A CLASP-modulated cell edge barrier mechanism drives cell-wide cortical microtubule organization in Arabidopsis

It is well known that the parallel order of microtubules in the plant cell cortex defines the direction of cell expansion, yet it remains unclear how microtubule orientation is controlled, especially on a cell-wide basis. Here we show through 4D imaging and computational modelling that plant cell polyhedral geometry provides spatial input that determines array orientation and heterogeneity. Microtubules depolymerize when encountering sharp cell edges head-on, whereas those oriented parallel to those sharp edges remain. Edge-induced microtubule depolymerization, however, is overcome by the microtubule-associated protein CLASP, which accumulates at specific cell edges, enables microtubule growth around sharp edges and promotes formation of microtubule bundles that span adjacent cell faces. By computationally modelling dynamic 'microtubules on a cube' with edges differentially permissive to microtubule passage, we show that the CLASP-edge complex is a 'tuneable' microtubule organizer, with the inherent flexibility to generate the numerous cortical array patterns observed in nature

Pediatric pyosalpinx without sexually transmitted infection: A report of 3 cases

Pelvic inflammatory disease commonly occurs in adults and is most frequently caused by sexually-transmitted organisms. When left untreated, it can progress to abscess formation and subsequent infertility due to tubal scarring. This condition rarely occurs in the pediatric population and even less frequently in the absence of sexual activity. The cases presented here depict 3 cases of pyosalpinx due to noncommunicable infectious agents. Since children are typically not subjected to transvaginal ultrasound, they are particularly at risk for delays in diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Cases described here also demonstrate the value of the pediatric interventional radiology service in treating this gynecological source of infection. Both transabdominal and transrectal approached to ultrasound-guided drainage are described. Keywords: Pediatric interventional radiology, Pyosalpin

Using the damage from 2010 Haiti earthquake for calibrating vulnerability models of typical structures in Port-au-Prince (Haiti)

After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, that hits the city of Port-au-Prince, capital city of Haiti, a multidisciplinary working group of specialists (seismologist, geologists, engineers and architects) from different Spanish Universities and also from Haiti, joined effort under the SISMO-HAITI project (financed by the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid), with an objective: Evaluation of seismic hazard and risk in Haiti and its application to the seismic design, urban planning, emergency and resource management. In this paper, as a first step for a structural damage estimation of future earthquakes in the country, a calibration of damage functions has been carried out by means of a two-stage procedure. After compiling a database with observed damage in the city after the earthquake, the exposure model (building stock) has been classified and through an iteratively two-step calibration process, a specific set of damage functions for the country has been proposed. Additionally, Next Generation Attenuation Models (NGA) and Vs30 models have been analysed to choose the most appropriate for the seismic risk estimation in the city. Finally in a next paper, these functions will be used to estimate a seismic risk scenario for a future earthquake.This work has been developed thanks to the financial support of the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (UPM), project SISMO-HAITI

Escolha do tipo de parto: fatores relatados por puérperas

Objetivo: Conhecer os fatores relatados por puérperas que concorreram na escolha do tipo de parto.Métodos: Pesquisa qualitativa, desenvolvida com 25 puérperas em um Hospital Universitário de Mato Grosso do Sul, entre setembro e novembro de 2014. Utilizou-se a entrevista semiestruturada para a coleta de dados e o Discurso do Sujeito Coletivo para organizar e tabular os depoimentos.Resultados: Os Discursos dos Sujeitos Coletivos resultaram nas categorias: Desejo pelo tipo de parto realizado; Respeito pelo tipo de parto escolhido e Fatores que influenciaram a escolha. A maioria das mulheres entrevistadas (76%) manifestou preferência pelo parto normal devido à recuperação rápida, menor dor e sofrimento.Conclusões: Concorreram na escolha do tipo de parto: influência da família, experiências prévias com parto, interação profissional – cliente e informações via internet, o que reforça a importância da educação em saúde desde o pré-natal, destacando a necessidade de instrumentalizar a mulher para realizar uma escolha consciente.Palavras-chave: Parto normal. Cesárea. Tomada de decisões. Saúde da mulher. Objetivos de Desenvolvimento do Milênio

Recent advancements in the development of radiation hard semiconductor detectors for S-LHC

The proposed luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (S-LHC) at CERN will demand the innermost layers of the vertex detectors to sustain fluences of about 1016 hadrons/cm2. Due to the high multiplicity of tracks, the required spatial resolution and the extremely harsh radiation field new detector concepts and semiconductor materials have to be explored for a possible solution of this challenge. The CERN RD50 collaboration “Development of Radiation Hard Semiconductor Devices for Very High Luminosity Colliders” has started in 2002 an R&D program for the development of detector technologies that will fulfill the requirements of the S-LHC. Different strategies are followed by RD50 to improve the radiation tolerance. These include the development of defect engineered silicon like Czochralski, epitaxial and oxygen-enriched silicon and of other semiconductor materials like SiC and GaN as well as extensive studies of the microscopic defects responsible for the degradation of irradiated sensors. Further, with 3D, Semi-3D and thin devices new detector concepts have been evaluated. These and other recent advancements of the RD50 collaboration are presented and discussed

Development of radiation tolerant semiconductor detectors for the Super-LHC.

The envisaged upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN towards the Super-LHC (SLHC) with a 10 times increased luminosity of 1035 cm−2 s−1 will present severe challenges for the tracking detectors of the SLHC experiments. Unprecedented high radiation levels and track densities and a reduced bunch crossing time in the order of 10 ns as well as the need for cost effective detectors have called for an intensive R&D program. The CERN RD50 collaboration “Development of Radiation Hard Semiconductor Devices for Very High Luminosity Colliders” is working on the development of semiconductor sensors matching the requirements of the SLHC. Sensors based on defect engineered silicon like Czochralski, epitaxial and oxygen enriched silicon have been developed. With 3D, Semi-3D and thin detectors new detector concepts have been evaluated and a study on the use of standard and oxygen enriched p-type silicon detectors revealed a promising approach for radiation tolerant cost effective devices. These and other most recent advancements of the RD50 collaboration are presented