Duodenal intraepithelial lymphocytes of children with cow milk allergy preferentially bind the glycan-binding protein galectin-3

A breakdown in intestinal homeostasis results in inflammatory bowel diseases including coeliac disease and allergy. Galectins, evolutionarily conserved beta-galactoside-binding proteins, can modulate immune-epithelial cell interactions by influencing immune cell fate and cytokine secretion. In this study we investigated the glycosylation signature, as well as the regulated expression of galectin-1 and -3 in human duodenal samples of allergic and non-allergic children. Whereas galectin-1 was predominantly localized in the epithelial compartment (epithelial cells and intraepithelial lymphocytes) and the underlying lamina propria (T cells, macrophages and plasma cells), galectin-3 was mainly expressed by crypt epithelial cells and macrophages in the lamina propria. Remarkably, expression of these galectins was not significantly altered in allergic versus non-allergic patients. Investigation of the glycophenotype of the duodenal inflammatory microenvironment revealed substantial alpha2-6-linked sialic acid bound to galactose in lamina propria plasma cells, macrophages and intraepithelial lymphocytes and significant levels of asialo core 1 O-glycans in CD68+ macrophages and enterocytes. Galectin-1 preferentially bound to neutrophils, plasma cells and enterocytes, while galectin-3 binding sites were mainly distributed on macrophages and intraepithelial lymphocytes. Notably, galectin-3, but not galectin-1 binding, was substantially increased in intraepithelial gut lymphocytes of allergic patients compared to non-allergic subjects, suggesting a potential role of galectin-3-glycan interactions in shaping epithelial-immune cell connections during allergic inflammatory processes.Fil: Mercer, Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Guzman, Luciana. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital de Niños "Sor María Ludovica" de la Plata; ArgentinaFil: Cueto Rua, Eduardo. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital de Niños "Sor María Ludovica" de la Plata; ArgentinaFil: Drut, Ricardo. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital de Niños "Sor María Ludovica" de la Plata; ArgentinaFil: Ahmed, H.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Vasta, G. R.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Toscano, Marta Alicia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Rabinovich, Gabriel Adrián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Docena, Guillermo H.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentin

Optomechanical accelerometers for geodesy

We present a novel optomechanical inertial sensor for low frequency applications and corresponding acceleration measurements. This sensor has a resonant frequency of 4.7Hz, a mechanical quality factor of 476k, a test mass of 2.6 gram, and a projected noise floor of approximately 5E-11 m s-2. per root-Hz at 1Hz. Such performance, together with its small size, low weight, reduced power consumption, and low susceptibility to environmental variables such as magnetic field or drag conditions makes it an attractive technology for future geodesy missions. In this paper, we present an experimental demonstration of low-frequency ground seismic noise detection by direct comparison with a commercial seismometer, anda data analysis algorithms for the identification, characterization, and correction of several noise sources

La inteligencia de negocios: una estrategia para la gestión de las empresas productivas. // Business intelligence: a strategy for the management of productive enterprises.

El trabajo propone determinar un conjunto de indicadores acerca del desempeño de las empresas productivas del Cantón La Troncal, provincia del Cañar, Ecuador, para usar la “Inteligencia de Negocios” (Business Intelligence BI) como una mejor práctica que apoye la gestión organizacional y la consecución de los objetivos estratégicos. Para ello primero se levantó información en empresas locales, en base a una muestra específica, con instrumentos del tipo cuestionario y entrevista. Luego, a partir de la información obtenida se diseñó un cuadro de mando integral (Balanced Scorecard) con los indicadores claves de desempeño más significativos para las empresas de la muestra, de modo que se puedan implementar con los servicios multidimensionales que ofrecen las herramientas de Inteligencia de Negocios. Finalmente, los informes se representaron en tableros de control, con un rango de granularidad fino, que permitan a los directivos tomar decisiones claras, reduciendo el grado de incertidumbre. ABSTRACTThe paper aims to determine a set of indicators about the performance of productive enterprises in Canton La Troncal, province of Cañar, Ecuador, to use “Business Intelligence” (Business Intelligence BI) as the best practice that supports organizational management and achievement of the strategic objectives. For this purpose, information was first collected through a survey that was carried out in local companies, based on a specific sample, with questionnaires and interviews. Then, based on the information obtained, a Balanced Scorecard was designed with the most significant key performance indicators for the companies in the sample, so that they can be implemented with the multidimensional services offered by business intelligence tools. Finally, the reports were presented in control panels, with a fine granularity range, which allow managers to make clear decisions, reducing the degree of uncertainty

Estudio de prefactibilidad para el diseño y gestión de un distrito de riego en las veredas Manuel Sur, Manuel Norte,la Tetilla, y la Carreta de los municipios de Agua de Dios y Ricaurte Cundinamarca 2014

Elaborar un proyecto a través del cual se sustente la prefactibilidad para el uso de las aguas del Río Bogotá como fuente hídrica de abastecimiento de agua para el minidistrito de riego de baja escala y dar solución al problema de falta de agua en los Manuales y Comunidades VecinasConsiderando el hecho de que por la Vereda Manuel Norte del Municipio de Agua de Dios, Manuel Sur, La Tetilla y La Carrera del Municipio de Ricaurte hace recorrido el Río Bogotá, surge la oportunidad de viabilizar el diseño de un distrito de riego para irrigar las tierras de uso agrícola como alternativa hidráulica encaminada a aprovechar las aguas de este afluente bajo un esquema ambientalmente sustentable y de esa forma contribuir a dinamizar la producción agrícola y pecuaria de la zona, fortaleciendo la capacidad productiva y competitiva local mediante el aprovechamiento de esta recurso hídrico como insumo en los procesos productivos

An´alisis de medidas no-supervisadas de calidad en clusters obtenidos por K-means y Particle Swarm Optimization

El clustering de datos ayuda a discernir la estructura y simplifica la complejidad de cantidades masivas de datos. Esuna t´ecnica com´un y se utiliza en diversos campos como, aprendizaje de m´aquina, miner´ıa de datos, reconocimientode patrones, an´alisis de im´agenes y bioinform´atica, donde la distribuci´on de la informaci´on puede ser de cualquiertama˜no y forma. La eficiencia de los algoritmos de clustering es extremadamente necesaria cuando se trabaja conenormes bases de datos y tipos de datos de grandes dimensiones. Este trabajo presenta una evaluaci´on desde distintasperspectivas de una serie de medidas relevantes no-supervisadas de calidad como por ejemplo, cuantizaci´on del error,distancias intra- e inter- cluster, de los clusters obtenidos por el conocido algoritmo de K-means, una metaheur´ısticapoblacional denominada Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) y un algoritmo h´ıbrido, que combina las caracter´ısticasde los dos algoritmos anteriores, denominado PSO+Kmeans. De los resultados obtenidos se observa que en general elalgoritmo PSO+K-means obtiene mejores resultados en cada una de las medidas generando clusters m´as compactos yseparados entre ellos que los obtenidos por los otros algoritmos

Individuals with chronic ankle instability show altered regional activation of the peroneus longus muscle during ankle eversion

Individuals with chronic ankle instability (CAI) present muscular weakness and potential changes in the activation of the peroneus longus muscle, which likely explains the high recurrence of ankle sprains in this population. However, there is conflicting evidence regarding the role of the peroneus longus activity in CAI, possibly due to the limited spatial resolution of the surface electromyography (sEMG) methods (i.e., bipolar sEMG). Recent studies employing high‐density sEMG (HD‐sEMG) have shown that the peroneus longus presents differences in regional activation, however, it is unknown whether this regional activation is maintained under pathological conditions such as CAI. This study aimed to compare the myoelectric activity, using HD‐sEMG, of each peroneus longus compartment (anterior and posterior) between individuals with and without CAI. Eighteen healthy individuals (No‐CAI group) and 18 individuals with CAI were recruited. In both groups, the center of mass (COM) and the sEMG amplitude at each compartment were recorded during ankle eversion at different force levels. For the posterior compartment, the sEMG amplitude of CAI group was significantly lower than the No‐CAI group (mean difference = 5.6% RMS; 95% CI = 3.4–7.6; p = 0.0001). In addition, it was observed a significant main effect for group (F1,32 = 9.608; p = 0.0040) with an anterior displacement of COM for the CAI group. These findings suggest that CAI alters the regional distribution of muscle activity of the peroneus longus during ankle eversion. In practice, altered regional activation may impact strengthening programs, prevention, and rehabilitation of CAI

Spatially explicit models for decision-making in animal conservation and restoration

DZ, CK, AKM and GF were supported by the German Science Foundation (DFG) under grant agreement no. ZU 361/1-1. GB was supported by a Royal Society University Research Fellowship (UF160614). We acknowledge the support of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and Open Access Publishing Fund of University of Potsdam.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Standardized Classification of Aortic Arch Branching Patterns (SCAABP)

Objectives. To review current anatomical classifications for the aortic branching patterns and propose a method for standardized classification of Aortic Arch Branching Patterns (SCAABP). Methods. Through a three-stage Delphi method, expert vascular anatomists in morphology design SCAABP to report trunks, branches, and laterality of aortic arch branching patterns. Results. SCAABP is a classification that includes 7 parameters (Number of branches, and 6 types of branches [braquiocephalic trunk, common trunk, common carotid, subclavian artery, vertebral artery, and ectopic arteries]). It can integrate all reported branching patterns and allows the classification of new or unreported patterns. The classification allows standardization for future comparison of results, and improvement of evidence-based anatomy. Conclusions. SCAABP is a standardized method for classifying anatomical variants of the aortic arch. It is simple, clear, and contemplates new variants. All reported classifications can be integrated