The rate of the molecular clock and the cost of gratuitous protein synthesis

The nature of the protein molecular clock, the protein-specific rate of amino acid substitutions, is among the central questions of molecular evolution. Protein expression level is the dominant determinant of the clock rate in a number of organisms. It has been suggested that highly expressed proteins evolve slowly in all species mainly to maintain robustness to translation errors that generate toxic misfolded proteins. Here we investigate this hypothesis experimentally by comparing the growth rate of Escherichia coli expressing wild type and misfolding-prone variants of the LacZ protein. We show that the cost of toxic protein misfolding is small compared to other costs associated with protein synthesis. Complementary computational analyses demonstrate that there is also a relatively weaker, but statistically significant, selection for increasing solubility and polarity in highly expressed E. coli proteins. Although we cannot rule out the possibility that selection against misfolding toxicity significantly affects the protein clock in species other than E. coli, our results suggest that it is unlikely to be the dominant and universal factor determining the clock rate in all organisms. We find that in this bacterium other costs associated with protein synthesis are likely to play an important role. Interestingly, our experiments also suggest significant costs associated with volume effects, such as jamming of the cellular environment with unnecessary proteins

Desarrollo sostenible en edificaciones

In  this document  two  topics are exposed:  (1) how  the problems of  the energy consumption and of  the polluting emissions  of  the  current  constructions  they  can  be  reduced with  the  concept  green  building,  and  (2)  how  the sustainable  applications,  implemented  in  other  countries,  they  could  generate  fnancial  important  savings  and sustainability during  the use of  the Edifcio Eléctrica 2 of  the Universidad  Industrial de Santander  that  is  in  the process of design due to two factors: the decrease in the electric power demand and the use of the renewable energies in place. The review of the state-of-the-art, has as central aspects: the sustainable development, the exergy concept and the green building. This analysis of the information will allow establish the relevant aspects to take into account in the technical specifcations for the future design of the Edifcio Eléctrica 2. En este documento se exponen dos aspectos: (1) cómo los problemas del consumo de energía y de las emisiones contaminantes  de  las  edificaciones  actuales  pueden  reducirse  desde  el  concepto  green  building,  y  (2)  cómo  las aplicaciones  sostenibles,  implementadas  en  otros  países,  podrían  generar  importantes  ahorros  financieros  y sostenibilidad durante la utilización del Edificio Eléctrica 2 de la Universidad Industrial de Santander que está en proceso de diseño, debido a dos factores: la disminución en la demanda de energía eléctrica y el aprovechamiento de las energías renovables en sitio. La revisión del estado del arte realizada, tiene como aspectos centrales: el desarrollo sostenible, el concepto de la exergía y los green building. Este análisis de la información permitirá establecer los aspectos relevantes a tener en cuenta en las especifcaciones técnicas del futuro diseño del Edificio Eléctrica 2

Desarrollo sostenible en edificaciones

In  this document  two  topics are exposed:  (1) how  the problems of  the energy consumption and of  the polluting emissions  of  the  current  constructions  they  can  be  reduced with  the  concept  green  building,  and  (2)  how  the sustainable  applications,  implemented  in  other  countries,  they  could  generate  fnancial  important  savings  and sustainability during  the use of  the Edifcio Eléctrica 2 of  the Universidad  Industrial de Santander  that  is  in  the process of design due to two factors: the decrease in the electric power demand and the use of the renewable energies in place. The review of the state-of-the-art, has as central aspects: the sustainable development, the exergy concept and the green building. This analysis of the information will allow establish the relevant aspects to take into account in the technical specifcations for the future design of the Edifcio Eléctrica 2. En este documento se exponen dos aspectos: (1) cómo los problemas del consumo de energía y de las emisiones contaminantes  de  las  edificaciones  actuales  pueden  reducirse  desde  el  concepto  green  building,  y  (2)  cómo  las aplicaciones  sostenibles,  implementadas  en  otros  países,  podrían  generar  importantes  ahorros  financieros  y sostenibilidad durante la utilización del Edificio Eléctrica 2 de la Universidad Industrial de Santander que está en proceso de diseño, debido a dos factores: la disminución en la demanda de energía eléctrica y el aprovechamiento de las energías renovables en sitio. La revisión del estado del arte realizada, tiene como aspectos centrales: el desarrollo sostenible, el concepto de la exergía y los green building. Este análisis de la información permitirá establecer los aspectos relevantes a tener en cuenta en las especifcaciones técnicas del futuro diseño del Edificio Eléctrica 2

Desarrollo histórico de una publicación científica: cuarenta años de la Revista Latinoamericana de Psicología

La Revista Latinoamericana de Psicología (RLP) fue fundada en 1969. En este artículo se presenta el contexto del desarrollo histórico de la psicología en Latinoamérica cuando se funda la revista y un análisis de sus principales características editoriales, incluyendo equipo editorial, revisión por pares, financiación y distribución, estructura y números monográficos, artículos publicados y su origen, autores y áreas de la psicología cubiertas. Se examina la influencia de la RLP en el desarrollo de otras revistas de psicología en Latinoamérica y España. Se discute el papel que la Revista Latinoamericana de Psicología ha jugado en el desarrollo de la psicología en estas regiones y en la constitución de sus comunidades académicas. En particular, se argumenta que la RLP ha sido uno de los principales espacios de divulgación de la producción académica de los psicólogos de la región, además de haber marcado las tendencias e introducido múltiples áreas de especialidad de la psicología en lengua castellana

La Comunicación De La Misión Institucional En La Formación De Tutores Pares

Se comparten resultados de un proyecto de investigación, en donde se asumió la problemática de fortalecer la formación de los estudiantes en un programa de Escuela de Tutores Pares (ETP). Uno de los objetivos específicos fue valorar las experiencias educativas del programa, en donde, para el caso, se comparte la valoración realizada a la sesión Misión Institucional, llamada en adelante como: “La sesión”. Esta apuesta se basó en un marco teórico y procedimental estructurado así: i) La dinámica del aprendizaje entre iguales; ii) La Tutoría entre pares como estrategia universitaria para reducir la deserción; iii) La formación de tutores pares y iv) La Sistematización de Experiencias Educativas (SEE). Metodológicamente, se adelantó un proceso de SEE en sus fases organizativa, de desarrollo y de transferencia, Como parte de los resultados, se comparte lo relacionado con la transferencia (aplicabilidad) de la experiencia formativa al rol de TP y se formulan lineamientos en correspondencia

Sequencing analysis of 20,000 full-length cDNA clones from cassava reveals lineage specific expansions in gene families related to stress response

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cassava, an allotetraploid known for its remarkable tolerance to abiotic stresses is an important source of energy for humans and animals and a raw material for many industrial processes. A full-length cDNA library of cassava plants under normal, heat, drought, aluminum and post harvest physiological deterioration conditions was built; 19968 clones were sequence-characterized using expressed sequence tags (ESTs).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The ESTs were assembled into 6355 contigs and 9026 singletons that were further grouped into 10577 scaffolds; we found 4621 new cassava sequences and 1521 sequences with no significant similarity to plant protein databases. Transcripts of 7796 distinct genes were captured and we were able to assign a functional classification to 78% of them while finding more than half of the enzymes annotated in metabolic pathways in Arabidopsis. The annotation of sequences that were not paired to transcripts of other species included many stress-related functional categories showing that our library is enriched with stress-induced genes. Finally, we detected 230 putative gene duplications that include key enzymes in reactive oxygen species signaling pathways and could play a role in cassava stress response features.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The cassava full-length cDNA library here presented contains transcripts of genes involved in stress response as well as genes important for different areas of cassava research. This library will be an important resource for gene discovery, characterization and cloning; in the near future it will aid the annotation of the cassava genome.</p

Sequencing analysis of 20,000 full-length cDNA clones from cassava reveals lineage specific expansions in gene families related to stress response

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cassava, an allotetraploid known for its remarkable tolerance to abiotic stresses is an important source of energy for humans and animals and a raw material for many industrial processes. A full-length cDNA library of cassava plants under normal, heat, drought, aluminum and post harvest physiological deterioration conditions was built; 19968 clones were sequence-characterized using expressed sequence tags (ESTs).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The ESTs were assembled into 6355 contigs and 9026 singletons that were further grouped into 10577 scaffolds; we found 4621 new cassava sequences and 1521 sequences with no significant similarity to plant protein databases. Transcripts of 7796 distinct genes were captured and we were able to assign a functional classification to 78% of them while finding more than half of the enzymes annotated in metabolic pathways in Arabidopsis. The annotation of sequences that were not paired to transcripts of other species included many stress-related functional categories showing that our library is enriched with stress-induced genes. Finally, we detected 230 putative gene duplications that include key enzymes in reactive oxygen species signaling pathways and could play a role in cassava stress response features.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The cassava full-length cDNA library here presented contains transcripts of genes involved in stress response as well as genes important for different areas of cassava research. This library will be an important resource for gene discovery, characterization and cloning; in the near future it will aid the annotation of the cassava genome.</p

Reconstruction and flux-balance analysis of the Plasmodium falciparum metabolic network

In the paper we present a metabolic reconstruction and flux-balance analysis (FBA) of Plasmodium falciparum, the primary agent of malaria. The compartmentalized metabolic network of the parasite accounts for 1001 reactions and 616 metabolites. Enzyme–gene associations were established for 366 genes and 75% of all enzymatic reactions.The model was able to reproduce phenotypes of experimental gene knockout and drug inhibition assays with up to 90% accuracy. The model also can be used to efficiently integrate mRNA-expression data to improve the accuracy of metabolic predictions.Using FBA of the reconstructed metabolic network, we identified 40 enzymatic drug targets (i.e. in silico essential genes) with no or very low sequence identity to human proteins.We experimentally tested one of the identified drug targets, nicotinate mononucleotide adenylyltransferase, using a recently discovered small-molecule inhibitor

Generalities about Design and Operation of Microgrids

The need of new generation systems have motivated the development of microgrids. This new concept may bring significant benefits to the transmission and distribution networks as losses reduction, high degree of efficiency and reliability. This paper presents generalities about microgrids, including general structure and different topologies; also it is proposed an original methodology for facilitating its design and evaluation. Finally, it's analyzed the microgrid located at the Parque Tecnológíco de Guatiguará at the Universidad Industrial de Santander, included an operation analysis for different operations stages of loads and generation,  the performance of operation of storage systems, the interaction with the grid and an energy balance for all the system

Solar and wind potential assessment in the central campus of Universidad Industrial de Santander and Bucaramanga city, Colombia

En este artículo se presenta un estudio estadístico del potencial solar y eólico en el campus central de la Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS) y la ciudad de Bucaramanga, con el fn de obtener parámetros característicos que permitan evaluar el recurso energético en la zona. Para ello, se consideraron mediciones horarias de variables como radiación solar, temperatura ambiente, velocidad y dirección del viento para los años 2010, 2011 y 2012, en cuatro puntos estratégicos de la ciudad. Finalmente, se presenta un análisis sobre los resultados obtenidos y la viabilidad energética de implementar sistemas de generación fotovoltaica y eólica en las zonas de estudio. &nbsp; &nbsp;In this paper, a statistical study of solar and wind potential is presented, in order to estimate the characteristic parameters to assess the energy resource in the central campus of Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS) and Bucaramanga, Colombia. To do this, solar radiation, ambient temperature and wind speed, were hourly measured in four strategic zones of the city, for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012. Finally, the energy feasibility for the installation of photovoltaic and wind power generation systems and an analysis of the results are presented