La migración colombiana a Francia: ¿En búsqueda del país de los Derechos Humanos?

REVISTA SOCIEDAD Y ECONOMIA # 19colombiano la migración, las redes sociales, la ilegalidad, la informalidad.

Colombian migration to France. Are they looking for the Land of the Human Rights?

Este artículo se propone demostrar que la atracción que representa Francia para los colombianos, desde finales de los años 90, se debe más a la existencia de redes sociales en el país galo que a su tradición de ser el país de los Derechos Humanos. En un país donde existe un derecho social que permite a la población ilegal de acceder de manera gratuita a los sistemas educativo y de salud, las redes sociales permitieron la organización de una verdadera “colonia colombiana” en Francia, accediendo a una inserción laboral por medio de un trabajo étnico

Colombians in france: a two way pendular migration

This article introduces an academically still little-known and studied migrant population, Colombians settled in France. It deals with the characterization of a human group, whose emigration attained a significant dimension since the late nineties, constituting a clear example of the new ways of international mobility, typified by the multifactor motivations of migrants (well-being pursuit, human security, etc.), a population of multiple features. What this research revealed is that the group recognizes itself through the importance of networks in migratory dynamics, women’s weight within the emigration mass and the persistence of strong ties with the home land. This research follows-up the path of Colombians from their home country to France and back from France to their home land, allowing us to conclude on the existence of a pendular migration of Colombians among those physically and symbolically distinct spaces.Este artículo se propone presentar una población migrante todavía poco conocida y estudiada en el medio académico, la de los colombianos instalados en Francia. Se trata caracterizar un grupo humano cuya emigración tomó una dimensión significativa desde el fin de los años noventa, constituyendo un ejemplo claro de las nuevas formas de movilidad a nivel internacional, caracterizadas por las motivaciones multifactoriales de los migrantes (búsqueda de bienestar, problemas de inseguridad, etc.) y con múltiples rasgos. Lo que reveló ésta investigación es que ese grupo se caracteriza por la importancia de las redes en la dinámica migratoria, por el peso de las mujeres en esa emigración, y por la permanencia de lazos fuertes con el país de origen. En este trabajo se le hace un seguimiento a las trayectorias de los colombianos, desde su país de origen hacia Francia, pero también de Francia hacia su país de origen, lo que nos permite concluir sobre la existencia de una migración pendular de los colombianos entre esos varios espacios, espacios tanto físicos como simbólicos

Voltage-Dependent Anion Channel 2 of Arabidopsis thaliana (AtVDAC2) Is Involved in ABA-Mediated Early Seedling Development

The voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) is the major transport protein in the outer membrane of mitochondria and plays crucial roles in energy metabolism, apoptosis, and metabolites transport. In plants, the expression of VDACs can be affected by different stresses, including drought, salinity and pathogen defense. In this study, we investigated the expression pattern of AtVDAC2 in A. thaliana and found ABA suppressed the accumulation of AtVDAC2 transcripts. Further, phenotype analysis of this VDAC deregulated-expression transgenic Arabidopsis plants indicated that AtVDAC2 anti-sense line showed an ABA-insensitivity phenotype during the early seedling development under ABA treatment. The results suggested that AtVDAC2 might be involved in ABA signaling in A. thaliana

The Use of Anti-VDAC2 Antibody for the Combined Assessment of Human Sperm Acrosome Integrity and Ionophore A23187-Induced Acrosome Reaction

Voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) is mainly located in the mitochondrial outer membrane and participates in many biological processes. In mammals, three VDAC subtypes (VDAC1, 2 and 3) have been identified. Although VDAC has been extensively studied in various tissues and cells, there is little knowledge about the distribution and function of VDAC in male mammalian reproductive system. Several studies have demonstrated that VDAC exists in mammalian spermatozoa and is implicated in spermatogenesis, sperm maturation, motility and fertilization. However, there is no knowledge about the respective localization and function of three VDAC subtypes in human spermatozoa. In this study, we focused on the presence of VDAC2 in human spermatozoa and its possible role in the acrosomal integrity and acrosome reaction using specific anti-VDAC2 monoclonal antibody for the first time. The results exhibited that native VDAC2 existed in the membrane components of human spermatozoa. The co-incubation of spermatozoa with anti-VDAC2 antibody did not affect the acrosomal integrity and acrosome reaction, but inhibited ionophore A23187-induced intracellular Ca2+ increase. Our study suggested that VDAC2 was located in the acrosomal membrane or plasma membrane of human spermatozoa, and played putative roles in sperm functions through mediating Ca2+ transmembrane transport

Molecular basis of allergen cross-reactivity: Non-specific lipid transfer proteins from wheat flour and peach fruit as models

Peach non-specific lipid transfer protein (Pru p 3; nsLTP) has been characterized as the major food allergen in the adult Mediterranean population. Its wheat homologous protein, Tri a 14 has a relevant inhalant allergen in occupational baker's asthma. Different sensitization patterns to these allergens have been found in patients with this latter disorder. The objective of the present study was to characterize IgE epitopes of Tri a 14 and to compare them with those of Pru p 3 using three complementary strategies: the analysis of IgE-binding capacity of decapeptides bound to membrane, the identification of mimotopes using a phage display random peptide library, and the analysis of the surface electrostatic potential of both allergens. Thus, synthetic overlapping decapeptides, covering the Pru p 3 and Tri a 14 amino acid sequences, were used to identify sequential regions involved in recognition of IgE from baker's asthma patients sensitized to both nsLTPs. A phage display library was screened with total IgE from the same patients, and positive clones sequentially selected using the purified allergens, allowed to identify mimotopes (conformational epitopes) of Tri a 14 and Pru p 3. Both sequential regions and mimotopes were localized in the corresponding 3D molecular surface and their electrostatic properties were analyzed. Common sequential regions with strong IgE-binding capacity (residues 31–40 and 71–80) were identified in Tri a 14 and Pru p 3, whereas regions Tri a 1451–60 and Pru p 311–20 were found specific of each allergen. A major conformational epitope (mimotope), L34H35N36R39S40S42D43G74V75L77P78Y79T80, which comprised the two common sequential epitopes, was located in Tri a 14, and a very similar one in Pru p 3. However, differences were detected on the surface electrostatic potential of both mimotopes: a first part (around residues 31–45) showed similar positive features in both allergens, whereas a second part (around residues 74–80) was markedly negative in Tri a 14 but neutral-positive in Pru p 3. Tri a 14 and Pru p 3 have a similar conformational region involved in IgE-binding, although their electrostatic features are different. Additionally, common and specific sequential IgE-binding regions were mapped in both allergens. These findings could be instrumental in understanding the cross-reactivity and specificity of sensitization to both homologous allergens

The versatility of mitochondrial calcium signals: From stimulation of cell metabolism to induction of cell death

AbstractBoth the contribution of mitochondria to intracellular calcium (Ca2+) signalling and the role of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake in shaping the cytoplasmic response and controlling mitochondrial function are areas of intense investigation. These studies rely on the appropriate use of emerging techniques coupled with judicious data interpretation to a large extent. The development of targeted probes based on the molecular engineering of luminescent proteins has allowed the specific measurement of Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]) and adenosine trisphosphate concentration ([ATP]) in intracellular organelles or cytoplasmic subdomains. This approach has given novel information on different aspects of mitochondrial homeostasis

Ligand binding to an Allergenic Lipid Transfer Protein Enhances Conformational Flexibility resulting in an Increase in Susceptibility to Gastroduodenal Proteolysis

Non-specific lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) are a family of lipid-binding molecules that are widely distributed across flowering plant species, many of which have been identified as allergens. They are highly resistant to simulated gastroduodenal proteolysis, a property that may play a role in determining their allergenicity and it has been suggested that lipid binding may further increase stability to proteolysis. It is demonstrated that LTPs from wheat and peach bind a range of lipids in a variety of conditions, including those found in the gastroduodenal tract. Both LTPs are initially cleaved during gastroduodenal proteolysis at three major sites between residues 39–40, 56–57 and 79–80, with wheat LTP being more resistant to cleavage than its peach ortholog. The susceptibility of wheat LTP to proteolyic cleavage increases significantly upon lipid binding. This enhanced digestibility is likely to be due to the displacement of Tyr79 and surrounding residues from the internal hydrophobic cavity upon ligand binding to the solvent exposed exterior of the LTP, facilitating proteolysis. Such knowledge contributes to our understanding as to how resistance to digestion can be used in allergenicity risk assessment of novel food proteins, including GMOs

Mitochondria and Energetic Depression in Cell Pathophysiology

Mitochondrial dysfunction is a hallmark of almost all diseases. Acquired or inherited mutations of the mitochondrial genome DNA may give rise to mitochondrial diseases. Another class of disorders, in which mitochondrial impairments are initiated by extramitochondrial factors, includes neurodegenerative diseases and syndromes resulting from typical pathological processes, such as hypoxia/ischemia, inflammation, intoxications, and carcinogenesis. Both classes of diseases lead to cellular energetic depression (CED), which is characterized by decreased cytosolic phosphorylation potential that suppresses the cell’s ability to do work and control the intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis and its redox state. If progressing, CED leads to cell death, whose type is linked to the functional status of the mitochondria. In the case of limited deterioration, when some amounts of ATP can still be generated due to oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), mitochondria launch the apoptotic cell death program by release of cytochrome c. Following pronounced CED, cytoplasmic ATP levels fall below the thresholds required for processing the ATP-dependent apoptotic cascade and the cell dies from necrosis. Both types of death can be grouped together as a mitochondrial cell death (MCD). However, there exist multiple adaptive reactions aimed at protecting cells against CED. In this context, a metabolic shift characterized by suppression of OXPHOS combined with activation of aerobic glycolysis as the main pathway for ATP synthesis (Warburg effect) is of central importance. Whereas this type of adaptation is sufficiently effective to avoid CED and to control the cellular redox state, thereby ensuring the cell survival, it also favors the avoidance of apoptotic cell death. This scenario may underlie uncontrolled cellular proliferation and growth, eventually resulting in carcinogenesis