A constitutively active Gαi3 protein corrects the abnormal retinal pigment epithelium phenotype of Oa1-/- mice.

PurposeOcular Albinism type 1 (OA1) is a disease caused by mutations in the OA1 gene and characterized by the presence of macromelanosomes in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) as well as abnormal crossing of the optic axons at the optic chiasm. We showed in our previous studies in mice that Oa1 activates specifically Gαi3 in its signaling pathway and thus, hypothesized that a constitutively active Gαi3 in the RPE of Oa1-/- mice might keep on the Oa1 signaling cascade and prevent the formation of macromelanosomes. To test this hypothesis, we have generated transgenic mice that carry the constitutively active Gαi3 (Q204L) protein in the RPE of Oa1-/- mice and are now reporting the effects that the transgene produced on the Oa1-/- RPE phenotype.MethodsTransgenic mice carrying RPE-specific expression of the constitutively active Gαi3 (Q204L) were generated by injecting fertilized eggs of Oa1-/- females with a lentivirus containing the Gαi3 (Q204L) cDNA. PCR, Southern blots, Western blots and confocal microscopy were used to confirm the presence of the transgene in the RPE of positive transgenic mice. Morphometrical analyses were performed using electron microscopy to compare the size and number of melanosomes per RPE area in putative Oa1-/-, Gαi3 (Q204L) transgenic mice with those of wild-type NCrl and Oa1-/- mice.ResultsWe found a correlation between the presence of the constitutively active Gαi3 (Q204L) transgene and the rescue of the normal phenotype of RPE melanosomes in Oa1-/-, Gαi3 (Q204L) mice. These mice have higher density of melanosomes per RPE area and a larger number of small melanosomes than Oa1-/- mice, and their RPE phenotype is similar to that of wild-type mice.ConclusionsOur results show that a constitutively active Gαi3 protein can by-pass the lack of Oa1 protein in Oa1-/- mice and consequently rescue the RPE melanosomal phenotype

¿(No) “solo Madrid es Corte”?: la cabeza que gobierna un imperio de Cortes

In his Libro Histórico Político, Solo Madrid es Corte (1658), the royal chronicler Alonso Núñez de Castro, defined Court as the head that governs; where reason and the king (as head of his kingdoms) his councilors, vassals, and other important men reside. Núñez, emphasized Madrid’s population, listed its councils and described their functions, in detail explained the etiquette observed around the King’ body, and included the hierarchy of all his kingdoms and provinces in the Spanish Habsburg empire, offering detailed accounts of their finances and contributions to the royal treasure. The work, in fact, established the imperial space (and geography) of the larger Spanish Habsburg political body, with Madrid as its courtly and political-cultural head. In its structure and arguments, Núñez’s work followed principles established at the end of the 16th century by Giovanni Botero as characteristic of a great city and in works describing the greatness of Lima and of the city of Mexico. A comparison of Madrid with other courtly cities of the Spanish Habsburg Empire helps elucidate reasons for its low profile as referent in the documentation of the New World, despite its place after 1561, as the political-administrative head of the empire.El cronista real Alonso Núñez de Castro en su Libro Histórico Político, Solo Madrid es Corte (1658), define a la Corte cómo la cabeza que gobierna, dónde reside la razón, y el rey (como cabeza de los reinos), sus consejos, vasallos y hombres importantes cercanos a él. Núñez enfatiza la población de Madrid, enumera los consejos del rey y sus funciones, describe detalladamente la etiqueta observada en la Corte alrededor del cuerpo del rey, incluye la jerarquía de la totalidad de reinos y provincias del monarca, y da cuenta detallada de sus finanzas y contribuciones al erario real. Esta obra produce/establece el espacio (y geografía) imperial del cuerpo político de los Austrias españoles con Madrid como su cabeza cortesana y político-cultural. También se conforma a estructuras y argumentos similares a los que Giovanni Botero, a fines del siglo XVI, definió como característicos de una gran ciudad como cabeza, y los que describen las grandezas de Lima y de la ciudad de México. Una comparación de Madrid con otras ciudades-cortes del cuerpo político de los Austrias españoles, ayuda a entender su bajo perfil en la documentación del Nuevo Mundo, a pesar de su lugar a partir de 1561 como cabeza político-administrativa dentro del imperio

Shaping the waveform of entangled photons

We demonstrate experimentally the tunable control of the joint spectrum, i.e. waveform and degree of frequency correlations, of paired photons generated in spontaneous parametric downconversion. This control is mediated by the spatial shape of the pump beam in a type-I noncollinear configuration. We discuss the applicability of this technique to other sources of frequency entangled photons, such as electromagnetically induced Raman transitions.Comment: 5 Pages, 4 Figure

La descentralización de los servicios de transporte en el sector logístico y la precarización laboral, ¿las dos caras de una misma estrategia? El caso de una empresa logística internacional en Argentina

Este trabajo se enfoca en la logística y los servicios de transporte, dado que configuran actividades centrales en lo que se refiere a la distribución de productos en la economía de nuestro país. De hecho, el 96% de las toneladas transportadas en la Argentina se trasladan mediante el autotransporte de cargas, lo que lo convierte en un modo monopólico de transporte dentro del esquema de prestaciones de servicios logísticos locales (ONDaT-C3T, 2013). Por lo tanto, este estudio buscó estudiar el desarrollo de estrategias de subcontratación de servicios de transporte en una empresa logística internacional, radicada en la Argentina, con el fin de reconocer cómo esas estrategias precarizan las condiciones de contratación de los choferes de camiones.Fil: Pontoni, Gabriela A. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina.Fil: Cejas, Lucía B. Universidad Nacional de La Matanza; Argentina

Water Sorption and Diffusivity in [C2C1im][BF4], [C4C1im][OAc], and [C4C1im][Cl]

Measurements of in situ atmospheric water absorption and desorption in ionic liquids (ILs) (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate [C2C1im][BF4], 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate [C4C1im][OAc], and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [C4C1im][Cl]) were made using a gravimetric microbalance at temperatures ranging from 283.15 to 315.15 K and relative humidity (RH) 0–70% at 101 kPa. Solubility data were well correlated using the nonrandom two-liquid (NRTL) activity model, and time dependent concentration data were used to determine the binary diffusion coefficients using one- and two-dimensional transport models of water in the IL–water systems. The solubility of water was highest in [C4C1im][OAc] (77.5 mol %), followed by [C4C1im][Cl] (68.6 mol %), and [C2C1im][BF4] (19.5 mol %) at equivalent conditions (303.15 K and 25.00% RH). The diffusion coefficients in order of increasing relative humidity ranged from 1.3 × 10–10 to 2.8 × 10–11 m2/s for [C2C1im][BF4], from 8.8 × 10–12 to 3.9 × 10–11 m2/s for [C4C1im][OAc], and from 4.5 × 10–12 to 2.8 × 10–11 m2/s for [C4C1im][Cl]. Heats of absorption were calculated and ranged from 39 to 44 kJ/mol for [C2C1im][BF4], from 47 to 45 kJ/mol for [C4C1im][OAc], and from 55 to 45 kJ/mol for [C4C1im][Cl] with increasing water mole fraction of 0.3–0.8. The water diffusivity increases with increasing water concentration in both [C4C1im][OAc] and [C4C1im][Cl] with respect to decreasing viscosity and heats of absorption. However, the diffusivity of water in [C2C1im][BF4] decreases with increasing water concentration with respect to decreasing viscosity and increasing heats of absorption. Diffusing radius calculations using the Stokes–Einstein relationship support the hypothesis that a few water molecules through hydrogen bonding form clusters with the [OAc] and [Cl] anions, but much larger water/BF4– clusters/networks are occurring in the [C2C1im][BF4] system which increase in size with increase in water concentration

Una carrera que no lo fue

1 archivo PDF (9 páginas)Se trata de un testimonio sobre el modo en que esta académica ingresó al mundo de la literatura infantil y juvenil en la década de 1960. Reflexiona sobre las oportunidades casi nulas para las mujeres de ese entonces de ingresar a la academia, pese a su preparación, y demuestra el modo en que fue abriéndose paso dentro de un universo nuevo para ella y las aportaciones que hizo a la literatura infantil y juvenil. A testimony of a scholar who entered the world of children’s literature in the 1960’s. She talks about the limited opportunities for women in those days to enter academia, despite having earned advanced degrees. She describes the paths she followed to reach a new world as well as the contributions she made in the field. Palabra s clave Carreras de las mujeres en la lij (1960), libros de ciencia para niños, Biblias para niños, cuentos folclóricos, análisis de los cuentos de los hermanos Grimm (diferencias de género). 1960’s women careers in children’s literature, children’s science books, Bibles for children, folktales, Grimm’s tales analysis (gender differences). tyvlxl

"Call a Teenager… That's What I Do!" - Grandchildren Help Older Adults Use New Technologies: Qualitative Study.

BackgroundAlthough family technical support seems intuitive, there is very little research exploring this topic.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to conduct a subanalysis of data collected from a large-scale qualitative project regarding older adults' experiences in using health information technology. Specifically, the subanalysis explored older adults' experiences with technology support from family members to inform strategies for promoting older adults' engagement with new health technologies. Although the primary analysis of the original study was theoretically driven, this paper reports results from an inductive, open-coding analysis.MethodsThis is a subanalysis of a major code identified unexpectedly from a qualitative study investigating older adults' use experience of a widespread health technology, the patient portal. A total of 24 older patients (≥65 years) with multiple chronic conditions (Charlson Comorbidity Index >2) participated in focus groups conducted at the patients' primary clinic. While conducting the primary theoretically driven analysis, coders utilized an open-coding approach to ensure important ideas not reflected in the theoretical code book were captured. Open coding resulted in 1 code: family support. This subanalysis further categorized family support by who provided tech support, how tech support was offered, and the opinions of older participants about receiving family tech support.ResultsThe participants were not specifically asked about family support, yet themes around family assistance and encouragement for technology emerged from every focus group. Participants repeatedly mentioned that they called their grandchildren and adult children if they needed help with technology. Participants also reported that family members experienced difficulty when teaching technology use. Family members struggled to explain simple technology tasks and were frustrated by the slow teaching process.ConclusionsThe results suggest that older adults ask their family members, particularly grandchildren, to support them in the use of new technologies. However, family may experience difficulties in providing this support. Older adults will be increasingly expected to use health technologies, and family members may help with tech support. Providers and health systems should consider potential family support and engagement strategies to foster adoption and use among older patients

HIV induces expression of complement component C3 in astrocytes by NF-κB-dependent activation of interleukin-6 synthesis

Background Abnormal activation of the complement system contributes to some central nervous system diseases but the role of complement in HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) is unclear. Methods We used real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry to detect complement expression in postmortem brain tissue from HAND patients and controls. To further investigate the basis for viral induction of gene expression in the brain, we studied the effect of HIV on C3 expression by astrocytes, innate immune effector cells, and targets of HIV. Human fetal astrocytes (HFA) were infected with HIV in culture and cellular pathways and factors involved in signaling to C3 expression were elucidated using pharmacological pathway inhibitors, antisense RNA, promoter mutational analysis, and fluorescence microscopy. Results We found significantly increased expression of complement components including C3 in brain tissues from patients with HAND and C3 was identified by immunocytochemistry in astrocytes and neurons. Exposure of HFA to HIV in culture-induced C3 promoter activity, mRNA expression, and protein production. Use of pharmacological inhibitors indicated that induction of C3 expression by HIV requires NF-κB and protein kinase signaling. The relevance of NF-κB regulation to C3 induction was confirmed through detection of NF-κB translocation into nuclei and inhibition through overexpression of the physiological NF-κB inhibitor, I-κBα. C3 promoter mutation analysis revealed that the NF-κB and SP binding sites are dispensable for the induction by HIV, while the proximal IL-1β/IL-6 responsive element is essential. HIV-treated HFA secreted IL-6, exogenous IL-6 activated the C3 promoter, and anti-IL-6 antibodies blocked HIV activation of the C3 promoter. The activation of IL-6 transcription by HIV was dependent upon an NF-κB element within the IL-6 promoter. Conclusions These results suggest that HIV activates C3 expression in primary astrocytes indirectly, through NF-κB-dependent induction of IL-6, which in turn activates the C3 promoter. HIV induction of C3 and IL-6 in astrocytes may contribute to HIV-mediated inflammation in the brain and cognitive dysfunction

La prueba pericial en el nuevo proceso penal

67 p.La realización de esta memoria tiene como objetivo principal, el análisis de la prueba pericial a la luz del nuevo sistema procesal penal instaurado en Chile y, que entró en vigencia a partir del año 2000 en algunas regiones de nuestro país. La idea es hacer notar las falencias, desventajas, vacíos y complicaciones en la aplicación de la prueba pericial, a raíz de la implementación del nuevo proceso. Para realizar el estudio y análisis pertinente se ha utilizado el método Jurídico- Dogmático, a través del cual hemos podido observar y corroborar que si bien es cierto, se le ha otorgado un mayor dinamismo como medio probatorio, y como consecuencia de esto, una mayor fuerza y relevancia jurídica, también es cierto que en pro de la transparencia del sistema, se ha consagrado formalismos que en la práctica otorgan a dicha prueba, un rasgo de ineficacia e inoperancia