Acoustic methods for Gelidium seaweed detection

Se han realizado mediciones del coeficiente de reflexión y absorción de una capa espesa de algas de Gelidium sesquipedale (Clem. Born. et Thur.), sobre un fondo de arena, dispuesto en un tanque de experiencias hidroacústicas. Como resultado de la reducida sección transversal acústica de cada brote del alga, y de su alto contenido de agua, su impedancia acústica tiene un valor muy próximo a la impedancia acústica del agua marina y, en consecuencia, el nivel de blanco de cada brote es muy débil. El rango de frecuencias utilizado parte de 100 kHz, alcanzando 500 kHz. El valor promedio del nivel de difusión de fondo de la capa de alga de Gelidium encontrado varía entre -26 dB y -34 dB en el rango de frecuencias utilizado.The reflection and absorption coefficients of a thick layer of Gelidium sesquipedale (Clem. Born. et Thur.) seaweed covering a sandy bottom were determined in a laboratory tank. As a result of the reduced vertical cross-section and the high water content of this seaweed, its acoustical impedance is very similar to water impedance, and the target strength of each individual seaweed frond is very weak. The usual frequency range for detection of marine life, 100-500 kHz, has been used. The average value of the bottom scattering strength was found to be between -26 dB and -34 dB in the frequency band used.Instituto Español de Oceanografí

Talking Titler: Evolutionary and Self-Adaptive Land Tenure Information System Development

Conventional land registration systems often do not produce the desired results in uncertain land tenure situations such as peri-urban areas in developing world cities, post-conflict situations, land restitution claims and aboriginal land systems. In the Talking Titler system, flexibility in creating relationships between people and between people and their interests in land has been the primary design feature. It is a tool for prototyping different designs and for developing land tenure information systems usung evolutionary strategies. The methodology was originally conceived in urban informal settlement upgrade projects and land reform and land restitution projects in South Africa in the 1990’s. In recent years, the concepts have been tested through interviews with aboriginal peoples groups in Canada, field trials and an initial implementation in land regularization in Nigeria, and a land administration study in Somaliland. The paper overviews the conceptual design of the system, how the design was formulated, testing of the system, and current development. The paper concludes by overviewing an initial design and testing with  evolutionary database development and self-adapting software using an extensible markup language (XML) database to reduce the human input into system changes as it evolves

Doença mental em crianças do ensino básico

El acogimiento en familia extensa es la medida de protección del menor que mejor permite preservar los vínculos familiares y mantener la identidad étnica y cultural. Por ello, en España es el recurso de protección priorizado por la legislación y que se ha incrementado en mayor medida en los últimos años. El acogimiento en familia extensa, junto al acogimiento en familia ajena, a partir de 1998 supera en número al acogimiento residencial. Pero por otra parte, todos los estudios señalan que la familia extensa es un recurso frágil. Los resultados resaltan que las familias acogedoras extensas son generalmente abuelos, pensionistas con bajos ingresos, que han cuidado de los menores casi desde su nacimiento, y que éstos últimos suelen presentar problemas de adaptación y bajo rendimiento escolar. La investigación que se llevó a cabo fue realizada con menores acogidos en familia extensa en la ciudad de Valencia. Nuestro objetivo era analizar las necesidades a todos los niveles de estas familias y menores. Los resultados del Test de la Familia realizado a los menores de 8 años muestra las dificultades que tienen estos niños para asumir la realidad del acogimiento, y por tanto la necesidad de dotar de recursos psicosociales a estas familias.Fostering care within extended families is a measure that allows the minor to preserve his family connections and his feeling of belonging to a particular ethnic culture and identity. This is the reason why it is the main option of social protection taken into account by the legislation in Spain and is also the reason why its implementation has risen in the past years. Fostering care within extended families, together with foster care within other families, has, since 1998 exceeded in number the amount residential care cases. On the other hand, certain studies point out that extended families represent a weak resource. The results of those researches claim that these families are mainly represented by grandparents, pensioners with low retirement pensions who have taken care of the minors almost since these were born and under whose care, the minors tend to show problems of adaptation and low school performance. The research was carried out with minors within extended families in the city of Valencia. Our aim was to analyze the results and the needs of both the family and the minors. The result of the Family drawing tests done to children who were less than 8 years old proves the difficulties these kids have to accept the reality of foster care. This also demonstrates the undeniable need there is to provide these families with psychosocial resources

Necesidades percibidas por las familias acogedoras extensas

Los lazos afectivos en la familia extensa contribuyen a afirmar, en los niños y niñas, soportes cualitativos irremplazables por otro tipo de organización social, cuya eficacia se traduce en el compromiso, la inmediatez y la permanencia en el apoyo emocional que necesitan las familias nucleares y, en principio, sería la primera y mejor opción de acogimiento familiar para el menor que necesite de este recurso. En la familia extensa, generalmente ya existen unas relaciones, unos vínculos, que en la familia acogedora ajena (familia educadora) deben construirse desde el principio. El niño en familia extensa, en muchas ocasiones, ya conoce, ya confía en sus miembros, ello le permite al menor sentirse incluido en su entramado familiar y mantener el sentimiento de la preservación familiar y por tanto de la pertenencia. Para optimizar este recurso, entre otras cuestiones, el conocimiento de las necesidades percibidas, se considera uno de los pilares a considerar en la implementación de los programas de intervención social. Para ello, tanto las familias que acogen como los técnicos, por separado, han expresado su percepción acerca de la adecuación de los recursos a las necesidades de las familias acogedoras.Emotional relationships within extended families contribute to provide children with qualitative and irreplaceable support that no other social organization can give.The immediate consequences are commitment and permanence of the emotional support that nuclear families need and, in principle, this would be the first and best option for fostering children in need of this. In extended families there are usually already built-up relationships, connections that in the case of foster families (educating families) need to be built from scratch. In most of the cases, the kid fostered by an extended family already knows and trust his/her relatives and this allows the minor to feel less excluded from the family and preserve the feeling of belonging. To improve such resources it is important to acknowledge perceived needs which would be one of the main columns to implement and sustain social intervention programs. Not only those needs referred by the technicians in charge of the evolution and support of such processes, but also the needs of those families who take care of the minors everyday. For that, both technicians and families have expressed their feelings on the adaptation of the resources to the needs of the fostering families

Recursos y carencias relacionadas con diferentes variables expresadas por las familias acogedoras extensas que dificultan/facilitarían el proceso acogedor

El programa mayoritario para la protección de los menores en situación de riesgo o desprotección tras el acogimiento residencial, es el acogimiento familiar en familia extensa. Pese a ser mayoritario, es uno de los grandes desconocidos y los recursos puestos a su disposición insuficientes. Las necesidades percibidas, es una información muy valiosa para empezar a avanzar con calidad en este recurso. Éstas han sido recogidas de las impresiones que al respecto referían las familias, en las entrevistas que se les realizó en su domicilio. Para permitir su estudio y concreción se realizó una clasificación de los recursos por ámbitos o áreas que se desglosaban en diferentes aspectos. Las familias acogedoras han expresado su percepción acerca de la adecuación de los recursos a sus necesidades para llevar a cabo, de manera óptima, su cometido respecto a la responsabilidad adquirida hacia el menor acogido.The mainstream program for protection of minors at-risk or unprotected minors after residential foster care is the extended family foster care program, that is, foster care adoptions made by minor´s relatives. Despite this being the mainstream program, it is quite unknown and the resources available for it are insufficient. The necessities perceived by others represent very valuable information to begin the implementation of this resource with proper quality. These have been collected from the impressions and perceptions that the families had and reported in the interviews made to them in their respective addresses. To allow their study and completion a classification of the resources was made by area or scope, which at the same time broke down in different aspects. The foster families have expressed their feelings about the adaptation of the resources to their needs to be able to achieve, with optimal results, their goals with regard to the acquired responsibility to the foster minor.peerReviewe

Selection of conserved epitopes from hepatitis C virus for pan-populational stimulation of T-cell responses

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is able to persist as a chronic infection, which can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. There is evidence that clearance of HCV is linked to strong responses by CD8 cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), suggesting that eliciting CTL responses against HCV through an epitope-based vaccine could prove an effective means of immunization. However, HCV genomic plasticity as well as the polymorphisms of HLA I molecules restricting CD8 T-cell responses challenges the selection of epitopes for a widely protective vaccine. Here, we devised an approach to overcome these limitations. From available databases, we first collected a set of 245 HCV-specific CD8 T-cell epitopes, all known to be targeted in the course of a natural infection in humans. After a sequence variability analysis, we next identified 17 highly invariant epitopes. Subsequently, we predicted the epitope HLA I binding profiles that determine their potential presentation and recognition. Finally, using the relevant HLA I-genetic frequencies, we identified various epitope subsets encompassing 6 conserved HCV-specific CTL epitopes each predicted to elicit an effective T-cell response in any individual regardless of their HLA I background. We implemented this epitope selection approach for free public use at the EPISOPT web server

EPIPOX:immunoinformatic characterization of the shared T-cell epitome between variola virus and related pathogenic orthopoxviruses

Concerns that variola viruses might be used as bioweapons have renewed the interest in developing new and safer smallpox vaccines. Variola virus genomes are now widely available, allowing computational characterization of the entire T-cell epitome and the use of such information to develop safe and yet effective vaccines. To this end, we identified 124 proteins shared between various species of pathogenic orthopoxviruses including variola minor and major, monkeypox, cowpox, and vaccinia viruses, and we targeted them for T-cell epitope prediction. We recognized 8,106, and 8,483 unique class I and class II MHC-restricted T-cell epitopes that are shared by all mentioned orthopoxviruses. Subsequently, we developed an immunological resource, EPIPOX, upon the predicted T-cell epitome. EPIPOX is freely available online and it has been designed to facilitate reverse vaccinology. Thus, EPIPOX includes key epitope-focused protein annotations: time point expression, presence of leader and transmembrane signals, and known location on outer membrane structures of the infective viruses. These features can be used to select specific T-cell epitopes suitable for experimental validation restricted by single MHC alleles, as combinations thereof, or by MHC supertypes

Developing documents for practical sessions in Zoology

La implantación del sistema unificado de créditos (E.C.T.S.) implica nuevos planteamientos por parte del profesorado al elaborar la programación teórico-práctica de las diferentes asignaturas. Con la elaboración de los protocolos prácticos de zoología pretendemos alcanzar los objetivos siguientes: 1. Proveer a los alumnos de material didáctico básico y complementario a la información impartida en las sesiones prácticas. 2. Proporcionar una perspectiva amplia de diferentes aspectos prácticos de la zoología. 3. Familiarizar a los alumnos con las fuentes (complementarias) de información y los procedimientos de acceso a diferentes tipos de material biológico. 4. Favorecer el trabajo personal y de grupo, enfatizando diferentes aspectos biológicos necesarios para la asimilación de los contenidos prácticos de la asignatura. 5. Facilitar la preparación de las pruebas prácticas que los alumnos han de realizar. En el curso académico 2003/2004 nos fue concedido un primer proyecto docente que nos permitió preparar contenidos correspondientes a la práctica “Introducción a las técnicas de campo y de laboratorio en Zoología”. A partir de esta primera experiencia hemos desarrollado varios proyectos docentes que nos han permitido preparar materiales y contenidos prácticos de los principales taxones de animales invertebrados: Poríferos y Cnidarios. Platelmintos, Nematodos y Anélidos. Artrópodos. Moluscos. Equinodermos. La preparación de estos contenidos nos ha obligado a realizar desplazamientos así como a solicitar colaboraciones de diversas instituciones, por ejemplo, al Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales de Madrid. Los protocolos están diseñados de forma que fomentan la labor individual y auto-formativa del alumnado, así como el estudio en grupo. Todo está encaminado hacia una completa preparación y correcta adecuación al nuevo sistema educativo. Las presentaciones multimedia están a disposición del alumnado gracias a las posibilidades que ofrece la web de la Universidad de Córdoba.The implementation of the unified credit system (ECTS) involves new approaches by teachers in the development of both theoretical and practical curricula of different subjects. With the development of practical zoology documents we aim to achieve the following objectives: 1. To provide the students with basic educational materials, and complementary information to the practical sessions. 2. To provide a broad overview of different practical aspects of zoology. 3. To familiarize students with additional sources of information and procedures for access to different types of biological material. 4. To encourage personal and group work, emphasizing different biological aspects, which are necessary for the understanding of the practical contents of the subjects. 5. To assist in the preparation of exams that students must perform. In the academic course 2003/2004 we were awarded with a first educational project that allowed us to prepare content for the practice "Introduction to field and lab techniques in Zoology". From this first experience we have developed several educational projects that have allowed us to prepare materials and practical content of the main taxa of invertebrates: Sponges and Cnidarians. Flatworms, Nematodes and Annelids. Arthropods. Molluscs. Echinoderms. The preparation of these materials has lead us to make trips and to request contributions from various institutions, for example, the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid. The protocols are designed in ways that encourage individual work and selftraining of students, and study groups. Everything is aimed to the complete preparation and fair adaptation to the new educational system. Multimedia presentations are available to students thanks to the possibilities offered by the website of the University of Cordoba

The aggregation of cytochrome C may be linked to its flexibility during refolding

Large-scale expression of biopharmaceutical proteins in cellular hosts results in production of large insoluble mass aggregates. In order to generate functional product, these aggregates require further processing through refolding with denaturant, a process in itself that can result in aggregation. Using a model folding protein, cytochrome C, we show how an increase in final denaturant concentration decreases the propensity of the protein to aggregate during refolding. Using polarised fluorescence anisotropy, we show how reduced levels of aggregation can be achieved by increasing the period of time the protein remains flexible during refolding, mediated through dilution ratios. This highlights the relationship between the flexibility of a protein and its propensity to aggregate. We attribute this behaviour to the preferential urea-residue interaction, over self-association between molecules

Towards the knowledge-based design of universal influenza epitope ensemble vaccines

Motivation: Influenza A viral heterogeneity remains a significant threat due to unpredictable antigenic drift in seasonal influenza and antigenic shifts caused by the emergence of novel subtypes. Annual review of multivalent influenza vaccines targets strains of influenza A and B likely to be predominant in future influenza seasons. This does not induce broad, cross protective immunity against emergent subtypes. Better strategies are needed to prevent future pandemics. Cross-protection can be achieved by activating CD8+ and CD4+ T cells against highly-conserved regions of the influenza genome. We combine available experimental data with informatics-based immunological predictions to help design vaccines potentially able to induce cross-protective T-cells against multiple influenza subtypes. Results: To exemplify our approach we designed two epitope ensemble vaccines comprising highly-conserved and experimentally-verified immunogenic influenza A epitopes as putative non-seasonal influenza vaccines; one specifically targets the US population and the other is a universal vaccine. The USA-specific vaccine comprised 6 CD8+ T cell epitopes (GILGFVFTL, FMYSDFHFI, GMDPRMCSL, SVKEKDMTK, FYIQMCTEL, DTVNRTHQY) and 3 CD4+ epitopes (KGILGFVFTLTVPSE, EYIMKGVYINTALLN, ILGFVFTLTVPSERG). The universal vaccine comprised 8 CD8+ epitopes: (FMYSDFHFI, GILGFVFTL, ILRGSVAHK, FYIQMCTEL, ILKGKFQTA, YYLEKANKI, VSDGGPNLY, YSHGTGTGY) and the same 3 CD4+ epitopes. Our USA-specific vaccine has a population protection coverage (portion of the population potentially responsive to one or more component epitopes of the vaccine, PPC) of over 96% and 95% coverage of observed influenza subtypes. The universal vaccine has a PPC value of over 97% and 88% coverage of observed subtypes