Canvi tecnològic i desenvolupament econòmic durant la segona revolució industrial: la transferència tecnològica del sector tèxtil entre Anglaterra i Catalunya

Projecte de recerca elaborat a partir d’una estada a la University of Sussex, Gran Bretanya, entre març i juliol del 2008. L’estada ha estat centrada en obtenir fonts documentals primàries, per avançar en el projecte d’investigació sobre la transferència de tecnologia entre Catalunya i Anglaterra durant la Segona Revolució Industrial. Això ha estat possible gràcies a la consulta de les patents britàniques (Business & Intellectual Property Centre at the British Library). Així mateix, l’obtenció dels recursos documentals especialitzats de diverses biblioteques de referència situades al campus de la University of Sussex (Keith Pavitt Libray (SPRU), Library of Sussex, British Library of Development Studies) i a Ruddignton Framework Knitters’ Library a Nottingham han estat fonamentals, tal i com es pot veure en la relació detallada que es presenta.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by members of Leishmania braziliensis complex in Nayarit, State of Mexico

An epidemiological study was carried out in the northern Mexican state, Nayarit. Fourteen patients with possible cutaneous leishmaniasis skin lesions gave positive Montenegro skin tests. Biopsies were taken from the skin ulcer and analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specific primers for the Leishmania mexicana complex; however all biopsies were not amplified. PCR carried out with specific primers for the L. braziliensis complex resulted in the amplification of all patient DNA. DNA from 12 out of 14 biopsies gave positive amplification with primers species specific for L. (Viannia) braziliensis and hybridized with a species specific L. (V.) braziliensis probe. These results demonstrate the presence in Nayarit of at least two members of the L. braziliensis complex. Most of the cutaneous lesions were caused by L. (V.) braziliensis and two by another species belonging to the L. braziliensis complex. As far as we are aware, this is the first report of L. (V.) braziliensis in Nayarit. The main risk factor associated with the contraction of this disease in Nayarit is attributed to working on coffee plantations.

Comparison between computational alanine scanning and per-residue binding free energy decomposition for protein-protein association using MM-GBSA: application to the TCR-p-MHC complex.

Recognition by the T-cell receptor (TCR) of immunogenic peptides (p) presented by Class I major histocompatibility complexes (MHC) is the key event in the immune response against virus-infected cells or tumor cells. A study of the 2C TCR/SIYR/H-2K(b) system using a computational alanine scanning and a much faster binding free energy decomposition based on the Molecular Mechanics-Generalized Born Surface Area (MM-GBSA) method is presented. The results show that the TCR-p-MHC binding free energy decomposition using this approach and including entropic terms provides a detailed and reliable description of the interactions between the molecules at an atomistic level. Comparison of the decomposition results with experimentally determined activity differences for alanine mutants yields a correlation of 0.67 when the entropy is neglected and 0.72 when the entropy is taken into account. Similarly, comparison of experimental activities with variations in binding free energies determined by computational alanine scanning yields correlations of 0.72 and 0.74 when the entropy is neglected or taken into account, respectively. Some key interactions for the TCR-p-MHC binding are analyzed and some possible side chains replacements are proposed in the context of TCR protein engineering. In addition, a comparison of the two theoretical approaches for estimating the role of each side chain in the complexation is given, and a new ad hoc approach to decompose the vibrational entropy term into atomic contributions, the linear decomposition of the vibrational entropy (LDVE), is introduced. The latter allows the rapid calculation of the entropic contribution of interesting side chains to the binding. This new method is based on the idea that the most important contributions to the vibrational entropy of a molecule originate from residues that contribute most to the vibrational amplitude of the normal modes. The LDVE approach is shown to provide results very similar to those of the exact but highly computationally demanding method.

Effect of a second bloodmeal on the oesophagus colonization by Leishmania mexicana complex in Lutzomyia evansi (Diptera: Psychodidae)

Migration and colonization of the oesophagus by Leishmania mexicana parasites were enhanced after digestion of a second bloodmeal intake in Lutzomyia evansi. This event has epidemiological significance since it affects the infection susceptibility of this sand fly species, which is a proven vector of L. chagasi in Colombian and Venezuelan visceral leishmaniasis foci. Also, it may explain the host seeking behaviour displayed by some partially bloodfed flies found inside houses.

Complex and real Hausdorff operators

Vegeu el resum a l'inici del document del fitxer adjunt.

Genetic variability in Brazilian populations of Biomphalaria straminea complex detected by simple sequence repeat anchored polymerase chain reaction amplification

Biomphalaria glabrata, B. tenagophila and B. straminea are intermediate hosts of Schistosoma mansoni, in Brazil. The latter is of epidemiological importance in the northwest of Brazil and, due to morphological similarities, has been grouped with B. intermedia and B. kuhniana in a complex named B. straminea. In the current work, we have standardized the simple sequence repeat anchored polymerase chain reaction (SSR-PCR) technique, using the primers (CA)8RY and K7, to study the genetic variability of these species. The similarity level was calculated using the Dice coefficient and genetic distance using the Nei and Li coefficient. The trees were obtained by the UPGMA and neighbor-joining methods. We have observed that the most related individuals belong to the same species and locality and that individuals from different localities, but of the same species, present clear heterogeneity. The trees generated using both methods showed similar topologies. The SSR-PCR technique was shown to be very efficient in intrapopulational and intraspecific studies of the B. straminea complex snails.

[R74W;R1070W;D1270N]: a new complex allele responsible for cystic fibrosis.

Since the beginning of population screening for CF carriers, it has become apparent that complex CFTR alleles are not uncommon. Deciphering their impact in disease pathogenesis remains a challenge for both clinicians and researchers. We report the observation of a new complex allele p.[R74W+R1070W+D1270N] found in trans with a type 1 mutation and associated with clinical diagnosis of cystic fibrosis in a one year-old Moroccan patient. This case underlines the difficulties in counseling patients with uncommon mutations and the necessity of functional studies to evaluate the structure-function relationships, since the association of several variations in cis can dramatically alter CFTR function.

Wing geometry as a tool for studying the Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae) complex

Toro Toro (T) and Yungas (Y) have been described as genetically well differentiated populations of the Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva, 1912) complex in Bolivia. Here we use geometric morphometrics to compare samples from these populations and new populations (Bolivia and Nicaragua), representing distant geographical origins, qualitative morphological variation ("one-spot" or "two-spots" phenotypes), ecologically distinct traits (peridomestic and silvatic populations), and possibly different epidemiological roles (transmitting or nor transmitting Leishmania chagasi). The Nicaragua (N) (Somotillo) sample was "one-spot" phenotype and a possible peridomestic vector. The Bolivian sample of the Y was also "one-spot" phenotype and a demonstrated peridomestic vector of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). The three remaining samples were silvatic, "two-spots" phenotypes. Two of them (Uyuni and T) were collected in the highlands of Bolivian where VL never has been reported. The last one (Robore, R) came from the lowlands of Bolivia, where human cases of VL are sporadically reported. The decomposition of metric variation into size and shape by geometric morphometric techniques suggests the existence of two groups (N/Y/R, and U/T). Several arguments indicate that such subdivision of Lu. longipalpis could correspond to different evolutionary units.

Secretory IgA's complex roles in immunity and mucosal homeostasis in the gut.

Secretory IgA (SIgA) serves as the first line of defense in protecting the intestinal epithelium from enteric toxins and pathogenic microorganisms. Through a process known as immune exclusion, SIgA promotes the clearance of antigens and pathogenic microorganisms from the intestinal lumen by blocking their access to epithelial receptors, entrapping them in mucus, and facilitating their removal by peristaltic and mucociliary activities. In addition, SIgA functions in mucosal immunity and intestinal homeostasis through mechanisms that have only recently been revealed. In just the past several years, SIgA has been identified as having the capacity to directly quench bacterial virulence factors, influence composition of the intestinal microbiota by Fab-dependent and Fab-independent mechanisms, promote retro-transport of antigens across the intestinal epithelium to dendritic cell subsets in gut-associated lymphoid tissue, and, finally, to downregulate proinflammatory responses normally associated with the uptake of highly pathogenic bacteria and potentially allergenic antigens. This review summarizes the intrinsic biological activities now associated with SIgA and their relationships with immunity and intestinal homeostasis.

Speech by Mr Micheál Martin TD at Launch of Pre-Registration Nursing Degree Programme

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am very pleased that you were all able to accept my invitation to join me here today on this landmark occasion for nursing education. It is fitting that all of the key stakeholders from the health and education sectors should be so well represented at the launch of an historic new development. Rapid and unpredictable change throughout society has been the hallmark of the twenty-first century, and healthcare is no exception. Regardless of what change occurs, no one doubts that nursing is intrinsic to the health of this nation. However, significant changes in nurse education are now needed if the profession is to deliver on its social mandate to promote people´s health by providing excellent and sensitive care. As science, technology and the demands of the public for sophisticated and responsive health care become increasingly complex, it is essential that the foundation of nursing education is redesigned. Pre-registration nursing education has already undergone radical change over the past eight years, during which time it has moved from an apprenticeship model of education and training to a diploma based programme firmly rooted in higher education. The Secretary General of my Department, Michael Kelly, played a leading role in bringing about this transformation, which has greatly enhanced the way students are prepared for entry to the nursing profession. The benefits of the revised model of education are clearly evident from the quality of the nurses graduating from the diploma programme. The Commission on Nursing examined the whole area of nursing education, and set out a very convincing case for educating nursing students to degree level. It argued that nurses of the future would be required to possess increased flexibility and the ability to work autonomously. A degree programme would provide nurses with a theoretical underpinning that would enable them to develop their clinical skills to a greater extent and to respond to future challenges in health care, for the benefit of patients and clients of the health services. The Commission has provided a solid framework for the professional development of nurses and midwives, including a process that is already underway for the creation of clinical nurse specialist and advanced nurse practitioner posts. This process will facilitate the transfer of skills across divisions of nursing. In this scenario, it is clearly desirable that the future benchmark qualification for registration as a nurse should be a degree in nursing studies. A Nursing Education Forum was established in early 1999 to prepare a strategic framework for the implementation of a nursing degree programme. When launching the Forum´s report last January, I indicated that the Government had agreed in principle to the introduction of the proposed degree programme next year. At the time two substantial outstanding issues had yet to be resolved, namely the basis on which nurse teachers would transfer from the health sector to the education sector and the amount of capital and revenue funding required to operate the degree programme. My Department has brokered agreements between the Nursing Alliance and the Higher Education Institutions for the assimilation of nurse teachers as lecturers into their affiliated institutions. The terms of these agreements have been accepted by all four nursing unions following a ballot of their nurse teacher members. I would like to pay particular tribute to all nurse teachers who have contributed to shaping the position, relevance and visibility of nursing through leadership, which embodies scholarship and excellence in the profession of nursing itself. In response to a recommendation of the Nursing Education Forum, I established an Inter-Departmental Steering Committee, chaired by Bernard Carey of my Department, to consider all the funding and policy issues. This Steering Committee includes representatives of the Department of Finance and the Department of Education and Science as well as the Higher Education Authority. The Steering Committee has been engaged in intensive negotiations with representatives of the Conference of Heads of Irish Universities and the Institutes of Technology in relation to their capital and revenue funding requirements. These negotiations were successfully concluded within the past few weeks. The satisfactory resolution of the industrial relations and funding issues cleared the way for me to go to the Government with concrete proposals for the implementation of degree level education for nursing students. I am delighted to announce here today that the Government has approved all of my proposals, and that a four-year undergraduate pre-registration nursing degree programme will be implemented on a nation-wide basis at the start of the next academic year, 2002/2003. The Government has approved the provision of capital funding totalling £176 million pounds for a major building and equipment programme to facilitate the full integration of nursing students into the higher education sector. This programme is due to be completed by September 2004, and will ensure that nursing students are accommodated in purpose built schools of nursing studies with state of the art clinical skills and human science laboratories at thirteen higher education sites throughout the country. The Government has also agreed to make available the substantial additional revenue funding required to support the nursing degree programme. By 2006, the full year cost of operating the programme will rise to some £43 million pounds. The scale of this investment in pre-registration nursing education is enormous by any yardstick. It demonstrates the firm commitment of myself and my Government colleagues to the full implementation of the recommendations of the Commission on Nursing, of which the introduction of pre-registration degree level education is arguably the most important. This historic decision, and it is truly historic, will finally put the education of nurses on a par with the education of other health care professionals. The nursing profession has long been striving for parity, and my own involvement in the achievement of it is a matter of deep personal satisfaction to me. I am also pleased to announce that the Government has approved my plans for increasing the number of nursing training places to coincide with the implementation of the degree programme next year. Ninety-three additional places in mental handicap and psychiatric nursing will be created at Athlone, Letterkenny, Tralee and Waterford Institutes of Technology. This will yield 392 extra places over the four years of the degree programme. A total of 1,640 places annually on the new degree programme will thus be available. This is an all-time record, and maintaining the annual student intake at this level for the foreseeable future is a key element of my overall strategy for ensuring that we produce sufficient “home-grown” nurses for our health services. I am aware that the Nursing Alliance were anxious that some funding would be provided for the further academic career development of nurse teachers who transfer to one of the six Universities that will be involved in the delivery of the degree programme. I am happy to confirm that up to £300,000 in total per year will be available for this purpose over the first four years of the degree programme. In line with a recommendation of the Commission on Nursing, my Department will have responsibility for the administration of the nursing degree budget until the programme has been bedded down in the higher education sector. A primary concern will be to ensure that the substantial capital and revenue funding involved is ring-fenced for nursing studies. It is intended that responsibility for the budget will be transferred to the Department of Education and Science after the first cohort of nursing degree students have graduated in 2006. In the context of today´s launch, it is relevant to refer to a special initiative that I introduced last year to assist registered nurses wishing to undertake part-time nursing degree courses. Under this initiative, nurses are entitled to have their course fees paid by their employers in return for a commitment to continue working in the public health service for a period following completion of the course. This initiative has proved extremely popular with large numbers of nurses availing of it. I want to confirm here today that the free fees initiative will continue in operation until 2005, at a total cost of at least £15 million pounds. I am giving this commitment in order to assure this year´s intake of nursing students to the final diploma programmes that fee support for a part-time nursing degree course will be available to them when they graduate in three years time. The focus of today´s celebration is rightly on the landmark Government decision to implement the nursing degree programme next year. As Minister for Health and Children, and as a former Minister for Education, I also have a particular interest in the educational opportunities available to other health service workers to upgrade their skills. I am pleased to announce that the Government has approved my proposals for the introduction of a sponsorship scheme for suitable, experienced health care assistants who wish to become nurses. This new scheme will commence next year and will be administered by the health boards. Successful applicants will be allowed to retain their existing salaries throughout the four years of the degree programme in return for a commitment to work as nurses for their health service employer for a period of five years following registration. Up to forty sponsorships will be available annually. The new scheme will enable suitable applicants to undertake nursing education and training without suffering financial hardship. The greatest advantage of the scheme will be the retention by the public health service of staff who are supported under it, since they will have had practical experience of working in the service and their own personal commitment to upgrading their skills will be informed by that experience. I am confident that the sponsorship scheme will be warmly welcomed by health service unions representing care assistants as providing an exciting new career development path for their members. Education and health are now the two pillars upon which the profession of nursing rests. We must continue to build bridges, even tunnels where needed to strengthen this partnership. We must all understand partnerships donâ?Tt just happen they are designed and must be worked at. The changes outlined here today are powerful incentives for those in healthcare agencies, academic institutions and regulatory bodies to design revolutionary programmes capable of shaping a critical mass of excellent practitioners. You have an opportunity, greater perhaps than has been granted to any other generation in history to make certain those changes are for the good. Ultimately changes that will make the country a healthier and more equitable place to live. The challenge relates to building a seamless preparatory programme which equally respects both education and practise as an indivisible duo whilst ensuring that high tech does not replace the human touch. This is a special day in the history of the development of the Irish nursing profession, and I would like to thank everybody for their contribution. I want to express my particular appreciation of two people who by this stage are well known to all of you – Bernard Carey of my Department and Siobhán O´Halloran of the National Implementation Committee. Bernard and Siobhán have devoted considerable time and energy to the project on my behalf over the past fourteen months or so. That we are here today celebrating the launch of degree level education is due in no small part to their successful execution of the mandate that I gave them. We live in a rapidly changing world, one in which nursing can no longer rely on systems of the past to guide it through the new millennium. In terms of contemporary healthcare, nursing is no longer just a reciprocal kindness but rather a highly complex set of professional behaviours, which require serious educational investment. Pre-registration nurse education will always need development and redesign to ensure our health care system meets the demands of modern society. Nothing is finite. Today more than ever the health system is dependent on the resourcefulness of nursing. I have no doubt that the new educational landscape painted will ensure that nurses of the future will be increasingly innovative, independent and in demand. The unmistakable message from my Department is that nursing really matters. Thank you.

Analyzing complex rock slope deformation at Stampa, western Norway, by integrating geomorphology, kinematics and numerical modeling

The unstable rock slope, Stampa, above the village of Flåm, Norway, shows signs of both active and postglacial gravitational deformation over an area of 11 km2. Detailed structural field mapping, annual differential Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) surveys, as well as geomorphic analysis of high-resolution digital elevation models based on airborne and terrestrial laser scanning indicate that slope deformation is complex and spatially variable. Numerical modeling was used to investigate the influence of former rockslide activity and to better understand the failure mechanism. Field observations, kinematic analysis and numerical modeling indicate a strong structural control of the unstable area. Based on the integration of the above analyses, we propose that the failure mechanism is dominated by (1) a toppling component, (2) subsiding bilinear wedge failure and (3) planar sliding along the foliation at the toe of the unstable slope. Using differential GNSS, 18 points were measured annually over a period of up to 6 years. Two of these points have an average yearly movement of around 10 mm/year. They are located at the frontal cliff on almost completely detached blocks with volumes smaller than 300,000 m3. Large fractures indicate deep-seated gravitational deformation of volumes reaching several 100 million m3, but the movement rates in these areas are below 2 mm/year. Two different lobes of prehistoric rock slope failures were dated with terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides. While the northern lobe gave an average age of 4,300 years BP, the southern one resulted in two different ages (2,400 and 12,000 years BP), which represent most likely multiple rockfall events. This reflects the currently observable deformation style with unstable blocks in the northern part in between Joasete and Furekamben and no distinct blocks but a high rockfall activity around Ramnanosi in the south. With a relative susceptibility analysis it is concluded that small collapses of blocks along the frontal cliff will be more frequent. Larger collapses of free-standing blocks along the cliff with volumes > 100,000 m3, thus large enough to reach the fjord, cannot be ruled out. A larger collapse involving several million m3 is presently considered of very low likelihood.

Should Trypanosoma cruzi be called "cruzi" complex? A review of the parasite diversity and the potential of selecting population after in Vitro culturing and mice infection

Morpho-biological diversity of Trypanosoma cruzi has been known since Chagas' first works in 1909. Several further studies confirmed the morphological differences among the parasite strains, which were isolated from different reservoirs and vectors, as well as from human beings. In the early sixties, antigenic differences were found in the parasite strains from various sources. These differences, coupled to the observation of regional variations of the disease, led to the proposal of the term cruzi complex to designate the taxon T. cruzi. Since then this protozoan has been typed in distinct biodemes, zymodemes and lineages which were consensually grouped into T. cruzi I, T. cruzi II and into non-grouped strains. T. cruzi genotypic characterization, initially carried out by schizodeme analysis and more recently by various other techniques, has shown a great diversity of the parasite strains. In fact, T. cruzi is formed by groups of heterogeneous sub-population, which present specific characteristics, including distinct histotropism. The interaction of the different infecting clones of the cruzi complex and the human host will determine the morbidity of the disease.

Correlation of male genital filaments and female spermathecal ducts in New World sand flies of the Lutzomyia intermedia species complex (Diptera: Psychodidae, Phlebotominae)

The lengths of the male genital filaments and female spermathecal ducts were measured in phlebotomine sand flies of the Lutzomyia intermedia species complex and the ratios between these characters calculated. Ratios for L. intermedia s. s. from Northeast vs Southeast Brazil (Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais), Espírito Santo/Minas Gerais vs Rio de Janeiro/São Paulo and L. intermedia vs L. neivai were significantly different at P < 0.1, 0.05 and 0.01 respectively when compared using ANOVA. The spermathecal ducts and genital filaments of L. intermedia were significantly longer than those of L. neivai (P < 0.01) and could be used to differentiate these species. The taxonomic and biological significance of these differences is discussed.