The altered expression of α1 and β3 subunits of the gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptor is related to the hepatitis C virus infection

The modulation of the gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA A) receptors activity was observed in several chronic hepatitis failures, including hepatitis C. The expression of GABA A receptor subunits α1 and β3 was detected in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) originated from healthy donors. The aim of the study was to evaluate if GABA A α1 and β3 expression can also be observed in PBMCs from chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients and to evaluate a possible association between their expression and the course of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. GABA A α1- and β3-specific mRNAs presence and a protein expression in PBMCs from healthy donors and CHC patients were screened by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot, respectively. In patients, HCV RNA was determined in sera and PBMCs. It was shown that GABA A α1 and β3 expression was significantly different in PBMCs from CHC patients and healthy donors. In comparison to healthy donors, CHC patients were found to present an increase in the expression of GABA A α1 subunit and a decrease in the expression of β3 subunit in their PBMCs. The modulation of α1 and β3 GABA A receptors subunits expression in PBMCs may be associated with ongoing or past HCV infection

Quality management: implementing the best ideas of the masters

xviii,409 hal.; 23 c

Matching stimulation paradigms resolve apparent differences between optogenetic and electrical VTA stimulation

BACKGROUND: Optogenetic stimulation has grown into a popular brain stimulation method in basic neuroscience while electrical stimulation predominates in clinical applications. In order to explain the effects of electrical stimulation on a cellular level and evaluate potential advantages of optogenetic therapies, comparisons between the two stimulation modalities are necessary. This comparison is hindered, however, by the difficulty of effectively matching the two fundamentally different modalities. OBJECTIVE:Comparison of brain-wide activation patterns in response to intensity-matched electrical and optogenetic VTA stimulation. METHODS: We mapped optogenetic and electrical self-stimulation rates in the same mice over stimulation intensity and determined iso-behavioral intensities. Using functional 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT imaging of cerebral blood flow in awake animals, we obtained brain-wide activation patterns for both modalities at these iso-behavioral intensities. We performed these experiments in two mouse lines commonly used for optogenetic VTA stimulation, DAT::Cre and TH::Cre mice. RESULTS: We find iso-behavioral intensity matching of stimulation gives rise to similar brain activation patterns. Differences between mouse lines were more pronounced than differences between modalities. CONCLUSIONS: Previously found large differences of electrical and optogenetic stimulation might be due to unmatched stimulation intensity, particularly relative electrical overstimulation. These findings imply that therapeutic electrical VTA stimulation might be relatively specific if employed with optimized parameters

Lucia : Philippines

Version anglaise disponible dans la Bibliothèque numérique du CRDI: LuciaScénario: R.F. LeeProducteur de la série: P. FirstbrookD'après une histoire originale de: L. BrockaUne production Manila Inter-Film pour BBC Television en association avec Television Trust for the Environment et tous les diffuseurs de "Un Seul Monde" (One World)La lutte des membres d'une famille des Philippines qui tentent de rester unis après la destruction de leur village causée par un déversement de pétrole et qui sont forcés de déménager dans un bidonville de Manille

Lucia : the Philippines

French version available in IDRC Digital Library: LuciaScreenplay: R.F. LeeSeries producer: P. FirstbrookFrom an original story by: L. BrockaA Manila Inter-Film Production for BBC Television and in association with Television Trust for the Environment and the One World Group of BroadcastersAnother version of this video available in IDRC Digital Library: Filipino fishing families (North South series : no. 119)The powerful human drama of a Filipino family's struggle to stay together after their village is devastated by an oil spill and they are forced to move to the slums of Manila (subtitled)

Qualidade total: proposta de um modelo para implantação Total quality: proposal of a model for implantation

A implantação efetiva de Programas de Qualidade Total tem apresentado diversas dificuldades nas organizações em geral. As peculiaridades que envolvem cada empresa - sua estrutura de operações, seu mercado específico, sua cultura organizacional, entre outras - faz com que seja virtualmente impossível a elaboração de um único modelo detalhado de implantação. Dessa forma, é necessária a adoção de um modelo mais geral, que deve ser adaptado a cada caso particular. Neste texto, é apresentado um modelo elaborado para a implantação de um Programa de Qualidade Total em uma organização militar, prestadora de serviços na área de manutenção de aeronaves. O enfoque sistêmico utilizado na elaboração do modelo faz com que sua estrutura básica, apresentada aqui, possa ser utilizada de forma bastante geral em processos de implantação de Programas de Qualidade Total. São apresentadas diversas fases do processo de implantação, as quais deverão ser detalhadas e dispostas cronologicamente de acordo com cada situação específica.<br>The effective implantation of Total Quality Management Programs has been presenting several dificulties. The particular features related to each organization - due to its operational structure, its specific market, its organizational culture, among others - make it virtually impossible to elaborate a uniquely deployed implantation model. Thus, it becomes necessary to adopt a general model, to be adapted to each particular case. Within this text, a model developed to implement a Total Quality Management Program in a military aircraft depot is presented. The system approach, used to develop the model, allows its basic structure to be used in a broad sense. The implantation process is partially deployed in phases, which must be scheduled and completely detailed according to each specific situation