The new security, the environment and the Mediterranean : links and challenges

Este trabalho foca um tema que, apesar de não ser novo, mantém a actualidade. Analisa as implicações que a desregulação em termos ambientais tem tido numa conjuntura de Segurança, que deixou de ser de índole iminentemente militar sobretudo depois da Guerra Fria. O autor faz um breve historial dos esforços desenvolvidos por organizações internacionais no sentido de tentar travar abusos por parte das potências mais industrializadas, decorrentes de uma lógica essencialmente economicista, num ambiente que se degrada dia após dia. O trabalho aponta com mais detalhe o que se passa nas regiões que bordejam o Mediterrâneo chamando a atenção para as assimetrias existentes entre as duas margens e para as consequências que a ausência de medidas de fundo pode acarretar em termos de Seguranç

Noticia sobre la microfauna vertebrada holocénica de la grotta Su Guanu o Gonagosula

[eng] In this paper the discovery of a very important fossiliferous deposit at Su Guanu or Gonagosula Cave (Oliena, prov. Nuoro, Sardinia) is presented. Remains of a great number of microvertebrates (in fact more than 2,000 specimens) have been furnished by this deposit. All the vertebrate materials are now under study. The chronology of the deposit can be placed around the second half of the IV millenium B.C. The composition of the fauna obtained allows us to establish a relative chronology of several faunistic events.[eng] In this paper the discovery of a very important fossiliferous deposit at Su Guanu or Gonagosula Cave (Oliena, prov. Nuoro, Sardinia) is presented. Remains of a great number of microvertebrates (in fact more than 2,000 specimens) have been furnished by this deposit. All the vertebrate materials are now under study. The chronology of the deposit can be placed around the second half of the IV millenium B.C. The composition of the fauna obtained allows us to establish a relative chronology of several faunistic events

Analysis of EGFR kinase-dependent and kinase-independent roles in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC) has been widely investigated for EGFR protein expression, a common occurrence in CCRCCs. Although recent studies claimed for its potential prognostic significance. Nonetheless, genetic evidences of EGFR gene activating mutations and/or gene amplification have been rarely confirmed in the literature, thus supporting clinical trials data which established that the treatment with Tyrosine kinase inhibitors is not effective for CCRCC. New evidences have been given about the interactions between EGFR and SGLT1, independently of its kinase activity. Aim of our study was to perform an extensive investigation of genetic changes and functional kinase activities in a series of EGFR-positive CCRCCs, and to elucidate the correlation between EGFR and SGLT1 protein expressions. Our study demonstrates that EGFR protein overexpression is a recurrent event in CCRCCs and gene expression profile shows the presence of gene overexpression only in the 38.2% of CCRCCs. FISH analysis reveal the absence of EGFR amplification and high polysomy of chromosome 7. Moreover our data showed that SGLT1 is frequently overexpressed in CCRCC EGFR-positive. Since the activation of downstream EGFR pathways is found in about 77% of SGLT1-positive CCRCC, it is conceivable that the EGFR kinase and non-kinase functions can be carried out independently of each other. Therefore the interaction between EGFR/SGLT1 might be a novel therapeutic target for cancer treatment

Impact of polymorphic transposable elements on transcription in lymphoblastoid cell lines from public data

Background: Transposable elements (TEs) are DNA sequences able to mobilize themselves and to increase their copy-number in the host genome. In the past, they have been considered mainly selfish DNA without evident functions. Nevertheless, currently they are believed to have been extensively involved in the evolution of primate genomes, especially from a regulatory perspective. Due to their recent activity they are also one of the primary sources of structural variants (SVs) in the human genome. By taking advantage of sequencing technologies and bioinformatics tools, recent surveys uncovered specific TE structural variants (TEVs) that gave rise to polymorphisms in human populations. When combined with RNA-seq data this information provides the opportunity to study the potential impact of TEs on gene expression in human. Results: In this work, we assessed the effects of the presence of specific TEs in cis on the expression of flanking genes by producing associations between polymorphic TEs and flanking gene expression levels in human lymphoblastoid cell lines. By using public data from the 1000 Genome Project and the Geuvadis consortium, we exploited an expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) approach integrated with additional bioinformatics data mining analyses. We uncovered human loci enriched for common, less common and rare TEVs and identified 323 significant TEV-cis-eQTL associations. SINE-R/VNTR/Alus (SVAs) resulted the TE class with the strongest effects on gene expression. We also unveiled differential functional enrichments on genes associated to TEVs, genes associated to TEV-cis-eQTLs and genes associated to the genomic regions mostly enriched in TEV-cis-eQTLs highlighting, at multiple levels, the impact of TEVs on the host genome. Finally, we also identified polymorphic TEs putatively embedded in transcriptional units, proposing a novel mechanism in which TEVs may mediate individual-specific traits. Conclusion: We contributed to unveiling the effect of polymorphic TEs on transcription in lymphoblastoid cell lines

Translational Control in Tumour Progression and Drug Resistance

Protein biosynthesis is a multi-step process that starts with the transcription of nuclear DNA, depository of genetic information, into messenger RNA (mRNA) that is used as template for the following polypeptide chain synthesis, also known as translation. Each step of this essential process is highly controlled in order to modulate any specific protein requirement of the cell in response to different stimuli and cellular events. This regulatory process is called translational control. Deregulation of the core signalling network in translational control, the phosphatidyl inositol trisphosphate kinase (PI3K), Protein Kinase B (PKB or Akt), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and RAS mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/MAPK-interacting Kinases (MNK) pathways, frequently occurs in human cancers and leads to aberrant modulation of mRNA translation. However, investigations on the contribution of these two pathways to translational regulation led to the interesting finding that translation factors are also substrate of signalling molecules. Post-translational modifications, including cleavage and phosphorylation, usually affect translational factors activity in protein biosynthesis; on the other hand, direct interaction of translational components with signalling mediators can either activate the pathway in which the mediator is involved or redirect translation factors to other activities, such as cytoskeletal rearrangements. These findings shed light on new functions of translation factors, different from their canonical role in protein synthesis. Taken together, these new functions are an intriguing step forward to the discovery of molecular mechanisms at the base of cellular response during “special” conditions such as cancer and drug resistance

Diatom flagellar genes and their expression during sexual reproduction in Leptocylindrus danicus

Background: Flagella have been lost in the vegetative phase of the diatom life cycle, but they are still present in male gametes of centric species, thereby representing a hallmark of sexual reproduction. This process, besides maintaining and creating new genetic diversity, in diatoms is also fundamental to restore the maximum cell size following its reduction during vegetative division. Nevertheless, sexual reproduction has been demonstrated in a limited number of diatom species, while our understanding of its different phases and of their genetic control is scarce. Results: In the transcriptome of Leptocylindrus danicus, a centric diatom widespread in the world's seas, we identified 22 transcripts related to the flagella development and confirmed synchronous overexpression of 6 flagellum-related genes during the male gamete formation process. These transcripts were mostly absent in the closely related species L. aporus, which does not have sexual reproduction. Among the 22 transcripts, L. danicus showed proteins that belong to the Intra Flagellar Transport (IFT) subcomplex B as well as IFT-A proteins, the latter previously thought to be absent in diatoms. The presence of flagellum-related proteins was also traced in the transcriptomes of several other centric species. Finally, phylogenetic reconstruction of the IFT172 and IFT88 proteins showed that their sequences are conserved across protist species and have evolved similarly to other phylogenetic marker genes. Conclusion: Our analysis describes for the first time the diatom flagellar gene set, which appears to be more complete and functional than previously reported based on the genome sequence of the model centric diatom, Thalassiosira pseudonana. This first recognition of the whole set of diatom flagellar genes and of their activation pattern paves the way to a wider recognition of the relevance of sexual reproduction in individual species and in the natural environment

A Prospective, Randomized Placebo Controlled study Evaluating the Effectiveness of Oral Pregabalin and Tramadol for Postoperative Pain Management in Patients Undergoing Lumbar

Postoperative pain is one of the most feared problems among patients coming for surgery. Preventing and treating postoperative pain is a big deal despite recent advances in pain therapy. Opioids continue to be a cornerstone in the treatment of postoperative pain inspite of their side effects. Pregabalin, a structural analog of gamma-aminobutyric acid, has been used for the treatment of neuropathic pain and as an adjuvant in treating partial seizures. This study was thus taken up to compare the analgesic and anxiolytic effects of pregabalin and tramadol by administering it preoperatively in patients undergoing elective decompressive lumbar laminectomy. The study was conducted in 75 patients belonging to ASA 1 & 2 between 20 to 60 years. These patients were randomly allocated into three groups- group 1, 2 & 3 containing 25 patients each. Group 1, 2 & 3 received placebo capsule, 100mg tramadol capsule and 150 mg pregabalin capsule respectively 1 hour before anaesthetic induction. Pregabalin showed stastistically significant analgesic and anxiolytic effect when compared to placebo but less than that of tramadol. Also, pregabalin was associated with less sedation than that of tramadol. Postoperative complications like nausea, vomiting, drowsiness was less in pregabalin group compared to placebo group. Also, pregabalin provided a stable hemodynamics throughout the intraoperative period and also prevented the pressor response to laryngoscopy and intubation similar to tramadol. The result of this study support the use of pregabalin for postoperative pain relief as it has fewer side effects, well tolerated and higher patient satisfaction