Mouse interleukin-2 receptor alpha gene expression. Delimitation of cis-acting regulatory elements in transgenic mice and by mapping of DNase-I hypersensitive sites.

The alpha chain of the interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R alpha) is a key regulator of lymphocyte proliferation. To analyze the mechanisms controlling its expression in normal cells, we used the 5'-flanking region (base pairs -2539/+93) of the mouse gene to drive chloramphenicol acetyltransferase expression in four transgenic mouse lines. Constitutive transgene activity was restricted to lymphoid organs. In mature T lymphocytes, transgene and endogenous IL-2R alpha gene expression was stimulated by concanavalin A and up-regulated by IL-2 with very similar kinetics. In thymic T cell precursors, IL-1 and IL-2 cooperatively induced transgene and IL-2R alpha gene expression. These results show that regulation of the endogenous IL-2R alpha gene occurs mainly at the transcriptional level. They demonstrate that cis-acting elements in the 5'-flanking region present in the transgene confer correct tissue specificity and inducible expression in mature T cells and their precursors in response to antigen, IL-1, and IL-2. In a complementary approach, we screened the 5' end of the endogenous IL-2R alpha gene for DNase-I hypersensitive sites. We found three lymphocyte specific DNase-I hypersensitive sites. Two, at -0.05 and -5.3 kilobase pairs, are present in resting T cells. A third site appears at -1.35 kilobase pairs in activated T cells. It co-localizes with IL-2-responsive elements identified by transient transfection experiments.

Calidad de vida en pacientes intervenidas de cáncer de mama

El tractament quirúrgic pot unfluir en la qualitat de vida relacionada amb la salut (QVRS) de les dones amb cáncer de mama. Es descriuen les característiques de les paciente, l ´evolució de la seua QVRS i les diferències segons la intervenció quirúrgiaca. La QVRD s´ha mesurat mitjançant el EuroQol-5D, EORTC QLQ-C30 i EORTC QLQ-BR23. Es van incloure 205 pacients. Respecte al EuroQol, l´Escala Visual Analògica va millorar (P&0.0001), però, la tarifa no va mostrar canvis significatius (P=0.1323). En canvi, EORTC QLQ-C30 va millorar (p&0.0001). Hi ha beneficis del a cirurgia conservadora en QVRS, la qual va ser bona y va millorar amb el seguiment.

A new life for an old pump: V-ATPase and neurotransmitter release.

Neurons fire by releasing neurotransmitters via fusion of synaptic vesicles with the plasma membrane. Fusion can be evoked by an incoming signal from a preceding neuron or can occur spontaneously. Synaptic vesicle fusion requires the formation of trans complexes between SNAREs as well as Ca(2+) ions. Wang et al. (2014. J. Cell Biol. http://dx.doi.org/jcb.201312109) now find that the Ca(2+)-binding protein Calmodulin promotes spontaneous release and SNARE complex formation via its interaction with the V0 sector of the V-ATPase.

Acute and usual drinking among emergency trauma patients: a study on alcohol consumption and injury patterns.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between usual and acute alcohol consumption among injured patients and, when combined, how they covary with other injury attributes. METHODS: Data from a randomised sample of 486 injured patients interviewed in an emergency department (Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland) were analysed using the chi(2) test for independence and cluster analysis. RESULTS: Acute alcohol consumption (24.7%) was associated with usual drinking and particularly with high volumes of consumption. Six injury clusters were identified. Over-representations of acute consumption were found in a cluster typical of injuries sustained through interpersonal violence and in another formed by miscellaneous circumstances. A third cluster, typical of sports injuries, was linked to a group of frequent heavy episodic drinkers (without acute consumption). CONCLUSIONS: Among injured patients, acute alcohol consumption is common and associated with usual drinking. Acute and/or usual consumption form part of some, but not all, injury clusters.

Entomological and ecological aspects of six sylvatic species of triatomines (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) from the collection of the National Biodiversity Institute of Costa Rica, Central America

A total of 797 specimens of wild adult triatomines, belonging to six species from the entomological collections of the Costa Rican National Biodiversity Institute, was studied from the standpoint of their relative abundance, as reflected by light traps, distribution in the country, seasonal variations and climatic and altitudinal preferences. Triatoma dimidiata was the most abundant species (32.9% of the total specimens), with a very extensive distribution in different ecological zones, being more common between 100 to 400 m above sea level mainly at the end of the dry season. T. dispar was the third in frequency (21.5%), with narrower distribution, more abundant between 600 to 800 m and scarce during the dry season. Panstrongylus geniculatus and P. rufotuberculatus, second and fourth in frequency (22.1% and 15.1%, respectively), were widely distributed on both the Pacific and Caribbean basins, the former being more common between 80 to 270 m all year round and the latter below 800 m mainly during the first semester. Eratyrus cuspidatus which represented only 4.9% of the insects, was also present on both basins mainly below 200 m with a tendency to be scarce during certain months of the year, and was found in all types of ecological zones. Finally, Rhodnius pallescens, the least abundant species (3.6%) was restricted to very humid areas below 20 m, on the north side and Caribbean basin. With the exception of R. pallescens, males were more commonly found than females. Some epidemiological implications related to the six species are discussed.

Updating the Politics of Experience: Angela Carter's Translation of Charles Perrault's Le Petit Chaperon Rouge.

AbstractThis article seeks to assess the importance of Angela Carter's little-known work as a translator of Perrault's tales in The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault (1977) through an examination of her "Little Red Riding Hood". Carter is mostly famous today for The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories (1979), a collection of innovative and thought-provoking fairy-tale rewritings infused with feminist concerns, strategies and perspectives. Insofar as Carter was translating Perrault's tales while writing her own "stories about fairy stories", an analysis of her translations reveals them as part of an ongoing dialogue with the work of the French author. While Carter's translations consciously update and adapt the material for children whom she seeks to sensitize to gender issues, she does not so much challenge the sexual politics of her source as recognize the emancipatory potential of Perrault's contes as useful "fables of the politics of experience".RésuméCet article vise à rendre compte de l'activité méconnue de traductrice déployée par l'auteure anglaise Angela Carter conjointement à son oeuvre de fiction, et à en reconnaître l'importance dans sa trajectoire d'écrivain. Une analyse de « Little Red Riding Hood », publié dans The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault (1977), permet d'éclairer la poétique particulière qu'elle développera dans le recueil qui l'a rendue célèbre, The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories (1979), des « histoires sur des contes de fées » qui reflètent la perspective et les stratégies féministes de l'auteure. Carter a mené de front ses traductions et réécritures, envisagées ici comme deux formes du dialogue très riche et complexe qu'elle engage à cette période avec l'oeuvre de Perrault, plutôt qu'une subversion de celui-ci. Ainsi, sa traduction modernise et simplifie le texte des contes pour de jeunes lecteurs qu'elle cherche à sensibiliser à des problématiques de genre, en leur révélant la portée émancipatrice des contes de Perrault qu'elle envisage comme « des fables utiles sur la politique de l'expérience » plutôt qu'en contestant la politique sexuelle de sa source.

Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass: initial 2-year experience.

BACKGROUND: Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP)-essentially a restrictive bariatric procedure-is currently considered the gold standard for the surgical treatment of morbid obesity. Open surgery in obese patients is associated with a high risk of cardiopulmonary complications, wound infection, and late incisional hernia. Laparoscopic surgery has been shown to reduce perioperative morbidity and to improve postoperative recovery for various procedures. Herein we present our results with laparoscopic RYGBP after an initial 2-year experience. METHODS: A prospective database was created in our department beginning without the first laparoscopic bariatric procedure. To provide a complete follow-up of 6 months, the results of all patients operated on between June 1999 and August 2001 were reviewed. Early surgical results, weight loss, correction of comorbidities, and improvement of quality of life were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 107 patients were included. There were 82 women and 25 men, with a mean age of 39.7 years (range, 19-58). RYGBP was a primary procedure in 80 cases (49 morbidly obese and 31 superobese patients) and a reoperation after failure or complication of another bariatric operation in 27 cases. Mean duration of surgery was 168 min for morbidly obese patients, 196 min for surperobese patients, and 205 min for reoperated patients (p <0.01). Conversion to open surgery was necessary in two cases. A total of 22 patients (20.5%) developed complication. Nine of them (8.4%) required reoperation for leak (five cases, or 4.6%), bowel occlusion (three cases, or 2.8%), or subphrenic abscess (one case, or 0.9%). mortality was 0.9%. Major morbidity decreased over time (first two-thirds, 12.5%, last third, 2.7%). major morbidity decreased over time (first two-thirds, 12.5%; last third, 2.7%). Excess weight loss of -50% was achieved in >80% of the patients, corresponding to a loss of 15 body mass index (BMI) units in morbidly obese patients and 20 BMI units in superobese patients. In the vast majority of patients, comorbidities improved or disappeared over time and quality of life improved. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is feasible, but it is a very complex operation. Indeed, it is associated with a long and steep learning curve, as reflected in the high number of major complications among our first 70 patients. The learning curve probably includes between 100 and 150 patients. With increasing experience, the morbidity rate becomes more acceptable and comparable to that of open RYGBP. The results in terms of weight loss and correction of comorbidities are similar to those obtained after open surgery, at least in the short term. However, only surgeons with extensive experience in advanced laparoscopic as well as bariatric surgery should attempt this procedure.

Interleukin-8 secretion by fibroblasts induced by low density lipoproteins is p38 MAPK-dependent and leads to cell spreading and wound closure.

We have previously reported (Dobreva, I., Waeber, G., Mooser, V., James, R. W., and Widmann, C. (2003) J. Lipid Res. 44, 2382-2390) that low density lipoproteins (LDLs) induce activation of the p38 MAPK pathway, resulting in fibroblast spreading and lamellipodia formation. Here, we show that LDL-stimulated fibroblast spreading and wound sealing are due to secretion of a soluble factor. Using an antibody-based human protein array, interleukin-8 (IL-8) was identified as the main cytokine whose concentration was increased in supernatants from LDL-stimulated cells. Incubation of supernatants from LDL-treated cells with an anti-IL-8 blocking antibody completely abolished their ability to induce cell spreading and mediate wound closure. In addition, fibroblasts treated with recombinant IL-8 spread to the same extent as cells incubated with LDL or supernatants from LDL-treated cells. The ability of LDL and IL-8 to induce fibroblast spreading was mediated by the IL-8 receptor type II (CXCR-2). Furthermore, LDL-induced IL-8 production and subsequent wound closure required the activation of the p38 MAPK pathway, because both processes were abrogated by a specific p38 inhibitor. Therefore, the capacity of LDLs to induce fibroblast spreading and accelerate wound closure relies on their ability to stimulate IL-8 secretion in a p38 MAPK-dependent manner. Regulation of fibroblast shape and migration by lipoproteins may be relevant to atherosclerosis that is characterized by increased LDL cholesterol levels, IL-8 production, and extensive remodeling of the vessel wall.

Qualité des soins ambulatoires : opinion des patients infectés par le VIH

Ce travail décrit une étude, qui a visé à évaluer la performance d'un questionnaire de satisfaction en développement, destiné à mesurer l'opinion de patients infectés par le VIH suivis ambulatoirement. 1. Problématique. 1.1. La qualité des soins, une définition. 1.2. L'opinion des patients : comment la mesurer ? Le questionnaire, les questionnaires existants, le focus groups, description de la technique. 2. Patients et méthodes. 2.1. Critères d'inclusion et d'exclusion. 2.2. Les envois et les rappels. 2.3. Stabilité test-retest. 2.4. Le recrutement. 3. Résultats. 3.1. Acceptabilité du questionnaire : participation. 3.2. Représentativité de l'échantillon. 3.3. Scores par dimension. 3. 4. Evaluation de la validité du questionnaire, convergence des items par dimension et cohérence interne. 3.5. Les questions issues du questionnaire SF-36. 4. Discussion. 4.1. Coping et méthodes alternatives. 4.2. Impact sur les service d'une enquête sur la qualité des soins. 5.1. Le questionnaire de satisfaction élaboré. 5.2. Les différents questionnaires des Hospices : patients hospitalisés et ambulatoires. 5.3. Formulaire d'information de l'enquête par questionnaire. 5.4. Formulaire de consentement à l'enquête. 5.5. Lettre d'accompagnement du questionnaire. 5.6. Profil socio-démographique et résultats complets par item.