INVESTIGATION BY MASS SPECTROMETRY OF THE UBIQUITOME AND PROTEIN CARGO OF EXOSOMES DERIVED FROM MYELOID-DERIVED SUPPRESSOR CELLS

Exosomes released by myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are 30 nm in diameter extracellular vesicles that have been shown to carry biologically active proteins as well as ubiquitin molecules. Ubiquitin is known to have many functions, including involvement in the formation of exosomes, although the exact role is highly contested. In the study reported here, the proteome and ubiquitome of MDSC exosomes has been investigated by bottom-up proteomics techniques. This report identifies more than 1000 proteins contained in the MDSC exosome cargo and 489 sites of ubiquitination in more than 300 ubiquitinated proteins based on recognition of glycinylglycine tagged peptides without antibody enrichment. This has allowed extensive chemical and biological characterization of the ubiquitinated cohort compared to that of the entire protein cargo to support hypotheses on the role of ubiquitin in exosomes.

Source populations in coastal crabs: parameters affecting egg production

Benthic marine invertebrates may form metapopulations connected via propagule dispersal. Conservation efforts often target potential source coastlines to indirectly benefit areas depending on allochthonous offspring production. Besides population density, adult size structure, sex ratio, brooding frequency and the proportion of breeding individuals may significantly influence the reproductive output of benthic populations, but these effects have seldom been tested. We used rocky shore crabs to assess the spatial variability of such parameters at relevant scales for conservation purposes and to test their consistency over 2 consecutive years; we then used the data to address whether bottom-up processes or biological interactions might explain the patterns observed. We decomposed egg production rates into their components for the 2 most abundant brachyuran species inhabiting the intertidal rocky habitat. Adult density and brooding frequency varied consistently among shores for both species and largely explained the overall spatial trends of egg production. Temporally consistent patterns also included among-shore differences in the size of ovigerous females of the grapsid Pachygrapsus transversus and between-bay differences in the fecundity of the spider crab Epialtus brasiliensis. Sex ratio was remarkably constant in both. We found no positive or negative correlations between adult density and brooding frequency to support either the existence of a component Allee effect (lack of mate encounters) or an effect of intra-specific competition. Likewise, shore-specific potential growth in P. transversus does not negatively correlate with frequency of ovigerous individuals, as would be expected under a critical balance between these 2 processes. The patterns observed suggest that bottom-up drivers may best explain spatial trends in the reproductive output of these species.

Europeanization beyond the EU: The case of Georgia.

320 p.

Estrategias territoriales participativas como instrumentos de diagnóstico y prospectiva, en el contexto europeo de los Fondos de Cohesión 2014–2020: el caso de Villena (Alicante)

Las Estrategias Territoriales de carácter participado, se han convertido en el instrumento válido para diagnosticar las necesidades de un territorio. La Unión Europea obliga la aplicación de esta herramienta en el nuevo contexto del periodo 2014–2020. En el municipio de Villena (Alicante), se realizó una estrategia territorial integrada, desde hace dos años que ha derivado en un foro económico social, a través del proceso de abajo-arriba. El estudio de caso avala que la ciudadanía sí que es importante y ha participado activamente en una planificación estratégica ya que los nuevos tiempos, en el contexto del desarrollo local, así lo determinan. Se establecen las fases de aplicación, la metodología utilizada y también los resultados obtenidos.

Abundance of sedentary consumers and sessile organisms along the wave exposure gradient of subtropical rocky shores of the south-west Atlantic

Sedentary consumers play an important role on populations of prey and, hence, their patterns of abundance, distribution and coexistence on shores are important to evaluate their potential influence on ecosystem dynamics. Here, we aimed to describe their spatio-temporal distribution and abundance in relation to wave exposure in the intertidal rocky shores of the south-west Atlantic to provide a basis for further understanding of ecological processes in this system. The abundance and composition of the functional groups of sessile organisms and sedentary consumers were taken by sampling the intertidal of sheltered and moderately exposed shores during a period of one year. The sublittoral fringe of sheltered areas was dominated by macroalgae, while the low midlittoral was dominated by bare rock and barnacles. In contrast, filter-feeding animals prevailed at exposed shores, probably explaining the higher abundance of the predator Stramonita haemastoma at these locations. Limpets were more abundant at the midlittoral zone of all shores while sea urchins were exclusively found at the sublittoral fringe of moderately exposed shores, therefore, adding grazing pressure on these areas. The results showed patterns of coexistence, distribution and abundance of those organisms in this subtropical area, presumably as a result of wave action, competition and prey availability. It also brought insights on the influence of top-down and bottom-up processes in this area.

Indicadores de eficiencia asociados a los Grupos Relacionados por el Diagnóstico (GRD) de Partos en un Hospital Público de Nivel I

Esta investigación toma como tema de referencia los costes sanitarios en originados en la Unidad de Partos del Servicio de Obstetricia y Ginecología de un Hospital de Nivel I. El objetivo general de la presente investigación se concreta en la definición y determinación de un conjunto de indicadores que permitan cuantificar el grado de eficiencia en la actividad sanitaria. Estos indicadores se construyen sobre variables representativas de coste, relativizadas por la actividad de la unidad, medida ésta por el número de casos atendidos. Otro indicador global que se podría haber utilizado es el número de estancias causadas, si bien hay razones, que se explican a lo largo del trabajo, que desaconsejan su utilización. El ámbito de estudio de este trabajo lo constituye la unidad de gestión clínica (servicio) de obstetricia y ginecología de un hospital de Nivel I de la Comunidad Autónoma de Andalucía y el año de referencia del estudio es 2005. Dentro de este servicio se ha centrado la atención en los partos atendidos, por la representatividad que los mismos tienen en la actividad de la unidad, desagregando la diferente tipología de aquellos mediante el uso de los correspondientes GRD. Las fuentes de información utilizadas han sido: • Conjunto Mínimo Básico de Datos (CMBD) • Grupos Relacionados con el Diagnóstico (GRD). • Relación de los GRD con el CMBD. • Cuadros de Mando Integrales del Centro Hospitalario. • Contabilidad Analítica del Hospital (COANHyD). • Contrato Programa del Centro Sanitario. • Instituto de Estadística de Andalucía (IEA). • Instituto Nacional de Estadística de España (INE). • Sistema Estadístico Europeo (EUROSTAT). Una vez se han determinado los costes controlables para todas las categorías y para cada uno de los GRD de partos, se procede a la determinación de una serie de indicadores que van a ser de gran utilidad para las conclusiones de la investigación, en cuanto que van a proporcionar una información determinante para los responsables de las unidades en la búsqueda de la eficiencia en la aplicación de los recursos. De igual manera van a ser útiles para establecer comparaciones con otras unidades, ya sean del mismo centro hospitalario o de otros centros. Si se hace una revisión de la literatura, la mayoría de los indicadores de eficiencia se formalizan mediante un cociente en el que el numerador representa una variable de coste y el denominador una variable de actividad, identificándose esta última por los casos tratados o las estancias causadas. La propuesta que se hace en la presente investigación es la de aplicar la primera de las alternativas enunciadas, es decir, el coste por caso, ya que las estancias causadas, aunque no han intervenido activamente en aquellos costes que se han estimado siguiendo la estrategia bottom up, sí se han utilizado, por así establecerlo la contabilidad analítica, a la hora de determinar los costes estimados mediante el modelo top down, como es el caso de todos los costes no controlables. Además del coste por caso que, como se ha dicho, es uno de los indicadores de eficiencia más citados en la literatura, podrían utilizarse otros indicadores como el coste por producción ajustada, que se define como el cociente entre los costes de explotación, que son los que se han contemplado en la presente investigación, y el número de altas ajustado por el peso relativo del correspondiente GRD. El coste por producción ajustada puede parecer más preciso. Sin embargo, depende mucho de la homogeneidad existente en la definición de las patologías que conforman cada GRD, es decir, depende del grado de variabilidad intra GRD. Como quiera que no es fácil lograr dicha homogeneidad, la ventaja apuntada puede compensarse en cierta medida con el inconveniente de mostrar una menor neutralidad. Si se analiza su distribución por GRD, puede observarse que el coste correspondiente a los GRD 371, 372 y 373 conforma más del 70% del coste total. El correspondiente a los GRD 370 y 651 alrededor del 19% del total. Les siguen en importancia el GRD 650 con un 5%, el GRD 375 con alrededor del 3%, repartiéndose el 2% restante los GRD 374 y 652. Si no distinguimos entre costes controlables y no controlables, el total de todos los costes en que incurre la unidad objeto de estudio en el año 2005 asciende a 16.956.541 euros, de los que el 57,18% se corresponde con los costes controlables, quedando el 42,82% restante para los no controlables. Por conceptos, el mayor peso relativo en la estructura de costes, lo tienen los costes del personal adscrito al servicio, con un 48,16%, siendo de un 29,88% el correspondiente al resto del personal, conformando entre ambos algo más del 78% del coste total. Le sigue en importancia el concepto de varios con una aportación del 6,52%, ello debido fundamentalmente al coste de los set de esterilización, lavandería y lencería que aportan un 61 y 34% del total del concepto. En cuanto a gestoría de usuarios y tributos, su importancia es residual. En tercer lugar tenemos a las contratas, con un 4,04% del coste total, destacando entre las mismas la contrata de la limpieza que supone un 70% del total del concepto. El cuarto lugar lo ocupan las determinaciones analíticas con un 3,37% del peso relativo, destacando entre ellas las de bioquímica con un 34,26%, seguidas de las de inmunología con un 30,25% y los hemogramas con un 18,79%, conformando entre las tres algo más del 83% del total. La aportación de alimentación, material fungible y consumos, es un 2,61%, un 2,55% y un 2,38% respectivamente, destacando en importancia el peso del material de curas, que supone el 66,58% del total del concepto, los consumos de electricidad con un 36,91% del total y el oxigeno que constituye el 28,68% de dicho total. El menor peso relativo, casi residual, se corresponde con los costes de farmacia, con una participación del 0,49% del coste total.

Efeitos de manipulações ascendentes e descendentes sobre a comunidade fitoplanctônica em um reservatório eutrófico no semi-árido brasileiro

Top-down (grazing) and bottom-up (nutrient, light) controls are important in freshwater ecosystems regulation. Relative importance of these factors could change in space and time, but in tropical lakes bottom-up regulation has to been appointed as more influent. Present study aimed to test the hypothesis that phytoplankton growths rate in Armando Ribeiro reservoir, a huge eutrophic reservoir in semi-arid region of Rio Grande do Norte state, is more limited by nutrient available then zooplankton grazing pressure. Bioassay was conduced monthly from September (2008) to August (2009) manipulating two levels of nutrients (with/without addition) and two level of grazers (with/without removal). Experimental design was factorial 2X2 with four treatments (X5), (i) control with water and zooplankton from natural spot ( C ), (ii) with nutrient addition ( +NP ), (iii) with zooplankton remove ( -Z ) and (iv) with zooplankton remove and nutrient addition ( -Z+NP ). For bioassay confection transparent plastic bottles (500ml) was incubate for 4 or 5 days in two different depths, Secchi`s depth (high luminosity) and 3 times Secchi`s depth (low luminosity). Water samples were collected from each bottle in begins and after incubates period for chlorophyll a concentration analysis and zoopalnktonic organisms density. Phytoplankton growths rates were calculated. Bifactorial ANOVA was performance to test if had a significant effect (p<0,005) of nutrient addition and grazers remove as well a significant interaction between factors on phytoplankton growths rates. Effect magnitude was calculated the relative importance of each process. Results show that phytoplankton growth was in generally stimulated by nutrient addition, as while zooplankton remove rarely stimulated phytoplankton growth. Some significant interactions happening between nutrient additions and grazers remove on phytoplankton growth. In conclusion this study suggests that in studied reservoir phytoplankton growth is more controlled by ascendent factors than descendent

Continuous quality improvement in a Maltese hospital using logical framework analysis

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the application of logical framework analysis (LFA) for implementing continuous quality improvement (CQI) across multiple settings in a tertiary care hospital. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopts a multiple case study approach. LFA is implemented within three diverse settings, namely, intensive care unit, surgical ward, and acute in-patient psychiatric ward. First, problem trees are developed in order to determine the root causes of quality issues, specific to the three settings. Second, objective trees are formed suggesting solutions to the quality issues. Third, project plan template using logical framework (LOGFRAME) is created for each setting. Findings: This study shows substantial improvement in quality across the three settings. LFA proved to be effective to analyse quality issues and suggest improvement measures objectively. Research limitations/implications: This paper applies LFA in specific, albeit, diverse settings in one hospital. For validation purposes, it would be ideal to analyse in other settings within the same hospital, as well as in several hospitals. It also adopts a bottom-up approach when this can be triangulated with other sources of data. Practical implications: LFA enables top management to obtain an integrated view of performance. It also provides a basis for further quantitative research on quality management through the identification of key performance indicators and facilitates the development of a business case for improvement. Originality/value: LFA is a novel approach for the implementation of CQI programs. Although LFA has been used extensively for project development to source funds from development banks, its application in quality improvement within healthcare projects is scant.

HRM and innovation:looking across levels

Studies are starting to explore the role of HRM in fostering organizational innovation but empirical evidence remains contradictory and theory fragmented. This is partly because extant literature by and large adopts a unitary level of analysis, rather than reflecting on the multi-level demands that innovation presents. Building on an emergent literature focused on HRM’s role in shaping innovation, we shed light on the question of whether, and how, HRM might influence employees’ innovative behaviours in the direction of strategically important goals. Drawing upon institutional theory, our contributions are three-fold: to bring out the effect of two discrete HRM configurations- one underpinned by a control and the other by an entrepreneurial ethos, on attitudes and behaviours at the individual level; to reflect the way in which employee innovative behaviours arising from these HRM configurations coalesce to shape higher-level phenomena, such as organizational-level innovation; and to bring out two distinct patterns of bottom-up emergence, one driven primarily by composition and the other by both composition and compilation.

Investigating automated chemical evolution of oil-in-water droplets

One of the main unresolved questions in science is how non-living matter became alive in a process known as abiognesis, which aims to explain how from a primordial soup scenario containing simple molecules, by following a ``bottom up'' approach, complex biomolecules emerged forming the first living system, known as a protocell. A protocell is defined by the interplay of three sub-systems which are considered requirements for life: information molecules, metabolism, and compartmentalization. This thesis investigates the role of compartmentalization during the emergence of life, and how simple membrane aggregates could evolve into entities that were able to develop ``life-like'' behaviours, and in particular how such evolution could happen without the presence of information molecules. Our ultimate objective is to create an autonomous evolvable system, and in order tp do so we will try to engineer life following a ``top-down'' approach, where an initial platform capable of evolving chemistry will be constructed, but the chemistry being dependent on the robotic adjunct, and how then this platform can be de-constructed in iterative operations until it is fully disconnected from the evolvable system, the system then being inherently autonomous. The first project of this thesis describes how the initial platform was designed and built. The platform was based on the model of a standard liquid handling robot, with the main difference with respect to other similar robots being that we used a 3D-printer in order to prototype the robot and build its main equipment, like a liquid dispensing system, tool movement mechanism, and washing procedures. The robot was able to mix different components and create populations of droplets in a Petri dish filled with aqueous phase. The Petri dish was then observed by a camera, which analysed the behaviours described by the droplets and fed this information back to the robot. Using this loop, the robot was then able to implement an evolutionary algorithm, where populations of droplets were evolved towards defined life-like behaviours. The second project of this thesis aimed to remove as many mechanical parts as possible from the robot while keeping the evolvable chemistry intact. In order to do so, we encapsulated the functionalities of the previous liquid handling robot into a single monolithic 3D-printed device. This device was able to mix different components, generate populations of droplets in an aqueous phase, and was also equipped with a camera in order to analyse the experiments. Moreover, because the full fabrication process of the devices happened in a 3D-printer, we were also able to alter its experimental arena by adding different obstacles where to evolve the droplets, enabling us to study how environmental changes can shape evolution. By doing so, we were able to embody evolutionary characteristics into our device, removing constraints from the physical platform, and taking one step forward to a possible autonomous evolvable system.

Deindustrialisation and industrial communities: the Lanarkshire coalfields c.1947-1983

This thesis examines deindustrialisation, the declining contribution of industrial activities to economic output and employment, in Lanarkshire, Scotland’s largest coalfield between the early nineteenth and mid-twentieth century. It focuses on contraction between the National Coal Board’s (NCB) vesting in 1947 and the closure of Lanarkshire’s last colliery, Cardowan, in 1983. Deindustrialisation was not the natural outcome of either market forces or geological exhaustion. Colliery closures and falling coal employment were the result of policy-makers’ decisions. The thesis consists of four thematic chapters: political economy, moral economy, class and community, and generation and gender. The analysis is based on archival sources including Scottish Office reports and correspondence relating to regional policy, and NCB records. These are supported by National Union of Mineworkers Scottish Area and STUC meeting minutes, and oral history testimonies from over 30 men and women with Lanarkshire coalfield backgrounds, as well as two focus groups. The first two chapters analyse the process of deindustrialisation, with the first offering a top-down perspective and the second a bottom-up viewpoint. In chapter one deindustrialisation is analysed through changes in political economy. Shifts in labour market structure are examined through the development of regional policy and its administration by the Scottish Office. The analysis centres upon a policy network of Scottish business elites and civil servants who shaped a vision of modernisation via industrial diversification through attracting inward investment. In chapter two the perspective shifts to community and workforce. It analyses responses to coalfield contraction through a moral economy of customary rights to colliery employment. A detailed investigation of Lanarkshire colliery closures between the 1940s and 1980s emphasises the protracted nature of deindustrialisation. Chapters three and four consider the social and cultural structures which shaped the moral economy but were heavily altered by deindustrialisation. Chapter three focuses on the dense networks that linked occupation, community, and class consciousness. Increasing coalfield centralisation and remote control of pits from NCB headquarters in London, and mounting hostility to coal closures, contributed to an accentuated sense of Scottish-ness. Chapter four illuminates gender and generational dimensions. The differing experiences of cohorts of men who faced either early retirement, redundancy or transfer to alternative sectors, or those who never attained anticipated industrial employment due to final closures, are analysed in terms of constructions of masculinity and the endurance of cultural as well as material losses. This is counterpoised to women who gained industrial work in assembly plants and the perceived gradual attainment of an improved economic and social position whilst continuing to navigate structures of patriarchy.

Restoring degraded land.

2015

Up the e-learning curve : ensuring quality online education within an Australian university

The paper describes the implementation of a project within Australian Catholic University designed to launch the Faculties into online education in a manner which ensured quality in all aspects of the teaching-learning experiences of academics and students. Key elements of the strategic approach adopted by the project leaders, including the involvement of a specialist commercial provider of web-based delivery systems as a partner in the project, mechanisms to support the initiative through the first stages, careful choice of the programs offered online, and staff development matched to the emerging needs of those involved in the teaching of courses, are described. Challenges encountered in the implementation process, and the factors which assisted in overcoming these problems are identified. The paper draws upon this experience to raise some important issues relevant to the successful introduction of online education as an integral component of the teaching repertoire of Faculties.

‘They get fed up with playing.’ Parents’ views on play-based learning in the Preparatory Year

Within early childhood education two ideas are firmly held: play is the best way for children to learn and parents are partners in the child’s learning. While these ideas have been explored, limited research to date has investigated the confluence of the two - how parents of young children view the concept of play. This paper investigates parents’ views on play by analysing the views of small group of parents of Prep Year children in Queensland, Australia. The parents in this study held varying definitions of what constitutes play, and complex and contradictory notions of its value. Positive views of play were linked to learning without knowing it, engaging in hands-on activities, and preparation for Year One through a strong focus on academic progress. Some parents held that Prep was play-based, while others did not. The complexities and diversity of parental opinion in this study echo the ongoing commentary about how play ought to be defined. Moreover, the notion that adults may interpret play in different ways is also reflected here. The authors suggest that for early childhood educators these complexities require an ongoing engagement, debate and reconceptualisation of the place of play in light of broader curricular and socio-political agendas.

Shut up and write! Facilitating informal learning in doctoral candidature

Doctoral candidates spend at least 2/3 of their degree outside of structured classroom instruction; most of their learning and writing takes place in their own time. Providing research degree candidates with writing help during their degree study is difficult. Candidates come into their degree with widely varying needs and levels of experience. Course work might seem to offer a way to create parity, but, according to the Australian Qualification Framework, mandated coursework can only occupy 1⁄3 of the degree