‘Fully Capable of Any Iniquity’: The Atlantic Human Trafficking Network of the Zangroniz Family

In the early eighteenth century, two Basque brothers of the Spanish Zangroniz family established a trading house in the Cuban capital. Through the expansion and diversification of their business activities over time, they created a powerful transatlantic commercial network, and in the process became important actors during a period characterized by vastly increased economic integration in the Atlantic world. Behind this growth were technological innovations. The brothers' shrewd use of them “made it possible to transport more and different kinds of items across great distances

Immune-mediated loss of transgene expression from virally transduced brain cells is irreversible, mediated by IFNγ, perforin, and TNFα, and due to the elimination of transduced cells

The adaptive immune response to viral vectors reduces vector-mediated transgene expression from the brain. It is unknown, however, whether this loss is caused by functional downregulation of transgene expression or death of transduced cells. Herein, we demonstrate that during the elimination of transgene expression, the brain becomes infiltrated with CD4 and CD8 T cells and that these T cells are necessary for transgene elimination. Further, the loss of transgene-expressing brain cells fails to occur in the absence of IFNγ, perforin, and TNFα receptor. Two methods to induce severe immune suppression in immunized animals also fail to restitute transgene expression, demonstrating the irreversibility of this process. The need for cytotoxic molecules and the irreversibility of the reduction in transgene expression suggested to us that elimination of transduced cells is responsible for the loss of transgene expression. A new experimental paradigm that discriminates between downregulation of transgene expression and the elimination of transduced cells demonstrates that transduced cells are lost from the brain upon the induction of a specific antiviral immune response. We conclude that the anti-adenoviral immune response reduces transgene expression in the brain through loss of transduced cellsFil: Zirger, Jeffrey M.. Cedars Sinai Medical Center; Estados Unidos. University of California at Los Angeles. School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Puntel, Mariana. University of California at Los Angeles. School of Medicine; Estados Unidos. Cedars Sinai Medical Center; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Bergeron, Josee. Cedars Sinai Medical Center; Estados Unidos. University of California at Los Angeles. School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Wibowo, Mia. University of California at Los Angeles. School of Medicine; Estados Unidos. Cedars Sinai Medical Center; Estados UnidosFil: Moridzadeh, Rameen. University of California at Los Angeles. School of Medicine; Estados Unidos. Cedars Sinai Medical Center; Estados UnidosFil: Bondale, Niyati. Cedars Sinai Medical Center; Estados Unidos. University of California at Los Angeles. School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Barcia, Carlos. Cedars Sinai Medical Center; Estados Unidos. University of California at Los Angeles. School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Kroeger, Kurt M.. University of California at Los Angeles. School of Medicine; Estados Unidos. Cedars Sinai Medical Center; Estados UnidosFil: Liu, Chunyan. University of California at Los Angeles. School of Medicine; Estados Unidos. Cedars Sinai Medical Center; Estados UnidosFil: Castro, Maria Graciela. University of California at Los Angeles. School of Medicine; Estados Unidos. Cedars Sinai Medical Center; Estados Unidos. University of Michigan; Estados UnidosFil: Lowenstein, Pedro R.. Cedars Sinai Medical Center; Estados Unidos. University of California at Los Angeles. School of Medicine; Estados Unidos. University of Michigan; Estados Unido

The antisense leitmoitf: A prelude

Communicated by Prof. J.M. ClarkPeer Reviewe

White Cannibalism in the Illegal Slave Trade: The Peculiar Case of the Portuguese Schooner Arrogante in 1837

The Portuguese schooner Arrogante was captured in late November 1837 by HMS Snake, off the coast of Cuba. At the time, the Arrogante had more than 330 Africans on board, who had been shipped from the Upper Guinea coast. Once the vessel arrived in Montego Bay, Jamaica, the British authorities apprenticed those who had survived. Shortly after landing, however, the Arrogante's sailors were accused of slaughtering an African man, cooking his flesh, and forcing the rest of those enslaved on board to eat it. Furthermore, they were also accused of cooking and eating themselves the heart and liver of the same man. This article focuses not so much on the actual event, as on the transatlantic process that followed, during which knowledge was produced and contested, and relative meanings and predetermined cultural notions associated with Europeans and Africans were probed and queried

“To Kill all Whites:” The Ethics of African Warfare in Bahia and Cuba, 1807-1844

Using case studies extracted from primary sources produced predominantly in Brazil and Cuba, this article contends that West African military commanders and troops in both regions during the first half of the nineteenth century exhibited an ethical behavior associated with war, which was strongly tied to their cosmologies of the world. Since these actions were all staged against either slavery or enslavement, it argues that the central ethical issue of whether it was right to take arms and kill people they considered enemies (jus ad bellum), was a non-issue from the moment the protagonists’ and participants’ plans took shape. Further ethical issues that could and would arise once each of these armed movements was underway, which were more ambiguous, are also considered in this article

Characterization of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPR) isolated from the rhizosphere of Arthrocnemum macrostachyum.

Motivation: The recent boom in organic agriculture has awakened the need to find alternative methods to chemical products. PGPRs (plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria) are rhizospheric bacteria that contribute in a favourable way for the plant development through different mechanisms like exudates production (that enhance plant rooting), nutrient solubilization or resistance to pathogenic agents (1). The study of these microorganisms and its subsequent use for different agriculture requirements is a viable option in order to get good results in a more sustainable way. In addition, it is an interesting approach to promote the soil regenerative abilities of some plants, like the halophyte Arthrocnemum macrostachyum (2).Methods: Bacteria from the rhizosphere of A. macrostachyum were isolated from plants grown in different areas at the Lebrija marshes. 5 µl of exponentially bacterial cultures were dropped onto Petri dishes containing different media: CAS to test siderophores production (3), PVK for phosphate solubilization (3), nutrient broth supplemented with NaCl for testing tolerance to sodium chloride and nutrient broth with 0,5mM and 1mM Zn concentrations to test heavy metal resistance. All of them were incubated at 28ºC for 72h. Acyl-homoserine lactone and indolacetic acid (IAA) production tests (3) were also performed. In addition, 5 µl droplets of each bacterial suspension were spotted on Petri dishes together with a disk of active Macrophomina phaseolina culture to test antifungal activity.Results: A total of 203 strains were isolated from the rhizosphere of A.macrostachyum plants. In CAS medium, 40% of them formed an orange-yellowish halo, denoting siderophore production. In PVK medium, 7% shown a transparent halo, indicating phosphate solubilization ability. 30% of the strains were auxin producers, while only a 13% exhibited the quorum sensing mechanism. 3% of all the strains displayed high halotolerance, showed positive growth in 24 % (p/v) NaCl. 5% and 3% of the strains were able to grow in the presence of 0,5 and 1 mM Zn, respectively. Taking into account fungicide activity, 11% of the bacterial isolates are able to inhibit the growth of the pathogenic fungus M. phaseolina.Conclusions: An earlier conclusion of this incipient study is that the rhizosphere of halophyte plants living in natural stressing areas is a good source for isolating bacteria with desirable properties to be used as PGPR and also for the control of pathogenic fungus

Blueprint for a minimal photoautotrophic cell: conserved and variable genes in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.-- et al.Abstract Background Simpler biological systems should be easier to understand and to engineer towards pre-defined goals. One way to achieve biological simplicity is through genome minimization. Here we looked for genomic islands in the fresh water cyanobacteria Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 (genome size 2.7 Mb) that could be used as targets for deletion. We also looked for conserved genes that might be essential for cell survival. Results By using a combination of methods we identified 170 xenologs, 136 ORFans and 1401 core genes in the genome of S. elongatus PCC 7942. These represent 6.5%, 5.2% and 53.6% of the annotated genes respectively. We considered that genes in genomic islands could be found if they showed a combination of: a) unusual G+C content; b) unusual phylogenetic similarity; and/or c) a small number of the highly iterated palindrome 1 (HIP1) motif plus an unusual codon usage. The origin of the largest genomic island by horizontal gene transfer (HGT) could be corroborated by lack of coverage among metagenomic sequences from a fresh water microbialite. Evidence is also presented that xenologous genes tend to cluster in operons. Interestingly, most genes coding for proteins with a diguanylate cyclase domain are predicted to be xenologs, suggesting a role for horizontal gene transfer in the evolution of Synechococcus sensory systems. Conclusions Our estimates of genomic islands in PCC 7942 are larger than those predicted by other published methods like SIGI-HMM. Our results set a guide to non-essential genes in S. elongatus PCC 7942 indicating a path towards the engineering of a model photoautotrophic bacterial cell.Financial support was provided by grants BFU2009-12895-C02-01/BMC (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain), the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement number 212894 and Prometeo/2009/092 (Conselleria d’Educació, Generalitat Valenciana, Spain) to A. Moya. Work in the FdlC laboratory was supported by grants BFU2008-00995/BMC (Spanish Ministry of Education), RD06/0008/1012 (RETICS research network, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spanish Ministry of Health) and LSHM-CT-2005_019023 (European VI Framework Program). Dr. González-Domenech was supported by grant from the University of Granada. LD, thanks to financial support from Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.Peer Reviewe

Biocontrol characterization of a bacterial collection by means of enzymatic activities and confrontation assays

Currently, there is an increasing agriculture demand, not only for human consumption, but also for feeding the cattle. This provokes an overuse of fertilizers and fungicides to maintain the standards of market and production which in turns causes serious environmental problems. Stimulated by these facts, we think that a possible solution could be the use of bacteria with PGPR activities (plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria) as well as biocontrol activities against pathogenic fungi, in order to reduce or to eliminate, in the future, the use of these harmful products.Bacteria used in this work belong to the bacterial collection of the IFAPA the Torres-Tomejil Center, and have been previously characterized by their PGP activities and for their aptitude to inhibit the in vitro growth of the phytopathogenic fungus Macrophomina phaseolina. In this study, the bacterial isolated were screened for their biocontrol enzymatic activities (catalase, oxidase, protease, amylase, chitinase and β-glucanase), as well as for hydrocyanic acid production. After that, an in vitro confrontation assay was carried out against F. oxysporum and F. proliferatum, with the bacterial strains that gave good results in biocontrol activities.From a total of 40 strains possessing enzymatic activities, the following strains have shown the higher values: strain Hr4b (nd) exhibited high cellulose, protease and amylase activities; strain B1-2a (Bacillus erophilus) possessed protease and amylase activities; C11 (non determined -nd-) and AdB1 (nd) enhanced in cellulase and protease activities; strain Hvs2 (Bacillus licheniformis) highlighted for its cellulose activity and CT197 (nd) for its chitinase one. In addition, all of them exhibited other enzymatic activities in a lesser extent. Regarding the in vitro confrontation experiment against F. oxysporum and F. proliferatum, the strains CT3 (Pseudomonas fluorecens), CT19 (Pseudomonas fluorecens), CT131 (Pseudomonas fluorecens), Hvs2, Hvs 6 (Streptomices fradiae) and Hvs 8 (Brevibacterium frigoritolerans), were found to be highly inhibitory of both fungal strains growth.As conclusion, strains CT3, CT19, CT131, Hvs2, Hvs6 and Hvs8 could be candidates to be used as biocontrol agents against phytopathogen fungi. Futures studies will be focused on investigating a commercial product able to be used under field conditions

Tendencia en diseño

El término Tendencia es uno de los más recurrentemente citados por los diseñadores, críticos, cronistas, comentaristas y presentadores de eventos de moda, en oportunidades múltiples, desde desfiles, showrooms, artículos periodísticos, etc

De círculo vicioso a moda circular

Fashion is predictable, its behavior is based on certain patterns that are repeated, it generates models and triggers actions that are also contemplated in said patterns; It goes through stages that, from before its emergence and until its decline, are already corresponding to a life cycle. In each season the cycle repeats itself, and like a true ouroboro, fashion proposes an eternal return, a rebirth twice a year, two seasons that move a great industry; multiple products are offered to the market that are quickly consumed, waiting for new launches to repeat the cyclical pattern. Just as the ouroboro symbolizes the present moment that is devoured by the future to start over, the cyclical nature of fashion proposes instants, which culminate and start over at each moment. Fashion on a large scale, progresses in spirals through time, renews interest in itself, proposes fantasy, luxury, beauty and at the same time generates pollution, an alarming consumption of water, and carbon emissions; sufficient reasons to orient its cyclical nature towards a circular ethic in pursuit of a sustainable future.La moda es previsible, su conducta está basada en ciertos patrones que se repiten, genera modelos y desencadena acciones que están también contemplados en dichos patrones; atraviesa etapas que, desde antes de su surgimiento y hasta su declinación están previstas ya que corresponden a un ciclo de vida. En cada temporada se repite el ciclo, y como un verdadero ouroboro, la moda propone un eterno retorno, un renacimiento dos veces al año, dos temporadas que mueven una gran industria; se ofrecen al mercado múltiples productos que son ávidamente consumidos, quedando a la espera de nuevos lanzamientos para repetir el cíclico patrón. Así como el ouroboro simboliza el momento presente que es devorado por el futuro para volver a comenzar, la naturaleza cíclica de la moda propone instantes, que culminan y vuelven a empezar a cada momento. La moda a gran escala, avanza en espirales a través del tiempo, renueva el interés hacia sí, propone fantasía, lujo, belleza y al mismo tiempo genera contaminación, un consumo alarmante de agua, y emisiones de carbono; motivos suficientes para orientar su naturaleza cíclica hacia una ética circular en pos de un futuro sostenible.A moda é previsível, seu comportamento é baseado em determinados padrões que se repetem, gera modelos e desencadeia ações que também são contempladas nesses padrões; Passa por etapas que, desde antes de seu surgimento e até seu declínio, já correspondem a um ciclo de vida. A cada estação o ciclo se repete e, como um verdadeiro ouroboro, a moda propõe um eterno retorno, um renascimento duas vezes ao ano, duas temporadas que movem uma grande indústria; São oferecidos ao mercado diversos produtos que são rapidamente consumidos, aguardando novos lançamentos para repetir o padrão cíclico. Assim como o ouroboro simboliza o momento presente que é devorado pelo futuro para recomeçar, a natureza cíclica da moda propõe instantes, que culminam e recomeçam a cada momento. A moda em grande escala, progride em espirais no tempo, renova o interesse por si mesma, propõe fantasia, luxo, beleza e ao mesmo tempo gera poluição, um consumo alarmante de água e emissões de carbono; razões suficientes para orientar sua natureza cíclica para uma ética circular em busca de um futuro sustentável