Християнські традиції паломництва в сучасній Білорусії (за матеріалами польових досліджень)

Іn the article are examined modern Christian traditions of pilgrimage in Byelorussia. There is given a characteristic of the features of the traditions of worship to the sainted places in the contemporary culture of Byelorussian ethnos, structure and functions of pilgrimage are investigated. The influence of pilgrim traditions on the ethnic processes is noted (consciousness of Belorussians). The author used the materials of the field ethnolographical expeditions as the main saurce of the investigation.У артыкуле разглядаюцца сучасныя хрысціянскія традыцыі паломніцтва ў Беларусі. Пад-час аналізу праблемы аўтарам выкарыстаны ў якасці асноўнай крыніцы матэрыялы палявых этнаграфічных экспедыцый. Даецца характарыстыка асаблівасцей традыцый пакланення святым месцам у сучаснай культуры беларускага этнасу, даследуюцца структура і функцыі паломніцтва. Адзначаны ўплыў паломніцкіх традыцый на этнічныя працэсы (самасвядомасць беларусаў)

Metagenomics for the study of viruses in urban sewage as a tool for public health surveillance

The application of next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques for the identification of viruses present in urban sewage has not been fully explored. This is partially due to a lack of reliable and sensitive protocols for studying viral diversity and to the highly complex analysis required for NGS data processing. One important step towards this goal is finding methods that can efficiently concentrate viruses from sewage samples. Here the application of a virus concentration method based on skimmed milk organic flocculation (SMF) using 10 L of sewage collected in different seasons enabled the detection of many viruses. However, some viruses, such as human adenoviruses, could not always be detected using metagenomics, even when quantitative PCR (qPCR) assessments were positive. A targeted metagenomic assay for adenoviruses was conducted and 59.41% of the obtained reads were assigned to murine adenoviruses. However, up to 20 different human adenoviruses (HAdV) were detected by this targeted assay being the most abundant HAdV-41 (29.24%) and HAdV-51 (1.63%). To improve metagenomics' sensitivity, two different protocols for virus concentration were comparatively analysed: an ultracentrifugation protocol and a lower-volume SMF protocol. The sewage virome contained 41 viral families, including pathogenic viral species from families Caliciviridae, Adenoviridae, Astroviridae, Picornaviridae, Polyomaviridae, Papillomaviridae and Hepeviridae. The contribution of urine to sewage metavirome seems to be restricted to a few specific DNA viral families, including the polyomavirus and papillomavirus species. In experimental infections with sewage in a rhesus macaque model, infective human hepatitis E and JC polyomavirus were identified. Urban raw sewage consists of the excreta of thousands of inhabitants; therefore, it is a representative sample for epidemiological surveillance purposes. The knowledge of the metavirome is of significance to public health, highlighting the presence of viral strains that are circulating within a population while acting as a complex matrix for viral discovery. (c) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Connectivity-change moving mesh methods for high-order meshes: Toward closed advancing-layer high-order boundary layer mesh generation

International audienceCurved mesh generation starting from a P1 mesh and closed advancing-layer boundary layer mesh generation both rely on mesh deformation and mesh optimization techniques. The approach presented in this work is to generalize connectivity-change moving mesh methods to high-order meshes. This approach is based on a high-order linear elasticity solver for the mesh deformation and on high-order mesh optimization operators such as mesh smoothing and generalized swapping. Thanks to this method, Pk meshes are generated from P1 meshes and closed advancing-layer boundary layer mesh generation will soon be possible

Cyclooxygenase-2 and prostaglandin E<inf>2</inf> signaling through prostaglandin receptor EP- 2 favor the development of myocarditis during acute trypanosoma cruzi infection

Inflammation plays an important role in the pathophysiology of Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. Prostanoids are regulators of homeostasis and inflammation and are produced mainly by myeloid cells, being cyclooxygenases, COX-1 and COX-2, the key enzymes in their biosynthesis from arachidonic acid (AA). Here, we have investigated the expression of enzymes involved in AA metabolism during T. cruzi infection. Our results show an increase in the expression of several of these enzymes in acute T. cruzi infected heart. Interestingly, COX-2 was expressed by CD68+ myeloid heart-infiltrating cells. In addition, infiltrating myeloid CD11b+Ly6G- cells purified from infected heart tissue express COX-2 and produce prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) ex vivo. T. cruzi infections in COX-2 or PGE2- dependent prostaglandin receptor EP-2 deficient mice indicate that both, COX-2 and EP-2 signaling contribute significantly to the heart leukocyte infiltration and to the release of chemokines and inflammatory cytokines in the heart of T. cruzi infected mice. In conclusion, COX-2 plays a detrimental role in acute Chagas disease myocarditis and points to COX-2 as a potential target for immune intervention.This work was supported by (NG) grants from “Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias” (PS09/00538 and PI12/00289); “Universidad Autónoma de Madrid” and “Comunidad de Madrid” (CC08-UAM/SAL-4440/08); by (MF) grants from “Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación” (SAF2010-17833); “Red de Investigación de Centros de Enfermedades Tropicales” (RICET RD12/0018/0004); European Union (HEALTH-FE-2008-22303, ChagasEpiNet); AECID Cooperation with Argentine (A/025417/09 and A/031735/10), Comunidad de Madrid (S-2010/BMD- 2332) and “Fundación Ramón Areces”. NAG was recipient of a ISCIII Ph.D. fellowship financed by the Spanish “Ministerio de Sanidad”. CCM and HC were recipients of contracts from SAF2010-17833 and PI060388, respectively.Peer Reviewe