Red blood cells derived from peripheral blood and bone marrow CD34+ human haematopoietic stem cells are permissive to Plasmodium parasites infection

The production of fully functional human red cells in vitro from haematopoietic stem cells (hHSCs) has been successfully achieved. Recently, the use of hHSCs from cord blood represented a major improvement to develop the continuous culture system for Plasmodium vivax. Here, we demonstrated that CD34+hHSCs from peripheral blood and bone marrow can be expanded and differentiated to reticulocytes using a novel stromal cell. Moreover, these reticulocytes and mature red blood cells express surface markers for entrance of malaria parasites contain adult haemoglobin and are also permissive to invasion by P. vivax and Plasmodium falciparum parasites.

The antimicrobial susceptibility, biofilm formation and genotypic profiles of Staphylococcus haemolyticus from bloodstream infections

We analysed the antimicrobial susceptibility, biofilm formation and genotypic profiles of 27 isolates of Staphylococcus haemolyticus obtained from the blood of 19 patients admitted to a hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Our analysis revealed a clinical significance of 36.8% and a multi-resistance rate of 92.6% among these isolates. All but one isolate carried the mecA gene. The staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type I was the most prevalent mec element detected (67%). Nevertheless, the isolates showed clonal diversity based on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis. The ability to form biofilms was detected in 66% of the isolates studied. Surprisingly, no icaAD genes were found among the biofilm-producing isolates.

The Plasmodium bottleneck: malaria parasite losses in the mosquito vector

Nearly one million people are killed every year by the malaria parasite Plasmodium. Although the disease-causing forms of the parasite exist only in the human blood, mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles are the obligate vector for transmission. Here, we review the parasite life cycle in the vector and highlight the human and mosquito contributions that limit malaria parasite development in the mosquito host. We address parasite killing in its mosquito host and bottlenecks in parasite numbers that might guide intervention strategies to prevent transmission.

Serial QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube assay and tuberculin skin test to diagnose latent tuberculosis in household Mexican contacts: conversion and reversion rates and associated factors using conventional and borderline zone definitions

A cohort of 123 adult contacts was followed for 18‐24 months (86 completed the follow-up) to compare conversion and reversion rates based on two serial measures of QuantiFERON (QFT) and tuberculin skin test (TST) (PPD from TUBERSOL, Aventis Pasteur, Canada) for diagnosing latent tuberculosis (TB) in household contacts of TB patients using conventional (C) and borderline zone (BZ) definitions. Questionnaires were used to obtain information regarding TB exposure, TB risk factors and socio-demographic data. QFT (IU/mL) conversion was defined as <0.35 to ≥0.35 (C) or <0.35 to >0.70 (BZ) and reversion was defined as ≥0.35 to <0.35 (C) or ≥0.35 to <0.20 (BZ); TST (mm) conversion was defined as <5 to ≥5 (C) or <5 to >10 (BZ) and reversion was defined as ≥5 to <5 (C). The QFT conversion and reversion rates were 10.5% and 7% with C and 8.1% and 4.7% with the BZ definitions, respectively. The TST rates were higher compared with QFT, especially with the C definitions (conversion 23.3%, reversion 9.3%). The QFT conversion and reversion rates were higher for TST ≥5; for TST, both rates were lower for QFT <0.35. No risk factors were associated with the probability of converting or reverting. The inconsistency and apparent randomness of serial testing is confusing and adds to the limitations of these tests and definitions to follow-up close TB contacts.

Disseny i implementació d'un sistema de navegació inercial i la seva aplicació a la robòtica mòbil

La UdG desposa de diversos robots mòbils per a finalitats docents i de recerca que utilitzen sistemes de localització incremental mitjançant bàsicament encoders incrementals. Actualment, en el mercat de l’automoció s’ha desenvolupat una sèrie de dispositius electrònics tals com brúixoles electròniques, acceleròmetres, giroscòpics, etc. L’objectiu és dissenyar i construir un sistema de navegació inercial format per un acceleròmetre, un giroscòpic, una brúixola i un microcontrolador encarregat de governar les ordres. El llenguatge utilitzat serà l’assemblador, ja que es pretén una execució molt eficient de les rutines creades. Les dades obtingudes es transmetran a l’ordinador per mitjà del protocol RS-232 i un programa en C emmagatzemarà les dades en un document de text. Aquestes dades seran tractades amb l’entorn MATLAB per tal d’interpretar-les i representar-les gràficament. Per analitzar el funcionament del sistema s’utilitzarà la plataforma PRIM

Projecte d’una explotació de boví de llet a la finca “Mas el Folcs” de Malla (Osona)

L’objecte del projecte és la construcció d’una explotació de boví de llet al municipi deMalla (Osona) amb una capacitat per 300 vaques.En aquest projecte es dissenya l’explotació lletera. Aquesta explotació consta de duesnaus: una nau de producció, amb una capacitat per 324 vaques, amb un annex on hi hala sala d’espera, la sala de munyir, l’oficina i la lleteria i una nau de vedelles de recria ivaques eixutes amb una capacitat per 302 animals. També es construirà un femer i unafossa de purins

O fenômeno recrutamento e seleção de enfermeiros em hospitais: um enfoque fenomenológico

Este estudo teve como objetivo, desvelar o processo de recrutamento e seleção de enfermeiros a partir da experiência dos sujeitos que vi venciam essa prática. Para tanto buscou-se como trajetória metodológica a fenomenologia, na modal idade do fenômeno situado no referencial de Joel . Martins. Assim, o estudo foi realizado a partir do discurso de oito enfermeiros que experienciam o fenômeno. A análise dos depoimentos contemplou os momentos de descrição, redução e compreensão fenomenológicas, até o desvelamento da essencialidade do fenômeno investigado. Da análise fenomenológica dos discursos foi possível resgatar aspectos que representam a compreensão geral do processo de recrutamento e seleção de enfermeiros. Dessa forma, a essencialidade do fenômeno desvelado caracterizou-se pelas relações Homem, Organizações e Sociedade, relações essas de interdependência permeadas por múltiplos determinantes transituacionais. Nessa perspectiva, novos horizontes abriram-se no que tange o pensar recrutamento e seleção em enfermagem.

Estudi d’Azolla filiculoides al riu Ter

Estudi de la distribució del pteridòfit invasor Azolla filiculoides al tram mitjà-baix del riu Ter, entre El Pasteral i la seva desembocadura, anàlisi dels factors ambientals que afecten el seu creixement i descripció del cicle biològic. Es proposen diverses pautes per a la seva gestió

Avaliação das condições de trabalho em Hospitais de Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil

Buscou-se identificar como os profissionais de saúde avaliam as condições de trabalho em hospitais de diferentes naturezas, e verificar como estas condições interferem na satisfação laboral. A amostra foi composta por 213 profissionais de diferentes categorias. A análise dos resultados evidenciou um perfil distinto entre os hospitais no tocante as condições de trabalho. De forma geral, apontou as menores médias no hospital estadual, enquanto as maiores foram observadas no hospital filantrópico; resultado que corrobora o atual cenário da saúde pública do País. Ressalta-se ainda, uma associação significativa entre satisfação no trabalho e as variáveis renda familiar e hospital em que o profissional atua. Acredita-se que os conflitos nesse cenário são inevitáveis, frente à precária estrutura de algumas instituições públicas, contudo, são previsíveis e passíveis de solução se o hospital dispuser de um canal de expressão livre e acessível a todos os agentes.

The DART classification of unannotated transcription within the ENCODE regions: associating transcription with known and novel loci

For the ∼1% of the human genome in the ENCODE regions, only about half of the transcriptionally active regions (TARs) identified with tiling microarrays correspond to annotated exons. Here we categorize this large amount of “unannotated transcription.” We use a number of disparate features to classify the 6988 novel TARs—array expression profiles across cell lines and conditions, sequence composition, phylogenetic profiles (presence/absence of syntenic conservation across 17 species), and locations relative to genes. In the classification, we first filter out TARs with unusual sequence composition and those likely resulting from cross-hybridization. We then associate some of those remaining with proximal exons having correlated expression profiles. Finally, we cluster unclassified TARs into putative novel loci, based on similar expression and phylogenetic profiles. To encapsulate our classification, we construct a Database of Active Regions and Tools (DART.gersteinlab.org). DART has special facilities for rapidly handling and comparing many sets of TARs and their heterogeneous features, synchronizing across builds, and interfacing with other resources. Overall, we find that ∼14% of the novel TARs can be associated with known genes, while ∼21% can be clustered into ∼200 novel loci. We observe that TARs associated with genes are enriched in the potential to form structural RNAs and many novel TAR clusters are associated with nearby promoters. To benchmark our classification, we design a set of experiments for testing the connectivity of novel TARs. Overall, we find that 18 of the 46 connections tested validate by RT-PCR and four of five sequenced PCR products confirm connectivity unambiguously.

A comparison of random sequence reads versus 16S rDNA sequences for estimating the biodiversity of a metagenomic library

The construction of metagenomic libraries has permitted the study of microorganisms resistant to isolation and the analysis of 16S rDNA sequences has been used for over two decades to examine bacterial biodiversity. Here, we show that the analysis of random sequence reads (RSRs) instead of 16S is a suitable shortcut to estimate the biodiversity of a bacterial community from metagenomic libraries. We generated 10,010 RSRs from a metagenomic library of microorganisms found in human faecal samples. Then searched them using the program BLASTN against a prokaryotic sequence database to assign a taxon to each RSR. The results were compared with those obtained by screening and analysing the clones containing 16S rDNA sequences in the whole library. We found that the biodiversity observed by RSR analysis is consistent with that obtained by 16S rDNA. We also show that RSRs are suitable to compare the biodiversity between different metagenomic libraries. RSRs can thus provide a good estimate of the biodiversity of a metagenomic library and, as an alternative to 16S, this approach is both faster and cheaper.

Projecte desplegament d'una xarxa d'operador de fibra òptica al 22@ i a diverses ciutats del continent

En la primera fase s’interconnectarien a través d’un anell de fibra òptica tres hotels d’una mateixa cadena en l’àrea del 22@ de Barcelona. S’ofereixen els serveis de: intranet, telefonia IP amb interconnexió a la PSTN, videoconferència i internet. Utilitzem VLANs per gestionar la qualitat de servei i la seguretat. El nostre model teòric inclou estimacions de tràfic, comparativa de fabricants, valoració econòmica i diagrama de Gantt d’implantació. A més, ampliem la gamma de serveis amb una xarxa Wimax al 22@ en previsió de futur ús. I augmentem la disponibilitat del servei amb un enllaç ràdio dedicat de backup des d’un dels nodes cap a la torre de Collserola, en la banda dels 18GHz, amb antenes parabòliques. Hem fet càlculs d’atenuació. En la segona i successives fases s’amplia la xarxa de FO a nivell nacional i internacional per a treballar com a operador d’empreses, amb un acurat disseny i selecció dels aparells òptics.

Propuesta de implantación de ITIL en GXI S.A.

Implantamos un sistema de gestion de redes y servicios de una empresa de seguros. Tras analizar la situacion de la empresa, nuestro departamento especifica un servicio de help desk, gestion de incidencias estructurada en 4 niveles con servicio 24/7, gestion de problemas y gestion de cambios; todo ello basado en ITIL.

Downsizing, Job Insecurity, and Firm Reputation

This paper studies how firms make layoff decisions in the presence of adverse shocks. In this uncertain environment, workers' expectations about their job security affect their on-the-job performance. This productivity effect on job insecurity forces firms to strike a balance between laying off redundant workers and maintaining survivors' commitment when deciding on the amount and timing of downsizing. This framework offers an explanation of conservative employment practices (such as zero or reduced layoffs) based on firms having private information about their future profits. High retention rates and wages can signal that the firm has a bright future, boosting workers' confidence. Moreover, the model provides clear predictions about when waves of downsizing will occur as opposed to one-time massive cuts.

Estoy sola: la experiencia de las enfermeras en el cuidado del usuario de alcohol y drogas

El propósito de este estudio es comprender cómo es ser enfermera vivenciando el cuidado de pacientes drogodependientes que ingresan al Servicio de Medicina de un hospital público de Chile. Se opta por un estudio de tipo cualitativo, de trayectoria fenomenológica, según el referencial de Martín Heidegger. La pregunta orientadora fue: ¿Cómo es cuidar a pacientes drogodependientes que ingresan en tu servicio? Los discursos de las enfermeras fueron interpretados bajo el referencial de Fenómeno Situado de Joel Martins. Después del análisis de las entrevistas, se identificó 3 temas que expresan el fenómeno: hablando del paciente drogodependiente, cuidando al paciente en un medio adverso, superando el miedo para cuidar. El estudio muestra la necesidad de capacitar al personal de salud en dependencia en alcohol y drogas para superar los preconceptos y mejorar el cuidado de estos pacientes.