A Compensatory Liability Regime to Promote the Exchange of Microbial Genetic Resources for Research and Benefit Sharing

Female rhesus macaques were immunized with HIV virus-like particles (HIV-VLPs) or HIV DNA administered as sequential combinations of mucosal (intranasal) and systemic (intramuscular) routes, according to homologous or heterologous prime-boost schedules. The results show that in rhesus macaques only the sequential intranasal and intramuscular administration of HIV-VLPs, and not the intranasal alone, is able to elicit humoral immune response at the systemic as well as the vaginal level.funding agencies|Simian Vaccine Evaluation Unit (SVEU) of the Division of AIDS||European Community|201433|</p

Effects of adjuvants on IgG subclasses elicited by virus-like Particles

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Virus-Like Particles (VLPs) represent an efficient strategy to present and deliver conformational antigens to the immune system, inducing both arms of the adaptive immune response. Moreover, their particulate structure surrounded by cell membrane provides an adjuvanted effect to VLP-based immunizations. In the present study, the elicitation of different patterns of IgG subclasses by VLPs, administered in CpG ODN1826 or poly(I:C) adjuvants, has been evaluated in an animal model.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Adjuvanted VLPs elicited a higher titer of total specific IgG compared to VLPs alone. Furthermore, while VLPs alone induced a balanced T_H2 pattern, VLPs formulated with either adjuvant elicited a T_H1-biased IgG subclasses (IgG2a and IgG3), with poly(I:C) more potent than CpG ODN1826.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results confirmed that adjuvants efficiently improve antigen immunogenicity and represent a suitable strategy to skew the adaptive immune response toward the differentiation of the desired T helper subset, also using VLPs as antigen.</p

Long-term cellular and regional specificity of the photoreceptor toxin, iodoacetic acid (IAA), in the rabbit retina

This study investigated the anatomical consequences of a photoreceptor toxin, iodoacetic acid (IAA), in the rabbit retina. Retinae were examined 2 weeks, 1, 3, and 6 months after systemic IAA injection. The retinae were processed using standard histological methods to assess the gross morphology and topographical distribution of damage, and by immunohistochemistry to examine specific cell populations in the retina. Degeneration was restricted to the photoreceptors and was most common in the ventral retina and visual streak. In damaged regions, the outer nuclear layer was reduced in thickness or eliminated entirely, with a concomitant loss of immunoreactivity for rhodopsin. However, the magnitude of the effect varied between animals with the same IAA dose and survival time, suggesting individual differences in the bioavailability of the toxin. In all eyes, the inner retina remained intact, as judged by the thickness of the inner nuclear layer, and by the pattern of immunoreactivity for protein kinase C-α (rod bipolar cells) and calbindin D-28 (horizontal cells). Müller cell stalks became immunoreactive for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) even in IAA-treated retinae that had no signs of cell loss, indicating a response of the retina to the toxin. However, no marked hypertrophy or proliferation of Müller cells was observed with either GFAP or vimentin immunohistochemistry. Thus the selective, long lasting damage to the photoreceptors produced by this toxin did not lead to a reorganization of the surviving cells, at least with survival as long as 6 months, in contrast to the remodeling of the inner retina that is observed in inherited retinal degenerations such as retinitis pigmentosa and retinal injuries such as retinal detachmen

Aprendizaje Basado en Problemas: aplicación a la asignatura “Microeconomía” del Grado en Marketing e Investigación de Mercados

El Aprendizaje Basado en Problemas (ABP) es una metodología docente basada en el desarrollo de la materia a través del estudio y resolución de casos y problemas. Otorga un mayor protagonismo a los alumnos y les permite el desarrollo de habilidades como el trabajo colaborativo, el aprendizaje autónomo y la capacidad de autoevaluación. En este trabajo presentamos la experiencia de la aplicación del ABP a la asignatura de Microeconomía del primer curso del Grado de Marketing e Investigación de Mercados. La iniciativa surge al considerar que puede aportar aspectos muy positivos al desarrollo de la asignatura, caracterizada por su alto contenido teórico, y, además, por responder a las exigencias del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior. La experiencia ha permitido la comparación del ABP con el método tradicional de docencia y presentar sus ventajas respecto a éste. La valoración de los alumnos y los resultados obtenidos han sido altamente positivos.The Problem-based learning (BPL) is a student-centered teaching methodology, in which students collaboratively analyze and solve problems that try to simulate situations students will face in the real world working. The BPL gives a relevant role to students and it allows the development of several competences like working in groups, autonomous learning and the capacity of self-evaluation. This work presents the experience of the use of BPL in Microeconomics, a subject of the first year of the university studies on Marketing and Markets Research. The initiative arises when we realize that BPL could contribute significantly in the performance of the subject, which has an important theoretical content. Moreover, from our point of view, such methodology is in accordance to the requirements of the European Space for Higher Education. The experience has allowed us to compare BPL with the traditional teaching method and present its advantages with respect to the latter. The students’ appraisal and the results obtained have been very positive

Prevalence of human papillomavirus genotypes and their variants in high risk West Africa women immigrants in South Italy

BACKGROUND: The distribution of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) varies greatly across populations and HPV surveys have been performed in different geographical regions in order to apply appropriate vaccine strategies. Little information, however, exists regarding HPV genotypes distribution in immigrant women from countries at high incidence for cervical cancer. The aim of this study was to determine the spectrum of HPVs and their variants among HIV-positive and HIV-negative women immigrants in South Italy mainly from West Africa and with a history of prostitution. RESULTS: Cervical cytological samples have been collected from 14 HIV-positive and 31 HIV-negative immigrants (38 out of 45 were born in Nigeria), attending a gynecological outpatient clinic in the Campania region. Human papillomaviruses were detected by broad spectrum consensus-primer-pairs MY09/MY11 and GP5+/GP6+-based polymerase chain reaction and characterized by nucleotide sequence analysis. Altogether, 42.2% (19/45) of samples were HPV positive with detection rates of 57.1% (8/14) in HIV-positive and 35.5% (11/31) in HIV-negative women. Among the twelve different viral genotypes identified, HPV33, 58, 70 and 81 were the prevalent genotypes with a frequency of 6.7% each, followed by HPV16, 35, 42, 54, 31, 52, 56 and 67, in descending order of prevalence. Sequence homology studies performed on the L1 amplified fragments of HPV16, 52 and 58 isolates allowed the identification of nucleotide changes distinctive of non-European variants. CONCLUSION: The overall HPV prevalence (42.2%) was high in this immigrant women group with the most common viral types other than HPV16 and 18, against which current vaccine strategies have been developed. The distribution of HPV genotypes and their variants in high-risk immigrants reflects that of their original countries. The surveillance of risk groups that may act as viral reservoirs of uncommon genotypes within different countries are necessary to determine the severity of HPV infection with the different viral types and to monitor a possible shift of prevalent strains following vaccination

Immunopathology and Trypanosoma congolense parasite sequestration cause acute cerebral trypanosomiasis

© 2022, Silva Pereira, De Niz et al. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.Trypanosoma congolense causes a syndrome of variable severity in animals in Africa. Cerebral trypanosomiasis is a severe form, but the mechanism underlying this severity remains unknown. We developed a mouse model of acute cerebral trypanosomiasis and characterized the cellular, behavioral, and physiological consequences of this infection. We show large parasite sequestration in the brain vasculature for long periods of time (up to 8 hr) and extensive neuropathology that associate with ICAM1-mediated recruitment and accumulation of T cells in the brain parenchyma. Antibody-mediated ICAM1 blocking and lymphocyte absence reduce parasite sequestration in the brain and prevent the onset of cerebral trypanosomiasis. Here, we establish a mouse model of acute cerebral trypanosomiasis and we propose a mechanism whereby parasite sequestration, host ICAM1, and CD4+ T cells play a pivotal role.This work was supported by European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program through a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Standard European Fellowship to S.S.P., under grant agreement no. 839960, and from the European Research Council (ERC) (FatTryp, 771714) to L.M.F. M.D.N. was funded by Human Frontiers LT000047/2019 L (HFSP) and EMBO (ALTF 1048–2016). L.M.F., K.S., and C.A.F. are Investigators CEEC of the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (CEECIND/03322/2018, CEECIND/00697/2018, CEECIND/04251/2017, respectively). C.A.F. was supported by a European Research Council starting grant (679368), the Fondation Leducq (17CVD03), and the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (grants IF/00412/2012, EXPL/BEX- BCM/2258/2013, PRECISE-LISBOA-01–0145-FEDER-016394, PTDC/MED-PAT/31639/2017, PTDC/BIA-CEL/32180/2017).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Graphene oxide–polysulfone filters for tap water purification, obtained by fast microwave oven treatment

The availability of clean, pure water is a major challenge for the future of our society. 2-Dimensional nanosheets of GO seem promising as nanoporous adsorbent or filters for water purification; however, their processing in macroscopic filters is challenging, and their cost\ua0vs.\ua0standard polymer filters is too high. Here, we describe a novel approach to combine graphene oxide (GO) sheets with commercial polysulfone (PSU) membranes for improved removal of organic contaminants from water. The adsorption physics of contaminants on the PSU-GO composite follows Langmuir and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) models, with partial swelling and intercalation of molecules in between the GO layers. Such a mechanism, well-known in layered clays, has not been reported previously for graphene or GO. Our approach requires minimal amounts of GO, deposited directly on the surface of the polymer, followed by stabilization using microwaves or heat. The purification efficiency of the PSU-GO composites is significantly improved\ua0vs.\ua0benchmark commercial PSU, as demonstrated by the removal of two model contaminants, rhodamine B and ofloxacin. The excellent stability of the composite is confirmed by extensive (100 hours) filtration tests in commercial water cartridges

La coordinación de materias de economía en el Grado de Marketing e Investigación de Mercados

El objetivo del proyecto es conocer la posible existencia de solapamiento de los contenidos de las diversas asignaturas de economía que imparte el departamento de Economía e Historia Económica en el grado de Marketing y evaluar el grado de satisfacción del alumno con la metodología utilizada a fin de mejorar la misma. Para ello, se ha realizado una encuesta de elaboración propia a los alumnos matriculados entre los cursos académicos 2004-05 y 2008-09. Los resultados obtenidos nos permiten descartar un excesivo solapamiento de contenidos, tan solo el 10,6% de la muestra manifestó dicha opción, y para el 43,6% de los preguntados los contenidos de las asignaturas resultan complementarios. En cuanto a la metodología docente aunque no parece distar de la adecuada en función de las respuestas, un 60% considera que debería combinar las clases magistrales del profesor, con la preparación y posterior exposición por parte de los alumnos de contenidos teóricos y prácticos de las asignaturas .Sí manifiestan una excesiva carga teórica que dificulta en ocasiones la comprensión de las materias. En cuanto a la motivación del alumnado a partir del trabajo de los profesores, la respuesta supera una media de 3 en la escala de Likert, lo cual implica que no hay una clara desmotivación, aunque es susceptible de mejora al no encontraese con una media de 4.The goal of this research is to determine if there exist overlapping contents among the different subjects of economics given by Economics and Economic History Department at the Marketing degree. In addition, we try to evaluate the student’s satisfaction with the methodology applied in the different subjects in the past, in order to improve it. To achieve these goals, we have carried out our own survey to the students along the academic years between 2004/2005 and 2008/2009. The main results can be summarised as follows: On the one hand, the existence of excessive common contents can be rejected since only the 10% of the sample suggests that such common contents exist. Moreover, for the 43,6% of the students, the content of the different subjects are complementary. On 94 the other hand, as far as educational methodology is concerned, the answers given in the survey allow us to conclude that in general they have been satisfactory for the students. Nevertheless, more than the 60% of the sample considers that the methodology should combine the traditional lectures with personal work and later exposition of theoretical and practical contents of subjects by the students. Furthermore, students suggest that theoretical contents are excessive in comparison with the practical ones which can be an obstacle to understand the subjects. Concerning students’ motivation, on average the answer is over 3 in the Likert scale, which implies that, although there is not discouragement in relation to the subjects given by the Department, improvements can be done in this area