Paisajismo mediterráneo de Nicolau Maria Rubió i Tudurí en los jardines de Barcelona

A medida que nos adentramos en la historia del arte de los jardines, recorremos un camino que nos lleva desde los jardines prehistóricos de Babilonia y los jardines egipcios, pasando por los jardines renacentistas italianos, el estilo francés de Le Nôtre, hasta el naturalismo inglés del siglo XVIII. A medida que estos estilos se extendían por toda Europa, se adaptaban al clima y a la cultura local, lo que transformaba la imagen de cada estilo de jardín. En el caso de Cataluña, por ejemplo, los jardines de Barcelona durante las épocas mencionadas anteriormente eran una mera copia formal de los estilos extranjeros de influencia. Por esta razón, he decidido centrarme en el estudio de Nicolau Maria Rubió i Tudurí, quien intentaba diseñar sus jardines en Barcelona con un enfoque propio y definido, denominado “paisaje mediterráneo moderno”, durante su período de formación artística y madurez. Aunque sus proyectos de jardines se centraron principalmente en jardines privados durante ese período (de 1941 a 1981), su última obra pública, el jardín de la Plaza Gaudí, representa un hito importante en la ciudad, ya que simboliza el significado del paisaje mediterráneo. En esta tesis, se investigará el paisajismo mediterráneo de Rubió i Tudurí y su contribución a la evolución del arte de jardinería en la ciudad de Barcelona. palabras claves: Nicolau Maria Rubió i Tudurí, paisaje mediterráneo, jardín catalánAs we delve into the history of garden art, we follow a path that leads from prehistoric Babylonian gardens and Egyptian gardens, through Italian Renaissance gardens, the French style of Le Nôtre, to the English naturalism of the century XVIII. As these styles spread across Europe, they adapted to the local climate and culture, transforming the image of each garden style. In the case of Catalonia, for example, the gardens of Barcelona during the periods mentioned above were a mere formal copy of foreign-influenced styles. For this reason, I have decided to focus on the studio of Nicolau Maria Rubió i Tudurí, who tried to design his gardens in Barcelona with his own defined approach, called “modern Mediterranean landscape”, during his period of artistic training and maturity. Although his garden projects were mainly focused on private gardens during that period (from 1941 to 1981), his last public work, the garden of Plaza Gaudí, represents an important landmark in the city, as it symbolizes the meaning of the Mediterranean landscape. In this thesis, the Mediterranean landscaping of Rubió i Tudurí and his contribution to the evolution of gardening art in the city of Barcelona will be investigated

Dynamic tracing of fecal bacteria processes from a river basin to an estuary using a 2D/3D model

In this study fecal bacteria processes have been investigated using the EFDC 2D/3D model, based on local refinements using an orthogonal curvilinear grid system and with the model being applied to Ribble river basin, through the estuary, and into the Fylde Coast. The input fluxes from numerous minor rivers and streams within the basin were solved using a grid-based distributed hydrological model (GDHM) and a river network 1D model (RNM1D), developed by the authors. The detailed measured hydrodynamic data, included tide levels and nearshore ADCP 3D velocity field data at four sites and with data being recorded over a 2-week period. During this period continuous monitoring using four types of tracers was also undertaken across the Ribble basin, which included sampling for E. coli (EC) and Intestinal Enterococci (IE) parameters. Monitoring devices, in the form of buoys, were also used and moved with currents, driven by upstream discharges, tides, waves and wind. The results showed: (i) the grid system gave a detailed topographical representation of the transition zones from the river system to the estuary and coast, with the hydrodynamic and related solute transport processes being well represented; and (ii) the model predicted results fit generally well with the water stage, 3D flow velocity profiles (with some errors in the bottom and surface layers), and E. coli concentrations. The tracer paths from the injection sites were simulated using a Lagrangian particle tracking method, which showed that the tracer from the north bank outfalls and the Ribble river could propagate to the highly popular bathing beaches at Blackpool, particularly under the action of South Westerly winds. More detailed solutions and refinements (e.g., wave driven by the wind and density flows caused by different salinities, temperatures, and suspended sediment concentrations) need to be considered in the next stage of this study

Transcriptomic variation of hepatopancreas reveals the energy metabolism and biological processes associated with molting in Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis

Molting is a critical developmental process for crustaceans, yet the underlying molecular mechanism is unknown. In this study, we used RNA-Seq to investigate transcriptomic profiles of the hepatopancreas and identified differentially expressed genes at four molting stages of Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis). A total of 97,398 transcripts were assembled, with 31,900 transcripts annotated. Transcriptomic comparison revealed 1,189 genes differentially expressed amongst different molting stages. We observed a pattern associated with energy metabolism and physiological responses during a molting cycle. In specific, differentially expressed genes enriched in postmolt were linked to energy consumption whereas genes enriched in intermolt were related to carbohydrates, lipids metabolic and biosynthetic processes. In premolt, a preparation stage for upcoming molting and energy consumption, highly expressed genes were enriched in response to steroid hormone stimulus and immune system development. The expression profiles of twelve functional genes detected via RNA-Seq were corroborated through real-time RT-PCR assay. Together, our results, including assembled transcriptomes, annotated functional elements and enriched differentially expressed genes amongst different molting stages, provide novel insights into the functions of the hepatopancreas in energy metabolism and biological processes pertaining to molting in crustaceans

Circulating tissue factor-positive procoagulant microparticles in patients with type 1 diabetes

Aim: To investigate the count of circulating tissue factor-positive (TF+) procoagulant microparticles (MPs) in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Methods: This case-control study included patients with T1DM and age and sex-matched healthy volunteers. The counts of phosphatidylserine-positive (PS+) MPs and TF(+)PS(+)MPs and the subgroups derived from different cell types were measured in the peripheral blood sample of the two groups using multicolor flow cytometric assay. We compared the counts of each MP between groups as well as the ratio of the TF(+)PS(+)MPs and PS(+)MPs (TF(+)PS(+)MPs/PS(+)MPs). Results: We recruited 36 patients with T1DM and 36 matched healthy controls. Compared with healthy volunteers, PS(+)MPs, TF(+)PS(+)MPs and TF(+)PS(+)MPs/PS(+)MPs were elevated in patients with T1DM (PS(+)MPs: 1078.5 +/- 158.08 vs 686.84 +/- 122.04/mu L, P &lt;0.001; TF(+)PS(+)MPs: 202.10 +/- 47.47 vs 108.33 +/- 29.42/mu L, P &lt;0.001; and TF(+)PS(+)MPs/PS(+)MPs: 0.16 +/- 0.04 vs 0.19 +/- 0.05, P = 0.004), mostly derived from platelet, lymphocytes and endothelial cells. In the subgroup analysis, the counts of total and platelet TF(+)PS(+)MPs were increased in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) and with higher HbA1c, respectively. Conclusion: Circulating TF(+)PS(+)MPs and those derived from platelet, lymphocytes and endothelial cells were elevated in patients with T1DM.De tre första författarna delar förstaförfattarskapet.</p

Selenium nanoparticles decorated with Ulva lactuca polysaccharide potentially attenuate colitis by inhibiting NF-κB mediated hyper inflammation

Additional file 1. Supplemental information of ULP-SeNPs concerns their stability in physiological solutions, uptake by BMDMs and effect on NF-κB activation

Genome sequence of the insect pathogenic fungus Cordyceps militaris, a valued traditional chinese medicine

Species in the ascomycete fungal genus Cordyceps have been proposed to be the teleomorphs of Metarhizium species. The latter have been widely used as insect biocontrol agents. Cordyceps species are highly prized for use in traditional Chinese medicines, but the genes responsible for biosynthesis of bioactive components, insect pathogenicity and the control of sexuality and fruiting have not been determined. Here, we report the genome sequence of the type species Cordyceps militaris. Phylogenomic analysis suggests that different species in the Cordyceps/Metarhizium genera have evolved into insect pathogens independently of each other, and that their similar large secretomes and gene family expansions are due to convergent evolution. However, relative to other fungi, including Metarhizium spp., many protein families are reduced in C. militaris, which suggests a more restricted ecology. Consistent with its long track record of safe usage as a medicine, the Cordyceps genome does not contain genes for known human mycotoxins. We establish that C. militaris is sexually heterothallic but, very unusually, fruiting can occur without an opposite mating-type partner. Transcriptional profiling indicates that fruiting involves induction of the Zn2Cys6-type transcription factors and MAPK pathway; unlike other fungi, however, the PKA pathway is not activated.https://doi.org/10.1186/gb-2011-12-11-r11

CMTCN: a web tool for investigating cancer-specific microRNA and transcription factor co-regulatory networks

Transcription factors (TFs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) are well-characterized trans-acting essential players in gene expression regulation. Growing evidence indicates that TFs and miRNAs can work cooperatively, and their dysregulation has been associated with many diseases including cancer. A unified picture of regulatory interactions of these regulators and their joint target genes would shed light on cancer studies. Although online resources developed to support probing of TF-gene and miRNA-gene interactions are available, online applications for miRNA-TF co-regulatory analysis, especially with a focus on cancers, are lacking. In light of this, we developed a web tool, namely CMTCN (freely available at http://www.cbportal.org/CMTCN), which constructs miRNA-TF co-regulatory networks and conducts comprehensive analyses within the context of particular cancer types. With its user-friendly provision of topological and functional analyses, CMTCN promises to be a reliable and indispensable web tool for biomedical studies

Preliminary Evidence of Sex Differences in Cortical Thickness Following Acute Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

The main objective of this study was to evaluate sex differences in cortical thickness after acute mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and its associations with clinical outcomes. Thirty-two patients with mTBI at acute phase (2.4 ± 1.3 days post-injury) and 30 healthy controls were enrolled. All the participants underwent comprehensive neurocognitive assessments and MRI to assess cortical thickness. Significant sex differences were determined by using variance analysis of factorial design. Relations between the cortical thickness and clinical assessments were measured with the Spearman Correlation. Results revealed that patients with mTBI had significantly reduced cortical thickness in the left entorhinal cortex while increased cortical thickness in the left precuneus cortex and right lateral occipital cortex, compared with healthy controls. The interaction effect of the group × sex on cortical thickness was significant. Female patients had significant thicker cortical thickness in the left caudal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) than male patients and had higher scores on Posttraumatic stress disorder Checklist—Civilian Version (PCL-C). Spearman correlational analysis showed a significantly positive correlations between the cortical thickness of the left caudal ACC and PCL-C ratings in female patients. Sex differences in cortical thickness support its potential as a neuroimaging phenotype for investigating the differences in clinical profiles of mild TBI between women and men

Sex Differences in Abnormal Intrinsic Functional Connectivity After Acute Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) is considered to induce abnormal intrinsic functional connectivity within resting-state networks (RSNs). The objective of this study was to estimate the role of sex in intrinsic functional connectivity after acute mild TBI. We recruited a cohort of 54 patients (27 males and 27 females with mild TBI within 7 days post-injury) from the emergency department (ED) and 34 age-, education-matched healthy controls (HCs; 17 males and 17 females). On the clinical scales, there were no statistically significant differences between males and females in either control group or mild TBI group. To detect whether there was abnormal sex difference on functional connectivity in RSNs, we performed independent component analysis (ICA) and a dual regression approach to investigate the between-subject voxel-wise comparisons of functional connectivity within seven selected RSNs. Compared to female patients, male patients showed increased intrinsic functional connectivity in motor network, ventral stream network, executive function network, cerebellum network and decreased connectivity in visual network. Further analysis demonstrated a positive correlation between the functional connectivity in executive function network and insomnia severity index (ISI) scores in male patients (r = 0.515, P = 0.006). The abnormality of the functional connectivity of RSNs in acute mild TBI showed the possibility of brain recombination after trauma, mainly concerning male-specific

6G Network AI Architecture for Everyone-Centric Customized Services

Mobile communication standards were developed for enhancing transmission and network performance by using more radio resources and improving spectrum and energy efficiency. How to effectively address diverse user requirements and guarantee everyone's Quality of Experience (QoE) remains an open problem. The Sixth Generation (6G) mobile systems will solve this problem by utilizing heterogenous network resources and pervasive intelligence to support everyone-centric customized services anywhere and anytime. In this article, we first coin the concept of Service Requirement Zone (SRZ) on the user side to characterize and visualize the integrated service requirements and preferences of specific tasks of individual users. On the system side, we further introduce the concept of User Satisfaction Ratio (USR) to evaluate the system's overall service ability of satisfying a variety of tasks with different SRZs. Then, we propose a network Artificial Intelligence (AI) architecture with integrated network resources and pervasive AI capabilities for supporting customized services with guaranteed QoEs. Finally, extensive simulations show that the proposed network AI architecture can consistently offer a higher USR performance than the cloud AI and edge AI architectures with respect to different task scheduling algorithms, random service requirements, and dynamic network conditions