Emerging institutional order? National Investment Funds in Poland

This paper analyses the mass privatisation programme (MPP) implemented in Poland in the mid-1990s from the perspective of transition reforms and the development of corporate governance systems. Although the programme covered only 512 companies the collected evidence provides a unique opportunity to compare the Polish MPP to the schemes implemented in other post-socialist economies of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Russia as well as to other privatisation methods applied in Poland. The Polish MPP created intermediaries in the form of National Investment Funds (NIF), which were granted the leading and minor status in the ownership of their portfolio companies. The clear ownership and the incentive structure appeared to be important mechanisms that helped minimse the control vacuum and stimulated restructuring and privatisation of the portfolio companies. Despite the restructuring efforts the financial results remain relatively blurred and the performance of privatised companies as well and the funds appear to be disappointing

Choose your models wisely: how different murine bone marrow-derived dendritic cell protocols influence the success of nanoparticulate vaccines in vitro

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Sistema de Información Geográfica como apoyo a las actividades del Censo Nacional de Población, Hogares y Viviendas 2010 de la provincia de Buenos Aires

Los Sistemas de Información Geográfica (GIS)4 constituyen una plataforma tecnológica de gran utilidad para las agencias de estadística, brindando software apropiado para la administración de una base de datos geográfica y la generación de cartografía digital o impresa. Con el objeto de apoyar las actividades para el Censo Nacional de Población Viviendas y Hogares 2010, la Dirección Provincial de Estadística de la provincia de Buenos Aires (DPE) encomendó a Impronta IT S.A. (IM) la actualización de la plataforma GIS y el desarrollo de aplicaciones y algoritmos para la segmentación automática de viviendas. A través de un contrato de vinculación tecnológica, se incorporaron al equipo de trabajo expertos en optimización del Departamento de Matemática y Computación de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales de la UBA. El trabajo presenta el caso de vinculación Universidad – Industria – Gobierno que permitió incorporar novedosos algoritmos de optimización al proyecto GIS para el Censo Nacional 2010 en la provincia de Buenos Aires.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

De novo assembly and functional annotation of Myrciaria dubia fruit transcriptome reveals multiple metabolic pathways for L-ascorbic acid biosynthesis

Background Myrciaria dubia is an Amazonian fruit shrub that produces numerous bioactive phytochemicals, but is best known by its high L-ascorbic acid (AsA) content in fruits. Pronounced variation in AsA content has been observed both within and among individuals, but the genetic factors responsible for this variation are largely unknown. The goals of this research, therefore, were to assemble, characterize, and annotate the fruit transcriptome of M. dubia in order to reconstruct metabolic pathways and determine if multiple pathways contribute to AsA biosynthesis. Results In total 24,551,882 high-quality sequence reads were de novo assembled into 70,048 unigenes (mean length = 1150 bp, N50 = 1775 bp). Assembled sequences were annotated using BLASTX against public databases such as TAIR, GR-protein, FB, MGI, RGD, ZFIN, SGN, WB, TIGR_CMR, and JCVI-CMR with 75.2 % of unigenes having annotations. Of the three core GO annotation categories, biological processes comprised 53.6 % of the total assigned annotations, whereas cellular components and molecular functions comprised 23.3 and 23.1 %, respectively. Based on the KEGG pathway assignment of the functionally annotated transcripts, five metabolic pathways for AsA biosynthesis were identified: animal-like pathway, myo-inositol pathway, L-gulose pathway, D-mannose/L-galactose pathway, and uronic acid pathway. All transcripts coding enzymes involved in the ascorbate-glutathione cycle were also identified. Finally, we used the assembly to identified 6314 genic microsatellites and 23,481 high quality SNPs. Conclusions This study describes the first next-generation sequencing effort and transcriptome annotation of a non-model Amazonian plant that is relevant for AsA production and other bioactive phytochemicals. Genes encoding key enzymes were successfully identified and metabolic pathways involved in biosynthesis of AsA, anthocyanins, and other metabolic pathways have been reconstructed. The identification of these genes and pathways is in agreement with the empirically observed capability of M. dubia to synthesize and accumulate AsA and other important molecules, and adds to our current knowledge of the molecular biology and biochemistry of their production in plants. By providing insights into the mechanisms underpinning these metabolic processes, these results can be used to direct efforts to genetically manipulate this organism in order to enhance the production of these bioactive phytochemicals. The accumulation of AsA precursor and discovery of genes associated with their biosynthesis and metabolism in M. dubia is intriguing and worthy of further investigation. The sequences and pathways produced here present the genetic framework required for further studies. Quantitative transcriptomics in concert with studies of the genome, proteome, and metabolome under conditions that stimulate production and accumulation of AsA and their precursors are needed to provide a more comprehensive view of how these pathways for AsA metabolism are regulated and linked in this species

COMBINED INHIBITION OF DDR1 AND CDK4/6 INDUCES SYNERGISTIC EFFECTS IN ER-POSITIVE, HER2-NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER WITH PIK3CA/AKT1 MUTATIONS

COMBINED INHIBITION OF DDR1 AND CDK4/6 INDUCES SYNERGISTIC EFFECTS IN ER-POSITIVE, HER2-NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER WITH PIK3CA/AKT1 MUTATIONS Maryam Shariati, M.S. Advisory Professor: Funda Meric-Bernstam, M.D. Molecular alterations in the phosphatidylinositol 3‑kinase (PI3K)/ serine/threonine protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathway occur frequently in estrogen receptor–positive (ER-positive) breast tumors. Patients with ER-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–negative (HER2-negative) metastatic breast cancer are often treated with cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK4/6) inhibitors such as palbociclib in combination with endocrine therapy. Although this is a very effective regimen, disease progression ultimately occurs in most patients. Further, the modulators of palbociclib sensitivity remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to identify synthetic lethality partners that can enhance palbociclib’s antitumor efficacy in ER-positive breast cancer with PI3K pathway alterations. Using ER-positive isogenic breast cancer cell lines, we demonstrated that the efficacy of palbociclib is attenuated in the presence of PIK3CA or AKT1 mutations. Using a shRNA library screen targeting cancer–­­­­related human kinases, we identified that downregulation of discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1), a tyrosine kinase active in various cancers, is synthetically lethal with palbociclib. DDR1 knockdown by shRNA markedly reduced the growth of PIK3CA and AKT1 mutant and wild-type (WT) ER-positive cell lines in vitro. In addition, DDR1 pharmacological inhibitor, 7rh benzamide, decreased cell growth and inhibited cell cycle progression in all cell lines, while selectively enhancing the sensitivity of PIK3CA and AKT1 mutant cells to palbociclib. Combined treatment of palbociclib and 7rh further induced cell cycle arrest, decreasing PLK1, cyclin E2, and RB phosphorylation in PIK3CA and AKT1 mutant cell lines. In vivo, 7rh significantly enhanced the antitumor efficacy of palbociclib. Similarly, reverse phase protein array (RPPA) analysis of the xenografts revealed a greater PLK1 reduction in a combined 7rh and palbociclib treatment group. Our data indicate that DDR1 inhibition can augment the cell cycle suppressive effect of palbociclib and could be an effective targeted therapy for ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancers with PI3K pathway activation

Schwierigkeiten, den Begriff »Lebenskunst« ins Japanische zu übersetzen

Die Diskussion mit japanischen Gesprächspartnern über Fragen der Lebenskunst sieht sich mit nicht trivialen Schwierigkeiten der Übersetzung des Begriffs zur Bezeichnung des Gegenstands dieser Diskussion konfrontiert. Diese Schwierigkeiten bieten zugleich eine gute Gelegenheit für eine genuin interkulturelle philosophische Verständigung über die Sache, um die es gehen soll