Evidence of spin disorder at the surface–core interface of oxygen passivated Fe nanoparticles

Hysteresis, thermal dependence of magnetization, and coercivity of oxide coated ultrafine Fe particles prepared by inert gas condensation and oxygen passivation have been studied in the 5–300 K range. The results are found to be consistent with a spin-glasslike state of the oxide layer inducing, through exchange interaction with the ferromagnetic core, a shift of the field cooled hysteresis loops at temperatures below the freezing at approximately 50 K.Dirección General de Investigación y Desarrollo. Gobierno de España-CICYT MAT95- 1042-C02-02Dirección General de Investigación y Desarrollo. Gobierno de España-PB96-0863-C02-02.Comisión Europea-ERBFMBI-CT95-0534

Promoção de saúde nas Escolas Municipais de Foz do Iguaçu

Anais do 35º Seminário de Extensão Universitária da Região Sul - Área temática: SaúdeEste projeto de extensão sobre promoção de saúde nas escolas tem como principal finalidade resgatar, repassar e discutir informações básicas de saúde com a comunidade escolar. A extensão pode ser um canal de diálogo para a construção do conhecimento através do intercâmbio entre os saberes acadêmico e popular, resultando em uma série de benefícios para a sociedade. A relação entre a universidade e a comunidade é necessária para a vida acadêmica, principalmente, na área da promoção da saúde, pois pode servir de espaço diferenciado para novas experiências voltadas à educação em saúde, contribuindo para a formação do aluno universitário. Para a comunidade, a educação em saúde tem por função tornar o cidadão capaz de adequar seus hábitos e comportamentos e de estar em condições de reivindicar seus direitos, portanto, a prática educativa em saúde ajuda a construir um cidadão consciente de seu papel enquanto agente social. Este projeto vem sendo operacionalizado, desde 2015, por professores e alunos do curso de saúde coletiva em parcerias com outros autores da universidade e comunidade. Foram selecionadas escolas municipais, e em cada uma delas foram trabalhadas atividades educativas, resgatando e discutindo saberes e repassando informações, inicialmente com uma turma a qual, posteriormente, atua como multiplicadora para toda a comunidade escolar e familiares. Entre os resultados do projeto, foi observado que os alunos das escolas públicas identificam diversos problemas que podem ser acarretados pela prática de hábitos não saudáveis, sendo incentivados a desenvolver ideias ou formas de adequar hábitos e comportamentos a partir de realidades local. Em todas as escolas foi possível envolver os jovens alunos numa apresentação direcionada à comunidade escolar e familiares, onde socializam os trabalhos desenvolvidos no projeto. Adicionalmente, o projeto contribuiu na capacitação de acadêmicos da UNILA para educação em saúd

GWAS of Follicular Lymphoma Reveals Allelic Heterogeneity at 6p21.32 and Suggests Shared Genetic Susceptibility with Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) represents a diverse group of hematological malignancies, of which follicular lymphoma (FL) is a prevalent subtype. A previous genome-wide association study has established a marker, rs10484561 in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II region on 6p21.32 associated with increased FL risk. Here, in a three-stage genome-wide association study, starting with a genome-wide scan of 379 FL cases and 791 controls followed by validation in 1,049 cases and 5,790 controls, we identified a second independent FL–associated locus on 6p21.32, rs2647012 (ORcombined = 0.64, Pcombined = 2×10−21) located 962 bp away from rs10484561 (r2<0.1 in controls). After mutual adjustment, the associations at the two SNPs remained genome-wide significant (rs2647012:ORadjusted = 0.70, Padjusted = 4×10−12; rs10484561:ORadjusted = 1.64, Padjusted = 5×10−15). Haplotype and coalescence analyses indicated that rs2647012 arose on an evolutionarily distinct haplotype from that of rs10484561 and tags a novel allele with an opposite (protective) effect on FL risk. Moreover, in a follow-up analysis of the top 6 FL–associated SNPs in 4,449 cases of other NHL subtypes, rs10484561 was associated with risk of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (ORcombined = 1.36, Pcombined = 1.4×10−7). Our results reveal the presence of allelic heterogeneity within the HLA class II region influencing FL susceptibility and indicate a possible shared genetic etiology with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. These findings suggest that the HLA class II region plays a complex yet important role in NHL

Micrometric control of the optics of the human eye: environment or genes?

Purpose: The human eye has typically more optical aberrations than conventional artificial optical systems. While the lower order modes (defocus and astigmatism) are well studied, our purpose is to explore the influence of genes versus the environment on the higher order aberrations of the optical components of the eye. Methods: We have performed a classical twin study in a sample from the Region of Murcia (Spain). Optical aberrations using a Hartmann-Shack sensor (AOnEye Voptica SL, Murcia, Spain) and corneal aberrations (using corneal topography data) were measured in 138 eyes corresponding to 69 twins; 36 monozygotic (MZ) and 33 dizygotic (DZ) pairs (age 55 years, SD 7 years). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to estimate how strongly aberrations of twins resemble each other, and genetic models were fitted to quantify heritability in the selected phenotypes. Results: Genes had a significant influence in the variance of most of the higher order aberration terms (heritability from 40% to 70%). This genetic influence was observed similarly in both cornea and complete eye aberrations. Additionally, the compensation factor of spherical aberration in the eye (i.e., how much corneal spherical aberration was compensated by internal spherical aberration) was found under genetic influence (heritability of 68%). Conclusions: There is a significant genetic contribution to the variance of aberrations of the eye, not only at macroscopic levels, as in myopia or astigmatism, but also at microscopic levels, where a few micrometers changes in surface topography can produce a large difference in the value of the optical aberrations

Guidelines for the ethical assessment of interventions on the human body in view of the emergence of nbic technologies for enhancement

El reciente desarrollo de las tecnologías emergentes NBIC ha propiciado la aparición de nuevas técnicas que permiten modificar aspectos genéticos, morfológicos y fisiológicos del ser humano para mejorar sus capacidades. Ante esta circunstancia, se reabre el eterno debate: ¿es todo lo técnicamente posible éticamente aceptable? Para responder a esta pregunta, se hace necesaria una reflexión ética para valorar el alcance de las técnicas de mejoramiento y orientarlas al servicio del progreso humano y del bien común. Muchos autores han comenzado ya esta reflexión y optan por la evaluación caso por caso. Sin embargo, se considera que hay un gran déficit de concreción en la definición de los criterios que permitirían un análisis ético de cada técnica para determinar la licitud de su aplicación. Como respuesta a esta necesidad, se propone una guía práctica de valoración ética ya no solo de las técnicas de mejoramiento humano, sino, en general, de cualquier intervención sobre nuestro cuerpo. Esta guía se basa en los cuatro principios de la bioética personalista propuestos por Sgreccia: principio de defensa de la vida humana física, de totalidad o terapéutico, de libertad y responsabilidad, y de sociabilidad y subsidiariedad. Estos principios son el hilo conductor de unos cuestionarios que sirven como apoyo en el discernimiento sobre la licitud de una técnica, en virtud del bien global de la persona en su estructura tridimensional: cuerpo, psique y espíritu, y del respeto a su dignidad inalienable.The recent development of NBIC technologies has led to the emergence of new techniques that allow the modification of genetic, morphological, and physiological aspects of the human being to improve their capacities. In light of this situation, the eternal debate continues: is everything technically possible ethically acceptable? To answer this question, an ethical reflection is needed to assess the scope of enhancement techniques and to direct them to the service of human progress and the common good. Many authors have already begun this reflection, opting for a case-by-case evaluation. However, there is a great lack of specificity in the definition of the criteria that would allow an ethical analysis of each technique, in order to determine the licitness of its application. In response to this need, a practical guide for the ethical assessment of not only human enhancement techniques, but of any intervention on the human body is proposed. This guide is based on the four principles of personalist bioethics proposed by Sgreccia: the principle of defense of physical human life, the principle of totality or the therapeutic principle, the principle of freedom and responsibility, and the principle of sociability and subsidiarity. These principles are the common thread of some questionnaires that serve as support in discerning the licitness of a technique, by virtue of the overall good of the person in their three-dimensional structure: body, mind and spirit, and the respect for their inalienable dignity.Medicin

Joint annotation of coding and non-coding single nucleotide polymorphisms and mutations in the SNPeffect and PupaSuite databases

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are, together with copy number variation, the primary source of variation in the human genome. SNPs are associated with altered response to drug treatment, susceptibility to disease and other phenotypic variation. Furthermore, during genetic screens for disease-associated mutations in groups of patients and control individuals, the distinction between disease causing mutation and polymorphism is often unclear. Annotation of the functional and structural implications of single nucleotide changes thus provides valuable information to interpret and guide experiments. The SNPeffect and PupaSuite databases are now synchronized to deliver annotations for both non-coding and coding SNP, as well as annotations for the SwissProt set of human disease mutations. In addition, SNPeffect now contains predictions of Tango2: an improved aggregation detector, and Waltz: a novel predictor of amyloid-forming sequences, as well as improved predictors for regions that are recognized by the Hsp70 family of chaperones. The new PupaSuite version incorporates predictions for SNPs in silencers and miRNAs including their targets, as well as additional methods for predicting SNPs in TFBSs and splice sites. Also predictions for mouse and rat genomes have been added. In addition, a PupaSuite web service has been developed to enable data access, programmatically. The combined database holds annotations for 4 965 073 regulatory as well as 133 505 coding human SNPs and 14 935 disease mutations, and phenotypic descriptions of 43 797 human proteins and is accessible via http://snpeffect.vib.be and http://pupasuite.bioinfo.cipf.es/

The Personal Genome Project-UK, an open access resource of human multi-omics data

Integrative analysis of multi-omics data is a powerful approach for gaining functional insights into biological and medical processes. Conducting these multifaceted analyses on human samples is often complicated by the fact that the raw sequencing output is rarely available under open access. The Personal Genome Project UK (PGP-UK) is one of few resources that recruits its participants under open consent and makes the resulting multi-omics data freely and openly available. As part of this resource, we describe the PGP-UK multi-omics reference panel consisting of ten genomic, methylomic and transcriptomic data. Specifically, we outline the data processing, quality control and validation procedures which were implemented to ensure data integrity and exclude sample mix-ups. In addition, we provide a REST API to facilitate the download of the entire PGP-UK dataset. The data are also available from two cloud-based environments, providing platforms for free integrated analysis. In conclusion, the genotype-validated PGP-UK multi-omics human reference panel described here provides a valuable new open access resource for integrated analyses in support of personal and medical genomics

Empoderamiento de las Mujeres en la Zona Urbana de San Francisco Libre, Managua “Una Fuente Para el Desarrollo Local”

San Francisco Libre es una localidad donde la inversión del Gobierno en proyectos de desarrollo local es baja, aunado a ello existe bajo interés de la población en la gestión de sus propias mejoras, por ello, se percibe ausencia de programas de desarrollo, lo que ha ocasionado un estancamiento y bajo desarrollo en dicha zona. Cabe destacar que las condiciones de pobreza de los habitantes contribuyen al bajo interés en invertir en la educación, sumándose a esto la ausencia de formación técnica y superior en el Municipio, por tal razón la población no posee nivel educativo calificado que les de oportunidades para obtener un empleo competente que permita generar ingresos para sostener una permanente preparación académica para ellos y sus hijos. Situación que perpetúa un entorno desfavorable, asumiendo empleos temporales en el sector agrícola, siendo este uno de los más deprimidos en esta zona, profundizando de esta manera la pobreza. El área territorial de San Francisco Libre es riesgosa dada la ubicación cercana al lago Xolotlan. Durante el invierno son comunes los casos de inundación que perjudican directamente a los hogares, la agricultura y la ganadería, que son las principales actividades económicas de este sector. Al verse afectadas impactan negativamente en las condiciones de vida de los pobladores, puesto que gran parte de la población, tanto urbana como rural, se dedica a tales actividades. Pocos pobladores poseen empleo permanente. Es necesario mencionar que son muy pocos los habitantes que tienen iniciativa y liderazgo para guiar al resto de la población, afectando la conciencia social y manteniendo una visión corta del desarrollo, mostrando pasividad ante la importancia de su participación en gestiones que beneficien la colectividad y el desarrollo local

Impact of the long application of urea on bacteria nitritantes of a typical Argiudol, Argentine

La oxidación del amoníaco a nitrito constituye un paso crítico en el ciclo del nitrógeno (N) del suelo y es realizado por las bacterias oxidantes del amoníaco (BOA) o Nitritantes. El manejo agrícola puede afectar la comunidad de las BOA a través del uso prolongado de fertilizantes nitrogenados como la urea, cuya aplicación tiende a aumentar la acidez del suelo. El tamaño, actividad, composición de las BOA y variables químicas de suelo fueron investigadas luego de 12 años de manejo con urea. El ensayo presenta un diseño en bloques completos aleatorizados con tres repeticiones sobre un suelo Argiudol típico de Marcos Juárez, Sudeste de Córdoba, Argentina. Los tratamientos fueron: A sin aplicación; B y C con 95 y 165 Kg. ha-1 de urea como fuente de nitrógeno respectivamente. Se realizaron dos muestreos: previo a la siembra y en postcosecha de maíz. Para la caracterización de la comunidad de BOA se utilizaron los métodos del número más probable, shaken soil slurry, reacción en cadena de la polimerasa y electroforesis en gel de gradiente desnaturalizante. La fertilización con urea disminuyó el pH del suelo, aumentó la abundancia y diversidad de las BOA pero no produjo cambios significativos en la actividad potencial. La estructura estuvo dominada por miembros del Grupo 3 de Nitrosospira en todos los tratamientos. Los resultados obtenidos indican que la fertilización con urea a largo plazo en un Argiudol típico representó una fuente de sustrato más que un factor limitante. El efecto de la fertilización fue más evidente en el muestreo previo a la siembra de maíz.Ammonia oxidation to nitrite is a critical step in the nitrogen (N) cycle and is performed by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) also called Nitrifying. Agricultural management can affect the AOB community due to the prolonged use of nitrogen fertilizers such as urea which tend to increase soil acidity. After 12 years of urea application, size, activity, AOB composition and chemical variables were investigated. The performed field experiment had a complete randomized block design with three replicates on a typical Argiudol soil located in Marcos Juárez, Southeastern Córdoba, Argentine. The treatments were: A control without N-application; B and C with 95 and 165 kg ha-1 of urea as the N source respectively. Soil samples were collected before sowing and after corn harvest. The AOB community was studied through the most probable number method, shaken soil slurry, polymerase chain reaction and electrophoresis in denaturing gradient gel. Urea fertilization decreased soil pH, increased AOB abundance and diversity but did not significantly affect nitrifying potential. Bacterial community structure was dominated by members of the Group 3 of Nitrosospira in all the treatments. The results showed that the long-term urea fertilization in a typical Argiudol was a substrate source and not a limiting factor for the nitrifying bacteria. The fertilization effect was more evident in the sampling date before corn sowing.Fil: Boccolini, Mónica Fabiola. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Córdoba. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juárez; ArgentinaFil: Basile, Laura Ana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas; ArgentinaFil: Cazorla, Cristián Román. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Córdoba. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juárez; ArgentinaFil: Galarza, Carlos Martín. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Córdoba. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juárez; ArgentinaFil: Conde, Belén. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Córdoba. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juárez; ArgentinaFil: Figuerola, Eva Lucia Margarita. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular ; Argentin