Musei virtuali, immagini reali

Congresso AICA 2011. Torino, 15-17 Novembr

Using Geographic Information Systems to Increment the Knowledge of Cultural Landscapes

To increment the knowledge of a cultural landscape, the use of Information and Communication Technologies is becoming fundamental. By means of these technologies we can improve the study of areas having ancient or modern cultural evidences, by superimposing data from some territorial information systems on satellite surveys. In particular, we will analyse Geographic Information Systems (GIS), freely available on the World Wide Web. A well-known example is Google Earth, which is offering the possibility of virtual tours to the users of the Web. Moreover, besides being of support for archaeological and other research studies, GIS can be helpful in creating some systems for the management of archaeological and cultural patrimony and for incrementing the revenues from touris

Differences in transcription between free-living and CO_2-activated third-stage larvae of Haemonchus contortus

Background: The disease caused by Haemonchus contortus, a blood-feeding nematode of small ruminants, is of major economic importance worldwide. The infective third-stage larva (L3) of this gastric nematode is enclosed in a cuticle (sheath) and, once ingested with herbage by the host, undergoes an exsheathment process that marks the transition from the free-living (L3) to the parasitic (xL3) stage. This study explored changes in gene transcription associated with this transition and predicted, based on comparative analysis, functional roles for key transcripts in the metabolic pathways linked to larval development. Results: Totals of 101,305 (L3) and 105,553 (xL3) expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were determined using 454 sequencing technology, and then assembled and annotated; the most abundant transcripts encoded transthyretin-like, calcium-binding EF-hand, NAD(P)-binding and nucleotide-binding proteins as well as homologues of Ancylostoma-secreted proteins (ASPs). Using an in silico-subtractive analysis, 560 and 685 sequences were shown to be uniquely represented in the L3 and xL3 stages, respectively; the transcripts encoded ribosomal proteins, collagens and elongation factors (in L3), and mainly peptidases and other enzymes of amino acid catabolism (in xL3). Caenorhabditis elegans orthologues of transcripts that were uniquely transcribed in each L3 and xL3 were predicted to interact with a total of 535 other genes, all of which were involved in embryonic development. Conclusion: The present study indicated that some key transcriptional alterations taking place during the transition from the L3 to the xL3 stage of H. contortus involve genes predicted to be linked to the development of neuronal tissue (L3 and xL3), formation of the cuticle (L3) and digestion of host haemoglobin (xL3). Future efforts using next-generation sequencing and bioinformatic technologies should provide the efficiency and depth of coverage required for the determination of the complete transcriptomes of different developmental stages and/or tissues of H. contortus as well as the genome of this important parasitic nematode. Such advances should lead to a significantly improved understanding of the molecular biology of H. contortus and, from an applied perspective, to novel methods of intervention

Classification of open chromantin regions based on ATAC-seq signal topography

13 páginas.Trabajo Fin de Máster en Análisis de Datos Ómicos y Biología de Sistemas. Tutores: Dr. D. José Carlos Reyes ; Dr. D. José Antonio Guerrero-Martínez. Chromatin accessibility is key for the regulation of DNA expression and studies about it help to map the different transcriptional landscapes the cell can have under determined circumstances. The ATAC-seq assay employs the transposase Tn5 to identify regions of accessible chromatin, however, the proper software or pipelines to analyze the ATAC-seq data are still very scarce. Here we show that peak-shape based clustering and analysis developed for ChIP-seq data is also valid for ATAC-seq datasets. Our study provided information about how clusters showed different distribution of promoter and enhancer regions as well as distinctive signatures of histone marks and transcription factors associated to motifs. We also developed a prediction model to specify how peak shape can be useful for determining DNA elements’ nature. These results show how peak shape provides useful information about the chromatinic state of the genes and reveal interesting biological insights about transcription regulation and up-regulated biological processes. This study can be the starting point for more ATAC-seq analysis studied in different cell lines, phases of the cell or pathologic circumstances in order to provide a general overview of the accessible chromatin regions, the transcriptional state of the cell and the epigenetic marks of DNA

The Philosophical Universe And The Information Systems Research Journey: A Hitchhiker’S Guide To A Virtual Galaxy

There is concern among information systems (IS) scholars that the lack of philosophical engagement and conviction among the research community threatens the future integrity and creativity of the research process. The paper seeks to respond to Weber’s call for IS researchers to clearly present their “ontological and epistemological assumptions” and to accept Myers’ invitation for “further reflection and debate on the important subject of grounding interpretive research methodology”. The approach of the paper is to present a self-reflective case study, following Schön, of the author’s doctoral research journey. The paper aims to make a contribution by: presenting the work of two philosophers new to the IS discipline and proposing a dynamic model that opens IS research to engagement with the complex philosophical universe. The argument is developed using analogy and by describing the author’s journey towards a philosophical system that reflects his worldview

Adventures in Zoochosis

Postcolonial theory has a people problem. By this, I am unabashedly suggesting that postcolonial theoreticians’ overemphasis on people as the site of analysis lies at the heart of the limitations of the field’s key terms, epistemological boundaries, and approach to understanding phenomena as a whole. Indeed, if postcolonial theory and its related concepts and methods are to have any intellectual purchase, then it is time to abandon its anthropocentric approach to explaining how the world works and suggesting how to right humanity’s wrongs in favor of perspectives which acknowledge the solidarity of things and the non-hierarchical nature of life

Infinite improbabilities

Die Arbeit untersucht das Zusammenspiel von Science Fiction und Parodie im Werk von Douglas Adams, um zu beweisen, dass verschiedene parodistische Mechanismen in den Romanen operieren, die jeweils verschiedene Zielgruppen ansprechen können. Dies geschieht zunächst durch theoretische Bemerkungen zu Parodie und Science Fiction, welche dann auf die Primärtexte angewendet werden. Dabei lassen sich zwei Hauptformen der Parodie in Adams' Werk gesondert erwähnen, nämlich die genre parody (Genreparodie) und die discourse parody (Diskursparodie). Adams' Romane sind einerseits klar Parodien des Science Fiction- Genres, andererseits wird an zahlreichen Stellen in den Romanen auch Parodie mit Science Fiction verknüpft, um einen stärkeren humoristisch-kritischen Effekt zu erzeugen.This paper analyses the interaction of science fiction and parody in the work of Douglas Adams in order to proof that various parodic mechanisms operate within the narrative that have as their targets different groups of readers. This is done firstly via a discussion of SF and parody in theory and then applying this theory to the primary texts. In doing this, two main forms of parody can be observed in Adams' writing, namely genre parody and discourse parody. Adams' novels are clearly parodies of the science fiction genre. However, there are numerous instances in the novels in which the parody is combined with science fiction in order to strengthen its humorous and critical effects

Characterization of the Zoarces viviparus liver transcriptome using massively parallel pyrosequencing

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The teleost <it>Zoarces viviparus </it>(eelpout) lives along the coasts of Northern Europe and has long been an established model organism for marine ecology and environmental monitoring. The scarce information about this species genome has however restrained the use of efficient molecular-level assays, such as gene expression microarrays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the present study we present the first comprehensive characterization of the <it>Zoarces viviparus </it>liver transcriptome. From 400,000 reads generated by massively parallel pyrosequencing, more than 50,000 pieces of putative transcripts were assembled, annotated and functionally classified. The data was estimated to cover roughly 40% of the total transcriptome and homologues for about half of the genes of <it>Gasterosteus aculeatus </it>(stickleback) were identified. The sequence data was consequently used to design an oligonucleotide microarray for large-scale gene expression analysis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results show that one run using a Genome Sequencer FLX from 454 Life Science/Roche generates enough genomic information for adequate <it>de novo </it>assembly of a large number of genes in a higher vertebrate. The generated sequence data, including the validated microarray probes, are publicly available to promote genome-wide research in <it>Zoarces viviparus</it>.</p