Spectrochemical analysis of sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) leaves for environmental health monitoring

Terrestrial plants are ideal sentinels of environmental pollution, due to their sedentary nature, abundance and sensitivity to atmospheric changes. However, reliable and sensitive biomarkers of exposure have hitherto been difficult to characterise. Biospectroscopy offers a novel approach to the derivation of biomarkers in the form of discrete molecular alterations detectable within a biochemical fingerprint. We investigated the application of this approach for the identification of biomarkers for pollution exposure using the common sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) as a sentinel species. Attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy was used to interrogate leaf tissue collected from three sites exposed to different levels of vehicle exhaust emissions. Following multivariate analysis of acquired spectra, significant biochemical alterations were detected between comparable leaves from different sites that may constitute putative biomarkers for pollution-induced stress. These included differences in carbohydrate and nucleic acid conformations, which may be indicative of sub-lethal exposure effects. We also observed several corresponding spectral alterations in both the leaves of A. pseudoplatanus exposed to ozone pollution under controlled environmental conditions and in leaves infected with the fungal pathogen Rhytisma acerinum, indicating that some stress-induced changes are conserved between different stress signatures. These similarities may be indicative of stress-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, although further work is needed to verify the precise identity of infrared biomarkers and to identify those that are specific to pollution exposure. Taken together, our data clearly demonstrate that biospectroscopy presents an effective toolkit for the utilisation of higher plants, such as A. pseudoplatanus, as sentinels of environmental pollution

Modular Composition of Gene Transcription Networks

Predicting the dynamic behavior of a large network from that of the composing modules is a central problem in systems and synthetic biology. Yet, this predictive ability is still largely missing because modules display context-dependent behavior. One cause of context-dependence is retroactivity, a phenomenon similar to loading that influences in non-trivial ways the dynamic performance of a module upon connection to other modules. Here, we establish an analysis framework for gene transcription networks that explicitly accounts for retroactivity. Specifically, a module's key properties are encoded by three retroactivity matrices: internal, scaling, and mixing retroactivity. All of them have a physical interpretation and can be computed from macroscopic parameters (dissociation constants and promoter concentrations) and from the modules' topology. The internal retroactivity quantifies the effect of intramodular connections on an isolated module's dynamics. The scaling and mixing retroactivity establish how intermodular connections change the dynamics of connected modules. Based on these matrices and on the dynamics of modules in isolation, we can accurately predict how loading will affect the behavior of an arbitrary interconnection of modules. We illustrate implications of internal, scaling, and mixing retroactivity on the performance of recurrent network motifs, including negative autoregulation, combinatorial regulation, two-gene clocks, the toggle switch, and the single-input motif. We further provide a quantitative metric that determines how robust the dynamic behavior of a module is to interconnection with other modules. This metric can be employed both to evaluate the extent of modularity of natural networks and to establish concrete design guidelines to minimize retroactivity between modules in synthetic systems.United States. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-12-1-0129

Growth landscape formed by perception and import of glucose in yeast

An important challenge in systems biology is to quantitatively describe microbial growth using a few measurable parameters that capture the essence of this complex phenomenon. Two key events at the cell membrane—extracellular glucose sensing and uptake—initiate the budding yeast’s growth on glucose. However, conventional growth models focus almost exclusively on glucose uptake. Here we present results from growth-rate experiments that cannot be explained by focusing on glucose uptake alone. By imposing a glucose uptake rate independent of the sensed extracellular glucose level, we show that despite increasing both the sensed glucose concentration and uptake rate, the cell’s growth rate can decrease or even approach zero. We resolve this puzzle by showing that the interaction between glucose perception and import, not their individual actions, determines the central features of growth, and characterize this interaction using a quantitative model. Disrupting this interaction by knocking out two key glucose sensors significantly changes the cell’s growth rate, yet uptake rates are unchanged. This is due to a decrease in burden that glucose perception places on the cells. Our work shows that glucose perception and import are separate and pivotal modules of yeast growth, the interaction of which can be precisely tuned and measured.National Institutes of Health (U.S.). Pioneer AwardNatural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Graduate Fellowshi

A importância da relação família-escola na educação inclusiva de aluno com deficiência / The importance of the family-school relationship in the inclusive education of students with disabilities

A presente pesquisa tem como objetivo principal refletir sobre a relação família-escola no que se refere ao processo de inclusão escolar do aluno com deficiência. A escola no contexto da educação inclusiva deve propor um modo de organização do sistema educacional que considere as necessidades de todos os alunos, sendo estruturado em função dessas necessidades. Essa proposta é de extrema importância já que é na escola que a criança evolui enquanto indivíduo inserido em uma sociedade. Além da escola, a família também possui total importância para o processo de desenvolvimento do aluno, já que a aprendizagem opera de acordo com o modelo sistêmico familiar, do qual a criança está inserida, desempenhando assim, funções e expectativas mútuas. Sendo a escola e a família espaços para o desenvolvimento da criança com e/ ou sem deficiência intelectual, fez-se necessário a reflexão sobre a relação entre ambas no que diz respeito à questão da empatia, através da perspectiva de comunidade proposta por Carneiro (2011), a qual argumenta que é necessário que haja uma relação de parceria entre as mesmas, deixando de lado o modelo hierárquico em que a escola assume poder sobre a família. Para a melhor compreensão desta questão, serão apresentados casos provenientes de atendimento psicopedagógico, nos quais em três houve o comprometimento nesta relação, evidenciando que quando não se estabelece de forma saudável essa empatia, o processo de inclusão escolar do aluno pode ser prejudicado. Desta forma, este estudo conclui que a relação empática entre escola e família pode facilitar o processo de inclusão, pois tanto a família quanto a escola podem trabalhar como parceiras visando o mesmo objetivo: o desenvolvimento das potencialidades do aluno com deficiência e sua consequente inclusão

Direitos Humanos na Educação: análise das publicações divulgadas na mídia digital no período de 2000 a 2016

O objetivo do estudo foi identificar e analisar o que tem sido divulgado na mídia digital escrita sobre o tema Direitos Humanos na área da educação. Para isto foram coletadas reportagens publicadas no website  do jornal Folha de São Paulo no período de 2000 a 2016  utilizando-se o descritor direitos humanos. Os dados coletados foram organizados e preparados no programa Open Office e, com o apoio do software IRAMUTEQ (Interface de R Pour Analyses Multidimensionnelles de Textes et de Questionnaires): foram realizadas as seguintes análises: Análise de similitude, Análise Fatorial por Correspondência, Classificação Hierárquica Descendente e Nuvem de Palavras. Os resultados apontaram para seis classes sobre o tema proposto: políticas públicas para povos e comunidades; violência escolar; promoção de políticas públicas; paz mundial; educação formal em direitos humanos; ativismo estudantil. Concluiu-se que, apesar dos avanços  das questões legais e conceituais dos direitos humanos ligados à educação, ainda há um percurso desafiador e extenso para que esses direitos possam ser materializados na atualidade e contexto brasileiro.

Fracasso escolar e evasão no Ensino Médio no Brasil: estado do conhecimento

The main objective of this research was to carry out a review (state of knowledge) on school dropout in high school in Brazil, with an emphasis on school failure, in order to understand the main variables and aspects related to dropout by students in this cycle in basic education schooling. National articles were selected from the Capes Periódicos database considering the last decade, using the combination of the descriptors "school dropout" and "high school". The collected data were submitted to content analysis. The main results showed that school dropout occurs, most of the time, because of social vulnerability, lack of adequacy of pedagogical proposals to the reality of students, absence of public policies and early work.El objetivo principal de esta investigación fue llevar a cabo una revisión (estado del conociemento) sobre el abandono escolar en la escuela secundaria en Brasil, con énfasis en el fracaso escolar, con el fin de comprender las principales variables y aspectos relacionados con el abandono escolar de los estudiantes en este ciclo de educación básica. enseñanza. Se seleccionaron artículos nacionales de la base de datos de Capes Periódicos considerando la última década, utilizando la combinación de los descriptores "deserción escolar" y "escuela secundaria". Los datos recopilados fueron sometidos a análisis de contenido. Los principales resultados mostraron que la deserción escolar ocurre, la mayoría de las veces, debido a la vulnerabilidad social, la falta de adecuación de las propuestas pedagógicas a la realidad de los estudiantes, la ausencia de políticas públicas y el trabajo temprano.A presente pesquisa teve como objetivo principal realizar uma revisão (estado do conhecimento) sobre a evasão escolar no Ensino Médio no Brasil, tendo como ênfase o fracasso escolar, de modo a compreender as principais variáveis e aspectos relacionados ao abandono por parte dos alunos deste ciclo na formação básica da escolarização. Foram selecionados artigos nacionais da base de dados Capes Periódicos considerando a última década, utilizando a combinação dos descritores “evasão escolar” e “ensino médio”. Os dados coletados foram submetidos à análise de conteúdo. Os resultados principais evidenciaram que a evasão escolar ocorre, na maioria das vezes, por causa da vulnerabilidade social, falta de adequação das propostas pedagógicas à realidade dos estudantes, ausência de políticas públicas e trabalho precoce

Engineering modular and orthogonal genetic logic gates for robust digital-like synthetic biology

Modular and orthogonal genetic logic gates are essential for building robust biologically based digital devices to customize cell signalling in synthetic biology. Here we constructed an orthogonal AND gate in Escherichia coli using a novel hetero-regulation module from Pseudomonas syringae. The device comprises two co-activating genes hrpR and hrpS controlled by separate promoter inputs, and a σ54-dependent hrpL promoter driving the output. The hrpL promoter is activated only when both genes are expressed, generating digital-like AND integration behaviour. The AND gate is demonstrated to be modular by applying new regulated promoters to the inputs, and connecting the output to a NOT gate module to produce a combinatorial NAND gate. The circuits were assembled using a parts-based engineering approach of quantitative characterization, modelling, followed by construction and testing. The results show that new genetic logic devices can be engineered predictably from novel native orthogonal biological control elements using quantitatively in-context characterized parts

Measured and Simulated Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Ryegrass- and Ryegrass/White Clover-Based Grasslands in a Moist Temperate Climate

There is uncertainty about the potential reduction of soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emission when fertilizer nitrogen (FN) is partially or completely replaced by biological N fixation (BNF) in temperate grassland. The objectives of this study were to 1) investigate the changes in N2O emissions when BNF is used to replace FN in permanent grassland, and 2) evaluate the applicability of the process-based model DNDC to simulate N2O emissions from Irish grasslands. Three grazing treatments were: (i) ryegrass (Lolium perenne) grasslands receiving 226 kg FN ha−1 yr−1 (GG+FN), (ii) ryegrass/white clover (Trifolium repens) grasslands receiving 58 kg FN ha−1 yr−1 (GWC+FN) applied in spring, and (iii) ryegrass/white clover grasslands receiving no FN (GWC-FN). Two background treatments, un-grazed swards with ryegrass only (G–B) or ryegrass/white clover (WC–B), did not receive slurry or FN and the herbage was harvested by mowing. There was no significant difference in annual N2O emissions between G–B (2.38±0.12 kg N ha−1 yr−1 (mean±SE)) and WC-B (2.45±0.85 kg N ha−1 yr−1), indicating that N2O emission due to BNF itself and clover residual decomposition from permanent ryegrass/clover grassland was negligible. N2O emissions were 7.82±1.67, 6.35±1.14 and 6.54±1.70 kg N ha−1 yr−1, respectively, from GG+FN, GWC+FN and GWC-FN. N2O fluxes simulated by DNDC agreed well with the measured values with significant correlation between simulated and measured daily fluxes for the three grazing treatments, but the simulation did not agree very well for the background treatments. DNDC overestimated annual emission by 61% for GG+FN, and underestimated by 45% for GWC-FN, but simulated very well for GWC+FN. Both the measured and simulated results supported that there was a clear reduction of N2O emissions when FN was replaced by BNF

Mast Cell-Derived Histamine Mediates Cystitis Pain

Background: Mast cells trigger inflammation that is associated with local pain, but the mechanisms mediating pain are unclear. Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a bladder disease that causes debilitating pelvic pain of unknown origin and without consistent inflammation, but IC symptoms correlate with elevated bladder lamina propria mast cell counts. We hypothesized that mast cells mediate pelvic pain directly and examined pain behavior using a murine model that recapitulates key aspects of IC. Methods and Findings: Infection of mice with pseudorabies virus (PRV) induces a neurogenic cystitis associated with lamina propria mast cell accumulation dependent upon tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF), TNF-mediated bladder barrier dysfunction, and pelvic pain behavior, but the molecular basis for pelvic pain is unknown. In this study, both PRV-induced pelvic pain and bladder pathophysiology were abrogated in mast cell-deficient mice but were restored by reconstitution with wild type bone marrow. Pelvic pain developed normally in TNF- and TNF receptor-deficient mice, while bladder pathophysiology was abrogated. Conversely, genetic or pharmacologic disruption of histamine receptor H1R or H2R attenuated pelvic pain without altering pathophysiology. Conclusions: These data demonstrate that mast cells promote cystitis pain and bladder pathophysiology through the separable actions of histamine and TNF, respectively. Therefore, pain is independent of pathology and inflammation, an

Identification of a Novel Gene Product That Promotes Survival of Mycobacterium smegmatis in Macrophages

BACKGROUND: Bacteria of the suborder Corynebacterineae include significant human pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. leprae. Drug resistance in mycobacteria is increasingly common making identification of new antimicrobials a priority. Mycobacteria replicate intracellularly, most commonly within the phagosomes of macrophages, and bacterial proteins essential for intracellular survival and persistence are particularly attractive targets for intervention with new generations of anti-mycobacterial drugs. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have identified a novel gene that, when inactivated, leads to accelerated death of M. smegmatis within a macrophage cell line in the first eight hours following infection. Complementation of the mutant with an intact copy of the gene restored survival to near wild type levels. Gene disruption did not affect growth compared to wild type M. smegmatis in axenic culture or in the presence of low pH or reactive oxygen intermediates, suggesting the growth defect is not related to increased susceptibility to these stresses. The disrupted gene, MSMEG_5817, is conserved in all mycobacteria for which genome sequence information is available, and designated Rv0807 in M. tuberculosis. Although homology searches suggest that MSMEG_5817 is similar to the serine:pyruvate aminotransferase of Brevibacterium linens suggesting a possible role in glyoxylate metabolism, enzymatic assays comparing activity in wild type and mutant strains demonstrated no differences in the capacity to metabolize glyoxylate. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: MSMEG_5817 is a previously uncharacterized gene that facilitates intracellular survival of mycobacteria. Interference with the function of MSMEG_5817 may provide a novel therapeutic approach for control of mycobacterial pathogens by assisting the host immune system in clearance of persistent intracellular bacteria