Prevalence of Mycoplasma genitalium among HIV-infected men in Sao Paulo city detected by realtime polymerase chain reaction

Genital mycoplasmas are natural inhabitants of the male urethra and are potentially pathogenic species playing an aetiological role in both genital infections and male infertility. This study aims to determine the presence of Mycoplasma genitalium DNA in urine samples of HIV-1-infected men in Sao Paulo city. Realtime polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed using the primers My-ins and Mgso-2 and the Taqman probe Mgen-P1 as described previously. A total of 223 HIV-1-infected men were tested with a mean age of 44 years. Thirteen (5.8%) presented M. genitalium in urine and the co-infection was more common among homosexual men (76.9% versus 51.9%, P < 0.26). In conclusion, realtime PCR was a useful and rapid method for detecting M. genitalium DNA in urine samples. Further studies should be conducted to assess the clinical significance of these results on HIV transmission and its impact on HIV viral load.

Alkoxy Chain Effect on the Viscosity of a Quaternary Ammonium Ionic Liquid: Molecular Dynamics Simulations

The viscosity of ionic liquids based on quaternary ammonium cations is reduced when one of the alkyl chains is replaced by an alkoxy chain (Zhou et al. Chem. Eur. J. 2005, 11, 752.). A microscopic picture of the role played by the ether function in decreasing the viscosity of quaternary ammonium ionic liquids is provided here by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. A model for the ionic liquid N-ethyl-N,N-dimethyl-N-(2-methoxyethyl)ammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, MOENM(2)E TFSI, is compared to the tetraalky-lammonium counterpart. The alkoxy derivative has lower viscosity, higher ionic diffusion coefficients, and higher conductivity than the tetraalkyl system at the same density and temperature. A clear signature of the ether function on the liquid structure is observed in cation-cation correlations, but not in anion-anion or anion-cation correlations. In both the alkyl and the alkoxy ionic liquids, there is aggregation of long chains of neighboring cations within micelle-like structures. The MD simulations indicate that the less effective assembly between the more flexible alkoxy chains, in comparison to alkyl chains, is the structural reason for higher ionic mobility in MOENM(2)E TFSI.

Effect of the chain length in the structure of imidazolic ionic liquids and dimethylformamide solutions probed by Raman spectroscopy

The Raman band assigned to the nu(C=O)mode in N,N-dimethylformamide (at ca. 1660 cm(-1)) was used as a probe to study a group of ionic liquids 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([C(n)Mlm]Br) with different alkyl groups (n = 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 carbons) in binary equimolar binary mixtures with dimethylformamide. Due to the high electric dipole moment of the group C=O, there is a substantial coupling between adjacent molecules in the solution, and the corresponding Raman band involves both vibrational and reorientational modes. Different chain lengths of the ILs lead to different extents of the uncoupling of adjacent molecules of dimethylformamide, resulting in different shifts for this band in the mixtures. Information about the organization of ionic liquids in solution was obtained and a model of aggregation for these systems is proposed. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Metabotropic glutamate receptors transduce signals for neurite outgrowth after binding of the prion protein to laminin gamma 1 chain

The prion protein (PrP(C)) is highly expressed in the nervous system, and its abnormal conformer is associated with prion diseases. PrP(C) is anchored to cell membranes by glycosylphosphatidylinositol, and transmembrane proteins are likely required for PrP(C)-mediated intracellular signaling. Binding of laminin (Ln) to PrP(C) modulates neuronal plasticity and memory. We addressed signaling pathways triggered by PrP(C)-Ln interaction in order to identify transmembrane proteins involved in the transduction of PrP(C)-Ln signals. The Ln gamma 1-chain peptide, which contains the Ln binding site for PrP(C), induced neuritogenesis through activation of phospholipase C (PLC), Ca(2+) mobilization from intracellular stores, and protein kinase C and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) activation in primary cultures of neurons from wild-type, but not PrP(C)-null mice. Phage display, coimmunoprecipitation, and colocalization experiments showed that group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR1/5) associate with PrP(C). Expression of either mGluR1 or mGluR5 in HEK293 cells reconstituted the signaling pathways mediated by PrP(C)-Ln gamma 1 peptide interaction. Specific inhibitors of these receptors impaired PrP(C)-Ln gamma 1 peptide-induced signaling and neuritogenesis. These data show that group I mGluRs are involved in the transduction of cellular signals triggered by PrP(C)-Ln, and they support the notion that PrP(C) participates in the assembly of multiprotein complexes with physiological functions on neurons.-Beraldo, F. H., Arantes, C. P., Santos, T. G., Machado, C. F., Roffe, M., Hajj, G. N., Lee, K. S., Magalhaes, A. C., Caetano, F. A., Mancini, G. L., Lopes, M. H., Americo, T. A., Magdesian, M. H., Ferguson, S. S. G., Linden, R., Prado, M. A. M., Martins, V. R. Metabotropic glutamate receptors trans-duce signals for neurite outgrowth after binding of the prion protein to laminin gamma 1 chain. FASEB J. 25, 265-279 (2011). www.fasebj.org

Does speed matter? : the impact of the EU membership incentive on rule adoption in minority language rights protection

Denna avhandling tar sin utgångspunkt i ett ifrågasättande av effektiviteten i EU:s konditionalitetspolitik avseende minoritetsrättigheter. Baserat på den rationalistiska teoretiska modellen, External Incentives Model of Governance, syftar denna hypotesprövande avhandling till att förklara om tidsavståndet på det potentiella EU medlemskapet påverkar lagstiftningsnivån avseende minoritetsspråksrättigheter. Mätningen av nivån på lagstiftningen avseende minoritetsspråksrättigheter begränsas till att omfatta icke-diskriminering, användning av minoritetsspråk i officiella sammanhang samt minoriteters språkliga rättigheter i utbildningen. Metodologiskt används ett jämförande angreppssätt både avseende tidsramen för studien, som sträcker sig mellan 2003 och 2010, men även avseende urvalet av stater. På basis av det \"mest lika systemet\" kategoriseras staterna i tre grupper efter deras olika tidsavstånd från det potentiella EU medlemskapet. Hypotesen som prövas är följande: ju kortare tidsavstånd till det potentiella EU medlemskapet desto större sannolikhet att staternas lagstiftningsnivå inom de tre områden som studeras har utvecklats till en hög nivå. Studien visar att hypotesen endast bekräftas delvis. Resultaten avseende icke-diskriminering visar att sambandet mellan tidsavståndet och nivån på lagstiftningen har ökat markant under den undersökta tidsperioden. Detta samband har endast stärkts mellan kategorin av stater som ligger tidsmässigt längst bort ett potentiellt EU medlemskap och de två kategorier som ligger närmare respektive närmast ett potentiellt EU medlemskap. Resultaten avseende användning av minoritetsspråk i officiella sammanhang och minoriteters språkliga rättigheter i utbildningen visar inget respektive nästan inget samband mellan tidsavståndet och utvecklingen på lagstiftningen mellan 2003 och 2010.

A stopping rule while searching for optimal solution of facility-location

Solutions to combinatorial optimization, such as p-median problems of locating facilities, frequently rely on heuristics to minimize the objective function. The minimum is sought iteratively and a criterion is needed to decide when the procedure (almost) attains it. However, pre-setting the number of iterations dominates in OR applications, which implies that the quality of the solution cannot be ascertained. A small branch of the literature suggests using statistical principles to estimate the minimum and use the estimate for either stopping or evaluating the quality of the solution. In this paper we use test-problems taken from Baesley's OR-library and apply Simulated Annealing on these p-median problems. We do this for the purpose of comparing suggested methods of minimum estimation and, eventually, provide a recommendation for practioners. An illustration ends the paper being a problem of locating some 70 distribution centers of the Swedish Post in a region.

A fuzzy rule-based decision support system for Duodopa treatment in Parkinson

A decision support system (DSS) was implemented based on a fuzzy logic inference system (FIS) to provide assistance in dose alteration of Duodopa infusion in patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease, using data from motor state assessments and dosage. Three-tier architecture with an object oriented approach was used. The DSS has a web enabled graphical user interface that presents alerts indicating non optimal dosage and states, new recommendations, namely typical advice with typical dose and statistical measurements. One data set was used for design and tuning of the FIS and another data set was used for evaluating performance compared with actual given dose. Overall goodness-of-fit for the new patients (design data) was 0.65 and for the ongoing patients (evaluation data) 0.98. User evaluation is now ongoing. The system could work as an assistant to clinical staff for Duodopa treatment in advanced Parkinson’s disease.

Rule versus interaction function : evaluating regional aggregations of commuting flows in Sweden

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the performance of two divergent methods for delineating commuting regions, also called labour market areas, in a situation that the base spatial units differ largely in size as a result of an irregular population distribution. Commuting patterns in Sweden have been analyzed with geographical information system technology by delineating commuting regions using two regionalization methods. One, a rule-based method, uses one-way commuting flows to delineate local labour market areas in a top-down procedure based on the selection of predefined employment centres. The other method, the interaction-based Intramax analysis, uses two-way flows in a bottom-up procedure based on numerical taxonomy principles. A comparison of these methods will expose a number of strengths and weaknesses. For both methods, the same data source has been used. The performance of both methods has been evaluated for the country as a whole using resident employed population, self-containment levels and job ratios for criteria. A more detailed evaluation has been done in the Goteborg metropolitan area by comparing regional patterns with the commuting fields of a number of urban centres in this area. It is concluded that both methods could benefit from the inclusion of additional control measures to identify improper allocations of municipalities.

Towards Presidential Rule in Ukraine : Hybrid Regime Dynamics under Semi-Presidentialism

This article sets out to analyse recent regime developments in Ukraine in relation to semi-presidentialism. The article asks: to what extent and in what ways theoretical arguments against semi-presidentialism (premier-presidential and president-parliamentary systems) are relevant for understanding the changing directions of the Ukrainian regime since the 1990s? The article also reviews the by now overwhelming evidence suggesting that President Yanukovych is turning Ukraine into a more authoritarian hybrid regime and raises the question to what extent the president-parliamentary system might serve this end. The article argues that both kinds of semi-presidentialism have, in different ways, exacerbated rather than mitigated institutional conflict and political stalemate. The return to the president-parliamentary system in 2010 – the constitutional arrangement with the most dismal record of democratisation – was a step in the wrong direction. The premier-presidential regime was by no means ideal, but it had at least two advantages. It weakened the presidential dominance and it explicitly anchored the survival of the government in parliament. The return to the 1996 constitution ties in well with the notion that President Viktor Yanukovych has embarked on an outright authoritarian path.