Identification of chromosomal rearrangements in colorectal cancer

Curs 2014-2015Cancer research is continuously shedding light into these worldwide leading diseases. It is mandatory to have higher knowledge in cancer biology to consequently find out new candidate biomarkers and therapeutics. Among all of them, Colorectal cancer is the most commonly seen of human malignant cancers and has the third highest mortality rate[1]. Since the release of the first human genome sequence in 2004, new techniques have revolutionised the study of genetics and its possible applications. A broad type of studies has been carried out; being Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms and Copy Number Variants the most intensively studied analysis. However, other kinds of mutations involving larger parts of the genome, the so-called structural variants, have been substantially less analyzed due to technical limitations. High-throughput sequencing methods seem to have lowered these restrictions. In this study, gene fusions have been searched in whole exome sequencing samples taking 42 paired normal and cancer tissues. Beginning with short-read files obtained with the mentioned method, they have been aligned against a reference genome to later be analyzed with Breakdancer, a structural variant calling algorithm. After some filtering criteria performed in order to remove a high proportion of false positives, a highly probable list of 22 balanced structural variants (translocations and/or inversions) has been manually studied to get a final result of 20 chromosomal rearrangements, 8 of which are considered gene fusions. In addition, it has been found that one recurrent translocation seen in recent studies is indeed a false positive. Further studies taking into account these results may contribute to the findings of new biomarkers for certain subtypes of colorectal cancer.Director/a: Victor Moreno, co-director: Mireia Olivell

Phages in the human body

Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, have re-emerged as powerful regulators of bacterial populations in natural ecosystems. Phages invade the human body, just as they do other natural environments, to such an extent that they are the most numerous group in the human virome. This was only revealed in recent metagenomic studies, despite the fact that the presence of phages in the human body was reported decades ago. The influence of the presence of phages in humans has yet to be evaluated; but as in marine environments, a clear role in the regulation of bacterial populations could be envisaged, that might have an impact on human health. Moreover, phages are excellent vehicles of genetic transfer, and they contribute to the evolution of bacterial cells in the human body by spreading and acquiring DNA horizontally. The abundance of phages in the human body does not pass unnoticed and the immune system reacts to them, although it is not clear to what extent. Finally, the presence of phages in human samples, which most of the time is not considered, can influence and bias microbiological and molecular results; and, in view of the evidences, some studies suggest that more attention needs to be paid to their interference

Phages in the human body

Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, have re-emerged as powerful regulators of bacterial populations in natural ecosystems. Phages invade the human body, just as they do other natural environments, to such an extent that they are the most numerous group in the human virome. This was only revealed in recent metagenomic studies, despite the fact that the presence of phages in the human body was reported decades ago. The influence of the presence of phages in humans has yet to be evaluated; but as in marine environments, a clear role in the regulation of bacterial populations could be envisaged, that might have an impact on human health. Moreover, phages are excellent vehicles of genetic transfer, and they contribute to the evolution of bacterial cells in the human body by spreading and acquiring DNA horizontally. The abundance of phages in the human body does not pass unnoticed and the immune system reacts to them, although it is not clear to what extent. Finally, the presence of phages in human samples, which most of the time is not considered, can influence and bias microbiological and molecular results; and, in view of the evidences, some studies suggest that more attention needs to be paid to their interference

La covid-19. El comportament epidèmic a Espanya

En el número 63-64 de la revista L'Espill trobaràs un dossier monogràfic sobre "Feminisme avui i demà", amb contribucions de Capitolina Diaz, Ingrid Lafita i Teresa Turiera-Puigbò Bergadà. A més, articles de Ferran Martínez Navarro, Josep Lluís Barona, Victor Maceda, Carles Cabrera, David Murillo i Manuel Alcaraz, així com documents de Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak i una conversa amb Burham Sömnez

Bacteriophages in clinical samples can interfere with microbiological diagnostic tools

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria, and they are found everywhere their bacterial hosts are present, including the human body. To explore the presence of phages in clinical samples, we assessed 65 clinical samples (blood, ascitic fluid, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and serum). Infectious tailed phages were detected in >45% of ascitic fluid and urine samples. Three examples of phage interference with bacterial isolation were observed. Phages prevented the confluent bacterial growth required for an antibiogram assay when the inoculum was taken from an agar plate containing lysis plaques, but not when taken from a single colony in a phage-free area. In addition, bacteria were isolated directly from ascitic fluid, but not after liquid enrichment culture of the same samples, since phage propagation lysed the bacteria. Lastly, Gram-negative bacilli observed in a urine sample did not grow on agar plates due to the high densities of infectious phages in the sample

Bacteriophages in clinical samples can interfere with microbiological diagnostic tools

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria, and they are found everywhere their bacterial hosts are present, including the human body. To explore the presence of phages in clinical samples, we assessed 65 clinical samples (blood, ascitic fluid, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and serum). Infectious tailed phages were detected in >45% of ascitic fluid and urine samples. Three examples of phage interference with bacterial isolation were observed. Phages prevented the confluent bacterial growth required for an antibiogram assay when the inoculum was taken from an agar plate containing lysis plaques, but not when taken from a single colony in a phage-free area. In addition, bacteria were isolated directly from ascitic fluid, but not after liquid enrichment culture of the same samples, since phage propagation lysed the bacteria. Lastly, Gram-negative bacilli observed in a urine sample did not grow on agar plates due to the high densities of infectious phages in the sampl

Concatenación temporal de modelos espaciales y su aplicación al estudio de la meningitis en España

La cartografía de enfermedades infecciosas en periodos sucesivos plantea la necesidad de su extensión al caso dinámico. En este trabajo proponemos la concatenación temporal de modelos auto-regresivos espaciales para abordar el análisis de mortalidad por meningitis en España en el período 1950-1990 con datos agregados a nivel provincial. Para la estimación v selección del modelo usamos técnicas basadas en la función de verosimilitud

El uso de los medios audiovisuales en la adolescencia y su relación con el bienestar subjetivo : análisis cualitativo desde la perspectiva intergeneracional y de género1

El presente artículo expone los resultados de una investigación cualitativa que explora, desde la perspectiva intergeneracional y de género, de qué forma el uso de los medios audiovisuales influye en el bienestar subjetivo en la adolescencia. Se han realizado tres entrevistas grupales semi-estructuradas con chicas adolescentes (de 12 a 18 años) y dos con madres de chicos y chicas de estas edades. Los resultados avalan una vez más que las relaciones interpersonales son uno de los factores que en mayor medida contribuye en el bienestar de los y las adolescentes. Las chicas manifiestan que el uso de las tecnologías audiovisuales contribuye a su bienestar subjetivo porque les posibilita mantener las relaciones interpersonales con sus iguales. Las madres, en cambio, ponen en duda que un uso excesivo de las tecnologías pueda contribuir al bienestar subjetivo. Por otra parte, chicas y madres coinciden en comentar que el uso de las tecnologías dificulta las relaciones de los adolescentes con sus progenitores.This paper presents the results of a qualitative research that explores, from an intergenerational and gender perspective, how the use of audiovisual media influences to personal well-being in adolescence. Three, semi-structured group interviews were used with adolescent girls (aged 12 to 18 years), and two with mothers of boys and girls of those ages. The results show that interpersonal relationships are one of the factors that greatly contribute to the adolescents' wellbeing. Girls said that the use of technology generates personal well-being because it allows them to maintain interpersonal relationships with their peers. The mothers, however, question whether overuse of technology can contribute to their personal well-being. On the other hand, girls and mothers agree to comment that the use of technology hinders the relationships that adolescents have with their parents