MAR elements regulate the probability of epigenetic switching between active and inactive gene expression.

Gene expression often cycles between active and inactive states in eukaryotes, yielding variable or noisy gene expression in the short-term, while slow epigenetic changes may lead to silencing or variegated expression. Understanding how cells control these effects will be of paramount importance to construct biological systems with predictable behaviours. Here we find that a human matrix attachment region (MAR) genetic element controls the stability and heritability of gene expression in cell populations. Mathematical modeling indicated that the MAR controls the probability of long-term transitions between active and inactive expression, thus reducing silencing effects and increasing the reactivation of silent genes. Single-cell short-terms assays revealed persistent expression and reduced expression noise in MAR-driven genes, while stochastic burst of expression occurred without this genetic element. The MAR thus confers a more deterministic behavior to an otherwise stochastic process, providing a means towards more reliable expression of engineered genetic systems.

The European sugar regime new legislation and wto rules

[cat] El 20 de febrer de 2006 es va aprovar el Reglament núm. 318/2006 del Consell que reforma l'Organització Comuna de Mercats del sucre. L'article analitza els canvis introduïts en el nou règim europeu del sucre i valora la seva adequació a les normes i demandes internacionals de liberalització del comerç agrícola. Es conclou que la reforma ha estat el mínim necessari per fer front als reptes internacionals: la recent resolució de l'Òrgan de Solució de Diferències de l'Organització Mundial del Comerç i les demandes de liberalització plantejades en el marc de la Ronda de Doha.

A territorial model of commuting in Catalonia, 1986-1996

Commuting consists in the fact that an important fraction of workers in developed countries do not reside close to their workplaces but at long distances from them, so they have to travel to their jobs and then back home daily. Although most workers hold a job in the same municipality where they live or in a neighbouring one, an important fraction of workers face long daily trips to get to their workplace and then back home.Even if we divide Catalonia (Spain) in small aggregations of municipalities, trying to make them as close to local labour markets as possible, we will find out that some of them have a positive commuting balance, attracting many workers from other areas and providing local jobs for almost all their resident workers. On the other side, other zones seem to be mostly residential, so an important fraction of their resident workers hold jobs in different local labour markets. Which variables influence an area¿s role as an attraction pole or a residential zone? In previous papers (Artís et al, 1998a, 2000; Romaní, 1999) we have brought out the main individual variables that influence commuting by analysing a sample of Catalan workers and their commuting decisions. In this paper we perform an analysis of the territorial variables that influence commuting, using data for aggregate commuting flows in Catalonia from the 1991 and 1996 Spanish Population Censuses.These variables influence commuting in two different ways: a zone with a dense, welldeveloped economical structure will have a high density of jobs. Work demand cannot be fulfilled with resident workers, so it spills over local boundaries. On the other side, this economical activity has a series of side-effects like pollution, congestion or high land prices which make these areas less desirable to live in. Workers who can afford it may prefer to live in less populated, less congested zones, where they can find cheaper land, larger homes and a better quality of life. The penalty of this decision is an increased commuting time. Our aim in this paper is to highlight the influence of local economical structure and amenities endowment in the workplace-residence location decision. A place-to-place logit commuting models is estimated for 1991 and 1996 in order to find the economical and amenities variables with higher influence in commuting decisions. From these models, we can outline a first approximation to the evolution of these variables in the 1986-1996 period. Data have been obtained from aggregate flow travel-matrix from the 1986, 1991 and 1996 Spanish Population Censuses

Design of homogeneous territorial units : a methodological proposal

One of the main questions to solve when analysing geographically added information consists of the design of territorial units adjusted to the objectives of the study. This is related with the reduction of the effects of the Modificable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP). In this paper an optimisation model to solve regionalisation problems is proposed. This model seeks to reduce disadvantages found in previous works about automated regionalisation tools

Use of human MAR elements to improve retroviral vector production.

Retroviral vectors have many favorable properties for gene therapies, but their use remains limited by safety concerns and/or by relatively lower titers for some of the safer self-inactivating (SIN) derivatives. In this study, we evaluated whether increased production of SIN retroviral vectors can be achieved from the use of matrix attachment region (MAR) epigenetic regulators. Two MAR elements of human origin were found to increase and to stabilize the expression of the green fluorescent protein transgene in stably transfected HEK-293 packaging cells. Introduction of one of these MAR elements in retroviral vector-producing plasmids yielded higher expression of the viral vector RNA. Consistently, viral titers obtained from transient transfection of MAR-containing plasmids were increased up to sixfold as compared with the parental construct, when evaluated in different packaging cell systems and transfection conditions. Thus, use of MAR elements opens new perspectives for the efficient generation of gene therapy vectors.

Efeito de volumes de água de irrigação no regime hídrico de solo coeso dos tabuleiros e na produção de coqueiro

A formação dos solos dos tabuleiros está relacionada a sedimentos arenoargilosos e argilosos do grupo Barreiras do Terciário, que são, em geral, arenosos, pobres em nutrientes e em matéria orgânica, tipicamente cauliníticos e caracterizados por camadas adensadas (camadas coesas) localizadas, quase sempre, entre 20 e 60 cm de profundidade. Por apresentarem elevados níveis de adensamento e se situarem próximas à superfície do solo, as camadas coesas promovem alterações expressivas no movimento de água no solo, com repercussão negativa no desenvolvimento e na produtividade das plantas. Esse trabalho teve como objetivo comparar volumes de água de irrigação quanto ao movimento e distribuição de água em Argissolo Amarelo coeso dos Tabuleiros Costeiros e seu reflexo em variáveis de produção de coqueiro-anão-verde. Foram testados três volumes de água de irrigação: 50, 100 e 150 L d-1 em esquema experimental inteiramente casualizado, com seis repetições, sendo a planta considerada uma parcela. Na comparação do número de cachos e de frutos por planta e volume de água de coco por fruto, utilizou-se o mesmo esquema experimental inteiramente casualizado, porém com quatro repetições e nove plantas úteis por parcela. O monitoramento da umidade do solo foi feito com sondas TDR a partir de leituras semanais de sensores localizados a 0,15, 0,30, 0,60, 0,90 e 1,2 m de profundidade. Com base nos resultados obtidos, concluiu-se que 100 e 150 L d-1 de água promoveram redução na expressão do adensamento na camada coesa, fato não observado no tratamento 50 L d-1. A produção média de frutos por planta e o volume de água de coco por fruto foram maiores no tratamento 150 L d-1. Os tratamentos testados, no entanto, mostraram-se insuficientes para promover a inflexão da curva de resposta das variáveis de produção, que apresentaram valores crescentes em função dos volumes de água de irrigação testados.

Quick Reads, Mar 6, 2008

IDPH Quick Reads is an electronic newsletter produced by the Director’s Office at the Iowa Department of Public Health. IDPH Quick Reads are published every three to four weeks.

Quick Reads, Mar 27, 2008

IDPH Quick Reads is an electronic newsletter produced by the Director’s Office at the Iowa Department of Public Health. IDPH Quick Reads are published every three to four weeks.

The European sugar regime new legislation and wto rules

[cat] El 20 de febrer de 2006 es va aprovar el Reglament núm. 318/2006 del Consell que reforma l'Organització Comuna de Mercats del sucre. L'article analitza els canvis introduïts en el nou règim europeu del sucre i valora la seva adequació a les normes i demandes internacionals de liberalització del comerç agrícola. Es conclou que la reforma ha estat el mínim necessari per fer front als reptes internacionals: la recent resolució de l'Òrgan de Solució de Diferències de l'Organització Mundial del Comerç i les demandes de liberalització plantejades en el marc de la Ronda de Doha.

A territorial model of commuting in Catalonia, 1986-1996

Commuting consists in the fact that an important fraction of workers in developed countries do not reside close to their workplaces but at long distances from them, so they have to travel to their jobs and then back home daily. Although most workers hold a job in the same municipality where they live or in a neighbouring one, an important fraction of workers face long daily trips to get to their workplace and then back home.Even if we divide Catalonia (Spain) in small aggregations of municipalities, trying to make them as close to local labour markets as possible, we will find out that some of them have a positive commuting balance, attracting many workers from other areas and providing local jobs for almost all their resident workers. On the other side, other zones seem to be mostly residential, so an important fraction of their resident workers hold jobs in different local labour markets. Which variables influence an area¿s role as an attraction pole or a residential zone? In previous papers (Artís et al, 1998a, 2000; Romaní, 1999) we have brought out the main individual variables that influence commuting by analysing a sample of Catalan workers and their commuting decisions. In this paper we perform an analysis of the territorial variables that influence commuting, using data for aggregate commuting flows in Catalonia from the 1991 and 1996 Spanish Population Censuses.These variables influence commuting in two different ways: a zone with a dense, welldeveloped economical structure will have a high density of jobs. Work demand cannot be fulfilled with resident workers, so it spills over local boundaries. On the other side, this economical activity has a series of side-effects like pollution, congestion or high land prices which make these areas less desirable to live in. Workers who can afford it may prefer to live in less populated, less congested zones, where they can find cheaper land, larger homes and a better quality of life. The penalty of this decision is an increased commuting time. Our aim in this paper is to highlight the influence of local economical structure and amenities endowment in the workplace-residence location decision. A place-to-place logit commuting models is estimated for 1991 and 1996 in order to find the economical and amenities variables with higher influence in commuting decisions. From these models, we can outline a first approximation to the evolution of these variables in the 1986-1996 period. Data have been obtained from aggregate flow travel-matrix from the 1986, 1991 and 1996 Spanish Population Censuses

Design of homogeneous territorial units : a methodological proposal

One of the main questions to solve when analysing geographically added information consists of the design of territorial units adjusted to the objectives of the study. This is related with the reduction of the effects of the Modificable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP). In this paper an optimisation model to solve regionalisation problems is proposed. This model seeks to reduce disadvantages found in previous works about automated regionalisation tools

Gênese e classificação de solos numa topossequência no ambiente de mar de morros do médio Vale do Paraíba do Sul, RJ

Solos tropicais são geralmente considerados altamente intemperizados, o que é atribuído às condições climáticas de altas temperaturas e precipitação pluvial. Entretanto, no ambiente de Mar de Morros, a intensidade dos processos pedogenéticos pode ser alterada pela remoção de material, em consequência do relevo movimentado, rejuvenescendo as superfícies. Este trabalho teve como objetivos caracterizar e classificar solos, formados a partir de muscovita-biotita gnaisse, em uma topossequência em Pinheiral (RJ). Os perfis localizam-se nos seguintes pontos da topossequência: (P1) topo de elevação, (P2) terço superior, (P3) terço médio, (P4) terço inferior e (P5) em área plana de várzea. Os perfis foram descritos, caracterizados e classificados segundo o Sistema Brasileiro de Classificação de Solos (SiBCS). As características edáficas que se destacaram foram: relação silte/argila; valor V %; valor T; ki; mineralogia da fração argila; e formas de Fe pedogênicas de alta cristalinidade (Fed). Ao longo da topossequência encontrou-se Cambissolo Háplico Tb distrófico típico no topo e no terço médio da topossequência. No terço superior foi identificado um Argissolo Vermelho-Amarelo distrófico típico e, no terço inferior, um Argissolo Amarelo eutrófico típico. Já na área plana de várzea foi observado um Gleissolo Háplico Tb distrófico típico. O relevo e o material de origem gnáissico estratificado foram os principais fatores que alteram a pedogênese.

Influence of litter layer removal on the soil thermal regime of a pine forest in a mediterranean climate

The removal of the litter layer in Portuguese pine forests would reduce fire hazard, but on the other hand this practice would influence the thermal regime of the soil, hence affecting soil biological activity, litter decomposition and nutrient dynamics. Temperature profiles of a sandy soil (Haplic Podzol) under a pine forest were measured with thermocouples at depths to 16 cm, with and without litter layer. The litter layer acted as a thermal insulator, reducing the amplitude of the periodic temperature variation in the mineral soil underneath and increasing damping depths, particularly at low soil water contents. At the mineral soil surface the reduction of amplitudes was about 2.5 ºC in the annual cycle and 5 to 6.7 ºC in the daily cycle, depending on the soil water content. When soil was both cold and wet, mean daily soil temperatures were higher (about 1 - 1.5 ºC) under the litter layer. Improved soil thermal conditions under the litter layer recommend its retention as a forest management practice to follow in general.