IL-13R alpha 2 reverses the effects of IL-13 and IL-4 on bronchial reactivity and acetylcholine-induced Ca2+ signaling

Background: The interleukins IL-4 and IL-13 play a key role in the pathophysiology of asthma. The interleukin receptor IL-13R alpha 2 is believed to act as a decoy receptor, but until now, the functional significance of IL-13R alpha 2 remains vague. Methods: Bronchial reactivity was quantified in murine lung slices by digital video microscopy and acetylcholine (ACH)-induced Ca2+ signaling was measured in human airway smooth muscle cells (ASMC) using fluorescence microscopy. Results: IL-4 or IL-13 up to 50 ng/ml induced bronchial hyperreactivity. But after incubation with 100 ng/ml this effect was lost and bronchial responsiveness was again comparable to the control level. The effects of IL-4 and IL-13 on bronchial reactivity were paralleled by the effects on ASMC proliferation. Fifty nanograms per milliliter of IL-4 and IL-13 increased the Ca2+ response of human ASMC to ACH. At 100 ng/ml, however, the effects of the cytokines on the Ca2+ response were no longer evident. The expression of IL-13R alpha 2 increased with increasing concentrations of IL-4 or IL-13, reaching its maximum at 100 ng/ml. Blocking IL-13R alpha 2, the loss of the effect of IL-4 and IL-13 at 100 ng/ml on human ASMC proliferation and the ACH-induced Ca2+ response were no longer present. Conclusions: IL-4 and IL-13 induce bronchial hyperreactivity by changing the Ca2+ homeostasis of ASMC. These effects are counteracted by IL-13R alpha 2. The biological significance of IL-13R alpha 2 might be a protective function by regulating IL-13- and IL-4-mediated signal transduction and thereby limiting pathological alterations in Th2-mediated inflammatory diseases. Copyright (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

Genetic Land - Modeling land use change using evolutionary algorithms

Future land use configurations provide valuable knowledge for policy makers and economic agents, especially under expected environmental changes such as decreasing rainfall or increasing temperatures, or scenarios of policy guidance such as carbon sequestration enforcement. In this paper, modelling land use change is designed as an optimization problem in which landscapes (land uses) are generated through the use of genetic algorithms (GA), according to an objective function (e.g. minimization of soil erosion, or maximization of carbon sequestration), and a set of local restrictions (e.g. soil depth, water availability, or landscape structure). GAs are search and optimization procedures based on the mechanics of natural selection and genetics. The GA starts with a population of random individuals, each corresponding to a particular candidate solution to the problem. The best solutions are propagated; they are mated with each other and originate “offspring solutions” which randomly combine the characteristics of each “parent”. The repeated application of these operations leads to a dynamic system that emulates the evolutionary mechanisms that occur in nature. The fittest individuals survive and propagate their traits to future generations, while unfit individuals have a tendency to die and become extinct (Goldberg, 1989). Applications of GA to land use planning have been experimented (Brookes, 2001, Ducheyne et al, 2001). However, long-term planning with a time-span component has not yet been addressed. GeneticLand, the GA for land use generation, works on a region represented by a bi-dimensional array of cells. For each cell, there is a number of possible land uses (U1, U2, ..., Un). The task of the GA is to search for an optimal assignment of these land uses to the cells, evolving the landscape patterns that are most suitable for satisfying the objective function, for a certain time period (e.g. 50 years in the future). GeneticLand develops under a multi-objective function: (i) Minimization of soil erosion – each solution is validated by applying the USLE, with the best solution being the one that minimizes the landscape soil erosion value; (ii) Maximization of carbon sequestration – each solution is validated by applying atmospheric CO2 carbon uptake estimates, with the best solution being the one that maximizes the landscape carbon uptake; and (iii) Maximization of the landscape economic value – each solution is validated by applying an economic value (derived from expert judgment), with the best solution being the one that maximizes the landscape economic value. As an optimization problem, not all possible land use assignments are feasible. GeneticLand considers two sets of restrictions that must be met: (i) physical constraints (soil type suitability, slope, rainfall-evapotranspiration ratio, and a soil wetness index) and (ii) landscape ecology restrictions at several levels (minimum patch area, land use adjacency index and landscape contagion index). The former assures physical feasibility and the latter the spatial coherence of the landscape. The physical and landscape restrictions were derived from the analysis of past events based on a time series of Landsat images (1985-2003), in order to identify the drivers of land use change and structure. Since the problem has multiple objectives, the GA integrates multi-objective extensions allowing it to evolve a set of non-dominated solutions. An evolutive type algorithm – Evolutive strategy (1+1) – is used, due to the need to accommodate the very large solution space. Current applications have about 1000 decision variables, while the problem analysed by GeneticLand has almost 111000, generated by a landscape with 333*333 discrete pixels. GeneticLand is developed and validated for a Mediterranean type landscape located in southern Portugal. Future climate triggers, such as the increase of intense rainfall episodes, is accommodated to simulate climate change . This paper presents: (1) the formulation of land use modelling as an optimization problem; (2) the formulation of the GA for the explicit spatial domain, (3) the land use constraints derived for a Mediterranean landscape, (4) the results illustrating conflicting objectives, and (5) limitations encountered.

Eficacia de la ley penal como forma de control social formal en Chile

60 p.La eficacia del derecho penal se ha ido atenuando en el tiempo, ello como una falta de adecuación temporal, llegando incluso a ser considerada ineficaz para el modelo de sociedad vigente, ya que la ley penal debe ser un reflejo de la identidad social. Para comprender el funcionamiento del Derecho Penal Chileno es necesario tener conocimientos generales acerca de la estructura del mismo. A la luz de las teorías criminológicas se intentará dar una explicación a los delitos de mayor connotación social, a través de tablas y gráficos, para explicar la conducta criminal, para finalmente analizar la eficacia del derecho penal con mayor profundidad. El resultado esperado en esta investigación, se centra en la posibilidad de proponer ideas de cómo poder mejorar la actual política criminal y hacer más eficaz el Derecho Penal en Chile

Narrow row spacing on soybean in the early and conventional sowing time in a subtropical region of Brazil

Phytotechnical positioning procedures in soybean crop must be validated in the context of the interaction between genotype, environment and management. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate the agronomic performance of soybean cultivars sown in different row spacing, in early (October 8th) and conventional (November 12th) sowing dates in a subtropical climate region of southern Brazil. The experimental design was in an 18 × 2 factorial scheme, with four replications. The factors were constituted by 18 soybean cultivars (with a maturity group of 5.3 to 6.4) installed with row spacing of 25 and 50 cm. Final plant population, plant height, lodging, 1000-grains weight and grain yield were evaluated. The row spacing and the cultivar used interfere in the agronomic performance of soybean, regardless of sowing date. The narrow row spacing of 25 cm increases the 1000-grains weight and the soybean grain yield, regardless of cultivar and sowing date, with the most pronounced augments in the conventional sowing date. In general, the most yield cultivars were M 5947 IPRO and M 6410 IPRO.Phytotechnical positioning procedures in soybean crop must be validated in the context of the interaction between genotype, environment and management. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate the agronomic performance of soybean cultivars sown in different row spacing, in early (October 8th) and conventional (November 12th) sowing dates in a subtropical climate region of southern Brazil. The experimental design was in an 18 × 2 factorial scheme, with four replications. The factors were constituted by 18 soybean cultivars (with a maturity group of 5.3 to 6.4) installed with row spacing of 25 and 50 cm. Final plant population, plant height, lodging, 1000-grains weight and grain yield were evaluated. The row spacing and the cultivar used interfere in the agronomic performance of soybean, regardless of sowing date. The narrow row spacing of 25 cm increases the 1000-grains weight and soybean grain yield, regardless of cultivar and sowing date in a subtropical climate region of southern Brazil, with the most pronounced augments in the conventional sowing date. In general, the most yield cultivars were M 5947 IPRO and M 6410 IPRO

Soybean cultivars subjected to narrow row spacing and plant populations in early sowing in subtropical region in southern Brazil: Cultivares de soja submetidas ao espaçamento reduzido e populações de plantas em semeadura antecipada em região subtropical no sul do Brasil

Spatial arrangement between plants and sowing time used are decisive practices for obtaining adequate agronomic performance in soybean crop. The aim of this work was to evaluate morphological attributes, yield components and grain yield of soybean cultivars installed with different row spacing and seeding densities, in early (10/04/2017) and conventional (11/08/2017) sowing dates in subtropical climate region in southern Brazil. The experimental design was in a 2×2×4 factorial arrangement: soybean cultivars BRS 433 RR (MG 5.8) and BRS 1003 IPRO (MG 6.3) installed with row spacing of 25 and 50 cm and seeding densities of 160,000; 240,000; 320,000; and 400,000 viable seeds ha-1. Morphological attributes and yield components are altered by spatial arrangement between plants and cultivar, with variable responses according to the sowing date. In the early sowing date, soybean has yield raise due to the increase in seeding density with different responses between cultivars. In the conventional sowing date, soybean installed with 25-cm row spacing has an increase in 1000-grains weight. In the conventional sowing date, there is an increase in soybean yield installed with 25-cm row spacing associated with a seeding density of 320,000 to 400,000 viable seeds ha-1

Teenage and Adult Speech in School Context: Building and Processing a Corpus of European Portuguese

We present a corpus of European Portuguese spoken by teenagers and adults in school context, CPE-FACES, with an overview of the differential characteristics of high school oral presentations and the challenges this data poses to automatic speech processing. The CPE-FACES corpus has been created with two main goals: to provide a resource for the study of prosodic patterns in both spontaneous and prepared unscripted speech, and to capture inter-speaker and speaking style variations common at school, for research on oral presentations. Research on speaking styles is still largely based on adult speech. References to teenagers are sparse and cross-analyses of speech types comparing teenagers and adults are rare. We expect CPE-FACES, currently a unique resource in this domain, will contribute to filling this gap in European Portuguese. Focusing on disfluencies and phrase-final phonetic-phonological processes we show the impact of teenage speech on the automatic segmentation of oral presentations. Analyzing fluent final intonation contours in declarative utterances, we also show that communicative situation specificities, speaker status and cross gender differences are key factors in speaking style variation at school.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio