Targeting Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRR) for Vaccine Adjuvantation: From Synthetic PRR Agonists to the Potential of Defective Interfering Particles of Viruses.

Modern vaccinology has increasingly focused on non-living vaccines, which are more stable than live-attenuated vaccines but often show limited immunogenicity. Immunostimulatory substances, known as adjuvants, are traditionally used to increase the magnitude of protective adaptive immunity in response to a pathogen-associated antigen. Recently developed adjuvants often include substances that stimulate pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), essential components of innate immunity required for the activation of antigen-presenting cells (APCs), which serve as a bridge between innate and adaptive immunity. Nearly all PRRs are potential targets for adjuvants. Given the recent success of toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists in vaccine development, molecules with similar, but additional, immunostimulatory activity, such as defective interfering particles (DIPs) of viruses, represent attractive candidates for vaccine adjuvants. This review outlines some of the recent advances in vaccine development related to the use of TLR agonists, summarizes the current knowledge regarding DIP immunogenicity, and discusses the potential applications of DIPs in vaccine adjuvantation

Endothelial C-type natriuretic peptide maintains vascular homeostasis

PMCID: PMC4151218Wellcome Trust (084449/Z/07/Z and 078496/Z/05/Z

Certifications of citizenship: the history, politics and materiality of identity documents in South Asian states and diasporas

Experiences in the post-partition Indian subcontinent refute the conventional expectation that the 'possession of citizenship enables the acquisition of documents certifying it' (Jayal, 2013, 71). Instead, identity papers of various types play a vital part in certifying and authenticating claims to citizenship. This is particularly important in a context where the history of state formation, continuous migration flows and the rise of right-wing majoritarian politics has created an uncertain situation for individuals deemed to be on the ‘margins’ of the state. The papers that constitute this special issue bring together a range of disciplinary perspectives in order to investigate the history, politics and materiality of identity documents, and to dismantle citizenship as an absolute and fixed notion, seeking instead to theorise the very mutable ‘hierarchies’ and ‘degrees’ of citizenship. Collectively they offer a valuable lens onto how migrants, refugees and socio-economically marginal individuals negotiate their relationship with the state, both within South Asia and in South Asian diaspora communities. This introduction examines the wider context of the complex intersections between state-issued identity documents and the nature of citizenship and draws out cross-cutting themes across the papers in this collection

La situación estratigráfica de las “margas de Bañolas” (Almela y Ríos 1943)

[EN] The "margas de Bañolas" (Almela Y Ríos 1943) and the marls that are placed above the "caliza de Tavertet" (Reguant 1967) in Vic-El Far region, are two distinct formations. Thece marls could be named "mareas de El Coll de Malla", and are from the Lower Biarritzian. The "margas de Bañolas" are from the Lower or Middle Lutetian.[ES] Se demuestra que las "margas de Bañolas" (Almela y Rios 1943) y las margas que se sitúan encima de la "caliza de Tavertet" (Reguant 1967) entre Vic y El Far son dos formaciones distintas. Estas últimas que se pueden llamar "margas de El Coll de Malla", son de edad Biarritzense inferior, mientras que las "margas de Bañolas" son posiblemente del Luteciense inferior o medio.Peer reviewe

Algunas reflexiones sobre el inicio del sistema de drenaje actual del SE del río Ebro: ¿Post- o pre-Messiniense?

[EN] The timing and process leading to the opening of the continental Ebro Basin to the Mediterranean is a fundamental issue in the creation of the present-day drainage network of NE Iberia, yet there is no general consensus. The opening has been dated by different authors as middle Miocene to early Pliocene whilst river piracy or lake overspilling have been invoked as the geomorphic processes. Using a multiple approach to constrain the time and plausible process leading to this event, that include estimates of the age and volume of the correlative marine sediments, paleoaltitudinal reconstructions, estimates of the maximum lake level in the interior Ebro basin and rates of fluvial incision in basement rocks; it is concluded that the Ebro basin was tapped by a steep, mountain river on the E flank of the Catalan Coastal Ranges in pre-Messinian times, probably in the middle-late Tortonian.[ES] El momento de la apertura de la Cuenca del Ebro hacia el Mediterráneo y el proceso que la indujo representan aspectos clave en el desarrollo de la red de drenaje actual del NE de Iberia, aunque todavía no existe un consenso generalizado sobre los mismos. El momento de la apertura ha sido datado por diferentes autores desde el Mioceno medio al Plioceno inferior, mientras que una captura fluvial o el derrame del lago interior han sido propuestos como procesos geomórficos generadores. En este artículo hemos usado una técnica múltiple para precisar el momento y el proceso más verosímil que condujo a la apertura, que incluye estimación de la edad y el volumen de los sedimentos marinos correlativos al evento, reconstrucción paleoaltitudinal de las Cadenas Costero-Catalanas en dicho momento, estimación del nivel máximo del lago interior de la Cuenca del Ebro en dicho momento y la tasa aproximada de incisión del paleo-Ebro durante su periodo inicial en el basamento. Nuestra conclusión es que la Cuenca continental lacustre del Ebro fue capturada por un río corto y de elevada pendiente de la ladera Este de las Cadenas Costero-Catalanas antes del Messiniense, probablemente en el Tortoniense medio-superior.Peer reviewe

Some considerations on the initiation of the present SE Ebro river drainage system: Post- or pre-Messinian?

The timing and process leading to the opening of the continental Ebro Basin to the Mediterranean is a fundamental issue in the creation of the present-day drainage network of NE Iberia, yet there is no general consensus. The opening has been dated by different authors as middle Miocene to early Pliocene whilst river piracy or lake overspilling have been invoked as the geomorphic processes. Using a multiple approach to constrain the time and plausible process leading to this event, that include estimates of the age and volume of the correlative marine sediments, paleoaltitudinal reconstructions, estimates of the maximum lake level in the interior Ebro basin and rates of fluvial incision in basement rocks; it is concluded that the Ebro basin was tapped by a steep, mountain river on the E flank of the Catalan Coastal Ranges in pre-Messinian times, probably in the middle-late Tortonian. [RESUMEN] El momento de la apertura de la Cuenca del Ebro hacia el Mediterráneo y el proceso que la indujo representan aspectos clave en el desarrollo de la red de drenaje actual del NE de Iberia, aunque todavía no existe un consenso generalizado sobre los mismos. El momento de la apertura ha sido datado por diferentes autores desde el Mioceno medio al Plioceno inferior, mientras que una captura fluvial o el derrame del lago interior han sido propuestos como procesos geomórficos generadores. En este artículo hemos usado una técnica múltiple para precisar el momento y el proceso más verosímil que condujo a la apertura, que incluye estimación de la edad y el volumen de los sedimentos marinos correlativos al evento, reconstrucción paleoaltitudinal de las Cadenas Costero-Catalanas en dicho momento, estimación del nivel máximo del lago interior de la Cuenca del Ebro en dicho momento y la tasa aproximada de incisión del paleo-Ebro durante su periodo inicial en el basamento. Nuestra conclusión es que la Cuenca continental lacustre del Ebro fue capturada por un río corto y de elevada pendiente de la ladera Este de las Cadenas Costero-Catalanas antes del Messiniense, probablemente en el Tortoniense medio-superio