Phenotypic Studies of Natural Killer Cell Subsets in Human Transporter Associated with Antigen Processing Deficiency

Peripheral blood natural killer (NK) cells from patients with transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) deficiency are hyporesponsive. The mechanism of this defect is unknown, but the phenotype of TAP-deficient NK cells is almost normal. However, we noticed a high percentage of CD56bright cells among total NK cells from two patients. We further investigated TAP-deficient NK cells in these patients and compared them to NK cells from two other TAP-deficient patients with no clinical symptoms and to individuals with chronic inflammatory diseases other than TAP deficiency (chronic lung diseases or vasculitis). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from venous blood were stained with fluorochrome-conjugated antibodies and the phenotype of NK cells was analyzed by flow cytometry. In addition, 51Chromium release assays were performed to assess the cytotoxic activity of NK cells. In the symptomatic patients, CD56bright NK cells represented 28% and 45%, respectively, of all NK cells (higher than in healthy donors). The patients also displayed a higher percentage of CD56dimCD16− NK cells than controls. Interestingly, this unusual NK cell subtype distribution was not found in the two asymptomatic TAP-deficient cases, but was instead present in several of the other patients. Over-expression of the inhibitory receptor CD94/NKG2A by TAP-deficient NK cells was confirmed and extended to the inhibitory receptor ILT2 (CD85j). These inhibitory receptors were not involved in regulating the cytotoxicity of TAP-deficient NK cells. We conclude that expansion of the CD56bright NK cell subtype in peripheral blood is not a hallmark of TAP deficiency, but can be found in other diseases as well. This might reflect a reaction of the immune system to pathologic conditions. It could be interesting to investigate the relative distribution of NK cell subsets in various respiratory and autoimmune diseases

Artificial infestations of Tapinanthus ogowensis (Engler) Danser (Loranthaceae) on three host species in the Logbessou Plateau (Douala, Cameroon)

In Cameroon today, Loranthaceae has become a major pest against which a great "battle" must be launched if food production in the country has to be maintained at a self-sufficient level. However, an effective battle against pests can only be achieved through a better understanding of their geographical distribution and biology. Eight Loranthaceae species (Globimetula braunii, Globimetula dinklagei, Globimetula opaca, Helixanthera mannii, Phragmanthera capitata, Tapinanthus globiferus, Tapinanthus ogowensis, and Tapinanthus preussii) have been identified in the Douala area. Among these species, T. ogowensis is the only one limited to a surface area of about eight hectares in the Logbessou plateau located in a direction of North-East from Douala (Latitude 03°40 -04°11' N, Longitude 09°16' -09°52' E, and at an altitude of 13 m). In this zone, the hemi-parasite infests only one host tree (Dacryodes edulis) in the orchards, gardens and agricultural plantations. The hemiparasite is however common and adapted to all the different ecological regions in the southern part Cameroon where it infests several host trees. In order to study the stages involved in the germination, fixation, as well as the initial stages involved in the development of the seedlings of T. ogowensis, three of the most frequent host species (D. edulis, Mangifera indica and Persea americana) on the plateau were artificially infected. The results revealed that the host species are sensitive to the parasite, T. ogowensis, at least during their early stages of growth and development. D. edulis is the most sensitive host species with a 22% yield of young seedlings as against 5 and 4% for P. americana and M. indica, respectively. This sensitivity of the mango tree to T. ogowensis had never been demonstrated before. The percentages of seeds germinating on the different host species however remained high; 96% on both D. edulis and M. indica and 93% on P. americana. It was also revealed that the development of the young seedlings of T. ogowensis is greatly influenced by the availability of light, a plausible reason why Loranthaceae occupies mainly the uppermost branches of the oldest trees found here

Teaching of English in French-Canada

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University, 1935. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

Additional Haplogroups of Toxoplasma gondii out of Africa: Population Structure and Mouse-Virulence of Strains from Gabon

Prevalence of human toxoplasmosis in tropical African countries usually exceeds 50%. Its role as a major opportunistic infection of AIDS patients is regularly described. Due to the lack of investigation, congenital infection is certainly underestimated in Africa. Incidence of Toxoplasma ocular disease is higher in Africa and South America than in Europe. Severe cases in immunocompetent patients were described after infection acquired in Amazonia, but nothing is known about such cases in Africa. Several studies argued for a role of genotypes in the clinical expression of human toxoplasmosis, and for a geographical structuration of Toxoplasma across continents. Genetic data concerning isolates from Africa are scarce. Here, apart from the worldwide Type III, we described two main haplogroups, Africa 1 and 3. We detected genetic exchanges between urban centers favored by trade exchange and transportation. It shows how important human influence is, even in shaping the genetic structure of a zoonotic disease agent. Finding of identical haplogroups in South America suggested that these African and American strains share a common ancestor. As a higher pathogenicity in human of South American genotypes has been described, this similarity of genotypes should encourage further clinical studies with genotype analysis in Africa

A Poorly Known High-Latitude Parasitoid Wasp Community: Unexpected Diversity and Dramatic Changes through Time

Climate change will have profound and unanticipated effects on species distributions. The pace and nature of this change is largely unstudied, especially for the most diverse elements of terrestrial communities – the arthropods – here we have only limited knowledge concerning the taxonomy and the ecology of these groups. Because Arctic ecosystems have already experienced significant increases in temperature over the past half century, shifts in community structure may already be in progress. Here we utilise collections of a particularly hyperdiverse insect group – parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera; Braconidae; Microgastrinae) – at Churchill, Manitoba, Canada in the early and mid-twentieth century to compare the composition of the contemporary community to that present 50–70 years ago. Morphological and DNA barcoding results revealed the presence of 79 species of microgastrine wasps in collections from Churchill, but we estimate that 20% of the local fauna awaits detection. Species composition and diversity between the two time periods differ significantly; species that were most common in historic collections were not found in contemporary collections and vice versa. Using barcodes we compared these collections to others from across North America; contemporary Churchill species are most affiliated with more south-western collections, while historic collections were more affiliated with eastern collections. The past five decades has clearly seen a dramatic change of species composition within the area studied coincident with rising temperature

Estudio de las necesidades recreacionales de los habitantes del cantón Milagro y su relación con el turismo en el año 2015.

La palabra recreación define a la acción y efecto de recrear. Por lo tanto, puede hacer referencia a crear o producir de nuevo algo. También se refiere a divertir, alegrar o deleitar, en una búsqueda de distracción en medio del trabajo y de las obligaciones cotidianas. El presente proyecto tiene como finalidad llegar a los centros turísticos de recreación para que puedan ofrecer a niños y adultos una opción de descanso, entretenimiento y diversión a través de las diferentes actividades turísticas que puedan ofrecer a los mismos. El descanso se le otorgo, tanto el sentido de compensación a la fatiga producto del trabajo, como el de la respuesta natural a las necesidades filosóficas del organismo que imponen a la necesidad de dormir. Se descansaba para poder recuperar y para compensar el agotamiento que produce el trabajo intelectual o las tensiones emocionales. El ser humano necesita tiempo de ocio o tiempo libre ya que es importante que se encuentre en óptimas condiciones físicas, emocionalmente y mentalmente para que realicen un mejor desempeño en los estudios como en lo laboral. En esta investigación se busca que los centros recreacionales dispongan de variedades actividades turísticas para que así, la demanda turística realice gasto por turismo interno el mismo que favorecerá a nuestra ciudad

Contacts et acculturations en Méditerranée occidentale

La question des contacts entre les différents peuples qui bordent les rives de la Méditerranée nord occidentale est l’un des sujets phares de la recherche archéologique de ces trente dernières années. Que l’on parle d’époque archaïque et classique ou de Protohistoire et d’âge du Fer, les échanges et les processus d’acculturation de ces peuples qui entrèrent alors en contact les uns avec les autres : Grecs, Celtes, Phéniciens, Ibères, Ligures, Étrusques, ont retenu l’attention des chercheurs travaillant sur l’expansion grecque dans ces régions, sur les trafics commerciaux, sur les échanges culturels. L’œuvre de Michel Bats (Directeur de recherche honoraire du CNRS) traverse toutes ces thématiques : la présence des Phocéens et des Étrusques dans le bassin occidental de la Méditerranée, l’acculturation et les identités ethno-culturelles, les recherches sur la céramique et ses usages dans une perspective anthropologique, l’appropriation de l’écriture par les sociétés protohistoriques. Ses collègues et amis, en organisant ce colloque et en participant à ces actes, entendent lui témoigner leur amitié et leur dette intellectuelle. Ce volume réunit des articles des meilleurs spécialistes, actuels de la question - des chercheurs de toute la Méditerranée - autour des quatre grands thèmes que nous venons d’évoquer afin tout à la fois de dresser un bilan et de définir de nouvelles perspectives. Cet ouvrage présente donc aussi bien des synthèses - sur la présence grecque en Espagne, sur l’origine de l’écriture, sur les pratiques funéraires, sur les identités culturelles et ethniques - que des découvertes récentes concernant la thématique des contacts et de l’acculturation en Méditerranée nord occidentale : l’agglomération du Premier âge du Fer de La Cougourlude (Lattes, Hérault) fouillée durant l’été 2010 ; le sanctuaire hellénistique de Cumes et les fouilles récentes de Fratte en Italie ; les ateliers de potiers de Rosas en Espagne ; les dernières découvertes d’Olbia de Provence

Pratos e mais pratos: louças domésticas, divisões culturais e limites sociais no Rio de Janeiro, século XIX

Reply to ten comments on a paper published in the last issue of this journal. The discussion follows along six main lines: History museums, identity, ideology and the category of nation; the need of material collections and their modalities: patrimonial, operational, virtual; theater versus laboratory; visitors and their ambiguities; Public History: the museum and the academy.Resposta aos comentários de dez especialistas que contribuíram no debate de texto publicado no último número desta revista. A discussão orientou-se segundo seis tópicos principais: museus históricos, identidade, ideologia e a categoria de nação; a necessidade de acervos materiais e suas modalidades: acervo patrimonial, operacional, virtual; teatro versus laboratório; o público e suas ambigüidades; História Pública: o museu e a Academia

Development of an orthotopic primary human chordoma xenograft model and biomolecular study of a 43 chordomas series.

Le chordome est une tumeur osseuse rare qui se développe à partir de vestiges embryonnaires dérivés de la notochorde foetale. Le futur de la prise en charge du chordome est lié à une meilleure compréhension des mécanismes oncogénétiques moléculaires ainsi qu’aux développements de nouvelles cibles thérapeutiques via le développement de modèles animaux pertinents. De nombreux auteurs ont rapporté le rôle potentiellement important du dérèglement du cycle cellulaire dans la chordomagénèse. L’objectif de ce travail est donc d’établir un modèle animal pertinent mimant au mieux l’oncogenèse du chordome et d’étudier les altérations cytogénétiques par aCGH et rechercher les mutations génétiques par NGS portant sur 84 gènes du cycles cellulaires. Nous avons développé un modèle de xénogreffe primaire de chordome en milieu orthotopique et montré que le taux de prise de greffe était plus important en milieu orthotopique qu’en sous-cutanée. Le modèle montre une stabilité génomique et génétique passage après passage. Notre étude moléculaire d’une série de 43 chordomes a permis de mettre en évidence des profils moléculaires distincts en fonction des deux grandes localisations du chordome (sacrum, base du crâne). Plusieurs mutations du gènes ZBTB17 associées à la localisation sacrée pourraient intervenir dans l’oncogenèse du chordome sacré. Ces données moléculaires nouvelles ouvrent d’autres perspectives d’études dans la compréhension des mécanismes oncogénétiques du chordome.Chordoma is a rare bone tumor that develops from embryonic remnants derived from the fetal notochord. The future of chordoma management is linked to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie oncogenesis and to the development of new therapeutic targets, based on investigations in relevant animal models.The role of cell cycle dysregulation in chordomagenesis has been the focus of several studies. The objective of this work was to establish a relevant animal model mimicking chordoma oncogenesis and then examine the cytogenetic alterations by a-CGH (Array comparative genomic hybridization), searching for genetic mutations in 84 cell cycle genes using NGS (Next sequencing generation).We developed a primary chordoma xenograft model in an orthotopic setting and showed that the engraftment rate was higher at orthotopic than at subcutaneous sites. The model demonstrated genomic and genetic stability after repeated passage. In addition, our molecular study of a series of 43 chordomas revealed distinct molecular profiles according to the two major locations of the tumor (sacrum, skull base). Several mutations of the ZBTB17 gene associated with the sacral location may be involved in the oncogenesis of sacral chordoma. These new molecular data open up new perspectives on the oncogenetic mechanisms of chordoma