Mathematical Modeling of a Bioluminescent E. Coli Based Biosensor

In this work we present a mathematical model for the bioreporter activity of an E. coli based bioluminescent bioreporter. This bioreporter is based on a genetically modified E. coli which harbors the recA promoter, a member of the bacterial SOS response, fused to the bacterial luminescence (lux) genes. This bioreporter responds to the presence of DNA damaging agents such as heavy metals, H2O2 and Nalidixic Acid (NA) that activate the SOS response. In our mathematical model we implemented basic physiological mechanisms such as: the penetration of the NA into the biosensor; gyrase enzyme inhibition by the NA; gyrase level regulation; creation of chromosomal DNA damage; DNA repair and release of ssDNA into the cytoplasm; SOS induction and chromosomal DNA repair; activation of lux genes by the fused recA promoter carried on a plasmidal DNA; transcription and translation of the luminescence responsible enzymes; luminescence cycle; energy molecules level regulation and the regulation of the O2 consumption. The mathematical model was defined using a set of ordinary differential equations (ODE) and solved numerically. We simulated the system for different concentrations of NA in water for specific biosensors concentration, and under limited O2 conditions. The simulated results were compared to experimental data and satisfactory matching was obtained. This manuscript presents a proof of concept showing that real biosensors can be modeled and simulated. This sets the ground to the next stage of implementing a comprehensive physiological model using experimentally extracted parameters. Following the completion of the next stage, it will be possible to construct a “Computer Aided Design” tool for the simulation of the genetically engineered biosensors. We define a term “bioCAD” for a Biological System Computer Aided Design. The specific bioCAD that is described here is aimed towards whole cell biosensors which are under investigation today for functional sensing. Usage of the bioCAD will improve the biosensors design process and boost their performance. It will also reduce Non Recurring Engineering (NRE) cost and time. Finally, using a parameterized solution will allow fair and quick evaluation of whole cell biosensors for various applications

Childhood obesity: State of art and future research directions

[EN] According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the childhood obesity affects 42 million children worldwide, 35 million of whom live in the developing countries (WHO, 2010). It is not only a social issue but also a political and economic problem that affects a large, vulnerable and strategic population. Because of its multifactorial origin requires a multisectoral approach. The aim of this study is to frame a multidisciplinary state of the art on the issue from a social view. Here is a literature review that considers all the relevant research, both international and national, with a striking attention to those published in the last five years. It is expected to clarify agreements and dissonances in the proposals to combat and prevent childhood obesity. Furthermore, this study aims to project recommendations for future studies involving childhood o[ES] La obesidad infantil, según la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS), afectaba en 2010 a 42 millones de niños en todo el mundo, 35 millones de los cuales viven en países en desarrollo (WHO, 2010).Se trata de un problema social, político y económico que afecta a un sector amplio, vulnerable y estratégico de la población. Dado su origen multifactorial, requiere de una atención multisectorial.El objetivo de este estudio es enmarcar un estado de la cuestión multidisciplinar sobre la cuestión desde una mirada social. Se realiza una revisión documental que considera todas aquellas investigaciones relevantes, tanto a nivel internacional como nacional, realizadas hasta el momento y atendiendo especialmente a las publicadas en los últimos cinco años.Se espera esclarecer acuerdos y disonancias en las propuestas de lucha y prevención de la obesidad infantil así como en la atribución de culpabilidades y causas con las que se ha venido asociando la enfermedad, proyectando recomendaciones para futuros estudios que abarquen la obesidad infantil.García Cortés, B. (2016). La obesidad infantil: estado de la cuestión y posibles líneas de investigación futura. Revista sobre la infancia y la adolescencia. (10):77-97. doi:10.4995/reinad.2015.3718SWORD77971

Successful Weight Loss Surgery Improves Eating Control and Energy Metabolism: A Review of the Evidence

Eating behavior is determined by a balance of memories in terms of reward and punishment to satisfy the urge to consume food. Refilling empty energy stores and hedonistic motivation are rewarding aspects of eating. Overfeeding, associated adverse GI effects, and obesity implicate punishment. In the current review, evidence is given for the hypothesis that bariatric surgery affects control over eating behavior.Moreover, any caloric overload will reduce the feeling of satiety. Durable weight loss after bariatric surgery is probably the result of a new equilibrium between reward and punishment, together with a better signaling of satiation due to beneficial metabolic changes.We propose to introduce three main treatment goals for bariatric surgery: 1) acceptable weight loss, 2) improvement of eating control, and 3) metabolic benefit. To achieve this goal, loss of 50% to 70% of excess weight will be appropriate (i.e. 30% to 40% loss of initial weight), depending on the degree of obesity prior to operation

Welfare to Work: Did it Work? The Implementation of TANF in New York City after PRWORA

Political scientists, economists, and sociologists have assessed various aspects of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). However, no clear agreement emerges among scholars on TANF’s effectiveness in improving the structure of the welfare system or outcomes for welfare recipients. While caseloads declined significantly—sometimes at a greater rate than even the most ambitious estimates—some evidence shows that aid recipients and former aid recipients remained unemployed or underemployed, and without the means to improve their standard of living. Most researchers have analyzed TANF’s quantitative outcomes at the national-­‐ and state-­‐levels. While these studies provide important insight into the program’s finances and aggregate outcomes, they fail to tell the complete story of the program’s inception, implementation, and breadth of outcomes. This project utilizes a qualitative approach in an attempt to frame a more complete understanding of the outcomes of TANF and the causal paths that have led to those outcomes. The project draws descriptive inferences about TANF’s mandate, implementation, execution, and the way in which TANF unfolded on the ground in New York City. It probes the bureaucracy around welfare in New York City, examines the processes that aimed to transition unemployed welfare recipients to employment, brings to light the experiences of those cut from welfare rolls, seeks to describe the politics that surrounded welfare reform. Overall, this project seeks a better understanding of the causal processes involved in TANF and tries to measure more thoroughly various outcomes related to TANF. In doing so, it complicates prevailing understandings of PRWORA and TANF in the scholarship and among policy analysts, and attempts to offer those inferences as a way for policymakers to improve outcomes related to TANF in New York City and nationally. While the number of welfare recipients did decline significantly, this often came at the expense of welfare recipients and former welfare recipients, who struggled to find suitable employment and the means to maintain an acceptable standard of living

La privación de libertad y de dignidad en Mali

Under the framework of an European project titled “Dignity: Respecting inmates’ rights”, the NGO Lawyers without Borders (LWOB) carried out ten missions during two years in the malinese cities of Bamako, Kati and Kayes aimed at strengthening judicial system by spreading the culture of respect to Human Rights. In order to do so, different activities were performed such as providing juridical advice to the inmates, promote education to all the agents involved in Penal System as well as roundtables with professionals from the Juridical System. In a context of multiple-crisis (institutional, humanitarian and security), this project, whose recipients are the most vulnerable ones, aims to unfold the urgent need to boost malinese Juridical System.En el marco del proyecto europeo titulado “Dignidad : respeto de los derechos de las personas privadas de libertad”, la ONG Abogados sin fronteras (ASF) llevó a cabo durante un periodo de dos años (septiembre 2013-septiembre de 2015), diez misiones en las ciudades malienses de Bamako, Kati y Kayes con el objetivo de fortalecer el sistema judicial mediante la difusión de la cultura del respeto de los derechos humanos. A tal fin, se realizaron distintas actividades como el asesoramiento jurídico a los reclusos, las formaciones en beneficio de todos los agentes implicados en el sistema penal, así como la celebración de mesas redondas que incluían profesionales del ámbito judicial. En un contexto de multi-crisis (institucional, humanitaria y de seguridad), el presente proyecto, cuyos destinatarios no son otros que los más vulnerables, contribuye a desvelar la urgente necesidad de fortalecer el sistema judicial maliense

SIBLING SEPARATION IN FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION: THE GAP BETWEEN POLICY AND PRACTICE

Even with state and federal policies calling for joint sibling placement and visitation, sibling separation still permeates the foster care and adoption systems, affecting approximately half of siblings in care. This work looks into a gap that nonetheless exists between sibling separation policies and practice by analyzing the actions and motivations of social actors involved in the process. I conducted twentythree phone interviews with child advocates, agency workers, and foster parents. The results show that agency workers contribute most heavily to the gap between policy and practice. In order to shrink this gap, I present a list of best practices for agencies to employ. Additionally, I find that even when all social actors perfectly perform the sibling advocacy duties of their roles, the policies themselves contribute to the gap. As they stand, these policies are too narrow and do not protect the rights of all siblings in care

Evangelicals and their allies in United States : how influent are they over American foreign policy?

Quelle est l’influence du protestantisme évangélique américain, acteur non étatique -Et transnational en pleine expansion- sur la politique étrangère américaine? La constitution des protestants évangéliques en force de pression politique, à l’initiative de certains pasteurs évangéliques, remonte au début des années 70, peu après le passage du Civil Rights Act. Les protestants évangéliques traditionnellement acquis à la cause démocrate, ont alors choisi d’accorder leurs voix au camp républicain. Si R Reagan, proche des néo-Conservateurs, leur a entre-Ouvert les portes de la Maison Blanche, George W. Bush sera le président qui gouvernera en tenant compte de considérations morales et religieuses chères aux protestants évangéliques. Le vote évangélique est ainsi très disputé lors des échéances électorales. En quelques décennies, les protestants évangéliques ont acquis une place de choix dans la politique américaine nouant des alliances fructueuses avec les néo- conservateurs ainsi qu’avec le lobby pro-Israélien, tous les deux à la manœuvre en ce qui concerne la définition des politiques. Au niveau international, les protestants évangéliques ainsi que leurs alliés néo-Conservateurs défendent d’une même voix Israël. Si les néo-Conservateurs et le lobby pro-Israélien définissent une politique commune, les protestants évangéliques mobilisent leur électorat. L’alliance est ainsi très efficace ce dont atteste entre autres l’adoption de la loi International Religious Freedom Act ( Irfa).How influent is the evangelical protestantism over american foreign policy? Evangelicals have established a lobby, in behalf of some well known evangelical pastors, not long after the enactment of the Civil Rights Act at the beginning of the seventies. Evangelicals traditionally more supportive of the democrats, chose therefore to give their votes to the republican party. Ronald Reagan, in close partnership with the neoconservatives, opened a space to the evangelicals while G.W. Bush while ruling the country, took into account their moral and religious considerations. Evangelical vote is a real issue for both parties in an election time. In the last decades, evangelicals have acquired an influent position in American politics along with their close allies, the neo-Conservatives and the Israël lobby, both of them defining a shared policy. On an international level, evangelicals along with neo-Conservatives are harsh defenders of Israel. Their partnership proved to be efficient, particularly concerning the enactment of the law International Religious Freedom Act ( Irfa) concerning religious freedom worldwide

A Concept for a Sensitive Micro Total Analysis System for High Throughput Fluorescence Imaging

This paper discusses possible methods for on-chip fluorescent imaging forintegrated bio-sensors. The integration of optical and electro-optical accessories, accordingto suggested methods, can improve the performance of fluorescence imaging. It can boostthe signal to background ratio by a few orders of magnitudes in comparison to conventionaldiscrete setups. The methods that are present in this paper are oriented towards buildingreproducible arrays for high-throughput micro total analysis systems (μTAS). The firstmethod relates to side illumination of the fluorescent material placed into micro-compartments of the lab-on-chip. Its significance is in high utilization of excitation energyfor low concentration of fluorescent material. The utilization of a transparent μLED chip,for the second method, allows the placement of the excitation light sources on the sameoptical axis with emission detector, such that the excitation and emission rays are directedcontroversly. The third method presents a spatial filtering of the excitation background