Controvèrsies entre una idea i un resultat : quin paper juguen els (f)actors que intervenen?

La idea d’aquest projecte va sorgir després d’analitzar la població de Sallent del Llobregat. Vam arribar a la conclusió de que havíem d’actuar en els ponts de la Concòrdia i en el de Pere Otger per millorar el seu estat i fer-los més amables per al vianants. Després vam descobrir que per al Pont Pere Otger ja hi havia un projecte de rehabilitació, i ens va semblar adient fer un projecte alternatiu al que s’estava fent per així intentar introduir les nostres idees en el projecte oficial. Per tal d’expressar-ho tot hem generat el projecte executiu complet, la documentació escrita, els amidaments i pressupostos, i la documentació gràfica. A més hi ha un annex en el qual s’explica el procés de la presa de decisions, quins actors o quins factors ens han influït per decantar-nos per una solució o per una altra, juntament amb el que hauria estat fer un projecte d’aquesta envergadura amb processos de participació ciutadana

A web-based photo-alteration intervention to promote sleep : randomized controlled trial

This work was supported by grants awarded to JCJL by the Singapore Ministry of Education (start-up grant number: R-607-264-057-121 and AcRF Tier 1: IG15-B052).Background: Receiving insufficient sleep has wide-ranging consequences for health and well-being. Although educational programs have been developed to promote sleep, these have had limited success in extending sleep duration. To address this gap, we developed a web-based program emphasizing how physical appearances change with varying amounts of sleep. Objective: The aims of this study were to evaluate: (1) whether participants can detect changes in appearances as a function of sleep, and (2) whether this intervention can alter habitual sleep patterns. Methods: We conducted a 5-week, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial amongst 70 habitual short sleepers (healthy adults who reported having <7 hours of sleep routinely). Upon study enrolment, participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either standard information or an appearance-based intervention. Both groups received educational materials about sleep, but those in the appearance group also viewed a website containing digitally-edited photographs that showed how they would look with varying amounts of sleep. As outcome variables, sleep duration was monitored objectively via actigraphy (at baseline, and at post-intervention weeks 1 and 4), and participants completed a measure of sleep hygiene (at baseline, and at post-intervention weeks 2, 4, and 5). For each outcome, we ran intention-to-treat analyses using linear mixed-effects models. Results: In total, 35 participants were assigned to each group. Validating the intervention, participants in the appearance group: (i) were able to identify what they looked like at baseline, and (ii) judged that they would look more attractive with a longer sleep duration (t(26) = 10.35, P < .001). In turn, this translated to changes in sleep hygiene: whereas participants in the appearance group showed improvements following the intervention (F(1,107.99) = 9.05, P = .003), those in the information group did not (F(1,84.7) = 0.19, P = .66). Finally, there was no significant effect of group nor interaction of group and time on actigraphy-measured sleep duration (smallest P = .26). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that an appearance-based intervention – while not sufficient as a standalone – could have an adjunctive role in sleep promotion.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Comparative genomic hybridization and amplotyping by arbitrarily primed PCR in stage A B-CLL

Cytogenetic analysis is useful in the diagnosis and to assess prognosis of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL). However, successful cytogenetics by standard techniques has been hindered by the low in vitro mitotic activity of the malignant B-cell population. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) has become a useful tool, but it does not provide an overall view of the aberrations. To overcome this hurdle, two DNA-based techniques have been tested in the present study: comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and amplotyping by arbitrarily primed PCR (AP-PCR). Comparative genomic hybridization resolution depends upon the 400-bands of the human standard karyotype. AP-PCR allows detection of allelic losses and gains in tumor cells by PCR fingerprinting, thus its resolution is at the molecular level. Both techniques were performed in 23 patients with stage A B-CLL at diagnosis. The results were compared with FISH. The sensitivity of AP-PCR was greater than CGH (62% vs. 43%). The use of CGH combined with AP-PCR allowed to detect genetic abnormalities in 79% (15/19) of patients in whom G-banding was not informative, providing a global view of the aberrations in a sole experiment. This study shows that combining these two methods with FISH, makes possible a more precise genetic characterization of patients with B-CLL

Colorectal carcinomas with microsatellite instability display a different pattern of target gene mutations according to large bowel site of origin

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Only a few studies have addressed the molecular pathways specifically involved in carcinogenesis of the distal colon and rectum. We aimed to identify potential differences among genetic alterations in distal colon and rectal carcinomas as compared to cancers arising elsewhere in the large bowel.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Constitutional and tumor DNA from a test series of 37 patients with rectal and 25 patients with sigmoid carcinomas, previously analyzed for microsatellite instability (MSI), was studied for <it>BAX</it>, <it>IGF2R</it>, <it>TGFBR2</it>, <it>MSH3</it>, and <it>MSH6 </it>microsatellite sequence alterations, <it>BRAF </it>and <it>KRAS </it>mutations, and <it>MLH1 </it>promoter methylation. The findings were then compared with those of an independent validation series consisting of 36 MSI-H carcinomas with origin from each of the large bowel regions. Immunohistochemical and germline mutation analyses of the mismatch repair system were performed when appropriate.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the test series, <it>IGFR2 </it>and <it>BAX </it>mutations were present in one and two out of the six distal MSI-H carcinomas, respectively, and no mutations were detected in <it>TGFBR2</it>, <it>MSH3</it>, and <it>MSH6</it>. We confirmed these findings in the validation series, with <it>TGFBR2 </it>and <it>MSH3 </it>microsatellite mutations occurring less frequently in MSI-H rectal and sigmoid carcinomas than in MSI-H colon carcinomas elsewhere (<it>P </it>= 0.00005 and <it>P </it>= 0.0000005, respectively, when considering all MSI-carcinomas of both series). No <it>MLH1 </it>promoter methylation was observed in the MSI-H rectal and sigmoid carcinomas of both series, as compared to 53% found in MSI-H carcinomas from other locations (<it>P </it>= 0.004). <it>KRAS </it>and <it>BRAF </it>mutational frequencies were 19% and 43% in proximal carcinomas and 25% and 17% in rectal/sigmoid carcinomas, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The mechanism and the pattern of genetic changes driving MSI-H carcinogenesis in distal colon and rectum appears to differ from that occurring elsewhere in the colon and further investigation is warranted both in patients with sporadic or hereditary disease.</p

Controvèrsies entre una idea i un resultat : quin paper juguen els (f)actors que intervenen?

La idea d’aquest projecte va sorgir després d’analitzar la població de Sallent del Llobregat. Vam arribar a la conclusió de que havíem d’actuar en els ponts de la Concòrdia i en el de Pere Otger per millorar el seu estat i fer-los més amables per al vianants. Després vam descobrir que per al Pont Pere Otger ja hi havia un projecte de rehabilitació, i ens va semblar adient fer un projecte alternatiu al que s’estava fent per així intentar introduir les nostres idees en el projecte oficial. Per tal d’expressar-ho tot hem generat el projecte executiu complet, la documentació escrita, els amidaments i pressupostos, i la documentació gràfica. A més hi ha un annex en el qual s’explica el procés de la presa de decisions, quins actors o quins factors ens han influït per decantar-nos per una solució o per una altra, juntament amb el que hauria estat fer un projecte d’aquesta envergadura amb processos de participació ciutadana

Controvèrsies entre una idea i un resultat : quin paper juguen els (f)actors que intervenen?

La idea d’aquest projecte va sorgir després d’analitzar la població de Sallent del Llobregat. Vam arribar a la conclusió de que havíem d’actuar en els ponts de la Concòrdia i en el de Pere Otger per millorar el seu estat i fer-los més amables per al vianants. Després vam descobrir que per al Pont Pere Otger ja hi havia un projecte de rehabilitació, i ens va semblar adient fer un projecte alternatiu al que s’estava fent per així intentar introduir les nostres idees en el projecte oficial. Per tal d’expressar-ho tot hem generat el projecte executiu complet, la documentació escrita, els amidaments i pressupostos, i la documentació gràfica. A més hi ha un annex en el qual s’explica el procés de la presa de decisions, quins actors o quins factors ens han influït per decantar-nos per una solució o per una altra, juntament amb el que hauria estat fer un projecte d’aquesta envergadura amb processos de participació ciutadana

One-Dimensional Gadolinium (III) Complexes Based on Alpha- and Beta-Amino Acids Exhibiting Field-Induced Slow Relaxation of Magnetization

Gadolinium (III) complexes exhibiting slow relaxation of magnetization are uncommon and have been much less studied than other compounds based on anisotropic lanthanide (III) ions. We prepared two one-dimensional gadolinium (III) complexes based on α-glycine (gly) and β-alanine (β-ala) amino acids, with the formula {[Gd2(gly)6(H2O)4](ClO4)6·5H2O}n (1) and {[Gd2(β-ala)6(H2O)4](ClO4)6·H2O}n (2), which were magneto-structurally characterized. Compounds 1 and 2 crystallize in the triclinic system (space group Pī). In complex 1, two Gd (III) ions are eight-coordinate and bound to six oxygen atoms from six gly ligands and two oxygen atoms from two water molecules, the metal ions showing different geometries (bicapped trigonal prism and square antiprism). In complex 2, two Gd (III) ions are nine-coordinate and bound to seven oxygen atoms from six β-ala ligands and two oxygen atoms from two water molecules in the same geometry (capped square antiprism). Variable-temperature dc magnetic susceptibility measurements performed on microcrystalline samples of 1 and 2 show similar magnetic behavior for both compounds, with antiferromagnetic coupling between the Gd (III) ions connected through carboxylate groups. Ac magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal slow relaxation of magnetization in the presence of an external dc field in both compounds, hence indicating the occurrence of the field-induced single-molecule magnet (SMM) phenomenon in both 1 and 2

Somatic hypomethylation of pericentromeric sst1 repeats and tetraploidization in human colorectal cancer cells

Altres ajuts: This work has been supported by a grant to MP and SA from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FIS PI18/01484), Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, FEDER.Somatic DNA hypomethylation and aneuploidy are hallmarks of cancer, and there is evidence for a causal relationship between them in knockout mice but not in human cancer. The non-mobile pericentromeric repetitive elements SST1 are hypomethylated in about 17% of human colorectal cancers (CRC) with some 5-7% exhibiting strong age-independent demethylation. We studied the frequency of genome doubling, a common event in solid tumors linked to aneuploidy, in randomly selected single cell clones of near-diploid LS174T human CRC cells differing in their level of SST1 demethylation. Near-diploid LS174T cells underwent frequent genome-doubling events generating near-tetraploid clones with lower levels of SST1 methylation. In primary CRC, strong SST1 hypomethylation was significantly associated with global genomic hypomethylation and mutations in TP53. This work uncovers the association of the naturally occurring demethylation of the SST1 pericentromeric repeat with the onset of spontaneous tetraploidization in human CRC cells in culture and with TP53 mutations in primary CRCs. Altogether, our findings provide further support for an oncogenic pathway linking somatic hypomethylation and genetic copy number alterations in a subset of human CRC