Community-Based Income Generation: A Case Study of its Effects and Replicability in Urucureá, Santarém

This study examines the method of income generation through handcraft production used by Projeto Saude e Alegria, or the Health and Happiness Project, in Urucureá, a small community in the region of Santarém, Pará, Brazil. Urucureá is a rural community of ribeirinhos (or caboclos), traditional populations living along the banks of the Amazon River and its tributaries. The project of organizing community-based handcraft production in the community began in 1995, and since then the TucumArte group has been quite successful in strengthening their production of woven basketry from the straw of tucumã, a locally abundant species of palm tree. This study compares the economic and social environments in Urucureá with those of Nova Sociedade, a neighboring community existing without the income stemming from the work of TucumArte and Projeto Saude e Alegria, in order to evaluate the differences between a community involved directly with a commercial market and one that lacks that link. Through this comparison, the researcher evaluates the effects experienced in Urucureá and the reliability of handcraft production as a mode of income generation on a regional scale. The study concludes that the effects resulting from the income generation are overwhelmingly positive in Urucureá, but that the reliability and replicability of this form of income generation is low, due to the dependence on high community motivation and organization, as well as sustained NGO commitment

An Examination and Condition Assessment of Robert Winthrop Chanler\u27s Pool Grotto Ceiling Mural at Vizcaya, Miami

The following thesis addresses the state of conservation of the exterior ceiling mural by Robert Chanler at Vizcaya, the 1916 winter home of James Deering in Miami, Florida. The fantastical depiction of shimmering fish and delicately glazed high relief seashells painted on the ceiling of the pool grotto has deteriorated greatly over time, so much that only ~10% of the original surfaces remain visible today. No comprehensive documentation of the conditions of the ceiling exists, yet the ceiling is a rare example of the artist’s mural work and after having undergone a variety of under-documented interventions, it still impresses. At a time when Vizcaya is considering options for its interpretation, this thesis serves not only as a status report, but also as an analytical tool to be used in considering future interventions. The resulting detailed digital documentation of conditions and synthesis of previous analyses serves as a point of reference for considering alternative interpretive approaches within the context of conservation principles as well as an appropriate treatment plan

Role of conformational dynamics in sequence-specific autoantibody•ssDNA recognition

11F8 is a sequence-specific monoclonal anti-ssDNA autoantibody isolated from a lupus prone mouse that forms pathogenic complexes with ssDNA, resulting in kidney damage. Prior studies show that specificity is mediated by a somatic mutation from serine at 31 V H to arginine. Reversion back to serine in 11F8 resulted in >30-fold decrease in affinity and altered thermodynamic and kinetic parameters for sequence-specific recognition of its cognate ssDNA ligand. Mutagenesis and structural studies suggest that R31 V H contacts ssDNA via a salt bridge and a bidentate hydrogen bond and may further contribute to specificity by altering binding-site conformation. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer experiments were conducted to assess the kinetics of conformational change during 11F8•ssDNA association. The extent of rearrangement between the six complementary determining regions in the 11F8•ssDNA complex with germline serine or somatically mutated arginine at residue 31 of the heavy chain was examined. Our studies show that greater conformational change occurs in five of six complementarity determining regions after the heavy chain germline J558 sequence undergoes mutation to arginine at 31 V H . © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 85: 481–489, 2007. This article was originally published online as an accepted preprint. The “Published Online” date corresponds to the preprint version. You can request a copy of the preprint by emailing the Biopolymers editorial office at [email protected] Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/55985/1/20692_ftp.pd

Legislación de la bruja: una genealogía del pensamiento jurídico

Long before the prosecution of individuals for witchcraft was rendered a legal impossibility in the states of modern Europe, the judicial and executive institutions of those states and their precursors were decisive in both legitimating and moderating, facilitating and constraining the detection, trial, and execution of alleged witches. If we are to impute more than unresolved cognitive dissonance to this paradoxical relationship of the apparatus of state to the perceived reality and threat of witchcraft, then the preconditions and contextual factors predicating that relationship bear investigation. This paper identifies genealogical traces of criminological, political, social, and religious thought embedded within several pivotal bodies of early-modern law pertaining to witchcraft, and attempts to infer the cultural, institutional, and textual sources and conditions from which they derive.Mucho antes de que la persecución de los individuos por brujería se convirtiera en una imposibilidad jurídica en los Estados de la Europa moderna, las instituciones judiciales y ejecutivas de esos Estados y sus precursores fueron decisivas para legitimar y moderar, facilitar y restringir la detección, el juicio y la ejecución de supuestas brujas. Si hemos de imputar más que una disonancia cognitiva no resuelta a esta relación paradójica del aparato del estado con la realidad percibida y la amenaza de la brujería, entonces las precondiciones y los factores contextuales que predican esa relación llevan a la investigación. Este artículo identifica huellas genealógicas de pensamiento criminológico, político, social y religioso incrustado dentro de varios cuerpos fundamentales del derecho temprano-moderno relacionados con la brujería, e intenta inferir las fuentes y condiciones culturales, institucionales y textuales de las cuales derivan

How the biotin–streptavidin interaction was made even stronger: investigation via crystallography and a chimaeric tetramer

The interaction between SA (streptavidin) and biotin is one of the strongest non-covalent interactions in Nature. SA is a widely used tool and a paradigm for protein–ligand interactions. We previously developed a SA mutant, termed Tr (traptavidin), possessing a 10-fold lower off-rate for biotin, with increased mechanical and thermal stability. In the present study, we determined the crystal structures of apo-Tr and biotin–Tr at 1.5 Å resolution. In apo-SA the loop (L3/4), near biotin's valeryl tail, is typically disordered and open, but closes upon biotin binding. In contrast, L3/4 was shut in both apo-Tr and biotin–Tr. The reduced flexibility of L3/4 and decreased conformational change on biotin binding provide an explanation for Tr's reduced biotin off- and on-rates. L3/4 includes Ser45, which forms a hydrogen bond to biotin consistently in Tr, but erratically in SA. Reduced breakage of the biotin–Ser45 hydrogen bond in Tr is likely to inhibit the initiating event in biotin's dissociation pathway. We generated a Tr with a single biotin-binding site rather than four, which showed a simi-larly low off-rate, demonstrating that Tr's low off-rate was governed by intrasubunit effects. Understanding the structural features of this tenacious interaction may assist the design of even stronger affinity tags and inhibitors

An affinity matured minibody for PET imaging of prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA)-expressing tumors

PurposeProstate stem cell antigen (PSCA), a cell surface glycoprotein expressed in normal human prostate and bladder, is over-expressed in the majority of localized prostate cancer and most bone metastases. We have previously shown that the hu1G8 minibody, a humanized anti-PSCA antibody fragment (single-chain Fv-C(H)3 dimer, 80 kDa), can localize specifically and image PSCA-expressing xenografts at 21 h post-injection. However, the humanization and antibody fragment reformatting decreased its apparent affinity. Here, we sought to evaluate PET imaging contrast with affinity matured minibodies.MethodsYeast scFv display, involving four rounds of selection, was used to generate the three affinity matured antibody fragments (A2, A11, and C5) that were reformatted into minibodies. These three affinity matured anti-PSCA minibodies were characterized in vitro, and following radiolabeling with (124)I were evaluated in vivo for microPET imaging of PSCA-expressing tumors.ResultsThe A2, A11, and C5 minibody variants all demonstrated improved affinity compared to the parental (P) minibody and were ranked as follows: A2 > A11 > C5 > P. The (124)I-labeled A11 minibody demonstrated higher immunoreactivity than the parental minibody and also achieved the best microPET imaging contrast in two xenograft models, LAPC-9 (prostate cancer) and Capan-1 (pancreatic cancer), when evaluated in vivo.ConclusionOf the affinity variant minibodies tested, the A11 minibody that ranked second in affinity was selected as the best immunoPET tracer to image PSCA-expressing xenografts. This candidate is currently under development for evaluation in a pilot clinical imaging study

From the strange death to the odd afterlife of Lutheran England

Research on the relationship between England and Protestant Germany during the sixteenth century has recently experienced a revival. A significant area of concentration for confessional interests among Lutherans a century ago, Anglo-German relations took a backseat in Reformation historiography during the twentieth century, but during the last decade or so a host of scholars in the UK, Germany, and USA have once again turned their attention to the topic. This review article surveys trends in scholarship on Reformation studies in both England and Germany before turning specifically to works considering instances of interaction, co-operation, and adaptation across the confessional and geographic divides. Gathering a considerable array of secondary materials, the article offers an overview of the merits and criticisms of previous analyses and concludes by pointing out a few areas for future inquiry