Espacios barriales y convivencia: reflexiones sobre las concentraciones de población inmigrada y la territorialidad urbana / Neighborhoods and coexistence: reflections on migrant concentrations and urban territoriality

Los espacios barriales de las ciudades con presencia de población inmigrada, conforman actualmente un paisaje urbano heterogéneo, en el que el cruce de desigualdades sociales, culturales y económicas, han desembocado en una ocupación desigual del espacio, surgiendo una nueva expresión de vulnerabilidad urbana y fracturas en la convivencia ciudadana. De esta manera, asistimos a espacios barriales fragmentados y polarizados dentro de las ciudades, algunos como polos de atracción para parte de la población inmigrada, como es el caso de los barrios en Santiago de Chile que son analizados en este artículo, a través de un análisis cualitativo. Por ello es importante preguntarse qué factores explicativos socio-territoriales determinan la vulnerabilidad en los barrios con alta concentración de población inmigrada y qué efectos se derivan de estos cruces de desigualdades en sujetos específicos. Esto porque las características del territorio constituyen una realidad que nos remite permanentemente a la estructura social y a los códigos culturales de las colectividades que los habitan, quienes a su vez despliegan sobre ese contexto, imaginarios sociales (Mafessoli, 2003) y reacciones que impactan en la relación con la territorialidad y en las relaciones entre sujetos considerados o no como ciudadanos.   The neighborhood spaces of cities with an immigrant population, currently make up a heterogeneous urban landscape, in which the crossing of social, cultural and, economic inequalities, have led to an unequal occupation of space, emerging a new expression of urban vulnerability and fractures in the citizen coexistence. In this way, we witness fragmented and polarized neighborhood spaces within cities, some of them like as poles of attraction for immigrant population, as is the case of some neighborhoods in Santiago of Chile which are analyzed in this article, through a qualitative analysis. Therefore, it is important to ask what socio-territorial explanatory factors are determining vulnerability in neighborhoods with a high concentration of immigrant population and what effects are derived from these inequality crossings in specific subjects. This, because the characteristics of the territory, constitutes a reality that permanently refers us to the social structure and to the cultural codes of the communities that inhabit them, who in turn display on this context, social imaginaries (Mafessoli, 2003) and reactions which impact on the relationship with territoriality and in relations between subjects considered or not as citizens

Análisis de la experiencia de innovación curricular en la Escuela de Trabajo Social / Analysis of an experience in curricular innovation of the School of Social Work

En un mundo cada vez más complejo y cambiante, la formación universitaria en Trabajo Social necesita revisar sus enfoques y campos de actuación. Asumiendo este desafío, la Escuela de Trabajo Social perteneciente a la Facultad de Ciencias Sociales (FACSO) de la Universidad Central de Chile, impulsa el proceso de innovación curricular. En este artículo se proporcionan fundamentos para la innovación, se comparten estrategias metodológicas, las etapas seguidas y los productos logrados.   In an ever more complex and changing world, college education in Social Work needs to revise its orientation and fields of action. Acknowledging this challenge, the School of Social Work of the Department of Social Sciences (FACSO in Spanish) of the Universidad Central de Chile, launches the process of curricular innovation. This article provides fundamentals for innovation and shares methodological strategies, as well as the followed stages and the achieved products

Genomic and expression analysis of multiple Sry loci from a single Rattus norvegicus Y chromosome

BACKGROUND: Sry is a gene known to be essential for testis determination but is also transcribed in adult male tissues. The laboratory rat, Rattus norvegicus, has multiple Y chromosome copies of Sry while most mammals have only a single copy. DNA sequence comparisons with other rodents with multiple Sry copies are inconsistent in divergence patterns and functionality of the multiple copies. To address hypotheses of divergence, gene conversion and functional constraints, we sequenced Sry loci from a single R. norvegicus Y chromosome from the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat strain (SHR) and analyzed DNA sequences for homology among copies. Next, to determine whether all copies of Sry are expressed, we developed a modification of the fluorescent marked capillary electrophoresis method to generate three different sized amplification products to identify Sry copies. We applied this fragment analysis method to both genomic DNA and cDNA prepared from mRNA from testis and adrenal gland of adult male rats. RESULTS: Y chromosome fragments were amplified and sequenced using primers that included the entire Sry coding region and flanking sequences. The analysis of these sequences identified six Sry loci on the Y chromosome. These are paralogous copies consistent with a single phylogeny and the divergence between any two copies is less than 2%. All copies have a conserved reading frame and amino acid sequence consistent with function. Fragment analysis of genomic DNA showed close approximations of experimental with predicted values, validating the use of this method to identify proportions of each copy. Using the fragment analysis procedure with cDNA samples showed the Sry copies expressed were significantly different from the genomic distribution (testis p < 0.001, adrenal gland p < 0.001), and the testis and adrenal copy distribution in the transcripts were also significantly different from each other (p < 0.001). Total Sry transcript expression, analyzed by real-time PCR, showed significantly higher levels of Sry in testis than adrenal gland (p, 0.001). CONCLUSION: The SHR Y chromosome contains at least 6 full length copies of the Sry gene. These copies have a conserved coding region and conserved amino acid sequence. The pattern of divergence is not consistent with gene conversion as the mechanism for this conservation. Expression studies show multiple copies expressed in the adult male testis and adrenal glands, with tissue specific differences in expression patterns. Both the DNA sequence analysis and RNA transcript expression analysis are consistent with more than one copy having function and selection preventing divergence although we have no functional evidence

Salvage Liver Transplantation Is a Reasonable Option for Selected Patients Who Have Recurrent Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Liver Resection

Background: Salvage liver transplantation (SLT) has been reported as being feasible for patients who develop recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after primary liver resection, but this finding remains controversial. We retrospectively studied the clinical characteristics of SLT recipients and conducted a comparison between SLT recipients and primary liver transplantation (PLT) recipients. Methodology and Principal Findings: A retrospective study examined data from the China Liver Transplant Registry (CLTR) for 6,975 transplants performed from January 1999 to December 2009. A total of 6,087 patients underwent PLT and 888 patients underwent SLT for recurrence. Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) was performed in 389 patients, while 6,586 patients underwent deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT). Kaplan-Meier curves were used to compare survival rates. The 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year overall survival of SLT recipients was similar to that of PLT recipients: 73.00%, 51.77%, and 45.84 % vs. 74.49%, 55.10%, and 48.81%, respectively (P = 0.260). The 1-year, 3-year and 5-year disease-free survival of SLT recipients was inferior to that of PLT recipients: 64.79%, 45.57%, and 37.78 % vs. 66.39%, 50.39%, and 43.50%, respectively (P = 0.048). Similar survival results were observed for SLT and PLT within both the LDLT and DDLT recipients. Within the SLT group, the 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year overall survival for LDLT and DDLT recipients was similar: 93.33%, 74.67%, and 74.67 % vs. 80.13%, 62.10%, and 54.18 % (P = 0.281), as was the disease-free survival: 84.85%, 62.85%, an

Small molecule binding sites on the Ras:SOS complex can be exploited for inhibition of Ras activation.

Constitutively active mutant KRas displays a reduced rate of GTP hydrolysis via both intrinsic and GTPase-activating protein-catalyzed mechanisms, resulting in the perpetual activation of Ras pathways. We describe a fragment screening campaign using X-ray crystallography that led to the discovery of three fragment binding sites on the Ras:SOS complex. The identification of tool compounds binding at each of these sites allowed exploration of two new approaches to Ras pathway inhibition by stabilizing or covalently modifying the Ras:SOS complex to prevent the reloading of Ras with GTP. Initially, we identified ligands that bound reversibly to the Ras:SOS complex in two distinct sites, but these compounds were not sufficiently potent inhibitors to validate our stabilization hypothesis. We conclude by demonstrating that covalent modification of Cys118 on Ras leads to a novel mechanism of inhibition of the SOS-mediated interaction between Ras and Raf and is effective at inhibiting the exchange of labeled GDP in both mutant (G12C and G12V) and wild type Ras

A SRY-HMG box frame shift mutation inherited from a mosaic father with a mild form of testicular dysgenesis syndrome in Turner syndrome patient

Background: Sex determining factor (SRY) located on the short arm of the Y chromosome, plays an important role in initiating male sex determination, resulting in development of testicular tissue. Presence of the SRY gene in females results in XY sex reversal and increased risk of gonadal germ cell tumours if the karyotype also includes the so-called GonadoBlastoma on the Y chromosome (GBY) region. The majority of mutations within the SRY gene are de novo affecting only a single individual in the family. The mutations within the high-mobility group (HMG) region have the potential to affect its DNA binding activity.Case Presentation: We performed G- and R-banding cytogenetic analysis of the patient and her family members including her father. We also performed molecular genetic analysis of SRY gene. Cytogenetic analysis in the patient (Turner Syndrome) revealed the mosaic karyotype as 45, X/46, XY (79%/21% respectively) while her father (milder features with testicular dysgenesis syndrome) has a normal male karyotype (46, XY). Using molecular approach, we screened the patient and her father for mutations in the SRY gene. Both patient and her father showed the same deletion of cytosine within HMG box resulting in frame shift mutation (L94fsX180), the father in a mosaic pattern. Histological examination of the gonads from the patient revealed the presence of gonadoblastoma formation, while the father presented with oligoasthenozoospermia and a testicular seminoma. The frameshift mutation at this codon is novel, and may result in a mutated SRY protein.Conclusion: Our results suggest that lack of a second sex chromosome in majority cells of the patient may have triggered the short stature and primary infertility, and the mutated SRY protein may be associated with the development of gonadoblastoma. It is of importance to note that mosaic patients without a SRY mutation also have a risk for malignant germ cell tumors