Reconceptualising Personas Across Cultures: Archetypes, Stereotypes & Collective Personas in Pastoral Namibia

The paucity of projects where persona is the research foci and a lack of consensus on this artefact keep many reticent about its purpose and value. Besides crafting personas is expected to differ across cultures, which contrasts the advancements in Western theory with studies and progress in other sites. We postulate User-Created Personas reveal specific characteristics of situated contexts by allowing laypeople to design persona artefacts in their own terms. Hence analysing four persona sessions with an ethnic group in pastoral Namibia –ovaHerero– brought up a set of fundamental questions around the persona artefact regarding stereotypes, archetypes, and collective persona representations: (1) to what extent user depictions are stereotypical or archetypal? If stereotypes prime (2) to what degree are current personas a useful method to represent end-users in technology design? And, (3) how can we ultimately read accounts not conforming to mainstream individual persona descriptions but to collectives

Use of water troughs by wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in a farmland area of north–west Spain

Uso de bebederos por parte del conejo de monte (Oryctolagus cuniculus) en un paisaje agrícola en el noroeste de EspañaEn la península Ibérica, los bebederos son una herramienta de gestión de hábitat muy frecuente para incrementar las densidades de especies de caza menor, aunque el comportamiento de ingestión de agua de las especies “diana” no se ha estudiado en profundidad, como es el caso del conejo de monte (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Estudiamos el uso de bebederos por parte de conejos de monte durante 228 períodos de una semana en tres períodos consecutivos (junio–octubre) de 2008, 2009 y 2010 en un paisaje agrícola de noroeste de España, utilizando cámaras de fototrampeo. Los conejos utilizaron el 43% de los bebederos y se observó un número significativamente mayor de conejos bebiendo en bebederos rodeados por cobertura vegetal en comparación con bebederos situados en campos abiertos sin dicha cobertura vegetal. La mayoría de los conejos que bebieron fueron fotografiados de julio a septiembre (98%), si bien la utilización de bebederos no se relacionó claramente con la climatología. Los conejos bebieron principalmente durante la mañana (52% de los conejos) no tanto durante la tarde y noche, y raramente durante el mediodía. Los conejos se fotografiaron junto con perdices rojas (Alectoris rufa) en el 6% de las fotografías. Estos hallazgos sugieren que los bebederos son útiles para el conejo y otras especies con necesidades hídricas similares y que debieran ser colocados cerca de zonas con cobertura vegetal arbustiva.Installation of water troughs is a common approach to increase densities of small game species in the Iberian peninsula but little is known about the watering patterns of target species, such as the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Using camera trapping, we monitored the use of water troughs by wild rabbits over 228 weeks in three consecutive periods, from June to October in 2008, 2009 and 2010, on farmland in north–west Spain. Wild rabbits used 43% of the water troughs. A significantly higher number of rabbits were observed drinking at troughs surrounded by shrub cover than at those in open fields. Most drinking events were recorded from July to September (98%), though the use of water troughs was not clearly related to weather. Wild rabbits drank mainly during the morning (52% of rabbits), less so in the evening and at night, and rarely in the afternoon. Wild rabbits were photographed together with red–legged partridges (Alectoris rufa) in 6% of photographs. These findings suggest water troughs are useful for species such as wild rabbits and should be allocated close to shrub areas.Uso de bebederos por parte del conejo de monte (Oryctolagus cuniculus) en un paisaje agrícola en el noroeste de EspañaEn la península Ibérica, los bebederos son una herramienta de gestión de hábitat muy frecuente para incrementar las densidades de especies de caza menor, aunque el comportamiento de ingestión de agua de las especies “diana” no se ha estudiado en profundidad, como es el caso del conejo de monte (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Estudiamos el uso de bebederos por parte de conejos de monte durante 228 períodos de una semana en tres períodos consecutivos (junio–octubre) de 2008, 2009 y 2010 en un paisaje agrícola de noroeste de España, utilizando cámaras de fototrampeo. Los conejos utilizaron el 43% de los bebederos y se observó un número significativamente mayor de conejos bebiendo en bebederos rodeados por cobertura vegetal en comparación con bebederos situados en campos abiertos sin dicha cobertura vegetal. La mayoría de los conejos que bebieron fueron fotografiados de julio a septiembre (98%), si bien la utilización de bebederos no se relacionó claramente con la climatología. Los conejos bebieron principalmente durante la mañana (52% de los conejos) no tanto durante la tarde y noche, y raramente durante el mediodía. Los conejos se fotografiaron junto con perdices rojas (Alectoris rufa) en el 6% de las fotografías. Estos hallazgos sugieren que los bebederos son útiles para el conejo y otras especies con necesidades hídricas similares y que debieran ser colocados cerca de zonas con cobertura vegetal arbustiva

Pten alterations and their role in cancer management: Are we making headway on precision medicine?

Alterations in the tumor suppressor phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) occur in a substantial proportion of solid tumors. These events drive tumorigenesis and tumor progression. Given its central role as a downregulator of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, PTEN is deeply involved in cell growth, proliferation, and survival. This gene is also implicated in the modulation of the DNA damage response and in tumor immune microenvironment modeling. Despite the actionability of PTEN alterations, their role as biomarkers remains controversial in clinical practice. To date, there is still a substantial lack of validated guidelines and/or recommendations for PTEN testing. Here, we provide an update on the current state of knowledge on biologic and genetic alterations of PTEN across the most frequent solid tumors, as well as on their actual and/or possible clinical applications. We focus on possible tailored schemes for cancer patients\u2019 clinical management, including risk assessment, diagnosis, prognostication, and treatment

Current-Driven Conformational Changes, Charging and Negative Differential Resistance in Molecular Wires

We introduce a theoretical approach based on scattering theory and total energy methods that treats transport non-linearities, conformational changes and charging effects in molecular wires in a unified way. We apply this approach to molecular wires consisting of chain molecules with different electronic and structural properties bonded to metal contacts. We show that non-linear transport in all of these systems can be understood in terms of a single physical mechanism and predict that negative differential resistance at high bias should be a generic property of such molecular wires.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Synchronous pleural and peritoneal malignant mesothelioma : a case report and review of literature

The coexistence of mesothelioma and other primary malignancies has been previously reported in literature, but the finding of a pleural mesothelioma with a synchronous peritoneal mesothelioma has not been reported so far. We report a case of a 58-years-old woman that came to our attention for the incidental finding of an inguinal mass. Fine-needle biopsies of the mass and a thoracoscopy with pleural biopsies were performed, after imaging studies showed pleural thickenings suspicious for malignancy. Histological morphology and growth pattern were similar in both cases. Both tumors stained for calretinin, but only the pleural mesothelioma showed positivity for Wilms-Tumor 1 antibody. We tried to demonstrate with molecular biology techniques whether they were synchronous or one was the metastasis of the other, but our studies did not give informative results. The prognosis in this case is poor, and after 6 months the patient is still following a chemotherapy regimen, which is the only practicable approach given the extent of the disease

Human Mas-related G protein-coupled receptors-X1 induce chemokine receptor 2 expression in rat dorsal root ganglia neurons and release of chemokine ligand 2 from the human LAD-2 mast cell line

Primate-specific Mas-related G protein-coupled receptors-X1 (MRGPR-X1) are highly enriched in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons and induce acute pain. Herein, we analyzed effects of MRGPR-X1 on serum response factors (SRF) or nuclear factors of activated T cells (NFAT), which control expression of various markers of chronic pain. Using HEK293, DRG neuron-derived F11 cells and cultured rat DRG neurons recombinantly expressing human MRGPR-X1, we found activation of a SRF reporter gene construct and induction of the early growth response protein-1 via extracellular signal-regulated kinases-1/2 known to play a significant role in the development of inflammatory pain. Furthermore, we observed MRGPR-X1-induced up-regulation of the chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2) via NFAT, which is considered as a key event in the onset of neuropathic pain and, so far, has not yet been described for any endogenous neuropeptide. Up-regulation of CCR2 is often associated with increased release of its endogenous agonist chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2). We also found MRGPR-X1-promoted release of CCL2 in a human connective tissue mast cell line endogenously expressing MRGPR-X1. Thus, we provide first evidence to suggest that MRGPR-X1 induce expression of chronic pain markers in DRG neurons and propose a so far unidentified signaling circuit that enhances chemokine signaling by acting on two distinct yet functionally co-operating cell types. Given the important role of chemokine signaling in pain chronification, we propose that interruption of this signaling circuit might be a promising new strategy to alleviate chemokine-promoted pain

Microbial and metabolic characterization of organic artisanal sauerkraut fermentation and study of gut health-promoting properties of sauerkraut brine

Sauerkraut is a traditionally fermented cabbage, and recent evidence suggests that it has beneficial properties for human health. In this work, a multi-disciplinary approach was employed to characterize the fermentation process and gut health-promoting properties of locally produced, organic sauerkraut from two distinct producers, SK1 and SK2. 16S rRNA metataxonomics showed that bacterial diversity gradually decreased as fermentation progressed. Differences in sauerkraut microbiota composition were observed between the two producers, especially at the start of fermentation. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) dominated the microbiota after 35 days, with Lactiplantibacillus being the dominant genus in both sauerkraut products, together with Leuconostoc and Paucilactobacillus in SK1, and with Pediococcus, Levilactibacillus, and Leuconostoc in SK2. LAB reached between 7 and 8 Log CFU/mL brine at the end of fermentation (35 days), while pH lowering happened within the first week of fermentation. A total of 220 LAB strains, corresponding to 133 RAPD-PCR biotypes, were successfully isolated. Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Lactiplantibacillus pentosus accounted for 67% of all SK1 isolates, and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum/paraplantarum and Leuconostoc mesenteroides represented 72% of all the isolates from SK2. 1H-NMR analysis revealed significant changes in microbial metabolite profiles during the fermentation process, with lactic and acetic acids, as well as amino acids, amines, and uracil, being the dominant metabolites quantified. Sauerkraut brine did not affect trans-epithelial electrical resistance through a Caco-2 cell monolayer as a measure of gut barrier function. However, significant modulation of inflammatory response after LPS stimulation was observed in PBMCs-Caco-2 co-culture. Sauerkraut brine supported a robust inflammatory response to endotoxin, by increasing TNF-α and IL-6 production while also stimulating the anti-inflammatory IL-10, therefore suggesting positive resolution of inflammation after 24 h and supporting the potential of sauerkraut brine to regulate intestinal immune function

Osservatorio comorbidità nei grandi anziani con Fibrillazione Atriale

La Fibrillazione Atriale (FA) è una patologia correlata all’età - colpisce il 16% degli ultra ottantacinquenni - che aumenta di circa cinque volte il rischio di ictus cerebrale. La terapia anticoagulante ha un ruolo centrale nel trattamento della FA, e la sua applicazione nel paziente anziano è ostacolata dalla presenza di comorbidità, di politerapia e dalla necessità di gestione delle possibili interazioni farmacologiche. Ulteriori elementi di difficoltà derivano dalla interazione tra diversi specialisti, dall’inerzia prescrittiva, dalla complessità del sistema di accesso alle cure e, non ultimo, anche dalle difficoltà di gestione del paziente anziano in terapia anticoagulante da parte dei caregiver familiari. Obiettivo dell’Osservatorio è stato identificare le problematiche dei pazienti con FA riguardo la gestione della terapia anticoagulante in presenza di diverse patologie e terapie concomitanti, attraverso il contributo del Board multistakeholder, dell’analisi della comunicazione on line sulla FA, nonché a due survey su medici e pazienti. È stato delineato un quadro della condizione dei pazienti anziani con FA e delle difficoltà nella gestione quotidiana della malattia, a partire dal quale sono state formulate alcune proposte di intervento rivolte ai decisori, ai clinici e in generale a tutti coloro che sono chiamati alla gestione concreta della malattia insieme a pazienti e caregive