with aqueous fruit extract of I. suffruticosa. In relation to the toxicogenetic effect, just the group trreated with 12.5% of toxic dose of aqueous fruit extract of I. suffruticosa showed a statistically significant increase in the frequency of cells with chromosome aberrations (cytogenetic effect), although a slight increase was also observed for the highest dose (25% of LF50_ of hydroalcoholic root extract of S. agrarium. The results obtanied show that before S. agrarium is used as medicine and before the wide use of I. suffruticosa in cattle food, careful evaluation must be done.

Notch1 functions as a tumor suppressor in mouse skin.

Notch proteins are important in binary cell-fate decisions and inhibiting differentiation in many developmental systems, and aberrant Notch signaling is associated with tumorigenesis. The role of Notch signaling in mammalian skin is less well characterized and is mainly based on in vitro studies, which suggest that Notch signaling induces differentiation in mammalian skin. Conventional gene targeting is not applicable to establishing the role of Notch receptors or ligands in the skin because Notch1-/- embryos die during gestation. Therefore, we used a tissue-specific inducible gene-targeting approach to study the physiological role of the Notch1 receptor in the mouse epidermis and the corneal epithelium of adult mice. Unexpectedly, ablation of Notch1 results in epidermal and corneal hyperplasia followed by the development of skin tumors and facilitated chemical-induced skin carcinogenesis. Notch1 deficiency in skin and in primary keratinocytes results in increased and sustained expression of Gli2, causing the development of basal-cell carcinoma-like tumors. Furthermore, Notch1 inactivation in the epidermis results in derepressed beta-catenin signaling in cells that should normally undergo differentiation. Enhanced beta-catenin signaling can be reversed by re-introduction of a dominant active form of the Notch1 receptor. This leads to a reduction in the signaling-competent pool of beta-catenin, indicating that Notch1 can inhibit beta-catenin-mediated signaling. Our results indicate that Notch1 functions as a tumor-suppressor gene in mammalian skin.

A Possible Role for Rusa Deer (Cervus timorensis russa) and Wild Pigs in Spread of Trypanosoma evansi from Indonesia to Papua New Guinea

Movement of transmigrants and livestock from western Indonesia to southeastern areas of Irian Jaya near the border with Papua New Guinea may pose a risk of introducing Trypanosoma evansi into Papua New Guinea via feral Rusa deer (Cervus timorensis russa) and wild pigs which inhabit these areas in large numbers. Pilot experimental studies were conducted to observe infection in pigs and Rusa deer with a strain of T. evansi isolated in Indonesia. Parasitaemia and signs of clinical disease were monitored each second day for 120 days. Trypanosomes were observed in haematocrit tubes at the plasma-buffy coat interface of jugular blood of deer and pigs on 86% and 37% of sampling occasions respectively. Parasitaemia was at a high level in deer for 35% of the time but for only 11.5% of the time in pigs. Results indicate that both Rusa deer and pigs have a high tolerance for infection with T. evansi. The deer suffered mild anaemia evidenced by a 25% reduction in packed cell volume (PCV) 14 days after infection which coincided with the initial peak in parasitaemia. However, PCV had returned to pre infection values by the end of the experiment. The pigs showed no change in PCV. There were no visual indications of disease in either species and appetite was not noticeably affected. It was concluded that both Rusa deer and pigs were capable reservoir hosts for T. evansi but that Rusa deer, with their more persistent higher levels of parasitaemia, have more potential to spread T. evansi into Papua New Guinea from West Irian than pigs.

Análisis bioinformáticos sobre la tecnología Hadoop

Desde el inicio del proyecto del genoma humano y su éxito en el año 2001 se han secuenciado genomas de multitud de especies. La mejora en las tecnologías de secuenciación ha generado volúmenes de datos con un crecimiento exponencial. El proyecto Análisis bioinformáticos sobre la tecnología Hadoop abarca la computación paralela de datos biológicos como son las secuencias de ADN. El estudio ha sido encauzado por la naturaleza del problema a resolver. El alineamiento de secuencias genéticas con el paradigma MapReduce.

TFC .NET : sistema catalogador d'imatges

El TFC que aquí s'exposa ha volgut ser, sobretot, un punt de trobada on poder explorar, de manera pràctica, aquests nous paradigmes de programació iconcretament, les solucions que ofereix la plataforma .NET de Microsoft a través de les seves tecnologies Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Language Integrades Query (LINQ) i la seva vessant, LINQ to SQL.

Cannabinoids reduce ErbB2-driven breast cancer progression through Akt inhibition.

BACKGROUND ErbB2-positive breast cancer is characterized by highly aggressive phenotypes and reduced responsiveness to standard therapies. Although specific ErbB2-targeted therapies have been designed, only a small percentage of patients respond to these treatments and most of them eventually relapse. The existence of this population of particularly aggressive and non-responding or relapsing patients urges the search for novel therapies. The purpose of this study was to determine whether cannabinoids might constitute a new therapeutic tool for the treatment of ErbB2-positive breast tumors. We analyzed their antitumor potential in a well established and clinically relevant model of ErbB2-driven metastatic breast cancer: the MMTV-neu mouse. We also analyzed the expression of cannabinoid targets in a series of 87 human breast tumors. RESULTS Our results show that both Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the most abundant and potent cannabinoid in marijuana, and JWH-133, a non-psychotropic CB2 receptor-selective agonist, reduce tumor growth, tumor number, and the amount/severity of lung metastases in MMTV-neu mice. Histological analyses of the tumors revealed that cannabinoids inhibit cancer cell proliferation, induce cancer cell apoptosis, and impair tumor angiogenesis. Cannabinoid antitumoral action relies, at least partially, on the inhibition of the pro-tumorigenic Akt pathway. We also found that 91% of ErbB2-positive tumors express the non-psychotropic cannabinoid receptor CB2. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, these results provide a strong preclinical evidence for the use of cannabinoid-based therapies for the management of ErbB2-positive breast cancer.

Construction of three new Gateway® expression plasmids for Trypanosoma cruzi

We present here three expression plasmids for Trypanosoma cruzi adapted to the Gateway® recombination cloning system. Two of these plasmids were designed to express trypanosomal proteins fused to a double tag for tandem affinity purification (TAPtag). The TAPtag and Gateway® cassette were introduced into an episomal (pTEX) and an integrative (pTREX) plasmid. Both plasmids were assayed by introducing green fluorescent protein (GFP) by recombination and the integrity of the double-tagged protein was determined by western blotting and immunofluorescence microscopy. The third Gateway adapted vector assayed was the inducible pTcINDEX. When tested with GFP, pTcINDEX-GW showed a good response to tetracycline, being less leaky than its precursor (pTcINDEX).

Associació de l’estat mutacional de JAK2 i les anomalies citogenètiques en les neoplàsies mieloproliferatives cròniques Filadèlfia negatives: Correlació amb les dades clíniques i analítiques.

L’estudi correlaciona l’estat mutacional de JAK2V617F amb les alteracions citogenètiques, algunes dades clíniques i paràmetres de laboratori i valorar l’impacte sobre la progressió i pronòstic de la malaltia de 526 casos de NMPc Ph-. Es conclou que la freqüència d’alteracions citogenètiques, l’esplenomegàlia, els símptomes constitucionals i la progressió són independents de la mutació JAK2V617F, però la majoria de pacients en progressió i cariotip alterat eren JAK2 mutat. Els casos JAK2+ es correlacionen amb les complicacions en el curs de la malaltia i l’augment de la xifra de leucòcits i d’hemoglobina en la TE i de plaquetes en la PV.

Història urbana de Girona: el monar reial del Mercadal a Girona

De l'any 1015 consta l'existència del rec comtal, segons escriptura atorgada pel comte Ramon Borrell i per llur esposa, Ermessenda, que varen fer donació a la Seu de Santa Maria, el dia 19 de juny, de quatre mujades de terra situades prop del Mercadal iuxta urbem Gerundensis in ipso plano super ipsum Mercadalem. Les dites terres afrontaven de occiduo in ipso rege comitale i a migdia amb el riu Güell. Aquest fet permet considerar que el rec comtal feia possible, ja al segle XI, la instal·lació del Monar comtal amb llurs molins

Portugais 48

Contient : 1 Recueil de généalogies portugaises ; 2 Recueil de généalogies extraites "de hum livro de Nunalvares Pereira" ; 3 Recueil de généalogies : "Estos linages que se siguen se copiaron de un libro de Alonsso Lopez de Haro de los linages de Portugal, y, por lo que dize en el de los Pimenteles, parece se le dio Nunalbarez Pereyra." ; 4 "Desçendencia dos Teives feita por D. Belchor de Teive." ; 5 Notes sur divers membres de la famille de Mello ou Merlo ; 6 "Familia y quadrilla de Blasco Ximeno." Cette généalogie se termine par une notice sur D. Gomez d'Avila y Toledo, deuxième marquis de Velada ; 7 "Linhagem dos de Castelbranco, recopilada por Dom Manoel de Castelbranco, conde de Villanova." ; 8 Notes généalogiques sur les familles Pinheiro, Manoel et Tserclaes ; 9 "Memoria dos titulos que os reis de Portugal criarão de novo neste reyno," de João Ier à Philippe III ; 10 "Los grandes y titulos de Castilla." ; 11 "Visoreys e governadores da India." ; 12 Notes généalogiques sur les Souza et les Maldonado ; 13 "Adiantados que ouve em Portugal." ; 14 "Epitaphios que estão no mosteiro de S. Antonio da Castanheyra." ; 15-34 Documents relatifs à la prise de la ville de Salvador (Bahia, Brésil) par les hollandais (1624) et à la reprise par l'armée hispano-portugaise (1625) ; 15 "Lista dos navios, capitaes d'elles e soldados, fidalgos e nobres que se embarcarão e partirão ao soccorro da Bahia, a 21 de novembro de 1624, sendo capitão geral d'esta armada don Manoel de Meneses." ; 16 "Relaçaõ do dinheiro e cousas reduzidas a elle com que este reyno servio a Sua Magd na ocasiaõ do apresto da armada para o socorro da Bahia no Brasil, que vae ao todo noventa e tres contos coatrocentos e hum mil." 1624 ; 17 "Relaçaõ da armada que partio de Lisbóa em socorro da Bahia e do susseço que teve." ; 18 "Carta para hum fidalgo recidente na corte de Madrid, em que brevemente se relata o corpo principal de toda a armada, que d'este porto de Lixboa salio para a empreza da Bahya, aos 23 de novembro de 1624." Lisbonne, 12 décembre 1624 ; 19 "Relaçaõ das armadas de Sua Magde do dia em que chegaraõ a Bahia e do que se tem feito na expugnaçaõ do enemigo, desde 29 de março que foi vespera de Pascoa, em que deraõ fundo na dita Baia as armadas, ate 22 abril, em que se mandou a Pernambuco o papel de que se tirou esta rellaçaõ, a qual mandaraõ os governadores de Portugal a Sua Magde." 1625 ; 20 "Relaçion de Lorenço Perez Carballo de lo que pasa en la Baya, de quinçe de abril de 1625." ; 21 "Copia da carta que dom Manoel de Menezes, capitaõ mor da armada da esquadra de Portugal, escreveo a S. Mgde, da Bahia, dando conta do que succedeo nella, desde 29 de março te 12 de mayo de 1625." ; 22 "Relaçaõ de que o capitaõ don Manoel de Meneses faz mençaõ na sua carta atraz." 1625 ; 23 "Discurso breve del suçeso que han tenido las armas de su Magd en la jornada del Brasil, desde que salieron de España asta la rrestauraçion de la çiudad de San Salvador, que tomaron los Olandeses en diez de mayo del año pasado de mill y seisçientos y veinte y quatro... Fecha en diez de mayo de mill y seisçientos y veinte y cinco." ; 24 "Copia de las cartas y respuestas que ubo de parte de los Olandeses y Don Fadrique de Toledo Ossorio, desde 28 de abril [1625] hasta 30 que se rindio la plaza" de San Salvador ; 25 "Capitulos conspirados por el sor Coronel y los del Conssejo en la Baya para ofreçer a su Exa Don Fadrique de Toledo, general por su Mgd d'España." 29 et 30 avril 1625 ; 26" Relacion del viaje y sucesso de la Armada que por mandado de su Magestad partio al Brasil, a echar de alli los enemigos que lo ocupavam. Francisco de Avendaño y Vilela. En Sevilla por Francisco de Lyra, año de 1625." ; 27 "Relaçion de la jornada que ba haziendo la armada real a las partes del Brasil, que salio de la baya de Cadiz, martes á catorze de henero de seiscientos y veinte y cinco." ; 28 État-major des tercios de D. Juan de Orellana et D. Pedro Osorio et du tercio de Naples du marquis de Torrecusso, embarqués à Cadix pour le Brésil, le 14 janvier 1625 ; 29 "Brevis, succinta ac vera narratio expeditionis illius, quam quidam mercatores sub auspiciis et autoritate illustrium D. D. ordinum Holandiae, Zelandiae, etc. suseperunt in Brasilium, anno 1623." ; 30 Relation de combats entre Portugais et Hollandais sur les côtes du Brésil ; 31 Notes généalogiques sur les familles Costa, Correa de Moura et Moreno, communiquées au compilateur du recueil par D. Luis Lobo et D. Antonio Correa Barem ; 32 "Relaçaõ do que o capitaõ Francisco de Padilha fes en quanto andou nos asaltos ate a vinda da armada." 1624 ; 33 Relation de l'attaque de Sam Bento au Brésil, en 1625 ; 34 Relation de l'expédition des flottes espagnole et portugaise au Brésil et de la prise de San Salvador. 1625

Asiakastyytyväisyystutkimus ResMed Finland Oy:n huolto-osastolle

Tämä insinöörityö on tehty osana ResMed Finland Oy:n huoltotoiminnan laadun parannus- ja kehittämisprojektia. Työtehtävänä oli suorittaa yrityksen huolto-osaston asiakastyytyväisyystutkimus. Työn tavoitteena oli selvittää, miten laadukkaana asiakkaat kokevat yrityksen huoltoosaston toiminnan sekä millä osa-alueilla yrityksen huoltotoimintaa tulisi erityisesti kehittää, jotta se täyttäisi paremmin asiakkaan siihen kohdistamat odotukset, tarpeet ja vaatimukset. Työ aloitettiin selvittämällä, mistä osatekijöistä palvelun laatu ja asiakastyytyväisyys muodostuvat, ja miten ne vaikuttavat yrityksen toimintaan ja kannattavuuteen. Lisäksi selvitettiin perusteita asiakastyytyväisyystutkimuksen tekemiselle ja yleisesti huoltopalvelun ulottuvuuksia asiakaspalvelun osa-alueena. Alkuselvitysten jälkeen aloitettiin varsinainen asiakastyytyväisyystutkimuksen suorittaminen. Tutkimus tehtiin lomakekyselynä. Kysely koski huoltohenkilökunnan ja huoltotoiminnan lisäksi huoltokoulutusta, varaosamyyntiä sekä yrityksen tuotteiden ja varaosien Internet- markkinointisivustoa (www.resmedtuotteet.fi). Kysymykset esitettiin sekä monivalintamuodossa että avoimina kysymyksinä. Asiakastyytyväisyystutkimus suoritettiin helmi - kesäkuun aikana vuonna 2006. Kyselylomakkeita postitettiin yhteensä 45 kappaletta. Näistä 17 palautui täytettynä takaisin, joten tutkimuksen vastausprosentti oli 38. Pienistä puutteistaan huolimatta, ResMedin huoltotoiminta sai tutkimuksen perusteella yleisarvosanaksi kiitettävän. Työn tuloksena saatiin paljon arvokasta tietoa yrityksen huoltotoiminnasta -mitä hyvää siinä nykyisellään on ja mitkä sen osa-alueet tarvitsevat kipeimmin kohennusta. Tutkimus auttoi myös asiakkaiden tarpeiden ja odotuksien kartoittamisessa. Työn avulla yritys sai tietoonsa, mitkä huoltotoiminnan osa-alueet ovat asiakkaiden mielestä tärkeimpiä, ja mihin sen on siis erityisesti panostettava.

Omien työntekijöiden urakkatyö ja hinnoittelun yhtenäistäminen

Tämä työ tehtiin NCC Rakennus Oy:n Lohjan toimipisteelle. Työssä selvitettiin, mitä omien työntekijöiden urakkatyö pitää sisällään. Apuna käytettiin alan kirjallisuutta ja alan ammattilaisten mielipiteiden kyselyä. Kirjallisuudesta selvitettiin, millä perusteilla työt hinnoitellaan ja miten urakka etenee prosessina. Työ aloitettiin perehtymällä urakkatyön teettämiseen rakennusalalla. Tämän jälkeen selvitettiin urakkatyösisältöjä alan kirjallisuuden perusteella ja haastattelemalla alan ammattilaisia. Urakkahinnoittelu selvitettiin lopuksi kirjallisuudesta ja saatuja tuloksia vertailtiin NCC Rakennus Oy:n käyttämiin hintoihin. Työn lopputuloksena saatiin NCC Rakennus Oy:n työmaiden käyttöön urakkatyösisällöt ja hinnoittelutaulukot eri työvaiheille, sekä urakan etenemisprosessi ja urakkasopimuksen asialista. Työn tuottama materiaali mahdollistaa omien työntekijöiden urakkatöiden lisäämistä ja tätä kautta työntekijöiden työmotivaation kasvua.